Arianna Huffington is one of the world's most prominent business leaders in media. As co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post, she built the first internet newspaper, which eclipsed the traffic of the New York Times and won a Pulitzer Prize. Creating a digital media empire from an investment of just over $1 million, she sold HuffPost to AOL in 2011 for more than $300 million. Today, HuffPost is the flagship publication for global telecommunications giant Verizon. Considered to be one of the most influential women on earth, Huffington went on to establish Thrive Global, a wellness and technology start-up that aims to end the stress and burn out epidemic.

This concise but richly detailed biography provides an overview of Huffington's life and career, chronicling her journey from Athens to London, New York, Washington and California, across seven decades. From her earliest days, Huffington faced overwhelming challenges to carve a bold path that brought her fame, power and wealth. This book reveals her personal insights, how her companies tick, and what lies ahead. Smart, insightful and often startling, this book shows readers how Huffington did it, transforming herself from an aspiring author to a serial entrepreneur and, ultimately, the reigning queen of media.

"If you care about anything in your life, your business, or your planet, read this book now." - Joe Polish, founder of Genius Network What do I need to do? This is almost always the question an entrepreneur or a business leader asks when creativity seems to have been lost. When you're stuck and the journals and books you've been reading and the masterminds and conventions and seminars you've been attending haven't led to any breakthroughs. When your notepads full of "proven best practices" should have brought you to the next level but haven't. But "What do I need to do?" is almost always the wrong question. In this paradigm-shifting work, serial entrepreneur Patrick Gentempo explains why the primary question you need to ask as a business leader is "Who should we be?" While it makes sense and may sound pretty easy, it's actually one of the hardest questions an entrepreneur can ask no matter the scale of business they are running. In Your Stand Is Your Brand, you'll find out how to ask and answer it for yourself as you learn about: - "Maximum Tension," the greatest barrier to entrepreneurial growth - The 5-P Expansion Sequence, a tried-and-true model tracking the steps from Philosophy to Prosperity - Digging into the soul of your business so it can find its transformative process for serious breakthroughs - How to face the fire and embrace creative destruction - And much more This is not your typical business success book, it is a source of inspiration that will keep you reading and winning in transformative ways that aren't available to you right now. So, let's begin the process to revolutionize your business and your life.

The series is designed to meet the needs of students and lecturers of the National Certificate Vocational. To facilitate students' learning, the following features are used in the series: Content is written in easy-to-understand language, key terms are carefully explained, using everyday English, case studies show how to apply the theory in the work environment, the study skills sections help students make the most of their learning in class and prepare for the exams, there are many practice activities and questions with model answers at the back of the title, checklists assist students to make sure that they have covered all the skills and content in each chapter, and summaries at the end of each chapter are useful for exam revision. Lecturers using the series can teach with confidence because content is comprehensive, up-to-date, and meets all the curriculum requirements for the subject, outcomes and assessment standards are clearly identified, and assessment tasks and activities are aligned to the outcomes and assessment standards. Prescribing lecturers have access to comprehensive lecturer support material on CD including model answers to assessments in the textbook, additional assessments with model answers, rubrics for assessments, and general reference material on teaching outcomes-based education. The series is available for all programmes, all fundamental and compulsory subjects, and all elective and optional subjects.

Financial technology-or fintech-is gaining in popularity globally as a way of making financial services more efficient and accessible. In rapidly developing China, fintech is taking off, catering to markets that state-owned banks and an undersized financial sector do not serve amid a backdrop of growing consumption and a large, tech-savvy millennial generation. It is becoming increasingly likely that some of China's fintech firms will change the way the world does business. In China's Fintech Explosion, Sara Hsu and Jianjun Li explore the transformative potential of China's financial-technology industry, describing the risks and rewards for participants as well as the impact on consumers. They cover fintech's many subsectors, such as digital payment systems, peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding, credit card issuance, internet banks, blockchain finance and virtual currencies, and online insurance. The book highlights the disruption of traditional banking as well as the risks of fintech and regulatory technology. Hsu and Li describe major companies including Alipay and Tencent, developer of WeChat Pay and a wealth-management business, and other leading fintech firms such as Creditease, Zhong An Insurance, and JD Finance. Offering expert analysis of market potential, risks, and competition, as well as case studies of firms and consumer behavior, China's Fintech Explosion is a must-read for anyone interested in one of the world's breakout sectors.

Practical advice for your personal journey, from a self-made billionaire Shikumi: An Entrepreneur's Secret System for Success is your personal handbook for achieving happiness by systematically turning your dreams into reality. Success looks different to everyone, but author Hiroshi Mikitani exemplifies its essential, universal qualities: as the founder and CEO of Rakuten, Mikitani is a self-made entrepreneur who became Japan's leader in the new global economy a journey that made him a billionaire. In this book, he shows you how to achieve your own version of success in work and in life. Paying homage to Japan's ethos of quality and discipline, this book shares 89 principles Mikitani has gathered over the course of his remarkable career. These thought-provoking, action-oriented rules show you everything from how useful your dreams are, to the best way to harness the internet, to what management techniques work to the importance of self-improvement. The result: your own powerful, personal playbook straight from the mind of an inspirational trailblazer. Mikitani guided Rakuten from its 1997 foundation to become one of the world's largest e-commerce platforms, with a still rapidly-expanding global footprint reaching industries including fintech, messaging, digital content, and even drones. This book describes the ideas, thoughts, actions, and philosophies that drove Mikitani to the top. * Discover the myriad ways in which the internet is fundamentally transforming the world * Learn from a blend of Japanese discipline and commitment to quality and the Silicon Valley approach to business, where collaboration and agility are essential and lucrative * Adopt data-driven management techniques that constantly question, constantly improve, and empower people to exceptional performance * Share in Mikitani's optimistic vision, and his industry-specific predictions Happiness is something you live every day. It is both the result and the critical ingredient of success, and there is plenty to go around. Shikumi gives you the principles you need on your own journey to success.

"There's a strong belief, now more than ever, that creativity really has the potential to change the world, and that only innovative thinking can tackle some of the world's biggest challenges." - Senta Slingerland As one of the most diverse and admired cities in the world, London is a playground for creative people, entrepreneurs and innovators. This book portrays the people who are changing the way Londoners move around and go out; what they eat, drink and read; and how they are coiffed, dressed and entertained. Discover how Asif Khan is inspiring a new future for architecture in the city, how Josh Cole is getting the Jewish queer scene dancing, and how Honey Spencer is converting us to drinking natural wines. Read about how Petra Barran is making the streets of London taste better and how Fabien Riggall is reinventing the way we experience cinema. Get to know the people who are making London one of the most interesting cities in the world. City Shapers London is the must-have book for those who want to change the rules of the game or learn from the influencers who did it before them.

Entrepreneurship is the result of various contextual factors in the community, which are shaped by social challenges and business needs. Recent research efforts have focused on the dynamics of communities and how they facilitate entrepreneurship among a diverse group of people and organizations. This book highlights research on the importance of communities and their role in providing an entrepreneurial ecosystem that promotes innovation and business activities. Adopting a multidisciplinary perspective, it explores what it takes to create an entrepreneurial community that fosters creativity. Sharing valuable insights, it will enhance readers' understanding of how entrepreneurship is formed by and exists in communities.

Do you have a hobby you wish you could do all day? An obsession that keeps you up at night? Now is the perfect time to take those passions and make a living doing what you love. In Crush It! Why Now Is The Time To Cash In On Your Passion, Gary Vaynerchuk shows you how to use the power of the Internet to turn your real interests into real businesses. Gary spent years building his family business from a local wine shop into a national industry leader. Then one day he turned on a video camera, and by using the secrets revealed in this book, transformed his entire life and earning potential by building his personal brand. By the end of this book, any reader will have learned how to harness the power of the Internet to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true. Step by step, Crush It! is the ultimate driver's manual for modern business. Gary Vaynerchuk has captured attention with his pioneering, multi-faceted approach to personal branding and business. After primarily utilizing traditional advertising techniques to build his family's local retail wine business into a national industry leader, Gary rapidly leveraged social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to promote Wine Library TV. Gary has always had an early-to-market approach, launching Wine Library's retail website in 1997 and Wine Library TV in February of 2006. His lessons on social media, passion, transparency, and reactionary business are not to be missed!

Martin Fransman presents a new approach to understanding how innovation happens, who makes it happen, and the helps and hindrances. Looking at innovation in real-time under uncertainty, he develops the idea of an 'innovation ecosystem', i.e. a system of interrelated players and processes that jointly make innovation happen. Examples include: how companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, AT&T, and Huawei interact in the ICT Ecosystem; four innovations that changed the world - the transistor, microprocessor, optical fibre, and the laser; the causes of the telecoms boom and bust of the early 1990s that influenced the Great Recession from 2007; and the usefulness of the idea of innovation ecosystems for Chinese policy makers. By delving into the complex determinants of innovation this book provides a deeper, more rigorous understanding of how it happens. It will appeal to economists, social scientists, business people, policy makers, and anyone interested in innovation and entrepreneurship.

This book describes the 60-year history of the AO Foundation and its impact on the treatment of bone trauma. Originally founded by a group of Swiss surgeons, the AO has since established its osteosynthesis treatment approach to trauma, using surgery and implants, as the global standard. The AO successfully convinced the medical community that surgery of bone trauma was superior to the standard conservative treatment using plaster casts. This new technique meant that patients no longer had to spend long weeks at the hospital in traction, and prevented many disabilities. This book describes the struggle with the medical community, explains how the AO surgeons enlisted the support of an entire industry for their advanced tools and their research and teaching efforts, and details the AO's evolution into a non-profit foundation that now trains more than 50,000 surgeons, on all continents, every year. The efforts of the AO's affiliated surgeons, undertaken largely on a volunteer basis and with their own financial resources, serve as a stellar example of social entrepreneurship. Today the AO Foundation numbers over 20,000 surgeon members worldwide, and the industry that emerged to produce related implants and tools employs thousands of skilled staff. Professionals in consulting as well as in healthcare can use this book as a source of successful strategies, and as a blueprint for active social entrepreneurship.

The role of business in developing innovative responses to complex social and environmental problems is becoming increasingly urgent as a subject of study. A more proactive role for business is especially pertinent in Sub-Saharan Africa which, although plagued by conflict and poverty, shows signs of a brighter future as the world's second fastest-growing region. Yet there is very little research on this subject in Africa. This book seeks to contribute to the growing body of scholarly work on social and environmental innovation with the two-fold aim of studying the role of business in creating such innovation and focusing on the African context. The chapters and case studies within this book address the role of entrepreneurs, large companies, cross-sector collaboration initiatives, and academia and teachers in social and environmental innovation. Cutting across these sections are four themes: social innovation as a process and outcome; mapping and scaling up innovation; the tension between social purpose and profit generation; and socio-economic and institutional context.

The informal economy represents a significant share of output and employment in many developing countries. Yet little is known about this hidden engine of innovation. This pioneering study addresses some crucial questions, including: what is the role of the informal sector in economic development? How does innovation occur in the informal economy? How does it spread, who are the key actors and what impacts does it have? How do inventors and entrepreneurs in the informal economy reap benefits from their innovations? What stops informal sector innovation from scaling up? How can informal sector innovation in developing countries be measured? And what policies might support informal sector innovation and improve its impacts? This book will stimulate further work on this crucial but under-researched subject. As well as rich empirical evidence from several groundbreaking studies, it includes conceptual and methodological tools and policy recommendations to help researchers and policy-makers understand innovation in the informal economy.

Whether you're an employer, an employee, a freelancer, or part of a management team, it's important to understand how--now, more than ever--highly skilled 10x talent who can deliver exponential value is radically shifting the dynamics of corporations large and small. Use this groundbreaking book to learn how to identify, attract, vet, employ, manage, and retain--or become--the game-changing talent that will make a difference in the work world of tomorrow. Individuals, companies and governments around the globe need to understand what tactics are required to survive and thrive in an increasingly global, automated, and post pandemic, distributed economy. The lessons presented in Game Changer reveal those tactics for any industry. Learn proven strategies on how companies can create the right environment for top talent by evolving traditional business structures and adopting a more agile approach. For readers who are confident in their abilities and want to make an impact where they work, Game Changer shows them how to enjoy the varied rewards that this brings. In these pages, you will: See how highly skilled talent is transforming companies of all sizes and industries through real world stories and first-hand testimonies from top execs, entrepreneurs, and players; Get an inside glimpse into the unconventional methods that smart companies use to attract, retain, and manage top talent; Recognize the roadblocks that are inherent in the traditional employer-employee model and learn how they can be overcome for unlimited success; and Learn how to see yourself as both talent and management to achieve the rewards and satisfaction that come with being a game changer.

Firm growth. This concept has interested researchers for generations. Economists have sought to predict and measure firm growth using a host of different variables, while strategic management scholars depict growth as the result of clever analyses and rational resource exploitation. Entrepreneurship scholars - ever engrossed by successful start-ups - have pondered why growth sometimes comes fast and sometimes never at all, while the field of business history has given countless examples of growing firms in a range of different settings. Yet despite research across fields, our knowledge of how growth in a firm actually comes about is limited and we still know little about the process. This book offers a new reading of economist Edith Penrose's The Theory of the Growth of the Firm. The bold statement is that although Penrose's work - across fields and generations - is amongst the most quoted on firm growth, the basic points of her work have yet to be realized and explored empirically. Essentially, growth is created by a dynamic interrelation between the firm's self-conception and its image of context. Based on these two subjective categories, the firm makes decisions and its actions lead it to develop along a particular path. To Penrose this is the basic engine that drives the growth and development of firms. This book discusses how the engine of firm growth can be captured in empirical analysis using interpretative theory and narrative methods inspired by recent streams of research in business history.

This book shares unique perspectives on the successful global evolution and future ambitions of Chinese consumer companies. It presents an unprecedented collection of one-on-one interviews with some of the most influential leaders in China, whose companies offer diverse products and services. Further, the book offers future business leaders encouragement and guidance on how to ride the consumer wave in China. It also investigates some of the foremost current trends, revealing the best opportunities for companies to succeed on the Chinese market. Written by a successful business leader, this book is a timely must-read for anyone seeking to understand Chinese consumers, the Chinese market and what makes Chinese entrepreneurs tick - helping them learn how to do business "Made for China".

How women can "lean in" to entrepreneurship to create the life they want! Claudia Reuter left a promising corporate career to raise her two young children but realized, when re-entering the workforce, that the gap in her resume looked like a gap in ambition--not a purposeful plan. Instead of leaning into a corporate career and fighting the structures and systems designed by and for men decades ago, or leaning out and giving up income, Claudia took a different path. That decision ultimately led to success in the corporate world and at home. In Yes, You Can Do This!, Claudia shares her own reasons for starting a business and makes a call to action for women to consider entrepreneurship so that they can create businesses with the rules they want and change the playing field for others, making a significant impact in the world. More than a "how-to book" on building a business, Yes, You Can Do This! provides clear examples and practical resources to help others create the life they want through entrepreneurship. In Yes, You Can Do This!, you'll learn: How to develop and share your vision How to deal with stereotypes and unconscious bias How to leverage perceived weaknesses and turn them into strengths How to balance life at high speeds and avoid burnout How to cultivate the confidence to move from idea to creating a company with the culture and rules you want Claudia provides women with an electrifying third career option: it's not just "lean in" or "lean out," but startup and change the playing field for others in the process. Praise for Yes, You Can Do This! "It's rare to find a book on entrepreneurship that fuels your heart with inspiration and encouragement and your mind with practical, tangible things you can put into action immediately -- but this is one of them. As a woman who has started three companies and been a senior team member of five startups, this is the guide I wish I'd read when I was starting out." --Nataly Kogan, Author of Happier Now and founder of Happier, Inc. "Combining compelling storytelling with practical, tactical advice, Reuter has created a manifesto for the next generation of female founders. Rooted in the research around gender and work, this is a must read for women looking to launch the next new thing." --Jennifer McFadden, Associate Director of Entrepreneurial Programs, Yale School of Management "A must-read for any woman considering taking the leap into entrepreneurship, You Can Do This brings together today's best thinking about women in the workplace with practical advice for creating your dream career and life - by starting a company. Whether you are just curious or ready to take the leap, this book is a great read and a valuable resource." --Anna Barber, Managing Director, Techstars "Claudia helps not just the female entrepreneur, but all entrepreneurs, find their footing in what can be an overwhelming whirlwind of starting a business. This book is not only inspiring and uplifting, but positively necessary for any woman looking to find success in the startup space!" --Shira Atkins, Co-founder & CMO Wonder Media Network "Stories of entrepreneurial success exist in abundance for men who receive 97.8% of venture funding and hold 95% of CEO roles. What is most inspiring about Claudia's book, making me want to shout from the rooftop, is that it is told from the perspective of an everyday woman who pushed hard through barriers, doubts, and setbacks that any entrepreneur would face. On top of all that, she overcame obstacles that are uniquely ours as women today. Claudia is now a standout among women, but with her book in hand, women who want to build a business to scale have a blueprint and path to do so. Here's to making dreams come true!" --Coco Brown, CEO and Founder, The Athena Alliance. "As I read through the book, there were multiple points where I thought, 'Every man in any startup or fast-growing business should read this.' As a man in technology, I took away lots of new ideas, along with examples that were explained in a way that I wouldn't have been able to do prior to reading Claudia's book" --Brad Feld, Managing Director, at Foundry Group, author of Venture Deals and Do More Faster "Reuter breaks the stigma about mothers that chose to leave the workforce. She provides practical tools to start a business, by showing the path to success for every woman that wants to write her own rules" --Sharon Kan, CEO of Pepperlane & Co-Founder of the WIN Lab "Reuter manages to put into words what women have been facing and feeling for decades. She leaves the readers with stories, steps and inspiration to create the career path they are worthy of no matter if it's starting from scratch or breaking glass ceilings. This book will fuel the next generation of women in leadership and entrepreneurship giving them guides and confidence as it has fueled me to start the business I have always wanted." --Elizabeth Presta, CD(DONA), CLD

More than half of all small businesses fail within the first five years. Starting and running a small business is hard work, and many entrepreneurs feel they must do whatever it takes to succeed, at the expense of their family, friends, and health. Yet, if done correctly, small-business ownership can-and should-balance profitable operations with personal fulfillment. According to author Tom Salonek-founder and CEO of Intertech, a Minnesota-based technology consulting and training firm-this balance is actually the secret to success. Salonek believes that your business should "give life, not take it," a philosophy that has helped him grow his own venture every year since its inception in 1991. In The 100, Salonek shares his secrets to business success in the form of 100 concise, nuts-and-bolts lessons for achieving the ideal work-life balance for maximum success. Written in clear, direct prose, these lessons are packed with actionable ideas and practical advice for using communication, collaboration, and technology to help small-business owners cultivate the best qualities not only in themselves, but in their employees as well. Whether you own your own business or are simply thinking of starting one, this book will help you inspire teamwork, meet client expectations, clarify your personal values, and create a company culture to match. In addition, readers will gain access to a plethora of downloadable online resources-checklists, worksheets, templates, and more-to help implement the book's ideas. The 100 is a handy, inspiring addition to any business manager's home library.

Accomplished inventor, visionary photographer, philanthropist, and successful businessman, Francis Blake (1850 1913) changed not only the way Americans communicated in the nineteenth century but also quite literally how they saw themselves. His major inventions, the telephone transmitter and innovations in high-speed photography, and his Weston, Massachusetts estate Keewaydin epitomized how a gifted individual of modest circumstances could create and re-create himself during America s Gilded Age.

The Blake telephone transmitter became the world standard, and anyone who spoke into Alexander Graham Bell's device in the last twenty years of the nineteenth century also encountered Blake s name, emblazoned on his transmitter. In addition, he invested an enormous amount of his energy, talent, and wealth in his home, originally designed by Charles Follen McKim, and its elaborate grounds. This self-contained compound, which included homes for his in-laws and his children and a complete water system, reflected Blake's passion for precision, beauty, and order. It became his major preoccupation, a place where he could exercise unchallenged mastery.Unfortunately, the fabulous Keewaydin estate did not endure, but thankfully Blake's photographic images remain. Blake's experimental camera work placed him in the forefront of the photographic world in the 1880s. His high-speed photographs remain unsurpassed for their clarity, crispness, and composition, and are as fresh today as when he first snapped them over a hundred years ago. Although little-known today, Blake helped revolutionize photography and transformed the role of the photograph in American society, marking him as a significant figure at the dawn of the twentieth century. His story is a compelling and fascinating chronicle of unbounded energy, independence, and genius.