A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here.

If you were sitting in Starbucks and heard the following from a man and a woman you couldn’t see, what would your reaction be?

If we can get every business in the world to adopt a global problem, get slightly smaller businesses to adopt a national problem, get smaller businesses still to adopt local problems, then we can get on top of pretty well every problem in the world.

Snicker at their naiveté? Wonder how they would monetize the idea? Drool a bit over the enormous trove of data they would have? Maybe give some thought on how you could get into the action?

Not that you would admit those thoughts in public.

But in the end, you would probably just shrug and write them off as a couple of idealistic dreamers who were unlikely to get anywhere with ideas like that.

Why?

Because they didn’t sound as if they had the passion, the drive, the pure grit, to pull off a truly world-changing idea.

All these scenarios are predicated on the assumption that the people talking were just people.

Would the fact that you were eavesdropping on Richard Branson and his daughter, Holly, cause you to change your assumptions?

Probably.

(Click to read more about Branson.)

Image credit: HikingArtist

I owe my Saturday readers an apology. Expand Your Mind was absent last week and I have no excuse; worse, I have to admit I just plain forgot. That is embarrassing. I hope today makes up for it.

A rude awakening for all the companies and managers who believe they can treat their people any way they choose comes from an Aflac survey-based report saying otherwise.

77 percent of adults employed full/part time, and not currently self-employed, stated they would leave their current position to become an independent entrepreneur.

However, PeopleMetric’s 2011 survey on employee engagement says the opposite when compared to 2007.

…more employees intend to stay with their employer, feel motivated to put forth extra effort, recommend their companies as a great place to work, and say they love their current organization.

What’s the difference; why such disparate results?

More research from Harvard shows that what excites and engages people has nothing to do with money and everything to do with managers (you knew that).

According to recent research, the single most important factor is simply a sense of making progress on meaningful work.

Next, two excellent survey-based articles about women and work.
First, research from Harvard Business Review, looks at the factors that impact both women and men when competing.

…how women and men perform at work may be strongly linked to the gender of the person they are competing against.

And from McKinsey comes advice based on feedback that focuses on changing deeply embedded attitudes.

…a survey we conducted earlier this year indicated that although a majority of women who make it to senior roles have a real desire to lead, few think they have meaningful support to do so, and even fewer think they’re in line to move up.

Finally, a word about the poster boy of engagement, Richard Branson.

He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him, he is always doing both.

Not a bad way to live!

Flickr image credit: pedroelcarvalho

I’m about as far from pop culture as you can get—not into *ratti’s at all.

But I have to confess that I adore everything about Sir Richard Branson.

Where Larry Ellison comes over as arrogant and obnoxious, Branson is laid back and friendly—and oh so sexy. (Would that we could all look like that at 58—or 38 or any age for that matter.)

So, smart, sexy, brilliant, talented businessman and serial entrepreneur in the grand manner—what’s not to like?

“A good idea for a new business tends not to occur in isolation, and often the window of opportunity is very small. So speed is of the essence.” (A great message for all those ‘leaders’ who not only think they know best, but also don’t know how to get out of their people’s way.)

“We expect the first Virgin Galactic space flight to take place in 2008, which gives our Flying Club members time to save up all their miles.” (Just started testing this year, so it looks as if you have another 18 months to accrue more miles.)

“You’ll have at least two ways to get lucky on our flights.” (And a great sense of humor. He said this when his airline started offering casinos and double beds on it six new Airbus A380 planes.)

“I don’t think of work as work and play as play. It’s all living.” (14 words to by which to live—think about it.)

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Image credit: flickr