I just read the interesting story about Edward Snowden in Wired, and I can’t quite figure out what I think of the man. He seems neither the patriot that James Bamford (not surprising, given his background) portrays him to be, nor the traitor that some argue. The story certainly nourishes the increasing concern that the U.S. spies on its own citizens and national allies. And there is little doubt after reading it that a disgruntled employee (or contractor) can walk out an intelligence agency’s door with a "pocket full of thumb drives." (The Wall Street Journal)
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More new businesses are better for society, right? That’s a common assumption. For instance, take this recent Washington Post piece, headlined, "More businesses are closing than starting. Can Congress help turn that around?" Sounds ominous at first. But wait a minute – is starting more new businesses always a good thing? Isn’t it a basic economic tenet that well-functioning markets will have many entrances and exits, that weak businesses (including thousands of one-person enterprises) will get recycled quickly (fast failure) and that over time, vigorous, well-regulated markets will support strong and growing companies, which in turn provide dignified jobs and prosperity? (Harvard Business Review)
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LinkedIn enjoys one big advantage against competitors Facebook and Twitter: It's the social network people can use at work. By positioning it as a service for professional development, LinkedIn has embedded itself into offices worldwide. And in the process, found a holy grail of corporate data: The social hierarchy of people inside an organization... even if the people themselves don’t know it. (Fast Company)
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Since March 2014, over 3,000 people have died from the relentless spread of the Ebola virus throughout the West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria. Despite the heroic efforts of the humanitarian and medical professionals in these countries, crumbling public health systems – which were notoriously weak even before the current outbreak began. (Business Insider)
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A young woman I know did everything right in high school, got into a good private college, and landed a position in corporate marketing for a major retail chain after she graduated. While it was a good, stable job – the kind that makes parents happy – she found it stultifying and unsatisfying. (Businessweek)
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Once in a while, it is healthy to doubt yourself, to ooze a tiny bit of self-awareness. But a new psychology study from Ohio State University found evidence that an individual's career paths is influenced by their own levels of self-confidence and, to some degree, the amount of social validation they receive along the way. (Fast Company)
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Some mornings it's just tough to get going. Maybe you have been working too hard. Or maybe even partying a bit too much. It doesn't matter what happened last night. Whatever is dragging you down this morning, you need to find a way to get yourself going at full speed. Sure you could drink coffee or go for a run, but there are many other ways to get you going without drugs or breaking a sweat. (Inc.)
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Africa, where 70% of the population is under the age of 30, is buzzing with business ideas and innovative spirit -- but who are the continent's brightest young entrepreneurs? The answer was given last week when 12 young entrepreneurs from all across Africa traveled to Johannesburg to compete for the annual Anzisha Prize – currently in its fourth year, Anzisha Prize is a pan-African award celebrating entrepreneurs aged 15-22 who've come up with innovative ways to solve problems in their communities, or have launched successful businesses in their areas. (CNN International)
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The European Central Bank has kept its benchmark interest rate at 0.05% and given details of its asset purchase program announced last month.The bank's head Mario Draghi said it would start buying covered bonds this month and other assets in the final three months of the year. (BBC News)
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Some strategic young adults may choose to study business in college because they assume the promise of a highly-paid job will assure them lifetime happiness. Bad news for these calculating collegians: business majors are not only the least likely to report caring about their job, but also not the most financially secure among their peers, according to a report released on Thursday. (Businessweek)
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The University of Chicago Booth School of Business has helped launch three billion-dollar companies in the past few years, including GrubHub Inc. Still, despite offering funding competitions and related academic courses, it isn't necessarily known as an entrepreneurship hub on the level of the Stanford Graduate School of Business or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management. (The Wall Street Journal)
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A team of four students in the Flexible and Professional MBA programs at Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business won the National Black MBA Association Case Competition sponsored by Chrysler Group LLC at the group’s annual meeting, held this year in Atlanta. (Atlanta Daily World)
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The warning was dire: A small security company revealed a flaw in millions of smartphones that could allow dangerous software to masquerade as a legitimate app and seize control of a phone. The threat was a big conversation topic at this year’s Black Hat security conference. But after that, we didn’t hear much more about it. (The New York Times)
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For people who care about the tech industry’s gender gap, the wearable tech market is a source for hope and fear. Fear, because the female half of the population often gets overlooked as consumers – as when Apple’s HealthKit was designed for tracking all sorts of things in your body, but not your menstrual cycle – or as potential victims. One in four women experience stalking, and a hacked wearable does a stalker’s work for them. (Fast Company)
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Danae Ringelmann has seen many sides of the finance world--as a Wall Street analyst, as an MBA student, and as a producer trying to raise money for off-Broadway plays. It was that last experience that led her to co-found Indiegogo, a crowdfunding site whose goal is no less than the democratization of finance. Ringelmann came to our offices recently to talk about diversity within tech companies, Indiegogo's experiment with 'forever funding,' and entrepreneurs' biggest crowdfunding mistakes. Below is an edited version of our conversation. (Inc.)
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Whether you make exciting doodads or run a top-notch service company, chances are you are always in the market for more sales. Global exporting is the next frontier for many companies and a solid international expansion plan could potentially have tremendous impact on your bottom line. The fact is most people do not take advantage of this opportunity because of the mythological fears surrounding international export. The following are 3 tips to put you at ease and get you well on your way to becoming a world-wide mogul. (Inc.)
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Here’s a riddle for you: How many economists does it take to figure out the extent of slack in the economy? Sorry, I don’t have a punch line. (Hey, I’m an economist. Assume a funny punch line!) But that was the question put before a bunch of us at a conference held by the Peterson Institute for International Economics last week. (The New York Times)
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The jobs crisis is over. Now it’s on to the hard part: boosting American income.Tomorrow is the first Friday of October, which means the Labor Department will release its monthly jobs report, an updated look at how many jobs the economy added and where the unemployment rate stands. (Fortune)
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People often think if they just made a little more money – or a lot more money – their financial troubles would go away. It doesn’t happen that way for a lot of folks. "Instead of finding themselves in the lap of luxury, 70 percent of people who come into sudden money are broke within a few years," writes Ilana Polyak of CNBC about a National Endowment for Financial Education finding. "Many even end up cursing their windfalls." (The Washington Post)
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Poor people are more likely than rich people to smoke. To get fat. To get into hassles with cops and creditors. To have children despite no visible means of support, to lurch from one crisis to another, and sometimes to have very bad attitudes. But before you judge them, just try being poor yourself. (Businessweek)
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Companies are expressing growing interest in using massive, open, online courses in their corporate training initiatives for rank-and-file workers, the Journal reports today. But winning over executives, who are accustomed to concierge services and in-person hobnobbing, might be a tougher feat for MOOC providers. (The Wall Street Journal)
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When a top boss lives far from headquarters, companies are willing to go the distance – literally – to simplify life for the executive. Mark King needed to move fast after Adidas AG promoted him to run North America with scant notice last spring. He left his newly built home in Vista, Calif., packed half his clothes and rented a furnished apartment in Portland, Ore. In return, the sporting-goods giant gave Mr. King a sweet relocation deal: $100,000 to cover his first year of rent. (The Wall Street Journal)
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Digital technology is the biggest agitator of the business world today. Mobile technology, social media, cloud computing, embedded devices, big data, and analytics have radically changed the nature of work and competition. And digital innovations will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Technology has tremendous potential to be the engine of increasing human, organizational, and economic prosperity. (Harvard Business Review)
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Since his election 18 months ago, Pope Francis has won widespread acclaim from inside the Catholic Church and beyond. Indeed, at a time when the world’s leaders have generally been found wanting he has shown what an effective leader can do. (Forbes)
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