What's on Your Mind?

There’s more to winning than just winning. The way someone handles their tremendous success, after all, can transform a winner back into a loser—something Adrien Brody proved last night with a rambling, rule-defiant acceptance speech that managed to snatch reputational defeat from the jaws of career victory. With many of his peers gathered under one roof, and the whole world watching, he put on a masterclass in how not to behave at work. Not only did Brody win his second best actor award last night—this one for The Brutalist, putting him in an elite class of multi-winners along with Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, and Marlon Brando—he also won a slot in the Guinness World …

U.S. grocer Kroger said on Monday CEO Rodney McMullen has resigned after a board investigation found that his personal conduct was “inconsistent” with certain company policies. The conduct is not related to financial performance, operations or reporting, and it did not involve any Kroger associates, the company said. The surprise ouster of the 64-year-old executive comes after the company in December terminated a two-year effort to buy rival Albertsons in a $25 billion deal, an attempt McMullen had staunchly defended as a way to fight higher prices and better compete with Walmart and Costco. Meanwhile, Albertsons has sued Kroger for an alleged breach of contra…

A bartender makes a Brandy Alexander, pouring equal parts of a Courvoisier V.S.O.P brandy, Marie Brizard crème de cacao, and fresh cream. He shakes it with ice, strains through a fine mesh strainer, and finishes it off with a neat pile of freshly-grated nutmeg. This imagery may seem to be out of a bartending documentary, but it’s actually a scene from an anime series, Bartender: Glass of God. It’s this unavoidable, radical attention to detail in the animation itself that tells the story of a Japanese way of life–putting extreme care into one’s craft. During scenes inside the bar, the liquor wall features an elaborate selection of spirits, the labels of which are …

Tom Broughton, the founder of the British eyewear brand Cubitts that has recently landed in the U.S., wants to make you a set of glasses that you’ll be able to wear your entire life. “They could outlive you,” he says. That’s a radical notion these days. Over the past three decades, as fast fashion has become the norm, the price of eyewear has come down alongside the price of clothes and shoes. Brands like Zenni and Warby Parker market their glasses as a fashion statement that is so affordable, you can change them up whenever you want. You could wear a different pair every day of the week. Broughton finds this approach to eyewear problematic for many reasons. For one t…

AI is poised to reshape businesses, but too many executives are oversimplifying its potential, focusing on automation rather than collaboration. As someone who’s spent my career studying the future of work, I’m excited about AI’s breakthrough potential—but cautious of the narratives being rushed into the spotlight. Recently, I reviewed Anthropic’s study, Which Economic Tasks Are Performed with AI? Evidence from Millions of Claude Conversations, and found that AI’s real impact isn’t as clear-cut as many believe. While AI is transforming business, leaders are overlooking key realities about AI’s impact and its real-world applications. Here’s what many are still getting…

Microplastics—the tiny particles of plastic shed when litter breaks down—are everywhere, from the deep sea to Mount Everest, and many researchers worry that they could harm human health. I am a machine learning researcher. With a team of scientists, I have developed a tool to make identification of microplastics using their unique chemical fingerprint more reliable. We hope that this work will help us learn about the types of microplastics floating through the air in our study area, Michigan. Microplastics—a global problem The term plastic refers to a wide variety of artificially created polymers. Polyethylene, or PET, is used for making bottles; polypropylene,…

Welcome to Pressing Questions, Fast Company’s work-life advice column. Every week, deputy editor Kathleen Davis, host of The New Way We Work podcast, will answer the biggest and most pressing workplace questions. Q: I think my manager is burned out. What can I do? A: It’s tough out there for managers, especially middle mangers who are often caught in the—well—middle and may find themselves enforcing unpopular policies that they didn’t create. It’s not explicitly your job to fix your boss’s problems (and you don’t have the power or authority to do so if you aren’t in a leadership role). But, a manager sets the tone for their team and if they are burned out, their enti…

Have you seen the new Volvo ad made with generative artificial intelligence? Go ahead. Watch it. . . . I’ll wait. If you think it looks awful, you’re not alone. The physics are all wrong, with hair, sand, and objects going in the wrong direction at the wrong time. The humans look like they’re made of plastic. Their emotions are forced, their expressions deformed, their smiles anything but warm. Instead, they likely fill you with an uncanny Grand Canyon of dread. The lighting is artificial, too—no film, digital camera, or grading would produce that unnatural palette. Some people are saying that Volvo made a mistake by not putting a car in the ad, obviously not realizi…

Tyler, the CEO of an early-stage technology company, reached out for executive coaching support at the recommendation of a college friend: “Give it a try,” she encouraged. He was skeptical about anything “touchy-feely” and wondered if coaching could offer his leadership an “edge.” After we reviewed his 360 results together, Tyler’s skepticism took center stage. His feedback consisted of descriptors like controlling, arrogant, and dismissive. Tyler was unmoved. He asked, “Why should I care about what people think of me if we’re getting great results?” Tyler’s not an anomaly. There are leaders everywhere who behave badly interpersonally but exceed sales goals, secu…

A well-funded AI lab with a deep bench of research talent is releasing a powerful new model that generates high-definition video for the film and advertising industries. The company, Moonvalley, on Wednesday launched its first model, named Marey—a nod to early cinema pioneer Étienne-Jules Marey—which could soon help Hollywood studios dramatically speed up production and cut costs. What sets Marey apart—and has caught the attention of risk-averse studios—is its training data. The model was trained exclusively on video content either owned or fairly licensed by Moonvalley, avoiding the copyright gray zones that make much generative content legally fraught. Moonvalle…

Ambition is one of the most defining forces in human affairs—a psychological engine that propels individuals beyond the realm of survival into the arena of creation, disruption, and transformation, and significantly predicts educational attainment, career success, job performance, and income. At its core, ambition is the refusal to accept the status quo, the internal pressure to stretch personal limits and societal boundaries. In a way, the best way to understand ambition is as the inability to be satisfied with one’s accomplishments. Ambition fuels leadership by pushing individuals to take responsibility, imagine alternatives, and mobilize others toward a vision. Amb…

How can a razor brand market their products online when the word “razor” is shadowbanned. Start an OnlyFans, of course. London-based razor brand Nimbi, which launched at Erewhon in January 2024, began posting on TikTok last summer but noticed their views were disappointingly low. Turns out, it’s because they were using the word razor, which is on TikTok’s list of shadow-banned (meaning TikTok was limiting who could see their content). So, Nimbi got creative. Co-founder Anna Reid first suggested the idea of making an OnlyFans account as a joke. But it made a lot of sense. Most brands would steer well clear of posting on a platform infamous for sexually explicit c…

If the joy of seeing butterflies seems increasingly rare these days, it isn’t your imagination. From 2000 to 2020, the number of butterflies fell by 22% across the continental United States. That’s 1 in 5 butterflies lost. The findings are from an analysis just published in the journal Science by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Powell Center Status of Butterflies of the United States Working Group, which I am involved in. The endangered Karner blue butterfly has struggled with habitat loss. [Photo: USFWS/Flickr] We found declines in just about every region of the continental U.S. and across almost all butterfly species. Overall, nearly one-third of the 342 but…

MrBeast is currently the most-subscribed YouTuber in the world—but his biggest moneymaker isn’t content. It’s chocolate. The 26-year-old creator, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, owns the snack brand Feastables, which generated $251 million in sales and more than $20 million in profit last year, according to investor documents obtained by Bloomberg. By contrast, his main media business—including his blockbuster YouTube channel and the Amazon Prime reality competition show, Beast Games—brought in similar revenue but lost nearly $80 million over the same period. With 372 million subscribers at the time of writing, MrBeast’s videos range from spending “100 hours i…

Starting today, if you call an Uber in Austin you can match with a self-driving Waymo vehicle. The launch in the Texas capital is part of an expanded partnership between the two tech companies. Waymo’s autonomous vehicles are already available on the Uber platform in Phoenix, and the companies plan to launch next in Atlanta. “With Waymo’s technology and Uber’s proven platform, we’re excited to introduce our customers to a future of transportation that is increasingly electric and autonomous,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement. Austin riders who request an UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric can be matched with a Waymo all-e…

For the first time in over a decade, Coca-Cola is relaunching its iconic “Share a Coke” campaign. This time around, it’s targeting Gen Z. When “Share a Coke” first debuted in Australia in 2011, replacing the “Coca-Cola” logo on Coke bottles with 150 of the most popular names in the region, it sold 250 million named bottles and cans in a nation of just under 23 million people. The idea was so successful that, over time, Coca-Cola replicated it in 70 different countries. And this April 1, a new version of “Share a Coke” is rolling out globally. The bones of the concept are the same as when it debuted more than a decade ago: In each local market, a range of the most…

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. As someone deeply invested in sustainable mass transit and supply chain automation, I’m also invested in an idea that could change the world of freight transport for us all. The global supply chain is in flux. Even before new tariffs, the nearshoring trend in North America has created an urgent demand for more innovative and efficient freight solutions. However, despite automotive a…

Few self-help ideas are as prevalent and widely celebrated as the advice to “just be yourself.” Whether in job interviews, workplace interactions, or career choices, we are frequently encouraged to act “authentically”—without compromise or concern for external pressures. While this sounds comforting and empowering, authenticity as an interpersonal strategy is fundamentally flawed and at odds with hundreds of scientific studies on emotional intelligence, social skills, and career success. As I illustrate in my forthcoming book, Don’t Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated and What To Do Instead, authenticity is not a helpful life hack, but rather a misguide…

As the founder of a high-growth SaaS business, Evan was the quintessential entrepreneur. Ideas and innovation were his strength, and they led to his success in attracting investors and inspiring his early hires. With the infusion of investment capital, the company entered a new stage of growth. To scale successfully, the business needed to standardize operations and develop repeatable processes to reliably deliver services to its customers. But these were not Evan’s strengths. With a near-constant flow of ideas and a desire to resource them, he soon earned a new nickname among his team: “chief distraction officer.” Eventually, investors grew tired of Evan’s lack of f…