By Fatmanur Erdogan, Hürriyet Daily News Over the past 10 years, we’ve seen the rise of the “Creative Class”, a new breed of people who relish the intensity of life, who pride themselves on their openness and who love to push the boundaries of science, art, and commerce.  Members of this class think big, and they think broad.  They are opening new doors, creating new things and taking their companies in new directions.  They bravely lead the way down paths no one else even knew existed, until the creative class pointed them out. Richard Florida describes these people in his […]

By Fatmanur Erdogan, Hürriyet Daily News Even people with money are shunning excess consumption in favor of simplification. In the magazines and papers you can read about famous and successful people cutting back on material possessions. “I-can-buy-it-all” is being replaced by “I-don’t-need-it-all”. You might think the economic crisis is causing this behavior, but the trend started long before the crisis, and it looks like it will continue well after it. People have seen that working harder so they can buy more stuff doesn’t make for a more fulfilling life. And so, they are returning to the basics. Simple is good, […]

By Fatmanur Erdogan, Hürriyet Daily News On Tuesday, I attended a seminar organized by BUMED, Bogazici University’s Alumni Association. The seminar was called “Socratic Dialogues”, and it started out as a pleasant gathering of like-minded people who came together to learn, share and connect. The seminar leaders Erman Eryaman, Seçil Ece Yılmaz, and Sinan Tüzer opened the dialogue with the topic “Know thyself”. According to Wikipedia, “The saying “Know thyself” may refer to the ideal of understanding human behavior, morals, and thought, because ultimately to understand oneself is to understand other humans as well.” At the BUMED seminar, the group […]

By Fatmanur Erdogan, Hürriyet Daily News The thing about entrepreneurship is it doesn’t always look like the business world we are used to seeing every day.  Entrepreneurship is not a model or business structure, it is a spirit.  It can appear anywhere, and when you open your eyes, you can find some of the best teachers appearing in the most unlikely places. Next time you want to escape the craziness of Istanbul for some green mountains, fresh air and soothing streams, try taking a trip to Sapanca.  Up in the hills lies Istanbuldere Aile Pansiyonu, a small family operation owned […]

By Fatmanur Erdogan, Hürriyet Daily News February 13, 2009 Many people in corporate jobs dream about being their own boss someday.  They want to become entrepreneurs, but they never take the big leap of faith it requires.  They might think it is too risky financially, or they can’t muster the courage to take that important first step.  Whatever the reasons for the hesitation, it usually comes down to one main thing:  turning a dream into reality is a lot messier than, and not always as fun as, simply dreaming. Then there are others, who do the opposite and underestimate the […]

By Fatmanur Erdogan, Hürriyet Daily News Life is filled with entrepreneurial ventures.  An entrepreneurial venture can be starting a new business, but it could also be anything else in life that draws on your creativity and adventurous spirit – starting a new job, moving to a new city, going back to school, the list is endless. However, even the greatest entrepreneurial ventures eventually hit a low point, an extended lull in the excitement, when things seem boring and routine.  At this point, people often find themselves wondering where the magic went.  Some of them give up, disillusioned, and settle back […]

By Fatmanur Erdogan, Hürriyet Daily News It is today’s hot trend. University students dream about finishing their undergraduate degrees and applying for an MBA. It is the thing to do. Many of them don’t even understand why they need one, but they figure a trend is a trend and it must be followed. An MBA is an expensive investment in time and money. However, look at the curriculums of the different universities’ MBA programs, and you will see that they are simply “me too” versions of one another. Schools are tripping over themselves, all of them competing to be the […]

By Fatmanur Erdogan, Hürriyet Daily News Ask any CEO or senior level executive what his biggest challenge is, and the answer is almost always finding and keeping talented people. The world is in a talent hunt. Companies look for the best and the brightest because they know to compete and make a difference requires finding people who have unique skills. Around the world, we hear companies saying, “our people are our greatest asset”. But do they really mean it, and are they acting accordingly? At too many companies, even the top management leaves the talent hunt to the HR department, […]

By Fatmanur Erdogan, Hürriyet Daily News “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful,” says Warren Buffet, the world’s richest man. We nod our heads in agreement, but it’s difficult to actually muster the courage to follow his advice. In our economic times, fear has replaced hope. Some people have lost their jobs, and the people who still have jobs are afraid of losing them. Many of us are frozen by fear, and we act as if keeping, or finding, any sort of employment is the only way to stay alive today. Guess what? If […]

By Fatmanur Erdogan, Hürriyet Daily News In 1985, the first domain name, symbolics.com, was registered in the U.S. In 1994, the Internet became widely known among the general public, and the first third-party services for processing online credit card sales began to appear. In 1995, Amazon.com revolutionized the use of the Internet, doing business on the web with customer oriented online sales. Although Amazon started by selling books online, today it sells pretty much everything that can be sold on the web. Ebay.com, a popular online auction site, grew up alongside Amazon, making it possible for even those with little […]