Tuesday, November 29, 2005

A woman entrepreneur's desire to succeed

In Entrepreneur

While some would have found the twists and turns of this woman's entrepreneurial ride too tumultuous to stomach, and her unexpected obstacles insurmountable, her business has emerged successful. Read the article to find out why and how. It could be you.

Monday, November 21, 2005

What Motivates Women Entrepreneurs?

In icWales

Whether you are running a business in Wales or Wilmette, Illinois, women are motivated by a desire for independence, freedom and self-fulfilment, research shows.

Learn more by reading: The Start-Up Barriers Facing Women

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Drucker Managed To Do It First And Now He Is Gone

In the Financial Times

My favorite and most influential management guru -- Peter Drucker -- passes on at age 95.

"Managers learn in business school that relationships are either up or down, but the most important relationships today are sideways," Drucker said with an Austrian accent grown stronger with old age. "If there is one thing that most of the people I know in management have to learn it is how to handle relationships where there is no authority and no orders. Now, what else do you have?" ~ Peter Drucker, November 15, 2004.

Doesn't it sound like entrepreneurship? Well entrepreneurship and innovation occupied him powerfully in his later years, along with the growth of what he called “knowledge work” and management's wider role in society. He revelled in such observations as “for the first four years, no new enterprise produces profits. Even Mozart didn't start writing music until he was four."

Drucker taught us that the best ideas have to be simplified in order to be effective. Who else could question with such authority: “What business are we in, and who are our customers?”

I will miss his genius immensely. Read the obituary here.

Friday, November 04, 2005

Women Entrepreneurs Aspire To Just "Be"

In The Wall Street Journal

Yesterday I read Colin McGinn's review on "What's It All About?" -- a book on how to figure out what our values and goals should be -- and could not help but notice how parts of his review minded me so much about entrepreneurship. I don't know if the piece is available online but here is the clip I enjoyed the most:

"This possibility suggests that some notion of authenticity and genuine achievement is necessary for a meaningful life, not merely agreeable affect. As Mr. Haggini (author of book) notes, we needn't restrict such achievement to the artist or scientist or entrepreneur; everyone strives for success in one form or another, even if it is "just" being part of a loving family. People need to achieve worthwhile goals if they are to feel satisfied with their lives, but the goals may vary. Above all, people need to become the kind of person they individually aspire to be."