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How it can benefit you and your firm. By Jennifer Wilson Go PRO for members-only access to more Jennifer Wilson. View the full article

How it can benefit you and your firm. By Jennifer Wilson Go PRO for members-only access to more Jennifer Wilson. View the full article

And how they should spend their time. By Marc Rosenberg The Rosenberg Practice Management Library Go PRO for members-only access to more Marc Rosenberg. View the full article

And how they should spend their time. By Marc Rosenberg The Rosenberg Practice Management Library Go PRO for members-only access to more Marc Rosenberg. View the full article

Do cross-functional teams lead to greater project success? It depends on who you ask. Some people believe cross-functional teams can be very productive, given they have clear governance, accountability, specific goals, suitable project management tools, as well as the organization to invest in and prioritize their success. Usually, cross-functional teams are created to spark innovation, break bureaucratic boundaries and reduce production cycle times by granting a more collaborative environment. Others argue that cross-functional teams just aren’t worth it. According to a study cited in the Harvard Business Review, 75% of cross-functional teams are dysfunctional. The study found that they fail on at least three of five criteria, which are meeting the planned budget, staying on schedule, following specifications, meeting the expectations of their customers and remaining aligned with company strategy. But that failure rate doesn’t necessarily mean that cross-functional teams should be rejected. Rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater, maybe cross-functional teams require a more systemic approach to set them up for success. Furthermore, sometimes if you’re a small company, building a cross-functional team is your only option, and if that’s the case, what’s the best way to set up these teams? But first, let’s define what constitutes a cross-functional team. What Is a Cross Functional Team? A cross-functional team is a team in which the members have different skill sets, but are all working towards a common goal. It often includes people from different departments and from all levels of the organization, though it can also include participants from outside the organization. These teams are usually self-directed. They are assigned tasks, which are then uniquely approached because of the various expertise of the team members. Each participant can offer their own perspective, leading to a more “out of the box” solution. This creative approach can lead to innovation, which can be a substantial market advantage over the competition. Cross-functional teams often exist in small or startup environments. Because startups usually have a small number of employees, team members might have to perform a variety of tasks in different departments, thereby collaborating with those departments as well. This certainly creates a cross-functional team environment, even if the organization hasn’t acknowledged it yet. ProjectManager is an online project and portfolio management software that connects cross-functional teams with the tools they need to do their work. Managers can schedule tasks, resources and costs on Gantt charts, which also link dependencies, filter for the critical path and can set a baseline to track progress in real time. Those plans are shared across the software and teams can access their assignments on kanban boards that visualize workflow, allow teams to manage their backlog and collaborate on sprint planning. There’s also task lists that can set priority, add tags, attach files, create to-do lists, add comments and much more. Even stakeholders can stay updated by using the calendar view for a monthly look at progress. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. /wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Gantt-CTA-2025.jpgProjectManager’s Gantt charts schedule projects and share plans across multiple project views. Learn more Experts vary on whether these teams work best cooperatively or in competition or even both. Because members of cross-functional teams come from many different departments (marketing, sales, finance, etc.), they can subconsciously compete with each other by defending the interests of their core department. As far as the overall direction of a CFT, decisions can be made by consensus or by a team leader. Cross-functional agile teams are common. If a cross-functional team mixes specialists from different fields, agile teams take this a step further. They make them combine and require each team member to expand beyond their area of expertise. Also, agile demands self-organizing teams, which dovetails nicely into the way a cross-functional team works. How to Manage a Cross Functional Team Managing a cross-functional team involves leading a group of individuals from different departments, each bringing unique expertise to complete a project or achieve a common goal. Effective management requires strong communication, collaboration and alignment to ensure the team functions efficiently despite varying backgrounds and priorities. Here are key strategies to successfully manage a cross-functional team. Develop Cross-Functional Training Providing cross-functional training helps team members understand each other’s roles, responsibilities and workflows. This fosters a greater appreciation for different skill sets and reduces knowledge gaps, leading to smoother collaboration. Training can include job shadowing, workshops or knowledge-sharing sessions to enhance teamwork and adaptability. Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration Encouraging collaboration across departments is essential to ensure a unified approach to project goals. Establishing clear objectives, leveraging each team member’s expertise and promoting a culture of teamwork help break down silos. Team-building activities, joint problem-solving sessions and shared performance metrics also contribute to more effective project collaboration. Create Cross-Functional Communication Channels Effective communication channels prevent misunderstandings and keep all stakeholders aligned. Using project management tools, regular status meetings and digital collaboration platforms ensures smooth information flow. Clearly defining roles, expectations and reporting structures helps maintain accountability and transparency within the team. Establish Cross-Functional Team Leadership While it’s not a prerequisite to have one person lead a cross-functional team, the benefits outweigh the risks. First and foremost, everyone on the team needs to take responsibility. Find a leader who can give the team accountability and develop self-leaders in each team member. A team leader needs to educate, delegate and give autonomy while following up on their progress. Collaborate with the team, too, by inviting them into the project planning process. If you can, get mentors to help shepherd the team and give them direction as needed. While cross-functional teams are collaborative, there needs to be a leader that is held accountable for the project’s success. Without that leader, there’s a greater risk of a rudderless ship that never makes it to the dock. Cross Functional Team Management Tools As noted above, communication is key to success in cross-functional teams. They are working on different ends of the project at the same time, which involves a great deal of coordination. Communication makes sure no one is blocking another’s progress. But, as also noted, communications can be a challenge as team members might be scattered geographically. This can be a hindrance to collaboration. That’s where software tools come in handy. A project management software can offer a platform that facilitates communications and collaboration.It provides a communication platform and can be integrated into the greater project, helping to plan, monitor and report on projects. If you follow the six tips and give your cross-functional team the right tools, you’ll find a winning combination that steers your project to success. Timesheets Timesheets are used to track the hours team members spend on tasks and projects. They help managers monitor productivity, allocate resources efficiently and ensure accurate payroll or billing. Digital timesheets often integrate with project management tools for real-time tracking. Workload Management Charts Workload management charts visually display team members’ assigned tasks and capacity. They help managers balance workloads, prevent burnout and reallocate resources as needed to maintain productivity and efficiency. Gantt Charts Gantt charts provide a timeline-based view of project tasks, deadlines and dependencies. They help teams track progress, identify potential delays and ensure tasks are completed in the correct sequence. Gantt charts are essential for managing complex projects with multiple phases. Cross-Functional Flowcharts Cross-functional flowcharts map out workflows that involve multiple departments or teams. They clarify responsibilities, improve communication and streamline processes by showing how tasks move across different functions, reducing inefficiencies and bottlenecks. Cross Functional Flowchart Example To better understand how to manage cross-functional teams, here’s an example for a real-life scenario. In this case, it’s the purchase of a home. This process touches on many different teams, from sales to customer relations. /wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Process-Map-Template.png Looking at the above flowchart makes it easy to understand how these different teams interact in the client’s purchase of a residence. The arrows point to each activity as it is completed and moves to another team. For example, the property appraisal, which is part of the mortgage team’s responsibility, leads to the title team’s title services processing for the home. Cross Functional Flowchart Template Download this free process map template for Excel, which illustrates the cross-functional flow of activities. It visually maps workflows that span multiple departments or teams. This free template helps clarify roles, responsibilities and task handoffs, ensuring smooth collaboration across different functions. Strategies to Develop Cross-Functional Teams Why develop cross-functional collaboration in your teams? Because team collaboration can help you work more productively and efficiently. Cross-functional collaboration can be a great team-building measure and can build a more creative atmosphere. Here are six practical measures you can take to get the most out of your cross-functional team. Assemble the Right Team There are a set of skills that are required to have an effective cross-functional team. The project will dictate some of these. The work is going to require a range of expertise from the team, and therefore that team must have people on it who have the various skills needed. But often overlooked is the shared skills each team member must have to create a well-oiled machine. It takes a certain type of person to work together in such a unique setting. These are independent self-starters who have the authority to make decisions. Ideally, they should also have experience working in such conditions. Some team members need to have their hands held and to be assigned task after task. These are not the best candidates for a cross-functional team, which requires collaborative members who can work in a less-defined space. Building a cohesive project team will facilitate team management as you progress through project execution. Clearly Defined Goals Just like any team, if a cross-functional one isn’t given clear objectives they can find themselves going off in directions that lead to a dead end. Therefore, it’s crucial to have goals defined and in place before even assembling the team. Some of the ways to get those objectives defined are the same as in any project. For example, you want to have the charter to define the project’s priorities. An approved budget gives everyone a financial roadmap. What are the outcomes you want and what time frame have you scheduled to have them completed? The sooner these markers are determined, the easier time you will have. Team members will be able to go off on their own, with greater autonomy, knowing what is expected of them, when it’s expected and what resources they need to achieve those expectations. Shared Success When you have a cross-functional team, you have different team members with different goals. While all those goals should lead to the overall success of the project, that is not always the case. People can focus on their own small aspects of the project execution plan and neglect its part in the whole. Yes, the individuals on the team might not always align with other people on the team, which can lead to conflict, but that’s where the team leader comes in. They must lead the entire group to a shared success. It is, after all, the project and not the tasks that are the measure of success. Communication Good communication is the hallmark of any successful project. You need to be able to articulate your needs and they must be heard and understood to move the project forward. The problem with cross-functional teams is that they are often not under the same roof, which makes communications more difficult. Communications need be open and frequent, so what can you do? The best plan of action is to find the right platform that speaks to your team. It can be a collaborative tool like Skype or Slack, or a more robust project management software that offers more functionality. More on that later. Constantly Reevaluate The beauty of cross-functional teams, and one reason they’re so often seen in agile environments, is that they are flexible and able to adapt swiftly to change. A cross-functional team is ideal when you want to speed innovations to market. To achieve that goal means reevaluating priorities and processes are needed. This includes performance reviews. Because to remain effective, teams must always be measuring their progress and success. And this happens not only as a post-mortem at the end of the project but throughout its execution. Were objectives achieved? If not, why not? Adjust accordingly. How ProjectManager Supports Cross-Functional Teams How can there be one tool that will give a team of differently skilled members everything they need to do their job and the ability to coordinate those tasks with others on the team? It sounds like an impossibility, but it’s not. ProjectManager is award-winning software that gives managers and teams the features they need to organize and get productive. Robust Resource Management and Cost Tracking Tools Managing cross-functional teams requires resource management features that can balance workload across different departments. Our workload chart is color-coded and provides a view of resource allocation over all project teams. This makes it easy to see who is overallocated or underutilized, and the team’s workload can be balanced without leaving the workload chart. There’s also a team page that offers a daily or weekly summary of the team’s activities. Our secure timesheets not only streamline payroll, but track labor costs to keep projects within their budget. /wp-content/uploads/2024/05/timesheet-lightmode-good-version-lots-of-tasks.png Online Cross-Team Collaboration Tools Communications are enhanced by our software, as it fosters conversations in groups or in one-on-one situations. Better than mere dialogues, team members can share documents, links and other related material to help them collaborate. These conversations can even occur at the task level of an online kanban board, Gantt chart or task list. /wp-content/uploads/2024/04/notification-collaboration-gantt-light-mode-construction.png Plus, with ProjectManager you get real-time data, which means that wherever a team member is located, they’re getting an accurate picture of the project’s progress. This helps cross-functional teams stay in touch and be in sync. ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software that gives cross-functional teams real-time data and a collaborative platform. See how it can help your teams today by taking this free 30-day trial. The post How to Manage a Cross-Functional Team appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week here. TSMC’s new $100 billion U.S. chip investment could ease Taiwan tensions TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) said it would invest another $100 billion in U.S.operations over the next ten years. This will go toward building three new fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities and an R&D center, the company said. TSMC had already committed $65 billion to building three new chip fabrication facilities near Phoenix, Arizona. One of these fabs, which makes 4-nanometer process chips for smartphones, went into production last year; the other two, which will fab 2-nanometer process chips used in AI acceleration, remain under construction. “This move underscores TSMC’s dedication to supporting its customers, including America’s leading AI and technology innovation companies such as Apple, NVIDIA, AMD, Broadcom, and Qualcomm,” the company said in a press release. The U.S. government currently collects no tariffs on imports from Taiwan, but the Trump administration is said to be considering 100% tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors and electronic devices containing the chips. TSMC’s investment promise could go a long way toward forestalling any such plans. TSMC isn’t exactly a household name in the U.S., but it plays a huge and growing role in the global economy. As AI moves further into business operations and consumer products, the demand for the powerful and sophisticated graphics processing units (GPUs) that power AI models will continue to grow. U.S.-based Nvidia, which now supplies almost all of the GPUs used for generative AI models, relies heavily on TSMC to fabricate its most powerful chips. If the AI industry’s heavy reliance on Nvidia is a problem, its reliance on TSMC is an even bigger issue. TSMC’s home country of Taiwan is only 90 miles from the Chinese mainland. The Communist Party of China (CPC) has long viewed Taiwan as a “breakaway province,” that will eventually have to be “reunited” with the Chinese homeland, even if by force. A Chinese takeover of Taiwan could cripple global semiconductor supply chains, as TSMC’s highly advanced fabrication processes rely on global partnerships, export-controlled technology, and proprietary expertise that may not be easily transferred. That’s why American lawmakers have been pushing for TSMC to move some of its chip manufacturing capability to the U.S. Such diversification also lets TSMC resist coming under complete Chinese control if Taiwan would ever fall. The company started expanding its fabrication facilities outside of Taiwan in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but its offshoring efforts kicked into overdrive in the early 2020s as geopolitical tensions rose between the U.S. and China. Reagan Institute gives Pentagon a “D” for defense modernization Every year the Ronald Reagan Foundation issues a report card evaluating how well the Pentagon sources the nation’s best technologies. This year’s report finds that while the U.S. remains a global leader in technological innovation—particularly in artificial intelligence, which is playing a growing role in warfare—the Department of Defense (DOD) continues to struggle with modernization. “The U.S. remains a global leader in innovation, setting technological standards worldwide and excelling in research, particularly in artificial intelligence,” the report states. But the report gives the Pentagon low marks (a “D”) for modernizing defense systems, with the authors citing concerns about the DOD’s inability when it comes to integrating new capabilities into production. And while commercial technology adoption has increased in select areas, such as space communications, progress in many other sectors remains stagnant. To address these challenges, the DOD has launched accelerated contracting programs and established the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to source and fund promising defense-relevant technologies. But, according to the report, the Pentagon still struggles to acquire new technology quickly and efficiently—particularly software, including AI. The report’s advisory board includes executives from defense contractors Palantir, Anduril, and Microsoft, as well as a number of venture capitalists with ties to the defense sector including Joe Lonsdale of 8VC, Raj Shah of Shield Capital, and Katherine Boyle of Andreessen Horowitz. Ex-Google engineering VP Anna Patterson unveils her new AI training company A wave of AI infrastructure companies has sprung up to help enterprises (especially ones without teams of PhDs) more easily build and deploy AI models. Anna Patterson, an ex-Google VP of Engineering and founder of Gradient Ventures, is now bringing her new AI training-focused infrastructure company out of stealth. The company, Ceramic.ai, is made up of nine engineers and has so far raised $12 million in seed funding from New Enterprise Associates and others. Enterprises that decide to build AI infrastructure from scratch often run into problems and delays related to technical complexity, Patterson says. “With AI infrastructure there’s a real dichotomy between what is available to most enterprises, and what the biggest AI labs are using,” Patterson tells Fast Company. This can be especially taxing with training and fine-tuning models, which involves both science and art. Ceramic’s training methods let models get the most out of the available training data and computing power (GPU time). The company organizes training data by topic before introducing it to the model. Ceramic can then help the enterprise customer train its model with its own proprietary domain knowledge. Ceramic gets some of its computing power for training from the cloud GPU provider Lambda. In fact, Patterson says, Lambda has begun referring its prospective enterprise customers to Ceramic for model training. As model developers become more focused on training data to improve their models, many will see the benefit of using a dedicated model training platform developed by AI training experts. More AI coverage from Fast Company: This DOGE staffer’s GitHub posts might help us understand how Elon Musk wants to bring AI into the government AI Chatbots have telltale quirks. Researchers can spot them with 97% accuracy Hollywood’s obsession with AI-enabled ‘perfection’ is making movies less human Curious about DeepSeek but worried about privacy? These apps let you use an LLM without the internet Want exclusive reporting and trend analysis on technology, business innovation, future of work, and design? Sign up for Fast Company Premium. View the full article

UK prime minister talks to around 20 countries about joining ‘coalition of the willing’View the full article

Crisis meeting called after £6.6bn NHS England deficit predicted and national medical director resigns View the full article

The National Flood Insurance Program, estimated to cover over 4 million homeowners, is set to lapse next Friday along with the federal budget. View the full article

A new study finds Google's expansion of AI Overviews correlates with declining clickthrough rates for informational queries. The post Google CTR Study: AI Overviews Rise As Click Rates Decline appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Andrew Kakabadse, Nada Kakabadse, and Linda Davies on leading to learn: “It is clear that successful leadership is never truly mastered as it is an organic service which must be ever refreshed and refined. The changing nature and demands of the follower and the changing nature and demands of the external environment mean that even once the leader has reached a point of maximum provision for their troops in their current state, they must put some serious planning into the next likely situation they will face. There is no rest. Learning to lead never stops and the truly successful, the truly great leader knows that they are leading to learn.” Source: Leading for Success: The Seven Sides to Great Leaders II. Greg Satell on identifying a keystone change: “To create real change, change that sticks and won’t be soon reversed, you need to identify a fundamental issue that encapsulates the value of the mission—a keystone change that is concrete and tangible, unites the efforts of multiple stakeholders, and paves the way for greater change. Revolutions don’t begin with a slogan—they begin with a cause. “It is never enough to merely state grievances to challenge the status quo. To create meaningful change, you must put forward an affirmative vision for what you want the future to look like. You have to define an alternative that is actually better, not just for those who agree with you, but for the vast majority of those who will be affected by the change you seek. ” Source: Cascades: How to Create a Movement that Drives Transformational Change * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index. * * * Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas. View the full article

With tax season in full swing, it's prime time for married couples to maximize all the tax breaks available to them. One strategy that you don't want to leave on the table: making spousal IRA contributions. If one spouse isn't employed, they might be missing out on putting retirement assets in their name—not to mention reducing the tax-deferred growth possibilities as a couple. Spousal IRA contributions can double your retirement tax breaksThe IRA contribution limits for 2024 are $7,000 for those under age 50, and $8,000 for those age 50 or older. To clarify: You can make 2024 IRA contributions until the tax deadline on April 15, 2025. Generally, you can only contribute up to these limits for your own IRA, meaning you must have an income that will allow you to do so. And as always, you can and should max out these limits, if possible. However, with a spousal IRA, your spouse can also contribute up to the limit in an IRA under your name. That effectively doubles the amount your household can sock away in IRAs (pre-tax or Roth) each year. The only requirement is that the spouse who owns the IRA must have enough earned income to cover both contributions. For example, let's say Alex earns $100,000 per year and her husband Kevin is a stay-at-home dad with no income. Alex can contribute $7,000 to her own IRA. She can also contribute $7,000 to an IRA that is under Kevin's name. That's $14,000 total that the household can now save in IRAs, rather than just Alex's $7,000 limit. How spousal IRAs workA spousal IRA isn’t actually a separate type of IRA account—rather, it’s just a traditional IRA or Roth IRA set up in the name of a spouse who has little to no income. This may include those who are caregivers for children or other family members, workers who have returned to school, or people who have left the workforce for another reason. To be eligible for a spousal IRA, you have to meet a few requirements: You must file taxes as “married filing jointly.” The earning/contributing spouse must make enough to cover the contributions to both their own IRA and the spousal account. There are income-based contribution limits for Roth IRAs and tax deduction limits for traditional IRAs based on your tax filing status. These may affect which type of account you select. One key to a spousal IRA is that ownership stays with the person named on the account, no matter which spouse is contributing the funds. This also means that an existing IRA—funded while the owner of the account was in the workforce—can function as a spousal IRA if that person is no longer earning income and their partner simply contributes to the account on their behalf. The bottom lineEligible couples can use a spousal IRA to double their contributions to traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) even if only one partner has an income, and deduct a total of $14,000 (rather than $7,000 for the individual income earner) for 2024, as long as they do so by April 15. So there is still time for married couples to make spousal IRA contributions and double their tax-advantaged retirement savings—just be sure to specify which spouse the contribution is for when sending funds to your IRA provider. With a little planning, a spousal IRA strategy can significantly boost your households' retirement funds. And you can get an immediate tax deduction on your taxes if you make the contributions prior to tax day—so don't leave this tax break on the table. View the full article

The Top 50 Firm is acquiring a firm based in the northwest suburbs of Chicago that specializes in real estate clients. View the full article

YouTube's recent price hike has clearly left a hole in the market. If you want a fully ad-free YouTube experience, you currently need to pay $13.99/month (up from $11.99) or use a third-party workaround. But now, YouTube has a compromise. The service's new Premium Lite plan comes in at $7.99/month ($6 cheaper) and is supposed to block ads on most, but not all, content. With YouTube Premium Lite, YouTube won't show ads on popular categories of long form video, like gaming, fashion, beauty, news, and more. That's a bit vague, but in a video with Johanna Voolich, YouTube's Chief Product Officer, she says this means that all "core creator content", including podcasts, gaming streams, and makeup tutorials will all be ad-free. The catch is that other content, like music and music videos, won't be. That said, I am curious where the line between "core creator" content starts and stops—it'll take some time before subscribers really test the boundaries of this system. What if a smaller creator has a gaming video that doesn't get flagged as being part of YouTube Gaming? Missing features Credit: YouTube Aside from ad-free play, the cheaper plan misses out on two other big Premium features. Namely, you won't get offline downloads or background play. There's no access to YouTube Music either, since that would give you ad-free listening. YouTube Premium Lite is designed for people who want to watch creator-uploaded long form content in peace, without ads, and who don't care about supplemental features or YouTube spin-offs. If you instead prefer to watch offline or like listening to long podcasts in the background or have playlists saved in YouTube Music, the $13.99/month YouTube Premium plan will probably still be more up your alley. YouTube is rolling this out as a pilot test program in the US, so how the subscription works might change in the future. The company plans to expand the testing to Thailand, Germany, and Australia in coming weeks. View the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. Okay, federal workers and others affected by All This, you asked for an open thread to talk about what’s happening, and here it is. Have at it. View the full article

Japan’s Seven & i, the parent company of the Japanese 7-Eleven convenience store chain, said Thursday it is selling its supermarket store assets to Bain Capital for about $5.4 billion. The company announced the deal a day after naming Stephen Dacus, its board chairman, to be its president and CEO. It also said it plans an initial public offering in the U.S. of 7-Eleven or SEI, its convenience store business in North America, by the end of 2026. Funds from the IPO and the sale to Bain will be returned to shareholders in the form of share buybacks worth 2 trillion yen ($5.4 billion). Seven & i’s share price jumped 6.1% in Tokyo. The deal follows Seven & i’s rejection of a takeover bid by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard. Dacus said earlier that the offer had undervalued the potential of the convenience store business and failed to fully address U.S. regulatory concerns. The 7-Eleven franchise includes 86,000 stores in the U.S., Japan and other Asian nations. Last year, Seven & i announced a restructuring plan to strengthen its U.S. operations and streamline operations, closing some Ito-Yokado supermarkets in Japan. The omnipresent 7-Eleven convenience stores remain popular in Japan, having replaced many mom and pop shops. Convenience stores are a mainstay in many neighborhoods. Seven & i earlier sold its Sogo & Seibu department stores in Japan to Fortress Investment Group, a U.S. fund, for $1.5 billion. It said it also plans to reduce its share in Seven Bank —Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer View the full article

Remember when “team building” meant awkward icebreakers and trust falls? Well, the hybrid work revolution has tossed that playbook (and the mandatory nametags) out the window. With hybrid job postings skyrocketing from 9% in Q1 2023 to nearly 23% by the end of 2024, it’s clear that the workplace landscape is evolving faster than you […] The post Has anyone seen Jeff? How hybrid work shakes up team dynamics appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

Move would expand one-month carve-out for car imports to include all USMCA-compliant goodsView the full article

Aside from the launch of the sky blue M4-powered MacBook Air, this week's flurry of Apple announcements saw the introduction of the most powerful Apple silicon desktop processor yet. Given Apple's numbering scheme for its own chipsets, you'd think that would be one with an M4 label attached, but it's actually the M3 Ultra, which will power the newest Mac Studio. Since Apple started releasing its own chipsets with the M designation, we've seen a variety of different labels attached. First came the standard processor, then the Pro, then the Max, and then the Ultra, with performance improving with each iteration. We're now up to the M4 Max and the M3 Ultra. When preordering directly from Apple, you can fit the latest Mac Studio with either the M4 Max or the M3 Ultra, but the latter's superior capabilities are evident in the pricing: The starting price of an M3 Ultra Mac Studio is double that of an M4 Max Mac Studio. The M3 Ultra is available in the new Mac Studio. Credit: Apple Here's what's going on: As with previous generation chipsets with the Ultra moniker, the M3 Ultra is essentially two M3 Max processors fused together and appearing as one, using a technique Apple calls UltraFusion. You're basically getting twice the performance: This piece of silicon features an incredible 184 billion transistors. So many coresHere are some more stats: The M3 Ultra offers up to 32 CPU cores (compared to 24 on its most comparable predecessor, the M2 Ultra. It sports up to 80 CPU cores (compared to 76 on the M2 Ultra), 32 neural cores (the same as the M2 Ultra), support for up to 512GB of memory (compared to 192GB on the M2 Ultra), and up to 819GB/s of memory bandwidth (compared to 800GB/s). Overall, performance is around 1.5x of the Apple M2 Ultra. While the M2 Ultra chipset is the direct forebear to the M3 Ultra, if you're buying a Mac Studio, you'll be choosing between the M3 Ultra to the M4 Max—the latter being the processor that launched last year with the refreshed MacBook Pros. The M4 Max gives you up to 16 CPU cores, up to 40 GPU cores, 16 neural cores, support for up to 128GB of memory, and up to 546GB/s of memory bandwidth. One of the benefits of the M3 Ultra supporting so much RAM—more than half a terabyte—is that users can run more powerful AI models locally, on their own machines. A Mac Studio with an M3 Ultra inside should have enough oomph to run something like DeepSeek R1 locally, without having to connect to servers in China. Apple's two latest chipsets, compared. Credit: Apple The M3 Ultra also comes with a Thunderbolt 5 upgrade, doubling the maximum data transfer rates from Thunderbolt 4, up to 120Gb/s. This means you can even link multiple Mac Studios together (if you've got the budget for them), while the display engine on the M3 Ultra is capable of driving more than 160 million pixels—the equivalent of eight Pro Display XDRs. "M3 Ultra is the pinnacle of our scalable system-on-a-chip architecture, aimed specifically at users who run the most heavily threaded and bandwidth-intensive applications," says Johny Srouji, a senior vice president of hardware technologies at Apple. And what of the M4 Ultra? Apple hasn't said anything about it yet, but intimated to Ars Technica that it might not add an Ultra model this time around. That would make the M4 series the first to go without an Ultra variant, but as these super-powerful, super-expensive chipsets are only of interest to those with the most demanding needs and the deepest pockets, less frequent launches may be the most logical course of action. View the full article

The U.S. government will stop sharing air quality data gathered from its embassies and consulates, worrying local scientists and experts who say the effort was vital to monitor global air quality and improve public health. In response to an inquiry from the Associated Press, the State Department said Wednesday that its air quality monitoring program would no longer transmit air pollution data from embassies and consulates to the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow app and other platforms, which allowed locals in various countries, along with scientists around the globe, to see and analyze air quality in cities around the world. The stop in sharing data was “due to funding constraints that have caused the Department to turn off the underlying network” read the statement, which added that embassies and consulates were directed to keep their monitors running and the sharing of data could resume in the future if funded was restored. The fiscal cut, first reported by the New York Times, is one of many under President Donald Trump, whose administration has been deprioritizing environmental and climate initiatives. The U.S. air quality monitors measured dangerous fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, which can penetrate deep into the lungs and lead to respiratory diseases, heart conditions, and premature death. The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution kills around seven million people each year. News of the data sharing being cut prompted immediate reaction from scientists who said the data were reliable, allowed for air quality monitoring around the world and helped prompt governments to clean up the air. “A big blow” to global air quality research Bhargav Krishna, an air pollution expert at New Delhi-based Sustainable Futures Collaborative, called the loss of data “a big blow” to air quality research. “They were part of a handful of sensors in many developing countries and served as a reference for understanding what air quality was like,” Krishna said. “They were also seen to be a well-calibrated and unbiased source of data to cross-check local data if there were concerns about quality.” “It’s a real shame,” said Alejandro Piracoca Mayorga, a Bogota, Colombia-based freelance air quality consultant. U.S. embassies and consulates in Lima, Peru, Sao Paulo and Bogota have had the public air monitoring. “It was a source of access to air quality information independent of local monitoring networks. They provided another source of information for comparison.” Khalid Khan, an environmental expert and advocate based in Pakistan, agreed, saying the shutdown of air quality monitoring will “have significant consequences.” Khan noted that the monitors in Peshawar, Pakistan, one of the most polluted cities in the world, “provided crucial real-time data” which helped policymakers, researchers, and the public to take decisions on their health. “Their removal means a critical gap in environmental monitoring, leaving residents without accurate information on hazardous air conditions,” Khan said. He said vulnerable people in Pakistan and around the world are particularly at risk as they are the least likely to have access to other reliable data. In Africa, the program provided air quality data for over a dozen countries including Senegal, Nigeria, Chad, and Madagascar. Some of those countries depend almost entirely on the U.S. monitoring systems for their air quality data. The WHO’s air quality database will also be affected by the closing of U.S. program. Many poor countries don’t track air quality because stations are too expensive and complex to maintain, meaning they are entirely reliant on U.S. embassy monitoring data. Monitors strengthened local efforts In some places, the U.S. air quality monitors propelled nations to start their own air quality research and raised awareness, Krishna said. In China, for example, data from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing famously contradicted official government reports, showing worse pollution levels than authorities acknowledged. It led to China improving air quality. Officials in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, which struggles with smog, said they were unfazed by the removal of the U.S. monitors. Environment Secretary Raja Jahangir said Punjab authorities have their own and plan to purchase 30 more. Shweta Narayan, a campaign lead at the Global Climate and Health Alliance, said the shutdown of monitors in India is a “huge setback” but also a “critical opportunity” for the Indian government to step up and fill the gaps. “By strengthening its own air quality monitoring infrastructure, ensuring data transparency, and building public trust in air quality reporting, India can set a benchmark for accountability and environmental governance,” Narayan said. Adebayo reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan, Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, Aniruddha Ghosal in Hanoi, Vietnam, and Steven Grattan in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report. The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. —Taiwo Adebayo and Sibi Arasu, Associated Press View the full article

“I’d go through cancer again before I’d go back to not having confidence.” Accounting ARC With Arpan Grewal Center for Accounting Transformation Go PRO for members-only access to more Center for Accounting Transformation. View the full article

“I’d go through cancer again before I’d go back to not having confidence.” Accounting ARC With Arpan Grewal Center for Accounting Transformation Go PRO for members-only access to more Center for Accounting Transformation. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you need an extra set of eyes at home without spending a lot, the TP-Link Kasa KC410S indoor security camera is currently down to $26.99 from its usual $44.99. Kasa 2K QHD Security Camera Pan/Tilt $29.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $44.99 Save $15.00 Get Deal Get Deal $29.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $44.99 Save $15.00 You can swivel the KC410S 360 degrees horizontally and 113 degrees vertically for full-room coverage and motion tracking (though its pan and tilt controls can reportedly feel a bit jerky at times). As for its video quality, it delivers clear 2K footage during the day, with vibrant colors and good detail, but its nighttime performance depends on ambient light—if there isn’t enough, its Starlight sensor struggles, leaving the image dark and washed out. That said, according to this PCMag review, its black-and-white infrared night vision is crisp and well-lit. The KC410S also has sound and motion alerts, pushing notifications to your phone when it detects movement or a loud noise (intelligently differentiating between people and general motion, so you’re not getting spammed with alerts every time the AC kicks on). However, if you want to store video recordings, you’ll need to buy a microSD card (up to 256GB) or subscribe to Kasa Care. The Plus plan costs $3 per month for a single camera and gives you 30 days of video history, manual clip recording, and activity notifications with screenshots. If you have multiple cameras, the Premium plan, at $10 per month, supports up to 10 cameras and unlocks all features. Inserting a microSD card also lets you keep the camera running 24/7, regardless of motion or sound detection, if you prefer a continuous recording mode, The Kasa Smart app gives you full control over the camera, letting you view live footage, talk through the built-in mic, adjust motion sensitivity, enable night vision, and set patrol routes, among others. It integrates seamlessly with other TP-Link Kasa smart devices but doesn’t support Apple HomeKit. It does, however, work with Alexa and Google Assistant, so voice commands are still on the table. For a slightly higher price, the eufy Security Indoor Cam E220 ($34.99, down from $54.99) offers another solid indoor security camera with a high-res option. View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google launched its AI mode, but it is in beta and you need to be added to a waitlist...View the full article

Paschal Donohoe’s comments come as investors speculate over shift in US dollar’s dominant roleView the full article