Fire, Ready, Aim: When Is Your Business/Product ‘Perfect Enough’ to Go to Market?
The Initial Public Offering (IPO) by Facebook last week highlights the classic American dream of "maverick start-up starts small, grows exponentially and hits the jackpot. " Only... it doesn't actually happen in a straight trajectory, as any entrepreneur or adviser...
Setting Unrealistic Expectations to Commemorate Earth Day
How did Tiger Woods win the most PGA tournaments of any golfer between the ages of 20 and 29 in history by far? How did Olympic Gold Medalist in swimming Dara Torres win four Olympic Silver medals at age 41? How did 48-year old Scottish singer Susan Boyle come from...
Innovation Requires Risk, but… Government Risk?
What is the government's role in driving innovation? Listening to Senators during the recent Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearings on the Energy Department loan guarantee program (specifically loans to the now-infamous Solyndra), you'd think the...
The “Fierce Urgency” to Increase Women’s Leadership in ARPA-E — Blame All Around
Women control $12 trillion of the global economy and make about 80% of the purchasing decisions, according to the Boston Consulting Group (not exactly a feminist-leaning company). The Washington Post says "Fixing the Economy: It's Women's Work" and that the "Fortune...
ARPA-E on the Practical Side of (Energy) Innovation
Leaders talk about growing a green economy and developing clean energy solutions, but the (mostly-male) talent trolling the halls of the Gaylord National Harbor Convention Center for the ARPA-E 2012 Innovation Summit last week was filled with folks actually doing it....
Corporate America Needs to Get Out of Its Own Way
Imagine being in the room when Grey Advertising's Amanda Zolten suggested to her colleagues that they use her cat's soiled litter box to pitch a new client. How many people laughed? Or rolled their eyes? Or even thought she'd be in trouble? That's the problem....
One Lesson from Steve Jobs We Missed – Embrace Conflict
Being nice doesn't drive innovation. As the legacies of Steve Jobs are analyzed and dissected, one of the most important ones is that Steve Jobs did not worry about not being liked - and drew the best out of people. This flies in the face of traditional corporate...