With extra time in the Bay Area, some people go to a spa, take a yoga class, and spend time outside in the many beautiful parks. I love spending time in all those ways. With my recent extra time in the Bay Area, I went to a Stanford event on entrepreneurship. (My nerdiness never ceases to amaze even me!) On Monday evening Stanford hosted a panel discussion entitled “Solving the Global Leadership and Talent Equation.” 4 panelists based in Silicon Valley, Eric Benhamou, Chairman and CEO, Benhamou Global Ventures, David Chao, Co-Founder and General Partner, DCM, Kyung Yoon, CEO, Talent Age Associates, and Michael Zhao, CEO and President, Array Networks, spoke candidly about building teams within global start-ups. Immensely talented and skilled, these panelists offered advice and shared their missteps and triumphs in building teams. For the full article, please visit: http://www.examiner.com/x-2901-NY-Business-Strategies-Examiner~y2009m2d24-Stanford-University-panel-The-Global-Leadership-and-Talent-Equation
Category: entrepreneurship
NY Business Strategies Examiner.com: Tom Friedman advocates for entrepreneurs
This morning, Tom Friedman’s column in the New York Times laid down the gauntlet in favor of entrepreneurs. With the stimulus package signed by President Obama, many questions remain on how to spend that money, and more importantly, whom to support with it. Friedman eloquently supports using the money for start-ups rather than bailing out the frail, inflexible global enterprises like GM and Chrysler.
To read the full post, please visit: http://www.examiner.com/x-2901-NY-Business-Strategies-Examiner~y2009m2d22-Tom-Friedman-advocates-for-investment-in-entrepreneurs
NY Business Strategies Examiner.com: an interview with Cathy Gins, Founder of Aromawear
I had the pleasure of talking to Cathy Gins, Founder of Aromawear, this week. Cathy designs fully customizable aromatic jewelry that combines her 17 years of design experience at Avon with her work as a practitioner of Therapeutic Touch, Reconnection Healing, and Clinical Aromatherapy. Inside each piece is space for a small felt wick that is designed to be scented with a therapeutic oil. The wicks pop in and out of the jewelry very easily, without causing any damage to the jewelry, so that you can adjust the scent you want around you depending on your need at the time. Stressed? You might want to try some lavender. Need to feel motivated? peppermint, lemon, or a citrus scent will help. Feeling under the weather? Try eucalyptus cold relief or a blend called Thieves, which has antibacterial properties and was used by medical workers during the Plague to provide relief. And all of these wicks can be packed into a convenient, pocket-sized traveling case.
For the full article, please visit http://www.examiner.com/x-2901-NY-Business-Strategies-Examiner~y2009m2d19-Aromawear-wellness-you-take-with-you
My Year of Hopefulness: Martha Graham
There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. –Martha Graham
Quotes keep me going in good times and in bad. This one from Martha Graham really struck me and is a good lesson for all of us as we continue what we’d like our life’s work to be. My friend, Linda, sent me an interesting link that she found on the Get Rich Slowly blog. At a recent conference, the author of the post Linda forwarded to me, listened to George Kinder, a financial planned with a unique approach. He asks all of this clients three questions regarding their future:
- Imagine you are financially secure, that you have enough money to take care of your needs, now and in the future. How would you live your life? Would you change anything? Let yourself go. Don’t hold back on your dreams. Describe a life that is complete and richly yours.
- Now imagine that you visit your doctor, who tells you that you have only 5-10 years to live. You won’t ever feel sick, but you will have no notice of the moment of your death. What will you do in the time you have remaining? Will you change your life and how will you do it? (Note that this question does not assume unlimited funds.)
- Finally, imagine that your doctor shocks you with the news that you only have 24 hours to live. Notice what feelings arise as you confront your very real mortality. Ask yourself: What did you miss? Who did you not get to be? What did you not get to do?
George Kinder asks people to think of these questions as a funnel. The first question is easy and the others get progressively harder to answer. Life planning is about getting to the bottom of the answers to questions #3.
My answers to questions #3:
I didn’t get to be my own boss, ever.
I didn’t get to find the love of my life, though I did have a lot of love in my life.
I missed traveling to so many place that I wanted to see, though I did get to go on some pretty amazing trips.
I didn’t get to publish a book, though I’m glad I published my own blog.
I never owned my own home.
I never learned to play a musical instrument well.
In short, if I only had 24 hours, I would die with the music still in me, as John Lennon said. And that alone provides me with a good deal of motivation to get and keep moving forward. Thanks, Linda!!
NY Business Strategies Examiner: Social Entrepreneurship: God’s Love We Deliver – 10,000,000 meals and counting
Last Fall, I volunteered at a disorganized event for a nonprofit. I was griping to one of the other volunteers and she told me about a nonprofit that she works with that runs like a well-oiled machine: God’s Love We Deliver (GLWD).
For the full article, please click NY Business Strategies Examiner: Social Entrepreneurship: God’s Love We Deliver – 10,000,000 meals and counting
Operation HOPE and Child Savings International on Examiner.com
John Bryant spent many years in Los Angeles shouting from the hills in an effort to educate people outside the finance industry about finance. After the LA riots in 1992, he founded Operation HOPE to provide finance education to young people and those who didn’t have any other means to learn about finance.
To read the full article, visit http://www.examiner.com/x-2901-NY-Business-Strategies-Examiner~y2009m2d9-Social-entrepreneurs-Operation-HOPE-and-Child-Savings-International
Illustration above by James Fryer.
The Game Agency on Examiner.com
This week I interviewed Steve Baer, Co-founder of The Game Agency. The Game Agency (TGA) creates games to integrate into corporate marketing programs to enhance brand value, increase customer loyalty, and drive innovation.
My Year of Hopefulness – How Can I Best Serve
“How can I best serve?” It’s a question that a lot of people are asking on Inauguration Eve. The whole nation is looking up, wondering what is possible, and how they can make what’s possible not only probable but certain. I hope they continue to ask that question long after January 20, 2009 passes, and more importantly I hope we will all take action. I’m hopeful that people all around the country are not only making a pledge, but also recording and sharing their pledge publicly to hold themselves accountable for fulfilling it. To see what celebrities are pledging to do – and the range is surprisingly large with some promising to reduce their use of plastic and others promising to volunteer in their communities on a weekly basis – visit http://www.myspace.com/presidentialpledge
For my pledge, I am publicly admitting for the first time that it is my wish to open a design firm that creates products to improve the lives of those in the developing world. I am inspired by the work of organizations like The Full Belly Project and One World Health who took skills from their lives in the private sector and used them to help other people improve their own lives. This year I will spend time devoted to learning more about this field, traveling, and serving in my community.
I thought I needed to go back to school to learn about this new field and my friend, Richard, told me he thought I could learn more by just getting out there and doing it. Today, I dropped 8 letters into the mail, addressed to social entrepreneurs whom I admire, and asked them if they’d be willing to have me visit them and talk to them about their organizations. These letters were also Richard’s idea. So we will see what comes of them.
This time in our history is about knowing who we are, hat we stand for, and where we can have the greatest, most meaningful impact. My best self doesn’t live in a grey cubicle at a large corporation churning out product for the wealthiest 10% of the world population, a population I have little interest in developing product for. Someone has to do this job, and I’m grateful for the opportunity, though in the long-run it’s not for me. I’ve been feeling badly about this realization in the past few weeks and I have been more than a little angry with myself for it – maybe I’m too difficult, maybe I’m too contrarian, perhaps I lack commitment, or maybe I’m just too stubborn and egotistical to work for someone else.
And then I read an article about David Kelley, the founder of IDEO and the Standford d.school, and the same day came across another story about Danny Meyer, the restaurateur. Both of these men realized that after a while they didn’t fit the corporate mold so they struck out on their own. David Kelley’s exact quote is, “I had an intuition I couldn’t survive corporate America. I hated the hierarchy and just wanted to work with my friends.” After reading that, I stopped feeling so badly about my latest realization regarding my career and my personality. With David Kelley and Danny Meyer, along with countless other entrepreneurs, I am in good company.
This whole journey we take in our careers is to learn how we can best serve, how we can make the most significant impact, how we can make this world better for us having been here. I realize that I can’t start my own business tomorrow, and maybe I can’t even start it next year given the tough economy, but I can begin to move toward it, small step by small step. I can be conscious of making choices and decisions that support this long-term goal and am grateful that I do have a job now that helps me afford to live while also providing me time to work on my future career. So while I’ve been lamenting the fact that I don’t yet work for myself, I recognize that this is all part of a larger plan.
My Year of Hopefulness – Place a Bet. On You.
I love Donnie Deutsch. He is a fellow Penn alum and follow his advice closely. I don’t think he has a magic formula, a crystal ball to predict winner ideas. I love him because he’s an optimist. He believes whole-heartedly that you have to go for it. Do you have an idea and are you excited about getting it off the ground? Great – go for it. There will be people who will say that your idea will never work, it’s been tried before, and tat you’re wasting your time. Go for it!
And now is the time. You can no longer stake your career on big, inflexible institutions. The only one you can depend on is you. Suppliers are cheap. Manufacturers are cheap. And the public is hungry for new, interesting ideas that make their lives easier. He’s just written a book based on his very popular TV show on CNBC, The Big Idea. It will knock your socks off with inspiration, something we could all use a little more of.
Here is the link for his recent segment on the Today Show: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/28538920#28538920.
Dreamers and Doers
Big companies are announcing layoffs right and left, and those who do keep their jobs are being asked to do evermore work without any pay increase, bonus, or title promotion. We have felt very secure at big companies because in large part they have taken good care of their people and rewarded loyalty. With this latest downturn, we are seeing people with 10+ years of service turned out, replaced by younger and less expensive employees. The game has changed.
Here is the reason for hope in all of this economic mess. Maybe, finally, people will begin working very hard for themselves and not for these large companies. Perhaps we will begin to place more trust and faith in ourselves than we do in these behemoth organizations. One observation my former boss, Bob, made about a year ago is that the difference between generations these days is that young people, by and large, will bet on themselves rather than bet on a corporation to make their careers.
In today’s New York Times there is an article entitled “Dreamers and Doers” that discusses entrepreneurship programs and classes on college campuses. They have experienced double digit growth in the past few years, and some colleges like Babson have become known for their entrepreneurship programs.
It is my greatest wish for the economy of 2009 that all of this corporate downsizing sparks a surge in entrepreneurship and innovation by small companies. Will giant corporations that have long dominated the business landscape go the way of the dinosaurs? Maybe. Think of all the talented, capable, well-educated people that are now being laid off. If they banded together to create something new, leaving behind the saddle of corporate politics and bureaucracy, couldn’t they be more productive?
Supporting small business may be President Obama’s shortest road to economic recovery, and we would all be better off for it.
Christa Avampato 