Here we highlight selected innovation related articles from around the world on a daily basis. These articles related to innovation and funding for innovative companies, and best practices for innovation based economic development.
Ace investor Warren Buffett has a piece of advice of young graduates and no, it is not about stock investment or portfolio building. It's an interpersonal skill — communication.
Improving one's communication skills is the easiest way for youngsters just starting out on their professional paths to increase their worth by 50 percent, Buffett told entrepreneur Michael Hood.
Entrepreneurs have plenty of business-focused movies to look forward to in 2019.
Several fascinating documentaries and feature films are due to hit theaters and streaming services next year. From the fallout of the Cambridge Analytica scandal to the story of a 13-year-old boy determined to save his Malawi village with wind power, next year's crop of films are full of inspiration for business owners.
Water had always facinated the 33-year-old Drunken Monkey founder and scuba diving and surfing were something always on his mind. It was in 2010 that his cousins and he enrolled for an Open water scuba diving course. The dive site was next to an island called ‘pigeon island’ off the coast of northern Karnataka, near Murdeshwar.
This is the time of the year where we tech journalists like to talk about big things: The best products, the major trends, the colossal screw-ups.
Still, why not take some time to appreciate the little things? Sometimes the best ideas in tech aren’t the ones that transform lives, but the smaller-scale innovations that make our daily routines a bit easier, or prove to the rest of the industry that there’s a better way to do things. Herewith, a tribute to the cleverest ideas we saw this year.
Image: courtesy of Apple, Nex, Samsung
The promise of big, easy and fast money to build business ideas has inspired countless entrepreneurs to throw their hats in the ring to try and get their share, and make their visions a reality.
For some the game of raising capital to build businesses and achieve buzzworthy exits has become a business of its own. Of course, in reality it is a little more complex and demanding than that. So, how do funding rounds work?
I've met so many people who believe that a tradeoff exists between becoming great at work and achieving a sense of wellbeing in their lives.
They forgo life outside of their jobs and put in huge amounts of hard work—long hours and maximum effort—to become top performers. Over time, however, this effort takes a toll, leaving them burned out, unhappy, and stressed. Yet still they soldier on, rationalizing that greatness at work comes at an inevitable price.
As you may have heard, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program is commemorating its 30th anniversary this year. It’s got me thinking about that milestone in light of the MEP National Network’s mission to strengthen and empower U.S. manufacturers and its emphasis on delivering tangible economic impact. It begs the questions, “What has MEP accomplished in 30 years?” and “Is MEP delivering on its promise to strengthen and empower U.S. manufacturers?”
Image: https://www.nist.gov/
In this video, Entrepreneur Network partner Brian Tracy explains why productive people are happier people.
According to Tracy, the difference between being productive and being busy is extremely distinct. In Tracy's definition of the words, "busy" means always being occupied with things to do, while being "productive" means working towards a purpose.
Professional athletes train hard and closely monitor what they put into their body. They have a team and even hire professionals on the side to help them reach peak state within their body and in their mind. They know this is how they’ll become the 1 percent of their profession. They’re always looking for that edge and they’ll go to great lengths to get it.
Many executives — seeking an intellectual challenge and looking to give back — are intrigued by the idea of teaching. For nearly a decade, I’ve taught executive education at business schools around the world, from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Columbia University to leading b-schools in Brazil, Russia, Kazakhstan, France, Spain, and more.
Three-quarters of all venture-funded startups are in or near Silicon Valley, New York City or Boston. That leaves plenty of opportunities in the rest of the country. That's where David Hall, this week's guest on Masters in Business, comes in.
Hall is a partner at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, where he is responsible for investment sourcing, execution and oversight for Revolution portfolio companies. The fund is designed to address this geographical/financial gap.
Most aspiring entrepreneurs are convinced that their idea and passion are so great that failure is not a possibility. They relate quickly to one of the big successes out there today, including Facebook, Airbnb, or Snap, and can give you a dozen reasons that they are in the same category. It’s a good way to get some inspiration, but not an accurate representation of reality.
The latest estimate from the World Bank puts global GDP at roughly $80 trillion in nominal terms for 2017.
Today’s chart from HowMuch.net uses this data to show all major economies in a visualization called a Voronoi diagram – let’s dive into the stats to learn more.
1. In Australia, birds of prey deliberately start forest fires - wielding flaming sticks to do so. Indigenous people have known of these 'firehawk raptors' for quite some time, but now we also have scientific research describing this stunning phenomenon.
2. Here's an update on what you learned in high school biology - this year we discovered mitochondrial DNA can actually be passed down by males.
People with a victim mentality should never be entrepreneurs. We all know the role of starting and running a business is unpredictable, and has a high risk of failure. For people with a victim mentality, this fear of failure alone will almost certainly make it a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Even for the avid wine enthusiast picking the perfect pairing for dinner or gift can be bewildering. Thankfully it is a lot less confusing, and you can now shop with far more confidence thanks to Heini Zachariassen and his app that has raised tens of millions of dollars from investors.
Image: Heini Zachariassen - HEINI ZACHARIASSEN
From Melania Trump to your next door neighbor, everybody who’s decorating for Christmas knows to do so with red and green. But the story of how red and green came to represent Christmas isn’t as linear as the string lights around your tree.
Yes, certain traditions of the holiday, like the green of mistletoe and the red of Santa’s garb, might seem like obvious sources for the tradition. But it’s not quite that simple, according to Arielle Eckstut, author of The Secret Language of Color. “There is no definitive history, per se,” she tells TIME.
Just how do leaders energise their people to embrace change?
The need for change is constant in a constantly changing business environment. Unfortunately, the failure rate of change projects has little changed in recent years, despite the increasing use of agile methods.
According to a 2012 McKinsey study, 17% of change projects conclude so disastrously that they threaten an organisation’s existence. In the case of large IT projects, McKinsey found that:
To discover why so many projects fail, we need to look no further than the Global Innovation Leadership Study conducted by Capgemini Consulting and the IESE Business School.
Image: https://www.innovationexcellence.com
Happy Holidays from Rich Bendis and the Innovation America Team!
Fear is a fundamental part of human psychology. Our brains are wired to feel fear because it helps us avoid calamity; it keeps us safe.
But fear can also hold us back -- if we let it. Fear feeds on fear, meaning the more we try to avoid something we’re afraid of, the bigger and deeper our anxiety grows. To overcome this, we must face our deep-seated misgivings and worries. We have to acknowledge our fears and find ways to move beyond them.
