Authenticity – what is it, who has it, and how do you get it? Most people associate authenticity with being true to oneself – or "walking the talk." But there's a problem with that association; it focuses on how you feel about yourself. Authenticity is actually a relational behavior, not a self-centered one. Meaning that to be truly authentic, you must not only be comfortable with yourself, but must also comfortably connect with others. (Harvard Business Review)

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/04/to_be_authentic_look_beyond_yo.html to view the full article online.

 

Keith Gormley wasn't looking for a new job on a day last fall when he used his iPhone to pull up the Indeed.com job-search app during his morning commute. "I was bored, and maybe Twitter wasn't as active as usual. I was just flipping through to see what jobs were out there," he said. (The Wall Street Journal)

Visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323551004578441130657837720.html?mod=WSJ_Careers_CareerJournal_3 to view the full article online.

 

In all, the survey suggests that after years of economic turmoil, most families now believe the most valuable – and elusive – possession in American life isn't any tangible acquisition, such as a house or a car, but rather economic security. Asked to define what it means to be middle class, a solid 54 percent majority of respondents picked "having the ability to keep up with expenses and hold a steady job while not falling behind or taking on too much debt"; a smaller percentage defined it in terms of getting ahead and accumulating savings. (The Atlantic)

Visit http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/04/meet-the-new-middle-class-who-they-are-what-they-want-and-what-they-fear/275307/ to view the full article online.

 

I was running late. My wife Eleanor and I had agreed to meet at the restaurant at seven o'clock and it was already half past. I had a good excuse in the form of a client meeting that ran over and I wasted no time getting to the dinner as fast as possible. When I arrived at the restaurant, I apologized and told her I didn't mean to be late. She answered: "You never mean to be late." Uh oh, she was mad. (Harvard Business Review)

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2013/04/what-to-do-when-youve-angered.html to view the full article online.

 

Most people grandly exaggerate the number of hours they work – and in doing so, undermine their own productivity. Here's how to track your real work time and make the most of every hour. (Fast Company)

Visit http://www.fastcompany.com/3008791/takeaway/truth-about-how-much-workaholics-actually-work to view the full article online.

 

Are companies creating their own skills gap? While much of the skills deficit in the U.S. is fueled by a sheer lack of high skill labor for in-demand occupations, a recent CareerBuilder study of more than 2,000 companies suggests that employers may unwittingly be playing a part. Half of hiring managers said that they were concerned about the expanding skills gap, and around the same amount say they limit their candidate pools by only looking at applicants with specific job titles. (Harvard Business Review)

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/04/dont_filter_job_candidates_by.html to view the full article online.

 

Twitter erupted on Wednesday, as Twitter likes to do, over a story about three topics – sexism, women in leadership and the New York Times – that, when combined, are a potent cocktail for social media. (The Washington Post)

Visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2013/04/25/the-double-bind-for-jill-abramson-and-other-women-at-the-top/ to view the full article online.

 

What are the biggest differences between companies whose D&I initiatives are increasingly important to business goals and those whose efforts are not sustainable? Resources and metrics. Our analysis of six companies shows that real CEO support includes accountability for results and an empowered chief diversity officer who works effectively across the organization. (DiversityInc)

Visit http://www.diversityinc.com/diversity-management/6-case-studies-why-companies-rise-fall-in-the-diversityinc-top-50/ to view the full article online.

 

The UK economy has avoided falling back into a recession after recording faster-than-expected growth in the first three months of the year. The Office for National Statistics said its first estimate for gross domestic product (GDP) showed the economy grew 0.3% during the first quarter of 2013. (BBC News)

Visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22290407 to view the full article online.

 

Until a few days ago, the fields around the village of Nea Manolada in the Peloponnese were a hive of activity as thousands of immigrant workers picked the strawberries that southern Greece exports across Europe. Now those fields are quiet. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-25/migrants-stay-busy-as-unemployed-greeks-spurn-menial-jobs#r=nav-fs to view the full article online.

 

You'd think it would be hard to go broke on $1.1 million a year, which is what the average NFL player pulls down. The trouble is, the average NFL player retires in three-and-a-half years, and most blow through their retirement savings in less than ten. Which is why there's now an MBA program with one goal: to take these men from signing contracts to writing them. (GQ)

Visit http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201304/nfl-mba-program to view the full article online.

 

To aspiring chief executive officers currently making your way through B-School: These are the kinds of pay packages you may someday be able to look forward to. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-23/head-of-the-class-highest-paid-ceos-with-mbas#r=nav-f-blog to view the full article online.

 

2. PricewaterhouseCoopers
3. Kaiser Permanente
4. Ernst & Young
6. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
7. Procter & Gamblel
9. Accenture
10. Johnson & Johnson
11. Deloitte
12. Merck & Co.
14. Abbott
15. Cummins
16. Marriott International
17. Medtronic
18. Kraft Foods
20. Target
21. Colgate-Palmolive
23. KPMG
24. IBM
25. Wells Fargo    
26. General Mills
28. Pfizer
29. Northrop Grumman
31. BASF
32. Kellogg Company
34. Rockwell Collins
35. Eli Lilly and Company
37. Dell
38. The Coca-Cola Company
39. The Walt Disney Company
40. WellPoint
42. Monsanto
44. Microsoft
45. Bristol-Myers Squibb
47. Verizon Communications
48. Toyota Motor North America
49. Comcast

Visit DiversityInc for the entire list

 

In an unprecedented move, Ohio swore in its first African-American County Treasurer. Mark A. Parks Jr. took the oath of office on March 27th, 2013, from Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald before a group of 11 council members and community supporters. (New Pittsburgh Courier)

Visit http://www.newpittsburghcourieronline.com/index.php/business/12475-ohio-swears-in-first-african-american-county-treasurer to view the full article online.

 

The evolution of market news — from messages on homing pigeons to newspaper articles to round-the-clock wire reports — has taken yet another disruptive step with the arrival of Twitter on trading desks throughout the world. (The Washington Post)

Visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/as-wall-street-relies-more-on-technology-social-media-can-tilt-the-markets/2013/04/24/71451248-ad0d-11e2-b6fd-ba6f5f26d70e_story.html to view the full article online.

 

As LinkedIn courts daily users, its new tool aggregates information from your address book, email, and calendar. But there's a big list of contacts missing -- users still can't pull in data from other social networks, like Facebook. (Fast Company)

Visit http://www.fastcompany.com/3008813/tech-forecast/its-new-contact-app-linkedin-updates-its-job-title-relationship-manager to view the full article online.

 

"We’re No. 2," went the old Avis slogan. "We try harder." There’s a world of wisdom there. When Apple designed its original iPhone, it had zero market share; the company had nothing to lose by taking risks. As a result, the phone teemed with bold ideas. (The New York Times)

Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/technology/personaltech/galaxy-s4-crams-in-more-software-some-of-it-good.html?ref=business to view the full article online.

 

While the social nature of business is nothing new, the recent rise of globally networked social media and the growth of the sharing economy has changed the rules of the game. Old business models are coming apart at the seams. Outsourcing, crowd funding, viral marketing and access or subscription-based services are challenging historically favored strategies in many areas – including, perhaps most surprisingly, product development. (Fast Company)

Visit http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681686/the-rise-of-pre-commerce to view the full article online.

 

I live in Basel, Switzerland, which might have the best public transportation system in the world. It is clean, fast, on time, and can get you where you want to be. In fact, it's so fabulous that I've lived here for four years and still don't own a car. So, I was somewhat amused to look out the window of my tram this morning and see at least 100 people, in business attire, with small suitcases, waiting for taxis. (Inc.)

Visit http://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/can-you-leave-your-comfort-zone-ask-yourself-this-question.html to view the full article online.

 

Black and Hispanic homebuyers paid about 3.5 percent more for comparable homes in four metropolitan U.S. markets than white buyers did, according to a Duke University-led analysis of more than 2 million home sales from 1990-2008. (Duke University)

Visit http://today.duke.edu/2013/04/housingstudybayer2 to view the full article online.

 

With unemployment stuck above 7 percent, policymakers have been searching anxiously for ways to put more people back to work. However, the first step in that process may be the most complex — simply identifying which type of business actually creates jobs. (The Washington Post)

Visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/who-actually-creates-jobs-start-ups-small-businesses-or-big-corporations/2013/04/24/d373ef08-ac2b-11e2-a8b9-2a63d75b5459_story.html to view the full article online.

 

Why are some people so rich and others so poor? Is it from good choices or good luck? Hard work, smarts, and ability – or something else? That depends who you are comparing yourself to. If you are more successful than your friends, colleagues, and family members, surely a lot of it is because you are better at what you do, or have made better choices, or have worked harder to get where you are. Think former President Bill Clinton, compared to his somewhat less successful brother. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-22/how-did-the-worlds-rich-get-that-way-luck#r=read to view the full article online.

 

Money magazine's 101 Ways to Build Wealth package offers blueprints for the different stages of your life on how to achieve real financial security. In tips #1 through #27, we offer advice for 25- to 34-year-olds. (Money)

Visit http://money.cnn.com/gallery/pf/2013/04/15/building-wealth-young-adults.moneymag/index.html?iid=SF_M_Highlight to view the full article online.

 

The U.S. Senate may vote this week on the , a bill that would allow states to collect sales tax from more online retailers. And as the political and retail landscape has shifted from the last time around, the Senate is expected to approve the measure. (NPR)

Visit http://www.npr.org/2013/04/25/178825601/shifting-retail-landscape-tilts-support-for-online-sales-tax to view the full article online.

 

Regulators overseeing America's banks may be patting themselves on the back for reining in the kind of lavish bonuses critics say almost destroyed our financial system, but little has changed in the amount Wall Street pays. For those who've held on to their jobs, that is. (Fortune)

Visit http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/24/wall-street-salaries/ to view the full article online.

 

In July 1996, the Federal Reserve broke the metronomic routine of its closed-door policy-making meetings to hold an unusual debate. The Fed’s powerful chairman, Alan Greenspan, saw a chance for the first time in decades to drive annual inflation all the way down to zero, achieving the price stability he had long regarded as the central bank’s primary mission. (The New York Times)

Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/business/janet-l-yellen-possible-fed-successor-has-admirers-and-foes.html?ref=business&_r=0 to view the full article online.

 

Jerry Brown is a happy man who rarely smiles. That’s because underneath all that energy and California optimism, there’s an old, practical Buddhist. This is all that can be done. We can tax the rich a tiny bit, if we do it right now and we show lots of ads of happy kids getting schoolbooks. We can build high-speed rail, if we slash aid to the poor. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-25/jerry-brown-californias-grownup-governor#r=nav-f-story to view the full article online.

 

If you’ve ever been led by a Mushroom (everyone’s in the dark), a Seagull (swoops in, squawks and dumps), or a Kipper (two-faced and gutless), you’ll be all too aware of the leadership style you don’t want to be known for. (Forbes)

Visit http://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2013/04/24/7-steps-to-a-truly-effective-leadership-style/ to view the full article online.

 

Employee engagement appears to be just as important in tough times as it is during good ones. Despite a global recession that has led to widespread layoffs and restructuring, the link between engagement and key organizational results has remained remarkably consistent regardless of the organization, industry or country, a recent Gallup Inc. study found. (Society for Human Resource Management)

Visit http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/employeerelations/articles/Pages/Business-Related-Engagement-Not-Economy.aspx to view the full article online.