Blog, YouTube & Content Monetization

Whether we like it or not, AI has infiltrated the workplace and employees are under pressure to use it. However, according to a new study, you may want to skip asking AI to help you manage matters of the heart. The two-part study, titled “Sycophantic AI decreases prosocial intentions and promotes dependence” was recently published in Science. The experiment made the case that using chatbots for personal advice and navigating emotional situations can be harmful because because the system is designed to tell people what they want to hear. Using chatbots may reinforce troubling behavior rather than help people take accountability for harm and apologize. A recent Cog…

It might not seem like the maker of lawn and garden products and a skincare and cosmetics company have much in common. But both ScottsMiracle-Gro and Clinique have recognized that people are likely to seek out advice online these days, which is why they’re meeting consumers where they are with educational resources. “We’re using a lot of agentic AI to help people in any given market,” said John Sass, senior vice president and chief creative officer at ScottsMiracle-Gro, speaking at the Fast Company Grill at SXSW. “We have 158 years of experience; we can help you learn how to grow, whether you’re in Miami or Austin or Columbus, Ohio.” Recognizing this opportunity f…

For decades, there was a stubborn gender gap in employment, even as women grew more and more educated. Thirty-odd years ago, men still held 7 million more jobs—despite the fact that women were already earning college degrees at higher rates than their male counterparts. But by 2020, there was a turning point, and women outpaced men on non-farm payrolls by 109,000 jobs, which meant that they accounted for over 50% of the workforce. Then the pandemic happened. In the years since, women have slowly regained their foothold in the labor force, although working mothers in particular have faced an uphill battle between strict in-office policies and ballooning childcare cost…

Back in 1972, only 54 years ago, it was way harder for women and girls to play sports. Resources were scarce, there weren’t the same legal protections as today, it was socially discouraged—and coaches even often found themselves transporting entire teams themselves in their own cars, mopping courts and floors after a match, and funding the purchasing of uniforms and sweats. Before Title IX—the landmark legislation that ended sex-based discrimination in sports passed in 1972—girls and young women who wanted to go to college for athletics sometimes found they simply couldn’t. Maybe the admission requirements (which were different than they were for men) were too st…

Farmers around the world are feeling the squeeze of the Iran war. Gas prices have shot up and fertilizer supplies are waning due to Tehran’s near shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli bombing. The fertilizer shortage is putting the livelihood of farmers in developing countries — already troubled by rising temperatures and erratic weather systems — further at risk, and could lead to people everywhere paying more for food. The poorest farmers in the Northern Hemisphere rely on fertilizer imports from the Gulf, and the shortage comes just as planting season begins, said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program. “In the …

The promise of AI was always that it would handle certain kinds of work so we could focus on others. It was going to free our time, reduce friction, and let us concentrate on what requires human judgment and creativity. That promise assumed we would divide the labor wisely. That we would hand off the operational drag—the scheduling, formatting, and summarizing that eats the day before we’ve had a chance to think. We would keep the cognitive friction—the hard work of wrestling with ambiguity, forming a point of view, and figuring out the right approach. The work where your value is actually made. Instead we handed over the thinking first. Because cognitive friction is th…

The gas station convenience chain Buc-ee’s is known for selling a slew of logo-ed merch to its devoted brand fans. And increasingly, it’s also known for aggressive trademark enforcement, suing competitors, apparel brands, and small businesses over logos, mascots, and even names it argues are too close to its signature smiling beaver. Most recently, Buc-ee’s, which has locations across the South, has gone after Ohio chain Mickey’s for its mascot logo, a cartoon moose, a move greeted with some skepticism. After all, as one skeptical commentator noted: “A beaver is not a moose.” Fair enough. But as the Texas-based chain grows, such lawsuits—often focused on cartoon animals,…

In a 1944 issue of Arts & Architecture magazine, the architect and designer Charles Eames sounded an alarm. “It has been estimated that one million five hundred thousand houses each year for a period of 10 years will be needed to relieve the urgent housing problem of this country,” he wrote. “The enormity of such a need cannot even be partially satisfied by building techniques as we have known and used them in the past. Large scale industry would seem to be the only logical means by which we can achieve an enterprise of such proportion.” Throughout their careers, Charles and Ray Eames explored how industrial production could impact home building, most famously throu…

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. If you want a glimpse of the future of business, I recommend spending a few hours with Steven Bartlett, entrepreneur, investor, and host of the The Diary of a CEO podcast. I did just that earlier this month, when I interviewed Bartlett alongside PwC partners at a series of Daily Decode ses…

There’s a pigeon pitcher on the dining table. A large burl wood button mounted on the wall as art. A doormat in the shape of an apple. Emma Chamberlain, one of Gen Z’s most influential tastemakers, has designed a 100-piece collection for West Elm that spans furniture, textiles, and decor. It’s full of elegant pieces including a velvet sofa, a round wooden dining table, and cabinets wrapped in cream lacquer. But woven into this lush aesthetic are kitschy little details meant to feel like thrift shop finds. It’s a collaboration that offers a glimpse into what today’s twenty-somethings are looking for as they outfit their first homes. Three years ago, when Chamberlain was…

Toxic bosses are not only a “people issue.” They are a balance-sheet issue, a culture issue, and a reputational issue. And if you are a CEO, founder, or a leader trying to build something lasting, you cannot afford to treat them as background noise. Here’s the truth: a single toxic boss can kill psychological safety, drain creativity, spike turnover, and teach your next generation of leaders that fear is an acceptable management tool. I’ve spent 25 years in organizational psychology, watching this pattern repeat across industries, including tech and other high-growth environments. I’ve also conducted interviews and surveys across North America to dig deep into the behav…

For 60 years, people have read Warren Buffett’s annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letters to gain insights into his investment philosophies. Every year, thousands convened at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting to gain insights from Buffett and his partner, the late Charlie Munger. Buffett has also done countless interviews over the years. Winnowing all that advice down to four items isn’t an easy task, but this is my attempt. Here’s Buffett on leadership, focus, the best investment you can make, and the true meaning of success. Buffett on leadership What model does Buffett use for managing people? A baseball batboy. As Buffett wrote in his 2002 sha…

Making the move to management is not for every employee, yet many think it’s the only option for climbing the ladder. There’s an art to coaching individual contributors who either want to take that step, or offering a promotion to someone you think is ready. It’s important to approach this not just as an opportunity, but a teachable moment. We asked our Fast Company Impact Council members how they coach team members to make this move and got much wise counsel in return. Their ideas might improve how you approach this with your employees. 1. TRUST YOUR PEOPLE I tell them I am trusting them, and in turn, they need to trust their people. Trust is giving someone an assignmen…

Your favorite spot for slow-cooked riblets might be cooked. A number of Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurants have closed their doors in the wake of mounting financial distress and declining foot traffic, according to a recent bankruptcy filing. The 10 shuttered stores, located in Florida and Georgia, are all owned by an Atlanta-based Applebee’s franchisee that last week became the latest regional restaurateur to seek Chapter 11 protection. The list of impacted locations includes long-standing Applebee’s restaurants near top tourist destinations such as SeaWorld, Walt Disney World, and the Daytona International Speedway. Most of the locations w…

Shares of mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) saw huge price surges early Monday after hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posted about the two stocks on social media. “Some of the highest quality businesses in the world are trading at extremely cheap prices. Ignore the MSM. One of the most one-sided wars in history that will end well for the U.S. and the world. And we have the potential for a large peace dividend. One of the best times in a long time to buy quality. Ignore the bears,” Ackman wrote in a Sunday night post on X. “And Fannie and Freddie are stupidly cheap. Asymmetry at its best. They could be a 10X and it could happen soon.” It was th…

Gen Z founders may not have spent as much time in the workplace when they started their companies as some older founders. But in some ways, that gives them unique insight that can be valuable for leaders. For Katie Diasti and Anam Lakhani, a disconnect from the work they were doing as interns has helped to shape their leadership style. Specifically, those experiences inspired them to ensure that all of their team members feel a sense of both ownership and impact for the work they’re doing. “I remember interning and creating a whole deck and making a whole presentation, but never being allowed to be in the room that the presentation was in,” recalled Diasti, found…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Florida’s particularly intense overheating during the Pandemic Housing Boom is the key reason for its downside pricing vulnerability. While U.S. home prices rose +41% between March 2020 and June 2022, Florida home prices surged +51% over the same period—leaving some parts of the state significantly overvalued. Only, it takes a large enough shift in the supply-demand equilibrium for that vulnerability to manifest into falling prices. Of course, over the past three years, 5 factors have come together to create a supply-demand equilibrium shift large en…

A pair of landmark court cases found Meta and YouTube guilty last week of harming young users by designing algorithms that were addictive and led to mental health distress. The damages assessed against the companies amounted to a fraction of a percent of their annual earnings. The long-term implications, however, could be far more significant. The rulings found that programmed algorithms are not protected by Section 230, the federal law that shields social media companies from liability for user-posted content. That represents a crack in a legal defense these companies have relied on for years. And thousands of similar cases are already pending. Section 230 has be…

Fast Company is extending its application deadline for Best Workplaces for Innovators 2026 to Friday, April 3 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. This marks the eighth year Fast Company will be recognizing companies and organizations from around the world that most effectively empower employees at all levels to improve processes, create new products, or invent whole new ways of doing business. In addition to ranking the world’s Best Workplaces for Innovators, we will also recognize companies in 19 different categories. What differentiates Best Workplaces for Innovators from existing best-places-to-work lists is that it goes beyond benefits, competitive compensation, a…