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Few brands can point to a specific date for their downfall. For Sonos—once the darling of home audio—that date is May 7, 2024, when it rolled out a disastrous app update that left many of its 15 million customers confused by hardware and software features that were suddenly unusable. When all was said and done, more than a decade of brand trust was flipped like an off switch. Now Sonos is taking its first major steps to earn back trust and audiophile stature with a new brand strategy and the launch of two new speakers: the Sonos Play and Era 100 SL. The Sonos Play is framed as a “callback” to the original Play:1 speaker that invented the smart wireless speaker ca…

A streamlined application makes it easier than ever to apply to Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators. Here are six reasons why you should apply to our eighth annual BWFI program. 1. Brand exposure. Every ranked company and all those earning honoree status in a category will appear in the fall (September) issue of the magazine and on fastcompany.com. 2. Talent retention. Public recognition as a Best Workplace for Innovators honoree provides powerful third-party validation that enhances your ability to recruit and retain top talent. 3. Editorial access. Fast Company editors will review all applications; the application represents an opportunity to highl…

Starbucks customers who love collecting the company’s loyalty rewards stars for each dollar they spend are in for a change this morning. America’s No. 1 coffee chain is launching its revamped rewards program today, March 10. With it comes a tiered loyalty membership program and a new structure for earning stars and new rewards. Here’s what you need to know. The former Starbucks loyalty rewards system is no more Before today’s launch of the new rewards program, Starbucks’s previous loyalty system was more straightforward. Under the old system, which was in place from around 2019 until yesterday, there were no membership tiers. In that program, all Starbucks…

Loyal customers of Buc-ee’s have made the store a fan favorite, but the nonprofit Better Business Bureau tells another story, recently slapping the popular Texas-based mega gas station chain with an “F” rating. Buc-ee’s is known for the sheer size of its convenience stores (a Luling, Texas, outpost spans 75,593 square feet) and numerous gas pumps (more than 100 at some locations), along with clean, private bathrooms and barbecue brisket sandwiches. In fact, Buc-ee’s, which has stores from Texas to South Carolina, is so popular it recently announced it’s expanding to Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin. So why is …

Despite decades of scientific research, incredible advances in deep analytics and AI, and no shortage of good intentions, many organizations still struggle to select and develop the leaders they need to navigate increasingly complex and unpredictable business challenges. Markets are volatile, uncertainty is constant, and leadership quality matters more than ever. Yet many firms still fail to identify and elevate the best (or at least right) leadership talent available. Contrary to what many people think, more often than not, the problem is not a shortage of capable leaders. Rather, it is a failure of the systems designed to identify, develop, and advance them, which s…

Most organisations are no longer made up of one homogenous group of full-time employees. Instead, they’re becoming ecosystems. A mix of permanent employees, fractional leaders, freelancers, contractors, project specialists, and increasingly, technology and AI are doing part of the work too. In fact, the workforce of 2026 is predicted to become “agentic”, whereby AI agents are expected to displace or reshape tasks and roles. This makes collaboration with AI a necessity, not for the future of work, but now. This emerging blended workforce gives organisations access to a wider range of skills, faster. It allows them to scale up and down as demand changes. It creates …

Optimism has a branding problem at work. It often shows up as pressure to stay upbeat in meetings, reassurance that everything will work out, or encouragement to find the silver lining when pressure mounts. When things feel uncertain, that approach tends to backfire. As a clinical psychologist, I’ve seen how well-intentioned positivity can actually make work more strenuous. When you’re already stretched thin, being told to “stay positive” doesn’t help you reset. Research shows that when people feel pressure to suppress stress or override difficult emotions, the nervous system stays in a heightened threat state, reducing activity in the prefrontal cortex–the part of t…

It takes a few moments to see the spotted jaguar slinking through the dense, sun-dappled jungle scene projected onto a wall inside the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. Soon after, the projection changes to a snowy forest where it takes even longer to notice one—no, two—human figures nestled among bushes and rocks, obscured by gravelly full-body suits and skin-concealing tactical gear. The hidden figures, animal and human, are quintessential examples of the subject of Camouflage: Designed to Deceive, the museum’s clever and surprisingly wide-ranging new exhibition. From army fatigues to decoy tanks to double-agent disguises to the literal chameleons of the …

For years now, pundits and politicians have been predicting that the apparent AI bubble would soon burst. Companies have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into snazzy new data centers and absurdly well compensated research teams in hopes of building powerful, wildly profitable AI models. That’s despite the fact that even the most innovative AI companies still have modest revenues. OpenAI earned just $20 billion in 2025—less than the struggling Ross department stores make selling clothes, and about the same as Frito-Lay earns peddling potato chips. Given those earning realities, the current absurd level of investment feels unsustainable. But if OpenAI’…

At 92 years old, Willie Nelson has aged out of his title as the “world’s most prolific octogenarian,” but that doesn’t mean he’s slowed down. The country music legend, who has released more than 150 albums over his more than six-decade-long career and sold more than 40 million in the United States alone, has found a new milestone to reach. This time, as an entrepreneur rather than an outlaw. Nelson’s eponymous THC-infused beverage brand Willie’s Remedy+ has hit an $80-million run rate, according to the company—a multi-platinum feat for a startup that only started selling its cans and bottles online less than a year ago. For Nelson, who used to smoke two to three…

You want more confidence at work, but chances are you’re struggling to feel it. In fact, many people say that even if they’re achieving success, they still feel behind or doubt themselves. Confidence is critical not only to accomplishing objectives, but also to your self-esteem. It’s even linked with greater salary, status, and job satisfaction. When you demonstrate confidence, people are more likely to collaborate with you, and you’re also more likely to have the kind of impact that contributes to your self-assurance. But confidence is at a premium today. In fact, while 77% of people say they’re successful, 81% still feel they are behind others, according to a su…

AI can knock out an impressive amount of tedious, everyday busywork. It can take on creative tasks, too. But the fundamental question remains: should it? As AI use within organizations reaches new heights, companies are also recognizing its limitations—and, in some cases, pulling back. Consider Duolingo, the language-learning company that announced it would gradually eliminate freelance writers and translators, replacing them with AI-generated content. After public backlash and user reports that the AI-produced lessons felt formulaic and lacked cultural nuance, Duolingo clarified its position. “I do not see AI as replacing what our employees do . . . I see it as a…

In 1996, the cellular phone industry lost $650 million to fraud. Criminals with electronic scanners could pluck your phone number right out of the air and clone it onto another device. Your bill would spike. You’d have no idea why. And if you complained, good luck getting anyone to take you seriously. That same year, AT&T started running ads on New York subways, ferries, and buses warning people about cellular theft. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the technology. If you were paying attention in the ’90s, you’d have been forgiven for thinking cell phones were a mess. Confusing billing. Rampant fraud. A patchwork of state regulations that couldn’t keep…

In the middle of a Monday workday, I found myself writing fanfiction for a stranger on the internet who wanted to read a scenario of themselves with a pit of quicksand. I was logged onto “Your AI slop bores me,” a new gamified website designed by programmer Mihir Maroju. The site is a parody of popular chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude. Except instead of asking an AI your most random, silly, out-of-left-field questions, “Your AI slop bores me” directs your requests to an actual random person on the internet. “In a world looming with the threat of ai stealing your job, save humanity by stealing ai’s job,” the site’s description reads. Accord…

Blue skies ahead? Jay Graber, the CEO of social media network Bluesky, announced that they were stepping down on Monday. Graber is “transitioning from CEO to a new role as Bluesky’s Chief Innovation Officer,” she wrote in a Bluesky post, and will be succeeded by new interim CEO Toni Schneider. Schneider, a venture capitalist and partner at True Ventures, wrote that he was “thrilled to announce that I’ll be joining Bluesky as interim CEO. I deeply believe in what this team has built and the open social web they’re fighting for,” in a post of his own. Bluesky was founded by Jack Dorsey in 2019, and actually began as an internal project at what was then Twitter …

Xbox employees and players can rest assured that the console’s future is safe from the threat of artificial intelligence, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says. That’s per an internal Q&A with incoming Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, Windows Central reported Sunday. Xbox—along with Nintendo’s consoles and Sony’s PlayStation line—has rounded out the big three video game consoles for decades. But last month, there were rumors of its demise: Xbox cofounder Seamus Blackley speculated that Microsoft is “sunsetting” the company’s main player in the video game industry because it wasn’t an AI focus for Microsoft. Longtime Xbox boss Phil Spencer resigned last month, and Sharma, who was …

Caitlin Kalinowski, an OpenAI employee who oversaw hardware within the robotics division, is leaving the company. Kalinowski’s decision came shortly after OpenAI’s deal with the Pentagon was announced in late February. In a post on social media, Kalinowski explained that the decision was about “principle” in regard to the recent deal. “I care deeply about the Robotics team and the work we built together. This wasn’t an easy call,” Kalinowski wrote. “AI has an important role in national security. But surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorization are lines that deserved more deliberation than they got.” OpenAI’s de…

Investors in the live entertainment giant Live Nation are feeling optimistic this morning after reports that the company has settled its civil antitrust lawsuit with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and 39 participating states. The settlement will cost Live Nation, but it means that the company has narrowly avoided a forced breakup with its popular subsidiary, Ticketmaster. The reports come after a week-long trial in which the DOJ laid out its argument that Live Nation and Ticketmaster rely on anticompetitive conduct to create a monopoly over the live events industry in the U.S., leading the DOJ to call for a separation of the brands. On March 9, sources close to…

Logitech may be known for keyboards, webcams, and gaming gear, but CEO Hanneke Faber is going beyond AI-first. She explains how she’s leading the hardware brand through an AI shift, approaching it as a leadership challenge, not just a tech one. Faber also shares lessons from competitive diving and navigating ever-shifting global tariffs. 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 Response features candid conversations with today’s top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you…

Shares in Hims & Hers Health (NYSE: HIMS) are soaring this morning after an unconfirmed report that the telehealth company is entering into a deal with Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) to sell its popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, including Wegovy. The rumored deal is as surprising as Hims & Hers’s surging stock price this morning, especially considering that just last month, Novo was threatening to sue the telehealth provider. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? Late on Friday, Bloomberg reported that Hims & Hers has reached an agreement with the Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk to sell Novo’s weight-loss drugs, including the popular GLP-1 pill…

Issey Miyake’s latest design is a pair of sunglasses inspired by the art of pottery. The glasses, called “Uroko,” are part of Miyake‘s Spring Summer 2026 collection, Dancing Texture. Rather than the typical two-lens structure, they feature eight separate lenses that curve around the temples like a trippy optical illusion. While the design itself reads futuristic, the texture of the frames is almost organic—like a relic of an ancient advanced society. They’re set to debut on Miyake’s website in mid-March for $680. Each piece of the Dancing Texture collection, which includes structured garments alongside billowing, patterned textiles, pulls inspiration from the …