ECorner: Entrepreneurship By the Book

What's New Now

Video: Collaborative Innovation and a Pull Economy [Entire Talk} John Seely Brown, Deloitte Center for Edge Innovation - 55 min. 26 sec. What can extreme surfing and World of Warcraft teach the enterprise? Independent Co-Chairman of the Deloitte Center for the Edge and former Xerox PARC Chief Scientist John Seely Brown holds them as examples of the power of frequent benchmarking and full industry info-share. He also uses them to show how the core ecosystem can be made stronger by sharing knowledge gathered from learning on the edge. In addition, Seely Brown touches upon his theory of a monumental economic shift from a push to a pull economy as outlaid in his 2010 book, The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion.

Entrepreneurship By the Book

Even in the age of lightning-fast digital communication, the printed page still has tremendous impact on innovation and entrepreneurial theory. The following three authors have delved deeply into the modern age with very successful - and yet, old-fashioned - tomes.

Video: Are Business Plans a Work of Fiction? Randy Komisar, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers - 2 min. 6 sec. Can one truly develop a business plan before having a product or a customer in-hand? Not very successfully, contends KPCB partner Randy Komisar. In this clip, Komisar discusses the premise for his book, Getting to Plan B, in which he points out how often the theory of a start-up succumbs to its execution. Komisar goes on to point out that thinking of Plan B as part of the process can change the way we think about constructing and managing the start-up. Video: Products for Life, Customers for Life William McDonough, William McDonough + Partners - 1 min. 20 sec. McDonough + Partners lead William McDonough points out that manufacturers can utilize the same resources repeatedly, and build a lifetime buying relationship with their customer in the process. By closing the product cycle - that is, designing goods with their deconstruction and reconstruction in mind - product developers are uniquely poised to deepen their customer relationship. McDonough cites a case study of a carpet manufacturer that employs Cradle to Cradle design. Customers "lease" the carpet, and are offered financial incentive to return it after its term of use, where the manufacturer can strip it, reuse the backing, and replenish the fibers into new design - keeping toxic chemicals out of the environment, and unwanted product from the landfill. Video: The Rise of the Superclass David Rothkopf, Author - 7 min. 12 sec. We can't legislate against historical trends in the global age, but we can look more closely at the well-networked superclass - those who have broad influence across international borders on a regular basis. The Superclass has money, power, and influence - but it's woefully short on ethics in the global interest. Author David Rothkopf (Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making) describes this influential core of the global power structure and stresses that economic prosperity can't be the only metric of a civilization's success.

Entrepreneurship Corner, a project of Stanford Technology Ventures Program at Stanford University, is a collection of recordings from hundreds of Silicon Valley's most practiced entrepreneurs and thought leaders. The collection offers over 1,600 videos and podcasts, freely available to the public.

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Marketing Is King

Black Business Space - Where Networking and Money Meet "Its not WHAT you Know or WHO you Know its WHO KNOWS YOU" That's just the way it is ... Marketing is king. There are plenty of them, but let me just give you two examples: Case 1: Coca Cola vs Pepsi Since 1975, Pepsi has been running "The Pepsi Challenge" where they hand 2 unlabeled cups to bystanders in malls – one containing Pepsi and the other one, Coke, and then they'd ask which tastes better. The result? Pepsi topped the challenge. But Coca Cola is still the number one soft drink. Why? ....... Advertising. Case 2: McDonalds Let's face it. They don't have the best tasting burgers. They don't have the best tasting french fries. But they do know where to put their branches. A marketing buddy of mine once said "McDonalds is not in the fast food business, they're in the real estate business." Content is just a part of marketing The way I apply it to my businesses ... content – is just a part of marketing. Marketing is everything a potential customer sees, hears, tastes, smells, feels, experiences, learns, believes and knows about a company. It includes everything from the color choices in your logo to the packaging of your products to customer service, the way you answer the phone, use email and company guarantees. It is seen in your advertising, branding, content and promotions. It is your website, blog, stationary, business cards, product line, sales reps and public relations. There are a lot of people out there who are topping the charts but are not really "the" best or don't really posses the best skills – but they know how to market themselves. Another quick example: Bruce Lee, not the strongest, not the quickest but the most popular martial artist ever. There are a lot of people too who have "the" best content, but are unknown. Of course, I'm not saying that you should just put all your efforts into marketing – again, content is part of marketing – you have to deliver. Not necessarily the best content, but "good enough" content is necessary to keep them coming back. So in conclusion: Marketing is king. For more free information: http://www.leegreenonline.com/recommends/marketingonline