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Finding your Business Registration Number (BRN) doesn’t have to be an intimidating task. Start by visiting your state’s Secretary of State website, where you can search their business registration database using your company name or other details. If you prefer a more streamlined approach, consider Middesk. Verifying this number against your official documents is essential for accuracy. But what if you encounter challenges during your search? Key Takeaways Visit your state’s Secretary of State website to access the business registration database for direct information on your BRN. Check your formation documents, like Articles of Incorporation, where the BRN is typically listed. Review correspondence from the IRS, as your Employer Identification Number (EIN) can serve as your BRN. Use automated tools like Middesk to aggregate data from multiple state databases for streamlined verification. Ensure your information is current by regularly checking official sources to maintain compliance and legitimacy. Understanding Business Registration Numbers A Business Registration Number (BRN) serves as an important identifier for your business, ensuring that you comply with legal requirements and maintain operational legitimacy. Comprehending the different types of BRNs, such as the Company Registration Number (CRN), Employer Identification Number (EIN), and State Registration Number, is imperative since each serves specific regulatory purposes. Knowing how to find your business registration number can streamline processes like filing taxes, opening bank accounts, and obtaining necessary licenses. The format and naming of BRNs can vary considerably by jurisdiction, so it’s important to familiarize yourself with local requirements. A valid BRN not just improves your business’s credibility but also builds trust with clients, suppliers, and regulatory bodies, making it a critical asset. Importance of Obtaining a Business Registration Number Obtaining a Business Registration Number (BRN) is essential for legal compliance and operational legitimacy. This unique identifier not just helps you meet local regulations but also builds trust and credibility with customers and partners by ensuring your business is recognized and verified. Without a BRN, you may face challenges like difficulties in opening bank accounts, securing loans, or fulfilling tax obligations, which can hinder your business growth. Legal Compliance Necessity When you start a business, securing a Business Registration Number (BRN) is fundamental for legal compliance. This unique identifier is significant for your dealings with government agencies, banks, and tax authorities. A valid BRN helps you fulfill payroll tax responsibilities and guarantees your business operates within federal and state regulations. Many states require a BRN to apply for necessary licenses and permits, reinforcing your legal recognition before offering services or products. If you’re wondering where can I find my business registration number, it’s imperative to obtain one prior to launching operations. Operating without a BRN can expose you to legal liabilities, including fines or penalties from regulatory agencies, making it essential to secure your BRN for a smooth business expedition. Trust and Credibility Building Establishing your business’s legitimacy is vital, especially in a competitive marketplace where trust plays an important role in attracting clients and partners. Obtaining a business registration number (BRN) confirms your legal authority to operate, which builds trust with clients, suppliers, and regulatory bodies. A BRN is significant for compliance with regulations, helping you avoid legal liabilities during the maintenance of a solid reputation. It likewise improves your credibility, as many JPMorgan and lenders require a BRN for opening accounts or securing loans. During the onboarding process, verifying a BRN protects you from risks associated with unverified entities, reducing potential financial pitfalls. In the end, a valid BRN signals financial stability, making your business more appealing to those who prioritize trust and compliance. Steps to Register Your Business To register your business, you’ll need to prepare crucial formation documents like Articles of Incorporation or an LLC Operating Agreement, which define your business’s structure and purpose. After that, file these documents with your state’s Secretary of State office, often through an online portal for added convenience. Don’t forget to pay the required registration fees, as these can vary depending on your state and the type of business you’re establishing. Prepare Formation Documents Preparing formation documents is a crucial step in registering your business, as these documents lay the foundation for your company’s structure and operations. You’ll typically need the Articles of Incorporation for corporations or the Articles of Organization for LLCs. Furthermore, an LLC Operating Agreement is recommended to clarify member and manager roles. Be sure that all your documents meet state-specific requirements, which can vary by business type and location. Document Type Purpose Notes Articles of Incorporation Defines corporate structure Required for corporations Articles of Organization Outlines the LLC structure Required for LLCs LLC Operating Agreement Details roles and responsibilities Highly recommended Compliance Checklist Guarantees all documents meet state laws Check state-specific regulations State Registration Fees Required payment for filing Fees vary by state and structure Once your formation documents are ready, you can file them online to find your company registration number easily. File With Secretary of State Once you’ve prepared your formation documents, the next step involves filing them with the Secretary of State’s office. You’ll need to submit your Articles of Incorporation or LLC Operating Agreement, which outline your company information and operational structure. Many states allow you to file these documents online, simplifying the process. Make sure to carefully follow the specific guidelines for your jurisdiction to avoid any delays. Furthermore, appoint a registered agent who’ll receive legal documents on behalf of your business, as this is often a requirement. After submitting your documents, you’ll need to wait for state approval, which can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, before you receive your Business Registration Number (BRN). Pay Registration Fees Paying the registration fees is a crucial step in the business registration process. Once you’ve determined the appropriate registration authority, usually your state’s Secretary of State office, you need to prepare the necessary formation documents like Articles of Incorporation or an LLC Operating Agreement. After that, you’ll pay the state-specific registration fees, which can vary widely from $50 to several hundred dollars based on your state and business type. It’s important to have a registered agent appointed, as this is often a requirement. Once you submit your documents and payment, you’ll need to wait for state approval. This approval will provide you with your unique business registration number, which may take a few days to several weeks to receive. Finding Your Business Registration Number Finding your Business Registration Number (BRN) is vital for various administrative tasks, and there are several straightforward methods to locate it. First, check your business formation documents, like the Articles of Incorporation or LLC Operating Agreement, where the number is typically listed. If you’re wondering, “where do I find my business registration number,” visit your state’s Secretary of State website. They often have a business search tool that allows you to look up your BRN using your business name or other identifying information. Furthermore, for federal identification, your Employer Identification Number (EIN) can be found on IRS documents. If you still have trouble, consider using automated verification tools like Middesk to streamline the search process. Tools for Business Registration Lookup When you need to locate your business registration number, several effective tools can simplify the process. Here are three resources to evaluate: State Secretary of State Offices: Many offer free online business search tools for company name searches in the United States, allowing you to access their databases directly. SEC’s EDGAR System: This platform lets you search for filings and registration information for publicly traded companies, providing a thorough view of business activities since 2001. Automated Third-Party Tools: Services like Middesk aggregate data from various state databases, streamlining verification and offering insights on business legitimacy. Utilizing these tools can help you efficiently find your business registration number and verify operational status. Challenges in Locating Business Registration Numbers Locating a business registration number can be more complicated than it seems, especially since each state has its own unique portal with different interfaces and requirements. Some states require you to create an account or pay fees just to access registration information, adding unnecessary barriers. If your business is registered in a different state from where you operate, you may need to search multiple databases, complicating your efforts further. Moreover, smaller, non-publicly traded businesses often have limited information on platforms like SEC’s EDGAR, making company verification difficult. Inaccurate or outdated data can also hinder effective decision-making during B2B onboarding, so it’s essential to verify that the information you retrieve is current and reliable for your business needs. Best Practices for Business Registration Verification To guarantee the accuracy and reliability of your business registration verification, it’s crucial to follow established best practices. Here are three key steps to take into account: Use Official Sources: Access business registration databases through your state’s Secretary of State office. These sites offer the most reliable information for your company check. Leverage Automated Tools: Employ third-party services like Middesk to efficiently navigate multiple state databases and gather necessary business information. Cross-Reference Documents: Always verify the Business Registration Number (BRN) against documents like Articles of Incorporation and IRS correspondence to ascertain consistency. Additionally, stay updated on the specific formats for different BRNs to avoid confusion. Regularly refresh your verification methods to adapt to changing regulations and resources. Frequently Asked Questions How Do I Find My Business Registration Number? To find your business registration number, start by checking official documents like your Articles of Incorporation or LLC Operating Agreement. You can additionally visit your state’s Secretary of State website, where you can search for your business name to access your number. If you have an Employer Identification Number (EIN), look at your IRS tax documents. Finally, consider using third-party verification tools for quicker access. Is My EIN My Business Registration Number? Yes, your Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a type of business registration number, but it’s not the only one. An EIN is particularly issued by the IRS for tax purposes, especially for businesses with employees. Other registration numbers, like Company Registration Numbers (CRN) or State Registration Numbers, may likewise be necessary depending on your location and business structure. Make certain you understand the requirements for your particular business to guarantee compliance. Conclusion In conclusion, locating your Business Registration Number is a straightforward process that involves utilizing state resources and online tools. Start by visiting your state’s Secretary of State website and searching their business registration database. For additional support, consider using automated services like Middesk. Always verify your findings against official documents to confirm accuracy. By following these steps, you can efficiently obtain your BRN and maintain your business’s compliance with regulatory requirements. Image via Google Gemini This article, "How to Find Your Business Registration Number Easily" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Netflix has announced that it intends to buy legendary Hollywood studio Warner Bros. in a deal valued at approximately $82.7 billion. The deal, which must be approved by regulators, will further consolidate the entertainment industry and give Netflix ownership of some of the most iconic films and television franchises ever, not to mention HBO. Here’s what you need to know: What’s happened? Today, Netflix and Warner Bros announced a deal in which Netflix will purchase the legendary Hollywood studio, along with its HBO Max and HBO divisions, for a total enterprise value of approximately $82.7 billion (which Netflix says has an equity value of $72.0 billion). The deal isn’t exactly a surprise, as Warner Bros had previously put itself up for sale publicly and Netflix was expected to be one of the primary bidders for the company’s assets. However, the deal marks a major milestone for the streaming giant, which is not known for large-scale acquisitions. The news comes after Warner Bros. Discovery, the company’s owner, announced this summer that it would split the current company into two, with the new ones owning its Streaming & Studios assets and Global Networks divisions, respectively. With today’s announcement, Netflix is essentially buying the “Streaming & Studios” company that will spin off from Warner Bros. Discovery next year. When the deal closes, Netflix says each WBD shareholder will receive $23.25 in cash as well as $4.50 in shares of Netflix common stock for every share of WBD common stock they own. Announcing the deal, Greg Peters, co-CEO of Netflix, said, “With our global reach and proven business model, we can introduce a broader audience to the worlds [Warner Bros. creates]—giving our members more options, attracting more fans to our best-in-class streaming service, strengthening the entire entertainment industry and creating more value for shareholders.” What IP will Netflix acquire under the deal? Netflix’s purchase deal for Warner Bros, HBO Max, and HBO will give the streaming giant ownership over one of the most lucrative intellectual property portfolios out there. If the deal closes, Netflix will own: DC Universe Batman Superman Wonder Woman Friends Game of Thrones The Big Bang Theory The Harry Potter film franchise Touching on the IP aspect of the deal, Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, said, “Our mission has always been to entertain the world. By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies—from timeless classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to modern favorites like Harry Potter and Friends—with our culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game, we’ll be able to do that even better.” What has Warner Bros said about the deal? In a statement, David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said, “Today’s announcement combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world to bring to even more people the entertainment they love to watch the most.” When does the Netflix-Warner Bros deal close? Netflix says that it expects the transaction to close in the next 12-18 months, putting a likely closing date sometime in 2027. However, Netflix and Warner Bros can likely expect extreme regulatory scrutiny of their deal. While Netflix’s and WBD’s boards of directors unanimously approved the deal, it will not be finalized until regulators give the go-ahead. How have the companies’ stock prices reacted? Shares in Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) fell in premarket trading on Friday. As of this writing, Netflix stock is down just over 4%. Shares in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBD) were essentially flat in premarket trading as of this writing. View the full article

Finding your Business Registration Number (BRN) doesn’t have to be an intimidating task. Start by visiting your state’s Secretary of State website, where you can search their business registration database using your company name or other details. If you prefer a more streamlined approach, consider Middesk. Verifying this number against your official documents is essential for accuracy. But what if you encounter challenges during your search? Key Takeaways Visit your state’s Secretary of State website to access the business registration database for direct information on your BRN. Check your formation documents, like Articles of Incorporation, where the BRN is typically listed. Review correspondence from the IRS, as your Employer Identification Number (EIN) can serve as your BRN. Use automated tools like Middesk to aggregate data from multiple state databases for streamlined verification. Ensure your information is current by regularly checking official sources to maintain compliance and legitimacy. Understanding Business Registration Numbers A Business Registration Number (BRN) serves as an important identifier for your business, ensuring that you comply with legal requirements and maintain operational legitimacy. Comprehending the different types of BRNs, such as the Company Registration Number (CRN), Employer Identification Number (EIN), and State Registration Number, is imperative since each serves specific regulatory purposes. Knowing how to find your business registration number can streamline processes like filing taxes, opening bank accounts, and obtaining necessary licenses. The format and naming of BRNs can vary considerably by jurisdiction, so it’s important to familiarize yourself with local requirements. A valid BRN not just improves your business’s credibility but also builds trust with clients, suppliers, and regulatory bodies, making it a critical asset. Importance of Obtaining a Business Registration Number Obtaining a Business Registration Number (BRN) is essential for legal compliance and operational legitimacy. This unique identifier not just helps you meet local regulations but also builds trust and credibility with customers and partners by ensuring your business is recognized and verified. Without a BRN, you may face challenges like difficulties in opening bank accounts, securing loans, or fulfilling tax obligations, which can hinder your business growth. Legal Compliance Necessity When you start a business, securing a Business Registration Number (BRN) is fundamental for legal compliance. This unique identifier is significant for your dealings with government agencies, banks, and tax authorities. A valid BRN helps you fulfill payroll tax responsibilities and guarantees your business operates within federal and state regulations. Many states require a BRN to apply for necessary licenses and permits, reinforcing your legal recognition before offering services or products. If you’re wondering where can I find my business registration number, it’s imperative to obtain one prior to launching operations. Operating without a BRN can expose you to legal liabilities, including fines or penalties from regulatory agencies, making it essential to secure your BRN for a smooth business expedition. Trust and Credibility Building Establishing your business’s legitimacy is vital, especially in a competitive marketplace where trust plays an important role in attracting clients and partners. Obtaining a business registration number (BRN) confirms your legal authority to operate, which builds trust with clients, suppliers, and regulatory bodies. A BRN is significant for compliance with regulations, helping you avoid legal liabilities during the maintenance of a solid reputation. It likewise improves your credibility, as many JPMorgan and lenders require a BRN for opening accounts or securing loans. During the onboarding process, verifying a BRN protects you from risks associated with unverified entities, reducing potential financial pitfalls. In the end, a valid BRN signals financial stability, making your business more appealing to those who prioritize trust and compliance. Steps to Register Your Business To register your business, you’ll need to prepare crucial formation documents like Articles of Incorporation or an LLC Operating Agreement, which define your business’s structure and purpose. After that, file these documents with your state’s Secretary of State office, often through an online portal for added convenience. Don’t forget to pay the required registration fees, as these can vary depending on your state and the type of business you’re establishing. Prepare Formation Documents Preparing formation documents is a crucial step in registering your business, as these documents lay the foundation for your company’s structure and operations. You’ll typically need the Articles of Incorporation for corporations or the Articles of Organization for LLCs. Furthermore, an LLC Operating Agreement is recommended to clarify member and manager roles. Be sure that all your documents meet state-specific requirements, which can vary by business type and location. Document Type Purpose Notes Articles of Incorporation Defines corporate structure Required for corporations Articles of Organization Outlines the LLC structure Required for LLCs LLC Operating Agreement Details roles and responsibilities Highly recommended Compliance Checklist Guarantees all documents meet state laws Check state-specific regulations State Registration Fees Required payment for filing Fees vary by state and structure Once your formation documents are ready, you can file them online to find your company registration number easily. File With Secretary of State Once you’ve prepared your formation documents, the next step involves filing them with the Secretary of State’s office. You’ll need to submit your Articles of Incorporation or LLC Operating Agreement, which outline your company information and operational structure. Many states allow you to file these documents online, simplifying the process. Make sure to carefully follow the specific guidelines for your jurisdiction to avoid any delays. Furthermore, appoint a registered agent who’ll receive legal documents on behalf of your business, as this is often a requirement. After submitting your documents, you’ll need to wait for state approval, which can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, before you receive your Business Registration Number (BRN). Pay Registration Fees Paying the registration fees is a crucial step in the business registration process. Once you’ve determined the appropriate registration authority, usually your state’s Secretary of State office, you need to prepare the necessary formation documents like Articles of Incorporation or an LLC Operating Agreement. After that, you’ll pay the state-specific registration fees, which can vary widely from $50 to several hundred dollars based on your state and business type. It’s important to have a registered agent appointed, as this is often a requirement. Once you submit your documents and payment, you’ll need to wait for state approval. This approval will provide you with your unique business registration number, which may take a few days to several weeks to receive. Finding Your Business Registration Number Finding your Business Registration Number (BRN) is vital for various administrative tasks, and there are several straightforward methods to locate it. First, check your business formation documents, like the Articles of Incorporation or LLC Operating Agreement, where the number is typically listed. If you’re wondering, “where do I find my business registration number,” visit your state’s Secretary of State website. They often have a business search tool that allows you to look up your BRN using your business name or other identifying information. Furthermore, for federal identification, your Employer Identification Number (EIN) can be found on IRS documents. If you still have trouble, consider using automated verification tools like Middesk to streamline the search process. Tools for Business Registration Lookup When you need to locate your business registration number, several effective tools can simplify the process. Here are three resources to evaluate: State Secretary of State Offices: Many offer free online business search tools for company name searches in the United States, allowing you to access their databases directly. SEC’s EDGAR System: This platform lets you search for filings and registration information for publicly traded companies, providing a thorough view of business activities since 2001. Automated Third-Party Tools: Services like Middesk aggregate data from various state databases, streamlining verification and offering insights on business legitimacy. Utilizing these tools can help you efficiently find your business registration number and verify operational status. Challenges in Locating Business Registration Numbers Locating a business registration number can be more complicated than it seems, especially since each state has its own unique portal with different interfaces and requirements. Some states require you to create an account or pay fees just to access registration information, adding unnecessary barriers. If your business is registered in a different state from where you operate, you may need to search multiple databases, complicating your efforts further. Moreover, smaller, non-publicly traded businesses often have limited information on platforms like SEC’s EDGAR, making company verification difficult. Inaccurate or outdated data can also hinder effective decision-making during B2B onboarding, so it’s essential to verify that the information you retrieve is current and reliable for your business needs. Best Practices for Business Registration Verification To guarantee the accuracy and reliability of your business registration verification, it’s crucial to follow established best practices. Here are three key steps to take into account: Use Official Sources: Access business registration databases through your state’s Secretary of State office. These sites offer the most reliable information for your company check. Leverage Automated Tools: Employ third-party services like Middesk to efficiently navigate multiple state databases and gather necessary business information. Cross-Reference Documents: Always verify the Business Registration Number (BRN) against documents like Articles of Incorporation and IRS correspondence to ascertain consistency. Additionally, stay updated on the specific formats for different BRNs to avoid confusion. Regularly refresh your verification methods to adapt to changing regulations and resources. Frequently Asked Questions How Do I Find My Business Registration Number? To find your business registration number, start by checking official documents like your Articles of Incorporation or LLC Operating Agreement. You can additionally visit your state’s Secretary of State website, where you can search for your business name to access your number. If you have an Employer Identification Number (EIN), look at your IRS tax documents. Finally, consider using third-party verification tools for quicker access. Is My EIN My Business Registration Number? Yes, your Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a type of business registration number, but it’s not the only one. An EIN is particularly issued by the IRS for tax purposes, especially for businesses with employees. Other registration numbers, like Company Registration Numbers (CRN) or State Registration Numbers, may likewise be necessary depending on your location and business structure. Make certain you understand the requirements for your particular business to guarantee compliance. Conclusion In conclusion, locating your Business Registration Number is a straightforward process that involves utilizing state resources and online tools. Start by visiting your state’s Secretary of State website and searching their business registration database. For additional support, consider using automated services like Middesk. Always verify your findings against official documents to confirm accuracy. By following these steps, you can efficiently obtain your BRN and maintain your business’s compliance with regulatory requirements. Image via Google Gemini This article, "How to Find Your Business Registration Number Easily" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Let's face it: Secret Santa exchanges can be a minefield of disappointing, forgettable gifts. It's tough to shop for someone when you know that gift is going to be opened in front of all your friends, family, or coworkers at some holiday party. Then there's the price limit to contend with—a good gift exchange should keep it under $20, but some creep closer to the $50 range. What's the best way to win at Secret Santa without breaking the bank, or bending the rules? The name of the game for any gift exchange is to get something I call "strategically eccentric." You need to find something quirky and unique, so that you have a better chance of resonating with the quirks and uniqueness of the individual you're gifting. I've rounded up some ideas for crowd-pleasing presents that are both budget-friendly and hopefully a little useful, too. Whether you're shopping for a coworker you barely know, or the friend you know all too well, here are the best types of gifts to help you crush at Secret Santa this year. Quirky tech gadgetsWhen in doubt, go for something practical with a fun twist. LED bluetooth beanie. It's a great move for a gift exchange: Perfect for music lovers, cold weather, and it satisfies the need for something unique. I mean, I'd be shocked if anyone owned one of these of their own volition. Get one for $12.99. Portable charger (with a nice design). Keep their devices juiced up with a charger that's both functional and fun. A good charger should stick within the $20-25 range, like this Amazon best seller for $20.99. Smart mug. What better way to share warmth than a favorite drink at just the right temperature? A good smart mug can keep your drink at your preferred temperature (between 120°F - 145°F) for up to 80 minutes on a full charge, or all day if it stays on its charging coaster. A quality one will run you over $100 on Amazon, but this more affordable one for $16 seems perfectly fine. Ember Smart Mug 6"W x 6"H, 295 Milliliters, Scratch Resistant, Programmable $109.95 at Amazon $129.95 Save $20.00 Get Deal Get Deal $109.95 at Amazon $129.95 Save $20.00 Foodie crowd-pleasersAfter all, everyone needs to eat. Gourmet hot sauce set. Maybe they're a true spice enthusiast; maybe they just love watching celebrities sweat on Hot Ones. Either way, help them add some heat to their meals with this hot sauce variety pack for $24.99. Unique tea or coffee sampler. Ooh, a collection of exotic flavors to tantalize their taste buds. If you know that spices or sweets are going to be too much for your gift recipient, you can play it safe while still giving them something new to try. Depending on your budget, you can stick to a tasteful Tea Forte Tea Tasting Assortment for under $20, or spring for the Atlas Coffee Club World of Coffee Discovery Set for $59.99. Artisan chocolate tasting box. Because who doesn't love high-quality chocolate? Or, who doesn't love re-gifting high-quality chocolate to someone else? Again, your personal Secret Santa budget will dictate how decadent you get. Consider my personal favorite, this Taza Mexican-style chocolate sampler $28, or perhaps a fancier assorted truffles Godiva box for $50.00. Cozy comfort gifts'Tis the season for snuggling up and embracing laziness. Fuzzy socks multipack. Soft, warm, and always appreciated. If you're working with a tighter budget, you can play it safe with a multipack for just $17.99. Weighted eye mask. A luxurious touch for better sleep and relaxation. I stole one from my mom last year, and now I don't go a night without it. I recommend one with lavender stuffed into it, but everyone has different scent preferences. Here's a 3D sleep mask currently on sale for $15.99. Microwaveable heated slippers. The ultimate comfort gift for cold days. And delicious once warmed up! Just kidding. Please don't eat them. Available for $26. Creative findsGet them something you're sure they won't get themselves. Desk plant terrarium kit. A mini garden for the plant lover or office dweller. Get a cool geometric glass pattern, like this one currently on sale for $37. Raunchy adult card games. Think Cards Against Humanity or any similar party game that encourage players to let loose and feel funny. I recommend We're Not Really Strangers to really streamline breaking the ice with acquaintances and close friends alike. Prompts include "what part of your life works," "what part of your life hurts," and even just "admit something." Available for $25. Scratch-off adventure poster. A fun way to track and plan future experiences. Get ones themed around national parks, date ideas, or even "things to do with dad." All reasonably priced around $22. Cute Farms Glass Terrarium Kit | Just Add Your Own Plants (Geometric Glass) $36.76 at Amazon $45.95 Save $9.19 Get Deal Get Deal $36.76 at Amazon $45.95 Save $9.19 Self-care indulgencesHelp them treat themselves to a little luxury. Essential oil diffuser. A compact way to bring calm and aromatherapy anywhere. You can get the diffuser itself for around $20, but a smart move is to bundle it with premium essential oils, currently on sale for for $30.99. Fancy face mask set. Pamper-worthy skincare that feels like a spa day. Everyone has done a sheet mask before, but I highly encourage you to try out a true clay mask. This fun K Beauty variety pack is $14.95. Stress-relief squeeze toys. Cute and functional stress-busters. Make sure to share a knowing look with your fellow weary coworkers on this one. This fidget cube for adults is on sale for $13.95, or a significantly sillier "calma llama" is on sale for $12. Essential Oil Diffuser with Essential Oils Set 6.6"L x 6.6"W x 4.76"H, 500 Milliliters $30.99 at Amazon $36.99 Save $6.00 Get Deal Get Deal $30.99 at Amazon $36.99 Save $6.00 Extra tips for Secret Santa successThe advantage of Secret Santa over White Elephant is the ability to gain intel on your target. So, make sure to actually consider your gift recipient's interests and personality. Do research by asking mutual friends about their interests, stalk their social media for clues, and of course lie to your recipient about who you have so you can throw them off the scent. Remember, presentation matters—a little creative wrapping goes a long way. Another budget-friendly bonus: Most of these gifts come in under $25, giving you some wiggle room for a cute card or extra little add-on. Lifehacker's Stephen Johnson says that he goes with a lottery ticket—who knows, they could be a winner! Ultimately, the best gifts show you've put thought into the person, not how much money you've spent. (And hey, no matter how confident you feel in your gift-giving abilities, always include a gift receipt.) View the full article

After writing about productivity and organization for the past few years, I understand better than most that the vast majority of the advice you'll get about working more efficiently asks you to carefully schedule your day, plan out the exact type and number of tasks you're going to do, and be diligent to the point of near-militancy—literally. I also know better than anyone else what works for me, personally—and it usually looks like nothing so meticulous. Assiduous preplanning and scheduling can be beneficial for a lot of people, but there is no universally effective productivity technique. If the intricate routes aren't working for you or you simply find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer number of items on your to-do list, there's a far simpler, more straightforward, and easier method to try. It's the "one more" approach, and it's one of my favorite productivity hacks because it works extremely well in a variety of situations. What is the "one more" approach?I'm borrowing the name "one more" from a Reddit poster who referred to the technique that way, though I've done this for years without putting a name to it. The creator described how they prefer to break their tasks up into small pieces, then continually challenge themselves to do just "one more" mini-task before stopping. The example used was dealing with emails: When you have a load of messages to sort through and respond to, it can be daunting. If you use a classic technique to schedule time into your calendar just to tackle them all, you'll be faced with the harsh reality that there are dozens of pieces of correspondence that need your attention. It's demoralizing, and it may even cause you to procrastinate, making things worse in the long run. But if, instead of setting a time or amount, you just get to work and urge yourself to tackle "one more" email at a time, you'll feel motivated every time you you cross one off the list. If you feel energized enough to continue, well, you only have to do "one more." Examples where this will be effective abound. When I was discussing the concept with my colleagues this morning, Lifehacker Senior Health Editor Beth Skwarecki noted she does something similar in the gym: She asks herself, "Can I do one more rep?" or "Can I do one more minute?" and that keeps her moving. And actually, the gym is where I use this strategy the most: It's overwhelming to realize you have 17 minutes left to go on the treadmill, or five reps left on a heavy weight, so don't think that far ahead. Can you do one more? And can you still do one more after that? And after that? Where I find this most helpful, though, is cleaning. I hate cleaning, but I must do it, especially because I love being in a clean space. I have tried every kind of approach you can think of, but the only one that works is a combination of the two-minute rule and the one-more rule. Basically, as soon as I think of doing something or the motivation hits me, I just pop up and do it. If I catch sight of a dirty baseboard at the opportune moment, no matter what I'm doing, I just try to get up and get it over with instead of concocting some convoluted, multi-step cleaning strategy I will surely punk out on. When I finish the baseboard, I ask myself whether I can do one more thing. Almost always, after feeling a little motivated from my first task, I find I can take the garbage out, clean my fan, vacuum my rug, or whatever. Why "one more" is an effective productivity strategyAll big tasks are really comprised of smaller ones and, taken individually, those smaller tasks aren't as daunting. It's overwhelming to write a 10-page essay, but not that bad to think about it one page at a time. Every time you get one of the small parts done, you feel good about having done it. You get a boost of confidence, and you're ready to do it again. This approach is best suited to tasks that aren't especially urgent, so use a system like the Eisenhower matrix to figure out which of the jobs on your to-do list can be tackled this way. Then again, even that is a lot of planning and I don't practice what I preach here too well. I'm more inclined to make a big list of to-dos, but then, just by virtue of them being fresh in my mind from writing them down, get after them when the mood hits me. I keep a loose idea of what is and isn't important, hit the important ones first whenever I can, and try to push forward—at least with tasks that don't necessitate scheduling. This doesn't work for me at my job, of course, but it works on personal pursuits. That said, while you can use "one more" for one-off tasks, it can also work when you break complex jobs down into smaller components. Even as you're working on something bigger, you'll get that small sense of accomplishment and reinforce the feeling that you're chipping away at the larger task. Especially when it's something you don't really want to do—like working out or cleaning—thinking small in this way can keep you from getting burned out. If a project is overwhelming you, break it down into its smallest components and just do one, without worrying about how much time you have. Keep going with just one more until you you're out of time or finished with the job. If you find you can't do one more, even just because you feel tired or burned out, take a break. Taking breaks is fundamental to maintaining productivity, so let the honest answer to, "Can I do one more?" actually guide you. The goal is to boost your motivation and confidence, not demoralize you, so don't beat yourself up if you can't get through everything without a rest. View the full article

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning people to stop using certain types of glucose monitor sensors after the company that makes them, Abbott Diabetes Care, said the devices were linked to seven deaths and more than 700 injuries. Certain FreeStyle Libre 3 and FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensors may provide incorrect low glucose readings, FDA officials said this week. Such readings over an extended period may lead people with diabetes to make bad treatment decisions, such as consuming too many carbohydrates or skipping or delaying doses of insulin. “These decisions may pose serious health risks, including potential injury or death,” the FDA said in the alert. The sensors are devices that measure glucose levels in fluid just beneath the skin to provide real-time measurements of sugar in the blood. Information from the sensor is sent wirelessly to a device or phone. The warning affects about three million sensors in the U.S. from a single production line, Abbott officials said in a statement. About half those devices have expired or been used, the company added. As of Nov. 14, the company reported seven deaths worldwide and 736 serious adverse events. No deaths occurred in the U.S., where 57 injuries were reported. Abbott has notified all customers of the problem. The company said it has identified and resolved the issue in the affected production lot. The FDA said people should stop using affected sensors and discard them. The problem involved FreeStyle Libre 3 sensors with model numbers 72080-01 with unique device identifiers 00357599818005 and 00357599819002. It also involved FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensors with model numbers 78768-01 and 78769-01 and unique device identifiers 00357599844011 and 00357599843014. People can visit www.FreeStyleCheck.com to check if their sensors are potentially affected and request a replacement, the company said. No other FreeStyle Libre products are affected. —— The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. —Jonel Aleccia, AP Health Writer View the full article

Residents in London commuter town have been warned not to use the water to drink, cook, brush teeth or bathe childrenView the full article

Scented candle lovers, the day you have waited for all year is finally here. Today marks the kick-off of the annual Candle Day sales event from Bath & Body Works, during which the retailer’s pricey scented wax pillars will go for just a third of their regular cost. Here’s what you need to know about Candle Day 2025. What is Candle Day 2025? Candle Day is Bath & Body Works’ annual candle sale bonanza. Throughout the year, many of the company’s three-wick candles go for $29.95 each, but during Candle Day, many of those candles can be had for prices as low as $9.95. Due to the massive savings, Candle Day is a sales event that candle lovers across America look forward to each year. However, don’t let the “Candle Day” name fool you. Much like Amazon Prime Day, the title of the event is a bit misleading. As with Prime “Day,” Candle “Day” is not actually only a 24-hour event and instead runs across multiple days. During the event, Bath & Body Works says, over 180 varieties of candles will be on sale. When is Candle Day 2025? There are two different elements to Bath & Body Works’ Candle Day 2025: the online element and the in-store element. Candle Day’s deals are available both in-store and online, but the online portion of the sale actually kicks off earlier. For Candle Day 2025, the online (and mobile app) deals began at 10 p.m. last night, December 4. The in-store Candle Day event officially kicks off this morning at 6 a.m. Candle Day 2025 then runs both online and in-store from Friday, December 5, through Sunday, December 7. How much are Candle Day prices? Most three-wick candles at Bath & Body Works cost around $29.95 throughout the year. But during the Candle Day sales event, many of those same candles can be purchased for just $9.95. Customers will get the same sale price no matter if they shop online, in the mobile app, or in-store. Are there any new or limited-edition candles for Candle Day 2025? Yes. This year, Bath & Body Works is unveiling new, limited-time, and limited-edition candles for Candle Day 2025. The 2025 limited-edition candle is called Holiday Dill-ight, which the company describes as “Inspired by the quirky holiday tradition.” The company is also unveiling several new candle collections. The “Sunday Funday” collection includes Neapolitan Ice Cream, Gummy Candies, Glazed Cherries, Butterscotch Swirl, Sugared Waffle Cone, and Hot Fudge Drizzle. The “Perfect Pairings” collection includes Coffee & Donuts, Chips & Salsa, Pizza & Ranch, and Popcorn & Slushie. And the “Holiday Bucket List” collection includes new candles like Rum Rum Reindeer and Christmas Road Trip, along with returning holiday favorites Sweater Weather, Merry Mimosa, and Vanilla Balsam. Candle Day 2025 marks the retailer’s 14th Candle Day event. It comes just days after Newell Brands, parent company of Yankee Candle, announced it would be closing 20 Yankee Candle stores this year. Bath & Body Works has also struggled this year, reporting a 1% decrease in net sales for its third quarter. It expects sales will decline in the “low single digits” for the full year. Shares in Bath & Body Works (NYSE: BBWI) are down almost 50% in 2025. View the full article

The District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virgina (DMV) region is emerging as a national test case for the future of office space. As cities across the country grapple with persistent office vacancies, D.C. is taking a bold approach: Instead of focusing solely on residential conversions, it is pioneering a broader strategy to convert offices to…anything. While the concept of office conversions isn’t new, most efforts have been centered on residential use. D.C.’s strategy breaks that mold. In January 2025, the city launched the Central Washington Activation Projects Temporary Tax Abatement, better known as the Office to Anything program. This policy targets buildings that aren’t suitable for housing conversion and opens the door to a wider range of uses. With this program, D.C. is positioning itself as a laboratory for alternative office conversions, from data centers to hospitality and mixed-use spaces. As federal workforce reductions continue and General Service Administration (GSA) leases expire, the DMV faces mounting vacancies. This presents a rare opportunity for other cities to watch D.C.’s approach in action and consider how similar policies could reshape their own urban cores. WHY D.C.’S OFFICE MARKET SIGNALS A NATIONAL SHIFT The DMV is ground zero for federal downsizing, with one-fifth of all federal workers, according to Brookings, and 46 million square feet of office space leased by the government. With our Federal Property Pulse (FPP) tool, we are tracking these GSA leases and cancellations across the U.S. Since January 2025, 24 leases in the region have been canceled, contributing to 1.9 million square feet of vacant office space. This is over 4% of the total space leased by the GSA. The FPP shows that another 9.98 million square feet of space could enter the already struggling DMV office market in the next year. This is a critical moment for the region. As the structure of the federal government continues to evolve, so must the economic core. Brookings’ DMV Monitor reported a mismatch in displaced federal government workers and available private sector positions. While there are new jobs entering the market, many of these are unsuited to the 17,000 displaced federal government workers, as the new roles are concentrated in construction, hospitality, and healthcare sectors. As GSA lease expiries and cancellations increase and federal workforce reduction continues, D.C. could become a case study for the role of office conversions in supporting a shifting economic core. FEDERAL LEASE EXPIRIES: A TICKING CLOCK FOR OFFICES A wave of expiring federal leases is approaching. As part of the effort to cut government spending, the GSA will reduce its leased footprint by allowing expiring leases to lapse without renewal. With the GSA leasing 145 million square feet of office space across the U.S., the DMV will not be the only region affected. Of that space, 51.4 million square feet are already in holdover, soft-term, or nearing soft-term. While we can predict an influx of former GSA-leased properties will enter the market, lease terms make it difficult to know exact timing. GSA leases typically include a noncancellable “hard-term” followed by a “soft-term,” where leases can be terminated with 120–180 days’ notice. This creates uncertainty around when properties will re-enter the market. UNLOCK NEW USES FOR OFFICE SPACE The initial hype around office-to-residential conversions was driven by a rise in vacant office properties in favorable downtown neighborhoods. These properties helped address housing shortages, but many of the most viable buildings have already been repurposed. With residential conversion options narrowing, cities must assess market demand and local economic drivers to identify alternative uses. The D.C. Office to Anything policy seeks to reposition underutilized office assets into higher-performing uses based on zoning, market demand, and building characteristics. Key alternative uses include small-scale industrial, data centers, hospitality, and mixed-use spaces. Looking beyond the office-to-residential model could offer cheaper conversions and shorter timelines. Small scale industrial and logistics conversions come in around $100-$150 per square foot with timelines of 6 to 12 months, while residential conversions cost $250-$400 per square foot with 24-to-36-month timelines. Not only do industrial uses offer lower conversion costs, but shorter timelines could also result in quick returns on investment. It isn’t only a matter of cost and timelines; alternative office conversions are better suited to meet the needs of an individual market. For some cities, data centers are emerging as an opportunity for conversion. With a projected shortfall of over 15 gigawatts of processing power by 2030, vacant office properties located near economic and urban centers could help to curb demand. In particular, offices can be converted to edge computing facilities that distribute processing and data storage, keeping these capabilities closer to data sources. WHAT MAKES CONVERSIONS WORK? Successful conversions depend on two things: physical feasibility and financial viability. Local government support is key to improving the viability of conversions through streamlined approval processes, zoning flexibility, and financial support. Zoning is one of the first, and more formidable hurdles that office conversions face. If a commercial property cannot be rezoned, the entire viability of the project falls apart. Downtowns with zoning flexibility will see the most success in the long run. In Texas, statewide zoning flexibility is enabling office conversions in cities like Dallas. Local government can also play a major role in determining the financial viability of a conversion project. Without tax incentives or subsidies, the cost of conversions could be prohibitive. This is part of what makes D.C.’s Office to Anything conversions so appealing. Providing a 15-year temporary property tax freeze, the policy improves viability. Combined with the potential for lower conversion costs for nonresidential uses, these projects could become more appealing for developers. SCALE THE STRATEGY The DMV isn’t alone in facing office vacancy challenges. Across the U.S., millions of square feet in GSA properties stand to enter the market. D.C. can show us what to do with that vacant space. Office conversions don’t have to mean housing, they can mean anything. As cities continue to rethink their economic cores, the success of D.C.’s Office to Anything strategy could redefine how we use space. Mark Rose is chair and CEO of Avison Young. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. A major component of productivity is prioritizing your daily responsibilities and addressing them in an order that makes sense, which is why to-do lists are so important. Usually, I suggest using the Eisenhower Matrix, which helps you visually sort tasks according to how urgent and important they are, but there is another way: The ABCDE method, which comes from Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy. Obviously, eating the frog—or doing your biggest, most demanding task first each day—is one way to tackle the day’s duties, but structuring out how you’ll do the rest is pretty important, too. Here’s how it works. What is the ABCDE method of productivity?The ABCDE method is a simple way to categorize whatever you need to do and figure out which things are most pressing, most demanding, and most relevant. Using it can be a solid first step to making your to-do list, especially if you’re following a model like the 1-3-5 list, which requires you to do one major task, three medium-sized ones, and five small ones every day. Figuring out the big, medium, and small tasks is actually a task in itself (but it doesn’t count as one of the five, sorry). This approach is a little easier than similar prioritization techniques because it's more subjective. When you are planning out your day, you’re going to give each task in front of you a grade. First, list out everything you need to do. This can be a list of your tasks for the day, week, or month—you’ll weed it all down eventually. Then, give them each a grade based on this outline: A is for the most important tasks, like anything that will have a consequence if it doesn’t get done. These are the “frog” tasks that will require resources and time, but they can also be something that doesn’t take a lot of time but does have a hefty associated punishment for failure, like paying a bill on time. B tasks are ones that also need to get done, but won’t have such serious ramifications if they’re not done immediately. You know you need to do them at some point (lest they escalate to the urgency of an A task) but you have a little wiggle room. If you have a make-or-break exam in a month, studying for it now might be a B task, but if you wait too long, it'll quickly become A. C tasks don’t have any consequences for not getting done, but are things it would be good to get taken care of. For me, a C task might be responding to a PR pitch to say I’m not interested in interviewing their client. I didn’t need to do it, but it’s a nice thing to do that keeps a professional relationship friendly. (Conversely, a B task would be responding to someone’s publicity agent right away when they’re trying to nail down a time for an interview. An A task would be doing the interview.) D tasks are anything that you can delegate to someone else. The person you give it to shouldn’t have any A or B tasks it will take away from; it should become a priority for them, even if it’s not major for you or simply something you trust they’ll get done right. This is where it gets a little subjective and may not work for everyone. If you're a manager at work or the adult in your household, this is easy enough, but if you're working on personal tasks, it's not always relevant. You can think a little more abstractly here, if it helps. Sometimes, when I have a lot of laundry to do, I'm overly busy, and it's bordering on being an A task, I actually turn it into a D task by calling a pick-up and delivery service. Think of things you can outsource, even if you aren't exactly in a position to "delegate." Even an A or B task like "plan tonight's meal" or "clean the house" could be a D task if you're in a position to order a pizza or hire a cleaner. Be open to seeing D tasks among everything on your list, even if it takes some practice, as it clears the way for more As and Bs. E tasks are ones you eliminate altogether. If they serve absolutely no purpose, have no consequences attached to them, or may even pull you off course, just don’t do them. This is a pretty relative grade, though: Say you wanted to go to the grocery store and try a new recipe tonight but just don’t have time. You have enough food at home, so you don't even need takeout. It’s fine to eliminate it this time, but when you deplete all your food, the grocery store trip will roar back onto the list in a higher position. Other E tasks may never reappear; they’re just inconsequential. Ignore them to reduce pressure on yourself. Even giving yourself permission not to do things can be a major motivator and is a productivity method of its own. Like I said, this is a little subjective and it may take some time to get the hang of accurately categorizing your tasks. There are other, more intense ways of prioritizing your daily responsibilities and if you're struggling with giving your to-dos a grade, you might need to try something a little more data-focused. The goal here is to be quick and efficient so you can stop stressing about what needs to be done, then prioritize it, and just start doing it. Use the ABCDE grades to be more productiveOnce every task has been assigned a grade, start planning out your day (and week and month). Here’s where that 1-3-5 to-do list comes in: The one big task should be an A task, something that is urgent and timely, and/or requires major resources and focus. The three medium-sized tasks might include a smaller A-level one, but will most likely be Bs. For the five smaller tasks, pick up any leftover B grades and, if you want, Cs. As for the D-level things, outsourcing and coordinating on them might still require enough work to qualify carrying out the delegation as one of your five smaller tasks, but it depends how much effort that really takes and what the rest of your day is looking like. Don’t shoot the messenger, but you might have to fall back on a C task to get the delegation taken care of. The E grades can just be crossed off. Go ahead and delete them or strike them out. It’ll feel good (and productive) to get that finality on them. Once you’ve organized which tasks are necessary for the day, look ahead at the week and make sure you keep any B-level responsibilities in mind and roll them over to a day that works for you if you don’t have time that particular day. Putting them off will turn them into As pretty quickly. As always, rely on timeboxing to schedule out the day from there. Allocate time for each task in your calendar, giving yourself the most time for major A-level duties and less and less time for B and C. Don’t multitask; instead, do each thing in order, starting by eating the frog and moving through the other things one at a time until they’re done. (The exception here is that if you’re delegating tasks, try to get it done early so the other person has time to complete what should be an A- or B-level job for them, too.) Grading your responsibilities is an easy way to get perspective on them and enhance your sense of urgency around them, which compels you to be more productive. Getting it all into an ordered list gives you structure and direction, wastes less time throughout the day, and will give you a sense of accomplishment when you’re done, which itself is a productivity win. View the full article

The UK shadow justice secretary on embracing populism, his political ambitions — and whether there will be an alliance with ReformView the full article

Greetings, and welcome back to Fast Company’s Plugged In. Even by tech-industry standards, the air of serene confidence OpenAI CEO Sam Altman projects in public appearances is overwhelming. Still, that doesn’t mean he never sweats behind the scenes. Indeed, we learned this week that Altman is downright concerned about the future of his company’s flagship product, ChatGPT. On December 1, The Information’s Stephanie Palazzolo and Erin Woo reported that Altman had initiated a “code red” effort within OpenAI to make its chatbot more personalized and customizable. The move involves diverting resources from other efforts, such as developing AI agents and monetizing the company’s platform through advertising. Drawing on an Altman memo distributed to OpenAI staffers, Palazzolo and Woo’s story says he called now “a critical time for ChatGPT.” Their piece doesn’t spell out the reasons for his alarm in much detail. But it ties his redeployment of resources to Google’s recent surge as a provider of AI platforms and products, which Altman called out as at least a short-term issue for OpenAI in an earlier memo. Since he wrote that one, Google released Gemini 3 Pro. The new version of its LLM has achieved breakthrough high scores in multiple AI benchmarks, along with excellent reviews. No wonder Altman is feeling pressured. ChatGPT’s historic success leaves OpenAI with more to lose than any other AI chatbot company. In October, Altman said it had reached 800 million active weekly users, a figure few tech products have ever reached. I don’t know of any truly reliable comparative stats on usage of the major AI chatbots. But every chart I’ve seen tells a similar story, with ChatGPT sailing along by itself in the stratosphere and everyone else huddled in its shadow. Why is that? Well, with ChatGPT OpenAI created the modern AI chatbot category, giving itself a head start that still matters three years later. People who use these products have different tastes and priorities, but ChatGPT has evolved rapidly. It remains one of the strongest options, even though GPT-5 turned out to be ludicrously overhyped. Despite furious competition from startups and tech giants alike—including worthy contenders such as Anthropic’s Claude—nobody has come up with anything manifestly superior enough to knock it off its pedestal. But it might be a mistake to assume that ChatGPT has an everlasting lock on its market, akin to the one Google secured in conventional search engines early in this century. Altman clearly doesn’t think so. And over the past couple of weeks, I’ve come to think the market might be more fluid than I realized. That’s because I’ve found myself spending far less time with ChatGPT (as well as Claude, my other chatbot of habit). Instead, I’ve taken almost all of my AI needs to Google’s new version of Gemini. Now, when I wrote about Gemini 3 Pro for Plugged In shortly after its release, I did tend to accentuate the negative. That was based on experiencing some pretty severe hallucinations on its part, some of which it oddly tried to blame on others. Having used the new Gemini a lot more since then, I’ve given it more opportunities to impress me—and it has. I’ve used it for everything from discovering lesser-known bossa nova music to vibe coding to figuring out how to manually install apps on my network server. In those instances when I tried the same task with ChatGPT, I’ve consistently liked Gemini’s responses better. But the lesson I’ve drawn isn’t just that Google’s AI has improved by several orders of magnitude since the days when Bard, its proto-Gemini, was a slightly embarrassing also-ran. It’s also dawned on me that absolutely nothing is keeping me from leaving ChatGPT for Gemini. It’s been one of the most frictionless transitions between platforms I’ve ever experienced. For instance, no learning curve was involved: The two chatbots have damn near the same user interface. Nor did I have anything stored in ChatGPT that provided a powerful incentive to stay there, the way my Gmail archive (and rules I’ve set up to organize my inbox) induces me to keep using Gmail. Even ChatGPT’s memory feature—which tries to mine your chat history to improve its responses—hasn’t figured out enough about me to make the app stickier. It still feels more like an eager-to-please stranger than an old friend. As does Gemini and every other AI bot. As a person who uses AI, the realization that I’m not boxed into ChatGPT has been . . . kind of thrilling, actually. For OpenAI, however, it’s a problem. I currently pay OpenAI $20 a month for ChatGPT Plus and Google $26 a month for a Workspace Business Plus account. But along with enterprise-grade Gemini, Google’s $26-per-month plan gets me a full complement of productivity tools, 5TB of cloud storage, and more. At some point, ChatGPT Plus might look expendable—especially if I continue to prefer Gemini. Now multiply my decision process by the 220 million paying users OpenAI has said it expects to have by 2030. Without them, the business model behind its mind-bendingly expensive plan to build out its data center capacity would crumble. If users of ChatGPT’s free plan defect to Gemini in significant numbers, it would also complicate the company’s intention of becoming an ad platform. Altman understands all this. That’s why he set off the code-red alarm to quickly bolster ChatGPT’s user experience. It explains why he’s particularly focused on personalization and customization, two features that would help the chatbot feel less like an easily replaceable commodity. According to The Information’s report, Altman’s memo also said that OpenAI is about to release a new reasoning model that beats Gemini 3 in its internal tests. Personally, I hope that the company’s gambit to quickly make ChatGPT much better pays off. If it does, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, and other AI purveyors will feel even more heat to make similar great leaps forward. May the best chatbot win. And even if they start to feel like they truly understand our needs and desires, may it remain as simple to flit between them as it is now. You’ve been reading Plugged In, Fast Company’s weekly tech newsletter from me, global technology editor Harry McCracken. If a friend or colleague forwarded this edition to you—or if you’re reading it on fastcompany.com—you can check out previous issues and sign up to get it yourself every Friday morning. I love hearing from you: Ping me at hmccracken@fastcompany.com with your feedback and ideas for future newsletters. I’m also on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads, and you can follow Plugged Inon Flipboard. More top tech stories from Fast Company The Browser Company’s Tara Feener is advancing search for the AI era The recent Atlassian acquisition’s head of engineering on how it aims to build the ultimate AI browser for knowledge workers. Read More → The choice to be interviewed by a human or AI could hurt some job candidates A new University of Chicago analysis finds that a candidate’s choice of an AI or human interviewer unintentionally signals their strengths and weaknesses. Read More → Jeff Bezos calls his AI company ‘Project Prometheus.’ So does this California lawyer Tensions over names and trademarks aren’t new in Silicon Valley. Read More → 92% of millennials use dating apps while at work Recent survey data also shows that 74% of Gen Z do the same. Read More → The President’s anti-EV rules aren’t stopping California’s electric truck boom—yet More than 15% of medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold in California in 2023 were zero-emission. Can that trend continue despite the uncertainty the The President administration brings? Read More → The Fast Company AI 20 for 2025 These 20 technologists, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and creative thinkers are pushing artificial intelligence in unexpected directions. → View the full article

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The data center boom is fully underway, and the numbers are staggering: billions of dollars in costs, millions of square feet worth of buildings, gigawatts of energy, and millions of gallons of water used per day. But before these AI-fueling behemoths can get up and running, there’s an extensive amount of prep work needed to build the infrastructure those data centers rely upon, with a whole other set of staggering costs, material flows, and resource requirements. The infrastructure behind (and below) the data center boom is in the midst of its own massive scale building boom, with no end in sight. That’s created a thriving business for the companies that provide the raw materials used to make that infrastructure. “The focus for the most part is always on the facility . . . but what gets a lot less attention today is actually what it takes to build the infrastructure around them,” says Nathan Creech, president of the Americas division at CRH, the $81 billion market cap building materials company. “Most people don’t see the below-the-ground infrastructure for water, for telecom, for energy that it takes, or the road systems to get in.” CRH is the largest building materials company in North America and Europe, providing aggregates, cement, road, and water infrastructure for building projects around the world. The company is currently working on more than 100 data centers in the U.S. This data center work was highlighted in the company’s third quarter financial results as a “robust” growth area and part of its $11.1 billion in quarterly revenue, which the company expects to continue to rise for the foreseeable future. Most of CRH’s large data center projects are covered by nondisclosure agreements, but you can probably imagine some of its potential customers. As competition for AI dominance heats up, so-called hyperscalers like Amazon, Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle are investing in ever bigger data centers. AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have announced multibillion-dollar data center building sprees. According to one report, total data center construction spending is expected to exceed $52 billion in 2025. These investments will lead to a lot of state-of-the-art buildings. But first, they’ll require even more traditional infrastructure. And with construction material costs rising 40% over the past five years, all that infrastructure is part of the reason so much money is being spent to build these data centers. “Think about the water, energy, and communication systems required to operate them—it’s a huge logistical challenge and demands a significant amount of expertise,” says Creech. What it takes to build a data center Once a big tech company has identified the site for a new data center—a process that requires its own complex calculus to balance spatial demands, electricity generation capacity, and access to water—a significant amount of concrete and asphalt has to be laid down. The estimated size of data centers varies from 20,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet, but CRH notes that average data center building typically requires 150,000 tons of aggregates, or enough to build a four-mile long lane of interstate highway. This is used to lay the concrete foundation for the building, as well as subsurface structures like water retention cisterns and retaining walls. Most of this material is mined and supplied locally. Roads have to be built to access these sites both during construction and operation, requiring even more raw materials. CRH operates more than 2,000 manufacturing plants and quarries across the U.S., and Creech estimates that 85% of U.S. data centers sit within 30 miles of one of these facilities. For those projects that aren’t located near an existing facility, CRH builds them. “You hear about the main investments, but what you never hear about are the investments that we’re making in greenfields and building out new mines and making sure that there’s asphalt plants and concrete plants and pipe plants and paver plants that are in the area,” Creech says. “Because our products, you can’t ship them very far.” Speed has become a priority for many of these projects. Earlier this year Meta revealed that it was accelerating the startup time for new data centers by building them with hurricane-proof tents. A spokesperson told Fast Company at the time that tents are currently being set up as part of at least one of the multi-gigawatt data centers the company is building, located in New Albany, Ohio. Creech says this time pressure has also changed the way CRH approaches these big projects. Typically site works and utility infrastructure can take between three and six months to build, but he says there have been cases where CRH has sped up the delivery timeline of the baseline concrete pad infrastructure to just four weeks. The race to stand up AI data centers has some analysts concerned about overbuilding, cautioning that dynamics in data center technology and future demands may put some of the infrastructure being built at risk of becoming obsolete or even unnecessary. Some have even called this an “infrastructure bubble.” In the near term, none of these concerns seem to be stopping the building boom that’s now underway. And as it continues to progress, it’s going to require a whole lot of concrete. View the full article

Big players, Wall Street and tech firms stand to gain. Community lenders call for policymakers to protect g-fee parity and the cash window. Part 5 in a series. View the full article

Bank statement loans, a home equity credit card and a blockchain investment product are among the new offerings designed to reach an $11 trillion market. View the full article

Columbia Sportswear just lauched its Endor collection, and I want it all. Inspired by the clothes worn by the rebel squad that took on the Death Star’s shield generator in Return of the Jedi, it’s the latest and largest Star Wars drop from Portland, Oregon-based company. It’s also the best fit for the brand since its Empire Strikes Back‘s Echo Base Han Solo parkas, which I missed back in 2017, and I will forever feel like a dumb Tauntaun for not grabbing one (they run for almost $1,000 each now). The highlight of the collection is General Han Solo’s Trench, a $600 jacket that mimics the camouflage duster that Harrison Ford wore while leading the strike team on the forest moon. Unlike cheap Amazon costumes, this and the rest of the line is built with actual functional specs, using an Interchange system that pairs a waterproof shell with an inner vest lined with Columbia’s Omni-Heat Infinity gold thermal reflectors. Yes, the fabric that literally went to space (unlike Ford). It’s loaded with fan-service details, including Aurebesh messages—the basic galaxy alphabet—and a Rebel Alliance patch, but it’s the practical application that matters. You can wear it to sneak into an Imperial bunker or just to survive a rainy commute in Seattle. Six hundred galactic credits for a trench may seem like a lot, but according to Erin Steele, Special Projects Manager for Columbia Sportswear, the Endor drop’s prices are consistent with similar styles in their product line. Steele says that like the other Star Wars drops they developed closely with Disney and Lucasfilm, this clothing line is very far from cosplay. “The Battle of Endor is such an outdoor rich moment in the film, so we were really excited by the range of silhouettes, especially since outerwear is truly our specialty,” she says. “While we leaned heavily on the original costume pieces for inspiration, we identified silhouettes that are modern and wearable for everyday life.” In the movie, she points out, Han is wearing a standard trench layered over his vest and shirt. In their version, they translated those layers into the company’s 3-in-1 multilayer technology, called Interchange. Plus they added a hood that wasn’t in the original. If you want to look more like Luke or Leia speeding through the redwoods, there is the Endor Issue Poncho, which goes for $400. This piece replicates the hand-sprayed camouflage look of the original film costumes, but adds modern waterproofing. For those who prefer something less flowing, the Endor Issue Cargo Vest ($150) and Endor Issue Pant ($130) offer a more tactical, everyday utility vibe. Both feature the collection’s signature camo print and functional pockets, making them the most wearable items if you don’t want to look like you just walked off a convention floor. There is the $220 Endor Issue Boot, a rugged hiker that has a Rebel insignia on the tongue and comes with two sets of laces, because apparently, even in a galaxy far, far away, shoe customization was a thing, too. And, of course, you can’t do Endor without the anthropophagous murder bears. I hate with a vengeance almost as much as I hate to admit that the Ewok Fleece Jacket is pretty damn cute. It is exactly what it sounds like: a high-pile, ultrasoft fleece jacket that has a Ewok-shaped hood with ears on it. It’s available in adult sizes for $80, and in youth ($75) or infant bunting ($70) versions if you have kids. One bit I like: It features original concept art on the chest patch, a nice nod to the Lucasfilm archives. Same technology as the regular Columbia stuff According to Becca Johnson, the company’s special projects director, the Ewok Bunting and Jacket use “tried-and-true plush, cozy fleece, with warmth as the main objective for those styles.” She says that “during testing with kids, they were so well received that they literally didn’t want to take them off.” They do look comfy. Although they are clearly Star Wars design, the nature of the Endor drop makes it look like a perfect fit for a company like Columbia. They work just the same, too. Johnson tells me that all these products use their core technologies for body and footwear. “All of these materials have already gone through rigorous real-world testing. We know they perform in dense, damp environments here on Earth, so we’re confident they’ll hold up just as well on Endor,” Johnson says. The collection drops on December 11, 2025. If you are a Columbia Greater Rewards member, you get early access at 6:30 a.m. PST; everyone else has to wait until 7 a.m. PST. Given how fast previous drops have sold out (the Empire Strikes Back Han Solo’s parka sold out in just six minutes), you might want to set an alarm and hope the Force is with you. Or just wait five years and pay triple on eBay like I am tempted to do with that damn coat every single winter. View the full article

While the iPhone 17 is expected to be one of the hottest gifts this holiday season, some of the early adopters of Apple’s latest phone may be moving on to something different already. New data from B-Stock, a B2B marketplace for wholesale liquidation of returned and overstock inventory, finds that large cellular carriers are already moving “bulk quantities” of iPhone 17s through the resale channels for B2B customers. One sale on the site currently offers 111 iPhone 17 Pro Max units (with bidding for the lot standing at $80,200 as of Wednesday afternoon). All totaled, there were more than 300 iPhone 17 devices up for resale on the site as of Wednesday. The sales aren’t impacting the value of the phones, however. B-Stock says it’s seeing resale prices on the phones maintaining 94% of the retail price. And to be clear, there’s not a big wave of people returning their phones. B-Stock says the return rates are largely in line with predecessors on a percentage basis (and actually lower than the iPhone 16). But with the strong sales of the 17, an overall greater number of units is expected to be returned. The used-phone market has been gaining strength for some time. Earlier this year, tech research and advisory firm CCS Insight said the secondhand smartphone market is growing faster than the primary market, with a growth rate of 6% year over year in 2024. Apple devices make up 60% of the overall used market. “The growing demand for used smartphones is driven by a stronger desire for low-cost devices, increased consumer awareness, and partnerships between telecom operators and retailers,” said Leo Gebbie, CCS Insight’s principal analyst and director for the Americas, in a statement. “Refurbished smartphones, which are often up to 50% cheaper than new devices, now also come with warranties, flexible financing options, and reliable after-sales service, increasing consumer trust.” Last year, secondhand smartphones generated revenues of $7.6 billion in the U.S. (and another $13.2 billion in the Asia-Pacific region). Meanwhile, International Data Corp. (IDC), a market intelligence firm, forecasts global shipments of used smartphones will grow by 3.2% year over year in 2025, which is triple its prediction of sales gains from new smartphones. That’s due to a growing number of trade-in programs, improvements in the quality of refurbished devices, and a rising environmental awareness among consumers. The trend isn’t likely to slow down anytime soon. IDC expects the used smartphone market to see 5.8% growth in 2026 before tapering off slowly to 4.9% by 2029. B-Stock is not the only company seeing the latest round of iPhones hold their value. On SellCell, a marketplace for consumers to sell their smartphones and devices, the iPhone Air had a trade-in value of $760 as of Wednesday, compared with a retail price of $999 for the same model. That’s despite numerous reports that demand for the iPhone Air model was significantly lower than expected, with Apple reportedly cutting production on the line. It’s not just the iPhone 17 that’s seeing sustained demand. The iPhone 16 is retaining 72% of its original price, B-Stock reports. And the iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro Max, and iPhone 14 Pro Max are the three most frequently sold models on the site’s B2B platform. The strong demand in the used smartphone market doesn’t seem to be impacting sales of new iPhone models. Apple is expected to have a record year in 2025, thanks to the latest series of phones, with shipment forecasts of 247 million or more, IDC says. The iPhone 17 is selling very well in China, Apple’s largest market, and has reversed the slowdown Apple was seeing in the U.S. and Western Europe. In fact, the popularity of the iPhone 17 was a key reason Apple’s market capitalization topped $4 trillion earlier this year. View the full article

The Phoenix Mercury rebranded for the first time in team history, and the new look is part of a wider trend across the WNBA as teams modernize their logos for a growing league. The new Mercury logo shows an “M” that’s a simplified version of the letter taken from the team’s old script wordmark. The bottom of the “M” is angled up at 19.97 degrees as a nod to the team’s 1997 founding as one of the league’s eight original franchises, and it’s set on a circle with a crescent shadow that represents the planet Mercury. The modernized logo was designed in-house. The rebrand comes at an inflection point for the team, which lost star player Diana Taurasi to retirement in February, and lost the 2025 WNBA championship to the Las Vegas Aces in October. The Mercury are considered the WNBA’s best-run organization, according to an anonymous survey of WNBA players released by The Athletic in July, in part because of their facilities. Mercury President Vince Kozar tells Fast Company, “Our goal is to make it as easy as possible to be a fan.” It also comes at an inflection point for the league. Game attendance is at an all-time high, and the WNBA is expanding. The Golden State Valkyries joined last season, with the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo set to debut next year, and future franchises planned for Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia, which would bring the league to 18 teams by 2030. In a more crowded league, teams are simplifying their branding to stand out. Before the Mercury, the New York Liberty introduced a simplified version of the team’s Statue of Liberty logo in 2020 that’s just Lady Liberty’s hand holding a torch. And in 2021, the Seattle Storm dropped a logo showing a detailed Space Needle illustration in favor of a simpler form of the landmark. “What we learned looking at the Storm and Liberty examples was you can do a really clean modernization—one that cleans up the ’90s busyness of the logo and streamlines your color scheme—without completely rebooting or reimagining your marks,” Kozar says. The mark is the team’s primary logo, but it has other new marks too, including those that set the team name in a futuristic sans-serif font. There’s a global mark that wraps the Mercury logo in a roundel, a “Merc” logo that writes out the nickname over a map outline of the state of Arizona, and a “PHX” logo that Nike created in 2021. Kozar says these additional marks, which will appear on uniforms, courts, and merchandise, “just give our brand so much more depth and diversity.” View the full article

Policy document blasts traditional allies while failing to criticise RussiaView the full article

Authenticity is currency. You can spend it recklessly and go broke, or invest it strategically and build wealth. Most leaders are choosing bankruptcy without even realizing it. Right now, workplaces are debating authenticity. Some call “bring your whole self to work” a dangerous myth that punishes marginalized employees. Others claim it’s the secret to engagement and retention. Both are right—and both are missing something. Unfiltered authenticity without skill can be destructive. And yes, marginalized employees pay a higher price when they try to be authentic in systems that weren’t built for them. But your team already knows when you’re faking it. That difference between genuine authenticity and performed authenticity determines everything—trust, safety, retention, innovation. Think about the best leader you’ve ever had. Now the worst. What separated them? Kevin Built Wealth. Nancy Went Broke An employee once described two former managers to me—let’s call them Kevin and Nancy. Kevin had emotional intelligence. When you sent an email that landed wrong, he’d follow up: “Hey, I think you meant this . . .” He remembered small details from weeks ago. You felt seen. He operated from a place of genuine care. Nancy was polished. She said all the right things about supporting her team. But over time, you realized it was packaging—friendly but transactional. Like a car salesman calling you “buddy” while steering you toward the close. Surface-level all the way down. The result? People trusted Kevin enough to be vulnerable, to take risks, to bring their full selves. With Nancy, they performed. Stayed professional. Protected themselves. Kevin built wealth. Nancy went broke—losing her best people in the process. The Cost of Going Broke When leaders perform authenticity instead of practicing it, the price is steep. Trust erodes: Employees start second-guessing everything you say. They stop bringing you problems until they’ve become crises. They smile in meetings but vent about you in private Slack threads. Performance declines: When people feel unheard, they stop trying. They do the minimum, knowing their ideas will be dismissed or reworked later. Half-hearted efforts, wasted hours, and endless redos are all symptoms of leadership that performs authenticity instead of practicing it. Psychological safety vanishes: When you fake authenticity, your team learns to fake it right back. No one risks being vulnerable or challenges ideas. Creativity dies quietly in conference rooms where everyone nods along. Your best people leave: Not always loudly. Not immediately. But they start looking. They stop investing. They give you their labor, not their loyalty. For marginalized employees, the cost is even higher: Research shows the toll of code-switching and masking isn’t just emotional—it’s biological. Black adults, for example, “weather” years faster under chronic workplace stress, aging 6.1 years beyond their peers. Ninety-one percent of neurodivergent employees mask their traits at work, and most report burnout as a direct result. That’s what happens when people spend their careers navigating leaders like Nancy—constantly calculating, code-switching, and self-protecting while leadership performs its way through “authenticity.” It doesn’t just drain engagement—it literally accelerates aging and drives talent out the door. What Building Wealth Actually Looks Like Kevin didn’t just happen to be authentic. He had the emotional intelligence to make authenticity work. Here’s what that looks like in practice—the four pillars of authentic leadership: Self-Awareness (Know Yourself): Kevin knew his triggers and blind spots. When he got impatient, he recognized it and communicated expectations clearly instead of lashing out. Nancy probably had no idea how she came across—or worse, she knew and didn’t care. Transparency & Honesty (Show Yourself): Kevin admitted mistakes and shared challenges thoughtfully. Nancy talked about transparency but never revealed anything real. Her vulnerability was scripted. Consistency & Integrity (Be Yourself): Kevin’s actions matched his words whether you were in the room or not. People knew what to expect. Nancy adapted to the audience—warm in meetings, different behind closed doors. Respectful Adaptation (Balance Yourself): Kevin was authentic without being unfiltered. He knew how to disagree respectfully, to be real without being reckless. Nancy confused polish with professionalism and never learned the difference. Without EQ, authenticity is chaos—bluntness masquerading as bravery, oversharing disguised as vulnerability. With EQ, authenticity becomes the foundation for trust, creativity, and growth. Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself Here’s the uncomfortable truth: You might be Nancy and not know it. Cognitive dissonance lets us live with a lie. When we forfeit self-awareness for comfort, we convince ourselves we’re being authentic while we’re actually performing. We package our niceness. We script our vulnerability. We say the right words while our team watches our actions—and knows better. If this stirs some discomfort, that’s your cue to practice emotional intelligence—to pause, reflect, and not defend. Try this on Monday morning: Practice the pause. When someone challenges you, do you immediately defend—or take a beat to ask, “What if they’re right?” Audit yourself. Do you remember what your people tell you? Do you follow up weeks later? When you admit a mistake, are you learning—or just managing your image? These small acts separate the leaders building wealth from those heading toward bankruptcy. The Return on Investment When you invest authenticity wisely—with emotional intelligence as your guide—the returns compound: Trust multiplies: People stop hedging. They bring their full thinking, their wild ideas, their honest concerns. Problems get solved faster because no one’s wasting energy performing. Retention stabilizes: Your best people stay not for perks but for purpose. They don’t just work for you—they work with you. Innovation accelerates: Psychological safety fuels risk-taking. Teams build what matters—not just what looks good in presentations. Culture sustains itself: Authentic leaders create authentic teams. It spreads. New hires learn what’s truly valued—not what’s written on the wall, but what’s modeled in the room. The difference between Kevin and Nancy wasn’t personality or charisma. It was the willingness to do the inner work required to show up authentically and skillfully. Kevin built wealth because he had the emotional intelligence to make authenticity work. Nancy went broke because she never learned the difference between saying the right words and being real. The question isn’t which leader you want to be. The question is: Which leader are your people actually experiencing? View the full article

In 1983, Howard Schultz was an employee of Starbucks, a small chain of coffee stores that mainly sold beans (and no drinks), when he was sent to Milan for a trade show. As Schultz observed Italians visiting their local cafés, he loved what he saw, describing it as a “sense of community, a real sense of connection between the barista and the customer.” A few years later, after Schultz convinced Starbucks’s owners to sell him the company, the new owner attempted to build that same type of connection here in the U.S. To do so, Schultz knew he had to take care of his people. He called them “partners,” not employees, a symbol of a more collaborative working relationship. Over the years, Starbucks offered perks that were typically unheard of for part-time workers in food service, benefits like health insurance and contributions to college education. Nowadays, though, Starbucks seems to have lost the reputation for looking after its people. No doubt, at least part of the reason for that is Schultz has stepped down as CEO, multiple times, returning as the company struggled under his successors. A few years ago, after taking over on an interim basis, Schultz even went on a “listening tour,” visiting stores across the country to find out how the company had lost its way. Starbucks’s brass, and even Schultz himself, became hopeful when the company tapped Brian Niccol, former CEO of Chipotle, to take over the helm. In the world of fast food and fast casual dining, Niccol was a superstar. Most recently, he had completed a major turnaround at Chipotle, a company that saw sales double in Niccol’s first year as CEO, along with a major rise in stock price. Everyone wondered the same thing: Could Niccol do the same for Starbucks? In the beginning, I liked what I saw. Niccol vowed to return Starbucks to its roots, with a renewed focus on serving “the finest coffee” and a plan to update stores to make them more welcoming. Niccol also returned fan favorites, like condiment bars so customers have more control over customization. But as more details of Niccol’s turnaround plan surfaced, concern grew. Baristas would be required to adhere to a much stricter dress code. They were given a set of guidelines, even a script, detailing their interactions with customers. Baristas were instructed to write something “genuine” on each customer cup, with threats of repercussions if they didn’t. This is the fatal flaw in Niccol’s turnaround plans. The workplace has evolved, and command-and-control management is no longer effective, at least not long term. That’s especially true in the service industry, where trust empowers employees to connect with customers. Beyond that, Niccol’s latest policies are antithetical to how Schultz built Starbucks in the first place—a company that prided itself on putting its people at the center of everything it did. In contrast, Niccol and his team would benefit from taking a close look at a recent turnaround story, led by a CEO who, like Niccol, had experience resurrecting a dying brand: James Daunt of Barnes & Noble. A former investment banker turned bookstore owner, Daunt took over the helm of America’s largest bookstore chain in 2019, which had been in steady decline for years. Since Daunt took over, Barnes & Noble has experienced a resurgence, leading to an expansion of dozens of new stores in 2023. This wasn’t Daunt’s first successful turnaround. The British businessman did something similar in the U.K., where he revitalized another chain of flailing bookstores, Waterstones. So, how did Daunt get lightning to strike, twice? His hallmark strategy was simple: Give power to local store managers. “We sort of take three steps forward and then one step back,” Daunt once said in an interview with The New York Times. “The forward is my constantly encouraging and pushing for the stores themselves to have the complete freedom to do absolutely whatever they want—how they display their books, price their books, sort their sections, anything. Those freedoms are difficult if you lived in a very straitjacketed world where everything was dictated to you.” In essence, Daunt turned local Barnes & Noble stores, and Waterstones stores before that, into indie bookstores. The strategy worked because of the trust he put in his people, and the power he gave them. Of course, there’s more than one way to turn a company around. Niccol found success at Chipotle. But a focus on efficiency and policies over people is diametrically opposed to Schultz’s dream for Starbucks: that Italian-inspired vision of local connection between barista and customer. I believe Niccol’s overarching goal to return Starbucks to its roots is a good one. But the company’s ability to produce that experience of connection will depend on the people who are serving the drinks—and that will require rebuilding a culture where Starbucks employees feel supported and cared for, not threatened. If Starbucks can get back to taking care of its people, its people will take care of the customers. And the turnaround will take care of itself. —By Justin Bariso Sign up for my newsletter on how to build emotional intelligence in you and your team. This article originally appeared on Fast Company’s sister site, Inc.com. 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

As Sir Isaac Newton discovered, the core scientific law of gravity is that what goes up must come down. The principle applies in many areas, which is why markets are jittery about the near-unchecked, three-year growth of stock prices fueled by the strength of the generative-AI revolution. The market is on a tear, with a large gap growing even wider between public market valuations and the significantly higher private-market valuations of AI-exposed companies. The top five tech companies in the U.S. are, collectively, valued at more than the combined size of the Euro Stoxx 50, the U.K., India, Japan, and Canada—and account for around 16% of the entire global public equity market, according to Goldman Sachs. It’s not just AI model makers and the firms that provide their infrastructure: It’s the associated industries that help serve the AI market. Earlier this year, Harvard economist Jason Furman estimated that U.S. GDP growth in the first half of 2025 was almost entirely due to investment in data centers. Investors in companies like Nvidia are seeing blockbuster returns, as the firm’s value has risen more than 1,200% in the past five years, thanks to being one of the few companies able to provide the computer chips required for the AI revolution. Even so, some are worried that Nvidia is providing financing to customers looking to buy its chips—a supposedly circular chain that short sellers have quibbled with. (Nvidia, for its part, has issued responses to market analysts to refute those claims.) It all adds up to a tetchy time, with nervousness and debate about an AI bubble. Not helping matters are the public comments about the current moment by some of the industry’s biggest names. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that we’re currently in an AI bubble where “investors as a whole are overexcited about AI.” Microsoft founder Bill Gates has called it a “frenzy.” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on a podcast in September that an AI bubble, and its potential burst, was “definitely a possibility.” Comparisons have been drawn to the 2000s-era dot-com bubble. Weathering the storm So if we are in an AI bubble and it does burst, then who’ll be left standing at the end of it? The idea that entire economies might be hit by the bursting of any bubble is unlikely to happen, reckons Christopher Tucci, professor of digital strategy and innovation at Imperial College Business School in London. “The internet bubble, for example, wiped out many companies and investors, but the technology itself only grew in importance afterwards,” he says. Tucci sees AI in a similar way, noting, “Even if the investment bubble bursts, the underlying technology will remain critical and will continue to advance.” And while the bubble continues to inflate, Tucci believes that’s good news for smaller companies. “At the moment, large amounts of money are flowing into AI startups,” he says. “This lowers startup costs, increases the number of competing companies, and creates vulnerabilities, mainly for investors.” But if and when that bubble bursts, those smaller companies are more likely to be exposed, while larger companies will be insulated from more significant risks. “Survivors will be the ones that own distribution,” says Sergey Toporov, partner at early-stage VC firm Leta Capital. Toporov is blunt about the lack of a moat for smaller companies, saying, “Nobody cares about your ‘best-in-class AI startup’ unless people actually know it exists.” In that view, companies like the big four AI firms—Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta—are likely to weather any storm, but smaller competitors could struggle. “The rest will consolidate or become specialized model shops,” Toporov says. Smaller companies that have what Toporov calls “defensible advantages” like proprietary data or deep integration into business workflows could withstand an AI-caused market correction. He says the same is true for firms with “strong distribution, recurring demand, and a deep technical moat.” Companies that piggyback on existing technology, including AI wrapper services that use their larger competitors’ AI models in order to provide answers to their customers, sometimes in specific specialties, may face a tough road ahead. Big unknowns However, not everyone agrees with that vision of the future. “AI apps with high valuations look the riskiest at the moment,” says Sampsa Samila, professor of strategic management at IESE Business School. “They don’t have easy moats against improving foundation models or other apps.” Samila believes even those that operate foundation models, like OpenAI, could be in a difficult position. “Foundation labs burning billions are also looking shaky,” he says. “It’s not at all easy to see how OpenAI will manage, unless it develops winner-take-all superintelligence.” In part, that’s down to what Samila sees as “circular financing deals,” including those supported by Nvidia’s funding in order to obtain Nvidia chips to power their models. While OpenAI could struggle because of its cash burn, Samila contends that bigger, more established names in the space are better placed to weather the problems. “Google is interesting because they control TPUs [tensor processing units], have proprietary data from Search, YouTube, and Gmail, and are already monetizing AI through Cloud,” he explains. But the big unknown for Google is whether its rollout of AI-native ads can replace its search revenue. Another area of concern for Google, given competition from the likes of Microsoft, is that its tech stack doesn’t always integrate well with the existing IT systems being run by organizations. “Amongst the AI apps, deep embedding into customer workflows is going to be key to survival,” Samila says. Many companies tend to use Microsoft’s products rather than Google’s in large part because it’s what they’ve always done. Whatever happens, most people believe there are fundamental differences between a possible imminent burst of the AI bubble and the dot-com stock market crash. The Magnificent Seven tech firms have a 24-month forward price-to-earnings ratio that is 25 times their collective valuation—high, but half the level it was in the dot-com era. Price-to-earnings growth is also around half the level it was a quarter century ago. And many of the biggest names in the space are well-capitalized tech firms with cash reserves that can pay for any financial hiccups ahead in a way that the dot-com era’s biggest names couldn’t. Regardless, those in and around the AI sector need to be aware of what’s ahead. “When a correction comes, venture capital will dry up, potentially for several years,” Tucci predicts. “In the long run, however, AI as a technology will continue to grow in importance, regardless of short-term investment cycles.” View the full article

Leaving EU ‘badly damaged our economy’, says deputy prime ministerView the full article