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Early Bird Discounts End This Week! Register Now for NBMBAA's 35th Annual Conference and Expo and Save
Save big when you register now to join us September 10-14 for our 35th Annual Conference and Expo, "Courageous Leadership: Owning Your Own Success." Register today to take advantage of early bird pricing, get first crack at hotel rooms and set yourself up for an unforgettable networking, career building and professional development experience in Houston. View our full Pre-Conference Planning Guide for help planning your journey to Conference.
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Here's a common scenario: a powerful, driven, clever management team drives their new business through stages a I like to call "Early Struggle" into "Fun" with laser-like focus and a ruthless dedication to effective execution. The business succeeds and grows, until one day the management team discovers it has seemingly lost the ability to implement. (Inc.)
Visit http://www.inc.com/les-mckeown/how-to-make-things-happen.html to view the full article online.
That's a question I am almost guaranteed to hear during any social media workshop, or indeed, in one-on-one conversations about social networking. Even committed LinkedIn users are often uncertain of which connection requests to accept, or which invitations to extend: Someone who regularly shares your blog posts on Twitter? That guy on your condo board? Your cousin's girlfriend with the commemorative-gold-coin business? (Harvard Business Review)
Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/samuel/2013/06/should-i-accept-that-linkedin.html to view the full article online.
Every day, our to-do list gets filled with various tasks. But not all "to-do's" are created equal. Far from it. Unfortunately, our natural tendency is to start with the small, easy tasks first, and push back the big, important ones because they're more uncomfortable. That’s a costly mistake that greatly reduces our productivity while increasing our stress levels. It makes us focus on things that don’t always matter, and creates anxiety about finally facing the tasks we’ve been avoiding all day. (Fast Company)
Visit http://www.fastcompany.com/3013276/work-smart/not-all-to-do-lists-are-created-equal-heres-how-to-do-yours to view the full article online.
There is a pressing need for more businesspeople who can think quantitatively and make decisions based on data and analysis, and businesspeople who can do so will become increasingly valuable. According to a McKinsey Global Institute report on big data, we'll need over 1.5 million more data-savvy managers to take advantage of all the data we generate. (Harvard Business Review)
Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/06/data_is_worthless_if_you_dont.html to view the full article online.
Career
Given the forecasts of uncertain global economic growth, we might expect companies to hold off from hiring new employees and to limit whatever international hiring they do to emerging markets. But our 2012 global survey of more than 1,000 corporate directors, conducted in partnership with WomenCorporateDirectors and Heidrick & Struggles, said otherwise. The vast majority of board members told us their companies are hiring in double-digits and across the globe. (Harvard Business Review)
Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/06/new_research_where_the_talent.html to view the full article online.
When you ask someone to be a mentor, is your interest in their journey, or their destination? Too many of those who want what mentors have are unwilling to learn what they know or do what they did to get it. The exceptions have no problem attracting mentors; they have the spirit and attitude that inspires others to want to claim them as proteges. Here’s what they know. (Black Enterprise)
Visit http://www.blackenterprise.com/blogs/mentorship-is-earned-not-owed/ to view the full article online.
Diversity in the Workplace
International
What is happening in Brazil? Not so long ago, it was the toast of the global economy. More than 40 million Brazilians joined the middle class, the number of indigents plummeted, and the nation achieved the feat of reducing its legendary income inequality. The Latin American giant was awarded both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. It seemed to have finally buried the old cliche: Brazil is the country of the future... and always will be. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)
Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-27/in-brazil-turkey-and-chile-protests-follow-economic-success#r=nav-fs to view the full article online.
In recent years, the continent has become a haven for renewable energy, spearheaded by small, tech savvy companies keen on capitalizing off of the global south's hunger for energy. (CNN/Money)
Visit http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/06/25/africa-solar/ to view the full article online.
Education
Finding the right fit in a business school can be as difficult as finding the right spouse. In both cases, compatibility is sometimes both tough to define, yet critical to success. As prospective students spend the summer evaluating business schools in search of that ever-elusive "fit," it’s worth reviewing some general guidelines before embarking on the search. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)
Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-26/finding-your-best-fit-business-school#r=nav-r-blog to view the full article online.
hanks to all 19 teams. Special congrats to Greater Harrisburg (first place finish and $15,000 in scholarship winnings), Houston (second place finish and $10,000 in scholarship winnings), Raleigh Durham (third place finish and $5,000 in scholarship winnings), Atlanta (fourth place finish and trophy) and Philadelphia (fifth place finish and trophy).
Visit http://www.nbmbaa.org/LotCaseNew/lotBusCase.aspx to view the full article online.
NBMBAA
United Airlines is pleased to offer a discount of 2%-13% off of your airfare when booking travel for the NBMBAA’s 35th Annual Conference & Career Expo.
To view flight schedules, air fares and obtain the discount click HERE.
You may also contact United Meetings reservations at 1-800-426-1122
You must provide the following Z Code ZQ2C and Agreement Code 506107 at the time of the booking to receive the discount.
More on Conference Travel
Visit the Conference Website
The National Black MBA Association provides financial support to students pursuing careers in business, academia and related professions. Scholarship awards range from $1,000 to $20,000 however award amounts are contingent upon funding for the current year. The application period through June 30.
Visit http://www.nbmbaa.org/Education/ScholarshipPrograms/Default.aspx to view the full article online.
Technology
The same iPhones that fly off American shelves are losing ground in key markets abroad – an example, in case one was needed, that what works in the U.S. doesn’t automatically succeed overseas. This is no temporary stumble, according to new data, but an illustration that we’ve reached the end of the beginning for smartphones and a sign that Apple’s (AAPL) ways of appealing to customers could prove less effective in the future. (Bloomberg/Businessweek)
Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-26/apple-abroad-what-if-the-world-doesnt-want-iphones#r=most%20popular to view the full article online.
Entrepreneurship
Small and women-owned businesses are two of today’s most optimistic sectors of economic and professional growth. In an effort to help further the development and success of some of the most promising of these businesses, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott has launched ELEVATE fueled by Fairfield, a pilot empowerment program offering free space, connections and resources to 20 female entrepreneurs across the country. Enrollment ends June 30th.
Visit http://www.nbmbaa.org/_eblasts/2013MarriottElevate/ to view the full article online.
1. To get more done, work fewer hours. Conventional wisdom says that working long hours makes you more productive. That's not true. Multiple studies reveal that working, say, 60 hour rather than 40 hours a week makes you slightly more productive... but only for about three weeks. After that, most people get burnt out, start making avoidable errors and end up getting less useful work done than if they worked a saner schedule. (Inc.)
Visit http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/7-shortcuts-you-wish-you-knew.html to view the full article online.
Corporate America
At the turn of the 20th century, drugstores were little more than a pharmacist and a soda fountain. If you wanted to go shopping, you went to a department store. Now, that trend is reversing. Department stores are suffering and drugstores are booming. So much so that Walgreens – one of the industry's leaders – is experimenting with expanding its goods and services. (NPR)
Visit http://www.npr.org/2013/06/27/195558055/walgreens-cashes-in-on-department-stores-pain to view the full article online.
Government
At the end of this month, President Obama will begin his trip to Africa, visiting South Africa, Senegal (in West Africa) and Tanzania (in East Africa). The trip will be expensive, and The Washington Post has highlighted the large cost at a time of budget tightening. However, even the myopia of the US budget process cannot obscure reality in this case – this is money well spent. (Harvard Business Review)
Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/06/obama_in_africa_worth_every_pe.html to view the full article online.
Leadership
Managers at every level almost universally complain that many of their meetings are a waste of time. It's an old story, repeated over and over: "We didn't have an agenda." "We didn't manage the time well." "We didn't have the right people to actually make any decisions." It's a long list of dysfunctional behaviors that are familiar to just about anyone who has worked in an organization. (Harvard Business Review)
Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/ashkenas/2013/06/the-hidden-side-of-meetings.html to view the full article online.
You probably know the famous scene in the movie Glengary Glen Ross where Alec Baldwin's character tells his team to "Always be closing." I wish it were that simple. These days closing the deal, or even getting close, comes with more prerequisites – the biggest of which is understanding. People will not buy what they do not understand. Quality explanations are the key to getting prospects to become customers. I suggest a new motto for today: "Always be explaining." (Harvard Business Review)
Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/06/battle-tested_tips_for_effecti.html to view the full article online.
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