Women who become entrepreneurs don't miss the corporate glass ceiling, but while some women business owners say that they do not encounter gender bias in the business world, others complain that they have to demonstrate an extra level of excellence and competence to men and women alike.

"The in-box culture is dead," says Evan Rosen in his new book, The Culture of Collaboration: Maximizing Time, Talent and Tools to Create Value in the Global Economy.

Studies show family-led companies implement better long-term planning and generally have greater internal organizational commitment than public companies.

Imagine taking a dozen related but independently-run businesses, each with its own unique product, merging them into a cohesive business segment within an enormous corporation and driving up sales roughly 30 percent — all during an intense, three-and-a-half year period.

Does the world of business — in the past dominated by men — pose any special challenges for women?

On his first trip to Ghana in September 2006, Mark Henderson traveled through countryside that was lush, but obscured with haze. Some of the haze was carried in by the Harmattan — a dry and dusty West African wind that blows in from the Sahara at that time of year.

What's riskier? Staying in the pack or venturing cautiously out on a limb?

The qiyejituan — collections of companies and firms that are joined via social and economic ties — have been playing an increasingly vital role in China's economy, just as the "chaebol" have been so important to Korea and the "keiretsu" to Japan.

What are the characteristics of companies that succeed, even in tough times? The stories behind the five winners of this year's Spirit of Enterprise Awards are instructive.

Tim Brady, founder of Yahoo … Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Development … Max Levchin, founder of PayPal … Steve Wozniak, founder of Apple. All are legends in the technology world. But once upon a time, they were regular people. Where did they get their 'big ideas'?