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Iran and the United States were holding indirect negotiations Thursday in Geneva as talks over Tehran’s nuclear program hang in the balance following Israel’s 12-day war on the country in June and the Islamic Republic carrying out a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests. U.S. President Donald The President has kept up pressure on Iran, moving an aircraft carrier and other military assets to the Persian Gulf and suggesting the U.S. could attack Iran over the killing of peaceful demonstrators or if Tehran launches mass executions over the protests. A second aircraft carrier now is in the Mediterranean Sea. The President has pushed Iran’s nuclear program back into the frame as well after the June war disrupted five rounds of talks held in Rome and Muscat, Oman, last year. Two rounds of talks so far have yet to reach a deal, though. Mideast nations fear a collapse in diplomacy could spark a new regional war. U.S. concerns also have gone beyond Iran’s nuclear program to its ballistic missiles, support for proxy networks across the region and other issues. Iran has said it wants talks to focus solely on the nuclear program. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has insisted that his nation was “not seeking nuclear weapons. … and are ready for any kind of verification.” However, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — has been unable for months to inspect and verify Iran’s nuclear stockpile. The President began the diplomacy initially by writing a letter last year to Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to jump start these talks. Khamenei has warned Iran would respond to any attack with an attack of its own, particularly as the theocracy he commands reels following the protests. Here’s what to know about Iran’s nuclear program and the tensions that have stalked relations between Tehran and Washington since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The President writes letter to Khamenei The President dispatched the letter to Khamenei on March 5, 2025, then gave a television interview the next day in which he acknowledged sending it. He said: “I’ve written them a letter saying, ‘I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing.'” Since returning to the White House, the president has been pushing for talks while ratcheting up sanctions and suggesting a military strike by Israel or the U.S. could target Iranian nuclear sites. A previous letter from The President during his first term drew an angry retort from the supreme leader. But The President’s letters to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in his first term led to face-to-face meetings, though no deals to limit Pyongyang’s atomic bombs and a missile program capable of reaching the continental U.S. Oman mediated previous talks Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has mediated talks between Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. The two men have met face to face after indirect talks, a rare occurrence due to the decades of tensions between the countries. It hasn’t been all smooth, however. Witkoff at one point made a television appearance in which he suggested 3.67% enrichment for Iran could be something the countries could agree on. But that’s exactly the terms set by the 2015 nuclear deal struck under former U.S. President Barack Obama, from which The President unilaterally withdrew America. Witkoff, The President and other American officials in the time since have maintained Iran can have no enrichment under any deal, something to which Tehran insists it won’t agree. The first attempt at negotiations ended, however, with Israel launching the war in June on Iran. A new effort has seen two new rounds of talks in Oman and Geneva so far. The 12-day war and nationwide protests Israel launched what became a 12-day war on Iran in June that included the U.S. bombing Iranian nuclear sites. Iran later acknowledged in November that the attacks saw it halt all uranium enrichment in the country, though inspectors from the IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, have been unable to visit the bombed sites. Half a year later, Iran saw protests that began in late December over the collapse of the country’s rial currency. Those demonstrations soon became nationwide, sparking Tehran to launch a bloody crackdown that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained by authorities. Iran’s nuclear program worries the West Iran has insisted for decades that its nuclear program is peaceful. However, its officials increasingly threaten to pursue a nuclear weapon. Iran now enriches uranium to near weapons-grade levels of 60%, the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so. Under the original 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium up to 3.67% purity and to maintain a uranium stockpile of 300 kilograms (661 pounds). The last report by the IAEA on Iran’s program put its stockpile at some 9,870 kilograms (21,760 pounds), with a fraction of it enriched to 60%. The agency for months has been unable to assess Iran’s program, raising nonproliferation concerns. U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Iran has yet to begin a weapons program, but has “undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so.” Iranian officials have threatened to pursue the bomb. Israel, a close American ally, believes Iran is pursuing a weapon. It wants to see the nuclear program scrapped, as well as a halt in its ballistic missile program and support for anti-Israel militant groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas. Decades of tense relations between Iran and the US Iran was once one of the U.S.’s top allies in the Mideast under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who purchased American military weapons and allowed CIA technicians to run secret listening posts monitoring the neighboring Soviet Union. The CIA had fomented a 1953 coup that cemented the shah’s rule. But in January 1979, the shah, fatally ill with cancer, fled Iran as mass demonstrations swelled against his rule. The Islamic Revolution followed, led by Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and created Iran’s theocratic government. Later that year, university students overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, seeking the shah’s extradition and sparking the 444-day hostage crisis that saw diplomatic relations between Iran and the U.S. severed. The Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s saw the U.S. back Saddam Hussein. The “Tanker War” during that conflict saw the U.S. launch a one-day assault that crippled Iran at sea, while the U.S. later shot down an Iranian commercial airliner that the U.S. military said it mistook for a warplane. Iran and the U.S. have seesawed between enmity and grudging diplomacy in the years since, with relations peaking when Tehran made the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. But The President unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the accord in 2018, sparking tensions in the Mideast that persist today. The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. —Jon Gambrell, Associated Press View the full article

As snow piled up in front of bus stops and fire hydrants during New York City’s second winter storm of the year, city workers have tried to move fast to remove it before snow hardened into ice. A new internal tool makes that job easier to track. The city’s Department of Sanitation (DSNY) now tags infrastructure that’s been plowed in a mobile mapping tool that employees can update on the go. “We have started the work of geotagging every single bus shelter and crosswalk,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday, and overnight, he said the city cleared more than 1,600 crosswalks, 419 fire hydrants, and nearly 900 bus stops. DSNY handles trash collection, but it’s also tasked with snow removal from city streets and bike lanes, areas within its legal obligation. DSNY sometimes provides supplemental services too, plowing pedestrian infrastructure like curb ramps, unsheltered bus stops, and fire hydrants that property owners are responsible for. In the past, this supplemental work was done piecemeal, but under Mamdani, the amount of supplemental service has “vastly increased,” says Joshua Goodman, a DSNY deputy commissioner. “That necessitated a need to formally track this work,” he says. Cities from Bellevue, Washington, to Syracuse, New York, use digital maps to show residents when streets get plowed, and New Yorkers can track when their streets were last plowed on PlowNYC, a public site launched in 2013. DSNY needed its own PlowNYC, but for bus stops and more. “We developed an internal mapping tool, and Sanitation Supervisors make live updates from the field when one of these locations in their assigned section is complete,” Goodman tells Fast Company. “So maybe it’s a bit simpler than the terminology implies—it’s essentially someone making updates to a central database on their work cell phone—but it’s a big development for us, especially so quickly.” “This is our first storm using it, but it is allowing greater efficiency around clearing these important areas,” he adds. Preparations began following the snowstorm in January, when sites were surveyed for the mapping tool. The interface looks like a typical maps app, and while perhaps simpler than what the idea of “geotagging” might conjure, the database of information the tool stores is vast. New York City has about 13,000 bus stops and about 83,000 crosswalks in commercial corridors. The tool was designed by the DSNY operations management division, which is its data and analytics team. To handle snow from the latest storm, DSNY has delayed trash and recycling collection so its workers can prioritize snow removal, and it’s hired hundreds of emergency temporary snow shovelers for $30 per hour. That’s a pop-up snow shoveling army with tens of thousands of sites and miles of ground to cover. Tracking this work with clipboards wouldn’t be efficient. By developing an internal tool to better monitor their job, DSNY found a quick solution to solve a pressing problem. View the full article

If you’ve been paying attention to AI at all lately, you’ve certainly seen the “Something Big Is Happening” essay by Matt Shumer, or at least some of the reaction to it. In it, Shumer describes how coding, for him, has completely transitioned from manually writing code to simply prompting and approving the near-flawless work done by AI. The piece was meant as a warning to all knowledge workers, essentially saying: AI has taken over my job, and it’s coming for yours next. There have been countless thought pieces on the merits and flaws of Shumer’s argument, and I have no intention of adding to the pile. But journalism is knowledge work, too, and the field had its own, slightly less viral, moment of AI existential crisis this past week. The editor of Cleveland.com, Chris Quinn, wrote a column this week, describing how a college student who had applied for a reporting job withdrew their application when they found out how the publication uses AI. Besides using AI to help generate story ideas, the newsroom developed an “AI rewrite specialist” to write stories based on the material that reporters gather. By ditching writing, according to Quinn, their reporters have been able to reclaim an extra workday each week. The backlash was predictably vicious. On X, Axios reporter Sam Allard earned a lot of likes by comparing what Cleveland.com is doing to being an “AI content farmer,” while various veteran journalists on Substack expressed various degrees of outrage and dismay. Most of the reaction was along the lines of this piece from journalist Stacey Woelfel: “Writing is an integral part of the reporting process.” The AI newsroom split That’s true, but I think what Quinn describes isn’t so easily dismissed. After all, reporters often work in teams on single articles, with one of them taking the lead on the draft. Did the others then . . . not report? And I’ve certainly been in breaking-news situations where a reporter would text, email, or call in their notes to an editor or writer who would put together the piece. It’s generally recognized that writing and reporting are different skills, and what Quinn and Cleveland.com appear to have done is use AI to fully separate them. The conventional wisdom on the “correct” way to use AI is to let it take over the tasks that it can do faster and better than humans, freeing them up to do the things that absolutely require human engagement and judgment. In the case of a reporter, that’s talking to sources, learning new things, and earning their trust. Well, at long last, AI is actually very good at writing. Certainly, much of the text that’s come out of AI systems over the past few years hasn’t done much for its literary reputation (yes, we’re all tired of the rampant em-dashes and the “it’s not X—it’s Y” bits). But if you use the most powerful models with a modest amount of deliberate prompting, they can produce highly competent prose. And if we’re being honest, highly competent prose is all that’s needed for a large amount of reported stories. Many, if not most, news reports are meant to convey basic information about what happened, with little judgment or opinion, and typically written in AP style, which is essentially a formula. It’s not quite code, but it’s a very functional way of writing. The most important thing is conveying the facts, accurately and with context, as quickly as possible. Again, it’s important to understand that the reporter is not removed from the process, but their role changes significantly. Just as Shumer found himself becoming a supervisor to an AI building machine, reporters may become operators of writing bots, ensuring they’re crafting stories properly out of the raw material they’ve been given. In the case of Quinn’s newsroom, reporters have final say over the copy. Bleeding between the lines None of this is to say this approach will result in a perfect future. There are writers who aren’t great at reporting, and there are reporters who aren’t skilled at writing, but there are plenty who are good at both. Will they need to pick a side—either become a feature or opinion writer, or settle for just doing the reporting part? And what about skill building? Even if this approach is as successful as Quinn says, how will junior staff become better writers without the day-in, day-out act of writing stories? When Woelfel says writing is integral to reporting, I think he means it’s integral to storytelling, which is an act of curation, prioritization, and expression—all with an audience in mind. This is what Ben Affleck meant when he famously drew a distinction between AI as a craftsman and AI as an artist. But how do you become an artist if AI is doing all the crafting? The irony of Shumer’s piece is that, while he makes a solid case that AI will soon disrupt most knowledge work—and even name-checks journalism as one of the areas in the crosshairs—he did it with an essay with a distinctly human voice. I honestly don’t know if he used AI to fully or partially write the piece, but I’m certain that if he did, he also was meticulous about every word. I think that’s a hopeful sign that, even if we relegate some of the craft of writing to AI, that we might not lose as much as we might think. Audiences will always demand a human touch, so that touch will need to manifest in some form. It’s true that no one wants to read AI slop. But it might turn out that the most valuable reporting skill in the future will be the ability to turn slop into stories. View the full article

At least 25 million people have had their personal information stolen in a major hack on business services company Conduent. The data breach itself isn't new—it was initially disclosed in January 2025, and Conduent has already notified millions of individuals whose data was compromised in the incident. However, the breach is now believed to be larger in scale than previously reported, possibly among the largest to affect healthcare. Who is Conduent? Conduent is a New Jersey-based business processing outsourcing (BPO) company that provides services like printing, payment, and document and claims processing to state and federal government agencies as well as large commercial and transportation organizations. According to the company's 2025 annual report, these offerings include disbursement of benefits, such as food assistance and child support, and administration of government healthcare programs (like Medicaid). For large corporations, services include workplace and unemployment benefits management. Conduent was spun off from Xerox in 2017 and now employs around 51,000 people worldwide. What happened with the Conduent breach?In January 2025, Conduent suffered an outage that was later confirmed to be the result of a "cybersecurity incident." The disruption lasted several days, during which agencies across the U.S. were unable to process some benefit payments. While the breach was discovered in January, hackers reportedly gained access to Conduent's systems months earlier on October 21, 2024. The Safepay ransomware gang later took credit for the attack. While Conduent confirmed in April 2025 that client information had been stolen in the breach, it didn't begin notifying affected individuals until October. According to those notices, the compromised data included names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, health insurance policy information, and medical information. How many people were impacted by the breach? The scope of the breach continues to grow, but the total number of individuals affected currently sits around 25 million. The greatest impact appears to be in Texas and Oregon, though residents in California, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Mexico have also received notices. (For reference, the total number of users impacted by the 2024 ransomware attack on Change Healthcare is now estimated at 190 million.) What to do if you were affectedIf you receive a notice saying your information was compromised, you should take every precaution to secure your identity: At a minimum, ensure your credit is frozen, and set up a one-year fraud alert on your credit files to prevent someone from applying for credit using your information. None of the notices we've seen have offered any type of credit monitoring or identity theft protection services to affected individuals, but you could utilize these services as well. At this point—given the ubiquity of data breaches and information compromise—you should be keeping a close eye on your credit report and financial accounts at all times to quickly catch anything suspicious. If you do find fraudulent activity, report it to your bank and/or credit issuer immediately, and file an identity theft report. View the full article

For decades, a legal degree felt like a golden ticket, a safe career choice because a robot could never take a lawyer’s job. Today consumers are increasingly turning to new technologies like generative artificial intelligence for answers to their legal questions without the assistance of a lawyer. No wonder: The high cost of legal services places them beyond the reach of most Americans. Some outside the profession see this market failure as an opportunity. Legal technology startups armed with AI agents are securing billion-dollar evaluations, and after recent leaps in AI models and new features—including one from Anthropic that can help automate legal tasks—some legal and tech stocks went into shock. The sense that “something big is happening” also left at least some lawyers wondering whether the robots are finally coming for their jobs, and asking if this is the beginning of the end of the legal profession? It doesn’t need to be. Lawyers could try to wage what will certainly be a losing campaign against the encroachment of new technologies on areas of American life typically dominated by lawyers. Instead, the American legal profession can learn to run with the machines and not against them, fulfilling their ethical duty to ensure all Americans have access to justice by harnessing these technologies to deliver affordable and accessible legal services at scale. These two powerful phenomena—the emergence of new technologies and the fact that tens of millions of Americans face their legal problems without a lawyer—will certainly encourage Americans to rely on new and widely available tools regardless of whether the information and guidance these consumers receive is accurate. And it often isn’t. Indeed, according to one recent report, there are nearly 1,000 documented cases of lawyers and unrepresented litigants referencing fictitious court decisions and other legal authorities in court filings because of AI “hallucinations”: instances where the AI fabricated the legal sources upon which those litigants relied to their detriment, resulting in fines and other punishments from the courts. The tragic reality driving many Americans to these imperfect alternatives to professional legal help is not that consumers are choosing between a lawyer and a bot; they are all too often facing their legal problem with no lawyer at all. This is especially true in areas where the fees available to lawyers are low, yet the stakes for the consumer high: where a tenant faces eviction, an immigrant is at risk of deportation, a homeowner might lose their home to foreclosure, or a victim of identity theft faces a mountain of debt they did not accumulate themselves. Roughly 93% of low-income and half of middle-income Americans go without adequate legal representation when confronted with legal problems like these. This access-to-justice crisis, as bad as it is, leads to larger and even more troubling concerns. When lawyers are not available to vindicate important interests, that threatens other critical values all Americans should cherish: individual liberty and dignity, civil rights, equal justice, and the rule of law. But this isn’t the first time that the legal profession has faced these sorts of challenges. At the turn of the 20th century, industrialization led to reorganization of the bar into larger and larger law firms to respond to the growing and more complex demands of their clients. Simple technologies like the telephone, telegraph, and typewriter made the practice of law more efficient, allowing lawyers to provide more comprehensive services to their corporate clients. Ironically, many of the measures elites in the bar formulated to respond to these societal and technological changes led to the current market failure. Indeed, instead of welcoming more lawyers into the profession to meet the growing need for its services, elites in the bar erected barriers to entry where few existed before (at least if you were white and male). They built high walls and wide moats to prevent dilution of the legal services market, including requiring an expensive legal education and more challenging bar exams before an aspiring lawyer could begin to practice. These requirements had the desired effect: limiting access to the profession and artificially inflating the cost of legal services. What is more, many of these barriers endure and continue to drive up the cost of legal services today. This time is different though. Never before has it looked like technology could truly displace lawyers. Indeed, tools like CitizenshipWorks, an online portal that helps individuals apply for citizenship, and Depositron, which assists tenants in New York seeking a return of their security deposit from their former landlords, are meeting critical needs without the fees a lawyer might otherwise charge for these services. Think of it as the expansion of TurboTax-like products to other areas of the law. There are certainly situations where there is no substitute for a living, breathing lawyer, like when a criminal defendant is facing a felony charge, or when a complex and novel business transaction requires unique legal skills. But when the alternative is no legal representation at all, as is the case with far too many American consumers with far simpler legal needs—needs that can be met through technological innovations—the profession has an obligation to find ways to address those needs, even when doing so will bring down the price of legal services or displace some traditional legal jobs. In the face of such threats to their position in society, however, lawyers must remember that the point of the legal system is not to serve as a full-employment plan for lawyers; it is to help people solve their legal problems. This market opportunity is one that lawyers can actually seize. Instead of ignoring new technologies or erecting even higher walls to their adoption, the legal profession should embrace and shape these technologies, creating an array of options for individuals, families, and businesses to address their legal problems at lower cost, and at scale. Big Law is already adopting many of these new tools to serve their well-heeled clients; the present cost of building effective systems may mean that the widespread adoption of such technologies at the high-end of the legal services market actually makes the access-to-justice gap worse, not better. Instead of exacerbating legal access inequality, the profession should build bridges—aided by new technologies—that will span the chasm between those who require legal assistance and those who can afford it, even if the services that solve Americans’ legal problems in the not-so distant future are not always delivered by lawyers alone. There’s plenty of legal work to go around. Lawyers should be the ones figuring out how to put new technologies to use to serve the legal needs of all Americans in creative, ethical, effective, affordable, and accessible ways. When they do that, they will serve the profession’s most important values and functions, and advance what should be its highest ideals. View the full article

In the domain of sales, excelling in effective prospecting techniques is vital for your success. You’ll want to dedicate specific time blocks for outreach and set clear goals for those sessions. Segmenting your prospects allows for customized messaging that resonates. Utilizing digital events can improve lead generation, as you reach out through preferred channels, like LinkedIn, increases engagement. These strategies form the foundation of a resilient sales approach, but there’s more to explore. Key Takeaways Allocate dedicated time blocks for prospecting to enhance focus and maintain a consistent sales pipeline. Segment prospects by demographics and interests to tailor messaging and address unique pain points effectively. Host digital events like webinars to engage prospects and position your brand as an industry expert. Leverage preferred communication channels, such as personalized emails and LinkedIn, for higher engagement rates. Utilize CRM tools to organize customer data, prioritize leads, and facilitate timely follow-ups for better sales outcomes. Book Intentional Time for Prospecting Booking intentional time for prospecting is crucial for any sales professional aiming to boost their outreach effectiveness. By scheduling dedicated blocks in your calendar, just like client meetings, you improve your focus and consistency. Top salespeople dedicate over four hours each week to these activities, ensuring a steady sales pipeline. To create an effective prospecting plan, choose ideal times that align with both your energy levels and your prospects’ availability, as this can increase engagement. Set clear goals for each session, such as the number of outreach attempts or meetings secured, to track your progress. Finally, minimize distractions during these hours by using “do not disturb” settings, which can greatly improve your productivity and connection rates using creative prospecting ideas. Segment Your Prospects to Make Emotional Connections Segmenting your prospects is essential for creating meaningful emotional connections that can improve your sales outreach. By grouping prospects based on demographics, interests, or product needs, you can tailor your messaging to address unique pain points. This amplifies engagement and greatly boosts your chances of successful outreach. Utilize sales prospecting ideas, like the EY Future Consumer Index, which identifies key segments—Affordability, Health, Planet, Society, and Experience. Focus on high-value prospects by ordering segments by sales potential, improving your efficiency. Utilize Digital Events for Lead Generation As you look for effective ways to generate leads, consider the potential of digital events, like webinars, which can improve your outreach strategy. These events serve as an underutilized tool for prospecting, positioning your brand as an industry expert as you educate potential customers. Hosting webinars can fill your sales pipeline with interested prospects, as attendees often share similar interests and needs. Research shows that 82% of buyers accept meetings initiated by sellers, highlighting the importance of engaging prospects early. Digital events likewise nurture community, allowing potential customers to interact with your brand and each other, enhancing engagement and trust. Utilizing digital platforms enables scalability and accessibility, reaching a wider audience and accommodating varying time zones, greatly increasing your lead generation potential. Reach Out on Your Buyers’ Preferred Channels After exploring how digital events can improve your lead generation, it’s important to reflect on how you connect with your prospects once they’ve shown interest. Reaching out through their preferred channels is essential for effective engagement. Most buyers prefer email, with 80% of them favoring this for initial contact. LinkedIn is likewise effective; 82% of buyers accept meetings initiated there, especially when you provide customized content. Here’s a quick overview of these channels: Channel Preference Rate Key Insights Email 80% Personalized emails yield 26% higher open rates. LinkedIn 82% Customized content increases meeting acceptance. General Outreach 91% Prospects are open to connecting with sales reps. Make your outreach brief, relevant, and value-driven. Target Thriving Industries Identifying and targeting thriving industries is vital for maximizing your sales prospecting efforts, especially as certain sectors, like technology and healthcare, continue to experience significant growth. By focusing on these industries, you can achieve higher conversion rates, as they often see increased investment and demand for innovative solutions. Research shows that 71% of buyers like to connect early in the sales process, so targeting industries where buyers actively seek new ideas is critical. Engaging with sectors prioritizing digital transformation can yield better results, as 82% of buyers accept meetings initiated by sellers who provide relevant insights. Leveraging data analytics to pinpoint high-potential industries improves your efficiency, increasing your chances of securing valuable meetings and conversions. Embrace a Numbers Game Mindset Sales success relies heavily on the comprehension that it’s a numbers game, where persistence and consistency often differentiate high achievers from their peers. To thrive in sales, remember these key points: It typically takes about nine attempts to connect with a prospect; many give up after just four to six. A staggering 68% of salespeople abandon their efforts after one follow-up, whereas top performers know that consistent outreach boosts conversion rates. Set specific goals for your outreach sessions, like aiming for a certain number of calls or emails to maximize engagement opportunities. Streamline Prospecting With CRM Tools To effectively streamline your prospecting efforts, leveraging CRM tools is essential, as they centralize customer data and improve organization within your sales process. A sales CRM allows you to track interactions with prospects, promoting more efficient prospecting. By using lead management features, you can segment prospects based on their characteristics, ensuring personalized engagement that resonates with their needs. Advanced CRM systems analyze data patterns, helping you prioritize high-potential leads and allocate resources effectively. Automation tools within these platforms facilitate timely follow-ups, keeping prospects engaged without overwhelming your team. A well-implemented CRM boosts prospecting effectiveness by supporting data-driven decision-making and enabling continuous improvement through performance tracking and analysis, ultimately resulting in higher conversion rates and better overall results. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 5 P’s of Prospecting? The five P’s of prospecting are preparation, personalization, persistence, process, and performance measurement. First, you need to prepare by researching your potential buyers. Next, personalize your outreach to address their specific needs. Persistence is key, as it often takes multiple attempts to connect. Establish a systematic process for following up with leads. Finally, measure your performance regularly to refine your strategies and adapt to changing circumstances, ensuring continuous improvement in your prospecting efforts. What Is the 30 Day Rule in Prospecting? The 30 Day Rule in prospecting suggests that you should re-engage leads who’ve shown interest within the last 30 days. This timeframe is essential, as research indicates prospects are most receptive to follow-ups during this period. Prioritizing timely outreach can greatly improve your chances of securing meetings and advancing leads toward conversion. What Is the Best Prospecting Technique? The best prospecting technique combines personalized outreach with a multi-touch approach. Personalized emails typically see a 26% higher open rate, whereas a campaign with eight touches can greatly boost meeting rates. Cold calling likewise proves effective, especially for high-level executives, as 69% accept calls from new salespeople. Furthermore, leveraging referrals increases trust, raising the likelihood of conversion. Continuously evaluating and adapting your strategies based on feedback and market trends can further improve results. What Are the Three Keys to Prospecting Success? To achieve prospecting success, focus on three key areas. First, dedicate intentional time for prospecting, as consistent engagement is essential. Second, understand and segment your prospects by demographics and pain points to tailor your outreach effectively. Finally, leverage technology, such as CRMs, to streamline efforts and track engagement. Conclusion Incorporating these seven crucial sales prospecting techniques can greatly improve your outreach efforts. By scheduling dedicated time, segmenting prospects, and utilizing digital events, you can create more meaningful connections. Furthermore, focusing on preferred communication channels and targeting thriving industries helps optimize your approach. Embracing a numbers game mindset and leveraging CRM tools guarantees organized follow-ups and persistent engagement. By applying these strategies consistently, you can enhance your prospecting success and in the end drive better sales outcomes. Image via Google Gemini This article, "7 Essential Sales Prospecting Techniques for Success" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

In the domain of sales, excelling in effective prospecting techniques is vital for your success. You’ll want to dedicate specific time blocks for outreach and set clear goals for those sessions. Segmenting your prospects allows for customized messaging that resonates. Utilizing digital events can improve lead generation, as you reach out through preferred channels, like LinkedIn, increases engagement. These strategies form the foundation of a resilient sales approach, but there’s more to explore. Key Takeaways Allocate dedicated time blocks for prospecting to enhance focus and maintain a consistent sales pipeline. Segment prospects by demographics and interests to tailor messaging and address unique pain points effectively. Host digital events like webinars to engage prospects and position your brand as an industry expert. Leverage preferred communication channels, such as personalized emails and LinkedIn, for higher engagement rates. Utilize CRM tools to organize customer data, prioritize leads, and facilitate timely follow-ups for better sales outcomes. Book Intentional Time for Prospecting Booking intentional time for prospecting is crucial for any sales professional aiming to boost their outreach effectiveness. By scheduling dedicated blocks in your calendar, just like client meetings, you improve your focus and consistency. Top salespeople dedicate over four hours each week to these activities, ensuring a steady sales pipeline. To create an effective prospecting plan, choose ideal times that align with both your energy levels and your prospects’ availability, as this can increase engagement. Set clear goals for each session, such as the number of outreach attempts or meetings secured, to track your progress. Finally, minimize distractions during these hours by using “do not disturb” settings, which can greatly improve your productivity and connection rates using creative prospecting ideas. Segment Your Prospects to Make Emotional Connections Segmenting your prospects is essential for creating meaningful emotional connections that can improve your sales outreach. By grouping prospects based on demographics, interests, or product needs, you can tailor your messaging to address unique pain points. This amplifies engagement and greatly boosts your chances of successful outreach. Utilize sales prospecting ideas, like the EY Future Consumer Index, which identifies key segments—Affordability, Health, Planet, Society, and Experience. Focus on high-value prospects by ordering segments by sales potential, improving your efficiency. Utilize Digital Events for Lead Generation As you look for effective ways to generate leads, consider the potential of digital events, like webinars, which can improve your outreach strategy. These events serve as an underutilized tool for prospecting, positioning your brand as an industry expert as you educate potential customers. Hosting webinars can fill your sales pipeline with interested prospects, as attendees often share similar interests and needs. Research shows that 82% of buyers accept meetings initiated by sellers, highlighting the importance of engaging prospects early. Digital events likewise nurture community, allowing potential customers to interact with your brand and each other, enhancing engagement and trust. Utilizing digital platforms enables scalability and accessibility, reaching a wider audience and accommodating varying time zones, greatly increasing your lead generation potential. Reach Out on Your Buyers’ Preferred Channels After exploring how digital events can improve your lead generation, it’s important to reflect on how you connect with your prospects once they’ve shown interest. Reaching out through their preferred channels is essential for effective engagement. Most buyers prefer email, with 80% of them favoring this for initial contact. LinkedIn is likewise effective; 82% of buyers accept meetings initiated there, especially when you provide customized content. Here’s a quick overview of these channels: Channel Preference Rate Key Insights Email 80% Personalized emails yield 26% higher open rates. LinkedIn 82% Customized content increases meeting acceptance. General Outreach 91% Prospects are open to connecting with sales reps. Make your outreach brief, relevant, and value-driven. Target Thriving Industries Identifying and targeting thriving industries is vital for maximizing your sales prospecting efforts, especially as certain sectors, like technology and healthcare, continue to experience significant growth. By focusing on these industries, you can achieve higher conversion rates, as they often see increased investment and demand for innovative solutions. Research shows that 71% of buyers like to connect early in the sales process, so targeting industries where buyers actively seek new ideas is critical. Engaging with sectors prioritizing digital transformation can yield better results, as 82% of buyers accept meetings initiated by sellers who provide relevant insights. Leveraging data analytics to pinpoint high-potential industries improves your efficiency, increasing your chances of securing valuable meetings and conversions. Embrace a Numbers Game Mindset Sales success relies heavily on the comprehension that it’s a numbers game, where persistence and consistency often differentiate high achievers from their peers. To thrive in sales, remember these key points: It typically takes about nine attempts to connect with a prospect; many give up after just four to six. A staggering 68% of salespeople abandon their efforts after one follow-up, whereas top performers know that consistent outreach boosts conversion rates. Set specific goals for your outreach sessions, like aiming for a certain number of calls or emails to maximize engagement opportunities. Streamline Prospecting With CRM Tools To effectively streamline your prospecting efforts, leveraging CRM tools is essential, as they centralize customer data and improve organization within your sales process. A sales CRM allows you to track interactions with prospects, promoting more efficient prospecting. By using lead management features, you can segment prospects based on their characteristics, ensuring personalized engagement that resonates with their needs. Advanced CRM systems analyze data patterns, helping you prioritize high-potential leads and allocate resources effectively. Automation tools within these platforms facilitate timely follow-ups, keeping prospects engaged without overwhelming your team. A well-implemented CRM boosts prospecting effectiveness by supporting data-driven decision-making and enabling continuous improvement through performance tracking and analysis, ultimately resulting in higher conversion rates and better overall results. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 5 P’s of Prospecting? The five P’s of prospecting are preparation, personalization, persistence, process, and performance measurement. First, you need to prepare by researching your potential buyers. Next, personalize your outreach to address their specific needs. Persistence is key, as it often takes multiple attempts to connect. Establish a systematic process for following up with leads. Finally, measure your performance regularly to refine your strategies and adapt to changing circumstances, ensuring continuous improvement in your prospecting efforts. What Is the 30 Day Rule in Prospecting? The 30 Day Rule in prospecting suggests that you should re-engage leads who’ve shown interest within the last 30 days. This timeframe is essential, as research indicates prospects are most receptive to follow-ups during this period. Prioritizing timely outreach can greatly improve your chances of securing meetings and advancing leads toward conversion. What Is the Best Prospecting Technique? The best prospecting technique combines personalized outreach with a multi-touch approach. Personalized emails typically see a 26% higher open rate, whereas a campaign with eight touches can greatly boost meeting rates. Cold calling likewise proves effective, especially for high-level executives, as 69% accept calls from new salespeople. Furthermore, leveraging referrals increases trust, raising the likelihood of conversion. Continuously evaluating and adapting your strategies based on feedback and market trends can further improve results. What Are the Three Keys to Prospecting Success? To achieve prospecting success, focus on three key areas. First, dedicate intentional time for prospecting, as consistent engagement is essential. Second, understand and segment your prospects by demographics and pain points to tailor your outreach effectively. Finally, leverage technology, such as CRMs, to streamline efforts and track engagement. Conclusion Incorporating these seven crucial sales prospecting techniques can greatly improve your outreach efforts. By scheduling dedicated time, segmenting prospects, and utilizing digital events, you can create more meaningful connections. Furthermore, focusing on preferred communication channels and targeting thriving industries helps optimize your approach. Embracing a numbers game mindset and leveraging CRM tools guarantees organized follow-ups and persistent engagement. By applying these strategies consistently, you can enhance your prospecting success and in the end drive better sales outcomes. Image via Google Gemini This article, "7 Essential Sales Prospecting Techniques for Success" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

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We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Samsung Odyssey G50D is currently down to $229.99 on Amazon, marked down from $429.99. That is a big drop, and according to price trackers, it is the lowest price this model has hit. For that money, you are getting a 32-inch screen with 1440p resolution, which is sharper than standard 1080p but not as demanding as 4K. It is designed mainly for gaming, and the headline feature is the 180Hz refresh rate. In simple terms, that means the screen can show up to 180 frames per second. If you play fast games like shooters or racing titles, movement looks smoother and feels more responsive compared to a regular 60Hz display. 32" Samsung Odyssey G50D 2560x1440 QHD Fast IPS 180Hz Gaming Monitor $229.99 at Amazon $429.99 Save $200.00 Get Deal Get Deal $229.99 at Amazon $429.99 Save $200.00 In real use, it performs well for competitive gaming. Input lag is low, so your actions feel instant. It supports AMD FreeSync and is certified as G-SYNC compatible for NVIDIA graphics cards, which helps reduce screen tearing and stuttering. There is still a bit of blur in very fast scenes, but nothing unusual for a monitor in this price range. You can hit the full 180Hz over DisplayPort with an 8-bit signal. Over HDMI, you are capped at 144Hz. The monitor also does not get bright enough for highlights to stand out, and the local dimming system does little to improve contrast. If you mainly play RPGs or story-driven games in low light and care about deep contrast, this will not impress you. For daytime use or a well-lit room, brightness is strong enough to fight glare. One area where this monitor surprises is comfort. You can raise or lower it, tilt it, swivel it side to side, and even rotate it vertically. That makes it easy to adjust for long sessions or different desk setups. It also supports VESA mounting if you want to use a monitor arm. Viewing angles are decent, so the image does not wash out when you sit slightly off to the side. Overall, this is a practical gaming monitor. It focuses on speed and size rather than stunning picture quality. If you want smooth gameplay at 1440p without spending a lot, this deal makes sense. If you care more about deep contrast and cinematic visuals, you may want to look at higher-end options. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods 4 Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $139.99 (List Price $179.00) Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 6.9" 512GB Privacy Display Smartphone + $200 Gift Card — $1,299.99 (List Price $1,699.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $329.00 (List Price $349.00) Google Pixel 10a 128GB 6.3" Unlocked Smartphone + $100 Gift Card — $499.00 (List Price $599.00) Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant — $329.00 (List Price $429.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE 128GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Gray) — $379.99 (List Price $499.99) Amazon Fire TV Soundbar — $99.99 (List Price $119.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

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Communicating on group chats has quickly become a way of life, but what are the rules? We used to use email, the phone or talk in person. Now we use platforms like iMessage, WhatsApp or Slack to coordinate a night out with friends, a kids’ birthday party, a work project or even to discuss sensitive military information — as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did by sharing details of airstrikes in a Signal chat. But while group chats have exploded in popularity because of their informality, that also creates its own challenges: discussions can veer off topic, repetitive or basic questions can irritate group members, and that viral meme you think is funny could also offend. The principles of digital etiquette remain the same as other kinds of etiquette, but they are also “context specific and many of the rules are implicit rather than explicit,” said Rupert Wesson, a director at Debrett’s, the British etiquette guide, who outlined key tips for The Associated Press: Think before messaging Etiquette is always based on the idea of care and consideration for others, Wesson said. So it helps to think about how the recipients might be affected by your message. That means, for example, not wasting other members’ time by asking questions that could be easily answered by doing a Google search, or scrolling up or searching through the previous posts. The Trent Windsurfing Club near Nottingham, England, which communicates with members using both WhatsApp and email, spells out other considerations in a 15-point list on its website. “Don’t get angry if someone doesn’t respond to your messages in a group. No one is obliged to do so. Better send him/her a direct message,” the club says. Also, “Before sending a video, picture, meme or any content, analyze if such material will be in the interest of the majority of the members of the group.” And avoid sending videos or files that are very large, because “nobody likes to saturate the memory of their smartphone or waste their data/internet plan on nonsense,” its guidance says. The club did not respond to a request for comment. Remember the aim of the chat Always consider the chat group’s purpose. For those created with a specific and practical function in mind, just stick to the task and don’t post any more than you need to, Wesson said. On the other hand, “some groups are there for frivolity and here, more is more,” he added. It should be obvious, but don’t post personal stuff in a company or business-related chat, and refrain from posting work-related material in a group with friends or family. It doesn’t hurt to lurk first before weighing in, partly because on some chat platforms new members can’t see what was posted before they joined. “It is always best to err on the side of caution until you are very clear on the purpose and culture of the group,” Wesson said. Consider the size of the group Do you need to respond to every message? There’s often someone who feels the need to type out a reply to every post, even if it’s just to say “thanks.” But doing so in a big group might be somewhat akin to an email reply-all storm. Wesson advises considering how many people are in the chat. “If there are three of you in the group, a response, if only an emoji, is almost expected,” Wesson said. “In group of 50 or more it is practically a criminal offense.” Keep it clean and decent, especially at work This is an especially important point when it comes to work communications, with many white collar workers now using chat platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams rather than email to communicate. These platforms feel less formal than email but don’t forget to follow the same guidelines as you do with other company communications. “Assume anything messaged can be forwarded and be especially cautious of work chats (however informal they appear),” Wesson said. “As countless people have discovered at employment tribunals, any diversion into anything indecorous can be career limiting.” Less can be more in chats Chat messages should be short and sweet. One reason is that your words could come across differently depending on the person reading the message, so stick to using short sentences to avoid being misinterpreted. If it’s about work, and you want to discuss something in more length and detail, consider an in-person meeting, a phone call, or email instead. “No one wants to read a 7-inch-long unformatted message when an organized attachment would have worked better,” the experts at The Emily Post Institute — the American equivalent of Debrett’s — advised in a blog post on business communications. Message clarity and style matter It’s not a college essay, so the rules around grammar, punctuation or even emoji don’t need to be too strict. “You should not feel too constricted and nor should you judge others for playing fast and loose with the King’s English,” Wesson said. “Just let brevity and clarity be your guide.” Speaking of emoji, they’re fun and can convey your meaning as well as the most thoughtful turn of phrase, Wesson said. But don’t abuse them because they can be a “minefield.” There’s a world of difference between, for example, the crying emoji and the crying with laughter emoji, he said. It’s best to play it safe and avoid emoji when, for example, sending condolences, Wesson said. How to properly leave a chat group If you’re getting annoyed by the number of message notifications from a big chat group, or you feel uncomfortable because of some of the comments, just put it on mute. And don’t be afraid to leave the group if you don’t need to be in it. Before leaving, consider letting the chat administrator know. “The group administrator has a responsibility to ensure the chat serves its purpose and that things don’t get too out of hand,” Wesson says. What should admins do if certain people are causing problems? “If things are going awry, deleting a member is an option but perhaps a little drastic. A quiet DM or a brief muting should always be considered first,” Wesson says. If you do leave the chat, should you say farewell? Again, it depends on the context. If it’s for a one-off event with a lot of people you don’t know, there’s probably no need. But if, say, you’re part of a remote work project, it would be a good idea to notify everyone. “When leaving make it clear that you are removing yourself immediately so the chat does not fill up with people wishing you farewell,” Wesson said. Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip. —Kelvin Chan, AP Business Writer View the full article

This week, you’ll find seven impressive store deals that you shouldn’t overlook. For instance, the Asperex Laptop Battery Bank is available at 46% off, making it a great travel companion with its compact design and multiple ports. Furthermore, LED Under Cabinet Lights are priced at just $17 for two, featuring energy-efficient motion sensors. You’ll likewise discover crucial clothing items for only $5 each. These deals are time-sensitive, so let’s explore what else is available this week. Key Takeaways The Asperex Laptop Battery Bank is on sale for $69.97, offering 20,000 mAh capacity and 165 watts output at 46% off. Grab the Inton Desk Clamp for $28, featuring multiple ports and a space-saving design perfect for clutter-free workstations. Affordable LED Under Cabinet Lights are available at $17 for two, with motion sensors and easy USB-C charging for home enhancement. All clothing items, including t-shirts and jackets, are discounted to $5 each, making it a great time to refresh your wardrobe. Explore home essentials priced at $5 each, ensuring you stock up on necessary kitchen tools and other items at a reduced rate. Power Solutions Regarding energy solutions, having reliable and efficient options can greatly improve your productivity. The Asperex Laptop Battery Bank, now 46% off at $69.97, offers a robust 20,000 mAh capacity and a strong 165 watts output. With both USB-C and USB-A ports, it’s designed for your on-the-go lifestyle, making it flight-approved for travel. Its built-in retractable charging cord features a magnetic closure, guaranteeing compact storage and easy access. Another excellent option is the Inton Desk Clamp, priced at $28. It provides six 120V ports, two USB-A, and one USB-C port, making it ideal for workstations that need more energy. This clamp design allows flexible placement, enhancing workspace efficiency without the clutter of multiple extension cords. Investing in these energy solutions guarantees you stay charged, so don’t forget to check the best grocery deals this week as you’re at it, maximizing your savings. Lighting Solutions After guaranteeing your devices stay energized with reliable solutions, it’s time to focus on lighting that improves your environment. One of the best grocery store deals this week features LED Under Cabinet Lights, which consist of 10-inch LED light strips equipped with motion sensors. These lights are perfect for illuminating dark cabinets and storage spaces. Battery-powered, they offer easy USB-C charging for added convenience. Installation is hassle-free, thanks to their magnetic attachment system and optional metal stickers. Priced at just $17 for a set of two, each light only costs $8.50, making it an economical choice for enhancing your home’s lighting. The motion sensor functionality guarantees the lights activate automatically, improving user convenience as well as conserving energy. These LED lights not only brighten your space but furthermore provide a smart solution for any area that needs extra illumination. Don’t miss out on this practical lighting option! Tools and Accessories Tools and accessories play a crucial role in ensuring that your DIY projects and repairs are executed efficiently and effectively. This week, you can score some fantastic deals. The Electric Precision Screwdriver Set, originally priced at $80, is available for $70 with a 10% off coupon, making it a reliable choice for repairs. It features a rechargeable screwdriver with a built-in ring light and a magnetic parts mat for organization. For versatile cutting needs, consider the Liu 55-piece oscillating multi-tool blade set, perfect for general use. Furthermore, the R tool, designed for fine and coarse cuts, is on sale for $18, down from $26, ideal for pruning tasks. If you’re looking to streamline packaging tasks, check out the Zeit Box Cutter, which features two blades and a USB charger for $44.99. Don’t miss out on these best grocery deals that improve your toolkit! Specialty Tools Specialty tools are designed to tackle specific tasks that standard tools mightn’t handle effectively, making them invaluable for both DIY enthusiasts and professionals. For instance, the Zeit Box Cutter, priced at $44.99, surpasses at efficiently opening boxes and breaking down cardboard. It comes with two blades and a USB charger, available in colors like “mocha mouse,” emphasizing speed and ease for packaging tasks. Another excellent option is the Tai talk mini chainsaw, currently on sale for $66.46, down from $90. This 6-inch chainsaw is perfect for pruning and trimming, includes two batteries, and features a built-in oil tank for convenience. If you’re looking for advanced diagnostics, consider the Launchpro X431 OBD2 scanner, priced at $850 but comes with a $70 coupon. It offers 38+ resets and two years of free updates, making it a smart investment for automotive enthusiasts. Don’t forget to check for the best grocery shopping deals as you’re at it! Home Essentials This week, you’ll find a great selection of affordable home items that can improve your living space. From crucial kitchen tools to cozy bedding options, these products offer both functionality and comfort. With deals like these, it’s a perfect time to stock up on everything you need for a well-equipped home. Affordable Home Items When you’re looking to improve your living space without overspending, affordable home necessities can make a significant difference. This Saturday, you can find a variety of crucial items priced at just $5, down from the usual $6. If you need to brighten up dark areas, consider the LED under cabinet lights available for $17 per set of two, a budget-friendly choice. For those small repairs around the house, the electric precision screwdriver set is priced at $70 after coupon discounts. The store encourages bulk purchasing, so you can stock up on these vital home goods without breaking the bank. Don’t miss out on these deals; they could be among the best grocery store deals this week. Essential Kitchen Tools Even though you may not think of your kitchen as a place requiring specialized tools, having the right vital kitchen tools can greatly improve your cooking experience and efficiency. Check out the electric precision screwdriver set, perfect for electronic repairs, available for $70 after applying a 10% off coupon. For those dark cabinets, the LED Under Cabinet Lights, featuring motion sensors, are only $17 for a set of two. Another important item is the R tool, a double-sided hand tool for pruning, now priced at $18 with an additional $360 off coupon. Don’t forget the versatile Liu 55-piece oscillating multi-tool blade set for general use and the Zeit Box Cutter for efficient box opening, priced at $44.99. Look for the best coupons this week to maximize your savings. Cozy Bedding Options As the colder months approach, finding cozy bedding options becomes vital for maintaining comfort in your home. This Saturday, take advantage of incredible home deals with bedding items available at a flat price of just $5 each. You can explore a variety of materials and styles, ensuring you find the perfect match for your bedroom décor and personal taste. The store’s selection includes comforters, sheets, and pillowcases, catering to all your sleeping needs. This low pricing encourages you to purchase in bulk, allowing for a mix-and-match experience that can transform your bedroom. Revitalizing your home necessities with these cozy bedding options is now easier than ever, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to improve your comfort this winter. Electronics Deals This week, you’ll find some impressive deals on vital electronics that can improve your daily life. For instance, the Asperex Laptop Battery Bank, with its 20,000 mAh capacity and 46% discount, is a great option for keeping your devices charged on the go. Furthermore, you can snag handy tools like the Electric Precision Screwdriver Set and innovative lighting solutions such as motion-sensor LED Under Cabinet Lights, all at discounted prices. Power Bank Highlights When you’re on the go, having a reliable energy bank can make all the difference, and the Asperex Laptop Energy Bank stands out as an excellent choice. Priced at just $69.97, it’s currently available at a remarkable 46% discount. With a robust capacity of 20,000 mAh and an output of 165 watts, this energy bank can charge multiple devices simultaneously. It features both USB-C and USB-A ports, allowing for versatile charging options. Furthermore, the built-in retractable energy cord with a magnetic closure improves portability, making it easy to use during travel. This flight-approved energy bank is perfect for frequent travelers and outdoor enthusiasts alike. Don’t forget to shop deals on home and garden for other useful accessories! Essential Tool Discounts Having the right tools at your disposal can greatly impact your efficiency and success in various projects. This week’s in-store deals feature crucial tool discounts that you shouldn’t overlook. The Electric Precision Screwdriver Set is now $70, down from $80, and includes a magnetic parts mat and a rechargeable screwdriver with a built-in ring light for easy electronic repairs. The Liu 55-piece oscillating multi-tool blade set offers versatility for general use. For packaging tasks, the Zeit Box Cutter is available for $44.99 and includes two blades and a USB charger. Furthermore, the Tai Talk mini chainsaw is on sale for $66.46, and the Launchpro X431 OBD2 scanner is priced at $850, with a $70 coupon available for advanced automotive diagnostics. Innovative Lighting Solutions As you explore innovative lighting solutions, consider the practical benefits of LED Under Cabinet Lights, intended to improve visibility in various spaces. These 10-inch strips, priced at just $17 for a set of two, feature motion sensors that automatically activate when you enter a dimly lit area. Battery-powered and easily rechargeable via USB-C, they offer great convenience and portability. The magnetic attachments and optional metal stickers allow for effortless installation on different cabinet types, making them versatile for kitchens, closets, or any dark space. During this week’s sale, don’t miss out on electronic discounts that make upgrading your home lighting both affordable and efficient. Augment your environment with these smart lighting solutions today. Clothing Offers This week, shoppers can take advantage of an incredible clothing offer, with all items priced at just $5 each, down from the regular price of $6. With such a low price point, it’s a perfect time to stock up on necessities or try something new. The store features a variety of clothing options, ensuring there’s something for everyone, whether you need casual wear or formal attire. Here’s a quick look at some options available: Category Item Price Casual Wear T-shirts $5 Formal Attire Dress Shirts $5 Outerwear Jackets $5 Activewear Sweatpants $5 Accessories Hats $5 Don’t miss these offers near me today, and remember to check back regularly for updated promotions! Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Cheapest Place to Buy Stuff? The cheapest place to buy stuff often depends on local options and specific needs. Discount stores, outlet malls, and online retailers frequently offer significant savings. Look for flat pricing models, like those that charge a set amount for all items, simplifying your shopping experience. Furthermore, take advantage of sales and promotions, which can further reduce costs. Always compare prices across different platforms to guarantee you’re getting the best deal available. What Is the Best Daily Deal Site? The best daily deal sites vary based on your needs, but popular options include Groupon, Rakuten, and Slickdeals. These platforms offer significant discounts on diverse products, often featuring flash sales and exclusive promotions. They simplify shopping with flat pricing models, making it easier to compare deals. Engaging with the community by liking and sharing deals can improve your shopping experience, increasing the visibility of attractive offers as you save money effectively. What Are Crazy Hot Deals? Crazy Hot Deals is an outlet store located in Houston, TX, offering a variety of home items, electronics, and clothing at a flat price. This Saturday, all items will be available for just $5, down from the usual $6. The store encourages bulk purchasing to maximize savings, making it appealing for budget-conscious shoppers. You can additionally stay updated on promotions through their website and social media channels for the latest offers. Who Are the Biggest Off-Price Retailers? The biggest off-price retailers include T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and Ross Stores. These companies specialize in selling branded merchandise at reduced prices, often 20-60% lower than traditional stores. They purchase excess inventory and discontinued items from manufacturers, allowing for significant savings. Significantly, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls generate over $30 billion in annual sales. Their business model emphasizes quick turnover and a constantly changing inventory, encouraging frequent shopping for unique finds at discounted prices. Conclusion In conclusion, this week offers a range of attractive deals across various categories, from energy solutions like the Asperex Laptop Battery Bank to practical home necessities such as LED Under Cabinet Lights. You can additionally find affordable clothing items, all priced at just $5 each. These discounts present valuable opportunities to improve your home and wardrobe as you save money. Be sure to take advantage of these limited-time offers before they expire, ensuring you get the best for your budget. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Don’t Miss These 7 Store Deals This Week" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

This week, you’ll find seven impressive store deals that you shouldn’t overlook. For instance, the Asperex Laptop Battery Bank is available at 46% off, making it a great travel companion with its compact design and multiple ports. Furthermore, LED Under Cabinet Lights are priced at just $17 for two, featuring energy-efficient motion sensors. You’ll likewise discover crucial clothing items for only $5 each. These deals are time-sensitive, so let’s explore what else is available this week. Key Takeaways The Asperex Laptop Battery Bank is on sale for $69.97, offering 20,000 mAh capacity and 165 watts output at 46% off. Grab the Inton Desk Clamp for $28, featuring multiple ports and a space-saving design perfect for clutter-free workstations. Affordable LED Under Cabinet Lights are available at $17 for two, with motion sensors and easy USB-C charging for home enhancement. All clothing items, including t-shirts and jackets, are discounted to $5 each, making it a great time to refresh your wardrobe. Explore home essentials priced at $5 each, ensuring you stock up on necessary kitchen tools and other items at a reduced rate. Power Solutions Regarding energy solutions, having reliable and efficient options can greatly improve your productivity. The Asperex Laptop Battery Bank, now 46% off at $69.97, offers a robust 20,000 mAh capacity and a strong 165 watts output. With both USB-C and USB-A ports, it’s designed for your on-the-go lifestyle, making it flight-approved for travel. Its built-in retractable charging cord features a magnetic closure, guaranteeing compact storage and easy access. Another excellent option is the Inton Desk Clamp, priced at $28. It provides six 120V ports, two USB-A, and one USB-C port, making it ideal for workstations that need more energy. This clamp design allows flexible placement, enhancing workspace efficiency without the clutter of multiple extension cords. Investing in these energy solutions guarantees you stay charged, so don’t forget to check the best grocery deals this week as you’re at it, maximizing your savings. Lighting Solutions After guaranteeing your devices stay energized with reliable solutions, it’s time to focus on lighting that improves your environment. One of the best grocery store deals this week features LED Under Cabinet Lights, which consist of 10-inch LED light strips equipped with motion sensors. These lights are perfect for illuminating dark cabinets and storage spaces. Battery-powered, they offer easy USB-C charging for added convenience. Installation is hassle-free, thanks to their magnetic attachment system and optional metal stickers. Priced at just $17 for a set of two, each light only costs $8.50, making it an economical choice for enhancing your home’s lighting. The motion sensor functionality guarantees the lights activate automatically, improving user convenience as well as conserving energy. These LED lights not only brighten your space but furthermore provide a smart solution for any area that needs extra illumination. Don’t miss out on this practical lighting option! Tools and Accessories Tools and accessories play a crucial role in ensuring that your DIY projects and repairs are executed efficiently and effectively. This week, you can score some fantastic deals. The Electric Precision Screwdriver Set, originally priced at $80, is available for $70 with a 10% off coupon, making it a reliable choice for repairs. It features a rechargeable screwdriver with a built-in ring light and a magnetic parts mat for organization. For versatile cutting needs, consider the Liu 55-piece oscillating multi-tool blade set, perfect for general use. Furthermore, the R tool, designed for fine and coarse cuts, is on sale for $18, down from $26, ideal for pruning tasks. If you’re looking to streamline packaging tasks, check out the Zeit Box Cutter, which features two blades and a USB charger for $44.99. Don’t miss out on these best grocery deals that improve your toolkit! Specialty Tools Specialty tools are designed to tackle specific tasks that standard tools mightn’t handle effectively, making them invaluable for both DIY enthusiasts and professionals. For instance, the Zeit Box Cutter, priced at $44.99, surpasses at efficiently opening boxes and breaking down cardboard. It comes with two blades and a USB charger, available in colors like “mocha mouse,” emphasizing speed and ease for packaging tasks. Another excellent option is the Tai talk mini chainsaw, currently on sale for $66.46, down from $90. This 6-inch chainsaw is perfect for pruning and trimming, includes two batteries, and features a built-in oil tank for convenience. If you’re looking for advanced diagnostics, consider the Launchpro X431 OBD2 scanner, priced at $850 but comes with a $70 coupon. It offers 38+ resets and two years of free updates, making it a smart investment for automotive enthusiasts. Don’t forget to check for the best grocery shopping deals as you’re at it! Home Essentials This week, you’ll find a great selection of affordable home items that can improve your living space. From crucial kitchen tools to cozy bedding options, these products offer both functionality and comfort. With deals like these, it’s a perfect time to stock up on everything you need for a well-equipped home. Affordable Home Items When you’re looking to improve your living space without overspending, affordable home necessities can make a significant difference. This Saturday, you can find a variety of crucial items priced at just $5, down from the usual $6. If you need to brighten up dark areas, consider the LED under cabinet lights available for $17 per set of two, a budget-friendly choice. For those small repairs around the house, the electric precision screwdriver set is priced at $70 after coupon discounts. The store encourages bulk purchasing, so you can stock up on these vital home goods without breaking the bank. Don’t miss out on these deals; they could be among the best grocery store deals this week. Essential Kitchen Tools Even though you may not think of your kitchen as a place requiring specialized tools, having the right vital kitchen tools can greatly improve your cooking experience and efficiency. Check out the electric precision screwdriver set, perfect for electronic repairs, available for $70 after applying a 10% off coupon. For those dark cabinets, the LED Under Cabinet Lights, featuring motion sensors, are only $17 for a set of two. Another important item is the R tool, a double-sided hand tool for pruning, now priced at $18 with an additional $360 off coupon. Don’t forget the versatile Liu 55-piece oscillating multi-tool blade set for general use and the Zeit Box Cutter for efficient box opening, priced at $44.99. Look for the best coupons this week to maximize your savings. Cozy Bedding Options As the colder months approach, finding cozy bedding options becomes vital for maintaining comfort in your home. This Saturday, take advantage of incredible home deals with bedding items available at a flat price of just $5 each. You can explore a variety of materials and styles, ensuring you find the perfect match for your bedroom décor and personal taste. The store’s selection includes comforters, sheets, and pillowcases, catering to all your sleeping needs. This low pricing encourages you to purchase in bulk, allowing for a mix-and-match experience that can transform your bedroom. Revitalizing your home necessities with these cozy bedding options is now easier than ever, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to improve your comfort this winter. Electronics Deals This week, you’ll find some impressive deals on vital electronics that can improve your daily life. For instance, the Asperex Laptop Battery Bank, with its 20,000 mAh capacity and 46% discount, is a great option for keeping your devices charged on the go. Furthermore, you can snag handy tools like the Electric Precision Screwdriver Set and innovative lighting solutions such as motion-sensor LED Under Cabinet Lights, all at discounted prices. Power Bank Highlights When you’re on the go, having a reliable energy bank can make all the difference, and the Asperex Laptop Energy Bank stands out as an excellent choice. Priced at just $69.97, it’s currently available at a remarkable 46% discount. With a robust capacity of 20,000 mAh and an output of 165 watts, this energy bank can charge multiple devices simultaneously. It features both USB-C and USB-A ports, allowing for versatile charging options. Furthermore, the built-in retractable energy cord with a magnetic closure improves portability, making it easy to use during travel. This flight-approved energy bank is perfect for frequent travelers and outdoor enthusiasts alike. Don’t forget to shop deals on home and garden for other useful accessories! Essential Tool Discounts Having the right tools at your disposal can greatly impact your efficiency and success in various projects. This week’s in-store deals feature crucial tool discounts that you shouldn’t overlook. The Electric Precision Screwdriver Set is now $70, down from $80, and includes a magnetic parts mat and a rechargeable screwdriver with a built-in ring light for easy electronic repairs. The Liu 55-piece oscillating multi-tool blade set offers versatility for general use. For packaging tasks, the Zeit Box Cutter is available for $44.99 and includes two blades and a USB charger. Furthermore, the Tai Talk mini chainsaw is on sale for $66.46, and the Launchpro X431 OBD2 scanner is priced at $850, with a $70 coupon available for advanced automotive diagnostics. Innovative Lighting Solutions As you explore innovative lighting solutions, consider the practical benefits of LED Under Cabinet Lights, intended to improve visibility in various spaces. These 10-inch strips, priced at just $17 for a set of two, feature motion sensors that automatically activate when you enter a dimly lit area. Battery-powered and easily rechargeable via USB-C, they offer great convenience and portability. The magnetic attachments and optional metal stickers allow for effortless installation on different cabinet types, making them versatile for kitchens, closets, or any dark space. During this week’s sale, don’t miss out on electronic discounts that make upgrading your home lighting both affordable and efficient. Augment your environment with these smart lighting solutions today. Clothing Offers This week, shoppers can take advantage of an incredible clothing offer, with all items priced at just $5 each, down from the regular price of $6. With such a low price point, it’s a perfect time to stock up on necessities or try something new. The store features a variety of clothing options, ensuring there’s something for everyone, whether you need casual wear or formal attire. Here’s a quick look at some options available: Category Item Price Casual Wear T-shirts $5 Formal Attire Dress Shirts $5 Outerwear Jackets $5 Activewear Sweatpants $5 Accessories Hats $5 Don’t miss these offers near me today, and remember to check back regularly for updated promotions! Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Cheapest Place to Buy Stuff? The cheapest place to buy stuff often depends on local options and specific needs. Discount stores, outlet malls, and online retailers frequently offer significant savings. Look for flat pricing models, like those that charge a set amount for all items, simplifying your shopping experience. Furthermore, take advantage of sales and promotions, which can further reduce costs. Always compare prices across different platforms to guarantee you’re getting the best deal available. What Is the Best Daily Deal Site? The best daily deal sites vary based on your needs, but popular options include Groupon, Rakuten, and Slickdeals. These platforms offer significant discounts on diverse products, often featuring flash sales and exclusive promotions. They simplify shopping with flat pricing models, making it easier to compare deals. Engaging with the community by liking and sharing deals can improve your shopping experience, increasing the visibility of attractive offers as you save money effectively. What Are Crazy Hot Deals? Crazy Hot Deals is an outlet store located in Houston, TX, offering a variety of home items, electronics, and clothing at a flat price. This Saturday, all items will be available for just $5, down from the usual $6. The store encourages bulk purchasing to maximize savings, making it appealing for budget-conscious shoppers. You can additionally stay updated on promotions through their website and social media channels for the latest offers. Who Are the Biggest Off-Price Retailers? The biggest off-price retailers include T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and Ross Stores. These companies specialize in selling branded merchandise at reduced prices, often 20-60% lower than traditional stores. They purchase excess inventory and discontinued items from manufacturers, allowing for significant savings. Significantly, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls generate over $30 billion in annual sales. Their business model emphasizes quick turnover and a constantly changing inventory, encouraging frequent shopping for unique finds at discounted prices. Conclusion In conclusion, this week offers a range of attractive deals across various categories, from energy solutions like the Asperex Laptop Battery Bank to practical home necessities such as LED Under Cabinet Lights. You can additionally find affordable clothing items, all priced at just $5 each. These discounts present valuable opportunities to improve your home and wardrobe as you save money. Be sure to take advantage of these limited-time offers before they expire, ensuring you get the best for your budget. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Don’t Miss These 7 Store Deals This Week" was first published on Small Business Trends 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. Foldable phones still carry a price premium, so a drop like this changes the math. Right now, the 2024 Motorola Razr+ (unlocked, 12GB RAM, 256GB storage) is discounted to $417.09 on Woot for the next five days or until inventory lasts. Amazon lists it at $549.95, and price trackers show its previous low was $499.99, so it’s a sizable drop for a current-generation foldable. That said, this is an open-box unit, meaning it may have been a photo sample or simply had damaged packaging, but it functions like new. Prime members get free standard shipping, while others pay $6. The phone ships unlocked and includes a one-year Motorola limited warranty. 2024 Motorola Razr+ $417.09 at Woot $549.95 Save $132.86 Get Deal Get Deal $417.09 at Woot $549.95 Save $132.86 The aluminum frame of the Razr+ 2024 has rounded edges that feel better in hand, and its vegan leather back adds grip and resists fingerprints. Folded, it takes up less space than most slab phones and fits easily into smaller pockets. The hinge feels firm and stable when opening and closing, and the phone carries an IPX8 rating, so it can survive submersion in water rather than just splashes. The crease is visible when the screen is off and can catch light at certain angles, but it reportedly fades during normal use. The main camera performs well in daylight with detailed shots and balanced color, though low-light images fall short of what you get from top-tier Samsung or Google phones. The four-inch outer OLED display is large enough to run full apps. You can reply to messages, check directions, or scroll social feeds without flipping it open. Inside, the 6.9-inch OLED panel is sharp and responsive, with a high refresh rate that keeps animations smooth. Performance is powered by a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor with 12GB of RAM. In daily use, apps open quickly, and multitasking feels fluid. The 256GB of storage gives most users plenty of room, but with no microSD slot, storage is fixed and cannot be expanded. Battery life is around 14.5 hours, edging out some competing flip phones, including Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5, notes this PCMag review. Charging tops out at 45W, but you have to supply your own charger. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods 4 Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $139.99 (List Price $179.00) Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 6.9" 512GB Privacy Display Smartphone + $200 Gift Card — $1,299.99 (List Price $1,699.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $329.00 (List Price $349.00) Google Pixel 10a 128GB 6.3" Unlocked Smartphone + $100 Gift Card — $499.00 (List Price $599.00) Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant — $329.00 (List Price $429.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE 128GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Gray) — $379.99 (List Price $499.99) Amazon Fire TV Soundbar — $99.99 (List Price $119.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

The stock prices of the so-called Quantum Four are back on the rise today, after already accruing significant gains yesterday as well. The upward trend is a reversal for IonQ, D-Wave, Rigetti, and Quantum Computing Inc., which have all seen their shares decline since the beginning of the year. Why are they on the rise again? Here’s what you need to know: What’s happened? Yesterday, the stock prices of America’s four largest publicly traded quantum computing companies all rose significantly. As of yesterday’s close, here’s where the quantum computing companies’ stock prices stood: IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ): up 6.23% to $33.59 D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS): up 5.31% to $19.65 Rigetti Computing, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGTI): up 6.98% to $17.63 Quantum Computing Inc. (Nasdaq: QUBT): up 7.03% to $8.68 But the upward momentum hasn’t stopped there. Currently in premarket trading, the stock prices of all four quantum companies are surging again. According to Yahoo Finance data, as of the time of this writing in premarket trading, the four companies’ stock prices are up the following amounts: IONQ: up around 15% QBTS: up around 7% RGTI: up around 5.5% QUBT: up around 5.5% The last two trading days have marked (so far) a dramatic reversal for the stock prices of these four companies. Since the beginning of the year, shares of all four companies had tumbled between 15% and 25% as of yesterday’s close. From a great 2025 to a rough 2026 No doubt about it, most quantum computing stocks had a great run in 2025. During the year, most saw their prices surge. IonQ rose from around $32 in the beginning of the year to over $73 per share by September. D-Wave saw its price jump from around $6 per share in early 2025 to over $46 by October. Rigetti saw its stock go from around $9 per share in early 2025 to as high as $58 in October. Even Quantum Computing Inc., which started the year down significantly from its 2024 highs, at around $9 in January 2025, saw its price surge to more than $25 by late September. But by late 2025, the mood surrounding quantum stocks had shifted. Yes, individual investors began feeling more apprehensive about the prospect of massive returns, particularly after the stock performed so well throughout most of 2025, because quantum computing is still a nascent technology with few real-world use cases yet—meaning massive profits for these small companies are still years away. But quantum stocks also took a hit due to factors beyond the companies’ control, particularly thanks to general fears of a worsening economy, an increasingly likely AI bubble, and uncertainty around inflation, interest rates, and geopolitics. These factors cause many investors to pull money from highly volatile assets—including AI stocks, cryptocurrencies, and, yes, quantum stocks—and park it in safe-haven assets like gold and bonds to protect gains they had made in those volatile assets until that point. This quantum selloff continued into 2026. Even with yesterday’s stock price rises, the Quantum Four have declined significantly year to date. Why are quantum stocks back on the rise? The recent share price rise indicates that investor appetite for quantum computing stocks is also on the rise again. The question is why? The most likely answer seems to point to one quantum computing company in particular: IonQ. Yesterday, the Maryland-based company announced its fourth-quarter 2025 financial results. And those results equated to a blowout quarter. For Q4 2025, IonQ announced revenue growth of 429% year over year. In Q4 2024, IonQ brought in $11.7 million in revenue, and in Q4 2025, that revenue leaped to $61.9 million. The company also reported a 202% rise in full-year fiscal revenue. For its fiscal 2025, IonQ brought in $130 million in revenue, up from $43.1 million in 2024. Of course, those revenue numbers are still small change compared to what the legacy tech and AI giants bring in every quarter—but they do show that there is growing demand for the quantum technologies that IonQ is developing. As for why the three other Quantum Four companies are seeing their stock prices rise too, it’s likely a case of “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Historically, when one of the Quantum Four announces good news (such as revenue increases), the stock prices of the other companies tend to rise. The investor logic behind this is that if there is increasing demand for quantum technology solutions, that demand will likely benefit all companies operating in the space. Of course, it’s worth noting that quantum stocks are still highly volatile, so while they are up significantly over the past 24 hours, there’s no guarantee that the bumpy ride for Quantum Four stocks is over. View the full article

For most of modern business history, accounting has been something leaders looked at periodically. Numbers were reviewed and reports arrived on a schedule (often monthly, quarterly, or at tax time). Accounting happened when there was time, not necessarily when insight was needed. Across industries, a new model is taking shape: always-on accounting. These are systems that capture financial activity continuously, organize it automatically, and surface insights in real time. While this shift is relevant everywhere, it’s especially visible in the rental housing market where millions of small, independently run businesses (often managed by individuals or families who balance day jobs) are adopting operating standards once associated only with large enterprises. I’ve experienced this evolution from multiple sides. I’ve been a renter, an investor, and the cofounder and CEO of a property management software company, and over the past decade I’ve worked closely with thousands of small rental business owners. Across all of those perspectives, I’ve been at the forefront of a major shift reshaping how these businesses operate: Accounting is no longer something that’s checked on periodically; it’s something that runs continuously. FROM PERIODIC REVIEW TO CONTINUOUS AWARENESS Traditional accounting systems relied heavily on manual processes. Financial data lived across spreadsheets, folders, and disconnected tools. Capturing expenses, categorizing transactions, and reconciling accounts took hours of focused work, which meant most businesses reviewed their numbers periodically due to time constraints. As accounting technology has matured, many of the tasks that once demanded human attention now happen automatically. Transactions flow in without manual entry. Expenses are captured at the moment they occur. Data is categorized consistently in the background. The systems themselves maintain continuity. That technological shift enables a behavioral one. Instead of treating accounting as something to revisit at set intervals, business owners can operate with continuous awareness. Financial insight doesn’t need to be reconstructed; it’s already there. Patterns surface naturally over time. Trends become clearer, not because leaders are checking more often, but because the information is always current. We’ve seen similar transitions before. Cloud infrastructure replaced periodic system checks with real-time monitoring. Analytics platforms turned marketing into an ongoing feedback loop. Finance is now following the same path, moving from static snapshots to living systems. WHY RENTAL HOUSING IS LEADING THE WAY Small rental businesses are a revealing example of this shift. They operate at the intersection of entrepreneurship and long-term asset ownership, often run by people balancing full-time careers, families, and other responsibilities. Efficiency matters. Clarity matters even more. For years, accounting was the last major workflow to modernize. Rent collection became digital. Communication went mobile. But financial tracking often remained manual, fragmented, or delayed. Modern property management software systems now pull in transactions automatically, extract data from receipts, categorize expenses by property, and generate up-to-date profit-and-loss views with minimal effort. What once required hours of administrative work now happens effortlessly in real time. The result is more than cleaner records; it’s confidence. When financial insight is always current, owners engage with their businesses differently. They spend less time wondering if something was missed and more time understanding what the numbers are telling them. ACCOUNTING AS INFRASTRUCTURE, NOT PAPERWORK One of the most meaningful mindset shifts I’ve observed is how accounting is now viewed: not as paperwork, but as infrastructure. Always-on accounting supports operations the way reliable connectivity or modern logistics do. It reduces friction, minimizes human error, and creates a single source of truth that decisions can build on. In rental housing, this has implications beyond individual businesses. Small operators collectively provide homes for millions of people. When they run with better financial visibility, they’re better positioned to maintain properties proactively, manage cash flow sustainably, and navigate economic shifts with steadiness. What looks like operational efficiency at the business level often translates into stability at the community level. A BROADER LESSON FOR SMALL BUSINESSES EVERYWHERE What’s happening in rental housing reflects a broader trend across the economy. Small businesses are increasingly adopting systems that assume continuity rather than reminders, thanks to automation technology that works without constant prompting. The best tools today don’t ask owners to remember tasks or reconcile gaps later. They capture activity automatically and organize it intelligently. This shift reduces cognitive load, which is one of the most underappreciated constraints on entrepreneurship. When leaders aren’t mentally tracking loose ends, they have more capacity for strategy, creativity, and long-term thinking. Always-on accounting frees attention. And attention is one of the most valuable resources any business has. BETTER SYSTEMS CHANGE BEHAVIOR, NOT JUST WORKFLOWS The most interesting impact of always-on accounting isn’t speed. It’s behavior. When people trust their numbers, conversations change. Instead of asking whether the data is complete, they focus on what it reveals. Better-informed decisions can be made earlier with greater confidence. In rental businesses, this often means treating properties less like side projects and more like durable enterprises. In other industries, the takeaway is similar: Clarity reshapes leadership. Accounting becomes something owners engage with at a higher level—reviewing trends, comparing periods, and planning next moves—rather than something they have to reconstruct under pressure. THE FUTURE OF SMALL BUSINESS ACCOUNTING IS ALWAYS-ON The future of accounting won’t be defined by louder dashboards or more complex reports. It will be defined by systems that are always on, working continuously in the background. In rental housing, that means books that are always current and decisions that are always informed. In the broader business landscape, it signals a shift toward tools that support momentum instead of interrupting it. Always-on accounting represents a larger evolution in how small businesses operate: fewer fire drills, more foresight; less reconstruction, more understanding. Confidence doesn’t come from having more data; it comes from knowing the data is already there when you need it. And as more businesses adopt systems built for continuity, that confidence is becoming the new standard. Ryan Barone is cofounder and CEO of RentRedi. View the full article

For decades, digital transformation raised hopes of simpler work. And while many companies found complexity instead of clarity, the story isn’t over. AI brings a new wave of hope and energy, and with that, a new kind of tension. Whenever I connect with business leaders, I can feel their deep optimism and sincere sense of responsibility to deliver on AI transformation. Leaders want to boost productivity and stand by their people. They’re guiding teams through uncertainty while inspiring them to embrace change. That’s why AI transformation is a people challenge as much as a tech challenge. Org charts are shifting. Roles are evolving. And the new priority for leaders is equipping people with the skills and wisdom to adopt AI and power this transformation with confidence. Leaders can do this with a three-step playbook: 1. BUILD THE HR ORGANIZATION FOR THE FUTURE. If HR operating models don’t evolve, leaders are asking their people to build the future on quicksand. AI demands new ways of working, which is why HR leaders are stepping into hybrid positions that mirror the real world of work, where talent and technology are intrinsically linked. That starts by making HR and IT true partners so they can co-create AI experiences that solve real business problems. Fifty-five percent of organizations have launched 100+ AI use cases, but only 19% are tracking how those use cases impact business goals. Siloed efforts can’t scale. That’s why we’ve built what we call an “AI Factory,” a model to collect, evaluate, and prioritize use cases quickly and ethically, at scale, across the business. Employees have submitted thousands of AI use case ideas. About 100 of them have gotten past our prioritization framework—meaning we believe they can deliver ROI, safely and at scale—and we’ve prioritized about a quarter that demonstrate the most value. As technology evolves, so must the roles around it. Leaders need to imagine new roles that move HR from an administrative function to a strategic hub. Think AI orchestration designers, or AI ethics officers. These roles are tailored to the company’s business needs and critical to a people-centric AI transformation. 2. ENABLE AI ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION AND RESKILL WITH URGENCY. AI is already increasing what employees can do and changing their daily tasks. To lead through change, we need to understand not just what people need to learn, but how they learn best. It starts with the concept of an “AI heatmap” to identify which tasks can be automated or augmented and quantify potential gains. That insight helps leaders rethink how they grow and support their teams. By using AI and data, we can map current skills, surface gaps, and design targeted, real-time development paths. Then, we need to do the hard work: Train people to know, work with, build, and lead with AI. We’ve built an AI-native learning model through ServiceNow University to do just that. Our goal is to train 3 million learners by 2027. And this isn’t just a nice-to-have. The skills gap is real. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs report, 63% of employers see it as a major barrier to transformation. If we don’t close this gap now, we’ll never realize AI’s full potential. 3. TRANSFORM THE WORKFORCE LIKE IT’S YOUR FULL-TIME JOB (IT IS!). Leaders are steering through massive change. Some employees will fear the unknown. Organizations that invest in an agile, resilient workforce, one person at a time, will win the AI race. That’s why leaders need to take an “X-ray” of their organization—not just charts and systems, but a deep look at the workforce structure, skills, and capacity to grow. Then, they can start closing gaps and ensuring AI is adopted in a way that’s human at the core while fueling business growth. Old org charts need a rebrand. Work is more dynamic and cross-functional. And now, we have AI working alongside people. Because of this, we need to move beyond traditional, linear models of change management toward continuous, adaptive, and decentralized change readiness. This agentic AI workforce will require thoughtful planning, human wisdom, a focus on well-being, and a strong culture at the core. That’s why collaboration and orchestration are critical. If leaders get this right, they can unlock new business models and real growth. THE RESULT? VALUE Leaders who follow these steps can supercharge business results while avoiding the pitfalls that slow AI adoption. At ServiceNow, we track adoption and ROI through our AI Control Tower, a real-time measurement that creates a flywheel of value: unlock time, reinvest it, and grow faster. The opportunity is clear: Embrace AI, lead with confidence, and bring people along the journey. The organizations that thrive will help people and AI technology co-create, not just coexist. Jacqui Canney is chief people and AI enablement officer of ServiceNow. View the full article

In Reform, socially conservative Christianity has finally found a UK vehicle for its agenda on traditional families View the full article

Below, Tom Griffiths shares five key insights from his new book, The Laws of Thought: The Quest for a Mathematical Theory of the Mind. Griffiths is a professor of psychology and computer science at Princeton University and director of the Princeton Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence. What’s the big idea? How can we study something we can’t see or touch? Mathematics allows us to develop rigorous theories about how minds work. It also lets us use those theories to build artificial intelligence systems. Just as physicists seek to identify Laws of Nature, cognitive scientists hope to discover the Laws of Thought. Listen to the audio version of this Book Bite—read by Griffiths himself—in the Next Big Idea app. 1. The story of AI goes back hundreds of years. For many people, AI seems to have come out of nowhere. In late 2022, it suddenly became possible for anyone to have a conversation with chatbots that could draw on more knowledge than any human. Dig a little deeper and you might discover that the approach behind those chatbots—building bigger and bigger artificial neural networks—had its first dramatic demonstration in 2012, when it was used to significantly improve how well computers identify images. But the story goes back much further than that. When Enlightenment thinkers, like René Descartes or Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, first began using mathematics to effectively describe the physical world around us, they also suggested that the same kind of approach might be used to describe the mental world inside us. Those early efforts led to the development of mathematical logic and digital computers, which in turn led to the creation of cognitive science by psychologists who used mathematical ideas to come up with new theories about the mind. Modern AI springs from that tradition: Key advances in the development of artificial neural networks came from psychologists seeking to understand how the human mind works. 2. No single piece of mathematics describes the mind. Cognitive scientists started using mathematical logic to describe thought, but after a couple of decades realized that wasn’t going to work. Concepts have fuzzy edges that logic just can’t capture. Artificial neural networks were developed in parallel and became much more powerful after a group of psychologists showed how they could be used to learn more complex relationships than anyone had thought possible. Continuing to scale up those neural networks takes us to modern AI. But understanding how neural networks learn—and how to create systems that learn more like people—requires a different approach, one that uses ideas from probability theory. These three mathematical traditions intertwine to give us a more complete picture of how the mind works. 3. Crucial discoveries come from pursuing unpopular ideas. The first neural networks that could learn were built by a computer scientist who abandoned the project after deciding that, in order for them to learn anything interesting, they would have to be much larger than he considered practical. But a psychologist worked out how to make them learn better, which caused a lot of excitement about the potential of that approach. However, that same computer scientist then showed that even those neural networks had fundamental limitations, and they decreased in popularity. A decade later, some psychologists became interested in neural networks as tools for understanding human cognition, cracked the problem of how to get them to learn more complex relationships, and neural networks became popular again. Then, machine learning researchers became interested in the statistical foundations of learning, and neural networks decreased in popularity. Soon, more powerful computers and larger datasets made it possible to use neural networks to solve even more challenging problems, bringing us to the present day. This back-and-forth between disciplines—where an unpopular idea in one discipline is picked up and improved upon by researchers in another discipline—is a nice illustration of how an interdisciplinary field like cognitive science can have a huge impact. 4. We are closer than ever to understanding the human mind. I used to tell my students that cognitive scientists have made a lot of progress in figuring out how to ask questions about the mind, but we’re still a long way from having answers. But now, the progress in AI over the last decade is beginning to suggest answers to some of our deepest questions about human intelligence. Mathematical frameworks like logic and probability theory are fundamental to describing the nature of thought and learning, but the abstract rules and inferences they identify need to be implemented in real human brains. Artificial neural networks give us important hints about how that might work. Putting these pieces together gets us remarkably close to fulfilling the vision that Descartes and Leibniz had centuries ago of having a mathematical framework for describing thought. 5. There are still big differences between human minds and AI. Despite all that progress, modern AI still has some important gaps. One of the biggest regards learning. If you read aloud all of the text that is used to train today’s chatbots, it would take tens of thousands of years. By contrast, a human child learns to be a fluent speaker of their native language in less than 10 years. That means that there’s something in human brains that is different from what is inside our AI algorithms. Figuring out what that might be is a problem that we study in my lab, and a preoccupation of many cognitive scientists. There are also interesting questions about what exactly it is that artificial neural networks are learning, and whether they represent the world in the same way as us. In some cases, they may be, but in others, we can show that they are quite different. Figuring out what AI systems know and when they are likely to succeed or fail at a task is a great opportunity to use the methods that cognitive scientists have honed by studying humans. For a long time, we have only had one species that demonstrated this kind of intelligent behavior, so having another one to study opens the door to not just understanding more about AI but understanding more about ourselves. Enjoy our full library of Book Bites—read by the authors!—in the Next Big Idea app. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission. View the full article

There are a few odors from adolescence that are seared into the brains of most Americans who grew up after the 1980s: the aroma of freshly baked brick pizza in the school cafeteria, the acrid stink of a locker room, and the unmistakable scent of teen boys wearing an unforgivable amount of Axe body spray. The phenomenon of teens dousing themselves in Axe has become so ubiquitous since the brand’s founding in 1983 that over the past few years it’s inspired its own subgenre of memes (see this one and this one, for example). Now Axe has its sights set on a new generation of consumers with a redesigned spray mechanism for its signature product. To mark the occasion, on February 20 the brand announced its self-referential “History of Overdoing It” campaign. “Axe has always been part of the cultural conversation around guys doing too much,” and for years that “included how our body spray was used,” Dolores Assalini, head of Axe U.S., said in a press release. At last, Axe is offering a solution. According to the Unilever-owned brand, overspraying was always a design problem—and to fix it, the team has invented new “spray technology” to keep offensive odors at bay. The Axe bottle gets a facelift Brajin Vazquez, senior manager of DEO formats technology at Unilever—and one of the minds behind the Axe redesign—says the chronic overspraying of Axe’s old product was influenced by a few factors of the bottle’s design. The formulation of the spray, combined with the design of the bottle’s valve and nozzle, resulted in a thick, diffused cloud of fragrance, creating that classic overpowering smell. “For years, we’ve heard that while people liked the fragrances, Axe’s spray could feel too heavy or create too much of a cloud,” Vazquez says. “That feedback made us look closely at the delivery system itself. We realized that improving the user experience wasn’t just about messaging, it required updating the spray technology.” Vazquez’s team started by rethinking the product’s ingredients. They reduced the amount of propellant gas in the spray and added nitrogen to the mix, which, Vazquez explains, made room for a higher proportion of liquid formula and “created space in the formulation to increase odor-control actives and deliver more fragrance per spray.” Essentially, this means that users can spray less of the product and still get the same body-odor-masking effect. This new formulation is combined with a reengineered spraying system. The old design, Vazquez says, operated at a high pressure, which resulted in a “stronger, higher-velocity spray.” The new valve component mitigates the problem by keeping the spray’s flow light. The bottle also features a spray insert with a nozzle opening that’s 25% smaller than the old version, allowing users to apply the fragrance to more targeted areas without that dreaded “cloud” effect. Realistically, Axe’s retooled design probably won’t solve chronic overspraying altogether—but at least now there are some guardrails in place for a problem that’s plagued middle school hallways for decades. View the full article

Your colleagues decide in less than a minute whether your email is worth replying to. Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index Report shows that the average employee receives 117 emails a day, and most are skimmed in under 60 seconds. In other words, if your email takes someone more than a minute to understand, there’s a strong chance you won’t be getting a timely response. Well-written emails don’t just make you sound smarter; studies show that they also reduce misunderstandings and speed up responses. Here are five simple ways to get faster email responses, while also helping your recipient preserve mental energy and time. BREAK UP WITH THE EMAIL BRICK Long blocks of text are the enemy of attention. Research shows that visually uncluttered text (with white space and intentional spacing) is easier for busy readers to scan and digest quickly. Simply formatting your email with bullet points, bold text for important questions or updates, and short paragraphs will significantly increase your chances of getting a prompt response. Structure is just as important as length. If the email is longer than this article, consider your reader overwhelmed. DON’T LEAD WITH SMALL TALK One of the biggest mistakes professionals make is burying the lead. Instead of opening with a short anecdote or unrelated small talk (“Hope your week is going well”), start with the purpose of your email, and ideally, the action you need. In military and executive communication, this is known as BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front). BLUF requires you to put key information, like the request or decision needed, in the first sentence or two. After you have led with the key information, you can share further details that the recipient can read if they need background context. And yes, you can still ask your coworker if they have plans for the weekend or how their dog is doing. But for the sake of everyone’s sanity, leave this to the end. DON’T PLAY EMAIL TENNIS The back-and-forth dance of unanswered questions (“When works for you?”, “Morning works”, “What time?”) costs time and demands cognitive switching. One survey of modern workplace behavior found that knowledge workers spend roughly 28% of their workweek managing email, with a large portion of that time simply waiting on or chasing down replies. To reduce this, try to include all relevant details on the first send. One way to address this is, if you’re proposing a meeting, include your availability windows, the purpose of the call, and how long you expect it to take in a single message. If you want a call back, include your direct phone number rather than waiting for the other person to ask. Write a clear subject line In a crowded inbox, the subject line acts as a decision filter: Is this relevant? Is this urgent? Can this wait? Studies show that email subject lines critically influence whether a recipient opens, defers, or ignores an email (before they’ve read a single sentence of the message). Do your best to craft a subject lines that are specific, concise, and action-oriented. For example, “Budget Review Needed by 3 PM” is more effective than a generic phrase like “Quick Question.” BUILD EMAIL TRUST If you teach people over time that your emails are concise and to the point, you are building email trust. This means that recipients are more likely to respond positively and quickly when they see your name. Researchers in written communication emphasize that consistency in formatting and clarity doesn’t just improve readability, it builds an implicit reputation for professionalism. Getting faster email replies isn’t about sounding smarter. It’s about making decisions easier for the person on the other side of the screen. When your emails are clear, scannable, and consistent, you reduce mental load, build trust, and teach people to respond to you faster. View the full article

Probe into president’s ties to disgraced financier has disrupted succession planning at forumView the full article

The devil might’ve worn Prada in 2006, but two decades later, the fashion elite are wearing books. Case in point: Coach’s hot new accessory is a keychain made out of literal hardcovers. Coach revealed the new “book charms” in a series of social posts on February 25. Created in collaboration with the publisher Penguin Random House, the charms include adorably teeny, fully readable versions of classics like Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, alongside more recent titles like Untamed by Glennon Doyle and A Forest of Wool and Steel by Natsu Miyashita. The book bag charms will be available for $95 on the Coach website in early March. The charms represent an evolution of a broader trend: Physical books are making a comeback, both in the cultural zeitgeist and in the fashion world. Gen Zers are flocking to reading as a hobby, largely driven by online communities like BookTok and BookTube. Meanwhile, interest in the craft behind physical media is on the rise as more and more daily tasks shift online in the AI era. These converging winds are turning the humble book into a kind of intellectual status symbol—one that can be worn as a bag, toted around as part of a “performative male” ensemble, or, in Coach’s world, converted into a charming keychain. Why the hot new accessory is a book It would be difficult to miss the recent resurgent cultural interest in reading. Since 2023, Barnes & Noble has staged a massive comeback, which it attributes in large part to Gen Z’s online communities. BookTok and BookTube are driving interest in genres like romance and fantasy, while celebrity book clubs like Dua Lipa’s Service95, Kaia Gerber’s Library Science, and Reese Witherspoon’s Reese’s Book Club are making reading an aspirational hobby. Inevitably, this trend has spilled over into fashion. In 2024, Saint Laurent opened its own bookshop. Last year, brands including Prada, Miu Miu, and Valentino all hosted literary-themed events or campaigns. And in January, Dior launched an extremely Instagrammable line of tote bags inspired by books. The brand advertised the bags with an Instagram Reel highlighting their detailed manufacturing process, drawing a clear parallel between the physical craft of bag-making and the intellectual craft of literature. Shan Yichun Coach, it seems, is attempting something similar. In a press release, CMO Joon Silverstein explained that the concept for the brand’s book charms came from the insight that in a world shaped by “fragmentation” and “digital overload,” many Gen Zers are turning to long-form storytelling as a kind of refuge. “The future of brand building isn’t about broadcasting messages. It’s about building cultural relevance through participation,” Silverstein told Fast Company, noting that Coach shaped the campaign with collaborators who “helped define the insight, craft the narrative, select the books at its core, and determine how it shows up across culture.” (It also features Gen Z spokespeople such as the WNBA’s Paige Bueckers, Oscar-nominated actress Elle Fanning, Emmy-winning actress Storm Reid, and Chinese pop singer Shan Yichun, among others.) How book and accessories design team up To design the actual charms, Coach prioritized selecting books across a range of topics and aesthetics to capture different readers. While the first consideration was the stories themselves, cover designs were also a factor. Since the books were destined to be charms, the team tended to prefer bold colors and visually forward, distinctive designs that would be eye-catching at a glance (à la BookTok). Each charm has a colorful leather spine embossed with the Coach logo: The cool-toned image of a planned community on Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere, for example, is complemented with a deep green; while Camryn Garrett’s rainbow-hued Friday I’m in Love cover pops with a rich navy. Gold hardware (a loop and clip) makes each piece easily attachable to a purse or backpack. And to clarify, these charms are fully readable, miniature books—not just inspired by them. Adam Royce, executive creative director at Penguin Random House, tells Fast Company that the project represents a “broader shift” in how people engage with books. “For many readers, storytelling is part of how they signal identity and values,” he explains. “Partnering with Coach allows us to bring books into a space where personal expression is already central.” In 2026, reading isn’t just a pastime. It’s a statement piece. View the full article