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Google is rolling out a beta feature that lets advertisers run structured A/B tests on creative assets within a single Performance Max asset group. Advertisers can split traffic between two asset sets and measure performance in a controlled experiment. Why we care. Creative testing inside Performance Max has mostly relied on guesswork. Google’s new native A/B asset experiments bring controlled testing directly into PMax — without spinning up separate campaigns. How it works. Advertisers choose one Performance Max campaign and asset group, then define a control asset set (existing creatives) and a treatment set (new alternatives). Shared assets can run across both versions. After setting a traffic split — such as 50/50 — the experiment runs for several weeks before advertisers apply the winning assets. Why this helps. Running tests inside the same asset group isolates creative impact and reduces noise from structural campaign changes. The controlled split gives clearer reporting and helps teams make rollout decisions based on performance data rather than assumptions. Early lessons. Initial testing suggests short experiments — especially under three weeks — often produce unstable results, particularly in lower-volume accounts. Longer runs and avoiding simultaneous campaign changes improve reliability. Bottom line. Performance Max is becoming more testable. Advertisers can now validate creative decisions with built-in experiments instead of relying on trial and error. First seen. Google Ads expert spotted the update and shared his view on LinkedIn. View the full article

The President administration officials are exploring opening an antitrust investigation into US homebuilders as the White House sharpens its focus on tackling the country's housing affordability crisis. View the full article

Learn the product development process with step-by-step guidance, supporting tools, and examples designed for project managers and product teams in 2026. The post Product Development Process: A Complete Guide for 2026 appeared first on project-management.com. View the full article

A recent case has spotlighted the risks associated with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a crucial funding initiative that aimed to support small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sabrina and Joseph Mitlo, a couple from New Jersey, face serious legal consequences for allegedly defrauding the PPP, illustrating both the effectiveness of oversight and the need for vigilance among small business owners. Charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, the Mitlos reportedly obtained over $715,000 in PPP loans despite owning businesses that had no employees or legitimate payroll. The couple allegedly submitted falsified loan applications and tax documents to assert that their businesses qualified for PPP assistance. Once the funds were disbursed, they arranged for fictitious payroll checks for nonexistent employees, cashing in on these checks to keep the scheme under wraps. This case is emblematic of broader issues surrounding the rapid rollout of pandemic relief funds and raises critical questions small business owners must consider. As the government ramps up enforcement to combat fraud, knowledge about compliance with PPP guidelines is essential for small businesses. The consequences of PPP fraud can be severe; the charge the Mitlos face carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and up to $1 million in fines. Such significant legal repercussions serve as a warning for small business owners who might be tempted to manipulate the system. As stated by Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello, “The District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force investigates large-scale pandemic relief fraud, and those who attempt to fraudulently obtain these funds will face serious legal action.” For small business owners, navigating the complexities of pandemic-related loans requires a thorough understanding of eligibility criteria. Accurately reporting employee numbers and payroll obligations not only ensures compliance but also safeguards against potential fallout from fraudulent activity. The SBA’s Office of Inspector General, in partnership with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice, is actively pursuing investigations in cases of alleged pandemic fraud. It’s paramount for business owners to be aware of the resources available to them. These include guidelines published by the SBA, which provide detailed information on how to apply for and utilize PPP loans legally. Additionally, there are channels through which individuals can report suspected fraud, enhancing a community effort to uphold the integrity of small business funding. Potential challenges arise as business owners grapple with the intricacies of these requirements. Misinterpretation of guidelines or failure to keep meticulous records can inadvertently lead to errors in loan applications. The Mitlos’ case serves as a cautionary tale that underscores the importance of adhering strictly to application procedures. A proactive approach to compliance can fortify small businesses against the threat of fraud allegations. Implementing robust accounting practices, consulting financial advisors, and maintaining clear communication with lending institutions can help ensure transparency and accountability. Therefore, while the recovery period from the pandemic remains challenging, legitimate support programs are meant to assist businesses in need rather than expose them to scrutiny or legal trouble. Understanding the legal landscape and taking advantage of available educational resources can empower small business owners during these uncertain times. The U.S. Department of Justice continues to crack down on fraudulent claims related to COVID-19 relief, representing a commitment to protecting the integrity of relief efforts intended for those who genuinely need them. As the workforce adapts to ongoing challenges, it becomes imperative for business owners to prioritize compliance and ethical practices when accessing government assistance. Being informed and cautious can prevent severe financial and legal repercussions, ultimately enabling small business owners to focus on recovery and growth, rather than potential legal battles. For more details on this case and the implications of PPP fraud, visit the original press release at the SBA’s website: SBA Press Release. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Couple Indicted for $715K COVID-19 Fraud Scheme in New Jersey" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

A recent case has spotlighted the risks associated with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a crucial funding initiative that aimed to support small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sabrina and Joseph Mitlo, a couple from New Jersey, face serious legal consequences for allegedly defrauding the PPP, illustrating both the effectiveness of oversight and the need for vigilance among small business owners. Charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, the Mitlos reportedly obtained over $715,000 in PPP loans despite owning businesses that had no employees or legitimate payroll. The couple allegedly submitted falsified loan applications and tax documents to assert that their businesses qualified for PPP assistance. Once the funds were disbursed, they arranged for fictitious payroll checks for nonexistent employees, cashing in on these checks to keep the scheme under wraps. This case is emblematic of broader issues surrounding the rapid rollout of pandemic relief funds and raises critical questions small business owners must consider. As the government ramps up enforcement to combat fraud, knowledge about compliance with PPP guidelines is essential for small businesses. The consequences of PPP fraud can be severe; the charge the Mitlos face carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and up to $1 million in fines. Such significant legal repercussions serve as a warning for small business owners who might be tempted to manipulate the system. As stated by Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello, “The District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force investigates large-scale pandemic relief fraud, and those who attempt to fraudulently obtain these funds will face serious legal action.” For small business owners, navigating the complexities of pandemic-related loans requires a thorough understanding of eligibility criteria. Accurately reporting employee numbers and payroll obligations not only ensures compliance but also safeguards against potential fallout from fraudulent activity. The SBA’s Office of Inspector General, in partnership with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice, is actively pursuing investigations in cases of alleged pandemic fraud. It’s paramount for business owners to be aware of the resources available to them. These include guidelines published by the SBA, which provide detailed information on how to apply for and utilize PPP loans legally. Additionally, there are channels through which individuals can report suspected fraud, enhancing a community effort to uphold the integrity of small business funding. Potential challenges arise as business owners grapple with the intricacies of these requirements. Misinterpretation of guidelines or failure to keep meticulous records can inadvertently lead to errors in loan applications. The Mitlos’ case serves as a cautionary tale that underscores the importance of adhering strictly to application procedures. A proactive approach to compliance can fortify small businesses against the threat of fraud allegations. Implementing robust accounting practices, consulting financial advisors, and maintaining clear communication with lending institutions can help ensure transparency and accountability. Therefore, while the recovery period from the pandemic remains challenging, legitimate support programs are meant to assist businesses in need rather than expose them to scrutiny or legal trouble. Understanding the legal landscape and taking advantage of available educational resources can empower small business owners during these uncertain times. The U.S. Department of Justice continues to crack down on fraudulent claims related to COVID-19 relief, representing a commitment to protecting the integrity of relief efforts intended for those who genuinely need them. As the workforce adapts to ongoing challenges, it becomes imperative for business owners to prioritize compliance and ethical practices when accessing government assistance. Being informed and cautious can prevent severe financial and legal repercussions, ultimately enabling small business owners to focus on recovery and growth, rather than potential legal battles. For more details on this case and the implications of PPP fraud, visit the original press release at the SBA’s website: SBA Press Release. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Couple Indicted for $715K COVID-19 Fraud Scheme in New Jersey" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The Olympics are best known as a moment for the world’s most elite athletes to demonstrate their physical prowess on the world stage. But, for a handful of apparel brands, the Games are also one of the most coveted advertising moments of the year. This year, teams at the Milan Cortina Games will be outfitted in plenty of the usual activewear suspects, including Adidas, Nike, and Asics. Team USA will once again appear in preppy, ultra-Americana-inspired looks designed by Ralph Lauren, which has exclusively partnered with the team since 2008. The terms of this deal are unclear, but it’s likely an intensely expensive (and lucrative) undertaking for Ralph Lauren that would be financially inaccessible to smaller brands. The result is that Team USA’s Olympic garb has looked safe at best and stale at worst for the past several years (recall the widely panned skinny jeans and blazer combo worn in 2021). But while big brands remain the most visible apparel players at the Olympics, some of this year’s most stand-out garments come from smaller designers. Here are three of the collaborations to look out for: Team Mongolia x Goyol Cashmere Before the Games have even begun, there’s already a clear fan favorite for the best-dressed team. Team Mongolia’s ceremonial outfits have taken off on X, where commenters are praising the garments for their couture quality; while the uniform’s official announcement post has accrued more than 100,000 likes. Mongolian athletes will be sporting garments made by the brand Goyol Cashmere, which has produced both a line of casual ski sweaters and a stunning collection of ceremonial uniforms. The sweater line pulls inspiration from Western après-ski aesthetics, mixed with references to the Mongolian nomadic life, including imagery of a ger (one-man tent), sheep pens, and a horse. The ceremonial uniforms are Goyol’s take on the Mongolian deel, which is a traditional robe-like garment. A navy color palette makes up the base of the uniforms, accented by pops of light blue, gold, and red. In an email to Fast Company, the Goyol team said that the uniforms are inspired by the Great Mongol Empire of the 13th through 15th centuries, one of “the most powerful periods of our nation’s history.” Traditional elements woven throughout the uniforms include a functional skirt slit for ease of movement, a raised collar to protect against the wind and cold, silk trimmings embroidered with horn motifs, and a fully closed overlapping front, which represents “warmth, unity, and protection.” This is Goyol’s first time outfitting the Olympic team, and, according to the designers, “It has truly been incredible to see the outpouring of positive feedback online.” They added, “Our team is deeply honored and grateful for the trust placed in us by the National Olympic Committee. We believe this marks a defining moment—not only for our country, but for Mongolia’s fashion industry and the recognition of our prestigious cashmere on a global stage.” Team Haiti x Stella Jean At this year’s Games, Team Haiti’s two skiers will be the only athletes to take to the slopes in fully hand-painted uniforms. The outfits were created by Italian-Haitian designer Stella Jean. They feature an eye-catching jewel-toned design, painstakingly brushed over ski pants, boots, jackets, and even a puffer skirt. In an interview with the AP, Jean said that the design—which centers a galloping red horse—was inspired by the 2006 painting Toussaint Louverture by Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrié. Duval-Carrié’s painting depicts Louverture, a formerly enslaved man who successfully led the Haitian independence movement against French imperialists and established the first Black republic in 1806, riding atop the red steed. Jean told the AP that her uniform designs initially included Louverture, but she was told by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the image broke Olympic rules barring political symbolism. In order to preserve her work, she painted over Louverture for the final garments. “Rules are rules and must be respected, and that is what we have done,“ Jean told the publication. “But for us, it is important that this horse, his horse, the general’s horse, remains. For us, it remains the symbol of Haiti’s presence at the Olympics.’’ In an Instagram caption revealing the designs, she added, “What you see is not decoration.
It is visibility as a form of survival.” Team Great Britain x Tom Daley Anyone who watched the Paris 2024 Olympics will recall that the best garment from those Games was former platform diver Tom Daley’s hand-knitted sweater. Over the past several years, Daley has parlayed his knitting hobby into a side gig as a kind of knitting influencer, sharing images of creations like a sweater for a greyhound and video tutorials on new patterns. At the Paris Olympics, he was seen knitting multiple different garments, including a custom blue-and-red sweater featuring an image of the Eiffel Tower. This year, Daley’s work will be worn as official Olympic garments by the flagbearers for his home team of Great Britain. Daley collaborated with the British clothing brand Ben Sherman (which is also creating Great Britain’s opening and closing ceremony looks) on a series of knitwear inspired by his country’s flag. The chunky scarves, hats, and snoods have the same charming quality as Daley’s poolside projects that previously captured the hearts of viewers worldwide. View the full article

I'm just a humble immigrant, but as a mere (legal!) guest in the U.S., I can't help but notice that the country is rather, shall we say, politically divided these days (sorry if pointing that out seems rude). It seems international scammers have also noticed—and are taking advantage in subtle ways. Recently, investor Fred Benenson blogged about a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting SendGrid users. Phishers sent emails claiming the company was going to add a large "Support ICE" button at the bottom of every outgoing email unless users opted out. The emails also featured a large blue button promising to help you disable the message, which, when clicked, naturally led to a fake version of SendGrid that would allow the scammers to steal login information. As scams go, it's not a bad play: Phishing emails work best when they induce a sense of panic—that way you're less likely to think critically about them, and just act. It's not hard to imagine this particular email being effective, given the political climate right now. Say you're running a fair trade coffee company—you wouldn't want a giant "Support ICE" button below your signature at this moment in history. But the trick didn't just target left-wing organizations: Variations on the theme claimed the company was going to add pro-LGBT+ and Black Lives Matter banners as well. The differing political messages aren't really the point of the scam, you see—the point is to get business owners to panic about projecting the "wrong" values so that they will click the link and give away their login information. Scammers rely on psychological tricks to rope in their victims, all of them designed to get you to stop thinking rationally. Exploiting America's political divide seems to be an excellent way to do that. Political phishing schemes are nothing newThis is just the latest example of a scam that uses politics as a tool. Back in 2020, a fake Black Lives Matter voting campaign spread malware by pretending to be from a county official looking for feedback on the then-exploding political movement. People on both side of the partisan divide ended up clicking through and getting infected. And then there are the campaigns where people pretend to be politicians and beg for donations: Back in 2024 Lifehacker reported on a rash of political donation scams that popped up during the presidential election cycle. That trend is still growing, according to Stacey Wood, a fraud expert writing for Psychology Today. "What is especially challenging for consumers and voters is that legitimate campaign operatives use many of the same common persuasion techniques employed by scammers," she writes. All of which is to say that international scammers have equal access to American media outlets, are aware of our political divides, and are effective at using them to exploit your emotions in order to steal your money. How to spot a political phishing scamWhat can you do to protect yourself? First, be aware of the tricks that scammers use, and always approach your email inbox with skepticism. Before you click any link from an unfamiliar sender or in an unsolicited email, hover over it to see if it's going to a website that looks legit. Even better: Avoid clicking links altogether, and head to the website for a given service directly by typing it into your browser. Remember, it's easier to fall for a scam than you think, so it pays to be skeptical, especially when you encounter a call to action designed to get you to react in a panic. View the full article

Google Ads rolled out a data source diagnostics feature inside Data Manager that helps advertisers monitor the health of their data connections. The tool flags issues tied to offline conversions, CRM imports, and tagging mismatches. How it works. A centralized dashboard assigns clear connection status labels — Excellent, Good, Needs attention, or Urgent — and surfaces actionable alerts. Advertisers can see problems like refused credentials, formatting errors, and failed imports alongside a run history showing recent sync attempts and error counts. Why we care. When conversion data breaks, campaign optimization breaks with it. Even small data connection failures can quietly distort conversion tracking and weaken automated bidding. This diagnostics tool helps teams spot and fix issues early, protecting campaign performance and reporting accuracy. For advertisers relying on CRM imports or offline conversions, it adds a much-needed safety net. Who benefits most. The feature is particularly useful for advertisers running complex conversion pipelines, including Salesforce integrations and offline attribution setups, where small disruptions can ripple into bidding and reporting. The bigger picture. As automated bidding depends more heavily on accurate first-party data, visibility into data pipelines is becoming as important as campaign settings themselves. Bottom line. Google Ads is giving advertisers an early warning system for data failures — helping teams fix broken connections before performance takes a hit. First seen. This update was first spotted by Digital Marketer Georgi Zayakov when he shared spotting the new option on LinkedIn. View the full article

Lawmakers across the political spectrum condemn clip depicting former president and first lady as apesView the full article

Labour MPs weigh up options including Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner after a week of damaging scandal View the full article

Maneuvering through conflict between coworkers is vital for maintaining a productive workplace. By employing effective strategies, you can cultivate a more harmonious environment. Start by comprehending the root causes of conflicts and prioritize open communication to guarantee everyone feels valued. Active listening plays an important role in validating perspectives, whereas early intervention can prevent issues from escalating. To learn more about practical approaches, consider how collaboration and compromise can lead to innovative solutions and stronger team dynamics. Key Takeaways Foster open communication by encouraging honest dialogue, which helps clarify misunderstandings and build trust among coworkers. Utilize active listening techniques to understand diverse perspectives and validate coworkers’ feelings during discussions. Address conflicts promptly to prevent escalation and maintain a positive work environment that supports productivity. Encourage compromise by finding common ground and generating multiple solutions that consider the needs of all parties involved. Promote team-building activities to strengthen relationships and enhance collaboration, reducing friction among coworkers during conflicts. Understanding the Root Causes of Workplace Conflict Comprehending the root causes of workplace conflict is fundamental for nurturing a harmonious work environment. Conflicts often stem from poor communication, which leads to misunderstandings and inefficiencies. Managers can spend around 25% of their time resolving these issues, which highlights the need to understand these roots. Differing values and interests among employees can create friction, as they may prioritize personal goals over team objectives. Personality clashes, arising from diverse working styles, likewise contribute to tensions that require effective conflict resolution between coworkers. Furthermore, resource scarcity encourages competition, as individuals vie for limited tools necessary for their jobs. Finally, perceptions of discrimination or harassment can greatly escalate conflicts, making it vital to promote an inclusive culture. The Importance of Open Communication Open communication is crucial for resolving conflicts at work, as it promotes active listening and honest expression among coworkers. When you encourage clear dialogue, you help create an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns. Establishing clear guidelines for communication can further improve comprehension, preventing misunderstandings that often lead to disputes. Foster Active Listening Active listening serves as a cornerstone for effective communication, especially during conflicts at work. It involves fully concentrating, comprehension, responding, and remembering what’s being said. Research shows that effective listening increases the likelihood of resolving conflicts by 30%. When you use “I” statements instead of “you” statements, it encourages a non-confrontational atmosphere, promoting open dialogue. Pay attention to non-verbal cues like body language and facial expressions, as they provide insights into emotional states that can guide the conversation toward resolution. By practicing active listening, you promote empathy and awareness, which are fundamental for healthier workplace relationships. In the end, enhancing your listening skills can greatly reduce misunderstandings and create a more collaborative work environment. Encourage Honest Expression Creating an environment where coworkers feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and concerns is crucial for maintaining a healthy workplace. Encouraging honest expression cultivates a culture of open communication, which helps identify and address potential conflicts early. Research shows that 53% of employees avoid “toxic” situations, highlighting the need for a safe space for dialogue. By allowing employees to voice concerns without fear of retribution, you can build greater trust and collaboration within the team. Addressing conflicts swiftly can prevent the staggering annual loss of $359 billion in American businesses because of unresolved disputes. Furthermore, facilitating open discussions improves employee engagement, greatly enhancing workplace morale and productivity, ultimately benefiting everyone involved. Establish Clear Guidelines Establishing clear guidelines for communication is vital to minimize misunderstandings that can lead to workplace conflict. When everyone knows the expectations and processes, it reduces confusion and aligns team efforts. Open communication cultivates a transparent culture, allowing you to voice concerns without fear of retribution, which is fundamental for detecting and resolving issues early. Regular check-ins and feedback sessions keep this communication flowing, providing a platform to address potential conflicts before they escalate. Furthermore, promoting active listening during discussions encourages respect and guarantees everyone feels heard, which helps prevent personal attacks. Finally, opting for face-to-face meetings over email can improve clarity, reducing the misinterpretations that often arise in written exchanges. Active Listening as a Conflict Resolution Tool When conflicts arise between coworkers, employing effective listening techniques can greatly ease tensions and promote insight. Active listening involves fully concentrating on, grasping, responding to, and remembering what the other person says. This method helps clarify misunderstandings and reduces conflict-related tension. By allowing coworkers to express themselves without interruption, you cultivate respect and openness, making constructive resolutions easier. Here’s a quick overview of key components of active listening: Component Description Benefits Concentration Focus on the speaker without distractions Improves insight Non-verbal cues Use body language and facial expressions Provides emotional context Response Offer thoughtful feedback Validates the speaker’s feelings Engaging in active listening encourages empathy and insight, contributing to a more positive workplace environment. Fostering Collaboration and Teamwork To promote collaboration and teamwork, you need to establish open communication channels that allow for clear and honest exchanges. Promoting shared goals alignment can help unify the team’s efforts, ensuring everyone is working in the same direction. Moreover, engaging in team-building activities strengthens relationships, improves trust, and creates an environment where teamwork can thrive. Establish Open Communication Channels Open communication channels play a crucial role in promoting collaboration and teamwork among coworkers, as they allow individuals to express their concerns and ideas without hesitation. By establishing these channels, you encourage employees to voice their thoughts freely, which can help prevent misinterpretations that often lead to conflicts. Regular team meetings and check-ins promote transparency, allowing coworkers to address issues before they escalate. Utilizing collaborative tools helps remote teams maintain clear communication, reducing feelings of isolation and frustration. Encouraging active listening during discussions nurtures respect and comprehension, fundamental for effective conflict resolution. Moreover, providing training sessions on communication skills improves employees’ ability to articulate their thoughts clearly and empathetically, creating a more harmonious workplace environment. Promote Shared Goals Alignment Establishing open communication channels sets the stage for promoting shared goals alignment among coworkers. When you encourage your team to focus on common objectives, it reduces friction and nurtures collaboration. Regular check-ins about shared goals help identify potential conflicts early, allowing for proactive resolution. Aligning individual goals with organizational objectives boosts employee engagement, as many prefer to avoid toxic situations. Benefit Description Improved Communication Open dialogue minimizes misunderstandings. Increased Engagement Focus on shared goals leads to higher morale. Proactive Conflict Resolution Early identification of issues prevents escalation. Utilizing collaborative conflict resolution strategies, like brainstorming solutions, reinforces goal alignment and encourages teamwork in problem-solving. Encourage Team Building Activities Even though conflicts are a natural part of any workplace, encouraging team building activities can greatly mitigate misunderstandings and improve collaboration among coworkers. These activities boost trust and communication, which reduces friction during collaborative tasks. When employees engage in structured exercises, they learn to appreciate diverse working styles, cultivating empathy and comprehension. Research indicates that teams participating in regular team building report higher morale and productivity, contributing to a positive work environment. Moreover, problem-solving-focused team building can improve conflict resolution skills in real scenarios. Aligning these activities with organizational values reinforces a cohesive workplace culture, helping employees concentrate on shared goals instead of personal differences that may lead to conflict. This proactive approach eventually strengthens workplace relationships. Finding Common Ground Through Compromise Finding common ground through compromise is vital in workplace dynamics, especially when both goals and relationships are important to you and your coworkers. Compromise requires both parties to give up certain needs to reach a mutually agreeable solution. According to the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Model, it balances assertiveness and cooperativeness, encouraging collaboration during the recognition of personal and relational goals. This approach can improve team cohesion, creating an atmosphere where everyone feels their opinions are valued, thereby reducing potential resentment. To achieve effective compromise, it’s important for you and your coworkers to articulate your needs and concerns clearly while remaining open to appreciating each other’s perspectives. Generating multiple potential solutions during discussions can boost the chances of reaching a satisfactory compromise, promoting creative problem-solving. Addressing Issues Early to Prevent Escalation Addressing issues early can greatly reduce the risk of conflict escalation in the workplace. When you tackle problems with coworkers without delay, you help prevent a toxic atmosphere that can harm team dynamics. Postponing intervention can lead to wider damage, costing your organization lost productivity and employee morale. Ignoring conflicts often translates to significant financial implications, as American businesses lose $359 billion annually because of unresolved disputes. To assist you in identifying when to address conflicts, consider the following table: Signs of Conflict Early Actions Potential Outcomes Diminishing Respect Involve HR Professional mediation Increased Tension Timely discussions Improved communication Avoidance by Employees Seek feedback Boosted team cohesion Embracing Diverse Perspectives for Creative Solutions Embracing diverse perspectives within a workplace not just nurtures a culture of innovation but furthermore improves problem-solving capabilities, as teams that incorporate various backgrounds tend to outperform their more homogenous counterparts. Research shows that these diverse teams can generate 19% more revenue, highlighting their effectiveness. Encouraging open dialogue allows you and your coworkers to express differing viewpoints, enhancing creativity and leading to thorough solutions. By actively listening to each other, you cultivate a culture of respect and comprehension, crucial for effective collaboration and reducing conflict. Organizations promoting diversity and inclusion likewise report a 35% increase in employee engagement, positively impacting team dynamics. Utilizing techniques like brainstorming sessions can help leverage the strengths of diverse perspectives, ensuring that solutions address the needs of all stakeholders involved. By valuing and embracing these differences, you can reveal the full potential of your team and drive innovative outcomes. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the Five 5 Strategies to Resolve Workplace Conflict? To resolve workplace conflict, you can use five strategies from the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Model. First, there’s Avoiding, suitable for low-stakes situations. Next, Competing, which is effective in crises but may harm trust. Third, Third prioritizes relationships but can limit innovation. Fourth, Compromising seeks a middle ground when both objectives matter. Finally, Collaborating promotes a win-win approach, valuing both goals and relationships, and is ideal for complex issues requiring mutual respect and shared success. What Are the 5 C’s of Conflict Resolution? The 5 C’s of conflict resolution are Clear communication, Collaboration, Compromise, Creativity, and Commitment. Clear communication helps you express thoughts openly, preventing misunderstandings. Collaboration encourages teamwork, allowing everyone to contribute to solutions. Compromise involves making concessions for a balanced outcome. Creativity pushes you to think outside the box, exploring various solutions. Finally, Commitment guarantees everyone stays dedicated to the resolution, preventing future conflicts and maintaining strong relationships among all parties involved. How to Resolve a Conflict Between Coworkers? To resolve a conflict between coworkers, start by addressing the issue directly and swiftly. Arrange a private discussion where each person can share their viewpoints without interruptions. Encourage active listening, as comprehending each other’s perspectives is essential. Once both sides are heard, brainstorm potential solutions together. Focus on options that satisfy everyone involved, nurturing collaboration and strengthening relationships. Recognize that healthy conflict can boost creativity, as unresolved issues can harm team dynamics. What Are the 3 C’s of Conflict Resolution? The 3 C’s of conflict resolution are Communication, Collaboration, and Compromise. Communication involves clearly expressing your concerns during listening to others, ensuring everyone understands the issues at hand. Collaboration encourages you to work together with others to devise solutions that benefit all parties involved. Compromise means being willing to make concessions, helping to find a middle ground. Excelling in these elements can greatly improve relationships and create a more harmonious environment. Conclusion In summary, resolving conflicts among coworkers requires a strategic approach that includes open communication, active listening, and early intervention. By promoting collaboration and finding common ground through compromise, teams can address issues before they escalate. Furthermore, embracing diverse perspectives boosts creativity and innovation, leading to effective solutions. Implementing these strategies not only improves relationships but likewise contributes to a more productive work environment, eventually benefiting everyone involved. Prioritizing conflict resolution is crucial for a harmonious workplace. Image via Google Gemini This article, "7 Effective Strategies for Conflict Resolution Between Coworkers" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Maneuvering through conflict between coworkers is vital for maintaining a productive workplace. By employing effective strategies, you can cultivate a more harmonious environment. Start by comprehending the root causes of conflicts and prioritize open communication to guarantee everyone feels valued. Active listening plays an important role in validating perspectives, whereas early intervention can prevent issues from escalating. To learn more about practical approaches, consider how collaboration and compromise can lead to innovative solutions and stronger team dynamics. Key Takeaways Foster open communication by encouraging honest dialogue, which helps clarify misunderstandings and build trust among coworkers. Utilize active listening techniques to understand diverse perspectives and validate coworkers’ feelings during discussions. Address conflicts promptly to prevent escalation and maintain a positive work environment that supports productivity. Encourage compromise by finding common ground and generating multiple solutions that consider the needs of all parties involved. Promote team-building activities to strengthen relationships and enhance collaboration, reducing friction among coworkers during conflicts. Understanding the Root Causes of Workplace Conflict Comprehending the root causes of workplace conflict is fundamental for nurturing a harmonious work environment. Conflicts often stem from poor communication, which leads to misunderstandings and inefficiencies. Managers can spend around 25% of their time resolving these issues, which highlights the need to understand these roots. Differing values and interests among employees can create friction, as they may prioritize personal goals over team objectives. Personality clashes, arising from diverse working styles, likewise contribute to tensions that require effective conflict resolution between coworkers. Furthermore, resource scarcity encourages competition, as individuals vie for limited tools necessary for their jobs. Finally, perceptions of discrimination or harassment can greatly escalate conflicts, making it vital to promote an inclusive culture. The Importance of Open Communication Open communication is crucial for resolving conflicts at work, as it promotes active listening and honest expression among coworkers. When you encourage clear dialogue, you help create an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns. Establishing clear guidelines for communication can further improve comprehension, preventing misunderstandings that often lead to disputes. Foster Active Listening Active listening serves as a cornerstone for effective communication, especially during conflicts at work. It involves fully concentrating, comprehension, responding, and remembering what’s being said. Research shows that effective listening increases the likelihood of resolving conflicts by 30%. When you use “I” statements instead of “you” statements, it encourages a non-confrontational atmosphere, promoting open dialogue. Pay attention to non-verbal cues like body language and facial expressions, as they provide insights into emotional states that can guide the conversation toward resolution. By practicing active listening, you promote empathy and awareness, which are fundamental for healthier workplace relationships. In the end, enhancing your listening skills can greatly reduce misunderstandings and create a more collaborative work environment. Encourage Honest Expression Creating an environment where coworkers feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and concerns is crucial for maintaining a healthy workplace. Encouraging honest expression cultivates a culture of open communication, which helps identify and address potential conflicts early. Research shows that 53% of employees avoid “toxic” situations, highlighting the need for a safe space for dialogue. By allowing employees to voice concerns without fear of retribution, you can build greater trust and collaboration within the team. Addressing conflicts swiftly can prevent the staggering annual loss of $359 billion in American businesses because of unresolved disputes. Furthermore, facilitating open discussions improves employee engagement, greatly enhancing workplace morale and productivity, ultimately benefiting everyone involved. Establish Clear Guidelines Establishing clear guidelines for communication is vital to minimize misunderstandings that can lead to workplace conflict. When everyone knows the expectations and processes, it reduces confusion and aligns team efforts. Open communication cultivates a transparent culture, allowing you to voice concerns without fear of retribution, which is fundamental for detecting and resolving issues early. Regular check-ins and feedback sessions keep this communication flowing, providing a platform to address potential conflicts before they escalate. Furthermore, promoting active listening during discussions encourages respect and guarantees everyone feels heard, which helps prevent personal attacks. Finally, opting for face-to-face meetings over email can improve clarity, reducing the misinterpretations that often arise in written exchanges. Active Listening as a Conflict Resolution Tool When conflicts arise between coworkers, employing effective listening techniques can greatly ease tensions and promote insight. Active listening involves fully concentrating on, grasping, responding to, and remembering what the other person says. This method helps clarify misunderstandings and reduces conflict-related tension. By allowing coworkers to express themselves without interruption, you cultivate respect and openness, making constructive resolutions easier. Here’s a quick overview of key components of active listening: Component Description Benefits Concentration Focus on the speaker without distractions Improves insight Non-verbal cues Use body language and facial expressions Provides emotional context Response Offer thoughtful feedback Validates the speaker’s feelings Engaging in active listening encourages empathy and insight, contributing to a more positive workplace environment. Fostering Collaboration and Teamwork To promote collaboration and teamwork, you need to establish open communication channels that allow for clear and honest exchanges. Promoting shared goals alignment can help unify the team’s efforts, ensuring everyone is working in the same direction. Moreover, engaging in team-building activities strengthens relationships, improves trust, and creates an environment where teamwork can thrive. Establish Open Communication Channels Open communication channels play a crucial role in promoting collaboration and teamwork among coworkers, as they allow individuals to express their concerns and ideas without hesitation. By establishing these channels, you encourage employees to voice their thoughts freely, which can help prevent misinterpretations that often lead to conflicts. Regular team meetings and check-ins promote transparency, allowing coworkers to address issues before they escalate. Utilizing collaborative tools helps remote teams maintain clear communication, reducing feelings of isolation and frustration. Encouraging active listening during discussions nurtures respect and comprehension, fundamental for effective conflict resolution. Moreover, providing training sessions on communication skills improves employees’ ability to articulate their thoughts clearly and empathetically, creating a more harmonious workplace environment. Promote Shared Goals Alignment Establishing open communication channels sets the stage for promoting shared goals alignment among coworkers. When you encourage your team to focus on common objectives, it reduces friction and nurtures collaboration. Regular check-ins about shared goals help identify potential conflicts early, allowing for proactive resolution. Aligning individual goals with organizational objectives boosts employee engagement, as many prefer to avoid toxic situations. Benefit Description Improved Communication Open dialogue minimizes misunderstandings. Increased Engagement Focus on shared goals leads to higher morale. Proactive Conflict Resolution Early identification of issues prevents escalation. Utilizing collaborative conflict resolution strategies, like brainstorming solutions, reinforces goal alignment and encourages teamwork in problem-solving. Encourage Team Building Activities Even though conflicts are a natural part of any workplace, encouraging team building activities can greatly mitigate misunderstandings and improve collaboration among coworkers. These activities boost trust and communication, which reduces friction during collaborative tasks. When employees engage in structured exercises, they learn to appreciate diverse working styles, cultivating empathy and comprehension. Research indicates that teams participating in regular team building report higher morale and productivity, contributing to a positive work environment. Moreover, problem-solving-focused team building can improve conflict resolution skills in real scenarios. Aligning these activities with organizational values reinforces a cohesive workplace culture, helping employees concentrate on shared goals instead of personal differences that may lead to conflict. This proactive approach eventually strengthens workplace relationships. Finding Common Ground Through Compromise Finding common ground through compromise is vital in workplace dynamics, especially when both goals and relationships are important to you and your coworkers. Compromise requires both parties to give up certain needs to reach a mutually agreeable solution. According to the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Model, it balances assertiveness and cooperativeness, encouraging collaboration during the recognition of personal and relational goals. This approach can improve team cohesion, creating an atmosphere where everyone feels their opinions are valued, thereby reducing potential resentment. To achieve effective compromise, it’s important for you and your coworkers to articulate your needs and concerns clearly while remaining open to appreciating each other’s perspectives. Generating multiple potential solutions during discussions can boost the chances of reaching a satisfactory compromise, promoting creative problem-solving. Addressing Issues Early to Prevent Escalation Addressing issues early can greatly reduce the risk of conflict escalation in the workplace. When you tackle problems with coworkers without delay, you help prevent a toxic atmosphere that can harm team dynamics. Postponing intervention can lead to wider damage, costing your organization lost productivity and employee morale. Ignoring conflicts often translates to significant financial implications, as American businesses lose $359 billion annually because of unresolved disputes. To assist you in identifying when to address conflicts, consider the following table: Signs of Conflict Early Actions Potential Outcomes Diminishing Respect Involve HR Professional mediation Increased Tension Timely discussions Improved communication Avoidance by Employees Seek feedback Boosted team cohesion Embracing Diverse Perspectives for Creative Solutions Embracing diverse perspectives within a workplace not just nurtures a culture of innovation but furthermore improves problem-solving capabilities, as teams that incorporate various backgrounds tend to outperform their more homogenous counterparts. Research shows that these diverse teams can generate 19% more revenue, highlighting their effectiveness. Encouraging open dialogue allows you and your coworkers to express differing viewpoints, enhancing creativity and leading to thorough solutions. By actively listening to each other, you cultivate a culture of respect and comprehension, crucial for effective collaboration and reducing conflict. Organizations promoting diversity and inclusion likewise report a 35% increase in employee engagement, positively impacting team dynamics. Utilizing techniques like brainstorming sessions can help leverage the strengths of diverse perspectives, ensuring that solutions address the needs of all stakeholders involved. By valuing and embracing these differences, you can reveal the full potential of your team and drive innovative outcomes. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the Five 5 Strategies to Resolve Workplace Conflict? To resolve workplace conflict, you can use five strategies from the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Model. First, there’s Avoiding, suitable for low-stakes situations. Next, Competing, which is effective in crises but may harm trust. Third, Third prioritizes relationships but can limit innovation. Fourth, Compromising seeks a middle ground when both objectives matter. Finally, Collaborating promotes a win-win approach, valuing both goals and relationships, and is ideal for complex issues requiring mutual respect and shared success. What Are the 5 C’s of Conflict Resolution? The 5 C’s of conflict resolution are Clear communication, Collaboration, Compromise, Creativity, and Commitment. Clear communication helps you express thoughts openly, preventing misunderstandings. Collaboration encourages teamwork, allowing everyone to contribute to solutions. Compromise involves making concessions for a balanced outcome. Creativity pushes you to think outside the box, exploring various solutions. Finally, Commitment guarantees everyone stays dedicated to the resolution, preventing future conflicts and maintaining strong relationships among all parties involved. How to Resolve a Conflict Between Coworkers? To resolve a conflict between coworkers, start by addressing the issue directly and swiftly. Arrange a private discussion where each person can share their viewpoints without interruptions. Encourage active listening, as comprehending each other’s perspectives is essential. Once both sides are heard, brainstorm potential solutions together. Focus on options that satisfy everyone involved, nurturing collaboration and strengthening relationships. Recognize that healthy conflict can boost creativity, as unresolved issues can harm team dynamics. What Are the 3 C’s of Conflict Resolution? The 3 C’s of conflict resolution are Communication, Collaboration, and Compromise. Communication involves clearly expressing your concerns during listening to others, ensuring everyone understands the issues at hand. Collaboration encourages you to work together with others to devise solutions that benefit all parties involved. Compromise means being willing to make concessions, helping to find a middle ground. Excelling in these elements can greatly improve relationships and create a more harmonious environment. Conclusion In summary, resolving conflicts among coworkers requires a strategic approach that includes open communication, active listening, and early intervention. By promoting collaboration and finding common ground through compromise, teams can address issues before they escalate. Furthermore, embracing diverse perspectives boosts creativity and innovation, leading to effective solutions. Implementing these strategies not only improves relationships but likewise contributes to a more productive work environment, eventually benefiting everyone involved. Prioritizing conflict resolution is crucial for a harmonious workplace. Image via Google Gemini This article, "7 Effective Strategies for Conflict Resolution Between Coworkers" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Move over, figure skating and ice hockey: There’s a new Olympic sport taking to the slopes in Milano Cortina. The sport—called ski mountaineering, or, colloquially, “skimo”—is the first entirely new sport at the Winter Olympics since 2002. As its name suggests, skimo combines elements of both skiing and mountaineering, requiring competitors to climb their way up a mountain slope before descending back down. It’s a more rugged take on the winter sport genre that involves rougher terrain than a cross-country or alpine ski course, requires athletes to change their own gear mid-race, and balances both technical skill and endurance. A total of 36 athletes will be competing in this year’s skimo events. That includes the two Americans representing Team USA, Anna Gibson and Camerson Smith, who narrowly qualified for the event back in December. Here’s everything you need to know about skimo before it becomes your next Olympic obsession: Where does skimo come from? According to an article on the official Team USA website, skimo traces all the way back to prehistoric times, when humans traversed Europe’s snow-covered landscapes on foot. In the modern era, the first official record of the sport comes from 1897, when the German geologist Wilhelm Paulcke crossed Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland mountain range on a pair of skis. The sport held its first world championship in 2002, seeing the most popularity in Europe’s wintery climes. Per the article, Italy has become “a hotbed for skimo,” with the sport’s popularity booming over the past decade: In 2010–11, there were 33,000 participants in the country, compared to more than 94,000 today. This expansion makes skimo’s debut at Milano Cortina especially fitting. How does it work? Skimo can best be broken down into two component segments: the ascent and descent. Competitors start with the ascent. During some portions of the climb, marked by green flags, they must proceed with their skis on. Special rubber membranes, called “skins,” are attached to the bottom of each ski to prevent backward sliding. One explainer video published by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) describes these skins as akin to “a sticky carpet.” When the course’s flags turn yellow, athletes have to affix their skis to their packs and proceed on foot (this is called “bootpacking”). If a competitor follows these flag cues incorrectly—even because of a gear malfunction—points will be deducted. Once the athletes reach the top of the slope, red flags mark their descent. Here, they remove the skins from their skis, fasten on a helmet, and shoot down a cross-country style course. Unlike many other Olympic events, a large portion of success during skimo rests on athletes’ ability to quickly change their own gear. “The faster we switch gear, the quicker we can move through the race,” the IOC video explains. What are the events? Skimo at the Olympics will involve three different events: men’s sprint, women’s sprint, and mixed relay. Each sprint event consists of just one ascent and descent, with races lasting less than three minutes on average. Mixed relay is a longer, more endurance-based event, comprising two ascents and two descents. Teams of one male and one female athlete take turns navigating the course, and the first athlete to cross the finish line clinches gold for their team. View the full article

Performance Max has come a long way since its rocky launch. Many advertisers once dismissed it as a half-baked product, but Google has spent the past 18 months fixing real issues around transparency and control. If you wrote Performance Max off before, it’s time to take another look. Mike Ryan, head of ecommerce insights at Smarter Ecommerce, explained why at the latest SMX Next. Taking a fresh look at Performance Max Performance Max traces its roots to Smart Shopping campaigns, which Google rolled out with red carpet fanfare at Google Marketing Live in 2019. Even then, industry experts warned that transparency and control would become serious issues. They were right — and only now has Google begun to address those concerns openly. Smart Shopping marked the low point of black-box advertising in Google Ads, at least for ecommerce. It stripped away nearly every control advertisers relied on in Standard Shopping: Promotional controls. Modifiers. Negative keywords. Search terms reporting. Placement reporting. Channel visibility. Over the past 18 months, Performance Max has brought most of that functionality back, either partially or in full. Understanding Performance Max search terms Search terms are a core signal for understanding the traffic you’re actually buying. In Performance Max, most spend typically flows to the search network, which makes search term reporting essential for meaningful optimization. Google even introduced a Performance Max match type — something few of us ever expected to see. That’s a big deal. It delivers properly reportable data that works with the API, should be scriptable, and finally includes cost and time dimensions that were completely missing before. Search term insights vs. campaign search term view Google’s first move to crack open the black box was search term insights. These insights group queries into search categories — essentially prebuilt n-grams — that roll up data at a mid-level and automatically account for typos, misspellings, and variants. The problem? The metrics are thin. There’s no cost data, which means no CPC, no ROAS, and no real way to evaluate performance. The real breakthrough is the new campaign-level search term view, now available in both the API and the UI. Historically, search term reporting lived at the ad group level. Since Performance Max doesn’t use ad groups, that data had nowhere to go. Google fixed this by anchoring search terms at the campaign level instead. The result is access to far more segments and metrics — and, finally, proper reporting we can actually use. The main limitation: this data is available only at the search network level, without separating search from shopping. That means a single search term may reflect blended performance from both formats, rather than a clean view of how each one performed. Search theme reporting Search themes act as a form of positive targeting in Performance Max. You can evaluate how they’re performing through the search term insights report, which includes a Source column showing whether traffic came from your URLs, your assets, or the search themes you provided. By totaling conversion value and conversions, you can see whether your search themes are actually driving results — or just sitting idle. There’s more good news ahead. Google appears to be working on bringing Dynamic Search Ads and AI Max reports into Performance Max. That would unlock visibility into headlines, landing pages, and the search terms triggering ads. Search term controls and optimization Negative keywords Negative keywords are now fully supported in Performance Max. At launch, Google capped campaigns at 100 negatives, offered no API access, and blocked negative keyword lists—clearly positioning the feature for brand safety, not performance. That’s changed. Negative keywords now work with the API, support shared lists, and give advertisers real control over performance. These negatives apply across the entire search network, including both search and shopping. Brand exclusions are the exception — you can choose to apply those only to search campaigns if needed. Brand exclusions Performance Max doesn’t separate brand from generic traffic, and it often favors brand queries because they’re high intent and tend to perform well. Brand exclusions exist, but they can be leaky, with some brand traffic still slipping through. If you need strict control, negative keywords are the more reliable option. Also, Performance Max — and AI Max — may aggressively bid on competitor terms. That makes brand and competitor exclusions important tools for protecting spend and shaping intent. Optimization strategy Here’s a simple heuristic for spotting search terms that need attention: Calculate the average number of clicks it takes to generate a conversion. Identify search terms with more clicks than that average but zero conversions. Those terms have had a fair chance to perform and didn’t. They’re strong candidates for negative keywords. That said, don’t overcorrect. Long-tail dynamics mean a search term that doesn’t convert this month may matter next month. You’re also working with a finite set of negative keywords, so use them deliberately and prioritize the highest-impact exclusions. Modern optimization approaches It’s not 2018 anymore — you shouldn’t spend hours manually reviewing search terms. Automate the work instead. Use the API for high-volume accounts, scripts for medium volume, and automated reports from the Report Editor for smaller accounts (though it still doesn’t support Performance Max). Layer in AI for semantic review to flag irrelevant terms based on meaning and intent, then step in only for final approval. Search term reporting can be tedious, but with Google’s prebuilt n-grams and modern AI tools, there’s a smarter way to handle it. Channels and placements reporting Channel performance report The channel performance report — not just for Performance Max — breaks performance out by network, including Discover, Display, Gmail, and more. It’s useful for channel visibility and understanding view-through versus click-through conversions, as well as how feed-based delivery compares to asset-driven performance. The report includes a Sankey diagram, but it isn’t especially intuitive. The labeling is confusing and takes some decoding: Search Network: Feed-based equals Shopping ads; asset-based equals RSAs and DSAs. Display Network: Feed-based equals dynamic remarketing; asset-based equals responsive display ads. Google also announced that Search Partner Network data is coming, which should add another layer of useful performance visibility. Channel and placement controls Unlike Demand Gen, where you can choose exactly which channels to run on, Performance Max doesn’t give you that control. You can try to influence the channel mix through your ROAS target and budget, but it’s a blunt instrument — and a slippery one at best. Placement exclusions The strongest control you have is excluding specific placements. Placement data is now available through the API — limited to impressions and date segments — and can also be reviewed in the Report Editor. Use this data alongside the content suitability view to spot questionable domains and spammy placements. For YouTube, pay close attention to political and children’s content. If a placement feels irrelevant or unsafe for your brand, there’s a good chance it isn’t driving meaningful performance either. Tools for placement review If you run into YouTube videos in languages you don’t speak, use Google Sheets’ built-in GOOGLETRANSLATE function. It’s faster and more reliable than AI for quick translation. You can also use AI-powered formulas in Sheets to do semantic triage on placements, not just search terms. These tools are just formulas, which means this kind of analysis is accessible to anyone. Search Partner Network Unfortunately, there’s no way to opt out of the Search Partner Network in Performance Max. You can exclude individual search partners, but there are limits. Prioritize exclusions based on how questionable the placement looks and how much volume it’s receiving. Also note that Google-owned properties like YouTube and Gmail can’t be excluded. Based on Standard Shopping data, the Search Partner Network consistently performs meaningfully worse than the Google Search Network. Excluding poor performers is recommended. Device reporting and targeting Creating a device report is easy — just add device as a segment in the “when and where ads showed” view. The tricky part is making decisions. Device analysis For deeper insight, dig into item-level performance in the Report Editor. Add device as a segment alongside item ID and product titles to see how individual products behave across devices. Also, compare competitor performance by device — you may spot meaningful differences that inform your strategy. For example, you may perform far better on desktop than on mobile compared to competitors like Amazon, signaling either an opportunity or a risk. Device targeting considerations Device targeting is available in Performance Max and is easy to use, much like channel targeting in Demand Gen. But when you split campaigns by device, you also split your conversion data and volume—and that can hurt results. Before you separate campaigns by device, consider: How competition differs by device Performance at the item and retail category level The impact on overall data volume Performance Max performs best with more data. Campaigns with low monthly conversion volume often miss their targets and rarely stay on pace. As more data flows through a campaign, Performance Max gets better at hitting goals and less likely to fall short. Any gains from splitting by device can disappear if the algorithm doesn’t have enough data to learn. Only split when both resulting campaigns have enough volume to support effective machine learning. Conclusion Performance Max has changed dramatically since launch. With search term reporting, negative keywords, channel visibility, placement controls, and device targeting now available, advertisers have far more transparency and control than ever before. It’s still not perfect — channel targeting limits and data fragmentation remain — but Performance Max is fundamentally different and far more manageable. Success comes down to knowing what data you have, how to access it efficiently using modern tools like AI and automation, and when to apply controls based on performance insights and data volume needs. Watch: PMax reporting for ecommerce: What Google is (and isn’t) showing you View the full article

The brokerage alleges Zillow uses "anticompetitive tactics" to bar listings that haven't been posted to a local multiple-listing service, or MLS, within 24 hours of them being publicly marketed. View the full article

Kris Marszalek plans to launch new site with a Super Bowl ad this weekendView the full article

Valentine’s Day is just a week away, and is one of the most popular holidays for consuming chocolates. But according to two notices from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), buyers of select M&M products are at risk of adverse health consequences due to undeclared allergens. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? On January 26, Beacon Promotions Inc initiated a voluntary recall of some of its M&M products. Beacon Promotions, based in Minnesota, sells third-party products featuring its clients’ logos and branding. Businesses use promotional product companies like Beacon to produce everything from tote bags to chocolate with their logos, which they then give out as freebies to employees or customers. One of the products Beacon offers is packages of candies, including M&M’s. It is some of these M&M products that Beacon produced that the company is now recalling. But according to two FDA enforcement reports, the M&M products aren’t being recalled because there is nothing abnormal about the candy itself. Instead, the promotional M&M products Beacon made that are included in the recalls did not have the required allergen warnings on the packages. The lack of these warnings means that people who are vulnerable to allergens, including milk, soy, and peanuts, may mistakenly believe that M&M candies are safe for them to eat. Class II recall may cause adverse health consequences The FDA’s enforcement reports for both recalls state that each recall is classified as a Class II recall. According to the agency, a Class II recall means the recalled product “may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.” What M&M products are included in the recalls? The two recalls cover more than 6,000 units of M&M products. The first recall covers 541 units of the following: Repackaged M&Ms Peanut candies, Net Wt 1.3 oz. Item BB471BG. Lot M1823200 Best By dates: 4/30/2026 Labeled as Make Your Mark. The second recall covers 5788 units of the following: Repackaged M&Ms candies, Net Wt 1.3 oz. Item BB458BG. Lot L450ARCLV03, Best By 12/1/2025 Lot L502FLHKP01, Best By 1/1/2026 Lot L523CMHKP01, Best By 6/30/2026 Lot L537GMHKP01, Best By 9/1/2026. Labeled with the following promotional company names. 1. Next Up, 2. Smith Pro, 3. Jaxport, Jacksonville Port Authority, 4. Climax Molybdenum, A Freeport-McMoRan Company, 5. University of Maryland, School of Public Policy, 6. Liberty University Environmental Health & Safety, 7. Subaru, 8. Trinity Cyb3r, 9. Candy Treats, 10. JSE, Jordan & Skala Engineers, 11. Dropbox DocSend, 12. PP, Prosperity Promotions, 13. Northwest Indian College Foundation, 14. FES Branding Solutions, 15. Berkshire Hathaway Guard Insurance Companies, 16. merry maids Annual 26 Conference, 17. BW, Best Western, 18. Morgan Stanley, 19. tufin, 20. Compliments of Pioneer, 21. A.D. Morgan, Construction Manager, Design Builder, General Contractor, 22. Adobe, 23. xfinity, 24. Fundermax Interiors, 25. White Cup, 26. Acadia Commercial, 27. Aviagen, 28. ORG Expo, 29. Make Your Mark. Where were the recalled products distributed? According to the FDA enforcement reports, the recalled M&M products were distributed in 20 states, including: Arizona California Florida lowa Kansas Kentucky Massachusetts Maryland Minnesota North Carolina New York Ohio Pennsylvania South Dakota Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington Wisconsin What should I do if I have the recalled M&Ms? The FDA enforcement notices do not give specific advice on what to do if you have the recalled M&M products. As a best practice, a prudent course of action is to ensure the recalled M&M products do not fall into the hands of anyone who could be harmed by consuming the improperly labeled products. View the full article

If you’re looking for a good reason to stop staring at screens this weekend, we’ve got you. This weekend, there’s an exciting astronomical event taking to the skies. The 2026 Planet Parade, an extraordinary event where six planets will be visible all at once, just for a moment, is coming. If you’re a seasoned skywatcher, you might remember that in 2025, there was a Planet Parade, too. Last February, seven planets, including Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, all lined up just after sunset. This year, only six planets—because Mars is taking a raincheck—will make an appearance. And, according to astronomers, the show will be just as quick as last year’s. What is a planet parade? As our planets orbit the sun, occasionally, they line up on the same side of the sun, making them visible to us at the same time. According to NASA, planet parades aren’t as rare as you might think. “Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are frequently seen in the night sky, but the addition of Venus and Mercury make four- and five-planet lineups particularly noteworthy,” the site explains. It continues, “Both orbit closer to the Sun than Earth, with smaller, faster orbits than the other planets. Venus is visible for only a couple of months at a time when it reaches its greatest separation from the Sun (called elongation), appearing just after sunset or before sunrise. Mercury, completing its orbit in just 88 days, is visible for only a couple of weeks (or even a few days) at a time just after sunset or just before sunrise.” How can I see the planet parade? If you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of six planets all at once, you’ll have to look up at the exact right moment and in the right direction. According to Star Walk, the best time to try will be around an hour after sunset on February 28. You’ll want to look West, toward the sunset. But even with the planets on the same side of the sun, you’ll need luck on your side to see them all at once, too. “Four of them (Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury) will be easily visible to the naked eye,” the site explains. However, some planets will be tougher to spot. “For Uranus and Neptune, get a pair of binoculars or a small telescope.” Along with luck, you’ll need good weather, and little light pollution, which can impact your view, as well. And, according to Space.com, not only will you need an unobstructed view and binoculars, but you may also need “a healthy dose of imagination.” View the full article

Five years ago, a retired police officer spotted a 7-year-old girl walking alone in her New Jersey neighborhood. The stranger stopped her, questioned her about where she lived and whether she was alone, then called the police. When officers arrived, the girl gave them her address which was just a few blocks away. They walked her home and met her parents. But instead of leaving, the officer demanded ID. When the parents refused, arguing they’d done nothing wrong by letting their daughter go for a walk in the neighborhood, the officer called for backup and threatened to take their daughter into protective custody. The father tried to comfort his crying daughter. Police wrestled him to the ground, arrested him for obstructing justice, and took him to jail in handcuffs. He was later found guilty and fined $133. We Americans talk big about freedom, but when a child is learning to be independent, the cultural reaction today is to think something is terribly wrong. Way back in the olden days, if a stranger walked up to a child asking questions like “Where do you live?” and “Are you alone?” the stranger was considered suspicious. Countless PSAs were made about this stuff. But now, a stranger asks those questions, follows the child home, gets the child’s dad arrested, and is considered a hero. Freedom to move What does this have to do with urbanism? Well, it seems pointless to design streets for all ages if all ages aren’t allowed to freely move around. In the 80s, when my sister and I got home from school, we’d have a snack, change clothes, and go play. If it wasn’t pouring rain, a significant amount of playtime was outside—not because we felt some bond to nature, but because that’s just what you did. Also, mom was teaching piano lessons in the living room, so being loud in the house wasn’t an option. We lived in a suburban neighborhood developed in the 1960s and 70s. Everything was within a 10-minute bike ride: playgrounds, soccer fields, the pool, the library, everybody else’s house, and the woods. (The woods is what we called any bigger-than-your-yard area of trees—it had creeks, “secret” passageways to other streets, mysterious remains of tree forts, and places to hang out away from grown-ups.) By 3:30pm on any given weekday, we (and kids across America) were knocking on doors asking: “Can you come out and play?” or “You wanna ride bikes?” We’d shoot hoops until our arms got tired. We’d use saws, hammers, ropes, chains, and other found tools to make stuff. A few of us once made what in hindsight I’d call a cargo bike train. Multiple injuries followed. Walking everywhere My point about these neighborhood adventures isn’t that we became one with nature or longed for healthy exercise. The big difference between then and now is the getting from here to there. We were walking or biking everywhere. Parents were either at work or home doing parent things. No kid in their right mind was asking for a ride to the playground. You got yourself there. If you didn’t have a similar childhood, I’m sure someone close to you did. We Gen Xers love sharing the glory days of when we could be left to our own devices. I think one reason my generation is so nostalgic is that our ordinary youth seems otherworldly by today’s standards. Good urbanism isn’t any good if you’re not allowed to walk or bike. Besides the infrastructure itself, neighbors and cops now interfere with healthy childhood development. There’s a case to be made that a safe place to grow up allows for risky childhood behavior. I use “risk” loosely because expectations for child development have changed dramatically in our culture. Childhood independence Town councilman Keith Kaplan witnessed the New Jersey incident and was outraged. He drafted a Reasonable Childhood Independence bill stating that letting kids walk or play outside isn’t negligence unless they’re in obvious, serious, and likely danger. The bill passed and became law in 2025, making the New Jersey town a place where kids can be kids and parents can breathe a little easier. That bonkers story about the police investigating an independent child isn’t an outlier. So many parents are threatened with legal action that groups like Let Grow have been established to help restore freedom of mobility for people of all ages. Town planners and urbanists talk about designing streets and public spaces to work for everyone, from children to elderly people, from wheelchair users to marathon runners. The idea is that if your infrastructure isn’t safe and comfortable for an 8-year-old and an 80-year-old, it’s not good design. But that’s a futile exercise if the cultural norm is to be suspicious of independent children. Personal stories are powerful tools to help convert policy jargon into infrastructure practice. It’s important to talk and write about your own experiences and what you’re hearing from others. Watch for stories that might have a headline about parenting or education but have deeper roots in land use or transportation policy. Walk-friendly, bike-friendly neighborhoods are incredibly important for human flourishing. But they’re also only as good as the local authorities allow them to be. Legalize good urbanism and legalize healthy childhood development. View the full article

Google has just revamped its Search functionality, introducing powerful new features aimed at enhancing how users engage with the platform. The tech giant now offers Gemini 3 as the default model for AI Overviews, enabling users to pose complex questions and receive thorough, insightful responses directly on the results page. This shift to a more conversational AI approach promises to reshape how small businesses leverage Google Search for important information. For busy small business owners, the implications of these updates are significant. With Gemini 3, you can expect a best-in-class AI response aligned with your inquiries, no matter how intricate. Whether you’re seeking market research, industry trends, or even specifics about competitors, the advanced AI can provide quick snapshots of essential data. This tool becomes increasingly valuable as small businesses often need to make critical decisions based on timely information. The seamless transition to a conversational mode further enhances the utility of the search experience. Business owners can now engage in meaningful dialogues with the AI, allowing for follow-up questions that keep the conversation contextually relevant. For instance, if you inquire about social media marketing strategies, you can immediately follow up with a question regarding best platforms for engagement without shifting gears. This fluidity reduces the time spent searching for insights, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on strategic tasks. “The ability to ask whatever’s on your mind — no matter how long or complex — delivers exactly what users need,” said a Google spokesperson. “We’ve found that users prefer an AI that flows naturally into a conversation.” This user-focused enhancement emphasizes the importance of an intuitive search experience, a feature that small business owners can certainly benefit from. While the advantages of Gemini 3 and AI Mode are compelling, there are potential challenges that small business owners should consider. The enhanced capability of AI in Search raises the bar for content. Businesses may find they need to produce high-quality, relevant content to ensure they stand out in search results. As the AI becomes better at understanding intricate queries, your online presence must also evolve to match the growing standards of search performance. Furthermore, relying on AI for insights can create over-dependence on technology. While AI provides valuable information, it lacks the nuanced understanding that human insight offers. Small business owners must balance the use of AI tools with their expertise and experience to make the most informed decisions. Despite these challenges, the practical applications of Gemini 3 in business operations are expansive. For example, if you are a restaurant owner, you could leverage the AI to find trends in local dining preferences or inquire about effective marketing strategies during peak seasons. Similarly, a retailer can explore consumer behavior analysis by simply asking the right questions within the search bar. As small business owners navigate their daily responsibilities, the ease of access to comprehensive information can lead to better decision-making and strategic improvements. The integration of AI into everyday searches allows for a more dynamic and responsive approach to gathering the data that matters most. In a world where time is often scarce, the enhanced capabilities provided by Google’s latest AI advancements serve as a reminder that technology can significantly streamline processes. By tapping into these new features, small business owners can harness the power of AI to foster growth and remain competitive in an ever-evolving marketplace. For those interested in learning more about these changes, the original details can be found on Google’s blog here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Google Enhances Search with Seamless AI Conversations and Insights" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Google has just revamped its Search functionality, introducing powerful new features aimed at enhancing how users engage with the platform. The tech giant now offers Gemini 3 as the default model for AI Overviews, enabling users to pose complex questions and receive thorough, insightful responses directly on the results page. This shift to a more conversational AI approach promises to reshape how small businesses leverage Google Search for important information. For busy small business owners, the implications of these updates are significant. With Gemini 3, you can expect a best-in-class AI response aligned with your inquiries, no matter how intricate. Whether you’re seeking market research, industry trends, or even specifics about competitors, the advanced AI can provide quick snapshots of essential data. This tool becomes increasingly valuable as small businesses often need to make critical decisions based on timely information. The seamless transition to a conversational mode further enhances the utility of the search experience. Business owners can now engage in meaningful dialogues with the AI, allowing for follow-up questions that keep the conversation contextually relevant. For instance, if you inquire about social media marketing strategies, you can immediately follow up with a question regarding best platforms for engagement without shifting gears. This fluidity reduces the time spent searching for insights, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on strategic tasks. “The ability to ask whatever’s on your mind — no matter how long or complex — delivers exactly what users need,” said a Google spokesperson. “We’ve found that users prefer an AI that flows naturally into a conversation.” This user-focused enhancement emphasizes the importance of an intuitive search experience, a feature that small business owners can certainly benefit from. While the advantages of Gemini 3 and AI Mode are compelling, there are potential challenges that small business owners should consider. The enhanced capability of AI in Search raises the bar for content. Businesses may find they need to produce high-quality, relevant content to ensure they stand out in search results. As the AI becomes better at understanding intricate queries, your online presence must also evolve to match the growing standards of search performance. Furthermore, relying on AI for insights can create over-dependence on technology. While AI provides valuable information, it lacks the nuanced understanding that human insight offers. Small business owners must balance the use of AI tools with their expertise and experience to make the most informed decisions. Despite these challenges, the practical applications of Gemini 3 in business operations are expansive. For example, if you are a restaurant owner, you could leverage the AI to find trends in local dining preferences or inquire about effective marketing strategies during peak seasons. Similarly, a retailer can explore consumer behavior analysis by simply asking the right questions within the search bar. As small business owners navigate their daily responsibilities, the ease of access to comprehensive information can lead to better decision-making and strategic improvements. The integration of AI into everyday searches allows for a more dynamic and responsive approach to gathering the data that matters most. In a world where time is often scarce, the enhanced capabilities provided by Google’s latest AI advancements serve as a reminder that technology can significantly streamline processes. By tapping into these new features, small business owners can harness the power of AI to foster growth and remain competitive in an ever-evolving marketplace. For those interested in learning more about these changes, the original details can be found on Google’s blog here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Google Enhances Search with Seamless AI Conversations and Insights" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Looking back on the first year of his second term, President Donald The President boasts that he has resurrected the American economy by imposing big import taxes on foreign products. He made his case in a recent opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, chiding the paper and critics, including mainstream economists, who predicted that tariffs would backfire, raising prices and threatening growth. “Instead,” he wrote, “they have created an American economic miracle.” But the proof he offers is often off-base or wrong altogether. Here’s a look at the facts around The President’s assessment of tariffs. CLAIM: “Just over one year ago, we were a ‘DEAD’ country. Now, we are the ‘HOTTEST” country anywhere in the world!’ “ THE FACTS: This is a standard statement from The President. But the U.S. economy was hardly “dead” when The President returned to office last year. And in The President’s second term, it’s performed strongly — after getting off to a bumpy start. In 2024, the last year of the Biden presidency, American gross domestic product grew 2.8%, adjusted for inflation, faster than any wealthy country in the world except Spain. It also expanded at a healthy rate from 2021 through 2023. The numbers for all of 2025 aren’t out yet. But during the first three quarters of the year, The President’s tariffs — or the threat of them — delivered mixed results for the American economy. From January to March, U.S. GDP actually shrank for the first time in three years. The main culprit was easy to identify: a surge in imports, which are subtracted from GDP, as American companies rushed to buy foreign products before The President could impose tariffs on them. But growth rebounded in the second half of the year. From April through June, the economy expanded at a healthy 3.8% pace. And from July through September, it grew even faster — 4.4%. A big part of the surge was a drop in imports, likely reflecting The President’s tariffs as well as the fact that importers had already stocked up at the start of the year. Strong consumer spending also drove economic growth. The President also likes point to solid gains in the U.S. stock market. He noted that stocks hit new highs 52 times in 2025. It’s true that the American stock market did well last year. But it underperformed many foreign stock markets. The benchmark S&P 500 index climbed 17% — a nice gain but short of a 71% surge in South Korea, 29% in Hong Kong, 26% in Japan, 22% in Germany and 21% in the United Kingdom. CLAIM: “Annual core inflation for the past three months has dropped to just 1.4% — far lower than almost anyone, other than me, had predicted.” THE FACTS: The president is using cherry-picked data to vastly exaggerate where inflation stands. His figure for annual inflation in the past three months — which excludes the volatile food and energy prices — is low, but reflects data distorted by the government shutdown in October and November, which disrupted the government’s data collection and forced the agency that compiles the figures to plug in rough estimates in some categories that artificially lowered overall inflation. Annual core inflation for the final six months of 2025 is higher at 2.6%. That is down from January 2025’s level but about where it was in October 2024. Overall, inflation has leveled off this year, and was 3% in September before the government shutdown, the same as it had been in January 2025. It’s true that inflation hasn’t been as high as many economists worried it would be when The President started rolling out tariffs last spring, but that is partly because many of the “Liberation Day” tariffs were withdrawn, reduced or riddled with exemptions. When Democrats won some high-profile elections last year by highlighting “affordability” concerns, the administration rolled back existing or planned tariffs on coffee, beef and kitchen cabinets, for example, a backhanded acknowledgment that the duties were raising prices. The impact of tariffs can be more clearly seen in core goods prices, which also exclude food and energy. Before the pandemic, core goods costs typically barely rose — or even fell — each year, but last December they were 1.4% higher than a year earlier. That was the largest increase, outside the pandemic, since 2011. Alberto Cavallo, an economist at Harvard and the author of a study on the impact of tariffs cited by The President in his op-ed, has found that The President’s tariffs have boosted overall inflation by roughly three-quarters of a percentage point. _ CLAIM: “The data shows that the burden, or ‘incidence,’ of the tariffs has fallen overwhelmingly on foreign producers and middlemen, including large corporations that are not from the U.S. According to a recent study by the Harvard Business School, these groups are paying at least 80% of tariff costs.” THE FACTS: The study The President cited appears to conclude the opposite of what The President claimed. Authored by Cavallo and two colleagues, it finds that “U.S. consumers were bearing roughly 43% of the tariff-induced border cost after seven months, with the remainder absorbed mostly by U.S. firms.” Cavallo said by email that import prices hadn’t fallen much, “which suggests foreign exporters did not reduce their pre-tariff prices enough to shoulder a large share of the burden.” CLAIM: “We have slashed our monthly trade deficit by an astonishing 77%.” THE FACTS: This claim involves more cherry-picking, reflecting the percentage drop from a very high trade deficit in January 2025, when the president took office, to a super-low deficit in October. The story is more complicated than the president makes it. The trade deficit — the gap between what the U.S. sells other countries and what it buys from them — has actually risen since he returned to the White House. From January through November in 2025, the U.S. accumulated a trade deficit of nearly $840 billion, up 4% from the same period of 2024. In the first three months of 2025, importers rushed to buy foreign products — before The President could slap tariffs on them. After that, monthly trade deficits came in consistently lower than they were in 2024. But the January-March import surge was so big that the 2025 year-to-date trade deficit still exceeds 2024’s. CLAIM: “I have successfully wielded the tariff tool to secure colossal Investments in America, like no other country has ever seen before. … In less than one year, we have secured commitments for more than $18 trillion, a number that is unfathomable to many.” THE FACTS: The President did, in fact, use the tariff threat to pry investment commitments from America’s major trading partners. The European Union, for instance, pledged $600 billion over four years. But The President hasn’t said how he came up with $18 trillion. The White House has published a figure of $9.6 trillion, which includes private and public investment commitments from other countries. Researchers at the Peterson Institute for International Economics last month calculated the investment pledges at $5 trillion from the EU, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Persian Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. And they raised doubts about whether the money will actually materialize, partly because the agreements are vague and sometimes because the countries would strain to afford the commitments. But all the numbers are huge nonetheless. Total private investment in the United States was most recently running at a $5.4 trillion annual pace. In 2024, the last year for which figures are available, total foreign direct investment in the United States amounted to $151 billion. Direct investment includes money sunk into such things as factories and offices but not financial investments like stocks and bonds. Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck. —Paul Wiseman and Christopher Rugaber, AP Economics Writers View the full article

PLUS: Behavioral finance vs. behavioral coaching. By Rory Henry The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management Go PRO for members-only access to more Rory Henry. View the full article

PLUS: Behavioral finance vs. behavioral coaching. By Rory Henry The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management Go PRO for members-only access to more Rory Henry. View the full article

Cellphones are everywhere—including, until recently, in schools. Since 2023, 29 states, including New York, Vermont, Florida, and Texas, have passed laws that require K-12 public schools to enforce bans or strict limits on students using their cellphones on campus. Another 10 states have passed other measures that require local school districts to take some kind of action on cellphone usage. Approximately 77% of public schools now forbid students from having their phones out during class—an increase from the 66% of schools that forbade students from using phones at school in 2015. Schools across the country are finding different ways to enforce no-phone policies. Some schools have students lock their phones in pouches that only open at the end of the day. Others use simple classroom bins or lockers. Some research shows that spending a lot of time looking at phones instead of people’s faces can make it harder for children and teenagers to get the basic human skills they need for developing and maintaining friendships and other relationships. As a scholar of educational leadership, I believe that school is about more than just classes—it’s where young people learn how to get along with others. When phones are put away, students actually start looking at each other and talking again. School hallways and the lunchroom turn into spaces where students learn to resolve conflicts face-to-face and make human connections. Putting phones away in Ohio Ohio is an example of a state that has clamped down on students’ cellphone usage over the past 18 months. In May 2024, Ohio went from suggesting some cellphone guidelines for different schools to adopt to requiring that all public districts limit students’ phone use during class. School districts could choose to allow phones at lunch or between classes. Many schools began using lockable pouches, plastic bins, or lockers to keep phones out of sight. They still needed to allow some students to have phones for medical reasons, like monitoring blood sugar on an app. Ohio then adopted an even stricter cellphone use policy in 2025. This new law required all Ohio public school boards to adopt policies by Jan. 1, 2026, that prohibit phone use during the entire school day, including lunch and the time between classes. A needed break In the fall of 2025, I surveyed 13 Ohio public school principals from rural, urban, and suburban districts. Principals reported that the partial phone bans increased students’ social interactions and reduced peer conflicts: 62% of principals described more verbal, face-to-face socializing during recess, at lunch time, and between classes. 68% noted that students can stay on one task for more than 20 minutes without seeking a quick digital break. 72% observed a shift from heads-down scrolling to active conversation in common areas such as the cafeteria. 61% reported fewer online social conflicts spilling over into the classroom. A tension for students In late January 2026, I also surveyed and spoke with 18 Ohio high school students about the new phone bans in place at their schools as part of research that has not yet been published. Their responses revealed a complex tension between understanding the need for the phone ban and feeling a significant loss of personal safety and autonomy. A few students said they felt safe knowing a phone in the main office is available for emergencies. Some students said they felt anxious about not being reachable if there is an emergency—like if a relative were in an accident, or if the younger siblings they care for required their help. Finally, 13 out of 18 students argued that they should be learning the self-discipline required to balance technology with focus. Students said that phone bans made them feel as though they were children who could not make responsible decisions—rather than young adults preparing for professional environments. Some students also said that not having their phones made it impossible to fill out college and scholarship applications during the school day, since many application systems require multifactor authentication and require phones to log in. Lessons from Ohio Rules are more likely to be respected when students feel they have a voice in the boundaries that affect their daily lives. I think that school leaders could address students’ safety and security concerns in different ways, including by establishing a dedicated family emergency hotline that people can call. Principals could designate supervised areas where more senior high school students can briefly use their phones for multifactor authentication. School leaders could also offer a specific time window for students to check messages on their phones, or an easy way for the school’s main office to deliver them messages from family. While these insights from Ohio students and principals offer a helpful starting point, they are just one part of a much larger conversation. More research is needed to see how these bans affect different types of schools and communities across multiple states. Because every district is different, what works in one town might cause unexpected challenges in another. By continuing to study these effects and listening to everyone involved, especially the students, researchers like myself can figure out how to keep classrooms focused and students interacting without making students feel less safe or less prepared for the adult world. Corinne Brion is an associate professor in educational administration at the University of Dayton. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article