Napoleon wasn’t short. Wonkblog uses that tease to introduce a short video about five historical misconceptions. My own favorite misconception is the clamor about brain drain. Lou Glazer (Michigan Future) obliges with his lament about Michigan's inability to do the Pittsburgh:

Cities – with the support of their regions and states – across the country get it. And have made retaining and attracting young talent an economic development priority. Unfortunately, not here in Michigan.

One of the cities that gets it and has reaped the benefits is Pittsburgh. Pittsburghlive.com reports that the region has reversed a generation of out migration of young talent. They report the number of 18-24 year olds living in the region was 67,445, by 2000 it had shrunk to 49,461. They write: ”Specifically, the people who were leaving were the young, 20-something, professional and educated workers who we really needed to transform and move our economy forward,” Chris Briem, chair of Pitt’s Center for Social and Urban Research. But by 2010, after decades of efforts to revitalize the central city, they can write that the brain drain has been reversed as the number of 18-24 soared by 16% the last decade to 57,745 in 2010. ...

Blueprints help people envision the future in a clear, practical way. What will the finished work look like? How will we create it? What possibilities does the new creation hold? In this article innovation architect Doug Collins introduces a blueprint for the practice of collaborative innovation. The blueprint helps people envision their organization as they transform it through the practice.

The following quote from Peter Koestenbaum’s Leadership: The Inner Side of Greatness affects me greatly. I think about his words all the time.

Giving the world’s 2.5 billion “unbanked” people access to financial services such as savings accounts, loans, credit, and insurance could not only help them survive hard times and emerge from poverty, but boost entrepreneurship and economic growth, panelists said at a World Bank Live event, Closing the Gap with Financial Inclusion, on the eve of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings.

Mexico’s Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade said “financial inclusion” -- enabling people to access financial resources that most of us take for granted—is key to “guaranteeing inclusive growth” that also benefits poor people. Mexico has leadership of the G20, and is co-hosting, with the World Bank, a high-level meeting on financial inclusion April 22.

MORE than 10 years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks completely altered the airport experience, travelers have a variety of options that will shorten wait times at security and immigration. But speedier processing has some downsides. Some programs charge a fee, and all require surrendering such personal information as employment background, travel history and biological data like fingerprints.

Still, the days in which every passenger is treated as a potential terrorist are over. As John Pistole, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, said recently, “Most passengers do not pose a threat to security,” confirming what travelers have been saying for years.

I'll show up generally anywhere I get invited to speak.  I love public speaking,teaching and generally being helpful.  I'm often the last one to leave an event, held back by the most persistant of entrepreneurs trying to squeeze as much advice as they can out of me.  It's totally fine--except when I really really have to go (as opposed to when I just said I really had to go, ten minutes ago). 

But the truth is, you probably shouldn't listen to me.

I mean, what do I know?  I've only recently started leading investments a little over two years ago.  My track record of leading deals consists of only seven investments, luckily no zeros (knock on wood) and one exit.  I have one failed attempt at a startup under my belt as a founder and I don't have any particularly usable skills that anyone would pay for like selling, designing, building, etc.

Although it is fast emerging as a dynamic destination for entrepreneurship, India is nowhere close to being Asia's Silicon Valley. Government support, changes in the education system, and a more vibrant network of angel investors and mentors can help the country get there.

India has come a long way since 1991, the year it opened its economy to foreign investment. Today, it has several first-generation entrepreneurs such as Infosys' Narayana Murthy and Bharti Airtel's Sunil Mittal, who have shown how multinationals can be built from the ground up.

With proof that garage startups can work in India, thousands of professionals are taking the entrepreneurial plunge to pursue their own dreams.

When VCR's became affordable, the film industry worried that people would stop going to the movies. Theaters haven't gone away, but they have changed, with many now focused on delivering spectacles that can be seen only in a grand setting, with a big screen and booming sound.

Traditional colleges now face a similar challenge, thanks to free or low-cost courses delivered online. One response may come from a Hollywood-style trend emerging on some campuses: large-scale video walls. These banks of high-definition monitors are designed to let students and researchers show images in a larger-than-life form to see details more clearly and collaborate better. Call it Big-Screen Research.

If you’ve been on the job search for a while, it’s likely you have a good idea of things you should be doing to land a new job, such as optimizing your resume or building your personal brand online. Of course, you can’t get the job if you don’t make a great impression on your interviewer or potential employer.

But there are also plenty of ways you can ruin your chances of getting a new job. It may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people kill their chances before they’ve even left their interview. If you’re hoping to land your dream job, here’s what not to do during the job hunt.

This is a relevant topic especially among fresh graduates, where many wouldaspire to be entrepreneurs instead of employees. Straight from the confessions of two Malaysian young entrepreneurs in Penang, they take a look at the different perspectives of the youths and young professionals embracing Entrepreneurship over Employment. 

3 Reasons why I chose Entrepreneurship over Employment

Don’t be fooled, no matter which path you choose, you’re bound to hardship, only difference between the two is what lies at the end of the rainbow. In my on-going entrepreneurial journey with Kevin, there are times when I reflect back and wonder why I chose this path at my age. Here’s to all the readers out there who go through this period of reflection as well.

Gust, the investor relations platform connecting high-growth entrepreneurs and active early stage investors, and DiligentDeal, a conference organizer in the early stage investment space, will host their first annual conference, Venture Forward 2012. It will be the premier forum for angel investors, early stage venture capitalists, non-traditional investors, and policy makers to share their experiences and strategy, setting the agenda for the future of private investing. Venture Forward 2012 will take place in New York City on Wednesday, June 20, at the New York Academy of Sciences. The announcement of the conference comes on the heels of the recent passage of the JOBS Act by Congress, which for the first time extends startup investing to non-accredited investors, authorizes web-based funding intermediaries, and eliminates the "general solicitation" restrictions on private equity sales.

A few angel investors have slipped or fallen from their lofty perch, so entrepreneurs must take great care to validate the character and reputation of every prospective investor. The entrepreneur’s tendency to be in a huge hurry to obtain the funding can end up being disastrous, and play into the hands of these less scrupulous investors.

Many entrepreneurs believe all money is created equal. As long as somebody recognizes their million dollar idea and writes them a check, the source really doesn't matter. In fact, most angels are pure, but there are some exceptions that may cost you more than an investment:

Shark angels. This is the ultimate bad guy whose sole intention of getting involved in early-stage investing is to take advantage of what they believe is the entrepreneur’s lack of financial and deal-making experience. If the term sheet process turns to pure torture, it may be time to respectfully bow out.

A recently released United Nations report outlines the global body’s plan to foist a centrally planned “green” world order on all of humanity, making every level of government subservient to its “sustainable development” agenda. The upcoming Rio+20 sustainability conference in Brazil — held two decades after the first “Earth Summit” adopted Agenda 21 — will be used to solidify the foundation of the emerging planetary control system.

Under the guise of a “green economy” — expected to cost trillions of dollars per year, according to the report — the UN intends to make use of coercive power at all levels of governance to implement the plan. From local and national governments to regional and global entities, programs affecting every area of human life will be used to advance the controversial “sustainable development” agenda.

If you live in a major city and don't own a car, you could turn to biking, publictransportation, or the occasional Zipcar rental to get around. Soon, you may be able to add another set of wheels to that list: smart-phone enhanced electric scooters.

A San Francisco-based startup called Scoot Networks wants to give people a cheap, environmentally friendly way to get around by renting out electric bikes. The scooters have a tech twist, too, since they include a plastic-covered smart-phone dock in place of a normal dashboard. Riders dock their iPhone—Android phones will eventually work as well—and the phone acts as both the scooter key and dashboard.

Having an incubator program for digital health startups here in the hub sounds like a no brainer. Between Harvard Medical School, Boston Medical Center and the MIT Media Lab, alone, Boston’s ripe for innovation. “Nothing beats what you’ll find in Boston,” says Nate Gross, medical director of Rock Health, who’s been helping successfully run the incubator program in San Francisco for the last year.

Rock Health will be launching in Boston this June, but is already on the lookout for teams who are using technology to combat healthcare problems.

The workspace at Liquid Metal Battery's small basement headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, looks more like a machine shop than a high-tech lab you might expect from a spin-off from MIT.

In the place of vacuum chambers and rows of sealed glove boxes sit a large bandsaw, a drill press, and a simple welding station. In another corner sits an ordinary kiln like you might find in a pottery studio. Although the company's technology is based on advanced chemistry, the batteries look rudimentary: thick-walled steel cans that the researchers fill with powder scooped from large buckets and barrels.

The U.S. Federal Government buys nearly $100 billion worth of goods and services from small businesses each year – but cracking this market as a small business can be challenging. However, done right and with plenty of pre-planning and research, small business owners can successfully land their share of federal business.

If your small business is interested in selling to Uncle Sam, follow this four-step plan that summarizes the process of entering the federal marketplace.

Step 1 – Register Your Small Business as a Government Contractor 

Winning your first contract takes planning and perseverance. You might even consider partnering up with a larger contractor on a sub-contractor basis. But the actual process of certifying and registering your business so that you are in a position to compete for federal business is actually a fairly simple process.

1. "Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things." - Peter F. Drucker

2. "If you don't understand that you work for your mislabeled 'subordinates,' then you know nothing of leadership. You know only tyranny." - Dee Hock

3. "A leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say 'we did it ourselves.'" - Lao Tzu

4. "The led must not be compelled; they must be able to choose their own leader." - Albert Einstein

5. "The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why." - Warren Bennis

I’ve learned a lot from the development of NameLayer, and I’m ready to divulge every trick in my arsenal. In this guide, I provide realistic solutions to the frustrations encountered when naming a company. Plus, I’ll have some fun analyzing both good and bad company names.

This guide is divided into three, independent sections: Why Bad Names Hurt You, Coming Up With Names, and Examples of Strong and Weak Names.

Why Bad Names Hurt You

If you don’t need to be convinced that a good name is important, skip to the next section. That’s where the juicy stuff begins.

What is Silicon Valley?

For some people, it's a place. For others, it's a way of doing business. And for others still, it's a synonym for the technology industry.

But whatever meaning you attach to "Silicon Valley," the precise definition has shifted over time as the local economy and technology have evolved. And so, with the publication of the 27th annual SV150 list today, we are expanding our definition of what we mean when we talk about Silicon Valley.

After years of drawing a sharp circle that included Santa Clara County as well as southern San Mateo and Alameda counties, this newspaper is expanding the geographic boundaries that it considers to be part of Silicon Valley to include the five core Bay Area counties: Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa. This is recognition, perhaps overdue, that the kinds of entrepreneurial companies and industries once tightly clustered in the South Bay can now be found throughout the region.

Last December, TechCrunch worked with Adeo Ressi from The Founder Institute to host a competition for one-sentence pitches. It’s been a few months — so we’re doing it again.

Distilling your startup idea into a single sentence can be a big challenge, but it’s crucial for communicating what you’re doing to the outside world. (While there are certainly exceptions, I’ve found that it’s a big warning sign when founders can’t succinctly communicate what they do.) Here’s the basic formula: “My company, _(insert name of company)_, is developing _(a defined offering)_ to help _(a defined audience)_ _(solve a problem)_ with _(secret sauce)_”.