Hugh Molotsi

The 21st century economy requires 21st century skills which include software development and high-end digital knowledge. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the US economy will need as many as 100,000 new information technology workers per year over the next decade. Right now, only about 60,000 of these workers enter the workforce each year (see US economy faces impending skills gap ).  Clearly, traditional four year colleges are not keeping up with demand and the college route is not a practical path for everyone. The good news is that coding academies and boot camps are providing an alternative path generating software developers, product managers, and designers in as little as twelve weeks. This week, a delegation of South African government officials and business leaders visited Silicon Valley. The delegation was led by Honorable Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams , the Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services. On the delegation's agenda was learning whi...

This article was first published on Lean Startup Labs . You’ve read Eric Ries’ The Lean Startup and have become a true believer, i.e. the path to transforming your company and developing an effective culture of innovation involves empowering small teams to create new products and services using the Lean Startup Methodology. Armed with stories of how internal startup teams have delivered value for companies like General Electric, Intuit, Amazon, and Airbnb, you’ve taken on the challenge of convincing your colleagues that this should be your new way of working. But much to your dismay, you get strong pushback: “This methodology will never work here!” “We can’t afford to have employees play around!” “Doing what you propose will put critical projects at risk!” “Our GM won’t let us do this!” The pushback you’re getting is only natural. For many of your colleagues, your proposals to be more innovative will sound much like letting a bull loose in a china shop. To suggest ...