Nourish Your Gift And Never Give Up

Tuesday morning those who attended Chicago Ideas Week had a chance to visit what  TIME managing editor Rick Stengel called “the most interesting place in the universe - Bill Clinton’s mind.” For a little over an hour, Clinton spoke with  Stengel  on unemployment, national dept, the economy and of course – innovation.
Continue Reading →

Highlights from a Mayoral Evening

Mayor Rahm Emanuel from Chicago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg from New York and Mayor Kasim Reed from Atlanta discussed education, jobs and the economy at CIW’s Mayoral Evening at the Oriental Theatre.  In the roundtable Q&A moderated by the New York Times’s Thomas Friedman , the political leaders talked openly and honestly about the problems their cities are facing and the innovative needed to overcome them.

Continue Reading →

3 Lessons That Startups Can Learn From Social Influencers

Last night, I attended CIW MEGTALK: Innovation & Influence – a discussion of idea innovation with five of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people. While the thought leaders were discussing social innovation,  I found that some of their sage advice also rings true within the entrepreneurial world.

Continue Reading →

Short Chat with Howard Tullman

I took a few moments out of Chicago Ideas Week’s busy days and sat down with Howard Tullman, President and founder of Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy (TFA) to talk about what TFA is and what Chicago Ideas Week means to him.

Tribeca Flashpoint Academy is also a BizSpark Network Partner and is already producing amazing BizSpark startups.

Behind the Mic: CIW Social Entrepreneurship

A packed crowd gathered in Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art to listen to eight panelists discuss how to impact the world and your bottom-line.  Chicago Ideas Week‘s sold out Social Entrepreneurship panel challenged the audience to harness their inspiration and start their own social ventures.

We wanted to continue the social entrepreneurship conversation by taking a closer look at the people and businesses behind the mic.

Continue Reading →

amazing first day at chicago ideas week #ciw11 #ciwmsft

I have to say that I was not expecting the kind of day I had at the first Chicago Ideas Week (CIW). While I know I would not have invested as much as I have into an event I did not believe in (Microsoft is a Founding Sponsor of CIW), I had no idea that the first day would blow me away as much as it did today.

Continue Reading →

ready for #ciw11 #msft

I am excited to be a part of a week long of amazing speakers and events kicking off today. Chicago Ideas Week is bringing together some of the most amazing speakers from all over the world and showcasing everything from entrepreneurs, innovation, art, technology… you name it, it’s got it.

no streaming for me

I finally decided that Netflix is not for me. I have been a subscriber for years but realized what I really used the service for was not streaming at all, but those little ol’ discs that were sent to me regularly. Why you ask? Getting past the obvious terrible selection of titles available for streaming, I also truly enjoy the movie watching experience that streaming just does not offer. Let me explain. Continue Reading →

blog reboot

if you know me, i become bored pretty quickly. that includes my blog. time for a reboot with a renewed focus on shorter posts and more media.

enchantment

 

i have been reading guy kawasaki’s new book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions, and realized a few things about myself and how i approach not only my career, but life in general.
Continue Reading →