From Selling Power …Market research firm IDC states that half of all Internet-enabled employees access the Web while at work for personal tasks, such as reading the news (81 percent), personal email (61 percent), online banking (58 percent), travel (56 percent) and shopping (52 percent).

That’s really creating a conflict between management and the employees… Almost two-thirds of companies monitor workers’ Internet connections and one out of two store and reviewing employee email… Read more about this in the Selling Power article

What is the correct balance to have? This is a great discussion point for employers and key knowledge workers…

From Business 2.0 Magazine - While interviewing with the CEO of a top Silicon Valley e-commerce firm, Scott Langmack got the idea for a company of his own.

Langmack, a PepsiCo and Microsoft veteran, was a shoo-in for the position of chief marketing officer. But then the CEO complained that his headhunters had scoured thousands of resumes and that he’d spent three months interviewing shortlist candidates. A lightbulb went on in Langmack’s brain, and he turned down the job.

• See the whole article

From CNNmoney - When it comes to pay, big business commands the bulk of attention, from the eye-popping pay packages of Fortune 500 CEOs to salary comparisons of the rank-and-file at the world’s largest corporations.

But half of all private-sector employees make their living working at small businesses.

Salary.com on Wednesday released a survey of 1,800 companies with 500 or fewer employees across 50 industries to spotlight the earnings of small-business CEOs and of their executives heading up the company’s major functions.

• Read the complete article
• 10 Highest-paid corporate execs

from InformationWeek - I found this study amazing, especially the three reasons mentioned below. Of course compensation has to be competitive within any geographical market - but the issues with restricted opportunities and job dissatisfaction, I feel lie in a responsibility with management.

I’ve heard it said many times, there are no such things as bad employees, only bad managers. It’s every leader’s job to get the right people in the right place and to be a good steward of individuals time and talent. This is an insightful article if you feel your team might be searching in 2007.

Excerpt: “As the economy and job market continue to improve, employee retention poses a greater challenge for HR professionals,” said Gail Griffin, general manager of CareerJournal.com, in a written statement. “The top three reasons people voluntarily leave their organizations are for better compensation elsewhere, career opportunity elsewhere, and dissatisfaction with the potential for career development.”

From BusinessWeek - If you really want to understand what makes the U.S. economy tick these days, don't go to Silicon Valley, Wall Street, or Washington. Just take a short trip to your local hospital. Park where you don't block the ambulances, and watch the unending flow of doctors, nurses, technicians, and support personnel. You'll have a front-row seat at the health-care economy.

• Read the whole article

Digg sure does find the most interesting news…  In this recent article, the NY Post introduces us to little 8-year-old Victor De Leon III, a kid who makes $25 an hour– playing video games.  He does this by training adults to play the popular Xbox shooter, Halo 2.  I would not want to see this kid on Xbox Live, that's for sure.

• Read the article

Over at CNNmoney, Fortune provides us with an article where they talk to 9 people about their secrets to success.  They talk to everyone from an NFL kicker to a drill instructor.  It's an interesting look at what it takes to succeed regardless of the profession you're in.

•  Read the article

From BusinessWeek - The success of the entrepreneurs behind Digg, YouTube, and Facebook will undoubtedly inspire a growing breed of the young, energetic, and self-reliant who are more than willing to gamble that their startups will fly. But it's not just about role models. The idea that entrepreneurship is a viable career path is ingrained across the U.S., and the number of resources for startups continues to swell. So when we set out to find the latest batch of fresh faces and examine what makes their businesses tick, it wasn't surprising to see their ages skewing younger and their ideas getting smarter.

• Read the complete article 

Here is a link from BusinessWeek Online that provides some resources for young entrepreneurs. This tipsheet can help those who are looking to start their first business as well as those looking to simply start another new business.

• Read more
• Follow-Up Article: Venture Capital - the Spigot's on!

St. Louis and Detroit may have battled it out this October for the right to be at the top of the baseball world, but they're fighting a much different battle at CNNmoney — the right to be called the most dangerous city in America.  A dubious honor indeed.  Meanwhile, Brick, NJ takes home the honor of being called the safest city in America.  It's a fun and interesting read, so check it out.

•  Read the article and See the list
• Additional List - States with the Fastest Job Growth
  

CNNmoney delivers the goods again with this great article that serves to dispell myths and and uncover the secrets surrounding salary.  They give us three secrets about salary, and three myths.  Go check it out.

• Read the article

Our most exciting announcement this issue - we've been working the past three months to create WV's most   comprehensive news headline aggregation site.  We're launching this nationally in all 50 states - beginning right here in our home state of West Virginia!

The website puts all the headline links from most every WV news source on one page. This saves you time each day by helping you quickly find the news you want to read.

WVNewsline.com automatically aggregates headlines and links to every news article published online in West Virginia. The site is currently tracking over 30 news sources and updating hourly. 10-20 additional news sections are coming soon!

Please take a quick moment to visit the site and see if it might be a useful tool for your own daily news experience.  And most of all, please let us know what you think and how we can improve it and make it even better! 

• Visit www.WVNewsline.com 
  

From Forbes - Fourteen self-made members of the vaunted Forbes 400 shared candid, contrarian and even comedic answers to 20 thoughtful questions–ranging from what they eat for breakfast and how they pray to the importance (or lack thereof) of getting an M.B.A. and what advice they would give aspiring entrepreneurs.

• See their answers

From paulgraham.com via digg - "In the Q & A period after a recent talk, someone asked what made startups fail. After standing there gaping for a few seconds I realized this was kind of a trick question. It's equivalent to asking how to make a startup succeed– if you avoid every cause of failure, you succeed– and that's too big a question to answer on the fly."

• Read the complete article

Here is a set of Web sites / Web tools that students use on a regular basis. They ’re handy because they either a) help get things done or b) educate / inform students about things they need to know.

• Read more

The Advantage Valley ELS is seeking experienced entrepreneurs who have the ability and desire to coach other entrepreneurs. Join the Advantage Valley ELS which is an innovative coaching program in the Advantage Valley region and help develop the region’s pipeline of skilled entrepreneurs. Currently the program serves more than 70 entrepreneurs. Click below to learn more how you can help.

• Please contact Mark D. Burdette, General Manager
• 304-760-0950 or mark@advantagevalleyels.com.
• Visit www.advantagevalleyels.com for more information.

Innova strives to connect entrepreneurs to the best resources available to help their businesses succeed. FastTrac accomplishes this through a series of educational experiences and products.  Here is their outline of training for this fall and for the courses next year.

•  http://www.innovawv.org/FastTrac.htm

From Fortune - "I'm kind of a simple guy - brewed coffee, straight black. And I do my own e-mails. If anyone in our company e-mails me or leaves me a voicemail, they get a response, quickly. I'm fanatical about communicating. We have to operate like a store. Nobody likes to wait in line. My Treo is a godsend. I get 200 to 250 e-mails a day, and I respond to 75 percent of them. I'm brief, but that's better than not responding.

I also carry a hardback black binder with me. If someone says something particularly smart or not smart, I write it down so I have actual facts to use when I coach people or give reviews."

• Read more

Fortune has released their annual list of the 50 most powerful women in business.

From CNN Money -  Call it the year of the Most Powerful Woman CEO. In fact the top seven positions on the 2006 list are held by chief executives.

• See the list

Starting in September, the Kauffman FastTrac® GrowthVenture™ Program is a ten-week, ten-module educational program created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs that is designed to help participants look at their entire business. Delivered locally by seasoned entrepreneurs in the community, it's hands-on program uses participants' businesses as case studies, giving them the opportunity to put proven business practices to work for them.

• Learn more about Innova's FastTrac Training
• Available in Beckley, Charleston, Fairmont, Martinsburg and Wheeling
• Programs will begin September 5, 2006
• Graduation to be held November 14, 2006.
• Classes meet one evening per week 6:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m.