If something that nobody wants to happen happens, who gets the blame? Divining the answer to this question has become part of the performance art of avoiding a government shutdown, a show which typically ends with a last-minute deal. The latest display in Congress is different. Both parties have reacted to the disappointments of previous negotiations by taking up positions that are mutually exclusive in the hope of preventing compromise. (The Economist)
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U.S. business leaders have a message for President Barack Obama and the political leaders in Congress over the stalemate on the budget and debt ceiling: It’s not our job to save Washington from itself. Unlike previous fiscal showdowns, including the last-minute budget deal at the start of this year and the standoff over the debt limit in 2011, business representatives aren’t rushing in to publicly lobby for an agreement. (Bloomberg)
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With the financial news full of third-quarter estimates these days, it’s hard to escape the realization that – wow – the year is three-quarters over. In a matter of weeks, we’ll be looking back at the year. On the professional side, people will be attempting to quantify their accomplishments for annual performance reviews. (Fast Company)
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In the spirit of Smithsonian Museums, who offer free admission everyday, Museum Day Live! is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian magazine in which participating museums across the country open their doors to anyone presenting a Museum Day Ticket... for free. (Smithsonian)
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There are many excellent reasons why people share jobs. As Amy Gallo reports for HBR.org, the reason might be to take care of a dependent, work a side job, or advance your education. But perhaps more urgently, job sharing can actually ensure that you get some planned time off. (Fast Company)
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At age 42, Shona Sabnis is one of the "older" workers in the New York office of public-relations firm Edelman. Though she prides herself on being able to get along with most people, she is sometimes puzzled by the actions of her 20-something co-workers who, in turn, don't understand why the senior vice president of public affairs likes to distribute physical newspaper clippings. (The Wall Street Journal)
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To become a media mogul you need to know a few people, but Arianna Huffington – perhaps the most-connected mogul on the planet – eschews networking as most of us know it. Here, she reveals her secrets to making meaningful connections. (Fast Company)
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In today’s resource-constrained environment, many of us are delivering 120% on the current demands of our job – but devoting little time to developing ourselves further or positioning ourselves for a future move. As one of my executive MBA students recently told me, "I know that I have to carve out more time to think strategically about my business, but all my peers are executing to hilt and I don’t want to fall behind." (Harvard Business Review)
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After several decades of attention to diversity and inclusion, most large companies have programs and policies that are intended to expand diversity in the workforce. They often have diversity officers to oversee these efforts. My guess is that companies find now what I did when I taught graduate courses in diversity or ran corporate workshops starting in the mid-1980s: that everyone denounces racism, says they believe in civil rights and thinks of equal opportunity as the solution to inequality. (DiversityInc)
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Two years ago, the head of Deutsche Bank commented that adding women to the executive board would make it "prettier and more colorful," sparking a firestorm of commentary on how women are portrayed in the workplace. Today, women make up 40 percent of the total world labor force, but half of them still aren't working. New data shows that if they did, it would do a lot more than pretty things up – it could save a country's economy. (International Business Times)
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The technology industry is expanding its fight against patent trolls to Europe. In the United States, technology companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft have spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars to defend patent-infringement lawsuits by companies that make a business of buying technology patents primarily for suing software companies and makers of products like smartphones. (The New York Times)
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How much value does your MBA provide? The value of your management education derives partly from the skills it helps you develop and partly from the school’s reputation. High-value management education prepares leaders to navigate the most complex challenges organizations face. It forces you to question your assumptions and habitual ways of acting, boosts your self-awareness, and increases your capacity to lead in a way that elevates your organization and the people who work within it above its field of competitors. (Harvard Business Review)
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Despite all the talk about work-life balance in the modern business environment, there’s still plenty of evidence of long hours and presenteeism in many of the careers popular with MBAs. The tragic death of intern Moritz Erhardt at Bank of America (BAC) in August – which followed 72 consecutive hours of work according to unconfirmed reports – appears to be just one extreme example of the pressures that sectors such as investment banking and strategy consultancy can impose, particularly at the entry level. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)
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The New Jersey Chapter of the National Black MBA Association, Inc. is pleased to announce its 30th Anniversary Corporate Gala: Business Leadership through Challenging Times on Oct. 3rd in Newark, NJ. (PR Web)
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Nationwide Insurance is a proud partner of the National Black MBA Association. In sponsorship of the 2013 annual conference, numerous Nationwide recruiters and business unit leaders from IT, Finance, Claims, Marketing, Product & Pricing and Nationwide Financial attended the conference career fair seeking out talented business professionals and recruiting them to join the Nationwide family. (Enhanced Online News)
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The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP announced that its chairman, John W. Daniels Jr., received the 2013 "Entrepreneur of the Year Award" from the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA). The award was presented at the 35th Annual Conference & Exposition on Wednesday, September 11 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. (Milwaukee Community Journal)
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The snail’s pace of change in Washington has hurt the popularity of political leaders. But for BlackBerry, the federal government’s tendency to move slowly may provide some hope. That’s because the federal government is BlackBerry’s biggest customer, and even as the rest of the world dumps the firm’s smartphone for Samsung Galaxys and iPhones, the app-deprived BlackBerry remains a Washington stalwart. (The Washington Post)
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Amazon’s Mayday tech support for Kindle Fire HDX puts a tiny helper on your screen when you need it most. But the exchange between you and Amazon does more than help you figure out how to download the latest Justin Timberlake album. It could dictate the future of Fire OS. (Wired)
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Before you approach any potential investor, you need to take a hard look at your own situation. This sounds basic and self-evident, but it’s not. Often, entrepreneurs have unrealistic expectations about what capital can or should do, or they haven’t accurately assessed the reality of their personality or their business. Here’s what you need to be asking before you start talking to the money. (Inc.)
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You may never have considered going into marketing before, but I hate to break it to you: you're there already. When it comes to your own life, you are marketing your personal brand every single day, whether you realize it or not. (Entrepreneur)
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Conservative Republicans have officially made it their mission to end food stamps as we know them. Such was evident last week, when the House GOP voted to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as food stamps are now known, by $39 billion over a decade and begin bulking up its work requirements, along the lines of welfare reform in the 1990s. (The Atlantic)
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The real legacy of the Lehman collapse wasn't an economic meltdown. (That would have happened anyway.) It was three years of wrong information about the economy. (The Atlantic)
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Even if you aren’t a federal government worker, the pending government shutdown may affect you. As you probably know, the budget showdown is really about the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Republicans want to defund the health care law and are using the funding of the federal government itself as a tactic to get what they want. (The Washington Post)
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Travelers often bemoan the gambling in airline ticket-shopping: Do I buy now or wait to see if the fare decreases? One reason for that casino feel is the computerized alchemy of what’s known as revenue management, the airlines’ 24/7 effort to improve their financial performance by meticulously allocating the number of seats at various price levels and overbooking flights. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)
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In less than two years, Jamie Flegg halted his career as a professional musician, enrolled in an MBA program and secured a job as an investment banker – but that doesn’t mean he’s a different person. (Financial Post)
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Tech firms are still tops when it comes to innovation, according to Boston Consulting Group’s 2013 "Most Innovative Companies" list. Apple Inc. held the No. 1 spot for the ninth consecutive year, followed by Samsung Electronics Co. and Google Inc. (The Wall Street Journal)
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The housing bust was certainly unpleasant for Frank Blake. As CEO of Home Depot, the world's largest home-improvement retailer, he had to lay off 11,000 employees and sell or shut down parts of the business. Revenues still haven't recovered, yet the stock has roared past its 1999 high, thanks in large part to Blake's focus on retailing's nuts and bolts: customer service, a revamped supply chain, and disciplined use of capital, which has actually diminished as profits have risen. (CNN/Money)
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The wait is over. In the next few months nearly all the remaining pieces of Obamacare will fall into place. On Jan. 1, just about everyone must have health insurance (with government help, if sorely needed) or face a penalty, and everyone must be able to get coverage, no matter how sick. (Money Magazine)
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Detroit’s municipal pension fund made payments for decades to retirees, active workers and others above and beyond normal benefits, costing the struggling city billions of dollars and helping push it into bankruptcy, according to people who have reviewed the payments. (The New York Times)
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"Authenticity" is the new buzzword among leaders today. We’re told to bring our full selves to the office, to engage in frank conversations, and to tell personal stories as a way of gaining our colleagues’ trust and improving group performance. The rise in collaborative workplaces and dynamic teams over recent years has only heightened the demand for "instant intimacy," and managers are supposed to set an example. (Harvard Business Review)
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The author of "Good to Great" went to West Point to teach leadership. Instead, he was the one who got schooled. West Point is a highly competitive place. Every cadet wants to do the Indoor Obstacle Course Test faster than his or her peers. Every cadet also is extremely busy. Yet these cadets were taking time away from their studies and other duties to help their friends get through the course. (Inc.)
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Sunny Pettinati walked into the L.L. Bean store in Yonkers, N.Y., clutching a plastic bag and looking a little embarrassed. "I'm returning a sweater that I purchased, I think, about 10 years ago," she said. The sweater had sat in a drawer, unworn, for years, and she was trying her luck with the store's famously lenient return policy. (NPR)
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