Hbr 2016.11.20

1. A Simple Way to Stay Grounded in Stressful Moments

Paying attention to our bodies sometimes helps mitigating stress. Noticing a tangible part on our body will bring us back to reality, rather than losing our minds in rehashing the past or rehearsing the future.

Some suggested effective anchoring ways:

Take an intentional breath that breaks you our from imaginary threats.

Acknowledge the negative emotions before they go down spirals.

Consciously empathize with others as we all experience and react to common emotions.

Count your blessings and magnify little pleasures that can be worth being celebrated.

2.Corporate VCs are moving the goalpost

Venture capital is often invested by large companies in start-ups (often in adjacent industries). While traditional VCs are about financial returns, some organisations claimed that they are motivated by strategic payoffs.

However, research showed that this is not true, and many firms are implicitly incentivising financial returns over strategic goals by linking financial metrics with staff performance.

Secondly, corporate VCs aren't capturing the opportunity that help them maximize their influence and control on the start-up's direction.

Thirdly, lower barriers to entry in less regulated industries create more investment opportunities for VCs.

However, it still remains a question mark on how to measure strategic returns.