After the August 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black teenager, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, Starbucks brass made a trip to neighboring St. Louis. Following a summit with more than 100 local employees, called partners, Brooklyn-born CEO Howard Schultz took a ride with Rodney Hines, Starbucks’ Director of Community Investments for U.S.

Left to right: Moderator Kevin Colleran, Neil Parikh, Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jennifer Hyman. (Photo: Uyen Cao) It’s a truism that the rise of the Internet means cheap and easy business resources means startups can challenge established players, David can beat Goliath and new ideas can proliferate. But the reality still isn’the that easy.

Dear Liz, I had a great final interview last week and I was excited to receive a job offer. Then I got the job offer and it isn’t horrible, but it’s a little below what I can accept. I just don’t see a need at this point in my career to take a pay cut, and this job pays a little less than what I’m earning now. What is more concerning to me than the unexciting salary offer is the company recruiter’s approach to negotiating the offer.

Still on the fence about whether it pays to invest in job training mid-career? Then consider this: According to The State of American Jobs, a new, mammoth Pew Research Center survey conducted with the Markle Foundation, the majority of U.S. workers see continuous training as essential to their future career success. And it’s not just younger workers expressing this sentiment. Nearly 40% of older workers — those over 50 — believe so as well, Pew said.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay Negotiation is extremely useful if you’re working to achieve a big goal. Why? Though we usually think of it as a discussion between two or more people, the underlying skill set works for individuals, too. A simple way to look at negotiation is knowing what you want (your goal) and how to make the most of any opportunity by finding the right path (navigating obstacles). You can apply this framework to any goal.

Some kids and temper tantrums go hand in hand like Big Bird and yellow when you try to wipe the mess off of their faces. Stay-at-home mom Danielle Stangler accidentally discovered it could be a fuss-free feat when she wiped her 22-month-old daughter’s face with a napkin her husband dipped in lemonade instead of water. “She responded by saying ‘nummy, nummy,’” Stangler recalls. “And then asked for more. And the idea of a flavored face wipe was born.

We see the headlines often these days, screaming that robots and automation will take our jobs. And while, yes, artificial intelligence and robotics are changing the workforce by automating jobs, so it has been since humans began using tools. A dishwasher replaces the job of the person washing dishes; a cookstove replaces the need for someone to build a fire; even a wheel makes it easier for one person to move heavy objects that many people would otherwise be needed to move.

shutterstock We interact with people throughout the workday, but how effective is our communication? Quality communication is key to building good relationships, especially with customers. Customers are quick to pick up on authenticity and warmth from customer service representatives—if it’s there, the customer feels valued and welcome, but if it isn’t, they likely feel discouraged and are left with a bad experience.

Shutterstock It’s no secret that employers are getting creative in recruiting and retaining strong talent. Amazon recently announced they’re testing a 30-hour workweek. Airbnb gives employees a $2,000 stipend annually to travel. Netflix recently began offering one year of parental leave to both salaried and hourly employees.

When I met Mark Cuban, I barely knew who he was. But as an entrepreneur, Mark charmed me. When I spoke to him, I didn’t feel like I was speaking to an intimidating investor. We were just two techies, geeking out at SXSW, talking about hot opportunities in billion dollar industries and cutting edge technologies in Silicon Valley. Later, when I went to pitch Node to Mark, I was considerably more nervous.