Postcards

Yahoo's new work policy: bold move, bad delivery

FORTUNE -- Marissa Mayer made a global splash last summer for landing the Yahoo (YHOO) CEO job while six months pregnant.

Then she grabbed the spotlight for starting a cultural revolution at the dozing tech giant—using perks like free smartphones and her so-called PB&J initiative to un-stick innovation.

Today, with Mayer making the front page of the New York Times (above the fold, no less) for her decision to require employees to MORE

If Mark Zuckerberg taught you to code...

Some people dream about becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg.

How distressing, then, that only nine states count computer science as credit toward high school graduation. The number of U.S. schools teaching computer science has actually declined in the past eight years.

Two wealthy and well-connected coders I know today launched a star-studded video about getting kids and educators jazzed about coding.

Hadi and Ali Partovi, who are funding the film and their new MORE

Rethinking the online education revolution

I met Pooja Sankar two years ago after she founded Piazza, a collaboration platform that facilitates class discussion among students and teachers. Starting with a few students at Stanford, Piazza now is used at top universities such as Stanford and Princeton and MIT and in 25 countries around the world. With $7.5 million in funding from Sequoia Capital and Bessemer Ventures, Sankar, 32, aspires to play a key role in MORE

H20 2.0: Speech lessons from Marco Rubio

You can learn from yesterday's laugh line--to make sure you aren't tomorrow's!

Guest Post by Mary Civiello

By now, most of us have seen Senator Marco Rubio's awkward snatch of Poland Spring during his State of the Union response.

And if you have spoken in front of an audience, you can empathize.

A combination of nerves and bright lights causes you to sweat, dehydrate, and need H2O NOW.

The longer you wait, the worse it MORE

Sally Jewell's path to Obama's new Cabinet

By Beth Kowitt, writer

Recreational Equipment Inc. CEO Sally Jewell, President Obama's choice to be the next Secretary of the Interior, obviously did not plan her career.

She started as an engineer at Mobil Oil. Then she worked in banking—at Security Pacific Bank, West One Bank, and Washington Mutual.

In 1996, Jewell joined the board of REI, hardly dreaming that she would head the member-owned cooperative someday. But Jewell became the outdoor-equipment retailer's MORE

Behind the shuffle of women execs at NBCU

FORTUNE -- The Fortune Most Powerful Women list includes, among its 50 execs, three stars at NBC Universal. The most powerful of the trio has just gained more ground.

NBCU's announcement yesterday that Bonnie Hammer, No. 33 on Fortune's power list, is now in charge of all of the company's cable entertainment channels is not such a great surprise. Hammer reprogrammed and built USA Network and Syfy into two of the MORE

How to tell a great business story

Every business has a story.

When I went to Stanford last week to interview Tory Burch about her amazing story (Young woman with no formal education in design and no MBA builds a $2.5 billion business from scratch in less than a decade!), the University folks asked me if I would let them interview me about, yes, the art of storytelling.

Over 29 years of writing for Fortune, I've learned a lot MORE

Google exec moves to Change.org

Jennifer Dulski is taking the reins as president and COO of the buzzy online petition outfit and leaving Google, where she led project management for shopping and product ads.

By Anne VanderMey, reporter

Change.org, the buzzy online petition company that helped fuel public outrage over the Trayvon Martin murder case, has seen explosive growth over the last two years. Its founder, Ben Rattray, landed on Fortune's 40 Under 40 list last year after MORE

The man who dressed Michelle Obama

Thom Browne isn't the most famous person to come out of Allentown, Pa.—that would be automotive industry icon Lee Iacocca. But the New York fashion designer had his dose of fame this week.

When Michelle Obama and the President stepped out of their limousine on Inauguration Day morning, people were talking about the First Lady's sleek, checkered navy coat. The man who designed Mrs. Obama's outfit is Browne, who hails from MORE

Learning from Beyoncé: How to win an audience

Guest Post by Mary Civiello

The communication goal for 2013 should be aiming for authenticity.

I've been looking for what the world needs now, and Beyoncé was the catalyst. Like everyone else, I was in awe of her on Inauguration day--her beauty, her voice...and then it went just a bit flat with word that she was probably lip synching, forcing the Marine Corps band to fake it.

Oh, I know it was cold, and plenty MORE