THE BIG PICTURE
Aspen Institute
Two books that really shape our thinking as we build out the Center for Urban Innovation at the Aspen Institute are Victor Hwang’s “The Rainforest,” which explains that innovation is a result of networks and relationships — it’s not a top-down process, and “Searching for Necessity” by a design consultancy called TomorrowToday, which identifies amazing community based innovation work across the country. Read more here.

1776
The “secret sauce” of ecosystem development lies in the creation of effective networks that bring together broad arrays of stakeholders within an industry; facilitate open exchange of ideas; and bridge cultural gaps between different groups to promote effective collaboration. Read more here.

Kauffman Foundation
This book illustrates the reality of surviving the entrepreneurial life while trying to find the harmony between the people that love and support them and the dreams they are trying to accomplish. Read more here.
The Guardian
To avoid social, environmental and economic collapse, the world needs to move beyond the standard choices of capitalism or socialism. That’s the conclusion of a new report released Wednesday by US think tank Capital Institute. Read more here.

THE LATEST NEWS
The Wall Street Journal
A growing number of entrepreneurs who got their start at China’s three leading Internet firms—Alibaba, Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Baidu Inc. —and are now trying their luck at their own ventures. Read more here.

The Economist
From payments to wealth management, from peer-to-peer lending to crowdfunding, a new generation of startups is taking aim at the heart of the industry—and a pot of revenues that Goldman Sachs estimates is worth $4.7 trillion. Read more here.

The New York Times
The fake companies with imagined sales are all part of an elaborate training network that effectively operates as a parallel economic universe. They are used to combat the alarming rise in long-term unemployment while keeping unemployed workers stay current with their job skills. Read more here.

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