From strategy+business: This social entrepreneur pioneered a new model for mentoring startups in emerging markets. Now she's replicating it around the world.

From FastCompany: Venture-capital firms have been the engine of the United States’ innovation economy. At Google Ventures, the search giant’s investing arm, Google thinks it can build a better one.

From Jeffrey Cufaude: In order for us to do anything with each other, we first have to understand how we want to be with each other.  Having stated and understood rules of engagement, shared agreements for participation, helps create a safer climate for individual participation.  Defining norms for a conversation, community, or organization helps people understand "this is who we are and how we will do things here."  As Margaret Wheatley has said, “To create learning organizations, we must understand the underlying agreements we have made about how we will be together.”

From FastCompany: Disruptive. Small-d democratic. Transparent. Tech savvy. Design savvy. Local and global. Nimble. Values-driven. No matter your gut reaction to what has sprung out of a seemingly sketchy September landing on New York’s Zuccotti Park, the Occupy movement is spiritually akin to the innovative companies we laud elsewhere on this list and in each issue. Square, for example, is working to disrupt an established trillion-dollar payment infrastructure that puts the little guy at a disadvantage. Occupy, meanwhile, is challenging a political, financial, and social establishment that has resulted in income inequality and puts most Americans at a disadvantage. Both attempt to make a more fair future.

From Erica Swallow at Mashable: It can be challenging for unknown startups to garner press attention — budgets are tight, relationships with journalists may not be that strong and explaining a new concept is difficult. Not to mention, early-stage startups usually only employ a few people focused on product and development. Therefore, marketing and public relations are often tackled piecemeal by whomever has time.

Good press, though, can be one of the biggest drivers for startups looking to grow their user bases, and as a result, a pretty important component for success.

From Thomas Friedman in NY Times: The rise in the unemployment rate last month to 9.2 percent has Democrats and Republicans reliably falling back on their respective cure-alls. It is evidence for liberals that we need more stimulus and for conservatives that we need more tax cuts to increase demand. I am sure there is truth in both, but I do not believe they are the whole story. I think something else, something new — something that will require our kids not so much to find their next job as to invent their next job — is also influencing today’s job market more than people realize.

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