Lynne Beverly Strang's Blog, page 12
March 27, 2014
Why Leaders Get Better With Age
Companies prize young talent. And rightly so. In an era of instant communication, they need young, tech-savvy leaders who can help them to get things done faster.
Still, speed by itself doesn’t equate to business success. Sydney Finkelstein wrote about this in a recent BBC article. In it, he recalls the classic Aesop’s fable about the tortoise and the hare. It’s the plodding tortoise, and not the speedy hare, that crossed the finish line first.
Experience may not bring speed – but it does bring...
March 12, 2014
Opening a Law Practice at Age 72
When Pennsylvania resident Carolyn Newsom decided to go to law school at age 68, she wasn’t the only one there who was making a midlife career change. A half-dozen women with her at the Widener UniversitySchool of Lawwere at least 40 years old. They called themselves the Ladies Justice.
“It was great to have a group of women to be supportive of one another,” said Newsom in this article appearing in The Intelligencer. She passed the Pennsylvania and New Jersey bar exams in 2012.
At age 72, she’s...
February 23, 2014
Centenarian Cyclist Breaks World Record
Late bloomers of all types often can find inspiration from the world of sports. For living proof that age is just a number, look no further than102-year-old Robert Marchand.This guy isamazing.
Marchand, who’s from France,broke his own world record in speed cycling a few weeks ago when herode 26.927 kilometers (16.7 miles) in one hour. That time beats his previous record by more than 2.5 kilometers and keeps himat the top the 100-plus age group.
Marchand set his new recordinFrance’s new national...
February 13, 2014
Help is Out There for 40-and-Older Entrepreneurs
Looking for third-party support or guidance to launch your startup – but aren’t sure where to turn? Here’s a list of organization, programs and publications that may be useful for aspiring or new business owners. Many of these resources are from Late-Blooming Entrepreneurs: Eight Principles for Starting a Business After Age 40.
Organizations:
AARP – Has anentrepreneurship resource center on its website. www.aarp.org
Center for Productive Longevity – Serves as a bridge between employers seeking...
February 3, 2014
Grocery Entrepreneur Seeks to Help Working Families
For 31 years, Doug Rauch helped Trader Joe’s Company grow from a small operation in Southern California to a national chain thathas more than400 stores these days. Now Rauch — who served as Trader Joe’s president for 14 years before retiring in 2008 – has a new grocery store in the works that’s rather unconventional.
The Daily Table, Rauch’s Dorchester, Massachusetts-based store and restaurant, will open its doors in May. When it does, the nonprofit will sell surplus food from supermarkets and...
January 27, 2014
Ten Steps for Starting a Software Business
Jim Kelly
Jim Kelly is a Bethesda, Maryland-based serial entrepreneur whose expertise includes software technology solutions and venture capital. In 1996– at age 55–he left his position with BDM to start his first company: SynXis, a hotel reservation management software provider sold toSabre in 2005. Later that year, Kelly (a former pilot) and his business partner, Bob Wright, launched Flight Explorer,a software and IT solutions provider to the global aviation communitythat was created from a...
January 17, 2014
Michelle Obama’s Thoughts on Turning 50
Turning 50 isn’t what it used to be. Just ask Michelle Obama.
TheFirst Lady of the U.S. isn’t justcelebratingher 50th birthdaytoday.She’s embracingit in a way that sets a great example forothers.
“What you learn is that each decade brings a new set of challenges but also a new set of possibilities,”Mrs. Obamasaid in this interview with Parade magazine. “I have never felt more confident in myself, more clear on who I am as a woman. But I am constantly thinking about my own health and making sure...
January 5, 2014
Invention Turns Smartphones into Heart Monitors
David C. Albert isan Oklahoma City-based cardiologist, inventor and the founder of three tech companies.Hislatest venture, which he started at age 56,sells a product that has caught the attention of many in thehealth care industry.
The AliveCor Systemturns a smartphone into a portable, clinical-quality heart monitor.As explained in this recent pieceby syndicated columnist Froma Harrop, Albert’s invention allows a user to attach abox to a smartphone, place the phone on his or her chest and send...
December 28, 2013
The Power of Persistence
Four years ago, I set out to write a book about people who became successful entrepreneurs in the second halves of their lives. I undertookthischallenge for several reasons but at the heart of it all was a personal one. I wanted to know what it takes for an ordinaryboomerlike me to excel at business ownership.
It took hundreds of hours of research, more than 40 interviews and at least six or seven manuscript rewrites (I lost count after the fifth round) but I finally finished. This month, I se...
December 21, 2013
Entrepreneur Creates a “Surfboard” for the Golf Course
Don Wildman has an invention that he hopes will make golf carts a thing of the past.
The 80-year-old entrepreneur from Malibu, California is the mastermind behind the GolfBoard, an electronic board that golfers (and their clubs) ride to get from one shot to the next. On its website, GolfBoard says the device “speeds up the game, is easy and intuitive for everyone to ride, has less impact on a course than a golf cart, and allows golfers to surf the golf course in a way that feels similar to sno...
