If Hollywood wants to portray an entrepreneur in a movie, then he -- and it’s usually a he – is in his early 20s, may or may not have a college degree, is probably wearing blue jeans and a hoodie, and is a bit unkempt, with messy hair and facial hair.
That stereotype may appeal to our interest in a narrative where geeks take over the world, but the Mark Zuckerberg-inspired vision is absolutely only a part of the entrepreneurship story. Many entrepreneurs don’t even think about launching their own business until they are in their 30s, 40s, and even 50s, after years of work experience.
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We’ve written about creativity a few times on the Buffer blog, but it’s hard to keep track of everything we learn about it. One day I’m adjusting the temperature in my workspace, and the next I’m trying to put off creative work until I’m tired.
If you’re in the same boat, and you find it’s difficult to remember what will improve your creativity and when you should do your most creative work, hopefully this list will help you get it all straight.
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Picture this scenario: You come back to your desk after a meeting. You sit down. You start doing something on your computer. But what, exactly, do you do?
Chances are, you go through some sort of transition ritual. You probably check email first. If there’s a link to something interesting in there, you follow the link, then go from there to a few other favorite sites: a news source, Twitter, or maybe to check sports scores. After that, you finally settle into real work.
There’s nothing wrong with these rituals per se. Human beings need a way to transition from one activity into the next. The problem is that we get interrupted frequently in the modern workplace. Rituals become habits, and that means we run through the transition cycle every time we stop doing what we’re doing.
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For most people, paid work is unsettling and energy-sapping. Despite employee engagement racing up the priority list of CEOs (see, for example, The Conference Board’s CEO Challenge 2014), our research into workplaces all over the world reveals a sorry state of affairs: workers who are actively disengaged outnumber their engaged colleagues by an overwhelming factor of 2:1. The good news is that there are companies out there bucking the trend, and we’ve discovered how.
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The distinction between being a boss and being a leader may seem small, but it means the world to the people who work for you. Being the boss does not necessarily mean you are leading. Here is a list of 10 characteristics that will help you determine if you are having a positive impact on your employees.
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As I’ve said in previous blogs, I’m an avid fan and watcher of TV and Youtube shows. From international news to rockumentaries to indy comedies to ratchet reality, I like to peruse it all. Some I love, some I side-eye and others I refuse to continue watching, but television is a big part of my leisure time.
Recently, I’ve watched—and awaited the premiere of—a few new (or newly returning) shows that have sparked great career and boss moves inspiration, featuring workplace themes that are hilarious, eye-opening and thought-provoking.
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When you are looking for your dream job there is only one question that really matters: How do you get your foot in the door?
So it's no surprise that we've received several reader questions about honing your skills, dealing with long-term job searches, and making your resume stand out from the pack.
This week's question comes in response to our recent column about learning new skills without going back to college, and is answered by Leadership coach Lolly Daskal.
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I start job interviews with the same question every time: "Tell me about your path leading up to today. Why is this role the right fit for you now?"
What happens next is predictable:
"My first job out of college was at an international aid organization..."
"I worked for a number of years in publishing before I..."
"I started out in finance but then..."
I typically wait for a pause and ask candidates to start earlier. I tell them that I want to hear the details from their story that illustrate what drives them — their purpose. They often raise eyebrows, giggle nervously, or cross their arms.
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When you see a partnership like Jelena Pasic, 39, and Dardra Coaxum, 26, you’re reminded of the tremendously awesome things that can happen when one embraces diversity, not only in ethnicity, but in culture and professional experience.
Partners at New York City’s Harlem Shake, the brainchild of Pasic, these women have learned to take key elements of one another’s talents and backgrounds to create a restaurant that embraces and promotes the proud heritage of Harlem, serving burgers, shakes, hotdogs and fries while incorporating the community via promotions and events that position them as friendly neighbors just next door to the infamous 125th St.
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More than half of workers who will benefit from a minimum-wage increase are women and the move could help close the gender pay gap, a White House report said on Wednesday.
"The Impact of Raising the Minimum Wage on Women" was produced in part by the Department of Labor and the president’s Council of Economic Advisers to help study the effects of raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.
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Cyprus's economy is adjusting following the 2013 recession, which was "not as severe as anticipated", the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. "Signs of stabilisation are emerging in the banking sector," said the IMF in a report. Cyprus agreed to a 10bn-euro ($13.8bn; £8.3bn) bailout with the European Union and the IMF last year. Cyprus's second-largest lender - Laiki Bank - was closed down. Although the recession was not as severe as expected, there may be more pain to come, warned the IMF.
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Taiwanese students have demonstrated against a trade agreement between Taiwan and China. The protesters see the pact as another step toward economic absorption into mainland China.
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For 10 years, Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business boasted an MBA sports-business specialization that was called one of the best in the nation. In 2010 state budget cuts forced the school to shutter the program.
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Respected organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, McKinsey, and Goldman Sachs (GS) have repeatedly exhorted the business community to do more to include women in the global economy. They are backed by ample research proving that women are economically disadvantaged and that inequality significantly saps national competitiveness, dampens corporate performance, and contributes to social instability. Grasping the consequences of this gender imbalance, more companies around the globe are committing significant funds to support women’s economic empowerment.
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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.

 

Black programmers are few and far between, but an influx of coders of color could reshape the tech industry. There will be over 2.1 million jobs available by 2020 in the STEM field, and with only 5 percent of bachelors degrees in engineering going to African Americans, a lot of those in-demand, high-paying jobs will be inaccessible to the black community. Companies see this and are acting to make it easier for underprivileged youth to get involved in the sciences. Lockheed Martin donated $6 million for STEM initiatives in urban school districts, for example.
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It isn’t what you spend, it’s how you spend it.
Gartner Wednesday released its outlook for worldwide spending on information technology in 2014. The overview is for modest growth of 3.2 percent, to $3.771 trillion. That is a big pickup from the 0.4 percent growth, to $3.654 trillion, in 2013.
The really interesting stuff is inside individual numbers, however. Smartphone is an almost meaningless term, since a huge number of devices now have those mobile computing capabilities. Mobile data is on its way to being the primary business of phone companies. And companies are consuming more technology in cloud computing systems.
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Former pro basketball star Jamal Mashburn is ready for a new game. The New York native who played basketball as a forward with the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat is going to try his skills in the advertising world.
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Here's a thought experiment: Imagine a demo day startup competition. How often do women-led startups win prestigious startup competitions when facing male-led companies, per capita? If you guessed that they win less often, you’d be 100% wrong.
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The first slice of data about job growth in March offers some hope that the U.S. labor market gained some strength:
There were 191,000 more jobs on private companies' payrolls last month than in February, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report. That's pretty close to what Reuters says economists were expecting to hear: that there were 195,000 more jobs in March than in February.
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Hoping to fuel more job-creating companies, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are crafting legislation intended to encourage individual start-up investors, commonly called "angel investors," to pour even more capital into new and growing businesses — but they don’t all agree on the best way to help.
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April is National Financial Literacy Month, so named since March 2004, when the Senate passed Resolution 316 to highlight the importance of financial education. Of course, as with Black History Month, it is Financial Literacy Month every day at Black Enterprise, as evidenced by our Wealth for Life mantra. If you’ve yet to commit to your own financial education, now is the perfect time to make it a daily part of your media and information diet.
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When it comes to tax deductions, most taxpayers focus on items that have the most impact, such as mortgage interest and state income or sales taxes. Yet lesser-known tax breaks can also help you boost your itemized deductions. Let's take a look at three miscellaneous deductions that many people don't even know exist, as well as the overarching limitation on how much you can deduct.
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You’d think after running one of the most complex corporations in existence, Sam Palmisano might indulge in the usual CEO retirement package—golf, a few blue chip corporate boards, and some prestigious nonprofit work to round it all out. Life is good, right?
Palmisano, 62, is doing all that. His nonprofit work, though, is no mere hobby. The former IBM chairman, who left the C-suite in 2011, has started a think tank to work with chief executive officers and business schools on building a body of new management principles and providing leadership training for the 21st century global organization.
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Meetup knows a thing or two about social gatherings. The company has facilitated countless get-togethers from organizers of all stripes. As most people know, work parties can be either fun or dreadful. But they are almost by definition unproductive.
The folks at Meetup don't think it has to be that way.

To Erin Dertouzos, Meetup’s head of talent and culture, it’s about lowering barriers and flattening hierarchies to create a fun environment in which great ideas can happen. As any company approaches the 100-employee mark--Meetup has about 115 and counting--not everyone knows each other as well as they once did, says Dertouzos.
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In a new report Schwab's chief investment strategist makes the case for a bump in corporate investing. The most powerful tonic for the flagging U.S. economy would be a surge in capital investment. The willingness of manufacturers of semiconductors and chemicals to expand their fabs and factories, and airlines and utilities to order jets and build grids that will take many years, and a growing, prosperous base of customers, to render them profitable, would signal that a long, strong stretch of growth will follow.
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For years, central bank officials have complained that expectations that they can single-handedly revive the nation’s anemic economy are misplaced. The Fed can only set the stage for stronger growth; Congress must also play its part. But between fiscal cliffs and debt ceiling standoffs, lawmakers instead seem to be intent on shutting down the entire production.
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Each week, I try to write useful articles on topics like psychology and habit formation, medicine and health, and science and entrepreneurship. Where do I get many of these ideas? By reading books written by people who are smarter than me. Because of that, I love to share some of the better books I’ve been reading — and get suggestions from you, of course!
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After more than 20 years on Wall Street, most recently as former president of the global wealth and investment management division of Bank of America, Sallie Krawcheck was widely considered one of the most powerful women in banking. Recently, Krawcheck purchased the global women’s network 85 Broads and has taken her experience in a new direction.
In an interview with Wharton management professor Adam M. Grant, Krawcheck speaks about the "subtle, well-meaning biases" against women, how they can be overcome and why diverse leadership at the top is critical for "higher returns, lower volatility, lower risk, more client-focus and more innovation."
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