The Economist Magazine: “Global Heroes”

This article and introduction was forwarded to me by Dr. Iain Clelland at Radford University:

Folks,

From a tip passed on by our NRV SunTrust-sponsored 2007 Entrepreneurial Summit Keynote Speaker, Michael Simmons, I wanted to make you aware of this recent report from The Economist Magazine. It describes the tremendous trend in and importance of global entrepreneurship.  I have attached PDF files of some sections for selective reading/sharing (2-6 pages each) or you can read the entire report online at:

http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13216025

Some excerpts from the report:

“IN DECEMBER last year, three weeks after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and in the midst of the worst global recession since the 1930s, 1,700 bright-eyed Indians gathered in a hotel in Bangalore for a conference on entrepreneurship. They mobbed business heroes such as Azim Premji, who transformed Wipro from a vegetable-oil company into a software giant, and Nandan Nilekani, one of the founders of Infosys, another software giant. They also engaged in a frenzy of networking. The conference was so popular that the organisers had to erect a huge tent to take the overflow. The aspiring entrepreneurs did not just want to strike it rich; they wanted to play their part in forging a new India. Speaker after speaker praised entrepreneurship as a powerful force for doing good as well as doing well.”

[...]

“The globalisation of entrepreneurship is raising the competitive stakes for everyone, particularly in the rich world. Entrepreneurs can now come from almost anywhere, including once-closed economies such as India and China. And many of them can reach global markets from the day they open their doors, thanks to the falling cost of communications.”

“THE rise of the entrepreneur, which has been gathering speed over the past 30 years, is not just about economics. It also reflects profound changes in attitudes to everything from individual careers to the social contract. It signals the birth of an entrepreneurial society.”

“ VICTOR HUGO once remarked: “You can resist an invading army; you cannot resist an idea whose time has come.” Today entrepreneurship is such an idea… The triumph of entrepreneurship is driven by profound technological change… Another reason for entrepreneurship becoming mainstream is that the social contract between big companies and their employees has been broken… Yet another reason for the mainstreaming of entrepreneurship is that so many institutions have given it their support…The world’s governments are now competing to see who can create the most pro-business environment. In 2003 the World Bank began to publish an annual report called Doing Business, rating countries for their business-friendliness by measuring things like business regulations, property rights and access to credit…Robert Litan, of the Kauffman Foundation, suggests that the World Bank may have done more good by compiling Doing Business than by lending much of the money that it has.”

“Entrepreneurialism has become cool.”

Enjoy,

Iain Clelland, Ph.D.

Filed under: Business, Entrepreneurs, Radford University , Business, Entrepreneurs, The Economist Magazine

Decisions

It’s a bit unusual for me to offer more than one post on a given day.

It’s drizzling today.

I don’t like rain (even though Atlanta desperately needs it) unless I can run in it. Rain makes me melancholy. And, drops in barometric pressure apparently conspire with other elements to give me migraines. Also, drizzling is just so pathetic. I prefer a torrent of rain! Or, just no rain. Why else might be the point of such inclement weather other than to really piss me off because we probably can’t have soccer practice (I don’t care for Bermuda grass – and, don’t get me started there). Soccer was meant to be played under any conditions. Just not in Atlanta – or where Bermuda grass, and poor soil conditions and highly suspect roots, prevail (what an incredible metaphor for shallow things).

Such dizzying ruminations aside, I am feeling surprisingly bouyant in this late morning (even if the word bouyant is creating some consternation with me and spell check).

One of my business coaching clients, Sanders McConnell, has only just left my offices. We are both pretty excited. We had a great break through – call it an epiphany, with regards to his evolving business model. The pieces snapped into place on this overcast morning that suddenly feels so bright and full of promise.

NOTE: The inestimable PJ Bain must be running late himself today for our appointment. Possibly due to the rain. However, the extra times is allowing for this impromptu post – and, it feels great. And, I shall look forward to seeing PJ because he, himself is such a terrific example of truth and light.

I have the coolest job in the world. All I have to do is hang out with my friends all day and help them make better decisions.

God gave the world the Beautiful Game of soccer. And, He has given me experience, and discernment, and opportunities to use them for good.

Peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

Brian Patrick Cork

Filed under: Business, Coaching, Entrepreneurs, Strategy , Business, Coaching, Entrepreneurs, Life

Solutions: Private Capital Under Seige

The following is uncensored (and relevant) information recently distributed by Mr. John Bacon with IPBiz in Atlanta, Georgia (shared with me by Mr. PJ Bain – also of Atlanta Georgia).

“Though I’m concerned that private capital is under siege in this country (at the very least, it has disappeared for now) based upon the new administration’s policy shifts, we clearly need to take full advantage of opportunities those changes imply.

The following outline is a portion of the policy directions (see http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/technology/) announced by the Obama administration.

Improve America’s Competitiveness:

• Invest in the sciences: Double federal funding for basic research over ten years, changing the posture of our federal government to one that embraces science and technology.
• Invest in university-based research: Expand research initiatives at American colleges and universities. Provide new research grants to the most outstanding early-career researchers in the country.
• Make the R&D tax credit permanent so that firms can rely on it when making decisions to invest in domestic R&D over multi-year timeframes.
• Ensure competitive markets: Foster a business and regulatory landscape in which entrepreneurs and small businesses can thrive, startups can launch, and all enterprises can compete effectively while investors and consumers are protected against bad actors that cross the line. Reinvigorate antitrust enforcement to ensure that capitalism works for consumers.
• Protect American intellectual property abroad: Work to ensure intellectual property is protected in foreign markets, and promote greater cooperation on international standards that allow our technologies to compete everywhere.
• Protect American intellectual property at home: Update and reform our copyright and patent systems to promote civic discourse, innovation, and investment while ensuring that intellectual property owners are fairly treated.
• Reform the patent system: Ensure that our patent laws protect legitimate rights while not stifling innovation and collaboration. Give the Patent and Trademark Office the resources to improve patent quality and open up the patent process to citizen review to help foster an environment that encourages innovation. Reduce uncertainty and wasteful litigation that is currently a significant drag on innovation.

It will take months for the details of legislation resulting from the budget proposals to come to light and start implementation. But we need to stay on top of the initiatives above, at least, in order to anticipate where programs emerge which can benefit IP2Biz.” - John Bacon

Lets be part of the Solution – and, not the Problem.

Brian Patrick Cork

Filed under: Business, Economy, Entrepreneurs , Business, IPBiz, John Bacon, Obaba administration, PJ Bain, Private Capital

Entrepreneurs Can Lead Us Out of the Crisis

Dr. Iain Clelland at Radford University shared this story from the Wall Street Journal with me.

I can’t add anything (at least for the moment), because I think the message is both true and clear.

To wit:

Entrepreneurs Can Lead Us Out of the Crisis By TOM HAYES and MICHAEL S. MALONE

“It’s time for the Obama administration to provide incentives for the creation of real jobs. Mr. Hayes, a long-time Silicon Valley executive, is the author of “Jump Point: How Network Culture is Revolutionizing Business” (McGraw-Hill, 2008). Mr. Malone, a columnist for ABCNews.com, is the author of “The Future Arrived Yesterday,” forthcoming from Crown Business.

The passage of the $787 billion stimulus bill has so far failed to stimulate anything but greater market pessimism. This suggests to us that the strategy behind the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act is wrong — and worse, that the weapons it is using to fight the recession are obsolete.

Just as generals are notorious for fighting the last war, Congress and the White House seem intent on fixing an economy of hidebound and obsolete companies and industries, while ignoring the innovative ones rising before us and those waiting to be born.

Missing from this legislation is anything more than token support for the long-proven source of most new jobs and new growth in America: entrepreneurs. These are the people who gave us everything — from Wal-Mart to iPhones, from microprocessors to Twitter — that is still strong in our economy. Without entrepreneurs, we will never get out of our current predicament.

This recession is more than a business-as-usual downturn caused by bad lending practices, government incompetence and Wall Street avarice. A greater, underlying dynamic is at work, a fundamental change taking place in the global marketplace. The U.S. economy isn’t built for this new world (indeed, neither is any other nation) which is why our problems are racing out of control, while our solutions are proving both slow and inadequate. The danger now is that by merely fixing the old economy we will leave ourselves even more unprepared for the new one.

Only entrepreneurs have the flexibility, the freedom and the risk-everything ambition to find the path back to prosperity in a rapidly changing, technology-driven global economy. Here’s how to help them:

- The biggest problem for new start-ups is the lack of capital. Here in Silicon Valley, investors are paralyzed by a lack of faith in the future. Solutions? First, kill Sarbanes-Oxley or make it voluntary. Right now.

When brilliant young companies can once again go public without the prospect of being stuck with a massive, expensive reporting infrastructure, they will do so — creating new wealth, important new corporations, and reigniting venture capital investment.

- Nontraditional means of capital formation need support to let the brave risk takers of today build the future. So allow entrepreneurs to more easily tap tax-free retirement accounts — or better yet, let them create tax-free accounts specifically to fund themselves.

- Eliminate payroll taxes, which unnecessarily burden young companies. Many small companies don’t hire full-time employees because of the payroll tax burden, and this inhibits the creation of new jobs.

- The marquee venture capitalists have little time nor inclination anymore to invest seed capital in early stage companies. The real heroes these days are the nonprofessional investors — the “Angels.” These folks aren’t always the high net worth people we imagine, and often they aren’t as sophisticated as we think. So make the tax system more forgiving for them — or allow the creation of tax-free investment vehicles similar to what we now see with nonprofit foundations or 529 college savings funds.

- Business blogger Sramana Mitra has suggested a novel “tiered” tax structure to promote a return to risk-taking. VCs would pay lower capital gains taxes on investments in early stage companies and higher taxes on later stage deals. This would be the venture-capitalist equivalent of long-term versus short-term capital gains rates, supporting both strategies, but giving a bigger break for the greater risk.

- Help big business think small. The stimulus legislation is packed with incentives for large companies, but not one incentive is designed to encourage companies to create new jobs rather than merely preserving the ones they already have. To restore lost jobs, big business is going to have to take risks again — and that means investing in both internal, “intrapreneurial” ventures, and, in a venture mode, also investing in external new start-ups.

- Convene a presidential summit on entrepreneurship and small business. The last president to do so was Ronald Reagan in 1982, and the chief topic was the impact of the fax machine. We are long overdue. There is no better time for President Obama to listen to the folks who hold the fate of this economy in their hands.

At its best, the stimulus legislation is an immensely expensive attempt to restore what the U.S. economy has lost in the last few months. But the world is already moving on. The only way the American economy is going to regain its lost health and vitality is to lead the world into the future. Entrepreneurs are the only people who can get us there.”

Let’s be part of the Solution – and, not the Problem.

Brian Patrick Cork

Filed under: Business, Entrepreneurs, Radford University , Entrepreneurs, Radford University, Wall Street Journal