FORTUNE — A few weeks ago, at the age of 54, I announced my retirement after 30 years in the communications business. The overwhelming response to my surprising news from friends, associates and family who are at least 40-years old is “I am envious.” From the over 50 crowd, there is often the added comment of “and I am right behind you.”

For the under 40s, the response is disbelief. One friend said, “I just don’t believe you. It won’t happen.” This goes as well for the retread or failed retirees. “You will be back!” they warn.

I am not headed to Florida to play golf. I will stay active writing, serving as a director on corporate boards and a maintaining a meaningful non-profit role. But I will not be back. There is too much else that beckons and, as I have discovered, life is both precious and precarious. It needs to be lived fully.

Read the rest on http://finance.fortune.cnn.com!

Steve Jobs was an American icon and one of the greatest entrepreneurs in history. His accomplishments as the founder and CEO of Apple (AAPL) and Pixar are unmatched in modern times.

What made Jobs so successful were his unique talents and his powerful self-image. He truly believed he was special. Ironically, that same quality may have been the reason why he refused potentially life-saving surgery for pancreatic cancer, something he later regretted, according to biographer Walter Isaacson.

That’s what makes the legacy of Steve Jobs so inspiring, and yet so endearing. In his life we see greatness, but also frailty. In his speeches we find both power and humility. This was a man who did what few have done. He actually did make a dent in the universe. But, after all, he was just a man.

Read the rest on cbsnews.com!

Startup Bright.com aims to use big data to make the job-seeking process more efficient and effective.

The information technology revolution is often portrayed as a job killer. ATMs eliminate the need for bank tellers, voice-recognition software has put many stenographers out of business, and payment-processing applications will reduce the need for checkout-counter workers.

But it’s also quite possible that number-crunching machines and algorithms could help reduce the unemployment rate, by tuning up the highly inefficient job-seeking and hiring process. That’s the bet Bright.com, a Silicon Valley start-up, is making.

As we gear up to dissect another monthly jobs report, analysts overlook a largely ignored problem. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were 3.7 million jobs open in the U.S. at the end of July, up a mere 0.2 percent from July 2011. But only 3.2 percent of those posts were filled in the month. Why aren’t available positions being filled?

Read the rest on thedailybeast.com!

It’s the reason Steve Jobs sold millions of iPods by skipping the technical specifications and simply stating that one thousand songs could now fit in your pocket. It’s the reason trial lawyers appeal to a jury’s humanity as much as the letter of the law. It’s the reason political candidates fight to define each other’s narrative. When human beings need to persuade people about ideas, we tell stories.

In 2007, the American Association of Advertising Agencies published the results of a two-and-a-half year study that charted the effectiveness of two types of ads: ads that told a story and ads that appealed to rational reasoning. The result?

“For the most part, ads that tell stories and engage and involve consumers create stronger emotional relevance than product-centric ads,” the study concluded.

Read the rest on http://99u.com!

The world of job-seeking has been turned upside down by social media. You have unprecedented access to companies (and hiring managers), you should be building a “personal brand,” you should express personality, but not be aggressive. It can be a tough road to navigate. If you’re looking for a job and some insights about how to land one, it helps to pay attention to the experts. Below, we outline 14 career experts whom you’d be wise to follow on Twitter.

Check out this valuable list on http://mashable.com!

The HR discipline is evolving into a strategic voice because its sphere of influence — talent attraction, engagement and retention — is now recognized as the foundation to organizational success. But the pervasive influence of social media on the work world demands change in the way employers motivate and communicate with talent. We’ve seen success with a novel approach to talent engagement: an integrated HR-Marketing strategy that teams Marketing’s brand messaging savvy with HR’s internal perspective and expertise. When HR brings a communication orientation to its role, the entire company benefits. The partnership brings added value to Marketing as well. How much more effective could a CMO be if he or she knew for certain that talent would deliver on the brand promise made in every external marketing message?

We discovered the power of the HR-Marketing connection when Versant, the marketing firm that Will runs, and Xerox, where Patricia was CHRO, collaborated on several projects. Our first, in 2005, aimed to transform the way Xerox’s HR staff connected with its workforce and align Xerox employees with new business goals. Together, we developed a strategic communication plan to build HR staff engagement for this new HR orientation. Over the next two years, Xerox’s joint team worked closely with Versant to develop the creative messaging, and roll it out to the internal HR audience.

Read the full article at hbr.org!

Network After Work-Chicago – Thursday (Sept. 13th) at Bevy Nightclub

Network After Work-Chicago is a business and social networking event company. The events are created for professionals who want to expand their network, create new business opportunities, and mingle with other professionals. The events range in size from 200-600 professionals and take place in Chicago’s best bars, nightclubs, and hotels. We specialize in networking, happy hour and nightlife events.

Get more info here!

People often wonder why they never hear anything back after they hit ‘send’ on the email with a resume attached or on the on-line job application. If you’re very lucky, you might have a preliminary email exchange with a recruiter and then never hear from them again.

It’s a depressing experience, and one which also casts a shadow on the hiring company’s reputation. So why does it happen? Is it you, is it them, or is it just something every candidate must prepare for in the hiring process?

There’s no question job seekers face an uphill climb. High unemployment nationally means more competition for every position; according to a January 2012 article in the Wall Street Journal, Starbucks “… attracted 7.6 million job applicants over the past 12 months for about 65,000 corporate and retail job openings…”

Network After Work

Expand your professional network on Thursday September 13th at Bevy (215 W. Ontario) from 6-9pm. We are expecting 400 professionals to be in attendance. Complimentary Ultimat Vodka and appetizers will be served from 6-7pm. Make sure to Refer a Colleague using the link in the right column.

To RSVP please visit:
http://chicago.networkafterwork.com

Is creativity something people are just born with? For many of us, creative thinking isn’t purely intuitive—it’s also plain hard work. As writer Iris Shoor explains, coming up with fresh ideas isn’t always a natural gift—it’s a skill that can be learned.

A few days ago I was telling someone about my startup company. “How did you come up with the idea?” he asked, and added very nicely, “you must be very creative.” This line always makes me smile, as I believe being creative is not a natural gift. Every day I try not to think outside the box, but rather work hard on trying to live outside of it. I believe that creativity can be taught, and I know for a fact that I’ve become more creative over time. It’s not about finding the ‘one’ idea, but rather about using creativity to achieve everyday personal and professional goals. I use creative thinking to sell my product and ideas to people, design better, and even to overcome personal obstacles, going outside my comfort zone.

Here are some methodologies I use to come up with fresh ideas.

Read the rest on lifehacker.com!

There’s no doubt resumes can be boring—the standard black-text-on-white-paper format is nothing new to most employers or job seekers. Many professionals want to stand out from the crowd of job applicants, but they feel forced into the standard resume templates that don’t adequately display their personalities or eye for creativity.

Your resume is a powerful tool for marketing and branding yourself, and there’s no reason you need to stick to a bland template if you don’t feel it’s an effective representation of who you are as a professional. But crafting a compelling creative resume is a fine line to walk—you don’t want to come across as desperate or overdo it. Keep these three tips in mind when utilizing a creative resume for your job search:

1. Ensure It Stays Relevant.

If you’re not applying for jobs in design or other creative fields, try to avoid going too over-the-top. Remember, employers are mainly interested in your skills and experience, so remember to keep it readable and focused on what makes you employable. Though you don’t have to rule out colors altogether, colored text is often a bad idea, as it can be difficult to read. Your creative resume should be tasteful and clean, not distracting.

Read the rest on glassdoor.com!

An expert shares the mindfulness techniques that can help employees thrive.

Can you be a success in the world of business and still be mindful? What exactly does it mean to be “mindful” anyway? According to Mirabai Bush, one of the creators of a mindfulness course developed for Google employees called “Search Inside Yourself,” you will be more productive and motivated if you use respect, compassion and generosity in the workplace.

“Mindfulness has to do with paying attention to what’s happening in the moment without judgment,” said Bush. “Sometimes people think being mindful means being slow — it’s not about being slow, it’s about being slow enough that you can pay attention to things. It requires a certain intelligence to be able to focus on many things at the same time.”

Bush, who is the co-founder of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, has helped several companies benefit from mindfulness techniques, but admits it can be challenging to try to convince those in the business world to embrace things like meditation and compassion.

Read the rest on chicagotribune.com!

The ability to motivate employees is one of the greatest skills an entrepreneur can possess. Two years ago, I realized I didn’t have this skill. So I hired a CEO who did.

Josh had 12 years in the corporate world, which included running a major department at Comcast. I knew he was seasoned, but I was still skeptical at first. We were going through some tough growing pains, and I thought that a lack of cash would make it extremely difficult to improve the company morale.

I was wrong.

With his help and the help of the great team leaders he put in place, Josh not only rebuilt the culture, but also created a passionate, hard-working team that is as committed to growing and improving the company as I am.

Read the rest on inc.com!

A recent study published in an American Psychological Association journal, Emotion, suggests that early birds are generally happier than night owls.

More than 700 respondents, ranging from ages 17 to 79, were surveyed and asked about their emotional state, health, and preferred time of day.

Self-professed “morning people” reported feeling happier and healthier than night owls. Researchers hypothesize that one of the reasons could be because society caters to a morning person’s schedule.

Happy Friday! Interested in the world of data visualization and infographics? Then check out this great infographic created by a team of designers and researchers about Amazon’s size and growth!

(more…)

Say what you will about London’s Olympic logo–and many people have said, and are still saying, many, many things–it is nothing if not memorable. International branding consultancy Wolff Olins was no stranger to Olympic identities, having created the mark for the 2004 games in Athens. In 2006, the firm won the London logo and branding bid with their power-to-the-people style pitch, which focused on social and cultural aspects of the games and beyond in an attempt to broaden the event’s reach and appeal. When the famously staccato symbol was unveiled almost six years ago, however, the response was resoundingly critical.

Why was the world, design and otherwise, so worked up? Chairman Brian Boylan and Ije Nwokorie, managing director at Wolff Olins London, talked with Co.Design about embracing the inherent dissonance of the host city, and the strategy behind their effort.

Read the rest on fastcodesign.com!

It’s a slow news day, so seeing this is a huge thrill…

A financial industry tipster was kind enough to oblige by sending us this e-mail from an aspiring trader.

If you read from the bottom up, you’ll note that Carl asks prospective trader Matthew why he wants to be a trader — could he add a little color about what he’s passionate about, he asks.

Matthew obliges, and we’re pretty sure “please explain your rationale for the rainbow” is an instant classic.

See below (remember, read from the bottom):

1. You can learn something useful from anyone.

Whenever we find ourselves ignoring someone because we’ve already determined that they aren’t “smart” enough to say something meaningful, we’ve made a big mistake. Besides being presumptuous and arrogant, this mindset blocks out every useful thing the other person might pass along. Instead of just listening and mining the conversation for nuggets of wisdom, we allow our pre-existing bias to brand everything as “not smart enough for me.” Incredibly bad idea. I’ve yet to meet someone who couldn’t teach me something.

2. If quality slips, it really doesn’t matter how good your ideas were.

This one I learned from a couple of my uncles who worked as quality control specialists on assembly lines. The most ingenious design plans, no matter how many brains contributed to them, can fatally falter in the execution phase if quality slips. This is equally true for intangible plans. Imparting greatness requires a continuum of effort and attention, not just an initial brain-fueled flurry to get exemplary ideas on paper.

Read the rest on forbes.com!

People often wonder why they never hear anything back after they hit ‘send’ on the email with a resume attached or on the on-line job application. If you’re very lucky, you might have a preliminary email exchange with a recruiter and then never hear from them again.

It’s a depressing experience, and one which also casts a shadow on the hiring company’s reputation. So why does it happen? Is it you, is it them, or is it just something every candidate must prepare for in the hiring process?

There’s no question job seekers face an uphill climb. High unemployment nationally means more competition for every position; according to a January 2012 article in the Wall Street Journal, Starbucks “… attracted 7.6 million job applicants over the past 12 months for about 65,000 corporate and retail job openings…”

Read more on glassdoor.com!

Interviewing job candidates is tough, especially because some candidates are a lot better at interviewing than they are at working.

To get the core info you need about the candidates you interview, here’s a simple but incredibly effective interview technique I learned from John Younger, the CEO of Accolo, a cloud recruiting solutions provider. (If you think you’ve conducted a lot of interviews, think again: Younger has interviewed thousands of people.)

Here’s how it works. Just start from the beginning of the candidate’s work history and work your way through each subsequent job. Move quickly, and don’t ask for detail. And don’t ask follow-up questions, at least not yet.

Read the rest on inc.com!