Instead of simply providing health insurance, savvy employers are tackling health care costs by supporting the whole employee—everything from their finances to their career development to physical health. This is not just good for individuals; it’s good for business.

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/03/how-one-company-contained-health-care-costs-and-improved-morale/ to view the full article online.

 

When millennials hear the word "branding," the first thing that typically comes to mind is a mega-brand, like Target or Nike. The word may seem like a distant marketing strategy that has no place in your everyday life, but in today’s career and job market, it has immense relevance.

Visit http://www.blackenterprise.com/career/millennials-branding-tips-job-search-advancement/ to view the full article online.

 

Over the course of 35 years and 5,000-plus interviews as a recruiter, I've developed an interviewing method that identifies superior candidates about 85 percent of the time. I call it the two-question performance-based interview (a.k.a. the Whole Brain Interview).

Visit http://www.inc.com/lou-adler/hiring-guide-whole-brain-recruiting.html to view the full article online.

 

Have you ever been asked to drop everything to complete a seemingly urgent task, and then found that the task wasn’t so urgent after all?
Not long ago, one of our clients gave us three days to put together a proposal to help with a very large and complex reorganization. Although we had been talking about the possibility of working on this project for months, the client suddenly felt that it was time to get started. We didn’t want to miss the opportunity, so we put in some late nights and did what was needed to craft a reasonably good document. And then we waited.

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/03/two-ways-to-reduce-hurry-up-and-wait-syndrome/ to view the full article online.

 

We rarely think about whether presentations are the best way to express our ideas; we just blindly create and deliver them. By some estimates, 350 presentations, on average, are delivered every second of every day.
Unfortunately, presentations can’t be the Swiss Army knife of communication. Though they’re one of the most powerful tools we have for moving an audience, even the most carefully crafted talks won’t be effective if they’re not delivered in the right context. Sometimes, a conversation is much more appropriate and effective.

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/03/a-presentation-isnt-always-the-right-way-to-communicate/ to view the full article online.

 

Navigating between personal and professional posts on social media can be like walking through an etiquette minefield. Whether you’re tweeting in 140 characters or posting family vacation photos to Facebook, it’s tough to know which topics are off-limits. "The problem with social media is that it’s relatively new," says etiquette consultant Jay Remer. "Using it properly hasn’t really caught on yet."

Visit http://www.kiplingers.com/article/business/T012-C000-S002-how-to-mix-professional-personal-posts.html to view the full article online.

 

As many as half of U.S. jobs will be replaceable by machines in the next decade or two, according to a recent Oxford study explored last week by Bloomberg’s Aki Ito. Want to know the future? Talk to the robot lawyers at Stinson Leonard Street LLP, who reduced the human hours spent researching case documents by as much as 95 percent. Or ask Aethon Inc.’s TUG robots transporting food, medicine and soiled linens in a hospital near you.

Visit http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-17/how-to-keep-your-job-when-you-re-boss-is-a-robot.html to view the full article online.

 

Global financial markets on Monday mostly shrugged off the anticipated Russian annexation of Crimea, as stocks, currencies and energy prices all traded calmly.

Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/business/international/daily-stock-market-activity.html?ref=business&_r=0 to view the full article online.

 

One of the surest bets on China is starting to look a bit shaky.
Every business day for the last nine years, at 9 a.m., government workers in the blandly named Building No. 30 in Shanghai’s Pudong financial district have published what their country’s currency will be worth that day, when compared with the United States dollar.

Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/17/business/international/chinas-currency-is-no-longer-a-one-way-bet.html?ref=business to view the full article online.

 

When a somewhat disappointing report was released on January 23 on China’s private manufacturing sector, investors viewed it as a kind of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie story. Their thinking: "If China’s growth prospects need reevaluation, then other Asian emerging economies will as well. And if other Asian emerging economies need reevaluation, then other emerging economies may also need it."

Visit http://www.kiplingers.com/article/business/T019-C021-S000-the-world-s-most-vulnerable-emerging-markets.html to view the full article online.

 

The threat, says Lyons, is that more top MBA programs will start to offer degrees online. That will imperil the industry’s business model. For most business schools, students pursuing part-time and executive MBAs generate crucial revenue. Those programs, geared toward working professionals, will soon have to compete with elite online alternatives for the same population.

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-14/online-programs-could-erase-half-of-u-dot-s-dot-business-schools-by-2020#r=hpt-ls to view the full article online.

 

According to reports, the White House announced efforts to hold for-profit colleges and other career-training programs accountable for producing graduates who can earn enough money to pay back student loans.
New regulations related to "gainful employment" would mean programs could get their eligibility for federal aid revoked if too many of its students defaulted on student loans or had debts too high relative to earnings.

Visit http://www.blackenterprise.com/career/white-house-seeks-to-hold-for-profit-colleges-career-prep-programs-responsible-for-results/ to view the full article online.

 

Selective MBA programs plan to increase tuition for the class of 2016 nearly 4 percent or more, building on a 37 percent rise in the degree’s sticker price over the past six years.
Six schools out of Bloomberg Businessweek’s 10 top-ranked MBA programs approved tuition hikes in recent weeks, with the rest set to make decisions closer to fall.

Visit http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-17/elite-business-schools-hike-tuition-for-class-of-2016#r=bus-ls to view the full article online.

 

Register for the the first of NBMBAA's 2014 Regional Symposiums: April 10 in Memphis
Every so often we find ourselves in all sorts of quandaries. It’s simply a part of life’s course. Join NBMBAA as we provide practical steps to reset, refocus and recalibrate your reality and navigate the everyday compromises, sacrifices and adjustments across the eco-system of life.
Space is Limited. Register Now.

 

Last April, President Obama assembled some of the nation’s most august scientific dignitaries in the East Room of the White House. Joking that his grades in physics made him a dubious candidate for "scientist in chief," he spoke of using technological innovation "to grow our economy" and unveiled "the next great American project": a $100 million initiative to probe the mysteries of the human brain.

Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/science/billionaires-with-big-ideas-are-privatizing-american-science.html?ref=business to view the full article online.

 

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today that it will award grants to state and local economic development agencies, business development centers, colleges and universities to support programs for innovative, technology-driven small businesses under SBA’s Federal and State Technology (FAST) partnership program. Applications for the grants are open now through April 11.

Visit http://www.blackenterprise.com/small-business/sba-grants-small-business/ to view the full article online.

 

Twin brothers start a business to build a better chocolate-covered berry.
Kiplinger's spoke with Daricus and Daryl Releford (pictured left), both 26, of Red Lion, Pa., about starting Twigedies Berries one year ago to sell chocolate-covered strawberries via the Internet.

Visit http://www.kiplingers.com/article/business/T049-C000-S002-small-business-success-story-twigedies-berries.html to view the full article online.

 

It’s no secret that interest among MBAs in entrepreneurship has been at record levels in recent years. More graduates are starting companies straight out of school, and a greater percentage of alumni have also caught the entrepreneurial bug.

Visit http://poetsandquants.com/2014/03/17/more-mbas-loving-the-entrepreneurial-life/ to view the full article online.

 

The U.S. unemployment rate edged up to 6.7 percent in February as men struggled to find work, according to the Labor Department report issued Friday. More than 160,000 men joined the ranks of the unemployed. That increase raised their unemployment rate to 6.4 percent from 6.2 percent. Particularly hard hit were African-American men. Their rate climbed to 12.9 percent last month from 12 percent in January. It did so because more African-American men began searching unsuccessfully for work last month.

Visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/unemployment-rate-up-for-men-and-college-grads/2014/03/07/5c5f71de-a640-11e3-b865-38b254d92063_story.html to view the full article online.

 

U.S. stocks rose, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell to a three-week low, as better-than-forecast data on industrial production boosted optimism on the economy and investors watched developments in Ukraine.

Visit http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-17/u-s-index-futures-rise-after-s-p-500-hits-three-week-low.html to view the full article online.

 

While the housing market has clearly come a long way since the depths of the recession, there’s still a long way to go before the industry returns to normal. Indeed, it’s unlikely that measures of housing activity will return to the peaks seen before the bubble burst in 2007, and in many cases it would be undesirable. But some key gauges of housing health, such as housing starts and new-home sales plus mortgage delinquencies, are still struggling to recover to levels that preceded the big run-up in the middle of the 2000s decade.

Visit http://www.kiplingers.com/article/business/T019-C021-S005-housing-market-to-grow-moderately-in-2014.html to view the full article online.

 

You may not believe it, but there really are government forces trying to help you become better informed about your workplace retirement plan. The Department of Labor is moving ahead with a proposal for transparency, opening a 90-day comment period for a proposed guide to help employers find fee information in disclosures they get from the investment companies that manage their 401(k)-type retirement plans.

Visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-401ks-plan-fees-really-do-matter-and-the-government-wants-to-get-you-a-better-deal/2014/03/11/e0b8d810-a953-11e3-8d62-419db477a0e6_story.html to view the full article online.

 

If you want a better financial life, it often starts with taking a look at the way you are living. Just think about it. When would you even have time to do a budget or come up with a plan to pay down your debts when you’re wired in all kinds of ways to your job?

Visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/want-a-better-financial-life-it-starts-with-your-schedule/2014/03/06/e0011244-a3d5-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html to view the full article online.

 

Black entrepreneurs have largely missed out on a rebound in federal small-business lending since the financial crisis ended.
More than four years into the nation's economic recovery, African-Americans looking for loans are struggling to overcome deeper financial distress, tighter lending standards and cutbacks by some lenders.
U.S. financial institutions made $382.5 million in Small Business Administration loans to black-owned...

Visit http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304585004579417021571596610?mod=WSJ_economy_LeftTopHighlights&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304585004579417021571596610.html%3Fmod%3DWSJ_economy_LeftTopHighlig to view the full article online.

 

The odds that Congress will pass an increase in the U.S. minimum wage before the November elections are so low that even the nation’s lobbyists are largely ignoring it.

Visit http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-17/chance-of-wage-rise-so-remote-lobbyists-pay-little-heed.html to view the full article online.

 

Are the long-term unemployed just doomed today or doomed forever?
That's the question people are really asking when they ask if labor markets are starting to get "tight." Now, it's hard to believe that this is even a debate when unemployment is still at 6.7 percent and core inflation is just 1.1 percent. But it is. The new inflation hawks argue that these headline numbers overstate how much slack is left in the economy.

Visit http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/03/the-fed-absolutely-shouldnt-give-up-on-the-long-term-unemployed/284374/ to view the full article online.

 

The Fed policy-making committee on Wednesday may again rewrite their "forward guidance," the policy tool that tries to drive down long-term rates by promising to keep short-term rates low for a long time. The Fed has rewritten its forward guidance six time since the crisis. Here is a look at the various changes that have been made and the reasons for the moves.

Visit http://projects.marketwatch.com/the-evolution-of-the-feds-forward-guidance-timeline-2014/ to view the full article online.

 

Glenn Wash represents a type of businessman often ignored in today’s headlines — the longtime Detroit black entrepreneur. Now 83, Wash was born in Grand Rapids but came to Detroit as a child and started in business shining shoes. For the past 60 years, he has worked as one of Detroit’s leading African-American building contractors, helping build churches, schools, houses and retail projects, including a retail center near Livernois and 7 Mile.

Visit http://www.freep.com/article/20140316/BUSINESS06/303160073/Detroit-Glenn-Wash-entrepreneurship to view the full article online.

 

Christine Martey-Ochola, Ph.D., has a diverse career that one just can’t confine to limits. "I’ve been trying to find a box to fit in, but I don’t quite fit," she says as she reflects on her path to becoming the co-founder and president of the Sub-Saharan Africa Chamber of Commerce.
Not one to shy away from new experiences, Martey-Ochola started her career as a food science technologist in Kenya and immigrated to the United States to further her education. Her studies quickly led her to becoming a chemist and professor, yet she never suppressed her entrepreneurial spirit.

Visit http://www.blackenterprise.com/career/power-women-of-the-diaspora-christine-martey-ochola-business-development-africa/ to view the full article online.

 

Are leaders born or made? When I pose this question to executives or HR professionals, the vast majority say that leaders are made; that is, leadership is something one can learn. Yet researchers have found traits, such as extraversion and intelligence, which differentiate leaders from others. This seems to imply that we can identify future leaders by looking at their traits – but we must be cautious when drawing such conclusions.

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/03/asking-whether-leaders-are-born-or-made-is-the-wrong-question/ to view the full article online.

 

There’s always that sentiment noted over and over again: Millennials are lazy, entitled and unmotivated. (But, smart people who aren’t wearing bias-tinted glasses know we are some of the most charitable, civic-minded, physically active, entrepreneurial and innovative groups on Earth.)

Visit http://www.blackenterprise.com/career/boredom-or-sloth-5-steps-to-get-rid-of-a-case-of-the-lazies/ to view the full article online.