Helen Phung, a communications consultant, had what she considered a brilliant Halloween costume. She couldn’t wait for her coworkers to give her knowing nods and make clever comments as they passed her in the kitchen. She was dressed as the Chicken Lady from Kids in the Hall, the Canadian sketch comedy show that originally aired from the late '80s to mid-'90s, and later as reruns on Comedy Central during the '00s.

Image: Flickr user dacian dorca-street photographie

Something’s afoot in the future of work, but it’s hush-hush. People don’t like talking about it.

"I know it is ugly to say ‘unicorn,’ but yeah, you kinda do have to be the unicorn," Chris Noessel, head of design for IBM’s transportation group, tells me. Before joining the tech giant, Mr. Noessel spent a decade at the design and strategy firm Cooper.

His former boss, Alan Cooper, who invented (and later sold to Microsoft) the core design for Visual Basic, is even more cautious around the subject. "I think we in the design profession do ourselves and our colleagues a disservice by even recognizing the argument that ‘unicorns’ exist."

Indianapolis made the top 10 in a new report that looked at 45 U.S. cities and measured an area’s attractiveness to tech companies based on how much space those companies are leasing.

The report, commissioned by commercial real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and titled “U.S. Technology Office Outlook,” found that tech companies signed leases for slightly under 985,000 square feet of office space in greater Indianapolis between the third quarter of 2015 and the second quarter of 2016. That resulted in Indianapolis being ranked 10th among the 45 cities. The total square footage included new leases, lease renewals, and renewals with expansions.

Reba Jaber could have gone in a few directions after graduating in 2014 from the University of Michigan with a trio of graduate degrees.

But rather than go into medicine or clinical research, Jaber opted instead to pursue a career in the venture capital industry. Jaber, who has an MBA, connected with Birmingham-based IncWell LLC, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups where he’s now a partner.

Through IncWell, Jaber became a venture fellow in a program run by the Michigan Venture Capital Association that seeks to groom talent to work in the state’s growing venture capital industry.

Image: Reba Jaber, a partner at venture capital firm IncWell, attends the MVCAcademy in July. He’s one of 15 investment professionals who have participated in the Michigan Venture Capital Association’s Venture Fellows Program. Photo Courtesy of Leisa Thompson

Accurately measuring enterprise value (EV) has never been more important or challenging. Even more so because firms are confronted by growing volumes of data, and the stakes implied in misinterpreting the value of that data have risen to new heights.

Data is no longer the domain of tech companies or IT departments — it is fast becoming a centerpiece of corporate value creation more generally. Today most organizations are data-driven to one degree or another.

In corporate travel, extending a business trip for personal purposes is known as “bleisure,” an awkward term that’s only saving grace is that it’s less awful than the alternative, “bizcation.”

Bleisure travel has received considerable attention lately, with some traveler surveys suggesting that as many as 6 out of 10 people have tacked on personal time to a business trip. Those surveys suggest that bleisure emerged as a trend in response to increasingly demanding work schedules and because work and life lines have blurred because of technology in other ways, so it’s only natural that travel would follow as well.

There are so many exciting discoveries in scientific research that could be used to cure, feed and fuel the world, but there is a giant gulf between science and business. Tech transfer aims to bridge the gap! I interviewed a number of experts in the field to tell you how.

Since the first modern biotechnology company, Genentech, was founded in 1976, the biotechnology industry has grown to become one of the major engines of scientific innovation. The importance of innovation in biotechnology has brought the issues of intellectual property (IP) right and technology transfer (TT) into sharp focus.

When you do things is important to your health and wellness

In our relentless quest to live healthier, happier, longer, more productive lives, we often overlook a powerful tool that’s right within us: the human body’s internal sense of timing. When it comes to health and wellness, most of the literature focuses on the what, how, and how much, with little focus on the when. Have you ever noticed that there are certain times of day when you do things better than others?

Our bodies are designed to coordinate the timing of almost all the aspects of life—sleep, work, sex, communication, even having fun. The body has a master biological clock, which keeps the body’s other clocks in sync. This master bio clock relies heavily on external cues of light and darkness, delivered along a pathway that travels from the optic nerve.

Image: http://time.com

There’s an old saying in polite circles in the United States that there are two things one should never talk about a social gatherings: Politics & Religion. I think this is so engrained in the psyche of many Americans that in times of great need many still won’t speak out publicly about what they say privately. With just over 50 days until we elect a new president of the US it’s critical for the interests of yourself and your fellow citizens that more of you speak up.

Nothing is more intriguing, inspiring, and engaging than a good old-fashioned challenge. Whether you want to build a culture of innovation, reach employees in a meaningful way, or search for immediate ideas to solve pressing problems, an innovation challenge may be the answer. What Is an Innovation Challenge? An innovation challenge is an effective way to inject some energy into the idea creation of your company. It can be easily executed by using an internal communication platform that every employee has access to, such as the company Intranet, an idea software program, or email.

In the 1950s, in rural Oklahoma, at a place called Robbers Cave, several researchers performed an experiment we would find unethical today. They invited twenty-two eleven-year-old boys to participate in a three week camp. The researchers advertised a wholesome summer camp experience. The experience they delivered was very different.

What the researchers actually did was to privately divide the boys into two groups of eleven each, and separate them for the first week so they had no contact, or knowledge, of the other group at all. Isolated, each group developed their own habits, expressions, favorite songs, and even their own group names, the Rattlers and the Eagles, which they painted on flags and T-shirts.

Even Kobe Bryant couldn’t play basketball forever. After 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, the five-time National Basketball Association champ has pivoted, turning a longtime interest in investing into a full-time job. Bryant recently announced that he’s teamed up with entrepreneur and investor Jeff Stibel to launch a $100 million venture capital fund.

This news generated plenty of buzz in the wake of Bryant’s retirement after the 2015–’16 NBA season: He and Stibel, who are putting up the money themselves, rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on August 22. But the two have been investing together since 2013, when they founded Los Angeles–based Bryant Stibel to fund companies whose products and services marry technology, media and data.

Image: Patrick T. Fallon/BLOOMBERG

Ever wondered which state had the highest percentage of grown kids still living with their parents? If you imagined that it might be the great state of New Jersey, you win the prize. Census data released on Sept. 15 says that just less than 47% of New Jersey’s 18-to-34-year-olds are living in their parents’ home. Yep, almost half.

The Garden State has the highest proportion of so-called boomerang kids, but it’s not alone. As the map below shows, more than 40% of Connecticut and New York millennials are living with their parents as well. And California and Florida aren’t too far behind.

Image: http://time.com

Innovation ranks high among our culture’s most cherished attributes, a key underpinning for progress and prosperity. So it’s a little shocking to consider how innovation once was considered more of a threat than a boon.

In the 16th and 17th Centuries, “innovators” drew scorn as disrupters who threatened the established political or religious order. “Traitorous innovators,” Shakespeare thundered in one of his plays, and Scottish writer James Boswell lumped together “modern infidels and innovators” as “all vain men.”

Are entrepreneurs born or made? That debate still rages, but for Central University of Technology Vice-chancellor Professor Thandwa Mthembu the answer is clear: Entrepreneurs can indeed be made and it’s time to invest more seriously in that process.

“Everything is teachable, given the right environment. If you think something is not teachable, then you probably don’t belong in an educational institution,” he told University World News in an interview last week, in which he outlined his institution’s strategic focus on innovation and entrepreneurship education in line with its vision to become an agent for socio-economic development, particularly at the level of cities and regions.

“‘Disruptor’’ has negative connotations to it, if you look it up,” she said.

It shouldn’t be used in business for that reason. She points out that Google is not a disruptor.

“It builds great businesses by looking for a problem and finding a creative solution,” she said. “We found 94 percent of all fatal accidents are caused by driver error. We set out to save lives.”

When you first moved your things into your office, you couldn’t wait to put your talents to use and impress your new colleagues with your dedication and drive.

But at some point, that passion to succeed did a slow fade. Instead of killing it on projects, you found yourself going through the motions, bored and uninspired.

You’re not the only one who spends the workday feeling this way. A 2014 Gallup report determined that 51% of employees were "not engaged" at the office—in other words, they don’t feel invested in their work, and they’re not getting anything meaningful out of it. Another 17.5% of employees described themselves as "actively disengaged."

There has been a lot of money sloshing around the startup world for the past few years. Cheap and accessible capital has advantages: More founders get the opportunity to pursue big dreams and previously “unfundable companies” not only raise huge amounts of money, but some ultimately achieve unicorn status.

Discussions about the downside of this trend are usually related to systemic risks, like the perpetual bubble talk, but few are discussing the problem as it relates to founders — more capital equals more risk. But who is bearing this risk, and what really is the downside? Sure, capital providers are taking this risk — but they aren’t the only ones.

Helping patients means transparency and clarity

Every day, thousands of Americans hear the dreaded “c word” from their doctor. I know the fear and the numbness that sets in with the cancer of a loved one.

What happens next can make the difference between life and death. If there’s a treatment that can help, there’s hope. But for some people, hope is a clinical trial that will ultimately determine whether a new therapy can slow or stop their cancer.

Image: Ints Kalnins—Reuters - Joe Biden delivers a speech in Riga, Latvia, on Aug.23, 2016.

A question that always props up in a job seeker’s mind while joining a startup has to be “job security.” While the startup ecosystem has the perks of having flexible working hours and leaner or zero hierarchy, sudden plug on projects and in situations of deals and mergers, one always sees startups layoff a string of employees.

So should a job seeker looking for security not join any traditional startup?

Image: Entrepreneur India