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Treasurys posted solid gains Friday as oil futures dropped $15 a barrel, while the S&P 500 logged its 10th straight day of higher highs, according to the head of correspondent business development at AD Mortgage. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The My Arcade Atari Gamestation Go is down to $124.99 on Woot, compared to its usual $179.99, and still below the $148.99 it’s currently listed for on Amazon. Price-trackers show this is the lowest it has dropped so far. Shipping is free for Prime members, and the deal is expected to run for about 12 days, though it could end sooner if the stock runs out. My Arcade Atari Gamestation Go Handheld Retro Gaming Console $124.99 at Woot $180.06 Save $55.07 Get Deal Get Deal $124.99 at Woot $180.06 Save $55.07 Atari is no longer the dominant force it was in the 1980s, but its catalog still defines early gaming history. The Gamestation Go tries to package that legacy into a single portable device, both in how it looks and how it plays. The main draw is the library. You get more than 200 built-in games, including recognizable titles like Asteroids, Breakout, Centipede, Missile Command, Tempest, and Yar’s Revenge. Most of the collection comes from the Atari 2600, with smaller selections from the 5200 and arcade releases. There are also a few licensed additions like PAC-MAN and games from Jaleco and PIKO Interactive. If that is not enough, you can expand the library further using a microSD card. The hardware is also designed to match the games. There is a 7-inch color display, and instead of relying on one control scheme, it includes a paddle, d-pad, trackball, numeric keypad, and standard buttons. You’ll also find a “SmartGlow” feature that lights up the controls you need for each game, which helps when switching between very different input styles. As for connectivity, it connects to a TV through HDMI, includes wifi for updates, and runs on a built-in rechargeable battery. On the downside, the build quality feels basic, and the layout is not very comfortable for long sessions. Also, the controls are accurate to the era, but that does not always translate to modern ergonomics. Still, if the goal is nostalgia and variety, the Gamestation Go does a lot, especially at this price. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $199.99 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" A16 128GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Silver, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $299.00 (List Price $399.00) Amazon Fire TV Soundbar — $99.99 (List Price $119.99) Blink Video Doorbell Wireless (Newest Model) + Sync Module Core — $35.99 (List Price $69.99) Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen, 2-pack, White) — $59.98 (List Price $79.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Elon Musk has been summoned to Paris on Monday, where investigators are looking into allegations of misconduct related to the social media platform X, including the spread of child sexual abuse material and deepfake content. The world’s richest man and Linda Yaccarino — the former CEO of X — have been summoned for “voluntary interviews,” while other employees of the platform are scheduled to be heard as witnesses throughout this week, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. It remains unclear whether Musk and Yaccarino will travel to Paris. A spokesperson for X did not respond to questions from The Associated Press and Yaccarino’s current company, eMed, did not answer a request sent to the press email. French prosecutors also suspect that controversy around the platform’s AI system Grok’s deepfakes was concocted to boost the value of Musk-owned companies ahead of a key market listing, and alerted U.S. authorities. Musk welcomed a report that U.S. justice officials refused to help French investigators, posting on X, “This needs to stop.” The reason for summoning Musk Musk was summoned after a search took place in February at the French premises of X as part of an investigation opened in January 2025 by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office. Musk and Yaccarino have been invited in their capacities as managers of X at the time of the events investigated. Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025. “These voluntary interviews with the executives are intended to allow them to present their position regarding the facts and, where appropriate, the compliance measures they plan to implement,” prosecutors said. “At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the ultimate objective of ensuring that platform X complies with French law, insofar as it operates within the national territory.” The Paris prosecutor’s office said Musk and Yaccarino’s potential no-show on Monday “is not an obstacle for investigations to continue.” What is being investigated French authorities opened their investigation after reports from a French lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms on X likely distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system. It expanded after the AI system, Grok, generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust, a crime in France, and spread sexually explicit deepfakes. It’s looking into alleged “complicity” in possessing and spreading pornographic images of minors, sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organized group, among other charges. Grok, which was built by xAI and is available through X, sparked global outrage this year after it pumped out a torrent of sexualized nonconsensual deepfake images in response to requests from X users. Grok also wrote in a widely shared post in French that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for “disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus” rather than for mass murder — language long associated with Holocaust denial. In later posts on X, the chatbot reversed itself and acknowledged that its earlier reply was wrong, saying it had been deleted, and pointed to historical evidence that Zyklon B was used to kill more than 1 million people in Auschwitz gas chambers. French prosecutors alert U.S. authorities In March, the Paris prosecutor’s office alerted the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — the U.S. federal agency responsible for regulating and overseeing financial markets — suggesting “that the controversy surrounding sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Grok may have been deliberately orchestrated to artificially boost the value of the companies X and xAI — potentially constituting criminal offenses,” prosecutors said. The Paris prosecutor’s office said this could have been done “ahead of the planned June 2026 stock market listing of the new entity formed by the merger of Space X and xAI, at a time when company X was clearly losing momentum.” Justice Department brushes off French call According to the Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department told French law enforcement authorities it wouldn’t facilitate their efforts to investigate Musk’s X. The newspaper reported that the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, in a two-page letter last week, accused the French of inappropriately using its justice system to interfere with an American business. The letter also said France’s requests for U.S. assistance “constitute an effort to entangle the United States in a politically charged criminal proceeding aimed at wrongfully regulating through prosecution the business activities of a social media platform.” French judicial authorities didn’t respond to requests for comments. Investigations launched into several internet platforms The cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office has launched in recent years a series of investigations focusing on internet platforms’ suspected illegal activities. French-language website Coco, which was cited in the landmark trial that turned Gisèle Pelicot into a global icon against sexual violence, closed in 2024 as its manager is accused of complicity in spreading child pornography and trafficking of children for sexual purposes, among other things. Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, was handed preliminary charges and placed under judicial supervision for allegedly allowing criminal activity on the platform, including child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking. The Paris prosecutor’s office opened last year an investigation into TikTok over allegations that the platform allows content promoting suicide and that its algorithms may encourage vulnerable young people to take their own lives. Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it has lodged a new complaint against X with the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office targeting “the platform’s policies that allow disinformation to flourish.” Associated Press reporter Kelvin Chan contributed to this story. —Samuel Petrequin, Associated Press View the full article

A business plan mission statement defines your company’s purpose and core values, serving as an essential guide for strategic decisions. It communicates what you do and who you serve, setting you apart from competitors. This clarity not merely aligns your team’s efforts but also reassures investors about your direction. Crafting an effective mission statement involves key components that resonate with your audience. Comprehending these elements can greatly impact your business’s success and sustainability. Key Takeaways A business plan mission statement defines the company’s purpose, direction, and core values. It identifies the target audience and communicates the unique value proposition. A strong mission statement unites employees towards shared goals and guides strategic decision-making. Regular review ensures the mission statement remains relevant and aligned with evolving business objectives. It differentiates the company from competitors and reassures stakeholders about its intent and direction. Understanding the Purpose of a Mission Statement A mission statement is a crucial element of any business, serving as a clear declaration of its purpose and direction. To define a mission statement, think of it as outlining what your company does, whom it serves, and what sets it apart from competitors. The importance of a mission statement lies in its ability to unite employees, aligning their efforts toward shared goals and enhancing productivity. A well-crafted mission statement not only guides strategic decision-making but also reassures investors about your long-term vision. When creating a mission statement, consider what makes a good mission statement: clarity, inspiration, and relevance. Regularly reviewing it guarantees it stays aligned with your evolving business objectives, highlighting the difference between mission and vision. Key Components of a Business Plan Mission Statement Creating a business plan mission statement involves several key components that clearly articulate the essence of your company. Your business mission statement should define what your company does, who it serves, and its core values. Identifying the target audience is essential, as it establishes a connection with potential clients. Furthermore, your mission statement should communicate the unique value proposition, differentiating your business from competitors. These key components of a business plan serve as a guiding framework for strategic planning and decision-making. Remember to prioritize regularly reviewing and updating your mission statement, ensuring it remains relevant and reflects your evolving goals. This ongoing process keeps your company aligned with its core values and objectives. The Role of Mission Statements in Strategic Decision-Making Although mission statements might seem like just a formality, they play a crucial role in strategic decision-making. A well-crafted mission statement provides a framework that helps you align decisions with your company’s core values and objectives. By defining your organization’s purpose, good mission statements prioritize initiatives and allocate resources effectively. Mission Statement Vision Statement Difference Guides daily operations Envisions future goals Mission is present-focused, vision is future-focused Clarifies purpose Inspires long-term goals Mission tells why you exist, vision shows where you’re going Consistency in decisions Motivates employees Mission supports strategy, vision drives aspiration Regularly revisiting your mission statement guarantees it remains relevant, adapting to market changes as it provides direction during shifts. Examples of Effective Mission Statements Effective mission statements serve as strong tools that encapsulate a company’s purpose and direction. For instance, Patagonia’s mission, “We’re in business to save our home planet,” clearly defines its commitment to social responsibility. Starbucks emphasizes customer connection with its mission, “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” Tesla’s focus on innovation is evident in its mission: “To accelerate the world’s shift to sustainable energy.” JetBlue captures a service ethos with, “To inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground.” Coca-Cola’s broader aspirations are highlighted in its mission, “To refresh the world in mind, body, and spirit.” These examples of good mission statements illustrate the difference between mission and vision statements, offering clear guidance for your business vision statement. Tips for Crafting a Compelling Mission Statement When crafting a compelling mission statement, it’s essential to keep it concise, ideally one to two sentences, to clearly articulate your company’s purpose and unique value proposition. Involve your employees in the process to promote ownership and alignment with core values. Regularly review and revise your mission statement to guarantee it reflects current goals and market conditions. Use clear and straightforward language, avoiding jargon, to communicate effectively with both internal and external audiences. Highlight the positive impact on customers and the community, making it relatable and inspiring. Remember, good vision statements complement your mission by defining future aspirations. Comprehending mission versus vision can improve your writing mission and create corporate mission statements that resonate, similar to examples of great mission statements. Frequently Asked Questions What Is a Business Mission Statement and Why Is It Important? A business mission statement is a concise declaration that defines your company’s purpose, outlining what you do, who you serve, and the value you provide. It’s important as it aligns your team and stakeholders with shared goals, guiding decision-making and resource allocation. A clear mission statement differentiates your organization from competitors, improves your identity, and communicates your unique value to customers and investors. Regular updates guarantee it stays relevant to your evolving objectives. Why Is Mission Planning Important? Mission planning’s important as it gives your business a clear direction, aligning your team’s efforts with your long-term goals. It helps everyone understand the company’s purpose, enhancing motivation and engagement. A well-defined mission guides decision-making and supports effective marketing by conveying your unique value to customers and investors. Regularly updating your mission guarantees it reflects your evolving goals, keeping your organization relevant and focused, eventually contributing to sustained success in a competitive environment. What Is the Difference Between a Mission Statement and a Business Plan? A mission statement defines your business’s core purpose and values, serving as a guiding principle. Conversely, a business plan is an extensive document that outlines how you’ll achieve your goals, detailing strategies, financial projections, and operational plans. Meanwhile, the mission statement focuses on the “why” of your business, the business plan addresses the “how” and “what,” providing a tactical roadmap for success in your market. Both are crucial but serve different functions. Why Is It Important to Write a Mission Statement? Writing a mission statement is important as it gives your business clarity and direction. It aligns your team’s goals with a common purpose, making decision-making easier. A clear mission can differentiate your company from competitors by highlighting your unique value. Regularly reviewing it guarantees it remains relevant as your business evolves. Furthermore, a strong mission nurtures employee engagement and motivation, creating a sense of belonging and purpose within your organization. Conclusion In conclusion, a business plan mission statement is vital for defining your company’s purpose and guiding its strategy. By clearly outlining your core values and unique offerings, it helps differentiate your business in a competitive environment. This statement not just unites your team around shared objectives but furthermore instills confidence in investors regarding your future direction. Crafting a compelling mission statement is indispensable, as it lays the foundation for effective decision-making and long-term success. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "What Is a Business Plan Mission Statement and Why Is It Important?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

A business plan mission statement defines your company’s purpose and core values, serving as an essential guide for strategic decisions. It communicates what you do and who you serve, setting you apart from competitors. This clarity not merely aligns your team’s efforts but also reassures investors about your direction. Crafting an effective mission statement involves key components that resonate with your audience. Comprehending these elements can greatly impact your business’s success and sustainability. Key Takeaways A business plan mission statement defines the company’s purpose, direction, and core values. It identifies the target audience and communicates the unique value proposition. A strong mission statement unites employees towards shared goals and guides strategic decision-making. Regular review ensures the mission statement remains relevant and aligned with evolving business objectives. It differentiates the company from competitors and reassures stakeholders about its intent and direction. Understanding the Purpose of a Mission Statement A mission statement is a crucial element of any business, serving as a clear declaration of its purpose and direction. To define a mission statement, think of it as outlining what your company does, whom it serves, and what sets it apart from competitors. The importance of a mission statement lies in its ability to unite employees, aligning their efforts toward shared goals and enhancing productivity. A well-crafted mission statement not only guides strategic decision-making but also reassures investors about your long-term vision. When creating a mission statement, consider what makes a good mission statement: clarity, inspiration, and relevance. Regularly reviewing it guarantees it stays aligned with your evolving business objectives, highlighting the difference between mission and vision. Key Components of a Business Plan Mission Statement Creating a business plan mission statement involves several key components that clearly articulate the essence of your company. Your business mission statement should define what your company does, who it serves, and its core values. Identifying the target audience is essential, as it establishes a connection with potential clients. Furthermore, your mission statement should communicate the unique value proposition, differentiating your business from competitors. These key components of a business plan serve as a guiding framework for strategic planning and decision-making. Remember to prioritize regularly reviewing and updating your mission statement, ensuring it remains relevant and reflects your evolving goals. This ongoing process keeps your company aligned with its core values and objectives. The Role of Mission Statements in Strategic Decision-Making Although mission statements might seem like just a formality, they play a crucial role in strategic decision-making. A well-crafted mission statement provides a framework that helps you align decisions with your company’s core values and objectives. By defining your organization’s purpose, good mission statements prioritize initiatives and allocate resources effectively. Mission Statement Vision Statement Difference Guides daily operations Envisions future goals Mission is present-focused, vision is future-focused Clarifies purpose Inspires long-term goals Mission tells why you exist, vision shows where you’re going Consistency in decisions Motivates employees Mission supports strategy, vision drives aspiration Regularly revisiting your mission statement guarantees it remains relevant, adapting to market changes as it provides direction during shifts. Examples of Effective Mission Statements Effective mission statements serve as strong tools that encapsulate a company’s purpose and direction. For instance, Patagonia’s mission, “We’re in business to save our home planet,” clearly defines its commitment to social responsibility. Starbucks emphasizes customer connection with its mission, “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” Tesla’s focus on innovation is evident in its mission: “To accelerate the world’s shift to sustainable energy.” JetBlue captures a service ethos with, “To inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground.” Coca-Cola’s broader aspirations are highlighted in its mission, “To refresh the world in mind, body, and spirit.” These examples of good mission statements illustrate the difference between mission and vision statements, offering clear guidance for your business vision statement. Tips for Crafting a Compelling Mission Statement When crafting a compelling mission statement, it’s essential to keep it concise, ideally one to two sentences, to clearly articulate your company’s purpose and unique value proposition. Involve your employees in the process to promote ownership and alignment with core values. Regularly review and revise your mission statement to guarantee it reflects current goals and market conditions. Use clear and straightforward language, avoiding jargon, to communicate effectively with both internal and external audiences. Highlight the positive impact on customers and the community, making it relatable and inspiring. Remember, good vision statements complement your mission by defining future aspirations. Comprehending mission versus vision can improve your writing mission and create corporate mission statements that resonate, similar to examples of great mission statements. Frequently Asked Questions What Is a Business Mission Statement and Why Is It Important? A business mission statement is a concise declaration that defines your company’s purpose, outlining what you do, who you serve, and the value you provide. It’s important as it aligns your team and stakeholders with shared goals, guiding decision-making and resource allocation. A clear mission statement differentiates your organization from competitors, improves your identity, and communicates your unique value to customers and investors. Regular updates guarantee it stays relevant to your evolving objectives. Why Is Mission Planning Important? Mission planning’s important as it gives your business a clear direction, aligning your team’s efforts with your long-term goals. It helps everyone understand the company’s purpose, enhancing motivation and engagement. A well-defined mission guides decision-making and supports effective marketing by conveying your unique value to customers and investors. Regularly updating your mission guarantees it reflects your evolving goals, keeping your organization relevant and focused, eventually contributing to sustained success in a competitive environment. What Is the Difference Between a Mission Statement and a Business Plan? A mission statement defines your business’s core purpose and values, serving as a guiding principle. Conversely, a business plan is an extensive document that outlines how you’ll achieve your goals, detailing strategies, financial projections, and operational plans. Meanwhile, the mission statement focuses on the “why” of your business, the business plan addresses the “how” and “what,” providing a tactical roadmap for success in your market. Both are crucial but serve different functions. Why Is It Important to Write a Mission Statement? Writing a mission statement is important as it gives your business clarity and direction. It aligns your team’s goals with a common purpose, making decision-making easier. A clear mission can differentiate your company from competitors by highlighting your unique value. Regularly reviewing it guarantees it remains relevant as your business evolves. Furthermore, a strong mission nurtures employee engagement and motivation, creating a sense of belonging and purpose within your organization. Conclusion In conclusion, a business plan mission statement is vital for defining your company’s purpose and guiding its strategy. By clearly outlining your core values and unique offerings, it helps differentiate your business in a competitive environment. This statement not just unites your team around shared objectives but furthermore instills confidence in investors regarding your future direction. Crafting a compelling mission statement is indispensable, as it lays the foundation for effective decision-making and long-term success. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "What Is a Business Plan Mission Statement and Why Is It Important?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

When you’re running a single-member LLC, choosing the right accounting software is crucial for managing your finances effectively. With so many options available, it can be challenging to determine which solution suits your business needs best. The top seven accounting software solutions include Intuit QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks, and Xero, among others. Each platform has unique features that cater to small business owners. Comprehending these differences can help you make an informed decision. What’s the best choice for you? Key Takeaways Wave offers a free basic plan ideal for single-member LLCs with limited financial activity, featuring invoicing and expense tracking capabilities. FreshBooks provides a user-friendly interface with strong invoicing features, starting at $21/month with a 60% discount for the first three months. Zoho Books includes a comprehensive free plan, supporting invoicing, expense tracking, and inventory management for up to 15 users. Intuit QuickBooks Online is highly rated for small businesses, offering robust features and a 50% discount for the first three months. QuickBooks Solopreneur targets freelancers and solo entrepreneurs with essential accounting tools, focusing on income and expense tracking without advanced complexities. Intuit QuickBooks Online When you’re managing a single-member LLC, choosing the right accounting software can streamline your financial processes considerably. Intuit QuickBooks Online is an excellent option for limited liability company accounting, rated 4.5 out of 5 for its extensive features customized for small businesses. This single member LLC accounting software offers robust invoicing and expense tracking, making it easier for you to keep your finances organized. With customizable reports and helpful AI agents, you can gain valuable financial insights without needing extensive accounting knowledge. QuickBooks Online starts at $38/month, with a 50% discount for the first three months or a free 30-day trial, making it budget-friendly. Its strong integration capabilities allow you to connect with various third-party applications, enhancing your overall workflow. Plus, with excellent customer support options available Monday through Saturday, you’ll receive timely assistance whenever you need it, ensuring a smooth experience. FreshBooks FreshBooks stands out as a top choice for single-member LLCs, particularly those focused on freelance and service-based work. It’s highly rated for its user-friendly interface and strong invoicing capabilities, making financial management easier for entrepreneurs like you. With a starting price of $21 per month, you get unlimited time tracking, expense tracking, and customizable invoicing, which can streamline your processes considerably. Furthermore, FreshBooks integrates seamlessly with popular payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal, enhancing your payment collection efficiency. For new single-member LLCs, FreshBooks offers a compelling 60% discount for the first three months, making it budget-friendly. In addition, it includes client communication tools and project management features, helping you stay organized and maintain strong client relationships. Xero Xero stands out with its user-friendly interface, making it easy for you to manage your single-member LLC’s finances without a steep learning curve. The platform offers real-time financial reporting, so you can always stay on top of your financial health and make informed decisions. With features like invoicing and expense tracking, Xero simplifies your accounting tasks during being accessible from anywhere. User-Friendly Interface A key feature of Xero is its user-friendly interface, which has garnered a perfect rating of 5.0/5 for intuitiveness, making it an ideal choice for single-member LLCs and small business owners. The customizable dashboard lets you monitor financial information at a glance, streamlining your workflow. With cloud-based accessibility, you can manage your accounts from anywhere, providing flexibility whether you’re at the office or on the move. Automated bill capture simplifies data entry, reducing the time you spend on bookkeeping tasks. In addition, Xero’s excellent mobile app enables you to perform vital accounting functions directly from your smartphone or tablet, ensuring you can stay on top of your finances no matter where you are. Real-Time Financial Reporting In regards to managing your finances effectively, real-time financial reporting is a crucial feature that many accounting software platforms, including Xero, excel in. Xero provides you with up-to-date insights into your income, expenses, and overall financial health whenever you need them. You can easily generate reports, such as profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow reports, directly from the dashboard. This improves your decision-making capabilities. The platform’s customizable reporting feature allows you to customize reports to your specific needs. Automated bank feeds guarantee that your financial data remains accurate and continuously updated. With Xero’s mobile app, you can access these reports on-the-go, making informed decisions from anywhere. Feature Benefit Note Real-Time Insights Up-to-date financial overview No more manual updates Customizable Reports Customized financial analysis Adaptable to your needs Mobile Access Financial data on-the-go Stay informed anywhere Wave Wave Accounting stands out for its free basic plan, making it a practical option for single-member LLCs with limited financial activity. You’ll find its intuitive design simplifies key tasks like invoicing and expense tracking, which is perfect if you don’t have extensive accounting expertise. Whereas the core features are free, you should be aware that additional services, such as payroll, could come with extra costs. Key Features Overview Although managing finances can be intimidating for single-member LLCs, choosing the right accounting software can simplify the process considerably. Wave offers a free accounting solution customized for microbusinesses like yours, providing crucial features without monthly fees. Its user-friendly invoicing capabilities allow you to create and send invoices easily as you track payments effortlessly. You can link your bank accounts for automatic expense tracking and categorization, which improves your financial management. Key features of Wave include: A customizable dashboard for a clear overview of your financial health. Basic reporting tools to generate financial statements. Automatic expense management that saves you time. With these features, Wave helps streamline your accounting tasks effectively. Pricing and Plans Choosing the right plan for your accounting needs is crucial, especially when you’re operating a single-member LLC on a budget. Wave offers an attractive free accounting software plan that includes vital features like income and expense tracking, invoicing, and receipt scanning. If you need payroll management later, their paid payroll service starts at $35 per month. Remember, during the basic features are free, additional services like credit card processing and payroll come with transaction fees, impacting your overall costs. Plan Type Price Free Accounting $0 Payroll Service Starting at $35/month Credit Card Processing Varies based on transactions Wave‘s cloud-based and mobile-ready platform guarantees you can manage your finances from any device. Zoho Books When managing the finances of a single-member LLC, Zoho Books stands out as a top choice owing to its user-friendly interface and broad features, which cater particularly to small business needs. Rated 5.0/5 for user-friendliness, it offers a thorough free plan, making it ideal for those on a limited budget. Key features include: Invoicing and expense tracking: Easily create and send invoices as well as keeping tabs on expenses. Inventory management: Maintain an organized view of your stock and sales. Mobile access: Use robust mobile apps to manage your finances on-the-go. Zoho Books additionally allows up to 15 users per plan, providing scalability as your business grows. With automated workflows and various payment gateway integrations, it streamlines your financial management process, making it a solid choice for busy entrepreneurs. Sage 50 Accounting Sage 50 Accounting is a well-regarded option for single-member LLCs seeking robust accounting capabilities and advanced inventory tracking features. Rated 4.0 for its excellent performance, this software caters to small to mid-sized businesses by offering thorough financial tools. You’ll find customizable reports, accounts payable and receivable management, and payroll features, all of which can improve your financial oversight. While Sage 50 is primarily a desktop solution, limiting mobility compared to cloud-based platforms, it provides strong traditional software support. The optional cloud access adds flexibility, letting you choose between desktop functionality and online capabilities. Nevertheless, the software’s advanced features may overwhelm businesses that don’t need extensive functionality. It’s vital to evaluate your specific needs before committing, as the learning curve can be steep for those unfamiliar with complex accounting software. QuickBooks Solopreneur QuickBooks Solopreneur is an excellent choice for freelancers and solo business owners who need a straightforward accounting solution. This software is particularly designed to cater to your unique needs, offering a user-friendly interface that simplifies financial management. You can easily track your income, expenses, and cash flow without dealing with the intricacies of more robust accounting tools. Here are some key features of QuickBooks Solopreneur: Affordable Pricing: It provides competitive pricing, making it accessible for individuals managing their business finances. Fundamental Tools: You’ll find basic accounting features that help you stay organized, though it lacks advanced options like inventory and time tracking. Limited Support: Keep in mind that customer support is more limited compared to other QuickBooks offerings, focusing on crucial assistance for solo entrepreneurs. This software can be a practical solution for your accounting needs. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Accounting Software for a Small Business? When choosing the best accounting software for your small business, consider options like QuickBooks Online for its robust features, starting at $38/month. FreshBooks is great for service-based businesses, beginning at $21/month. Xero offers unlimited user access, starting at $25/month. If you’re on a budget, Wave Accounting provides a free plan. Finally, Zoho Books has a competitive pricing model, making it suitable for small to midsize companies. Evaluate these based on your specific needs. Which Quickbooks for Single Member LLC? For a Single Member LLC, QuickBooks Online is your best choice. It offers robust features like invoicing, expense tracking, and customizable reporting, starting at $38/month. You’ll benefit from seamless collaboration with accountants, making tax management easier. QuickBooks Online additionally provides mobile access, allowing you to manage finances on the go. Plus, you can try it free for 30 days to see if it meets your business needs before committing to a subscription. What Method of Accounting Does an LLC Use? An LLC typically uses either the cash basis or accrual basis of accounting. The cash basis method records income and expenses when cash changes hands, making bookkeeping simpler for you. Conversely, the accrual basis recognizes revenue and expenses when they’re earned or incurred, providing a more accurate financial picture but adding complexity. For tax purposes, single-member LLCs often operate as sole proprietorships, reporting profits and losses on their personal tax returns via Schedule C. Is Xero or Quickbooks Better for Small Business? When deciding between Xero and QuickBooks for your small business, consider your specific needs. Xero offers a user-friendly interface and strong mobile functionality, ideal if you value ease of use. QuickBooks, in contrast, thrives in robust features like inventory management and extensive app integrations. QuickBooks additionally provides 24/7 support, which might be essential if you need immediate assistance. Evaluate these aspects to choose the best fit for your business operations. Conclusion Choosing the right accounting software for your single-member LLC is crucial for efficient financial management. Each of the top seven options—Intuit QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks, Xero, Wave, Zoho Books, Sage 50, and QuickBooks Solopreneur—offers distinct features catering to your business needs. By carefully evaluating pricing, functionality, and customer support, you can select the solution that best suits your requirements. Taking the time to make an informed choice can streamline your accounting processes and help your business thrive. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Top 7 Accounting Software Solutions for Single Member LLCs" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

When you’re running a single-member LLC, choosing the right accounting software is crucial for managing your finances effectively. With so many options available, it can be challenging to determine which solution suits your business needs best. The top seven accounting software solutions include Intuit QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks, and Xero, among others. Each platform has unique features that cater to small business owners. Comprehending these differences can help you make an informed decision. What’s the best choice for you? Key Takeaways Wave offers a free basic plan ideal for single-member LLCs with limited financial activity, featuring invoicing and expense tracking capabilities. FreshBooks provides a user-friendly interface with strong invoicing features, starting at $21/month with a 60% discount for the first three months. Zoho Books includes a comprehensive free plan, supporting invoicing, expense tracking, and inventory management for up to 15 users. Intuit QuickBooks Online is highly rated for small businesses, offering robust features and a 50% discount for the first three months. QuickBooks Solopreneur targets freelancers and solo entrepreneurs with essential accounting tools, focusing on income and expense tracking without advanced complexities. Intuit QuickBooks Online When you’re managing a single-member LLC, choosing the right accounting software can streamline your financial processes considerably. Intuit QuickBooks Online is an excellent option for limited liability company accounting, rated 4.5 out of 5 for its extensive features customized for small businesses. This single member LLC accounting software offers robust invoicing and expense tracking, making it easier for you to keep your finances organized. With customizable reports and helpful AI agents, you can gain valuable financial insights without needing extensive accounting knowledge. QuickBooks Online starts at $38/month, with a 50% discount for the first three months or a free 30-day trial, making it budget-friendly. Its strong integration capabilities allow you to connect with various third-party applications, enhancing your overall workflow. Plus, with excellent customer support options available Monday through Saturday, you’ll receive timely assistance whenever you need it, ensuring a smooth experience. FreshBooks FreshBooks stands out as a top choice for single-member LLCs, particularly those focused on freelance and service-based work. It’s highly rated for its user-friendly interface and strong invoicing capabilities, making financial management easier for entrepreneurs like you. With a starting price of $21 per month, you get unlimited time tracking, expense tracking, and customizable invoicing, which can streamline your processes considerably. Furthermore, FreshBooks integrates seamlessly with popular payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal, enhancing your payment collection efficiency. For new single-member LLCs, FreshBooks offers a compelling 60% discount for the first three months, making it budget-friendly. In addition, it includes client communication tools and project management features, helping you stay organized and maintain strong client relationships. Xero Xero stands out with its user-friendly interface, making it easy for you to manage your single-member LLC’s finances without a steep learning curve. The platform offers real-time financial reporting, so you can always stay on top of your financial health and make informed decisions. With features like invoicing and expense tracking, Xero simplifies your accounting tasks during being accessible from anywhere. User-Friendly Interface A key feature of Xero is its user-friendly interface, which has garnered a perfect rating of 5.0/5 for intuitiveness, making it an ideal choice for single-member LLCs and small business owners. The customizable dashboard lets you monitor financial information at a glance, streamlining your workflow. With cloud-based accessibility, you can manage your accounts from anywhere, providing flexibility whether you’re at the office or on the move. Automated bill capture simplifies data entry, reducing the time you spend on bookkeeping tasks. In addition, Xero’s excellent mobile app enables you to perform vital accounting functions directly from your smartphone or tablet, ensuring you can stay on top of your finances no matter where you are. Real-Time Financial Reporting In regards to managing your finances effectively, real-time financial reporting is a crucial feature that many accounting software platforms, including Xero, excel in. Xero provides you with up-to-date insights into your income, expenses, and overall financial health whenever you need them. You can easily generate reports, such as profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow reports, directly from the dashboard. This improves your decision-making capabilities. The platform’s customizable reporting feature allows you to customize reports to your specific needs. Automated bank feeds guarantee that your financial data remains accurate and continuously updated. With Xero’s mobile app, you can access these reports on-the-go, making informed decisions from anywhere. Feature Benefit Note Real-Time Insights Up-to-date financial overview No more manual updates Customizable Reports Customized financial analysis Adaptable to your needs Mobile Access Financial data on-the-go Stay informed anywhere Wave Wave Accounting stands out for its free basic plan, making it a practical option for single-member LLCs with limited financial activity. You’ll find its intuitive design simplifies key tasks like invoicing and expense tracking, which is perfect if you don’t have extensive accounting expertise. Whereas the core features are free, you should be aware that additional services, such as payroll, could come with extra costs. Key Features Overview Although managing finances can be intimidating for single-member LLCs, choosing the right accounting software can simplify the process considerably. Wave offers a free accounting solution customized for microbusinesses like yours, providing crucial features without monthly fees. Its user-friendly invoicing capabilities allow you to create and send invoices easily as you track payments effortlessly. You can link your bank accounts for automatic expense tracking and categorization, which improves your financial management. Key features of Wave include: A customizable dashboard for a clear overview of your financial health. Basic reporting tools to generate financial statements. Automatic expense management that saves you time. With these features, Wave helps streamline your accounting tasks effectively. Pricing and Plans Choosing the right plan for your accounting needs is crucial, especially when you’re operating a single-member LLC on a budget. Wave offers an attractive free accounting software plan that includes vital features like income and expense tracking, invoicing, and receipt scanning. If you need payroll management later, their paid payroll service starts at $35 per month. Remember, during the basic features are free, additional services like credit card processing and payroll come with transaction fees, impacting your overall costs. Plan Type Price Free Accounting $0 Payroll Service Starting at $35/month Credit Card Processing Varies based on transactions Wave‘s cloud-based and mobile-ready platform guarantees you can manage your finances from any device. Zoho Books When managing the finances of a single-member LLC, Zoho Books stands out as a top choice owing to its user-friendly interface and broad features, which cater particularly to small business needs. Rated 5.0/5 for user-friendliness, it offers a thorough free plan, making it ideal for those on a limited budget. Key features include: Invoicing and expense tracking: Easily create and send invoices as well as keeping tabs on expenses. Inventory management: Maintain an organized view of your stock and sales. Mobile access: Use robust mobile apps to manage your finances on-the-go. Zoho Books additionally allows up to 15 users per plan, providing scalability as your business grows. With automated workflows and various payment gateway integrations, it streamlines your financial management process, making it a solid choice for busy entrepreneurs. Sage 50 Accounting Sage 50 Accounting is a well-regarded option for single-member LLCs seeking robust accounting capabilities and advanced inventory tracking features. Rated 4.0 for its excellent performance, this software caters to small to mid-sized businesses by offering thorough financial tools. You’ll find customizable reports, accounts payable and receivable management, and payroll features, all of which can improve your financial oversight. While Sage 50 is primarily a desktop solution, limiting mobility compared to cloud-based platforms, it provides strong traditional software support. The optional cloud access adds flexibility, letting you choose between desktop functionality and online capabilities. Nevertheless, the software’s advanced features may overwhelm businesses that don’t need extensive functionality. It’s vital to evaluate your specific needs before committing, as the learning curve can be steep for those unfamiliar with complex accounting software. QuickBooks Solopreneur QuickBooks Solopreneur is an excellent choice for freelancers and solo business owners who need a straightforward accounting solution. This software is particularly designed to cater to your unique needs, offering a user-friendly interface that simplifies financial management. You can easily track your income, expenses, and cash flow without dealing with the intricacies of more robust accounting tools. Here are some key features of QuickBooks Solopreneur: Affordable Pricing: It provides competitive pricing, making it accessible for individuals managing their business finances. Fundamental Tools: You’ll find basic accounting features that help you stay organized, though it lacks advanced options like inventory and time tracking. Limited Support: Keep in mind that customer support is more limited compared to other QuickBooks offerings, focusing on crucial assistance for solo entrepreneurs. This software can be a practical solution for your accounting needs. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Accounting Software for a Small Business? When choosing the best accounting software for your small business, consider options like QuickBooks Online for its robust features, starting at $38/month. FreshBooks is great for service-based businesses, beginning at $21/month. Xero offers unlimited user access, starting at $25/month. If you’re on a budget, Wave Accounting provides a free plan. Finally, Zoho Books has a competitive pricing model, making it suitable for small to midsize companies. Evaluate these based on your specific needs. Which Quickbooks for Single Member LLC? For a Single Member LLC, QuickBooks Online is your best choice. It offers robust features like invoicing, expense tracking, and customizable reporting, starting at $38/month. You’ll benefit from seamless collaboration with accountants, making tax management easier. QuickBooks Online additionally provides mobile access, allowing you to manage finances on the go. Plus, you can try it free for 30 days to see if it meets your business needs before committing to a subscription. What Method of Accounting Does an LLC Use? An LLC typically uses either the cash basis or accrual basis of accounting. The cash basis method records income and expenses when cash changes hands, making bookkeeping simpler for you. Conversely, the accrual basis recognizes revenue and expenses when they’re earned or incurred, providing a more accurate financial picture but adding complexity. For tax purposes, single-member LLCs often operate as sole proprietorships, reporting profits and losses on their personal tax returns via Schedule C. Is Xero or Quickbooks Better for Small Business? When deciding between Xero and QuickBooks for your small business, consider your specific needs. Xero offers a user-friendly interface and strong mobile functionality, ideal if you value ease of use. QuickBooks, in contrast, thrives in robust features like inventory management and extensive app integrations. QuickBooks additionally provides 24/7 support, which might be essential if you need immediate assistance. Evaluate these aspects to choose the best fit for your business operations. Conclusion Choosing the right accounting software for your single-member LLC is crucial for efficient financial management. Each of the top seven options—Intuit QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks, Xero, Wave, Zoho Books, Sage 50, and QuickBooks Solopreneur—offers distinct features catering to your business needs. By carefully evaluating pricing, functionality, and customer support, you can select the solution that best suits your requirements. Taking the time to make an informed choice can streamline your accounting processes and help your business thrive. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Top 7 Accounting Software Solutions for Single Member LLCs" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

A refund system for businesses that paid tariffs which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled President Donald The President imposed without the constitutional authority to do so is scheduled to launch Monday. Importers and their brokers will be able to begin claiming refunds through an online portal beginning at 8 a.m., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency administering the system. It’s the first step in a complicated process that also might eventually lead to refunds for consumers who were billed for some or all of the tariffs on products shipped to them from outside the United States. Companies must submit declarations listing the goods on which they collectively put billions of dollars toward the import taxes the court subsequently struck down. If CBP approves a claim, it will take 60-90 days for a refund to be issued, the agency said. The government expects to process refunds in phases, however, focusing first on more recent tariff payments. Any number of technical factors and procedural issues could delay an importer’s application, so any reimbursements businesses plan to make to customers likely would trickled down slowly. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court on Feb. 20 found that The President usurped Congress’ tax-setting role last April when he set new import tax rates on products from almost every other country, citing the U.S. trade deficit as a national emergency that warranted his invoking of a 1977 emergency powers law. Although the court majority did not address refunds in its ruling, a judge at the U.S. Court of International Trade determined last month that companies subjected to IEEPA tariffs were entitled to money back. Not all taxed imports immediately eligible Customs and Border Protection said in court filings that over 330,000 importers paid a total of about $166 billion on over 53 million shipments. Not all of those orders qualify for the first phase of the refund system’s rollout, which is limited to cases in which tariffs were estimated but not finalized or within 80 days of a final accounting. To receive refunds, importers have to register for the CPB’s electronic payment system. As of April 14, 56,497 importers had completed registration and were eligible for refunds totaling $127 billion, including interest, the agency said. System requires accuracy Meghann Supino, a partner at Ice Miller, said the law firm has advised clients to carefully list in their declarations all of the document numbers for forms that went to CBP to describe imported goods and their value. “If there is an entry on that file that does not qualify, it may cause the entire entry to be rejected or that line item might be rejected by Customs,” she said. Supino thinks the portal going live will require composure as well as diligence. “Like any electronic online program that goes live with a lot of interest, I would expect that there might be some hiccups with the program on Monday,” she said. “So we continue to ask everyone to be patient, because we think that patience will pay off.” Nghi Huynh, the partner-in-charge of transfer pricing at accounting and consulting firm Armanino, said most companies claiming refunds will have imported a mix of items, and not all will qualify right away. “It’s about having a clear process in place and keeping track of what’s been submitted and what’s been paid, so nothing falls through the cracks,” she said. “Each file can include thousands of entries, but accuracy is critical, as submissions can be rejected if formatting or data is incorrect.” Patience with the process Small businesses have eagerly awaited the chance to apply for refunds. Brad Jackson, co-founder of After Action Cigars in Rochester, Minnesota, said he starting compiling records and preparing to enter information into the system the minute CPB announced the launch date. The company imports cigars and accessories from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Last year, it paid $34,000 in tariffs and absorbed much of the cost instead of raising customer prices, Jackson said. Last spring, he had a two-week delay in a shipment due to a missing document, so he is being more careful with refund documents, he said. “My main concern is the turnaround time,” Jackson said. “A refund process that takes several months to complete doesn’t solve the cash flow problem that it is supposed to fix.” Will consumers see refunds? Tariffs are paid by importers, and some companies pass on the tax costs to consumers via higher prices. The system starting up Monday will refund tariffs directly to the businesses that paid them, which are not obligated to share the proceeds with customers. However, class-action lawsuits that aim to force companies, ranging from Costco to Ray-Ban maker Essilor Luxottica, to reimburse shoppers are winding their way through the U.S. legal system. Individuals may be more likely to receive refunds from delivery companies like FedEx and UPS, which collected tariffs on imports directly from consumers. FedEx has said it would return tariff refunds to customers when it receives them from the CPB. “Supporting our customers as they navigate regulatory changes remains our top priority,” FedEx said in a statement. “We are working with our customers as CBP begins processing refunds and plan to begin filing claims on April 20.” —Mae Anderson, AP Business Writer View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The CRKD Nitro Deck is down to $34.99 on Woot, which is a noticeable drop from its usual $59.99 and lower than its current price on Amazon. Price-trackers also suggest this is the lowest it has gone so far. Shipping is free with Prime, or $6 otherwise, and the deal is expected to run for about 12 days unless it sells out sooner. That said, Woot does not ship to Alaska, Hawaii, or PO box addresses. CRKD Nitro Deck Handheld Deck for Nintendo Switch and Switch OLED $34.99 at Woot $59.99 Save $25.00 Get Deal Get Deal $34.99 at Woot $59.99 Save $25.00 At its core, the Nitro Deck is trying to solve one of the Nintendo Switch’s most persistent problems: Joy-Con stick drift. But it is not a traditional controller—it is a full shell that your Nintendo Switch slides into and locks in with a simple latch system that feels secure without being annoying to use. Once it is in place, it feels more like holding a proper controller with a screen attached—the grips are thicker and shaped more like what you would find on a standard console controller, so your hands have something to rest on instead of flattening out against the Joy-Cons. The sticks are full-sized, the triggers have more travel, and there are four back buttons you can map if you like customizing controls. You still get motion controls and rumble, and there is also a USB-C passthrough for charging or video output. That said, the right stick sits a bit too far out, so using it for camera control or aiming can feel cramped and slightly awkward. It is manageable for short bursts, but it can get uncomfortable over time. The kickstand is also limited—it works, but you do not get much flexibility in how you prop the system up. And because everything is built into one shell, you lose the option to detach the controllers entirely, which is part of what makes the Switch unique in the first place. And while the added bulk improves grip, it makes the system less portable. Still, if you mostly play in handheld mode and want something sturdier with drift-resistant sticks, the Nitro Deck feels great, especially at this discounted price. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $199.99 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" A16 128GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Silver, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $299.00 (List Price $399.00) Amazon Fire TV Soundbar — $99.99 (List Price $119.99) Blink Video Doorbell Wireless (Newest Model) + Sync Module Core — $35.99 (List Price $69.99) Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen, 2-pack, White) — $59.98 (List Price $79.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

I’m not one for binaries, but it’s likely you’re either aware of Gap’s 2025 comeback tour, or you have a healthy amount of screen time. For those of us who aren’t full luddite teen (aspirational), I’m here to tell you that Gap is continuing its play to cement its place among the fashion set—and cultural domination—in 2026. We’re seeing this with Gap’s announcement today of a new Spring collection kicking off a multi-season partnership with Victoria Beckham, bringing clean lines and refined classics that harken from the designer’s British sensibilities to the eponymous American brand. The 38-piece line of wardrobe staples will be available online and in select global Gap stores beginning April 24 at 9am ET, with prices that range between $34 to $328. This isn’t Gap’s first partnership of the year. It previously launched collaborations with Harlem’s Fashion Row and Awake, as well as a keystone campaign for the brand’s sweatpants with rapper Young Mikko. (And let’s not forget last year’s sell-out Sandy Liang collaboration.) The Victoria Beckham collaboration is its latest in an ongoing story of reinvention the brand wants to convey to the public. “We always are looking for new, interesting, cool, unexpected-for-our-customer collabs, and Victoria Beckham is a real natural for us,” says Gap CEO Mark Breitbard of the pairing, noting that her design sensibilities bring an elevated level of polish and refinement to Gap’s casual everyday wear. The partnership was the result of a conversation Breitbard had with celebrity stylist Alastair McKimm, who he considers to be part of the Gap creative team, about his other clients. “When he brought up Victoria, we both just kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Wait, could this be interesting for us?’” Breitbard recalled. And Beckham, for her part, was game. The design results apply subtle degrees of difference from Gap classics like its Arc denim and matching jacket, pull-over denim quarter zips with a tent-like shape, dark wash capris (having a moment this spring), pleated khaki shorts, white button-downs, jersey tank dresses, and a classic trench coat. The difference from Gap pieces may not be detectable to the non-fashion obsessive’s human eye, but the simplicity of lines and the appeal of the Victoria Beckham brand ID could subconsciously appeal to the same discerning shopper who gets neutral manicures and wears La Ligne. “You’ll see really modern lines and elegance that still has Gap casual in it,” says Breitbard. “So it’s very versatile. Dress up, dress down. Look incredibly chic, but also don’t look like you tried too hard. It’s just a really great balance, but clean lines and a fine aesthetic.” The cerulean blue pullover anorak adds a bright pop of color to staples like white, khaki, olive, and denim, which have enough wearability that could toss on a piece and head out the door. There is some overlap between the positioning of this line and Gap Studio as an elevated take to Gap classics, but Breitbard splices Gap Studio as more of a play for red carpet caché, with some looks they then commercialize. The multi-season partnership also points to the brand’s broader partnerships strategy, which aims to reestablish relevancy through brand partners with caché. Gap is extending these partnerships through marketing that’s less sales-y and more shareable content (“brandtainment” is the linguistic ligature du jour). By doing so, it’s goal is to drive cultural conversation. In short: organically become part of the chatter in the elusive group chat. At this point, the brand is building on the momentum of the previous year-and-a-half. (Its financial gains are still playing out: net sales were up 2% and store sales up 1% year over year, respectively.) Where Gap gets luxury fashion bonafides from Beckham, Beckham gets to capitalize on her existing growth and expand her reach. Victoria Beckham posted $170 million in group sales resulting in 19% growth in 2025, which includes fashion and beauty, (Breitbard noted her success in beauty in particular). Beckham told WWD last fall that she plans to open more stores in the U.S., which is the brand’s biggest market—this collab could be a preview for a lot of new consumers. Ultimately a collaboration is successful if it’s multidimensional. “[The Victoria Beckham collaboration] is going to hit new consumers who are paying attention to fashion and existing consumers, and consumers who have been with us for a while,” says Breitbard. While I can’t say that the Victoria Beckham brand has been in my group chats lately (that’s been dominated by fashion brands like Khaite, the Row, Still Here, and quests for vintage Prada and Manolo Blahniks, and even Gap itself), it does have a major online fan base: 3 million TikTok followers compared to Gap’s one million, and 33.4 million Instagram followers compared to Gap’s 3.7 million. “One of the things that I think we’re doing well when we do a remix, [is] there might be dimensions that the younger consumer really appreciates, and then there is also just artistry and creative that is very accessible and easy,” says Breitbard, which translates to online traction and cultural interest that are bigger than sales KPIs. He points to the Katseye campaign as an example. “They’re young. They have a young demographic. They have a huge fan base, but tens of thousands of people reposted that dance. We had 600 million views, and it wasn’t just from young [people]. It was so accessible and so uplifting to a very broad audience. That’s what we’ve done well,“ he says. “Victoria has younger consumers, but also consumers who have known her and followed her throughout her career and I think that’ll be inspiring very broadly.” He adds that Beckham’s cultural impact and personal relationship with her brand also fit with Gap’s story telling sensibilities. The story they plan together was too big for one drop. And a multi-season collaboration has to have a different business strategy. “The strategy for us here is to bring in the right amount to have excitement and energy and have it be accessible, but not bought with such depth that it’s meant to live for months and months in the store,” says Breitbard. “These things are meant to be moments of high heat, to draw attention, to have fun, to drive business. And so we are intending to do that for this drop and then another drop later in the year, versus it’s going to launch and it’s going to be in the store.” Beckham’s designer bonafides are another lens for potential Gap customers who haven’t thought of the brand yet to tap in. “Gap made new,” says Breitbard concisely of the brand’s strategy. “We want to continue to make Gap new and this is a great way to do that.” View the full article

For years, premium credit cards competed on points, perks, and airport lounge access. Now the lounge itself is becoming the strategy. Chase is the latest to double down. With new Sapphire Lounge locations planned—starting with one at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and another at Los Angeles International Airport—the company is expanding its footprint at a moment when airport lounges have become one of the most competitive battlegrounds in consumer finance. The move follows a wave of recent openings that show how Chase is trying to differentiate not just on access, but on experience. “We’re really excited,” Dana Pouwels, head of airport lounge benefits at JPMorgan Chase, told Fast Company in an interview. “Dallas is opening this year, and Los Angeles will be opening within the next 12 months.” Specific details of those lounges are still under wraps, but the broader strategy is already visible, and it’s less about square footage and more about turning the airport into part of the destination. The lounge arms race is splitting in two directions To understand what Chase is doing, it helps to look at its biggest rival. American Express, which helped define the modern airport lounge with its Centurion network, is expanding in two directions at once. The company is building larger flagship lounges in key hubs like Boston and Dallas Fort Worth, while also rolling out smaller “Sidecar” spaces designed for travelers with limited time. That split reflects a simple reality. Not all travelers use lounges the same way. Some want a place to settle in for hours. Others want something closer to a high-end restaurant that they can move through more quickly, such as Capital One’s recently launched LGA lounge with José Andrés. Chase, at least for now, is leaning harder into the first camp, but with a twist. Designing for the destination, not just the delay If there is a defining feature of Chase’s lounges, it’s how much they try to feel like the city in which they’re located. The Las Vegas lounge, opened at the end of 2025, pushes that idea to its limit, leaning into theatrical design and playful details. “We went for bold and shimmering finishes, and it’s really just inspired by that city’s nightlife,” Pouwels said. The lounge includes a champagne parlor, a menu created with Momofuku founder David Chang, and cocktails that nod to the city’s history, like a jet-black libation topped with edible gummy dice. The Philadelphia lounge takes a different approach. There, Chase built a 20,000-square-foot space centered on the city’s beer culture, complete with a beer garden and a beer flight program that proved so popular it’s already been replicated by Chase in its Boston lounge. Beyond the food and drink offerings, the Philadelphia lounge also includes sports memorabilia, retro arcade machines, and one of the lounge network’s only TV-equipped spaces, a deliberate nod to local fan culture. The goal is consistency in quality, but not in sameness. Data decides where to go next Behind the scenes, Chase’s expansion is driven as much by data as design. “We’re always looking at the top places where our card members travel to and through, and also where they live,” Pouwels said. Los Angeles stands out as a priority, ranking as the second-most-booked destination for Chase cardholders in 2025. Dallas checks multiple boxes, serving as both a major travel hub and a city with a large Chase employee base. Still, demand alone is not enough. “The location has to be right in terms of the airport, but it also has to be right in terms of the terminal and the amount of space that’s available,” Pouwels said. That constraint helps explain why lounge growth, across the industry, has been steady but uneven. The post-pandemic traveler wants something different What is changing fastest is not where lounges are built, but what travelers expect from them. According to Pouwels, that shift started during the pandemic, when people grew accustomed to highly personalized environments at home and began expecting the same from travel. “Our lounges really have evolved to be more personalized experiences,” she said. That means more than just comfortable seating. Travelers are looking for discovery, whether that is a local chef, a regional drink, or a design element tied to the city. “They want to see something or learn something different every time they’re on a travel journey,” Pouwels said. American Express is responding to that demand by segmenting its lounge experience into multiple formats. Chase, meanwhile, is trying to build a sense of discovery into every location. Lounges as a loyalty engine The bigger play is not the lounge itself. It’s what the lounge represents. Chase sees these spaces as part of a broader travel ecosystem that starts before a trip is booked and continues through the airport and beyond. “We’re really focused on the end-to-end travel journey,” Pouwels said. That includes everything from trip planning to the airport experience itself, which has become a central touchpoint. “We really want to ensure that we’re bringing the local element of the city into the airport experience. . . . and really, the lounges are a natural extension of that, right? Enhancing every step of the card member’s travel journey,” Pouwels added. In other words, the airport is no longer just a stop along the way. It’s part of the product. What comes next With the Dallas lounge set to open this year and the one at LAX expected within the next 12 months, Chase’s new wave of lounges will test how far that strategy can go. The competitive pressure is only increasing. American Express continues to scale both larger and smaller formats. Other issuers, like Capital One, are experimenting with their own concepts. Travelers are gaining more access and, in turn, becoming more selective. For Chase, the bet is that the future of loyalty isn’t just about getting people to travel. It’s about owning more of the journey once they do. View the full article

The United States attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship it said had tried to evade its naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, and Iran’s joint military command vowed to respond, throwing a fragile ceasefire into question days before it expires. It was the first interception since the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports began last week. Iran’s joint military command called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a ceasefire violation, the state broadcaster said. With the U.S.-Iran standoff over the strait sharpening and the ceasefire expiring by Wednesday, it was not clear where President Donald The President’s earlier announcement on new talks with Iran now stood. He had said U.S. negotiators would head to Pakistan on Monday. The uncertainty sent oil prices rising again. One of the worst global energy crises in decades threatened to deepen. The President on social media said a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman warned the Iranian-flagged ship, the Touska, to stop and then “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom.” U.S. Marines had custody of the U.S.-sanctioned vessel and were “seeing what’s on board!” It was not clear whether anyone was hurt. The U.S. Central Command, which didn’t answer questions, said the destroyer had issued “repeated warnings over a six-hour period.” Iranian state media suggest new talks won’t take place There was no comment from Iranian officials directly addressing The President’s announcement of talks. However, Iranian state media, without citing anyone beyond unnamed sources, issued brief reports suggesting that they would not happen. Minutes after the ship seizure was announced, Iranian state media reported on President Masoud Pezeshkian’s phone conversation with Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, earlier Sunday. U.S. actions, including bullying and unreasonable behavior, have led to increased suspicion that the U.S. will repeat previous patterns and “betray diplomacy,” the reports cited Pezeshkian as saying. Two previous attempts at talks — last June and earlier this year — were interrupted by Israeli and U.S. attacks. On another phone call, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, that recent U.S. actions, rhetoric and contradictions were signs of “bad intentions and lack of seriousness in diplomacy,” Iran’s state broadcaster said. Pakistan did not confirm a second round of talks, but authorities had begun tightening security in Islamabad. A regional official involved in the efforts said mediators were finalizing preparations and U.S. advance security teams were on the ground. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss preparations with the media. The White House had said Vice President JD Vance, who led the first round of historic face-to-face talks over 21 hours last weekend, would lead the U.S. delegation to Pakistan with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Iran on Saturday said it had received new proposals from the United States. While Iran’s chief negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, late Saturday said “there will be no retreat in the field of diplomacy,” he acknowledged a wide gap remained between the sides. It was unclear whether either side had shifted stances on issues that derailed the last round of negotiations, including Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, its regional proxies and the Strait of Hormuz. The President’s announcement on talks repeated his threats against Iranian infrastructure that have drawn widespread criticism and warnings of war crimes. If Iran doesn’t agree to the U.S.-proposed deal, “the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” he wrote. Iran wants to control strait until ‘war fully ends’ Iran early Monday warned it could keep up the global economic pain as ships remained unable to transit the strait, with hundreds of vessels waiting at each end for clearance. Security of the strait is not free and “the choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone,” Mohammad Reza Aref, first vice president of Iran, said in a social media post calling for a lasting end to military and economic pressure on Tehran. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade normally passes through the strait, along with critical supplies of fertilizer for the world’s farmers, natural gas and humanitarian supplies for places in dire need like Afghanistan and Sudan. Iran had announced the strait’s reopening after a 10-day truce between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon took hold on Friday. But then The President said the U.S. blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the United States. Iran said it would again enforce restrictions it imposed early in the war. On Saturday, Iran fired at ships trying to transit. For the Islamic Republic, the strait’s closure is perhaps its most powerful weapon, inflicting political pain on The President. For the United States, the blockade squeezes Iran’s already weakened economy. Each side has accused the other of violating the ceasefire. Since most supplies to U.S. military bases in the Gulf region come through the strait, “Iran is determined to maintain oversight and control over traffic through the strait until the war fully ends,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said late Saturday. That means Iran-designated routes, payment of fees and issuance of transit certificates. The council has recently acted as Iran’s de facto top decision-making body. The war is now in its eighth week after the U.S. and Israel launched it on Feb. 28 during talks over Tehran’s nuclear program. At least 3,000 people have been killed in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members throughout the region have been killed. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this report. An earlier version of this story corrected the name of the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson to Esmail Baghaei. —Michelle L. Price, Samy Magdy and Sam Metz, Associated Press View the full article

Energy secretary’s push comes as Iran war threatens Labour pledge to cut heating bills View the full article

Shares in the space-based internet provider AST SpaceMobile Inc (Nasdaq: ASTS) are sinking this morning after a major mishap occurred with the deployment of its latest satellite from Blue Origin’s most advanced rocket, the New Glenn. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? On Sunday, April 19, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin space company launched its flagship rocket, the New Glenn, for the third time. The New Glenn is a partially reusable heavy-lift rocket aimed at directly competing with archrival SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. (This rivalry pits two of the world’s richest people against each other: Bezos, founder of Amazon, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.) All three of these rockets are designed to deliver payloads into space and for their boosters to safely land back on Earth after launch, for reuse in future missions. The New Glenn, named after the U.S. astronaut John Glenn, is much larger than SpaceX’s rockets, allowing it to carry larger payloads. However, despite this benefit, Blue Origin still plays second fiddle to SpaceX, the premier private spaceflight firm that governments and companies rely on to launch their satellites. Blue Origin had hoped that the third launch of the New Glenn would begin to change this perception. For that launch, the New Glenn carried AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite into space. And while the New Glenn did successfully launch, and its booster did safely touch back down on Earth, the rest of the mission—the part that AST SpaceMobile was relying on—did not go as planned. BlueBird 7 satellite was misplaced in orbit The New Glenn’s payload was AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite, which is part of a constellation the space-based internet provider is building to deliver broadband internet to smartphones on Earth. When it launches later this year, AST SpaceMobile’s satellite internet service will have the advantage of working with existing, unmodified mobile devices. In other words, you won’t need a special satellite internet-capable smartphone to get satellite internet service. But before AST SpaceMobile can bring that service back to people on Earth, it needs to put about 45 satellites into space. While Blue Origin’s New Glenn successfully launched the BlueBird 7 into space, the satellite decoupled from the launch vehicle and powered on, but it was placed in an incorrect orbit, making it unusable. In a statement after the failed deployment, AST confirmed the New Glenn placed the BlueBird 7 “into a lower than planned orbit by the upper stage of the launch vehicle,” adding that “the altitude is too low to sustain operations with its on-board thruster technology.” As a result, the BlueBird 7 will be “de-orbited.” Deorbiting is the process by which a satellite is brought back into Earth’s atmosphere in a controlled reentry so that it can burn up. AST says the cost of the satellite, which is estimated to be in the tens of millions, should be recoverable by the company’s insurance policy. What went wrong? For now, it’s too early to tell what went wrong with the BlueBird 7’s deployment. Yet the fact that something did go wrong will serve as a stain on Blue Origin’s capabilities, especially just at the time when the company was hoping to start stealing some of the thunder from its main rival, SpaceX. AST SpaceMobile has not given any explanation for why the BlueBird 7 was deployed into an incorrect orbit. As for Blue Origin, in a social media post, the company confirmed that “The payload was placed into an off-nominal orbit,” while noting it was “currently assessing and will update when we have more detailed information.” Fast Company has reached out to AST SpaceMobile and Blue Origin for comment. ASTS stock drops after failed deployment After news of the failed deployment broke, AST SpaceMobile’s stock price plunged. As of the time of this writing, ASTS shares are currently down nearly 15% in premarket trading to $72.75 each. Blue Origin is a private company, so its stock is not publicly traded on any market. Until last week, AST SpaceMobile’s stock price had seen notable growth for the year. As of Friday’s closing price, ASTS shares were up nearly 18% year to date, far outperforming the Nasdaq Composite’s 5.31%. Over the past 12 months, ASTS shares have surged more than 265%. Investors have high hopes for AST SpaceMobile. If it can successfully deploy its full constellation of satellites, it could bring space-based broadband internet to billions of existing mobile devices across the world. But in order for the company to do that, its satellites will need successful launches and deployments—and not a repeat of yesterday’s mishap. The company says it is continuing with its plans, with BlueBird satellites 8 to 10 scheduled to launch in the next 30 days. It says it expects to have approximately 45 satellites in orbit by the end of the year. View the full article

When we lift weights, do yoga, or perform exercises of any kind, there’s often an instructor chiming in to tell us to “engage our core.” But what does that really mean? It turns out there are two different ways of doing it and they produce opposite results, so it’s important to know which one you need to work on to accomplish your fitness goals. Here are the two ways, why they're different, and how to know which one you should do. Method 1: Pull your belly button to your spineThis one is probably familiar if you’ve ever done pilates or physical therapy. You’re told to pull your belly button toward your spine, or to think of “hollowing” or “drawing in” your stomach muscles. In this motion, you are still allowing yourself to breathe; you’re not sucking in your stomach, but rather, tightening it with your muscles. (If you watch in the mirror, you’ll notice your waist appears smaller when you do this. Sometimes people will also do it to pose for a picture or to create a leaner look while performing as a dancer.) The reason this is a common practice in many physical therapy, yoga, and pilates classes is that doing so activates your transverse abdominis, one of the lesser-known ab muscles. A study in 1999 found that people with low back pain were less likely to contract this muscle while moving their bodies, so physical therapists began to instruct people to contract this muscle to protect their backs from strain. Unfortunately, it turns out this move may not actually do much to protect your back after all, but it’s still popular advice. If you’re performing yoga or pilates moves this way, you’re in good company, and many physical therapists still favor this approach. But there's another way to engage your core, one that's more popular in activities like weightlifting. Method 2: Brace before lifting something heavyNow let’s talk about what to do if you’re lifting a heavy weight or preparing to perform some kind of forceful feat of strength. First, you’ll need to brace. (Bracing may also be a good alternative to hollowing your belly in physical therapy, but I’m not your PT, so talk it over with them.) When you brace for a lift, you’ll do something much like if you were expecting to get punched in the gut. If that's not an instinctive movement to you, imagine that you're lying relaxed on a bed, and you notice your cat or toddler about to jump on your belly. Try that now: you’ll probably hold your breath, contract your abs, and feel the muscles all around your waist tighten up. Rather than sucking in your belly, it may seem like you’re pulling your ribcage down toward your pelvis. This activates your transverse abdominis along with everything else. (If it feels a little like you’re bearing down for a bowel movement, you’re on the right track.) This is what powerlifters and other weight lifters mean when they talk about bracing for a lift. If you are wearing a belt, bracing will push the muscles of your midsection against the belt (not just in front, but all around). This process turns your torso into a solid, stable, pressurized column that can support a lot of weight (as in a squat), or hold its position steady as you apply force to it in another direction (as in a deadlift, where your torso is the link between your back, your leg muscles applying force, and your arms, which are supporting the barbell in your hands). Holding your breath and locking it in with a valsalva maneuver is typically part of this process. In some cases—for example, if you are pregnant or if you have certain medical conditions—your doctor may advise you not to hold your breath under pressure. You can still do your best to brace; just exhale slowly during the lift rather than holding your breath. (If you have health concerns, talk to your healthcare provider about whether this is appropriate for you.) When you’re trying to do a heavy lift in the gym, remember the distinction between these two ways of engaging your core, and do not try to hollow your belly or pull your navel to your spine, since that will have an effect opposite of the one you want. Save that motion for pilates class; when you’re under a barbell, make sure you brace. View the full article

When people discuss climate innovation, they often picture technology. Better batteries. Smarter grids. Carbon capture at scale. Those breakthroughs matter and are happening every day. But on this World Creativity and Innovation Day, I want to make a case for a different kind of innovation. One that is structural rather than technical, already underway, and quietly accelerating climate progress. It is, in a word, trust. A SYSTEM BUILT FOR FRAGMENTATION The social impact sector is filled with brilliant, committed people working on the climate crisis. It is also organized in a way almost perfectly designed to prevent the scale of impact the crisis demands. Many organizations undertaking critical work compete for the same funding. They guard their methodologies, protect their data, and duplicate efforts. They differentiate their missions so precisely that a funder reading a dozen can be forgiven for wondering whether any of them are solving the same problem. None of this is driven by bad faith. It is driven by survival. For decades, philanthropic funding has rewarded differentiation over collaboration and proprietary impact over shared learning. The result is a fragmented ecosystem applying fragmented resources to a problem that is anything but fragmented. The climate crisis does not respect organizational boundaries, and those of us working to solve it must stop acting as if it does. DESIGN FOR TRUST, NOT COMPETITION So what would it look like to redesign the system itself, not just the solutions within it? In 2023, my organization, Pyxera Global, joined an unusual experiment: the Collaborative for Systemic Climate Action. We did not know where it would lead, but something fundamental had to change. We began with 15 organizations with a combined 250+ years of experience. Three years later, the Collaborative has grown to 29 organizations, including Climate KIC, the Club of Rome, the B Team, the Green Africa Youth Organization, and the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance. All are united by a shared dedication to break down the silos that have long limited what any one of them could accomplish alone. Each organization committed to driving the systems change needed to build inclusive and regenerative societies. That meant leaving organizational ego at the door. It meant rethinking power dynamics and stepping away from traditional partnership models. Most importantly, it meant sharing what is usually protected: intellectual property, business models, and even funder relationships. This level of openness carries real risk. For any single organization, it could be destabilizing. But the members of the Collaborative believe that the scale of the climate crisis outweighs institutional self-protection, and that meaningful progress requires taking risks together. PROOF THAT IT WORKS And the results are beginning to speak for themselves. Together, the Collaborative has secured significant funding from major institutional donors, including the Oak Foundation, Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, and Quadrature Climate Foundation—partners that individual organizations might not have reached on their own. It has hosted joint thought leadership and fundraising events at global convenings such as the World Economic Forum, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, and Climate Week, creating a unified platform that amplifies collective knowledge and impact. It has also seeded more than a dozen systems-change initiatives across geographies as varied as Ghana, India, Ireland, New Mexico, and Brazil. Many of these efforts would have struggled to get off the ground independently, but through the Collaborative they are now positioned to attract the additional funding needed to scale. Just as important is the infrastructure behind them. Partners convene twice a year for deep sensemaking and portfolio review, and meet weekly in virtual sessions to stay aligned, build trust, and continuously learn from one another. I have spent more than two decades working on partnerships and 38 years in the social impact sector. I thought I understood collaboration. What I have seen in the Collaborative for Systemic Climate Action is something different. The level of trust, and the results already emerging from it, go beyond anything I have experienced before. This does not mean it is frictionless. Conflicts arise. Old habits resurface. Egos occasionally reenter the room. But even with those tensions, the trajectory is clear: Something fundamentally different is taking shape. This is what structural innovation looks like. It is as disruptive in its domain as any new technology. World Creativity and Innovation Day exists to celebrate creativity in all its forms. Redesigning how climate philanthropy operates, how knowledge is shared, and how trust is built at scale is creative work. It is not a new invention. It is a new way of organizing human effort. WHY THIS MATTERS NOW That shift is becoming urgent. Public sector climate funding is shrinking. Multilateral institutions are under increasing political pressure. Corporate ESG commitments are being quietly scaled back. In this environment, the traditional nonprofit response will not close the gap. What is needed is not just more funding, but better alignment of existing resources. That is where trust becomes a force multiplier. The Collaborative’s approach is simple in concept and radical in practice: Reduce the friction between organizations that should be natural allies, so that existing resources can move faster and go further. THE REAL BOTTLENECK The Collaborative is one proof point, but the model itself is replicable. We describe it as “mycelium,” a networked system that connects and strengthens everything it touches. It requires a convener willing to do the unglamorous work of building relationships and holding space for shared ownership. It requires funders willing to invest in connective tissue, not just individual projects. And it requires leaders willing to believe that their impact will be greater within a strong ecosystem than within a weaker one they control. For companies and philanthropists looking to maximize their climate commitment impact, this is where the leverage lies. Not in funding a single organization, but in enabling many organizations to operate as one. The hardest material in climate action is not carbon. It is the institutional ego and competitive reflex that keep aligned actors apart. Building the conditions for trust at scale may be one of the most important challenges, and opportunities, in climate action today. Deirdre White is the CEO of Pyxera Global. View the full article

The war is currently more likely to escalate than to be resolved by negotiationView the full article

Everyone is talking about GEO. Agencies are selling it. Brands are buying it. On its face, the pitch makes sense: the search-based internet that powered the digital economy for decades is giving way to generative AI answers. The pressure to act is real. So is the trap: you’re going to start paying for another lease on someone else’s internet. GEO is a tactic for a bigger and more important strategy. That strategy is owning your audience. The problem is that this new tactic is generating too much buzz and money for brands to ignore. McKinsey recently released a report arguing that $750B in US revenue will flow through AI-powered search by 2028. If you want your brand in on that revenue, you must invest in so-called generative engine optimization (GEO) or answer engine optimization (AEO). Both are designed to convert user prompts into clear references of a specific brand. And both are important. Half of consumers already use AI-powered search engines. The shift is real. And optimizing for it isn’t wrong, it’s just not enough. The recommended response from industry leaders and agency directors is the same mistake the industry has been making for fifteen years: renting space from a landlord who can change the terms at any time. GEO is not a new strategy. It’s a new lease on the same building. And we all know how badly that can go. HubSpot is the cautionary tale nobody in this industry wants to sit with. They built one of the most sophisticated content operations in the business, dominated SEO for years, and then watched their search traffic fall off a cliff when Google changed how it surfaces results. They were renting. When the landlord renovated, they lost the apartment. McKinsey’s own data shows that a brand’s owned content comprises only 5 to 10 percent of what AI search actually references. The rest comes from affiliates, user-generated content, publishers, and sources the brand has no control over. So the optimization play — clean up your content, sharpen your headings, structure your data for LLMs — is optimizing a minority stake in the outcome. Data like that kind of gives away the game. Your GEO strategy amounts to tinkering at the margins while the real action happens elsewhere. The Infrastructure Is More Fragile Than the Pitch Admits There’s another problem nobody selling GEO is talking about. The web is fighting back. Independent developers have built tools — with names like Nepenthes and Iocaine, after a carnivorous plant and a fictional poison — designed to trap AI crawlers in infinite loops of garbage data, wasting their resources and corrupting their training sets. One developer reported eliminating 94 percent of bot traffic to his site the day he deployed one. Cloudflare and others now sell bot-mitigation and anti-scraping tools to throttle AI crawlers at scale. The resistance has gone commercial. The signal-to-noise ratio inside LLM training data is getting worse as publishers grow more hostile to being scraped without compensation. Any strategy built entirely on AI systems accurately surfacing your content is betting on a supply chain with an active sabotage problem. That is a risk the GEO consultants are not pricing in. What Building Looks Like Discoverability is not the end goal. It’s a byproduct of building something worth finding. There is a distinction between renting attention — optimizing your way into algorithms you don’t control — and building owned media infrastructure that creates direct relationships with audiences. Red Bull Media House is the most cited example because it’s the most extreme: a beverage company that became a legitimate media operation. The audience relationship it built doesn’t reset every time an algorithm updates. That’s the point of the investment. The brands doing this right are creating content tailored to how people actually search on each platform — what they’re trying to accomplish, what format serves them in that moment — and their GEO and SEO improve as a consequence of being genuinely useful. Useful first, optimized second. The Agentic Future Already Blinked McKinsey’s study ends with a prediction that LLMs will eventually act as agents making purchase decisions on behalf of consumers. Most GEO pitches build toward the same vision. So it’s worth examining what happened when OpenAI actually tried to build it. In September 2025, OpenAI launched Instant Checkout — buy products directly inside ChatGPT, Shopify and Etsy as launch partners. Users flooded in to research products. Almost none of them completed a purchase there. Out of Shopify’s millions of merchants, only a small fraction of eligible merchants went live with the integration. By early 2026, OpenAI pulled the checkout feature back, routing transactions to retailer apps instead. The agentic shopping future collided with actual human behavior and lost. People used the AI to get smarter about what to buy. Then they went somewhere they trusted to buy it. That is the whole argument. The brands that will survive AI-mediated discovery are the ones that have already built the kind of trust and direct relationship that makes someone choose them as the destination — not as the result of an optimization score, but because they earned it. No amount of schema markup builds that. No weekly GEO audit cycle builds that. Those are maintenance tasks. Infrastructure is something different. Stop renting. Start building. The landlords are getting worse, and the leases are getting shorter. View the full article

Carroll Tower, a 194-apartment public housing development in Providence, Rhode Island, was built in 1974. For more than 50 years, residents there relied on electric baseboards for heating and their own window air conditioners, if they had them, in the summers. But now, the entire building has been retrofitted with a modern HVAC system: 277 heat pumps from Gradient, a San Francisco-based climate tech startup, will heat and cool the property. The heat pumps were installed as part of a $1.25 million public-private project between the Providence Housing Authority, Gradient, the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, energy consulting firm Abode Energy Management, and Envr Air, which works to accelerate HVAC electrification. It is among the largest completed heat pump installations in the United States. Installation across the entire building took just 12 days, with no drilling or rewiring required. Since heat pumps are highly efficient, the installation means less energy use and fewer emissions for Carroll Tower. The upgrade could save the building 450,000 kilowatt-hours, or about $94,500 in energy costs, a year, according to a preliminary estimate, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 219 tons annually—equivalent to a gas car driving about 500,000 miles. A solution for vintage buildings Residential buildings account for about 20% of the country’s carbon emissions, and heating and cooling is responsible for over half of those buildings’ energy use. HVAC systems can also leak natural gas or refrigerants, which are potent greenhouse gases. Electrifying those systems can drastically slash emissions. Heat pumps are a particularly promising climate solution; even when they rely on an electricity grid powered by fossil fuels, they still cut tons of emissions a year compared to other heating systems. In 2022, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) launched a “Clean Heat for All” challenge, asking manufacturers to develop an electric, easy-to-install heating and cooling system. Gradient was one winner (along with China’s Midea) and will provide 10,000 of its window heat pumps to NYCHA buildings. Those projects are rolling, but some buildings have already received the heat pumps. A public housing development in Queens got 72 heat pumps in 2023. That led to an 87% reduction in energy use, with the development’s energy costs cut in half. Gradient has since worked with housing authorities in Boston; Chelsea and Lynn, Massachusetts; and more. Its heat pumps work especially well in “older, vintage buildings,” like those found in public housing authorities, says Gradient founder and CTO Vince Romanin. These can be buildings where extensive upgrades are difficult (such projects may require asbestos mitigation, for example), and where upgrades are sorely needed because there are no current cooling systems or the heat fails frequently—both of which can be health risks to residents. ‘You can get your window back’ Carroll Tower is one of two elderly-only buildings in the Providence Housing Authority. The average age of residents there is 71. Before this upgrade, not every resident had air conditioning; in the summers, the building would turn certain spaces into cooling stations. Now, everyone will have access to their own AC. “A lot of them are happy,” says Larry D’Alfonso, an 81-year-old resident and president of the tenant council. The Gradient units, he adds, are “very quiet.” Depending on the apartment layout or building heating system, heat pumps can have other benefits too. If someone’s apartment uses steam radiators for which they can’t set their own temperatures, a Gradient retrofit allows for personal temperature control. The units also come with a standard air filter, with an ability to upgrade it. Romanin adds that the heat pumps, which hang over a windowsill, can make a unit more comfortable because they don’t block that window like an AC unit would. They’re also quieter than clanking radiators. “Human comfort is way more than just the temperature in the room,” he says. “The idea that you can get your window back and get more natural light is actually important to someone’s comfort. The noise profile is actually important to someone’s comfort.” Easy installation Then there’s the installation. For general HVAC systems, installers may need to drill holes into walls or run refrigerant lines or ductwork through buildings. Even less elaborate systems, like ductless mini-splits, can still require the handling of refrigerants or wiring, often requiring a licensed contractor. Gradient installers don’t need to be HVAC certified. The heat pumps plug into a standard 120-volt outlet. “Our system is the first I know of that can electrify [publicly owned] buildings without having to do any work on the facade,” Romanin says. Installing 277 heat pumps throughout Carroll Tower’s 194 apartments and common areas took only 12 days, without displacing any residents. (Some units may have more than one heat pump depending on their square footage). That saves building owners on retrofit costs, too. D’Alfonso confirms that the installation was “very fast.” The installers were also “tremendous to the tenants, very courteous,” he adds. The only complaints he’s heard so far from his neighbors were that some people had to move their furniture around to accommodate the heat pumps, which stick out about 9 inches from the wall. “They gotta get used to them,” he says. “It’s something new.” View the full article

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. These are difficult times for elite universities. Controversies over the handling of pro-Palestine protests on campus cost several school presidents their jobs; under the The President administration, federal research grants have plunged; and just 42% of Americans polled by Gallup in 2025 reported confidence in higher ed, down from 57% in 2015, the first year the poll was conducted. Just this month, Yale University released a report acknowledging prestigious schools’ role in losing the public’s trust. So why is Daniel Diermeier, the chancellor of Vanderbilt University, thoroughly enjoying a role that has frustrated or felled many of his peers? Diermeier, who became chancellor (the equivalent of a CEO) in 2020, believes he’s cracked the code to leading unwieldy institutions: Avoid politicization and stick to one’s core purpose. And those are lessons he thinks corporate leaders should apply to running businesses. By many measures, Diermeier’s approach is working. Undergraduate applications rose 12.6% in 2025, and the school saw a 20% jump in early-decision applicants—a metric of a school’s desirability. Indeed, Vanderbilt now admits just 4.7% of applicants, making it more selective than Cornell or Dartmouth. Under Diermeier’s direction, the Nashville-based school is expanding, with a new campus opening in New York City and campuses planned in West Palm Beach, Florida; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and San Francisco. Diermeier also has his detractors. A February Chronicle of Higher Education feature called him the sector’s “most divisive” chancellor, noting that Diermeier’s embrace of institutional neutrality has been seen by critics as a capitulation to “bad-faith critiques” of universities. Before arriving at Vanderbilt, Diermeier was provost at the University of Chicago, whose “Chicago Principles” on freedom of expression mirror Vanderbilt’s Statement of Principles. Prior to becoming provost, he was a University of Chicago dean and professor, where he taught and researched crisis and reputation management. I sat down with Diermeier to talk about how he thinks about leadership in a polarized moment—and what his experience running a major research university might mean for CEOs facing the same turbulent terrain. Edited excerpts follow: MODERN CEO: Every generation feels like it’s living in extraordinary times. How would you characterize the current environment in which you’re operating? DIERMEIER: There are [some] big forces shaping our lives. One, we’re living in an age of rapidly accelerating technology. Of course, AI is on everyone’s mind, but the next big thing is right around the corner with quantum [computing], and that is transforming sectors and industries. Number two, the changing geopolitical environment has shifted dramatically. I remember an important CEO saying, maybe 10 or 15 years ago, that the great challenge for our generation was to “get globalization right,” and now people are talking about decoupling. The third one is the erosion of trust in major institutions, accompanied by a tremendous polarization of society, which is maybe the fourth—those are the three or four things that are shaping the leadership environment, whether you’re in business, a university, or government. MODERN CEO: Trust is a big topic. How do you think about trust as a leader, and what are some of the things you’re working on to restore trust in higher education? DIERMEIER: There’s a global erosion of trust across the board, and that’s one of the big findings from the Edelman Trust Barometer. The erosion of trust in universities has been more pronounced than in most other institutions. People on the left worry about inequality and that universities are enhancing inequality. The main concern is that we’re politically biased to the left and that we’re “woke machines.” And then everybody is worried about affordability. My sense is you have to address these concerns head-on and ask yourself: Is this a communication problem or a real [systemic] problem? Universities are a large segment with different flavors, but at leading research universities, there has been a dramatic increase in financial aid. The net cost for families has actually gone down over the last 10 to 15 years, especially for families at lower income levels. If you go to Vanderbilt and your family makes less than $150,000 [a year], it’s free. So that’s a perception problem. On inequality, people who graduate from our universities who come from the lowest income segment and those who come from the highest income segment, if they both have an economics undergraduate degree, they have the same expected lifetime income. There’s a high correlation between kids’ income and parents’ income, but if you graduate from a selective, large research university, your lifetime income and the lifetime income of somebody from a very different background is the same. So, the question is, “How do you get in?” We have debates on admissions, but inequality in education doesn’t start at age 18. The problem for us is how do we make sure that we get qualified applicants from across the spectrum to apply. On the political bias question—there, I think we have a real problem. I think universities have drifted toward one side of the political spectrum, and I think there has been mission drift. The willingness for universities to take sides in political battles has clearly increased during the last 10 years, and it has really hurt them. You need to be clear about what your purpose and your values are—and don’t be dragged into other things that are really beyond the purpose of what you do. MODERN CEO: At a research university, how do you navigate an environment where [accepted science] on vaccines or climate change are politicized? DIERMEIER: It’s really critical to be very clear and explicit about the values and the purpose that you’re engaged in. I’ll give you a different example that shows how we’re thinking about it. We’re in the business of generating knowledge and then conveying it to the next generation of students and to the public. We are not in the business of telling people how to think. Not in the business of taking sides on political or policy issues as an institution. Our job is to encourage debate, not to settle it. So, let’s take an example. The Dobbs [Supreme Court] decision on abortion rights in the United States [that overturned Roe v. Wade]: Some universities issued statements saying the Dobbs decision was inconsistent with the values of the university. But in my law school, I have faculty who believe Dobbs was badly argued, and I have faculty who believe Roe v. Wade was incorrectly decided on jurisprudential grounds—even if, from a policy standpoint, they’d agree that access to abortion should be legal and safe. And we have people who say we need a compromise in the middle. The university needs to be a place where those views can be debated freely. We are a platform where questions on climate change can be freely debated and where faculty can do the work and provide decision makers with information and knowledge. MODERN CEO: You’ve said operating in hyper-polarized environments is increasingly the reality for CEOs broadly. What’s your advice to them? DIERMEIER: Be clear about who you are, your purpose, your values, and your positioning—you have to embrace that part. [Beyond] leading people and execution capabilities, managing your board—things that typically are seen as being part of the CEO’s toolkit—the ability now to operate in hyper-polarized and politicized environments is really critical. MODERN CEO: Last question: You once wrote that being a university chancellor is the best job in the world. Do you still feel that way? DIERMEIER: One hundred percent! You have to be an academic leader. Then you’re basically the CEO of a mid-sized enterprise, and it’s a pretty complicated business. It has a research and education mission, then you have an asset management component, which is the endowment. We also have a $3.5 billion real estate portfolio. On top of that, you have college athletics, which is a whole other thing. And the third piece is you really have to be a politician. You have to connect with your [municipal] mayor, with the council, with the local council, with the state, with the governor, with the federal government. These are entirely different skill sets, and makes this job challenging. Read more: the ABCs of leadership Ignition Schools drive entrepreneurship and innovation Be a better leader in today’s challenging environment How to build a leadership legacy View the full article

About 20 minutes into the Devil Wears Prada—the 2006 David Frankel film that constitutes one of the most important and perfect films ever produced (please hold all dissent)—Meryl Streep delivers a critical speech to Anne Hathaway that encompasses the plot’s primary tension. The moment, which may come up in the sequel (an Instagram post from a professional dyeing service in New York suggests this may be the case), comes as Streep’s Miranda, the frigid chief editor of a top fashion magazine is pondering items that might be featured for an upcoming issue, while surrounded by her stressed-out underlings. Also in the office is Andie (Hathaway), a comparatively disheveled new assistant who has somehow landed a coveted role at the esteemed Vogue stand-in, diligently taking notes on the runthrough. When an underling presents two blue belts to Miranda for consideration and notes that it’s tough to choose between them, Andie snortles and says, “Both of those belts look exactly the same to me. I’m still learning about this stuff.” This, of course, is precisely the wrong thing to say. Up until this point in the movie, Andie has hid, very poorly and under the guise of bubbly unfamiliarity, that she thinks the fashion industry is vain and stupid. Miranda, intelligent and ever-perceptive, has picked up on Andie’s covert derision, and uses her blue belt faux pas to delve into a crisp and critical evisceration of Andie’s attitude. You can just watch this scene online, but Streep’s dismantling of her assistant is summarized below. That “lumpy blue sweater,” she explains, is not just blue but cerulean, a color that traveled from designer collections, from Oscar de la Renta to Yves Saint Laurent, down through the market until it landed, inevitably, in Andie’s closet. What Andie shrugs off as “stuff” is a system she already participates in, albeit passively—and it’s one that generates countless jobs and millions of dollars. “It’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry,” Miranda tells a now totally silent and humbled Andie, “when, in fact, you’re wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room… from a pile of ‘stuff.’” Andie’s implicit position, throughout the film, is that while she’s interning at a fashion magazine, she sort of thinks the industry is silly, even stupid, and she’s a reluctant—though perky—observer, not a participant. Miranda, of course, thinks the fashion industry is all there is. But that’s not Miranda’s point. Her point is that we all wear clothes. To think you’re not somehow not participating in fashion, however saintly or nefarious, is inane. Here’s where AI comes in. Now, a cerulean belt is not a large language model, and Miranda is not Sam Altman, but the scene is illustrative of a reflex by some to believe that they can simply excise the influence of a billion-dollar industry on their lives—and then feel morally superior for it. A small but loud community of AI skeptics is taking the position, like Andie, that AI is not something they’re participating in, sort of stupid, and even something to look down on. This community (which tends to thrive on Bluesky) seem to believe that AI ranges from silly, uncool, stupid, and most importantly, something ignorable that they are not using. AI will either be very good or very bad for humanity, but there’s probably no universe where AI is just a silly and vapid nothingburger we can roll our eyes at and ridicule. This has even emerged into a sort of purity test, where it’s become common (among some) to believe that using AI is like a personal flaw and nothing more than dimwit tomfoolery. Even in more thought-through circles, there’s a developing emphatic sense of moral outrage over the use of AI, and urging technological renunciation instead. One problem with this attitude is that it falls into the well-worn trap of an abstinence-only approach, pushing people to restrain themselves from making a poor choice when the deluge of social pressures and personal desire shepherd toward making that exact choice. Lest we forget that most of us are workers, and many people will use AI because their bosses tell them to, not, like, for fun. (Indeed, a Gallup poll recently found half of all workers in the US now use AI). This approach also suggests that a consumer choice is the solvent to a systemic threat. Calls for ardent vegetarianism, and urging people to flick off the lights when we leave the house, did not solve climate change (which is ongoing). The same is and will be true of AI and the misguided social trend that seems to hinge on shaming people who might do so. Miranda’s monologue, though, illustrates a second problem with this line of thinking. Yes, you can decide not to use ChatGPT, and perhaps this might give you a momentary feeling of organic cognition, free of AI’s influence. And that might be worth it, alone, for preserving your ability to think clearly. But know the internet is already polluted with the output of large language models, and that you are imbibing this output everyday. It is true that you do not need to personally pay for a subscription to Claude, but the architecture of our digital system means that large language models are already a rank-and-file feature of email software, customer service bots, in media production, and so much more. ChatGPT and search engines will eventually converge into the same thing, and they are, in fact, racing to the finish line to do so. AI is reshaping our energy production systems and our politics. The question is not whether you’ll have the soup, but whether you realize you, and the rest of us, are already swimming in the soup. Considered another way, this approach appears to be the equivalent of sticking your head in the sand when the very challenge you are facing is a sandstorm. Inconveniently, systematic threats require systemic solutions, not performing purity politics. If your revulsion is to AI is that it’s corrupting our ability to think independently—which it definitely is—ridiculing those who use the consumer version of ChatGPT is a very small and more importantly ineffectual hill to die on. View the full article

In 2021, newly relocated to San Francisco from New York City, Danielle Snyder Shorenstein went with her husband to her first Golden State Warriors game. She wasn’t a sports fan, really, and especially not a Bay Area sports fan. “I identify as a New Yorker,” she says. Having owned and run a fashion and jewelry brand called Dannijo with her sister, Jodie Snyder Morel, since 2008, and looking around at the game merch, she thought to herself how unlikely she’d be to wear any of it. Over the course of the season, Shorenstein continued to go to games with her husband and began experimenting with her own take on fanwear. She cut up a jersey, added a crochet collar, some crystal work—and wore it to games. Soon enough, players’ wives and girlfriends were sliding into her DMs. Strangers were stopping her in the arena bathrooms, all asking the same question: “Where did you get that?” Danielle Snyder Shorenstein Jodie Snyder Morel “It woke me up,” Shorenstein says. “Sport is huge. I used to think about sports like, slap a logo on a product and show off your team. But I thought, I’m going to make this chic. That was the aha moment. That was the unlock.” As Shorenstein began to cultivate her own grassroots following at the Warriors games, she and her sister, who lives in Jacksonville, Florida, got to work on a second business, DannijoPro, a fanwear brand that blends fashion and sports fandom. The effort has been an experiment in innovating across two mature industries that rarely intersect. Now, nearly two years in, the business has a full line of fan gear, from understated button downs with a tiny, offset team logo embroidered on the shirt to bespoke vintage gear with hand-sewn details, crocheted collars and rhinestone touches. They’ve even started a line they’re calling 1/won, using vintage fan gear to make bespoke pieces at higher price points. Items at DannijoPro run anywhere from $85 to $495, and are sold on the company’s website, as well as at brand-hosted pop up shops and events. At the end of April, the brand will launch on online fashion retailer Revolve. Right now, DannijoPro is growing 120% year over year, with 40% of their sales coming from DMs on social media. The brand has grown through word of mouth, with a boost from the likes of Brooke Shields, Ayesha and Stephen Curry, Selena Gomez, and Benny Blanco wearing it. The brand has also brokered a licensing agreement with the NBA. Fashion reworked The founders’ experience building DannijoPro has been entirely different from their first foray as fashion founders. “The lay of the land in sports licensing is complicated. There is no road map,” Shorenstein says. “Every league operates differently and every team is different. The distribution is complicated. It’s layered and nuanced. Relationships really matter. But, there’s a lot of opportunity to be entrepreneurial. We are creating our own path within the confines of this landscape.” And, that path, says Morel, is focused on the female consumer in fandom—a buyer that’s been largely ignored in the sports fan apparel business, favoring an infamous “pink it and shrink it” model. “We’re trying to build something from the ground up,” says Morel, noting that there’s no preexisting distribution channel for what DanniJo Pro offers. “Our stuff doesn’t live on plastic hangers in an arena. We are taking a risk, trying to cultivate and create community organically. It’s not a short cut,” Shorenstein says. When you’re trying to take up space in a market you’re new to, you have to justify your presence, which, the sisters say, is more difficult than they ever expected. They’ve had to be creative to establish a toehold in fandom, brokering relationships with players, hosting events, and focusing on the bespoke aspect and craftsmanship in what they do. Looking at DannijoPro with a wider lens, it’s clear the company is also capitalizing on a thread emerging at the intersection of business and culture wherein brands like Hathaway Hutton with its viral Boatkin, Kristin Juszczyk’s Off-Season (in partnership with Skims founder Emme Grede, Fanatics and the NFL), collegiate artwork at Axis Hats and the Clearly Collective with its college campus and city-map scarves are leveraging established, legacy IP as a sort of growth hack. Even on Etsy and Instagram, budding designers are peddling reworked Ralph Lauren button-downs and Nike sweatshirts for a refreshed, unique look. The very existence of these businesses raises a question around innovation and originality, and whether building a brand from established IP, or creating brand adjacency, is equally as wise as building one from scratch. “Licensing is a win-win-win trifecta,” says strategist and licensing expert April Beach. “It is amazing for the creator of the IP—in this case the NBA—the licensee at DannijoPro and it’s amazing for the end users. It increases profit and it gives the licensee the opportunity to take someone’s incredible work and build their genius with it.” Nicole Dolgon, partner at New York City law firm Esca Legal, says that one of the best bits of a licensing agreement like the one DannijoPro has with the NBA is that there’s exponential growth in fanbase with very little lift for the NBA. Morel and Shorenstein do the heavy lifting, maintaining constant communication and product approvals with the league. And, so long as they can jump through the right hoops and maintain that relationship in all of the best ways, everyone does well. Perhaps the most validating interaction for Morel and Shorenstein came when Divya Mathur, chief marketing officer at online clothing retailer Revolve, called. “My focus is always where our customer is spending her time,” says Mathur, noting the brand will launch on Revolve at the end of April. “On my radar was an increase in attending sporting events. I was looking at brands in this space and I came across DannijoPro. I was really drawn to very specific things: their silhouettes, the sweatshirts. None of the product out there felt like it fit our customer.” But, she says, DannijoPro offered an opportunity to play in the sports space without leaving the fashion world: “It exists beyond game da. It crosses over into everyday life, with a lot of craftsmanship and detail. These are pieces you’ll feel proud to wear. That’s the white space in the market.” Morel says filling the void has evolved into three buckets of the business: NBA-licensed pieces with Dannijo signatures (crochet collars, hand-stitching, crystal work), available for any NBA team; the Atelier (or what the sisters call blanks), where customers take Dannijo “blanks” and work with in-house artists to personalize their pieces; and then 1/won vintage, which is sourced through longtime vintage dealers in California and Florida, reworked by hand (cut, stitched, painted). Organizing the business this way, especially with its vintage 1/won line and its hand-added details, is a resistance to fast fashion and AI-generated sameness in our culture, says Shorenstein. Sports fandom is a generational loyalty that has nothing to do with trends. (You don’t send your Warriors jacket to the RealReal, says Morel.) There’s a greater emotional attachment to these pieces, especially when they’ve been altered and created by humans. The community DannijoPro builds is as much the product the brand is selling as the clothing itself. The stadium bathroom becomes as much the trunk show as the athlete’s tunnel has become the runway. Says Shorenstein: “The NBA is our window to the world. People are buying joy and community with DannijoPro. And having an eye and style matters in this space. We are going to be lending our fashion house aesthetic to other sports and leagues outside of the NBA.” View the full article

If AI can write our emails, analyze data, and generate code, then machines outperform humans on nearly everything we currently measure: speed, productivity, and task completion. Based on these measures, humans lose. Their jobs. Their dignity. Their worth. A recent management study shows that AI can help people do 12% more work, 25% faster—but it gets the answers wrong 19% of the time. That’s a telling number. And helps us to understand what we’re all experiencing. We’re optimizing for throughput while quietly accepting a compounding error rate. If we value motion and not direction, we’re like Wile E. Coyote, sprinting forward ever faster—only to realize, a beat too late, there’s no ground beneath us. The reason this matters so much right now is that AI and humans are fundamentally different kinds of intelligence. Despite its “generative” name, AI is recursive. Similar to how “social media” isn’t at all social. AI finds patterns in what already exists, optimizes what’s already been done, and accelerates what’s already been decided. That’s genuinely powerful. It can create a song for you based on your story or code a basic website for you. But—and this is important—it cannot imagine what doesn’t exist yet. It cannot dissent. It cannot empathize. It cannot hold tension or sense when a decision lacks integrity. Humans can. We humans don’t just process the world—we generate new versions of it. We take a problem no one has solved, sit with its contradictions, and tussle with it long enough to create something others missed to build something genuinely useful. That generative capacity—to imagine, not just replicate—is what fuels every meaningful innovation. And it is precisely what our management measurement systems have never learned to see. Which is to say: this isn’t a new problem. It’s a 100-year-old one that AI’s recent emergence has suddenly turned into a crisis. Sorted, Ranked, Rated In the early 1900s, Frederick Taylor gave us scientific management—the idea that human work could and should be standardized, measured, and optimized like any other industrial input. People were inputs. Efficiency was the output. Shortly after, the U.S. Army formalized rating systems to rank soldiers against each other—a tool of military hierarchy designed to sort people for deployment, not develop them. When the wars ended, corporations inherited both the logic and the form. By the 1950s, the annual performance review was a fixture of corporate life. Again, not because it developed people, ideas, or innovation. But because it sorted, ranked, and rated. Then Jack Welch locked the idea in. At GE, he made it consequential and famous: the top 20% were handsomely rewarded, and the bottom 10% were fired, every year, by design. What spread across the global business world wasn’t just a practice—it was a premise. That human beings are meant to be ranked instead of linked. And here’s what most people don’t know: the stack and rank wasn’t actually about improving performance. Welch needed a mechanism to cut people because he was managing shareholder perceptions—using it, among other tools, to make GE appear to be growing when it actually wasn’t. A trial with no jury, no defense, and few witnesses Performance reviews are, by design, performative. Think about what a performance review actually is. It happens once or twice a year—far too infrequently for feedback to be useful. It documents the past rather than addressing the present or shaping the future. It’s tied to compensation, which means everyone performs for the grade rather than the work. If you’re a team leader, you’re often told in advance how many people are allowed to receive great reviews—forcing you to distort reality, ration recognition, and turn feedback into a competition among colleagues. Performance reviews are like a trial with no jury, no defense, and few witnesses—and the prosecutor and the judge are the same person. And we know it. A recent poll I did on LinkedIn shows that people truly get that performance reviews are less about the work (14%) and more about conforming to what is expected of you. That legacy is still running our collective talent decisions today. Not because someone looked at it and thought this was a good idea, but because it’s a norm we’ve inherited and not yet interrogated. The system is working exactly as designed. To commoditize humans. Everything becomes a derivative A few years ago, Adobe decided they’d had enough. “We were a company that thrived on creativity and innovation,” said Donna Morris, then Head of HR, “and the system felt like the exact opposite of that.” Rather than patch what was broken, they replaced it entirely—introducing the “check-in,” a model of ongoing, real-time conversation focused on growth rather than judgment. Managers were coached to have these exchanges as often as the work required, with an emphasis on coaching over critiquing. The shift was concrete: eliminating performance reviews freed up approximately 80,000 hours of manager time every year—the equivalent of 38 full-time employees freed from bureaucratic ritual. And that’s just managers. Countless hours of employee time were also reclaimed—time spent on self-evaluations, on rehearsing, on the sleepless nights that rolled into crappy days. Some companies have followed Adobe’s lead. Most haven’t. Because doing so requires seeing the world differently. It requires us to admit that what the world of management has been measuring isn’t actually valuable. And that the cost is compounded into something we can’t afford. Already, 70% of global jobs require little to no creativity. With AI, that number will only rise—accelerating a shift toward speed over substance, replication over originality, isolation over connection. What was always a strategic blind spot is now an existential one. If we can’t see how human distinctiveness creates value, we won’t just lose sight of it. We’ll automate it away entirely. We’ll design it out. Everything becomes a derivative—a recursive loop of what’s already been done, instead of what we actually need next. The challenges that matter most right now—in business, in society, in every organization trying to stay relevant—require ingenuity, genuine collaboration, and the willingness to work on problems that don’t have obvious answers. That’s not a soft people-y issue; It’s an economic one. The reason every valuable business is created is to produce something useful that didn’t exist before. But then we measure time saved and cost reduced. We are standing at a fork in the road. One path automates what machines do well, freeing humans to generate what comes next—the novel ideas, the solutions we haven’t seen, the work that makes organizations worth having. The other keeps measuring humans by an outdated model they’ll always lose, and in doing so, loses the very generative capacity no machine can replace. The speed/more/output metric is giving us the wrong answer. It tells us humans should absolutely lose our jobs if AI can replace them. But that’s only true if we keep asking the wrong question. Performance reviews are a symptom. The deeper problem is that we never built the right metrics to value what humans actually do. And now that we live in a world where everything routine can be automated, that blindness is no longer just a management failure. It’s the defining risk of our moment. We need to see the norms we’re standing on, so we can stop wondering why the ground feels so thin. View the full article

For decades, the business world has quietly subscribed to a myth: that cognitive performance peaks early and declines steadily thereafter. It’s a belief baked into hiring practices, promotion decisions, and even redundancy strategies. Youth is equated with innovation, speed, and adaptability; age with decline, resistance, and risk. If we ask ourselves, “Am I a better/more effective employee now than I was at 21?” most of us would say, “Yes!” Science and data prove what we already know: that many of the cognitive capabilities that matter most in today’s complex, fast-moving organizations improve with age. The wrong model of intelligence The traditional view of cognitive performance is based on what psychologists call fluid intelligence. This is our ability to process new information quickly, solve unfamiliar problems, and think abstractly. This does tend to peak in early adulthood, which is why you’ll see scores on things like numerical reasoning tests peak at around 19. Fluid intelligence however, is only a small part of the story. So much more of what predicts job performance is crystallized intelligence. This refers to accumulated knowledge, pattern recognition, judgment, and the ability to make sense of complexity. This continues to grow across the lifespan, often peaking well into our 50s. Experience is a cognitive advantage One of the more striking experiments to show the value of experience is taken from the world of chess. In classic studies, chess masters could identify strong moves almost instantly. When asked how this was possible, participants couldn’t easily articulate why. They would say ‘not sure/it ‘feels’ right/’gut instinct’. Later research showed that this “gut instinct” wasn’t guesswork, but rapid pattern recognition built from years of experience. By midlife, most professionals have encountered hundreds (if not thousands) of variations of the same underlying problems: difficult stakeholders, failing projects, market shifts, organizational politics. This exposure creates what neuroscientists and psychologists often describe as pattern recognition. The brain becomes faster not because it processes raw data more quickly, but because it recognises familiar structures and shortcuts decision-making. In practice, this looks like: Spotting risks before they escalate Making better decisions with less information Navigating complex interpersonal dynamics with greater ease Knowing when not to act It isn’t slower thinking. It’s more efficient thinking. Yet many organizations systematically undervalue it because it doesn’t look like the rapid-fire ideation associated with youth. It’s also highly likely, that alongside the expert chess players, people themselves struggle to articulate the value of their experience to employers. Emotional regulation and decision quality Another overlooked advantage of older workers is emotional intelligence (or emotional regulation). Research consistently shows that as people age, they become better at managing emotions, maintaining perspective, and avoiding reactive decision-making. In high-pressure environments, this has a direct impact on performance. Leaders and employees over 50 are often: Less prone to impulsive decisions Better at handling conflict constructively More resilient in the face of setbacks More focused on long-term outcomes rather than short-term wins In a business environment which values trust, credibility and relationships, these are not “soft” skills, they are critical capabilities. The innovation myth One of the most persistent assumptions is that innovation is a young person’s game. While breakthrough ideas can emerge at any age, many of the most impactful innovations come from individuals with deep domain expertise. Economist David Galenson’s research shows that while some innovators peak early, many of the most important breakthroughs come from “experimental innovators”—people whose ideas are built slowly through years of experience, often reaching their peak in midlife or later. Innovation is not just about generating ideas. It’s about: Connecting disparate concepts Understanding what will actually work in practice Navigating the organizational and market realities required to implement change All are areas where experience is a significant advantage. The cost of ignoring midlife talent Despite this, many organizations continue to sideline or lose talent over 50, whether through redundancy, lack of progression, or subtle cultural signals that they no longer “fit.” The cost is enormous but largely invisible because it’s hard to measure what doesn’t happen: the insight not shared, the avoided mistake, the opportunity not taken. A workforce out of sync with reality There’s also a broader demographic shift that businesses can’t ignore. People are living longer, working longer, and often needing or wanting to remain economically active well into their 60s and beyond—yet organizational practices haven’t caught up. Many career paths still assume a linear progression that peaks in midlife then declines. Development opportunities are often disproportionately focused on younger employees and hiring processes frequently filter out older candidates (sometimes explicitly: ‘don’t send me anyone over 45’), often implicitly (‘we want someone malleable with less experience’). This creates a mismatch between the available talent pool and how organizations choose to use it. Make age the asset it is Peak brain power is a concept best thought of as something that evolves with age. In the consumer world, the people with the most money are often the least targeted. In the employment world, the people with the most experience are often the least valued. The question for businesses is not whether older workers can keep up. It’s whether organizations are smart enough to recognize and utilize the assets they already have. Those that do will gain a significant competitive advantage. View the full article

The former Fed governor's upcoming confirmation hearing will test whether he can satisfy both a president demanding lower rates and a Congress demanding independence. View the full article