What's on Your Mind?

Ask the most bullish representatives of big AI companies, and they’ll tell you that robotic colleagues and house staff are just around the corner. A massive market for robotic aids, powered by AI “brains,” could contribute huge sums to the bottom line of tech firms. Elon Musk predicted earlier this year that they could produce $30 trillion in revenue for his companies alone. Picture what those robots are, and your mind’s eye likely conjures an image of a humanoid robot: Two arms, two legs, a head, all in human-like proportions. That’s what the biggest players in the sector like Tesla, Figure and Unitree see, too: Distinctly human-shaped cutting-edge hardware. Yet …

One thing I genuinely love about my job is mentoring young professionals who are just getting started in their careers. Gaining a foothold in the tech industry is tough, especially in the AI age. And today’s new generation of employees are asking compelling questions: How do I focus in complex environments? How do I create a competitive advantage? What happens if I fail? I recently found myself asking similar questions—about my golf game—to one of the world’s top golfers, Padraig Harrington. It was humbling to be on the other side of the fence, getting insights from a global legend that not only improved my swing, but helped me better coach the next generation of tech…

Last week, subscribers of Microsoft’s Game Pass were in an uproar over plans to hike the price from $19.99 per month to $29.99. One of the most surprising reactions, however, came not from gamers, but from retail partner GameStop. While you’ll pay $30 per month if you sign up for Game Pass Ultimate directly with Microsoft, you’ll get the same old price — for some indefinite period — if you stick with GameStop. “Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is still $19.99 a month with us. You’re welcome,” the retailer wrote in a social media post. Gamers can subscribe to GamePass directly from their XBox, via their PC, and on the web. Those who plan to take advantage of the lower price …

I’ll never forget the first time I saw the power of a group gasp. Years ago, at a Baltimore Ravens game, a film I’d helped create played across the stadium’s newly installed LED screens. In the climactic moment (a close-up shot as the kicker’s foot struck the ball) the entire crowd seemed to freeze, breath held, before erupting in a wave of energy that swept the stands. That’s because the shot was perfectly timed with the real kick-off that started the game. Picture 70,000 people rising to their feet in unison, their collective gasp creating a moment of pure electricity. That wasn’t chance. It was the result of designing an experience where story, environment, and aud…

Lay’s sells more than 200 flavors of potato chips across the globe. Only one of them puts a potato on the package. That’s because in many ways, the largest potato chip company in the world, Lay’s, is the embodiment of a modernist brand. Hear the word Lay’s and its red and yellow logo pops into your brain, quickly followed by a hallucinated blast of salt on your tongue. The logo is an abstract hero, associated with chips only through constant consumer exposure. But in Lay’s own market testing, it discovered a cost to this approach: Only 42% of people realized that Lay’s potato chips are made from potatoes. Now—as the long, liberal war on ultra-processed food has …

Everlane made waves for being among the first brands to eradicate virgin plastic from its supply chain. In 2019, after years of work, the startup managed to switch out new plastic with recycled plastic, largely made from discarded water bottles. It began incorporating them into jackets and fleece sweaters and bodysuits. It was a big step towards sustainability, since recycled polyester has a lower carbon footprint and diverts plastic from landfills. In the years that followed, many other brands on the market—from H&M to Prada—followed in Everlane’s footsteps, but it didn’t solve the bigger problem of what happens when people decide to get rid of their recycled ga…

They made things exciting. You thought you were in love. And now a week has gone by with no reply. Odds are they’re not getting back to you. But don’t take it personally: We’re all ensnared in a ghosting epidemic. According to the Thriving Center for Psychology, one in four Gen Zers and millennials have been ghosted after just a few dates. And to twist the knife even deeper, one in ten report being ghosted after a couple of months of dating. Tragically familiar, isn’t it? Brands like Sweethearts have been quick to capitalize on the reality of today’s dating landscape. In 2024, the heart-shaped candy brand launched “Situationship Boxes,” featuring candies …

There’s a statistic that’s been making the rounds for the better part of a decade that says the average person is exposed to about 10,000 ads every day. This has always sounded a tad suspect, as it amounts to an ad every six seconds of our waking day (it has since been debunked). But maybe the reason it’s persisted this long is because it really feels true. Our feeds are saturated with ads. The airwaves, TV broadcasts, sports sidelines, team jerseys, and our streamers are full of them. Now artificial intelligence is threatening to make that 10,000 ads a day statistic a reality. Agency Genre.ai has made AI-generated ads for IM8, Popeye’s, and Qatar Airlines, …

“Christmas at Pemberley Manor” and “Romance at Reindeer Lodge” may never make it to Oscar night, but legions of fans still love these sweet-yet-predictable holiday movies—and this season, many are making pilgrimages to where their favorite scenes were filmed. That’s because Connecticut—the location for at least 22 holiday films by Hallmark, Lifetime, and others—is promoting tours of the quaint Christmas-card cities and towns featured in this booming movie market; places where a busy corporate lawyer can return home for the holidays and cross paths with a plaid shirt-clad former high school flame who now runs a Christmas tree farm. (Spoiler alert: they live happily eve…

For its first brand refresh in 13 years, Domino’s updated its color palette, packaging, and font to look more engaging. When it came to making new tagline, though, the Michigan-based pizza chain is trying something unique: they just added more Ms to their wordmark. Mmm. Domino’s announced a rebrand Wednesday that includes brighter reds and blues and a new font called Domino’s Sans that was designed to “be thicker and doughier” and proves that using sans serifs doesn’t have to be bland. Team members will get new branded gear to wear in the kitchen and out delivering orders, and there’s a reimagined suite of new pizza boxes, including one black-and-metallic-gold box des…

Six years ago, I wrote (with colleague Jennifer Riel) a Harvard Business Review article on functional strategy. But the questions about functional strategy keep coming unabated. It is a vexatious issue for CEOs, functional leaders, and boards of directors. So, I thought it would make sense to dedicate a Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights (PTW/PI) to Functional Strategy: The Three Key Functional Leader Tasks. And as always, you can find all the previous PTW/PI here. How Did We Get Here? In the business world today, there are great differences of opinion as to what functional strategy is or even whether functions should have strategies. A prevalent view holds that …

Some studies show that the interview process can take up to six weeks. But there are ways that might help speed up the process and get those final hiring managers to land on you as the one they offer the job to. View the full article

Move over quiet quitting, bare minimum Mondays, and career cushioning. A new workplace behavior is on the rise: the self-aware underperformer. Contrary to hustle culture, these workers are knowingly underperforming and not doing anything about it. It used to be the delusional underperformer—the employee who thought they were doing a great job—that gave HR headaches. The self-aware underperformer, on the other hand, is aware that they’re underperforming and not taking any actions to rectify it. As leaders, this isn’t something you can afford to ignore. After all, underperformance doesn’t just materialize. The culture has been brewing and cultivating on our watch. U…

When work was drying up for freelance writer Megan Carnegie, she found herself compulsively hopping between apps and social media. “LinkedIn, WhatsApp, emails—and it was just terrible for my focus,” she says. “I was anxious about getting work.” On a whim, Carnegie (who’s also contributed to Fast Company) popped into a store selling secondhand computer equipment and bought an old Nokia burner phone. During the workday, she would use the burner for calls, and in the evening, switch back to her smartphone. With no access to apps and one fewer way to access the internet, her urgency and anxiety dissolved. “I just loved the quiet,” she says. The effects of social media…

Ear-splitting ads on Netflix and Hulu are no more—at least if you live in California. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Monday that requires streaming services to prevent commercials from cranking the volume when they think the viewer might have popped into the next room for a snack. Unlike many pieces of legislation, California SB 576 is short and sweet. Starting next July, any streamer that serves video to California residents “shall not transmit the audio of commercial advertisements louder than the video content the advertisements accompany.” The bill cites a federal version of the law designed for traditional broadcast TV, extending the rules to …

Below, Michelle “MACE” Curran shares five key insights from her new book, The Flipside: How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear into Your Superpower. Michelle spent over a decade as a fighter pilot and served as the Lead Solo Pilot for the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Air Force’s elite demonstration team. She has nearly 2,000 hours of F-16 flying time and flew combat missions in Afghanistan. Known for her upside-down maneuvers, she has inspired audiences at airshows and flyovers like the Super Bowl, Daytona 500, and Indy 500. What’s the big idea? Mace spent years operating in high-pressure environments, from combat situations to performing high-speed maneuvers i…

Across the country, a growing sentiment suggests the university degree is an artifact of a bygone era, a depreciating asset in an economy obsessed with speed. A recent Gallup poll confirms this shift, revealing that Americans’ confidence in the value of a college education has plummeted to a 15-year low. Nowhere is this skepticism louder than in my own backyard. In Silicon Valley, the “skip college” mantra has evolved from a “hot take” to accepted wisdom. Fueled by the rise of generative AI, the logic is seductive: If artificial intelligence can code, write copy, and analyze data faster than a junior employee, why spend four years and a small fortune on skills a bot w…

As the year winds down, many leaders find themselves in a familiar ritual: closing the books, reviewing revenue targets, and drafting ambitious financial goals for the year ahead. These practices are important. But after years of designing teams and advising organizations at different stages of growth, I’ve come to believe that the most valuable year-end ritual has little to do with money alone. Instead, it’s about setting nonfinancial metrics alongside your financial ones. Revenue tells you where your business landed. Nonfinancial metrics tell you why and whether the success you’re chasing is sustainable. They reveal the health of your organization from the insid…

We hear a lot about self-discipline in today’s productivity-obsessed culture. And the message is usually that it’s the cure for economic insecurity and a pathway to self-actualization. At first glance, this appears to make sense. But it can be a double-edged sword in our modern work lives and always-on culture. Self-discipline enables focus and is key to achievement. However, over-indexing on it can easily erode our own values and boundaries. In turn, this can cause burnout, isolation, and existential despair. What does ‘discipline’ really mean? Discipline has historically been associated with punishment and religious correction. Think physical punishment, incl…