You have a great idea, now what? That first mile—where an innovation moves from an idea on paper to the market—is often plagued by failure. In fact, less than one percent of ideas launched by big companies end up having real impact. The ideas aren’t the problem. It’s the process. The First Mile focuses on the critical moment when an innovator moves from planning to reality. It is a perilous place where hidden traps snare entrepreneurs and roadblocks slow innovators inside large companies. In this practical and enlightening manual, strategic adviser Scott Anthony equips innovators with new tools, questions, and examples to speed through this crucial early stage of innovation. You’ll learn: • How to evaluate your idea’s strengths and weaknesses using the “DEFT” process—Document, Evaluate, Focus, and Test • Fourteen recipes from an “experiment cookbook” to gain confidence in your idea or business • Why “spinouts,” “wrong turns,” and other challenges commonly trip up innovation—and the practical strategies you can use to avoid them • Why innovators need to seek chaos in an age of constant change—and other essential leadership skills Drawing on his decade of experience as an innovation adviser and investor, Anthony describes hard-won lessons from disruptive start-ups and global giants alike. The First Mile will give you the knowledge and confidence to travel this perilous—but ultimately promising—terrain. The first mile can be a scary place, but you don’t have to traverse it alone. This book can help.

"This book details how new technologies can help people living in poverty improve their livelihood, increase productivity, improve the quality of services, and empower them if technologies are used in ways that are appropriate to their context and needs"--Provided by publisher.

The rapid development of information communication technologies (ICTs) is having a profound impact across numerous aspects of social, economic, and cultural activity worldwide, and keeping pace with the associated effects, implications, opportunities, and pitfalls has been challenging to researchers in diverse realms ranging from education to competitive intelligence.

Because trucks in Bangladesh and India are not allowed to operate across the border, cargo is transloaded at the border, and Indian trucks traveling between northeast India and the rest of India must go around Bangladesh through the Siliguri Corridor, which significantly increases transport and trade costs. This lack of integration means that it is more costly for Bangladesh and India to trade with each other than for either of them to trade with Europe. As a result, bilateral trade represents only about 10 percent of Bangladesh’s trade and a mere 1 percent of India’s trade. Connecting to Thrive: Challenges and Opportunities of Transport Integration in Eastern South Asia presents a collection of innovative technical analyses that show what is needed to achieve seamless connectivity in the region. The report explores the extent to which the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) supports the cross-border operation of road transport services and identifies the gaps in the agreement that need to be addressed to improve its effectiveness. It assesses the potential shift of freight traffic to new routes and modes in eastern India and Bangladesh once the MVA is implemented and the potential impact of the MVA on wages, employment, and income in Bangladesh and India. It explores how the local impacts of a regional corridor could be enhanced in rural areas by improving access to markets along the corridors and how women’s participation in export-oriented agriculture value chains could be improved to allow women to take advantage of improved regional connectivity. Connecting to Thrive will be of interest to policy makers, private sector practitioners, and academics with an interest in regional connectivity in eastern South Asia.

This book is a church leader’s guide for connecting guests and closing the back door. You’ll discover how to intentionally serve people from their first visit, to becoming a flourishing member. You’ll learn how to build a culture of connection that purposefully expresses the value that Jesus places on all people. It’s this connection culture that has allowed Milestone Church to grow to thousands of active members, while maintaining its heart for the one, and a focus on the next one coming. Three intentional sections cover the POWER, the PRINCIPLES, and the PROCESS of connection. The why, the what, and the how—why connection is so powerful, what you can do to be better at it, and how to build a process that creates a culture of connection. Great services and excellent service are imperative, but connection is the value people feel. Connection is more than an action, it’s an attribute. This book will help you deliver on a desire to see people loved into a relationship with Jesus, grow spiritually, and find meaningful relationships in His Church.

The Golden Connection: Three men bond while working on the G. G. Bridge. Jeffs Dream: A man goes west during the gold rush and a raven changes his life. Hannos Song: A boys love and an elephants courage overcome all obstacles. Nikos: A Greek family seeks refuge during the Greek-Turkish war in 1920. The Red Box: A red shoe shine box changes the life of a homeless man and his family. Stormy: A thoroughbred and a young man struggle together to reach their goals. April Fourteenth: Black Sunday affects peoples lives and a childs future. Chapel on Wheels: A poor southern family experiences an eventful life in Chicago. Maska: A cattle rancher learns to understand and respect wolves. Kostas: A fisherman has to make a choice between wealth and doing whats right. A Crow and a Burglar: Jewelry fascinates a crow, a burglar and a ruthless woman. The Dream Painter: Magical paints help people fulfill their dreams. Qanuk: A polar bear survives global warming and wins the hearts of the country.