“Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art;

and good business is the best art.”

 Andy Warhol

 Gladwell on the Preconditions for Disruption

The great innovations that have become part of the fabric of our lives were once extraordinarily disruptive. Check out this short article that summarizes remarks made by Malcolm Gladwell this week at the World Business Forum on the “preconditions” for  effective disruption; the first consisting of being somewhat  “disagreeable.”

Googling yourself isn’t narcissistic. It’s necessary

We’ve all been told that we should periodically Google ourselves, but that’s not all we need to do to know what’s being said about us in cyberspace or find out what of our information is in the public domain. An article in the current issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance details the other actions you should be taking and websites you should searching to find out what’s being said, and then, if necessary, to Fix Your Online Rep.

Don’t Wait for Karma; try this

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella garnered some unwelcome publicity this week when he suggested that women in tech should be patient and wait for “karma” to bring their salaries in line with those of their male counterparts. Social media quickly excoriated Nadella for his remarks and he has spent the past few days trying to walk back his comments. A Forbes article about the incident by Kathy Caprino looks at the entire incident, provides some background about Nadella, and concludes that Nadella in not anti-women but could definitely use an empathy check.

But what should women in technology (and elsewhere) do to increase the chances of advancement in pay and position? Check out this TED talk by Susan Calantuono on the “Career Advice You Probably Didn’t Get.”  Everyone, male and female, who find their careers stalled or even just a little stuck could find this video helpful.

Marissa Mayer: The Next Warren Buffett?

One woman in tech who isn’t underpaid is Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Yahoo realized billions in profit from its investment in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba which recently launched the largest IPO in history. Even so, Yahoo has struggled under a succession of CEOs to find  a leadership position in the technology world. One tech watcher thinks that Mayer should use Yahoo’s increasing cash hoard to get out of being in a business and just own them instead, and in so doing become a technology version of  Berkshire Hathaway. Warren Buffett has consistently avoided technology bets for the very good reason that he feels doesn’t understand them. Ms.  Mayer (once a key player at Google before taking the reins at Yahoo) has the brains, background and bucks to make a go at this niche, and it may be the “One Way (Maybe the Only Way) Yahoo can Succeed.”

Econ Recon: Is Inflation AWOL?:

Some economists have been forecasting hyperinflation for some time due to the huge growth in the Fed’s balance sheet as a result of Quantitative Easing. Yet, nightmare images of dollar collapse or an overstressed banking system have failed to appear. Every business person needs to understand the dynamics of inflation and its impact on the economy. Economist Brian Wesbury explains why inflation is AWOL and what it means in his recent one page article “Inflation:  What Inflation?”