What's on Your Mind?

“Get laid off with me.” So read the closed captions of a recent TikTok post. “My boss just put a 15 minute sink on my calendar,” creator @mbraindump said in the now-viral post. “I can’t believe this is really happening. Getting laid off, okay, here we go.” It is a sinking feeling that’s sadly familiar to myriad workers. In just the past week, thousands have fallen victim to mass layoffs at Amazon, Target, Paramount, CBS, and other large companies. After Amazon laid off 14,000 corporate employees last week, or 4% of its white-collar workforce, a number of workers started cropping up on social media to document their experiences. The trend of documenting be…

You may have seen warnings that Google is telling all of its users to change their Gmail passwords due to a breach. That’s only partly true. Google is telling users to change their passwords, but not because of a breach that exposed them. In fact, Google’s real advice is to stop using your password altogether. Here’s what I mean. The breach traces back to Salesforce, whose systems were compromised by the hacker group known as ShinyHunters (also tracked as UNC6040). Attackers obtained business-related Gmail data, including contact lists, company associations, and email metadata. No actual Gmail account credentials were stolen, but the nature of the stolen data makes ph…

Racing along the Potomac River at 26 knots (almost 30 mph) usually guarantees a raucous ride—but not on a battery-electric Candela C-8 hydrofoil. Instead of the roar of a conventional boat’s fossil-fueled engine and the smack of its hull on the water, this vessel smoothly whirred along, barely shuddering over the wake of a passing water taxi as its foils cleanly sliced through the surface. The placid experience belied the speed shown on the C-8’s touchscreen. And the loudest noise heard on a mid-October ride came not from the C-8’s electric motor, but from planes taking off from Washington National Airport that were following a prescribed course above the river. …

If one founder is good, then more must be better, right? Not necessarily. New research shows that the benefits of cofounding a startup with strangers can be eclipsed by the risks. Yes, cofounders can bring their own perspectives, along with “access to wider networks, greater capacity, and access to funding,” says Monique Boddington, a management practice associate professor at the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School, whose research includes early-stage venture formation and startup strategy development. And yet: “An increasing number of individuals have been setting up businesses with no intention of taking on employees,” she explains. That’s beca…

Ann Hummond knew the office software like the back of her hand. Based in Yorkshire, England, she could untangle any spreadsheet snafu in her sleep. Over the past 23 years, she had worked her way up from a data entry clerk to her finance company’s administrative director, quietly becoming the person everyone relied on when things went sideways. She was, in short, indispensable. And then, one Tuesday morning last year, during a quarterly team meeting attended by directors, colleagues, and a team leader, her boss—who is nearly 10 years her senior—told her publicly, in a roomful of people: “You’re too old to do this job.” “I must have looked like a goldfish…

If it’s one thing that can consistently break the internet, it’s pets. Take Pancho the diva: The 1-year-old English cream mini dachshund started his career early in the fame-hungry world of LA, and is now a celebrity with 148,000 followers on Instagram. “We created this personality of this dog that is a diva and a brat who loves the lavish, luxury lifestyle—but his poor little parents can’t afford it,” says his owner, Felix Levine, entrepreneur and host of the popular podcast Unlike Me. He and Serena Kerrigan, founder of the dating game Let’s F**ing Date, are seasoned content creators, so when friends joked about giving their new dog an online persona, the idea st…

Leaders learn to say things with confidence. You may assume that people will be more prone to listen to you when you speak forcefully and with a sense of belief. Despite your best efforts, though, you’re going to say something incorrect every now and again. You might get out ahead of a story only to find out that things were not as they seemed initially. You might just have your facts wrong. Regardless of why you erred, you still have to be willing to admit that you were wrong. Happily, there is an easy way to do this, though you may find it hard to do at first. You have to admit you were wrong. Yup. That’s right. You just have to come out and say it. There is…

We are living in turbulent times and there is no reason to expect that things will become less so in the future. During such moments our emotions become strained and pushed to their limits. Stress increases as emotions are stretched, making it increasingly important that we are able to recognize the effects of it in ourselves as well as others in our environment. Becoming acutely aware of ourselves and others we are interacting with in this type of environment is paramount to building healthy relationships in the workplace and all areas of our lives. In my book, Emotional Intelligence Game Changers, I delve into how to navigate difficult times. Here are four ways…

As the founder, chair, and CEO of the Exceptional Women Alliance, I am fortunate to be surrounded by extraordinary female business leaders. Our purpose is to empower each other through peer mentorship that provides personal and professional fulfillment within this unique sisterhood. This month, I’m pleased to introduce Sammie Dabbs. Sammie is passionate about building and scaling high-performing commercial organizations. As chief commercial officer, she oversees revenue strategy, sales, and marketing alignment—driving growth through a combination of operational rigor and customer-centric innovation. With a proven track record of leading teams, entering new markets, an…

Many organizations are racing to build AI strategies, but too often they focus on adopting the latest tech, rather than creating the environment to support it. The reality is that lasting transformation is fueled by people, which requires companies to take a good look at their culture. At Architech, that’s exactly what we did. By prioritizing and rewarding innovation, we aligned our culture with our AI strategy—and it worked. This year, we are proud to be recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Workplaces. We are one of 10 companies globally recognized by Fast Company for excellence in AI, automation, and machine learning. Here’s how we built an award-…

Artist Edel Rodriguez is famous for his satirical images of Donald The President. Since 2016, he’s produced dozens of images of the President in an ultra-simple, pop-art style. But for Rodriguez’s new cover of The New Yorker commemorating Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral race, he threw that signature look out the window. The illustration, which will run on the November 17 issue of The New Yorker, shows Mamdani smiling broadly as he holds onto the hand rail on an M train headed to Queens. Around him, New Yorkers of all walks of life—including a young woman with a dog in her bag, a child with her mother, and an elderly gentleman in a fedora—jostle t…

United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines said they will refund tickets for customers who will be flying starting on Friday, November 7, after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a 10% reduction in flights at 40 major airports, expected to affect some 3,500 to 4,000 flights daily. The reductions come amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, which has created a shortage of air traffic controllers, some of whom are not being paid. “Any customer traveling during this period is eligible for a refund if they do not wish to fly—even if their flight isn’t impacted,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement. “That includes non…

On November 3, Vogue announced that it’s folding the sister publication Teen Vogue into Vogue.com. Now, the internet is mourning the loss of a rare publication that “took young people seriously.” The news came in the form of an article posted to Vogue’s business vertical. Per the post, the transition is “part of a broader push to expand the Vogue ecosystem.” The article goes on to explain that Teen Vogue “will remain a distinct editorial property, with its own identity and mission,” and that the publication will “focus its content on career development, cultural leadership and other issues that matter most to young people.” Further, it notes that Teen Vogue e…

Monday, November 3, saw nearly 5,000 flights delayed in the U.S. The weekend prior saw more than 10,000. Cancellations are stacking up as well. As the length of this most recent government shutdown sets new records, those headaches at the airport aren’t expected to ease. They are, in fact, likely to get worse. And while that’s scary news for anyone who might be planning to head home for Thanksgiving, there’s a chance it could be what gets the government back to work. Republicans and Democrats are still at odds, and neither is showing any sign of backing down. Even the brief cessation of SNAP benefits (and the lawsuits that followed) hasn’t brought about a détente.…

Democrats dominated the first major Election Day since President Donald The President returned to the White House. And while a debate about the future of the Democratic Party may have only just begun, there are signs that the economy — specifically, The President’s inability to deliver the economic turnaround he promised last fall — may be a real problem for The President’s GOP heading into next year’s higher-stakes midterm elections. “Happy Anniversary! On this day, November 5th, one year ago, we had one of the Greatest Presidential Victories in History — Such an Honor to represent our Country. Our Economy is BOOMING, and Costs are coming way down. Affordability …

Many big companies have cited AI as a reason for recent layoffs. But the new technology transforming the workforce may create some new jobs, too. AI startups are racing to hire a certain kind of software engineer who works with both customer teams and product engineering teams: Candidates are expected to have tech skills, but also, understand the business model so they can help customize customers’ AI models for their companies’ specific needs. The emerging role is called a forward-deployed engineer (FDE), and according to the Financial Times, job postings for the position are absolutely skyrocketing, increasing more than 800% from the start of 2025 through Septem…

Fortnite maker Epic Games and Google just agreed on a “comprehensive settlement” that could be the final chapter in Epic’s long battle over app store rules. In a joint filing in a San Francisco federal court, both companies proposed a resolution to Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against Google, which the game publisher filed in 2020 along with a parallel lawsuit against Apple. In a post on X, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney called the proposed settlement “awesome” and expressed hope that the courts would agree. “It genuinely doubles down on Android’s original vision as an open platform to streamline competing store installs globally, reduce service fees for developers on Goog…

Elon Musk turned off many potential buyers of his Tesla cars and sent sales plunging with his foray into politics. But the stock has soared anyway and now he wants the company to pay him more — a lot more. Shareholders gathering Thursday for Tesla’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas, will decide in a proxy vote whether to grant Musk, the company’s CEO and already the richest person in the world, enough stock to potentially make him history’s first trillionaire. It’s a vote that has sparked heated debate on both sides of the issue, even drawing the pope’s comments on it as an example of income inequality. Several pension funds have come out against the package, a…

The results are in. McDonald’s latest earnings report sheds light on the growing divide among U.S. consumers—as the wealthiest Americans continue to spend and eat out—while lower income families are making less trips to the Golden Arches as they battle the rising cost of living, skyrocketing food prices, grocery inflation, and stagnate wages. A look at McDonald’s third quarter earnings, released Tuesday after the closing bell, shows the fast food giant’s U.S. same-store sales increasing 2.5%, over the same period last year, (up 3.6% globally,)—but missing analyst expectations with adjusted earnings per share (EPS) coming in at $3.22, ten cents under expectations of $3…

Key Supreme Court conservatives seemed skeptical Wednesday that President Donald The President has the power to unilaterally impose far-reaching tariffs, potentially putting at risk a key part of his agenda in the biggest legal test yet of his unprecedented presidency. The Republican administration is trying to defend the tariffs central to The President’s economic agenda after lower courts ruled the emergency law he invoked doesn’t give him near-limitless power to set and change duties on imports. The Constitution says Congress has the power to levy tariffs. But the The President administration argues that in emergency situations the president can regulate import…

The most obvious use case for generative AI in editorial operations is to write copy. When ChatGPT lit the fuse on the current AI boom, it was its ability to crank out hundreds of comprehensible words almost instantly, on virtually any topic, that captured our imaginations. Hundreds of “ChatGPT wrote this article” think pieces resulted, and college essays haven’t been the same since. Neither has the media. In October, a report from AI analytics firm Graphite revealed that AI is now producing more articles than humans. And it’s not all content farms cranking out AI slop: A recent study from the University of Maryland examined over 1,500 newspapers in the U.S. and found…

How I spend my hours in the day is how I live. To make the most of my waking hours, I practice the one-hour rule—a simple habit that helps me learn, reflect, and think. I give myself 60 uninterrupted minutes a day to try and become a little wiser than I was yesterday. I consciously take control of my growth to transform how I think, how I decide, or live. It takes commitment. But just an hour a day learning, thinking, and reflecting is helping me improve my life processes. That’s it. Sixty minutes. Five hours a week. And you are upgrading yourself daily. That means reading something that stretches you. Reflecting on what went wrong and why. Sitting in silence and lett…

The people of New York have spoken. In electing Zohran Mamdani mayor, they voted for generational change, democratic socialism, and joyful pop-culture politics. The historical significance of Mamdani’s victory will be parsed for days, weeks, and years to come. But the people of New York did not just elect a mayor, they also voted to change the way housing gets built in one of the tightest housing markets in the United States. Voters passed three ballot initiatives designed to speed up and increase housing production by an even greater margin than Mamdani’s victory. With these ballot initiatives, Mamdani also won a huge victory—one he didn’t even campaign for, th…

For years, email, texting, and messaging apps have ruled how we communicate. But one timeless human skill—often neglected—is quickly becoming a true difference-maker in the digital age. Active listening. It’s both an art and a discipline, and it’s what separates average leaders from exceptional ones (while making them instantly likable in the process). The truth is, active listening is the foundation of effective communication and the heartbeat of strong relationships. Yet as technology consumes more of our attention, we’re losing touch with this skill—and with it, a powerful competitive advantage in business. When you focus on your people—their growth, th…

Last night, Zohran Mamdani defeated Andrew Cuomo to become the next mayor of New York City. Cue the online crashouts. Leading the pack is Will & Grace star Debra Messing, who is now facing intense backlash for sharing dozens of posts smearing the Democratic candidate on Instagram in the run up to polls closing. Messing took part in early voting last week, sharing in a post that she cast her ballot for Cuomo, who ran as an independent. Before the race was called, Messing took to her Instagram Stories to share an onslaught of anti-Mamdani graphics and videos, many including blatant Islamophobia. She reposted a video of one influencer calling Mamdani …