Mentoring is not a charitable act. Few of us have so fully arrived in our careers that we cannot be helped by other people. In medical research, the rock stars you mentor early in your career will be your co-authors on major studies later. In business, if you mentor enough high-performers, someone is going to start a billion-dollar company that needs someone – just like you! – to run a major division. Here’s how to make mentoring part of your life. (Fast Company)
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Few people in the world like to fail. Success is so much more pleasant. But if you're an entrepreneur, you can often learn much more from failure than from success. You just need the right way to think about it – as an opportunity, not as a permanent roadblock. Some of the most successful (and wealthy) entrepreneurs in the world know this lesson well. Below are four takeaways from billionaires who failed several times over on their way to building big businesses. (Inc.)
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While making a big sale or launching a new project can transform an ordinary workday into a great one, there's also the other side of the coin to consider: boredom, burnout, and anxiety can make the hours drag on endlessly. But you can minimize or even eliminate those problems by giving your daily routine a simple tune-up. Here are seven things you can do to make every day as satisfying as it can be. (Inc.)
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As I write this, the stock market has had a fantastic rebound from its last serious downturn, and most investors seem to have more bounce in their step than they did a few years ago. According to MarketWatch, major stock indexes are up about 23 percent over the last 12 months. It's great that people's investments and retirement accounts are doing better, and I hope they continue. But the emphasis put on the stock market can act like a giant magic show, leaving us oblivious to where most of our wealth is eaten up, systematically, month after month. (Daily Finance)
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Do you leave emails in your inbox so that you remember to read or tackle them? If so, you’re using your email to manage your tasks—and those are actually two very different things. Using a separate task manager, one that ties in closely with your email, can help you spend less time sifting through your inbox, and more time getting your most important work done. (Harvard Business Review)
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If you want something done, ask a busy person. The old saying rings true, but it also spells doom for that busy person. When you develop a reputation for being responsive and generous, an ever-expanding mountain of requests will come your way. This may be why Warren Buffett says: "The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say 'no' to almost everything." (Huffington Post)
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Sheryl Sandberg has been urging women to lean in at work, but over the course of the next generation, women might not have much of a choice in the matter. That's one conclusion you have to draw from the stark demographic realities outlined in economist Milton Ezrati's forthcoming book Thirty Tomorrows, which analyzes the effects that demographic trends will have on the global economy over the next several decades. (Fortune)
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The slow recovery of Europe's industrial sector has been boosted by a better performance in countries outside the euro bloc. Industrial output in the 18-nation eurozone fell 0.2% in January compared with December. But in the full 28-country European Union (EU28), output was up 0.1%, reversing December's falls. (BBC News)
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First there were Vallejo, Jefferson County, San Bernadino and Stockton. Then Detroit filed for bankruptcy last summer, leaving retail investors worried that the once-steady municipal bond market was in deep trouble. Individual investors marched out. Hedge funds, attracted by the bonds’ tax-free earnings and ­attractive rates in its most distressed corners, moved in. (Washington Post)
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For many consumers, shopping online has become a substitute for visiting a brick-and-mortar store. Will the same soon be true for college? Do Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) pose a similar threat? Over the past year at the University of Rochester, we have taught this type of online course in partnership with Coursera. What we discovered suggests – at least for now – that these virtual courses complement, not replace, the traditional campus experience. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)
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M.B.A.s are feeling bullish these days – about themselves. As their job prospects continue to brighten, business-school students are opting to unshackle themselves from employers who help cover school costs for those who return after graduation. In some cases, students have decided to leave employers while still at school, requiring them to repay $100,000 or more. (The Wall Street Journal)
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Register for the the first of NBMBAA's 2014 Regional Symposiums: April 10 in Memphis
Every so often we find ourselves in all sorts of quandaries. It’s simply a part of life’s course. Join NBMBAA as we provide practical steps to reset, refocus and recalibrate your reality and navigate the everyday compromises, sacrifices and adjustments across the eco-system of life.
Space is Limited. Register Now.

 

In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee, a software engineer, sat in his small office at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research near Geneva and started work on a new system called the World Wide Web. On Wednesday, that project, now simply called the web, will celebrate its 25th anniversary, and Mr. Berners-Lee is looking ahead at the next 25. (The New York Times)
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Starbucks Corp., the world’s largest coffee-shop operator, will test a smartphone service this year that lets customers order items ahead of time at some U.S. cafes, part of a push to promote its mobile application. Starbucks is "actively working" on mobile ordering, Adam Brotman, chief digital officer at the Seattle-based company, said in an interview. The move would let customers select coffee or food while in line or before coming into a cafe, potentially speeding up service and saving time. (Bloomberg)
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The Affordable Care Act – which many see creating challenges for businesses – could benefit a particular group of business people: entrepreneurs. Joshua Simonson was reluctant to give up his job at a Portland, Ore., area grocery store, New Seasons Market, which he says had provided excellent health care for him and his family. He had a pre-existing condition that has prevented him from getting insurance in the private market, but one key development helped convince him to quit and start a farm. (NPR)
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Thinking about starting or improving your own business? With so much learning at your fingertips, it would be silly not to take advantage of these four trending online resources. (Fast Company)
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Doreen Cappelli is so hooked on her morning cappuccino that she says she’d pay a lot more to get it. "I don’t drink wine and alcohol," Cappelli, 52, said after buying the $3.25 drink at Blue Bottle Coffee at San Francisco’s Ferry Building, in the shadow of the Bay Bridge. "Coffee is one of my pleasures in life. I would pay double." (Bloomberg)
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"LUMPY, unpredictable, potentially large": that was how Tim Geithner, then head of the New York Federal Reserve, described the need for dollars in emerging economies in the dark days of October 2008, according to transcripts of a Fed meeting released last month. To help smooth out those lumps, the Fed offered to "swap" currencies with four favoured central banks, as far off as South Korea and Singapore. (The Economist)
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Remember the days when you had to drive from store to store to compare prices, or just go to the retailer that typically had the lowest prices and hope that you were getting the best deal? Those days are over. Now it’s as easy as using a smart phone with a price-comparison app, such as RedLaser or ShopSavvy, to scan the barcode of an item and see if another retailer is offering it at a lower price. Then you can simply ask a clerk if the store where you’re shopping will match the other retailer’s price. (Kiplinger's)
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Are you brave enough to hold your emergency savings in an investment portfolio of stocks and bonds? While some studies suggest it can be a better deal for your finances, plenty of financial planners – and their clients – say it’s a no-go. (MarketWatch)
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The fact that in early March Costco reported lower-than-expected earnings and its stock price has slumped now has some wondering if the company can stay on its hot growth streak going forward. In particular, concern is being raised that Costco's membership model and its bulk-goods products don't appeal to the nation's young consumers – and that the Costco experience might not be a good match for the millennial generation even after they grow older and have families. (Fortune)
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Michael Dell, the chief executive of computer giant Dell Inc., wears one. So does Marc Benioff, the Salesforce.com Inc. CEO. American Express Co. chief Kenneth Chenault has one, too, as do numerous founders of startups. Digital fitness trackers such as the Fitbit from FitBit Inc. and the UP from Jawbone, two San Francisco-based startups, have attracted an avid set of CEO early adopters. (The Wall Street Journal)
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Is Amazon’s hugely popular Prime service, which offers customers two-day shipping, streaming movies and TV shows, and a slew of free e-books all for the price of $79 still as appealing at $99 a year? The company announced Thursday it would raise the price, which has been set at $79 since the service began in 2005. (MarketWatch)
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Time Magazine recently put "The Mindfulness Revolution" on its cover, which could either be seen as hyping the latest business fad, or as signaling a major change in the thinking of executive leaders. I believe it’s the latter. The use of mindful practices like meditation, introspection, and journaling are taking hold at such successful enterprises as Google, General Mills, Goldman Sachs, Apple, Medtronic, and Aetna, and contributing to the success of these remarkable organizations. (Harvard Business Review)
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Over the two decades that I have coached individual women executives, researched women's leadership and facilitated development programs for high potential women, I have seen one thing that seems to derail women in the workplace significantly more than it does men: perfectionism. (Huffington Post)
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After veteran reporter Joseph Williams lost his job, he found employment in a sporting-goods store. In a personal essay, he recalls his struggles with challenges millions of Americans return to day after day. (The Atlantic)
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