ResidentialBusiness

President delivers payback for having his own privileges pulled by predecessor over January 6 riotsView the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. Here are the rules for the weekend posts. Book recommendation of the week: Perfume and Pain, by Anna Dorn. A cancelled writer searches for inspiration and develops a surprising relationship with her new neighbor. Funny and smart. (Amazon, Bookshop) * I earn a commission if you use those links. View the full article

Fans of Apple TV+'s Severance, your day is about to be improved: Apple has released eight chapters of The You You Are, the fictional self-help book by Dr. Ricken Lazlo Hale that is central to the plot of the show. If you want to read it, you can even download it for free, or listen to the audiobook version, narrated by Ricken himself (actor Michael Chernus). The brief excerpts from The You You Are that have appeared in Severance are among the funniest bits in the show, but the book as released isn't just for laughs: It's also a great representation of how propaganda works, both in the Severance universe and in real life. In the "outie" world of the show, The You You Are is a joke, a pretentious self-help book only fools take seriously. But in the world of the innies, an ill-gotten copy of The You You Are is seen as a work of towering genius with the power to change lives and change the world. This is only because the sole other book in the Lumon office is The Compliance Handbook, a ponderous, quasi-religious text that exists only so Lumon can keep control of its employees. The innies' reaction to Ricken's work reminds me of those people who read half a book (or a single headline) and suddenly think they know everything about a complex topic, and who hasn't met a few of them? What is The You You Are about?Ricken's book excerpt is hilarious and in keeping with the show's darkly comic style. It opens with, “It’s said that as a child, Wolfgang Mozart killed another boy by slamming his head in a piano. Don’t worry. My research for this book has proven the claim untrue,” and continues in that vein. Ricken's book purports to be a practical guide to self-improvement, where readers are meant to gain self-knowledge by following a series of steps: Figure out your YouType (more on that below), write it on a piece of paper and affix it to your vanity. Write your name on another post-it and tape it next to your YouType. Choose a theology and add a "totem" of it to your YouShrine. “This could be a Christianman’s cross, an An-Ra Scarab, or a Masonic square and compass," Ricken writes, also suggesting you can "use a photo or etching of me." Add something you consider sexy. As the author puts it: "Something that whispers to your nethers in a voice only they can hear. This may be a pinup photo from wartimes of yore, a beloved undergarment, or a still life of a sinewy gourd." Ricken also suggest you can use a picture of him for this step. Think of an insult you've heard. Write an acrostic poem using the letter of each word of the insult and add it to your vanity. Ricken goes with "Everyone laughs at you the second you walk out of the fucking room," which was once said to him by Severance main character Mark S. Print out a copy of a poem that Ricken wrote and paste it to your vanity. “Conceive and found a charitable organization based on a cause that you hold dear...Whether you wish to curtail bear populations, bathe the infirm, or send bottled water to astronauts, stay the course until the organization is procedurally viable. Then, once your licensing paperwork comes in, affix it to the vanity amongst your other totems.” This is where the excerpt ends. Too bad; I hear page 197 slaps. Does The You You Are include any clues about the plot of Severance?In Chapter 3, Ricken mentions going to a theater to see "an American religious satire film which I consider to be the most over-celebrated piece of commercial cinema ever produced," a film we know as Sister Act. There's other evidence in the show, but the Sister Act bit confirms that Severance takes place somewhere around now in something like our world, despite the ancient computers and everyone driving cars from the '80s and '90s. The You You Are also gives us a ton of backstory about Ricken's character and history. For instance, he was conceived and born as part of a "nine-month performance art piece originated by [his] parents titled 'Smells Like Afterbirth, F**ker.'” There's no information about how, exactly, Ricken has enough money to afford his relatively lavish lifestyle. It certainly isn't from sales of his books, and his parents were performance artists, so it's not likely to be family money either—unless, as some have theorized online, that Ricken is actually a black sheep member of the Eagan clan. Maybe the most important thing in The You You Are are the passages where we learn about Ricken's feelings toward Mark's (maybe) dead wife Gemma. When Ricken writes about Gemma, he seems to be in love with her. This could be a red herring, but as Severance unfolds, I wouldn't be surprised if Ricken's feelings toward Gemma become a major plot point. The deeper meaning of The You You Are within the Severance universeThe "big idea" behind Ricken's book is the "YouType," the kind of made-up psychological concept common to self-help books, pseudo science, and cults—think "love languages," the Myers-Briggs personality inventory, and Scientology's "emotional tone scale." According to Ricken, everyone fits into one of five YouTypes: The Coward, The Warrior, The Dove, The Scribe, and The Vestal. This mirrors the idea behind Lumon's Compliance Manual. According to Kier Eagan, there are four "tempers," Woe, Frolic, Dread, and Malice, and everyone else are defined by the ratio of each within themselves. Kier's ponderous religiosity and Rickens' brain-dead aphorisms seem like two sides of the same coin. In the show, when the "powers that be" at Lumon discover the book has inspired the innies to revolt, their reaction isn't to ban or discredit The You You Are. Instead, they approach Ricken with an offer to write a new version of the book, specifically for innies. Ricken, ever the egotist and attention seeker, is eager to go ahead with the project so at least someone will take his book seriously. Lumon's plan is no doubt to coopt the (unintentionally) subversive ideas in Ricken's book and twist them to support the Lumon status quo. It's not a heavy lift, given the book contains passages like, "A society with festering workers cannot flourish, just as a man with rotting toes cannot skip.” This is all a sly commentary on how revolutionary ideas are routinely manipulated and co-opted to serve the ruling class, and how easily people can be tricked into feeling like they're "sticking it to the Man," even when the Man is at once profiting and protecting itself by taking the teeth out of dangerous ideas. Think Wal-Mart selling Che Guevara t-shirts, or one of the richest corporations in the world making a TV show about the dehumanization and misery of corporate drudgery. View the full article

YouTube's Android app is cluttered, slow, and full of ads. Even worse: It tracks every video you watch. NewPipe is a free and open source Android alternative interface for YouTube that's fully private and doesn't show ads. We've talked about ways to watch ad-free YouTube videos, and NewPipe is arguably the best one for Android users. Even better: NewPipe plays the audio from videos in the background, making it perfect for multitasking. You can listen to music, podcasts, or video essays on YouTube while doing chores, all without the need to keep the screen on. It also offers picture-in-picture mode, so you can watch videos while using another app, and downloads videos so you can watch them offline. These are features you'd otherwise need a paid YouTube Premium subscription for to get in an app. Credit: Justin Pot There are a few potential downsides. You can't sign into your Google account, meaning your subscriptions won't be in the application. There also isn't an algorithm. This is inevitable for any app built around privacy but is worth thinking about. The good news is that you can add subscriptions inside the application, allowing you to build a steady stream of videos from creators you trust. There's also a bookmarking feature, allowing you to mark playlists or videos you'd like to watch later. In short, you're going to have the opportunity to be a little more proactive about which videos you want to watch. There is support for exporting and importing your subscriptions and playlists, which is useful when switching devices. Another potential downside is that you can't get in Google Play—you'll need to either install the .apk file from the website, which is going to require that you allow your device to install software from "unknown" sources. An alternative, which would also make installing updates easier, is to install NewPipe using F-Droid, which is a dedicated app store for open source Android publications. View the full article

WITH THE SUPER BOWL around the corner, what can business leaders learn from elite athletes about high-level performance? Be like Roger. And Michael. And Simone. And Usain. And many others. That’s key advice for business leaders seeking to improve their impact and excel in a sustainable, long-term way that’s good for them and everyone around them. The Roger, in this case, is none other than Roger Federer, the tennis legend considered an exemplar of athleticism and sportsmanship. But underlying Federer’s and other top athletes’ outsized success is rigorous devotion to routines and practices that optimize their state of mind and body for high-level performance. This matters to effectiveness in the business domain, too, where such practices are often ignored or dismissed, even though they support one’s centeredness and capacity to maintain focus, be creative, and make good decisions, even under great pressure. The takeaway? Leaders in any organization can enjoy higher performance on every dimension if they establish a discipline of daily, weekly, monthly, and annual practices that systematically support their centeredness. So why does maintaining practices that yield a high-performance state of mind matter so much for leadership? Here’s why. The Need for a Performance-Enhancing State of Mind A key thing athletes and leaders share is the need for a performance-enhancing state of mind. Specifically, both perform best when they are able to enter and maintain a calm, alert state under high stress, whether facing match point on the tennis court or an unexpected setback at the negotiation table, as research suggests. This ability to focus and perform under stress is what sets the Michael Jordans and Roger Federers apart from the rest—they may not be the best overall athletes, but they’ve truly mastered the all-important mental part of the game. The problem is that most business executives, even high-performing ones, don’t recognize the value of mental state like elite athletes do, so they don’t develop skills and habits to get to that state consistently and effortlessly. Indeed, executives often see themselves as industry or functional domain experts—whether in tech, health sciences, finance, or as an engineer, designer, or head of operations. But they fail to recognize what’s often their most primary role or function: leading others to set vision, build and evolve the team, solve problems, and navigate challenges collaboratively. Most executives also think that performance is a function of effort: more effort, more results – the “no pain, no gain” mantra historically embraced by athletes. The reality is that this is not the key to productivity. Pushing hard alone isn’t sufficient and can be counterproductive. Coherent, creative, efficient, intelligent thinking and decision-making are what drives productivity. For this, a calm and alert state of mind is key — a state of centeredness. Athletes train to optimize this state. Here’s how they do it. They Embrace a Growth Mindset Great athletes focus on process over outcomes. We don’t have control over all outcomes, but we do have control over our process. Leaders must stop obsessing over outcomes and “perfection,” and embrace challenges as opportunities for growth and improvement. Some of the most successful leaders in sports, like former Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Walsh, exemplify this mindset; he emphasized focusing on continuous improvement, not winning. Committing to high standards and constantly learning, striving, and improving is critical. When leaders try to control everything and everyone around them, they fail to understand the value of differentiating what they and their team have control over and what they don’t. They Practice Deliberate Practice The researcher Anders Ericsson pioneered the idea of “deliberate practice” after observing that elite athletes, musicians, and other high-performers practice consistently in a particular way. That is, they identify key skills they want to improve—whether a complicated sequence on violin or a tricky shot in basketball—and practice it relentlessly with the help of feedback from knowledgeable coaches. In this way, deliberate practice is far superior to naïve practice, which is essentially doing something repeatedly, without expert guidance or feedback loops, and hoping for improvement. Leaders will perform better if they embrace deliberate practice just like athletes do. It means identifying key skills that will benefit your overall leadership effectiveness—such as inviting more input from your team—and then practicing in a deliberate manner. Have clear goals around your leadership skill development—“I will raise my team’s 360-degree ratings of my openness to input by 50% within two months”—and solicit regular feedback from colleagues. Great leaders are always practicing in a deliberate way. They Sleep Like Their Life Depends on It Sleep optimizes a leader’s state of mind and, in turn, overall performance. The link between sleep and physical, emotional, and cognitive capacity is well-established. “Rest and restore” is now a fundamental principle in athletic training and similarly applies to leadership. Sleep and rest are critical for peak performance, as illustrated by Federer’s goal of 10-12 hours of sleep every 24 hours. He’s not alone: LeBron James says he averages nine hours, and Usain Bolt considered sleep a critical part of his sprint to multiple world records. Simone Biles, considered the greatest gymnast of all time, similarly prioritizes nine hours of sleep. Yet the culture of business executives promotes the idea that sleep time is time wasted or a sign of weakness, and too many think they can perform well on 3-4 hours of sleep. They can’t. For example, evidence shows that for most of us, operating on fewer than six hours of sleep is equivalent to operating while drunk. In the U.S., over $400 billion of productivity is estimated to be lost each year due to sleep debt. They Meditate to Be Great Regular practice of meditation—even if just minutes a day—promotes positive physical and mental health outcomes, including lower anxiety and better concentration and memory. NBA stars like Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, and the late Kobe Bryant all used meditation to perform at their best. Research shows meditators demonstrate more coherent brain signatures. There are different forms of meditation, but most are based on finding quiet time to clear your mind, often coupled with deep breathing to enter a relaxed state. Meditation can also involve mental imagery. Federer utilized visualization to enhance his performance, picturing himself succeeding physically and mentally on the court. They Exercise for Excellence Of course, physical fitness is necessary for athletic performance. But it’s not just for athletes; it’s critical for leaders. Maintaining physical fitness not only increases energy levels but uplifts mood and enhances focus. Three or more hours of moderate aerobic exercise per week increases mitochondrial density and supports neurogenesis, thereby enhancing energy levels and brain power. Higher-intensity aerobic exercise once or twice a week has a material impact on increasing VO2 max, which is associated with reduced stress, anxiety, and depression, along with improved cognitive function, memory, and overall brain health. The bottom line: exercise is an important practice for effective leadership. They Eat Right Don’t forget about nutrition. Aim for the right volume of calories for your size and activity level, along with balanced proportions of nutrients. A healthy diet has been linked to every kind of health outcome, but is notoriously challenging for busy people to get right. During her tennis career, Serena Williams maintained—and still does—a healthy, largely plant-based diet as part of her philosophy of “eating to live” rather than vice-versa. Novak Djokovic ascended to arguably the best men’s player of all time, and he credits a consistent, healthy diet as a key factor. So What? It’s logical that our inner life affects our outer behavior, and healthy mind-body practices place us in a position to realize more of our potential. A more balanced, rested, energized, clear mental state enables us to function at a higher level in our thinking, feeling, and more complex leadership capacities. The benefits of being a leader athlete are countless if leaders intentionally practice leadership and work to foster a high-performance state of mind by engaging in a routine of activities that support leadership growth at all levels. Individual and organizational success will naturally follow this proactive approach to leadership fitness, no matter your playing field. * * * Jeremy Blitz-Jones is a Leadership Coach at Peak Leadership Institute, an organizational behavior firm. His background is in organizational development, with a focus on leadership, strategy, and process optimization. For the past 15 years, he has been designing learning experiences for tech companies, schools, and nonprofits, exploring innovation, education, management, and personal growth. He has worked with teams from organizations including Harvard Medical School, F5 Networks, Angellist, and Google. Laurent Valosek is CEO of Peak Leadership Institute. He has 35 years of experience as an entrepreneur, educator, and researcher, including serving as CEO of three tech start-ups and leading a strategy management consultancy. He has worked with executives from companies such as Google, Salesforce, Superhuman, TikTok, and Roper Technologies. Laurent has published numerous research papers on human development and leadership and teaches a course at Stanford University called Leadership from Within. * * * Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas. View the full article

Peter Thiel-chaired group has Washington and Westminster network that helped secure around $3bn in official contractsView the full article

When the Nintendo Switch 2 was officially announced, it was hard to feel like it wasn’t just more of the same. With no weird 3D gimmicks and no absurd naming scheme, did it even really feel like a new Nintendo device? But eagle-eyed viewers picked up on something else—Nintendo, it turns out, might be the first console maker to build a mouse right into its default controller. At about 1:01 into the announcement trailer, you can see what looks like an optical sensor pop up on the side of one of the Switch 2’s Joy-Con controllers (or whatever they end up being called), and just a few seconds later, those same two controllers glide along a desk on their side, as if they’re being used like mice. The moment followed weeks of rumors and supposed leaks, but nothing concrete had surfaced…until now. In a patent filed on August 1 of last year and published on Feb. 6, Nintendo describes an “input device” that looks and sounds a lot like a Switch 2 Joy-Con (that’s what I’m going to call it for now) being held on its side and includes a “sensor for mouse operation.” Finally, it seems like Nintendo's Switch 2 might not be so boring after all. Credit: Nintendo via World Intellectual Property Organization In a diagram included with the patent, a hand seems to be using the Joy-Con’s shoulder and trigger buttons as mouse buttons, and perhaps using the thumbstick as a scroll wheel. A button does seem to be missing from the Joy-Con in the diagram, the mysterious new C button seen in the Switch 2 trailer from the end of last month, but aside from that, everything seems to be depicted exactly as expected. Technically, Nintendo isn’t the first to have this idea. A similar feature, albeit with slightly clunkier implementation, is already available on the Lenovo Legion Go, with that device’s “FPS mode.” But with Nintendo giving mouse control to its entire user base, developers will likely feel much more comfortable supporting the control scheme. So, what could a mouse on the Switch 2 mean? Well, more natural PC ports and easier aiming in shooting games, for sure. But I’ve got a slightly more out-there theory. I think Nintendo wants to bring DS games to the TV for the first time since the Wii U's virtual console. The company recently added Game Boy Advance games to an upgraded tier of the Switch Online library, but with a mouse, Nintendo could easily bring over DS games to the Switch 2 as well. Yes, technically, the Joy-Con’s motion controls could mimic a touchscreen stylus to a degree, but a mouse will much more easily provide the speed and precision needed for DS classics like The World Ends With You, which has never really translated well to any other systems (despite multiple attempts from Square Enix). Finally, there will be a good official method for playing these games that doesn’t involve actually breaking out the old DS Lite (or, yes, a 3DS). But even if I’m wrong and the mouse just becomes an optional control feature for certain games, it is funny to imagine a future where the Nintendo Switch has better support for shooters than the Xbox. View the full article

Bluesky is setting itself up to be a social media jack of all trades. There's the main experience, of course, which replaces something like X or Threads. But it's not all about the text posts: Soon, you'll be able to use an app like Flashes to transform Bluesky into a kind of Instagram. Before that drops, however, you can use a different app to turn Bluesky into TikTok. It's not quite there yet, but it's a fascinating look into a unique kind of social media client—an app that turns one platform into something else entirely. Introducing Bluescreen for Bluesky Bluescreen is a Bluesky client with one singular purpose: It identifies the videos from your Bluesky feed and delivers them to you in a TikTok-style endless scrolling interface. You don't interact with text-based posts, nor do you see still images. It's as if Bluesky offered a "video only" feed. But, since they don't, Bluescreen exists. It's a cool idea, and it's also the idea behind Flashes. Instead of isolating the videos in your Bluesky feed, Flashes isolates the images, which lets you turn Bluesky into an Instagram alternative. If you're surprised to hear two different Bluesky clients using the same strategy to achieve two similar outcomes, that's because they're both developed by the same person: Sebastian Vogelsang. Vogelsang announced Flashes before Bluescreen, but released the video app ahead of the photo app. While we wait for the Instagram of Bluesky to get here, we can try out the TikTok of Bluesky instead. Using Bluescreen to watch videos on Bluesky Credit: Lifehacker In execution, Bluescreen does it what's it's supposed to, though there is definitely some room to grow. Once you connect your Bluesky account to the client, you'll be presented with a video—just as you are when opening an app like TikTok, or when using Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts. As with these services, there are multiple options to interact with the video: Tapping the heart button gives the video a like, without having to leave the video feed itself. If you tap on the comment button, however, Bluescreen leaves the video feed, and shows you the comments in a different window. You can tap the button with the two arrows to repost the video, and the three dots icon to access additional controls, like Translate, Share, and Report. There's also a general mute button available in the bottom right corner. If you tap the video itself, you'll pull up the standard iOS video control menu. From here, you can play and pause, rewind or jump ahead, AirPlay, or control the volume of the video, if you'd rather not mess with your iPhone's general volume setting. Speaking of volume, that is my one main criticism of Bluescreen as it exists right now: Each video is muted by default, even though the mute button says the volume should be on. You have to tap this mute button twice; once to mute the video, then again to unmute it, before it starts playing. You need to do this for each video you swipe through. Oddly, this is only a problem when watching through your phone's speakers: Connect a pair of Bluetooth headphones, and the videos sound off as they should. I imagine this is a bug that Vogelsang will work out in due time. At the top of the page, you can choose which feed to pull videos from. The App Store page says you can choose from thousands of feeds, but if that sounds overwhelming, you can stick with video from your main feeds, such as the Following or Discover tabs, or any of your pinned feeds. It's neat to choose the Astronomy feed I follow, for example, and see videos specifically about this topic. (It also shows me I might need to drop some of my pinned feeds, due to low-quality content.) You can also use the search icon in the top right to search for whatever content you like, in addition to finding trending topics. Again, if you've used a social media platform before, you'll be familiar with this. In theory, this could be an awesome experience. If you curate your Bluesky feeds well enough, you could have a varied filter of all short-form videos posted to the platform. It's still an early concept, so the UI isn't quite as fluid or polished as established video apps, but I can totally see the potential here. Uploading your own videos via BluescreenThis isn't just a passive experience, however: You can use Bluescreen to upload videos to Bluesky. If you hit the (+) on the bottom of the screen, you can choose a video from your library to post on Bluesky via Bluescreen. You can access light editing tools along the way, add a caption for your video, choose who can reply to the post, and the language of the post before publishing. Remember: You're not posting on Bluescreen; rather, Bluesky. While it'll look like you're posting on a new platform, all you're really doing is posting a video to your existing Bluesky account. Credit: Lifehacker View the full article

Hiring difficulties remain a significant challenge for small businesses, particularly in the construction and transportation sectors, according to NFIB’s January jobs report. The report found that 35% of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in January, a figure unchanged from December. Job openings were most prevalent in transportation, construction, and manufacturing, while the agriculture and finance sectors reported the fewest vacancies. The construction sector saw a notable four-point increase in job openings from December but remained two points lower than January 2024. “Small business owners are certainly feeling hopeful about the direction of the economy,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “However, employment remains a top concern as Main Street owners continue to face challenges in finding qualified employees to fill their open positions.” A total of 52% of small business owners reported hiring or attempting to hire in January, a three-point decline from December. Among them, 47% (90% of those hiring or trying to hire) reported few or no qualified applicants for open positions. Breaking this down further: 24% reported few qualified applicants 23% reported no qualified applicants Skilled labor remains in demand, with 29% of businesses reporting openings for skilled workers (unchanged from December), while 10% had openings for unskilled labor, a three-point drop. Despite hiring challenges, 18% of business owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, a slight one-point drop from December. Labor quality remains a top operational concern, though the percentage of owners citing it as their biggest challenge fell one point to 18%. Similarly, labor costs as the single most important business problem dropped two points to 9%, remaining four points below the peak of 13% recorded in December 2021. To attract and retain workers, 33% of small business owners reported raising compensation in January, a four-point increase from December’s lowest level since March 2021. However, forward-looking plans for wage increases showed a decline, with 20% of owners planning to raise compensation in the next three months, down four points from December. Looking Ahead While hiring difficulties persist, small business owners remain cautiously optimistic about the economic outlook. The tight labor market and shortage of qualified applicants continue to pose challenges, particularly in industries that rely on skilled labor. However, compensation increases suggest that businesses are adjusting strategies to attract talent and maintain operations amid ongoing workforce shortages. This article, "Hiring Challenges Persist for Small Businesses, Construction and Transportation Hit Hardest" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Hiring difficulties remain a significant challenge for small businesses, particularly in the construction and transportation sectors, according to NFIB’s January jobs report. The report found that 35% of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in January, a figure unchanged from December. Job openings were most prevalent in transportation, construction, and manufacturing, while the agriculture and finance sectors reported the fewest vacancies. The construction sector saw a notable four-point increase in job openings from December but remained two points lower than January 2024. “Small business owners are certainly feeling hopeful about the direction of the economy,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “However, employment remains a top concern as Main Street owners continue to face challenges in finding qualified employees to fill their open positions.” A total of 52% of small business owners reported hiring or attempting to hire in January, a three-point decline from December. Among them, 47% (90% of those hiring or trying to hire) reported few or no qualified applicants for open positions. Breaking this down further: 24% reported few qualified applicants 23% reported no qualified applicants Skilled labor remains in demand, with 29% of businesses reporting openings for skilled workers (unchanged from December), while 10% had openings for unskilled labor, a three-point drop. Despite hiring challenges, 18% of business owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, a slight one-point drop from December. Labor quality remains a top operational concern, though the percentage of owners citing it as their biggest challenge fell one point to 18%. Similarly, labor costs as the single most important business problem dropped two points to 9%, remaining four points below the peak of 13% recorded in December 2021. To attract and retain workers, 33% of small business owners reported raising compensation in January, a four-point increase from December’s lowest level since March 2021. However, forward-looking plans for wage increases showed a decline, with 20% of owners planning to raise compensation in the next three months, down four points from December. Looking Ahead While hiring difficulties persist, small business owners remain cautiously optimistic about the economic outlook. The tight labor market and shortage of qualified applicants continue to pose challenges, particularly in industries that rely on skilled labor. However, compensation increases suggest that businesses are adjusting strategies to attract talent and maintain operations amid ongoing workforce shortages. This article, "Hiring Challenges Persist for Small Businesses, Construction and Transportation Hit Hardest" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

‘Fast Company’ senior editor Jeff Beer breaks down the price of what a Super Bowl campaign actually costs. Is it still worth it? View the full article

Have you ever been scrolling along, minding your own business, when an ad suddenly hijacks your page with a full-screen warning about a computer virus or account insecurity? These are invariably scams, but to the untrained eye, they could look like a genuine pop-up from a firewall. That’s why Microsoft Edge is using AI to help users spot when someone’s trying to frighten them into downloading malware or giving up sensitive information. Available now to all users via a preview, the browser’s new “Scareware blocker” is an AI-based tool for dismissing and navigating away from these troublesome interruptions. While Edge’s built-in Defender SmartScreen tool already blocks known scams, the idea is for Scareware blocker to help address new threats. The tool uses a local AI model to detect when your browser enters full screen mode, a staple of scareware pop-ups, and then examines what you’re looking at to see if it resembles a scam. It’s been trained on “thousands of sample scams that the scam-fighting community shared” with Microsoft, and supposedly doesn’t save images or send them to the cloud at any point. While users can manually hold the ESC key to exit full screen mode at any point, the model will do this for you, taking a screenshot of the site and moving you over to a page that warns you that it looks suspicious. You’ll then have the option to either close the page or continue. In addition to helping protect users susceptible to scams, Scareware blocker also sets out to reduce some of the panic of coming across one of these ads, as they’ll often also play loud noises and hide the mouse cursor. By quickly closing them out and taking you to a warning page, the feature aims to help you regain your senses. Credit: Microsoft While I have encountered these ads before, I wasn’t able to summon one up while trying to test out the feature, but it’s easy enough to enable. Simply navigate to Settings > Privacy Search and Services and scroll down a bit until you see the Scareware blocker toggle. Switch it on, and you’ll be prepared the next time a scammer tries to scare you into selling yourself out. If you don’t see the toggle, it’s possible you might need to update Edge (in Settings > About Microsoft Edge) or restart the browser. View the full article

All live poultry markets in New York City and some of its suburbs were ordered Friday to close for a week after the detection of seven cases of avian flu, which has also hit farms nationwide, led to the slaughter of millions of birds and driven up egg prices. Gov. Kathy Hochul said there is no immediate threat to public health and that the temporary closure of bird markets in the city and its Westchester County and Long Island suburbs comes out of an abundance of caution. No cases of avian flu have been detected among humans in New York, officials said. The order came after birds infected with the virus were found during routine inspections of live bird markets in the New York City boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the virus poses low risk to the general public. The agency said there have been 67 confirmed cases of bird flu in humans in the U.S., with illnesses mild and mostly detected among farmworkers who were exposed to sick poultry or dairy cows. The first bird flu death in the U.S. was reported last month in Louisiana, with health officials saying the person was older than 65, had underlying medical problems and had been in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock. In New York, live bird markets where the virus was detected have to dispose of all poultry in a sanitary manner, according to the state’s order. Other bird markets that do not have cases will have to sell off remaining poultry within three days, clean and disinfect and then remain closed for at least five days and be inspected by state officials before reopening. Ahead of the mandatory disposal order for markets with no cases, employees at La Granja, a halal-certified poultry market in Manhattan’s Harlem neighborhood, raced to sell the remainder of its inventory: around 200 live chickens of different varieties, along with turkeys, quail, ducks, roosters, pigeons and rabbits. Any remaining animals would be slaughtered and given away to employees and longtime customers, according to Jose Fernandez, the owner. “We’re going to lose money, for now,” he said. “But the law is the law. They know what they’re doing.” The H5N1 strain of bird flu has been spreading among wild birds, poultry, cows and other animals. Officials have urged people who come into contact with sick or dead birds to wear respiratory and eye protection and gloves when handling poultry. More than 156 million birds nationwide have been affected by the outbreak, many at large farming operations that have had to slaughter their entire flocks. Despite growing attention on the avian flu, New York City’s poultry markets appeared to be doing brisk business Friday. Outside the Wallabout Poultry market in Brooklyn, a line of customers took numbers and picked their chickens, which employees snatched from crowded cages, weighing them upside down, before bringing them to a backroom to be slaughtered. “I’m not worried about any bird flu,” said Stan Tara, a 42-year-old Brooklyn resident, as he purchased a large chicken for $22.50. “It’s the same as you buy from the supermarket. A little more expensive, but at least it’s fresh.” Some animal rights groups, meanwhile, questioned the purpose of a state order that allowed the markets to continue selling fowl, rather than shutting them down immediately. “The public is going into markets where no one knows if there are outbreaks of avian flu, then taking home dead birds that may or may not be infected,” said Edita Birnkrant, executive director of NYCLASS, which has long raised alarms about conditions within the city’s roughly 70 live animal markets. “It’s ludicrous.” U.S. egg prices are likely to remain high past Easter and well into 2025, largely because of avian flu, according to CoBank, a Denver-based provider of loans and other financial services to the agriculture sector. The highly contagious virus has affected nearly 100 million egg-laying hens in the U.S. since 2022. But CoBank said other factors are also causing supply constraints and driving up prices, such as skyrocketing consumer demand for eggs in recent years. Fast-growing breakfast and brunch chains like First Watch are also eating up supplies. —Jake Offenhartz, Associated Press Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre and Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this report. View the full article

While soft skills are critical, project managers can't ignore technical expertise. Whether you're working at a startup or a large enterprise, this guide breaks down which tech skills matter most and how to build future-proof PM capabilities. The post Do Project Managers Really Need Technical Skills? appeared first on The Digital Project Manager. View the full article

Following a cryptocurrency scandal in December 2024, Haliey Welch (aka Hawk Tuah girl) seemed to drop off the map. Months later, she’s opening up about what really happened. The trouble started when Welch, who rose to fame after a viral street interview moment last summer, announced she would be releasing her own cryptocurrency memecoin called $HAWK late last year. The token was publicized heavily and quickly rose to a $490 million market cap when launched on December 4. It tanked just as quickly, and its value plunged $440 million in just 20 minutes. Now, more than two months later, we finally have an explanation. “How this idea got brought to me, it was supposed to be a ‘long-term coin,’” Welch explained to Richard Bengtson (better known as Banks), founder of the e-sports brand FaZe Clan, on a leaked episode of Welch’s podcast Talk Tuah. (The leaked episode was first reported by Dexerto.) Welch claimed a “friend of a friend” came up with the idea. Welch, who didn’t know much about crypto, trusted his plan—and that, she said, turned out to be her “biggest mistake.” Welch recalled this mutual friend acted “a little weird” on the token launch day. At launch, only 3% of the token supply was made available for trading, while 17% was allocated to “presale investors.” These early investors collectively raised $2.8 million for their share, but two-thirds quickly cashed out, selling off their holdings for an immediate profit. “I feel really bad for all the people that got affected by it,” Welch said through tears. “And it just didn’t go the way I planned.” At the time of the scandal, Bengtson urged Welch to fire her team, calling the token an outright “scam.” Now, he is again making that same demand—but for an entirely different reason. On February 6, 2025, Bengtson revealed on X that he had agreed to appear as a special guest on Welch’s comeback episode under strict conditions, which included “not allowing markets to be manipulated by leaking this episode’s existence before a resolution was found” and “finding a real solution regarding the money she made, where that should go, and what to do with the $HAWK project moving forward.” So in an attempt to hear Haliey Welch’s side of the Crypto scam story, I agreed to do her first podcast back. I had heavy stipulations including; 1) Not allowing markets to be manipulated by leaking this episodes existence before a resolution was found. 2) Her team finding… pic.twitter.com/X3TW5nZmtR — FaZe Banks (@Banks) February 6, 2025 But according to Bengtson, someone from Welch’s team “leaked or inside-traded the token,” causing him to call off the episode on the spot. Yesterday, however, the episode was “randomly” leaked. Though it was quickly taken down, Bengtson wrote, “The price of $HAWK is pumping and they completely fucking fumbled the bag, yet again.” After calling, again, for Welch to fire her team, he added: “Poor girl, it’s a wonder how she found herself in this position in the first place.” View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Apple community has been finding their lost keys since 2021 with the AirTag, but Tile has been helping both Android and Apple users locate their missing devices since 2013. Over a decade later, their latest tracker (after being acquired by Life360), the Tile Mate, is just $16.95 (originally $27.99) for a single tracker, $33.99 (originally $44.99) for a two-pack, and $55.99 (originally $79.99) for a four-pack, the lowest prices, according to price-tracking tools. If you're an Android user, this is a good opportunity to stock up. (If you're an Apple user, you can use Tiles, but you're better off waiting for the AirTags to drop to $19 to stock up, or get the 4-pack for $69.99 right now; they're much better than Tile's tracker.) Batteries: Yes, Number of Batteries: 1 Lithium Metal Battery, Material: Plastic Tile by Life360 Mate 2024 Bluetooth Tracker (1-Pack) $16.95 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $27.99 Save $11.04 Get Deal Get Deal $16.95 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $27.99 Save $11.04 Batteries: Yes, Number of Batteries: 2 Lithium Metal Battery, Material: Plastic Tile by Life360 Mate (2024) Bluetooth Tracker, Keys Finder and Item Locator for Keys, Bags and More. Phone Finder. Both iOS and Android Compatible. 2-Pack (Black/White) $33.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $44.99 Save $11.00 Get Deal Get Deal $33.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $44.99 Save $11.00 Batteries: Yes, Number of Batteries: 4 Lithium Metal Battery, Material: Plastic Tile by Life360 Mate (2024) Bluetooth Tracker, Keys Finder and Item Locator for Keys, Bags and More. Phone Finder. Both iOS and Android Compatible. 4-Pack (Black) $55.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $79.99 Save $24.00 Get Deal Get Deal $55.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $79.99 Save $24.00 SEE 0 MORE The concept of Tile trackers is the same as AirTags and their usefulness extends to your creativity. Most people use them to find purses, keys, and travel bags, but you can use them to train your dog or as a device to know if people are near a specific spot you want to keep tabs on. (Anyone else want to keep tabs on their abandoned cabin in the woods?) Once the Tile tracker is outside of Bluetooth range (up to 350 feet in direct line-of-sight conditions, but PCMag's review says it realistically gets about 30 feet), the device uses the Tile community of about 20 million people (according to Tile) to update the location of the tracker by using their phone's Bluetooth. (Apple's community is much larger, with about a billion users, according to Apple). The back of the Tile Mate has a QR code that people can scan to notify you when they find it. There is a sealed battery inside that is not replaceable that Tile says will last about three years. There is an optional premium subscription that starts at $2.99 per month for more features, if you're interested in that. View the full article

Your CRM (customer relationship management) platform is the center of all workflows involving customers for your organization. That’s because it holds all contact information for your customers as well as conversations you’ve had with them, marketing campaigns targeting them, and more. But the troves of data in your CRM come from multiple sources, leading to a disjointed system, unnecessarily time-consuming workflows, and missed opportunities. That’s where CRM integration comes in. What is CRM integration? CRM integration is a process that connects your CRM to other tools in your stack. Typically, this will be done through a third-party CRM system integration. Dozens of specialized tools exist on the market to make this happen. That being said, many CRM tools have built-in integrations — often called “native integrations” — that connect them with tools they naturally work well with. Examples of tools to integrate with CRMs While some workflows can benefit from just about any integration, here are some of the most common tools integrated with CRM software: Contact management tools, like Google Contacts and Outlook. Marketing tools, like Mailchimp and Pipedrive. Project management tools, like Asana and ClickUp. Support ticket management tools, like ServiceNow and Zendesk. The benefits of CRM integration Integrating multiple systems comes with serious benefits, and this is especially true of CRM integrations. Here are some benefits you shouldn’t ignore. All customer data in one place This is the single most important benefit of integrating your CRM system with the rest of your stack. Whether it’s contact information, customer interactions, sales deal status, customer-facing teams are used to patching information together to get their work done. But with the right integrations, they can work from a single platform with all the customer data they need. Workflow automation One of the main challenges of many support, sales, and marketing workflows is the abundance of manual work involved. No matter how many dedicated tools you use, teams will have to manually enter or transform data at some point. With data integration, you can automate many — if not all of these actions — allowing teams to dedicate their time to more mission-critical tasks. Saving on licenses Many organizations find themselves overpaying for software licenses so customer service teams, salespeople, and marketers can have access to all the data they need. Duplicate licenses, upgraded plans, and dormant accounts can all cause problems for your bottom line and your IT teams. A CRM integration platform can eliminate the need for these licenses, since data that would otherwise be trapped in a tool only marginally useful for some teams is now available everywhere it’s needed. Want to know more about why you should integrate your CRM? Check out Unito’s free 15 Ways to Integrate Salesforce in Real-Time ebook, which covers this in detail. 3 reasons you need a CRM integration While CRM integration comes with some serious benefits, you might not necessarily be convinced that it’s needed in your organization. After all, choosing, deploying, and maintaining these integrations costs both time and money, and you need to make both of these count. Here are some three processes where your organization can immediately benefit from CRA integration. Sales-to-delivery handoff Quick delivery after closing a sale is essential to customer satisfaction, whether you’re shipping retail products or implementing complex software solutions. For some organizations, the handoff from sales to delivery is as simple as your customer going through an online checkout page. For others, it involves input from multiple teams, complex workflows, and significant lead-up times. Complicating things further, those teams might use their own tools, making maintaining a smooth data flow from your CRM more challenging. The right integration can streamline this process, giving teams responsible for delivery the data they need faster, and getting your product or service to the customer promptly. Building campaigns and marketing initiatives Marketing initiatives live on data. The more marketers know about customers and prospects, the more they can fine-tune their campaigns, and the more efficient every marketing dollar becomes. But many of these campaigns are marred by dozens of spreadsheets — some of them out of date. With a fully integrated CRM, marketers can both get customer data in all the other tools they rely on and check in on your CRM when needed, knowing the data in it is fully up to date. Sales enablement Sales enablement describes any process through which another team assists salespeople in prospecting, meeting with prospects, and closing sales. That might include the marketing team producing collateral to answer common sales questions, customer support sitting on a sales call to answer technical questions, or even experts like lawyers and software developers addressing objections from potential prospects. Typically, sales enablement requests are processed through email, chat apps, and meetings. Sales enablement resources, for their part, are kept in disparate systems, like a Google Drive folder, an out-of-date database, or a spreadsheet. This makes requests though to follow up on and complete, while resources might get duplicated or lost. Your CRM integration can both centralize requests in a way that’s easy to track and keep resources close at hand for all your salespeople. Want an in-depth look at how a CRM integration can improve these workflows? Get Unito’s free 15 Ways to Integrate Salesforce in Real-Time ebook, which covers this in detail. 4 options for CRM integration Knowing you need a CRM integration is all well and good, but with so many options on the market, what should you go with? Let’s break down some of the most popular options out there. Automation Zapier is a popular option for pushing CRM data to other tools, though its automations can be limited. Many CRM integration options are one-way automation platforms, meaning they use if-this-then-that logic to push data to and from your CRM. For example, if a new deal is created in your CRM, then a follow-up task is created in a project management tool to gather information about the prospect or create sales enablement content as needed. These solutions are relatively simple to set up, though their capabilities are equally simple unless someone in your organization has the technical skill (and the time) to build more complex automations and maintain them. Examples of these tools Zapier IFTTT Outfunnel Native integrations HubSpot’s Data Sync allows HubSpot users to sync data from deals, contacts, and more with other tools without using a third-party app. Gone are the days when CRM software was treated like a walled garden. Nearly all CRM platforms now have native integrations, which allow users to break data silos without adding new tools to their stack. For some tools, these integrations are only available at higher price points — often targeting enterprise users — while others provide them at every price point. Your experience with native integrations can vary broadly depending on the tool you use, since some are only simple automations for pushing data in one direction, while others allow you to build even the most complex workflows. The one thing they all have in common? You can use them without leaving your CRM. Examples HubSpot’s Data Sync Salesforce Mulesoft iPaaS Tray.io is a popular option for organizations that have the resources to build tailor-made integrations for their needs, whether that be internally or by hiring a third party. An iPaaS (short for integration platform as a service) is a tool that allows organizations to build complex workflows to automate just about any aspect of their work. It’s one of the more technical options in this list, requiring some level of technical skill to set up and maintain. But if you have the resources, you can automate just about any workflow that involves your CRM system. Examples Mulesoft Workato Tray.io 2-way sync Unito has the deepest two-way integrations for CRM software, marketing tools, software development platforms, and more. A 2-way sync solution works differently than most of the other options on this list. Instead of creating point-to-point automation, these platforms build two-way relationships between work items in your CRM system (think cases, tickets, or deals) and items in other tools (like tasks, issues, or cards) to maintain absolute data accuracy across tools. Unlike automations, a 2-way sync automatically updates fields in both tools as you work, meaning you’ll always have the most up-to-date data. Unito is one of the most popular tools in this category for CRM software, project management tools, software development platforms, and more. That’s due to its easy setup, its low maintenance requirements, and its quick deployment window — not to mention great customer support. Curious to see what Unito can do for your CRMs? Book a demo with our team View the full article

Google's John Mueller offers advice on dealing with indexed URLs that shouldn't be indexed The post Google’s Advice on Fixing Unwanted Indexed URLs appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Thanks to a tight market, sky-high prices, and elevated interest rates, the path to home ownership is more littered with obstacles than ever, but buying property remains a key goal for most Americans—nearly 70% of us still consider it part of the American Dream. But as much as you might think you want it, it's important to weigh all the financial and emotional factors that go into buying a huge. While it sounds impossible, considering the size of the commitment, it's surprisingly easy to get so focused on the anxiety of never being able to find the right house that you buy the wrong house for the wrong reasons. If you don’t want to wind up with a money pit or a house that simply doesn’t serve your needs (or your budget), it’s essential to take a step back from the brink and really examine your reasons for buying a particular property. If it’s one of the five listed below, you should reconsider. The viewSome homes offer spectacular views—of nature, of a city skyline, or maybe the ocean. But buying a home for the view it offers is generally a bad idea, for several reasons: Cost. Homes that offer attractive views almost always come at a premium, meaning you’ll spend more for the same amount of house you could buy in the same area without the spectacular view. And some views come with even more additional costs, like a house with an ocean view that comes with a flood insurance premium. Impermanence. While some views are unlikely to change, you often can’t guarantee that someone won’t build something to obstruct your view in the future, or that other changes to the environment around your house won’t conspire to ruin your view. Imperfections. Amazing views can be distracting—if you focus too much on the incredible skyline, you might overlook other problems with the home or things that aren’t going to work with your lifestyle just so you have a nice view while sipping coffee in the morning. Because “it’s time”It’s easy to compare yourself to other people around your age, and if those folks are all buying houses, you might feel pressure to catch up. Or maybe you suddenly realize you’re the only person in your group of friends who’s still renting. Or just you’ve more or less arbitrarily made home ownership a box to check on your list of accomplishments. But buying a house before you’re financially and emotionally ready for it can be a disaster. Buying a house isn’t just about coming up with a down payment and calculating a monthly mortgage—there are a lot of financial factors you need to consider, including whether you’re ready to make hard choices if find yourself facing an unexpected repair bill. You’ll also need to think about your readiness to tackle the truly endless home maintenance tasks a home requires—or to pay someone else to do them for you. To save on rentIt used to be a golden rule: Paying a mortgage is cheaper than renting—or, if it’s about the same cost, at least you’re not throwing money into a hole every month, but building equity in an investment. The equity part is true enough—your mortgage buys you more and more direct ownership of your property, while rent merely buys you one more month living in that space. But thanks to elevated prices and higher interest rates, the cost part isn’t true anymore, generally speaking: While you might find a specific house in a specific area that’s cheaper to buy than the local rents (particular if it's in a larger city with a hot rental market), nationwide averages show that renting is cheaper than home ownership, and will probably stay that way for the immediate future. Plus, there are those pesky insurance and maintenance costs, as well. If you’re buying a house because you think it will save you money, forget it. You're betting on the neighborhood to improveHomes in neighborhoods with a lack of services, high crime rates, or lots of unmaintained houses are generally cheaper, and if you have reason to believe that robust improvements are coming to the area, it can be tempting to buy low and then celebrate as your property values rise and rise. The problem with this plan, of course, is that nothing is guaranteed: Whether it’s business investment, a government-sponsored redevelopment plan, or you think you see the signs of simple gentrification, any number of factors—canceled contracts, local elections, stalled construction projects, a faltering economy—can change the course of events and leave you holding the bag. Relying on a neighborhood turnaround also comes with plenty of other downsides: Time. Until your hoped-for revitalization comes to pass, you’ll be living in a crappy area and dealing with all the associated downsides, which might include higher crime, nastier neighbors, and worse schools. Taxes. If your property values go up, so do your taxes (eventually). Fewer options. If your life takes a turn you might have trouble selling that house or finding reliable renters due to its location. And if it’s cheap to buy, your equity in it will be relatively low until things pick up (if they pick up), meaning you’ll have limited resources for improvements and repairs. It’s a fixer-upperIf you’re buying a house because it’s a “fixer-upper” at a bargain price, think twice. If you have experience in home renovation and construction and you have a solid plan for renovating the place, that’s one thing. But if you’re buying a run-down place with a vague idea that you’ll fix it up over time, there are a lot of reasons to hesitate: The unknowns. You really have no idea how bad that house is, why it’s been priced so attractively, and how much it will really cost to fix up until you get in there and start opening walls and floors. Your budget? Fiction until you actually see the wiring, plumbing, foundation, and other essential aspects of the house. Living in a construction zone. Whole-house renovations can take as long as a year to complete, and that’s if you’re working nonstop and don’t encounter any soul-chilling problems once you dig into the property. If you’re going to do it piecemeal, the renovation could stretch on for years, and you’ll be dealing with dust in your cereal bowl and splinters everywhere during the entire experience. Price uncertainty. You can buy a cheap house and put quality work into it, but that doesn’t mean the market will cooperate and raise your home’s value enough for you to get the return on that investment you’re hoping for. Keep in mind that the money you spend fixing up a house is part of the total cost of ownership; if you buy a bargain for $200,000 and spend $100,000 fixing it, you really spent $300,000 on that house—not counting mortgage interest, insurance premiums, and other incidental costs. Adding it all up can transform a bargain into a non-bargain pretty fast. Only you can decide if buying a house is the right move—but if your reasons appear anywhere above, you owe it toy ourself to think again. View the full article

Amazon has agreed to pay nearly $4 million to settle charges that the e-commerce company subsidized its labor costs by taking tips its delivery drivers received from customers, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb said Friday. The settlement came four years after Amazon forked over $61.7 million to resolve a complaint the Federal Trade Commission brought over similar accusations. In 2022, the office of D.C.’s attorney general at the time followed up with a lawsuit alleging Amazon violated the District’s consumer protection laws by misleading residents about how tips paid digitally were used. According to the lawsuit, the affected drivers were part of Amazon’s Flex business, which allows people to deliver Amazon packages with their own cars. D.C.’s lawsuit said that after launching the program in 2015, the company represented to consumers that all tips added during check-out for Amazon Flex orders would go to drivers. But both the District and the FTC alleged that Amazon changed its payment model in late 2016 to lower its costs but did not disclose the switch to either customers or drivers. In particular, the FTC’s previous complaint alleged the company algorithmically reduced its own wages for drivers in different locations using data it collected about average tips in a specific area. Amazon then used the tips to make up the difference between its new base pay and the $18-$25 per hour it had promised drivers, the complaint said. The FTC said Amazon didn’t stop taking the tips until 2019, when the company found out about the agency’s investigation into the issue. Amazon has denied the allegations and did not admit to wrongdoing as part of the settlement announced Friday. “Like any successful program, Amazon Flex has evolved over time, and this lawsuit relates to a practice we changed more than five years ago,” Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly said in a statement. Under the terms of the settlement, the company will pay $2.45 million in penalties plus $1.5 million in legal fees. It must also disclose on its website and app how tips impact driver earnings. View the full article

Telehealth company Hims & Hers Health is fighting back after the drug industry’s main lobbying group called out its first Super Bowl ad as “misleading” and in potential violation of marketing rules. The ad is a one-minute spot set to Childish Gambino’s “This is America,” which admonishes the U.S.’s “broken” weight-loss business and instead offers up its “affordable, doctor-trusted” copycat weight-loss drugs. The lobbying group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said Thursday the ad was “a clear violation” of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and “misrepresents the safety and efficacy of their knockoff GLP-1 medicines.” Hims & Hers, which includes a brief disclaimer in the ad that the compounded drugs aren’t FDA approved, said the pushback from the industry meant its ad had clearly struck a chord. “We’ve called out the system and now the system is asking that our ad get taken down,” a spokesperson says. “This is a blatant attempt to shut down an ad that calls them out.” The telehealth firm operates on the idea that consumers who can’t afford, or balk at, the hundreds or thousands of dollars required to get weight-loss medications such as Wegovy, will pay Hims & Hers for less expensive, compounded versions of those medications. The compounded versions also serve as a way to increase access to weight-loss drugs in a time of steep shortages. To be sure, compounded drugs aren’t the same as generic drugs. They’re not approved by the FDA, so compounded drugs don’t require the same rigorous testing that is required for brand-name drugmakers. They’re often criticized due to their risk for potential contamination. But companies that sell compounded medicines say they offer high-quality drugs. Hims & Hers said that its “commercial aims to highlight why the U.S. is in an obesity crisis, while showcasing that Hims & Hers is committed to being part of easing the strain the weight-loss drug shortage is placing on the millions of Americans who have obesity and are looking for help.” Hims & Hers stock jumped more than 11% on Friday following the pushback. As of Friday afternoon, shares were up nearly 8%. The company declined to comment on the bump, as it’s in a quiet period ahead of releasing its earnings report. View the full article

Construction delivery methods matter. They are the means by which a construction project gets from idea to completion. That’s a long and complicated journey in construction project management, which is why knowing the best construction delivery method is so important. You can’t reach the end of your project if you’re not sure of the steps to get there, and construction delivery methods outline those steps. Before we look at the various construction delivery methods, we need to first make sure we’re clear on what a construction delivery method is. We’ll then explore how to choose the right construction delivery method for your organization and project. Finally, we’ll describe some of the more popular construction delivery methods and how construction project management software can help deliver success no matter which construction delivery method you choose. What Is a Construction Project Delivery Method? A construction delivery method is a procedure by which a construction project goes from initiation to close. It’s a system for organizing and financing the design, construction, operations and maintenance services for the build on which you’re working, be it in a structure or facility. It’s a legal agreement, like a contract, that’s between different parties involved in the construction project. There isn’t just one construction delivery method. There are many different types, from design-bid-build, design-build and construction manager at risk to integrated project delivery, job order contracting and public-private partnerships. These are only the most popular construction delivery methods, which we’ll detail in a moment. While there are others, we don’t focus on them because they’re more niche or less used in the industry. These other methods could be worth researching if the ones we highlight aren’t a good fit for your company and work. Whichever construction delivery method you choose, you’re going to need construction project management software to get the most out of it. ProjectManager is project management software with the features you need to deliver your construction project successfully through every phase of its lifecycle. Our robust Gantt charts help you organize tasks, plan resources and costs, link dependencies, filter for the critical path and set a baseline to monitor project variance and keep your construction project on track. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. /wp-content/uploads/2022/07/construction-gantt-resources-costs-150-CTA-BUTTON-1.jpgProjectManager’s Gantt chart helps plan, schedule and track construction projects. Learn more 10 Types of Construction Project Delivery Methods There are many factors to consider when deciding on the construction delivery method that’s best for the project. To make the right choice, you need to know the various construction delivery methods and what they mean. Some will be ideal while others will be easy to dismiss. To know which is right for you and the construction project, it’s imperative to understand the most common construction delivery methods. 1. Design-Bid-Build (DBB) Design-bid-build or DBB is the sequence of phases in this construction delivery method. It’s also called traditional as it’s the most common. It starts with the selection of an architect who designs the project. This is done before the owner selects a general contractor, which is done through the submission of bids. The last phase is the building of the project. This construction delivery method consists of two contracts, one for the design and the other for the construction. This construction delivery method is not only common but usually less costly, at least up front. Owners have time to offer feedback about the design before construction begins. At this point, it’s easier and less expensive to make those changes. The drawback of DBB is that there’s no collaboration between design and construction, which can lead to issues. There might be material or technical problems with the design that the general contractor wants to resolve before construction. Design-Bid-Build Pros Allows for competitive bidding which can lead to lower costs The owner has significantly more control over the design process as they contract directly with the architect The roles and responsibilities of the architect and contractor are clearly defined Design-Bid-Build Cons The sequential nature of DBB can result in a longer project timeline The separation between design and construction can lead to disputes between the contractor and the architect Less collaboration between the design and the construction teams can lead to less innovative solutions 2. Design-Build (DB) Gaining popularity is the design-build or DB construction delivery method. It’s more straightforward for owners and tends to reduce risk. However, owners have less input on design, construction management and trade partners than in other construction delivery methods. That’s because, in this method, the design and construction are handled by one firm, so the owner only needs one contract for architecture, engineering and construction. That doesn’t mean the design and construction firm have carte blanche. Performance requirements are specified by the owner in the contract. That will lead to fewer change orders as the design construction firm will be in close collaboration, saving costs, speeding up the delivery of the project and avoiding potential litigation. The owner is still giving up a great deal of control in this construction delivery method. The onerous is on the owner to do the research when selecting the firm to make sure they’re a good fit and detailing what they want in the contract. Design-Build Pros The integration of design and construction phases can significantly reduce the overall project timeline The design-builder assumes responsibility for both construction and design which reduces the owner’s risk The owner has a single point of contact for the whole project which simplifies communication and management Design-Build Cons The owner is working with a single entity that handles design and construction, meaning they have less direct control over the design process There may be less competition among contractors because design and construction are bundled, potentially leading to higher costs The owner needs to have a high level of trust in the design builder’s capabilities in both construction and design 3. Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) This construction delivery method is popular when owners need a firm deadline and a definite price for the project’s completion. The construction manager is like a consultant to the owner during the design phase of the project. The construction manager selects the subcontractors for the job and accepts the risk of meeting the deadline and pricing. The owner, in return, sets a guaranteed maximum price (GMP), which is like a fixed payment. The owner has two contracts, one with the designer and the other with the construction manager. The owner works directly with the designer in construction manager at risk or CM at risk, also known as CMAR. The owner gets the perspective of the builder to establish costs early in the project, improving the chance of faster delivery. However, the owner isn’t without risk exposure. They can be liable for the completeness, accuracy and details of the design plan. There’s also the possibility of conflict between the designer and the construction manager, which can lead to delays, more costs and even litigation. Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) Pros As the construction manager is brought on board early, they’re able to provide input on cost estimation, scheduling and more The CM becomes an integral part of the team which fosters a more collaborative environment When the CM is more involved with pre-construction and construction, there’s a smoother transition between project phases The shared risk model incentivizes the CM to proactively address and mitigate risk Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) Cons The dual role that the CM plays can create a potential conflict of interest as they may prioritize their financial interests over the owner’s best interest The owner has less control over subcontractor selection compared to design-bid-build There are complex contractual relationships which can create a complex contractural landscape /wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-construction-ebook-banner-ad.jpg 4. Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) New and gaining traction is integrated project delivery or IPD. It’s all about teamwork and collaboration. The goal of this construction delivery method is to share liability, responsibility, risk and reward among construction stakeholders. It’s often used in lean construction management to reduce waste and costs. In this method, the owner, designer and general manager are all obligated under one contract. Before the construction breaks ground, the owner can provide input to those involved in the job. The owner offers incentives for the design and construction teams, aligns goals and, in so doing, increases the likelihood of success. Collaboration tools are important to keep everyone communicating. This method has yet to fully establish itself and, therefore, can be expensive. There are also a lot of stakeholders, which means getting the contract right is time-consuming. Integrated Project Delivery Pros IPD fosters a highly collaborative environment where all stakeholders are involved in making decisions from the outset IPD encourages team members to share ideas on finding innovative solutions which leads to more efficient designs Involving stakeholders early on can help identify and eliminate waste in the design and construction processes Integrated Project Delivery Cons It can be more complex to implement and manage than traditional project delivery methods as it requires a high level of commitment IPD requires a high level of trust and collaboration between all project participants Higher upfront costs due to the need for team development, collaborative workshops and more intensive communication 5. Job Order Contracting (JOC) This can be considered a subset of integrated project delivery, especially when dealing with repair, renovation, maintenance, sustainability and even small new construction jobs. Each contract uses a unit price book to set the price for each job and this is done across a multi-year umbrella contract. A unit price book is a detailed and defined scope of work and estimate of costs for the job based on labor, materials and equipment costs. This type of construction delivery method is somewhat of a niche product, but valuable in that it can lead to cost reductions, improved schedule performance and client satisfaction. The problem with using a unit price book is that once approved if prices fluctuate, the construction will be more costly. If you’re not paying attention to detail, you could find yourself in trouble. Job Order Contracting Pros Reduces the time and administrative burden associated with traditional procurement methods Streamlines procurement processes and reduces administrative overhead, leading to significant cost savings for owners Fosters long-term relationships between owners and contractors which leads to better communication, trust and understanding Job Order Contracting Cons May lead to overall cost savings, but the unit prices for individual tasks may be higher than if they were bid out separately Owners may become overly reliant on their JOC contractor over time, potentially limiting innovation and competition May not be the ideal approach for large, complex projects with unique design requirements 6. Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) As the name implies, this construction delivery method is a cooperative arrangement between a public and private entity. The public entity is usually the owner, while the private entity is usually the designer, builder and financier, though they may be also responsible for operations and maintenance. This provides better infrastructure as each participant does what they do best. There’s often faster delivery and the return on investment (ROI) can be greater. However, the risk for the private entities in this partnership can increase the cost to the public entity. If there are only a limited number of private entities and a small field of bidders, that reduced competition leads to less cost-effective partnering. Profits vary depending on the risk. Public-Private Partnerships Pros Allows governments to access the private sector’s specialized construction expertise which leads to higher-quality construction Private sector companies often incentivized to complete projects on time and on budget May provide access to private capital for large-scale construction projects Public-Private Partnerships Cons Typically comes at a higher cost as private companies need to generate a profit, potentially leading to higher overall costs in the long run Construction contracts can be complex and disputes can arise between the public and private sector There may be a lack of transparency, especially in terms of financial arrangements and subcontractor selection 7. Turnkey Project Delivery In this construction delivery method, a single contractor or firm takes on all responsibility for all aspects of the construction project. This includes everything from the initial design and engineering to the final construction and handover. As the name suggests, the client or owner simply needs to “turn the key” to a fully operational facility when the project is completed. It entails a single point of contact for the entire project and end-to-end service. The project is delivered to a state that’s ready for immediate use. Turnkey Project Delivery Pros Coordinating with only one entity helps reduce the complexity of managing multiple contracts and contractors Often involve fixed-price contracts to provide greater cost certainty from the outset Reduced risk as the contractor assumes a greater share of the project risk as they are responsible for all project aspects Turnkey Project Delivery Cons It may be difficult or expensive to make changes to the project scope or design when the contract is signed The initial price may be higher than other traditional construction project delivery methods There may be less input on the design process as the contractor has more autonomy 8. Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) This is a project finance and delivery model typically used for large-scale infrastructure projects. It’s a public-private partnership (PPP) where a private company is granted the right to build, operate and transfer the project. Ultimately, the project is transferred to the government or public entity at the end of the concession period. Think of this construction delivery method as a temporary lease-to-own situation for a major piece of infrastructure. It’s ideal for projects that need a large investment and have the potential to generate revenue. Pros The private sector is usually more efficient at project execution, shortening the timeline The private sector’s focus on innovation and efficiency can result in better project outcomes There’s a higher focus on operational risks and they are transferred to the private sector Cons Disputes may arise between the public and private sectors on topics like risk allocation, cost overruns and performance standards Governments may have less control over the project versus traditional project procurement The contracts can be complex and need to be negotiated and managed carefully /wp-content/uploads/2024/03/RFP-template-featured-image.jpg Get your free RFP Template Use this free RFP Template for Word to manage your projects better. Download Word File 9. Engineer-Procure-Construct (EPC) This common project delivery method is used in industries like energy, oil and gas. It’s used for large-scale and complex projects. They’re characterized by a single contractor taking responsibility for all project phases, from the initial design and engineering to the procurement of materials and equipment. In many cases, EPC contracts are fixed-price or lump sum, so the contractor agrees to deliver the project for a pre-determined price. If there are variations, they need to be managed carefully. Pros The owner only needs to manage one contract which streamlines project administration The fixed-price nature of most EPC contracts offers more cost certainty for the owner The integrated approach helps streamline the project and can potentially lead to faster completion Cons The owner has less control over the design and construction process versus other delivery methods Disputes may arise if the scope of work isn’t clearly defined or if there are disagreements about performance Changes in project scope can be difficult and expensive when the contract is signed 10. Construction Management Multi-Prime (CMMP) This is more of a unique construction project delivery method; it’s about giving the owner more control and trying to save costs as they take on the role of the general contractor. Instead of hiring a general contractor to manage the project, the owner directly hires multiple prime contractors for different aspects. This could include separate contracts for roofing, plumbing, HVAC, electrical work, concrete, etc. In some cases, the owner may hire a construction manager to oversee and coordinate these prime contractors. Pros The owner has direct control over choosing and managing each trade contractor, choosing the best fit for each job Helps the owner save money as they are negotiating directly with the trades The owner may get competitive bids from multiple contractors for each trade which can potentially reduce costs Cons The owner takes on a significant administrative load and manages multiple contracts and schedules The owner assumes more risk as they are responsible for the project’s overall coordination and success Best suited for owners with expertise with significant construction knowledge How to Choose a Construction Delivery Method With so many construction delivery methods to choose from, how do you know the one that’s right for you? First, you must know what you’re building and why. But that’s only the start. You need more details in order to better choose a construction delivery method. To help guide you, look at the project budget, design, risks, schedule and owner’s expertise. 1. Make a Construction Budget One of the more important parts of the project to settle on is the construction budget, so you’ll want to establish this as quickly as possible. You’ll also want to bring the design and construction team into the conversation to get their feedback on how realistic the budget you’ve come up with actually is. Don’t forget to add some financial wiggle room to handle change orders that will inevitably come up during the build. Naturally, software costs will be part of the budget. Remember, these tools, including resource management tools, are upfront costs but are instrumental in reducing costs and speeding up the delivery of your project. 2. Create Architectural Drawings and Construction Documentation It’s not enough to have a clear picture of what the structure you’re building looks like. You must also take into account the functionality of your building and create detailed architectural drawings and construction documentation. Is there a flow to your floor plan? Is the plan more innovative than functional? This is the point where you have to check your ambition against reality. It’s all well and good to have a complex design, but not if it’s going to interfere with the electrical system, plumbing or any other essential system. Related: 8 Free Excel Construction Templates 3. Identify Potential Risks Another consideration is construction risk. If there are too many risks, then the cost of the project could skyrocket and the whole endeavor could fail. Before you choose a construction delivery method, a thorough risk evaluation must be done long before committing to a project. Don’t neglect liability. For example, who will be responsible for design problems that result in dangerous situations on the job site and after construction is completed? The construction delivery methods need to be examined for liability and other risk factors. 4. Make a Construction Schedule Then there’s your construction schedule. Having an accurate schedule is important, and schedule and project costs are closely linked. If you accelerate the schedule, costs will rise. You need to think about the timeline necessary to meet your expected schedule and costs. Do owners want you to fast-track the project before the completion of all construction drawings and documents? Is the schedule too ambitious, which leads to overrun and unhappy stakeholders? All of these variables will lead you to one construction delivery method over another. The last piece in this puzzle is the owner. The owner can have a big impact on your project and the construction delivery method depending on their familiarity with construction and the job type. Are they used to working at this size and scope? Do they have the staff to oversee all of the processes involved? Owners can cause costly bottlenecks that lead to delays, so they must be a good fit for a successful project. The level of expertise might not make or break a project, but it will help you determine the right construction delivery method for the job. Request for Proposal (RFP) Template Choosing a project delivery method is one of most important things you’ll need to do before receiving, selecting and evaluating bids or project proposals from contractors. Then once you’re ready, you can use this free request for proposal template to gather all the information you need from bidders so you don’t miss any important details. /wp-content/uploads/2024/03/RFP-Template-screenshot-1600x820.png We offer a variety of free construction project management templates for Excel you can use to manage all aspects of your construction project. ProjectManager Helps With Construction Project Delivery Those are just some of the more common construction delivery methods, but all of them are improved by using project management software. ProjectManager is online construction project management software that connects all parties with real-time communication to facilitate collaboration. When you’re all working together on the same updated data, project success greatly improves. Use the Tool You Want Not only that, but designers, construction companies and owners aren’t always using the same tools, which is why we have multiple project views. Owners can look at calendars to make sure that milestones are being met. The general contractor can use interactive Gantt charts to organize tasks on a timeline and manage resource costs. Crews on site can check off tasks on robust list views that show the percentage complete while designers can visually track workflows on robust kanban boards. All views are updated simultaneously with real-time data so everyone is working with the same data. /wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Construction-Light-Mode-Calendar-150-1-1600x859.jpg Work Better Together Yes, multiple project views are all updated together, but our online software also means that everyone in every team can connect whether they’re in the office, on-site or working remotely. We have unlimited file storage, which means all your construction documents and drawers are in a centralized hub that can be accessed by everyone. All files can be easily shared and teams can even comment at the task level or tag someone not assigned to that task and bring them into the conversation. Users get email notifications to keep them updated on changes, but there are also in-app alerts so you don’t have to leave the tool. Our collaborative platform connects everyone regardless of which construction delivery method you use. /wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kanban-light-mode-manufacturing-order-process-150-zoom-collaboration-1600x786.png Our software can help plan, monitor and report on every phase of the construction project to keep everyone informed. Real-time dashboards give you a high-level view of six project metrics in easy-to-read graphs and charts. The data is collected, calculated and displayed automatically—there’s no setup like with lightweight tools. You can dive deeper into the data with customizable reports on status, cost, time and more, which can be shared with stakeholders to keep them updated. We’re your one-stop for all construction needs. ProjectManager is award-winning construction software that can help you manage projects no matter which construction delivery method is right for you. Our real-time data means better collaboration and we have the features you need to control every aspect of the build, from initiation to closure. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. The post 10 Construction Project Delivery Methods with Pros & Cons appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

Bids were due last week for the portfolio of so-called jumbo mortgages from US homeowners with relatively high credit scores. View the full article

While prices and mortgage rates are having an effect on consumers, homeownership is still more affordable than renting in much of the country, new research found. View the full article

Kickoff for the Super Bowl LIX matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 9. Fox is broadcasting the game live from Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, so anyone with a cable or broadcast TV subscription (or an OTA antenna) can view the game via Fox, Fox Deportes, or Telemundo. If you don't have cable, you can still stream the game to your computer, mobile device, or smart TV—even if you're outside the U.S. Here's how. Where to stream Super Bowl LIX in the U.S.Fox-owned Tubi is streaming Super Bowl LIX for free in the U.S. and Canada. The platform supports a wide range of streaming devices and smart TVs as well as Android, iOS, and web browsers, so you can watch from (almost) anywhere, including on your laptop or mobile device. The game will also be available in 4K on Roku, Fire TV, Android TV, and Apple TV. You have to create a Tubi account and be logged in at game time, no credit card required. Alternatively, Fox is available to many U.S. viewers via live TV streaming services like DirectTV Stream, FuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, and Sling TV. If you're not already a subscriber, most of these platforms offer limited free trials, so you can sign up to watch the game and cancel before you are actually billed. While not free, you can also watch the game using the Fox Sports app (if you pay for Fox via cable, satellite, or live TV streaming) or through the NFL+ app (with a $7 subscription) on mobile. Where to stream Super Bowl LIX outside the U.S. The NFL has a full list of international broadcasts for Super Bowl LIX audiences located outside the U.S. An NFL Game Pass will get you full coverage via DAZN in any country except the U.S. and China. DAZN is available on most game consoles, smart TVs, and streaming sticks, as well as mobile devices, and prices vary by country. The game will also be available on ESPN in many countries and on local sports networks in select areas. For example, UK viewers can stream the game for free on ITV1 (or with a subscription to Sky Sports), and Australian fans can tune in on 7mate and 7plus. How to use a VPN to watch Super Bowl LIXIf you have a streaming subscription (or want to watch via one of the free options) but are in an area where that service is blocked, you can use a VPN to connect back to the country where broadcast rights are available. We've got a list of the best free VPNs, which let you select IP addresses in specific locations so you can stream content even when you're abroad. View the full article