Tom Fox September 26, 2014 The Washington Post Nathan Furr is an assistant professor at Brigham Young University and co-author of The Innovator’s Method: Bringing the Lean Start-up into Your Organization. He also has acted as the founder or adviser to start-ups across several industries, including retail and clean technology. He spoke about his principles of innovation with Tom Fox, a guest writer for On Leadership and vice president for leadership and innovation at the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. Fox also heads up their Center for Government Leadership. Q. How do great innovators approach leadership? A. If you asked a group of managers five years ago “What’s your job?” they would say that it’s to make decisions. It was rooted in a classic military metaphor of strategy. It’s this idea that the commander’s job is to see the field and put the troops in the right position to win…

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 AAP RISING levels of iron deficiency among teenage girls may be linked to an increase in the amount of high-caffeine energy drinks they consume, it has been claimed. BRITAIN’S Health Food Manufacturers’ Association warns that caffeine can inhibit the body’s uptake of minerals such as iron. Recent research has shown that around two-fifths of British girls and young women aged 11 to 24 have lower-than-expected iron levels. Other studies have indicated that one in 10 British teenagers consume as many of five cans of caffeinated energy drinks every week, the HFMA said. A poll conducted by the association on 10,000 British adults found that most young people do not know that caffeine can restrict a person’s intake of iron and other minerals. “Micro-nutrients are essential for good health and wellbeing, and iron deficiency is a wide-scale issue which shouldn’t be ignored – particularly for teenage girls,” said…

David Potts October 1, 2014 The Age When you can buy a round of drinks at the local with something that can’t be seen let alone held, you know bitcoin has made it. That, or it’s the world’s most elaborate pyramid scheme. The Old Fitzroy pub in Woolloomooloo, Sydney and the Grumpy’s Green, coincidentally in Fitzroy, Melbourne, many small businesses and big online retailers from Amazon to Zappos accept bitcoins as payment. Plastic fantastic: Retailer Bill McWilliams at home in Melbourne. McWilliams has started accepting the digital currency bitcoin as payment for vinyl records. Retailer Bill McWilliams at home in Melbourne. McWilliams has started accepting the digital currency bitcoin as payment for vinyl records. Photo: Wayne Taylor Flash your phone with its pre-loaded electronic wallet at the till so the two swap computer codes and the drinks are yours. Never one to miss a trend, billionaire Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin…

News.com.au OCTOBER 01, 2014 GOVERNOR Jerry Brown has signed legislation imposing America’s first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. BROWN on Tuesday signed the bill by Democratic state Senator Alex Padilla of Los Angeles. Plastic bags will be phased out of large grocery stores starting next year and convenience stores and pharmacies in 2016. The legislation is meant to encourage consumers to bring their own bags and as a way to reduce litter. The bill preserves more than 100 local plastic bag bans, including in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Grocers support the ban because it sets a statewide standard and allows them to charge consumers a 10 cent fee for using paper bags. Plastic and paper bag manufacturers opposed to the legislation say it will result in lost manufacturing jobs in California.