I've been a manager in business for many years, and like most of you, I've also had my share of bad managers, as well as a few good ones. As a result, I'm certainly convinced that engaging, retaining, and developing people for maximum performance is one of the toughest jobs you will ever have. I'm also convinced that the conventional wisdom for best practices isn't always right.Here are ten tips which may surprise many of you, but I have found to be real difference makers: (Inc.)

In May, Apple hired Denise Young Smith, who is African American, as it first vice president of diversity and inclusion. Another tech giant has made a similar move. CNN reports that Twitter announced on Tuesday that Candi Castleberry-Singleton is its new vice president of inclusion and diversity. She’s the founder and CEO of the Dignity & Respect Campaign, a consulting firm that helps organizations develop cultural awareness and build diversity. Previously, Castleberry-Singleton worked at Motorola, Sun Microsystems and Xerox. (Newsone)

Alice, an outstanding 24-year-old engineer working for a top technology company, wants to launch her own startup within the next five years, but she doesn’t yet have a venture concept. What knowledge and skills does Alice need to lead a technology venture? And what’s the best way to acquire that know-how? Should Alice go to graduate school, or keep learning on the job? We recently posed these questions to Harvard Business School alumni founders while designing a new two-year joint degree program that confers both a master of science from Harvard’s Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and an MBA from HBS. What we wanted to hear from current leaders of technology ventures was: What does someone who aspires to your role need to know?

Six in 10 Millennials—the country’s largest generation—say they're looking for new employment opportunities, according to a recent Gallup poll. The cost of that turnover is estimated to top $30 billion each year. Many companies continue to ponder what to do about the issue. Some C-level leaders have responded by adopting lavish perks and a fun atmosphere to appeal to the younger generation. (Fortune)

Your life is your creation. You have most things you need to shape it and make it incredible. If you think your life is out of your control, it’s because you’ve chosen to relinquish control. Getting unstuck when you feel lost in life is about moving away from what you don’t want and toward what you want. (The Muse)

A group of powerful black lawmakers in the U.S. Congress is pushing Uber to hire more people of color, as the ride-hailing company labors to fill a growing list of vacant leadership positions. In the eyes of the Congressional Black Caucus, the inner turmoil at Uber — including the departure of the company’s chief executive, Travis Kalanick, last week — means it has ample opportunity to improve the diversity of its workforce, which like many tech giants in Silicon Valley remains predominately white and male. (Recode)

Organizations are knee deep in their respective digital transformations, trying to create a more evolved, technology-based way of doing business. Technology companies, ironically, are not accelerating the pace of bringing diversity to the workplace to keep up with the speed of innovation required to successfully fill the data gap while transforming digitally, according to Kim Stevenson (pictured), senior vice president and general manager of data center infrastructure at Lenovo Group Ltd. (SiliconANGLE)

The recent spectacle of Senator Kamala Harris’s male colleagues repeatedly cutting her off at Senate Intelligence Committee hearings is the latest reminder of what several studies dating back to at least 1975 have shown, and what female professionals have been saying for decades: All too often, women at work can’t finish a sentence without being interrupted, usually by a man. (The Atlantic)

Perception is reality—even in global politics. Influence and leadership result from the ability to persuade and shame, but when it comes to wielding this power, the United States doesn’t look good. President Donald Trump made waves on his first foreign trip by continuing to alienate allies as he did during his campaign days. He made even bigger waves on his return when he decided to remove the United States from the Paris Agreement. (Newsweek)

If you're applying to business school because you want to make a career change, you are not alone. In a recent survey of MBA applicants, nearly half those applicants – 48 percent – said a desire for a new career was one of their primary reasons for pursuing an MBA, according to the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants.MBA students often use business school to catapult into a job unlike any they'd had. (U.S. News & World Report)

Come July 1, legal and history scholar Wendell E. Pritchett will become the first African American provost at the University of Pennsylvania, and he’ll have some company. Temple and Drexel, also in Philadelphia, already have African Americans as provost, a job generally responsible for the academic enterprise and regarded as the number two in command on a campus. (Philly.com)

For 51 years, the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management has been the leader in increasing the ranks of underrepresented minorities in business education and corporate leadership. Now it has expanded its reach among the nation’s top MBA programs with the addition of Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business. The Jones School, consistently ranked as a top-20 program, officially joins the consortium July 1, following approval June 13 by the consortium’s board of trustees and the signing of the university’s membership agreement June 19. (Rice University)

High school students from across the country traveled to participate in the 2017 National Black MBA Association® (NBMBAA®) Leaders of Tomorrow® Leadership Summit® (LOT®). The summit which was held in Chicago, IL June 21 – 25, 2017, included the 16th Annual National Business Case Competition where students competed for a combined total of $30K in scholarship awards. (Business Wire)

Join us in Philadelphia this September for the nation's premier diversity career, education and networking event. Register now for the 2017 Annual Conference and Expo, presented by NBMBAA and Prospanica, and take advantage of early pricing discounts and best hotel locations.

The 2017 American Black Film Festival (ABFF) included a host of workshops and tech talks geared toward career development. ASPiRE TV presented a panel at ABFF titled "Technology & The Future of Entertainment," featuring Dre Barnes, the director of Tech & Innovation at UP/Aspire TV; and David Banner, a hip-hop artist and activist. During the discussion, Barnes and Banner talked about the integration of technology in the business of entertainment and shared a number of helpful tips for business owners and people looking to build their personal and professional brands. Here are a few: (Black Enterprise)

The European Union slammed Google with a record $2.7 billion antitrust fine on Tuesday. Google SVP and general counsel Kent Walker this morning published Google's defense, explaining why the company promoted its own search results ahead of competitors, one of the practices the EU took issue with. (CNBC)

Apple’s self-driving car ambitions are coming into focus. The technology giant is partnering with Hertz to test its autonomous car software in six of the car rental company’s automobiles, according to a Bloomberg News report published Monday based on Department of Motor Vehicles documents. (Fortune)

General Motors CEO Mary Barra is on a mission to get more girls to pursue careers in technology and engineering. Barra announced that GM will pledge $850,000 to four nonprofits — Code.org, Black Girls Code, Institute of Play and Digital Promise — for programs that encourage young women and minorities to gain skills in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The funding will also support teacher training programs in STEM-related fields. (Fortune)

In examining how Detroit can rebuild thriving neighborhoods of the future, the burning of Vaughn's Bookstore serves as a focal point of the decades-long decline of the Dexter and Linwood neighborhood that was once a mixed-race enclave of blacks, Jews and Muslims with a thriving commercial corridor. (Crain's Detroit Business)

If you want to turn your hobby blog into a business, get started with these general guidelines. (Black Enterprise)

Being an entrepreneur is hard, both physically and emotionally. Doubt, anxiety, despair -- along the way, every entrepreneur struggles with those feelings. So why are entrepreneurs willing to face the vulnerability, the emotional ups and downs, and the risk of public and private failure? Easy. They have no choice. (Inc.)

The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday it had cut its growth forecasts for the U.S. economy to 2.1% in 2017 and 2018, dropping its assumption that the Trump administration's tax cut and fiscal spending plans would boost growth. (Fortune)

Home prices are hitting record highs in many parts of the country, often selling for more than the asking price, and going from list to contract in a record 37 days, according to Redfin. Don't make it even harder (or more expensive) for yourself by making these common mistakes:(CNN Money)

Many Americans struggle when it comes to building up sufficient savings, and understandably so. Nearly half, or 48 percent, said their expenses are equal to or greater than their income, causing them a significant amount of financial stress, according to a new report by the Center for Financial Services Innovation, or CFSI, a non-profit aimed at funding projects that could improve consumers' financial health.(CNBC)

For the first time in seven years, all 34 of the nation's biggest banks were granted permission to buy back stock or pay dividends to shareholders, according to the annual stress test results released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve. The verdict is part of the Fed's yearly financial health checkup on banks like JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) to determine if they are strong enough to weather a severe financial crisis while still being able to continue to lend to consumers and businesses. (CNN Money)