About 36,000 Verizon workers went on strike early Wednesday after the communications company failed to reach an agreement with unions representing workers for its wireline operations. (New York Times)

Relationships forged on trust are maintained through heart-centered words and actions. Here are the most important traits that will earn you faith and admiration from your team. (Inc.)

Goals that are too easy or hard aren't compelling, but hitting the sweet spot in between may be as challenging as your goals themselves. (Fast Company)

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" . . . 97 percent of people haven't learned how to set their goals correctly. Here are the methods they use and why they fail. (Entrepreneur)

There are a surprising number of people who still believe that the gender pay gap – the difference between men and womens’ pay in the workplace – is not real. (Fortune)

More than one in two employees globally feel they must move to a new company in order to receive meaningfully higher compensation, according to a new survey by social jobs and careers community Glassdoor. (Entrepreneur)

Silicon Valley has a problem when it comes to diversity — and everybody knows it. (Harvard Business Review)

A stark warning about the potentially negative economic impact of a British withdrawal from the European Union and a new report on immigration have galvanized debate over the country’s future in the bloc, a little more than two months before a referendum on whether to leave. (New York Times)

The International Monetary Fund warned this week about persistently slow growth in developing economies, highlighting a growing concern that these countries will not soon regain the high rates of growth that distinguished them in the past. (New York Times)

If the new jobs that are emerging are increasingly hybrid, then the programs of study may need to become hybridized as well. (Harvard Business Review)

Since inception, more than $5 million has been awarded to undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students. (NBMBAA.org)

Google is rolling out new training platforms in a bid to train 1 million young Africans in digital skills within the next year.(Fortune)

The Zipcar cofounder sees hope, not doom and gloom, in the sharing economy. (Entrepreneur)

According to digitalundivided, an organization devoted to fostering and accelerating growth among minority entrepreneurs, a recent report found that only 15 Black women who have founded a tech start-up have raised more than $1 million in funding (for comparison, tech start-ups typically begin receiving venture money from outside firms once they’ve raised anywhere from $3 million to $10 million). Essence)

Entrepreneur Chris Latimer is bringing back a 1990s brand that not only celebrated the burgeoning hip-hop culture of the time, but helped increase awareness of the country's historical black colleges and universities (HBCUs) — an awareness, Latimer says, that helped dramatically increase the number of African-American students attending college. (USA TODAY/i>)

Learn More...

Slower growth may simply reflect more grounded expectations — not necessarily a stalling economy. (Money)

A new survey from JPMorgan Chase shows growing concerns at home due to the global economic crisis. (Inc.)

Like regular dentist visits, it’s important to do a personal economic checkup every few months. Otherwise, you might face nasty — and expensive — consequences down the road. The good news? There are simple ways to keep track of how you’re doing. (Time)

Financial experts say we should spend around 30% of our after-tax income on housing, but for many of us that number is considerably more. (Black Enterprise)

That’s why the best thing managers can do for all their employees — and especially those facing work-family conflicts — is to do the hard work of actually evaluating performance, not chair time or face time. (Harvard Business Review)

For African-Americans, the challenges to rise can at times be difficult and isolating. Whether you have a business, law firm or even if you are just a creative artist you need outlets that allow you to build and grow. More importantly one needs access and relationships that connects them closer to their business goals. (Huffpost Business))

Inc.’s 2016 list of newly public companies driving innovation. (Inc)

Some in Corporate America are trying to put bigotry out of business. Opposition to anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender laws is growing. (Reuters)

The company plans to launch the limited service by the end of the month in response to the growing number of customers who spend more time on mobile apps than they do on websites, BuzzFeed News reports. (Time)

Deutsche Bank is the latest company to cut back its business in North Carolina in response to the state’s controversial new law banning local governments from enacting anti-discrimination rules to protect the LGBT community. (Time)

Five out of eight of the biggest U.S. banks do not have credible plans for winding down operations during a crisis without the help of public money, federal regulators said. (Reuters)

In the midst of one of the worst agriculture slumps in years, farmers are forecast to receive the most government aid in a decade.(Fortune)

Web Runners' executives Eric Hardy and Patrick Tomina discuss starting a business,how culture translates in business and finding champions to help on your journey. ( Detroit Free Press)

The harsh reality is that organizations are hierarchies, and the social science bears out uncomfortable truths about politics and interpersonal relationships. (Harvard Business Review)

There are many parallels between a business and a good bottle of wine. They both require a combination of discipline, know how, the right ingredients and a little chemistry. If all those things come together just right, like a good bottle of wine, you end up with a business that is thoroughly enjoyable and gets better with age. (Entrepreneur)