BTEC 295 - Entrepreneurship

In Drive, author Daniel Pink reveals the three elements of true motivation: a) Autonomy: the desire to direct our own lives; b) Mastery: the urge to get better and better at something that matters; and c) Purpose: the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves. Along the way, he takes us to companies that are enlisting new approaches to motivation and introduces us to the scientists and entrepreneurs who are pointing a bold way forward. Drive is bursting with big ideas--the rare book that will change how you think and transform how you live.

Summary: "Why do some people succeed and others fail? Sharing new insights from her landmark research on grit, MacArthur genius grant recipient Angela Duckworth explains why talent is hardly a guarantor of success. Rather, other factors can be even more crucial, such as identifying our passions and following through on our commitments. Drawing on her own story as the daughter of a scientist who frequently bemoaned her lack of smarts, Duckworth describes her winding path through teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience, which led to the hypothesis that what really drives success is not "genius" but a special blend of passion and long-term perseverance. As a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Duckworth created her own "character lab" and set out to test her theory. Here, she takes readers into the field to visit teachers working in some of the toughest schools, cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. Finally, she shares what she's learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers--from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to Bob Mankoff, cartoon editor of The New Yorker, to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll. Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that--not talent or luck--makes all the difference"-- provided by publisher.

Summary: "Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched. Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. What they have in common is a mission to penetrate that fog of uncertainty to discover a successful path to a sustainable business. The Lean Startup approach fosters companies that are both more capital efficient and that leverage human creativity more effectively. Inspired by lessons from lean manufacturing, it relies on ‘validated learning,’ rapid scientific experimentation, as well as a number of counter-intuitive practices that shorten product development cycles, measure actual progress without resorting to vanity metrics, and learn what customers really want. It enables a company to shift directions with agility, altering plans inch by inch, minute by minute. Rather than wasting time creating elaborate business plans, The Lean Startup offers entrepreneurs--in companies of all sizes--a way to test their vision continuously, to adapt and adjust before it's too late. Ries provides a scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups in an age when companies need to innovate more than ever"--Publisher's description.

Summary: The best-selling author of The Tipping Point and Blink identifies the qualities of successful people, posing theories about the cultural, family, and idiosyncratic factors that shape high achievers, in a resource that covers such topics as the secrets of software billionaires, why certain cultures are associated with better academic performance, and why the Beatles earned their fame.
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"Steve Case, cofounder of America Online and Revolution and New York Times bestselling author of The Third Wave, shows how entrepreneurs across the country are building groundbreaking companies, renewing communities, and creating new jobs--in the process reimagining the American landscape and bringing people together around a shared future."--Amazon.

In this entrepreneurial age, it's very tempting to leave your job to start your own business. Before you do, learn all you can from the best. This book is just that. World renowned bestselling author and business consultant Brian Tracy tells you about one of today's most needed skill sets, entrepreneurship, covering these important topics: Myths of entrepreneurship; Best business choice for you; Financing the business; Shifting from employee mindset to entrepreneurial mindset; Creating a realistic business plan; Hiring the best and managing for success; Fueling your business growth with sales and marketing. This book is designed to help anyone who wants to start or grow a business. Let Brian Tracy teach you the science of entrepreneurship, tested and proven not just for years, but for millennia. If you simply study the ideas in this book, and apply them, you too, can become a successful entrepreneur.