Lever

 On August 24^th, a jury in a federal court in California ruled that Samsung had violated some of Apple’s patents and awarded $1 billion in damages to be paid by Samsung – the amount that might be easily tripled.

The Economist discusses implications for the tech world:

The outcome of the case will have significant repercussions in the tech world. For a start, it will encourage Apple to lob even more lawsuits at firms it believes are ripping off its intellectual property. It will also encourage other companies that make smartphones and tablets either to license patents from Apple or to modify the design of products to minimise the risk they will be hit with lawsuits too.

 Leaving aside the battles of tech giants, what does the verdict mean for the start-up companies?

Mr. Dale has emphasized the importance of taking ownership over the business project, as opposed to excessive reliance on mentors’ advice:

“My motto is, if you’re not the smartest person in the room about your company, you’re in trouble. Your mentors have different background and expertise, but how many hours a week does an entrepreneur spend thinking about his or her business? Forty? Eighty? More like a hundred? And how many hours does the mentor spend..? Running your own business is part of the fun.”

Prof. Zack Cooper is an Assistant Professor of Health Policy and of Economics at Yale University . Prof. Cooper is a health economist and an expert in health care policy. He received his PhD from London School of Economics in 2011.

In his speech at the Healthbox accelerator kick-off in Boston on Thursday, August 16^th, Prof. Cooper spoke of the need to shift from selling individual health care products towards selling health outcomes (a service). An example of such approach would be switching from selling a drug to selling a package to treat cancer patients. In the future, companies would be delivering the result, rather than selling a particular product.

Margaret Chan is the Director-General of the World Health Organization. Chan has previously served as Director of Health of Hong Kong Government (1994-2003), representative of the WHO Director-General for Pandemic Influenza and WHO Assistant Director-General for Communicable Diseases (2003-2006).

What determines success at the organization such as the WHO?  

Have a thick skin. You must to stay true to your goals and not get pulled into many different directions by different interest groups. 

Of course as a professional, you must have technical competence and have to know what you're doing. You have to adhere to the highest standards of medical science, medical evidence, to make the best decisions. You have to stay neutral and true to science and your professional training.