Where do I sign on?  As a former entrepreneur I sometimes get discouraged by my progressive friends' emphasis on trying hard, rather than being agile, and constantly evaluating whether we are succeeding, like a business startup has to.

I loved the ideas in this article; and I have visited with a Kipp School and see it as a great model for a new generation of African American succeeders. 

7.  Re: strategic planning and problem solving--Be creative, willing to take some (reasonable) risks but learn from the mistakes of the past.We are already seeing some of these approaches to strategic planning and problem solving under the leadership of Obama.  However, I hope this administration does not fall back to the same old way of trying to solve problems (e.g. giving huge sums of money to businesses without accountability).  As a woman-owned small business owner since 1993, I can tell you that taking the first step into self-employment was a risk that I could afford to take at the time. Part of the reason I am still going today is that I did not rely on huge loans nor create huge unmanageable debt--nor should our government.  I started small and kept it small because that's what I could do at the time. 

Now I'm ready to take the next step into a wider market with a more creative strategy (I am soliciting stories for a book by women, for women on their significant turning points and major life decisions.) I believe we can learn from each other and our challenges--not just in business, but in life.  Hence, the book.So, let's hope that this administration under Obama's lead will be creative in moving forward and learn from the mistakes of the past as any good business should--especially a start up striving for success.  That's what I did 15 years ago and I'm still standing (with integrity) and with very little business debt--I might add.
Terri Spahr Nelson, Reflections From Women

As a federal employee of seventeen years, I've seen the old ways of thinking about how things can/should be done predominate. In my agency, we are tasked with providing direct human services. New initiatives first require a new level of management it seems.
Workers know how to do the work and often times do it more efficiently.  This knowledge is not harvested, it seems, and rather than funds going to do the work, we implement another level of management.  More chiefs but not more workers!
I do hope new ideas about delivery of services tap the knowledge of "line workers" in every area of government.

8. Successful startups are like small communities. There may be a charismatic figure at the top of the hill, but often each team is open to new ideas and makes decisions quickly to solve problems, agility is almost the opposite of what we consider government programs, but there are so many exceptions to that that need to be emulated .... where small teams have brought out good ideas and been given the opportunitie to develop them as pilot programs.

We need to start volunteer communities around the problems we face, take input from all, have team leads that are dedicated to solutions and not stardom and keep ideas circling around our charismatic leader.

Sign me up.

Television coverage of the President's Cabinet meeting on about Jan. 22 showed people gathered around a rectangular table. Eye contact between the President and several Cabinet officers appeared to be awkward because of the straight-line seating dictated by the shape of the table.

Replacing the rectangular table with an oval table would improve interpersonal communication at cabinet meetings.

The infrastructure improvements and additions (including health care) that this Administration intends to make are directly in line to help all businesses.  These things allow businesses to focus on building themselves rather than on externalities.  CEO and upper mgmt overpayment (particularly bonuses) should not be allowed - as rightly noted, such largesse is not warranted, especially in current circumstances.  Companies must once again have long-term business plans (40-, 50-, 100- years) as well as short term profit-taking.  Laws governing corporations should change drastically - companies are not people, and the law should not treat them as such.  Corporations must be allowed to save money for the future (not every year is an 'up' year), not required to pay it all in dividends (that which doesn't already go to excessive compensation).  If needed, excessive compensation - and windfall profits (eg oil companies) - should be taxed away to fund a more diverse economy.  Monopolies should be disallowed or brought under the ownership of the people/the government.  Privatization of our military is the biggest national security issue we face.  It increases costs, removes personal responsibility, and in actuality limits the flexibility of our military.  Our media would regain some credibility if it would do actual reporting, research, basic legwork gathering real facts that voters and citizens need to know, and would stop simply seeking out conflicting personal opinions and saturation-reporting on local stories as though they affected everyone.  Our economy cannot continue to be based on a strategy of 'continual growth unto perpetuity', as it will not grow forever (obviously).  We must adjust trade laws/restrictions to allow ourselves and others to set standards, and to give preferences to our own economic development needs.  We must acknowledge that the only way to increase our wealth is to use the resources from the earth, which are finite.  Sun, wind, water, food from the land, and mined resources are those that increase wealth.  Everything else is just playing with money - it may increase the pile, but not the value, of the paper involved.  Which type of wealth creation actually contributes more to our country's economic health?  Checking out the health of our financial sector answers that question most accurately.  I believe that Mr. Obama will bring a healthy dose of realism to governing.  I sincerely hope that his advisory staff don't insulate him from the tough realities he must enable us to deal with.

0. Above all, especially in social issues, the Entrepreneur must have integrity. Creating an enterprise base solely on greed or self interests will not only fail, it will have an overall negative effect on society.  In my view, Obama has that integrity. I hope Obama employs the five key issues to bring "Social Inovation" to our government.

The United States is full of entrepreneurs who are working to make our world and our nation better.  One key role that government can play is giving a focus and a mission to coordinate all the splintered efforts of groups and companies.  It is time that our youth know that the whole community is watching their growth, that our companies know that we back their innovative spirits, and our seniors know that we support their quality of life.

While operating like a nimble start-up can accomplish a lot with a little, President Obama's team needs to take that they do not fall into a common problem that has faced many start-ups.  Rule Avoidance.

Many start-ups find the rule systems that apply to them to be stifling and often find themselves skirting or avoiding rules that they feel get in the way of success.  This is not difference than when President Bush decided to suspend Habeas Corpus or many of his other questionable choices.  For this reason he and his teams were often labeled as arrogant.

President Obama has declared a a rule against "revolving door" lobbyists.  People on his team are now pushing to avoid this rule in specific cases.  Simply put, this is a bad idea.  We need a strong leader who will stand by his convictions even when it means taking a longer path to success.

If a rule is bad get it changed, don't avoid it.  If a rule is good, then follow it.