Books

Originally posted in our July 2023 Top of Mind Newsletter. The ELI team is not very interested in Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, or Richard Branson’s entrepreneurial journeys. This is both because their stories are not common or replicable but also because they, at times, diverge from the customer-driven approach to entrepreneurship that we advocate for. Enter the concept of Principled Entrepreneurship. Author Andreas Widmer’s book, The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship, promotes a different approach from the…

Originally posted in our February 2023 Top of Mind Newsletter. For organizations to remain relevant, they have to innovate. But what does that look like when you go to implement your “Big Idea?” In The Other Side of Innovation, we see a practical breakdown of what it takes to move beyond ideation. Through building strong and effective teams while also testing assumptions on the way, organizations of any type can begin to offer real innovation. Much…

Originally posted in our January 2023 Top of Mind Newsletter. When we study everyday, “underdog” entrepreneurs, we find that there are few true traits that unify them. Instead, these dark horses, as Harvard Lecturer Todd Rose calls them, are working tirelessly to reach fulfillment. “Find out what motivates you and stay close to that…we spend a lot of time telling children what they should care about and very little time helping them discover that for themselves.…

Originally posted in our September 2021 Top of Mind Newsletter. No events are ever so unlucky that clever people cannot draw some advantage from them; nor are any so lucky that imprudent people cannot turn them to their own detriment. —Francois de La Rochefoucauld, “Collected Maxims and Other Reflections” We chose this maxim to highlight not only the importance of our interpretation of events but also because it shows the importance of being a learner. And…

“Perceived self-efficacy is defined as people’s beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance that exercise influence over events that affect their lives. Self-efficacy beliefs determine how people feel, think, motivate themselves, and behave. Such beliefs produce these diverse effects through four major processes. They include cognitive, motivational, affective and selection processes.” This paper breaks down the above and further explores the following concepts: Sources of Self-Efficacy Beliefs Efficacy-Mediated Processes Adaptive Benefits of…

by Amar Bhidé What is this mysterious activity we call entrepreneurship? Does success require special traits and skills or just luck? Can large companies follow their example? What role does venture capital play? In a field dominated by anecdote and folklore, this landmark study integrates more than ten years of intensive research and modern theories of business and economics. The result is a comprehensive framework for understanding entrepreneurship that provides new and penetrating insights. Examining…

by Martin E. P. Seligman Flourish presents a dynamic new concept of what well-being really is. Traditionally, the goal of psychology has been to relieve human suffering, but the goal of the Positive Psychology movement, which Dr. Seligman has led for fifteen years, is different—it’s about actually raising the bar for the human condition. While certainly a part of well-being, happiness alone doesn’t give life meaning. Seligman now asks, What is it that enables you to…

by Martin E.P. Seligman The father of the new science of positive psychology and author of Authentic Happiness draws on more than twenty years of clinical research to demonstrate how optimism enhances the quality of life, and how anyone can learn to practice it. Offering many simple techniques, Dr. Seligman explains how to break an “I—give-up” habit, develop a more constructive explanatory style for interpreting your behavior, and experience the benefits of a more positive…

by Martin E.P. Seligman One of the most influential living psychologists looks at the history of his life and discipline, and paints a much brighter future for everyone. When Martin E. P. Seligman first encountered psychology in the 1960s, the field was devoted to eliminating misery: it was the science of how past trauma creates present symptoms. Today, thanks in large part to Seligman’s Positive Psychology movement, it is ever more focused not on what…