Most everyone feels pulled in more directions than ever, expected to work longer hours, and asked to get more done, often with fewer resources. But in these same audiences, there are also, invariably, a handful of people who are getting things done, including the important stuff, and somehow still managing to have a life. (Fast Company)

Visit http://www.fastcompany.com/1755251/the-only-way-to-get-important-things-done to view the full article online.

 

Why is it that so many smart, ambitious professionals are less productive and satisfied than they should or could be? Why do so many of them find their upward trajectories flattening into a plateau? Because they’re used to having things come easily to them, they tend to shy away from assignments that will truly test them and require them to learn new skills. (Harvard Business Review)

Visit http://hbr.org/2011/06/managing-yourself-the-paradox-of-excellence/ar/1 to view the full article online.

 

A new study finds that two-thirds (67%) of middle-income Boomers say their retirement will be different from that of previous generations; the ideas of being taken care of by family, slowing down and moving to a retirement community (associated with the retirement of previous generations) are being replaced with an active lifestyle and work. (Bankers Life and Casualty Company)

Visit http://www.centerforasecureretirement.com/media/77155/18249_middle_income_boomers_may2011.pdf to view the full article online.

 

A common route back to work is through staffing agencies that specialize in flexible jobs. For example, 10 to 2, based in Aurora, Colo., puts part-time professionals on its payroll and places them in jobs requiring 30 hours a week or less, typically in finance, marketing, project management and sales.(Wall Street Journal)

Visit http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2011/05/22/ask-the-juggle-where-the-flex-jobs-are/ to view the full article online.

 

MBA students are more optimistic about the job market than they were a year ago, according to a survey of over 400 students recently conducted by Training The Street (TTS), which provides seminars on corporate valuation and financial modeling to top business schools. (BloombergBusinessweek)

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/blogs/mba_admissions/archives/2011/05/for_mbas_hope_springs_eternal.html to view the full article online.

 

There is something about her straight-talking, business-like approach that has never been fully appreciated by the score-settling, rumour-mongering world of French politics. It took her growing reputation abroad to finally win her respect at home. (The Economist)

Visit http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/05/who_christine_lagarde to view the full article online.

 

Despite college costs rising faster in college than any institution in the country including health care, we have the technology to disrupt education, turn brick and mortar lecture halls into global classrooms, and dramatically bring down the cost of a high quality education. (The Atlantic)

Visit http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/05/is-college-finally-ready-for-its-innovation-revolution/239393/ to view the full article online.

 

Many see the MBA as a bridge to a promotion, the start of a career in investment banking, or the skillset needed to start a business. It can be one or all of these things. During my two years earning the MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with a concentration in economics, I thought I’d follow a path similar to others in my cohort. I’d earned a law degree, co-founded an innovative startup, and was ready to try something different – I just wasn’t sure what. (Poets and Quants)

Visit http://poetsandquants.com/2011/05/23/post-mba-a-job-or-another-degree/ to view the full article online.

 

Top notch education, unparallelled networking and the nation's largest diversity career fair – you can't afford to miss this year's Conference, October 4-8, in Atlanta. Registration is open now, so don't delay!

Visit http://www.nbmbaaconference2011.org/ to view the full article online.

 

Expense reporting seems like the last bastion of the American economy that hasn't yielded to the information age. Every month, businesspersons at pretty much every company in America spend hours tracking down everything they've spent on meals and travel and then filling out reams of forms to get reimbursed. (Slate)

Visit http://www.slate.com/id/2295416/ to view the full article online.

 

Facebook investor Peter Thiel's foundation has announced its inaugural class of 24 young innovators to receive grants of $100,000, provided they leave school. (BloombergBusinessweek)

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2011/tc20110524_317819.htm to view the full article online.

 

The nation’s biggest banks and mortgage lenders have steadily amassed real estate empires, acquiring a glut of foreclosed homes that threatens to deepen the housing slump and create a further drag on the economic recovery. (The New York Times)

Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/business/economy/23glut.html to view the full article online.

 

Staffing agencies are charging companies more for temporary workers, a possible harbinger of a bump up in salaries for permanent employees later this year. (Bloomberg)

Visit http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-26/wages-poised-to-rise-in-u-s-as-paychecks-for-temps-get-bigger.html to view the full article online.

 

Budget shortfalls have prompted Medina Senior High to impose fees on students who enroll in many academic classes and extracurricular activities. The Dombis had to pay to register their children for basic courses such as Spanish I and Earth Sciences, to get them into graded electives such as band, and to allow them to run cross-country and track. The family's total tab for a year of public education: $4,446.50.(Wall Street Journal)

Visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703864204576313572363698678.html to view the full article online.

 

We all know that the outcomes in many activities in life combine both skill and luck. Understanding the relative contributions of each can help us assess past outcomes and, much more importantly, anticipate future outcomes. (Columbia Business School/Ideas at Work)

Visit http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/ideasatwork/feature/7317814/Untangling+Skill+and+Luck# to view the full article online.

 

They weren't murderers or anything; they had merely stolen more money than most people can rationally conceive of, from their own customers, in a few blinks of an eye. But then they went one step further. They came to Washington, took an oath before Congress, and lied about it. (Rolling Stone)

Visit http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-people-vs-goldman-sachs-20110511?page=1 to view the full article online.

 

Shortly after LinkedIn, the popular professional networking site, went public yesterday morning, its valuation hit $9 billion, even though the company only makes $15 million a year in profit. Have we taken a time machine back to 1999? (Slate)

Visit http://www.slate.com/id/2295189/ to view the full article online.

 

Project leaders who embrace a brand mindset will be in a stronger position to achieve their goals and deliver on the organization’s business strategy. (MIT/Sloan Management Review)

Visit http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/2011-summer/52416/why-every-project-needs-a-brand-and-how-to-create-one/ to view the full article online.

 

Wharton management professor Ethan Mollick has a message for knowledge-based companies: Pay closer attention to your middle managers. They may have a greater impact on company performance than almost any other part of the organization. (Knowledge@Wharton)

Visit http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2783 to view the full article online.

 

All work and no play may as well be the American way. Not only do American workers get less vacation time than workers in other industrialized countries, but they also opt to take fewer days off. (CNN/Money)

Visit http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/25/pf/unused_vacation_days/index.htm to view the full article online.