“One of the biggest lures of the [TechStars] program is the unlimited access the start-ups get to established tech community mentors. “It sometimes feels like I’m teaching at Hogwarts,” said Rachel Sklar, a mentor at Techstars who formerly worked as an editor at The Huffington Post and is currently involved with the social start-up Hashable. “It’s so difficult to get into the program, and the access and support the developers receive is like nothing else. It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to offer guidance to these new companies.”“
- via NYtimes “TechStars Nurtures Start-ups with Mentors”
“My advice to my students—and to my own children—is to study what interests them the most; to excel in fields in which they have the most passion and ability; to change the world in their own way and on their own terms. Once they master their domain, they can find the path to entrepreneurship. They can then come up with creative ways of solving the problems that they have encountered, and apply their ideas to other fields where their knowledge adds value. Maybe they can team up with the hard-core engineers who develop the clunky, inelegant, over-engineered products that Bill is famous for; maybe work with Steve to create the next iPhone or iPad.”
via Engineering vs. Liberal Arts: Who’s Right - Bill or Steve? @TechCrunch
“Over the past decade, we have increasingly seen employees, especially younger ones, that want jobs to support their personal aspirations, respect their creative whims, and complete their social circle. Delivering Happiness is betting that this new market demand is poorly matched by the ability of most corporations to supply the solution.”
via Zappos Shoes CEO Tony Hsieh Wants to be Your Soul Provider @fastcompany @sxsw
“People typically leave a company for one of three reasons, or a combination of them. The first is that they don’t feel a connection to the mission of the company, or sense that their work matters. The second is that they don’t really like or respect their co-workers. The third is they have a terrible boss — and this was the biggest variable. Google, where performance reviews are done quarterly, rather than annually, saw huge swings in the ratings that employees gave to their bosses…”
What Google found, after pouring through all their data, was compiled into Google’s Rules of 8 Good Behaviors for Better Managers.
via Google’s Quest to Build a Better Boss, New York Times
What we here at Apprentis are trying to contribute to is a bit more humble - but to also do our part to contribute to better relationships, for both the mentors and the apprentises. See our Scroll for more tips and reading on how to improve!
“Once upon a time, we learned only by doing. A quality education meant finding an expert to take you under his or her wing. Whether you wanted to be a blacksmith or a shoemaker, the ultimate break was ultimately a relationship. In exchange, your capacity would be stretched. You would learn in real-time, soaking up the knowledge through trial and error. You would learn the trade in practice rather than theory. You would also build a network and gain respect based on your performance rather than any sort of degree.”
via Experience Trumps Theory: Reviving the Apprenticeship Model, The 99 Percent
This side project is our experiment in trying to help recreate these learning relationships once again: to produce skills, experience, and partnerships that last!
