If you need to cancel a job interview, give as much notice as possible, connect with the hiring manager on LinkedIn and do it over the phone if possible. If you're canceling because the job isn't a good fit, mention what roles at the company would better suit your skills or pass along the name of a colleague or friend who might be a better fit.

The next time an idea is being debated and someone is skeptical, try asking "How is this useful?" writes Dan Rockwell. This advances the conversation toward reaching goals rather than toward inaction.

It's a manager's job to build a work environment where everyone knows the rules, where they fit in the larger picture and understand the many ways feedback should flow, writes Art Petty. Unfortunately, "most environments have no guiding values or expectations to help people navigate the sticky parts, which usually involve people and differences of opinion," he writes.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits clocked in at 411,000 last week, little changed from the previous period's revised tally of 418,000, according to the Labor Department. The number was above the Dow Jones estimate of 380,000.

Job hunting is between 1% and 4% below the national average in 12 states that have ended federal unemployment payments before their Sept. 6 expiration, according to an analysis by Indeed. Economists say the data could change in coming weeks since benefits ended less than two weeks ago.

Warren Buffett has been giving most of his money to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for 10 years and has been the only trustee other than the Gateses since 2006. This departure may just reflect an opportune time to back out. Some of Buffett's comments, though, raise questions about how the future of billionaire philanthropy is changing.