T. Boone Pickens has declared that “water is the new oil.” And in a sense, Pickens is correct, given the distinct interplay that exists between water, oil and food. If you have water, you can grow food. If you have food, you can manufacture biofuels. And if you have energy, you can produce fresh water through desalination. Pickens, by the way, owns more water than any other individual in the U.S.

Much of the water that exists on this planet is not fit for human consumption. Only about 3% is considered safe to drink. Of that, two-thirds is locked up in glaciers and not available for consumption. That leaves just 1% of total water potable.

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How to Connect with Your Customers

Some companies get it. Others do not. Connecting with customers is one of the most important and valuable things you can do to make your business successful. Consumers, whether they are end-users or business-to-business, want to feel like they are buying from someone they trust. How do you connect with customers in a way that will not only sustain your business, but help your business grow?

Listen to Customers

It can be easy to segment your customers into demographics and particular targets. However, there is more value for you when you listen and are actively communicating with customers.

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Toyota is to recall 8,000 Tacoma pick-up trucks in the US, over fears about defective front drive shafts.

The recall involves four-wheel drive Tacomas built from mid-December 2009 to early February 2010.

The move is the latest in a string of recalls in the past few months, totalling more than 8.5 million Toyota vehicles around the world.

Previous recalls – including the flagship hybrid Prius – were due to accelerator and brake problems.

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The Link between Mid-Life Crisis and Entrepreneurship

A struggling economy could be improved through individual entrepreneurship. Interestingly, who is today’s leading group of new-business starters? The answer may surprise you. Rather than 22-year olds fresh out of Harvard or Stanford, today’s most prominent group is baby boomer entrepreneurs!

The Entrepreneurship Trends

Baby boomers are generally considered to be the generation of babies born between 1945 and 1964. Alt

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Survey reveals employee engagement at an all-time high among winners

Kingston, ON – Fifty organizations from across the country have been selected as the Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada in a study released today by Queen’s Centre for Business Venturing (QCBV) at Queen’s School of Business in conjunction with Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company. Canadian organizations with between 50 and 399 permanent employees are eligible to participate in the ranking.

“Despite the challenging economy over the past year, employee engagement among the fifty organizations selected as the best rose to the highest level seen in the study’s six-year history,” said survey co-ordinator Einar Westerlund, director of project development at QCBV. “This refle

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