Importance of entrepreneurship

Babson College President Leonard Schlesinger and Genzyme CEO Henri Termeer share their definitions of entrepreneurship, including how to teach it and why it's so important in the workplace.

Got a great idea?

There's never been a better time to turn it into a great company. Here's a 16-step guide to help you do it right and build a bulletproof startup.

Phase One Establish a Company
Step 1. Stress-Test Your Big Idea
Step 2. Build Your Founding Team
Step 3. Draft a Business Plan
Step 4. Play the Name Game
Step 5. Incorporate Thyself

Phase Two Prototype the Product
Step 1. Stake Out Intellectual Property
Step 2. Create an Advisory Board
Step 3. Build Your Prototype

Phase Three Develop the Beta Product
Step 1. Start Staffing Up
Step 2. Assemble Your Back Office
Step 3. Launch Your Beta Test
Step 4. Revisit the Business Plan

Phase Four Launch the Product
Step 1. Build a New Board of Directors
Step 2. Develop the Sales and Marketing Plan
Step 3. Open an Office
Step 4. Hit the Market

Read the entire article by Michael V. Copeland and Om Malik on Cnn Money.

How do you identify your True North?

Prasad Kaipa is the Executive director, Centre for Leadership, Innovation & Change at ISB. An exceptional speaker and has been an advisor/coach since 1990 for over 100 CEOs, executive team members and board members in Fortune 500 companies like Disney, Adobe, Sun, Boeing etc. Prasad advises and coaches his clients to become clear about what they aspire for and what their core incompetence is.

VSO

Social Intelligence

Click here to read the entire article on Harvard Business Review.

Empire Collapse & The Emergence of Asia

A nice 3 part series with Peter Schiff

Oil Prices

Just had a look at the current oil prices. Wow! It is $67 per barrel! Yes, $67 per barrel, according to the Nasdaq Stock Market and New York Mercantile Exchange.

The crude oil prices were trading at highs of $147 earlier this year.

The lower consumer demand, the sell-off of commodities by cash-strapped investment houses and banks, and recession concerns are prompting the drop.

Words of Wisdom

My Dad often says: "Fear and greed are the two most important factors in the stock market."

Warren Buffett reiterated his long-standing philosophy: "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful."

I firmly believe these are the tenets of successful investing in the stock market (most applicable in the current economy). Buffett became the richest man in the world by investing while others were fearful, which in turn has allowed him to be one the greatest philanthropists of his time. He said, "You might think it would have been impossible for an investor to lose money during a century marked by such an extraordinary gain. But some investors did. The hapless ones bought stocks only when they felt comfort in doing so and then proceeded to sell when the headlines made them queasy."

Read the advice/opinion in NYT Editorial by Warren Buffett.

Today, confidence among U.S. consumers fell by the most on record and single-family housing starts hit a 26- year low, posing an increasing threat to household spending that accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy. Even the stock market is super-volatile right now, consider just this week for starters. The Dow Jones gained 976 points on Monday; fell 76 points on Tuesday; dropped 733 points on Wednesday; gained 401 points Thursday and then again dropped 127 points today. Yet, the net gain for the week is about 400 points!! Is this a good time to invest?

Ohh, yeah! Yet, it's imminent that there in no quick recovery for the economy and it should ideally be back on track by the end of next year. I'm not sure if we're at a bottom in equities, but valuations sure do look good from a historical perspective.
I would advise everyone to be a more pro-active investor than the buy-hold-forget and then expect profits strategy! You should be more involved and actively aware of economic trends and make necessary adjustments to your portfolio/assets.

Take it for what it's worth...

Innovate

Recently came across 'Innocentive' covered in NYTimes.

InnoCentive is an online open innovation marketplace - a "problem solving" web site - that rewards smart people for good ideas. Companies and organizations (seekers) post problems (challenges) that they are unable to solve within their organization to people all over the world (solvers) who win cash prizes for resolving them. It is free to join and if your solution is chosen - you win. Awards range from $5,000 to $1,000,000.

You can use your knowledge and expertise to make a real difference and get paid for solving these problems too. Considering the vast pool of brilliant and creative people with varied expertise available to passionately solve real life problems in the world the success rate is bound to be good. I heard in the Business Week podcast that 40% of the problems are solved which is an exceptional number for the cost and resources.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee for president, has proposed that the government offer $300 million to whoever invents a battery compact enough, powerful enough and cheap enough to replace fossil fuels. (something similar to Innocentive)

To see the details of available Challenges and register with InnoCentive click here:
Join Innocentive

If you have the world's brightest minds solving your problem what more do you want?
Concepts like these will definitely help the world become a better place for all of us to live.

Steven Levitt on child carseats

A Two-part Rule for Naming Your Startup

Use a compound name, with 2 components: one word that relates to the product and a second word that represents a metaphorical adjective that evokes the characteristic of the company's product. Some examples, PayPal, IronPort or Brightmail.


Read more about it here.

India then and now: Kalam's Mantra

Some views from the great man Abdul Kalam:

The Vision

"I climbed and climbed
Where is the peak, my Lord?
I ploughed and ploughed,
Where is the knowledge treasure, my Lord?
I sailed and sailed,
Where is the island of peace, my Lord?
Almighty, bless my nation
With vision and sweat resulting into happiness."

"In 1991, we were in a precarious foreign exchange reserve condition. We had to pledge our gold to maintain the minimum balance required for our imports. Inflation was high. Land lines were few and mobile phones were a luxury. The people had to wait for telephone connections for months after booking. We had to wait in long queues for the railway reservation. We had very few automobile companies and there was a large waiting list for getting the allotment for a car or scooter. The export performance from software, pharma and other industries were negligible. This was the scene in 1991.

"Today, India is in an ascending economic trajectory, with continuously rising foreign exchange reserves, moderate rate of inflation, global recognition of our technological competence, energy of 540 million youth, umbilical connectivities of 23 million people of Indian origin in various parts of the planet. India as the largest democracy in the world has the reputation for providing leadership to one billion people with multi-cultural, multi-language and multi-religious backgrounds. India has become a trillion dollar economy."


Societal needs

Kalam visualised the following distinctive profile of India to emerge by the year 2020:

1. A nation where the rural and urban divide has reduced to a thin line.
2. A nation where there is an equitable distribution and adequate access to energy and quality water.
3. A nation where agriculture, industry and service sector work together in symphony.
4. A nation where education with value system is not denied to any meritorious candidates because of societal or economic discrimination.
5. A nation which is the best destination for the most talented scholars, scientists, and investors.
6. A nation where the best of health care is available to all.
7. A nation where the governance is responsive and transparent.
8. A nation where poverty has been totally eradicated, illiteracy removed and crimes against women and children are absent and none in the society feels alienated.
9. A nation that is prosperous, healthy, secure, peaceful and happy and continues with a sustainable growth path.
10. A nation that is one of the best places to live in and is proud of its leadership.


Integrated Action for developed India

"To achieve the distinctive profile of India, we have the mission of transforming India into a developed nation. We have identified five areas where India has a core competence for integrated action:

1. Agriculture and food processing
2. Reliable electric power, transport and infrastructure for all parts of the country.
3. Education and healthcare
4. Information and communication technology
5. Self reliance in critical technologies.

"These five areas are closely inter-related and if progressed in a coordinated way, will lead to food, economic and national security."

"Our story is still unfolding. The global environment, however, needs protection and India's freedom won by suffering and sacrifice has to be alertly guarded, strengthened and expanded. Freedom and independence must be our continuing quest, and in such a manner as to accelerate our evolution as a free nation through a bold and swift development."

"The time has now arrived for India to emerge with a new vision and leadership to make our nation not only enlightened, rich and prosperous, but above all, a safe nation, invulnerable forever to invasion and infiltration across its borders and bring unity of minds."

"Economic prosperity is possible only if we adopt and practice the value system in a society, which is derived out of our civilizational heritage. For all these actions, righteousness in the heart is very essential.

"Knowledge society will emerge only by the enlightened citizens of the nation. Our challenge today, is to bring the societal transformation with value system leading to a prosperous, happy and peaceful nation. It is the responsibility of the developed and developing nations to create peaceful neighbors with inclusive growth devoid of societal imbalance."

"Make it a reality by your attitude of give, give and give of the knowledge and experience you have gained over the years. This will be the singular contribution for which our motherland will be proud of you."

Talk about Compound Interest

"During the 20th century, the Dow advanced from 66 to 11,497. This gain, though it appears huge, shrinks to 5.3% when compounded annually ... For investors to merely match that 5.3% market-value gain, the Dow--recently below 13,000--would need to close at about 2,000,000 on Dec. 31, 2099." - Warren Buffet

Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world

The son of a Mexico City shopkeeper has built a staggering $59 billion fortune. Fortune's Stephanie Mehta tells the inside story of how he made it to the top.

Click here to read the story

Joseph B. Martin's Guide for Listening and Leading

Joseph Martin culminated his decade as dean of the Faculty of Medicine with a Class Day address titled “Leading by Listening.” After commenting on the visceral importance of stories in patient care, he described six qualities of leadership at the heart of doctor–patient interaction.

“Your ability to communicate—listening and telling—will determine in large measure your gift for healing,” he said.

Though offered to the new physicians and dentists as a framework for future practice, Martin’s points also appeared to illuminate his own guiding principles as leader of HMS.

The first of the qualities, which he referred to as quotients, or Qs, was IQ. Martin said, “IQ implies ability to innovate, to think outside the box, and to construct new and novel scenarios.”

Yet intelligence alone is not sufficient for effective leadership. “Individual brilliance may result in earth-shaking concepts, discoveries, and Nobel prizes, but of leaders we expect even more.”

The next Q was EQ, Emotional Quotient. Put simply, Martin said, this is “the ability to listen and to discern beneath the surface what the other person is really saying.”

Elaborating, he said, “EQ includes sufficient temerity and curiosity to want to understand another’s perspective. It includes wanting to learn from another in order to ‘put right’ one’s own views and impressions. EQ is learning to lead by listening and observing.”

But such gravitas occasionally needs a break, and this is where HQ, or Humor Quotient, comes in. “It encompasses the ability to use self-deprecation to accomplish an end, to exude a sense of lightness of being and charisma, of good cheer and hope. It is the ability to detoxify a situation by humor or self-effacement, to know how to relax the tension with a comment, a story, or a well-told joke. It is the ability to bounce back after an untoward event.”

Following naturally from humor was number 4, the CQ—Contentment Quotient. “This is the ability to view things for the best possible outcome—it’s the glass half full, not half empty—optimism, not pessimism. It is to feel good about oneself and the role one plays. It balances good will and good cheer with an appropriate balance of anxiety to set things on course and to toe the line toward an end.”

Martin’s number 5 was GQ—Generosity Quotient. “In many ways a singularity of leadership success is epitomized in the term ‘vicarious living.’ Simply put, it is the joy and satisfaction that comes from watching the success of others.

“In an organizational setting or an effective office practice, it implies freely giving credit where credit is due, recognizing that ‘there is no end to what can be accomplished if one does not care who gets the credit.’

“There is another aspect of the Generosity Quotient, the ability to forgive and forget,” he said.

Finally, number 6 was WQ—or Wisdom Quotient. “This is the ability to sum things up, to look at a set of circumstances and know when to act, to know when the vectors are aligned to take the next step toward the end game.”

He continued, “It includes the ability to understand and know when to apply Machiavellian principles to reach a good end for the circumstances. But WQ also applies the principles of fairness, of reaching the decision that is the best for the most, characterized by equity and equality when possible. Wisdom is sound judgment, a great skill in clinical medicine.”
Martin concluded, “Each of the areas I have emphasized: intelligence, emotional connectivity, good humor, happiness, generosity, and sound judgment can be enhanced by good listening.

“I’m not implying that these traits or attributes are necessarily quantifiable as quotients. But I do hope they’ll form a framework or set of guideposts as you carry on with the great journey of life.”

The complete text of Dean Joseph Martin’s talk is available on the web.

How many credit cards do people carry ?

Found this interesting article on myFICO about credit cards.

By analyzing a representative national sample of millions of consumer credit profiles, Fair Isaac was able to survey the panorama of credit activity across the U.S. The following statistics reflect the average use of credit by today's consumers.

Number of Credit Obligations
On average, today's consumer has a total of 13 credit obligations on record at a credit bureau. These include credit cards (such as department store charge cards, gas cards, or bank cards) and installment loans (auto loans, mortgage loans, student loans, etc.). Not included are savings and checking accounts (typically not reported to a credit bureau). Of these 13 credit obligations, 9 are likely to be credit cards and 4 are likely to be installment loans.

Past Payment Performance
On average, today's consumers are paying their bills on time. Less than half of all consumers have ever been reported as 30 or more days late on a payment. Only 3 out of 10 have ever been 60 or more days overdue on any credit obligation. 77% of all consumers have never had a loan or account that was 90+ days overdue, and less than 20% have ever had a loan or account closed by the lender due to default.

Credit Utilization
About 40% of credit card holders carry a balance of less than $1,000. About 15% are far less conservative in their use of credit cards and have total card balances in excess of $10,000. When we look at the total of all credit obligations combined (except mortgage loans), 48% of consumers carry less than $5,000 of debt. This includes all credit cards, lines of credit, and loans-everything but mortgages. Nearly 37% carry more than $10,000 of non-mortgage-related debt as reported to the credit bureaus.

Total Available Credit
The typical consumer has access to approximately $19,000 on all credit cards combined. More than half of all people with credit cards are using less than 30% of their total credit card limit. Just over 1 in 7 are using 80% or more of their credit card limit.

Length of Credit History
The average consumer's oldest obligation is 14 years old, indicating that he or she has been managing credit for some time. In fact, we found that 1 out of 4 consumers had credit histories of 20 years or longer. Only 1 in 20 consumers had credit histories shorter than 2 years.

Inquiries
When someone applies for a loan or a new credit card account - in short, any time one applies for credit and a lender requests a copy of the credit report - this request is noted as an “inquiry” in the applicant's credit file. The average consumer has had only one inquiry on his or her accounts within the past year. Fewer than 6% had four or more inquiries resulting from a search for new credit.

Electric Orange

I am personally a loyal customer and a strong advocate of ING Direct and hence when I came across this today and thought of posting it here as well. The account seems to be a mix between the ING savings account and the regular checking account. Sounds good to me ! Click here to go to ING Direct.

Here is the low down on the same:

America's first all–electronic, paperless checking account is going to change the way you do your banking. Earn a great rate and get great features like online Free Bill Pay, easy access to cash, an Electric Orange MasterCard® debit card and more – Electric Orange provides the access and convenience of checking with the earning power of savings.

Make money while managing your money.
With Electric Orange, you'll earn high interest on all balances.

Electric Orange Balance	Interest Rate	APY	Effective Date
$0-$49,999.99	2.96%	3.00%	11/29/2006
$50,000.00-$99,999.99	4.94%	5.05%	11/29/2006
$100,000.00 or more	5.18%	5.30%	11/29/2006

For example, if your balance is $55,000, you earn a great 5.05% APY on the entire balance.

MasterCard® Debit Card convenience.
With your Electric Orange MasterCard® Debit Card you can make secure purchases anywhere MasterCard® is accepted – sign the receipt or enter your Card PIN and go.

Free ATM access at more than 32,000 ATMs nationwide.
Make free cash withdrawals at ATM locations in all 50 states through the Allpoint™ Network – America's largest Surcharge–Free ATM Network.

Send money securely for free with Electric Checks.
With Electric Orange, you can send money to an individual's bank account with Electric Checks for free. Simply enter the person's information, the details of the payment, and an email will be sent to the recipient. The person can click on the link within the email to go to a secure page to enter their account information and the money is transferred!

Automatic protection with your Overdraft Line of Credit.
Say goodbye to excessive NSF fees charged by other banks. When you open your Electric Orange, you'll automatically get an Overdraft Line of Credit that's connected right to your Electric Orange and is accessed anytime your balance goes below $0.00. There's no fee to use the line of credit – you'll just pay a competitive interest rate on the money you need to borrow.

Safe, Secure and Smart.
You can rest easy knowing the money in your Electric Orange is FDIC-insured . It's also protected by our unique and innovative PIN Guard PIN entry process. Plus, you can set up secure Email Notifications to tell you if a card transaction is over a certain amount, or if your balance drops below a certain level.

Terminology

Excerpt from CNN Money (http://money.cnn.com)

Trading terms:

When trying to place a buy or sell order, you'll be faced with all sorts of questions: Market or limit order? "Day only" or "Good 'till cancelled." Here's the vocabulary you need to know to place a trade.

If you place a market order with your broker, then you are saying that you're willing to buy at whatever happens to be the prevailing price for the stock.

If you have a specific price in mind, you can set a limit order specifying the price you're willing to pay. If the stock dips down to that level, your order will be automatically filled.

Limit orders can be left open for a single day (a day order) or indefinitely (good until canceled).

After you've bought a stock, you can instruct your broker to sell it if the price drops to a level you specify (a stop loss order). That's a kind of insurance; it means that no matter what happens to a stock's price you'll never lose more than a specified amount.