What's on Your Mind?

Middle managers have had a hard go of it over the past five years. There was the upheaval of the pandemic, followed by ongoing changes in the workplace as companies adjusted to remote work and then, in many cases, eventually brought employees back into the office. Amid all these fluctuations, managers have been tasked with mitigating low morale, parrying employee discontent, and juggling their mounting responsibilities, especially as recurring layoffs thin their ranks. It doesn’t seem like the challenges middle managers are facing will disappear anytime soon, which could lead to high rates of turnover in the very near future. And it’s also not clear whether a new gene…

Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, the Joslyn Art Museum was a hub of culture for surrounding Midwestern towns. No matter how much or how little you knew about fine art, it was the place you could go to see works that you might not otherwise be able to access outside of the coasts. Decades after leaving Omaha, I returned this past December, and while visiting my mother’s house, I noticed a brochure for the Joslyn in her mail pile. It was unusually striking and had a look and feel that was vastly different from the Joslyn’s original brand identity. The old logotype, locked up with a pictorial mark, was traditional and respectable, but also very much tied to the past. The n…

In his last semester at college, in between studying labor law and environmental impact assessment, Alex Elderbroom took a class on something very different: how to build a tiny house. In the class, at Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York—a school that mixes traditional academics with more practical courses—a small group of students spent three months last fall going through each step of the construction process, from planning and purchasing materials to building basic furniture for the finished 8-by-10-foot space. Elderbroom, who just graduated, happens to already rent a tiny cabin. He was interested in learning how to build one of the homes himself. “It seem…

The heated race to develop and deploy new large language models and AI products has seen innovation surge—and revenue soar—at companies supporting AI infrastructure. This year’s Most Innovative Companies in computing include TSMC; the Taiwan-based fabricator’s N3P chip offers the smallest, most densely packed transistor size yet, while the company Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology is integral to AI accelerator chips, including Nvidia’s Blackwell GPU. Lambda Labs’ new 1-Click service provides on-demand, self-serve GPU clusters for large-scale model training without long-term contracts. SambaNova Systems takes another tack with its SambaNova Cloud, an …

The ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas makes provisions for the passage of food and humanitarian aid into Gaza. This support is much needed given that Gaza’s agricultural system has been severely damaged over the course of the war. Over the past 17 months we have analysed satellite images across the Gaza Strip to quantify the scale of agricultural destruction across the region. Our newly published research reveals not only the widespread extent of this destruction but also the potentially unprecedented pace at which it occurred. Our work covers the period until September 2024 but further data through to January 2025 is also available. Before the war, tomato…

A year before Elon Musk helped start OpenAI in San Francisco, philanthropist and Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen already had established his own nonprofit artificial intelligence research laboratory in Seattle. Their mission was to advance AI for humanity’s benefit. More than a decade later, the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, or Ai2, isn’t nearly as well-known as the ChatGPT maker but is still pursuing the “high-impact” AI sought by Allen, who died in 2018. One of its latest AI models, Tulu 3 405B, rivals OpenAI and China’s DeepSeek on several benchmarks. But unlike OpenAI, it says it’s developing AI systems that are “truly open” for others to build upon. …

“Competency checking” is a practice that imposes extra scrutiny on Black professionals and people of color, challenging their qualifications, intellect, and ability to advance. There are three primary ways competency checking is deployed in the modern workplace. The first is the assumption of Black intellectual inferiority and/or a lack of qualifications. This can manifest in low expectations, marginalization, and extreme micromanagement. (More simply: If someone assumes, consciously or unconsciously, that all Black people are intellectually inferior, they may question the person and their qualifications more closely during an interview and, once hired, pay much more …

Reid Hoffman returns to Rapid Response to explore today’s AI landscape, and the future promised by a concept he calls “superagency.” Hoffman shares his vision for what an AI-infused workday will soon look like, how we should address society’s greatest fears about technology, and more. As we enter a daunting new era—politically, socially, and technologically—Hoffman urges listeners to choose curiosity over fear. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by Robert Safian, former editor-in-chief of Fast Company. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s top business leader…

The last year has seen a global reckoning with the effects of social media on kids. Australia banned children younger than 16 from using social media platform. Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation became one of the most purchased books of 2024. And former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for these platforms to create warning labels akin to those on tobacco products. Despite wide acceptance that social media can contribute negatively to children’s social and emotional well-being, families, schools, and governments have no interest in pretending these platforms will eventually fade into obsoletion. Instead, many of these entities are interested in reevaluati…

In this economy, job seekers face a tough market, despite strong job growth. Some apply for more than a hundred jobs before landing one. Many are looking for any edge they can get—to secure a coveted interview, and eventually, land a position they’re excited about. In his book, Sell Yourself Like a CEO, headhunter Ryan Sheppard provides valuable guidelines for anyone wanting to advance in their career. Sheppard, who works closely with CEOs, argues that top leaders have skills that anyone in the job market would do well to emulate. Here are five ways to sell yourself like a successful CEO would: 1. DEVELOP A CEO MINDSET A strong CEO is able to convey their v…

At the Exceptional Women Alliance (EWA), we empower high-level women to mentor one another, encouraging personal and professional fulfillment through meaningful connections. This month, I am delighted to introduce Malika Begin, CEO and founder of Begin Development, a consulting firm based in Malibu, California. Malika shares her insights on the transformative power of generous leadership—an approach rooted in empathy and purpose—especially during crises like the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. Q: In moments of crisis, what leadership styles or qualities have the greatest impact on nurturing trust, resilience, and forward momentum within a team? Malika Begin: …

If you scroll through your old photos from the mid-2010s—the golden era of Snapchat—chances are a fair number of those pictures feature a dog filter or a flower crown. Now, nearly a decade later, one TikToker has now been struck by a unique dilemma. “Your daughter wants to see her baby pictures, but she was born in 2016,” user @themkidzmama3 posted in a video that has since gone viral. As the Adele’s 2015 hit “Hello” plays, a slideshow of her daughter’s baby photos flashes across the screen. Each photo uses a different filter, from the dog ears to a Sia wig. It’s undeniable: Her daughter is a product of the Snapchat filter era. There was a time when b…

Recruitment is a big part of what HR teams do, but it’s no secret that it can be both challenging and expensive. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), replacing an employee can cost a company anywhere from six to nine months of their salary. For highly trained positions, research shows that number can climb to as much as 213% of their salary! No matter your company’s size or industry, that’s a serious expense. The good news? A brand-savvy HR team can help bring these costs down. By addressing the key concerns of potential employees and attracting top-tier candidates who are a great fit, they can save valuable time and money in the recruitment …

Performance reviews are often arduous, but they don’t have to be. AI tools can enhance the process for both managers and employees, offering new possibilities for efficiency and fairness. From streamlining data analysis to eliminating bias, here’s how AI is transforming performance evaluations and employee development across various industries. AI Connects Dots for Comprehensive Reviews AI has significantly improved our performance review process by providing managers with a clearer, more comprehensive view of their teams. Previously, we had vast amounts of data buried across various productivity tools—including meeting notes, shared documents, messages, and task u…

Super Bowl LIX had a clear winner on the field, but victory for brands was more hard-won. Many aimed for impact, but did they deliver? Autodesk CMO Dara Treseder offers hot takes on this year’s hits and misses from the big game’s ads. She joins host Bob Safian to break down what makes an NBDB (“never been done before”) moment, why so many brands adopted a “safe” approach, and what trends business leaders should note going forward. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by Robert Safian, former editor-in-chief of Fast Company. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s…

Nearly 33% of women say they feel anxious about their careers in 2025, and another 17% feel overwhelmed. Close to 60% of women say current events are increasing stress levels and disrupting focus at work. These findings come from recent data from careers platform InHerSight. They overlay already concerning data about surging anxiety across the U.S. In 2024, 43% of adults reported feeling more anxious than they did the previous year, compared to 37% in 2023 and 32% in 2022, according to a poll by the American Psychiatric Association. Anxiety about career progression and stress from current events are distinct challenges. However, they share a common thread. Both af…

After 23 years as part of advertising and marketing services holding company IPG, creative agency R/GA bought back its independence through a new partnership between R/GA’s global management and private equity firm Truelink Capital. It marks the official announcement of a move reported by AdAge earlier this month, and after leaks about a potential sale emerged last summer. The management team leading the agency back to private business is headed by R/GA’s global CEO, Robin Forbes, and chair and global chief creative officer Tiffany Rolfe. Truelink Capital is also an investor in marketing tech companies Flipp and Ansira, as well as experiential marketing firm GES. Fin…

A group of investors led by Elon Musk has given OpenAI an unsolicited offer of $97.4 billion to buy the nonprofit part of OpenAI. An attorney for the group submitted the bid to OpenAI Monday, the Wall Street Journal reports. Per the Journal, the other investors in the group include Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, Atreides Management, Vy Capital, and 8VC, a venture firm led by Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale. Ari Emanuel, CEO of sports and entertainment company Endeavor, is also backing the offer through his investment fund. OpenAI uses a hybrid business structure that consists of a nonprofit parent entity (OpenAI, Inc.) and a for-profit subsidiary (OpenAI LP…

If you’ve ever felt like your pet knows exactly when to pull you away from the stress of your computer screen, you aren’t alone. A landmark study surveying over 30,000 pet owners in 20 different countries found that 78% of dog or cat owners report that their pets remind them to take breaks during work or tasks, with 50% of the participants saying this happens daily. The study, which was conducted by YouGov on behalf of Mars, is the largest international survey of its kind in the world. The findings resonated deeply with David Reilly, global VP at Mars. “If my dog’s at daycare, I don’t take a break at lunch time,” he says. “But if my dog’s not at daycare, som…

It’s been gradual, but generative AI models and the apps they power have begun to measurably deliver returns for businesses. Organizations across many industries believe their employees are more productive and efficient with AI tools such as chatbots and coding assistants at their side. Numerous AI startups found traction offering such solutions during 2024. Glean, for example, puts cutting-edge AI search capabilities in the hands of employees so that they can tap into various apps and platforms to find documents and corporate intelligence. Contextual AI lets organizations put a company’s proprietary intelligence into a secure data store, then lets them build AI apps tha…

With less than a week before this year’s Super Bowl, many advertisers are already armpit-deep into their big game strategy. Brands have dropped teasers, trailers, and even full ads in anticipation of getting us all excited about what they view as their holiest of days: the Only Day People Actually Look Forward to the Commercials. Depending on who you ask, every Shakespeare play can be divided into three or four types: Tragedy, Comedy, History, and “Problem Plays.” Meanwhile, past researchers have analyzed thousands of novels to find six basic plot points that underpin every story: Rags to riches (a steady rise from bad to good fortune); Riches to rags (a fall from go…

Earlier this month, Nike dropped the “Flagstaff” colorway of its Book 1 sneaker, the signature model of Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker. Its dark green shade reflects Flagstaff, Arizona’s situation in the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest—it’s not all cactuses and sand in the Grand Canyon State—and the shoe plays off Booker’s status as one of the many second-home owners in the area. “When Book needs to escape the desert heat,” the Nike copy explains, “he heads to Flagstaff, where he can walk the mountain paths worry-free.” Nike’s use of local color seems to be part of a larger branding trend that emphasizes small-scale authenticity over brute-force bigness. As a lo…