Great HBR podcast on the ways that governments can encourage entrepreneurship (http://blogs.hbr.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/7390).

The bullet point summary:

Governments can’t imitate Silicon Valley.  It was the product of a very patricular set of circumstances in a particular time period.  Silicon Valley probably couldn’t imitate itself again today.

The desire for Governments to create a similar entrepreneurial hotbed is commendable because it points to the acknowledgement of small growing companies and their role in contributing disproportionately to economic growth.

A healthy ecosystem for entrepreneurship must include:

• Public leadership
• Supportive regulation and policy
• Conducive social norms
• Capital availability
• Large customers willing to work with small suppliers

Many countries have strong elements of this ecosystem but few have all.  Among the best countries for entrepreneurship are:

• Taiwan
• Israel
• Denmark
• Chile
• Rwanda

Regarding the effectiveness of microfinance, we need to help micro-financed businesses take a more aggressive approach allowing them to grow and expand in a big way.  Large successes in entrepreneurial companies have a very important stimulating effect on the community, in the same way that Skype helped stimulate entrepreneurship in Estonia.

It can be said that the biggest mistake countries can make is looking outside of their boarders too much.  Entrepreneurship is part of the human spirit and is a form of self expression in the same way art is.  Governments need to encourage entrepreneurship from their people and stoke that fire.  By encouraging and empowering the people these governments will see the best results.

Venture Mechanics is an interesting group that brings a new perspective to the Angel Investor/Venture Capital model.  I am currently helping the partners and learning quite a bit.  I suggest taking a look at the site.

www.VentureMechanics.com

I would suggest Jill Bolte Taylor’s TED talk, to anyone interested in discussions of the cognitive sciences or discussions of human perception and thought.  After watching the video, make your way to ChaunceyBell.com and read his post responding to Taylor’s presentation.

In the video Taylor discusses her experience, as a brain scientist, when she witnessed the effects of a massive stroke, first hand.  She discusses the physical experience and her philosophical interpretation of the event.

In his post, Bell responds to the account and interpretation of the experience.  Bell warns us of some of the dangers in using Taylor’s particular metaphors for understanding the event, and the underlying biological assumptions those metaphors represent.

A recent article from the Business Insider argues that the US may currently have a leg up on China.

The argument goes, China holding a large portion of US debt is not necessarily bad for the US and may give the US leverage to use to pressure China into allowing its currency to float.

The leverage comes from the effect of China selling its US debt.  If China was to do so it would devalue the Dollar against other world currencies boosting US exports and helping the US to eliminate the trade deficit.

It is still worrisome that China holds such a large portion of our sovereign debt but the reciprocity of the arrangement provides some stability.

I will be interested to see the results of the US Treasury report on the Chinese Yuan and if the Treasury will call China on their currency manipulation.

Link: http://bit.ly/cfgy4N

The Wall Street Journal has posted an article on the higher rate of selection of Veterans for business schools in the recent year.

These business schools site respect, teamwork, and discipline among other aspects that appeal to the schools. Particularly the ability of Veterans to bring a wealth of experience into the classroom to enrich discussions.

Credit Suisse Group says “an internal study found that employees with military backgrounds tended to be highly successful due to a sense of discipline and ability to build camaraderie.”

As more experienced Vets leave the service, the work force and the US economy will benefit from their contributions. I hope to see more Veterans being chosen for their abilities to overcome adversity and positively contribute to whatever group they decide to participate in. Of course I have a very subjective opinion.

The new year is under way and many people have fallen back into the routines that they promised to change as part of a new years resolution.

Now is the time to take a look at how your grand plans have been progressing.  Whether you have fallen off the horse or not, take stock, and if you need to, gather yourself and start moving again in the right direction.

In retrospect, my endeavors have not been as successful as they could have been but I am making progress.  The progress I have made is similar to that of the stock market in this period – making significant gains even while suffering occasional set backs.  Learning new habits and making significant changes takes time and commitment.  But the most important ingredient is consistency.  Two steps forward and one step back will get you there eventually, it just takes longer.

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Google has announced that it will be considering closing up its operations in China (permalink).

In summary, after an attack on its corporate infrastructure that originated from China, Google is considering withdrawing from the Chinese market.  The attack was not limited to Google and also targeted many other companies from different sectors.  The attack on Google was an attempt to gain access to the accounts of persons who are advocates of human rights in China.  While the majority of the attack failed, Google reported that basic account information, such as: the name on the account; when the account was created; and email subject line information, may have been compromised for dozens of accounts.

It will be interesting to see how this move by Google unfolds.  I wonder if exiting the Chinese market is a viable option for any company in our globalized economy.  I also wonder if the Google’s request to run an uncensored search site in China will be dismissed immediately or considered by the Chinese government.

ZenHabits.net author Leo just put up another site on choosing and maintaining New Year’s Resolutions. The new site, 6changes.com, provides some interesting advice regarding success in sticking to behavioral changes after new years.

The slow and thought-out approach in 6changes.com certainly seems better than the full-bore attack we usually use when confronting personal improvement in the New Year. Leo suggests choosing 6 daily habits, which can be worked on singly for two months each. In the two months dedicated to each habit, eight baby steps are taken, one each week. By systematically breaking down the new habits you want to create, you are forced to gradually incorporate the habits instead of trying to change too much all at once. The process of breaking down the habits has an additional benefit of forming a solid plan with quantitative milestones.

Additionally, each of your new habits should be connected to a trigger that is already part of your day. Triggers are common in performance psychology and are created to help athletes enter a winning state of mind in times of stress. Their use in this program is similar and Leo suggests that by tying together an existing activity, like brushing your teeth or drinking coffee, with your desired habit, you can more easily make the habit a permanent part of your daily routine.

Check out the site for the complete process and in depth advice.  I certainly found it interesting.

Merry Christmas Eve!