Can America Close the 'Innovation Gap?'

Serial tech entrepreneur Judy Estrin's new book argues that an aversion to risk and long-term investment hurts America's ability to compete Judy Estrin, a serial entrepreneur and former chief technology officer of Cisco Systems , believes America faces an innovation crisis. Closing the Innovation Gap, which was released early last month, is Estrin's treatise on why America's position in the world has eroded in comparison with emerging powers such as China and India—and what government and business can do to redress the deficit. Her text, which was penned well before the American financial system began to unravel, is all the more timely because of the panic in the markets. One core argument is that many executives have a penchant for short-sighted investments, and that cowed corporate boards are unwilling to ask hard... [read full story]