BLOG INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Join me in Copenhagen at the Innovation Roundtable Summit (plus new insights from “The Other F Word”)
Next month - on November 5, 2020 in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the Innovation Roundtable Global Summit - I will provide an updated take on The Other F Word when I deliver the closing Day 1 keynote address.
Unlocking Innovation: Strategies from Silicon Valley CEOs (podcast and article)
I recently moderated an on-stage conversation in Silicon Valley with a group of four amazing and successful CEOs of very successful companies. This was the kickoff evening of a multi-day conference, and our objective was to lay out the topic of innovation as the core theme for the days that followed.To to get things started I asked them each to share some personal perspectives and examples about how they unlock, drive and nurture innovation inside large organizations.
Innovation versus Entrepreneurship
We often conflate innovation and entrepreneurship, but while they are related, they differ in several key elements. My definitions are straightforward.
The Innovation Conundrum
As business leaders, we seek growth and competitive advantage. Innovation is a key lever to help us get there. Unfortunately, I often hear executives frame it this way: “We need more innovation across the organization. And, of course, failure is not an option.” There is a conflict inherent in that statement.
The “3 Sets” of Successful Entrepreneurs
Every year I meet with dozens of groups who seek to better understand why so much innovation, company formation and value creation takes place in Silicon Valley. Part of the answer is found in the highly evolved entrepreneurial ecosystem that exists in Silicon Valley, and part of the answer is found with the talented entrepreneurs themselves. I refer to these capabilities as “The 3 Sets of Successful Entrepreneurs: Skillset, Toolset and Mindset.”
Top 10 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs
For more than a decade, I have maintained a list of the top 10 traits that define the mindset of successful entrepreneurs: How they think, how they are wired, where they set priorities.
Failure is Grief, but not Game Over
My co-author John Danner and I were recently interviewed in by Madanmohan Rao of YourStory Media.
"The Entrepreneurial Mindset" (cover article for Strive Magazine)
How do entrepreneurs think? What distinguishes the best entrepreneurs and innovators from the rest? Originally published as the cover article for Strive Magazine, January 2019 For the past 30 years, I’ve pursued the answer to this question: “What distinguishes the best entrepreneurs and innovators from the rest of us?”
SPOTANGELS dubbed the "Waze for Parking"
The idea for SPOTANGELS was developed by Hamza Chahdi during one of my Learn2Launch classes in the Silicon Valley Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program at UC Berkeley. SpotAngels is now available on the App Store and Play Store and has been featured by Apple and Google as among the best apps of the year.
Winners and Losers in the Age of Automation (Video)
The so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us. Computers make decisions on their own and their logic now evolves and improves without human intervention. Robots operate independently. Our homes and cars and cities are increasingly connected and automated. The definition of “reality” blurs when we add the suffixes “virtual” or ‘augmented.”
Join Me Tuesday May 1 for a Q&A with Netflix Head of International Content Erik Barmack
Netflix is just killing it in 200+ countries. Great Q1 earnings confirmed what we all see and know. Netflix added 5.5 million international subscribers, plus 2 million more in the US. What are they doing right? Content is key. Join me May 1 at noon at UC Berkeley Haas as I interview Netflix Head of International Content Erik Barmack.
Winners & Losers in the Age of Automation - Join me for a Business Edge Briefing Breakfast
On Tuesday April 10 I will be giving a talk followed by Q&A in the Business Edge Briefing Breakfast series, offered in partnership with the North Bay Leadership Council, Dominican University, and The CEO Club of Marin. This event will be held at Dominican University in San Rafael.
How Facebook Blew It. My comments on this fiasco, on the evening news
What are the implications of the recent Facebook disclosures? I was interviewed about Facebook for the Evening News on Fox around the 2016 Presidential election and how Facebook data was used (and misused) to target voters and influence outcome.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship in... Austria
Several months back I was invited by the Austrian Foreign Ministry to join a group of innovators and entrepreneurs from around the world for a week-long program in Vienna.
A global perspective on The Other "F" Word (featured article from speaker's bureau BigSpeak)
Mark Coopersmith is Changing Our Global View of Failure. New article by Jessica Welch on BigSpeak.
Scalable Founders Event
Personal growth may be one of the toughest challenges an entrepreneur may face. Only those who learn how to grow personally will survive and thrive — scaling the company, scaling the team, and “scaling” themselves.
“The Trump Effect” and Impacts on Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Whatever your political orientation or where you are in the world, 2017 in the USA has certainly gotten off to a most interesting start. Since the election of Donald Trump, almost every executive, entrepreneur, official and policy group I’ve met with has asked my view on the business and economic implications of the new administration.
"Act like entrepreneurs, but not like the brave ones."
Scott Adams, my friend and former classmate - and a current great mentor and supporter of startups - at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, nails it again. His comic strip Dilbert is spot on when it comes to the manner in which so many corporate pronouncements are handed down and received, and how dysfunctional so many corporate cultures become.
Brexit - Live from London
Greetings from post-Brexit-vote London. I have been in the UK and Ireland for the past couple of weeks leading up to the Brexit referendum, the vote, and the immediate aftermath. The results were announced Friday morning in a surprise for many, with “Leave” being the ultimate choice of 52% of the voters.
Two ways Europe can accelerate the creation & growth of startups
I recently had a fascinating dinner with a delegation of members of the EU Parliament who were visiting San Francisco and Silicon Valley to address global cyber security and privacy issues, and also investigate how best to drive more entrepreneurial activity and innovation across Europe. During dinner I was asked to offer some comments and insights on how the EU in general might accelerate their efforts to drive innovation, entrepreneurship, and growth.