Archive for the ‘Stralser, Steven’ Category

Health care professionals work in a fast-growing sector full of opportunity for innovation, but many industry leaders lack the business skills necessary to harness and commercialize their entrepreneurial spirit. To help close the gap between the emergency room and boardroom, Thunderbird School of Global Management will launch a 10-week open enrollment course for health care practitioners, administrators, researchers and students starting May 11, 2011. “As a health care professional, it is often difficult for you to move into the world of business and the world of commercializing your innovation,” said Thunderbird Professor Steven Stralser, Ph.D., academic director of the program. “Those talents are very different than what made you a good physician.” Read more in the Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship Blog. | Video: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Healthcare (2:45)

By Steven Stralser, Thunderbird Professor

I am in Geneva this week  teaching Thunderbird Executive MBA students. We just spent an afternoon at the World Intellectual Property Organization for a briefing and presentation by Tamara Nanayakkara, director of the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Division, and Senior Information Officer Cathy Jewell. One of the interesting — and concerning — research findings our hosts shared is the fact that the United States is falling behind as the innovation leader among well-developed global economies. To regain their “innovation mojo,” U.S. companies might want to consider at least two things. Read my full entry in the Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship Blog. | Blog: U.S. needs to rediscover its innovation mojo

By Steven Stralser, Ph.D.

Talk to most any group of up-the-corporate-ladder types and mention the word “failure,” and you will detect an almost-audible gasp, because a mistake or setback is often a career-stopper or, at least, a blot on the record. For these cube-dwellers, an aversion to risk and “don’t take a chance” and “play it safe” attitudes are seen as an antidote to a mistake that can knock the corner office train off its tracks. Yet, talk to an entrepreneur or an enlightened CEO of a company who sees innovation and creativity as the path to profitability and long-term sustainability, and this person will talk openly about failure, mistakes and setbacks as things that are just a part of that journey, process or path along the way to success.
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By Steven Stralser, Thunderbird Professor

Talk to most any group of up-the-corporate-ladder types and mention the word “failure,” and you will detect an almost-audible gasp, because a mistake or setback is often a career-stopper or, at least, a blot on the record. For these cube-dwellers, an aversion to risk and “don’t take a chance” and “play it safe” attitudes are seen as an antidote to a mistake that can knock the corner office train off its tracks. Yet, talk to an entrepreneur or an enlightened CEO of a company who sees innovation and creativity as the path to profitability and long-term sustainability, and this person will talk openly about failure, mistakes and setbacks as things that are just a part of that journey, process or path along the way to success. Click here to read the rest of this post on the Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship Blog.

Visit the Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship Blog to see what students have to say about guest speakers on campus Jan. 11-22. Starting with Walker Center namesake Scott Walker, the speaker lineup includes more than 15 entrepreneurs and business leaders from around the world. Thunderbird Professor Steven Stralser, Ph.D., leads the program, which provides an understanding of the development and implementation of entrepreneurial strategies. | Visit the blog

Entrepreneurs full of good ideas swirling in their heads need to choose wisely before launching their next startup, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman said July 28 during a live webcast with students in the global business plan class of Thunderbird Professor Steven Stralser, Ph.D. “You can only invest your life in one thing at a time,” Hoffman said. “And most entrepreneurs have a maximum of two to three startups in them.” He shared five strategies for identifying ideas with the greatest chance of success. Read the full story on the Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship Blog.

Governments around the world have spent trillions of dollars to save banks, automakers and insurance companies, but Thunderbird Professor Robert D. Hisrich, Ph.D., calls that a mistake. Big corporations that benefit the most from the bailouts won’t save the world from economic crisis, he says. The bulk of new jobs, products, services, economic stimulus and philanthropy will come instead from entrepreneurs ready to pounce on new opportunities in the changed economy.
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By Steven Stralser, Thunderbird professor

I have never been a big fan of Star Trek. For me, it’s like having CNN on TV while I’m working on a project at my computer: in the background, kind of knowing what’s going on, but not paying particular attention. But Star Trek’s recent movie release and box office success has interested me in reflecting on some entrepreneurship takeaways from what’s been an enduring franchise, now into a third generation of Trekkies. | Video: Steven Stralser shares business lessons from the Star Trek franchise (4:27) |
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By Steven Stralser, Thunderbird professor

I’m in Silicon Valley at a conference of about 3,500 entrepreneurs. It’s an annual event, and what’s remarkable is that attendance this year is 20 percent higher than 2008! From my speaking and presentation involvement, I get monthly corporate event planning magazines and newsletters that express a much different picture: generally corporate events are down as much as 50 percent. So what’s going on? Two different stories, using event participation as an indicator. | Video: Steven Stralser answers the Thunderbird Question (0:38) |
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By Steven Stralser, Thunderbird professor

For the past few weeks the media has been abuzz marking the first 100 days of the Obama presidency. This 100-day benchmark has been a staple of the journalistic lens on America for much of the past century, but it was FDR and the Great Depression that focused so much attention on what happens in 100 days. While entrepreneurial thought leaders, management gurus and especially lenders and investors are always promoting the value of strategic planning and scenario analysis with three-to-five-year horizons, with our economy — and no doubt your company, too — in an economic ditch, it seems naïve and arguably a luxury to be thinking about the long term, when the short term is so challenging. | Video: Steven Stralser answers the Thunderbird Question (0:38) |
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