Blog, YouTube & Content Monetization

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. Disruption has become our new workplace reality. For managers, navigating change is an everyday responsibility, not an occasional responsibility. Gallup reports that 72% of employees recently experienced workplace disruptions, and nearly a third of leaders experienced extensive disruptions. Today, no disruption is as prevalent as the rise of artificial intelligence. Yes, as sophisticated a…

Mark Zuckerberg’s marathon stint on the stand in the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust trial against Meta—the parent company of WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook—has been eye-opening for several reasons. For hours, Zuckerberg has defended his company against accusations that it stifles competition by acquiring rivals just as they begin to pose a threat. A 2012 email chain presented by the FTC seems to tell its own story. In it, Zuckerberg discusses acquiring Path and Instagram, both emerging competitors at the time. “The businesses are nascent but the networks are established, the brands are already meaningful and if they grow to a large scale they could be v…

Most email apps have strong opinions about what your inbox should look like. Notion Mail is the opposite. The new offshoot from productivity app Notion is all about flexibility. It lets you slice and dice your emails however you want: group them by date, create dedicated sections for specific contacts, add notes, or even turn your inbox into a list of action items. There’s also an AI labeling feature that can automatically sort things like package updates or health-related messages. It can feel overwhelming at first—but so can Notion itself. That hasn’t stopped the productivity platform from amassing 100 million users, with use cases ranging from simple note-taking to com…

AI is an extraordinary tool that amplifies our cognitive capacity. It can analyze, summarize, and generate content faster than any human. However, AI is only ever as good as the questions we ask it. It will never replace our capacity for thinking, and can, in fact, reinforce bias because it is learning what we teach it. For this reason, the top skills of the future include thinking skills. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report, employers anticipate that beyond technical literacy, the most in-demand capabilities will be creative thinking, critical thinking, resilience, and the capacity for learning. Thinking is a premium, and yet it is al…

Starbucks in South Korea has barred customers from using the names of South Korea’s six presidential candidates in their orders ahead of next month’s presidential election. A Starbucks Korea spokesperson told NBC News the policy was introduced “in order to prevent inappropriate and abusive use of the names.” The decision comes as South Koreans have increasingly used their Starbucks’ orders to make a political statement—ordering via app under presidential candidates’ names, and using phrases in support of or to oppose them, forcing baristas to call them out for pickup, per NBC. Some examples of those orders include: “arrest Yoon Suk Yeol” and “[opposition leader] …

In my work, I frequently observe teams whose purpose is to provide top-level service fall into frustration with their inability to deliver. With stress coming from a lack of support from their workplace’s practices, communication, or training, I can empathize. Studies find that workplace burnout is at unprecedented levels, and with layoffs forcing workers to handle multiple roles, emotionally exhausted teams deserve support to carry on. With frustrated customers being redirected to apps, endless hold times, or inadequate self-service forums that can’t address complex problems, we need solid teams to help us with our customer-facing problems. When trapped in bure…

Meta is bringing its Teen Accounts, which have stricter parental controls, to its Facebook and Messenger platforms on Tuesday, expanding its teen service from just Instagram. The social media giant rolled out Teen Accounts last year on Instagram that have built-in restrictions on who can contact teens, the content they see, and limits on their time on Instagram. Tuesday’s announcement also includes updates to Instagram’s teen service that will roll out in the next couple of months. Instagram said that teens under 16 will be prohibited from going Live unless their parents give them permission to do so. Teens under that age also will be required to have parenta…

Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke shared an internal memo on X on Monday that stressed the importance of using AI effectively in daily tasks. In fact, he wrote, using AI is now a “fundamental expectation” of Shopify employees. Spotify product designers are now expected to use AI tools to do all platform feature prototypes. The results, Lutke says, are more exploratory and faster to produce and share. Shopify already provides employees with access to various AI coding tools from Github (Copilot), Cursor, and Anthropic (Claude code). “Our task here at Shopify is to make our software unquestionably the best canvas on which to develop the best businesses of the future,” Lutke wr…

More Klarna customers are having trouble repaying their “buy now, pay later” loans, the short-term lender said this week. The disclosure corresponded with reports by lending platforms Bankrate and LendingTree, which cited an increasing share of all “buy now, pay later” users saying they had fallen behind on payments. The late or missed installments are a sign of faltering financial health among a segment of the US population, some analysts say, as the nation’s total consumer debt rises to a record $18.2 trillion and the The President administration moves to collect on federal student loans. Shoppers who opt to finance purchases through BNPL services tend to be younger t…

For all of the risks and potential dangers associated with crypto, it is still becoming an increasingly mainstream asset. That’s according to the latest data from the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), a non-profit aimed at helping Americans better understand cryptocurrency and digital assets. One in five Americans currently owns cryptocurrency in some shape or form, according to the NCA’s 2025 State of Crypto Holders Report. The report, which was produced with The Harris Poll, also finds that nearly 40% use crypto to pay for goods or services, and that two-thirds say that crypto “has a positive impact on their lives.” The data was sourced from a Harris Po…

In the past week, I had “conversations” with two leaders who talked too much. They were good people with interesting stories to share. But they went on for far too long while I just sat and listened. Characteristically, they asked few questions and, when they did, didn’t seem to be interested in my responses. These two leaders were engaged but seemingly not curious or fully present. These encounters crystallized something I’ve observed repeatedly in my decades of executive coaching: A damaging leadership blind spot is the simple inability to stop talking. I call this a “leadership trap” because it ensnares otherwise effective executives in a paradox: The same verb…

It’s safe to say that worker happiness and well-being is shaky at best. In 2024, just about half of all American employees reported feeling very satisfied with their jobs, and only about a third were happy with their pay or opportunities for promotion. Younger employees seem particularly frustrated by their working conditions: The latest edition of Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report found that just 34% of workers said they were thriving, with a marked drop from 35% to 31% among those under the age of 35. While this sentiment persists across the American workforce, a new report from the Pew Research Center indicates that blue-collar workers are perhaps the m…

In 1983, six businessmen got together and opened the first Hooters restaurant in Clearwater, Florida. Hooters of America LLC quickly became a restaurant chain success story. With its scantily clad servers and signature breaded wings, the chain sells sex appeal in addition to food—or as one of the company’s mottos puts it: “You can sell the sizzle, but you have to deliver the steak.” It inspired a niche restaurant genre called “breastaurants,” with eateries such as the Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery and Twin Peaks replicating Hooters’ busty business model. A decade ago, business was booming for breastaurant chains, with these companies experiencing record sales growt…

More than 10,000 cans of Original Coca-Cola distributed in two states have been voluntarily recalled. Manufacturer Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling initiated the recall on March 6 after reports of foreign plastic found inside cans. On March 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated the recall as Class II, per the FDA enforcement report. According to the FDA’s recall classification page, a Class II recall means “a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.” The report indicated that 864 12-count packs of the product distributed in Il…

A number of big-name tech companies have announced or are said to be planning layoffs this month, in continuation of a trend we saw in February. March 2025’s most prominent tech layoffs include those from Jack Dorsey’s fintech company Block, online meal kit company HelloFresh, server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), social media giant TikTok, and retailer Wayfair’s technology division. Here’s what you need to know. Jack Dorsey’s Block lays off over 900 workers Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s latest company, Block, has announced that it will cut 931 jobs. Block owns the popular fintech app and platforms Cash App and Square. The 931 laid-off workers represent ab…

Tomorrow, NPR’s CEO Katherine Maher goes before a DOGE congressional subcommittee to defend the public media outlet’s case for federal funding. Maher gives a preview to her testimony, sharing how funding cuts would impact Americans’ broad access to crucial news and information, particularly in rural and local areas. Maher also reveals NPR’s strategy for reengaging with their audience, how the organization can better frame its identity as an outlet for all Americans, and more. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by the former editor-in-chief of Fast Company Bob Safian. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Respo…

Personal transportation company Segway, Inc. has announced a major recall of two of its scooters after dozens of reports that a critical component of the scooters could fail, leading to the injury of the rider—or possibly even death. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? On March 20, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published a recall notice on its website announcing that Segway has initiated a recall of its popular Segway Ninebot kickscooters. The recall was initiated after the company received reports that a component in the scooters could fail, leading to the risk of a fall hazard for the rider, which could result in serious injury…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that a worrying mystery illness is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The unknown disease has so far sickened hundreds and killed dozens since reports of it first emerged in early January. Here’s what to know about the outbreaks so far. What is the disease? At this time, health officials do not know what the disease is. In the WHO’s weekly bulletin for the February 10- 16 period, the agency says the unknown disease “poses a significant public health threat.” The disease is currently active in two regional clusters, according to the report, and worryingly, of those who have died from it, nea…

As March Madness takes over this week, how many people are filling out NCAA brackets — and why? A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows what share of Americans typically take a shot at bracket predictions and their motivation for joining in the madness. The survey found that about one-quarter of Americans fill out a men’s March Madness bracket “every year” or “some years.” But what about the women’s tournament? High-profile NCAA women’s basketball games have closed the gap with men’s tournaments in terms of viewership and there is more money flowing in and around women’s sports in general; women’s teams will now be paid t…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency faces a legal challenge after approving a controversial plan to include radioactive waste in a road project late last year. The Center for Biological Diversity filed the challenge last month in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals under the Clean Air Act. The advocacy group says the federal agency has prohibited the use of phosphogypsum, a radioactive, carcinogenic, and toxic waste generated by the fertilizer industry, in road construction since 1992, citing an “unacceptable level of risk to public health.” The legal challenge is centered on a road project proposed at the New Wales facility of Mosaic Fertilizer, a subsidi…

The American economy runs on what are known as heuristics, a diverse array of mental short-cuts that help consumers make a dizzying number of choices to navigate the wild complexity of everyday life. These shortcuts help us select the restaurants we may choose to patronize, the cars we drive, the food we purchase, and the schools we attend and to which we send our children. We rely on scoring systems, certifications, and ranking methodologies to consider what movies to see, what music to listen to, and whether to purchase fair-trade products. These shortcuts come in many forms, from the complex (like the tools used to rate bonds and other financial products) to the straig…

A gust of wind sweeps over bare soil, kicking up enough dirt and dust to cut visibility to nearly zero, and for drivers, the dust storm seems to come out of nowhere. Such conditions resulted in a pileup on Interstate 70 last week in western Kansas involving dozens of cars and trucks that left eight people dead. Blinding dust also prompted New Mexico’s transportation department to close Interstate 25 from the Colorado border southwest to Las Vegas, New Mexico. Hazy or dust-darkened skies have recalled the “Dust Bowl” of the 1930s, when millions of tons of blowing soil buried farms and coated towns across the Great Plains. Lesser storms occur every year, particularl…

The skies over London could soon get a lot more exciting. Joby Aviation, the California-based electric air taxi company, announced an exclusive partnership with Virgin Atlantic on Saturday that it says will pave the way to launching its vehicles across the United Kingdom. The partnership will see Joby’s services integrated into Virgin’s app and website, and connect passengers at Heathrow and Manchester airports. Passengers will be able to reserve a seat on a Joby air taxi using Virgin’s app, the companies say. The announcement did not say when service is expected to begin. “We are delighted to be partnering with Joby to bring short-haul, zero-emission flights…

Marcia Dunn, AP reporter: Almost all roads to space begin here in Cape Canaveral. Haya Panjwani, AP correspondent: That’s Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press’ space writer. She’s following Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams’s return home from the International Space Station. PANJWANI: I’m Haya Panjwani. On this episode of “The Story Behind the AP Story,” we’re unpacking how the two astronauts got stuck up there in the first place and what they’ve done in the last few months at the station. DUNN: So Butch and Suni became the first people, the first astronauts, to strap into a Boeing Starliner capsule and be launched into space. This was last June, June 5, 2024. They…