Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Cancer Vaccines Make a Comeback, as Third Rock Pumps $55M into Neon Therapeutics

Cancer vaccines got a bad name years ago. First, they don’t prevent cancer—they are supposed to stimulate the immune system to fight existing tumors. Early-generation cancer vaccines that made it to clinical trials couldn't stimulate enough immune firepower to kill tumors, cost too much to manufacture, or failed for other reasons.

Awkward! How One Woman's Tinder Dates Popped Up As Professional Suggestions On LinkedIn

If you're using LinkedIn for work, and dating apps for play, and never the twain shall meet... you may need to take these precautions to keep it that way.

The Most And Least Peaceful Countries

The Most And Least Peaceful Countries

Egyptian Shopzilla Lands $2.7M A-Round As Country's Growth Zooms

Partners Sherif ElRakabawy and Mohamed Ewis were deep in negotiations with a venture capital firm for funding for their startup, Egyptian online shopping portal Yaoota, when suddenly: Radio silence.

What It's Like To Be A Tech Entrepreneur In Syria During The Civil War: Interview From Damascus

The story of a tech conference under fire in Syria.

Farouk Shami's Empire: On Hair, Becoming An American And Working With Donald Trump

Farouk Shami has an amazing story. A Palestinian immigrant to the United States, he founded Houston-based Farouk Systems, manufacturer of Chi and Biosilk shampoos.

Saving Jaguar: A Roman Emperor, Tyrannical Leadership and Total Quality Management

When John Egan became chief executive of Jaguar Cars chief executive in 1980, the company's survival was in grave peril. With the benefit of hindsight accorded by “Saving Jaguar,” his newly-published memoir, the situation looked “utterly hopeless”.

Parents Sock Record Amounts Into 529 College Savings Plans

The average 529 college savings plan account has reached an all-time high average value of $20,934, and assets nationwide in these special college savings accounts grew to $258.2 billion at the end of June 2015. Losses in the stock market since June, however, no doubt have eroded some of these values, but 529 experts urge families to continue to save, and most are doing so directly with state 529 plans, and less with the help of advisors over the past four years.

Art Of Tea Customizes Leaves For Tea Connoisseurs

At Art of Tea, a Los Angeles wholesaler and importer blends the finest teas from around the world.

Tax Court Examines Residual Value Insurance Policies

In a recent opinion, the Tax Court examined an interesting type of insurance known as residual value insurance. The case is important because it analyzes the difference between insurance risk and investment risk.

Steve Jobs, Chaos Theory, And Tax Planning

Chaos theory describes self-replicating herd behavior. Steve Jobs told us to "think different." Most tax practitioners are overwhelmingly driven to self-replicating herd planning. Individuals with "black swan" tax events need "think different" planning.

Tyco Expands Global Center of Excellence Network

Tyco announced the expansion of its Global Center of Excellence network, which enables multinational companies to streamline and standardize their fire and security systems around the world.

Lessons Learned From The VW Scandal

As I was poking coffee into my head this morning in an attempt to attain some level of conscious thought, I stumbled across an article on the Harvard Business Review which asked a simple question. “Is VW’s Fraud the End of Large-Scale Corporate Deception?” An interesting question. I’m sure there are many out there that would like to think that this is the case but, I’d argue that the answer is, in fact, no.

Complaining About Yesterday Won't Make Tomorrow Better

“Spending today complaining about yesterday won’t make tomorrow any better.” -unknown

One Of The Longest Tenured CIO's In The US, Seagate's CIO Mark Brewer, Evolves IT And The Company

For the past 18 years, Mark Brewer has been the CIO of Seagate the $14 billion provider of electronic data storage products. That is an unusually long tenure, and it means that he has been present for a dramatic evolution, as the company has gone from a manufacturer of disk drives to a cloud-centric company, as well. When Brewer began at Seagate, there were 150 companies making disk drives. Now Seagate is among the last in the field. In that time, the company has diversified into solid state products, cloud services and technology, with plans to diversify further. In addition to traditional IT functions, Brewer also has responsibility for manufacturing execution systems in the factories, which is typically under the purview of Engineering or Operations functions.

The Elusive Mystique Of The Digital Enterprise

Everybody is talking about digital, but there's really no consensus on what a digital organization should really look like. Nor is it clear what advantages are gained.

Second Ashley Madison Settlement Reached

Settlement has been reached with another defendant in the Arizona case involving possession of stolen Ashley Madison data.

4 Steps To Overcome Adversity And Amplify Your Success

We all face challenges in life. Reframe what holds you down into a learning opportunity and your success will be amplified. We must be willing to fail and to appreciate the truth that often life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived.

The Era Of Automatic Facial Recognition And Surveillance Is Here

ID checks were a common response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, but they'll soon be obsolete. You won't have to show your ID, because you'll be identified automatically. A security camera will capture your face, and it'll be matched with your name and a whole lot of other information besides. Welcome to the world of automatic facial recognition. Those who have access to databases of identified photos will have the power to identify us. Yes, it'll enable some amazing personalized services; but it'll also enable whole new levels of surveillance. The underlying technologies are being developed today, and there are currently no rules limiting their use.

These Millennial Brothers Turned A Passion For Bold Socks Into A Million-Dollar, Two-Man Business

Many men can't find a way to show their personal style at work, thanks to stuffy office dress codes. Boris Vaisman, 28, and his brother Albert, 22, aim to change that at Soxy. Their two-person, Toronto-based business is on track to bring in seven-figure revenue this year by delivering five pairs of cheerful-patterned socks --think bright yellow with big red polka dots or hot pink with little blue mustache icons -- to customers' mailboxes each month for $45. “Socks bring a lot of joy and confidence to men,” says Boris.

Let's Separate Fact from Fiction

My company has recently been subjected to a few sensational news articles fueled by ‘anonymous sources.’ It’s not the first time we’ve been the target of false allegations, and I doubt it will be the last. Even if it stings to see my company’s mission of keeping the internet safe being questioned publicly, as most CEOs know, when it comes to anonymous sources the rumor mill is simply too juicy for some journalists to pass up.

Alternative Lending Regulation? A Guide To The Issues As Treasury's Comment Period Draws To A Close

A guide to the potential regulatory issues in alternative lending as the Treasury's comment period on the topic draws to a close.

British Grand Prix Boss To Propose Sale Of Historic F1 Race

The boss of Formula One’s British Grand Prix has revealed he will tomorrow recommend that the owners of Silverstone, the track which hosts the race, seek new investment to secure its future.

How To Fix The MBA Recruiting Process

When Sarah Rumbaugh discovered just how drawn out and complex the MBA recruitment process was, she didn't grouse about it -- she started a company designed to fix it: RelishMBA. Now she and her COO Zach Mayo are building that company with the aid of the i.Lab Incubator at the

How Wi-Fi Is Becoming The Answer For Brick And Mortar Businesses To Connect With Customers

Nowadays, Wi-Fi seems like a staple ingredient that any business owner would add to their recipe for success. Then again, most small business owners don't offer Wi-Fi to their customers - and not all big box merchants or businesses do, either. The irony is thick, so to speak, considering consumers walk around with Smartphones glued to their palms and expect quick, easy access to the internet nearly anywhere they go. With this mind, why wouldn't small business owners, and all business owners for that matter, want to offer their customers Wi-Fi?

The Logistics Of 3-D Printing A Cow In Portland

A Meetup.com group of 3-D printer aficionados, the PDX 3D Printing Lab, in Portland, Oregon, spent several months planning and 3-D printing a life-size replica of a cow. Yes, a cow. The model is made of PLA (Polylactic acid) material, a regularly-used type of 3-D printing material, printed with 14 separate 3-D printers representing 700 hours of printing time.

3 Tips for Recommending Relevant 'Recommended Content'

Recommendations can be a key component in your site?s native advertising strategy. By thinking creatively about where, and in what format, your recommendations are published on your site, you can go a long way towards improving reader experience.

The Top 7 Online Marketing Trends That Will Dominate 2016

2016 looks to be an action-packed year for the online marketing industry, with multiple new technologies coming to the forefront. Here are my predictions for the top seven online marketing trends of 2016.

Tailoring Tuxedos with Technology: George Zimmer May Change the Way Rentals Look

George Zimmer wants you to love the way you rent.

Tapping The Potential Of The World's Fourth-Largest Economy

For most of us, the small village of Cochas Chico, perched high in the Peruvian Andes, wouldn’t be considered a global manufacturing hub. But a dynamic economic sector thrives there, and in other communities throughout the remote Mantaro Valley, where workshops buzz with painters, potters, carpenters and weavers. Applying skills passed down from previous generations, these artisans are among those at the heart of a sector now equivalent to the world’s fourth-largest economy.

A Personal Finance Checklist For Entrepreneurs

In my experience, the typical “financial advisor” or retirement planner just doesn’t understand entrepreneurs or business owners. They’re used to the W-2 employee who is content to passively funnel money into 401(k)s and IRAs full of mutual funds.

When The Hard Cold Facts Back Up Instinctive Knowledge

A tendency to focus overly on both the "known and the unknown unknowns" may, in truth, be simply a way of dodging an issue.

Top 6 Ways To Sustain Business Growth

When sustainability becomes part of your organizational central ethos, you?re not only better able to sustain business growth ? you?re able to remain five steps ahead of the game. To get there, leaders must be potent pioneers ? blazing new paths few would see through to the end, let alone go down in the first place. This can fuel opportunities previously unseen and infuse the workplace and employee engagement with new-found purpose and excitement ? further sustaining the growth of the business.

Why Being Human Doesn't Scale -- A Discussion With Seth Godin

Every business falls into the same trap. An employee delivers a good experience for a happy customer. The leaders in the company then think, “How can we scale that interaction?” In my recent interview with Seth Godin on the Grow My Revenue Business Cast, Seth shared that the biggest mistake most marketers make is “Not being human.”

Does Tower International Have Upside Potential?

Livonia, Mich.-based $2.1 billion (2014 revenue) auto industry supplier, Tower International, was the best of three auto industry investments Cerberus Capital made before the financial crisis of 2008.

How Getting Fit Helped Me Become A Better Entrepreneur

Getting fit changed my life, and my business. The road hasn't been easy, but it is simple.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Study Suggests VC Funding Is Pricing Out San Francisco Residents

According to Zumper, 33 percent of San Francisco's sky high rents are attributable to VC investment. Yikes.

3 Steps To Ensure Data Advances Your Business Goals

Leaders have so many critical priorities, from hiring the right team to adapting to ever-changing business environments, so it’s easy to overlook putting together a sound data strategy. But in this era of relying increasingly on data for everything from making accurate revenue projections to delivering great customer experiences, a data strategy should be one of your first priorities, not one of your last. Do it right, and you can look forward to having ready access to precisely the data and insights required to drive your business forward. Neglect it, and you’ll be drowning in more data than you need before you know it, with not a clue how to make the most of it as a tool for business improvement.

Trump Tax Plan Would Increase Deficit By Over $10 Trillion

Trump Tax plan increase deficit by "only $10 trillion" over decade.

How To Outsmart Your Competition With Content Marketing

Use your competitors' content marketing to your advantage. Their social media and online material provides a good snapshot of what they're doing and gives you the opportunity to use their success and failures for your benefit. Here are a few tools to help you do it.

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran

8 Steps To Exit Your Startup With Pride And Profit

Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur. Although many won’t admit it, true entrepreneurs can’t wait to exit their current startup, and build a new and better one with their next great idea. In addition, current investors want to see every startup go public or be acquired, as an exit event, so they can get their due return for that investment which has been tied up for the last few years.

Meet The African-American Billionaire Businessman Who's Richer Than Michael Jordan

Robert F. Smith makes his debut on the Forbes 400 as the second-richest African-American, based on years of hard work and high achievement in the software industry.

Tax Court Examines Dueling Postmarks

The below case demonstrates an interesting application of the delivery and filing timing rules when a U.S. Postal Service Tracking Number and a Stamps.com shipping label/postmark are both present on an envelope containing a Tax Court petition.

This Is The Much-Needed New Gold Standard For Reviews

When it comes down to it, business is all about trust. People won’t buy from someone they don’t trust, so the main challenges a business must navigate are how to obtain that trust and from where it comes.

UC Berkeley Offers Free Education In Social Entrepreneurship

Classes start at the brand new Philanthropy University this week. A free online classroom for social entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, and in general, do gooders.

Solink Introduces Fraud Prevention As a Service

Solink launched fraud prevention as a service as part of its new end-to-end, cloud-based security solution.

SIA Teams up With NCS4

The Security Industry Association (SIA) and the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) recently signed a memorandum of understanding to foster collaboration in addressing the unique security challenges facing stadiums, ballparks, arenas and similar facilities through the use of security technologies.

Your Edward Snowden News Roundup

The NSA whistleblower is still making headlines, ranging from new analysis of leaked documents, a proposed global treaty to resist surveillance, a new graphic novel by Ted Rall, a Kickstarter for a Snowden-inspired game, a series of interviews, and more.

Trump's Plan Inverts Traditional Tax Planning Makes Carried Interest Moot

The Donald Trump tax plan is out. Big picture it seems like people who don't pay much now will pay nothing and everybody will pay a lot less, but it is revenue neutral. I'll save the scoring part for the people who do that sort of thing. I'll be very surprised if it turns out to revenue neutral. Here are the high points
1. If you are single and earn less than $25,000, or married and jointly earn less than $50,000, you will not owe any income tax. That removes nearly 75 million households – over 50% – from the income tax rolls. They get a new one page form to send the IRS saying, “I win,” those who would otherwise owe income taxes will save an average of nearly $1,000 each.

QNAP Partners With Solink to Deliver Video-Based Fraud Prevention

QNAP and Solink are partnering to enable QNAP devices to record and store video through Solink’s central data management platform. This partnership combines QNAP’s storage devices with Solink’s cloud-based video discovery to deliver fraud prevention as a service for retailers and financial institutions.

Volkswagen's Biggest Long Term Problem--Loss Of Competitive Advantage

For years, Volkswagen (OTC:VLKAY) enjoyed a reputation for high performance vehicles -- efficiency, acceleration, and handling. That was a great selling point for the company brand, especially in the green-sensitive US market, and it helped the company become the world's second largest automobile company (in vehicle sales), behind Toyota. The recent emissions scandal revealed that there was a little dirty secret behind this performance. A software which helped the company circumvent emission rules, rather than undergo the necessary engine modifications which would have added to production costs, and possibly compromise performance. Now, Volkswagen has to play by the rules. And its advantage may be compromised. Modifications to the vehicles will add to production costs, and perhaps undermine vehicle performance. Compounding the problem, Volkswagen already lags behind other auto companies in key economic metrics, and most notably its closest competitor, Toyota. See table.

Toss the Token and Let the PC Authenticate You

There are various ways to achieve secure network authentication with perhaps the best known being two-factor authentication – something you have (a physical card) and something you know (a PIN). That works well with ATMs, but what happens when you sit down at your laptop or desktop? Smart cards and tokens have been the typical solutions and, given that the US government requires that smart cards be an option for secure authentication, many PCs have smart card readers built in. But what happens when you lose or forget your smart card or token?

STANLEY Unveils Business Intelligence Solution Designed to Optimize Businesses

STANLEY Security, a global manufacturer and integrator of comprehensive security solutions for a wide range of industries, unveiled its new STANLEY Insights Professional Services and Analytics Solutions software, a solution and consultancy program that correlates data streams, analyzes trends and measures business activities and operations.

Mark Zuckerberg Versus The President Of The United States Of America

Mark Zuckerberg is more aware of his power than you are.

Biometric Security...Maybe Not

A lot of people are very excited about the idea of biometric information—physical information about a person such as your fingerprint, voice, retina, or image—as a better form of security or at least as a nice substitute for passwords. I thought I liked this idea as well. However, for the very first time (at least to my knowledge), the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) system breach has leaked a great deal of other very sensitive and personal information including 5.6 millions fingerprints which are now in the "ether". We've all seen movies that included a clever way to get someone's fingerprints, and I never thought much about it. Now a huge number of these biometric signatures are in the dark side of society. (I have no idea about the risk to which these folks have been exposed or what they can do for remediation, but I doubt they’re very happy right now.)

Grow Your Business And Disregard The Naysayers

I developed my model in the context of growing a small business but it’s clearly applicable for big companies, too. But not everyone is convinced and naysayers persist. They may be managers who fear the loss of their power, staffers who fear additional responsibility, or investors who simply don’t see how employee empowerment can be profitable.

Superpowers Show Their Cards with Military Units for Outer Space

There are a number of ways to gauge contemporary trends in the militarization of space. One way is to look at how countries develop and test dual-use space technologies, which gets a lot of policy attention. But another important thing to keep an eye on is how militaries organize institutional infrastructures to affect space-based outcomes in their favor.

Immigration Trends And The Future of Entrepreneurship

A Pew Center report tied to the 50th anniversary of the landmark 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which literally changed the face of immigrants to the United States, projects that if immigration trends continue as they are, by 2065, the U.S. will have 78 million immigrants.

Using Captive Insurance Companies To Address Cyber Security Risks

Cyber security due to a multitude of data breaches is a major concern of companies and one that is going to become increasingly significant. Corporate data from customer information to intellectual property can all be stolen to the extreme detriment of a company.

Formula One British Grand Prix In Doubt Next Year Says Ecclestone

Formula One’s chief executive Bernie Ecclestone says next year’s British Grand Prix is in doubt after the boss of Silverstone, the track which hosts the auto race, revealed that a 2013 property deal caused so much financial damage “that it is almost impossible to trade your way out of it.”

Blackphone 2 Review: A Slick But Very Expensive Prophylactic For Your Android Security Woes

A slick and smart security-focused phone, the Blackphone 2 has a hefty price tag that will put off the average consumer.

Juggling Human Rights And Business Priorities - Striking A Balance Between People, Planet And Profit

Caroline Rees is President of the non-profit organization Shift - the leading center of expertise on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Shift works with companies, governments, international and civil society organizations to put the Guiding Principles into practice. Caroline was a lead advisor to Professor John Ruggie, author of the Guiding Principles, during his UN mandate. From 2009 to 2011 she directed the Governance and Accountability Program at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative. Caroline previously spent 14 years as a British diplomat, latterly representing the UK in the UN Human Rights Council, where she chaired its first negotiations on business and human rights.

After Black Monday: Is China Still An Online Opportunity For Western Brands?

Long lines were forming this month in cities around China, just several weeks after China’s stock market freefall began. But the people in those lines were neither ragged nor hoping for a handout of rice. Many of them wore T-shirts emblazoned with English slogans or Western-branded polo shirts. They were queuing up to be the first to buy the new Apple iPhone and Apple TV.

The 15 Most Expensive Tax Breaks

The 15 Most Expensive Tax Breaks

Dagne Dover's Fast-Success Founders Detail Real Digital Victory

The three founders of a fast-growing online retail brand have shared some immensely sensible tips for success.

The Top 7 Social Media Marketing Trends That Will Dominate 2016

The world of social media changes quickly, with dozens of new platforms arriving each year and most existing companies scrambling to stay ahead of the game with new features and innovations. If history and some recently emerging trends are any indication, 2016 will be a host for a variety of new trends and changes in the social scene. Here are seven landmark social media marketing trends I predict we’ll see in 2016.

#SmallBizHowTo: Authentic Branding On A Budget

Branding is one of the most important and at the same time can be one of the most confounding areas for business owners of all sizes. Last week, Forbes asked small business owners to tweet their questions about branding using the hashtag #SmallBizHowTo.

McCarthy House Speakership May Mean Lights Out For Export-Import Bank

The people who most regret John Boehner’s resignation as speaker of the House might be the employees of the Export-Import Bank.

Many Americans Are Secretly Hoping The Tech Bubble Bursts

A lot of people are uneasy with the growing wealth and power of Silicon Valley and they are hoping the bubble bursts.

London Leads Europe In The Sharing Economy Stakes

London has emerged as one of the world's leading hubs for “sharing economy” companies. According to a survey published last week by parking space provider JustPark, around one in twelve of the world's 865 sharing economy businesses is now based in the UK capital. Considerably fewer than in San Francisco or

How A Simple Innovation Led To Greatness

Beau Coffron wasn’t trained as an artist. He didn’t study at the Culinary Institute in Paris. He didn’t even set out to build a business. Yet he’s currently running one of the hottest parenting/food sites on the web, attracting major brand sponsors from around the world and serving up creative ideas to hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic visitors.

Monday's Must-Reads For Entrepreneurs: Marketing To Millennials

Today's news and insights for business owners, including a small-business owner who learned the hard way that growth can be a curse.

A Tax Case For Business Owner Philanthropy

In the same year that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, Adam Smith famously made the case for business owner self-interest. He wrote:

How The MBTI Can Help You Build A Stronger Company

Business owners know their organization’s biggest line item expense—and most valuable asset—is its people. Even if you have a sophisticated system in place for recruitment and hiring, making sure your team (or teams) are aligned and that you’ve got the right people in the right positions is critically important for growing your business. This is where the MBTI comes in.

Dustin Moskovitz's Productivity Startup Asana Snags A Key Google Executive To Run Sales

Facebook billionaire Dustin Moskovitz has tapped Chris Farinacci, marketing chief of Google for Work and Google for Education, to run sales and marketing at his productivity startup Asana ahead of major product announcements on Wednesday.

A Conversation With Artist Michael Birawer

You know the story — a budding artist spends months meticulously crafting a painting, and sells it to a friend for $350. Like legions of artists, this is how Michael Birawer got his start. Unlike many of his contemporaries, however, Birawer has since sold over $100,000 worth of reproductions of that same piece.

Bevel Creator Walker & Co Raises $24 Million, Inks Deal To Sell Razors In Target

Bevel razor maker Walker & Co has raised $24 million ahead of a big 2016 including a major new retail deal and a new brand planned. Here's what CEO Tristan Walker has in the works.

Why Startups Will Have a Massive Impact on the 2016 Elections

Our bodies rocked toward the back of the bus as it pulled out of Washington D.C. headed for Manchester, New Hampshire.

A Successful VC And Founder Says Intuition Is Everything

Successful Spanish VC and founder Iñaki Arrola says intuition is everything.

These VCs Bet $100 Million On Ideas With A Liberal Arts Twist

Most venture capitalists like to back people with deep software engineering backgrounds. At Xfund, Patrick Chung prefers founders with a liberal arts twist.

5 Up-and-Coming Social Media Platforms You Need to Join Right Now

By now, you’re probably sick of social media. In fact, you’re sick of people telling you what social media platforms you need to join. You’re already on fifteen! What more sources of clutter, confusion, and distraction do you need?

When Variation In Customer Experience Is A Good Thing

Can you imagine a bank whose customer service agents create rapport with customers, so much so that they will learn intimate information about the customer and act on it? For example a customer service agent might talk with the customer about literature and then send them an actual book in the mail. This is not strange for ATB Financial, formerly known as Alberta Treasury Brand Financial—this bank is not your average contact center. Benchmarking itself with companies like Starbucks and Apple, ATB Financial decided to do something different when it comes to the freedom they give their contact center agents. This week's Modern Customer Podcast guest is ATB Financial’s Dwayne Calder, director, customer care and operations. Leveraging call recording to replace “hand written customer signatures” with verbal consent, the company reduced customer effort and elevated the customer experience. With a focus on supporting its customer experience process design, ATB Financial employs speech analytics to translate voice of the customer data into actionable improvements by using customer conversations and frontline team members to identify root cause of customer challenges. ATB Financial is a unique bank with a compelling customer engagement story. Tune into this week's Modern Customer Podcast to hear more.

Jacob Laukaitis Of Chameleon John: SEO And Email Are The Best Acquisition Channels Online

How I’m Informed is a look into the reading and learning habits of people from all walks of life.

Discover Cutting-Edge Business Lessons Without Reading

It’s easy to struggle to find time to gain insight by reading books or publications. What if you could discover cutting-edge business lessons without reading?

How Big Data Flows Will Change Business Lending

As we become immersed in the new world of big data, analytics, and data supply chains, business relationships — especially new forms of relationships based on flows of data between lenders and borrowers — are going to change dramatically. A new breed of lender, not just traditional banks, will have more information about the businesses they’re lending to than ever before; likewise, businesses will have extensive details about lending practices. There will be more transparency on both sides. But as anyone who’s ever been married knows, more honesty does not always equate to more happiness. It is crucial for both businesses and lenders to start preparing for the changes now in order to facilitate satisfying relationships in the future.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Don't Silence Your Team - Nurture Your Employees To Become Thought Leaders

Thought leadership isn’t just about writing articles or speaking at conferences — it’s the fundamental act of communicating ideas, whether that’s to an audience of one or 1 million. The truth is that every person on your team is a thought leader.

Why Globalization Matters So Much For Wall Street

For years, Wall Street has been cheerful about FOMC meetings. Major equity indexes have rallied towards new highs, as traders and investors got what they expected: an accommodative FOMC statement.

Valuation Time: Is Your Team Worth More Than Your Offering?

One of the most difficult things for entrepreneurs to do is scale a business. It takes one kind of vision and capital to identify a market need and create an offering. It takes another kind of planning, discipline and consistency to scale a team on top of that vision. If you have the gift of being able to scale the size of an organization quickly and consistently, you possess the asset entrepreneurs need most besides capital. And you can take that talent to the bank or the closing table.

How Running A Startup Taught Me More Than School Ever Could

There's no reason why you can't work on a startup and stay in school. Why drop out when you can do both?

Beyonce Knowles

Beyonce Knowles

Unexpected Musical Collaborations Made The Global Citizen Festival A Social Media Powerhouse

Yesterday, 60,000 people gathered on the lawn in Central Park for the annual Global Citizen Festival, one of the biggest music events in New York City. Headlined by Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and Pearl Jam, the show also brought out movie stars, politicians, and the CEOs of multi-billion dollar companies all to hype up the crowd and educate them on the organization, its goals, and how everybody can be a part of making this world a better place.

Small Global Investments Bring Big Returns For Larry Braitman

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk to Larry Braitman of Braitman & co. In this interview, we discuss investing in start-up companies, and how a small investment can bring significant returns.

3 Israeli Startups That Didn't Need Funds To Skyrocket

Starting your own business is risky to say the least--especially in the world of startups.

10 Tips For Better Business Writing

10 Tips For Better Business Writing

Use These Periscope Tips To Create PR And Win Business

This entrepreneur used Periscope to increase his user community by 1,000 viewers in 4 weeks and has used the platform to find and close sales.

The Essential Qualities Of Highly Successful People And How To Develop Them

I tend to believe being successful requires the development of some core attributes, which then facilitate the attainment of success.

How Entrepreneurs Like Richard Branson Make Tough Business Calls

Decision time: put emotions to one side and focus and focus on the interests of the business

All That Glitters Is Not Gold

Between 2008 and 2011, with the U.S. in the throes of recession, gold prices doubled. Today, gold pricing is down considerably, as the U.S. economy strengthens. Why is this important? Well, like any other type of investment, we need to look at the past to understand where we are presently. So, is gold a good investment?

Volkswagen And The Failure Of Corporate Social Responsibility

The Volkswagen case represents above all an absolute failure in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The company deliberately set out to design a means to circumvent emissions control—a stratagem known at the highest levels—with the aim of giving the company an unfair advantage over its competitors that made it the world’s number one car maker, in large part on the basis of its supposedly environmentally friendly cars; meanwhile it was poisoning the planet.

Adelson Tops Asian Gaming 50; Newcomers Arrive From Beyond Macau

Newcomers to Inside Asian Gaming’s 2015 Top 50 illustrate casino action moving beyond Macau.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Digital Transformation: Sometimes | Maybe | Absolutely

Everyone wants to transform their businesses, and everyone who’s alive knows that transformation now depends on digital technology. Everywhere I go I hear about “amazing,” “fabulous,” “terrific” and “incredible” transformation projects underway, projects that will “disrupt” and “revolutionize” companies. When I ask transformation teams about specific projects, however, I often get blank stares. Sometimes it feels like transformation projects are ordered (like burgers) by outsiders, like financial analysts who cover public company stocks, and not insiders who are often threatened by change.

Residual Value Insurance Scores Big Win In U.S. Tax Court

"Is it live, or is it Memorex?", the commercial used to say in the days of cassette tapes and reel-to-reel recorders, long before digital recording entered our lexicon. We here consider an Opinion from the U.S. Tax Court where a taxpayer has taken the position that a certain type of insurance it sells is insurance for tax purposes (the real deal), but the Service contends that it is not really insurance but more in the way of a financial hedging contract.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Bold Technologies Users Conference Facilitates Connections and Opportunities

Bold Technologies, a provider of central station and PSIM software, held its Bold Users Conference last month at the historic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park.

Apple Loop: iPhone 6S Plus Reviews, Hidden Secrets Of iOS 9, Embarrassing Bugs Stop iPhone Updates

This week’s Apple Loop includes Forbes' review of the iPhone 6S, a round-up of other iPhone 6S and 6S Plus reviews, thoughts on the 'incremental' aspect of the 'S' updates, the hidden features of iOS 9, the speed of the iOS 9 rollout, issues with the iOS 9 update, the update of Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac, details on WatchOS 2's release, and the story behind Apple's San Francisco font.

This Week In Credit Card News: Thieves Test Cards On Charity Sites; Why Your Chip Card Is Safer

What's the Chip in Your New Credit Card Do?

America's Growth Sport Is Not The NFL It's Video Games And Implications Abound

I can imagine a creative judge in a juvenile court hearing punishing a high school student athlete. Say the student drilled a referee in the back in retaliation for bad calls. There could be banishment from the school plus mandatory community service. I can imagine a community service provision: "You must watch something boring for endless hours with sleep-deprivation as part of the plan." I can also imagine that watching other people play a sports videogame online would be sufficiently boring and excruciatingly painful.

Ashley Madison Settlement Reached, Public Apology To Victims

FORBES received notification this morning on Twitter that the Ashley Madison case pending in Arizona had settled in part. A letter was posted on the home page one of the defendants' websites entitled, Apology To Victims Of The Ashley Madison Data Breach.

Four Rules For Living And For Business

A quarter century ago a list called “Rules For Being Human” really caught on.

New Report Of Malicious Chinese Cyber Attack On A U.S. Government Agency

A new report Wednesday, from Palo Alto Networks, discloses previously unreported Chinese cyber attack on a U.S. government agency. The attack report comes amidst tense U.S.-China discussions over cyber security.

What True Digital Disruption Looks Like

These days, unfortunately, "disruption" has become the most overused word in business, with many companies implying that the latest tweaks to their products are "disruptive." Sorry, a new smartphone feature does not qualify as a disruption.

Staying Sexy Between the Holidays: How Tesco, Glade And Birchbox Lift Sales Off-Season

We may be at the cusp of a holiday onslaught, but retailers should be preparing now for what some consider one of the bleakest sales periods of the the year: January to March.

Governments Still Don't Know Which Policies Help Entrepreneurs

Philip Salter catches up with its Director Professor Henry Overman to find out more about what works in innovation policy.

New Math For High Growth Companies Requires Angel Syndication

If you’re an angel investor and aren’t yet well-versed in syndication, now is the time to take notice. The changing math required to fund promising companies explains why: the median deal size for angel groups in 2014 was $800,000 (according to the Halo Report) and the average angel group invested $250,000 (per the Angel Capital Association). Finding ways to plug this $550,000 funding gap explains why a new Halo Report also reported that about 70 percent of angel group deals in the last five quarters were syndicated between multiple angel groups and other investors such as individual angels, venture capitalists, family offices and private equity. These facts represent a shift in angel investing. Syndication is the solution funding high growth companies.

Friday's Must-Reads For Entrepreneurs: The Problem With Venture Capital

Today's news and insights for business owners, including retailers selling Pope-themed food.

U.S Treasury Announce Major Rule Changes To Support Global Entrepreneurs And Impact Investment

President Obama, along with 182 heads of state, will sign the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) today at the United Nations General Assembly. But earlier this week, the Obama Administration’s Treasury Department announced two major regulatory changes that could unlock significant amounts of capital, innovation and entrepreneurial energy for development worldwide.

The One Surprising Quality 'Shark Tank' Star Robert Herjavec Says All Entrepreneurs Must Master

Don't tell Robert Herjavec he has a business empire.

Gold Rush: Why It Pays To Be The Small Business Behind A Big Name

For the tech industry, it’s becoming quite clear that we’re in some very unusual times. Valuations are sky-high, venture capital is flowing, and exits are occurring at a high rate. Because of this, many entrepreneurs are being seduced by the siren song of software and the promise of riches.

A Startup Where Workers Are Employees

Not all startups rely on independent contractors.

Echoing Green's 2014 Climate Fellows

Echoing Green's 2014 Climate Fellows

September Consumer Confidence Down, Impulsivity And Spending Forecast Sideways

September economic indicators show that U.S. consumers’ confidence has been shaken a bit, likely due to the stock market correction and continued volatility on Wall Street. Key markers such as confidence, happiness, and the Prosper Spending Forecast are all off from highs recorded earlier this year, indicating that the coming quarter will continue to be bumpy. Prosper Consumer Confidence: Consumer confidence is down two points to 44.9% for September—a new low for the calendar year. While this month’s reading tracks a few points ahead of the 13 month low (Oct-14 = 41.0%), it resides below the 13 month average (47.2%). Current sentiment is on par with September 2014.ABOUT: Consumer confidence is based on respondents who indicated that they are either confident or very confident in the chances of a strong economy during the next six months. Prosper Consumer Spending Forecast: At 81.5, the September Consumer Spending Forecast is sideways from last month (-1.0%) and last year (+1.0%). Similar to confidence, the Consumer Spending Forecast is off from earlier this year. ABOUT: The Prosper Consumer Spending Forecast is an advanced predictive analytic derived from two established databases (the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Survey and Prosper's Monthly Consumer Survey) and represents consumers' intended spending levels over the next 90 days in 20 retail categories. The consumer intentions data for the 20 categories is weighted by age and gender to reflect the U.S. population and then weighted to reflect the actual percentage of total retail expenditures for each of the categories. Prosper Happiness Score: At 107.8,The Happiness Score is up slightly from last month (106.3). The score, however, is still below the high for this year of 109.6, which was reported in June. ABOUT: The Prosper Happiness Score provides the current happiness level of U.S. Consumers. Prosper has found that happiness highly correlates with consumer spending decisions, knowing that happier people buy houses and cars and are more likely to open their wallets. Find out how happy your customers and potential customers are and narrow down the focus of your marketing strategy. Prosper Auto Outlook: The outlook for September is down 18% from August and up 14% from September of 2014, suggesting that September auto sales will be down from last month, but up from last year. Ford, Honda and Chevrolet are the top three brands being considered by people planning to buy a vehicle in the next six months. ABOUT: The Prosper Auto Sales Outlook provides marketers with directional insight into lightweight vehicle sales both month-over-month and year-over-year. Prosper applies their proprietary algorithm to commerce data sets on lightweight vehicle sales and Prosper’s unique purchase intentions data to derive the Auto Outlook. Prosper Impulsivity Score: At 2.80, the Prosper Impulsivity Score is relatively flat month-over-month (vs. 2.86 in August 2015). With a Consumer Spending Forecast rating of 88.8, impulsive consumers continue to be more likely to be planning to spend more over the next 90 days. However, this is down approximately two percentage points from last month (90.6), indicating that they remain somewhat cautious. ABOUT: The Prosper Impulsivity Score is an indicator of how much, or how little, consumers are living in the moment when it comes to their spending habits. Highly correlated with many key government data series, the Impulsivity Score is a key indicator of how consumers will be spending. To view these and additional insights, please visit: www.ForbesExecutiveInsightCenter.com. (Registration is required for complimentary access.)

Payments Smelling Of Marijuana, And Other Facts of Life At Higher Standard Packaging

Entrepreneurs supplying the cannabis industry face unique challenges and opportunities

8 Of America's Richest Families Who Fought Over Their Billions

8 Of America's Richest Families Who Fought Over Their Billions

Four Insider Secrets To Running A Successful Family Business

A family business is often a double-edged sword. At best, it can be an invaluable opportunity to build something great. At worst, it can be a source of conflict over succession plans.

Professionals Who Are Networking Must Differentiate Between 'Possible' And 'Probable'

Most professionals – wealth managers, attorneys, financial advisors, accountants, bankers, insurance agents – in focusing their new business efforts on centers of influence get all excited over “possibilities.” Unfortunately, most of this excitement is the product of fantasy. Let’s look at a few typical scenarios: A wealth manager has a very good first meeting with an accountant followed by another good one and a third. He’s feeling pretty excited about the possibility of getting some high-quality introductions. While the wealth manager might end up with a referral or two, the number of high-caliber clients he gets through the contact will likely fail to meet his expectations. An accountant has mapped out her network of “friends” and the very wealthy individuals whom they know. In her mind, all she has to do is approach her friends to get the appropriate introductions. While the connections are solid, she will unlikely be able to motivate her friends to connect her with many, if any, affluent prospects. A commercial banker, an attorney, and an investment manager have agreed to share their high-net-worth clients with each other. Each thinks this is going to solve all his prospecting difficulties. Each is most likely wrong.

Partnerships And What They Mean for Your Business

Why partnerships may or may not matter and how you can make the most of a new business partnership.

Why Companies Should Treat Their Physical Space Just Like Software

There is a popularized concept of using the lean approach when designing software. In this process you bring customers in to test and iterate as you go along. Incremental changes are done instead of dumping all your eggs into one expensive basket. Basically, you make several small changes instead of just designing one thing and showing it to people.

Pragmatic Advice For Would-Be Health Entrepreneurs From The Medicine X Conference

Many visionary healthcare entrepreneurs believe that the challenge incumbent institutions like UCSF (and the Mayo Clinic, and Partners Healthcare) face is whether they are prepared to disrupt themselves; many seasoned physicians and veteran healthcare executives pragmatically wonder when – or whether -- their organizations will actually need to.

BlackBerry Embraces Android As Smartphone Sales Slide

The Priv smartphone comes out later this year, but BlackBerry is under greater pressure than ever to turnaround declining sales and profits.

The Top Five Fintech Marketplaces

The two-sided marketplace has created some of the fastest-growing startups of the last twenty years. Pioneers like eBay, Airbnb and Uber were all created to connect an underutilized supply with an unmet demand for a product or service using a technology platform. Historically, marketplaces are slow to hit critical mass but take off more steeply and reach milestones more quickly than traditional companies. Why? Marketplaces have unlimited scale and aren’t burdened by the same constraints of conventional transactional businesses like inventory supply and balance sheet. Marketplaces also naturally foster community and create network effects, which make them remarkably viable and defensible.

Rum Startup And Enrique Iglesias Aim To Make Miami Startup Scene Go Viral Using Social Media

There might not be a more appropriate way to spend a weekend in Miami Beach than with a cocktail in your hand. Those of the rum persuasion, particularly in the form of a Mojito, pair well with a Cuban sandwich, a beach chair or even the tropical backdrop at The Broken Shaker. It’s very clichéd, I know. But, can you think of another way to celebrate a weekend in South Florida? I can’t.

Crossing The CPG Packaging Minefield

How to make sure packaging design achieves the desired outcome, and dovetails with the objectives of brand strategy.

If You Want VC Money For Your Startup, Get Your Degree At Schools In the Right Places

The city where you go to college or get your MBA may impact whether you can raise start-up cash.

Are Video Ads Coming To Google Search Results?

Google may be testing video ads in search results. What would this mean for the online marketing industry?

'Bitcoin For Rock Stars' A Year Later: An Update From D.A. Wallach On Blockchain And the Arts Part 1

D.A. Wallach wrote an article nearly a year ago entitled, "Bitcoin for Rockstars: How Cryptocurrency Can Revolutionize The Music Industry." George Howard checks back with D.A., and discusses the current and future state of the music business as it relates to cryptocurrency.

Is It Time To Go Bargain Hunting In Volkswagen Stock?

Volkswagen’s (OTC:VLKAY) stock has proved to be a toxic holding -- for investors who purchased the stock recently, before the scandal broke, that is. But with the stock down 40% in the last month, isn’t time for contrarian investors to jump in? It’s too early in my opinion, as the financial fallout from the scandal it is unknown.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Meet Maven: The Telehealth Pioneer For Women

Meet Maven, changing the way women deal with healthcare.

Salesforce Suggests What Should Top Our Customer Service To-Do Lists

In advertising there’s always a lot of discussion about the “coveted demographic” and this label refers to people who are 18 to 49 years old.

What's Next In Marketing: A Snapshot From Cannes Lions

A big part of running a digital marketing agency requires staying on top of trends, and luckily my job as Founder and CEO of The Marketing Zen Group allows me plenty of opportunities to do so. At the end of the day, clients don’t just expect that, they absolutely need that to stay competitive in their respective industries.

This Brand Is Underwater And Loving It

Usually when the word "underwater" is used it more often than not refers to something that's not so good; in fact it pretty much means bad news all around.

Forbes 30 Under 30: Nominate The Media's Brightest Young Standouts

Help us find the 2016 class of Under 30s in media!

Eric Schmidt-Backed Startup Taykey Expands To Find The Perfect Audience For More Than Just Ads

After raising millions from Eric Schmidt months ago, Israeli-American startup Taykey has launched a product to help brands track their ideal audiences in real-time for more than just ads but product strategy, too.

Social Entrepreneurship Has To Be More Entrepreneurship Than Social To Succeed

Social entrepreneurship is not about singing kumbaya around a campfire, as many who venture into this arena think. It?s not about walking with a halo around your head since you want to do ?good? and will show the world how to succeed without the ?crass? attitude of successful entrepreneurs and companies. In fact, social entrepreneurship is more difficult than any other form of entrepreneurship.

Get Schooled On Training for Your Analytics Career

If you’re transitioning your career to analytics, you’ll find this blog useful for assessing which training option is right for you

Don't Be Fooled -- Services Should Be Subject To Sales Tax

We know the story very well. Most services aren't subject to sales tax in most states. From a tax policy perspective, that's no good. The sales tax should fall on all final consumption -- preferably at a very low rate. So everything we buy should be subject to tax.

4 Things Successful Entrepreneurs Do Before Breakfast

How do the extraordinary successful people rise to the top, achieve great things, and accomplish so much?

Entrepreneurial Addiction Is A Real Problem: Here Are The 6 Warning Signs

Similar to the way some people become addicted to gambling, it's possible to develop an addiction to being an entrepreneur.

'Friend And Foe': Balancing Competition And Cooperation

The following post was published on the Knowledge@Wharton website on September 11, 2015. We often look at our relationships in terms of extremes: someone is either a friend or a foe. But Friend and Foe, a new book by Wharton professorMaurice Schweitzer and Columbia Business School professor Adam Galinsky, suggests that most relationships are a lot more complex: They include both cooperation and competition. Knowledge@Wharton recently spoke with Schweitzer and Galinksy about why people are most successful when we are able to navigate the tension between the two. An edited transcript of the conversation follows. Knowledge@Wharton: Maurice and Adam, you write that a key insight of the book is that both at work and at home, we’re competing and cooperating all of the time — often at the same time. You also point out that we often miss the mark by focusing the discussion on whether it’s better to do one or the other. Why is that? Maurice Schweitzer: It starts with the idea that we love to categorize things in our world. It really helps us navigate our way through our social experience. From a very young age, we categorize that there are girls and there are boys, . That extends to thinking about people as either our friends or our foes…. Galinsky: As academics, we also do that natural categorization when we construct our theories. We miss the mark oftentimes because it’s really easy to come up with a theory that says, “We are born to compete.” It’s also very easy to come up with the alternative theory, “We have an innate instinct for empathy.” Even as academics we’re trying to simplify the world to try to understand it, and it’s easy to take that one lens. Now to keep both those lenses and describe this idea — there’s a tension between them and a balance between them — it makes the world a little bit more complex, although obviously more realistic. This idea that we’re competing and cooperating all of the time exists for every relationship.  Twitter In fact, it even exists for co-authors, right? Schweitzer: Yes, it’s true for us — even going back and forth taking turns writing and revising. We talked about whose name is going to go first on the book, and we decided to go with the convention of alphabetical order, even though we both contributed equally. Galinsky: Another coin toss. You know, there’s really no difference. But even that creates some tension. How are we going to decide who gets to be first, who gets to be second? Being first is still a little bit better, so fortunately, I was born with a slightly earlier name in the alphabet. You see that cooperation-and-competition tension existing even as we write the book. Knowledge@Wharton: You identify three forces that influence how we shift from friend to foe, and those are scarcity, sociability and dynamic instability. Can you describe each one of those and talk a little bit about how they interact with each other? Galinsky: Let me give you one of the examples we use in the book…. Water is an incredibly scarce, important resource on the plains of Africa. When water is abundant, Grévy’s zebras form a particular form of social organization — these strong collectives, lots of interacting with each other in stable units around the water source. But when water becomes scarce, then they quickly dissipate from the collective, and they form small bonds with each other, which often are temporary bonds, too. You can see how the scarce resource, which is dynamically changing over time, produces different types of social relationships. Schweitzer: That’s true even people. We find, for example, siblings often compete for a scarce resource, which is parental attention…. Siblings can be incredibly collaborative — the best of friends — but we also think about sibling rivalry. They can be incredible adversaries, often competing for some of these scarce resources. This can change quickly, dynamically as the family structure changes or even at the very beginning — breastfeeding, for example, is one way infants delay the arrival of a new sibling. By breastfeeding longer, women are less likely to get pregnant, and that preserves their attention for as long as they possibly can. Galinsky: Let’s say a parent gets a new job that is more demanding of their attention. The family structure hasn’t changed, but now the cooperation might become a little bit more competitive as they compete for that scarce resource. One thing that connects Maurice and me is that I’m a twin and his wife has a twin. even in the womb, you’re competing for scarce resources. I was born much smaller than my sibling, and there was a weight difference with Maurice’s wife and her twin sister. As another example, think about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving starts as the most cooperative day of the entire year. We come together as family and friends. We have an abundance of resources — all of this food — and then we switch, sometimes within an hour of the end of Thanksgiving dinner, into one of the most competitive moments of the year — Black Friday. What is scarce? These incredible deals: two TVs for $30. What do people do? They literally trample each other to death to try to get one of these TVs. Whether it’s a good deal, whether it’s parental attention, whether it’s water, changes quickly over time and fundamentally alters social relationships. Knowledge@Wharton: You also have a lot of leadership examples in the book. How can we take the daily struggles that a leader of a country goes through, which I don’t think a lot of us could really even imagine, and apply them to our lives? Galinsky: Just take a Presidential debate…. The question is, do I want to break out on my own or do I want to be in step with other people? In one study that I did with some of my colleagues, we analyzed every transcript of every televised debate, and we looked at something really simple: Did mimic or was their verbal structure similar to the person who asked them the question or the person who they were responding to, , their opponent? You might think if I really use a different sort of verbal structure, I’m going to show I’m a leader; I’m going to be different. But if I use a similar verbal structure it shows I’m in tune with you — it makes it more smooth and it makes easier for you to process what I say. We showed that people who did more verbal mimicry actually got a higher boost in the polls after the debates. Now this occurs in every walk of life. For example, studies show that if waitresses mimic the behavior and words of their customers, they get higher tips. If you like leaning back and if I lean back a little bit in my chair and we’re negotiating, I’d get a better deal. If you like leaning forward and I lean forward a little bit toward you, I get a better deal. This mimicry occurs at the presidential level, in restaurants, in negotiations at work — all over the place. Knowledge@Wharton: You have also drawn from a really wide and deep body of research for this book. You looked at economics, you looked at neuroscience and you looked at animal science. Was there a particular area where you had some particularly surprising findings? Schweitzer: Both Adam and I ended up being captivated by some of the animal studies…. cuckoo birds’ reproductive strategies are actually incredibly competitive. What they do is they hijack a cooperative system. Cuckoo birds will go into other birds like warbler’s nests. They’ll throw out an egg or two off of the warbler’s and quickly lay their own egg and then leave. The warbler comes back, sees the eggs and takes care of these eggs. When the birds hatch, even though the cuckoo bird might look quite different from the others, they are hardwired to feed every open beak inside their nest. The cuckoo bird has effectively hijacked a very cooperative system in this competitive way…. Knowledge@Wharton: There are examples in the book that seem to contradict a lot of commonly held thinking. Two that really stood out were, first, that teams may actually be better off when they have less talent, and another one is that it’s actually better to be interviewed last for a job whereas we might all think that it’s better to be first. Why is what we think is true not actually the case? Galinsky: With the talent example, we call this the Too-Much-Talent Effect. The idea is that when we have a lot of talented people in a group, one of the problems that can occur is it can create what’s called status conflicts. For example, who is really the best person? Who is going to be the alpha person? Who is going to take control? Who is going to dominate? Now sometimes that’s not really a problem at all. Let’s take a sport like baseball. In baseball, more talent is always better. If we get a bunch of people who can get home runs, you’re always going to win more games. If you have a bunch of people who can pitch really well, you’re always going to win. In baseball, I don’t need to coordinate my behavior very much with anyone else…. Now let’s take another sport like basketball. It turns out in basketball, you see this Too-Much-Talent Effect. You really see this phenomenon where at a certain point, talent is helpful, but then it goes down and it actually hurts you. In basketball, we have to coordinate our behavior incredibly well. When I am shooting, that means you’re not shooting, so therefore, who gets the ball is a scarce resource. In addition, it’s much easier to score if I get the ball in a position close to the basket or there’s not a defender. That means it requires a lot of coordination — like rebounding and defense…. What we found is when teams get above a certain level of talent, they don’t coordinate very effectively, they don’t have a lot of assists, they have more turnovers and their winning percentage actually goes down. A good example recently was when the Los Angeles Lakers had Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. Their coach said, “I don’t even like watching us play.” No one likes watching an all-star game. All-star games are just people jacking up shots…. The key variable — and this is what really matters — is how much do you and I really have to coordinate? If we have to work together as a team, you can have too much talent, and sometimes you do. You’re better off getting a little bit less talent — less is more. If we don’t have to coordinate at all and we’re just independent people whose talents contribute directly to performance, more talent is always better. basketball and baseball, you can really see how one variable — interdependency and the need for coordination — determines whether more talent is always better.… Schweitzer: Related to these structural ideas, you can think about these order effects that you mentioned before, and in many cases, it’s better to go last, particularly when … we’re choosing among a lot of different candidates. If you look at, for example, at American Idol, if you look at ratings of the Olympics, going last is a huge benefit, particularly when the judgments are subjective, where one of the things we’re doing as judges is we’re holding out. We leave room in our first judgments because we want to see if somebody better might come along. By the time we’ve gotten to the end, we no longer need to keep that buffer. Second, there’s a recency effect. That is, our memories are remarkable, but they are limited and we forget things over time. Our memories are sharpest for the most recent thing. So there are at least two benefits that the last person receives, and you see this play out in a lot of different competitions where it’s often best to go last. Galinsky: I got really interested in this topic when I was in grad school. I got an interview at the University of Chicago — a great job — and they wanted me to be the first one to come in. In the back of my mind, I a little apprehensive, but I asked a lot of my professors, and , “Oh, we always want our best candidate to come first.” I went and was the first one who interviewed, and I didn’t get the job…. I realized in my entire five years at Princeton, we had had five job searches, and the last person had gotten hired every time. When I was at Kellogg and I got interviewed there, I was the last person to be interviewed, and I got the job. So you can see how this effect really takes place. Knowledge@Wharton: Speaking of job interviews, there was also a story in the book about a colleague who used a really interesting exercise right before her interview that actually helped her ace it and this was in your chapter about power. So just tell us a little bit about that. Galinsky: Many years ago I was trying to understand how to study power…. We came up with this manipulation to study it…. We said, “Think about a time when you had power and really recall that experience.” What we found is that if I told Maurice to think about the time he had power, it has the same effect as if I actually made him the boss. One of my former students, Gillian Ku who is now a tenured professor at London Business School, went for an interview. Her first interview was at Harvard, and it didn’t go very well…. She was knocked off her game, and she walked out of there feeling pretty demoralized. When she goes to do an interview at London Business School, she’s trying to regain that sense of confidence…. She said, “You know what I’m going to do? I’m actually going to do Adam’s experimental manipulation, just see if it would actually get the same effects.” She wrote about a time when she had power — literally, physically wrote it out — to really get into it. Then she was in complete control of the situation, knocking the questions back, answering things. She got the job, and she’s still there to this day…. You can really see how just by taking this reflection and thinking about a time when you had power has this transformative effect. Schweitzer: There are a lot of great examples but Adam has run hundreds of studies … where this experimental manipulation brings back and creates this psychological sense of power and it’s been incredibly widely adopted. Knowledge@Wharton: The book stresses that we are both cooperating and competing constantly and simultaneously, but I’m wondering if some people are better at one than the other. If I’m really good at confidence but maybe I don’t always know how to defer or to whom to defer, how can I use the knowledge about which one I’m better at to help me check myself in these situations? Schweitzer: Some people tend to be cooperators, some people tend to be competitors, and some of us are sort of in the middle, harder to classify. There’s a social value orientation scale that can help us classify people. There are definitely individual differences, and there are things about a context that can push us one way or another. That is, there are cues in our environment that can easily push us one way or another. Galinsky: You asked really a great question: How do we recognize the fact that there always is this tension where we’re cooperating and competing and that we have to find a balance between these forces? I think about the interview context as a really great one. How do we do well when we’re going for a job interview? We want to express confidence, but we also don’t want to express arrogance. The key balance there is to express confidence as a way to compete well, but also to express some humility as a way to show cooperation. One of the things that Maurice and I really think is valuable about this book is that it allows people to ask themselves the question, “Am I finding the right balance? Am I being exploited because I’m cooperating too much? Am I losing opportunities to make connections because I’m competing too much?” Just by asking ourselves that question periodically — maybe once a month — it gives us a sense of power. It allows us to correct course: “Maybe I need to be a little bit more cooperative to get back more in balance, or maybe I need to toughen up a little bit to get back more into the competitive mode.” What we hope this book does is allow people to recognize that we’re always cooperating, we’re always competing, and to recognize that tension and also to ask ourselves if we’re finding the right balance. Schweitzer: A lot of us tell our students to keep a journal for negotiations, and I tell my students after the course ends, “Keep this journal. As you go through life, jot down some things about your negotiation — what you expected, what surprised you and how things ended.” I tell them to look for one thing in particular: If you look back at 10 negotiations, and you find that you’re satisfied with your outcome every single time, you’re probably not setting your goals high enough. If you look back across an arc of negotiations, and you find that you’ve ruptured relationships nine out of 10 times, you’re probably being too competitive. Here we can think about looking for data to help us bring ourselves back into balance. Knowledge@Wharton: I would think the book has a lot to offer to a manager who is really thinking a lot more deeply about team dynamics and how to deal with them and how to structure things to get the best out of each person. Galinsky: One of the things that is really valuable for managers is this idea of perspective taking. My research shows that people in power aren’t very good perspective takers. …. When have power, we tend to be worse perspective takers. However to be a great manager, to be a great leader, we have to be really good perspective takers…. Schweitzer: We talked about social comparisons before. We compare ourselves with other people, and as a manager, we might think, “Well, OK. Let’s try to make everything equal or let me try to gain trust by creating better transparency.” Gravity Payments made payment information transparent…. They brought everybody up to equal salaries — a disaster. I would say, a rather predictable disaster. We crave comparisons. We want to know how we’re doing compared to the people around us. That’s how we figure things out in our social world. The salary information is a really key piece of information, and there’s a good reason why we don’t talk about salaries as freely as we might. Because it’s going to make some people feel absolutely terrible, and when you start moving people’s salaries around, people are going to find inequity. It’s easy for us to justify why I should be paid more or somebody else should be paid less, and it’s an easy source for us to become completely miserable. Galinsky: In this case, it’s really interesting. was motivated by an incredibly well-meaning intention which is, “Some of my employees … are getting paid $35,000. They just can’t pay rent. What if I just move them up to $70,000? Everything’s going to be great. They are going to be able to pay.” Now how do the people who were getting paid $70,000 feel now? They before were getting paid twice as much, and it made them feel like, “I’m twice as valuable.” Maybe they had more valuable jobs, maybe they work a little bit harder. Now they’re like, “It means nothing.” Then … you actually lose some of your best workers because they don’t feel they’re being rewarded for their value. You can see how this fluctuation changes dramatically. By understanding social comparisons we can motivate people sometimes, but we can also undermine them incredibly well without our intention. Knowledge@Wharton: As a final question, when you’re entering into a relationship with someone, are there certain questions that you can ask to assess the dynamic? Galinsky: The question that you’re going to want to ask at the beginning of a relationship — also in the middle — is how do I find the right balance between these forces? “How do I recognize what are the competitive forces and what are the cooperative opportunities,” is one way to think about it?… Schweitzer: This idea of getting off on the right foot is exactly right because when you think about this balance and I think often it’s, you know, starting cooperatively but also, you know, recognizing that tension. In many relationships, we often come to a place where we’ve violated somebody’s expectations. So we can think about how to rebuild our relationship. We talk about an example from Doctors Hospital in Florida where there was a tragic medical error. There was a very young child whose breathing tube had been disconnected during a scan, and because of that error, suffered severe brain damage. After this tragedy, the hospital staff took actions to repair that relationship. They were very candid, they were quick. They apologized immediately, and they took actions to change things at the hospital. They ended up bringing this family in to become advocates for the hospital, and the parents talked about how these changes were dramatic, how they were committed to making sure this never happened again. They ended up transforming what would be an adversary into an ally. Now there are a couple of interesting things about this. First, there are specific steps that they followed to transform this relationship but second, these steps had been instituted at a policy level from the head administration. That is, they instituted steps to transform these relationships and they were informed by research. The steps they followed had a very predictable outcome. There’s a predictability to how we can transform our relationships to really transform foes into friends and find our balance. Galinsky: What Maurice said really captures the essence of the book, whether it’s the beginning of a relationship, or whether it’s in the middle of a relationship. Again, ask yourself a couple of questions. One is, have I found the right balance between cooperation and competition? What do they need? Getting back to perspective but also, what do I need? We’re most successful when our needs are being met and your needs are being met simultaneously. Are there areas where I could be exploited? But are there opportunities to make a connection and cooperation? If we periodically ask ourselves those questions — sometimes at the beginning of the relationship, sometimes it’s after a violation has occurred, sometimes it’s just maybe we think the relationship is not humming along as well as it could — it gives us those opportunities. Whether we’re a parent thinking about a child or a spouse thinking about a partner, whether a friend thinking about a friend, whether a colleague thinking about another colleague, a boss thinking about an employee and vice-versa — asking ourselves these questions are just going to give us so much more control — so much more balance and they’re going to make us so much more successful in life.

Data Collaboratives: Sharing Public Data in Private Hands for Social Good

n.b. The title of this piece is hard to pick because the subject of this article is not well known. It refers to those data held by businesses and corporations, which can be responsibly shared for public good.

Higher Education: Hero Or Villain Of Economic Growth?

There appears to be a strong inverse correlation between student loan debt and the entrepreneurial activities required for economic growth.

Ledge Picks Up Where Lending Club Left Off

After several months in a sort of ?soft launch? state, Los Angeles-based peer-to-peer lending startup Ledge officially opened for business on Thursday. The social lending service is tightly woven into PayPal?s VenMo platform, and strives to be the simplest way for individuals to temporarily lend money to one another. The key

What's Cooler Than A Billion-Dollar Startup? A Real Exit: The Case Against "Going Long"

Venture investors often tell founders to "go long," but is that right?

A Short Manifesto On Leading, Fast And Slow

By David Slocum

Leaders: If You Do Your Job Well, People Won't Be Sure You've Done Anything At All

Of all the common misconceptions about leadership, one of the most pernicious is the idea that it takes a strong and aggressive personality to guide a team. The truth is that if leaders do their job well, people won't be sure that they've done anything at all.

The Top Paying STEM Jobs For Recent Grads

The Top Paying STEM Jobs For Recent Grads

VR Industry Honors Its Best With Awards Ceremony in Hollywood

On Tuesday night several hundred Virtual Reality industry artists, producers, programmers and content creators gathered to celebrate their colleagues’ accomplishments at the Virtual Reality Foundation’s 2nd Annual Proto Awards at the Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles.

Is Mobile Advertising Dead?

When Apple unveiled its iOS 9 beta at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), it didn’t announce a hidden feature that could change the fortunes of mobile advertisers. Based on existing content blockers in Safari for OS X, Safari’s content blockers for iOS 9 could usher in a new age of ad blocking for mobile devices.

Anti-virus Software Could Make You Less Secure Because Vendors Are Ignoring Security Best Practices

A Google hacker found some vulnerabilities in Kapersky Lab's anti-virus software which could put users at greater risk of targeted attacks.

The Secret To Calling Your Boss Out On A Mistake Like It's No Big Deal

Here's how to tell your boss that she's made a mistake.

Crypto is the only line between public and private

This is the most destabilizing time in history. Blog 1 in a series of 3.

'Safe Harbour' Declared Invalid In Europe: Tech Giants' Data-Sharing Under Threat

Tech companies such as Facebook and Amazon could be forced to set up separate European databases, following an opinion issued by the European Court of Justice.

Credit Rating Agencies: Old School meets Out of the Box

Sometimes it takes an outsider to spot the need. In other words, the ideas that fuel a positive disruption often come from relative bystanders. And the circuitous path that has led to step wise improvements in the way suppliers can now be evaluated from a risk perspective is a perfect example.

Google Hacker Digs Up More Kaspersky Zero Days, Demands Better From Anti-Virus Industry

Google researcher uncovers flaws in Kaspersky's anti-virus products, which the Russian firm duly patches. But he's sitting on more and plans to continue to expose the AV industry as insecure.

The Definitive Guide To Marketing Your Business On YouTube

If you?ve considered marketing your business on YouTube but haven?t been sure where to start, this guide is for you.

9 Creative Ways To Find Books That Will Make You A Genius

At $20 give or take, a book may be one of the best investments in the world. But all books are not created equal, and finding that gem is not easy. To find unique approaches, I interviewed top entrepreneurs who love reading...

Silicon Valley's Hottest Startup Incubator Takes On This Indian Venture

Just one year ago, Indian e-coupon aggregator LafaLafa.com was barely a blip in the mind of, well, anyone. It?s been quite the year though ? testament to the booming tech environment in India, they?re one of the privileged few to be on their way to be accelerated by one of Silicon Valley?s hottest startup incubators.

Hikvision Supports Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Fundraiser

On September 19, Hikvision USA employees and their families participated in the Light the Night Walk at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., an event that raised more than $500,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to fund life-saving therapies and treatments.

The Next Globally Cool Tech Tool From Taiwan, And It's About Babies

With smartphone maker HTC hitting a new off-button every month or two because of market share losses, this blog asked experts what’s the next new, globally cool thing to come from its home Taiwan. High-tech makes up about one fifth of Taiwan’s annual GDP. HTC had been that cool thing with its robustly designed, own-brand Android handsets.

Apple's First Fixes to iOS 9 Land w/ iOS 9.0.1 Release

Release comes remarkably early as Apple tries a new strategy to buck the bug blues

How Great Stories Will Beat Ad Blocking

For marketers, it’s the best of times and the worst of times. On the one hand, the world has never been more complex and their audience more fragmented. On the other, there has never been more resources for creative storytelling. This unique tension is animating the evolution of the entire industry.

How Harry's Is Taking On The Big Boys Of Shaving

The hassle of buying expensive razor blades, kept under lock and key at a pharmacy, led Andy Katz-Mayfield to rethink how grooming products could be sold. With co-CEO and Warby Parker co-founder, Jeffrey Raider, Katz-Mayfield, 33, launched Harry’s in 2013, a company offering in-house designed shave gear at lower prices than its much larger competitors . Harry’s sells direct to consumers and has already booked 1 million customers. The company, which has so far raised almost $290 million in growth capital and debt, is one of a couple of new industry players providing an option beyond that offered by established giants like Schick and Gillette.

Cultural Exchange: One Woman's Business Solution For Global Peace

Many companies today in traditionally non-technological industries are, in fact, technology companies, with digital platforms acting as the center and foundation of all the work they do. Where central markets, runways, accountants and health clinics used to be considered business drivers, technology now rules.

Essentials To Know When Searching For A Star Website Developer

A company’s website is increasingly becoming the first point of contact a customer has with a brand. A phenomenal website can drive increased leads and sales, whereas a subpar website could do the opposite. Great websites are built by great developers. Software development skills are very much in demand in a variety of industries, and this can further complicate your search for a developer. To maximize your recruitment efforts for a talented website developer, consider following these four guidelines:

Hip-Hop And Silicon Valley: A Q&A With Divine, Part II

In the second installment of a three-part Q&A, Will Hayes and hip-hop artist Divine discuss the parallels and divergences between hip-hop and Silicon Valley.

3 Must-Learn Lessons From Recent HR Fiascos

When it comes to riding a bike, playing cards, and grilling the perfect steak, we’re all about learning by doing. We’ve written a lot about the importance of getting in the thick of the action and seeing for yourself. Trying something out, getting a feel for it, and then tweaking the process to make it just right is a valuable skill in life and in business. It’s one of the hallmark behaviors that leads to great work, and we are all about it…well, most of the time.

Pope Francis: On The Media's 'A' List

Hearing the helicopters hover over my upper east side neighborhood in anticipation of the arrival tomorrow in NYC of Pope Francis, it's hard not to be taken with the command and control this one individual, and his PR consiglieres, have exerted over how he will be publicly perceived. Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Vladimir Putin: eat your hearts out! None of you holds a candle to the media clout that this (or any) Pontiff has.

Music Heals: MedRhythms Uses Music to Treat Traumatic Brain Injury

While most of the chatter today about music revolves around its viability or lack thereof as a business model. Music, of course, is has purpose far beyond monetization. MedRhythms, for instance, uses neurologic music therapy to treat those with neurologic injury or disease.

Startup Gives Mobile Marketing That Old College Try

Eighty-seven percent of millennials always have their smartphone at their side, day and night. Nearly two-thirds of Americans own a smartphone and 19% of Americans rely on a smartphone for accessing online services and for staying connected. Forty-six percent of smartphone owners say their smartphone is something "they couldn't live without."

The Ad Blocking Controversy, Explained

If ad blocking doesn’t promote a more open and dynamic Internet – if it makes the Internet smaller, erects toll booths and pay walls, or transforms it from a democratic system to an oligarchy of information and content – then it isn’t fulfilling a public good.

4 Overlooked Ways To Minimize The Risk Of Starting A Company

It’s never a sure thing when you start your own business but proper planning can improve the odds.

The Local SEO Challenge For Small Businesses

As an owner of a digital marketing agency, we talk with hundreds of small businesses every month that are looking to improve their search engine rankings. And one of the most common issues we encounter is a history of sub-par and even damaging SEO work having been done to their sites.

DraftKings Advertising Blitz Succeeds In Raising Awareness

The world of fantasy sports has over 50 million active players in North America with 30 million playing fantasy football. Although the NFL prohibits gambling, it actively promotes the fantasy football leagues that keep fans obsessively engaged and drive up ratings.

9 Reasons Small Businesses Shouldn't Use A Personal Email Account To Do Their Email Marketing

By Ryan Pinkham

Tips From the Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction: How To Build A Successful Bid

Here's a look at what it takes to build a successful auction lot, from the distinct and complementary perspectives of a businessman and a digital marketing specialist.

Micro-Loans Make Sense For Many Small Businesses

My small business career began as a teenager sweeping the warehouse floor and driving the delivery truck in my father’s supply business. For the first several years, it was just the two of us—but we were growing. After we’d been in business for five or six years and had added an employee or two, he decided it was time to buy a warehouse instead of lease the building we were in. The $60,000 or so he borrowed felt like a small fortune to him, but by today’s standards, most traditional lenders would consider that too small a loan to really bother with.

In Business, Transparency Trumps Ideology

Pope Francis, who is visiting the United States for the first time this week, is one of the most popular pontiffs in recent memory. We think a large measure of his appeal lies in his ability to transcend conventional liberal-conservative divisions. Some of his views appeal to reformers, others to traditionalists. The Pope seems to be interested in what both camps have to offer and then he says what he thinks, which often doesn’t fit neatly within party lines.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

The Hidden Source Of Energy At Work

Businesses are investing in ever-more exotic ways to increase employee wellbeing and stave off burnout – from free gym memberships and massages to onsite juice bars, healthy eating seminars and even sleep pods in the office. It’s no coincidence that as the pace of work gets more frenetic, outside of work we seek more ways to replenish our vital energy levels; whether it’s in tech-free weekends or evening yoga courses. But there is one incredibly important and as-yet untapped source of energy that business leaders should focus their attention on. Better yet, it won’t cost a thing. The elusive energy source? Managers. Energy, like emotion, is contagious. There are people who exude energy, making others feel more alive and enthused simply by interacting with them, and then there are the energy drainers who deplete energy reserves. Naturally, we gravitate towards the energy boosters. And recent research shows that bosses who energize reap the rewards in terms of employee engagement and performance .

Breaking Bad: How to Crash Google's Chrome Browser With Just 8 Characters

It's not just the 'a' one that's been floating around

Key To Success: Beauty Box Company Birchbox Says It's Not Just About The Box

The beauty box company Birchbox is turning five.

How To Land A Job Interview: 10 Tips For Millennials

How To Land A Job Interview: 10 Tips For Millennials

Four Secrets To Success For Millennials

You have as much right to succeed as anybody else

RealFuel Is A Natural Alternative To Traditional Energy Gels

University of Virginia Darden MBA graduate Summers Nelson is an endurance athlete and entrepreneur, which may make her the perfect person to start a company called RealFuel. With the help of UVA's i.Lab Incubator, Nelson is working to give endurance athletes like herself a healthy and all-natural alternative to those less-than-appetizing

Exceptional Leaders Create An Awareness Of Greatness In The Workplace

Everyone can be great at something; everyone is on a path to becoming great, and leaders facilitate, encourage and empower that greatness,

If Your Website Were An Employee Would You Fire It?

In today’s marketplace, even long-established businesses need to have a website in order to be competitive. As with any marketing materials your company produces, the quality of your business is judged by the presentation of your work. In his book If Your Website Was An Employee Would You Fire It?, Marketing Guru Alan Berg encourages business owners to think of their website as more than another piece of collateral. “Your website is arguably the center of your marketing and sales universe these days, and therefore your most important ‘employee,’” he notes. “If you were to give it an employee evaluation, how would it do? Would you give it a raise, retrain it, or show it the door? For most of us retraining would be the right answer. If it’s not doing a great job it could be our own fault for not giving it the information it needs.”

How to Become a Successful Young Leader at Work

How to Become a Successful Young Leader at Work

7 Warning Signs That Your Social Media Campaign Is Failing

The "health" of a social media campaign is not an objective or easy thing to measure. There's no one score that can tell you whether or not your efforts are breeding success. Because of these and other subjective discrepancies, it can be hard to tell if your campaign is actually struggling. Fortunately, these seven warning signs can clue you in.

Tyco Security Products Introduces New Integrations and Solutions at ASIS 2015

Tyco Security Products, part of Tyco, the world’s largest pure-play fire protection and security company, is returning to the ASIS International Annual Seminar and Exhibits, Sept 28-Oct 1, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif., at booth 1701 to introduce some exciting new integrations and solutions.

Forbes Shuts Down Ads Serving Malware

Forbes.com caught up in attack on ad network, which led to malware being served from the site via four old stories.

10 Insights To Ensure Repeatable Business Success

Entrepreneurs who experience success with their first startup are often amazed to realize that the risks and fears of doing it right the second time go up, rather than down. Encores are tough, especially in the high-risk world of startups, yet every entrepreneur I know can’t wait to start over and do it again. Sometimes their haste or ego causes them to ignore basics, and they fall hard.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Being Number One In Trademarks Owned Didn't Save Scott Walker; Donald Trump Is Number Two

There are at least five new trademark applications filed for “Trump” since April alone, using Trump in some political way.

Hackers Infiltrated Apple's App Store; Here's What You Need To Know

Apple confirmed on Sunday that hackers infected nearly 40 apps sold in the App store with malware, potentially affecting hundreds of millions of users. This is a big deal.

Apple Watch Commands 2 in 3 Smart Watch Sales, WatchOS 2 Sweetens the Pitch

Expanding availability portends bullish holiday sales of Apple's wearable

Was Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson An Inspirational Leader Or Just A Brilliant Manager?

Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in May 2013, the former Manchester United manager has issued his autobiography and spent time as a fellow to the executive education programme at Harvard Business School.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Two Scenarios As Taiwan Panics To Restart Major Economic Engine

Older people in the United States think of Taiwan as a place that makes toys for the world. Younger ones associate made-in-Taiwan with their electronic devices, including Apple products designed in Silicon Valley. Either way, the west Pacific island with factories along its much of its west coast has depended on exports for decades. But export orders were down from 5% or more each month from May to July compared to the same months of 2014, an unusual rout. Demand from No. 1 market China is waning with its economic growth. Made-in-China, even designed-in-China, has coincidentally taken over much of what Taiwan can ship to anywhere in the world. In the United States, the No. 2 Taiwan export market, consumers show signs of cooling their purchases of simple tech hardware.

The Biggest Changes In iOS 9

The Biggest Changes In iOS 9

Boomer Exec To Bootstrapped Entrepreneur: There's No Age Limit On Starting Up

Robert Gray, 73, never intended to go into business for himself. His story is, in fact, corporate-conventional.

Hackers Sneak Malware Into Apple App Store 'To Steal iCloud Passwords'

A nasty strain of iOS malware has made its way onto the Apple App Store via China's Baidu. At first thought to be contained to China, the threat affects many more iPhone users, says Palo Alto Networks, which claims WeChat and Didi Kuaidi apps were infected, with many in the US likely to be affected.

Oil, Gas Producers' Margins Sputter To 2%

Gas prices are at their lowest levels since the recession, helping to pad the pockets of American consumers. Meanwhile, however, oil and gas producers have seen their profit margins take a dive in the 12 months ended Aug. 31, according to data from Sageworks, a financial information company.

Look Who's Turning Used Soap Bars Into Life Savers

Erin Zaikis saw kids smack their foreheads with a bar of soap, having no clue what soap is used for. That was her lightbulb moment.

EndoChoice: Guts, Glory And A $100M IPO

There was a time when going public was all the rage. It still is for serial entrepreneurs who expect to hit major scale and want a lower cost of capital to continue feeding that scale. For some people an IPO isn’t in the cards but for Atlanta-based EndoChoice, a GI medical technology company, it was in the plan before they did their first seed round. Here’s a look at the major milestones they passed from seed to IPO and the logic behind their ascent from a napkin in 2008 to $61Million in revenue in 2015 with ready capital to keep going.

Syriza Wins Greek Elections, What's Next?

With close to 50% of the votes counted, Syriza received 35.6% of the electorate vote, maintaining a solid 7.4% lead over the New Democracy, which conceded defeat.

From Artist To Social Entrepreneur: Becoming A Global Good Fund Fellow

In January 2013, I was recovering from a year of extreme highs and lows. The highs included: securing the first investor for my fashion brand, designing and executing a sample collection out of India with extensive hand-beading, being named “Fashion’s Next” or “One to Watch” by ESSENCE, Marie Claire and Uptown Magazines and celebrities like Elle Varner and Solange Knowles wearing my collection on the red carpet and in their music videos. The lows included: getting laid off from my day job in the exclusive hospitality sector, and being turned down for two consecutive seasons by the major department stores who viewed my collection. I didn’t realize building a fashion brand would be so hard.

Bursting Of The Tech Bubble? It's A Good Thing

With over 170,000 people at Dreamforce this week, it was not easy for a company to get attention. But as for SalesLoft, it had a novel marketing campaign -- that is, to use toy guns to shoot $2 bills on the Streets of San Francisco!

8 Game-Changing Ideas That Could Revolutionize Their Industries

It’s an exciting time to live and work because every day, it seems like some new cool product or service launches. Eight companies in particular are developing game-changing ideas about how consumers and businesses alike view their industries and how competitors will keep up.

What A Trip To Silicon Valley Taught A Cancer Doctor About Running A Non-Profit Hospital

Stuart G. Marcus, 54, is a longtime cancer doctor specializing in gastrointestinal surgery. In January 2014 he became CEO of St. Vincent’s Health Services, a hospital company in Bridgeport, Ct., with $500 million in revenues. Marcus joined 473-bed St. Vincent’s Medical Center in 2006 as oncology department chairmanand became president of St. Vincent’s in 2012. As a result of state cuts in Medicaid reimbursements, he had to lay off 50 people and leave another 50 jobs unfilled.

The Companies With The Biggest Jumps In Employee Happiness

The Companies With The Biggest Jumps In Employee Happiness

What's The Secret To Long-Lasting Morale? Celebrating Your Team's Successes, Big Or Small

When it comes to motivating your team, some things are more important than just money. You have to celebrate your victories, big and small, in order to make sure people are happy, productive, and fulfilled.

The Ten Most Promising Jobs Of 2015

The Ten Most Promising Jobs Of 2015

What's The Best Way To Address Bad PR?

Thankfully, you have more power to manage the outcome of negative PR than you think. But to do so effectively will require that you put some strategic steps into play.

Best Practices For Customer Support: Consulting The Head Of Adobe Customer Service

The landscape of customer support, customer care and customer service has changed nearly overnight. Customers now expect a nearly real-time response to any concern they express via social media or on a user forums. And customer support now often depends on crowdsourced answers as much as it does on professional full-time company support.

Is Entrepreneurship In Your DNA?

We’ve been having the “born or made” debate for decades in entrepreneurship circles, but it’s high time to move on. Too many people believe that a subjective selection of personality traits or innate core competencies are the most important building blocks of an entrepreneur.

Why Encouraging Your Customers To Complain Will Improve Your Customer Experience

Here's three reasons and benefits for encouraging your customers to tell your their complaints and how it can help firms improve their customer experience.

Four Ways To Value Your Startup

Valuing a startup is never an easy or clean process, but it’s necessary for determining almost every aspect of funding. Unlike common economics, reaching a pre-money valuation requires more than just simple math, but it’s not as easy as simply conjuring a high number. For one thing, your valuation still needs to be believable.

Tips For Staying Sane During A Turnaround

Bob Geis was destroying stress relief balls one-after-another because of the demands of being the leader. “Until I got some real knowledge about a different way to manage and to figure things out, I was making it more difficult for myself and for everyone else.”

Five Higher Quality Prospect Steps To Get More Sales

It was once the norm for a salesperson to interrupt a decision-maker’s day with a reasonable expectation of success. Indeed, for 10,000 years before the telephone, what we now refer to as “cold calling” was how customers purchased most things, and the only way a salesperson could make a living.

The Definitive Guide To Marketing Your Business On LinkedIn

No other social network comes close to LinkedIn for professional networking and lead generation. However, while many professionals use the platform to make new connections, LinkedIn is much more than just an online rolodex.

The Current State Of Programmatic Advertising

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), revenue from programmatic advertising in the was over $10 billion in 2014 in the U.S. alone, and is expected to increase this year.

Entrepreneurs Are The Current And Future Solution For Sustainable Global Economic Development

When drawing up plans to help stimulate the economic development of new and emerging economies, the United Nations previously looked to multinational operations that could open new plants and offices in specific countries. However, with the ongoing changes in the business environment, the realization is that these large corporations are no longer the source for job creation and have recently been focused on lean operations and downsizing staff.

Driving Supply Chain Excellence: Understanding Improvement and Performance

Supply chain excellence is easier to say than to measure. For a supply chain leader having a clear definition is the starting point to drive improvement. Without clarity it is very difficult to define an effective operating strategy. To help supply chain leaders fill this gap, over the course of the past two years we have studied industry progress on supply chain excellence by analyzing corporate balance sheet and income statement information for the period of 2006-2014. In this work, we analyzed patterns of performance and improvement for individual companies, for industries, and for value networks. Why Are We Doing This Study? Supply chain process evolution is relatively new: about 30-years old. The supply chain is a complex system. There is a nonlinear relationships between metrics. When we plot the year-over-year progress of companies at the intersection of metrics, very few companies have made improvement at the intersection of critical metrics like operating margin and inventory turn. Nine out of ten companies are stuck. For most companies, the journey is a gnarly and tangled pattern. The rhythms and cycles of each industry define the possible band of performance in the critical supply chain metrics of growth, operating margin, inventory turns, and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC). A supply chain leader’s goal is to improve the potential of the supply chain within the possible range for a specific industry. It is a balancing act. Supply chain teams must balance growth objectives, define asset strategies while managing costs and inventories. In our research, we define this as the Effective Frontier. (It is deliberately NOT termed the efficient frontier as most companies are hard-wired to think about efficiency as the lowest cost per unit. The efficient supply chain is usually not the most effective because it cannot balance the portfolio of metrics that maximize market capitalization.) Figure 1: The Effective Frontier of the Supply Chain Metrics That Matter

The Road Best Traveled: A Machine Learning Approach To Running

PJ Harris, Bart Gonzalez and Alan Wei met a roadblock on the way to the i.Lab incubator at UVA. Why? Because their initial pitches were rejected. But happily, they soon shifted direction, and now they're off and running with a new startup called RouteMine. PJ and Bart sat down to discuss it with WTJU's Emily Richardson-Lorente.

3 Things You Should Do To Be Highly Successful In Business

Edward Jones is one of the country's largest investment firms, and lands repeatedly on Fortune Magazine’s top places to work in America. There is no dispute that this company understands the keys to achievement. Edward Jones is run as a partnership, as in the people who work at Edward Jones, own Edward Jones. Earlier this year, David Otto, retiring Partner at Edward Jones, left his former colleagues an amazing gift. He left them his advice for success in business in the form of a letter to them. The effectiveness of this advice is evidenced by the success of his career at Edward Jones. Through this letter and advice, Otto left his colleagues tips to better think like him because he understands the necessity of effective thinking. In fact, one of the pieces of his advice was to study how high achievers think.

Tinder Founder Sean Rad, Soccer Champ Alex Morgan, Stripe Founder John Collison Join Under 30 Summit

Tinder founder Sean Rad, soccer champ Alex Morgan, and Stripe founder John Collison join Under 30 Summit.

The Candidates' Brands: What Are 'Consumers' Thinking So Far?

This article is by Kellogg School of Management Clinical Professor Julie Hennessy.

Keeping Score - Ratings Tool For UK Crowdfund Investors Launched

When equity crowdfunding pioneer Crowdcube opened for business in the UK back in 2011, much was said about the platform's ability to mobilize an army of “armchair dragon” - individuals with an interest in business who would be prepared to invest perhaps £10, £50 or £200 to support a favored

Mission 500 Hosts Softball Game to Help Children in Need

More than 30 security industry companies, including SDM, came together to sponsor a softball game held by Mission 500, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the needs of children and communities in crisis.

iOS Crushes Android, Apple Update Over One Hundred Times Faster

Apple's latest OS version took three days from public release to reach one-in-five handsets. Android took three hundred and eleven days. Apple's speed in deploying iOS 9 once more dwarfs Android.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Vincent Bruno to Become CEDIA CEO

CEDIA announced that Vincent Bruno, longtime industry veteran, will join CEDIA as CEO next month.

iOS Crushes Android, Apple Update Is Over One Hundred Times Faster

Apple's latest OS version took three days from public release to reach one-in-five handsets. Android took three hundred and eleven days. Apple's speed in deploying a new version of iOS once more dwarfs Android.

A Big Strategic Mistake First Time Entrepreneurs Make

There is a big strategic mistake first time entrepreneurs make—and, no it isn’t the choice of the right partners. Partners become important once the right business idea has been identified and the question becomes who will execute what task to turn that idea into a product and begin testing the market. The

Ghost in the Machine: Apple, Developers Unwittingly Aid App Store Malware

Tens, if not hundreds of thousands of non-jailbroken devices are believed infected after a Trojan compiler malware struck in China

Friday, September 18, 2015

Apple's Bouncers Let Dangerous Malware Sneak Into App Store Via WeChat And China's Uber Rival

A nasty strain of iOS malware has made its way onto the Apple App Store via China's Baidu. At first thought to be contained to China, the threat affects many more iPhone users, says Palo Alto Networks, which claims WeChat and Didi Kuaidi apps were infected, with many in the US likely to be affected.

Honeywell Combines Security Group and Fire Safety

Honeywell is combining the Honeywell Security Group (HSG) and Honeywell Fire Safety (HFS) businesses to form the new Honeywell Security and Fire (HSF) business unit within Honeywell Automation & Control Solutions (ACS).

China-based Cyber Attacks On US Military Are 'Advanced, Persistent And Ongoing': Report

China based Iron Tiger hacking group is a highly-active, continuous advanced persistent threat that continues to attack the U.S.

Another Strategic Mistake Foreign Institutional Investors Make About Greece

Foreign institutional investors supposed to be smart. They usually control a great deal of money and have plenty of experts on staff to make sure that they don’t commit any major strategic mistake when they invest in a foreign market. But history shows otherwise, at least when it comes to Greece. Back

Thursday, September 17, 2015

What We Can Learn About African Leadership From Burkina Faso

The Dark Continent is one of the last investment frontiers - rich in natural resources and human potential. Success depends on Pan-African unity, says a front-runner in the Burkina Faso presidential race.

2015's Most Valuable Organization: The Changemaker Company

In 2014, I argued that the social intrapreneur was a company’s most valuable employee. Social intrapreneurs embodied the spirit of “doing good, doing well” and demonstrated a unique ability to serve corporate bottom lines in a way that simultaneously produced positive impact for society. So how has the “most valuable employee” fared in 2015? It has not been easy. An intrapreneur’s success still depends heavily on a corporate ecosystem that nurtures new ideas, enables connections with external networks of co-creators, and allows for all employees to understand, recognize and engage in social innovation.

Colorado Now Reaping More Tax Revenue From Pot Than From Alcohol

Colorado has raised more tax revenue from marijuana than from alcohol.

The Startup High There! Aims To Be A Tinder For Tokers

The Denver-based startup High There! is both a social network and dating app for pot users. The company says it's aiming to be a Tinder for tokers.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Smart Home Security Powered by Alarm.com Enters New International Market

Alarm.com and Pronet announced a partnership today that brings advanced smart home solutions to the Turkish market. Pronet Plus, powered by Alarm.com’s cloud-based security and home automation platform, offers security, video, energy management and home automation services, and is available throughout Turkey.

5 Common Types of Unauthorized Access and How to Combat Them

Before you evaluate or purchase an access control system, it is critical to have a good understanding of what you need such a system to do.

See The IRS's Incredibly Generous Tax Benefits For Hiring Your Own Child

How would you like to help your children develop a sense of responsibility and strong work ethic, while simultaneously letting them earn some money and save for college, all tax-free?

The Real Duty Of The Board Of Directors

Contrary to popular belief, however, a board’s real duty is to the interests of the corporation itself.

The Case For Raising The Credit Union Lending Cap

Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have introduced the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act into the U.S. Senate. The legislation would increase the credit union member business-lending (MBL) cap for credit unions from 12.25% of assets to 27.5%.

Can Applied Economics Save Homeless Puppies?

Startup Wagaroo aims to find homes for dogs using economic market design principles.

World Tourism Organization To Study Sharing Economy Against Rising Complaints

The United Nations tourism arm, the World Tourism Organization, is jumping into the debate about the sharing economy as Airbnb, Uber and the like increase their impact on travel. In Barcelona, two-thirds of travel offers are now from sharing economy services.

How To Turn a Pesky Problem Into A Billion Dollar Business

Eek! It’s a business opportunity crawling up my leg!

Litigating FATCA: Rand Paul And Financial Privacy

It’s not every day that a U.S. senator, let alone a presidential candidate, sues the government to suspend the enforcement of a federal tax law. Yet that is exactly what Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is doing. He is one of seven plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

Hyperloop Technologies Scales Up Its Testing

Hyperloop Technologies Scales Up Its Testing

Hyperloop Technologies Gets A New CEO In Former Cisco Executive Rob Lloyd

Hyperloop Technologies, a startup aiming to commercialize Elon Musk's vision of 700mph pods hurtling people and goods all over the world through steel tubes, announced today that it’s naming former Cisco top executive Rob Lloyd as its new CEO effectively immediately. Lloyd was considered a front-runner to replace longtime Cisco CEO John Chambers, but lost out in the end to Chuck Robbins, himself a 17-year Cisco veteran. Hyperloop also today named former Snapchat COO Emily White to its board of directors.

Protecting Your Company From Being Uber-ized

Disruption is certainly a common theme in capitalization, which goes back for several centuries. Hey, just look at the horse-and-buggy business, right?

Study: Feelings of Pride Influence How Much Willpower You Have

Does pride fuel your self-discipline or deplete your willpower? Researchers reveal the surprising answer.

How Storytelling And Data Can Lead To Business Growth

Many business owners see storytelling and data as polar opposites. One seems “fuzzy,” emotional, and imprecise; the other seems hard, clear, and exact. However, when it comes to business growth, storytelling and data are two sides of the same coin. They both lead to business success.

24 Israeli Companies You Should Watch For

With the Jewish new year here, it seems fitting to look at companies from Israel, a country that is well-known for it’s innovative tech startups, that are showing the most innovation and promise.

10 Easy Tips To Make Your Resolution Stick

10 Easy Tips To Make Your Resolution Stick

Why Your Startup Should Make Its New Year's Resolution Today

Today I am starting my New Years resolution and you should too. I write about how I have struggled with procrastination in my business and personal life and why that stops today and how an "accounting of the soul" mentality can help in business as well.

Do-It-Yourself Securitizations Of Marketplace Loans With Startup Ldger

What if institutional investors could create their own securitizations of loans from marketplace lenders? That sounds sort of like space-age finance, but a new startup, called Ldger, is using Ripple technology to do just that. It’s currently in beta version, and signing up hedge funds that hold these loans. It will be presenting its do-it-yourself securitization platform at Finovate, the fintech conference in New York, on Thursday.