The National Black MBA Association® Annual Conference and Exposition is one of the largest professional development and job search events. Each year, the event attracts more than 9,000 attendees. Sessions are held on topics including: career, education, entrepreneurship, lifestyle and leadership.

The NBMBAA® Annual Conference offers a myriad of opportunities designed to meet your professional development, branding, recruiting, retention and corporate citizenship goals. We will be finalizing the events in the coming months! Don't miss out become a member today!

Visit http://www.nbmbaaconference.org/ to view the full article online.

 

President Obama has released a statement on the death of Maya Angelou, expressing his love for the legendary activist, poet, author, and playwright.
"Today, Michelle and I join millions around the world in remembering one of the brightest lights of our time – a brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman," Obama says.
"A childhood of suffering and abuse actually drove her to stop speaking – but the voice she found helped generations of Americans find their rainbow amidst the clouds, and inspired the rest of us to be our best selves. In fact, she inspired my own mother to name my sister Maya" Obama adds.

Visit http://www.blackenterprise.com/news/president-obama-remembers-dr-maya-angelou/ to view the full article online.

 

The media firestorm over Jill Ambramson’s firing from the New York Times mostly ignores a simple but crucial lesson for people at any organizational level: Critical relationships have to work.
You have to make them work, not only to get things done in the web of interdependencies that characterize most jobs, but also to keep your position. Leaders need support—from their subordinates, customers, and most importantly, their bosses. When that support vanishes, so do their careers. This lesson holds true regardless of your job performance and track record.

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-22/the-latest-executive-dustups-prove-relationships-not-skills-determine-success#r=hpt-ls to view the full article online.

 

The annual performance review cycle might as well be heralded by a chorus of groans—it’s a chore many managers and employees see as nothing more than an empty bureaucratic exercise forced on them by the helpful folks in the human resources department.
Alas, performance reviews aren’t going anywhere. To help you survive yours (and maybe even please your boss), here are seven tips.

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-22/breathe-dot-you-can-get-through-your-performance-review#r=hpt-fs to view the full article online.

 

Regardless of the profession, everyone must sell himself or herself in some capacity. Think elevator pitch. For entrepreneurs, the ability to sell themselves is the single most important skill, reports WiseBread.com, a community of bloggers helping people live large on a small budget.
In fact, selling yourself no matter what product or service you are offering is what selling is all about. And at no point do entrepreneurs stop selling. Whether it is an investor meeting, small business loan request, or customer acquisition, business owners need to know how to pitch their most valuable product—that is themselves. Also, one of the best ways to find out how to sell a product is to first learn how to sell you.

Visit http://www.blackenterprise.com/small-business/selling-your-most-valuable-product-you/ to view the full article online.

 

When Monica Royer decided to launch her online baby clothing boutique, Monica + Andy, last November, she immediately sought to align the company with organizations that benefit infants and children. For her first fashion show, she partnered with the Chicago-based organization More than Milk -- that provides opportunities for moms and their families to participate in charitable activities with a variety of local organizations. Royer also partnered with the Little Giraffe Foundation, a local organization that funds neonatal research and supports families in the NICU.
"We always had a vision for working with charities," says Royer. "As moms ourselves, we felt passionate about reaching out into our community and other communities across the country to help children and families."
Monica + Andy is an example of the latest trend in new businesses who are seeking to align their corporate mission statement with philanthropic goals.

Visit http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234271 to view the full article online.

 

 

While it's tough out there for all recent college grads, a new study finds that African-Americans face a particularly difficult situation when it comes to finding a job after school.
The 2013 unemployment rate for recent college grads who are black was almost twice that of recent college grads overall, according to report released Tuesday by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a left-leaning think tank that studies inequality and other economic issues. As the chart below from CEPR shows, that gap has widened during the recovery.

Visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/20/black-college-graduates_n_5358983.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share to view the full article online.

 

Banking reforms aimed at preventing another financial crisis have failed to make enough progress, the boss of the International Monetary Fund has warned.
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde blamed a combination of the complexity involved, industry lobbying and "fatigue" for the delay.
"The industry still prizes short-term profit over long-term prudence," Ms Lagarde said at a conference on the future of capitalism.

Visit http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27588394 to view the full article online.

 

The top business schools in Spain have long taught MBA candidates in English—which allows schools like IE Business School and Esade Business School to promise international students they’ll be prepared to work in the international language of business. Now a U.S. school is seeking to attract Latin American executives and others who want to work in the region by offering an online MBA conducted entirely in Spanish.

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-28/se-habla-mba-a-u-dot-s-dot-school-caters-to-latin-american-execs#r=hpt-ls to view the full article online.

 

Brown University’s governing body voted Friday to begin issuing a master’s in business administration for the first time in its history, carving out a decisive, if small, claim to the business school landscape.
The move builds on steps the school has already taken to expand into business education: Since 2011, the Providence (R.I.) university and Madrid’s IE Business School have collaborated on an executive MBA program. Previously, however, graduates of the 15-month program received only a degree from the Spanish school. Now completing the program will earn students degrees from both institutions.

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-23/brown-university-gets-into-the-mba-game#r=hpt-fs to view the full article online.

 

Thank You for Making Our 1st NBMBAA® Regional Symposium a Success! Join us for our 2nd event in Chicago, July 17th

Visit http://www.nbmbaa.org/events/regSymposiums.aspx to view the full article online.

 

Just five minutes and a genius business idea can help you to win big. Three people will have five minutes each to sell their business idea to a mixed panel of venture capitalists, academic instructors and successful entrepreneurs. Applicants must be a member of the National Black MBA Association. The winner will receive $10,000. Registration is now open. Deadline is Tuesday, July 15, 2014.

Visit http://nbmbaawhiteboardchallenge2014.istart.org/ to view the full article online.

 

Apple has confirmed it will buy headphone maker and music-streaming service provider Beats Electronics.
The deal is worth a total of $3bn (£1.8bn), and is thought to be Apple's largest acquisition to date.
As part of the acquisition, Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre will join the technology firm.
Apple boss Tim Cook said the deal would allow the firm to "continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world".

Visit http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27613243 to view the full article online.

 

Instagram is a mobile photo editing and sharing app that saw its user base explode from 15 to 80 million since Facebook acquired the company back in April. Unlike Facebook or Twitter, Instagram doesn’t have business-specific profiles, built-in visibility, engagement metrics, or paid advertising options. But with Facebook declining in popularity among younger users, more and more businesses are turning to Instagram to reach younger demographics, reports SmallBizTrends.com. Besides, pictures speak a thousand words.

Visit http://www.blackenterprise.com/small-business/12-instagram-tips-for-your-business/ to view the full article online.

 

Good content is created for people first, search engines second, so to get the best content, showcase the human side of your business. Here are the whys and wherefores of audience engagement at a human level for your business.

Visit http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234231 to view the full article online.

 

Most programs designed to teach entrepreneurship follow a basic, flawed formula: Spend a semester writing a business plan, learn the basics of marketing and finance, bury your head in spreadsheets, pull together a PowerPoint, and then pitch your idea to a biannual business plan contest. If you’re lucky enough to win some capital, see if you can launch your idea/product/service/business. Right about then, make your first contacts with potential customers.

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-28/the-beatles-teach-entrepreneurship-better-than-business-school#r=bus-ls to view the full article online.

 

Even prior to the popularity of ABC’s Shark Tank, entrepreneurs and investors have been at odds with regards to finding a fair valuation on a business. Often the entrepreneur sees the company as his/her baby and investors look at such quantitative factors as earnings, market share and industry data. Basically, the investor is looking to get as much capital as possible – putting him or her squarely at odds with the equity investors who want to fork over as little as they can.

Visit http://www.blackenterprise.com/how-to/how-to-value-your-busines-worth/ to view the full article online.

 

The rise in venture capital funding in 2013 is proving that the industry still has legs despite hitting a post-recession trough in 2009. Venture capitalists invested $29.4 billion in 3,995 deals in 2013, an increase of 7 percent in dollars and a 4 percent increase in deals over the prior year, according to the PwC/NVCA MoneyTree™ Report.

Visit http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233512 to view the full article online.

 

The US economy shifted into reverse in the first three months of 2014 shrinking by an annualised rate of 1%, official estimates have shown.
It is the worst economic performance since the first quarter of 2011.
It is also a big fall on the 2.6% rise in economic output in the final quarter of last year.
The US Commerce Department's first reading of gross domestic product (GDP) showed the economy grew at an annualised rate of just 0.1%.
The fall in output was blamed on an unusually cold and disruptive winter - one of the coldest in the US for 20 years - and a plunge in business investment.

Visit http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27616183 to view the full article online.

 

Revising its early numbers for the first quarter of 2014, the Commerce Department says the U.S. economy shrank by 1 percent at an annualized rate. Last month, estimates of the quarter's gross domestic product had shown a small gain of 0.1 percent.
Government analysts blame the slump on "a significant decline in inventory investment," especially among car dealerships. They also say U.S. exports declined along with spending on housing and government programs.

Visit http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/29/317009676/u-s-gdp-fell-1-percent-first-drop-in-three-years to view the full article online.

 

A DECADE ago, the business cycle was an endangered species. Recessions in the rich world had become rare, shallow and short; inflation was predictably low and boring. Economists dubbed this the "Great Moderation" and gave credit for it to deft macroeconomic management by central banks. Such talk, naturally, ended abruptly with the financial crisis.

Visit http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21602734-volatility-has-disappeared-economy-and-markets-could-be to view the full article online.

 

The most frequent question I get asked by the 250,000 people enrolled in my MOOC on leadership is, "How do I deal with my boss who is not only dissonant, but quite negative?" These bosses are "dissonant" in the sense that they’ve lost touch with themselves, others and their surroundings — and it’s nothing new. They come across as negative, self-centered, focused on numbers, and their employees feel like they’re being treated as resources or assets (not as human beings).

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/05/managing-a-negative-out-of-touch-boss/ to view the full article online.

 

Out of all the management questions we should be asking, this is surely the least asked. How do we handle individuals who are prone to unethical behaviors, especially if they are talented and hard to replace?
There are three reasons why this subject is more or less taboo. First, morality is hard to define, especially without getting too philosophical, and management writers are typically allergic to metaphysics. Second, it is controversial to label people as immoral (although alternative terms – unprincipled, dishonest, corrupt – are hardly euphemisms).

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/05/managing-the-immoral-employee/ to view the full article online.