“Out there in some garage is an entrepreneur who’s forging a bullet with your company’s name on it.”

 Gary Hamel

Author, “Competing for the Future”

Boomers or Their Kids: Who’s Got the Entrepreneurial Edge?

“Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill” is an adage offering comfort (real or imagined)  to the Baby Boomers. Maybe it’s true; but most of us would assume that the younger set would be more entrepreneurial than the 50 plus crowd. Not so according to recent surveys by Monster.com and Millennial Branding, Inc. which reveal that Baby Boomers are actually significantly more likely to describe themselves as entrepreneurs than the Millennials (those under 29).  Check out a brief summary of these surprising finding  which includes links to the underlying survey.

 Lessons on How to Make a Killing…. from Those Trained to Do it

The military is probably the world’s oldest industry (well, maybe second oldest). With that much history there must be much to learn from the armed forces (at least I think so, since I’m a veteran). Many think that what the military can teach us is along the lines of strategy and hard skills….but a recent article in the “Schumpeter” column at The Economist holds that it’s the soft skills where the military has the most to teach us.  How To Make a Killing :  What Business Can Learn from The Military.

Marissa Mayer’s’ Tough Call at Yahoo

The newest occupant of the corner office at Yahoo made a tough and surprising call this week when she put an end to telecommuting.  Despite being new to the company and expecting her first child, Marissa Mayer has evidently taken a hard look at how things work at beleaguered Yahoo and decided the work-at-home option that so many of her employees had chosen may be more of a problem than a solution. Learn why columnist Anne-Marie Slaughter, in her recent article in the Atlantic, thinks that Marissa Mayer’s Job is to be CEO, Not Make Life Easier for Working Moms.”   (This article, unsurprisingly, prompted not a little controversy. Check out the numerous comments at the end of the article for an interesting discussion of a decision you may have to make.)

 Trends from the Trenches

Vistage Speaker on Blue Ocean Strategy Andrea Simon was recently featured in Forbes where she summarized what the leaders at  middle market companies think is happening now and coming down the pike. Check out  the Ten Business Trends from the Trenches for 2013 that CEOs and Senior Executives like you have identified.

Econ Recon: Sequestration?…Remain Calm

March 1 came and went and we seem to have survived the onset of Sequestration. Vistage Staff Economist and Institute for Trend Research President Alan Beaulieu asks us to consider what most Americans have done regarding their own spending in the past five years and suggests that this may help us Keep Sequestration in Long Term Perspective.