TEACHING CREATIVITY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Tina Seelig, Executive Director of Stanford Technology Ventures Program, speaks about the lesson that is the crux of entrepreneurship: All problems are opportunities, and the larger the problem, the grander the opportunity. Furthermore, she talks about the challenges that arise in the methods for teaching these concepts, and the necessity to get people out of their comfort zone  in order to encourage creative problem-solving. This clip also includes a video quote from Vinod Khosla.

THE ENTREPRENEUR AND THE FAMILY

Female Stanford students of entrepreneurship ask serial entrepreneur Steve Blank: "How can one balance family life with the demands of the start-up?" Blank advises single people to stay single, and suggests that those with family ties set strict schedules to insure time together. Start-ups can easily take over one's life, he says, and one must be equally diligent in taking time off as working

Social media as a business tool is in a constant state of evolution - how to become savvy on social media?

Social media as a business tool is in a constant state of evolution. What works today isn't going to be good enough for tomorrow. Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amoruso shares her experience growing alongside social media as an entrepreneur, and how brands should approach these tools in the future.

Solving problems in Africa for the rest of the world

Are the simplest phones the smartest? While the rest of the world is updating statuses and playing games on smartphones, Africa is developing useful SMS-based solutions to everyday needs, says journalist Toby Shapshak. In this eye-opening talk, Shapshak explores the frontiers of mobile invention in Africa as he asks us to reconsider our preconceived notions of innovation.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL EXPANSIUS FOLLOWERS

P - FOR PEACE
L-  FOR LOVE
H - FOR HEALTH
S - FOR SMILE
E - FOR ENJOY
M - FOR MERCY
C  - FOR CHARITY
L - LIVE


AND YOU CAN ADD ANYONE I MISSED !!!!!

EGYPT: Egyptian e-payment company gets $100M from foreign investors

Egypt's largest e-payment network, Fawry has received 100 million dollars in fresh capital to bolster internal operations and fund regional expansion. Egyptian American Enterprise Fund, Helios International Partners and the MENA Long Term Value Fund bought the shares.

AFRICA: small loans to small entrepreneurs — is the best way to drive growth in developing countries?

In this short, provocative talk, financier Sangu Delle questions whether microfinance — small loans to small entrepreneurs — is the best way to drive growth in developing countries. "We seem to be fixated on this romanticized idea that every poor person in Africa is an entrepreneur,” he says. "Yet, my work has taught me that most people want jobs.” Delle, a TED Fellow, makes the case for supporting large companies and factories — and clearing away the obstacles to pan-African trade.

Lessons learned from first aquisition --- Aquisition is not an exit

Jeff Seibert, reflecting on the acquisition of his first startup by the content-management platform Box, shares lessons learned from the experience: First, save more time for negotiating better terms. Second, leaders must protect their team from the stress of uncertainty. Third, insisting on continued investment in the startup after acquisition can benefit both parties down the road.

IDEALISM MAKES THE BEST MARKETING

But even if you don't succeed, the world will be in a better place and that's what you should think of as an entrepreneur and you should think about working on things that are hard. Remember that what we fight with is so small and when we win it makes us small. Find hard problems. 

When we started working on the open source movement, it was because we said, hey, this is a really important thing that nobody is paying attention to it. But we sold a lot of books because we told the big story that mattered to all those communities that we made them proud of who they were, we made the world know who they were, and it was great marketing for us, it was great because we were helping others and we helped our own business. Web 2.0, a lot of people don't realize this, null but the reason why we started that marketing campaign was because after the dot-com bust a lot of our customers were out of work and we actually had our strategic goal in 2003 to reignite enthusiasm in the computer business. We basically - we went out there and we told a big story that was designed to help other people and, sure, it helped us build our business as well. Clearly I have been doing that in areas like open government, I'm looking at healthcare, I'm really interested in that. But there is another element of that idealism that I want to share and I want to start with a talk I gave in 2008 called "Why I love hackers" and that was at our EmergingTechnology Conference and in that talk I gave, I read a poem and you can't really see in the background, it's a painting by Delacroix in the background of Jacob wrestling with the Angel. It's a biblical story. And the poem by Rilke is about how the wrestlers of the Old Testament would go wrestle with the Angel and they knew they couldn't win. But they got stronger by wrestling with the Angel and it's a wonderful line from Rilke he says, what we fight with is so small, and when we win it makes us small. What we want is to be defeated decisively by successively greater beings. And I love that and I said - so I told this and it was funny because the reaction from the audience was people love to be challenged with idealism. They love to be challenged to do stuff that matters and so in the last - ever since I gave that talk I've really just been focusing on that just like I don't care what you do something that matters to you more than money. That's a great way to succeed. But even if you don't succeed, the world will be in a better place and that's what you should think of as an entrepreneur and you should think about working on things that are hard. Remember that what we fight with is so small and when we win it makes us small. Find hard problems. 

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Stanford Start.Home: The Green Home of Tomorrow

An enterprising team of Stanford students has designed a low-cost, solar-powered home that could lead the home-building industry to a more sustainable future and guide homeowners toward greener behavior.

Why 'Multiple Intelligence' Is a Better Way to Think About Having Smarts?

Howard Gardner is a developmental psychologist and the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He holds positions as Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and Senior Director of Harvard Project Zero.

"When it comes to leaders of organizations they not only need to have some blend of intelligence as themselves but it’s very, very important for them to realize that not everybody who they work with is going to think the same way."Revered developmental psychologist Howard Gardner offers an informed take on the clearest path to efficiency and engagement in the workplace.

Leadership Series: Rhetoric vs. Reality, segment 3

YOU CAN MANAGE AND LEADER
THE LEADER MAY NOT HAVE THE INSPIRATION BUT SOMEBODY IN THE GROUP CAN HAVE IT
OPPORTUNITIES ARE IN FRONT OF US
OUR WEAKNESSES AND LIMITITATIONS IS WHAT MAKES POSSIBLE PRODUCTIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION

Leadership is a hot topic in a variety of settings - universities, businesses, conferences and the workplace. A number of theories and opinions exist about how to do it well. Drs. David Berg and Betsy Bradley engage us in a thoughtful conversation about the myths and realities of leadership, the need to emphasize relationships and the many opportunities for strengthening current academic education. 

Leadership Series: Rhetoric vs. Reality, segment 2 " I DO NOT DO THIS ALONE"

Leadership is a hot topic in a variety of settings - universities, businesses, conferences and the workplace. A number of theories and opinions exist about how to do it well. Drs. David Berg and Betsy Bradley engage us in a thoughtful conversation about the myths and realities of leadership, the need to emphasize relationships and the many opportunities for strengthening current academic education.




" I do not do this alone" 
"Who else do I do it with? "
What do I need to do to create those relationships?
"Nobody is perfect"



"TAKE A VERY HARD LOOK AT YOUR OWN LIMITATIONS AND WEAKNESSES"

"Complementarity so to compensate your weaknesses"

"Do not hire people like you" 

"Take a look at your own prejudices, preconceptions, and prospect other groups" 


Leadership is a tough work to do and cannot be reduced to specific techniques !!!!! 

LEADERSHIP, ARE YOU A LEADER OR A FOLLOWER ?

ARE YOU A LEADER OR A FOLLOWER?




"Leadership is not a trait of a person, but a social setting"
"Leadership is not done only for one person"
"There is not only one way to act with leadership"

The Engagement Paradox: I Love My Job and I'm Leaving It Anyway

So the successful work relationship of the future between employer and employee depends upon the trifecta of health, wealth, and career — and the flexibility that you offer in order to make the employment relationship of the future what the employee is looking for. 



Just because a former employee has moved on in their career doesn't mean they can't still be useful to the firm. Mercer business leader Pat Tomlinson explains a phenomenon called the Engagement Paradox and how companies can turn downsides into upsides. All it takes is a realization of what the company and the employee really offer to one another. As Tomlinson notes, it's about time companies started to rethink how they engage with their employees.

3 Clear Steps to Collaborate with People You Strongly Disagree with

The current state of social/political debate and discourse leaves a lot to be desired. In this Big Think Edge preview, Islamic reform activist Maajid Nawaz describes how to build a successful, respectful dialogue that can serve an actual purpose and spur progress. Nawaz is the co-author (with neuroscientist Sam Harris) of a new book called Islam and the Future of Tolerance.

MAAJID NAWAZ

Maajid Usman Nawaz is a British activist, author, columnist and politician. He was the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for London's Hampstead and Kilburn constituency in the 2015 General Election. He is also the co-founder and chairman of Quilliam, a counter-extremism think tank that seeks to challenge the narratives of Islamist extremists.