Use or Lose To "Creative Destruction"

Creative Destruction is a persistent drive used by entrepreneurs and feared by traditionalists.

The economist Joseph Schumpeter popularized the notion of Creative Destruction while noting that "innovative entry by entrepreneurs was the force that sustained long-term economic growth, even as it destroyed the value of established companies that enjoyed some degree of monopoly power".

Thanks to Mike Masnick of TechDirt for applying this to current market conditions. He warns those who are wary of trying new business models that Creative Destruction Happens Quickly; Those Who Wait End Up In The Rubble. In his own review of End Times in the latest edition the Atlantic Masnick reminds us of how the newspaper and recording industries were damaged by a delayed response to new digital technologies.

Searching for Work at the High End

The Wall Street Journal follows eight out-of-work M.B.A.s as they search for jobs in a post-meltdown world in its blog Laid Off And Looking. "Each writes about his or her own personal experiences with all of the ups and downs that go into a job search in a difficult market. Profiled last week was Matthew Vuturo, whose post Launching a Business While Unemployed reveals that "faith" in his own ability is a requirement born of necessity.

P.S. Reader comments to this blog are worth reading.

10 Most Common Misconceptions About User Experience Design

Whitney Hess explains how she makes "stuff easy and pleasurable to use as a "user experience" or UX designer. That’s the repeatable one-liner, but it’s a gross oversimplification and isn’t doing me any favors.

Whitney is an independent user experience designer, writer and consultant based in New York City. She authors the blog Pleasure and Pain.

Fast Track to Starting Your Business

Tim Berry and Sabrina Parsons of Entrepreneur.com say that "starting a business doesn't have to take weeks or years" This three part guide lays out a day-to-day progression to "get your business running in less than a month"

• 3 Weeks to Startup: Week 1
• 3 Weeks to Startup: Week 2
• 3 Weeks to Startup: Week 3

The Start-Ups We Don’t Need

By Scott Shane — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

"Policymakers believe a dangerous myth. They think that start-up companies are a magic bullet that will transform depressed economic regions, generate innovation, create jobs, and conduct all sorts of other economic wizardry. So they provide people with transfer payments, loans, subsidies, regulatory exemptions, and tax benefits if they start businesses. Any businesses."

7 Secrets to Getting Your Next Job Using Social Media

by Dan Schawbel | mashable.com

"Between current economic conditions and the technological evolution of the Internet, the traditional approach most job seekers have taken in the past is no longer viable."






Dan Schawbel is the author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, and owner of the award winning Personal Branding Blog.

Why products fail

Most gadget and software makers don't understand what users want most: Control

By Mike Elgan | Computerworld

"The problem is that there are too many technologists in technology. The technology is only half the equation. The other half is the human, that irrational, impulsive, impatient, power-hungry gratification machine."

The End of the Financial World as We Know It

By MICHAEL LEWIS and DAVID EINHORN | NYTimes.com
Published: January 3, 2009

"Good God, the world seems to be saying, if they don’t know what they are doing with money, who does"