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For decades, the business world has quietly subscribed to a myth: that cognitive performance peaks early and declines steadily thereafter. It’s a belief baked into hiring practices, promotion decisions, and even redundancy strategies. Youth is equated with innovation, speed, and adaptability; age with decline, resistance, and risk. If we ask ourselves, “Am I a better/more effective employee now than I was at 21?” most of us would say, “Yes!” Science and data prove what we already know: that many of the cognitive capabilities that matter most in today’s complex, fast-moving organizations improve with age. The wrong model of intelligence The traditional view of cognitive performance is based on what psychologists call fluid intelligence. This is our ability to process new information quickly, solve unfamiliar problems, and think abstractly. This does tend to peak in early adulthood, which is why you’ll see scores on things like numerical reasoning tests peak at around 19. Fluid intelligence however, is only a small part of the story. So much more of what predicts job performance is crystallized intelligence. This refers to accumulated knowledge, pattern recognition, judgment, and the ability to make sense of complexity. This continues to grow across the lifespan, often peaking well into our 50s. Experience is a cognitive advantage One of the more striking experiments to show the value of experience is taken from the world of chess. In classic studies, chess masters could identify strong moves almost instantly. When asked how this was possible, participants couldn’t easily articulate why. They would say ‘not sure/it ‘feels’ right/’gut instinct’. Later research showed that this “gut instinct” wasn’t guesswork, but rapid pattern recognition built from years of experience. By midlife, most professionals have encountered hundreds (if not thousands) of variations of the same underlying problems: difficult stakeholders, failing projects, market shifts, organizational politics. This exposure creates what neuroscientists and psychologists often describe as pattern recognition. The brain becomes faster not because it processes raw data more quickly, but because it recognises familiar structures and shortcuts decision-making. In practice, this looks like: Spotting risks before they escalate Making better decisions with less information Navigating complex interpersonal dynamics with greater ease Knowing when not to act It isn’t slower thinking. It’s more efficient thinking. Yet many organizations systematically undervalue it because it doesn’t look like the rapid-fire ideation associated with youth. It’s also highly likely, that alongside the expert chess players, people themselves struggle to articulate the value of their experience to employers. Emotional regulation and decision quality Another overlooked advantage of older workers is emotional intelligence (or emotional regulation). Research consistently shows that as people age, they become better at managing emotions, maintaining perspective, and avoiding reactive decision-making. In high-pressure environments, this has a direct impact on performance. Leaders and employees over 50 are often: Less prone to impulsive decisions Better at handling conflict constructively More resilient in the face of setbacks More focused on long-term outcomes rather than short-term wins In a business environment which values trust, credibility and relationships, these are not “soft” skills, they are critical capabilities. The innovation myth One of the most persistent assumptions is that innovation is a young person’s game. While breakthrough ideas can emerge at any age, many of the most impactful innovations come from individuals with deep domain expertise. Economist David Galenson’s research shows that while some innovators peak early, many of the most important breakthroughs come from “experimental innovators”—people whose ideas are built slowly through years of experience, often reaching their peak in midlife or later. Innovation is not just about generating ideas. It’s about: Connecting disparate concepts Understanding what will actually work in practice Navigating the organizational and market realities required to implement change All are areas where experience is a significant advantage. The cost of ignoring midlife talent Despite this, many organizations continue to sideline or lose talent over 50, whether through redundancy, lack of progression, or subtle cultural signals that they no longer “fit.” The cost is enormous but largely invisible because it’s hard to measure what doesn’t happen: the insight not shared, the avoided mistake, the opportunity not taken. A workforce out of sync with reality There’s also a broader demographic shift that businesses can’t ignore. People are living longer, working longer, and often needing or wanting to remain economically active well into their 60s and beyond—yet organizational practices haven’t caught up. Many career paths still assume a linear progression that peaks in midlife then declines. Development opportunities are often disproportionately focused on younger employees and hiring processes frequently filter out older candidates (sometimes explicitly: ‘don’t send me anyone over 45’), often implicitly (‘we want someone malleable with less experience’). This creates a mismatch between the available talent pool and how organizations choose to use it. Make age the asset it is Peak brain power is a concept best thought of as something that evolves with age. In the consumer world, the people with the most money are often the least targeted. In the employment world, the people with the most experience are often the least valued. The question for businesses is not whether older workers can keep up. It’s whether organizations are smart enough to recognize and utilize the assets they already have. Those that do will gain a significant competitive advantage. View the full article

Late last year, the fantasy novelist Brandon Sanderson gave a talk at Dragonsteel Nexus, an annual conference organized by his media company. It was titled, ​“The Hidden Cost of AI Art.”​ As Sanderson explains, early in his address: “The surge of large language models and generative AI raises questions that are fascinating, and even if I dislike how the movement is going in relation to writing and art, I want to learn from the experience of what’s happening.” Sanderson makes it clear that he disapproves of AI-generated art (“my stomach turns”), but he wants to understand better why this is the case. To do so, he begins considering and then ultimately dismissing a series of common objections: Does he dislike AI art because of the economic and environmental impacts? “Well, those do concern me, but if I’m answering honestly, I would still have a problem with it even if AI were not so resource hungry.” Does he dislike AI art because it’s trained on the work of existing artists? “ Well, I don’t like that. But even if it were trained using no copyrighted work, I’d still be concerned.” Does he just hate the idea of a machine replacing a person? Sanderson references the folk tale of John Henry attempting to beat a steam drill in a tunnel-digging competition that culminates in Henry’s death. “We respect him, but as a society we chose the steam drill. And I would too…The truth is, I’m more than happy to have steam engines drilling tunnels for me to drive through.” So what is it? Sanderson ultimately lands on a more personal reason. Talking about his struggles with his first (failed) book manuscripts, he identifies the key value of art: it changes the artist who attempts it. As he elaborates: “Maybe someday the language models will be able to write books better than I can. But here’s the thing: Using those models in such a way absolutely misses the point, because it looks at art only as a product. Why did I write [my first manuscript]?… It was for the satisfaction of having written a novel, feeling the accomplishment, and learning how to do it. I tell you right now, if you’ve never finished a project on this level, it’s one of the most sweet, beautiful, and transcendent moments. I was holding that manuscript, thinking to myself, ‘I did it. I did it.’” As a writer myself, I’ve also been thinking about this question recently. I like Sanderson’s take, but I’ve been developing one of my own. I understand art to be an act of deep human communication, in which the artist uses a tangible medium, such as a page of prose or a painted canvas, to transmit a complex internal cognitive state from their brain to that of their audience. It’s telepathy. And it’s one of the most beautiful and human things we do. This makes the idea of reading a book written by a language model, or watching a film generated by a prompt, intrinsically absurd, if not anti-human. It’s the heroin needle providing a quixotic simulation of love. What really struck me about Sanderson’s talk, however, was his conclusion. If art is deeply human, he argues, then it’s up to us to define it. “That’s the great thing about art – we define it, and we give it meaning,” he says. “The machines can spit out manuscript after manuscript after manuscript. They can pile them to the pillars of heaven itself. But all we have to do is say ‘no.’” I’ve noticed a trend in recent AI commentary toward a certain nihilistic passivity. You probably know what I’m talking about – the now popular style of essay in which the author, with a sort of worldly weariness, lays out some grim scenario in which AI destroys something sacred, and then sort of just leaves it there, like a cat dropping a dead bird on the doorstep. I’m getting tired of this meekness. Sanderson reminds us that we have agency. In the areas that matter most, it’s us, not the whims of Sam Altman or Dario Amodei, that determine how we shape our existence. All we have to do is say “no.” Correction: In last week’s AI Reality Check episode of my podcast, I said the following: “If you go back and look at the release notes for Anthropic’s earlier, less powerful opus 4.6 LLM, they say the following: their researchers used Opus to find, quote, ‘over 500 exploitable zero-day vulnerabilities, some of which are decades old.’ And let’s stop for a moment because that note, which was hidden in the system card for opus 4.6, is almost word for word what anthropic said about Mythos.” Some of this wording was sloppy, so I want to clarify it here. I was referring to this report on Opus 4.6, which Anthropic published the same day it was released. This is not technically the system card for Opus 4.6, but it is accurately described as release notes (or perhaps supplementary release notes). This report said: “Opus 4.6 found high-severity vulnerabilities, some that had gone undetected for decades.” In another place, it said: “So far, we’ve found and validated more than 500 high-severity vulnerabilities.” Both the title of the report and the conclusion refer to these vulnerabilities as “0-day.” The specific quote I provided, however, does not appear in the report. It’s actually a summary of the report from this tweet. In my opinion, the summary is accurate, but the way I worded the above implies that it was actually found in the report, which it was not. Thank you to the AI researcher who pointed out these issues. I appreciate corrections! You can always send concerns or notes to podcast@calnewport.com. The post Brandon Sanderson vs. AI Art appeared first on Cal Newport. View the full article

Late last year, the fantasy novelist Brandon Sanderson gave a talk at Dragonsteel Nexus, an annual conference organized by his media company. It was titled, ​“The Hidden Cost of AI Art.”​ As Sanderson explains, early in his address: “The surge of large language models and generative AI raises questions that are fascinating, and even if I dislike how the movement is going in relation to writing and art, I want to learn from the experience of what’s happening.” Sanderson makes it clear that he disapproves of AI-generated art (“my stomach turns”), but he wants to understand better why this is the case. To do so, he begins considering and then ultimately dismissing a series of common objections: Does he dislike AI art because of the economic and environmental impacts? “Well, those do concern me, but if I’m answering honestly, I would still have a problem with it even if AI were not so resource hungry.” Does he dislike AI art because it’s trained on the work of existing artists? “ Well, I don’t like that. But even if it were trained using no copyrighted work, I’d still be concerned.” Does he just hate the idea of a machine replacing a person? Sanderson references the folk tale of John Henry attempting to beat a steam drill in a tunnel-digging competition that culminates in Henry’s death. “We respect him, but as a society we chose the steam drill. And I would too…The truth is, I’m more than happy to have steam engines drilling tunnels for me to drive through.” So what is it? Sanderson ultimately lands on a more personal reason. Talking about his struggles with his first (failed) book manuscripts, he identifies the key value of art: it changes the artist who attempts it. As he elaborates: “Maybe someday the language models will be able to write books better than I can. But here’s the thing: Using those models in such a way absolutely misses the point, because it looks at art only as a product. Why did I write [my first manuscript]?… It was for the satisfaction of having written a novel, feeling the accomplishment, and learning how to do it. I tell you right now, if you’ve never finished a project on this level, it’s one of the most sweet, beautiful, and transcendent moments. I was holding that manuscript, thinking to myself, ‘I did it. I did it.’” As a writer myself, I’ve also been thinking about this question recently. I like Sanderson’s take, but I’ve been developing one of my own. I understand art to be an act of deep human communication, in which the artist uses a tangible medium, such as a page of prose or a painted canvas, to transmit a complex internal cognitive state from their brain to that of their audience. It’s telepathy. And it’s one of the most beautiful and human things we do. This makes the idea of reading a book written by a language model, or watching a film generated by a prompt, intrinsically absurd, if not anti-human. It’s the heroin needle providing a quixotic simulation of love. What really struck me about Sanderson’s talk, however, was his conclusion. If art is deeply human, he argues, then it’s up to us to define it. “That’s the great thing about art – we define it, and we give it meaning,” he says. “The machines can spit out manuscript after manuscript after manuscript. They can pile them to the pillars of heaven itself. But all we have to do is say ‘no.’” I’ve noticed a trend in recent AI commentary toward a certain nihilistic passivity. You probably know what I’m talking about – the now popular style of essay in which the author, with a sort of worldly weariness, lays out some grim scenario in which AI destroys something sacred, and then sort of just leaves it there, like a cat dropping a dead bird on the doorstep. I’m getting tired of this meekness. Sanderson reminds us that we have agency. In the areas that matter most, it’s us, not the whims of Sam Altman or Dario Amodei, that determine how we shape our existence. All we have to do is say “no.” Correction: In last week’s AI Reality Check episode of my podcast, I said the following: “If you go back and look at the release notes for Anthropic’s earlier, less powerful opus 4.6 LLM, they say the following: their researchers used Opus to find, quote, ‘over 500 exploitable zero-day vulnerabilities, some of which are decades old.’ And let’s stop for a moment because that note, which was hidden in the system card for opus 4.6, is almost word for word what anthropic said about Mythos.” Some of this wording was sloppy, so I want to clarify it here. I was referring to this report on Opus 4.6, which Anthropic published the same day it was released. This is not technically the system card for Opus 4.6, but it is accurately described as release notes (or perhaps supplementary release notes). This report said: “Opus 4.6 found high-severity vulnerabilities, some that had gone undetected for decades.” In another place, it said: “So far, we’ve found and validated more than 500 high-severity vulnerabilities.” Both the title of the report and the conclusion refer to these vulnerabilities as “0-day.” The specific quote I provided, however, does not appear in the report. It’s actually a summary of the report from this tweet. In my opinion, the summary is accurate, but the way I worded the above implies that it was actually found in the report, which it was not. Thank you to the AI researcher who pointed out these issues. I appreciate corrections! You can always send concerns or notes to podcast@calnewport.com. The post Brandon Sanderson vs. AI Art appeared first on Cal Newport. View the full article

Some days, the work itself isn’t the hardest part. The hardest part is deciding what deserves your attention first. You’re busy all day, constantly responding, switching, and reacting, yet nothing meaningful seems to move forward. The list gets longer, not shorter, and the sense of control slips away. This is exactly the tension explored in Liane Davey’s upcoming book Thoughtload. Her core idea is simple: when you’re overwhelmed, you don’t just need a better list. You need the right kind of support to process the workload. And that support doesn’t look the same for everyone. The Four Ways People Cope with Overwhelm When pressure builds, people tend to default to one of four responses. Some people need to talk things through. Conversation helps them clarify priorities, test ideas, and reduce the mental load. Others need to take action. Starting something, even imperfectly, creates momentum and cuts through inertia. Some need structure. They want to organise, categorise, and build a system that makes the work feel manageable again. And some need to reconnect with meaning. They reframe tasks, adjust how they approach the work, or find ways to make it more engaging. These are not personality traits. They are ways of restoring control. The problem is that most workplaces unintentionally favour just one of them, usually structure. We default to lists, systems, and processes as the solution to overload, even when that isn’t what people need in that moment. Why One-Size-Fits-All Productivity Advice Falls Short Traditional productivity advice often assumes that better organisation will solve the problem. It tells people to plan more carefully, structure their workload, and stick to a system. Structure is valuable, but it’s not always the starting point. When someone is overwhelmed, forcing structure too early can increase friction. Equally, constant action without clarity leads to busywork, and too much discussion without decisions slows everything down. Work today is too complex for a single mode of working. As we often say, you will never get everything finished, so productivity becomes less about completion and more about making better choices with your attention. That requires flexibility, not just discipline. What This Looks Like in Practice This is exactly why our How to be a Productivity Ninja workshop works so well. It doesn’t rely on one approach to productivity. Instead, it creates space for all four ways people regain control, often within the same session. There’s connection built in from the start. It’s a group workshop with time to talk, reflect, and sense-check thinking. Many participants say they feel immediate relief simply from articulating what has been sitting in their head. There’s action early on. The brain dump exercise gets everything out of your head and into a trusted place, creating instant clarity and momentum. There’s structure through the “second brain” system. Participants build a simple, practical way to organise their work on the day, rather than leaving with ideas they may never implement. And there’s space for creativity. Whether it is renaming projects, experimenting with formats, or shaping a system that feels intuitive, people find ways to make their work more engaging and personal. This blend matters because productivity is not just about tools or discipline. It is about giving people the right kind of support at the right time so they can move forward with clarity. In fact, 82% of participants go on to implement a new productivity system and report feeling more in control of their work after the workshop. A Simple Way to Regain Control Today If everything on your list feels urgent, start with a different question. Ask yourself what you actually need right now. Do you need to talk something through to gain clarity? Do you need to take one small action to build momentum? Do you need to step back and organise the work properly? Or do you need to reconnect this task to something more meaningful? Choosing the right response can help you move out of reaction mode and back into control. Ready to Work This Way for Real? If this resonates, join our upcoming How to be a Productivity Ninja public workshop to help you put it into practice straight away. You’ll not just learn a system, you’ll build one that works for you, with the support, structure, and space to actually make it stick. Book your place and start creating the clarity you need to focus on what really matters. The post Why Prioritisation Alone Doesn’t Fix Overwhelm at Work appeared first on Think Productive UK. View the full article

If you’re looking for free accounting software for your MacBook, you have several solid options to evaluate. Wave stands out for its invoicing capabilities, whereas Zoho Books is customized for micro businesses. ZipBooks offers unlimited invoicing as well, and NCH Express Accounts shines as desktop software for small teams. Finally, Akaunting provides an open-source solution with multi-currency support. Each choice has unique features, so let’s explore what fits your needs best. Key Takeaways NCH Express Accounts offers robust desktop accounting features for small businesses, supporting up to five employees with detailed financial reporting. Akaunting is an open-source software providing unlimited invoicing and expense tracking without subscription fees, perfect for freelancers and small businesses. Wave is a user-friendly platform that allows unlimited invoicing and estimates, ideal for MacBook users looking for simplicity and automation. ZipBooks provides unlimited invoicing, expense tracking, and project management, accessible via mobile devices for on-the-go financial management. Zoho Books caters to micro businesses with annual earnings under $50,000, offering extensive reporting and automation tools for efficient billing. Wave: Best for Invoicing and Estimates When you’re looking for an effective way to manage invoicing and estimates, Wave stands out as a top choice for MacBook users. This free accounting software offers unlimited invoicing and estimates, making it perfect for freelancers and small business owners. You’ll appreciate its user-friendly interface, which simplifies the invoicing process, allowing you to customize invoices and automate recurring billing effortlessly. With integrated reporting features, Wave allows you to generate financial reports, giving you insights into your business performance at no cost. Plus, its mobile applications let you create and send invoices on-the-go, enhancing your productivity. Data protection is a priority, as Wave guarantees cloud storage and 256-bit SSL encryption to safeguard your sensitive information. For those exploring personal accounting programs for Mac, Wave serves as a reliable option, combining features typically found in free checking account register software within a single, streamlined platform. Zoho Books: Ideal for Micro Businesses Zoho Books is an excellent accounting solution particularly designed for micro businesses earning $50,000 or less annually. It offers a free version that allows you and your accountant to send up to 1,000 invoices each year, making it ideal for small operations. With extensive reporting capabilities, expense tracking, and client management features, you can easily oversee your finances. Automation tools streamline cash flow management by enabling recurring billing and payment reminders. Moreover, Zoho Books integrates seamlessly with other Zoho applications, enhancing your workflow across various business processes. If your micro business deals with international clients, you’ll appreciate its support for multi-currency transactions. Here’s a quick comparison of key features: Feature Description Invoicing Send up to 1,000 invoices annually Automation Recurring billing and payment reminders Multi-Currency Support Facilitates international transactions ZipBooks: Best for Unlimited Invoicing For those seeking an invoicing solution without the constraints of monthly fees, ZipBooks stands out as a top choice for MacBook users. This platform allows you to create and send unlimited invoices for free, making it ideal for businesses needing straightforward billing. Its user-friendly interface simplifies the invoicing process, enabling quick invoice generation and management, which can greatly reduce the time you spend on billing tasks. Additionally, ZipBooks offers automation features for recurring billing and automatic payment reminders, ensuring timely payments and improving your cash flow. You can access the platform via mobile devices, allowing you to manage invoices and track time wherever you are, which boosts productivity on the go. With built-in expense tracking and project management features, ZipBooks helps you tag transactions for detailed reporting, making it easier to maintain financial oversight and stay organized. NCH Express Accounts: Best Free Desktop Software NCH Express Accounts provides a robust solution for small businesses, particularly those with up to five employees, looking for free desktop accounting software. This software includes crucial features for efficient financial management, making it easy to handle your accounting tasks. With invoice automation, you can create and send invoices effortlessly as you keep track of payments. Furthermore, you’ll benefit from generating over 20 detailed financial reports, such as profit and loss statements, which offer valuable insights into your business performance. If your business deals with international transactions, NCH Express Accounts supports multiple currencies, enhancing its usability. As a macOS-compatible application, it offers a reliable desktop solution without the hassle of subscriptions. Akaunting: Best Open-Source Accounting Software Akaunting stands out as an excellent choice for those seeking open-source accounting software customized for small businesses and freelancers. This platform allows you to manage invoicing and expenses without incurring subscription fees, making it a cost-effective solution. You’ll appreciate its user-friendly, modern interface, which makes steering your financial records straightforward. Akaunting supports unlimited invoicing, catering perfectly to your needs as it enables you to track expenses efficiently. Additionally, the software offers multi-currency support, allowing you to handle transactions in various currencies and convert them automatically. Being open-source means that developers can modify Akaunting to suit specific business requirements, integrating additional functionalities as necessary. This flexibility guarantees that you can tailor the software to fit your unique accounting needs, giving you control over your financial management. Overall, Akaunting provides a robust, customizable accounting solution for MacBook users. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Free Accounting App for Mac? The free accounting app for Mac that stands out is the Small Business Administration Accounting app. You can use it without registration or login, making it convenient for freelancers and self-employed individuals. It supports up to 50 transaction entries in its free version and syncs data via iCloud, ensuring access across devices. You can in addition export your data in CSV format, with options for local or iCloud storage, enhancing your financial management experience. What Is the Best Personal Accounting Software for Mac? When choosing the best personal accounting software for Mac, consider your specific needs. Wave offers free unlimited invoicing and expense tracking, ideal for freelancers. Zoho Books provides robust reporting features for micro businesses. If privacy’s a priority, GnuCash supports multi-currency transactions as well as offering extensive reporting. Manager.io is great for local data management, though it lacks cloud backup. Finally, Akaunting allows customization, tailoring your accounting experience to fit your personal requirements effectively. What Is the Best Free Bookkeeping Software? When looking for the best free bookkeeping software, consider options like Wave, which offers unlimited invoicing and expense tracking. Zoho Books is great for micro businesses, allowing one user and an accountant to send numerous invoices. Manager.io provides robust desktop features, including payroll management, whereas ZipBooks offers mobile access for on-the-go management. NCH Express Accounts is suitable for small teams, featuring automated invoicing and extensive financial reporting capabilities to simplify your bookkeeping tasks. Does Mac Have an Accounting Program? Yes, Macs have several accounting programs available. You can choose from both cloud-based options like QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks, which offer features like invoicing and expense tracking. If you prefer free solutions, GnuCash and ZipBooks provide crucial accounting functionalities at no cost. Many of these programs support iCloud synchronization, allowing easy access to your financial data across devices. User-friendly interfaces and mobile apps improve your ability to manage finances efficiently. Conclusion In summary, selecting the right accounting software for your MacBook can greatly improve your financial management. Whether you need robust invoicing with Wave, detailed reporting with Zoho Books, unlimited invoicing through ZipBooks, reliable desktop solutions from NCH Express Accounts, or the flexibility of an open-source platform like Akaunting, there’s a free option customized to your needs. Evaluating these features will help you choose the best software to streamline your accounting tasks efficiently. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Top 5 Free Accounting Software for MacBook Users" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

PM will address House of Commons amid dispute over whether officials should have shared details of Peter Mandelson’s security checksView the full article

Discussion of vetting and procedure is part of the excuse but not the core of the difficulty View the full article

Solopreneurs make dozens of business decisions every day. Which client to prioritize. Whether to raise rates. Which tool to try. In a corporate job, there are committees, managers, and approval chains to share the decision-making load. When you’re running a solo business, every call is yours. When I was a product manager, I learned to sort decisions into two categories: ones you can easily reverse and ones you can’t. It sounds almost too simple, but it changed how quickly I moved and how much I deliberated. That same framework can be applied directly to running a solo business. Reversible decisions: move fast Most business decisions are reversible. You can change course without significant costs or consequences. Trying a new project management tool, adjusting your social media schedule, testing a pricing structure with a single client, tweaking your email signature—these are all experiments you can easily undo. In product management, these are sometimes called “two-way doors.” You walk through, look around, and walk back if you don’t like what you see. The risk is low. But solopreneurs who are not comfortable making decisions often treat every decision like a permanent commitment. They spend days deliberating over choices that could be tested in an afternoon. Research on decision fatigue shows that the sheer volume of decisions degrades the quality of each subsequent one. For solopreneurs, who don’t have a team to absorb the delay, time spent agonizing over a reversible choice is time not spent on the work itself. When you catch yourself deep in a comparison spreadsheet for something you could simply try for a month, that’s the signal to move fast. Irreversible decisions: slow down Contrary to Mark Zuckerberg’s infamous line, “move fast and break things,” moving fast can cause a lot of damage in a solo business. Some decisions are harder to walk back. Things like signing a long-term bad client or investing months into building a service before validating the idea can be enormous drains on your business. These are sometimes called “one-way doors.” Once you’ve gone down a specific path, reversing course is expensive or impossible. These decisions deserve more deliberation: Gather data, talk to peers or a mentor, and set a deadline so you don’t stall indefinitely. The goal isn’t to avoid risk. Risk is always part of running a solo business. The goal is to match your level of care to the actual stakes involved. A small number of decisions deserve more of your time, and recognizing which ones they are is a skill you’ll develop over time. Building your own decision-making filter The reversible/irreversible distinction is a starting point. Over time, you can build a personal filter that speeds up the day-to-day. When a decision lands on your plate, run it through a few questions: Can I undo this in a month? What’s the worst-case scenario if I’m wrong? Am I deciding between two good-enough options? (If the answer to that last one is yes, just pick one and move on.) Gut instinct plays a role here, too. After you’ve been running your business for a while, you build pattern recognition. You’ve seen which clients work out and which don’t, which tools stick and which get abandoned after a month. Trusting your instinct is part of a business mindset—and it’s one of the advantages of working solo. You don’t need three rounds of approvals to act on what you already know. Even with learning over time, you won’t get every decision right. But you can at least spend the right amount of energy on each one. View the full article

Warning for wave up to 3 metres high on north-eastern coastView the full article

Lawyers notoriously struggle with technology. The legal profession is one of wood-paneled courtrooms and leather-bound lawbooks—not apps and chatbots. The infamous Lawyer Cat of the early pandemic Zoom era is an especially hilarious example of what happens when lawyers are forced to embrace tech they wouldn’t otherwise touch. And when lawyers use artificial intelligence, it often goes just as poorly. A Massachusetts lawyer was sanctioned for citing nonexistent cases hallucinated by ChatGPT in an official court filing, and California recently fined an attorney $10,000 for similar AI-hallucinated errors. It’s no surprise, then, that lawyers can be reluctant to embrace the large language models (LLMs) and AI agents that other professions are adopting in droves. A particular quirk of the legal profession, though, may soon force their hand by threatening lawyers with malpractice if they don’t adopt AI. And the same dynamic could apply to fields like accounting or medicine, catapulting these highly impactful, AI-skeptical fields to the forefront of AI adoption, whether they like it or not. Since this is a story about lawyers, I’ll pause for a moment to offer the disclaimer that I’m a reporter, not a lawyer, and nothing in here is legal advice—it’s based on my own research and multiple off-the-record conversations with practicing attorneys. If you’re in the profession, you’ll want to consult with your own bar association about these changes. Forced by fiduciaries Most people merely need to be good enough at their jobs. Even if my metaphors are a bit staid or a specific piece I’ve written lacks ample, alluring alliteration, I’ve done my job as a Fast Company contributor if I’ve reported the news truthfully and kept you reasonably well informed. Lawyers are held to a different standard. In many cases, they’re bound by multiple fiduciary duties—legal obligations to treat their clients in specific ways. Cases need to be confidential, for example, and lawyers can’t sell out their clients to the other side. But lawyers are also legally obligated to be competent and to charge their clients reasonable fees—keeping those fees as low as possible while still meeting their clients’ legal needs. In the past, that’s generally meant avoiding unnecessary legal research that could run up the bill, for example, or avoiding expensing lavish meals and other frivolities to your client’s account. Now, though, AI may be on the brink of changing the definition of what it means to be “competent.” And AI’s ability to make tasks easier and faster could spell fiduciary trouble for lawyers and other professionals who don’t embrace the tech. Be Efficient, Or Else Again, lawyers are often reluctant to embrace new tech. Faced with the risk of made-up cases and big fines, many lawyers have simply chosen to opt out of testing or using AI altogether. A formal opinion from the American Bar Association (ABA), though, makes clear that it may soon cease to be an option. “With the ability to quickly create new, seemingly human-crafted content in response to user prompts, generative AI (GAI) tools offer lawyers the potential to increase the efficiency and quality of their legal services to clients,” the ABA says. Yes, these tools can make errors, the ABA acknowledges, and “lawyers may not abdicate their responsibilities by relying solely on a GAI tool.” Still, the ABA cautions its members not to be too cautious about AI use. “Emerging technologies may provide an output that is of distinctively higher quality than current GAI tools produce, or may enable lawyers to perform work markedly faster and more economically,” the opinion says. If that happens, the ABA cautions, it could trigger the fiduciary duty to be competent and to minimize fees. The tools could become “ubiquitous in legal practice” and establish “conventional expectations regarding lawyers’ duty of competence.” In other words, AI could become so useful in the legal profession that lawyers who eschew it are wasting their client’s time, or providing inferior representation. The ABA gives the example of email and PDFs. “A lawyer would have difficulty providing competent legal services in today’s environment without knowing how to use email or create an electronic document,” the ABA says. “As GAI tools continue to develop and become more widely available, it is conceivable that lawyers will eventually have to use them to competently complete certain tasks for clients.” Again, because of their fiduciary duties, failing to do this wouldn’t simply be bad form—it could potentially count as malpractice. To drill in the point, the ABA extends its email metaphor, saying that lawyers who fail to use the era’s most up-to-date technology are “potentially liable for malpractice.” The clear implication is that the same penalty could apply to AI laggards, once the tech advances enough. Off the record, multiple lawyers have told me that that moment is either fast approaching or already here. The ABA’s opinion was written in 2024, when LLMs were far less powerful and accurate. Today, one longtime attorney told me, LLMs often write up lists of relevant cases—or even entire briefs—in minutes that are just as good as those a lawyer might produce after hours in a traditional law library. The potential obligation to use AI is apparently already appearing in lawyers’ yearly continuing education materials. And as LLMs get better and better, their power to save time and produce superior output—and the resulting duty for lawyers to embrace them—will only intensify. Forced to the Forefront If LLMs and other generative AI tools advance to the point that lawyers are forced to use them in order to remain competent, the legal profession could suddenly be forced to the forefront of AI adoption. Firms would be tripping over themselves to get their attorneys up to speed on the latest AI tech. And countless companies would undoubtedly spring up to apply AI to every aspect of the law. It would be a gold mine for AI app builders and consultants. And it’s unlikely that the impact would remain in the legal field—multiple other AI-skeptical professions could become subject to similar ethical and legal duties, and experience the same rapid, forced adoption. Doctors, for example, take a professional oath to “do no harm.” While the American Medical Association is clear that doctors shouldn’t be penalized for failing to adopt today’s AI, other sources point out that as LLMs advance, a failure to use AI could end up putting patients at unnecessary risk. A 2024 study reported in The New York Times showed that even that year’s comparatively simple chatbots were better than doctors at diagnosing many illnesses. And worse, when doctors tried to work alongside chatbots, they ended up performing worse than the chatbots did without their help. Studies have even shown that patients find chatbots more empathetic and better at communicating than actual doctors. Again, as the tech advances, that could mean doctors who avoid AI will increasingly risk harming their patients. The same goes for accountants, financial planners, real estate agents, and many other professions with fiduciary responsibilities to their clients. For now, lawyers, doctors, accountants, and other professionals can plausibly point to LLMs’ early-stage status and persistent tendency to hallucinate, and wash their hands of the need to adopt or experiment with the tech. As the models get better, though, that claim will be harder and harder to make. As the ABA points out, a lawyer who is clueless about email would have been considered entirely competent in 1990. Today, he would be seen as a hack and might be disbarred. The same dynamic may soon apply to chatbots and LLMs. And if that comes about, the professionals who failed to learn the tech today—or stubbornly insisted that AI is a passing fad unworthy of their time and attention—will have done so at their peril. View the full article

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A Samsung Galaxy Tri-Fold smartphone sits beside something we haven’t seen before. It’s a round screen with a swiveling head. Called Project Luna, it has the mechanical charm of Luxo Jr., and a beep not so different from Wall-E. “The guests are here,” whispers a voice. Moments later, we hear an orchestra begin to play. Project Luna and the Galaxy become the conductors of a wide array of Samsung products and concepts, all of which share the same, pulsating orb graphic animation that lands somewhere between a face, mouth, eye, and the light ring of 2001: A Space Odyssey’s HAL. This is how Samsung is saying hello to its visitors at Milan Design Week for its exhibition Design Is an Act of Love. It’s also a glimpse of what’s to come from Samsung’s design. The installation marks the largest design statement from Samsung since it hired its first foreign chief design officer, Mauro Porcini, last year. “The idea is to give a vibe, a feeling of the kind of [design] language we want to use,” says Porcini, who cautions that Project Luna and many other products in the show are concepts—albeit believable ones. “These are all things that could really happen in the near future.” The show demonstrates Samsung’s thesis on the coming UX of AI: that while phones will represent personal AI, we’ll increasingly see communal AI spread across our homes. For Samsung, that can mean an AI will be ready to pop onto your TV or your refrigerator, almost jumping frame to frame like Harry Potter wizards can dash between old oil paintings. Well, I should say it demonstrates one piece of Samsung’s thesis on AI. Because over a 90-minute conversation from Seoul, as Porcini describes his first year on the job, he keeps unpacking more about his dreams for both the Korean giant and for the technology industry at large. “The key message to everybody—to all the brand people, business people, creators, and designers of the world—is we need humanity more than ever to direct AI in the right direction, both creatively and then ethically,” he says. “[This technology] will happen no matter what. What we need to talk about is the moral compass.” Samsung’s every-room AI For the installation in Milan, Porcini arranged existing Samsung products—like Music Studio speakers and Frame TVs—alongside several concepts for more AI-native products. They appear in the home, in the bedroom and kitchen, in seamless coexistence. The star of the show is the aforementioned Project Luna—which looks strikingly similar to a robot called Jibo that was developed out of MIT in the 2010s. The role of Project Luna is to be a dedicated AI companion for your home that can fill the gaps when there are no other AI devices around. Samsung also teased other devices that share its AI sensibility. One product is a simple square speaker. An exposed vinyl record spins right out its side. It’s a neat analog product, but when needed, the quiet device can come to life with a glowing UI—complete with AI and a dynamic EQ. Samsung has been thoroughly roasted for launching refrigerators with screens (and ads) on them. I gather that Porcini is trying to walk a more careful line in screen-i-fying everything, even as AI teases new utility. This Milan space features a refrigerator with a traditional front that only gets a display from a projector. The same is true to a projector that shines onto the kitchen table. Whenever there’s no light, you have a completely typical, less garish object. The sheer abundance of AI across the Samsung ecosystem supports Porcini’s thesis that AI “is going to be a commodity.” We’ll all be drowning in it. So it’s the design of the experience around AI that matters, and that design has to offer someone measurable value to stand out in a sea of opportunistic sameness. Porcini believes the differentiator for Samsung is that its AI needs to serve humanity by specifically amplifying our emotional intelligence and human imagination. From there, he says Samsung itself can use AI to specifically help us “live longer” (improving health and wellness), “live better” (offer more free time), “live loud” (increase expression through a variety of digital interfaces), and “live on” (preserving our knowledge and memories). “Our goal is to tame technology at the service of humanity,” says Porcini. “It’s not about the advancement of technology. Who cares? Technology exists exclusively to be at the service of helping people.” Why Samsung won’t embrace one design language to rule them all One of Porcini’s other big anchors for Samsung design is that form and function follow meaning. He notes we already see this in how each of us arranges the apps and photos on our phones—we reshape these interfaces to be more relevant to ourselves. Now, he wants Samsung to support these behaviors more. And he believes if the company is to be human-centered, it paradoxically needs to protect or regiment its brand a little less. “If I talk about human centricity, should I force my aesthetic upon people because they need to recognize my brand or my product, or should I create something that makes sense for them?” Porcini muses. Freedom of expression is part of being human, he argues. And so rather than embrace one Samsung design language to rule them all, he’s okay with a diversity of styles. In fact, he wants to see the company tune down the minimalism a bit, and get back to bold product designs like the freestanding Serif TV—a product he argues shouldn’t be a premium lifestyle product, but available for anyone who wants a TV. Without respecting one singular design language, Porcini wants to see an “explosion” of expressive new products arrive out of Samsung each year that challenge traditional forms in technology. Over time, we might get more and more unique Samsung things that mix and match in a bohemian way—and ultimately, it can be that AI layer that ties them together, as opposed to another coordinating bezel. “We want to be surprised by the design of the next TV, and we want to feel that kind of emotion,” he says. “We want to put it in the physical environment, [then] align it to this idea of AI that needs to be tamed by humanity.” While the philosophy may seem heady, the opportunity for Samsung in AI is very real given that the company that commands so much of both the personal and home electronic market. Samsung owns roughly a fifth of global smartphone shipments, a quarter of home appliances, and a third of televisions. We’ve already let Samsung into our lives. If it really can articulate a more supportive, ethical approach to AI, we have a lot more reason to keep it there. But as Samsung has already faced a lawsuit and backlash about how it collects user data on TVs, it’s certain that if it doesn’t nail everything from its policy to its interface, that Harry Potter wizard popping between portraits could feel less like a magical friend than like an unwanted, surveillant house guest. View the full article

Karlee Rea had a gut feeling she was going to get laid off. In February, there were whispers among coworkers that layoffs were coming for employees at LTK, the creator e-commerce platform where Rea worked for nearly five years. The Dallas-based 26-year-old decided to vlog her day: She woke up early, hit the gym. Then it was time for work. Turns out, Rea’s gut feeling proved to be correct. That morning, she was part of staff cuts that the company said impacted a “low, single-digit percentage of LTK’s overall head count,” from software engineers to creator-facing roles. Rea decided to include the devastating development in her vlog. “This was my first big-girl job after college. I never really saw myself doing anything else,” Rea said in the video. “I have no idea what tomorrow will look like, but I do know that I’ll be taking you guys along every step of the way.” That video has more than 18,000 views and dozens of comments from other recently laid-off people who apparently can relate. Seeing the response, Rea decided to start posting videos as part of an “unemployment diaries” series every day for a month: In them, she talks about doomscrolling on LinkedIn and landing interviews—only to have the excitement of new opportunities slip away when rejections land in her inbox. “Today is three for three for [job] rejections,” Rea said on day 20. “Today just left me feeling really defeated.” Rea’s not alone. There are more than 400,000 TikTok posts with the hashtag #unemployed; some 800 of them bear the hashtag #unemploymentdiaries. The trend reflects the larger struggles young people are experiencing in today’s workforce: In February, the unemployment rate for Gen Z was at 8.3%—double the national average. Entry-level jobs seem to be vanishing. Gen Z adults are relying on their parents for financial support. More young professionals are picking up side hustles to stay afloat. Mar Rosa, a public relations professional from New York City, was laid off from a midsize agency back in December. “You just never really think it’ll happen to you,” she told Fast Company. “At first I was like, completely candidly, ‘Holy shit, my life is over.’” After spending the night crying, she decided to post a video of what a day in the life of a newly unemployed 25-year-old looks like. In her videos, she talks about the ways she keeps a sense of normalcy amid the hours spent job hunting—like running errands with her mom and going to the gym. “It’s very important that [since] I no longer have a 9-to-5 that I have some sort of consistency within my routine,” she said in one post. At first Mar—who asked to be identified by her online nickname—felt embarrassed about being unemployed. But after posting her first video to TikTok, she said friends reached out to her sharing their own struggles with a shaky job market. “There are some not-so-glamorous things to life, and being laid off is one of them,” she said. Posting her unemployment diaries on TikTok has brought benefits, too, like helping Mar get out of her apartment, feel productive, and even apply to more jobs. Between a shrinking pool of opportunities and an influx of “ghost jobs” (positions companies post but have no immediate intent to fill), job seekers may feel an increasing sense that securing a full-time role is out of reach. “The job market is so hard, and it’s really intense,” Mar said. “Nobody tells you how much of a full-time job it is to find a job.” When she’s not spending hours on LinkedIn, Mar stays afloat by relying on support from family, unemployment resources, and side hustles (including babysitting on weekends, which she said covers about a third of her electricity bill). Sabel Harris, a 36-year-old marketing professional from Washington, D.C., worked at an ed-tech company before her role was eliminated in February. That, after having already been impacted by layoffs at a fintech company in 2025, led Harris to start her own “unemployment diary” online. “There’s a lot of grief around it,” Harris told Fast Company. “People will talk about how to look for a job, but I don’t think a lot of people are naming the emotions behind it.” Sharing her day-to-day life on TikTok to her audience of 10,000-plus followers has allowed Harris to feel less alone and isolated in her experience, she said. In one video, she talked about the different side hustles she’s taken on to meet her rent, like selling clothes on Poshmark. “You can be in the thick of it and still be moving,” she said in the clip. Since posting videos on TikTok, Harris has landed a few paid partnerships with brands. She also makes a few bucks here and there from affiliate marketing, though it’s not enough to cover the cost of living. But it’s not all doom and gloom on the unemployment TikTok front. Many creators are able to form communities on the platform and even make professional connections. They offer support, review résumés, and share interviewing tips and job leads. And when employment offers eventually do come, they’re there to celebrate each other. “There’s a whole world out there of this happening to so many other people,” Rea said. “We really are able to share each other’s plight of getting laid off.” View the full article

When you’re looking to comprehend C Corporation taxes, it is crucial to grasp how they operate within the broader tax framework. A C Corporation is subject to a flat federal tax rate of 21% on its profits, which can lead to double taxation. This means the corporation pays taxes on its income, and shareholders face additional taxes on dividends. There are likewise state tax obligations that can vary widely. Comprehending these nuances can be vital for effective financial planning. Key Takeaways C Corporations are taxed at a flat federal rate of 21% on their profits before any dividends are distributed. Double taxation occurs as corporate profits are taxed, and shareholders pay taxes on dividends received at individual income tax rates. Shareholders report dividends on Form 1099-DIV, which can be taxed at rates ranging from 10% to 37%. C Corporations must file IRS Form 1120 annually by April 15 and make estimated tax payments if owing $500 or more. Salaries paid to employees can help mitigate double taxation, as they are tax-deductible for the corporation. What Is a C Corporation? A C Corporation is a unique legal entity that operates independently from its owners, known as shareholders. So, what does C Corp stand for? Fundamentally, it designates a corporation that’s taxed separately from its owners under the U.S. tax code. One of the main advantages of a C Corp is its ability to have an unlimited number of shareholders, including foreign investors, which facilitates capital raising. This structure likewise allows for multiple classes of stock, providing flexibility in ownership. C Corporations offer limited liability protection, meaning shareholders are only liable for corporate debts up to their investment amount. Nonetheless, it’s crucial to recognize that C corporations face double taxation: corporate profits are taxed at the federal level, and dividends received by shareholders are taxed again at their individual rates. This aspect of C corporation taxation can impact profitability and investment strategies for owners. Overview of C Corporation Taxation Grasping C Corporation taxation is vital for shareholders and business owners, as it directly affects a company’s financial health and investment strategies. C corporations face taxation as separate entities, with a flat federal corporate tax rate of 21% applied to their net earnings. This structure is significant due to it leading to corporate double taxation; when profits are distributed as dividends to shareholders, they face individual income tax rates ranging from 10% to 37%. Shareholders report these dividends on Form 1099-DIV. To manage c corporation taxes effectively, corporations must file IRS Form 1120 annually, with a due date of April 15 for calendar-year corporations. If your corporation expects to owe $500 or more, you’ll need to make estimated tax payments throughout the year, adhering to specific quarterly deadlines. Comprehending these elements of c corp taxation is fundamental for effective financial planning and compliance. Double Taxation Explained Double taxation occurs when a C corporation’s profits are taxed at the corporate level before any dividends are distributed to shareholders, and then those dividends are taxed again at the individual level. This means you, as a shareholder, could face a corporate income tax rate of 21% on the company’s net profits, followed by personal income tax rates on the dividends you receive, which can range from 10% to 37%. Comprehending these tax implications is essential for managing your investment and exploring strategies to minimize your overall tax burden. Corporate Income Tax Rate When you invest in a C corporation, it’s important to understand how its profits are taxed, particularly due to the concept of double taxation. C corporations face a flat federal income tax rate of 21%, which is categorized under corporate income tax. This means the corporation pays taxes on its earnings before distributing any profits. The c corp double taxation occurs when shareholders receive dividends, as they must then pay personal income taxes on those dividends at rates ranging from 10% to 37%. Although C corporations offer certain advantages, like limited liability, the corporate taxation definition highlights the potential downside of double taxation, where profits are taxed at both the corporate and individual levels, affecting overall returns for investors. Dividend Tax Implications Many investors may not realize how dividend tax implications can considerably impact their overall returns from C corporations. Comprehending these implications is vital, as double taxation in a corporation means that corporate profits face taxation at both the entity and shareholder levels. Here are key points to take into account: C corporations pay a flat 21% tax on profits. Shareholders are taxed again on dividends, with rates ranging from 10-37%. Qualified dividends may be taxed at up to 23.8%. Utilizing salaries instead of dividends can help avoid double taxation. These factors influence profit distribution and tax strategy management, making it fundamental to grasp the nuances of C corp taxes and their dividend tax implications for better investment outcomes. Taxes on C Corp Dividend Distributions C corporations face specific tax implications when distributing dividends to shareholders, which can often lead to uncertainty. When you receive dividends, you’re required to pay individual taxes on them, reported annually on Form 1099-DIV, with rates ranging from 10% to 37%. This creates corporate tax double taxation, as profits are first taxed at the corporate level at a flat rate of 21%, and then taxed again when distributed to you as dividends. To potentially avoid double taxation, small C corporations might opt to pay salaries to shareholder-employees instead of issuing dividends, since salaries are tax-deductible for the corporation. If you receive qualified dividends, you might benefit from lower tax rates, capped at 23.8%, depending on your income level. Grasping these aspects can help you navigate the intricacies of c corporation benefits and the taxation process more effectively. Taxes on C Corp Capital Gains During comprehension of the tax implications of capital gains for C corporations, it’s important to recognize that these gains are taxed at a flat corporate rate of 21%, similar to corporate income. Here are some key points to understand: C corporations categorize capital gains as either short-term or long-term when reporting on Schedule D of Form 1040. Long-term capital gains arise from assets held for more than one year, whereas short-term gains come from assets held for one year or less. Capital gains can be offset by capital losses, allowing you to reduce taxable income when losses occur. Unlike individuals, C corporations don’t enjoy preferential tax rates on capital gains; both types are taxed at the same corporate level. Utilizing a corporate tax rate calculator can help you understand the financial impact of these capital gains in conjunction with considering the potential c corp benefits. Federal C Corp Tax Rules and Filing Requirements In regard to filing taxes for your C corporation, you’ll need to use IRS Form 1120 to report your net earnings and determine your tax liability at the flat rate of 21%. If you expect to owe $500 or more, remember to make quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid penalties. Staying on top of these deadlines is essential, as noncompliance can lead to significant penalties and interest on unpaid taxes. Tax Filing Process Filing federal taxes for a C corporation involves specific steps and requirements that you must follow to guarantee compliance. Here’s a quick overview of the tax filing process: Complete IRS Form 1120 to report your income and calculate your CIT tax based on net earnings. Submit Form 1120 by April 15 for calendar-year corporations or the 15th day of the fourth month for fiscal-year corporations. If you expect to owe $500 or more in taxes, make quarterly estimated tax payments. Consider filing IRS Form 7004 to request a 6-month extension if needed. Understanding the C corporation pros and cons can help you better utilize a corporation tax calculator for future planning. Avoid penalties by meeting deadlines! Estimated Tax Payments How can IRS corporations effectively manage their tax liabilities throughout the year? By making estimated tax payments, corporations can avoid significant penalties and interest on the unpaid amounts owed to the IRS. If you expect to owe $500 or more in taxes, you’ll need to make quarterly estimated tax payments, which are due on April 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15 for calendar-year corporations. Remember, C corporations must file IRS Form 1120 annually to report income and calculate taxes, with a deadline of April 15 for calendar-year entities. Although you can request a 6-month extension using Form 7004, this doesn’t extend the time to pay your estimated taxes. Stay proactive to keep your liabilities manageable. Estimated Tax Payments for C Corporations C corporations are required to make estimated tax payments if they anticipate owing $500 or more in taxes for the year, which means keeping track of your projected taxable income is essential. To stay compliant, you need to follow these guidelines: Payment Schedule: Make quarterly payments due on April 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. Tax Rate: Calculate payments using the flat corporate tax rate of 21%. Avoid Penalties: Confirm your payments meet either 100% of last year’s tax liability or 90% of the current year’s liability. Projected Income: Base your estimates on the anticipated earnings of C corporations, as these can fluctuate. Failing to make the required estimated tax payments for C corporations can lead to costly penalties and interest from the IRS, so stay vigilant to avoid these pitfalls. Employment Taxes for C Corporations As a C corporation, you’re responsible for withholding and paying various employment taxes for your employees, including federal income tax and FICA. To stay compliant, you’ll need to file Form 941 quarterly and submit Form 940 annually, summarizing your FUTA tax liabilities. Missing deadlines can lead to penalties, so it’s essential to understand your payroll tax responsibilities and filing requirements. Payroll Tax Responsibilities In managing a C corporation, it’s vital to understand your payroll tax responsibilities, which encompass various federal employment taxes. Here are key obligations you need to fulfill: Withhold income tax, Social Security, and Medicare (FICA) taxes from employee wages. File IRS Form 941 quarterly to report your employment taxes and maintain compliance. Pay unemployment taxes as required by the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), reported annually on Form 940, due by January 31. Determine your employment tax deposit schedule based on your prior year tax liability, classified as monthly or semi-weekly. Failure to comply with these payroll tax responsibilities can lead to penalties, interest, and increased scrutiny from the IRS, so staying diligent is vital. Filing Requirements Overview Comprehending the filing requirements for employment taxes is a key aspect of managing a C corporation. You’ll need to withhold and pay various taxes, including federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and federal unemployment tax. Corporations typically file IRS Form 941 quarterly to report these taxes, whereas IRS Form 940 is due annually by January 31 for FUTA taxes. Here’s a quick overview of key filing requirements: Form Frequency Due Date IRS Form 941 Quarterly Last day of the month following the quarter IRS Form 940 Annually January 31 Employment Tax Deposits Semi-weekly/Monthly Based on payroll tax liability Failure to comply can lead to penalties and interest on unpaid taxes. Estimated Tax Payments When a C corporation anticipates owing $500 or more in taxes for the year, it’s essential to make estimated tax payments to avoid penalties. You’ll need to keep track of important payment deadlines, which are: April 15 June 15 September 15 December 15 These estimated tax payments are based on your expected taxable income, calculated using the corporate tax rate of 21% on net earnings. Failing to make timely estimated tax payments can result in penalties and interest charged by the IRS. Furthermore, remember to file Form 941 quarterly to report employment taxes, and don’t forget about Form 940 by January 31 to report federal unemployment tax liabilities for the previous year. State Tax Requirements for C Corporations Comprehending state tax requirements for C Corporations is vital, as these obligations can greatly influence your business’s financial health. C Corporations may be subject to state income taxes that vary considerably from one state to another, and some states don’t even recognize the C Corp designation. Typically, state income tax classifications align with federal classifications, meaning you’ll face similar taxation levels. In addition to state income taxes, you might encounter additional state taxes, such as employment taxes, gross receipts taxes, and franchise taxes. It’s important to be aware of each state’s specific filing deadlines and requirements. Failure to meet these obligations can lead to penalties and fines, emphasizing the significance of timely and accurate filings. Strategies to Reduce C Corporation Taxes Grasping state tax requirements is just the beginning for C Corporations; exploring strategies to reduce tax liabilities can significantly enhance your business’s financial performance. Consider these effective tactics: Withhold Dividends: Prevent double taxation on corporate profits by retaining earnings instead of distributing dividends. Pay Salaries: Compensate shareholder-employees with salaries rather than dividends to achieve tax deductibility and avoid double taxation. Reimburse Expenses: Lower taxable earnings by reimbursing business expenses incurred by shareholder-employees, which can reduce overall corporate tax liabilities. Maximize Deductions: Utilize tax deductions for ordinary business expenses, such as travel, advertising, and legal fees, to minimize taxable income. Moreover, consider tax credits, like energy or research credits, to directly lower your corporation’s tax liability. Weighing the s corp vs llc tax benefits and comprehending the disadvantages of an s corp can equally inform your tax strategy decisions. Advantages and Disadvantages of C Corporations C Corporations offer several notable advantages, making them an appealing choice for many business owners. They provide limited liability protection, ensuring that shareholders aren’t personally responsible for debts beyond their investment in the corporation. Moreover, C Corps can raise capital more easily by issuing multiple classes of stock and attracting an unlimited number of shareholders, including foreign investors. However, there are significant disadvantages to take into account. One major drawback is double taxation; corporate profits are taxed at a rate of 21%, and any dividends distributed to shareholders face individual tax rates ranging from 10% to 37%. In addition, C Corporations typically incur higher operational costs and face more regulatory scrutiny compared to LLCs and S Corporations. In spite of these challenges, C Corps offer continuity, allowing the business to sustain itself independently of its owners. Grasping these factors is essential when deciding on the appropriate business structure. Frequently Asked Questions How Does C Corp Pay Taxes? A C Corporation pays taxes by filing an annual return, typically using IRS Form 1120. It’s required to pay a flat federal tax rate of 21% on its net earnings. If you expect to owe $500 or more, you must make estimated quarterly payments by specific deadlines: April 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. Furthermore, you must withhold and pay employment taxes for employees, reported quarterly on Form 941. How to Calculate C Corp Taxes for Dummies? To calculate C Corp taxes, start by determining your corporation’s gross income. Next, subtract allowable deductions like salaries and expenses to find your taxable income. Once you have that figure, multiply it by the federal corporate tax rate of 21%. If your corporation expects to owe $500 or more, make estimated quarterly tax payments. Finally, file IRS Form 1120 annually to report income, taxes owed, and deductions taken during the year. What Are the Tax Disadvantages of a C Corp? C corporations face several tax disadvantages. You’ll encounter double taxation, where profits are taxed at 21% at the corporate level, and shareholders pay taxes on dividends, which can reach 37%. Compliance costs can escalate because of the complexity of filing Form 1120. Furthermore, state and local taxes may apply, further complicating your financial environment. If you pay high salaries to shareholder-employees, the IRS might scrutinize these, leading to potential tax challenges. How Do C Corporations Avoid Taxes? C corporations can avoid taxes by utilizing several strategies. First, they often minimize dividend distributions, allowing profits to stay within the corporation. Paying salaries to shareholder-employees reduces taxable income, as these expenses are deductible. Moreover, reimbursing business expenses lowers taxable earnings, whereas maximizing deductions for travel and legal fees further decreases tax liability. Finally, utilizing tax credits can directly reduce the overall tax burden, offering financial benefits without increasing taxable income. Conclusion In conclusion, comprehending C Corporation taxes is crucial for effective financial management. With a flat federal tax rate of 21% and the implications of double taxation, you should carefully consider how these factors affect your business. Furthermore, state tax obligations and employment taxes can further complicate your tax situation. By exploring strategies to reduce your C Corporation taxes, you can optimize your financial outcomes as you maneuver through the intricacies of corporate taxation. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "What Are C Corp Taxes and How Do They Work?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

When you’re looking to comprehend C Corporation taxes, it is crucial to grasp how they operate within the broader tax framework. A C Corporation is subject to a flat federal tax rate of 21% on its profits, which can lead to double taxation. This means the corporation pays taxes on its income, and shareholders face additional taxes on dividends. There are likewise state tax obligations that can vary widely. Comprehending these nuances can be vital for effective financial planning. Key Takeaways C Corporations are taxed at a flat federal rate of 21% on their profits before any dividends are distributed. Double taxation occurs as corporate profits are taxed, and shareholders pay taxes on dividends received at individual income tax rates. Shareholders report dividends on Form 1099-DIV, which can be taxed at rates ranging from 10% to 37%. C Corporations must file IRS Form 1120 annually by April 15 and make estimated tax payments if owing $500 or more. Salaries paid to employees can help mitigate double taxation, as they are tax-deductible for the corporation. What Is a C Corporation? A C Corporation is a unique legal entity that operates independently from its owners, known as shareholders. So, what does C Corp stand for? Fundamentally, it designates a corporation that’s taxed separately from its owners under the U.S. tax code. One of the main advantages of a C Corp is its ability to have an unlimited number of shareholders, including foreign investors, which facilitates capital raising. This structure likewise allows for multiple classes of stock, providing flexibility in ownership. C Corporations offer limited liability protection, meaning shareholders are only liable for corporate debts up to their investment amount. Nonetheless, it’s crucial to recognize that C corporations face double taxation: corporate profits are taxed at the federal level, and dividends received by shareholders are taxed again at their individual rates. This aspect of C corporation taxation can impact profitability and investment strategies for owners. Overview of C Corporation Taxation Grasping C Corporation taxation is vital for shareholders and business owners, as it directly affects a company’s financial health and investment strategies. C corporations face taxation as separate entities, with a flat federal corporate tax rate of 21% applied to their net earnings. This structure is significant due to it leading to corporate double taxation; when profits are distributed as dividends to shareholders, they face individual income tax rates ranging from 10% to 37%. Shareholders report these dividends on Form 1099-DIV. To manage c corporation taxes effectively, corporations must file IRS Form 1120 annually, with a due date of April 15 for calendar-year corporations. If your corporation expects to owe $500 or more, you’ll need to make estimated tax payments throughout the year, adhering to specific quarterly deadlines. Comprehending these elements of c corp taxation is fundamental for effective financial planning and compliance. Double Taxation Explained Double taxation occurs when a C corporation’s profits are taxed at the corporate level before any dividends are distributed to shareholders, and then those dividends are taxed again at the individual level. This means you, as a shareholder, could face a corporate income tax rate of 21% on the company’s net profits, followed by personal income tax rates on the dividends you receive, which can range from 10% to 37%. Comprehending these tax implications is essential for managing your investment and exploring strategies to minimize your overall tax burden. Corporate Income Tax Rate When you invest in a C corporation, it’s important to understand how its profits are taxed, particularly due to the concept of double taxation. C corporations face a flat federal income tax rate of 21%, which is categorized under corporate income tax. This means the corporation pays taxes on its earnings before distributing any profits. The c corp double taxation occurs when shareholders receive dividends, as they must then pay personal income taxes on those dividends at rates ranging from 10% to 37%. Although C corporations offer certain advantages, like limited liability, the corporate taxation definition highlights the potential downside of double taxation, where profits are taxed at both the corporate and individual levels, affecting overall returns for investors. Dividend Tax Implications Many investors may not realize how dividend tax implications can considerably impact their overall returns from C corporations. Comprehending these implications is vital, as double taxation in a corporation means that corporate profits face taxation at both the entity and shareholder levels. Here are key points to take into account: C corporations pay a flat 21% tax on profits. Shareholders are taxed again on dividends, with rates ranging from 10-37%. Qualified dividends may be taxed at up to 23.8%. Utilizing salaries instead of dividends can help avoid double taxation. These factors influence profit distribution and tax strategy management, making it fundamental to grasp the nuances of C corp taxes and their dividend tax implications for better investment outcomes. Taxes on C Corp Dividend Distributions C corporations face specific tax implications when distributing dividends to shareholders, which can often lead to uncertainty. When you receive dividends, you’re required to pay individual taxes on them, reported annually on Form 1099-DIV, with rates ranging from 10% to 37%. This creates corporate tax double taxation, as profits are first taxed at the corporate level at a flat rate of 21%, and then taxed again when distributed to you as dividends. To potentially avoid double taxation, small C corporations might opt to pay salaries to shareholder-employees instead of issuing dividends, since salaries are tax-deductible for the corporation. If you receive qualified dividends, you might benefit from lower tax rates, capped at 23.8%, depending on your income level. Grasping these aspects can help you navigate the intricacies of c corporation benefits and the taxation process more effectively. Taxes on C Corp Capital Gains During comprehension of the tax implications of capital gains for C corporations, it’s important to recognize that these gains are taxed at a flat corporate rate of 21%, similar to corporate income. Here are some key points to understand: C corporations categorize capital gains as either short-term or long-term when reporting on Schedule D of Form 1040. Long-term capital gains arise from assets held for more than one year, whereas short-term gains come from assets held for one year or less. Capital gains can be offset by capital losses, allowing you to reduce taxable income when losses occur. Unlike individuals, C corporations don’t enjoy preferential tax rates on capital gains; both types are taxed at the same corporate level. Utilizing a corporate tax rate calculator can help you understand the financial impact of these capital gains in conjunction with considering the potential c corp benefits. Federal C Corp Tax Rules and Filing Requirements In regard to filing taxes for your C corporation, you’ll need to use IRS Form 1120 to report your net earnings and determine your tax liability at the flat rate of 21%. If you expect to owe $500 or more, remember to make quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid penalties. Staying on top of these deadlines is essential, as noncompliance can lead to significant penalties and interest on unpaid taxes. Tax Filing Process Filing federal taxes for a C corporation involves specific steps and requirements that you must follow to guarantee compliance. Here’s a quick overview of the tax filing process: Complete IRS Form 1120 to report your income and calculate your CIT tax based on net earnings. Submit Form 1120 by April 15 for calendar-year corporations or the 15th day of the fourth month for fiscal-year corporations. If you expect to owe $500 or more in taxes, make quarterly estimated tax payments. Consider filing IRS Form 7004 to request a 6-month extension if needed. Understanding the C corporation pros and cons can help you better utilize a corporation tax calculator for future planning. Avoid penalties by meeting deadlines! Estimated Tax Payments How can IRS corporations effectively manage their tax liabilities throughout the year? By making estimated tax payments, corporations can avoid significant penalties and interest on the unpaid amounts owed to the IRS. If you expect to owe $500 or more in taxes, you’ll need to make quarterly estimated tax payments, which are due on April 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15 for calendar-year corporations. Remember, C corporations must file IRS Form 1120 annually to report income and calculate taxes, with a deadline of April 15 for calendar-year entities. Although you can request a 6-month extension using Form 7004, this doesn’t extend the time to pay your estimated taxes. Stay proactive to keep your liabilities manageable. Estimated Tax Payments for C Corporations C corporations are required to make estimated tax payments if they anticipate owing $500 or more in taxes for the year, which means keeping track of your projected taxable income is essential. To stay compliant, you need to follow these guidelines: Payment Schedule: Make quarterly payments due on April 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. Tax Rate: Calculate payments using the flat corporate tax rate of 21%. Avoid Penalties: Confirm your payments meet either 100% of last year’s tax liability or 90% of the current year’s liability. Projected Income: Base your estimates on the anticipated earnings of C corporations, as these can fluctuate. Failing to make the required estimated tax payments for C corporations can lead to costly penalties and interest from the IRS, so stay vigilant to avoid these pitfalls. Employment Taxes for C Corporations As a C corporation, you’re responsible for withholding and paying various employment taxes for your employees, including federal income tax and FICA. To stay compliant, you’ll need to file Form 941 quarterly and submit Form 940 annually, summarizing your FUTA tax liabilities. Missing deadlines can lead to penalties, so it’s essential to understand your payroll tax responsibilities and filing requirements. Payroll Tax Responsibilities In managing a C corporation, it’s vital to understand your payroll tax responsibilities, which encompass various federal employment taxes. Here are key obligations you need to fulfill: Withhold income tax, Social Security, and Medicare (FICA) taxes from employee wages. File IRS Form 941 quarterly to report your employment taxes and maintain compliance. Pay unemployment taxes as required by the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), reported annually on Form 940, due by January 31. Determine your employment tax deposit schedule based on your prior year tax liability, classified as monthly or semi-weekly. Failure to comply with these payroll tax responsibilities can lead to penalties, interest, and increased scrutiny from the IRS, so staying diligent is vital. Filing Requirements Overview Comprehending the filing requirements for employment taxes is a key aspect of managing a C corporation. You’ll need to withhold and pay various taxes, including federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and federal unemployment tax. Corporations typically file IRS Form 941 quarterly to report these taxes, whereas IRS Form 940 is due annually by January 31 for FUTA taxes. Here’s a quick overview of key filing requirements: Form Frequency Due Date IRS Form 941 Quarterly Last day of the month following the quarter IRS Form 940 Annually January 31 Employment Tax Deposits Semi-weekly/Monthly Based on payroll tax liability Failure to comply can lead to penalties and interest on unpaid taxes. Estimated Tax Payments When a C corporation anticipates owing $500 or more in taxes for the year, it’s essential to make estimated tax payments to avoid penalties. You’ll need to keep track of important payment deadlines, which are: April 15 June 15 September 15 December 15 These estimated tax payments are based on your expected taxable income, calculated using the corporate tax rate of 21% on net earnings. Failing to make timely estimated tax payments can result in penalties and interest charged by the IRS. Furthermore, remember to file Form 941 quarterly to report employment taxes, and don’t forget about Form 940 by January 31 to report federal unemployment tax liabilities for the previous year. State Tax Requirements for C Corporations Comprehending state tax requirements for C Corporations is vital, as these obligations can greatly influence your business’s financial health. C Corporations may be subject to state income taxes that vary considerably from one state to another, and some states don’t even recognize the C Corp designation. Typically, state income tax classifications align with federal classifications, meaning you’ll face similar taxation levels. In addition to state income taxes, you might encounter additional state taxes, such as employment taxes, gross receipts taxes, and franchise taxes. It’s important to be aware of each state’s specific filing deadlines and requirements. Failure to meet these obligations can lead to penalties and fines, emphasizing the significance of timely and accurate filings. Strategies to Reduce C Corporation Taxes Grasping state tax requirements is just the beginning for C Corporations; exploring strategies to reduce tax liabilities can significantly enhance your business’s financial performance. Consider these effective tactics: Withhold Dividends: Prevent double taxation on corporate profits by retaining earnings instead of distributing dividends. Pay Salaries: Compensate shareholder-employees with salaries rather than dividends to achieve tax deductibility and avoid double taxation. Reimburse Expenses: Lower taxable earnings by reimbursing business expenses incurred by shareholder-employees, which can reduce overall corporate tax liabilities. Maximize Deductions: Utilize tax deductions for ordinary business expenses, such as travel, advertising, and legal fees, to minimize taxable income. Moreover, consider tax credits, like energy or research credits, to directly lower your corporation’s tax liability. Weighing the s corp vs llc tax benefits and comprehending the disadvantages of an s corp can equally inform your tax strategy decisions. Advantages and Disadvantages of C Corporations C Corporations offer several notable advantages, making them an appealing choice for many business owners. They provide limited liability protection, ensuring that shareholders aren’t personally responsible for debts beyond their investment in the corporation. Moreover, C Corps can raise capital more easily by issuing multiple classes of stock and attracting an unlimited number of shareholders, including foreign investors. However, there are significant disadvantages to take into account. One major drawback is double taxation; corporate profits are taxed at a rate of 21%, and any dividends distributed to shareholders face individual tax rates ranging from 10% to 37%. In addition, C Corporations typically incur higher operational costs and face more regulatory scrutiny compared to LLCs and S Corporations. In spite of these challenges, C Corps offer continuity, allowing the business to sustain itself independently of its owners. Grasping these factors is essential when deciding on the appropriate business structure. Frequently Asked Questions How Does C Corp Pay Taxes? A C Corporation pays taxes by filing an annual return, typically using IRS Form 1120. It’s required to pay a flat federal tax rate of 21% on its net earnings. If you expect to owe $500 or more, you must make estimated quarterly payments by specific deadlines: April 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. Furthermore, you must withhold and pay employment taxes for employees, reported quarterly on Form 941. How to Calculate C Corp Taxes for Dummies? To calculate C Corp taxes, start by determining your corporation’s gross income. Next, subtract allowable deductions like salaries and expenses to find your taxable income. Once you have that figure, multiply it by the federal corporate tax rate of 21%. If your corporation expects to owe $500 or more, make estimated quarterly tax payments. Finally, file IRS Form 1120 annually to report income, taxes owed, and deductions taken during the year. What Are the Tax Disadvantages of a C Corp? C corporations face several tax disadvantages. You’ll encounter double taxation, where profits are taxed at 21% at the corporate level, and shareholders pay taxes on dividends, which can reach 37%. Compliance costs can escalate because of the complexity of filing Form 1120. Furthermore, state and local taxes may apply, further complicating your financial environment. If you pay high salaries to shareholder-employees, the IRS might scrutinize these, leading to potential tax challenges. How Do C Corporations Avoid Taxes? C corporations can avoid taxes by utilizing several strategies. First, they often minimize dividend distributions, allowing profits to stay within the corporation. Paying salaries to shareholder-employees reduces taxable income, as these expenses are deductible. Moreover, reimbursing business expenses lowers taxable earnings, whereas maximizing deductions for travel and legal fees further decreases tax liability. Finally, utilizing tax credits can directly reduce the overall tax burden, offering financial benefits without increasing taxable income. Conclusion In conclusion, comprehending C Corporation taxes is crucial for effective financial management. With a flat federal tax rate of 21% and the implications of double taxation, you should carefully consider how these factors affect your business. Furthermore, state tax obligations and employment taxes can further complicate your tax situation. By exploring strategies to reduce your C Corporation taxes, you can optimize your financial outcomes as you maneuver through the intricacies of corporate taxation. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "What Are C Corp Taxes and How Do They Work?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

For its most recent holiday party, the marketing agency Mattio Communications held a workshop in New York City for its 35 employees. It was a class to learn how to roll a joint. “We went to the lounge, had someone come teach us how to roll a joint, and then went out for omakase afterward,” CEO Rosie Mattio tells Fast Company. “And we used our company business cards as the crutch in the joint.” (A crutch is the rolled-up piece of paper at the mouth-end of the joint.) While cannabis is still federally illegal in the U.S., 24 states—including New York, where Mattio Communications is located—now allow some form of legal use. Driven by increasing legalization and a declining cultural affinity toward alcohol, cannabis use has been steadily growing across the U.S. in recent years, with Gallup polls suggesting it’s catching on most with Americans ages 18 to 34. As a result, office happy hours and corporate holiday parties are changing in states where recreational weed is legal, with employees lighting up, enjoying THC libations, or snacking on gummies and edibles with coworkers—sometimes even in the office itself. “People get very giggly on cannabis,” Mattio says. “It’s a great way to team bond.” Mattio Communications is one of the first cannabis-focused marketing agencies in the industry, with clients including cannabis companies Curio Wellness and TerrAscend. While it’s unsurprising that companies openly embracing cannabis in the workplace are in the weed business themselves, Mattio sees it catching on across a number of different industries, as cannabis-infused beverages and low-dose products hit the market and attract a different kind of consumer. Mattio’s been in talks with an investment bank that has shown interest in using a cannabis lounge, formerly the Nat Sherman New York City Townhouse near Grand Central Station, for the opening party of one of their conferences, “to do something a little different.” “A fashion designer in New York was thinking about doing their fall after-party at the cannabis lounge downstairs because the store is right off Bryant Park, the center of Fashion Week,” Mattio says. “Instead of doing a standard cocktail bar, they want to do something next-generation. And that’s cannabis.” Better than booze? When Cann CEO Jake Bullock was in business school, he briefly interned for an L.A.-based cannabis company. “We had our own version of a 4:20 happy hour—we’d go out into the parking lot and smoke a joint,” he tells Fast Company. But it didn’t work for a number of reasons. “One, you got way too high, so the rest of the day was totally shot. Two, it didn’t feel as social as drinking a beverage would,” he notes. This sparked the idea for Cann, the low-dose THC-infused beverage company Bullock co-founded in 2019. Bullock sees cannabis-infused beverages as a social and inclusive substitute for alcohol in workplace settings, such as happy hours and holiday parties. “It may help you with that slight alteration that you need to relax around your boss,” he says. “But it won’t change your behavior in a way you’ll regret the next day.” As attitudes toward cannabis shift, alcohol sales have dropped. The “three-martini lunch” is now mostly a relic of the past. And cigarette breaks with the boss—which research has shown can put workers on a career fast track, thanks to the face time—are an increasingly rare habit, as marijuana usage surpasses traditional cigarette usage in the U.S. Gen Zers are at the forefront of this shift: 62% use cannabis or THC to manage daily stress, compared with 61% who use alcohol, according to new research from Drug Rehab USA. “Alcohol was really the only option for so long, but there are so many better options now, including Cann, for those midweek occasions,” Bullock says. “Maybe you want to be social, take the edge off,” he explains, but you also don’t want to possibly suffer a hangover from after-work drinks with coworkers. Mattio would also rather her employees enjoy a couple of joints or a cannabis beverage on a weeknight than partake in an alcohol-fueled night out. “In terms of productivity, it’s a lot easier to go out, smoke, or take a few edibles, and come into work on time the next morning,” she says. There’s little HR can do Human resources departments are still hesitant to recommend one over the other. “As a general rule, there is no real difference between getting high and getting drunk with your boss,” Donna Obstfeld, founder of the HR practice DOHR, tells Fast Company. “Both should be avoided.” However, “what people do in their own time is up to them. As long as they are not putting themselves or colleagues at risk, there is little an employer can do,” Obstfeld concedes. “Especially if the products aren’t illegal and don’t negatively impact performance.” Will joints and bong hits become as common as beer and wine in the office in the near future? Mattio believes so—and that the workplace will be better for it. “I go to a lot of cannabis events, and I have never seen anybody falling over drunk the way you sometimes see at the end of a holiday party,” she says. The risks of getting too high, on the other hand? “Maybe you giggle too much,” she adds. “Or eat a little too much food.” View the full article

It’s tempting to think that stacking a team with top talent guarantees results. Add AI, and you’ve got supercharged individuals. But star performers don’t automatically create high-performing teams—and AI can make things worse. Duke dean and professor Scott Dyreng saw this firsthand. His M.B.A. students worked in teams, with the option to “break up” for the final project. Before AI, about 5% did. After AI, over half went solo, he writes in The Wall Street Journal. Dyreng found that AI disrupted core teamwork skills, like negotiating and reaching agreements. But instead of banning it, he used AI strategically—for meeting analysis, summarizing discussions, and reporting participation. The tools didn’t replace communication—they strengthened it, encouraging more human interaction. The lesson for leaders: it’s not whether to use AI, but how. Misaligned dynamics can neutralize even top talent. The best teams focus as much on how they work together as on who’s on the team—and they use AI to enhance, not replace, that collaboration. Here’s how. Form balanced teams for each project I’ve long been a proponent of cross-functional teams. At Jotform, employees work in small groups—usually a senior developer, front-end developer, back-end developer, designer, CSS developer, and sometimes a project or product manager. This structure creates a natural equilibrium where each person brings their distinct expertise to the table. With each new project, roles shift. Different team members take the lead depending on the work. Understanding individual strengths and weaknesses helps ensure teams stay balanced and that the right person leads each project. AI tools can help leaders gather these insights. Meeting analysis, for example, can reveal who takes the lead on specific topics. Communication trends can show where people excel across a project timeline—who initiates, who organizes, and who shines during execution. And if an employee is struggling—say, someone scrambling to manage deadlines—AI can help develop tailored learning solutions that fit their individual schedule. Used strategically, AI can help organizations lean into team members’ strengths and address weaknesses where needed. Build feedback touchpoints directly into workflows As I’ve written before, top-performing teams are fueled by real-time feedback. Annual reviews are often too little, too late, not to mention, engender a very unproductive amount of anxiety. Instead, leaders can build systems with feedback loops, so that team members are accustomed to talking about their performance, including the positive notes, and understand how to improve. As we’ve seen at Jotform, this removes the “dread factor” from feedback. It also encourages team members to productively and openly communicate ideas. As the WSJ article noted, AI and automation tools can offer feedback that team members can use to hone their skills. Leaders can set up automated reminders for employees to provide feedback, both manager-to-employee and peer-to-peer. One company created tailored agents, embedded in the team’s workplace software, to coach employees in the feedback process, prompting them to provide immediate and more specific insight, and drafting responses for employees to edit and send. (We do this at Jotform using this template.) With feedback touchpoints built directly into workflows, both employees and managers get a more comprehensive view of how teams are functioning and where they need to make adjustments. Make team goals crystal clear at all times At Jotform, our teams function like micro-enterprises. They manage themselves, including the goals that they focus on. To keep things crystal clear and make sure everyone is aligned, each team has a single-sentence mission at any given time, and it informs their day-to-day work. For example, our growth team might focus on the number of active users. The performance team, meanwhile, keeps its sights on the average response time taken for common activities. This narrowed focus on a single metric enables our teams to achieve quick wins and build momentum. Setting clear goals and standards holds teams accountable both internally and externally. AI-powered platforms can help organizations and teams continuously set and refine those goals, rather than setting them and forgetting them. Platforms like Betterworks, for example, leverage AI to help teams create and update goals, ensuring they align with company objectives. Managers can easily track progress in real-time, fostering ongoing improvement. The AI-driven platform can analyze progress updates, flag when a team’s metrics are off-track, and suggest adjustments like redefining KPIs or reallocating resources. When teams are working toward a single goal, they can course-correct better and faster. Team members can support each other when needed. The team succeeds or fails together. They learn together. They improve performance together, and over time, that translates to real, sustainable, bottom-line results. View the full article

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. How can we convince employees to care about showing up to work? Part of my job involves working with seasonal employees who are hired in the summer to work as 1-1 aides to kids with disabilities. We have a persistent problem of staff suddenly calling out or announcing late arrivals/early departures. In some ways I’m sympathetic — this is just their summer gig, we aren’t able to pay the rate I wish we could, and life can be complicated. In other ways, I’m not. The impact of suddenly disappearing on these kids seems so self-evident I feel ridiculous explaining it. The shifts are 9-3, so there is time at the end of the day for appointments and other life stuff. Ideally we would just not hire back staff with consistent issues, but there just aren’t enough qualified people to fill all of these roles (although we are trying to expand our recruiting). Until now I was not a direct manager to these staff, but I’m in the process of being promoted. So my question is, what is the best way to shift this culture going forward? Incentives for showing up consistently (beyond being paid)? Clearer consequences for call-outs? Explaining the impact of their behavior? I don’t want to be condescending or unreasonable, but this is genuinely a job where being on-site truly matters. I think the issue isn’t “not enough qualified people to fill these roles” but rather “not enough qualified people to fill these roles at the rate we are paying.” I realize you likely don’t have the power to do anything about that, but are you able to make that case to someone who does, pointing out that without more competitive pay, this will continue to be an issue and will continue to affect the kids in your care? Beyond that, though, you can try talking about this explicitly in your hiring process — explaining that it’s a job where reliability really matters because of ___ (fill in with specifics about the impact on the kids) and you need people who will commit to showing up reliably and on time. You can reiterate that as part of their training too. From there, yes, ideally you’d have clearer consequences for unreliability — but if you’re in a position where you’re having to hire back people who you know to be consistently unreliable, I’m not sure how practical that is. Realistically, if you don’t have the power to fire people who don’t show up reliably and you’re struggling to hire other candidates because of the pay, you’re in a bad spot. That said, it would be interesting to actively enlist the repeat offenders in your problem solving — sitting down with them and saying “here’s the issue, here’s why it matters, here are our constraints in solving it, what are your ideas for how we can improve this as a team?” 2. Coworkers keep putting my team’s work into AI software I work on a marketing and communications team for a public institution affiliated with a state government in the U.S. We produce a lot of written work, as well as photos and videos, for various divisions in our organizations. However, we’ve recently hit a few things that have thrown my team and I for a loop: 1. We produced employee headshots for one of the divisions we serve. An employee took the headshot from our photographer, plugged it into an outside AI service, and “updated” their own headshot. They then wanted our team to use that AI-edited headshot on our website. We refused, because (a) they put the work of our photographer into an AI system without the photographer’s permission and (b) it no longer accurately looked like the employee. 2. I created a written piece for a colleague in one of the divisions we serve. That colleague returned the piece to me having been rewritten by an outside AI service, asking me to approve that version. I felt incredibly insulted, but also frustrated that my work has been used to train AI without my permission. I ended up rewriting the AI version to feel more genuine and asked my colleague to consult with us before moving to AI solutions. Time will tell if that was a good approach. Our organization does allow gen-AI use in work, as long as it’s cited and as long as we use software that’s been vetted and approved (both examples used unapproved AI software). Do you have advice on how we handle these kinds of situations in the future? Is there something we can say to our colleagues to keep them from doing this with our work? Working in marketing can be challenging because everyone thinks they can do our jobs — and AI certainly doesn’t help that. And I don’t want to immediately jump to reporting my colleagues to the IT admin for AI misuse; I feel like that could damage our working relationship. Thoughts? Your organization needs to do more to communicate its policy on AI, because both of these situations violated that policy! Can you point out that people clearly haven’t absorbed what they are and aren’t permitted to do and ask that the company provide better training on what is and isn’t allowed? On your end when this happens, you should feel free to cite the policy directly! You don’t need to tiptoe around it; it’s fine to say, “Company policy explicits prohibits using that software, so we can’t do this.” If someone is a repeat offender, loop in their boss — not to try to get them in trouble, but to point out that the person needs more training to understand the policy. But I would try to avoid feeling insulted by people using AI to redo your work; this is just the latest iteration of something that has always existed in writing jobs, where non-writers make changes that weaken the work (but because they’re not good writers, can’t see that). 3. When a job wants me to answer questions instead of sending a cover letter, how long should the answers be? I’m currently applying for remote jobs at nonprofits. Many are not asking for cover letters, but instead have open-ended questions they ask you to answer when you submit your resume, such as “what about our work makes you most interested in working with us,” “describe your familiarity with and interest in Work Area X,” and “describe something you’ve worked on that you’re particularly proud of.” Any advice on the recommended length for these responses? Typically one well-considered paragraph. Or two at most, unless they specifically ask for something longer. And because these are short answers (and also because the reader will likely be skimming, at least in their first pass), you really want to strip away any fluff and ensue what you write is heavy on substance. 4. My company is interviewing other people for the job I’ve been covering My boss retired eight months ago, and I have been filling the position on an interim basis since then. I had an interim agreement which expired after three months, but no agreement since then. I am being stipended a small amount each week for additional duties. I am being told that the position has to be posted externally, but they hope I will apply. But also they “want to see who is out there and available.” Other positions in other teams recently, where a similar thing has happened, have not been advertised externally. I was told they would like to complete in the next three months, but maybe not. No promises. I’min the U.S. but I have a friend who is an HR professional in Europe, who told me that in that jurisdiction I would be considered to be de facto in the role and if asked to take part in a process, I would have some other options. I am not trying to cause trouble here, because I love this organization and this role, but do I have any recourse here? I feel like I am being held to a different standard than others are, and it makes me feel less valued by the organization. It’s a Europe/U.S. difference (or at least, parts of Europe). In the U.S., you don’t have any rights to special preference for the position (assuming you don’t have a contract or union agreement that says otherwise), even if they’ve handled it differently for other roles. The exception would be if you felt you were being treated differently because of your race, sex, religion, or other protected class, in which case that could move into discrimination territory. But absent something like that, they’re allowed to treat this hiring process differently than others. There are a lot of reasons why they might want to do that: this position might have higher stakes or pickier stakeholders, or they might want a change in strategy that they think an external hire would be better positioned to lead, or they might think you aren’t as qualified to fill the role on a permanent basis as the people recently promoted on those other teams were (even if you’re doing just fine in a pared-down interim version of it), and on and on. You could definitely ask whether there’s anything about the way you’ve approached the role that they’d like you to do differently, but try to approach it assuming there may be legitimate reasons for why they want to talk to multiple candidates. 5. Can I ask for a higher raise? A coworker left a different section of our department (think like payroll and recruiting) last year and I was assigned some of his tasks until we could find a replacement. The tasks I took on aren’t necessarily strenuous, but they do take 2-3 set hours per day and utilize a different skill set than my actual job, and I had to rearrange my daily work schedule and cadence. My manager helped pull back on some of the responsibilities of my day-to-day role to accommodate the time for the other work, but sometimes it takes extended hours to get both done. When the interim period stretched to nearly a year without hiring anybody, I asked my manager how we might be able to adjust my compensation to reflect doing a not-insignificant portion of another person’s job for a more extended period than either of us anticipated. I was informed that my efforts would be reflected in my annual review and any resulting pay increase. I have now received my positive review and the increase, and I’m getting the standard cost of living bump that everyone in the company is getting plus about 1% for “going above and beyond.” This equates to several hundred dollars over the year. Am I wrong to think this is an inappropriately low amount? I generally like where I work and the people I work with, including my manager. Is there any scenario in which “responding” to my raise amount has a point and doesn’t just make me a difficult employee? Yes, many, many scenarios, including this one. Think of the increase they offered as a starting point in negotiations and ask for more. They may not be thinking of it that way, but it’s reasonable for you to. Say this to your manager: “As you know, I was willing to help out with the X work in a pinch, but it’s been a year and it’s a considerable change to my responsibilities and daily work for a significant period of time. I don’t believe the extra $300 (replace with the correct number, but do give the exact figure because it’s a ridiculous one when spelled out that way) added to my salary accounts for that, and I’d like to request that be revisited.” If you have a number in mind, name it, but you don’t have to. You are being the opposite of a difficult employee; you’ve been the solution to a major problem for them, and you should ask to be compensated accordingly for that. The post how to convince employees to care about showing up, coworkers keep running my team’s work through AI, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager. 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