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The Ah Louis Store in San Luis Obispo, California, turns into a winter wonderland every holiday season. Green garlands, giant nutcrackers, baubles and bows go up in early November on the historic downtown building that houses the gift shop. Inside, customers can choose from over 500 different types of ornaments and a variety of holiday gift baskets. “We really just make it a magical spot,” co-owner Emily Butler said. “Whether you come in or not, we want to make sure that we’re spreading that holiday joy.” But Butler says she and her twin sister-business partner had to work harder this year to turn browsers into buyers and to make a profit. Many of the decorations and stocking stuffers they sell are made overseas and either did not arrive or got more expensive when President Donald The President imposed unusually high taxes on imported goods, she said. In response, the sisters focused their selection on more profitable items like nutcrackers and gift baskets. They’ve also noticed customers cutting back, selecting a $100 gift basket over the $150 version, or buying one ornament instead of several, Butler said. “We’re definitely seeing more cautious spending this year,” she said. Along with the unpredictable tariffs, stubborn inflation and weak hiring have shaken consumer confidence in the U.S. economy. The vast majority of U.S. adults say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for groceries, electricity and holiday gifts in recent months, according to a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A Gallup index that summarizes Americans’ assessments of current economic conditions fell to a 17-month low in November. Consumers also indicated less enthusiasm for spending money on holiday gifts; their estimated gift budgets decreased $229 between October and November, the largest drop Gallup has recorded at that point of the holiday shopping season. The survey was conducted in November, partially during the government shutdown, which might have tempered spending plans. However, the worst-case impact on consumer prices that many economists foresaw from the The President administration’s tariff policies hasn’t materialized. Some products have been affected more than others. Here’s a look at what has happened with supplies and prices in popular gifting categories. Games and toys Game and toys were particularly susceptible to tariff-related price increases since the majority of the ones sold in the U.S. are made in China, according to industry trade group The Toy Association. The tariff rate the The President administration imposed on Chinese goods became a rollercoaster that started at an additional 10%, peaked at 145% and ended up at 47%. The uncertainty made it hard for toy shops to decide what to order for the holidays. Dean Smith, who co-owns independent toy stores JaZams in Princeton, New Jersey, and Lahaska, Pennsylvania, said the manufacturers in China that he buys toys from did not pass on their tariff costs all at once but he has seen their prices inch higher with every reorder. Smith estimated that wholesale prices for 80% of his inventory went up anywhere from 5% to 20%. Some shoppers who don’t buy toys regularly might be surprised by price increases he adopted in turn, Smith said. A doll that sold for $20 to $25 last year now costs $30 to $35 at JaZams, he said. “For folks with marginal incomes, this is going to be a very difficult holiday,” Smith said. Electronics Consumer electronics are mostly made in China and other Asian countries. In 2023, China accounted for 78% of U.S. smartphone imports, and 79% of laptop and tablet imports, according to the Consumer Technology Association trade group. Best Buy said in May that it was raising prices due to tariffs. But CEO Corie Barry said late last month that the consumer electronics chain made sure to stock computers, phones and other products at different price levels, a decision she credited with helping Best Buy attract more lower-income shoppers. “The consumer is not a monolith,” Barry told reporters. Game consoles are always a popular holiday item, and console makers made news earlier this year when they announced price increases. Sony raised the price of the PlayStation 5 by $50 to $550 in August, following Microsoft and Nintendo raising prices for their game consoles. Jewelry Jewelry shoppers will likely see higher prices, but that has more to do with the soaring price of gold than tariffs so far, according to David Bonaparte, president & CEO of trade group Jewelers of America. The varying tax rates The President set for countries that import American goods with a total value less than their exports to the U.S. affected jewelry in various ways. Watches from Switzerland, for example, were subject to a 39% tariff from July 31 until the country struck a deal with the The President administration last month to lower the import tax rate on its products to 15%. India, which refines many of the diamonds sold in the U.S., rushed in shipments of the gemstones before a 50% tariff on the country’s products took effect on Aug. 27. Higher prices for jewelry made with diamonds shipped from India will likely start to be felt in 2026, Bonaparte said. “It’s really a matter of what happens after Jan. 1,” he said. “If these tariffs are still in place, then prices will probably increase.” Holiday decor Holiday decorations are yet another category that mostly comes from overseas, particularly China. Jeremy Rice co-owns House, a home-décor shop in Lexington, Kentucky, that specializes in artificial flowers, wreaths and table decorations. He said the tariffs slowed down production of much of his fall stock and seasonal merchandise like ribbon. Some larger and more expensive items he didn’t order at all because they would have been too expensive to retail. Rice raised prices on the products he did get. The popular red berry stems that House long has carried increased from $8.95 last year to $10.95 due to higher import costs, he said. “We sell thousands of these berry stems, and every time we sold one, I flinched from knowing what it should have been, knowing that our supplier paid more for them, which made us pay more for them, which made our customer pay more for them,” Rice said. Shopping strategically For those looking to avoid tariff-related price increases, John Harmon, managing director of technology research at technology consulting company Coresight Resarch, recommends checking out secondhand stores and discount retailers like T.J. Maxx, Marshall’s and HomeGoods. The off-price chains buy much of their inventory from leftover stock that would have entered the U.S. before new tariffs kicked in. Joe Adamski, senior director at procurement services company ProcureAbility, said books, food and beverages are some of the domestically produced goods that make good gifts. —Mae Anderson, AP Business Writer View the full article

Carmakers will be allowed to make a limited number of petrol and diesel-fuelled cars after deadlineView the full article

Rob Reiner, the son of a comedy giant who became one himself as one of the preeminent filmmakers of his generation with movies such as “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally …” and “This Is Spinal Tap,” has died. He was 78. Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, were found dead Sunday at their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation confirmed their identities but could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Authorities were investigating an “apparent homicide,” said Capt. Mike Bland with the Los Angeles Police Department. The Los Angeles Fire Department said it responded to a medical aid request shortly after 3:30 p.m. Reiner grew up thinking his father, Carl Reiner, didn’t understand him or find him funny. But the younger Reiner would in many ways follow in his father’s footsteps, working both in front and behind the camera, in comedies that stretched from broad sketch work to accomplished dramedies. “My father thought, ‘Oh, my God, this poor kid is worried about being in the shadow of a famous father,'” Reiner said, recalling the temptation to change his name to “60 Minutes” in October. “And he says, ‘What do you want to change your name to?’ And I said, ‘Carl.’ I just wanted to be like him.” After starting out as a writer for “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” Reiner’s breakthrough came when he was, at age 23, cast in Norman Lear’s “All in the Family” as Archie Bunker’s liberal son-in-law, Michael “Meathead” Stivic. But by the 1980s, Reiner began as a feature film director, churning out some of the most beloved films of that, or any, era. His first film, the largely improvised 1984 cult classic “This Is Spinal Tap,” remains the quintessential mockumentary. After the 1985 John Cusack summer comedy, “The Sure Thing,” Reiner made “Stand By Me” (1986), “The Princess Bride” (1987) and “When Harry Met Sally …” (1989), a four-year stretch that resulted in a trio of American classics, all of them among the most often quoted movies of the 20th century. A legacy on and off screen For the next four decades, Reiner, a warm and gregarious presence on screen and an outspoken liberal advocate off it, remained a constant fixture in Hollywood. The production company he co-founded, Castle Rock Entertainment, launched an enviable string of hits, including “Seinfeld” and “The Shawshank Redemption.” By the turn of the century, its success rate had fallen considerably, but Reiner revived it earlier this decade. This fall, Reiner and Castle Rock released the long-in-coming sequel “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.” All the while, Reiner was one of the film industry’s most passionate Democrat activists, regularly hosting fundraisers and campaigning for liberal issues. He was co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which challenged in court California’s ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8. He also chaired the campaign for Prop 10, a California initiative to fund early childhood development services with a tax on tobacco products. Reiner was also a critic of President Donald The President. That ran in the family, too. Reiner’s father opposed the Communist hunt of McCarthyism in the 1950s and his mother, Estelle Reiner, a singer and actor, protested the Vietnam War. “If you’re a nepo baby, doors will open,” Reiner told the Guardian in 2024. “But you have to deliver. If you don’t deliver, the door will close just as fast as it opened.” ‘All in the Family’ to ‘Stand By Me’ Robert Reiner was born in the Bronx on March 6, 1947. As a young man, he quickly set out to follow his father into entertainment. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles film school and, in the 1960s, began appearing in small parts in various television shows. But when Lear saw Reiner as a key cast member in “All in the Family,” it came as a surprise to the elder Reiner. “Norman says to my dad, ‘You know, this kid is really funny.’ And I think my dad said, ‘What? That kid? That kid? He’s sullen. He sits quiet. He doesn’t, you know, he’s not funny.’ He didn’t think I was anyway,” Reiner told “60 Minutes.” On “All in the Family,” Reiner served as a pivotal foil to Carroll O’Connor’s bigoted, conservative Archie Bunker. Reiner was five times nominated for an Emmy for his performance on the show, winning in 1974 and 1978. In Lear, Reiner also found a mentor. He called him “a second father.” “It wasn’t just that he hired me for ‘All in the Family,'” Reiner told “American Masters” in 2005. “It was that I saw, in how he conducted his life, that there was room to be an activist as well. That you could use your celebrity, your good fortune, to help make some change.” Lear also helped launch Reiner as a filmmaker. He put $7.5 million of his own money to help finance “Stand By Me,” Reiner’s adaptation of the Stephen King novella “The Body.” The movie, about four boys who go looking for the dead body of a missing boy, became a coming-of-age classic, made breakthroughs of its young cast (particularly River Phoenix) and even earned the praise of King. With his stock rising, Reiner devoted himself to adapting William Goldman’s 1973’s “The Princess Bride,” a book Reiner had loved since his father gave him a copy as a gift. Everyone from François Truffaut to Robert Redford had considered adapting Goldman’s book, but it ultimately fell to Reiner (from Goldman’s own script) to capture the unique comic tone of “The Princess Bride.” But only once he had Goldman’s blessing. “At the door he greeted me and he said, ‘This is my baby. I want this on my tombstone. This is my favorite thing I’ve ever written in my life. What are you going to do with it?'” Reiner recalled in a Television Academy interview. “And we sat down with him and started going through what I thought should be done with the film.” Though only a modest success in theaters, the movie — starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant and Robin Wright — would grow in stature over the years, leading to countless impressions of Inigo Montoya’s vow of revenge and the risky nature of land wars in Asia. ‘When Harry Met Sally …” Reiner was married to Penny Marshall, the actor and filmmaker, for 10 years beginning in 1971. Like Reiner, Marshall experienced sitcom fame, with “Laverne & Shirley,” but found a more lasting legacy behind the camera. After their divorce, Reiner, at a lunch with Nora Ephron, suggested a comedy about dating. In writing what became “When Harry Met Sally …” Ephron and Reiner charted a relationship between a man and a woman (played in the film by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan) over the course of 12 years. Along the way, the movie’s ending changed, as did some of the film’s indelible moments. The famous line, “I’ll have what she’s having,” said after witnessing Ryan’s fake orgasm at Katz’s Delicatessen, was a suggestion by Crystal — delivered by none other than Reiner’s mother, Estelle. The movie’s happy ending also had some real-life basis. Reiner met Singer, a photographer, on the set of “When Harry Met Sally …” In 1989, they were wed. They had three children together: Nick, Jake and Romy. Reiner’s subsequent films included another King adaptation, “Misery” (1990) and a pair of Aaron Sorkin-penned dramas: the military courtroom tale “A Few Good Men” (1992) and 1995’s “The American President.” By the late ’90s, Reiner’s films (1996’s “Ghosts of Mississippi,” 2007’s “The Bucket List”) no longer had the same success rate. But he remained a frequent actor, often memorably enlivening films like “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993) and “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013). In 2023, he directed the documentary “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life.” In an interview earlier this year with Seth Rogen, Reiner suggested everything in his career boiled down to one thing. “All I’ve ever done is say, ‘Is this something that is an extension of me?’ For ‘Stand by Me,’ I didn’t know if it was going to be successful or not. All I thought was, ‘I like this because I know what it feels like.'” —Jake Coyle, AP Film Writer View the full article

Platforms from Amazon to YouTube—and, of course, the headline-dominating Spotify Wrapped—have spent much of December rolling out year-end recaps that show users how they engaged with the platforms’ services throughout 2025. Today, one of the last anticipated recaps of the year makes its debut: Snapchat Recap 2025. Here’s what you need to know. What is Snapchat Recap 2025? Snapchat Recap is Snapchat’s annual year-in-review feature for users of the Snapchat app. Users are able to see a special year-end Story that showcases how they spent their time Snapchating throughout 2025. Snapchat owner Snap Inc. says the 2025 recap features insights and highlights on how a user communicated, connected, and expressed themselves over the past 12 months. When does Snapchat Recap 2025 launch? Snapchat Recap 2025 is available today, Monday, December 15. How do I get my Snapchat Recap 2025? If you’re a Snapchat user, you can access your Snapchat Recap 2025 just like you have your Snapchat Recaps of previous years. You can see your Snapchat Recap 2025 year-end story by swiping up from the Camera. There, you’ll find your Snapchat Recap 2025, which features your favorite memories from the year. Snapchat in 2025 by the numbers In addition to releasing its annual Snapchat Recap 2025 today, Snap also unveiled additional metrics about how people used the platform this year, including: Snapchatters talked to each other for nearly 1.7 billion minutes each day—that’s around a 30% daily talk time increase from last year. The heart was the most popular chat reaction in 2025. The 6/7 Bitmoji Sticker became the most-used sticker on the platform. View the full article

Sometimes you need just a little bit more light during a video call, especially if you're in a dimly lit room. The latest macOS update (26.2) has a trick for this: you can use the edge of your screen as a ring light. The feature, which adds a rounded white rectangle to your screen, is called Edge Light. The rectangle takes up part of your screen but will become partially transparent if you move your mouse pointer into it, meaning you'll mostly be able to use your computer normally. You can use the feature by clicking the camera icon on the menu bar during a call and toggling on the Edge Light option. You can also adjust the brightness and the color of the edge light from here. Credit: Justin Pot I tried this in a well-lit room and didn't notice much of a difference, which makes sense. In a totally dark room, though, it proved extremely helpful. Here's how I looked without Edge Light: Credit: Justin Pot As you can see, I'm just barely lit by the laptop itself. Here's how I look with the feature turned on: Credit: Justin Pot It's a lot easier to make out my face, but whether that's a pro or a con is a matter of opinion. Try the feature out if you find yourself on a video call with the lights off. Note that it's only offered on devices with Apple Silicon. View the full article

Partnership between Frontline and Germany’s Quantum Systems aims to boost production and open new markets View the full article

Grasping the customer service process is crucial for any business aiming to improve satisfaction and loyalty. This structured approach includes several phases: pre-contact, contact, and post-contact. Each phase plays a critical role in managing inquiries and resolving issues effectively. For example, during the contact phase, clear communication can lead to quicker resolutions. By refining these processes, companies can adapt to changing customer expectations and build stronger relationships. What specific strategies can businesses implement to elevate their service? Key Takeaways The customer service process includes inquiry reception, request assignment, issue resolution, and follow-up to enhance customer satisfaction. Efficient customer service meets expectations, fostering brand loyalty and improving company reputation through positive experiences. Regularly gathering customer feedback identifies pain points and drives improvements, boosting satisfaction and retention rates significantly. Systematic follow-ups after service interactions enhance customer satisfaction and reduce churn, leading to increased loyalty and repeat purchases. Satisfied customers often become advocates, promoting the brand and driving growth through referrals generated by positive service experiences. Understanding the Customer Service Process Grasping the customer service process is imperative for any business aiming to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. This structured and repeatable strategy guarantees effective handling of inquiries and complaints, encompassing fundamental steps like receiving inquiries, assigning requests, resolving issues, and following up for customer satisfaction. By establishing a clear customer service workflow, you boost operational efficiency and create a consistent customer care process that builds brand loyalty. Utilizing tools like Customer Experience mapping helps visualize touchpoints and understand consumer behavior, leading to better service delivery. Regularly reviewing and refining the customer service process is significant for adapting to evolving customer expectations, eventually nurturing increased customer retention rates and improving the overall experience. Characteristics of Good Customer Service Systems Good customer service systems are built on the foundation of consistent service quality and operational excellence, guaranteeing that customers receive reliable support at every interaction. These systems prioritize customer needs by implementing a clear customer service process flow that guides agents through each interaction. For example, customer service workflow examples might include standardized responses for common inquiries, enabling agents to provide quick and accurate solutions. Effective communication strategies, such as active listening and empathy, are vital for cultivating positive relationships. Furthermore, integrating self-service options allows customers to resolve issues independently, enhancing satisfaction. Continuous evaluation and improvement of these workflows guarantee they adapt to changing customer expectations, leading to increased loyalty and retention over time. Steps to Improve Customer Service Processes To improve your customer service processes effectively, it’s crucial to evaluate your current system and identify gaps that may hinder performance. Start by setting clear goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of your customer service workflow process. Next, involve and train employees in the customer care process flow, ensuring they understand their roles in delivering a customer-friendly experience. Implement a continuous improvement protocol to regularly assess your strategies and make necessary adjustments. Actively solicit customer feedback to uncover pain points, helping you tailor your service offerings. Utilizing Customer Feedback for Enhancement Utilizing customer feedback is a potent way to gain actionable insights that can drive improvements in your service processes. By regularly collecting feedback through surveys and reviews, you can identify pain points and areas needing attention, allowing you to adapt your strategies accordingly. Furthermore, implementing proactive issue identification strategies helps you spot potential problems before they escalate, ensuring a smoother experience for your customers. Actionable Insights for Improvement Gathering and analyzing customer feedback is essential for businesses aiming to improve their service processes and raise overall customer satisfaction. By regularly soliciting insights through surveys and feedback loops, you can identify pain points within your customer service workflow for teams. Implementing changes based on this feedback can lead to a 10-15% boost in customer satisfaction scores, as it directly addresses concerns. Furthermore, valuing customer opinions boosts loyalty, resulting in a potential 74% increase in retention. An agile approach to integrating these insights guarantees your service processes adapt to evolving expectations, greatly reducing customer churn by up to 60%. This proactive stance on feedback creates a more customized and efficient customer experience, ultimately reinforcing your brand reputation. Proactive Issue Identification Strategies Proactively identifying issues within customer service processes involves systematically collecting and analyzing feedback, which can greatly improve overall service quality. By implementing regular feedback loops, like surveys and follow-up calls, you can gain valuable insights into customer experiences and expectations, helping you spot potential problems early. Utilizing Customer Experience (CX) management tools streamlines feedback collection, allowing you to efficiently identify trends and pain points. Engaging customers through multiple channels, such as social media and online communities, broadens the feedback spectrum, revealing emerging issues that may otherwise go unnoticed. As 60% of customers may switch brands because of poor service, addressing feedback proactively is crucial for maintaining customer loyalty and satisfaction. The Importance of Efficient Customer Service Efficient customer service is crucial for retaining customers, as studies show that 60% of consumers are likely to abandon a brand due to poor service experiences. When you prioritize effective service, you not only meet customer expectations but additionally promote brand loyalty. High-quality service makes 74% of customers feel appreciated, leading to increased spending. Furthermore, exceptional customer service improves your company’s reputation, encouraging satisfied customers to share positive experiences. By focusing on customer service, you can directly impact your bottom line; a 1% increase in customer retention can boost revenue by 10%. Proactive strategies reduce complaint handling costs and improve efficiency, allowing your business to concentrate on growth and innovation. Investing in efficient service creates lasting benefits for your brand. The Pre-contact Phase of Customer Service The pre-contact phase of customer service lays the groundwork for effective communication by comprehending customer needs and expectations before any direct interaction occurs. This phase is essential for shaping personalized experiences and includes: Customer Experience Mapping: Visualizing touchpoints helps identify areas for improvement, ensuring a seamless experience from the start. Data Gathering: Collecting insights through feedback and analytics tailors your service approach to better meet customer preferences. Setting Goals and KPIs: Establishing clear objectives during this phase guides the development of strategies and measures potential effectiveness. The Contact Phase of Customer Service Building on the groundwork laid during the pre-contact phase, the contact phase of customer service marks the first direct interaction between customers and the company, making it a pivotal moment in shaping their overall experience. Customers typically reach out through various channels like phone, email, or social media, emphasizing the need for an omnichannel approach. Effective communication during this phase can greatly improve customer loyalty, with studies showing a 74% increase in retention when inquiries are handled swiftly and professionally. Conversely, 60% of Americans might abandon a brand because of poor service, highlighting the importance of making a positive impression. Well-trained representatives equipped with empathetic listening and problem-solving skills can greatly improve resolution rates and customer satisfaction. The Post-contact Phase of Customer Service In the post-contact phase of customer service, you’re not just wrapping up an interaction; you’re laying the groundwork for future engagement. This stage focuses on continuous improvement strategies, where you can gather feedback to improve service quality, and utilize data-driven decision-making to refine processes. Continuous Improvement Strategies Though many organizations focus on customer service during the contact phase, continuous improvement strategies in the post-contact phase play a crucial role in improving overall customer satisfaction. By systematically gathering customer feedback, you can identify areas for improvement, as 70% of customers prefer brands that listen to their input. Implementing follow-up communications can boost satisfaction scores by up to 15%. Here are three effective strategies for continuous improvement: Conduct surveys to gather insights and address customer concerns quickly. Analyze interactions to spot trends and recurring issues, which can reduce future inquiries by 20%. Establish a review process for customer service interactions to improve first contact resolution rates by 25%. These strategies enable you to adapt and refine your customer service approach effectively. Data-Driven Decision Making Data-driven decision making in the post-contact phase of customer service is essential for enhancing service quality and customer satisfaction. By analyzing customer feedback and interactions, you can identify trends and areas for improvement. Utilizing metrics like Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) and First Contact Resolution Rate (FCR) allows you to measure the effectiveness of your service processes. Regularly collecting and evaluating data helps you understand customer preferences and pain points, enabling you to tailor services accordingly. Implementing analytics tools can provide insights into customer behavior, guiding proactive strategies for retention and loyalty. In the end, leveraging data to inform your decisions optimizes workflows, leading to increased efficiency and higher satisfaction rates among your customers. Building Long-Term Relationships Building long-term relationships with customers is essential for sustaining business success, particularly during the post-contact phase of service. Follow-up interactions can greatly improve customer satisfaction and retention. Here are three key strategies to evaluate: Personalized Communication: Tailor follow-up messages to reference specific customer interactions, which can lead to a 26% increase in repeat purchases. Systematic Follow-Up Process: Implementing a structured follow-up can reduce customer churn by up to 15%, reinforcing relationships and addressing lingering concerns. Consistent Support: Providing ongoing communication guarantees customers feel valued, with 78% preferring brands that maintain consistent follow-up. Building Long-Term Relationships With Customers Establishing long-term relationships with customers is critical for any business looking to improve retention and loyalty. Retaining existing customers can be five times cheaper than acquiring new ones, making effective customer service fundamental. Personalized interactions and timely responses lead to a 74% increase in customer loyalty, encouraging repeat purchases. By implementing proactive strategies like follow-ups and personalized outreach, you can boost customer satisfaction scores by up to 20%. Engaging customers through various channels and providing consistent support creates a seamless experience, essential for nurturing relationships. Satisfied customers often become brand advocates, with 83% willing to refer others after a positive service experience. Frequently Asked Questions What Is Customer Service and Its Importance? Customer service refers to the support you provide to customers throughout their purchasing expedition. It’s crucial for addressing inquiries, resolving issues, and ensuring satisfaction. Effective customer service nurtures loyalty, encouraging repeat business. When customers feel valued, they’re more likely to share positive experiences, enhancing your brand’s reputation. Furthermore, good service can offer insights into customer preferences, aiding in product development and marketing strategies, in the end contributing to your company’s growth and success. What Is the Customer Service Process? The customer service process involves several key steps to effectively manage customer interactions. It starts with receiving inquiries, whether through calls, emails, or chats. Next, you assign requests to appropriate representatives for resolution. Follow-up is essential to guarantee satisfaction and maintain communication. This structured approach improves service quality, allowing for consistent responses and efficient problem-solving, finally leading to enhanced customer loyalty and satisfaction in your business operations. What Are the 5 Most Important Things in Customer Service? In customer service, five key elements stand out: responsiveness, empathy, clarity, consistency, and feedback. You need to respond quickly to inquiries, demonstrating that you value customers’ time. Empathy nurtures a connection, making customers feel understood. Providing clear information helps avoid confusion, whereas consistency guarantees reliable service across all interactions. Finally, actively soliciting and implementing feedback can drive improvements, enhancing the overall customer experience and reinforcing loyalty to your brand. What Are the 5 Steps of the Customer Service Process? The five steps of the customer service process include receiving inquiries, assigning requests, resolving issues, following up, and measuring satisfaction. First, you quickly acknowledge customer requests to set a positive tone. Next, categorize and prioritize inquiries for efficient handling. Once issues are addressed, follow up to guarantee resolution. Finally, gather feedback to assess satisfaction and identify areas for improvement, allowing you to improve future customer interactions and overall service quality. Conclusion In summary, comprehension and optimizing the customer service process is crucial for any business aiming to thrive. By focusing on each phase—pre-contact, contact, and post-contact—you can improve customer experiences and nurture loyalty. Implementing effective systems, actively seeking feedback, and continuously enhancing your service will not just raise customer satisfaction but likewise strengthen your brand’s reputation. Finally, a well-structured customer service approach is indispensable for building lasting relationships and driving sustainable growth. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Is the Customer Service Process and Its Importance?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Grasping the customer service process is crucial for any business aiming to improve satisfaction and loyalty. This structured approach includes several phases: pre-contact, contact, and post-contact. Each phase plays a critical role in managing inquiries and resolving issues effectively. For example, during the contact phase, clear communication can lead to quicker resolutions. By refining these processes, companies can adapt to changing customer expectations and build stronger relationships. What specific strategies can businesses implement to elevate their service? Key Takeaways The customer service process includes inquiry reception, request assignment, issue resolution, and follow-up to enhance customer satisfaction. Efficient customer service meets expectations, fostering brand loyalty and improving company reputation through positive experiences. Regularly gathering customer feedback identifies pain points and drives improvements, boosting satisfaction and retention rates significantly. Systematic follow-ups after service interactions enhance customer satisfaction and reduce churn, leading to increased loyalty and repeat purchases. Satisfied customers often become advocates, promoting the brand and driving growth through referrals generated by positive service experiences. Understanding the Customer Service Process Grasping the customer service process is imperative for any business aiming to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. This structured and repeatable strategy guarantees effective handling of inquiries and complaints, encompassing fundamental steps like receiving inquiries, assigning requests, resolving issues, and following up for customer satisfaction. By establishing a clear customer service workflow, you boost operational efficiency and create a consistent customer care process that builds brand loyalty. Utilizing tools like Customer Experience mapping helps visualize touchpoints and understand consumer behavior, leading to better service delivery. Regularly reviewing and refining the customer service process is significant for adapting to evolving customer expectations, eventually nurturing increased customer retention rates and improving the overall experience. Characteristics of Good Customer Service Systems Good customer service systems are built on the foundation of consistent service quality and operational excellence, guaranteeing that customers receive reliable support at every interaction. These systems prioritize customer needs by implementing a clear customer service process flow that guides agents through each interaction. For example, customer service workflow examples might include standardized responses for common inquiries, enabling agents to provide quick and accurate solutions. Effective communication strategies, such as active listening and empathy, are vital for cultivating positive relationships. Furthermore, integrating self-service options allows customers to resolve issues independently, enhancing satisfaction. Continuous evaluation and improvement of these workflows guarantee they adapt to changing customer expectations, leading to increased loyalty and retention over time. Steps to Improve Customer Service Processes To improve your customer service processes effectively, it’s crucial to evaluate your current system and identify gaps that may hinder performance. Start by setting clear goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of your customer service workflow process. Next, involve and train employees in the customer care process flow, ensuring they understand their roles in delivering a customer-friendly experience. Implement a continuous improvement protocol to regularly assess your strategies and make necessary adjustments. Actively solicit customer feedback to uncover pain points, helping you tailor your service offerings. Utilizing Customer Feedback for Enhancement Utilizing customer feedback is a potent way to gain actionable insights that can drive improvements in your service processes. By regularly collecting feedback through surveys and reviews, you can identify pain points and areas needing attention, allowing you to adapt your strategies accordingly. Furthermore, implementing proactive issue identification strategies helps you spot potential problems before they escalate, ensuring a smoother experience for your customers. Actionable Insights for Improvement Gathering and analyzing customer feedback is essential for businesses aiming to improve their service processes and raise overall customer satisfaction. By regularly soliciting insights through surveys and feedback loops, you can identify pain points within your customer service workflow for teams. Implementing changes based on this feedback can lead to a 10-15% boost in customer satisfaction scores, as it directly addresses concerns. Furthermore, valuing customer opinions boosts loyalty, resulting in a potential 74% increase in retention. An agile approach to integrating these insights guarantees your service processes adapt to evolving expectations, greatly reducing customer churn by up to 60%. This proactive stance on feedback creates a more customized and efficient customer experience, ultimately reinforcing your brand reputation. Proactive Issue Identification Strategies Proactively identifying issues within customer service processes involves systematically collecting and analyzing feedback, which can greatly improve overall service quality. By implementing regular feedback loops, like surveys and follow-up calls, you can gain valuable insights into customer experiences and expectations, helping you spot potential problems early. Utilizing Customer Experience (CX) management tools streamlines feedback collection, allowing you to efficiently identify trends and pain points. Engaging customers through multiple channels, such as social media and online communities, broadens the feedback spectrum, revealing emerging issues that may otherwise go unnoticed. As 60% of customers may switch brands because of poor service, addressing feedback proactively is crucial for maintaining customer loyalty and satisfaction. The Importance of Efficient Customer Service Efficient customer service is crucial for retaining customers, as studies show that 60% of consumers are likely to abandon a brand due to poor service experiences. When you prioritize effective service, you not only meet customer expectations but additionally promote brand loyalty. High-quality service makes 74% of customers feel appreciated, leading to increased spending. Furthermore, exceptional customer service improves your company’s reputation, encouraging satisfied customers to share positive experiences. By focusing on customer service, you can directly impact your bottom line; a 1% increase in customer retention can boost revenue by 10%. Proactive strategies reduce complaint handling costs and improve efficiency, allowing your business to concentrate on growth and innovation. Investing in efficient service creates lasting benefits for your brand. The Pre-contact Phase of Customer Service The pre-contact phase of customer service lays the groundwork for effective communication by comprehending customer needs and expectations before any direct interaction occurs. This phase is essential for shaping personalized experiences and includes: Customer Experience Mapping: Visualizing touchpoints helps identify areas for improvement, ensuring a seamless experience from the start. Data Gathering: Collecting insights through feedback and analytics tailors your service approach to better meet customer preferences. Setting Goals and KPIs: Establishing clear objectives during this phase guides the development of strategies and measures potential effectiveness. The Contact Phase of Customer Service Building on the groundwork laid during the pre-contact phase, the contact phase of customer service marks the first direct interaction between customers and the company, making it a pivotal moment in shaping their overall experience. Customers typically reach out through various channels like phone, email, or social media, emphasizing the need for an omnichannel approach. Effective communication during this phase can greatly improve customer loyalty, with studies showing a 74% increase in retention when inquiries are handled swiftly and professionally. Conversely, 60% of Americans might abandon a brand because of poor service, highlighting the importance of making a positive impression. Well-trained representatives equipped with empathetic listening and problem-solving skills can greatly improve resolution rates and customer satisfaction. The Post-contact Phase of Customer Service In the post-contact phase of customer service, you’re not just wrapping up an interaction; you’re laying the groundwork for future engagement. This stage focuses on continuous improvement strategies, where you can gather feedback to improve service quality, and utilize data-driven decision-making to refine processes. Continuous Improvement Strategies Though many organizations focus on customer service during the contact phase, continuous improvement strategies in the post-contact phase play a crucial role in improving overall customer satisfaction. By systematically gathering customer feedback, you can identify areas for improvement, as 70% of customers prefer brands that listen to their input. Implementing follow-up communications can boost satisfaction scores by up to 15%. Here are three effective strategies for continuous improvement: Conduct surveys to gather insights and address customer concerns quickly. Analyze interactions to spot trends and recurring issues, which can reduce future inquiries by 20%. Establish a review process for customer service interactions to improve first contact resolution rates by 25%. These strategies enable you to adapt and refine your customer service approach effectively. Data-Driven Decision Making Data-driven decision making in the post-contact phase of customer service is essential for enhancing service quality and customer satisfaction. By analyzing customer feedback and interactions, you can identify trends and areas for improvement. Utilizing metrics like Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) and First Contact Resolution Rate (FCR) allows you to measure the effectiveness of your service processes. Regularly collecting and evaluating data helps you understand customer preferences and pain points, enabling you to tailor services accordingly. Implementing analytics tools can provide insights into customer behavior, guiding proactive strategies for retention and loyalty. In the end, leveraging data to inform your decisions optimizes workflows, leading to increased efficiency and higher satisfaction rates among your customers. Building Long-Term Relationships Building long-term relationships with customers is essential for sustaining business success, particularly during the post-contact phase of service. Follow-up interactions can greatly improve customer satisfaction and retention. Here are three key strategies to evaluate: Personalized Communication: Tailor follow-up messages to reference specific customer interactions, which can lead to a 26% increase in repeat purchases. Systematic Follow-Up Process: Implementing a structured follow-up can reduce customer churn by up to 15%, reinforcing relationships and addressing lingering concerns. Consistent Support: Providing ongoing communication guarantees customers feel valued, with 78% preferring brands that maintain consistent follow-up. Building Long-Term Relationships With Customers Establishing long-term relationships with customers is critical for any business looking to improve retention and loyalty. Retaining existing customers can be five times cheaper than acquiring new ones, making effective customer service fundamental. Personalized interactions and timely responses lead to a 74% increase in customer loyalty, encouraging repeat purchases. By implementing proactive strategies like follow-ups and personalized outreach, you can boost customer satisfaction scores by up to 20%. Engaging customers through various channels and providing consistent support creates a seamless experience, essential for nurturing relationships. Satisfied customers often become brand advocates, with 83% willing to refer others after a positive service experience. Frequently Asked Questions What Is Customer Service and Its Importance? Customer service refers to the support you provide to customers throughout their purchasing expedition. It’s crucial for addressing inquiries, resolving issues, and ensuring satisfaction. Effective customer service nurtures loyalty, encouraging repeat business. When customers feel valued, they’re more likely to share positive experiences, enhancing your brand’s reputation. Furthermore, good service can offer insights into customer preferences, aiding in product development and marketing strategies, in the end contributing to your company’s growth and success. What Is the Customer Service Process? The customer service process involves several key steps to effectively manage customer interactions. It starts with receiving inquiries, whether through calls, emails, or chats. Next, you assign requests to appropriate representatives for resolution. Follow-up is essential to guarantee satisfaction and maintain communication. This structured approach improves service quality, allowing for consistent responses and efficient problem-solving, finally leading to enhanced customer loyalty and satisfaction in your business operations. What Are the 5 Most Important Things in Customer Service? In customer service, five key elements stand out: responsiveness, empathy, clarity, consistency, and feedback. You need to respond quickly to inquiries, demonstrating that you value customers’ time. Empathy nurtures a connection, making customers feel understood. Providing clear information helps avoid confusion, whereas consistency guarantees reliable service across all interactions. Finally, actively soliciting and implementing feedback can drive improvements, enhancing the overall customer experience and reinforcing loyalty to your brand. What Are the 5 Steps of the Customer Service Process? The five steps of the customer service process include receiving inquiries, assigning requests, resolving issues, following up, and measuring satisfaction. First, you quickly acknowledge customer requests to set a positive tone. Next, categorize and prioritize inquiries for efficient handling. Once issues are addressed, follow up to guarantee resolution. Finally, gather feedback to assess satisfaction and identify areas for improvement, allowing you to improve future customer interactions and overall service quality. Conclusion In summary, comprehension and optimizing the customer service process is crucial for any business aiming to thrive. By focusing on each phase—pre-contact, contact, and post-contact—you can improve customer experiences and nurture loyalty. Implementing effective systems, actively seeking feedback, and continuously enhancing your service will not just raise customer satisfaction but likewise strengthen your brand’s reputation. Finally, a well-structured customer service approach is indispensable for building lasting relationships and driving sustainable growth. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Is the Customer Service Process and Its Importance?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

When you want to be more productive, it helps to have a role model. Financial blogs are forever interviewing contemporary CEOs about their work habits, but those aren’t that inspirational; they’re always claiming that meditation and not answering emails are the keys to success, which isn’t super helpful to the average person who doesn’t have the time or resources to meditate or the luxury of hiring an assistant. For real inspo, you might want to try looking back in history to a time before tech founders preached about a #grindset: Ivy Lee, the founder of modern public relations, came up with a productivity method so good that it’s lived on for 100 years—and it still bears his name. How do you use the Ivy Lee method?Ivy Lee came up with his productivity method in an effort to help big businesses in the 1920s get more done. It’s all about creating manageable, prioritized to-do lists and sticking with them until they’re complete. The method itself is simple. At the end of every work day, write down six tasks you have to complete tomorrow. (If it’s Friday, write down what you need to do Monday. Don’t forget that taking breaks over the weekend is important for productivity, too.) Do not write down more than six. The goal here is for the list to be manageable, not never-ending, so use your judgment to determine which six things are most important for the next day. If you're struggling to select just six, use the pickle jar theory to narrow it down; or try considering not only the resources they'll take, but the impact they'll have, by using the MIT method. Next, prioritize them. You can do this however you see fit, but consider using a method like the Eisenhower Matrix to figure out which tasks are the timeliest and most urgent. Used in conjunction with the MIT method, this will ensure you're tackling your responsibilities in exactly the right order to produce maximum results. Hand-writing the to-do list is beneficial. You can do this in a digital note or doc, but writing by hand sticks it in your brain, so you might consider using an old-fashioned planner. The next day, it’s time to start on the list—no second-guessing or negotiations. Begin with the first task in the morning and see it all the way through before jumping to the second one. Keep going until the end of the workday, tapping into your capacity for doing deep work by focusing on just one task or project at a time. When your day is over, anything that is incomplete should be moved to tomorrow’s list and new tasks should be added to it until you reach six. By rolling the tasks over, you ensure they’ll get done, but by being aware that you have the option to roll them over at all, you won’t feel overwhelmed. Do try to keep the tasks as granular as possible, though. Instead of writing “end-of-quarter report” as one list item, break it down. If pulling and analyzing the data is a step to writing the report, make it one task. If inputting it into a presentation is another, that’s one task, too. As mentioned, you can do this in a planner, a digital note, or even your calendar, but the most important elements are maintaining that low number of tasks, prioritizing them, and not abandoning them if they are unfinished. Be sure to prioritize whatever you roll over to the next day above any new tasks, so everything gets done, and always use those prioritization methods to make sure you're addressing things in the most efficient order. An unimportant task Monday can turn into an urgent one by Thursday if you keep rolling it over without thinking about it. View the full article

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British Medical Association rejects government offer and says five-day strike by junior doctors will start on Wednesday View the full article

Shares of iRobot Corporation (Nasdaq: IRBT), maker of the Roomba autonomous vacuum cleaner, are crashing today after the company announced that it will seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As of this writing, IRBT shares are down more than 78%—and the news is only expected to get worse for common shareholders. Consumers, on the other hand, may be wondering if their Roombas will stop working. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? On Sunday, iRobot Corporation said it has filed for bankruptcy. The Massachusetts-based company is seeking Chapter 11 protection in the District of Delaware. As part of the process, iRobot has entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) with the Chinese company that manufactures its Roomba vacuum cleaners and other products, Picea Robotics. iRobot was founded in 1990 and was one of the most prominent American companies to popularize household robotics among consumers. Its Roomba vacuum cleaner took households by storm when the product was first released in 2002. But in the decades since, iRobot has faced heavy competition from other robotic vacuum companies, many of which have released cheaper, superior products in recent years. Still, iRobot enjoyed strong brand recognition and had a significant foothold in marketshare among robotic vacuums in both America and Japan. Starting in 2022, Amazon attempted to acquire the company, but that deal was ultimately abandoned due to regulatory concerns. Since then, iRobot has faced mounting debt, increased competition, higher operational costs, and the negative financial impact of President The President’s tariffs, notes Reuters. By this month, those burdens became too much, and the company decided to file for bankruptcy. What happens to iRobot now? If the Delaware court approves the bankruptcy plans, iRobot’s ownership will transfer to Picea Robotics, the company’s primary manufacturer, which is also now its largest debt owner. In a press release, iRobot says it plans to continue operating throughout the bankruptcy proceedings, and once the proceedings are completed, iRobot is expected to continue operating under its new owner’s leadership. However, once the bankruptcy proceedings are complete, iRobot will be owned as a private company by Picea, which has significant implications for iRobot’s stock. How does the bankruptcy impact iRobot’s stock? iRobot’s stock will be significantly impacted by the bankruptcy. Upon completion of Chapter 11, iRobot will cease to trade as a public company. That means its shares will be delisted from the Nasdaq and will no longer be available for public trading. Given this news, it’s little surprise that IRBT shares have fallen off a cliff since the bankruptcy plans were announced. As of the time of this writing, iRBT shares are trading down more than 77% in premarket trading. Right now, IRBT shares are at 97 cents. On Friday, they closed at $4.32 per share. But as if today’s cliff-edge price drop wasn’t bad enough for iRobot investors, the company issued a dire warning to shareholders alongside its bankruptcy announcement. If the court approves the bankruptcy plans, iRobot expects that holders of iRobot common stock “will experience a total loss and not receive recovery on their investment.” In other words, if the bankruptcy goes ahead, retail investors can expect their IRBT shares to become worthless. In February 2021, IRBT’s shares traded as high as $137 per share. But since then, they have steadily declined, culminating in today’s sub-$1 price. Will Roombas stop working? Robotic vacuum cleaners are Internet of Things devices that generally require cloud infrastructure and an online platform to continue operating. Given that iRobot has announced it is filing for bankruptcy, many Roomba owners are understandably worried that their expensive vacuum cleaners might suddenly become bricked and stop working. But for now, those fears seem to be unfounded—at least according to iRobot. In a statement announcing its bankruptcy plans, iRobot said that “no anticipated disruption to its app functionality, customer programs, global partners, supply chain relationships, or ongoing product support.” View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When you’re jumping into a complex project, it can be hard to know where to begin—but not if you’re using the “action method,” a productivity technique that requires you to view everything you do as a project. A “project” could be cleaning your house, presenting in a meeting, or answering all of your lingering emails. Basically, it's any larger task that can be broken down into smaller ones, whether personal or professional. The aim of this change in your mindset is to provide a structure for every task you need to complete, so you spend less time battling disorganization. When you have a bunch of little tasks to do, it's easy to lose sight of the larger goals you have. Creating projects aimed at inching closer to those goals will not only help you get more done, but help you stay focused. Here’s why it makes sense to reframe your thinking around projects, and how to make the action method work for you. What is the action method?As noted, the action method seeks to help you increase your productivity and work more effectively by organizing your daily tasks, as well as your longer-term goals, into projects, then breaking those projects down into actionable steps. The basic framework comes from Scott Belsky, who laid out the method in his 2010 book Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality. The action method was born when Belsky, a co-founder of Behance, sought to help creative professionals tackle inefficiency, disorganization, and the overall chaos of careers being controlled by bureaucracy. The intent behind it is to not only organize your ideas, but to develop a plan of action to execute on them. The name "action method" hints at that, but it's a little more involved than other action-based productivity techniques like "eat the frog" or the two-minute rule. With those methods, your overarching directive is to dive in on major tasks right away, and with relatively little thought. They are, in essence, about action—but the action method itself involves more planning, as counterintuitive as that might seem. How does the action method work?The “action” part of the action method comes after you organize your projects into three categories: Action steps, references, and back-burners. A good way to do this is to make a spreadsheet with three columns, one for each category, and a different spreadsheet tab for each project. Action steps are the specific tasks you need to get done, and ones that have actions behind them—like the steps it takes to prepare a presentation or clean the living room. If your overall goal is to clean the house before your mother-in-law arrives in five days, your action steps might include buying materials you're low on or structuring a schedule for how and when you'll tackle different rooms. References covers any extra information you need to accomplish those tasks, like articles that provide background research, emails detailing what needs to be done, or tutorials you plan to take; paste in or drops links to these materials here. With the cleaning example, this might include a checklist or a shopping list. Back-burners are more nebulous goals that don’t need to be accomplished right now and can be lofty, but should use the action items as a foundation. For instance, if the goal of the presentation in your action column is to secure a new client, a back-burner can be to secure 10 new clients by year’s end. Cleaning the whole house and keeping it clean can be a back-burner, too. By designating back-burners upfront, you keep the momentum going. You're not just cleaning before your MIL gets there, in this case, but laying the foundation to maintain an all-around cleaner home long after she departs and using her arrival as the actionable jumping-off point. Eventually, longer-term, more sustained cleaning projects will replace the more immediate ones in your "action" and "references" tabs. You can take the method offline if you’re a person who works better using a physical daily planner, but your spreadsheet will suffice as long as you check it every day and use it as motivation to get started and keep up with your action items. You can always add more tabs as you get things done, plus add new references and back-burners related to the goals on each existing tab, but the key is to monitor your actionable tasks and, after clearly outlining how they tie into broader goals, get moving on them right away. If you need additional motivation, the spreadsheet provides an easy summary of how they relate to your bigger-picture plans. In this way, the method shows you the exact steps you need to take immediately to cross an item off of your list, but also illustrates how those efforts ladder up to your larger goals—but there are some potential pitfalls to keep in mind. For example, it doesn’t help you prioritize between projects. For that, fold in a prioritization technique like the ABC Method or Forster’s Commitment Inventory, which can help you determine which projects and steps to tackle first. Also, knowing what needs to be done is only half the battle, so familiarize yourself with concepts like the Yerkes-Dodson law, which dictates when you will feel most productive in relation to your deadlines, so you can slot in your action steps when they make the most sense. View the full article

Public trust in the media and in data has been undercut by information overload, relentless social media cycles, and targeted influence campaigns. Whether driven by politics, social movements, or commercial interests, the credibility of what we see and hear is under threat. By thinking through the ways that we’ve lost our trust, we might find more ways to reverse the trend and bring people back together. Last month, Gallup released the latest results of a survey on trust in the media that began in 1972. It showed that current confidence in the mass media is at a new historic low. A majority trusting public in 1972 has now flipped to being a majority distrustful public in 2025. As with most data sets, the subtleties are more complicated. During the first The President administration, trust rebounded significantly—and then backslid to its lowest point ever after the pandemic. Looking at the data from a partisan lens, overall trust fell across all three groups, with Republicans being the least trusting. But the shock is the growth of the “no trust at all” category: those least trusting Democrats barely changed, but for Republicans, it surged. Social Media Has Worked Us Over Completely The way people around the world access news and information are largely the same—through the internet. Its growth has been so extreme in our lifetime, one can hardly blame us for acting a bit weird. In 1990, only 25 million people used the internet globally—about 0.6% of the world. By 2025, 5.6 billion people use social media every day. That’s 64% of the world, a roughly 20,000% increase — and we now spend about six and a half hours online every day. This explosive growth over the past 35 years has brought with it a variety of technological and social innovations and challenges. How we interact with information keeps changing, and with it, our language and culture also adapt. It reminds me of this quote by media theorist Marshall McLuhan: “All media work us over completely. They are so pervasive in their personal, political, economic, aesthetic, psychological, moral, ethical, and social consequences. They leave no part of us untouched, unaffected, unaltered.” As our connection to the internet grew, it also pushed us apart. Our attention became focused on digital realities and away from our friends and families. This has led to a loneliness epidemic. Studies show that aspects of chronic loneliness impact half of all US adults. And there’s a direct correlation between our lack of trust in the media and the growth of the internet. What was first a feature has become a bug—creating a feedback loop where fear of missing out leads to a reinforcement of what has been missing from many people’s lives. Putting People First in Data Communication Too many data professionals focus more on the data rather than the people reading it. We need an approach to communicating data that fosters genuine understanding and human connection—which in turn builds trust. This is as true in business communications as it is in marketing and media. By putting people first in how we understand data and how we communicate it, we address both crises at once. Our mission to restore data credibility should also focus on creating more human connection. This mindset shift towards data communication comes at a historically appropriate time. Looking backwards; the “big data” trend created vast data storehouses built by data engineers. Data scientists were needed to make sense of the data, and in doing so created AI tools to put data to work in a more proactive way. But over the past 15 years, this also helped create a data credibility issue. Now we need a new create a new generation of data communicators to pick up where data science left off and work to find a new way to make data meaningful to more people. How We Can Make It Happen It is a matter of design. To echo the central concepts of design thinking, we have to change our focus from the technology to the humans that need it. Unlike UX design, people do not “use” a dashboard or a data visualization, they “read” them. This small change belays a much bigger impact. Data communication is a two-step approach: First, we need to understand what the data means to the people who need it. Then, we should use every tool available—words, images, diagrams, and story—to design the conversation around their needs and meet them where they are. This shift from data visualization to data communication needs a more balanced approach to how we design for data, and we need an extended skill set to equip the next generation of data communicators to do so. In this way, data is a bridge to connect people to discuss the context of the data. Why this is important to data professionals While the societal forces that created this loneliness epidemic and the distrust of information are nearly impossible to combat, we must try! It happens with each of us. Societal changes begin with the individual, and our work as data communicators means that we can design the relationships around us. It’s a personal approach to creating a more empathetic society—a mission that anyone can join, regardless of background and skillset. As data communicators, our work has a special impact. Every chart, every dashboard, and every story can become a bridge to bring people together and rebuild the credibility of shared truth that joins us. By focusing on the communication of the data, we create bridges to connect people and reinforce systems of trust. By empowering a new generation of data communicators, we can make an impact across a range of professions—in business and industry, media and journalism, communications, and fine art—to build more trust and create more conversations. View the full article

For the first time in eight years, pay TV is rising. According to the latest Cord-Cutting Monitor report from analyst firm MoffettNathanson, the number of subscriptions to linear video packages actually rose during the third quarter of 2025. The estimates, which include subscriptions to virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs) like YouTube TV, show that the pay-TV industry had 303,000 subscriber additions in the third quarter, marking the first quarterly gain since 2017. However, the research notes that the increase was “reasonably small” and seasonal given that it happened during the quarter when the NFL season began, meaning it could potentially see subscribers drop out again at the beginning of Q1 next year. While much of the sequential growth came from the vMPVD segment, traditional video subscriptions via cable TV were down. Gains led by YouTube TV and Charter The research overall found that the vMVPD category has been led by YouTube TV, which added an estimated 750,000 subscribers in the third quarter. MoffettNatanson emphasizes that its estimate is a conservative one and could even be an undercount. According to the firm, the bigger takeaway is that Charter Communications has seen significant improvements in pay TV subscriptions, especially after it secured a partnership with the Walt Disney Company two years ago. The deal gave the House of Mouse streaming rights to Charter’s video subscribers at no extra cost. It came after similar agreements with Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, and NBCUniversal. These deals also allowed for Charter to market its video offerings again, promoting it as “free live TV,” with a discount on bundled streaming services like the Disney+ and Hulu bundle, ESPN Unlimited, HBO Max Basic with Ads and more, to reach young viewers. The research also suggests that since Charter renewed its commitment to video, the company has been able to cut its quarterly subscriber losses by two-thirds. Charter is also likely to bring its new video packaging strategy as well as its agreements to Cox Communications when the two finally close their merger next year. Though Charter’s improvements stood out the most, MoffettNatanson’s monitor also found that Comcast has seen some improvements for the last eight quarters where decline has been the “slowest,” meaning that cord-cutting is happening at a slower rate. Meanwhile, satellite TV providers like DirecTV and EchoStar have also seen some minor improvements, the report found. MoffettNatanson points out that while traditional distributors are still declining, vMVPDs are continuing to grow at an annual rate of 4.6%. Over the past 15 years, the shift in cord-cutting has been dramatic. As cited in a report by S&P Global last month, households that subscribe to traditional cable TV peaked in 2012 at 101 million, but the figure is now less than half that. The rise of live-TV streaming bundles with services like Sling—which launched in 2015—have traditionally not been enough to offset that decline. View the full article

Maroš Šefčovič says bloc must not delay vote on pact with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and UruguayView the full article

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. The authors of the most powerful memoirs, self-help books, and leadership bibles combine deep research and self-reflection—in the same way today’s executives need to blend data insights with emotional intelligence. As we look ahead to 2026, I asked eight authors of recent business and business-adjacent books to share their recommendations for books (not their own) that will help you lead in the year to come. Here are their picks, in their own words: Maha Aboulenein, CEO, Digital and Savy, and author, 7 Rules of Self-Reliance The Correspondent by Virginia Evans Hands down the book I am gifting to everyone this year is The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. The protagonist, Sybil Van Antwerp, is witty, sharp, and just like us—she has lived a life of triumphs, love, tragedies, and regrets. The book is a series of letters that she writes to family, friends, politicians, and strangers. She reminds us that, in the art of letter writing, there is no gray, just black and white, and that is where the most beautiful and honest stories unfold. I devoured the book and hope everyone reads it. They will be utterly delighted they did. This book will help business leaders think clearly about the power of storytelling. When we look at consumer behavior and how [people] are choosing more long-form content, this book gave me perspective. [How will] letter writing in the age of AI matter? How can we go back to thinking about what connects us as audiences? It’s about the power of building a relationship directly: the one-to-one (versus the spray-and-pray approach). Building trust with your audience is not about influence. It’s about connecting over a story that moves us. Paul Achleitner, former chair, Deutsche Bank, and author, Accelerate Your Experience Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis by Graham Allison In this 1971 classic, the author uses the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis to demonstrate a key theme: The traditional approach of interpreting political outcomes as the consequence of rational action by individuals falls short of reality. Instead, internal organizational processes working hand in hand with bureaucratic power politics may have just as much to do with the results. I have always felt that applying different perspectives generates better explanations—as well as outcomes—in business as well. As Austrian philosopher Friedrich Hayek stated, many events are the “consequence of human action but not human design.” Kevin Boehm, cofounder and co-CEO, Boka Restaurant Group, and author, The Bottomless Cup The Dream of Solomeo: My Life and the Idea of Humanistic Capitalism by Brunello Cucinelli There are so many lessons in that book that echo my own life and my evolving ethos: that success in business is noble only if it lifts the human spirit. The way Cucinelli resurrected Solomeo while building his empire gave his purpose a kind of dignity that is aspirational. Blind ambition was lauded as admirable for generations but is often detrimental to an entrepreneur’s development as a human. In today’s more enlightened world, making sure there is nobility behind the purpose allows us to sidestep the potholes that leaders like Steve Jobs were never able to evade. You can be a capitalist and a kind human. Jon Gluck, senior editor, Fast Company, and author, An Exercise in Uncertainty Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing Endurance tells the story of the ill-fated 1914–1917 expedition led by the British Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. The expedition’s ship, the Endurance, was trapped in the Antarctic ice and crushed. After surviving for months on ice floes, the crew undertook a grueling 1,000-mile journey in an open boat, then traversed glaciers and scaled mountains before finding help. Never mind that Endurance is a gripping and inspiring read. The story offers a master class in navigating every manner of crisis and every type of uncertainty, which leaders will encounter in abundance in 2026. If nothing else, it makes business challenges seem manageable by comparison. Mita Mallick, workplace strategist, and author, The Devil Emails at Midnight Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect by Will Guidara As our lives get even more digital, more seamless, with just a few clicks or a touch of a button, we will crave human interaction. This is why Unreasonable Hospitality, about extraordinary service delivered by and for human beings, should be on every leader’s reading list. In a rapid race to embrace AI, we get personalization at scale: We can anticipate what customers need and want based on the data we collect on their behaviors. But how about a human being noticing your needs at a particular moment, offering a spontaneous, heartfelt gesture? Noticing and connecting with one another is becoming an underrated superpower. The companies that thrive will not only treat their customers with unreasonable hospitality, but hospitality [will] become the new leadership imperative. Forget the oversize hoodies, fancy snacks, and another free meditation app. Treating your employees with care will become the biggest retention tool we have at our disposal. Leila McKenzie-Delis, CEO, Dial Global, and author, The CEO Activist From Intent to Impact: The New Blueprint for Inclusion by Asif Sadiq Asif Sadiq’s From Intent to Impact is a must-read for 2026 because it gives leaders a practical, no-nonsense blueprint for turning inclusion from well-meaning intentions into real, measurable change. Rather than offering theory, it delivers actionable frameworks that help organizations build inclusive cultures, design inclusive products, and create sustainable impact. With Sadiq’s deep global experience and timely relevance in a rapidly shifting social and business landscape, the book stands out as an essential guide for anyone serious about meaningful progress. Kurt Strovink, senior partner and global head of CEO practice, McKinsey, and coauthor, A CEO for All Seasons Meditations by Marcus Aurelius A book I return to often is Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. Written nearly 2,000 years ago, it remains one of the clearest guides for navigating the tensions and responsibilities of leadership. What makes the book enduring is its integration of the inner and outer dimensions of leadership. Aurelius believed in the power of stoicism to accept what was uncontrollable and work productively on what was controllable.  Leaders today face pressures Aurelius himself could never have imagined, yet the fundamentals he wrestled with—clarity of thought in the face of change, humility of perspective, and the discipline to separate what can be controlled from what cannot—are strikingly timeless. In a world defined by rapidly evolving markets, geopolitical uncertainty, AI innovation, and a growing disparity between signal and noise, having the temperament to absorb change is essential to today’s leadership. Meditations doesn’t offer outright solutions; it offers ways of thinking that help leaders stay grounded while making consequential decisions, leading through others, preparing institutions for change, and renewing one’s energy as a protagonist in life’s journey. Aurelius’s reflections compose what we might call an “ethic of leadership”—the standards leaders must hold themselves to in both the inner game and the outer game of their roles. Angela Williams, president and CEO, United Way Worldwide, and coauthor, Navigating the Age of Chaos Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing is one of those books that stays with you long after you close it. The story follows two branches of a family across generations, and it shows how connection and resilience thread through even the hardest histories. Working with communities every day, I’m reminded of how much we all inherit: grief, strength, possibility, and most importantly, the power to heal together. Leaders today can take that same lesson to heart. Seeing people fully and honoring the shared histories is how we build trust, collaboration, and stronger communities. Heading into 2026, with all the uncertainty around us, it feels urgent to remember that real community begins when we refuse to give up on one another. Homegoing is a beautiful reminder that hope is a practice that grows every time we reach across difference and walk alongside our neighbors anyway. What Are Your Top Book Picks? What books do you think leaders should read to get ready for 2026? Please send your picks—new books and classics alike are welcome—to me at stephaniemehta@mansueto.com, and we’ll publish your recommendations in an upcoming newsletter. Read more: reading is fundamental 4 reasons reading for pleasure can make you a better person​ How reading rewires your brain, according to neuroscience Modern CEO’s summer 2024 reading list​ View the full article

When you’re trying to snazz up your emails with a signature at the bottom, it’s all too easy to overthink it. Gmail’s signature tool offers extensive formatting options. (Want to sign off in Comic Sans? Go for it.) And typical signature-builder sites can get even more complex, with seemingly endless fonts, buttons, and shiny doodads to choose from. The truth is, you don’t need all that to sign your emails in a presentable way. Just an image and a handful of descriptive lines should do the trick, and this free tool will give you just that without tempting you to go overboard. This tip originally appeared in the free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. Get the next issue in your inbox and get ready to discover all sorts of awesome tech treasures! A simpler email signature To create a slick email signature in seconds, check out Simple Signature. ➜ Simple Signature is a free email signature builder with minimal formatting options. ⌚ It’ll take about five minutes to get your signature looking just-so. ✅ The site’s signatures are intended to work with a wide range of email providers. When you’re finished, just copy and paste it into your email site’s signature editor. Simple Signature starts you off with a “John Doe” template that includes a placeholder image at the top. You can add your own image by clicking the “Upload Logo or Image” button, or click the little eye icon to hide it. You can also use the other icons in this section to resize or reposition the image. From there, it’s just a matter of adding, removing, or modifying the other fields in the template. The site lets you choose from just a few different field types: Text fields are for things like your name, title, address, and phone number. Link fields are for things the recipient can click on, like a website, social media account, or email address. Space fields are for adding a visual buffer between parts of your signature. ☝️ For links, you’ll see two fields to fill out side-by-side. The first is for the text that appears in your signature, and the second is for the page that loads when someone clicks the link. Make sure to use the format “mailto:youraddress@email.com” for email addresses. Simple Signature’s font options are intentionally limited. You can either choose Helvetica, Arial, Mono, or nothing (which will just use the email provider’s default font). Once you’re finished, just click the “Copy Signature” button in the top-right corner. This will add the signature to your clipboard, so you can paste it into your email app’s signature form. The site even offers instructions for adding the signature to Gmail as well as Outlook or Apple Mail. If all that seems a little too basic, well, that’s the point. Other signature editors might let you do more, but this is the only one I’m aware of with a manifesto on why you shouldn’t. Simple Signature works in any web browser, though you should probably use it on a computer instead of a phone, as you may have difficulty pasting the signature into your email provider’s mobile app. The site is free to use with no ads for creating a single signature. There’s an optional $99 per year “Pro” version for business users who want to create lots of signatures and share them with team members. No sign-up is required unless you want to start editing a signature on one device and finish up on another. The site’s privacy policy is easy to understand and makes clear that your data isn’t used for any purpose but to provide the signature builder. Treat yourself to all sorts of brain-boosting goodies like this with the free Cool Tools newsletter—starting with an instant introduction to an incredible audio app that’ll tune up your days in truly delightful ways. View the full article

In 2021, two people you’ve probably never heard of—FaZe Rug and Adin Ross—faced off in a one-on-one basketball game at a Los Angeles gym. Winner gets $25,000. Sam Gilbert led a two-person team that streamed it live on YouTube from a single iPhone. The players weren’t professional athletes, and it was, Gilbert says, “a very below average basketball game.” Still, nearly 80,000 people tuned in live, most of them under 34 years old. “That was the biggest eye opener to me,” says Gilbert, director of content for Bleacher Report’s House of Highlights. “That’s when I knew there was something here.” Gilbert saw that something fundamental had shifted in sports consumption. The names mattered in the same way fans tune in to watch Luka Doncic or Victor Wembanyama. But personality and creator fandom The Presidented talent and quality of play. FaZe Rug and Adin Ross command audiences of millions across YouTube and Twitch—deeply engaged fans who, when the two faced off in real time, showed up. It was a test, Gilbert says. And its success became the foundation for Bleacher Report’s Creator League, a sports league where social media’s biggest personalities compete in basketball, dodgeball, and flag football for cash prizes that can stretch well into six figures. Young viewers are tuning in. A dodgeball match at DreamCon in 2022 generated over 80 million views with 7 million engagements and climbed as high as the No. 2 trending video on YouTube. In 2025 alone, the league generated 606 million views—a 60% increase from the previous year. So how does a made-up sports league that features average, amateur athletes regularly outperform mainstream sports and entertainment on social media, all while reaching the seemingly unreachable Gen Z demographic? Meeting them where they are isn’t enough Drew Muller had a numbers problem that didn’t make sense. As Vice President and GM of House of Highlights—Bleacher Report’s social-first sports vertical founded in 2014 and acquired in 2015—he watched highlight consumption explode year over year. The brand was on its way to over 100 million followers across platforms, driving billions of monthly views. But Muller also saw the other side of the equation. As part of Turner Sports (now TNT and part of Warner Bros. Discovery), he had a front-row seat to traditional sports broadcasting, and the data showed that the under-34 live sports viewing audience was collapsing. According to Bleacher Report’s research, Major League Baseball’s median viewer is 56 years old. The NHL’s is 52. The NBA’s is 49. Even NFL viewers skew older—47% are 55 and over, and only 17% are under 35. “Something doesn’t add up here,” Muller recalls thinking back in 2020. House of Highlights’ numbers kept climbing. Gen Z’s appetite for sports content was undeniable. Yet they wouldn’t watch live games on TV. But they would, Muller noticed, enthusiastically watch a four-hour livestream of a YouTube creator playing video games. The solution to bridge that gap and satisfy that audience was the Creator League. And the hypothesis was simple: Meet Gen Z where they are—on YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok. But also meet them with people they care about, and in formats they understand. Creator League built rosters for reality TV, not sports To build a sports league out of thin air, you have to start with the games, right? “No,” says Gilbert. “I think the creator content is first and foremost. We know the space we’re playing in. We’re leveraging the biggest names in the creator space, so we always have to stay true and authentic to that space.” It makes sense. Traditional sports leagues have built fandom over generations through geographic loyalty and decades-long story arcs. It’s why leagues like the XFL and USFL, which lack that history, continually sprout up and fold. So, rather than fight that same battle—and risk the same fate—Gilbert and Muller dug into years of YouTube beef, Twitch streams, and TikTok drama. This is the new generation’s mythology, and the Creator League is built on it. “You’re almost like a casting director for a Survivor-style show where you’re trying to introduce different personalities that could lead to controversy,” Muller explains. “You want someone that’s going to be the shit-talker—the villain. You want the good guy. You want the underdog. You really need to cast for every role.” Casting creators goes beyond beef and personality. The league also needed creators who could actually move audiences. This meant targeting creators not with the largest followings, but with the most rabid, most engaged fans. “A lot of times,” Muller says, “we’ll prioritize working with someone who might have a fraction of the followers of someone else—if we see they can move 15,000 people to a video in an instant if they want to.” How Creator League works The 2025 season featured four team owners who exemplified this approach: JasonTheWeen, a 21-year-old FaZe Clan member known for viral IRL stunts; RayAsianBoy, who rose to fame after linking with Kai Cenat in Japan; YourRAGE, a veteran creator known for raw humor and live-streaming dominance; and Mark Phillips, the creative force behind RDCWorld1, the viral sketch comedy crew with over 1.7 billion YouTube views. Each owner assembles a roster of fellow creators to compete across five sports from May through November—dodgeball, slamball (trampoline basketball), flag football, knockout basketball, and five-on-five basketball—with a $500,000 prize pool on the line. The rosters feature creators from each owner’s network: friends, collaborators, and fellow content creators who bring their own followings to their team. The competition unfolds like a season-long reality show where creators compete, trash-talk across platforms between events, and rally their fanbases to vote for in-game advantages. They may not appear to be household names. But to Gen Z, they’re as recognizable as LeBron James and Lionel Messi. These selections weren’t random, either. Gilbert and Muller looked for creators with strategic platform diversity—mixing Twitch stars with YouTube and TikTok personalities—all while hunting for preexisting storylines. “Mark Phillips and YourRAGE have been talking trash for years about who’s more athletic—who’s better at this, who’s better at that,” Gilbert says. “We were able to leverage that to give a history to something that was basically still brand new.” Fast-paced, fluid rules, no dead air Casting solved the who. The harder question was how—how do you design competitions that keep a digital audience locked in when it has infinite options to click away? They started with a constraint: No inventing new sports. “They had to be familiar,” Gilbert says, “because we knew that with this generation, you only have such a short amount of time to clearly articulate what you’re trying to get them to come and watch.” They settled on basketball, dodgeball, and flag football—sports everyone recognizes and understands. But understanding doesn’t equal engagement. For that, Gilbert’s team had to strip away everything that makes traditional sports drag so the pacing mirrors the live streams Gen Z already consumes—constant action, no lulls, face-forward intensity. One timeout instead of three. Running clocks. No halftime. Creators addressing the camera directly between plays. “We’re not trying to make any of these moments a dead period where we know the audience can look on the side of the screen, find another video, and click off pretty easily,” Gilbert says. Even the rules themselves stay fluid. When a three-point conversion felt clunky during flag football’s regular season, Gilbert met with the creators, and they decided to pivot to a painted area—a conversion zone—for the championship instead. Problem solved. “It’s our league,” Gilbert says. “We’ll change up rules as much as we need to to make it entertaining for the audience.” The proof of concept came through incremental tests. In 2020 and 2021, House of Highlights created shows tied to major events like The Match, then tried standalone basketball knockout games. The FaZe Rug versus Adin Ross experiment in 2021 validated the core thesis. By 2022, they were ready for more structure: a one-on-one basketball tournament that culminated at the Final Four in New Orleans. The format kept evolving—two-on-two basketball at the 2023 Final Four, a one-on-one flag football season, and massive five-on-five events at DreamCon. “It really evolved from big event to big event into something that could feel bigger or have this continuity and through line,” Muller says. The tentpole strategy became crucial. By tying Creator League events to TNT Sports’ biggest moments—March Madness, MLB playoffs, major soccer tournaments—they gained access to production infrastructure and built-in audience attention. Bennett Spector, General Manager of Bleacher Report, saw the strategic advantage: “When TNT Sports is covering the college football playoff or Roland Garros or the MLB playoffs,” he says, “we thought that being able to power up Creator League events as a property and component of what those weekends feel like is where this could really blow up and grow from.” Giving the fans—and the creators—control The Creator League breaks a lot of rules that anchor traditional sports league models—focusing on creators instead of athletes being chief among them. But perhaps the biggest rule they’ve cast aside is not in how they’ve built the league, but in what they have given away. Control. Fans can vote in real-time on game-changing advantages. Which team gets an extra player in dodgeball? Fans vote. Who gets a power-up that makes all their baskets count for double the points for two full minutes? Viewers decide. Which team’s two-point conversion will be worth four points?—You get it. Gilbert admits it’s “one of the most fun but most stressful parts of each live event” because outcomes become genuinely unpredictable. But that chaos creates the engagement that traditional sports can’t replicate. If enough supporters show up in the live chat at a given time, they can make sure that the creator they love—whose team they support—gets a power-up or a boost that could help them win the game, and the prize money. This means the creators themselves become recruiters. During voting windows, team owners lean into their cameras, practically pleading: “Go vote, go vote, go vote!” This is not a brand begging for eyeballs or a commentator asking for engagement. It’s someone fans have watched for years, with whom they feel they have a relationship, asking for help—and the fans respond. Control isn’t all the Creator League has given away. It’s given away some power, too—over both distribution and monetization. For 2025, team owners secured revenue-sharing deals and IP rights to create their own team merchandise. “We really wanted to change the feeling of, ‘Here’s a check, come and show up for a couple of hours,’” Muller says. “If we’re going to have you put your name on this team and your face and the logo, we want you to feel both incentivized and proud to be a part of it.” And while most media companies would lock down their intellectual property, the Creator League encourages co-streaming. Creators stream the events on their own channels simultaneously alongside House of Highlights and Creator League channels, so fans can watch the main broadcast on one screen and Mark Phillips’s handheld sideline stream on another. The key is that, to participate in polls and voting, users need to migrate to the main Creator League stream. The result is “a uniquely complementary distribution model,” Gilbert says, where multiple streams amplify each other rather than cannibalize. And it’s working. In 2025 alone, the Creator League generated 606 million views. Events averaged 123,606 concurrent viewers, with 81% of that live audience under 34. On House of Highlights’ channel, Creator League content averaged 2.9 million cross-platform views per post—outperforming both college football and NHL content, and nearly matching NBA and NFL highlights. That reach has attracted big brand partners. Pizza Hut signed a seven-figure deal to sponsor three events, joining a roster that includes Nissan, Apple, Samsung, Netflix, PlayStation, and Corona. The insight: Giving away control doesn’t dilute the product. It multiplies it. Bleacher Report systematized disruption The Creator League is not a one-off success story. It’s the latest example in a pattern that Bleacher Report has repeated for nearly two decades: identify where audiences are going before they get there, build for that future, and don’t bind yourself to what worked yesterday. “Bleacher has a rich history of disrupting itself,” Spector says. “You have to accept fate, that this is a reality. People have gone off-platform, and this is what fans want. And once you accept the reality that you might not have all of the ingredients owned, your world looks much more free. It’s not only okay to disrupt yourselves, it’s actually encouraged within these walls.” The company’s late-2015 acquisition of House of Highlights, which has grown to 100 million followers across platforms, has given it an invaluable lab in which to make and test assumptions. The Bleacher Report brand caters to current consumption trends while House of Highlights operates as “a speedboat out in front,” Spector says, focused on young and emerging audiences. With access to the younger demo, House of Highlights tests. When something works, it scales. The Creator League itself is proof. What started as a two-person iPhone stream in 2021 grew into a multi-event franchise that now, in 2025, generates more than 600 million views. This, combined with access to TNT Sports’ infrastructure and a long-standing tradition of hiring from within target demographics—people solving problems for themselves and their peers, not from textbooks or in theory—positions Bleacher Report to make big bets, which they often win. In 2014, Spector greenlit Game of Zones, an animated NBA parody of Game of Thrones pitched by two freelance animators. At the time, no major sports media company had ventured into fictional, comedy-driven animation. Bleacher Report did, timing the show’s release to run alongside TNT’s NBA coverage, using the network’s reach to amplify the digital series. The show earned multiple Emmy nominations and ran for seven seasons. Four years later, Bleacher Report launched The Champions, an animated series about UEFA Champions League players, strategically timed to Turner’s acquisition of Champions League broadcast rights. It became the publisher’s most-watched show ever. That formula—bold, creative bets paired with TNT’s tentpole events—became a blueprint for the Creator League. The validation for the Creator League is in the competitors and copycats. The NBA has launched its own Creator Cup. The NFL brought creators to the Super Bowl. In Europe, Gerard Piqué’s Kings League and the Baller League are selling out stadiums—taking what Bleacher Report has proven digitally and translating it to physical venues packed with fans. Which is exactly where Spector sees this heading. The Creator League has captured the digital, at-home audience traditional sports are losing. The next frontier, according to Spector, is bringing those 123,000 concurrent viewers—81% of them under 34—into actual arenas. Building the merchandise ecosystems. Creating destination events around TNT Sports’ biggest weekends that feel less like marketing activations and more like Coachella for sports fans raised on YouTube. “Money follows,” Spector says. “I think that is often the mantra—the ethos—that we try and apply to our content strategy and programming philosophy. If you can scale an engaged, scaled audience, the money will follow. Start with the audience problem. Solve that, and the business will take care of itself.” View the full article

Burnout and boredom are the two dreaded b-words of the modern workplace. We fear one, dismiss the other, and often fail to see how easily they trade places. Too often, boredom masquerades as burnout. To the untrained eye, exhaustion and disengagement can look identical. Boredom is typically a form of cognitive under-stimulation, while burnout is emotional and physical overextension. Both can leave people feeling unmotivated and fatigued. But here’s the twist: in cultures that tend to glamorize busyness, many employees feel safer saying they’re burned out than bored. Burnout signals you worked “too hard.” Bored, on the other hand, signals the opposite. Recent reports show 82% of knowledge workers across North America, Asia, and Europe have varying degrees of burnout. And if you’re in Australia, welcome to the burnout capital of the world. Burnout has a costly link to organizational issues such as attrition, absenteeism, lower engagement, and decreased productivity. But don’t underestimate the grim impact of a bored workforce either. When you don’t address it, it metastasizes into cynicism and passive sabotage. Given the higher prevalence of bored employees than burned-out ones, the distinction between burnout and boredom is too important to ignore. Why does this matter? Because when we mistake boredom for burnout, we prescribe rest, when what we really need is challenge. We pull the wrong levers. We give rest to those who crave renewal and pressure to those who need pause. If you can’t figure out whether you’re experiencing burnout or boredom in disguise, the following are five signs to be aware of: 1. You’re feeling fatigued, but not stressed Feeling constantly fatigued, even when sleeping and eating well? Irritated but not exactly stressed? That’s a boredom clue. If your fatigue is tinged by feelings of resentment or dread, you might be experiencing burnout. But if it’s laced with numbness, clock-watching, or a nagging wish for a fire drill just to break the monotony, that’s boredom. Both are crises of connection that are likely related to purpose, people, or growth. 2. Busy yet unfulfilled Your calendar is filled to the brim with meetings, and the emails never end. Even when sleeping, your remit seems to increase exponentially, and there are endless deliverables. You keep going because everyone needs you, and you don’t want to let people down. But none of it lands anymore. You don’t experience meaning and satisfaction, and you feel somehow hollow. You’re on a track to burning out. Boredom, on the other hand, may see you doing “busy work” but choosing less critical tasks. The challenge-reward loop fueling motivation has broken down, which leaves you mentally checked out. Boredom can become problematic when it’s rooted in a deeper sense of purposelessness. And if you’re easily distracted and are distracting others, that’s also boredom. 3. You crave escape (any escape) With burnout, you fantasize about quitting and disappearing. All you want is some peace and quiet. No emails, pings—zero contact. Just some silence. Even a trip to the dentist for a root canal becomes appealing if only for the escape and genuine, “out of office” experience. When you’re bored, the escape looks different. You want a thrill. You scroll job ads, online shopping, airline specials, anything just to feel a flicker of excitement. Either way, you’re forming an exit strategy. 4. Quality of work slips Maybe you’re noticing that your quality of work is slipping. With constantly increasing workloads and being overwhelmed for prolonged periods, it’s inevitable. That’s a clear sign of burnout, especially if it’s not your normal state of play. What if the decreased quality of work is due to procrastination? Maybe it’s a missed deadline here and there. It’s not quite enough effort to make it a killer presentation, but it was passable. That’s boredom. It’s also a precursor to quiet-quitting, doing the bare minimum of one’s job and putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than necessary. 5. Emotionally flatlined You used to get excited, be passionate, even push back. Now it’s just neutral, no irritation and no excitement. The highs don’t lift you, and the lows don’t move you. You stop reacting because it takes energy that you no longer have. It feels a bit like emotional autopilot. In burnout, that numbness is self-protection. When you are bored, it’s detachment, not from energy depletion, but lack of stimulation. There is no challenge to rise to, no cause to push for, so you quietly disconnect. When disconnection feels better than engagement, that is a sign that something deeper needs your attention. The key to distinguishing between burnout and boredom lies in tuning into the disengagement and understanding its source. For bored employees, it’s about restoring agency, novelty, inspiration, and purpose: Ask better questions: What parts of the job feel under-stimulating or misaligned with their skills? Curate challenge: Provide opportunities for responsibility and problem–solving, not just task execution. Reinforce relevance: Help them see the impact of their work. Strong leadership modeling: It always comes back to who manages and leads. Purpose–driven leaders and relatable managers engage, connect, and inspire. Burnout says, “I gave too much.” Boredom says, “I stopped giving at all.” One makes you feel overdone, while the other makes you feel underwhelmed. Either way, it’s a signal that we’ve drifted from meaning, and it’s time to get back to being View the full article

I was taught to use a so-called “feedback sandwich” to give constructive feedback: lead with a positive, share the negative, finish with a positive. The idea was . . . well, I don’t know what the idea was. I guess to soften the “room for improvement” blow? All I know is that the feedback sandwich rarely worked. Especially on me. Take the time a boss told me, “I really appreciate how you always come prepared to the supervisor meetings. But you sometimes run over people with all your facts, and figures, and productivity results. Even so, you’re a valuable member of the team.” The meat of the sandwich, the “you sometimes run over people with your facts and figures,” was admittedly true. But the bread, the two positives, didn’t soften the blow. In fact, the bread made me feel manipulated. And kind of pissed me off. That’s because a sandwich in effect says, “I need to give you negative feedback . . . but first I’ll say something nice so you won’t think I hate you. And then I’ll say something nice so you won’t be mad at me when you leave.” That’s the problem with the feedback sandwich. The recipients feel manipulated. And even if at first they don’t, give it time: Since our positive qualities tend to stay consistent, the same bread eventually starts to taste stale. And as for the likelihood of positive change? According to research published in Learning and Motivation, the feedback sandwich almost always fails to correct negative or subpar behaviors if only because—as in my case—I focused more on how the feedback was delivered, than on the quality and accuracy of the feedback itself. The better approach is what the authors of a study published in Management Review Quarterly call benevolent honesty. As the researchers write: We propose that that a better approach is benevolent honesty, in which communicators focus on delivering negative information truthfully and directly, but also employ additional strategies to ensure that their words actually lead to long-term improvement. For example, a professor might emphasize that a student is capable of achieving high standards when giving critical feedback. Though this strategy might seem intuitive, communicators often fail to make their benevolent intentions clear— they seem to forget (at least in the moment) that (others) do not have access to that same information. Their findings dovetail nicely with a Journal of Experimental Psychology study that shows including one sentence can make feedback up to 40% more effective: “I’m giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them.” According to Culture Code author Daniel Coyle, that phrase contains three distinct signals: You are part of this group. This group is special; we have higher standards here. I believe you can reach those standards. Instead of a feedback sandwich, the result is more like a relationship sandwich. No manipulation. No platitudes. Not irrelevant compliments. No false hope. Just clear, direct feedback, delivered inside a message of connection, belonging, and trust. That’s the real difference between a feedback sandwich and benevolent honesty. The feedback sandwich theoretically helps the feedback giver reduce the likelihood of conflict during a tough conversation. (“If I throw in a few compliments, maybe he won’t get mad.”) But how a difficult conversation might feel to the person giving feedback doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is whether the feedback helps the recipient improve his or her performance. And that’s something a feedback sandwich is terrible at producing. The next time you need to have a difficult conversation with an employee, or with anyone, forget the feedback sandwich. Forget leading and closing with a compliment. Instead, just be direct and truthful, while showing that you care about that person’s performance or well-being because you care about them: that you want things to be better for them as a result of the conversation. Not just to be easier for you. —Jeff Haden This article originally appeared on Fast Company’s sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy. View the full article

If you’re planning on buying a PC, laptop, or cell phone in the coming months, a word of advice for you before Christmas: Buy now, not later. Prices are likely set to spike in the new year—due to a shortage of memory chips. Memory and storage for DRAM and NAND, two major types of computer memory, have seen costs rise between 30 and 40%, year-on-year—in some cases, they’re even doubling. This impacts the bill of materials (BOMs), or the cost of individual items to make, PCs, and especially low-end smartphones, where margins are thin and the proportional cost increase is more severe. The sudden spike in memory prices is part of a decades-long pattern of semiconductor supply cycles—but this one is coming unusually fast, driven by unexpected demand from big tech companies building data centers for AI training and inference. “There is an occasional cycle of supply shortages or some high demand bridges coming in once or twice a decade—it goes about 40 years back,” says Runar Bjørhovde, research analyst at Canalys. He estimates that we’ve experienced seven “steep” cycles so far. What’s different now, he says, is the speed and the cause. “This has developed really, really quickly.” As a result, the foundries manufacturing chips and memory are prioritizing the high-performance compute chips needed for data centers, as well as higher-paying customers like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon Web Services, because scarce raw materials and limited capacity force them to funnel resources to the most profitable segments. “As memory components become more limited and more expensive, manufacturers face increasing pressure to raise prices,” says Anthony Scarsella, research director at IDC, which tracks cell phone shipments and sales. “While some OEMs will inevitably be forced to raise prices, others will adjust their portfolio towards pricier models with higher margins to absorb some of the memory impact on BOM,” he says. “Next year will be a challenging time for the industry.” Because of that, the average price of a smartphone will rise to around $465 next year, up from $457 in 2025 according to IDC data, even as total shipments in 2026 dip slightly because some buyers are priced out or delayed by component shortages. The biggest squeeze is expected in the low-to-mid range Android segment, where customers are most sensitive to price rises and vendors have the least room to absorb higher memory costs. On PCs, the picture is similar. “A PC makes up about 15 to 18% of the bill of materials … that goes in putting together a PC,” says Bjørhovde of the memory and storage share. “It entirely seems to be driven by the extreme data center demand that’s happening currently,” says Runar Bjørhovde, research analyst at Canalys. So a lot of Nvidia investments are really pushing a lot of companies doing semiconductors forward.” Bjørhovde isn’t convinced that there’ll be “ludicrous” price rises, estimating that costs to end users could rise by 10% or 20%. Nevertheless, on a several-hundred-dollar device, that can make an impact. Some of that could be mitigated by smartphone companies stomaching some of the rise and reducing their margins, Bjørhovde says. That shift could also change what you actually get when you unbox a device. In some categories, especially budget phones, vendors are more likely to hold the price and trade down the quality of other parts outside of the memory, such as their camera, display, or processor. But there’s only so much they can trim before the device becomes so outmoded that it’s not worth buying. “The list of components that can be downgraded is extensive,” Scarsella reckons. Most buyers may not notice the trade-offs. “I think the average smartphone is upgraded every three years or so,” Bjørhovde says. He suggests that at the point of upgrade, you might well have forgotten what you paid for your last device. But if you’re the kind of customer who buys the latest iPhone Pro or top-end Android, you’re likely to end up paying a little more, or getting slightly less storage for the same sticker price. For now, prices have held steady, with the cost increase not yet feeding through to end-user pricing. But that will soon change, warn the experts. So if you’re looking to upgrade your PC or phone, bringing that purchase forward could save money. Industry executives are warning the memory crunch has only just started. View the full article

Financial Conduct Authority wants to boost lending and make market more flexible View the full article

The conversation about AI in the workplace has been dominated by the simplistic narrative that machines will inevitably replace humans. But the organizations achieving real results with AI have moved past this framing entirely. They understand that the most valuable AI implementations are not about replacement but collaboration. The relationship between workers and AI systems is evolving through distinct stages, each with its own characteristics, opportunities, and risks. Understanding where your organization sits on this spectrum—and where it’s headed—is essential for capturing AI’s potential while avoiding its pitfalls. Stage 1: Tools and Automation This is where most organizations begin. At this stage, AI systems perform discrete, routine tasks while humans maintain full control and decision authority. The AI functions primarily as a productivity tool, handling well-defined tasks with clear parameters. Examples are everywhere: document classification systems that automatically sort incoming correspondence, chatbots that answer standard customer inquiries, scheduling assistants that optimize meeting arrangements, data entry automation that extracts information from forms. The key characteristic of this stage is that AI operates within narrow boundaries. Humans direct the overall workflow and make all substantive decisions. The AI handles the tedious parts, freeing humans for higher-value work. The primary ethical considerations at this stage involve ensuring accuracy and preventing harm from automated processes. When an AI system automatically routes customer complaints or flags applications for review, errors can affect real people. Organizations must implement quality controls and monitoring to catch mistakes before they cause damage—particularly for vulnerable populations who may be less able to navigate around system errors. Stage 2: Augmentation and Advice As organizations grow comfortable with AI systems, they typically progress to models where AI not only executes tasks but provides analysis and recommendations that inform human decision-making. At this stage, predictive analytics tools might identify emerging patterns in customer behavior, enabling more proactive business strategies. Risk assessment systems might analyze historical data to flag potential compliance issues. AI-powered diagnostics might suggest possible causes for equipment failures or patient symptoms. The critical distinction is that while AI can generate insights humans couldn’t produce alone by finding patterns in datasets too large for any person to analyze, human judgment remains the final authority for interpreting and acting on these insights. This is where new risks emerge. Over-reliance on AI recommendations becomes a real danger. Confirmation bias can creep in, with humans selectively accepting AI insights that align with their preexisting views while dismissing those that challenge their assumptions. The responsible approach at this stage requires humans to understand how the AI arrived at its recommendations—what data it was trained on, what might have changed since training, whether there is any reason to suspect bias. It can be just as problematic when humans reject good AI advice because they don’t understand or trust it as when they blindly accept bad advice. Stage 3: Collaboration and Partnership This stage represents a more fundamental shift. Rather than a clear delineation between machine tasks and human decisions, humans and AI work as teams with complementary capabilities and shared responsibility. The relationship becomes fluid and interactive. AI systems actively adapt based on human feedback, while humans modify their approaches based on AI-generated insights. The boundary between “AI work” and “human work” blurs. Consider emergency response scenarios in which human teams work alongside AI systems during crises. The AI continuously monitors multiple data streams—weather patterns, traffic conditions, resource availability, historical response data—and suggests resource allocations. Humans accept, modify, or override these suggestions based on contextual knowledge not available to the system. The AI learns from these human interventions, improving its future recommendations. The humans develop intuitions about when to trust the AI and when to rely on their own judgment. This is where accountability becomes genuinely complicated. When outcomes result from human–AI teamwork, who bears responsibility for errors? If an AI recommends a course of action, a human approves it, and things go wrong, the question of fault is far from straightforward. Organizations operating at this stage need new governance frameworks that maintain clear lines of human accountability while enabling productive partnerships. This goes beyond the need to determine legal responsibility; it is fundamental to maintaining trust, both within the organization and with external stakeholders. Stage 4: Supervision and Governance The most advanced relationship model involves humans establishing parameters, providing oversight, and managing exceptions while AI systems handle routine operations autonomously. This represents a significant evolution from earlier stages. Humans shift from direct task execution or decision-making to a role focused on setting boundaries, monitoring performance, and intervening when necessary. An AI system might autonomously process insurance claims according to established policies, with humans reviewing only unusual cases or randomly sampled decisions to ensure quality control. A trading algorithm might execute transactions within defined parameters, with human supervisors monitoring for anomalies and adjusting constraints as market conditions change. The efficiency gains can be enormous. But so can the risks. The danger of “automation complacency” grows substantially at this stage. Human overseers may fail to maintain appropriate vigilance over AI systems that usually perform correctly. When you are supervising a system that makes the right call 99% of the time, it is psychologically difficult to stay alert for the 1% of cases that require intervention. Organizations must therefore implement robust oversight mechanisms that keep humans meaningfully engaged rather than performing a purely nominal supervisory role. Gamification of error identification and correction may offer a valuable path forward here, with a game layer of errors to catch “sleeping” overseers overlaid onto highly reliable systems that rarely err. Navigating the Progression Not every organization needs to progress through all four stages, and not every function within an organization should be at the same stage. The appropriate level of human–AI collaboration depends on the stakes involved, the maturity of the AI technology, and the organization’s capacity for governance. High-stakes decisions—those affecting people’s rights, safety, or significant financial interests—generally warrant more human involvement than routine administrative tasks. Novel applications of AI, where the technology’s limitations are not yet well understood, require closer human oversight than established applications with proven track records. But regardless of where your organization sits on this spectrum, certain principles apply universally: Understand the AI’s capabilities and limitations. At every stage, effective collaboration requires humans who grasp not just what the AI can do, but where it is likely to fail. This understanding becomes more important, not less, as AI systems take on greater autonomy. Maintain meaningful human accountability. The fundamental principle that humans must remain accountable for consequential decisions does not change as AI becomes more capable. What changes is how that accountability is structured and exercised. Design for evolution. The relationship between humans and AI systems isn’t static. Organizations should build governance frameworks that can adapt as AI capabilities advance and as they develop greater understanding of how human–AI collaboration works in their specific context. Invest in the human side. The most sophisticated AI system delivers limited value if the humans working with it don’t understand how to collaborate effectively. Training, cultural development, and organizational design are as important as the technology itself. The organizations that thrive in the AI era won’t be those that simply deploy the most advanced systems. They will be those who master the art of human-AI collaboration—understanding when to rely on AI capabilities, when to assert human judgment, and how to create partnerships that leverage the distinctive strengths of both. Adapted from Reimagining Government: Achieving the Promise of AI, by Faisal Hoque, Erik Nelson, Tom Davenport, et al. Post Hill Press. Forthcoming January 2026. View the full article

What can a pair of pants tell you about leadership? Much more than you think. How do you feel when you pull a pair of non-stretch jeans straight from the dryer? They’re stiff. Way too tight. The waistband digs into your belly. Now picture trying to work an eight-hour day in them. That discomfort—and sense of restriction—is exactly what it feels like to work for a micromanager. On the other end of your closet are those oversized sweatpants—they’re comfy, but there’s no shape (or direction) to them at all . . . kind of like a workplace where everyone might like the manager, but no one has any idea what’s actually expected or where they’re headed. Between those two extremes sits the gold standard of workplace comfort: cozy joggers. Stretchy. Supportive. They move with you, not against you. If you’ve ever worked for a leader who gives you the right balance of support and freedom, you know exactly how good that kind of fit feels. Because managers not only usually fall into one of these categories—tight jeans, oversized sweatpants or cozy joggers—but their teams respond accordingly. Here’s what those leadership styles look like, why they matter and how to move toward the “cozy joggers” approach that gets the results that every style of leader is looking for. The Tight Jeans Manager: Restrictive, Rigid and Always Tugging at the Seams We all know that manager—the one who wants to sign off on every sentence, join every meeting and get updates so frequently you spend more time summarizing your work than doing it. Tight jeans managers often don’t mean to restrict their teams. In fact, they usually come from a good place: they care deeply about the work and want to maintain high standards. But like those freshly washed jeans, this style leaves no room to move. How to spot a tight jeans manager: They jump in to “fix” work instead of guiding. They insist on approving even the smallest decisions. They monitor progress constantly. They prefer their way over any new approach. They struggle to let go of tasks they used to do themselves. And the impact on the team is real. People feel stressed and stuck. They stop speaking up or trying new things because they’re afraid of getting it wrong. Meetings turn into long status updates instead of actually solving problems. Everything slows (way) down because nothing can happen without the manager weighing in on every little thing. To loosen the metaphorical waistband, tight-jeans leaders can ask themselves: Is this about quality, or is it about control? What’s the actual risk if I step back? If I never delegate, am I prepared to own this forever? Micromanagement might feel productive in the moment, but it turns leaders into bottlenecks and employees into order-takers. Great managers recognize when they’re clinging too tightly and intentionally make space for others to stretch. The Oversized Sweatpants Manager: Comfy but Directionless If tight jeans restrict movement, oversized sweatpants eliminate shape altogether. These are the managers who pride themselves on being “hands-off,” but in their quest to avoid micromanaging, they end up providing almost no guidance at all. Once again, the intention is usually good—trust your people, give them room, empower them—but empowerment without clarity quickly turns into ambiguity. How to spot an oversized sweatpants manager: They assume teams will “figure it out.” They don’t have regular 1:1 meetings, just “find me if you need me” (but never seem to be available). They don’t set clear expectations or deadlines. They rarely give feedback—unless something goes wrong. They avoid hard conversations—so the team ends up side-texting about it. At first, this style can feel freeing, especially for high performers. But after the initial cozy comfort wears off, people get frustrated. They aren’t sure what “good” looks like. They don’t know how decisions are being made. They can’t get any (much-needed) help. Even top talent needs an idea of the what, how, and why. To add structure without sliding into micromanagement, these managers can focus on: Clear expectations: What does success look like? Lightweight checkpoints: Not every project needs a meeting—but a text, Slack message, or short huddle goes a long way. Actionable feedback: Not “looks good,” but “This direction works because . . .” It’s not about controlling every move—it’s about making sure everyone has what they need. The Cozy Joggers Manager: Flexible, Supportive, and Built for Real Work The magic of cozy joggers is their blend of stretch and structure. They hold their shape, but they don’t hold you back. They’re comfortable without being sloppy. They’re supportive without being stiff. Cozy joggers managers operate the same way. They encourage autonomy while offering guidance. They give direction but don’t dictate. They’re not hovering, but they’re not disappearing. They’re reliable, predictable and consistent—three qualities that transform team culture (and don’t require any extra budget). Signs you’re working with a cozy joggers manager: They communicate expectations clearly, including context (not just instructions). They ask questions instead of giving orders. They check in without it feeling like surveillance. They help employees grow instead of doing the work for them. They trust their teams—and their teams trust them back. Most importantly, these managers create environments where people feel both supported and capable—the real sweet spot of leadership. Managers who want to move into this style can build three simple habits: Communicate the “why”: Great managers explain the purpose behind the work. It builds alignment and better decision-making. Replace answers with questions: Guiding questions help employees think critically instead of relying on the manager for every answer. Build autonomy gradually: Start with more structure and intentionally pull back as confidence grows. This is leadership that’s effective—because it builds your people up instead of adding more to their plates. You Won’t Be Cozy Joggers Every Day—But You Can Always Adjust Managers are human. We all have tight-jeans days when stress makes us hold on too tight, and oversized-sweatpants weeks when we’re stretched thin so we can’t be as present. The goal isn’t to be perfect—it’s to be aware and make the small adjustments that matter. The question every leader should ask is: What does my team need from me right now—structure, space, or a blend of both? Effective leadership is about finding that in-between space—giving enough support to guide without taking over, and offering enough autonomy without disappearing. Your team doesn’t need “perfect”; they need steady, clear, human direction and room to do their best work. Because in the end, leadership is a lot like what we wear: The right fit changes everything. View the full article