Some might argue then that predictions are a waste of breath. Perhaps. But there is value in our annual forecasts. Each conjecture below is what a seasoned academic thinks are the pivotal issues for the year ahead, and how they will impact their institutions, for better or for worse. Those that disagree can have a go at their own prognostications in our comments box. (Business Because)

It’s that time of year when many people abandon their new year’s resolutions. It’s probably no surprise, since only 8% of us accomplish them anyway. But what if those big goals weren’t dead in the water after all? What if we could recommit to them, but do so in a way that makes us more likely to succeed? (Fast Company)

In the world of business it is all about growth. Coach Lou Hotlz famously said, "in this world you’re either growing or you’re dying, so get in motion and grow." As a result, here are five sure-fire ways to grow your business in 2017. (Forbes)

We’ve all been told it’s important to find work you love, but it’s also essential to find a city you’re fond of. CareerBliss, a website with company reviews and job postings, released its list of the happiest cities to work in. It mined 20,000 employee reviews and only included cities that received 50 or more reviews over the past year. To gauge happiness, the survey covered topics like compensation, work environment and employees’ relationships with their managers. (Forbes)

Even the most productive people have a hard time sticking with their resolutions. Making big, lasting habit changes is hard. So for inspiration (and solidarity), we asked insiders at some of the top tech companies to share which bad habits they’re trying to cut out of their workdays. After all, sometimes getting yourself to stop doing something is a little easier than learning to do something totally new. And knocking out those small, achievable goals first can help you achieve the tougher ones later. (Fast Company)

The Leadership Insiders network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in business contribute answers to timely questions about careers and leadership. Today’s answer to the question, "How can you play a role in advancing workplace equality?" is written by Lori Mitchell-Keller, global general manager for consumer industries at SAP. (Fortune)

The movie is full of gems that inspire those striving to achieve diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Here are nine lessons from Hidden Figures that leaders can put into action today. (Forbes)

In 2016, the industry as a whole raised its game by addressing the lack of diversity in marketing, with campaigns like Channel 4’s ‘We’re the Superhumans‘ and Maltesers’ ‘The Lighter Side‘ blazing a trail for inclusion. However, despite such efforts the representation of people with disabilities in the industry is getting worse. (Marketing Week)

As President Trump prepares the opening gambit in his project to either renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement or pull out, Mexico’s most important strategic goal is narrowing to one word: deterrence. (The New York Times)

The online learning revolution will shape business education in 2017, according to several of the world’s top business school Deans contacted by BusinessBecause. (Business Because)

Black Enterprise has tapped Houston businessman and entrepreneur, Jerome D. Love, to be a member of the Black Enterprise Contributors Network. Love is the founder, president and CEO of the Texas Black Expo, the largest cultural marketing tradeshow in the State of Texas. Love has received the Entrepreneur of the Year award from the National Black MBA Association, Houston Chapter. (Benzinga)

Black-owned businesses have increased by 34 % between 2007 and 2012. Technology firms are among one of the top businesses owned by African-Americans. Here are a couple of black-owned start-up tech companies to look at. (Campus Lately)

Rodney Williams once told his mother that he wanted to create a piece of technology that would change the world. Today, that is exactly what his ultrasonic protocol, LISNR, is poised to do. For all of you who aren’t familiar with LISNR, this technology that enables proximity messaging, second-screen interactivity, authentication, and device-to-device connectivity. In layman’s terms, LISNR’s technology transmits data over audio you can’t hear. (Black Enterprise)

Great businesses are founded on great partnerships. But great businesses can also be destroyed by bad partnerships. These entrepreneurs—and members of The Oracles—share their hard-won wisdom about what to watch out for before joining forces with a business partner. (Entrepreneur)

When it comes to entrepreneurship-driven regional growth, a few big population centers garner the glamor, whether Boston, Northern California’s Bay Area, Bangalore, or Beijing. This is not mere optics: the large portion of the $50 billion global venture capital pie fueling entrepreneurial growth is concentrated in or near a few big urban regions. (Harvard Business Review)

Ms. Stevenson is part of the growing percentage of Americans who are neither in a job nor hunting for one — a stubborn trend at the center of the deep dissatisfaction and anxiety about the economy’s future that helped catapult Donald J. Trump to the White House. (The New York Times)

For the dollar, as goes January, so goes the rest of the year. At least that mantra has held true since 2012 and it’s an ominous signal for bulls betting U.S. president Donald Trump’s policies will boost the greenback. (Bloomberg)

You may not agree with his politics, but the swearing in of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States should have every entrepreneur salivating. Trump is not "draining the swamp" – au contraire, mon ami! The swamp is in fact being filled with billionaires who will put making money above all else. (Black Entrepreneur)

Top earners last year made 5.05 times what their lowest-income counterparts took home, the widest gap in data going back to 1979, according to the Labor Department. What’s worse, it shows the most recent improvement -- in 2014 -- was just a blip, and the trend is again moving in the wrong direction seen over almost four decades. (Bloomberg)