Carl Schramm, the former long-time president of the Kauffman Foundation, isn't satisfied with the state of American entrepreneurship. It's not because people aren't getting into it — it's because they're not being taught correctly.

And it's society's fault, he says.

"The world needs more entrepreneurs: They make innovation real and advance what Brink Lindsey, of the Kauffman Foundation, has called the 'frontier economy,' he wrote in a recent column at Harvard Business Review.

Picking the right business school is more important than ever.

The right school gives you an advantage in a tough market. The wrong school could be a critical waste of time and money.

Our survey has determined that the best program out there is Stanford Business School.

Harvard, which held the top spot for the past two years, came in a close second, with Wharton in third.

Fairfax, the second largest Australian newspaper publisher, recently said it would cut 1900 jobs, almost 20% of its staff. I was asked for comment by the Australian Broadcast Service, which was concerned about the effect on independent news from the loss of hundreds of top journalists.

I said that it would have an adverse effect because well-financed special interest groups would have a field day promoting their agendas. There’s very little that can be done to stem the loss of journalists because we don’t yet have a business solution to this problem, which is the direct result of a disruptive technology at work, one that continues to devastate the media industry. And there will be even more job losses to come.

Well? What was the first thing you thought of? Bankrupt? Stupid? Behind the times? Surely this must be a trick question. It’s 2012. Every business has a website. Right?

OK, it was a trick question. While more than half of small business do have an actual website — temporarily ignoring the fact that that means there are still about half of small business that don’t have a website — the majority of them aren’t doing enough to proactively make sure it’s working. You shelled out the chunk of change to choose a web design company in the first place, so why wouldn’t you get the insurance to protect it?

There are very few athletes that generate more controversy and hatred than LeBron James. However, many of the decisions and actions that LeBron has taken over his career align directly with what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur. Here are three principles that LeBron can teach us all about entrepreneurship.

The creation of a super team is not a bad thing

If you ever read any of the ESPN message boards about LeBron James you will notice the recurring comment that states, “LeBron only went to Miami because he knew that he wasn’t good enough to win the title by himself.” If this is the case, then it would seem that LeBron made an even better decision than any of us realize. In business, it is important to build the best team possible. Few people have an issue with Google when they pull the smartest graduates from top universities or got mad when Microsoft teamed up with Facebook. It’s all about leveraging win-win situations for the betterment of your business eco-system.

The first drop is a doozy. From the summit of the wooden roller coaster called the Voyage, 163 feet above the Holiday World theme park in the rolling woodlands of southern Indiana, the track drops 154 feet at a 66-degree angle. The cars quickly reach a top speed of nearly 70 miles an hour.

Those gasp-inducing numbers help explain why more than a million people a year visit Holiday World, which is a ways off the beaten track, and why the Voyage, one of three large wooden coasters at the park, earns high marks from connoisseurs.

But for Chad Miller, one of the ride’s designers, the most important feature of that first hill is the curve at the top.

Though most of us may find it quite embarrassing in case we were caught breaking wind, a new study has in fact suggested flatulence could help patients with high blood pressure.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, US, have found that hydrogen sulphide in flatus - informally known as a fart - is also produced by an enzyme in blood vessels where it relaxes them and lowers blood pressure, The Sun reported.

Hydrogen sulphide -- a toxic gas generated by bacteria living in the human gut -- has been shown to control blood pressure in mice. Those with higher levels of the gas had lower blood pressure than rodents with less.

What do all people who achieve true excellence and consistently high performance have in common?

The answer isn't great genes, although they're nice to have. It's the willingness to push themselves beyond their current limits day in and day out, despite the discomfort that creates, the sacrifice of more immediate gratification, and the uncertainty they'll be rewarded for their efforts.

The first way I've seen this is physically, through my body. I work out regularly with weights. I do push myself to discomfort, and I've grown considerably stronger over the years. At 60, I'm stronger than I was at 30.

Google Fiber recently held an event at the Kansas City Public Library exploring the state of Internet access in Kansas City, a.k.a. the digital divide. When I was signing in, a Google rep at the registration desk noticed that I was from The Brainzooming Group and said, “Brainzooming. We use that Gigabit City report you produced all the time.” She was referring to the “Building the Gigabit City” report that we produced with the Social Media Club of Kansas City after an intensive brainstorming session at the very same library last fall, which involved more than 90 community leaders and interested citizens from around the Kansas City metro.

For the second year running, Switzerland, Sweden, and Singapore lead in overall innovation performance according to the Global Innovation Index 2012 (GII): Stronger Innovation Linkages for Global Growth, published by INSEAD eLab, a research centre at the leading international business school, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations.

The report ranks 141 countries/economies on the basis of their innovation capabilities and results. It benefits from the experience of Knowledge Partners Alcatel-Lucent, Booz & Company, and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), as well as an Advisory Board of eleven international experts.

When MBA graduates Henri Deshays and Beatrice Pang were trying to get their new online luxury boutique off the ground in 2011, they turned to Stanford alumni for guidance and, perhaps more importantly, capital. The two Stanford Graduate School of Business alums pitched their business idea, ModeWalk.com, to the school’s recently formed Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs, an alumni group that connects entrepreneurs with potential investors. Says Pang: “We thought we had something really interesting.”

Turns out her hunch was right. Clint Korver and Miriam Rivera, the two co-founders of the alumni group, were so intrigued by the business plan that they signed on as angel investors. ModeWalk.com, which was launched in January and has since recruited 42 designers, is now one of 11 businesses that investors from the alumni group have bankrolled over the past two years. Angels from the group have invested $3 million in early-stage companies that have presented at the group’s quarterly pitch meetings, says Korver, co-president of Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs and a partner at ULU Ventures, a venture capital firm in Palo Alto, Calif.

Innovation Works is calling for technology commercialization proposals for up to $100,000 in funding, the group said this week.

The program is part of a larger $800,000 pot of money aimed at funding early-stage companies as well as start-ups spinning out of Pennsylvania universities.

The funding is through the Technology Commercialization Initiative and is one of the programs absorbed by Innovation Works with the dissolution of The Technology Collaborative this year.

A new health services business is looking to catch what its founder sees as an emerging third wave in the clinical application of genomics.

“We understand the clinical market space, and we understand the technology market space, and we try to bring those two together in the most productive way possible,” according to Mark S. Boguski, M.D., Ph.D., F.C.A.P., a faculty member at Harvard Medical School’s Center for Biomedical Informatics and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

We need to reinvent America because our system is broken. Technology is making us radically more empowered as individuals and our culture is rapidly changing. But the institutions that define our country haven't changed with them.

The question isn't whether we have to change. It's how.

The answer is simple: we need to unleash the American people and our entrepreneurs. The frustration that we all feel when we look at our country today represents a massive market opportunity. I'm hell-bent on convincing the entrepreneurial talent in America that our crisis of confidence in the way our country works is actually the greatest opportunity for launching new ventures that we'll see in our lifetimes. And even more importantly, tackling these really big problems is the single most patriotic thing you can do.

From cars to fashion to gadgets, it’s no secret that we live in an upgrade culture in which the “latest and greatest” isn’t the latest and greatest for very long. Regardless of whether or not what we own is still useful, if there’s a newer, shinier model available, we can’t wait to reach for our wallet.

This piece is part of a Collaborative Fund-curated series on creativity and values written by thought leaders in the for-profit, for-good business space. Gazelle, the company I founded, was very much born out of a mission to end this cycle of consumption, by giving new life to perfectly useful and valuable consumer electronics that are no longer wanted by the original owner. Our goal, above all else, was to reward people for approaching consumption in a smart responsible way. But one thing we’ve come to understand is that a mission is only achievable if there is a sound business there to support it. Even companies that hope to “do well by doing good” cannot ignore the fundamentals of service, trust, transparency, and performance that are so critical to any success of any business, regardless of its mission. These are lessons we’ve taken from scaling a values-based company that I think many startups would be wise to pay attention to:

Now inscribed on the Library of Congress, James Madison's words are as true today as they were in 1829: “The happy Union of these States is a wonder; their Constitution a miracle; their example the hope of Liberty throughout the world.” In forging such a nation, the Founding Fathers were the most exemplary of leaders.

In celebration of our independence, let us note how their ideals hold true today. Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” She's right. Here are four leadership principles our Founders taught us.

Tomorrow is Independence Day. With organizations becoming increasingly global, the meaning of that day needs to change. I mean, it will never be much of an occasion for our friends in the UK. That would be too much like celebrating a divorce. And for many millions in other countries, July 4 may be no more notable than January 14 (Pongal, the Harvest Festival in India) is here in the US.

So I have a suggestion. Amidst the fireworks and barbeques honoring a victory long past, let’s celebrate the people who trek into uncharted territory to create a new vision: entrepreneurs!

Europe is currently facing a number of economic, social, and environmental challenges; the most critical perhaps is high unemployment among young people. What measures need to be taken to respond to these problems and challenges?

Unemployment, especially among young people, is a major challenge for Europe. Among the young, it is over 22 % on average; in six member states (Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Slovakia, Lithuania) it is between 30 % and 50%. This is not only a terrible waste of talent and resources but also a major obstacle to growth and social cohesion. That is why the EU has put youth unemployment at the top of its agenda. On 18 April, the Commission approved a major new employment package, which sets out ways for member states to encourage hiring by reducing taxes on labour or supporting more business start-ups.