Hoovers World

Last Chance? Gary Hoover classes live in Austin

Gary Hoover — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 02:19:09 +0000

The Art of Enterprise – A Course in Entrepreneurial Thinking (11 weekly sessions)

And

Understanding Companies – How to Become an Expert in Any Company or Industry (4 weekly sessions)

Two courses simultaneously!

The Art of Enterprise course lasts 11 weeks, “Understanding Companies” is the first 4 sessions. You can take either course.

As explained in my video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKb7kJ-6or0), I am not sure when or if I will give these classes again. They have been very popular and I enjoy teaching, but I have decided to do another startup. As anyone who has done a startup knows, it is all-consuming. I hope to teach again, perhaps next year, but cannot predict with confidence. So if you have been thinking about taking either of these courses, now is your chance!

On Tuesday, September 5, 2012, I will again begin another session of my course in entrepreneurial thinking, entitled “The Art of Enterprise.” This will be the 7^th time I have taught this course at Tech Ranch (9111 Jollyville Road, between MoPac and 360 in the Oakpointe Center, Suite 118). The course takes place every Wednesday evening for eleven weeks. The last class will be on November 14. (The last class of the shorter Understanding Companies course will be in late September. One or two classes may be moved to another day of the week to adjust to my travel schedule; I will know for sure before the class starts.)

You can sign up for either course at Event Brite ( font-weight:normal">http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4088757584

). The full 11 week course is $599, or $499 for early registration (through Friday August 24). The shorter 4 week course in Understanding Companies is $299, or $249 if you register by August 24.

Who are some of the people the full course is for?

· Anyone who wants to understand how entrepreneurs think.

· Anyone who wants to become a more active and incisive learner.

· Anyone who is thinking about starting a business or non-profit organization.

· Anyone who wants to know how to discover, explore, and exploit the opportunities which are all around us, all the time (I have over 200 business ideas!).

· Anyone who wants to bring entrepreneurial thinking and leadership to an existing organization.

· Anyone who wants to promote, support, or teach entrepreneurship.

And who is the Understanding Companies Course for?

· Anyone who works for a big company.

· Anyone who deals with big companies, or companies of any size.

· Anyone who sells to companies and enterprises.

· Anyone who invests in companies.

· Anyone in the non-profit world who raises money from companies.

· Anyone who studied companies.

The components of the short course are:

1. The first class for entrepreneurs, thrown in as a bonus. (Maybe you will enjoy it and decide to take the full course!)

2. Understanding the Big Picture – how companies work, how they fit into the economy, how to look at them and evaluate them. (This one class is also offered as an independent online course for $79: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3892476502/eorg)

3. The Numbers Made Simple – how to read and understand financial statements – balance sheets and profit and loss statements. All the key ideas that any manager, leader, or entrepreneur needs to understand.

4. How to Become an Expert in any Company or Industry. Based on my lifelong research into business, which led to the founding of Hoover’s over 20 years ago, this class is very popular and very applicable to any person in business. How you can find the answers, what to look for, etc.

These four sessions have always been a part of the long course, as they are required for effective entrepreneurial thinking, but I have found they also have a broader appeal in the business and non—profit world.

I have had students from age 20 to 70, experienced businesspeople and entrepreneurs, or corporate executives or engineers just thinking about starting a business. (To see their comments, read the bottom of this section).

Either course would make a great gift for a loved one who wants to grow their own wings! A great way to start the new year!

Here are some of the other topics covered in the full course:

· How entrepreneurial thinking works, how entrepreneurs think and how they continually learn.

· How entrepreneurs know what is important by understanding their context: where they are geographically, where they are in time and how they relate to trends, and how they and their idea fit into the broader economy.

· How entrepreneurs take this entrepreneurial thinking and convert it to innovative ideas.

· How to see opportunity all around you, all the time. See and combine ideas that no one else does.

· How to evaluate those opportunities, how to understand yourself so you know which ideas you are most likely to succeed at.

· How to develop the confidence to proceed.

· How to think about finance, marketing, management, and culture entrepreneurially.

If you want to know more about me and my life as a student of business and entrepreneur, there is plenty of information here: http://hooversworld.com/gary-hoover. The Hooversworld blog also contains my posts. If you want to see me “in action,” check out these diverse videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/hooverbits#p/u or http://blogs.mccombs.utexas.edu/mccombs-today/gary-hoover-video-library/ .

(This course is offered by me in my Hoover Academy, and has no connection with the University of Texas, where I served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence during the 2009-10 school year.)

If you have any additional questions, email me at garyhoov@msn.com.

I look forward to seeing you!

What People Say About My Classes

It was my honor to having you as my teacher and mentor. You won’t believe how much your class changed my thinking process as a business owner. It was almost 15 years since I have taken any classes after my masters. I have always hesitated to take any class because of my busy life. I had no idea that your class would inspire me so much. – Ashif Mahmud, President/CEO ict Consultants Software Solutions

Gary Hoover is a man of many, many talents, and I respect him dearly. He is really a genius level business thinker. You guys are super-lucky to have him as a teacher. I had a lot of great professors at Wharton and when I attended Wharton it was rated the #1 MBA program 6 years in a row. And none of them approached Gary’s level of knowledge about business history or entrepreneurship. – Brett A. Hurt, CEO and founder, Bazaarvoice, Inc., Austin, Texas (founded in 2005, now has over 600 employees).

I would highly recommend this entrepreneurship course for anyone toying with the idea of starting a business. Our class met once a week, and I would find myself so inspired and full of ideas during class that my energy would spill over well into the night. – Taylor Journey, University of Texas undergraduate

If you’re thinking about starting a business, I highly recommend taking Gary’s class. You will analyze business models and your business curiosity will be heightened. This will help you better interact with vendors, and other stakeholders. Most importantly it’ll help you understand that although your idea may be unique, similar things have been done and you’ll find the places to go to learn why or why not they have succeeded. – Erine Gray, Social Entrepreneur

I have known Gary Hoover for over 20 years. With that background, I can tell you that Gary Hoover is one of the most amazing entrepreneurs and teachers I have ever encountered. He is literally a walking encyclopedia of business history and his story telling is incredible. He is the most prolific reader I have ever met and his ability to not only speed read but retain information is incredible. I consider Gary Hoover one of Austin’s most valuable assets and recommend him without reservation. Whether you are a lifetime learner, an aspiring entrepreneur, or an academic, you will find Gary Hoover as one of your truly great resources and your time spent with him among your most memorable. – Jim Nolen, Distinguished Senior Lecturer, Department of Finance, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin

I would like to thank you for inspiring me to look at life through the eyes of an entrepreneur. Your class was the most valuable and most enjoyable class I have ever taken. It truly changed my life. – Tyler Kling, University of Texas at Austin undergraduate student

As a businessman and a thinker, Gary Hoover is a true visionary. – Laurence J. Kirshbaum, former CEO, Time Warner Trade Publishing

I’ve been teaching at the McCombs School of Business since 1989. I have won every teaching award given by the students. Gary is one of the most gifted teachers I have ever known. He knows his subject cold and has a God given gift of being about to reach students in a way that is just awe inspiring. When you add his passion for teaching and helping people, he is priceless. – John Doggett, Harvard MBA, Yale JD, Senior Lecturer in Management, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin

Gary Hoover is one of the smartest and most creative people I know. – Leonard L. Berry, Distinguished Professor of Marketing, Texas A&M University

This is one of the finest teachers and courses I have taken – and I have taken a lot (BA, MPH, PhD, MBA) and I have taught at several universities. Gary Hoover is a fantastic person, instructor, and mentor. – Blair Carter, Educator and Entrepreneur

Gary brings to the table both an understanding of the applied aspects on entrepreneurship as well as the ability to teach and engage in intellectual activity around entrepreneurship. Because he has started companies, he has an understanding of the entrepreneurial process, from idea to market. Because of his love for scholarship and teaching, he understands how to integrate the practical and the intellectual. – John Sibley Butler, Professor of Sociology and Business, Director of the IC² Institute and the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Texas at Austin

Gary is a truly inspiring speaker and teacher and I highly recommend any of his courses or talks (or even just chatting with him at lunch!) His unique experiences and his genuine, open nature create a great an ideal atmosphere for the flow of ideas and introspection. Taking his course on Entrepreneurship last fall was the penultimate push towards me finally starting my own business. – Elayne Crain, Entrepreneur

Gary Hoover is one of the finest teachers I have known – and I have known several as a student (BA, MA., MPH, PhD, MBA) and and as a professor (California State University, Northridge (CSUN), University of Houston at the Texas Medical Center, Monterrey Tech Graduate School of Business and Public Policy (ITESM EGAPP, Mexico City, etc.). Gary is a fantastic person, instructor, and mentor. I learned a great deal from him due to his passion, knowledge,and experience of entrepreneurship as an art and a science – in theory and in practice Spending time with him has been one of the best investments I have made in my life. Mr. Hoover is indeed an "entrepreneur extraordinaire." – Dr.Blair J. Carter, Founder and CEO, Health Care KEYS.

I walked away from Gary’s classes each week feeling that I had been shown the other side of the curtain. Gary’s passion for both his subject, and for communicating it in a clear and engaging manor has led me to suggest that each student be given an AHA degree. Alumnus of the Hoover Academy is one obvious meaning. But in my, and many other cases from my class, we had an ‘Aha!’ moment. Something that either had not occurred to us, or that we had previously wrestled with needlessly, once Gary described it differently. I believe anyone thinking of starting a business would be well advised to add one of Gary’s classes to their curriculum. – Allan Clark, entrepreneur

I have recently been going over your online class and all the material you have provided and I have to say it is exceptional. Aside from your the videos, your book "The Art of Enterprise" is by far one of the most thought provoking books I have read. It has taken me way longer to read than I had anticipated due to me stopping and thinking about every single page. It is great, easy to read, and contains useful information that you cannot find in other books. Thanks for including it along with your awesome online class. – Mario Robles

If you have a corporate background you probably already know the value of a top analyst, especially one with personal original research with special knowledge in retail, and perhaps especially with the strength of history, looking toward the future. If you are a small business person then you know the value of hearing from a serial entrepreneur with enough moxie to be a professor. But what if you are from the the nonprofit or educational world? Will this course be useful to you? Yes. Innovation, serving people, finding data and using it usefully, understanding the future as well as the past, and charting a course for a mission with passion — all of this is your need that will be met in this course. This course can provide your jolt to next level thinking. – Sharon Sarles, Minister of the Gospel, bootstrap broadcaster, college instructor

Updated Business Reading List

Gary Hoover — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 00:56:39 +0000

A few of my favorites. If you buy them by clicking on the list at right, I get credit from Amazon, but they won’t charge you anything extra! That way you support my efforts to review books for you. (I have reviewed most of these books on my Hooversworld, or have video book reviews of them on my Youtube channel, as linked below. Or, better yet, buy them from your favorite bookstore, although some of these are older and will not be in stock. Keep your bookstore, whether it be an independent or chain, in business! Long live Barnes & Noble.

My Book — of course one of the greats! Don’t ask me why Scribd warns that it contains adult content — it doesn’t. Buy a PDF here for $10 www.scribd.com/doc/25085990/The-Art-of-Enterprise-by-Gary-Hoover-January-2010. This addition has substantially more material than the original hardcover edition, which is out of print.

Business and Management

Anything by Peter Drucker, the greatest management academic/consultant of all time, including

Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices (To me this is his “bible” – get the original edition, not the updated/revised edition!)

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The Essential Drucker

The Daily Drucker

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Peter Drucker’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Christensen et. al. Innovator’s DNA (a new favorite of mine)

Feld and Mendelson Venture Deals (the best book on how to cut a financing deal etc.)

Bagley and Dauchy The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Law (could save you a lot of money)

More here: www.youtube.com/watch

Company History and Biography

Alfred P. Sloan My Years with General Motors (Bill Gates says if you are going to read only one book about business, this is the one. I would not argue with Bill. It was perhaps the first business book I ever read, when I was about 12. I believe Sloan was the greatest business manager yet known.)

Sam Walton Made in America (one of the best examples of curiosity and customer obsession)

Conrad Hilton Be My Guest (guts, lost everything, started over, a great story)

General Business History

Evans They Made America: From the Steam Engine to the Search Engine

(The single best book to demonstrate the variety of entrepreneurs and innovators; get the hardcover of this book; it has a lot more good stuff in it than the paperback)

Alfred Chandler The Visible Hand

(the most important and best business history book ever written. If you really want to understand the rise of big business in America – which means the world – this is the book. How Management came about.)

Micklethwait and Wooldridge The Company (the history of the idea and practice of the corporation)

Hansmann The Ownership of Enterprise (the many ways to organize your enterprise)

Hopper and Hopper The Puritan Gift (fascinating contrarian thinking)

Economics

Miller, Benjamin, and North The Economics of Public Issues

Milton Friedman Capitalism and Freedom (my old teacher, a great man and thinker)

Marketing

Ries and Trout Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind (most important marketing book ever written)

Pine and Gilmore The Experience Economy: Work is Theater & Every Business a Stage (new edition is now out; the "bible" on experiential marketing)

Big Business Leadership

Collins and Porras Built to Last

Collins Good to Great

Simon Hidden Champions of the 21^st Century (my new favorite; think hard about the ideas and apply them to your own ventures and companies)

De Geus The Living Company (what it means to build a sustainable enterprise; the new list of the world’s largest companies shows his company #1)

Adizes Corporate Lifecycles (one of the few writers who thinks about such things, as do I)

Strategy

Rumelt Good Strategy Bad Strategy (as well as all the Drucker and Chandler books, etc.)

How to Analyze and Think

Koomey and Holdren Turning Numbers into Knowledge: Mastering the Art of Problem Solving

Pink A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future

(both of these are really important books, the second one is an easy read)

Design

Lidwell, Holden, and Butler Universal Principles of Design (new edition now out, one of my favorite all time books; more here www.youtube.com/watch)

The Future

Kotkin The Next Hundred Million (the future of America, not what you hear most of the time)

George Friedman The Next Hundred Years (speculation on the future of the world, provocative)

More on those two books here www.youtube.com/watch

Diamandis and Kotler Abundance (counters the ever-popular pessimism)

Ridley The Rational Optimist (ditto)

Basic Data

Statistical Abstract of the United States (annual, US government; they say they are going to stop publishing this, a real loss to society. You can also find the same data at census.gov but I’d rather page through it and absorb it)

World Almanac (annual, my favorite book of all time! See www.youtube.com/watch)

Almanac of American Politics (every two years, by Barone & friends, the best single book to understand Americans and their regional variations. More here www.youtube.com/watch)

World Development Indicators (annual, from the World Bank, the single most important book on world data; more here www.youtube.com/watch)

Goode’s World Atlas (the best atlas for more than just geography, it also has economic maps, a classic)

Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts (by de Blij and Muller; this is by far my favorite geography book, as it organizes the world into more up-to-date regions than the old "continents" we all grew up with)

Thinking "Outside the Box"

Poor Charlie’s Almanac, the rants and ideas of the great Charlie Munger, "the brains behind Warren Buffett" — well, they are both pretty smart! I think this was the first book I reviewed on my blog.

Periodicals:

Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Fortune, Forbes, Wired, INC, Fast Company, NY Times

More here: www.youtube.com/watch

My Course “Understanding Companies” Now Available Online

Gary Hoover — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 18:40:33 +0000

Do you REALLY Understand Big Companies?

I have spent the last 47 years studying and researching the economy, industries, and individual companies. I find that very few business people really understand how this all works. And even fewer are good, efficient researchers. Those are the reasons I founded the business information company that became Hoovers.com in 1990.

If you sell to companies, work for companies, invest in companies, buy from companies, compete with companies, consult for companies, or partner with companies, my new course “Understanding Companies” is for you. See the summary video here: http://youtu.be/VmWfblh1dXQ.

After completing the course, you should be able to talk to people at a company and know as much or more about their company and industry than they do.

Why am I qualified to teach this course? I started subscribing to Fortune Magazine at the age of 12, studied economics under three future Nobel Prize winners, and picked stocks on Wall Street. Then I looked at 400 acquisition candidates for a multibillion dollar company and have plenty of boardroom and corporate experience, including 5 years on the Whole Foods Market Board of Directors. Lastly, I founded and raised the money for four startups. Two years ago I was the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UT’s McCombs Business School, and I now teach business and entrepreneurship on my own and speak on these subjects to entrepreneurs and executives worldwide. Testimonials about my teaching are at the bottom of this note.

This class is $79, payable by PayPal. (I charge $99 for the live class in Austin.)

(Through July 22, you can get a $30 discount, to $49, by entering the promotional code FOG for Friends of Gary at Event Brite. Or just paypal me $49!)

Just send the payment to me at garyhoov@msn.com, or you can go through Event Brite (www.eventbrite.com/event/3892476502/eorg). Once I receive payment, I will email you an invitation to the course. You should hear back from me within 24 hours or sooner. I am testing different ways to deliver the videos to you. In the future I hope to offer a full course management system where you can track your progress, but the system I want to use is not quite ready yet. These are streaming videos, not downloadable, so you will have to watch them while online. If the course is a gift for someone else, not for you, then email me at garyhoov@msn.com the email address of the person who is going to take the course. Only the person I invite can take the course. There is no time limit on how long you can look at the course.

In addition to the videos, I will email you a PDF copy of my book The Art of Enterprise (a $10 value, as sold here http://www.scribd.com/doc/25085990/The-Art-of-Enterprise-by-Gary-Hoover-January-2010

) as well as other reading materials and book recommendations.

Students may also email me questions, please keep them short and specific or I will get buried! I answer as promptly as possible. In the future I hope to add discussion boards for students.

Here are the key ideas I cover:

What is a corporation? How does it work? How do the economy, industries, and individual companies fit together? What are the critical questions you need to answer? How can you tell good companies from bad companies? The importance of knowing where they are on the company’s lifecycle, which I call it’s “arc?” What are the types of corporations? Who owns them? How are they governed? What are the key questions that investors and securities analysts ask about any company or industry? Looking at change through time. The press is so focused on the short term, they often miss the really critical underlying factors. They report on economic and business earthquakes and tremors but not the “plate tectonics” which cause them. Take this class and get a whole new perspective.

The course consists of 11 lessons totaling just over 3 ½ hours. Each lesson is between 10 and 25 minutes, although most of them last 15-20 minutes. The 11 lessons are:

1. Introduction

2. What is a Corporation

3. A Human Endeavor

4A. Understanding Industries and the Economy (part one)

4B. Understanding Industries and the Economy (part two)

5. Change Through Time

6. The Arc of Enterprise

7. Strategy

8. Purpose

9. Personality

10. Summing Up

I hope to add additional online courses in the future. If you have any questions, please email me at garyhoov@msn.com.

What People Say About Me and My Classes January, 2012

Gary Hoover is one of “Austin’s 30 most influential people” – Austin Business Journal, December, 2011

Your mentorship has served as an invaluable source of confidence, motivation, and eye-opening wisdom – Maria Rivera, Marketing Teacher and Entrepreneur

I am daily reminded of things I have learned from you – Jim Ross, Entrepreneur

As a businessman and a thinker, Gary Hoover is a true visionary. – Laurence J. Kirshbaum, former CEO, Time Warner Trade Publishing

Gary Hoover is one of the smartest and most creative people I know. – Leonard L. Berry, Distinguished Professor of Marketing, Texas A&M University

Gary is a truly inspiring speaker and teacher and I highly recommend any of his courses or talks (or even just chatting with him at lunch!) His unique experiences and his genuine, open nature create an ideal atmosphere for the flow of ideas and introspection. Taking his course on Entrepreneurship last fall was the penultimate push towards me finally starting my own business. – Elayne Crain, Entrepreneur

New Video on the History of the Media Industry

Gary Hoover — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 02:23:12 +0000

In June 2012, I gave a keynote talk at the BlogWorldExpo at the Javits Convention Center in New York City, which is held in conjunction with the big Book Expo. My talk was a continuation of my series of "industry histories," but this time I tackled the two men I think of as the most important media innovators of the 20th century. I couldn’t do everybody, so I picked these two. I am sure any student of the history of the media business would have their own candidates. But these two were certainly giants of innovation, and their names are being forgotten because they did not name their companies after themselves. Like my other history talks, this one is very visual, with lots of pictures. I hope you enjoy this video and share it with your friends! youtu.be/6aB_npd0AGc

Understanding and Researching Companies Course

Gary Hoover — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 19:16:08 +0000

Understanding Companies Course, take 1 part or all 3, become an expert in researching industries and companies, in Austin June 26, July 3, and July 10. Details here: www.eventbrite.com/event/3775314066

Mexico City Tour Labor Day Weekend

Gary Hoover — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:33:25 +0000

Mexico City Tour with Gary Hoover Labor Day Weekend, 2012

Visit one of the world’s great cities! Closer to Austin than New York, Mexico City has evolved into one of the world’s most dynamic, artistic, and engaging cities. You will love the food, the history, the art, the architecture. And it’s a bargain! This video shows you Mexico City very well in 4 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I17uqtQq-w&sns=tw

Mexico City is overall a very safe city, much safer than it was 10 years ago. Most recent crime data indicates a murder rate of 8 per hundred thousand people per year, which compares with Houston and Dallas at 12-13 each. The city also has much cleaner air than it did 10 or 20 years ago.

Whether you want to see murals, photography, colonial and modern architecture, history, marketplaces, or just shop and eat, you will love this great, “underestimated” city.

This group is limited to 6 people, in addition to me (Gary). You will have a mix of free time to see the things you want to see, as well as time together to get to know the lay of the city, see key sites, and have me show you around. This will be my 5^th trip to the city; I most recently explored it in depth a year ago, in the spring of 2011.

We will fly Interjet Airlines from San Antonio on Thursday morning or evening (your choice) August 30, and return to San Antonio on Monday morning or evening (your choice) September 3. So you will have 4 nights in the city and up to 5 almost full days. ( http://www.interjet.com.mx/home.aspx?Culture=en-US&Currency=USD ). Flights leave San Antonio at 10AM and 8:30PM, and leave Mexico City at 7:05AM and 5:35PM. They take 2 hours southbound and 1 hours and 55 minutes northbound. Time zone is the same as Texas. You may opt out of this if you have a better deal with another airline, or use miles.)

The price, paid upon signing up, is $899 for a single person and $1599 for a couple or any two people sharing a room ($798 per person). This price covers airfare, hotel, and Gary’s fees (about $400per person) for organizing and leading the trip. Each single person or couple will also receive $40 worth of hand-selected books and maps in advance of the trip, included in this price. These fees are subject to adjustment if we book late or cannot find enough hotel rooms at the assumed prices. The airline has dropped its price from $399 to $299 and I am not sure this will last; the prices quoted here assume $299 for round trip airfare from San Antonio and hotel costs of about $40 per night. I will work with the airline and hotel to get the best rates (I spent a few years in the travel agency business and have planned reservations for 40+ years).

Other costs incurred – ground transportation and taxis, museum and tourist tickets and admissions, and meals, should run no more than $400 per person and perhaps a lot less. These costs and shopping will be up to you.

Lodging will be at the Hotel Marlowe if they have enough rooms at the time of booking. I spent a week there on my last visit, having found it through TripAdvisor recommendations. A nice Mexican business hotel, the Marlowe is affordable and yet situated in the heart of the historic district of Mexico City. Taxis, subways, museums, restaurants, and about 30 museums and historic sites are within a fraction of a mile. (Mexico City reportedly has more museums than any city on earth, and I believe it!)

( http://www.hotelmarlowe.com.mx/english/index.html ) There are several alternative hotels within a few blocks of the same location, although none seem to offer the exceptional value of the Marlowe. (Also see http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g150800-d252632-Reviews-Hotel_Marlowe-Mexico_City_Central_Mexico_and_Gulf_Coast.html .)

Three day plan for Mexico City – DRAFT, subject to our conversations and desires

Have a pre-trip dinner or meeting to talk about the trip.

Thursday August 30 arrive Mexico City airport Noon or 10:30PM

· If we all go down on the morning flight, we will begin our group adventures Thursday afternoon; otherwise we will meet up Friday morning for breakfast in the hotel.

Friday August 31 – a day in the Centro Historico (historical center); possible stops include:

· Alameda Park (400 years old!)

· Bellas Artes Palace

· Zocalo (one of the world’s largest central squares)

· Cathedral (one of the largest in the western hemisphere)

· Templo Mayor (Aztec excavations and museum)

· Shops and street sellers everywhere; as well as department stores and Sanborn’s House of Tiles

· Torre Latinoamericana (observation deck right by hotel)

· LOTS of museums on art and every other possible subject

· LOTS of architecture (National Palace, old Post Office, historic hotels,…)

· Food options include:

o High end late lunch at El Cardenal

o Dinner at Café Tacuba

o Drinks at the Opera Bar

o Bakeries and hot chocolate places like nothing in the USA!!!

Saturday September 1 – a day walking down Paseo de la Reforma, seeing the Zona Rosa, Roma, and Condesa neighborhoods, and ending up in Chapultepec Park

· More stores and street vendors

· More dining options

· Beautiful tree-lined boulevards and leafy neighborhoods

· Lots of parks

· Advanced modern architecture, as well as the best from the 30s etc., murals and art

· Chapultepec Park (huge) including Mexico’s pride, the National Museum of Anthropology, as well as history museum, modern art museum, and many other attractions and people watching (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapultepec )

Sunday September 2 – your option day; possibilities include:

· Return to Centro Historico to see things you missed

· Return to Chapultepec Park or other Saturday neighborhoods

· Polanco Santa Fe or other ritzy western neighborhoods with stores, malls, restaurants

· Day trip to Teotihuacan (2000 year old pyramids 25 miles north of the city; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teotihuacan)

· Coyoacan (cab or metro ride to historic southern neighborhood which contains the Frida Kahlo, Leon Trotsky, and other museums ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyoacan; I will probably do this on Sunday, as I have not had a chance to explore this neighborhood yet)

· Xochilmilco (southern neighborhood with historic pre-Hispanic canals and boat rides http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xochimilco)

And if you stay for the day Monday you can continue to visit these areas more, shop, etc.

Monday September 3 depart from Mexico City airport at 7:05AM or 5:35PM. I am certain to fly home late on Monday.

Also note that there is plenty of nightlife in Mexico City should you want to take advantage!

Then we will have a group get-together after we return to compare notes, photos, and thoughts on the trip.

Weather Notes

Pretty much all year, Mexico City is in the 70s in the daytime and 50s at night. Bring a jacket if you get cool easily. It can be warm in the daytime. September is toward the end of the rainy season; the record books indicate that it rains one day in three, I think these are mainly afternoon showers. We can try to plan our long walks around them and museum visits during them. The city is at an altitude of 7350 feet, much higher than any major US city, so some people find it takes some adjusting to, and alcohol can have more of an effect.

Prior notes I wrote about Mexico City

As you all know, I am bursting at the seams wanting to show off Mexico City to people. It is perhaps the most underestimated major world city. It is a sheer delight for a city-lover like me. Reported to have the most museums of any city in the world, and I believe it. Great hotels, wonderful food, 400,000+ street sellers, life and color everywhere. I found the city very safe when I spent a week there this last January, my 4^th visit. The drug wars are in the northern part of the country. Like any big city, I am sure there are pickpockets and such. But I can pretty confidently say an American citizen would be safer walking around Mexico City than around our own capital, Washington, DC.

The Lay of the land, the city

The heart of the city is the Centro Historico, the historic center. Mexico City was as old as Austin is today when Austin was founded. That is, Mexico City as a European/Spanish City. Its Aztec and prior roots go back much further than that. The Centro Historico is a cobblestoned European capital with an enormous stock of historic buildings, and stretches maybe a half-mile from the giant square the Zocalo at the east end, one of the largest squares in the world, to Alameda Park on the west end, which was opened prior to the year 1600. The Centro Historico got pretty seedy like many old downtowns (although it never lost its retail energy), but there has been a more recent major effort at restoration, tourism enhancement, new hotels (some in old buildings), reviving restaurants, etc. The Aztec ruins are right under the Zocalo, and you can walk through them in conjunction with a big, beautiful museum. In the map below, the Zocalo is near the Templo Mayor (Aztec main temple) and the Metropolitan Cathedral, which I think is one of the biggest in the Western Hemisphere.

Mexico City is a huge urban center, with between 18 and 20 million people (about the same size as other western hemisphere giants New York and Sao Paulo). As such it has a great many neighborhoods.

The beautiful, wide Reforma Boulevard runs southwestward from the Alameda Park to the large Chapultepec Park, which contains Mexico City’s world famous and huge anthropology museum and national history museum. Many of the city’s top hotels, fancy membership clubs, office buildings, etc., line this street, which extends from one traffic circle-enclosed statue to the next. I walked the length of it in a couple or three hours. From the Alameda, this walk takes you through many tree-lined, beautiful neighborhoods, and things tend to get more and more upscale. Near the Chapultepec Park is the Zona Rosa neighborhood, and south of it, Condesa, two of my faves. Zona Rosa is a famous tourist and restaurant district, but also a lot of office buildings. It’s where you will see the most Americans. Condesa has more character, is an in neighborhood to live in, maybe Greenwich Village or the Upper West Side. Great parks, lots of apartments and houses, restaurants and clubs. Lots of people walking their dogs and kids in the parks, etc.

North of Chapultepec Park is their version of the Upper East Side – swanky Polanco, the super luxury hotels, etc. And further west is Santa Fe, their version of the Arboretum – suburban glass and chrome and glitz.

I stayed just south of the Alameda Park, at the west end of the Centro Historico, on my last visit, and suggest we do the same. This puts you a few steps from this great park with its hundreds of street sellers, right next to the Centro Historico, with its restaurants and bars and stores and more street sellers, but still not a far walk to head west toward the Zona Rosa and Chapultepec Park (or a short cab ride). So you are in the center of everything.

I counted 27 museums and historic sites within perhaps a half-mile (or less) of my hotel, the Marlowe (more on it in a bit). Key things within 2-3 blocks are the main Sanborn’s (“House of Tiles” – historic mansion turned into drug and department store, everything the tourist needs), Sears, Palace Bellas Artes (some of the greatest of the Mexican murals, in a beautiful building), Torre Latinoamericana (Latin American tower, formerly the tallest building in Latin America and it still has an observation deck on top), and some amazing places to eat, from top end (El Cardenal) to the best in Mexican fast food (Casa del Pavo, “House of Turkey”).

The other option in the Centro Historico is to stay near the Zocalo, the giant square which is the heart of the city. There are a number of very inviting lodging choices right on the square. This is at the east end of the Centro Historico. The only drawback is it’s a big longer walk to the Zona Rosa, etc., and it’s pretty quiet at night. Whereas closer to the Alameda Park seems to have more evening activity, and is still a hop and a skip from the restaurants and bars of the Centro Historico.

This just scratches the surface. A cab, metro, or bus ride gets you to the neighborhood of Coyoacan, where the Frida Kahlo and Trotsky museums are. You could spend a lifetime exploring the neighborhoods of this great city. Or tool around on one of the public bikes that are all over the central city.

Perhaps the most striking thing to me about Mexico City is the amount and intensity of the art. Of course you have the Aztecs, the Spanish Catholics, and lots of European influences. But lay on top of that incredible current activity in architecture, painting, sculpture, and photography – every park, every surface seems to be a gallery!

I would entice you with some more restaurant and food information, but maybe I will wait and surprise you by taking you to some of my faves when we get there. There are more historic and interesting places than you can imagine. And if you like the modern and trendy, they have that too!

And of course I love the multitude of bookstores, probably more than any American city, many of them dusty old used bookstores. Plus a zillion newsstands, another thing that’s disappeared from the American scene.

Makers of Modern Media Talk June 5 streaming video

Gary Hoover — Tue, 29 May 2012 05:00:08 +0000

Next Tuesday, June 5 at 5PM Eastern time, I will give a talk on media history at the big BlogWorldExpo at the Javits Center in New York. You can register to attend, or see streaming video of it, here: http://www.blogworldexpo.com/2012-nyc/. Watch a video invite and description here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7givIJV-4Rw. Or read the little advertisement here:

Last year, the #1 company in the world based on advertising revenue was Google. With the digitization of movies, music, books, magazines, and newspapers, the media world has been turned on its head. The future can be scary, it can be exciting. But those who best navigate it will take lessons from the great media visionaries of the past. Join world-renowned speaker and business history expert Gary Hoover for this fast-paced, enlightening, surprising visual program, telling the stories of some of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history, how they saw a future that no one else did and continue to shape our daily lives long after their death. There is a good chance you know little or nothing about them, but there is a great deal that any blogger, thinker, or entrepreneur can learn from them.

First Class Free; Entrepreneurship Class Special $599 Price Starts 6/19/12 Austin

Gary Hoover — Mon, 28 May 2012 05:00:44 +0000

The Art of Enterprise – A Course in Entrepreneurial Thinking

On Tuesday June 19, 2012, I will again begin another session of my course in entrepreneurial thinking, entitled “The Art of Enterprise.” This will be the 6th time I have taught this course at Tech Ranch (9111 Jollyville Road, between MoPac and 360, Suite 118). The course takes place every Tuesday evening from 5:30 to 9:00 PM for twelve weeks. The last class is September 4, 2012.

A quick video summary of the course is here (http://youtu.be/Ql9IQZBPNd4), or read on…

The fee for the full course is $599, payable by cash, check, or credit card (via PayPal). You can register and pay on the Event Brite site (artofenterprisejune2012-eorg.eventbrite.com/). You can also come to the first class with no obligation, to see if it is right for you. Then, by June 21, you would need to pay $599 in order to take the full course. This is less than half the $1250 many people have paid to take this same course. I have lowered the price in order to broaden the audience.

If you miss one or more classes, you can listen to the class audio recordings I make and put online for student use.

Who are some of the people this course is for?

· Anyone who wants to understand how entrepreneurs think.

· Anyone who wants to become a more active and incisive learner.

· Anyone who is thinking about starting a business or non-profit organization.

· Anyone who wants to bring entrepreneurial thinking and leadership to an existing organization.

· Anyone who wants to promote, support, or teach entrepreneurship.

This course would make a great gift for a loved one who wants to grow their own wings! A great way to start the new year!

What are some of the topics covered in the course?

· How entrepreneurial thinking works, how entrepreneurs think and how they continually learn.

· How entrepreneurs take this entrepreneurial thinking and convert it to innovative ideas.

· How to see opportunity all around you, all the time. See and combine ideas that no one else does.

· How to evaluate those opportunities, how to understand yourself so you know which ideas you are most likely to succeed at.

· How to become an expert about any industry or competitor quickly and efficiently.

· How to develop the confidence to proceed.

· How to think about finance, marketing, management, and culture entrepreneurially.

(This course is offered by me in my Hoover Academy, and has no connection with the University of Texas, where I served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence during the 2009-10 school year.)

If you have any additional questions, email me at garyhoov@msn.com.

Please tell your friends about the course – I look forward to seeing you!

What People Say About My Classes

As a businessman and a thinker, Gary Hoover is a true visionary. – Laurence J. Kirshbaum, former CEO, Time Warner Trade Publishing

Gary Hoover is one of the smartest and most creative people I know. – Leonard L. Berry, Distinguished Professor of Marketing, Texas A&M University

Round Rock 5/22 History of the Computer Industry Show

Gary Hoover — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:00:01 +0000

ROUND ROCK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

AUSTIN CHAPTER OF WORLD ENTREPRENEURS NETWORK

And

FLIX BREWHOUSE

Are Proud to Present

From Punch Card to PC:

The Rise of the Computer Industry

On Tuesday evening, May 22, Austin’s own world-renowned speaker, teacher, and entrepreneur Gary Hoover will present a big screen visual business show at Round Rock’s own world-class Flix Brewhouse. This engaging, enlightening, surprising program will tell the story of the rise of the Computer Industry in America. Learn how IBM came about and what made it such a great company, even in its early years. Learn about J.C.R. Licklider, Ed Roberts, and the other visionaries who foresaw the digital age in which we live today. Learn the secrets of some of the most remarkable leaders and entrepreneurs in American history, how they saw a future that no one else did and continue to shape our daily lives long after they are gone. There is a good chance you know little about these visionaries, but there is a great deal that any entrepreneur, business person, or not-for-profit leader can learn from them.

May 22, 2012 Schedule:

6:15 PM Doors open for those desiring to purchase dinner.

7:00 PM Program

8:00 PM Discussion of what we can learn from these people

8:30 PM Cash bar, mixer, and reception

9:30 PM Event ends

$12.00

Seating is limited.

Members of the sponsoring organizations receive a discount by entering the promotional code that has been provided.

We look forward to seeing you at this exciting event!

Register Here: www.eventbrite.com/event/3388532191/eorg

FLIX BREWHOUSE

2200 South IH-35 (Exit 251), Sky Ridge Plaza on Hester’s Crossing, Round Rock

Entrepreneurship Class Special Price

Gary Hoover — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 05:00:54 +0000

Enrollment is still open for my Master Class in Entrepeneurial Thinking, which kicks off Wed night April 18 at 5:30PM. Details are here: www.eventbrite.com/event/3081084607/eorg . The only change is that the price has been reduced from $1250 to $499, and that I am going to try to wrap up each session by 9PM instead of 9:30, perhaps allowing for a more informal discussion after the lecture.