I presided over the annual performance-review process for ten thousand employees and I regret it now. Performance reviews are expensive, time-consuming and pointless. They are worse than pointless because they get employees focused on the wrong things. Not everything in any job can be measured and plenty of things that can be measured should not be. It would take up all our working time to measure even half the things we’re responsible for doing.

Despite some recent gloom-and-doom predictions about the U.S. economy, there is still no denying that technology companies are driving small business growth and will continue to do so. LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 30: A view of the app for the TCM Classic Film Festival 2016 on April 30, 2016 in Los Angeles.

Your boss owes you a paycheck of course, and a written explanation of what you’re getting paid for, whether your pay is based on your hours, a regular salary or some other pay arrangement. Apart from your paycheck, your manager owes you decent working conditions and whatever breaks are required by the laws where you live.

The old working world is giving way to a new world where jobs are short-term and project-based. We used to live and die by  our job descriptions, but these days any organization that has up-to-date job descriptions in its files is either evolving too slowly to survive for long or is spending way too much time and energy on administrivia. We have  left the age of fixed job descriptions and many other systems and processes that were set in stone in the old working world.

Balancing work and family life can be challenging, but occupations in the technology sphere offer optimal flexibility and pay for working parents, according to PayScale. (Jamel Toppin/The Forbes Collection) The company, which maintains a database of 54 million salary profiles, compiled a list of the 20 best jobs for working parents based on mid-career median pay, low job stress and availability of telecommuting.

Heaven forbid you’re ever stranded in a blizzard. Starting a fire under such extraordinary conditions is the difference between life and death. It would not only keep you warm but also help rescuers find you. The joy of getting emails from four people who swear InstaFire, an innovative fire starter, saved their lives fuels Konel Banner and Frank Weston’s passion for their product. Through trial and error, Banner and Weston developed and patented InstaFire.

CARTOONRESOURCE / ADOBE STOCK What do sci-fi, virtual effects-driven films, comedic web series and video game parodies have in common? For all their differences, each one has grabbed the imagination – and devotion – of millennials on YouTube. And that number is explosive: The generation of 18 to 34 year olds in 2015 is 75.4 million strong (larger even than Baby Boomers) and a 2015 survey of these consumers found that 81% use YouTube to stream videos.

We got a call from Mischa, who worked as a Night Manager for a legal services firm whose employees worked around the clock. Mischa supervised the third-shift team whose members worked from eleven p.m. to seven a.m. “We have a great crew,” said Mischa. “Everyone on our team is a hard worker and a great teammate.

30% of companies interviewed predict they will spend more on sales technology in 2016. LinkedIn found that 90% of top salespeople are using social selling tools, compared with 71% of overall sales. 44% of employees of medium-sized companies (100-999 employees) use CRM tools versus only 23% of small companies (under 100 employees) and 27% of enterprises (1K+ employees). Millennials are 33% more likely to use sales intelligence tools.

Harvard University has had quite a run. No, I’m not referring to the 380 year-old institution’s status as one of the oldest continuing places of higher learning in America. Rather, its six straight years as the world’s most reputable university. Harvard retains that distinction, according to the latest ranking by Times Higher Learning (THE), a London-based magazine which focuses on education and emerges every year with a list of the most reputable universities on the planet.