"Slightly more than one in 10 Americans was engaged in creating or growing their own business in 2002." (Christian Science Monitor, August 18,2003). This ten percent figure was down from 11.7% in 2001 and a peak of 16.7% in 2000. Still, given the roller-coaster ride the economy is taking of late, it's clear entrepreneurship is alive and well. One reason is that there is a continuing flow of fresh success stories every day, and they bubble up from a cross-section of industries and places around the globe.

A few decades ago entrepreneurs were just a notch or two above pirates and outlaws in career-choice preferences. In those days, guys and gals gravitated into smaller enterprises by default because they couldn't find jobs in larger ones. Much has changed since the '60s when Silicon Valley was still mostly orchards. Today we know a lot about what it takes to build a going concern. As a minimum, it takes effective and efficient management. Peter Drucker defined the words this way: "Effective" means doing the right things. "Efficient" means doing things right. This section of the website, as it is developed in the coming months, provides access to books about managing a business. You may also wish to visit the NEWSLETTERS ("MANAGEMENT MATTERS") section for additional materials you can use.

About the Author.
Here is the standard background piece that appears in the books:

Steven C. Brandt is an experienced entrepreneur, company president, author, and faculty veteran of 21 years at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in the heart of Silicon Valley. At Stanford he taught courses in New Enterprises, Small Business Management, and Strategy to over 4,000 executives and MBAs during the '70s, '80s, and '90s. He has been a director of three public companies in or near Silicon Valley­-a semiconductor company, a solar products company, and a bank. He has also been the cofounder and president of four businesses--one each in software, educational products, aquaculture, and sports services. Brandt has also participated directly in the development of over twenty other enterprises in markets ranging from sailboats and biotechnology to music and artificial intelligence.