A look at the world’s most innovative nations, some top business start-up advice, and emerging jobs. Readings from around the world on business, leadership and management.

Nations leading the way in innovation

The Visual Capitalist chart of Bloomberg’s innovation list.

Germany has topped the ranking of the world’s 60 most innovative nations, according to a survey by Bloomberg, edging out South Korea for the first time. (Unsurprisingly, PNG didn’t make the list, but one day …)

The Bloomberg Innovation Index looks at the ability of world economies to innovate, which was a key theme at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos in January.

Germany took the overall top spot and the US fell one place to number nine; the US was the number one most innovative economy in the world when the Bloomberg index launched in 2013. The US still tops both patent activity and the number of tech companies, while Singapore leads the way in education, topping the list for enrolment in higher education.

Visual Capitalist has produced a graphic of the Bloomberg survey here.

How to succeed in small business

The Investment Promotion Authority headquarters in Port Moresby, home of the Companies Office.

The broadcaster CNBC has distilled into five points that every first-time business owner needs to know some of the advice from the Small Business Administration (SBA), which is a government department in the US.

Tips include: the importance of having a formal business plan, knowing when to save and when to spend your cash, and how to get the best out of marketing.

The article provides handy links to long-form articles on the SBA website for those who are serious about taking the leap to being their own boss.

Emerging job trends in 2020

A drone from Total’s METIS research project in PNG. Credit: Total/RPS

Our friends at PNG Flying Labs, Total E&P and New Britain Palm Oil are onto something.

The New Straits Times in Malaysia reports that, while traditional jobs like doctors, lawyers, engineers and teachers still top the list of what most graduates want to become, there are many emerging jobs that many young people do not think of.

Quoting an OECD report, the story looks at some of the 21st century jobs that graduates should be considering. (Spoiler alert: most of the newly created positions revolve around the tech industry.)

The list includes: artificial intelligence experts to help build AI, privacy officers to manage the concerns of customers about how their personal data is being used by commercial operators, and drone technologists, who assist businesses that use drones in areas such as public works projects and real estate.