"Information wants to be free." When Stewart Brand uttered those words back at the Hackers Conference in 1984, he had no idea the phrase would become "a battle cry for the relentless march of the Internet." What Brand said next is often forgotten: "Information wants to be free because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time." (Inc,)

The National Black MBA Conference (NBMBAA), or as it’s better known "National Black," is a yearly conference and expo, held every September in a different city, that targets past, current, and future black MBAs. This September, the conference will take place in Orlando, FL. It is the preeminent national event for black MBAs, but in recent years the attendance at the event has become even more diverse with students from all backgrounds attending the event to take advantage of all the offerings. (Veritas Prep)

The tech industry used to think big. As early as 1977, when personal computers were expensive and impractical mystery boxes with no apparent utility or business prospects, the young Bill Gates and Paul Allen were already working toward a future in which we would see "a computer on every desk and in every home." And in the late 1990s, when it was far from clear that they would ever make a penny from their unusual search engine, the audacious founders of Google were planning to organize every bit of data on the planet – and make it available to everyone, free. (The New York Times)

Imagine that you work for an organization with hundreds of employees and you’re about to give a presentation to the entire group. The CEO and all the board members are in the audience. You’ve been anxious about this talk all week, and now your heart is pounding. Your palms are sweating. Your mouth feels dry. What is the best thing to do in this moment? Should you try to calm down or try to feel excited? (The Wall Street Journal)

This year's business school graduates are looking for work right on time: More companies want to hire them than at any point in the past decade, a new report shows. Corporations around the world say they will hire considerably more MBAs in 2015 than they have in any single year since 2003, according to projections by the Graduate Management Admission Council, which administers the GMAT. (Bloomberg)

Company-issued smartphones have obliterated the line between the workday and off hours. For employers and workers, 8 p.m. emails from the boss aren’t just disrupting home life. They’re raising legal questions, too. Several lawsuits have alleged that companies expect employees to work unpaid and off hours via iPhones, BlackBerrys or other digital devices. The number of suits – and legal opinions – is relatively small so far, but attorneys say a newly sympathetic attitude among judges, as well as coming changes to federal labor regulations, could open the door to more claims. (The Wall Street Journal)

The stigma of "career hopping" is waning. Employers no longer shy away from job seekers who are looking to change their role, or even industry. My own career path has been an interesting and varied journey. I began in the shoe department of Nordstrom, where I started working on the displays and quickly rose through the ranks, turning my focus to developing the brand’s now-famous reputation for customer service. Then I got a job at Microsoft, overseeing sales and guiding the technology buying process for customers. (Fast Company)

In our ongoing preoccupation with digital overload, nothing comes in for more hatred than email. Colleagues compare email triage strategies with the fervor they once reserved for their local sports franchise, and an entire industry has sprung up to tackle email pain by offering solutions at both the personal and organizational level. (Harvard Business Review)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday dashed hopes Ukraine would be awarded a visa waiver, alongside the prospect of eventually becoming a European Union member, at the EU’s Eastern Partnership summit that starts later Thursday in Latvia. (MarketWatch)

Yanis Varoufakis knows when he will go. "I’m not going to humiliate myself, and I’m not going to become compromised in terms of principles and in terms of logic," he told me in early May. The Greek finance minister had just returned to Athens from a hopscotch tour of European capitals, during which he warned his fellow European leaders that they faced a Continental crisis: If they didn’t lend money to his ailing country soon, Greece might end up forced to leave the eurozone. (The New York Times Magazine)

At business school, where cultivating employability is part of the education, a summer internship is often viewed as a pathway to a full-time job offer. That plan seems more likely to work out for students pursuing management consulting than for would-be venture capitalists, according to new data from LinkedIn. (Bloomberg)

New Honoree Williams Brooks, Just Announced! Get Tickets Now for the NBMBAA 45th Anniversary Celebration, June 12 in Chicago

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 $150 tickets before the price goes up!

HONOREES
William C. Brooks, Retired Vice President, General Motors Corporation
Amy Hilliard, President, Fashion Fair Cosmetics
Don Thompson, retired President and Chief Executive Officer, McDonald's Corporation 

ENTERTAINMENT
Terisa Griffin, as seen on season 3 of "The Voice" 

Buy Tickets!

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Register Now for the The National Black MBA Association® 37th Annual Conference and Exposition 

Celebrating 45 years of Black professional development and executive leadership, The National Black MBA Association® (NBMBAA®), the nation's premier organization for Black business professionals, today announced early bird registration is open for  the upcoming NBMBAA® 37th Annual Conference and Exposition at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL where more than 9,000 attendees are anticipated to convene for networking, leadership development, and career opportunities.

Visit Conference Website
Register Now!

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Revelations about government snooping in recent years proved some of the most paranoid privacy advocates right. So, it's perhaps no surprise that Americans in general are more worried about their privacy than ever. But those fears don't necessarily mean that people are the taking technical steps needed to actually keep their communications private. (The Washington Post)

If your Gmail has the same features it did when you first signed up, you could be missing out. Installing a few tweaks can make you more productive, or at least make you look that way to your co-workers. Google’s e-mail program is one of the most flexible ever created and has given rise to a small ecosystem of add-ons. You can endow your e-mail with superpowers that go way beyond sending and receiving messages. (Bloomberg)

At the start of the 1970s, about 3 percent of U.S. households started a new business every year. By the end of the 80s, that rate had increased by a third. By the end of the 90s, it had risen again, by almost a fifth, and stood near 5 percent. Then, quite abruptly, the growth stalled – and after the Great Recession, the rate fell. If the trends of the previous 30 years had continued, the nation would have seen 1 million more entrepreneurs over the last decade than it actually did. For some reason it did not. (The Washington Post)

We’ve all been there before – musing over the endless laundry list of untouched tasks and work seems daunting to many. And the pressure only builds as deadlines creep in and unfinished projects mount up. This nightmare scenario is becoming increasingly common in the modern workforce, and especially in the academic setting. As a high school student running a national nonprofit, I face this struggle daily. (Fast Company)

There’s a large number of Americans – some have estimated as many as 53 million – who make up the so-called "1099 economy," named for the tax form on which freelancers declare their miscellaneous income. Passing anecdotal glimpses of on-demand workers, a subset of this group, arise when another journalist decides to talk to an individual Uber driver (or even become one). But in general, there’s little out there to illuminate the lives of a group that is often just a statistic people like to mention before making some prediction about the future of work. (The Atlantic)

Last month did not bring good news for those looking for evidence of a housing recovery. According to the Commerce Department, the seasonally adjusted home ownership rate for Q1 2015 sank to 63.8% — a number not seen since 1989. That represents a 1.2% decrease from Q1 of 2014, a 0.2% drop from Q4 2014, and the continuation of a general ten-year decline from a peak of over 69%. A few more months of this trend would put home ownership in historically low territory. (Money)

Normal economic theory would predict that more income allows for more spending. But little about the most recent economic recovery has been very normal: A recent study conducted by the JP Morgan Institute suggests that even six years after the recession’s end, many families still feel so insecure about their finances that even when they make more money, they generally aren’t spending more. (The Atlantic)

A new Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies survey found that $1 million is the median savings balance people estimate they’ll need for retirement. And many savers have been able to reach or exceed that goal, according a report last year by the Government Accountability Office showing that some 630,000 IRA account owners have balances greater than $1 million. But most of these people accumulated those hefty sums in an era of generous investment returns. (Money)

NBMBAA Members Can Take Advantage of Discounts on CertifiNOW PMP®/CAPM® Prep Courses 

The NBMBAA National Rollout of the CertifiNOW program has begun!!

Did you know that during a recent study, 90 percent of executives surveyed claimed that project management is either critical or important to their operations. The same study stated, "Employers tend to feel that MBA graduates are strong in technical business areas like marketing, finance and accounting but need more project management skills." Furthermore, more than 1 million project management related positions will be created each year for the next decade.

General Public: $1850 (Public Classes)
NBMBAA Members: $950 (50% Discount – public and private courses)
--To receive the member discount, log in to the member portal and pick up your discount codes 

PUBLIC CLASSES 

NBMBAA Members can take CertifiNOW public classes.
--To receive your 50% discount, visit the member portal for the promo code.

PRIVATE CLASSES 

May 22-24 (Friday-Sunday)
Orlando
(Central FL, South FL, and Tampa Bay NBMBAA Chapters)

May 29-31 (Friday-Sunday)
Chicago
(Chicago NBMBAA and NBMBAA HQ)

August 26-28 (Wednesday-Friday)
Howard University
(Washington DC NBMBAA DC Chapter)

Coming Soon...

June (4 consecutive Saturdays: June 6, 13, 20, 27)
Clark Atlanta University
(Atlanta NBMBAA Chapter)

July 10-12 (Friday-Sunday)
San Francisco
(San Fran NBMBAA Chapter)

Contact membership@nbmbaa.org for more information.

In both our social and professional interactions, we commonly focus on managing the impressions that others form of us, especially when these others do not know us well. In fact, when we first approach these situations and stakes are high (such as during a job interview, a meeting with a new client, or an important first date), we often receive the same advice from colleagues, mentors, and friends: try to make a good impression. (Harvard Business Review)

Stepping into a management role requires shifts in perspective and responsibility. Here's how to help your middle managers become the best leaders possible, without burning out. (Fast Company)