When Molly Graham joined Facebook in 2008, the company still felt scrappy. With 400 employees serving 80 million users, people were so busy “moving fast and breaking things” that the culture still needed to be defined. Graham was hired to help make this happen — to not only tell the company’s story externally, but to build a shared vision and identity as it grew from 400 to thousands of employees. She started by asking two questions: 1) Who do we want to be when we grow up? 2) How do we talk to people outside about what it’s like to work at Facebook?

Windows that prevent bird collisions by mimicking the UV-reflective qualities of spider webs; a train that travels faster, uses less energy and makes less noise after it was redesigned to resemble a bird’s beak; highly efficient wind turbine blades that mimic the bumpy edges of a whale’s flippers.

These are just three of countless examples of biomimicry – technologies inspired by forms, processes and systems found in nature. The discipline is no longer just an academic exercise. It has become an innovation tool that allows companies to develop a new class of products and services.

Many labor experts see the surge in temp jobs and contract work in the United States as a sign of a long-term shift in the employment market away from permanent jobs, according to the Wall Street Journal. In March 2014, more than 2.8 million workers, or 2.5% of the workforce, held temporary jobs, up from 1.7 million in 2009; nearly 40% of such positions are in manufacturing. Temp jobs allow employers to quickly staff up or downsize in periods of growth or contraction, and they tend to be lower-wage: The average weekly temp-job pay of $554 is one-third lower than that of all jobs.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

After enterprise tech start-up Box filed to go public last month, revealing founder Aaron Levie’s remaining stake to be just over 4% (plus stock options), commentators seemed compelled to note just how much control the 28-year-old founder had given up on the road to an IPO. One Quora user asked Levie how it felt to watch his investors “laugh to the bank after 10 years of blood, sweat, and tears.” TechCrunch was a bit more sympathetic, writing that “Levie didn’t have much choice. Box needed that funding.”

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

The Recovery Puzzle: A New Factory in Ohio Struggles to Match Jobs to Job-Seekers The Washington Post

We're all familiar with the unemployment numbers, as well as the persistent cries that it's difficult to match job seekers with open positions. But unless you're on hiring Ground Zero, it's tough to understand exactly what this puzzle looks like, let alone how to put it together. This wonderfully written article puts the reader in the shoes of Bernie Coyle, who wants to hire 40 people to work in a new egg-white-extraction factory in the aptly named town of Fort Recovery, Ohio. His excitement about giving people jobs can't be overstated. But from poorly written cover letters to interview no-shows to (yay) an eventual hire, Coyle's story underlines one of the central tensions of the American economic recovery that seems easily solvable: Even though a lot of qualified workers can’t find jobs, a lot of jobs can’t quite find qualified workers.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

Every minute of every day, something is trying to distract you.

In the time it’s taken me to write this sentence, I’ve received two email notifications and one Facebook friend request. In the 15 seconds it’s probably taken you to read up to this point, 6.21 days of video have been uploaded to YouTube, and some of it is bound to be hilarious. Any minute now someone’s going to call or stop by your desk to talk about a problem or see if you want to grab some lunch--and a beer always sounds good.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

This is a story about two roads: Should and Must.

It’s a pep talk for anyone who’s chosen Should far too long--months, years, maybe a lifetime, and feels like it’s about time they give Must a shot.

There are two paths in life: Should and Must. We arrive at this crossroads over and over again. And each time, we get to choose.

Should is how others want us to show up in the world--how we’re supposed to think, what we ought to say, what we should or shouldn’t do. When we choose Should the journey is smooth, the risk is small.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

It has increasingly become accepted that emotional intelligence is an important factor in our success and happiness, not only at work, but in our relationships and all areas of our lives.

So what sets emotionally intelligent people apart? Here are seven habits that people with high EI have:

1. THEY FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE

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In a previous post, I shared questions that can help in overcoming fear of failure. But sometimes, there’s an even more basic problem that can stop us from pursuing bold challenges and ambitious goals: not knowing which challenges or goals to pursue. These days, you're urged to “follow your passions” and “lean in”--but what if you’re not sure where your particular passion lies? What if you don’t know which way to lean?

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1. TESLA MOTORS

For obliterating the major barrier to wider adoption of electric vehicles. Sure, Tesla has carved out an undisputed lead in the electric-car industry with its revolutionary Model S, but the unveiling of the company’s charging stations was equally noteworthy and less heralded. Billed as “the fastest charging station on the planet”--because it is--the Tesla Supercharger can fuel up a Model S in as little as 40 minutes, removing the so-called range anxiety that has been the biggest bugaboo of EV doubters. But in January, Tesla took another leap: It expanded its rapid-charging station route to more than 70 locations, letting Model S owners drive coast-to-coast for the first time.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

For the cost of the Tomahawk Cruise Missile program, we can hire 4,784 elementary school teachers for one year. Use this tool to find out where your tax dollars are going and how they might be better spent.

No one really likes paying taxes, even if deep down we know they're essential for the functioning of basically everything we take for granted, like functioning roadways and social security.

Image: http://www.fastcoexist.com 

Niklas Zennstrom knows technology and knows the venture capital business. He co-founded communications powerhouse Skype, which he sold to eBay for $3.1 billion in 2005. Then he was part of a group that reacquired it and sold it again, to Microsoft, for $8.5 billion in 2011. In between those two deals he started a venture firm that has made more than 50 investments.

Despite those credentials, as an investor Zennstrom keeps his distance from the world’s technology mecca. Atomico, the firm he founded in 2006, has offices in London, Beijing, São Paulo, Istanbul and Tokyo, and focuses mainly on entrepreneurs outside Silicon Valley.

Image: Niklas Zennstrom, founding partner and CEO at Atomic and co-founder and former CEO at Skype. Reuters 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller (D-WV) and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today released the following statements after the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation passed S. 1468, the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act of 2013, which seeks to strengthen collaborations between the government and the manufacturing sector. The legislation now awaits action by the full Senate. 

“Today’s action means we’re one step closer toward increasing our support for American innovation and manufacturing. We must continue to invest in programs that help transform the brilliant scientific discoveries currently taking place in university laboratories into real-world applications on the factory floor,” said Rockefeller. “With this bill, we can bridge the gap from basic research to manufacturing that has doomed so many promising inventions before they’re able to reach the market. Senator Brown has been relentless in his support for workers and the manufacturing industry, and I thank him for all his work on this bill. I also want to thank Ranking Member Thune for his support. Now, it’s time for the full Senate to act on this legislation that will create jobs and boost our economy.”

An Internet bug had massive potential security implications. But good luck getting information on whether any actual damage was done.

A long-lasting bug called Heartbleed has undermined basic security across the Internet. In theory, it exposed encryption keys, users’ names, and passwords, and data for two-thirds of the world’s websites. This is because of a newly discovered flaw in software called OpenSSL, which is supposed to allow for encrypted data exchange (see “The Under-Funded Project Keeping the Web Secure”).

In a fishbowl-like room in Lehigh University's Wilbur Powerhouse, abstract ideas take on physical form.

A 3D printer cranks out computer-generated designs, half-finished projects spill across work tables and scribbled notes fill blackboards in the Creativity Lab.

This magical space spurs creativity among student entrepreneurs such as Lisa Glover, whose do-it-yourself cardboard dinosaur kit took shape here, going on to raise more than $84,000 in private funding through an Internet campaign. And fellow graduate student Keith Martin created "finger markers" that may someday help people with disabilities grip a pencil or paintbrush.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

Recessions tend to push people into entrepreneurship. Those who might never consider starting a business will do so if they can’t get a job.

As our economy gets stronger, a smaller percentage of the population is starting businesses, according to the Kauffman Foundation’s Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, released a few days ago. Last year, .28% of American adults started their own businesses each month, compared to .30% in 2012.

Image: http://www.forbes.com/ 

Increasingly, employers are phone-screening job candidates before inviting them for an on-site interview.

Maybe this is good news. Phone interviews are easier, right? You can have a bunch of cheat sheets in front of you — your resume, sample answers to common interview questions, and key facts about the company. You can wear your pajamas — heck, you can even stay in bed while you chat!

Most people think that the Peter Principle (employee rises to his level of incompetence) only applies to large organizations. Let me assure you that it is also alive and well within startups. I see startup founders and managers who are stalled transplants from large organizations, as well as highly-capable technologists trying to start and run a business for the first time.

James Caan was part of the panel of investors of the popular business BBC TV show, Dragons’ Den. The founder and CEO of UK-based Hamilton, Caan began his career in recruitment and founded the people-sourcing business Alexander Mann in the mid-1980s, which was later sold in 1999. Passionate about the SME sector, he will visit South Africa later this month to speak at the M2B (Millionaire to Billionaire) event. Recruiting competent, high-calibre IT talent is a constant challenge for technology-oriented companies. Attracting and retaining the best talent globally is challenging and also costly.

Image: http://memeburn.com/ 

Who would have thought that the future of weight loss might lie in the hands of the inventor of the Segway? Dean Kamen, creator of the two-wheeled wonder, along with a team from Aspire Bariatrics, of Philadelphia, has applied for a patent for a pump that can suck food and drink straight out of the stomach.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net