What's on Your Mind?

The Soviet Union launched over a dozen probes to Venus—most successfully. But one never made it past Earth’s orbit and has, in fact, stayed there since 1972. Now, over 50 years later, the one-meter-large Kosmos 482 is coming home, albeit a bit haphazardly. The 1,091-pound craft, also known as Kosmos 482 and Venera 8, is predicted to reach reentry within nine hours of 1:54 a.m. ET on May 10, according to the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies (CORDS). In other words, this could be late afternoon today or sometime tomorrow morning. If you think the when is varied, wait until you hear about the where. Aerospace, the American nonprofit resea…

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. Long before the The President administration tapped Elon Musk to cut federal costs and headcount via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), business leaders and politicians have been trying to find ways to make government leaner, less bureaucratic, and more like a well-run corporat…

The most dangerous people in a company are stressed leaders. I say that with full self-awareness. I’ve worked for a few and came uncomfortably close to becoming one myself. I’ve always had an impulsive temperament. On good days, it made me decisive. On bad days, reactive. Add long hours and the pressure of scaling a startup, and my emotional state began to spill onto the team. Focusing on mental health, rest, and mindfulness fundamentally changed how I build my company and how I see my role today. I’m still a CEO, but I’ve also become something else—the “chief energy officer.” What follows is everything I wish I’d known earlier about leading with emoti…

Innovation hubs were once the darlings of corporate strategy, promising to future-proof businesses and spark breakthrough ideas. But two decades in, the cracks are showing. Too many hubs have struggled to prove their worth, and some have quietly shut down altogether. In reality, these costly spaces never lived up to the hype—and the future lies elsewhere. Rather than investing in shiny new labs, organizations should be cultivating innovation communities: networks of people, inside and outside the company, who collaborate around shared challenges and opportunities. Looking Back: Proliferation Innovation hubs have proliferated through private enterprise over the…

Like other famous structures of similar dimensions, the 48-story Transamerica Pyramid, a revolutionary ‘70s modernist skyscraper and San Francisco icon, has a bit of history buried beneath its ground floor. Unsplash A recently unearthed time capsule, buried in 1974 and discovered during a recent round of renovations, offers a picture of San Francisco’s past. The site of the structure—then a parking lot—was initially part of the original shoreline of the city that reeked of historical significance, from the city’s growth as a shipping and banking capital. The capsule even contains a recipe for Pisco Punch, a cocktail that was invented at the nearby Bank Exchange Sal…

There we were: two experienced professionals, each standing on the iconic red dot of our own TEDx stages, ready to deliver what we hoped would be the most impactful talks of our careers. For Jamie, her meticulously rehearsed opening line—the one she practiced 327 times in the shower, in the mirror, and in front of a very patient partner—evaporated the moment the spotlight hit. Hundreds of expectant eyes waited as the silence stretched . . . and stretched. “Oh @*#%,” she whispered—into the mic. What was meant to be a private moment of panic turned into a public announcement. But instead of recoiling, the audience leaned in. Scott was one minute and fifty secon…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. When assessing home price momentum, ResiClub believes it’s important to monitor active listings and months of supply. If active listings start to rapidly increase as homes remain on the market for longer periods, it may indicate pricing softness or weakness. Conversely, a rapid decline in active listings could suggest a market that is tightening or heating up. Since the national Pandemic Housing Boom fizzled out in 2022, the national power dynamic has slowly been shifting directionally from sellers to buyers. Of course, across the country that shift …

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. CEOs and other business leaders are scrambling to understand how customers might respond to financial uncertainty brought on by tariffs and other factors roiling the markets. Early signs are not great: the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index in April fell for the fourth straight…

UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty is stepping down for personal reasons and the nation’s largest health insurer suspended its full-year financial outlook due to higher-than-expected medical costs. Chairman Stephen Hemsley will become CEO, effective immediately, the Minnesota company said. Hemsley was UnitedHealth Group CEO from 2006 to 2017. He will remain chairman of the company’s board. Witty will serve as a senior adviser to Hemsley. “Leading the people of UnitedHealth Group has been a tremendous honor as they work every day to improve the health system, and they will continue to inspire me,” Witty said. Witty joined the company in 2018 after serving about nine years a…

The behavioral health sector is at a crossroads. The landscape is shifting rapidly, and for many, it feels harder than ever to plan. The One Big Beautiful Bill is a sweeping piece of legislation that redefines Medicaid eligibility and coincides with a broader restructuring of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the The President administration. Combined, these changes have introduced new questions about sustainability, staffing, and service delivery. While some details are still in flux, the direction is crystal clear: Providers will need to adapt. To help make sense of what’s changing, I recently joined a discussion with Chuck Ingoglia, C…

Nearly 40% of Black workers feel comfortable talking about their faith with people at work, the highest of any U.S. racial group, our two recent studies found. But they also risk facing religious discrimination. For the past 15 years, we have been studying religion in workplaces. Recently we conducted two studies, including two online surveys involving 15,000 workers and in-depth interviews with nearly 300. Our respondents included Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and nonreligious individuals. The majority of Black Americans—nearly 8 in 10—identify as Christians. And we found that Black workers from all faiths are more likely than other racial groups to use their tradit…

Despite being one of the most celebrated and influential architects of all time, Frank Lloyd Wright has never had what may be one of the top indicators of cultural importance: a Hollywood biopic. That may soon change, as the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation has recently struck a licensing deal with Hollywood production company Galisteo Media to bring Wright’s story to the big screen as a movie. “He was the greatest American architect. He was incredibly ambitious and headstrong and visionary. He also was a flawed person, and his life was filled with triumph and tragedy,” says Rob Rosenheck, cofounder of Galisteo Media. “This is a big gap in American popular culture that w…

Today (Monday, September 29) is National Coffee Day. To celebrate, many coffee shops and eateries are promoting discounts and freebies. Keep these National Coffee Day deals and freebies in mind when stopping to get your daily dose of caffeine. Bruegger’s Bagels Rewards members can get a free hot or iced coffee with a purchase when ordering in the app. Burger King Burger King Royal Perks rewards members can get a free medium iced coffee with a minimum purchase of $1 when ordering through the Burger King app. Members must activate the offer before placing an order. Caribou Coffee On September 29, receive a free medium hot or iced classic latte with …