By Gene Marks 

Amid the economic upheaval of the pandemic, it may seem counterintuitive that startups have reached unparalleled levels

Silvette Bullard is a school counselor by day and bakes in her spare time for customers. She launched her Julobell Bakery in June 2020. Photograph: Robin Rayne/Zuma Wire/Rex/Shutterstock

 

There have been more new businesses formed so far this year than ever. Literally ever.

A year ago I wrote about the surge in startups, 12 months later the trend has continued in a big way. According to data from the US Census Bureau analyzed by the Economic Innovation Group, there were about 1.4m new startup applications filed with the government through 30 September 2021. That’s compared with 1.14m during the same period in 2020 and 987 thousand in 2019. Every year before had been significantly less.

“With three months left in this unparalleled year, it now seems almost certain that the elevated pace of...

By Paul T

Purpose: This summary presents an actionable point of view that will result in tangible benefits for those who apply it to make and implement decisions related to investments in Workforce Development.

Process: Workforce Development was the focus of six 45-minute conversations on December 9, 2021. Each conversation used a consistent lens of “Benchmarking” with stimulus from the writings of Peter Drucker and each had a varying perspective with insight inspired by Open Minds. A guest with expertise was invited to be part of the conversation.

The summary created below from post-Forum dialogue between The Path and Georgia LEARNS Now that leveraged our perspectives on the human side and business side of Workforce Development. It is available to those who ask to receive it to be reviewed in private conversations as requested.

The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business reported the median salary for this year’s graduates grew $5,000 to hit $155,000.

Pay for business-school graduates rebounded to new heights this year after flat lining early in the pandemic.

Salaries for newly minted M.B.A.s are hitting record highs as consulting firms, banks and technology companies lure top business-school graduates into their ranks in a tight labor market.

Both the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business reported the median salary for this year’s graduates grew $5,000 to hit $155,000. It was Wharton’s highest-recorded median base salary, with 99% of students seeking jobs receiving an offer. Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business said the average annual salary for its M.B.A.s rose 4% compared with last year to more than $141,000—also a new high.

Pandemic-related management challenges, from...

‘I Paid For Fine Dining, But I Got McDonald’s’: MBA Student Testifies In Rankings Fraud Trial

Kristy Bleizeffer 

Ousted Temple Fox Dean Moshe Porat

After nearly three years and almost $120,000 in federal loans, Ibrahim Fetahi says his degree from Temple University’s Richard J. Fox School of Business and Management is not worth the hefty investment nor his nearly $100,000 in outstanding debt.

“In my mind, I paid for fine dining, but I got McDonald’s. Yes, I got food, but I didn’t get the quality I paid for, or the service,” Fetahi testified today (November 10) in the federal criminal trial of Moshe Porat.

Porat is the former Fox dean

accused of cheating on several U.S. News & World Report rankings, leading to four consecutive national No. 1 online MBA rankings before the scheme unraveled in January 2018. The trial resumed today (November 10) in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania district court following...

Creating a Culture of Innovation to Win Entire Markets

Are you in charge of innovation? Every CEO is. And many others should be too.

Peter Drucker famously said: “Companies have only two jobs: Marketing and Innovation”. I believe he is 100% correct as everything else is relatively easy. The other things do not need much creativity, which is the rarest resource. This is why Hollywood screen writers, Producers, top Directors and Authors make very big bucks.  Not to mention successful Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk.  Who BTW spends almost all his time on product focused innovation.

These two videos, and guiding a client who is doing their first major software development product, inspired me to write this article today. The best companies understand these ideas.  You need to watch these two TED Talks. Both are worth watching on how ideas/creativity can be enhanced.  This is one of many approaches, but one very company needs to facilitate deep in their...

Get More Done, but Also Get the Right Stuff Done

Effective time management is accomplished by using the Pareto principle of 80-20.  Making sure that  80% of your time is spent on the 20% of the work that makes most of the difference.  Some have called this the Picasso work. Where creativity, talent or experience is critical.  The book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell also discusses this principle and calls it reaching the level of unconscious competence.  Brain science and scanning have recently proven the biology behind this, whereby human beings used neuroplasticity to rewire their brain for certain sophisticated tasks. This is why experts who have spent 10,000 hours or more can potentially answer or do something in the blink of an eye. Where the book title comes from.

There are some things experts can do in hours, or even minutes, that others could never accomplish in weeks or even months. That is the invisible value of five or more years of experience, When...

Well, I think the question is the wrong one to ask, really. It trivializes entrepreneurship. Would you ask, “How do I do my first brain operation?” Or “how do I play Carnegie Hall?  Nope!  The question should be what do I do to prepare to launch a startup?

First understand that ideas are literally worthless. The press promoting the concept that an "idea is worth millions" is a problem. Building a company takes many things, and the person with only an “idea” has no chance. It is typically a 3 to 5 year to turn an idea into a business. And that process will require hundreds of ideas, maybe thousands, and many skills on a team.

The truth is, there are hundreds of things you should do and learn before you even think and launching a company. Pretending it is one is ridiculous. And that is why over 85% of new companies fail. The number one reason for failure is underestimating the skills, time, money and team needed. 

When I launched...

There are far too many texts and systems on management, and I do not want to create another.  However, there is a simple and effective system I use that leverages many of these wonderful systems that can be anywhere from fantastic to disastrous in a particular situation.  In every case, some thought must be given as to which technique is appropriate for each special circumstance and individual. 

A simple, yet very effective, model for people management uses the following combination of well known management styles by selecting the appropriate method for each individual.  This is an easy model to understand and implement, and adjusts the management style to each individual's specific abilities and limitations.  In general, you are going to work very closely (micromanage) with anyone when they are first hired to help determine where they are on this scale and then move down the scale until you reach their current ability to perform.  Initial...

By Harvy Simkovits

Are you starting the new year over-extended, over-committed, overwhelmed, and over-stressed in your business? Maybe you suffer from being under-leveraged as a leader!

"Too much to do and not enough time" is a common mantra for most business owners. Too many demands and expectations from customers, employees, vendors (even consultants), not to mention your own family (who want a piece of your time), can throw off-kilter your well-intentioned New Year's business resolutions (those important "to-do's" you promised yourself in December to get to in January).

Here are some thoughts to leverage yourself better (using yourself to your utmost capability, and better working through and with others) during those high-demand and high "to-do" times, like right now.

1. Share the "water-carrying". Does your business load rest just on your shoulders for you to carry alone, while everyone else is watching or waiting for you? If so, then you are...