What's on Your Mind?

Digital transformation is the most important investment that organizations can make to drive enterprise value. That’s according to 68% of 1,600 business leaders surveyed by Deloitte. And while I largely agree with their thinking, I would take things one very important step further. In my six years as CEO of Argyle, a technology company whose existence hinges on other organizations’ willingness to digitally transform their income verification process, I have learned this: A transformation that prioritizes the needs, skills, and experiences of the humans operating the technology being adopted is the key to long-term success. Consider the users Some call it takin…

Decades of research show the benefits of women in leadership are invaluable. Females embody a more transformational leadership style fostering mission-driven cultures. Female presence also improves team dynamics, with better collaboration and collective intelligence; the greater the ratio of women, the greater equality is seen in conversations, thus capitalizing on the team’s full knowledge and skillsets. All this translates into measurable results: meta-analyses link female leadership with improved sales, and their representation on the board of directors is also directly associated with financial performance. The largest study of women in corporate America marked i…

At the Exceptional Women Alliance (EWA), we empower high-level women to mentor one another, encouraging personal and professional fulfillment through meaningful connections. This month, I am delighted to introduce Malika Begin, CEO and founder of Begin Development, a consulting firm based in Malibu, California. Malika shares her insights on the transformative power of generous leadership—an approach rooted in empathy and purpose—especially during crises like the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. Q: In moments of crisis, what leadership styles or qualities have the greatest impact on nurturing trust, resilience, and forward momentum within a team? Malika Begin: …

MrBeast’s fast-cutting, non-stop dramatics are already quick enough. Now, some users can watch his videos (and more) at 4x speed. YouTube is continuing their push for pace. In a new experiment, Premium users will be able to quadruple the speed of their videos. That’s up from YouTube’s previous ceiling of double speed. Meanwhile, TikTok users can up the tempo with a simple push-and-hold. And on Spotify, which is pushing to become video platform with their drive towards filmed podcasts, the speed cap is 3.5x. Ever since TikTok gained dominance, social media companies have worked quickly to shorten their video offerings. Meta and X pumped out TikTok clones for their…

In early 2024, Ryan Broderick, a surgeon at UC San Diego Health, was commiserating with some colleagues about the profusion of screens in today’s operating rooms. Though the displays provided essential guidance for minimally invasive operations in progress, they also added complexity. “We were looking around the operating room,” he remembers. “We have a lot of monitors, a lot of clutter. We were like, ‘There’s got to be a better way to do this.’” It wasn’t just about tidiness. ”For [a] monitor to be in the ideal position for surgery, it really should just be directly in front of your head without having to turn your neck or adjust your body,” explains Dr. Broderick. “Bu…

Anthony Obi never imagined the night of Jan. 7 would be the last time he’d step inside his safe haven. The Houston rapper, known professionally as Fat Tony, has lived in the Altadena neighborhood for a year and says he and his neighbors were prepared for heavy winds and perhaps a few days of power outages. “I totally expected, you know, maybe my windows are going to get damaged, and I’ll come back in like a day or two and just clean it up,” said the rapper. But residents like Obi woke up the following morning to news that thousands of homes and entire neighborhoods had been burned to ash, destroyed by flames that wiped out large areas of Pacific Palisades and …

The Army helicopter and regional American Airlines jet that collided over Washington are both workhorse aircraft that operate around the world on a daily basis. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the jet, a Bombardier CRJ700, officials said. Three service members were on a training flight on the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. None are believed to have survived the Wednesday night collision, which caused both aircraft to plunge into the frigid Potomac River. What to know about the aircraft: Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk There are about 5,000 Black Hawks in use around the world, according to the aviation site FlightGlobal.com. The twin-engine, four-b…

On Thursday, United Parcel Service (UPS) predicted downbeat 2025 revenue as it cut back service with its largest customer, Amazon, in order to focus on more profitable businesses. The decision will cut Amazon’s transported volumes by more than 50% by the second half of 2026. The unexpected announcement came with disappointing revenue results, with UPS failing to meet expectations for 2024. UPS’s Q4 revenue was $25.3 billion, slightly below the predicted $25.42 billion. This decision came at a time when UPS is struggling due to a decline in parcel demand following the e-commerce boom of the pandemic and an increase in shipments from discount online retailers such …

This story was originally published by ProPublica. The icebreaker Aiviq is a gas guzzler with a troubled history. The ship was built to operate in the Arctic, but it has a type of propulsion system susceptible to failure in ice. Its waste and discharge systems weren’t designed to meet polar code, its helicopter pad is in the wrong place to launch rescue operations and its rear deck is easily swamped by big waves. On its maiden voyage to Alaska in 2012, the 360-foot vessel lost control of the Shell Oil drill rig it was towing, and Coast Guard helicopter crews braved a storm to pluck 18 men off the wildly lurching deck of the rig before it crashed into a rocky beach…

Dallas is prepared to spend big to protect its logo. In fact, the Dallas City Council voted last week to spend up to $200,000 as part of a federal lawsuit to cancel the trademark of Triple D Gear, a Dallas apparel company that the city argues uses a logo so similar to its own that it causes confusion. One sign of a good civic mark, whether it’s a logo or a flag, is whether it becomes a symbol of popular expression. People get tattoos of the Chicago flag, for example, but not the flag of Illinois (hence the state’s efforts to redesign it). The Dallas logo, then, has done its job. Maybe too well. The city’s logo, which has been in use since 1972, features concentric…

Peavey Industries LP, Canada’s largest farm and ranch retailer, has announced the shuttering of all its locations across the country following its filing for creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), granted by the Court of King’s Bench Alberta. The closures will impact 90 Peavey Mart stores and six MainStreet Hardware locations, with liquidation sales starting immediately, marking the end of nearly six decades of operations for the Alberta-based company, which has long been a key player in Canada’s rural and suburban retail landscape. ‘A profoundly difficult decision’ The news comes as Canada’s retail industry faces unpreceden…

Lawyers representing victims of a deadly Hawaii wildfire reached a last-minute deal averting a trial that was scheduled to begin Wednesday over how to split a $4 billion settlement. The agreement means victims and survivors will not have to testify, reliving in court details of the massive inferno in Lahaina that killed more than 100 people, destroyed thousands of properties and caused an estimated $5.5 billion worth of damage. Before the trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday morning, lawyers met in private with Judge Peter Cahill, who later announced that a deal had been reached. Lawyers, who reached the deal late Tuesday, are expected to file court documents detailin…

Nissan is slashing production at its U.S. plants and offering buyouts to factory workers there as part of the Japanese automaker’s urgent efforts to return to profitability. The move is part of Nissan Motor Corp.’s plans, announced two months ago, to slash 9,000 jobs globally, including in China, after it racked up a quarterly loss due to sinking sales and ballooning inventory. At Nissan’s plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, one production line will maintain two shifts, while the other line will consolidate to one shift, the company said. The Smyrna plant makes Murano, Pathfinder and Rogue sport-utility vehicles and the Infiniti QX60 luxury model. In the Canton plant in Missi…

Microsoft said Wednesday that its profit for the October-December quarter grew 10% as it works to capitalize on the huge amounts of money it has spent to advance its artificial intelligence technology. But while its overall profits and revenue beat Wall Street expectations, it slightly missed projections for its closely watched cloud computing business, a centerpiece of its AI efforts. The company reported net income for the quarter of $24.1 billion, or $3.23 per share, beating Wall Street expectations of $3.11 per share. The Redmond, Washington-based software maker posted revenue of $69.6 billion in the quarter, up 12% from the previous year, also beating expectations.…

According to estimates from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, more than 16,200 structures were damaged or destroyed in the devastating fires that broke out in the Los Angeles area at the beginning of the year. These will take years to rebuild, not to mention billions of dollars. Music superstars decided early on to lend their talents to the fundraising efforts and play an epic FireAid Benefit concert spanning two venues. The event takes place tonight (Thursday, January 30, 2025), beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. Here’s everything you need to know about it, including how to stream it and donate: A brief timeline of the L.A. fi…

A jet with 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday while approaching the Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington. The aircraft plummeted into the Potomac River, and multiple people were killed. The crash occurred in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over 3 miles (5 kilometers) south of the White House and the U.S. Capitol. Here are some things to know about the collision: The crash The midair crash happened around 9 p.m. when a regional jet at the end of a flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military helicopter on a training exercise, according to the Federal Aviati…

The employees of bankrupt retailer Big Lots have had to live with a lot of uncertainty ever since the company announced in mid-December that it was going out of business and closing all its stores. Just over a week later, Big Lots announced that it had struck a deal with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners to transfer some Big Lots assets to Variety Wholesalers and other retailers. According to the announcement, that meant some Big Lots locations, between 200 and 400 stores, would stay open and operating, potentially saving thousands of jobs. Unfortunately, there’s yet no word on which Big Lots locations will continue to operate, leaving many Big Lots workers uncerta…