The 9-to-5 grind is over. I call that traditional view, "Big Work," and millennials intuitively understand that's not where the future is. They are, in a sense, the first generation of freelance natives. They’re embracing freelancing in a way no other generation has. And now, they’re the majority of the workforce. (Fast Company)

Our hyper-connected lives have one major drawback: patience. "We live in a world where we can get anything we want right away," says Mary Jane Ryan, author of Power of Patience. "We’ve lost the capacity to wait without becoming agitated." Sound familiar? No surprise then that a recent Pew Research Center study found that hyper-connectivity leads to a loss of patience and a need for instant gratification. (Fast Company)

Across the US, historically black colleges and universities are struggling financially – and the nation's oldest public black college is even on the verge of financial collapse. Historically black colleges and universities – known as HBCUs – have been part of American higher education for over 150 years. In the past few decades, though, the financial health of many schools has taken a turn for the worst. (Business Insider)

Banks are bolstering their dealmaking teams. A buoyant period of global mergers and acquisitions activity, with deals struck so far this year at the fastest pace since 2007, has ramped up demand for talent. Business schools note heightened desire among banks to recruit students for M&A work. Careers managers have told BusinessBecause that hiring for dealmakers in the TMT – technology, media and telecoms – sectors is particularly strong. Healthcare and retail are also in need of M&A bankers, they say. (BusinessBecause)

A growing number of employers say a degree from a prestigious college counts less than it once did. But among elite finance and management-consulting firms – which offer some of the highest starting salaries for new graduates – an alma mater still matters. That puts students from less-selective schools at a disadvantage, career-services officers and students say. (The Wall Street Journal)

I once had dreams of becoming like Bruce Springsteen. Now, at age 62, I write about him, go to his shows, sing along to his songs in my car, teach my children about his significance, use his works in my Wharton classes, and even serve as a Guest DJ on E Street Radio. But despite my earlier wishes to live a successful musical performer’s life, it’s not going to happen. I’m not Springsteen, and never will be. And that’s OK. (Harvard Business Review)

What’s the secret to landing a new job when you’ve been out of work a long time? A new report by the AARP Public Policy Institute uncovered some surprising strategies that older workers are using to get back into the workforce. That’s important because, while the job market is significantly better overall, the situation is still dismal for the long-term unemployed.(Money Magazine)

Two of the world’s top providers of executive education in Spain and China have joined forces, illustrating the deepening ties between Europe and Asia as business schools look east for growth. Barcelona’s IESE Business School and China Europe International Business School in Shanghai have teamed up to launch an EMBA degree taught across five continents – the World Executive MBA. (BusinessBecause)

Greece made little headway in negotiations on Wednesday toward ending its standoff with its international creditors, leaving the government facing the prospect of at least another month without new financing and starved for cash. Athens handed over a more detailed plan for revising its bailout program to the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund, its latest bid to unlock bailout lending while rewriting the program as promised by the country's antiausterity government. (MarketWatch)

There’s nothing easy about being a tiny print shop and newspaper publisher located in the mountains in rural eastern Kentucky, near the Virginia border. The delivery truck only comes once a month to drop off new supplies, it can be hard to find qualified employees, and you have to face all kinds of biases from outsiders who have pre-conceived notions about Appalachia. In recent years, as the coal mines closed and people and businesses have moved away, things have gotten even harder. (The Atlantic)

Jack Welch says he’s still a fan of the traditional M.B.A. degree – to a point. But he wonders about the average program’s return on investment. The former General Electric chief says there are plenty of other ways for aspiring executives to acquire the skills needed to run a company. In a new book of career advice, "The Real-Life M.B.A.," Mr. Welch and his wife Suzy write that navigating everyday life at work provides valuable management training, too. The book is due out later this month. (The Wall Street Journal)

As a valued supporter of the National Black MBA Association’s legacy, we invite you to join us on Friday, June 12, as we celebrate 45 years of creating economic, educational and employment opportunities for Blacks in the business world. Plan now to attend this extraordinary event. Buy early and take advantage of discounted tickets!

Smartphone dependency is up sharply nationwide, particularly among lower-income households and those with fewer years of education, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center. Around 64 percent of American adults own smartphones, up 29 percent in just four years, according to the research released Wednesday. And among Americans who have smartphones, 10 percent said they don't have broadband access at home, and 15 percent said they have limited online options beyond their coveted mobile devices. (CNBC)

Panos Panay had just nailed his presentation of the Surface 2 to 1,800 members of Microsoft's elated sales team, and the Surface chief was riding an all-time high. It didn't last long. Microsoft's CFO Amy Hood met Panay backstage on that summer day of 2013. She told Panay that Microsoft was about to announce a $900 million writedown because of a boatload of Surface tablets that didn't sell. (CNN/Money)

Last fall, around the time Facebook announced it was buying WhatsApp for $19 billion, a flurry of studies offered a startling revelation: The U.S. startup rate has been falling for decades. The Kauffman Foundation, citing its own research and drawing on U.S. Census data, concluded that the number of companies less than a year old had declined as a share of all businesses by nearly 44 percent between 1978 and 2012. And those declines swept across industries, including tech. Meanwhile, the Brookings Institution, also using Census data, established that the number of new businesses is down across the country and that more businesses are dying than are being born. (Inc.)

I heard some pretty terrible advice the other day. The advice came on a business podcast from a successful entrepreneur who had built a company to billion-dollar status. In this podcast, he told the audience that if you are going to be successful as an entrepreneur, you cannot have another job. Nonsense! (Entrepreneur)

Americans are saving hundreds on low gas prices this year. The Obama administration estimates the typical American household will save $750 this year from a discount at the pump. But are they spending that money? The short answer: No. Most people are pocketing the gas savings. While there are a few signs that families are eating out more, the big deluge of spending that many predicted hasn't happened yet. (CNN Money)

So far this year, the Internal Revenue Service has processed more than 66 million federal income tax refunds, averaging about $2,900 each. Such a lump sum can provide an opportunity to help get your finances on track, financial advisers say. "It’s hard to overstate how big a financial event this is" for people with low and even moderate incomes, said Timothy Flacke, executive director of the Doorways to Dreams Fund, a nonprofit that promotes savings programs. So what is the best way to use the money? (The New York Times)

Think it’s impossible to save a million bucks? It’s not. Fidelity Investments took a look at the 401(k) portfolios of its clients to see if those in the million-dollar-plus club have characteristics that make them stand out from the crowd. Surprisingly, being super-rich wasn’t one of them. Although the average annual earnings of people with more than $1 million in their 401(k) was a substantial $359,000, Fidelity found that a number of these people had reported earnings of under $150,000. (Time)

In 2013, the United States Senate designated April as national Financial Literacy Month. The goal: To highlight the importance of financial education and to teach Americans how to maintain healthy money habits. As various activities take place all over the country to help people get money smart, there is widespread concern that there is a ‘financial illiteracy’ crisis in the United States and there has been a failure at home, among educators, and in the media to provide basic financial education, particularly to our young people. (Black Enterprise)

Not all ordained or self-appointed mentors are going to help you. Some of the best leaders today already knew this secret and purposely sought out specific mentors who would take them to the next level and beyond. Ursula Burns was raised by her single mother in the New York City housing projects. Though the odds were stacked against her chances of success, Burns understood the power of strategic mentorship, what it truly takes to become a successful leader. Here are steps she took to find the right mentors that future leaders can learn from. (Fast Company)

Chalk one up for Main Street: Hundreds of thousands of American workers are finally getting a raise. Pay hikes at McDonald's, Target, TJX Cos and Wal-Mart are great news, especially given how anemic wage increases have been since the Great Recession. While it's a rare win for everyday Americans, don't expect Wall Street to cheer just yet. (CNN Money)

Recently, we had the pleasure of hosting Indra Nooyi, chief executive of PepsiCo at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. In her comments to us, she talked about many characteristics of effective leaders, and one of them was the importance of having strong communication skills and being transparent to employees. If you think about it, the lack of good communication is probably one of the largest reasons why there are morale or voluntary turnover problems in an organization. (The Washington Post)

Less than one-third of Americans are engaged in their jobs in any given year. This finding has remained consistent since 2000, when Gallup first began measuring and reporting on U.S. workplace engagement. Gallup defines engaged employees as those who are involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace. But the majority of employees are indifferent, sleepwalking through their workday without regard for their performance or their organization’s performance. As a result, vital economic influencers such as growth and innovation are at risk. (Harvard Business Review)

"The grass would be so green, and the ivy so lush, and the sun so bright, and the Old Style lager so cold, that people wouldn’t care what the scoreboard said," says George Will, the Washington Post columnist, who’s been a Cubs fan for more than 60 years. The Rickettses are trying to run the Cubs like a modern baseball team. It’s a novel approach for the Lovable Losers, who now have the chance to contend year after year, and maybe even win a World Series. (Bloomberg)