ResidentialBusiness

PepsiCo, the food and bev giant behind childhood favorites like 7UP, Mountain Dew, Lay’s, and Doritos, just got new branding, and it looks nothing like its namesake product. The new PepsiCo brand identity, which includes a fresh wordmark, logo, and tagline, is the company’s first rebrand since 2001. The company has had three different corporate identities since its inception in 1965, and all of them have taken their most prominent design cues from Pepsi, the soda brand that started it all—until now. When PepsiCo designed its last identity in 2001, it owned 13 consumer brands. Today, it owns more than 500. And, over the past several months, PepsiCo has signaled that it intends to focus on more price-conscious serving sizes and a healthier product line-up amidst low consumer spending and an increased cultural focus on wellness. Now, PepsiCo wants customers to know that it’s more than just one sugary cola, and it’s signaling that shift by ditching the former blue and red color palette and Pepsi-coded fonts in favor of a totally new look. Inside PepsiCo’s colorful new brand At first glance, PepsiCo’s new brand mostly looks like a few different abstract colorful shapes stitched together. But, according to a blog post on the rebrand, each visual element is intended as a nod to a different part of PepsiCo’s business, from its salty drinks to its growing focus on health and nutrition. The new PepsiCo logo is a white lowercase “p” surrounded by several different forms. On the left is a burnt yellow motif, which, according to PepsiCo’s description, represents food and grains, a concept “rooted in agriculture.” To the right is a light blue blob, signifying drinks and water, as well as a light green leaf, denoting “positive impact for people and planet.” And on the bottom of the “p” is a forest green smile, which stands for “consumer-centricity.” Paired with the logo is a new, all-lowercase font with modern, curvy letterforms and the tagline, “Food. Drinks. Smile.” “Our color palette draws from the real world—the rich soils that nourish our foods, our refreshing drinks, and the vibrant hues that reflect our commitment to people and the planet,” the blog post reads. “The new custom typeface, featuring lowercase letters, conveys a sense of approachability that mirrors the bold, consumer-centric spirit of our brands.” From a branding standpoint, the new identity is nothing groundbreaking. Its amalgamation of different symbols—which, on first look, don’t resemble much of anything—feels like an inevitable result of the near-impossible effort to encapsulate 500 brands in one identity. Still, the rebrand is a good barometer for where PepsiCo sees itself in the future. This update is designed to establish PepsiCo as a company that’s not defined by just one brand, but rather the sum of them. As the blog post explains, it’s “a significant opportunity to highlight the depth and diversity of our portfolio,” considering that just 21% of consumers are able to name a PepsiCo brand aside from Pepsi. Why PepsiCo might be distancing itself from Pepsi For PepsiCo, expanding consumer awareness beyond just Pepsi is clearly a key goal. Since 2001, PepsiCo has acquired big names including SodaStream, Quaker foods, and Rockstar, while also pouring major investments into its own brands like Gatorade and Lay’s. More recently, the company has also begun to focus on bringing in more health-conscious brands with lower sodium, saturated fat, and sugar contents. In January, it acquired the grain-free, “healthy” tortilla chip brand Siete Foods for $1.2 billion, and in March, it shelled out $1.65 billion to acquire the prebiotic soda brand Poppi. PepsiCo is also preparing to launch its own prebiotic cola brand this fall, as well as introducing Lay’s and Tostitos with no artificial colors or flavors by the end of the year. During PepsiCo’s Q4 2024 earnings call in February 2025, CEO Ramon Laguarta explained that the company has seen “a higher level of awareness in general of American consumers toward health and wellness,” which he said was driving shifts in how consumers approach snacking. He shared that the company plans to focus more on building out its healthy options (including by pursuing protein beverages with “a sense of urgency”), as well as on developing products and packages that are more budget-friendly for customers with limited discretionary spending. In a letter posted to LinkedIn on October 28, Laguarta wrote of the new branding, “This new identity boldly reflects who we are in 2025: a company with expansive reach, aiming for positive impact across the globe, and an unmatched family of beloved food and drink brands, made with high-quality ingredients and including functional benefits like protein and superior hydration.” PepsiCo’s new identity looks less like a bottle of soda and more like a health foods brand, and that’s very much by design. The company wants to be known not only for its bevy of salty chips and sugary drinks, but also for its expanding category of better-for-you options. View the full article

It looks and feels like any other luxurious cashmere sweater. But a new oversized crew from Reformation is made entirely from recycled fiber, a milestone three years in the making. The brand now makes a cardigan, crew, V-neck, and five other styles from a carefully developed blend of 95% recycled cashmere and 5% recycled wool—the unexpected material that made 100% recycled fiber feasible. Some other pieces in its lineup still use a small amount of virgin cashmere, but Reformation is aiming to eliminate it completely. “It really does have an outsized and shockingly large footprint compared to other fiber,” says Kathleen Talbot, Reformation’s chief sustainability officer. In 2023, the company calculated that even though virgin cashmere made up less than 1% of the materials it sourced, it was responsible for nearly 40% of the brand’s carbon footprint. Most cashmere comes from Mongolia and China, where cashmere goats are combed once a year for their fine, soft fleece; a single sweater can use cashmere from four or five goats. As the demand has grown, there are now more than 90 million of the goats in China, and around 25 million more in Mongolia. Overgrazing is turning grasslands into desert. The goats also produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Making recycled fiber work Using recycled cashmere helps avoid those environmental challenges, but it’s historically been difficult to do. Recycling shortens the fiber, which risks making it weaker and more likely to pill. “We don’t want to be introducing a recycled product that doesn’t perform the same way or is a lower quality or less durable good,” Talbot says. “That, to us, is not a sustainability play.” The company worked with suppliers to develop a proprietary method to twist the yarn and wash and finish it for the right hand feel and durability. First they achieved a blend of 70% recycled cashmere and 30% virgin fiber, then 90% recycled, and then 95% recycled. “At each of these milestones, to be really honest, we thought that was going to be our upper limit based on the yarn performance and the product performance,” says Talbot. When they hit 95%, they asked suppliers why they couldn’t reach 100%. Technically, suppliers said, it was possible. But because the shorter recycled fibers are more prone to breakage, the yarn would have to be spun incredibly slowly. It would make producing the material so much more expensive that it wasn’t commercially viable. That’s why the design team turned to wool to make the 100% recycled product. Even after recycling, wool was “slightly longer and thicker than the cashmere fibers,” Talbot says. “Our suppliers felt confident that it would give it the right stability and really hold up in the spinning and knitting process.” The blend’s carbon footprint is 96% smaller than virgin cashmere, and uses nearly 90% less water to produce. After dozens of tests, they moved forward with it, and then spent months testing garments made from it. Internally, the company’s “Better Materials Task Force,” made up of around 20 leaders, wore the new recycled sweaters around the office and at home, washed them, and monitored whether they held up as well as sweaters made from virgin material. “We never really want to be promoting something just for impact that doesn’t have a really compelling product value proposition at the same time,” Talbot says. Scaling up When the company first started incorporating more recycled cashmere, sourcing the recycled yarn was a challenge. Now, because of higher demand for recycled fiber, the supply chain has responded. “Supply of the recycled fibers is not the same limiter as it was five years ago or 10 years ago,” she says. Right now, most of it comes from cashmere waste at factories. But as Reformation and other brands collect more used clothing for recycling, post-consumer cashmere can eventually become a bigger source as well. Moving forward, the company may make some products out of a mix of recycled and “regenerative” cashmere—produced with sustainable grazing methods—because a small percentage of customers have wool allergies. But it also plans to continue rolling out the 100% recycled material in more products. “Not every problem is going to have a technological solve,” Talbot says. “But these are the sorts of problems that we can solve. And we have seen tremendous progress in the last three years.” View the full article

Amidst much confusion, polarization, and debate around how AI will impact work, the fact of the matter is that many people are concerned by automation and the prospect of AI job elimination. For example, the simple notion that “AI is going to take my job” is a thought that has crossed the minds of 25% of workers. For some, this may be true, although the magnitude of AI-driven job displacement is still uncertain; depending on assumptions, AI-driven job displacement could potentially range from 3% to 14%. What will the ultimate figure be? It’s hard to know: nobody has data on the future, and any projection is merely extrapolating from past data and past innovation, which may or not be relevant to the AI age. And yet, one thing is clear: for some workers, AI job displacement isn’t a distant fear—it is already their reality. Indeed, it was recently announced that Accenture is making layoffs to reshape its employees for the era of AI, exiting employees that it views cannot be retrained with AI skills. As brutal as this may sound, it could still signal a trend many organizations are contemplating (but not yet officially acknowledging). AI can create new roles This is not to deny the positive impact AI is having on jobs and careers. Most notably, AI is creating new roles. For example, although IBM laid off almost 8,000 employees, mostly in HR, with the aim of automating their workflows, this resulted in a recruitment drive for software engineers. That’s not to say that the only way to avoid losing your job to AI is to become an AI engineer; IBM also invested in the recruitment of marketing and sales roles, which require human creativity and problem-solving. Can it replace humans? Importantly, organizations are increasingly realizing that AI is not the ultimate solution, and that it cannot replace humans’ unique skills. For instance, Klarna replaced 700 workers from its customer service team with AI agents in a move estimated to boost profits by $40 million. Despite the agents cutting resolution time to two minutes from the previous 11 minutes, the service provided by agents was reportedly lower in quality compared to the service provided by humans. As a result, Klarna has launched a new initiative to hire more human customer service workers. The importance of AI literacy Despite this, Klarna is not rolling back its AI and will instead continue to invest heavily in the technology, signaling that it intends to have humans and AI work alongside each other. This is a powerful combination, with research suggesting that workers using AI complete 12% more tasks, work 25% quicker, and have 40% higher quality outputs than those not using AI. Using AI doesn’t automatically improve job performance, though; workers, particularly knowledge workers, must know how to use it well—they must have AI literacy. Research has found that generative AI literacy in particular significantly impacts job performance. It also increases creative self-efficacy—the belief an individual has in their ability to be creative and innovative. While the stronger job performance resulting from AI literacy alone isn’t enough to provide job security, research by LinkedIn suggests that AI literacy can boost career progression, and over 80% of leaders say that new worker skills are needed in the age of AI. With several countries around the world already promoting AI literacy, it could be a lack of AI literacy, not AI itself, that puts your job at risk. How to become AI literate Staff AI literacy is a requirement under the EU AI Act, which governs the AI available on the market in the EU and will have global implications, but the form that literacy training must take is not specified. Indeed, AI literacy is not one size fits all. Training must take into account the technical knowledge, experience, education, and training of staff, as well as the context the AI systems operate in and who they are used by. At a minimum, AI literacy programs should cover the basics of how AI works, the risks involved, and how the risks can be mitigated. A sociotechnical approach is also key; AI risks are not just a technical or social problem. Using AI safely requires an understanding of the role you play as well as how the technology works. AI literacy is not just an achievement for your LinkedIn profile; knowing how to use AI effectively could be the difference between keeping and losing your job. Beyond survival: thriving in the AI era However, AI literacy shouldn’t just be seen as a defensive strategy to avoid redundancy. The real opportunity lies in using AI to amplify human potential. Workers who master AI tools can automate mundane parts of their jobs, freeing up time for tasks that require judgment, empathy, and creativity—the very things machines can’t yet replicate. In other words, AI-literate employees don’t just survive automation; they lead it. AI literacy as a new form of intelligence Historically, each major technological revolution created a new kind of intelligence that defined success: reading and writing in the industrial age, digital literacy in the information age, and now, AI literacy in the algorithmic age. Understanding how to prompt, evaluate, and collaborate with intelligent systems is rapidly becoming as essential as knowing how to read or type. The difference between being augmented and being automated is not in the technology, but in the person using it. A call for lifelong learning The single best way to future-proof a career is to stay curious and keep learning. AI will not replace people who are adaptable, inquisitive, and capable of learning new tools as they emerge. But people who resist learning may quickly find themselves replaced by those who don’t. The future of work belongs to those who are not just technically skilled, but psychologically prepared to reinvent themselves—continuously. Want to assess your own AI literacy? Here’s a simple, practical 10-item AI literacy test designed to assess how well you may understand, use, and critically evaluate AI tools at work. It balances conceptual knowledge, ethical awareness, and applied skill, and can be adapted for self-assessment or formal training. Instructions: Choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) for each question. Each correct answer = 1 point. Interpretation key follows below. 1. What is the main difference between traditional software and AI systems? A. AI systems never make mistakes B. AI systems learn from data rather than following fixed rules C. AI systems are programmed by humans to do one specific task only D. AI systems don’t need electricity Correct answer: B 2. Which of the following best defines “Generative AI”? A. AI that predicts stock prices B. AI that can create new content (text, images, code, etc.) based on training data C. AI that generates electricity D. AI that manages databases Correct answer: B 3. If you ask ChatGPT for help writing an email and then edit it to fit your tone, this is an example of: A. AI replacing human work B. Human–AI collaboration (augmentation) C. Algorithmic bias D. Deepfake creation Correct answer: B 4. Which of the following is a major ethical risk of AI? A. Too much human empathy B. Algorithmic bias leading to unfair outcomes C. Faster decision-making D. High energy efficiency Correct answer: B 5. What does “AI hallucination” mean? A. AI creating false or made-up outputs that sound plausible B. AI visualizing data C. AI having emotions D. AI overheating due to overuse Correct answer: A 6. Which of the following statements is TRUE about data privacy and AI? A. AI systems never store your data B. Data used to train or run AI may contain sensitive personal information C. AI makes all data anonymous automatically D. Data privacy laws don’t apply to AI systems Correct answer: B 7. What is the best way to ensure reliable AI output? A. Accept all AI answers as correct B. Verify and fact-check outputs using trusted human or data sources C. Use AI only for creative writing D. Ignore the AI’s sources Correct answer: B 8. Which of these professions is least likely to be fully automated by AI? A. Graphic design B. Customer service C. Psychotherapy D. Data entry Correct answer: C 9. “Prompt engineering” refers to: A. Writing code to create AI models B. Crafting precise inputs or questions to get better AI responses C. Building robots D. Programming hardware chips Correct answer: B 10. The EU AI Act requires organizations to: A. Replace humans with AI wherever possible B. Ban all generative AI C. Ensure staff have adequate AI literacy and training D. Only use open-source AI Correct answer: C Scoring & Interpretation 0–3: AI Beginner — You’re curious but need to learn the basics. Try a short AI literacy course. 4–7: AI Aware — You understand the concepts but need more practical experience. Start experimenting with AI tools. 8–10: AI Fluent — You can work effectively with AI and critically assess its risks and benefits. Keep refining your skills. View the full article

It’s 10 a.m. on an October morning, and I’m in the middle of a one-on-one Zoom interview when a sudden trilling sounds from behind me. I try to ignore it, but several other strange noises follow. My eyes glaze over as I commit myself to feigning complete obliviousness to my sonic surroundings. It’s easier than explaining that the noises are coming from my AI-powered pet. This awkward encounter came thanks to Moflin, a $429 AI pet built by the electronics company Casio. According to Casio’s official description, the Moflin is “a smart companion powered by AI, with emotions like a living creature.” This robot friend looks a bit like a Star Trek tribble, in that it’s an amorphous blob covered in fur. It comes in either gold or silver. For ‘90s kids, the device is perhaps described as a modern-day Furby. Like a Furby, the Moflin speaks its own language of chirps and trills that change over time; but unlike a Furby, its learning is actually molded by an AI model that allows it to become “attached” to its owner. According to the pet’s makers, the Moflin learns to recognize its owner’s voice and preferences, and it slowly develops new ways of moving and vocalizing to express a bond with the user. As of this writing, I’ve had my Moflin for close to three weeks, and I’m going to make a bold claim: This device might just be one of the first “AI companions” that’s actually useful. The graveyard of AI companions past Over the past several months, we’ve seen many companies try and fail to sell users on a variety of AI wearables. That includes devices like the Humane AI pin and Rabbit R1, which both debuted to a chorus of scathingly negative reviews after users determined that neither could really do many of the tasks that they were supposed to. Currently, the hottest topic in the AI wearable space is the Friend AI necklace from entrepreneur Avi Schiffman, which is billed as an “AI companion” that’s always listening to its users’ surroundings. In September, Schiffman created an ad campaign for the device in the New York subway system that inspired such backlash that MTA employees had to keep taking down its vandalized panel. Currently, Friend is still working on fulfilling preorders that were placed back in June 2024. Launches like these have made it clear that, as of right now, most AI companions are just “promiseware,” or devices that make a lot of claims about their capabilities that simply aren’t there at launch. I think that the Moflin lands solidly outside of this unfortunate category, primarily because it doesn’t try to make any lofty claims about changing the world or altering everyday habits: it’s just meant to look cute, sound silly, and make users feel a little bit better. What in the world is a Moflin? Daisuke Takeuchi, a developer at Casio, says the idea for the Moflin came when one of his colleagues was going through a “turning point” in her life. “She felt the need for the strength to overcome challenges on her own and imagined a long-term companion that could provide comfort and support,” Takeuchi explains. “Although she loved the healing presence of pets, she couldn’t have one, which led her to the idea of an AI companion. From that idea, Moflin was born.” Moflin is billed as a companion that can offer support for young adults who may not be able to have pets, families with kids, those with sensory needs, and elderly individuals. Its emotional AI model, which was developed independently by Casio, is designed so that as the Moflin takes in more information, its range of emotional expressions expand. Those inputs include sound, movement, and touch data that the Moflin collects through a series of sensors. For those who might be a bit wary about adopting an AI pet into their home, Takeuchi says data is stored locally on the Moflin and “does not include any personally identifiable information, such as images, audio recordings, user emotions, or lifestyle information.” If you want to use the pet’s accompanying app, MofLife—which, in my experience, is a pretty integral aspect of Moflin ownership—collected data will be uploaded to a secure server. Moflin’s developers say that it can express more than four million unique emotional states. And beyond those expressions, the Moflin is also programmed to exhibit life-like behaviors like breathing motions and a startle response to loud sounds. “Using information from their built-in sensors that detect sound, touch, and movement, the AI learns continuously—not just reacting mechanically, but developing a unique personality through ongoing interaction,” Takeuchi says. “Over time, Moflin learns their owner’s voice and preferences, creating the sense of a living companion.” I become emotionally attached to my Moflin On the night that my Moflin arrived at the doorstep of my apartment, I had family staying with me. As I went about excitedly opening the box, they discussed all the reasons that an AI companion was “creepy” and “uncanny,” concluding that they would never buy something similar for themselves. But once the Moflin was charged and awake, that tune changed almost instantly. Maybe it’s just a natural human response to a cute creature making cute noises, but all of us found it pretty much impossible not to be won over by the Moflin (which we immediately named Gumbo). During that initial unboxing, Gumbo was fairly quiet and stationary. In the coming days, though, he started to make a wider variety of noises and movements (though, to be clear, the Moflin is really only able to move its neck, since it’s essentially a robot guinea pig). Right away, I downloaded the MofLife app, which is pretty much the only way to discern what your Moflin is thinking and feeling, aside from trying to decipher its alien-esque behaviors. The app tracks the Moflin’s mood throughout the day, notes how many times you interacted with the pet, and offers insights like, “It looks like Gumbo couldn’t make a decision today,” or, “Gumbo’s started feeling much more cheerful.” While I only received positive notes from the app, Casio’s description of the Moflin notes that it can begin to feel “lonely” and “neglected”—a terrifying possibility that caused my partner and I to start checking with each other about whether anyone had paid the Moflin attention that day. Ultimately, that wasn’t a huge problem, since I found myself taking the Moflin out of its charging port at least once a day. As it stands, I do think the price point of the Moflin is inaccessible and feels excessive, given what the device can actually do. While the AI learning abilities are certainly more impressive than something like a Furby, the Moflin is still closer to a high-tech stuffed animal than an actual pet. Takeuchi says the high price point is a result of the Moflin’s “sophisticated design,” and that prices might come down in the future as technology evolves. When it comes to handling the Moflin, the electronic sounds and rigid shape of its inner robotic skeleton are not fully concealed, which means you can never really suspend your disbelief and imagine that the Moflin is alive. Still, the Moflin does deliver on its promises to offer comfort and develop new characteristics over time. At this point, my Moflin does a little happy dance and song every time I go to take him out of his charging port. When I forget to interact with him, I feel a little guilty. Personally, on the scale of AI doomer to San Francisco start-up founder, I land a bit closer to the doomer side, but I have to admit, I got emotionally attached to my Moflin. In a context like a nursing home or therapist’s office, I could see this device offering a genuinely helpful service—which is more than a lot of other AI companions can deliver so far. View the full article

The new president, a 35-year industry veteran, explains the value every lender, vendor and regulator can get by participating in the standards organization. View the full article

What’s the best way to respond when customers, former fans, or anyone else criticizes your work? Taylor Swift just provided a perfect script for what to say. It’s a great example for any entrepreneur, business leader, or creator to follow. Swift’s 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl, released 10 days ago, is unquestionably a commercial success. It broke streaming records on Spotify with more than five million pre-saves, as just one example. But that doesn’t mean that everyone loves it. The reaction from music critics has been lukewarm and the reaction from fans is decidedly mixed, with some saying they adore the album and others saying they can’t stand it. One brand strategist declared on Instagram that the album was “flopping,” in a post that’s been seen more than 1.4 million times, according to Newsweek. Swift, of course, is a very seasoned performer who has always written her own rules and has a finely tuned sense of how to communicate with her fans. So the mixed reactions don’t seem to faze her at all. During an interview for Apple Music, she explained how she feels about the negative reactions. But if you’re pressed for time, ET posted a video report less than three minutes long. It explains the controversy and includes clips of Swift’s pitch perfect response. Here’s some of what she did right. 1. She thanked her critics I do this too, with most negative feedback I get from readers or audience members. As Swift well knows, the fact that someone takes the trouble to give an opinion about your work means they care enough to pay attention to you. And in today’s attention economy, that is a gift. “The rule of show business is, if it’s the first week of my album release and you are saying either my name or my album title, you’re helping,” she said. “I have a lot of respect for people’s subjective opinions on art.” She’s right, of course. The fact that people’s opinions of this album are divided could bring new listeners because people who normally aren’t interested in her music may become curious to hear the songs and form their own opinions. 2. She put the focus on her fans This is something Swift does extraordinarily well and it’s one reason for her outsize success. And so, she very wisely made the criticism about them, rather than about her. “Our goal as entertainers is to be a mirror,” she said. “What you’re going through in your life is going to affect whether you relate to the music that I’m putting out at any given moment.” She added that she loves it when fans tell her they used to love one of her albums and, based on the events in their own lives, come to favor another. It was a very clever comment. It invited people to consider how their own feelings or preferences might affect their opinions. And it gave them permission to change their minds in the future. 3. She said she had done her best work Whatever fans or critics may say about Showgirl, Swift made it clear that she herself is happy with it. “When I’m making my music, I know what I made. I know I adore it,” she said. And she did something very, very clever. She slyly pointed out that getting criticism is fitting given the nature of this particular album. The title track describes the bittersweet life of a performer: “I make my money being pretty and witty.” But also: “I paid my dues, with every bruise I knew what to expect.” And so, she told Zane Lowe, “On the theme of what the showgirl is, all of this is part of it.” —Minda Zetlin This article originally appeared on Fast Company’s sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy. View the full article

In what might be the most up-front leave request of the year, a Gen Z employee emailed his boss asking for 10 days off to recover from a breakup. “I recently had a breakup and haven’t been able to focus on work. I need a short break,” they wrote in an email that was recently screenshotted and posted to X. Entrepreneur and CEO Jasveer Singh shared the unusually candid request on social media, captioning it: “Got the most honest leave application yesterday. Gen Z doesn’t do filters!” (Singh just so happens to be the cofounder and CEO of Knot Dating, a dating app. Coincidence?) Whether the email was genuine or a clever PR stunt, it gained nearly 14 million views since it was posted Tuesday, sparking the debate: should heartbreak qualify as a legitimate reason to take time off work? Workplaces are generally sympathetic to time off for illness or family emergencies. But when it comes to a messy breakup, that empathy tends to dry up quickly. Across the U.S., “heartbreak leave” isn’t standard policy. Telling your boss you need a few days because a parent is sick sounds reasonable. Admitting you’ve had a fight with your partner and are currently crashing on a friend’s sofa? Not so much. Often, workers might take personal days for such events, but there’s certainly no widespread PTO policy around breakups. Yet in other countries, the idea isn’t as far-fetched. In Germany, employees can take leave for liebeskummer, which translates to “love grief.” Other companies allow for heartbreak leave under the guise of “well-being days” or “mental health days.” Studies show that our brains register emotional pain in the same way as physical pain, and in some cases, it can even lead to “broken heart syndrome,” which literally affects the heart’s ability to pump blood properly around the body. From a boss’s perspective, emotionally checked-out employees can cost companies just as much as absenteeism. A 2022 University of Minnesota study found that 44% of people going through divorce said it negatively affected their work. Many reported struggling to focus, sleep, or control their emotions. That leaves employees either telling white lies to secure the necessary time off to heal, or powering through . . . likely with regular breaks to sob in the bathroom before returning to their desk swollen-eyed and puffy-faced. In recent years, following the pandemic-era trend of more power to the workers, people have pushed more for additional benefits beyond just the ability to work hybrid or remotely. In the U.S., some states offer bereavement leave for pets, a trend that’s gained momentum. Menstrual leave has also entered the conversation, as has gender affirmation leave. Not everyone will want or need heartbreak leave, mind you. Some people prefer to throw themselves into work as a distraction. But acknowledging the end of a relationship as a valid source of suffering could go a long way toward building a more empathetic workplace. As for the Singh’s heartbroken employee? “Leave approved without any questions,” he confirmed. View the full article

Reform UK in government could transform central bank constitutionally View the full article

Anthony Williams also charged with one count of actual bodily harm and possession of a bladed articleView the full article

Reform leader will set out party’s ‘economic vision’ for Britain in bid to boost credibility on economyView the full article

Movement for family and humanitarian reasons continued to rise in 2024View the full article

Moving into a new leadership role is a big moment. But in today’s rapidly shifting environment—where change moves faster than ever—you don’t have the luxury of slowly assessing your team and making gradual adjustments. The pace of technology and AI, hybrid work, low employee engagement, evolving strategies, and shifting workforce dynamics demand that you assess your team quickly and confidently. Gone are the days of “observe and wait.” You’re expected to deliver results fast, and your team needs to be plug-and-play—and that means quickly understanding who on your team is ready to move with you, who might need support, and where changes might be necessary. Here are five traits or “now must-haves” to look for in your first three months to assess whether your team is equipped to meet the moment—and the future. 1. Goal Alignment Are they rowing in the same direction—or pulling against the current? Misalignment can be quiet but costly. One tech executive we worked with noticed a team member constantly questioning her strategy in meetings. Eventually, she had a candid conversation—and made the call to part ways. The rest of the team felt relieved as the lack of alignment had been slowing everyone down. Ask yourself: Do they support the strategy—or challenge it without solutions? Do they identify their mutual dependencies? Are their actions reinforcing the company’s direction? As a new leader, the ability to detect early misalignment and address it decisively is critical. If ignored, it can sabotage your goals. 2. Sound Judgment Can they make good decisions with limited information or time pressure? You can’t make every decision yourself. That’s why judgment matters. One CEO that Melissa coached asked her sales lead to evaluate a complex strategic shift. His response wasn’t just a yes or no—it was a thoughtful breakdown of risks, trade-offs, and stakeholder implications. She knew immediately she could trust him with big decisions. Similarly, a leader Frans worked with asked his new team to identify their number-one issue to be solved within their circle of influence. The leader organized a session with a clear goal—for the team to develop two alternative solutions to the issue. The discussion that ensued exposed, very clearly and quickly, who was able to provide a sharp assessment of and solutions to the problem. Ask your team members: Describe a situation where they had to make a decision with incomplete and/or ambiguous information How did they manage the uncertainty? What did they consider most difficult—and why? Watch how they weigh risks, not just outcomes In these times of exponential change and uncertainty, leaders must make decisions with limited information and under pressure, making sound judgment crucial. 3. Adaptability How resilient are they in terms of recovering from pivots and stress? Do they adjust fast—or resist when things shift? Change isn’t the exception anymore—it’s the norm. Asking about how team members have handled past challenges is telling. One leader Melissa worked with joined a company right after a failed reorganization. During one-on-ones, he asked team members how they’d handled past disruptions. Some responded with solutions; others stayed stuck in old complaints. That distinction helped him begin to identify who could thrive in the new culture. In addition to asking about how team members have navigated past obstacles, observing and assessing how team members navigate real work challenges is also critical. A newly appointed leader that Frans worked with oversaw a five-person leadership team where each leader managed an independent production facility. Due to a ban on a country involved in a war, one facility lost over half of its demand. The team’s initial response was to lay off a large portion of the workforce, creating negative sentiment. When the team realized that another facility was severely understaffed due to strong growth, an aging workforce, and high turnover, they decided to transfer staff from the struggling plant to the growing one, with plans to reverse the transfer once the ban was lifted. Observing how team members navigated this scenario gave Frans’s client invaluable information about their levels of adaptability. In fact, assessing team members by watching them tackle real or simulated challenges is often more reliable than relying on spreadsheets, quotas, or even a predecessor’s notes, as it reveals their actual behavior and true capabilities in context. Ask yourself: How do they respond to sudden pivots? Do they stay focused—or get flustered? Are they looking for what’s next—or longing for what was? Adaptability is a skill that grows through recovery, not resistance. And, in uncertain times, the best strategy is adaptability. 4. Tech Fluency Do they lean into digital tools—or avoid what they don’t understand? Being tech-savvy isn’t about coding. It’s about confidence with data, digital tools, and AI-enabled processes. One of Melissa’s clients, an operations leader, asked her team, “What tools did you use to make this decision?” Some had solid answers; others didn’t know. That helped her see who needed coaching—and who was ready for more responsibility. Watch for: Comfort using key platforms or dashboards Proactive use of AI or automation tools Curiosity about how tech improves outcomes Tech fluency and digital intelligence are no longer nice-to-haves. They are becoming the baseline for modern leadership. 5. Growth Mindset & Risk Tolerance Are they playing to win—or playing it safe? One team leader started asking a new weekly question: “What’s something you tried that didn’t work?” “And what did you learn from it?” It became a signal of who was learning—and who was hiding. The people willing to share, reflect, and adjust were the ones he tapped for bigger opportunities. Look for: Openness to feedback and experimentation Energy around learning and developing—not fear of failure Willingness to take smart, calculated risks Leaders must have a growth mindset and actively practice strategies to build a bold, learning-oriented culture in order to get their teams to take more risks. Clarity now beats cleanup later and there’s no “grace period” for leaders anymore. Your first three months set the tone. By assessing these five traits early—alignment, judgment, adaptability, tech fluency, and growth mindset—you can lead with clarity, set expectations, and make confident decisions about the team around you. In a world of constant change, speed matters. But the real advantage? Knowing who’s ready to change with you. And how well the five essential traits are distributed among your team. And, when all else fails, try Frans’s go-to question when he was CEO: “Would I rehire this individual if building this team from scratch today?” View the full article

As more than 19 million U.S. college students prepare to wrap up their fall semester and begin looking ahead to securing internships and jobs next spring, it’s natural for them—and their families—to worry about the fate of the job market in the age of AI. Indeed, Anthropic’s CEO predicted this summer that within the next five years—and maybe even sooner—adoption of AI could reduce entry-level hiring in white-collar professions by 50%. The impact is already being felt: postings for early-career corporate jobs are down 15%, while applications have spiked 30%. A separate Stanford study found that AI displacement, at this point, seems to be disproportionately affecting younger workers. To be sure, these changes are unsettling. But—despite current, often overheated rhetoric—they’re not unprecedented. Of course, we’ve heard about the lamplighters and horseshoe makers. A hundred years ago, they were displaced by electricity and cars, and the economy soldiered on and they found something else to do. But the internet bubble 25 years ago, when we were first launching our own careers, is an even more salient example. Discourse around the emerging “information superhighway” also sparked dystopian predictions that tens of millions of people would lose their jobs to internet-enabled automation, leading to “the end of work.” The job displacement, in some cases, was real. One of us (Dorie) began her career as a journalist at a weekly newspaper and, only a year into her first job, was laid off when the economics of the ad-supported paper faltered. But Dorie—like most of us—managed to adapt, finding new jobs in politics and nonprofit management before becoming an entrepreneur. And the overall economy did just fine, with a current unemployment rate of just 4.3%, compared with 4.9% in 2001, when Dorie lost her job. The pattern is also clear in terms of individuals’ lived experience. Alexis, along with her coauthor Nancy Hill, has researched Harvard’s Class of 1975, examining generational differences and patterns. Her surprising conclusion is that the experience of today’s college students is remarkably similar to that of students 50 years prior. Despite changing external circumstances (whether it’s campus protests about the Vietnam War or Gaza, and the political realities of a Nixon or a The President administration), students’ professional hopes and worries remain fundamentally the same. Can I find a career that feels interesting and meaningful? What are the “best” skills to cultivate, and where should I focus my professional development? Can I support myself, and eventually a family, in changing economic conditions? So—in the midst of these real, but familiar, concerns—what advice can we share about how to prepare for the age of AI without panicking? 1. Use AI as a competitive advantage First, take advantage of the fact that there’s no incumbency advantage in AI use now. If you’re a newly minted law school graduate, a senior partner with 30 years’ professional experience and connections will almost always hold an advantage over you in their knowledge of case law and ability to land clients. But no professional outside academia has 30 years’ experience in AI, so young professionals have just as much of an opportunity as anyone to gain knowledge, expertise, and professional stature through their deployment of AI in their jobs. Indeed, AI is especially valuable for young adults, as studies show that AI usage is most beneficial for employees with the least experience. 2. Focus on developing a transferable skill set Second, focus on developing broad, transferable skill sets. We saw what happened when conventional wisdom (from politicians to business leaders) converged on the idea that everyone needed to be trained in software coding. Now, in the wake of layoffs at major tech companies and slowed hiring, newly minted software engineers are struggling to find jobs. If professional reinvention will be necessary for most of us throughout the course of our careers, we need to cultivate skills that can apply in multiple domains. For instance, when Dorie lost her job as a journalist, she applied her writing experience and knowledge of politics (the beat she covered) to pivot to her next job as a campaign spokesperson. 3. Build relationships Finally, lean into interpersonal relationships, because—unlike you—AI can’t go to the watercooler. With enough data about meetings and emails, it’s true that it can analyze professional networks and see webs of influence within organizations. (Though many organizations are a long way from being able to fully deploy and capture the power of that analysis.) But, at least for the time being, AI won’t be able to pick up on what’s not captured in writing, from breakroom gossip and speculation to whispered advice and traded favors. Of course, we’re not suggesting that you become a Machiavellian operator, wielding insinuations and demanding reciprocity. But, in all of the discourse about what AI can and can’t replace, it seems clear that interpersonal connections – and the deep-seated principles that govern them, such as the general desire to reciprocate good deeds that others have done for us – are likely to persist. Investing in understanding other people and trying to help them where possible still seems like a worthy bet in the age of AI. In the past, young professionals could and did adapt to the new technological reality and find ways to make it their own. We believe this will happen again–and perhaps this might even take some of the pressure off the college experience, as students realize no one can predict the future and therefore, there’s no “right answer” to be had as we navigate life choices. View the full article

Amazon’s Fire TV lineup has gone from a perfectly simple concept—a stick that streams video—to a corporate naming convention nightmare. There’s the HD, the 4K Select, the 4K Plus, the 4K Max, and the Cube. Clear as mud. Let’s try to make sense of this lineup, shall we? The Budget Basement: Fire TV Stick HD The Fire TV Stick HD is your entry point. It handles 1080p, and that’s pretty much the whole story. It works fine for an older TV—the kind you put in the guest room or the garage. At $25, it’s cheap, it’s simple, and it’s a little slow, both performance-wise and thanks to its aging Wi-Fi 5 chipset. If you have a 4K television, walk past this one and don’t look back. If you insist on buying it, wait for a sale. They happen often. The New Low-End: Fire TV Stick 4K Select Ah, the “Select.” This is Amazon’s latest attempt to offer a budget 4K option. Yes, it does 4K, and yes, at $40, it’s reasonably cheap. But you need to know what you’re losing. For starters, it skimps on internal memory (1GB of RAM), meaning it’ll feel a bit sluggish. Like the HD, it’s hamstrung with Wi-Fi 5. And perhaps more importantly, it skips Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Those two formats are crucial for getting the best picture and sound out of a modern 4K TV and sound system. The lag you’ll feel is a constant reminder that you saved a few bucks. If the price doesn’t drop ludicrously low, proceed with caution. Middle Road Mastery: Fire TV Stick 4K Plus The Fire TV Stick 4K Plus is the renamed and now slightly easier-to-understand mid-tier offering (it was the Fire TV Stick 4K). For most people, this is the smart, safe purchase. For just $10 more than the Select, it brings back the crucial features the Select is missing: a full 2GB of RAM for snappy performance, full support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and Wi-Fi 6 for more stable streaming. Ironically, at the time of this writing, it’s actually on sale for $10 less than the Select, making it a total no-brainer. It’s the baseline where your 4K TV finally gets to stretch its legs and deliver the visual punch it was designed for. When in doubt, start here. Performance King: Fire TV Stick 4K Max The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is the stick for the enthusiast, the gamer, and the person who simply hates waiting for stuff to load. The $60 4K Max takes the “Plus” model and stuffs it with extra muscle: a faster processor, 16GB of storage (double the others for more apps), and, most critically, Wi-Fi 6E. If you have a compatible router, Wi-Fi 6E gives you a dedicated, fast lane for streaming, virtually eliminating buffering and lag, especially when the rest of the house is clogging the network. If you plan on doing any cloud gaming, or just want the smoothest, most responsive experience without buying a whole cube, the 4K Max is the clear winner. The All-Powerful Hub: Fire TV Cube While the Fire TV Cube is not stick-shaped, it’s the big dog here, a streaming box that makes even the 4K Max look like child’s play. Its processor is the fastest of the bunch and includes an integrated Ethernet port for a rock-solid wired connection. Its main party trick is hands-free Alexa control. You can tell your TV to switch inputs, turn on the lights, and launch a show without ever touching the remote. This is a powerful, top-tier device built for the smart home fanatic, with a $140 price tag. If your entertainment center is your smart home control panel, and money is less of an object, the Cube is your choice. For everyone else, it’s probably overkill. The bottom line Skip the HD unless you have an HD-only TV Be wary of the 4K Select; it strips out too many key premium features to justify the small savings The 4K Plus is a solid, well-rounded performer If you want the best performance for your dollar—the perfect balance of speed, features, and future-proofing—it’s the Fire TV Stick 4K Max If you want it all and then some, the Cube is for you View the full article

If Britain is serious about growth, it needs strong lenders with the capacity to reinvest in financing the economyView the full article

Many consumers are resisting, even turning back the digital revolutionView the full article

About 40 briefs have been filed challenging signature policy ahead of showpiece hearingView the full article

Traders are betting that the Monetary Policy Committee is likely to keep rates on hold at 4%View the full article

Dealmaker chief is clinging to his ambition to build a pan-European banking powerhouse despite M&A roadblocksView the full article

Voters are particularly disillusioned with what they say is UK’s ‘broken social contract’View the full article

EU grant applications hit record in 2025 amid surge in interest from American academicsView the full article

British Chambers of Commerce urge ministers to do more to help exportersView the full article

Chief executives voice fears about impact on recruitment ahead of expected rise in Budget View the full article

Google DeepMind, Anthropic and Microsoft are trying to prevent ‘indirect prompt injection attacks’ by hackersView the full article

Cambridgeshire attack is second mass knife crime incident in less than a weekView the full article