What's on Your Mind?

Featuring Gene Eidelman, Cofounder, Azure Printed Homes; Kate McLeod, Cofounder and Formulator, Kate McLeod and Nicole Richards, CEO, Allonnia. Moderated by Rebecca Barker, Editorial Event Producer, Fast Company. It’s not enough for companies to declare their commitment to the environment. As the federal government rolls back environmental programs and policies at a head-spinning pace, businesses are on their own to maintain momentum in the push toward sustainability. Hear from leaders who are spearheading climate-positive practices by tackling forever chemicals, reimagining what’s possible with recycled plastic and packaging, and more. View the full article

After years of struggling with the complexities of a merger that saw the combination of two major discount retailers a decade ago, Dollar Tree has decided to cut ties with Family Dollar. The company has announced an agreement to divest its Family Dollar business to private equity firms Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management for $1 billion, a strategic move that aims to streamline operations and enhance focus on its core Dollar Tree segment. Following the announcement, Dollar Tree’s shares surged nearly 7% in premarket trading on Wednesday. The deal is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to improve performance, with CEO Rick Dreiling emp…

The deadline to file your taxes is less than a month away, and if you’re doing them for the first time, you might be feeling added pressure. “It’s an incredibly daunting and stressful experience for many of them,” said Miklos Ringbauer, a certified public accountant based California. Planning ahead, doing your research and talking with experts can help first-time filers feel better about their taxes, Ringbauer said. The deadline to file your 2024 taxes is April 15. If you run out of time, you can file for an extension until Oct. 15. The extension is only to file your taxes, not to pay them. If you think you will owe taxes, you should pay an estimated amount before the …

Wind-driven wildfires that were among South Korea’s worst ever have ravaged the country’s southern regions, killing 24 people, destroying more than 200 structures and forcing 27,000 residents to evacuate, officials said Wednesday. The death toll included a pilot who died after a helicopter crashed during efforts to contain a blaze in the southeastern town of Uiseong, one of the hardest-hit areas. The aircraft had no other crew members. Police said that most of the dead are those in their 60s and 70s. The National Fire Agency said at least 26 people sustained varying degrees of injuries. An ancient Buddhist temple, houses, factories and vehicles were destroyed in the wi…

Activist and advocate Tarana Burke has spent 30 years raising awareness of sexual violence and working to eradicate it. Burke, who currently serves as the chief vision officer of the nonprofit organization Me Too Movement, coined the phrase “Me Too” in 2006 as a way show young women of color who had experienced sexual violence that they were not alone. The phrase took off as a hashtag on social media in 2017 in the wake of sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein and other high-profile men. Since then, Burke’s organization has partnered with groups including &Rise, Black Women’s Blueprint, and Callisto to support survivors of sexual violence in more than 80…

A number of big-name tech companies have announced or are said to be planning layoffs this month, in continuation of a trend we saw in February. March 2025’s most prominent tech layoffs include those from Jack Dorsey’s fintech company Block, online meal kit company HelloFresh, server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), social media giant TikTok, and retailer Wayfair’s technology division. Here’s what you need to know. Jack Dorsey’s Block lays off over 900 workers Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s latest company, Block, has announced that it will cut 931 jobs. Block owns the popular fintech app and platforms Cash App and Square. The 931 laid-off workers represent ab…

Being a perfectionist is like playing a rigged carnival game. It’s presented as easy and within reach when it’s actually impossible and unattainable. People who are expected by others, or expect themselves, to be perfect are trapped in a nonsensical world where normal and difficult are confused with perfect and easy. Unable to achieve perfection, they’re bombarded with messages that they’re not thinking, feeling, or performing normally: Everyone else manages to keep their house in order while working full-time and raising kids. No one else has to work this hard just to get by. None of the other moms have a hard time getting up with their kids in the morning…

Building trust and forming meaningful relationships within teams can be a daunting task for leaders, especially when time is limited. Through our research, we identified a streamlined approach that Generators—the type of leader that people want to work for, known for creating strong, collaborative environments—use to foster relationships quickly. We call it the SWIFT process, an acronym that guides leaders in cultivating meaningful connections. The SWIFT process entails: Setting aside time for relationship-building sprints Welcoming others warmly Intentionally inquiring about others’ lives Following up with thoughtful questions Taking time to self-ref…

When I asked Alicia Graf Mack, dean and director of The Julliard School’s Dance Division, to recall a moment that felt like a manifestation of her vision, she shared a recent Zoom conversation she had with seven Julliard seniors. They’re touring with dance companies and joined from around the world to share stories about their first performances. As a former principal dancer, Graf Mack understands her students’ journeys. She joined Julliard in 2018 with a bold vision to modernize dance education. As Julliard President Damian Woetzel captured: “on a macro level, what she is doing is influencing the very future of dance in the world.” “I’d love to see a field that…

Letting go of a struggling employee or deciding to coach them is one of the toughest calls a leader has to make. It’s rarely a black-and-white decision, and the stakes are high—not just for the individual but for the whole team and company. Every leader faces this dilemma multiple times in their career, and making a fair, timely decision isn’t always easy. That’s why I created the CORVETT framework—a simple, structured set of questions designed to cut through the noise and help leaders make these tough calls with clarity and intention. Instead of reacting emotionally or making hasty decisions, this approach ensures consistency and fairness. I also teach this frame…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Zillow economists have an economic model called the Zillow Market Heat Index, designed to assess the competitiveness of housing markets nationwide. This model evaluates factors like home price fluctuations, inventory levels, days on market, and buyer demand to produce a score that indicates whether a market is hot (benefiting sellers) or cool (benefiting buyers). A higher score indicates a hotter metro-level housing market where sellers have more power. A lower score indicates a colder metro-level housing market where buyers have more power. Acco…

Every year, millions of Muslims take part in observing Ramadan: a spiritual month dedicated to cleansing the soul and spirit, hallmarked by the practice of fasting. This means that for 30 days, from sunrise to sunset, practitioners abstain from eating food and drinking water, only breaking their fast once the sun disappears in their respective geolocation—a time that shifts up or down depending on the season. Yep, not even water. As someone who observes Ramadan, every year I am both amused and baffled by the awkwardness that surrounds the month in the workplace. Inquiries about what fasting entails are far and few, whether out of fear of disrespect, uncertainty, …

Just a short drive outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, the quaint city of Kannapolis is seeing a rapid economic revival. The city, which was traditionally known for its textile mills, has recently transformed into a research hub in the for Southeast. And right in Kannapolis’s city center, less than a ten minute walk from the Georgian-style city hall, sits Atrium Health Ballpark: the home of the Minor League Baseball team known as the Cannon Ballers. Over the last five years, the Cannon Ballers have played an increasingly vital role in Kannapolis’s revitalization. Throughout the course of a season, the team’s total attendance is around 200,000 people—a number m…

After artificial intelligence made waves in content creation across Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and digital advertising (such as Puma’s recent AI-powered campaign), the technology is now stepping into the world of animation. Traditionally a craft requiring meticulous storytelling, careful planning, frame-by-frame adjustments, and long rendering times, animation is now being streamlined by AI—dramatically reducing production time and costs. Vidu AI, a generative video platform developed by Chinese AI firm ShengShu Technology, recently announced a partnership with Los Angeles-based animation studio Aura Productions to produce a fully AI-generated sci-fi anime serie…

We’re excited to announce the judges of the 2025 Innovation by Design Awards. Innovation by Design honors the best projects and ideas across the design spectrum, as represented by our stellar group of jurors, who come from some of the world’s most exciting design-led companies. You can read more about their expertise and backgrounds below. And remember to apply for the Innovation by Design Awards by April 11. Carly Ayres, Program Lead, Airborne Carly Ayres is a writer using language to engage people in new and interesting ways. Currently, she does that as a writer and editor on Figma’s Story Studio. Before that, she did it on Google’s Material Design tea…

Altadena Girls began as a pop-up shop immediately after the Eaton Fire tore through Los Angeles, born out of a desire to help affected teenage girls regain a sense of their identity. The mission was simple yet profound: offer a space where they could rebuild what had been lost—clothing, makeup, and other items that help define who they are. The impact was significant as it reached more than 42 million people on social media in the first few weeks while receiving support from high-level brands and celebrities. Now, Altadena Girls is planning to open a community center dedicated to empowering young girls, helping them through trauma, and providing long-term support…

People with a healthy limit on their screen time probably haven’t noticed—but there’s been a meme shortage this March. On TikTok, some have declared a full-blown “Meme Drought,” dubbing it the “Great Meme Depression of 2025.” The panic began on March 10, when user @goofangel posted a video titled “TikTok Great Depression March 2025.” He says, “Nine days into March and we haven’t had a single original meme.” The post quickly racked up nearly a million views and clearly struck a chord, if the comments are any indication. “October to February was an insane run,” one commenter reminisced, recalling a time when everyone was “holding space” for “Defying Gravity”…