By LIZETTE CHAPMAN Technology entrepreneurs of past eras took two years to build a product, hire a staff and figure out whether there was any real market for their service. But today all that typically takes only a few months as founders cycle quickly through different ideas until they find one that sticks. Kevin Systrom’s [...]

 

By JOANN S. LUBLIN HOPKINTON, Mass.— Joseph M. Tucci, chief executive of EMC Corp., the world’s biggest maker of data-storage equipment by revenue, isn’t ready to walk away from a winning streak. Mr. Tucci, who turns 65 in August, planned to retire as CEO this December. But with EMC enjoying a string of financial successes, [...]

 

By RACHEL EMMA SILVERMAN Put down that smartphone; pick up that crayon. Employees at a range of businesses are being encouraged by their companies to doodle their ideas and draw diagrams to explain complicated concepts to colleagues. While whiteboards long have been staples in conference rooms, companies such as Facebook Inc. are incorporating whiteboards, chalkboards [...]

 

When Cindy Ballagh’s 10-year-old son Kaden lost his portable videogame recently, she asked him where he last put it. His answer: on his dresser. After they spent several minutes searching on, under and all around the dresser, she happened to spot the game—buried in his bed. He had been playing with it there the night [...]

 

By RUTH MANTELL Your co-workers are judging you. Beneath a veneer of professional collegiality, they’re taking note of the mess on your desk, how loudly you chew, even your word choices. Obviously, serious misconduct such as discrimination and harassment can lead to a job loss. But small irritants can hurt productivity and build walls between [...]

 

By RACHEL EMMA SILVERMAN And ROBIN SIDEL Office workers, grab your bobblehead dolls: The boss may be coming for your desk. As companies seek to cut costs and accommodate an increasingly mobile work force, some employees have had to say goodbye to their personal work areas. At American Express in New York, some employees use [...]

By Melissa Korn With classes, networking events, club meetings and more, being a business-school student can feel like a full-time job. So how do students handle it when they also work full-time? Even more than their traditional M.B.A. counterparts, students in part-time M.B.A. programs must juggle their school and personal lives – and their careers. [...]

 

By BETH GARDINER With leadership skills honed in battle and experience shouldering far more responsibility than their civilian peers, many former military officers are enrolling in M.B.A. programs to get one of the key attributes they lack—knowledge of the business world. As militaries including U.S. forces begin to downsize, many departing officers are heading to [...]

 

By RACHEL EMMA SILVERMAN And ROBIN SIDEL Office workers, grab your bobblehead dolls: The boss may be coming for your desk. As companies seek to cut costs and accommodate an increasingly mobile work force, some employees have had to say goodbye to their personal work areas. At American Express in New York, some employees use [...]

 

Between the ages of 18 and 22, Jodi Romine took out $74,000 in student loans to help finance her business-management degree at Kent State University in Ohio. What seemed like a good investment will delay her career, her marriage and decision to have children. Ms. Romine’s $900-a-month loan payments eat up 60% of the paycheck [...]

 

By DENNIS NISHI When Michelle Merino interviewed for a senior product-designer job at a software company in Portland, Ore., she was promised a creative work environment and quick advancement. So she worked hard to move up the ladder, often staying late and taking work home. But the stuttering economy and reticent managers didn’t help. She [...]

 

By LAUREN WEBER On any given workday, Brandon Hilkert, 31, might be found sitting in front of his MacBook Air at home in West Chester, Penn., in a coffee shop nearby, or at a co-working space he frequents in Philadelphia called IndyHall. That kind of flexibility, he says, is one of the reasons why he [...]

Brent Sherwin, a Schwan Food Co. manager, used to believe that he enjoyed a four-star reputation there. He never suspected that he was as known for his sharp tongue as his strong results. “When top-level executives made poor decisions, I was very quick to let them know,” he recalls. Like countless others who turn a [...]

 

With planning and foresight, Nicholas Myers of Fishers, Ind., finished high school in three years. He took required senior-year classes early and completed extra courses online. There were, of course, trade-offs: He passed up senior prom and missed a trip to New York City with the finance club. Mr. Myers, 18, now completing his freshman [...]

 

By LAUREN WEBER How does a company that isn’t a shining star of Silicon Valley or a hot start-up convince sought-after technology professionals to accept a job offer? Some companies try to get the attention of techies with free food and gifts, while others single them out at tech conferences and other high-profile networking events. [...]