Top News
Everyone loves to ask questions about millennials: what do millennials want? How do you work with millennials? Why can't we stop talking about millennials? But the oldest millennials are now approaching 35: They're already part of the work culture. The next big step is for organizations to also begin thinking about Generation Z, those born in the mid-'90s to early ‘00s. Generation Z currently makes up a quarter of the U.S. population, and more than 20 million of them about to enter the workforce, all fueled by their own motivations and needs. (Fast Company)
Visit http://www.fastcoexist.com/3049848/5-ways-the-workplace-needs-to-change-to-get-the-most-out-of-generation-z to view the full article online.
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Shares and oil prices around the world have seen further falls, sparked by renewed fears over the health of the global economy. In China, the authorities intervened again on the stock market to little effect. Shares in Shanghai fell 3.4%. And expectations of a US interest rate rise dimmed after the Federal Reserve said the economy was not ready yet. (BBC News)
Visit http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34003197 to view the full article online.
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The Southern Poverty Law Center said in a statement on Sunday morning its co-founder, civil rights activist Julian Bond, died Saturday night in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., after a brief illness. He was 75. "Not only has the country lost a hero today, we’ve lost a great friend," SPLC co-founder Morris Dees wrote. Bond was known for his charismatic and effective leadership in championing for civil rights in the U.S. and was admired among his friends. (DiversityInc.)
Visit http://www.diversityinc.com/news/civil-rights-activist-julian-bond-dies-at-75-leaders-call-him-hero/ to view the full article online.
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Career
Managers want employees to put in long days, respond to their emails at all hours, and willingly donate their off-hours – nights, weekends, vacation – without complaining. The underlings in this equation have little control; overwork cascades from the top of the organizational pyramid to the bottom. At least, that’s one narrative of overwork. In this version, we work long hours because our bosses tell us to. (That’s the version most on display in the recent New York Times opus on Amazon.) (Harvard Business Review)
Visit https://hbr.org/2015/08/the-research-is-clear-long-hours-backfire-for-people-and-for-companies to view the full article online.
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Think of the most successful person you know. Maybe we’re talking about a work colleague or a mentor. Maybe this is someone you knew growing up or in school--and you can’t believe how much he or she has achieved since then. I have no idea what this person looks like or what kind of business he or she is in or whether he or she defines success by a balance sheet or a full and fulfilling life. But I’ll bet I can tell you a lot about this person, because I can identify his or her good habits. There are simply a number of things that almost all really successful people do every day, and that others simply quit when they get too hard or inconvenient. (Inc.)
Visit http://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/17-things-really-successful-people-never-stop-doing-ever.html to view the full article online.
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Emotions run high during a last day on a job. You want to vent frustrations with colleagues, have a few laughs, or just disappear. The last impression is the one people remember. A graceful exit can burnish an employee’s reputation and shore up valuable relationships. A bad one can do serious damage to both. And, making a scene or trying to get vigilante justice may feel good, but offenders usually become the subject of gossip and cautionary lore around the office. (The Wall Street Journal)
Visit http://www.wsj.com/articles/leave-your-job-gracefully-1439924165 to view the full article online.
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Diversity in the Workplace
While the growth rate of new businesses remains stalled, fresh government data show the share of women-owned firms has climbed. The total number of U.S. firms edged up 2% to 27.6 million between 2007 and 2012, according to preliminary U.S. Census Bureau data released this week. But the number of women-owned firms grew much faster, rising 27% during that time. (The Wall Street Journal)
Visit http://www.wsj.com/articles/women-make-strides-in-business-ownership-1440028664 to view the full article online.
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International
At first blush, you might not think of Nairobi, Kenya, as being especially ripe for startups. Public concerns about security, government red tape, and a long waiting period for corporate registration are a few reasons why the capital city has historically fostered less entrepreneurial activity. Still, in recent years, Nairobi has seen massive development in all things digital. Counting thousands of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) graduates from local colleges each year, Nairobi's tech scene could be worth as much as $1 billion to Kenya in the next three years, Bloomberg reports. (Inc.)
Visit http://www.inc.com/zoe-henry/nairobi-kenya-startup-hot-spot.html to view the full article online.
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Yovanni Cantillo started Ya, Cuba’s first fast-food drive-through, last year. Every six weeks since, he travels overseas to haul back suitcases full of soda cups with lids, thick straws for milkshakes, and small plastic cups for ketchup – items Cuba’s state-owned stores don’t carry. Julio Alvarez and Nidialys Acosta opened a garage to restore classic cars, but finding scrap metal, auto body paint, and the gas for welding is so hard that customers often bring their own parts and materials. (Bloomberg)
Visit http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-20/a-breakout-year-for-cuba-s-entrepreneurs to view the full article online.
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Education
Americans are rapidly enrolling in programs to relieve student debt, a development the Obama administration credited for a decline in borrower defaults but also raises the risk of leaving taxpayers to cover a large share of loans. Enrollment in plans that cap student-debt payments as a share of borrowers’ incomes has grown 56% over the past year, the Education Department said Thursday. As of June 30, almost 3.9 million borrowers under the federal government’s main student-loan program were enrolled in the plans. (The Wall Street Journal)
Visit http://www.wsj.com/articles/enrollment-in-student-debt-relief-plans-surges-1440082980 to view the full article online.
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NBMBAA
Register Now for 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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Technology
The Ashley Madison hackers on Tuesday revealed that thousands of users of the infidelity dating site apparently signed up to cheat on their spouse with their work-related email address, striking evidence that many people are hanging on to the completely misguided notion that their use of workplace tech is private. There’s probably nothing you’d want to keep more private than signing up for a site whose trademarked slogan is, "Life is short. Have an affair." (Fortune)
Visit http://fortune.com/2015/08/20/ashley-madison-hack-privacy-work/ to view the full article online.
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The idea that vacations are for unplugging and relaxing, he says, "sounds great in theory." But, no matter where they are, and how much their loved ones beg and plead, "many professionals either cannot or will not check out entirely. Maybe you run your own business, or maybe you are just a workaholic and unplugging makes you nervous." (Fortune)
Visit http://fortune.com/2015/08/18/4-ways-to-work-without-wifi/ to view the full article online.
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Entrepreneurship
Dan Bizzarro and Bill Jordan were still in college when they went to work at the Bimac Corporation, a castings manufacturer in Dayton, Ohio. After graduation, they joined full time as manufacturing and engineering executives. And eventually they teamed with a third employee to buy the business. They had a good ride. The company, with 40 employees, has annual sales of about $5.5 million. But as the two men entered their 60s, after nearly three decades as owners, they began to wonder how long the arrangement could endure. (The New York Times)
Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/20/business/smallbusiness/baby-boomers-ready-to-sell-businesses-to-the-next-generation.html?ref=business to view the full article online.
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Wisdom often comes with maturity, but a growing number of young entrepreneurs are proving that age doesn’t matter when it comes to achieving success. In the new book 2 Billion Under 20: How Millennials Are Breaking Down Age Barriers and Changing the World, coauthors Stacey Ferreira and Jared Kleinert share the stories of 75 ambitious entrepreneurs who started with an idea and turned it into reality. While it’s inspiring to read about accomplishments, the backstories almost always include failures. Six entrepreneurs featured in the book shared with Fast Company the mistakes they’ve made along the way, and what we can all learn from them. (Fast Company)
Visit http://www.fastcompany.com/3049841/lessons-learned/six-millennial-entrepreneurs-share-their-lessons-from-early-failure to view the full article online.
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The Economy
After 10 years as a McDonald’s cashier in Los Angeles, Albina Ardon earns just $9.05 an hour. For most of her time there, Ardon, 28, has been deeply frustrated because her pay has barely budged, forcing her and her husband – a cook at the same McDonald’s – to turn to Medicaid and food stamps for their two daughters, ages 6 and 8. But some hope arrived two years ago in the form of an innovative and unorthodox campaign – the Fight for 15. (The Atlantic)
Visit http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/08/fifteen-dollars-minimum-wage/401540/ to view the full article online.
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Personal Finance
You need a retirement income plan, a detailed strategy for figuring out how much income you'll need to live the retirement lifestyle you envision and coming up with a realistic way to generate that income. Unfortunately, even after years of saving, most people seem to neglect this crucial part of retirement planning. A TIAA-CREF survey released earlier this year found that fewer than four in ten Americans had tried to figure out how their nest egg will translate into monthly retirement income. (CNN/Money)
Visit http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/13/retirement/retirement-income-plan/index.html?iid=SF_LN to view the full article online.
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Professional Development
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For senior executives contemplating organizational transformation, but
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Leadership
If you’re like most leaders, you’re probably reluctant to give an individual feedback in a team meeting. You’ve probably learned to praise in public and criticize in private. You may be concerned that if you give feedback in a group setting, you’ll put that person on the spot, get him or her defensive, make everyone else in the room uncomfortable, and strain the team’s working relationships. That’s why leaders tend to focus on the risks of giving feedback in a team, but miss the risks of inappropriately giving feedback one-on-one. (Harvard Business Review)
Visit https://hbr.org/2015/08/when-to-give-feedback-in-a-group-and-when-to-do-it-one-on-one to view the full article online.
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Rudeness in the workplace can spread as easily as a common cold. Researchers from the University of Florida have found that incivility in the workplace – from snippy remarks to eye-rolling – is contagious and has big consequences for employees and their work. The researchers conducted three experiments among university students, placing them in simulated workplace situations, such as witnessing a worker gruffly chastise a colleague for being late. (The Wall Street Journal)
Visit http://www.wsj.com/articles/at-work-1439335893 to view the full article online.
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