Large American Corporations Recruiting MBA Students of Entrepreneurship

I just read a BusinessWeek article (see quote from article below) that mentioned Microsoft’s increased level of interest in recruiting MBA students of entrepreneurship, and I think it this is smart.    Ever since my introduction to corporate entrepreneurship at RPI, I started thinking that corporations could really benefit from hiring true entrepreneurial personalities to evaluate company/brand/product/marketing strategy and to look for new opportunities.   The fact that Microsoft is one of the first large corporations to publicly state their interest in us entrepreneurs proves the company believes in being an industry leader.

Overall, I think this initiative to recruit entrepreneurial minded and skilled employees reflects a smart realization that innovation and creative evaluation of new market opportunities are the skills that are needed in the most developed economies of the world.  No longer is information enough; it is what we do with the information that we are so fortunate to have.

 MICROSOFT ACQUIRING ENTREPRENEURS

Microsoft (MSFT), too,  tailors its recruitment pitch to entrepreneurial MBAs. Half the candidates the company targets for openings say they hadn’t previously considered applying to the software giant, say company recruiters. Microsoft’s corporate development area, which was responsible for the company’s $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype in May, often competes with startups and venture capital firms for talent.

“Even if they are only here for three-to-five years, that is actually a huge amount of work and return we are getting out of them,” says Stacey Stovall, Microsoft’s university staffing manager.”

Changing education

This is a quick video of a handful open-minded thought leaders commenting on what things we need to question as we think of how best to teach children and one another is this new digital and information age.
Among this list of things that we need to question, one of the things I was happy to hear mentioned were, grades.  Should we even give them?  If so, how?     I of course think this is a very worthy conversation to take up, especially given the different learning styles and the different disciplines and skills that are needed for each.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e1-ZtFX35E&feature=youtu.be

Happiness Advantage

Due these 5 things daily for 2 minutes each day, for 21 days straight, and "rewire your brain" to not only become more happy but also to take advantage of your happiness!

Want more of an explanation and fully detailed and convincing argument for why you should do these things, watch Shawn Achor’s TEDx Bloomington talk.

 

 

Stephen Fry in America [short-movie series]

Amazing what a new perspective on a culture can tell us about ourselves.   I think this Englishman gives us that and–at times–an appreciation for the geography we have in United States.   Perhaps the most telling takeaway I found from, say,  Episode 2, is the relatively great abundance of resources that most of us Americans enjoy.    I think watching this series will help us understand why/how  the rest of the world perceive us to be.   After watching Episode 1 and 2 of 6, I probably would recommend watching the series, but I certainly would recommend episode 2, where he travels to the deep south.   You can watch these episodes on Netflix.

Objectified [movie]

For all my friends who aren’t too familiar with industrial design and the role it will play in our future, I recommend watching this movie called Objectified.   It is available on Netflix.

Some of my favorite highlights from the film are:

• Japanese toothpick design that features a breakable tip that breaks off flat and that is intended to act as a rest to keep the toothpick off dirty surfaces, such as tables, so that you can reuse the toothpick without worry.
• Practitioners of the Japanese craft of bonsai say that one should trim the tree in such a way to imagine that a small bird should be able to fly through the tree.
• For all the time Apple spends on designing its devices, Apple spends a significant amount of time designing manufacturing processes.  For example, one critical component of the MacBook Air (a solid piece of aluminum into which multiple other pieces are bolted) required being physically held by a variety of different tooling machines; hence Apple had to figure out how to have its robot tooling machines hold the piece at different stages of its crafting, so that it could be produced in large scale operations.
• An indicator should only be visible when indicating something, and it should therefor be hidden otherwise.
• Design firm SmartDesign, designs for the extremes and lets the middle take care of itself.  That is, it designs for the most capable of experts and the most incapable of novices, because the firm believes that such as process yields designs that will naturally satisfy the needs to users that sit between these two extremes.  For example, when the firm designed the OXO brand of kitchen utensils, it designed them for use by people with arthritis and weak grips.
• Hamster and hamster-ball directed Rumba vacuum; and the innovations that are made possible by opening up technology platforms for development by third parties.  This was an ingenious way to satisfy the random pattern of covering the room floor.

House of Sand and Fog

“House of Sand and Fog” is an amazing film.  Your heart pounds during scenes.  You feel like you should be running it is pounding so hard; and yet I cannot move, staring at the motion picture.   The movie’s actor was nominated for an Oscar.  Watch it, and you will know which “he” I am referring to.   I got lost in his performance, and the story he and–to a lesser extent–his supporting actors made me believe could absolutely be true.   Just an unbelievable, gut wrenching story.   Are we so stupid still to be so shallow, to be racist, to let our fear get the best of us?  Are we so stupid to act cowardly?  Can we not stand tall at the face of adversity?   How strong is man’s love for his son, his daughter, his wife?   These are just some of the questions the movie makes me ponder.

Mitch Hedberg

Ever liked something so much, you just wanted to share it with all your friends?   Well Mitch Hedberg standup fits that bill.  The late Mitch Hedberg may be the best stand up comedian I’ve ever seen.  There is something so balanced and clever in his delivery. Check out his standup http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000H2DMME/ref=redir_mdp_mobile and don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

The Fun Theory

Sure it was an awarding-winning and brilliant word of mouth marketing communication idea and brand marketing strategy; but I love The Fun Theory project for what it proves about us as humans.    It shows us that no matter how badly we would like to think of ourselves as too serious or tough for fun, deep down inside, we all want to laugh, smile, and have fun!

Below is a video clip of one of my favorite installations from the project.  Cheers, Volkswagen for such a cool idea!

Below is a quote from Volkswagen, taken from the Fun Theory website:

This site is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.

To see videos of more installations or to learn more about the project, go to http://www.thefuntheory.com

Why computer technology patents are useless; and the “Patent-Troll” story.

This American Life reports on a the “patent troll” phenomenon and uncovers why patents–especially in computer technologies–are not enabling innovation; rather the phenomenon is taking value out of the economic system.

Hand-made stuff is cool.

Many people ask me why I like automatic watches, and it got me thinking…

Fine automatic watches do more than tell time.  Perhaps most important, fine watches enforce our belief in the idea that time is important, because it is the one thing none of us can buy more of.  Eventually, my time will run out and I will die.  Perhaps wearing and looking into the face of a watch that cost you significant amount of money and/or effort to own, reminds us to value our time the same way we value our money.

Another more subtle way in which fine and expensive watches are not a shallow symbol of success, is that they demonstrate an appreciation for the time and dedication of the person who designed and built the watch–paratially by hand.  Things created directly by human hands are inherently more special to me.  Like a fine pair of leather shoes, that began with harvesting leather from an animal, tanning, and then working into a shoe, a fine watch is such thing made special by the time and dedication required by man/woman who created it with his/her own hands.

The final other reason a fine watch is more than a shallow symbol of success, is that it can reflect the style of the individual wearing it.   All aspects of the watches’ design–price, materials, size, aesthetics, functionality (chronograph) digital vs. analog output, etc.–reflect personal style.   Why is style not shallow What makes us humans so interesting is our differences; and fundamental to these differences is our own individual “style”, which can be much more than just the clothes we wear–although, I think the way we assemble our clothes is an absolutely real expression of our unique personality.     Our individual “style” can be seen in the work we produce, how we speak, and how we think–all of which reflect nothing less than perhaps the most fundamental quality of the human experience: our values.

So, I leave you with but one example of a fine watch craftsmanship.  It is the first watch to feature a mechanical depth gauge, and is water-resistant to 300 meters: http://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/eu/en/watches/diving/master-compressor-diving-pro-geographic-navy-seals