The Next Frontier For Forbes | Forbes

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Today, we announced that we have reached an agreement to sell a majority interest in Forbes Media to a group of international investors. This is obviously a momentous occasion for the Forbes family and the team here at Forbes. But, it represents an opportunity for extraordinary advances for us that would have been inconceivable just a few short years ago.

The web has blasted away the operating model for the communications industry that began back in the 1830s with the invention of the steam press, an innovation that made possible the cheap printing of newspapers and magazines on an industrial scale. Mass media was born. This new industry was largely supported by advertising; for most publications Forbes has been a happy exception circulation was a loss leader, that is, the cost of obtaining the subscription exceeded what the subscriber paid. Reporters and editors created content and advertising paid the bills.

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Microsoft Declares War on Middle Managers and Khaki Pants | Businessweek

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Welcome to Microsoft, Nokia employees—you’re out of a job.

So came the message on Thursday as Microsoft MSFT announced plans to fire as many as 18,000 people over the next year. The bulk of the layoffs, about 12,500 people, will come from the Nokia NOK devices and services business that Microsoft officially acquired in April. Most of the rest of the firings will affect people with overlapping jobs, furthering new Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella’s pledge to create a leaner, meaner, faster-moving organization. Grrr.

It’s not easy firing this many people—especially when you’re Microsoft, which hardly ever fires anyone, and when you’re dealing with Finland, which also has a thing against firing people. The company did it with two memos and a press release. The first memo came from Nadella, who explained how the layoffs fit into the strategy outlined in his memo from last week. The second came from Stephen Elop, the former Nokia CEO and now Microsoft executive, who never really managed to revive Nokia’s business, delivered the pride of Finland into the clutches of Microsoft, and must be feeling some measure of guilt about all this. Right? A staggering 40,000 Nokia employees had already lost their jobs over the past few years, as the phonemaker transitioned from global market power to Harvard Business School case study.

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Five lessons from John Lewis’ mobile commerce strategy | Econsultancy

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At the start of the year, retailer John Lewis announced some impressive year on year sales figures, along with the revelation that more than three quarters of its site traffic on Christmas Day came from mobile devices.

 Its profits continue to look very healthy, and mobile is an ever growing proportion of its sales. So what is it that John Lewis is getting right with its mobile strategy? And what lessons can we learn in order to apply to our own?

These are some of the elements that John Lewis delivered on…

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New Federal Guidelines Will Help Pregnant Workers | Elle

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It took more than 30 years, but the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC finally clarified its rules against pregnancy discrimination, stating that any discrimination based on past or future pregnancies is illegal, and that employers must make reasonable accommodations for pregnant women. Now, any harassment or discrimination against pregnant workers is an illegal form of sex discrimination. Under the new guidelines, lactation is also considered a medical condition.

The clarification was necessary because employers routinely interpreted the anti-discrimination law narrowly, refusing to accommodate pregnancy the same way they would a physical disability. Pregnant workers who needed simple accommodations—say, not doing heavy lifting or sitting during breaks instead of standing—faced a series of bad options.

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4 Things That Will Improve The Checkout Experience | Wonderbranding.com

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Just because your customer is making a purchase in your retail location doesn’t mean you should relax at the cash register. Every moment she spends with you is an opportunity to improve your image and deliver a memorable customer experience.

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Here are 4 things you can do at low-or-no-cost:

Clean off your counter and give room to maneuver.  It’s very tempting to load your counter space with point-of-purchase displays and impulse buying options. Are they hindering rather than helping your checkout process? Customers need room – space for purses, shopping bags, wallets, checkbooks, etc. Not to mention space around the checkout area to park strollers, umbrellas, etc. while mom checks out. A large, spacious counter area is inviting and most welcome.

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  Doing Things Differently to Succeed in Business | Getentrepreneurial.com

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If you want to succeed in business there are certain things you’re going to have to do the same as everybody else, such as getting your name out there and, yes, paying your taxes on time. There are other things, however, that you should go out of your way to do completely differently, to buck the trend on, in order to secure your place in the history books of successful business owners of the twenty-first century.

With more and more people becoming self-employed and starting their own companies, the competition is stronger than ever before. Rather than letting that deter you, you should see it as a challenge, as something to thrive upon. Sure, you’re unlikely to get anywhere if you follow the same old rules and regulations. But if you choose to do things just that little bit differently to everybody else, success could be just around the corner.

To help you along your way, below are four thing you should start doing differently in your business, right now, to help ensure your success for years to come:

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The Biggest Employee Deal-Breakers | Businessnewsdaily.com

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What matters most to employees? Career advancement, work-life balance and money, according to a new study from human resources software provider BambooHR.

But the survey of more than 1,000 employees in the United States discovered something of a surprise. While most workers reported career advancement as the No. 1 reason for leaving their job, the biggest deal-breakers were related to work-life balance.

The study found four critical deal-breakers that affect employeehappiness and retention. The biggest employee deal-breaker is having a boss that doesn’t trust or empower employees, followed by being expected to work or answer emails on sick days, on vacations or after work hours. Management “passing the buck” when things don’t go as planned is third, and fourth is when work isn’t flexible with regard to an employee’s family responsibilities.

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How to Escape the Illusion of Time Management | AllBusiness Experts

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“Oh man, I have so much to do today. I really need to learn to manage my time better.”

It’s a story as old as time itself. We look at a big list of things we need to accomplish and start divvying up the amount of time we have to get them done. We slice it and dice it and manage every little bit of it. We fret about how much time is passing while we’re trying to get everything organized. We make lists and schedules and then fret about whether we are ahead or behind. We tend to call that “time management.”But believe me, it’s an illusion. There is no such thing as “time management.”

For one thing, “time management” implies that there is something controllable about the passage of time. Unless you’re an experimental physicist with a DeLorean and a flux capacitor, there really isn’t anything you can do about how many hours are in the day. Your job isn’t to manage time, it’s to manage priorities

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