For some people somewhere, summer surely lives up to its promise as a tranquil time. As they lie on a sandbar feeling their stress ebb with the tide, their weightiest thoughts are of sunburn, the need to get limes for the Coronas and how many pounds of lobster to buy for dinner. For everyone else, summer arrives with an undercurrent of frustration. Every year, it seems life in summer ought to be slower, and every year, it’s not. (Bloomberg)
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What do an inflated surgical bill, a fuming real-estate developer, and a dreaded performance appraisal have in common? All can be mitigated with one simple gesture: a request for advice. We seek advice on a daily basis, on everything from who grills the best burger in town to how to handle a sticky situation with a coworker. However, many people don’t fully appreciate how powerful requesting guidance can be. (Harvard Business Review)
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At most companies, executive assistants are increasingly rare. And even if there are assistants at your company, someone charged with organizing travel for three executives just doesn’t have time to remind you of birthdays, let alone make your dental appointments. Another option? Hiring your own personal assistant. People who’ve done it say that even if you’re footing the bill yourself, it can be money well spent. (Fast Company)
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Names work hard: They can affect who gets into elite schools, what jobs we apply for, and who gets hired. Our names can even influence what cities we live in, who we befriend, and what products we buy since, we’re attracted to things and places that share similarities to our names. (The Atlantic)
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Companies such as TaskRabbit Inc., which matches freelance helpers with odd jobs, boast they are transforming the world of work, giving people the freedom to do what they like when they like. Yet that flexibility comes at a cost: such work typically lacks the safety net of benefits, wage protections or job security that are afforded to those with more permanent arrangements. (The Wall Street Journal)
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Here’s the thing: I hate it when people talk about personal brand. Those words imply that people need to adopt identities that are artificial and plastic and packaged, when what actually works is authenticity. One of the fabulous things I’ve enjoyed about my career is collaborating with so many leaders across different industries and countries, and without exception the successful ones have been comfortable in their own skin. (Harvard Business Reviews)
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Joe Weinlick, vice president of marketing for the online career network Beyond.com, says it’s possible to get your dream job even if a company isn’t hiring. In addition to playing the numbers game and talking to anyone who’ll take your call like Blumberg did, Weinlick says there are three more things you can do to get your foot in the door: (Fast Company)
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Stocks fell sharply in Argentina on Thursday as the country defaulted on its bills for the second time in 13 years, raising fears the move could diminish foreign reserves, stoke inflation and drive the economy deeper into recession. (The Washington Post)
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To be attentive to history is to be on the lookout for pivotal moments, and in the geopolitics surrounding Africa, the 1990s stand out as a hugely pivotal time. With the Cold War scarcely over, the West turned its attention away from the continent, largely defining its problems as humanitarian issues, which are traditionally the lowest station of foreign policy priorities. (Businessweek)
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This time last year, I was sitting in the same cubicle and at the same company as I am today, but as a college intern. Turning that summer position into a full-time job wasn’t easy, though. Here are some tips that may help get you from intern to in-demand employee. (Businessweek)
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Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business announced last fall it would shut down its full-time MBA program. Based in Blacksburg, Va., an Appalachian Mountain town of about 43,000, it lacks something business schools increasingly need to survive: proximity to a big city. (Businessweek)
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Entrepreneurial Institute (EI), is a "must attend" day long series of business development workshops and breakthrough training sessions. The EI attracts new entrepreneurs, current business owners and small business professionals seeking the knowledge and tools of success. EI provides professional development via workshops, panels, discussions, networking opportunities and insights from local and national entrepreneurs who have achieved success in their businesses.
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The same tools that help millions of Americans work from home are being exploited by cybercriminals to break into the computer networks of retailers like Target and Neiman Marcus. The Homeland Security Department, in a new report, warns that hackers are scanning corporate systems for remote access software – made by companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft – that allows outside contractors and employees to tap into computer networks over an Internet connection. (The New York Times)
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For mobile users who text with friends via Facebook, it's almost time to download the social-media giant's dedicated app for doing so, or lose the ability. Facebook says that, for the next few days, it will be notifying people that if they want to continue sending mobile message, they'll need to download the Messenger app. (CNN)
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SOLD Inc., whose name is an acronym for "Same Ole Line Dudes," will, at a cost of $25 for the first hour and $10 for each subsequent 30-minute period, wait in line for you. The New York company’s services are aimed at buzzed-about lines, like those for the Cronut, as well as more mundanely numbing queues, like the DMV's. (The Atlantic)
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Choosing to leave behind the regular paycheck and benefits to build a
venture from the ground up is a huge risk. It’s risky because it’s hard work, there are no guarantees, and 95% of startups fail, based on research by Shikhar Ghosh, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School. With the odds against you, entrepreneurs feel like they’re literally pushing against the tides every day so when companies fail, the price, which can include financial ruin, utter embarrassment, and even mental collapse, is a hefty one for the founders. (Fast Company)
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Five years after the Great Recession ended, where are we with this recovery? On Wednesday, the Commerce Department and the Federal Reserve both answered by saying, in effect: We're in a sweet spot – growing at a decent rate with good reason for optimism. (NPR)
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Ryan Kenny has been testing chainsaws for the last seven months and getting paid for it. He’s also among a growing cadre of U.S. middle-income earners. After two internships, the 23-year-old was hired at Stihl Inc. to check the durability of parts and power tools, a position that pays from $40,000 to $60,000. He’s an example of how America’s earnings scale is becoming more balanced as employment expands in occupations within manufacturing, sales and construction that require greater skills. (Bloomberg)
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Stock market corrections are an inevitable part of investing. Since 1932, declines of 10% to 20% (the traditional definition of a correction) have occurred an average of every two years, according to InvesTech Research. The last one was in 2011 (though we came close in 2012). The physics of the stock market haven’t changed: What goes up can’t go up forever. Are we due for a big drop? (Kiplinger's)
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According to Sallie Mae’s " How American Pays for College " study released Thursday, many parents are paying for college in ways that experts say aren’t smart. Fully one in 10 parents borrow money to pay for their kids’ college (we’re talking just about parental borrowing, not child/student borrowing, which happens at much higher rates), the survey revealed – which, in the simplest terms, is a mistake because "it’s far cheaper to save than to borrow," says Mark Kantrowitz, the senior vice president and publisher of Edvisors. (MarketWatch)
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The Leadership Institute® (LI) offers a full day of executive-level education designed to take your career to the next level and to give you the training you need to succeed in today's dynamic, changing environment. Centered on this year's Conference theme, The Art of Leadership: Inspiration. Innovation. Collaboration, the LI tackles the importance of being a courageous leader and tools for having meaningful conversations when stakes are high, to finding your strengths and the importance of play. Featuring renowned faculty and innovative format, the LI is a unique, creative experience that will challenge, enrich and leave you stronger than before.

PLENARY: New this year, Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts headlines our closing session.

Space is limited, so register today! Make sure to select NBMBAA Leadership Institute® when registering.
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Coming off a series of setbacks, Target named a new chief executive on Thursday, bringing in an outsider to lead the company for the first time. The move was a clear sign that the retailer was casting aside its longtime custom of promoting top executives from within as it looked to right itself. (The New York Times)
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The National Labor Relations Board’s decision that McDonald’s can be counted as a joint employer with its franchisees in labor complaints has ignited a firestorm. The ruling could cast a shadow across a wide variety of industries and companies that rely on franchise models. (MarketWatch)
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In an age of widening inequality, in a city with ever-more expensive rent, the "poor door" has become an outsized symbol. Technically, it doesn't exist yet. But earlier this month, New York City approved plans for a high-rise apartment in Manhattan that will include it: a separate entrance for the property's subsidized tenants. The luxury condo will otherwise have more than 150 market-rate apartments. (The Washington Post)
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Every eight years, Tennessee’s state judges go before voters and ask to keep their jobs. Based on a system adopted in Missouri decades ago, Tennessee’s approach was designed to limit partisanship in the judiciary by letting the people ratify appointments made by the state’s governor. Usually, these elections are sleepy affairs. Not this year. (Businessweek)
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Thrown into a management job you don’t feel ready for? Not to worry. Success in the role isn’t as complicated as you may think. (Fortune)
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A few weeks ago, we were asked to analyze a competency model for leadership development that a client had created. Its was based on the idea that at different points in their development, potential leaders need to focus on excelling at different skills. For example, in their model they proposed that a lower level manager should focus on driving for results while top executives should focus on developing a strategic perspective. (Harvard Business Review)
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"What do you think of this?" our 21-year-old daughter asked as she emailed her cover letter for a job application to me and my husband. "Too long," I said before hitting "send" to shoot my own letter over to them. "Okay," I said, "now read mine." As parents of a new college graduate, we expected to guide her into the workforce, dispensing sage advice on résumés and networking. We never dreamed that when the time came, we’d be right there beside her, scrambling for work ourselves. (The Wall Street Journal)
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In general, I think of myself as a happy person. Except when a waiter takes a little too long with an order. Or a repair shop goes a few bucks beyond an estimate. Or a doctor fails to return a call. OK, so I’ve got a few complaints. Maybe more than a few. And maybe all my complaining has started to wear on my friends and family through the years. So be it, I say. There’s money in being a malcontent, I recently learned – $1,200 in cash and services, to be exact. (MarketWatch)
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