Philippe Matthews Show Guru Advice, Author Reviews, Tech Reviews, Entertainment News

Do your employees know when to throw out the rule book and let your philosophy guide their responses to the unexpected? Recently I saw a "pop-up" concert performed by my friend Lenni Jabour at a big-box book retailer named Indigo in downtown Toronto. A pop-up show is an unannounced event in a public space, and in Lenni's case, she has chosen to commandeer pianos lying dormant in public places–without permission.

Five tips on beating out the competition and making your business stickier The ease with which Google+ is now competing with Facebook for mindshare has me thinking about barriers to entry. Warren Buffett famously invests in businesses with what he calls a protective "moat" around them, meaning that they have some protection from competition that allows them to control their pricing. Big companies lock out their competitors by out-slugging them in capital infrastructure investments (anyone care to compete against CN Rail)

What works in social media marketing? Klout, Wildfire, and Mr Youth reveal results from their most successful campaigns

Long hailed as the genius behind the best naturopathic facials in New York, with a client roster that includes Julianne Moore, Rachel Weiss, and numerous beauty editors around town, Joanna Vargas is the secret weapon of VIPs, celebrities, and professionals in New York City. Style.com calls her “the queen of the naturopathic facial” while Vogue, Allure, and endless magazines and blogs have praised the nearly magical touch she brings to the craft.What a thrill it was, then, when I got a call to help the skin care diva rebrand her already successful salon. Jump forward 18 months, and we were then in the next phase of growing the brand: developing a world-class luxury brand for her own skincare line.

Some ideas are crazy. Some are underdeveloped. Some will fail

Preparing to launch your start-up means more than simply making sure you have a viable product and potential customers. Here are five tips on how to prepare yourself to be a founder. John Bradberry was fascinated by the idea of how someone may prepare to start a company.

Readers respond to our story about the constant feeling of crisis that is entrepreneurship in Argentina, and others. Risky Business Our story about doing business in Argentina [" A Constant Feeling of Crisis ," June] garnered a mixed reaction from readers on Hacker News and Inc.com, many of whom are U.S. expats running businesses in South America

Heres to the people who create jobs, and to the people who fill them.

The debate between big advertising agencies and small agencies goes on. A spate of recent articles and op-eds has agencies big and small continuing to take pot shots at one another

Agencies: if you really want to emulate a tech startup, create utility, put skin in the game and ask, What Would Edison Do? The “Why ad agencies should act more like tech startups” meme has been making the rounds for some time in the form of provocative tweets, panel discussions and blog posts . The conversation tends to focus on social media strategy and incorporating tech talent into creative teams.

Tackling the topic of neuromarketing for Fast Company magazine, our author finds himself talking to the CEO of top neuromarketing firm NeuroFocus, and wonders how much can Pradeep really tell from his brain scan. I'm in a ballroom inside New York's Marriot Marquis at the 75th annual Advertising Research Foundation conference, meeting with A.K. Pradeep, founder and CEO of NeuroFocus, a Berkeley, CA-based research firm that analyzes brain waves to reveal what consumers really want.

So you’ve escaped, or narrowly missed, corporate cubicle confinement, but now you’re met with some very different challenges. Sure, working from the home office certainly has its benefits, but many solopreneurs are surprised by confusing emotions resulting from a different type of confinement. If you’re not careful, your freedom will come at a cost

You may be familiar with SAS 70: an audit standard used for businesses that provide a service relating to their clients’ finances. If you feel like you just figured out SAS 70 audits, I’m sorry to say that from now on, you will be undergoing Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements 16 (SSAE 16) assessments instead.

This is the first in a series on corporate culture. From business philosophy to talent acquisition and management, customer service and product development, we’ll examine the inner workings of successful companies and the ways they build cultures that promote and harness creativity.

Network attached storage devices are gaining popularity as a way of sharing files among multiple computers.