POWER is the theme for the July issue of Be Inkandescent Magazine. As an entrepreneur, we ask you to consider these questions: How do you define power? How do you harness it? Wield it? And how do you help others to be powerful in your organization?

Equally essential is this question: As a leader, how do you cope with the limits of power? Indeed, this is the situation that President Obama struggled with during his first term in office. For an analysis of the situation, we turn to July’s Entrepreneur of the Month Jonathan Alter.

The national affairs columnist at Newsweek, and a political analyst for NBC and MSNBC, Alter is the author of a new book, The Promise: President Obama, Year One, which hit bookstores last month. Within weeks, it climbed to number four on The New York Times Bestseller List.

Alter explains: “My goal was ambitious: to cover the important and compelling dimensions of the Obama story across a broad front, not snip off a piece; to push my sources for information that had not been published before; and to write in real time about a moving target — history on the fly.”

Scroll down to read the interview we did with Jonathan.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: In the 18 columns framing this homepage, you’ll find the articles by our columnists who wrote about what power means in their industries. And do check out some powerful people that we interviewed this month:

• Barbara Bush talks about her new Global Health Corps in the NONPROFIT column.
• Learn why Ashley Judd is fighting to stop mountaintop mining in our TRULY AMAZING WOMEN section.
• And be sure to read Part 1 of a 3-part series with DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee in EDUCATION.

Speaking of taking a look at what makes someone powerful, consider what President Obama told Senior Advisor David Axelrod in the summer of 2008:

“The weird thing is, I know I can do this job. I like dealing with complicated issues. I’m happy to make decisions. I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be an easier adjustment for me than the campaign. Much easier.” — from page 4, The Promise.

Here’s to your power, and your success.
Hope Katz Gibbs — Editor & Publisher, Be Inkandescent Magazine