The Ultimate Corporate Entrepreneur

Allyson Kapin: Fearless Advocate for Social Innovators

I met Allyson Kapin three years ago when Jill Morgan Foster asked if I would shoot some video for their After Tech party in San Francisco. Allyson and her team of movers and shakers had launched Women Who Tech telesummit to great fanfare, a virtual conference now in its third year that brings together techies from around the world looking to level the playing field for their business or in their career.  

Co-founder of Rad Campaign, an organization that partners with non-profits and social entrepreneurs in getting the word out about their passion, Allyson leverages social media in ways that others only dream about.

She has taken on tech titans using Twitter in raising awareness and visibility of women in technology, driving changes in how conference and meeting planners review and invite qualified women to participate in a male-dominated area. 

Join us this Sunday, June 20 at 6:00 pm (Pacific) for Allyson Kapin: Fearless Advocate Leveling the Playing Field for Non-Profits on BlogTalkRadio's Big Dreamers! The Reinvent Success Show.

Before You Sign that Contract! 7 Copyright Essentials for Collaboration

Out of the ashes of the Great Recession lie the beginnings of new partnerships and creative collaborations. 

However, exuberance is no excuse for not establishing clear expectations upfront and ensuring that the IP of partners is clearly spelled out in a formal agreement.

It's unfortunate when business alliances, partnerships and creative endeavors fail because the partners didn't invest upfront time in thinking through the "what if" scenarios.

This is why I invited Alan Korn, a Berkeley, California-based attorney specializing in art, entertainment, intellectual property and business law, to join me for a candid discussion on copyright essentials on Sunday, March 14 at 6pm (PST) (PDT) during my Coach for Innovation show on BlogTalkRadio. 

1. What is a copyright and what does it protect? 
   
2. Who owns a copyright?
   
3. When is a written contract necessary?
4. What should the contract cover?
5. What is copyright infringement?
6. Are there any limitations on rights of copyright owners?
   
7. Why registering copyrights with the Copyright Office is a good idea.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: How Microbusinesses Can Help Reinvent Big Business

The Reset Economy, a term coined by GE’s CEO, Jeff Immelt, refers to the Great Recession as more than a simple business cycle correction, but a permanent, fundamental change to how markets will operate and be influenced going forward.

What would happen if a fraction of the thousands upon thousands of people downsized in the U.S. decided to start their own business? 

A microbusiness where their intent was not growth, but an enterprise that chose to stay micro with under five employees.

Oh, and this wouldn't be a short-term solution either like in past recessions when people started businesses only until the economy picked up steam and then returned to full-time, regular work.

What if I told you all this is happening, but that it's so far off the radar of most policymakers, government officials and large corporations that they're not connecting the dots as to how a shift of this magnitude will change the currency of labor.  

A light bulb went off for me after reading Dawn Rivers Baker's excellent white paper Microbusiness and the Human Economy (2009), reminding me of the challenge my Purchasing partner and I had with our company's policy over a decade ago. Somewhat radical at the time, we did manage to introduce micro-suppliers into our operations for three of the five reasons that Dawn writes about in her research report (adding value, creativity, and frugality):

1. Adding value
2. Creativity
3. Community
4. Democracy
5. Frugality

Dawn, a previous guest on Coach for Innovation, joins me again this Sunday, February 28 at 6pm (PST) for another insightful discussion about microbusiness developments and trends. She'll share highlights of recent research studies conducted by the Microbusiness Research Institute, which she heads, in pushing policy boundaries and chiseling away at walls in Washington on what could impact big business as much as it would microbusinesses. 

Join us this Sunday. We'll be taking your calls and chat questions, but if you can't make it live the recording will be available for download.

Do You Have (Real) Actionable Career Strategies for 2010?

The official word has it that the recession is over. It's just not over for everyone at the same time. Professionals must continue to be vigilant in preparing their career strategies and executing to their plans. Those most at risk are workers who still have a job (whether they like the job they have or not).

I realize that wearing multiple hats and juggling the work of three or four downsized co-workers doesn't leave you with much energy at the end of the day to focus on your "career strategy".

Good news? You're already living the entrepreneur's la vida loca, so why not take it a step further and develop your 2010 career strategy and prepare your plans for surviving and thriving in a sluggish recovery.

This is why I invited Marky Stein to join me for this week's Big Dreamers! The Reinvent Success Show on BlogTalkRadio leading up to her "get back to work now" strategies at the Career Reboot Camp happening Oct 26-27 in Northern California.

Marky is the bestselling author of several career books including "Fearless Resumes", "Fearless Job Change", and "Fearless Interviewing".

During our hour-long show this Sunday, Oct. 18 @ 6pm (Pacific), Marky will share her 7 Fearless Job Search Strategies with Big Dreamer listeners. 

1. How to capture your reader's emotions in the "seven second" zone of your resume.
2. How to make your job skills sizzle.
3. 10 mistakes to avoid on your resume and how to quickly fix them.
4. How to master the first 15 seconds of the interview.
5. How to create "chemistry" with the interviewer.
6. Questions you should ask the interviewer.
7. Negotiating a higher salary in a recession.

We'll take your call-in questions or you can post them in the chat room. Can't listen to our show live? No worries. You can listen to the recorded show posted on my BlogTalkRadio page at your convenience.

Career Transition: Visualize Today, Plan for Tomorrow

During a recent cafe visit, I eavesdropped on a conversation between four men with one telling the others that he had "Just enough money left for this transition."

Remember when career transition was an in-between stage? It was a time when you left one job to go to the next or moved to a new position within the same company and was typically a short-term action.

Career transition, today, is something that you can expect to do for as long as you plan to work. And with 1 in 4 American workers over 50 saying they don’t ever plan to stop working, professionals need to continuously assess their tools and techniques for what will become lifelong transitions.

This is especially true for professionals who have lost their job in this tanked economy. Losing your job, and unemployment, are among life's most traumatic events.

With the average time for finding a new job in the U.S. approaching 25.1 weeks, people are definitely feeling the stress. But did you know that how you react to the loss of a job will make or break your search for new employment?

Forced gaps in employment can have a negative impact on your creativity and slow down your innovation spark--differentiating qualities in any economy.

Job-recovery and visualization expert, Dr. Lynn Joseph, is my guest this week on Coach for Innovation and will share five exercises from her groundbreaking job-loss program and visualization system to get you back to work fast. 

You can catch Dr. Joseph at the Career Reboot Camp conference October 26-27 in San Rafael, CA.

'Tis the Season for Do Overs

Over the last few weeks I've attended a number of Silicon Valley events, sometimes as participant, video blogger, tweeter, and presenter.

From the kick-off of the Green Software Unconference, to the Twitterville book bash for Shel Israel's newest launch, and this week's informal gathering of Engage Her Silicon Valley's Circle, I feel as if I'm on the production set of City Slickers when Billy Crystal's character, Mitch Robbins, reminds his friend whose life has tanked that he can do his life over--his life is a clean slate. A do over. 

There seems to be an awful lot of do-overs these days with lots of professionals in transition (code word these days for unemployment, as if transition is something to be ashamed of instead of embraced.) Some folks in transition have been downsized, rightsized, part of a limited workforce reduction. So, we have the forced transitions.

But I'm also meeting professionals who are embracing the do-over, seeking the opportunities in reinventing themselves during a time of economic upheaval. Some are jumping ship for new opportunities, but at the very least lots of folks are planning something real different in 2010; prepping today for tomorrow's transformation. 

This past July I attended DAC where I met Harry Gries. Part of a heavy-hitter line up of speakers at Synopsys' Conversation Central, Harry shared his tips on the Job Search: How Social Media Can Help Job Seekers & Employers; something he knows first-hand after losing his job of 12 years in 2006.

We clicked and I invited Harry to be my guest for this week's Big Dreamers! The Reinvent Success Show on BlogTalkRadio.

I was curious about how an out-of-work BSEE from MIT and an MSEE from USC decides to blog. Harry...the ASIC Guy covers the niche world of EDA and ASIC design. But it's Harry’s mix of high-tech insight, good old fashioned storytelling, and sarcastic NY wit that keeps me coming back.

Good sport that he is, Harry agreed to let me dig a bit deeper and connect-the-dots of his current reinvention with listeners on Sunday, September 13 at 6pm (PT) for the Accidental Blogger.  

Transition can be a good thing. Billy Crystal's character would be pleased with all the do overs.