Even though social movements have delivered better career opportunities for women and minorities and government grants have made college more accessible, one thing has stayed constant: If you are growing up poor today, you appear to have the same odds of staying poor in adulthood that your grandparents did. (The Washington Post)
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When Americans stop to commemorate Dr. Matin Luther King, Jr. each year, we tend to do a great disservice to the man's legacy by glossing over his final act as an anti-poverty crusader. In the weeks leading to his assassination, King had been hard at work organizing a new march on Washington known as the "Poor People's Campaign." (The Atlantic)
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We only truly focus for six hours a week. Endless meetings and wordy emails are chipping away at our dwindling attention spans. Joe McCormack, author of Brief, shares his short list of techniques to stay on track. (Fast Company)
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In 1930, when the world was "suffering...from a bad attack of economic pessimism", John Maynard Keynes wrote a broadly optimistic essay, "Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren". It imagined a middle way between revolution and stagnation that would leave the said grandchildren a great deal richer than their grandparents. But the path was not without dangers. (The Economist)
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Confidence, at least in the American workplace, means never having to say you’re sorry. I know that now, but early in my career I found myself apologizing over and over as my confidence and self-worth were tested on every level – from my job function to performance reviews, from networking to winning clients. (The New York Times)
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Nobody likes negative feedback. No matter how much you claim to want an honest critique, it stings. But this time of year – when we're resolving to improve ourselves and perhaps undergoing performance reviews – we're more likely than ever to encounter negative feedback. Instead of viewing it as an excuse to binge eat or resort to retail therapy, see it as an opportunity to change. (Fortune)
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The era of counting on your boss, your company, or even on your government to guarantee your job for you is over. And while to some that might be a scary proposition, it can also lead to opportunity – the opportunity to never be out of work again. (Daily Finance)
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There’s little doubt that "do what you love" (DWYL) is now the unofficial work mantra for our time. The problem with DWYL, however, is that it leads not to salvation but to the devaluation of actual work – and more importantly, the dehumanization of the vast majority of laborers. (Slate)
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A recurring issue in glass-ceiling debates revolves around whether women are, either directly or indirectly, excluded from high-level jobs. Many offices tend to promote people according to a concept called "homosocial reproduction" – essentially, the spoils go to the workers who move in the right social circles. (The Atlantic)
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Spain's banking system on Thursday is marking an end to its reliance on bailout loans from Europe that were desperately needed 18 months ago to shore up its banks after a construction boom-and-bust. Spain is now the second eurozone country to cleanly exit its bailout program, after Ireland. (NPR)
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Award-winning entrepreneur Andrew Mupuya was just 16 years old when he decided to take on the world. That was back in 2008, when both of Mupuya's parents had lost their jobs and could only afford to cover his school fees. "I had to get to meet my basic needs by myself," remembers the Ugandan businessman. "I decided to face the world alone." (CNN International)
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Academic leaders are increasingly skeptical of MOOCs, so why are top business schools increasingly warming to the online learning model? An annual report on online education published this week may hold a clue. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)
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A job after graduation. It's what all parents want for their kids. So, what's the smartest way to invest tuition dollars to make that happen? The question is more complicated, and more pressing, than ever. The economy is still shaky, and many graduating students are unable to find jobs that pay well, if they can find jobs at all. (The Wall Street Journal)
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NBMBAA's new website is almost ready to go live. Go in today and update your profile to take advantage of new features, like a résumé review and score! And while you're updating, why not take the time to give your résumé a quick refresh. Whether you're actively job hunting, or just keeping your network active, a current, vibrant résumé  is key to ensuring your future success.

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In September 2008, two graduate students working for Keith Hampton, a professor at Rutgers, raised a camera atop a 16-foot tripod to film down into Bryant Park, the sprawling green space behind the main branch of the New York Public Library. They hit record, then milled about nearby pretending they had nothing to do with the rig, as it semi-surreptitiously filmed the comings and goings of hundreds of New Yorkers. (The New York Times)
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For a while there, it looked as if BlackBerry’s market value was going to be eclipsed by ’90s-era R&B outfit Blackstreet. But on Tuesday, the Canadian company was extended a lifeline from U.S. taxpayers. The U.S Department of Defense is about to roll out a fancy new wireless network, and the primary device it wants to use on it are BlackBerry handsets. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)
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While Wall Street is bearish on Bitcoin, Silicon Valley's romance with the crypto currency rages on. Venture capitalist and startup sage Marc Andreessen has taken it upon himself to explain the existence of--and his own excitement for – Bitcoin, and the companies popping up to facilitate its use. (Inc.)
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Every company has a limited amount of time, money, and resources that it can invest in innovation. That’s why they should focus their energies on opportunities that will set them apart from their competition – that is, they should innovate where they differentiate. One company that does this exceptionally well is USAA, a financial services firm, which offers its services to military personnel and their families. (Harvard Business Review)
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With this week's national holiday, we celebrated the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an American hero. Dr. King was a leader in many respects of the word: a civil rights leader, a religious leader and and an African-American leader. How can his teachings, speeches, writing and actions help us become better leaders in our businesses and life? How can Dr. King help you become a better entrepreneur? Here are seven simple entrepreneurship lessons from Dr. Martin Luther King. (Inc.)
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I hadn’t seen Jim in two years. When we reconnected recently, I was shocked. The handsome, dapper professional I knew had gained 30 pounds and started smoking. Bursting with nervous energy, he told me about his business travails – work so busy he was staying regularly until 10 at night, and a billionaire client sapping his energy and causing him grief. (Harvard Business Review)
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For the last few years, uncertainty has been the overarching theme in finance. We've gone from waiting to see just how many banks would fail and whether a depression was in the cards to wondering how long the recovery would take and which political standoff might send us back into the economic abyss. (Daily Finance)
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In the day and age of online swap meets and the ubiquity of reseller sites like Craigslist, eBay, and Etsy, there's hardly anything you can't get secondhand anymore. But should you? For some items, saving a few bucks by buying them secondhand isn't worth the potential safety or health risks involved. We've put together a list of 17 products that you should always buy new. (Daily Finance)
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1. Cable TV. Cable television’s heyday is over. Subscribers have been declining since 2004, and analysts say there’s no end in sight. Roughly 54.8 million households currently pay for cable TV, down 3.3% from 2012 and down 17.6% from a decade prior, according to research firm IHS. Cable companies are expected to shed roughly 1.3 million subscribers in 2014. (MarketWatch)
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The credit and debit card data breaches at Target and Neiman Marcus compromised at least 70 million American consumers, and analysts say . That's because the technology we use to swipe for our purchases – magnetic stripes on the backs of cards – isn't hard for a skilled fraudster to hack. (NPR)
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In early October, Michael Irvin stood up to leave a New York City restaurant when he glanced at his iPhone and noticed it was powering off. When he turned it back on again, all of his information – email programs, contacts, family photos, apps and music he had downloaded – had vanished. The phone looked "like it came straight from the factory," said Mr. Irvin, an independent health-care consultant. (The Wall Street Journal)
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Aaron Wiener, the Washington City Paper's real estate reporter, has a great piece about how the District of Columbia's dream of becoming a high tech startup hub never quite seems to work out. It's not that successful companies are never founded in the District. It's just that once they grow beyond an embryonic scale, they tend to jump ship for the Bay Area or New York where they can be part of deeper startup ecosystems with more venture capital and more tech workers. (Slate)
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A settlement of Detroit’s bankruptcy that would protect city retirees and the collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts appeared closer Wednesday after Gov. Rick Snyder pledged $350 million to a growing rescue fund designed to bring all the major parties together in a grand resolution. (Detroit Free Press)
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A senior colleague recently asked me about the difference between communication and collaboration. It’s a great question with important implications for businesses that are adopting social tools. On one level, the difference between the two is clear: communication involves conveying information from one party to another. It may be one-directional, and it is not necessarily goal-oriented. In contrast, collaboration is a recursive interaction between two parties intended to accomplish a particular goal. (MITSloan Management Review)
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Startups thrive on creativity, but as your company grows in size can you really continue to tap into every employee's creative potential? Adobe, which employs 11,000 worldwide, thinks so. The computer software company has a program to help everyone in the company – from those on the engineering team to those in the legal department – execute their best ideas. (Inc.)
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When we feel anxious, it's often in response to uncertainty. As a result, we tend to reduce our risk. But this anxiety can be triggered by events that are unrelated to a decision at hand – call it incidental anxiety. There's a spillover effect: one event causes you to be anxious, which then in turn causes you to reduce your risk. (Fast Company)
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A friend of mine recently started a conversation with these words: "Don't take this the wrong way..." I wish I could tell you what she said next. But I wasn't listening – my brain had stalled. I was bracing for the sentence that would follow that phrase, which experience has taught me probably wouldn't be good. (The Wall Street Journal)
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The genius of paternity leave is that it shapes domestic and parenting habits as they are forming. While most mothers in the United States now work, many women still see their careers suffer after they became parents, in part because they end up shouldering the bulk of the domestic load – a phenomenon the sociologist Arlie Hochschild has dubbed the "second shift." (The Atlantic)
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