What's on Your Mind?

Appointing a chief of staff is a critical first step for any CEO looking to make impactful leadership decisions. But an executive who merely utilizes their chief of staff as an administrative extra set of hands risks missing out on meaningful transformation opportunities. The critical decision to position a chief of staff as a true executive partner, when executed well, can be a bold investment that impacts a CEO’s legacy. Based on my own experience as a chief of staff for a Series A unicorn-to-be and my current work coaching and placing these professionals, I’ve seen firsthand that today’s chiefs of staff act as leadership amplifiers. They occupy a unique position at…

Maybe I should begin this article by arguing that nothing spices up a mundane meeting like a creative, beautiful, or hilarious background for your Zoom calls. But the reality is that most of us just need to hide messy offices, guestroom beds, or dirty-dish-filled kitchens. These three websites offer up almost half a million free Zoom backgrounds for your perusal, so forget tidying up and get that scrolling finger ready. Pexels: Something for everyone The undisputed king of free Zoom backgrounds, Pexels houses more than 450,000 photos and more than 50,000 videos in its Zoom section. With that many options, you have . . . well, options. Whether you’re loo…

The Super Bowl is a magical time and place for brands. A rare and brief three-or-so hour moment when people want to see commercials. Every marketer’s Xanadu. What defines a great Super Bowl ad is obviously subjective, no matter what the Ad Meters, and any number of other measurement tech tells you. Hell, even your own brain might be lying to you. The real scorecard is unique to each brand and what it considers the worth of up to $40 million or more in investment around the game. My criteria for a good Super Bowl ad remains relatively simple: Is it fun or emotional in a way that is both entertaining and memorable? An easy question to ask, but as each year prove…

For the first time in 27 years, we saw a Nike commercial in the Super Bowl. Has it really been that long? Hard to believe that one of—if not the—world’s greatest marketing brands hasn’t been on the big game stage for almost three decades. “Hare Jordan” is arguably a Top 10 all-time Super Bowl ad. Blame complacency, the fragmentation of media and culture, or whatever you like, but getting the swoosh back to the Super Bowl just feels right. Not only that, but the brand is using this opportunity to re-establish its hardcore athlete bonafides, in case anyone forgot. Created with Wieden+Kennedy, and narrated by Grammy winner Doechii, here we get a cranked up, black an…

The challenge is formidable: Create an ad campaign that somehow shows a brand’s integral role in a pivotal moment of human history. But also, like, make it fun? When OpenAI’s ChatGPT hit 100 million users two months after its launch in November 2022, a UBS study declared it the fastest-growing consumer application in history. Now at upwards of 400 million users, ChatGPT might be the best-known consumer product to invest the least in advertising. Historic product awareness, zero brand awareness. For OpenAI chief marketing officer Kate Rouch, the Super Bowl was the perfect stage to start telling the world what the brand actually means. “Obviously, 130 mi…

If the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl on Sunday, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the rest of their teammates will have bragging rights as the National Football League (NFL)’s first three-peat winners. They’ll also bag a cool $171,000 for the game, each. Before Philadelphia fans accuse the Chiefs of getting special treatment, yes, Eagles players will earn the same amount if they win. And whichever team leaves New Orleans without the Lombardi Trophy will still get a decent consolation prize: A $96,000 paycheck per player. Super Bowl contenders are receiving a better pay raise than most Americans did this year; the game paycheck is about 4.3% higher for th…

The shine has worn off the new year and, given the long slog of winter that still lies ahead, you might be feeling less excited about work. There’s a good chance that what you’re feeling is more than just the winter blahs. According to a study last year, an alarming 82% of workers feel at risk for burnout. If you think you, your coworkers, or even your boss might be part of that group, here are the red flags to look out for—and what you can do about it. Red flags for personal burnout You likely know many of the obvious signs of burnout, such as feeling exhausted and disengaged at work. But there are plenty of other less obvious red flags that you should pay attent…

The Super Bowl is one of the world’s most significant single-day sporting events. It attracts over 100 million U.S. viewers and tens of millions of international viewers, making it an entertainment phenomenon. For Eagles fans who are not making the trip to the Superdome in New Orleans, there will be plenty of places to watch in Philadelphia—including rowdy bars, living rooms and even home tailgates, all while the city is lit in Eagles green. For me, the Super Bowl is a real-life laboratory. As a sports scientist, neuropsychology professor and the former athletic director at Drexel University in Philadelphia, I investigate how high-performance athletes prepare cogn…

Are you ready for it? February 9 is Super Bowl Sunday. The Kansas City Chiefs are looking for the first-ever “three-peat” in Super Bowl history, while the Philadelphia Eagles are looking for redemption after their last unsuccessful attempt for the Lombardi Trophy . . . against the Chiefs. Super Bowl LIX is a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, in 2023, which the Chiefs won 38-35, and was the start of their three-peat quest. (Fun fact: The term three-peat was actually trademarked by NBA legend Pat Riley back in the late 1980s when he was head coach of the L.A. Lakers. This past week, the NFL struck a deal with Riley to use it if the Chiefs win.) Here’s what you need to know ab…

As millions of Americans gear up for the Super Bowl—stocking the fridge with wing sauce, beer, and myriad other snacks and confections—employers are also preparing for the inevitable avalanche of sick-day requests on Monday. Last year, the day after Super Bowl Sunday (dubbed “Super Bowl Monday”) saw nearly two-thirds more sick-day requests than the average day in 2024, and 51% more requests than the average day in February, according to recent data from cloud-based human capital management software company Paycom. Interestingly, employers seem to empathize, as the data also shows that managers approved 91% of sick-day requests on Super Bowl Monday last year, whic…

For two guys about to fly a camera rig 30 miles per hour above the heads of clashing players, Alex Milton and Vinnie Scaffidi seem utterly at ease. Despite the fact that some 100 million people are about to watch their work in real time during Super Bowl LIX, the SkyCam pilot and operator, respectively, are not daunted. They’re ready. They got to New Orleans around 10 days before the big game. They’ve set up. They’ve rehearsed. They’ve got the entire season under their belt. And, well, now is the fun part. “It’s exciting to get to the end of the year and everyone’s playing for real,” from the camera people to the production crew to the players themselves, Milton says…

Is your résumé on trend? If it is, you’ll get more interviews. If not, expect to be rejected or ghosted by recruiters and hiring managers. These tips will help you craft a résumé that reflects your success in a changing world. First, understand what’s top-of-mind for CEOs and feature solutions in your résumé. Transformation, artificial intelligence, and return-to-office are more urgent than ever. Transformation CEOs worry that their organizations won’t be viable in 10 years if they don’t transform. So, ask yourself what you’ve contributed to preparing your organization for the future. Then, feature your greatest accomplishments and highest impact in résumé bull…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Zillow economists have developed an economic model called Zillow’s Market Heat Index, which measures the competitiveness of housing markets across the U.S. This model analyzes factors such as home price changes, inventory levels, days on market, and buyer demand to generate a score indicating whether a market is hot (favoring sellers) or cool (favoring 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. Accord…

The Super Bowl is a lot of things. NFL title game. Pop concert. Cultural institution. It’s also The Only Day People Care About Ads. That last one is worth a lot of money to the brands who decide to advertise during the big game. Back in 2000, E-Trade used its Super Bowl ad to joke about how much money it spent. A chimp hits play on a tape deck, climbs up on a lawn chair, and proceeds to clap and dance for 30 seconds. The tagline? “Well, we just wasted $2,000,000.” But how much does a Super Bowl commercial really cost? We’ve all probably seen headlines about the outrageous costs of a single 30-second spot, which, this year, is nearing about $8 million. And i…

Expect more security — and nerves — at this year’s Super Bowl victory celebration regardless of who wins Sunday’s matchup in New Orleans between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. A shooting that killed one person and wounded about two dozen others marred last year’s Chiefs victory rally, and a Philadelphia Eagles fan died last month after falling from a light pole while celebrating the team’s NFC championship victory. Kansas City plans to boost its police presence if the Chiefs win a third-straight title, and Philadelphia might grease its poles to thwart climbers if the Eagles win. New Orleans, which was the scene of a New Year’s Day truck-ramming at…

Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, the Joslyn Art Museum was a hub of culture for surrounding Midwestern towns. No matter how much or how little you knew about fine art, it was the place you could go to see works that you might not otherwise be able to access outside of the coasts. Decades after leaving Omaha, I returned this past December, and while visiting my mother’s house, I noticed a brochure for the Joslyn in her mail pile. It was unusually striking and had a look and feel that was vastly different from the Joslyn’s original brand identity. The old logotype, locked up with a pictorial mark, was traditional and respectable, but also very much tied to the past. The n…

Tj Power is the lead neuroscientist at the DOSE Lab and cofounder of Neurify, a trailblazing organization in the mental health sector. He is also a renowned international speaker, having captivated audiences worldwide and worked with major corporations and health services. What’s the big idea? Human brain chemistry is at odds with modern lifestyles. The activities and habits that naturally boost dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins have been largely replaced by routines that leave us feeling depleted. Uplift mood, tune focus, boost energy, and deepen relationships by fostering optimum conditions for your body’s favorite neurotransmitters. Below, Tj sha…

If you tune into the Puppy Bowl on Sunday, you’ll likely see a key person’s influence — even if you don’t actually see her. Victoria Schade is a dog trainer and novelist who’s the show’s lead puppy trainer and wrangler. She’s the one making sure the shelter pups have a conflict-free contest and that they’re captured at their most adorable—all from off-camera. It is Schade who gets the puppies to look up during the “The Star-Spangled Banner” or run through a tunnel to get to the field for the starting lineups. She’s on the lookout for possible conflicts or nervous dogs. “My responsibilities include ensuring puppy happiness and safety during gameplay,” she says.…

Ever since DeepSeek burst onto the scene last month, there’s been no shortage of opinions about what the Chinese startup’s artificial intelligence accomplishments mean for America’s AI giants like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Meta. However, there’s one company that’s usually been absent from any discussion of just how bad DeepSeek’s arrival is for many of America’s tech giants: Apple. Whenever a tech insider or analyst mentions Apple and DeepSeek together, its usually to suggest that the arrival of the Chinese LLM could be beneficial to the iPhone maker. Is that really the case? AI technology is moving so quickly (DeepSeek virtually appeared out of nowhere) th…

Ethan Bernstein is a professor of business administration in the Organizational Behavior unit at the Harvard Business School. He spent five years at The Boston Consulting Group and two years in executive positions at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Michael Horn is the author of several books, including the award-winning Disrupting Class, Choosing College, Blended, and From Reopen to Reinvent. He is the cofounder of and distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute. He also teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and cohosts the higher education podcast Future U. Bob Moesta is the president and founder of the Re-Wired Group, an adj…

Nowadays, when you hear someone talk about faxing, there’s a decent chance it’s the punchline to a groan-inducing dad joke. (Not that I would ever be guilty of such silliness, of course. I stick strictly to the fax.) And yet, here in the futuristic-feeling time of 2025, we all find ourselves facing the very occasional and impossibly baffling need to send something somewhere specifically by fax. Try as you might, sometimes, you just can’t avoid it. (One might even say those are just the fax of life!) Faxing is antiquated technology through and through, but for whatever reason, we as a society don’t quite seem ready to shed it entirely—despite the fact that we’ve go…