What's on Your Mind?

Kering released its third-quarter 2025 financial results on Thursday, showing it reduced the slump it had seen in the previous quarter. The French luxury goods house, which owns brands like Balenciaga, Gucci, and Yves Saint Laurent, reported 3.42 billion euros ($3.97 billion) in group revenue, down 5% year-over-year (YOY) compared to a 15% drop in quarter-two. It also beat Wall Street’s estimate of a 9.6% decline, according to consensus estimates cited by Reuters. Kering attributed the reduced revenue YOY, in part, to a negative currency effect of 5%. Luxury is in a lull As a whole, luxury brands have struggled in recent years, with blame boomeranging be…

Alaska Airlines said its operations have resumed Friday after it had to ground its planes for hours because of an information technology outage. The airline said in a statement that 229 flights were canceled because of the outage and that more flight disruptions were expected as it worked to “reposition aircraft and crews.” Alaska Airlines said it is working on getting travelers affected by the disruption to their destinations. It asked that passengers check their flight status before heading to the airport. The grounding Thursday affected Alaska Air and Horizon Air flights. Hawaiian Airlines, which was bought by Alaska Air Group last year, said its fl…

President Donald The President announced he’s ending “all trade negotiations” with Canada because of a television ad opposing U.S. tariffs that he said misstated the facts and called “egregious behavior” aimed at influencing U.S. court decisions. The post on The President’s social media site came Thursday night after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he aims to double his country’s exports to countries outside the U.S. because of the threat posed by The President’s tariffs. The President’s call for an abrupt end to negotiations could further inflame trade tensions that already have been building between the two neighboring countries for months. The President post…

I will never forget the day I realized how rare it is to see businesses support parents—or what a huge impact even the tiniest efforts can make. “We’re just going to run into the store for a few quick things!” I called to my two kids with confidence as I unloaded them from the car, skipping the bulky stroller and putting my 1-year-old in the shopping cart seat. But what should have been a simple trip took a turn when we unexpectedly needed to visit the restroom. As any mom knows, this is where things can start to unravel: You can’t take the cart inside, so what are you supposed to do with your not-yet-walking child while you help the bigger one use the toilet? A…

Yesterday, Target Corporation announced news that no one wants to hear—especially just before the holidays. The Minneapolis-based retail giant informed employees that it is gearing up to eliminate 1,800 corporate roles at the company. Here’s when the layoffs will happen and what it means for the company and its employees. Target to cull its corporate workforce by 8% On Thursday, Target’s chief operating officer, Michael Fiddelke, who is set to become the company’s new CEO in February, reportedly sent a memo to employees at the 440,000-strong company. According to numerous media reports, Fiddelke’s memo didn’t beat around the bush: the company has decided …

One of my Bentley University students put it plainly the other day: “AI taking entry-level jobs is a ‘when,’ not an ‘if.’ But in venture capital, 70% of the decision is reading the founder and team—and that’s something AI can’t do.” That simple breakdown , 70% people, 30% product—flips the usual narrative about finance. For decades, finance was defined by numbers. Analysts lived and died by the spreadsheets. Today, AI can run discounted cash flows, parse a term sheet, and size a market faster than any junior associate. But if you talk to people in venture capital, they’ll tell you the math has never been the most important part. The numbers matter, of course, but the …

Hello again, and thank you, as always, for spending time with Fast Company’s Plugged In. Apple is legendary for figuring out what people want before they realize they want it. But since 2021, its MacBook Pro hasn’t been like that at all. Instead, this venerable laptop’s recent design has reflected Apple’s willingness to trust its customers’ judgment—even when it’s been at odds with the company’s own instincts. In part, that’s because of a 2016 reimagining of the MacBook Pro that didn’t stick. Atypically, Apple then went on to reverse many of the changes it had made. The fancy function-key replacement known as the Touch Bar went bye-bye. And several mundane-but-use…

It used to be that artificial intelligence would leave behind helpful clues that an image it produced was not, in fact, real. Previous generations of the technology might give a person an extra finger or even an additional limb. Teeth could look odd and out of place, and skin could render overly blushed, like something out of Pixar. Multiple dimensions could befuddle our models, which struggled to represent the physical world in a sensical way: Ask for an image of salmon swimming in a river, and AI might show you a medium-rare salmon steak floating along a rapturous current. Sure, we were in the uncanny valley. But at least we knew we were there. That’s no longer…

It used to be that artificial intelligence would leave behind helpful clues that an image it produced was not, in fact, real. Previous generations of the technology might give a person an extra finger or even an additional limb. Teeth could look odd and out of place, and skin could render overly blushed, like something out of Pixar. Multiple dimensions could befuddle our models, which struggled to represent the physical world in a sensical way: Ask for an image of salmon swimming in a river, and AI might show you a medium-rare salmon steak floating along a rapturous current. Sure, we were in the uncanny valley. But at least we knew we were there. That’s no longer…

Meta is working to make its apps better for boomers. This week the company announced new UX features designed to deter scammers and make Meta’s apps safer for older adults. Scammers today use all kinds of tricks to part people from their money, like soliciting personal information under the guise of fake government benefits, brazenly pretending to be customer service support, and chatting up unwitting people in the comments section of a real business’s social media page to lure them to another page. New features for older users Meta says its new in-app warnings are meant to combat that type of behavior, and will be triggered by suspicious activity. On t…

Those AI tools are being trained on our trade secrets. We’ll lose all of our customers if they find out our teams use AI. Our employees will no longer be able to think critically because of the brain rot caused by overreliance on AI. These are not irrational fears. As AI continues to dominate the headlines, questions about data privacy and security, intellectual property, and work quality are legitimate and important. So, what do we do now? The temptation to just say “No” is strong. It feels straightforward and safe. However, this “safe” route is actually the riskiest of all. An outright ban on AI is a losing strategy that creates more problems than it solves. It fost…

What if the women leaders who were long overlooked are the ones we can’t afford to ignore today. The proverbial career ladder has long been the dominant metaphor for success. For many, it works: a clear, linear climb, one predictable rung at a time. For others, it doesn’t, because the ladder was never built to hold the weight of multiple roles and ambitions. Women, in particular, have mastered a multi-hyphenate model of leadership out of necessity: mother and manager, founder and caregiver, mentor and innovator. What looked “nonlinear” was simply a different kind of training ground, one that creates resilience, adaptability, and perspective. Today’s multi-hyphenat…

“Welcome to the future!” David Arena, head of global corporate real estate for JPMorganChase, is standing on a sweeping staircase in a soaring travertine-clad lobby addressing a crowd. He’s there to welcome visitors to the ribbon cutting of 270 Park Ave., the banking behemoth’s new global headquarters in Manhattan. Behind him, an American flag hitched to a fluted bronze mast flies vigorously (it’s propelled by an artificial breeze that required a remarkable amount of fine-tuning). Standing next to him are the people who helped design and build the $3 billion, 2.5 million-square-foot supertall: JPMC CEO Jamie Dimon, British architect Norman Foster, developer Rob …

NASA just handed Elon Musk a very public reality check—and virtually threw its own moon plans into the trashcan, although the U.S. space agency won’t be admitting that. SpaceX isn’t necessarily the shoo-in to land the first Americans on the moon since the Apollo 17 mission 52 years ago. Instead, NASA is opening the contract to other companies, like Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin. While this doesn’t mean that SpaceX won’t get it, it’s the agency’s way of slamming SpaceX for its delays and lack of focus on the lunar program. Reopening the marquee Artemis crewed landing contract to competition is an admission that the Starship won’t be ready on time. Americ…

I slip on a pair of Nike running shoes. I clip a chunk of metal to the heel, which wraps around my lower leg like a shin guard. The battery goes on last, hugging it all like a high ankle bracelet. In all of 30 seconds, I’ve turned my legs into robots. I’m wearing Nike’s new exoskeleton footwear, dubbed Project Amplify. My legs feel heavier for sure. But with each step, there’s a little kick in my heel. Like a cherry bomb exploding underfoot. And when it launches next year under a new name for an undisclosed price, Project Amplify will power runs up to 10 kilometers long on a single charge, increasing your energy output by 15% to 20% along the way. “Think of i…

As Portland, Oregon, residents protest President Donald The President’s immigration policy outside an ICE facility, they’re also using a less expected tactic: the city’s zoning code. Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility sits in a remodeled bank in the city’s South Waterfront neighborhood, not far from apartment buildings, restaurants and—until it recently moved because of worries about ICE—a local school. (As demonstrations increased, law enforcement used chemicals and munitions that ended up on the school’s playground.) When the federal government first wanted to lease the building in 2011, it had to get land-use approval as required by the city’s …

Halloween is a fun, scary time for children and adults alike—but why does the holiday seem to start so much earlier every year? Decades ago, when I was young, Halloween was a much smaller affair, and people didn’t start preparing until mid-October. Today, in my neighborhood near where I grew up in Massachusetts, Halloween decorations start appearing in the middle of summer. What’s changed isn’t just when we celebrate but how: Halloween has evolved from a simple folk tradition to a massive commercial event. As a business school professor who has studied the economics of holidays for years, I’m astounded by how the business of Halloween has grown. And understanding why …

When Ben Stiller goes out to dinner, he drinks between one and three Shirley Temples. But a fully-grown adult ordering a classic child’s beverage can elicit funny looks. So, to help cut the stigma, and the sugar, the actor, director, and producer launched his own soda company last month—called Stiller’s Soda—with a grown-up version of a Shirley Temple as one of its three flavors. He simply wanted a version “that he could feel good about drinking himself,” says Stiller’s Soda cofounder Alexander Doman, a serial food and beverage entrepreneur. Stiller’s isn’t the only soda company suddenly flirting with the Shirley Temple. In the past year, soda powerhouses and…

As Nvidia’s value has soared—becoming the first public company to hit $4 trillion in market capitalization earlier this year—it’s been pouring money into AI startups. Its venture arm, NVentures, is also backing less expected bets. The latest: Redwood Materials, the EV battery recycling company, which just raised $350 million in a new funding round. Redwood launched in 2017 with the aim to build a U.S. supply chain for critical metals by pulling materials like cobalt and lithium from used EV batteries. But the company spun up another major business this year—using secondhand EV batteries as a low-cost form of energy storage at data centers. “I think people misn…

Bethenny Frankel is a marketing maven. She’s best known for starring in the Real Housewives of New York City, and for launching the Skinnygirl lifestyle brand, starting with the now-famous “skinny girl” margarita. She then found a partner to help her manufacture the cocktail, which launched in 2009. In 2011, Frankel sold Skinnygirl for an estimated $100 million, but kept the rights to use the name. Since then, she’s launched Skinnygirl salad dressing, shapewear, and popcorn, among other items. Frankel has 4 million-plus followers on Instagram and 3.3 million on TikTok, where she sounds off on everything from coffee to handbags. Frankel is also the queen of affiliate a…

In the Marshall Islands, where the land averages only 7 feet (2 meters) above sea level, people are acutely aware of climate change. Their ancestors have lived on this string of Pacific islands for thousands of years. But as sea level rises, storms more easily flood communities and farmland with saltwater. Warming ocean water has triggered mass coral-bleaching events, harming habitats that are important for both tourism and fish that the islands’ economy relies on. If the world fails to rein in the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, studies suggest low-lying islands like these could be uninhabitable within decades. Marshall Islands Preside…

You promised yourself this was the year you’d finally launch–and sustain–some sort of side project, be it picking up a few freelance clients, launching a blog, podcast, or YouTube channel, or setting up an e-commerce shop. One day in the hopefully not-too-distant future, your side hustle might even grow into a full-time business. View the full article

Leadership is not a title or a job description. It is the daily practice of turning authority into trust and presence into influence, according to renowned psychologist, University of Exeter Professor and former NBA player John Amaechi, OBE. Amaechi argues that leadership lives in ordinary moments: how you listen, the precision of your words, and the discipline of reflection. “Being a great leader is not magic,” Amaechi explains to me, “but rather the consistent choice to act with clarity and intention that helps others feel enabled, not stifled.” Too often, people think of leadership as something to perform when the spotlight is on them. Amaechi says, “In reality, th…

Today many people wish to break away from their corporate jobs and become entrepreneurs. And apparently they find satisfaction in doing so, because 96% of people who are self-employed have no desire to go back to a “regular job.” View the full article

Raising your prices takes courage, but it’s often the only way to grow revenue when you’re a freelancer, solopreneur, or running a small service business. But it’s possible to do it without losing your clients–here’s exactly how. View the full article