ResidentialBusiness

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Among the nation’s 100 largest metro area housing markets, no major market saw greater home price appreciation during the Pandemic Housing Boom than Austin, TX—where home prices surged a staggering 72.5% between March 2020 and June 2022. Since the boom fizzled out three years ago, Austin has also experienced the largest home price correction (-26.0%) among those same 100 major markets. Austin being among the hardest-hit markets isn’t surprising. Back in May 2022, I wrote an article for Fortune outlining Austin’s heightened downside risk this cycle, driven in part by the fact that the market had significantly overheated and become markedly overvalued relative to underlying fundamentals, including local incomes. Put simply: The bigger the local boom, the greater the potential for a local bust. Three years on, that rule of thumb has proven to be a useful guide for the post-Pandemic Housing Boom period. For today’s article, ResiClub analyzed how much home prices rose during the Pandemic Housing Boom between March 2020 and June 2022 and examined how they correlate with the shift in home prices since the 2022 peak. We looked at just the nation’s 100 largest metro areas by population. The finding? There’s a moderate statistical correlation (R² = 0.37) between home price shift between March 2020 and June 2022 and the change in home prices from their 2022 peak through the end of October 2025. If the New Orleans metro—the largest outlier—is excluded, that correlation strengthens slightly (R² = 0.44). Our statistical analysis suggests that the U.S. housing market, to a degree, is experiencing a classic partial mean-reversion cycle. The markets that overshot the fundamentals the most during the 2020–2022 frenzy generally gave back more ground afterward. It makes sense: Housing markets where prices rose too high too fast—and became increasingly detached from local incomes and income growth—were more likely to experience a sharper demand shock once the boom ended. That was especially true in markets where the run-up had been fueled by an influx of higher-income out-of-state buyers during the Pandemic Housing Boom, a source of demand that could also roll over. In statistical terms, an R² of 0.37 means that about 37% of the variation in how local home prices have performed since 2022 can be explained by how hot they ran during the pandemic frenzy. (When we ran a similar analysis in August using Q2 2022 overvaluation scores, we arrived at a similar result: R² = 0.27.) Of course, other factors are at play. This coming weekend, ResiClub PRO members will receive a more in-depth research article exploring the other variables driving today’s regional home price variation across the country. View the full article

In 1933, construction workers building the Rockefeller Center in New York City put up a tree around Christmas to celebrate the season. This simple action unintentionally started a beloved holiday tradition the whole world would come to enjoy. Fast-forward to tonight, and a much larger tree will be illuminated, signaling that the holiday season has officially begun. The 2025 Rockefeller Tree Lighting ceremony will be televised tonight at 8 p.m. ET. Here’s everything you need to know about the jolly event, including how to tune in. The 411 about this year’s Rockefeller Christmas tree Every year, head gardener Erik Pauze tirelessly searches for the perfect tree. This year’s specimen is a Norway spruce donated by the Russ family of East Greenbush, New York. The 75-foot wonder traveled 130 miles to spread holiday cheer, and is believed to be 75 years old. After its illumination duties end in mid-January, the lumber of the tree will be donated to Habitat for Humanity to build homes for those in need. How is the Rockefeller Christmas tree decorated? A whopping 50,000 LED lights will make the tree shine brightly for all to enjoy. On top will sit an equally impressive Swarovski star. This dazzling tree-topper weighs in at 900 pounds and is nine feet in diameter. It is made up of 70 spikes and more than three million crystals. Who’s hosting the 2025 Rockefeller Tree Lighting? Country music star Reba McEntire is serving as master of ceremonies for the first time ever. She told People this will be the first time she has visited New York City in December. She even has a plan to keep warm. “I’m going to triple, quadruple layer,” she explained to the magazine. “I’ll probably have my heated vest on, and all the clothes I can, insulated underwear.” Who’s performing at the 2025 Rockefeller Tree Lighting? McEntire will also lend her vocal talents to the event, and she’s not the only performer slated. She will be joined by Marc Anthony, Halle Bailey, Michael Bublé, Kristin Chenoweth, Laufey, New Edition, Brad Paisley, Carly Pearce, and Gwen Stefani. Additionally, the kicks will be high when the Radio City Rockettes take the stage. Today anchors Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin, and Al Roker will also make an appearance. How to tune in The merriment begins at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. This means those with traditional cable subscriptions and over-the-air antennas with reception are covered. Cord-cutters can turn to Peacock. If Peacock is not in your streaming arsenal, other live TV streaming services, such as DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, and Fubo, all carry NBC in most regions. They also offer free trials of varying lengths. Before committing to a new streaming service, be sure to double check that it carries NBC in your region, as availability varies by location. View the full article

In the race to deploy large language models and generative AI across global markets, many companies assume that “English model → translate it” is sufficient. But if you’re an American executive preparing for expansion into Asia, Europe, the Middle East, or Africa, that assumption could be your biggest blind spot. In those regions, language isn’t just a packaging detail: it’s culture, norms, values, and business logic all wrapped into one. If your AI doesn’t code-switch, it won’t just underperform; it may misinterpret, misalign, or mis-serve your new market. The multilingual and cultural gap in LLMs Most of the major models are still trained predominantly on English-language corpora, and that creates a double disadvantage when deployed in other languages. For example, a study found that non-English and morphologically complex languages often incur 3–5X more tokens (and hence cost and compute) per unit of text compared to English. Another research paper places around 1.5 billion people speaking low-resource languages at higher cost and worse performance when using mainstream English-centric models. The result: a model that works well for American users may stumble in India, the Gulf, or Southeast Asia, not because the business problem is harder, but because the system lacks the cultural-linguistic infrastructure to handle it. A regional example worth noting Take Mistral Saba, launched by French company Mistral AI as a 24B-parameter model tailored for Arabic and South Asian languages (Tamil, Malayalam, etc.) Mistral touts that Saba “provides more accurate and relevant responses than models five times its size” when used in those regions. But it also underperforms in English benchmarks. That’s the point: context matters more than volume. A model may be smaller but far smarter for its locale. For a U.S. company entering the MENA region (Middle East & North Africa) or the South-Asia market, that means your “global” AI strategy isn’t global unless it respects local languages, idioms, regulation, and context. Token costs, language bias, and global ROI From a business perspective, the technical detail of tokenization matters. A recent article points out that inference costs for Chinese may be 2X English, while for languages like Shan or Burmese, token inflation can be 15X. That means if your model uses English-based encoding and you deploy in non-English markets, your usage cost skyrockets, or your quality drops because you cut back tokens. And because your training corpus was heavily English-centric, your “underlying model” may lack semantic depth in other languages. Add culture and normative differences into the mix: tone, references, business practices, cultural assumptions, etc., and you arrive at a very different competitive set: not “were we accurate” but “were we relevant.” Why it matters for executives expanding abroad If you’re leading a U.S. corporation or scaling startup into international markets, here are three implications: Model selection isn’t one-size-fits-all: you may need a regional model or a specialized fine-tuning layer, not just the largest English model you can license. Cost structure will vary by language and region: token inflation and encoding inefficiencies mean your unit cost in non-English markets will likely be higher, unless you plan for it. Brand risk and user experience are cultural: A chatbot that misunderstands basic local context (e.g., religious calendar, locale idioms, regulatory norms) will erode trust faster than a slower response. How to build a culturally aware multilingual AI strategy For executives ready to sell, serve, and operate in global markets, here are practical steps: Map languages and markets as first-class features. Before you pick your largest model, list your markets, languages, local norms, and business priorities. If Arabic, Hindi, Malay, or Thai matter, treat them not as “translations” but as first-class use-cases. Consider regional models or joint-deployment. A model like Mistral Saba may handle Arabic content more cheaply, more accurately, and more natively than a generic English model fine-tuned. Plan for token-cost inflation. Use pricing comparison tools. A model may have a U.S. cost of $X per 1 M tokens, but if your deployment is Turkish or Thai, the effective cost may be 2X or more. Fine-tune not just for language, but for culture and business logic. Local datasets shouldn’t just include language, they should capture regional context: regulations, business customs, idioms, risk frameworks. Design for active switching and evaluation. Don’t assume your global model will behave locally. Deploy pilot tests, evaluate on local benchmarks, test user-acceptance, and include local governance in your rollout. The bigger ethical and strategic lens When AI models privilege English and Anglophone norms, we risk reinforcing cultural hegemony. The technical inefficiencies (token cost, performance gap) are symptoms of a deeper bias: which voices, languages, economies are considered “core” versus “edge.” As executives, it’s tempting to think “we’ll translate later.” But translation alone fails to address token inflation, semantic mismatch, cultural irrelevance. The real challenge is making AI locally grounded and globally scaled. If you’re betting on generative AI to power your expansion into new markets, don’t treat language as a footnote. Language is infrastructure. Cultural fluency is a competitive advantage. Token costs and performance disparities are not just technical: they are strategic. In the AI world, English was the path of least resistance. But your next growth frontier? It might require language, culture, and cost structures that act more like differentiators than obstacles. Choose your model, languages, rollout strategy not on the size of the parameter count, but on how well it understands your market. If you don’t, you won’t just fall behind in performance: you’ll fall behind in credibility and relevance. View the full article

Small Business Saturday presents a vital opportunity for local entrepreneurs to win over customers and boost their community profiles. Yet, data from a recent SurveyMonkey report reveals that a significant portion of the public remains unaware of local offerings. This lack of awareness poses a challenge, but also highlights areas where small business owners can focus their marketing efforts for greater success. According to the SurveyMonkey data, 41% of respondents indicated they would not shop on Small Business Saturday due to a lack of knowledge about local businesses. The potential for small enterprises to gain traction hinges critically on increasing visibility. This finding is a clarion call for small businesses to ramp up their community engagement and outreach campaigns. “Small businesses play a crucial role in our economy, and raising awareness of their offerings is essential,” noted a SurveyMonkey spokesperson. Quite simply, if consumers don’t know about the local gems in their neighborhoods, they won’t shop there, regardless of the deals on offer. In practical terms, small business owners should consider implementing targeted local marketing strategies. Collaborating with neighboring businesses for joint promotions can create synergistic effects that attract foot traffic. Leveraging social media platforms to share customer testimonials and engage with the community can also enhance visibility. Consider holding special events or offering exclusive discounts to appeal to local shoppers on Small Business Saturday. However, small business owners must also grapple with misconceptions about their prices. SurveyMonkey found that 25% of potential shoppers are deterred by the belief that local offerings are more expensive than those from larger retailers. To counter this perception, transparent pricing strategies, showcasing value, and emphasizing the quality of local products are essential. Moreover, 19% of consumers cited inconvenient shipping options as another barrier. Small businesses can streamline logistics by offering local delivery or in-store pickup options. Promoting these services can turn perceived disadvantages into advantages that resonate with local shoppers. While challenges abound, the opportunities for small businesses to thrive on days like Small Business Saturday are bountiful. Seven in ten small businesses reported participating in the event last year, indicating a robust commitment to community engagement and sales initiatives. The proactive marketing of local products isn’t merely beneficial; it’s a necessary strategy for small businesses aiming for growth amid competition from larger chains. Nonetheless, small business owners may need to prepare for hurdles along the way. Limited marketing budgets and resources can make it challenging to establish a solid presence. Building and maintaining community relationships requires time and effort but can yield long-term rewards. The key takeaway is to view Small Business Saturday as more than a one-day event. Consistent community involvement and long-term outreach campaigns can lead to sustainable growth. Small businesses that remain actively engaged with their customer base will foster loyalty that extends beyond the holiday shopping season. As Small Business Saturday approaches, it becomes increasingly clear that the initiative’s success hinges on grassroots strategies. Increasing local awareness, addressing perceptions about pricing, and enhancing convenience are critical avenues for maximizing sales. Local entrepreneurs who adapt their marketing approaches in response to consumer feedback will be better equipped to thrive. The SurveyMonkey report’s findings serve as a valuable reminder: success in local retail hinges on both demonstrating value and fostering relationships. Small/independent businesses that invest in these efforts can carve out a dedicated customer base that appreciates the unique offerings of their community. For further insights from the SurveyMonkey report, visit the original post here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Many Avoid Small Business Saturday Due to Lack of Awareness and Price Concerns" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Small Business Saturday presents a vital opportunity for local entrepreneurs to win over customers and boost their community profiles. Yet, data from a recent SurveyMonkey report reveals that a significant portion of the public remains unaware of local offerings. This lack of awareness poses a challenge, but also highlights areas where small business owners can focus their marketing efforts for greater success. According to the SurveyMonkey data, 41% of respondents indicated they would not shop on Small Business Saturday due to a lack of knowledge about local businesses. The potential for small enterprises to gain traction hinges critically on increasing visibility. This finding is a clarion call for small businesses to ramp up their community engagement and outreach campaigns. “Small businesses play a crucial role in our economy, and raising awareness of their offerings is essential,” noted a SurveyMonkey spokesperson. Quite simply, if consumers don’t know about the local gems in their neighborhoods, they won’t shop there, regardless of the deals on offer. In practical terms, small business owners should consider implementing targeted local marketing strategies. Collaborating with neighboring businesses for joint promotions can create synergistic effects that attract foot traffic. Leveraging social media platforms to share customer testimonials and engage with the community can also enhance visibility. Consider holding special events or offering exclusive discounts to appeal to local shoppers on Small Business Saturday. However, small business owners must also grapple with misconceptions about their prices. SurveyMonkey found that 25% of potential shoppers are deterred by the belief that local offerings are more expensive than those from larger retailers. To counter this perception, transparent pricing strategies, showcasing value, and emphasizing the quality of local products are essential. Moreover, 19% of consumers cited inconvenient shipping options as another barrier. Small businesses can streamline logistics by offering local delivery or in-store pickup options. Promoting these services can turn perceived disadvantages into advantages that resonate with local shoppers. While challenges abound, the opportunities for small businesses to thrive on days like Small Business Saturday are bountiful. Seven in ten small businesses reported participating in the event last year, indicating a robust commitment to community engagement and sales initiatives. The proactive marketing of local products isn’t merely beneficial; it’s a necessary strategy for small businesses aiming for growth amid competition from larger chains. Nonetheless, small business owners may need to prepare for hurdles along the way. Limited marketing budgets and resources can make it challenging to establish a solid presence. Building and maintaining community relationships requires time and effort but can yield long-term rewards. The key takeaway is to view Small Business Saturday as more than a one-day event. Consistent community involvement and long-term outreach campaigns can lead to sustainable growth. Small businesses that remain actively engaged with their customer base will foster loyalty that extends beyond the holiday shopping season. As Small Business Saturday approaches, it becomes increasingly clear that the initiative’s success hinges on grassroots strategies. Increasing local awareness, addressing perceptions about pricing, and enhancing convenience are critical avenues for maximizing sales. Local entrepreneurs who adapt their marketing approaches in response to consumer feedback will be better equipped to thrive. The SurveyMonkey report’s findings serve as a valuable reminder: success in local retail hinges on both demonstrating value and fostering relationships. Small/independent businesses that invest in these efforts can carve out a dedicated customer base that appreciates the unique offerings of their community. For further insights from the SurveyMonkey report, visit the original post here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Many Avoid Small Business Saturday Due to Lack of Awareness and Price Concerns" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...View the full article

The OBBBA just reset the rules. Quick Tax Tip With Art Werner Go PRO for members-only access to more Art Werner. View the full article

The OBBBA just reset the rules. Quick Tax Tip With Art Werner Go PRO for members-only access to more Art Werner. View the full article

Chief executive Gary Nagle also unveils plans to turn Swiss miner into ‘biggest copper producer in the world’View the full article

The city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against some of the nation’s top food manufacturers on Tuesday, arguing that ultraprocessed food from the likes of Coca-Cola and Nestle are responsible for a public health crisis. City Attorney David Chiu named 10 companies in the lawsuit, including the makers of such popular foods as Oreo cookies, Sour Patch Kids, Kit Kat, Cheerios and Lunchables. The lawsuit argues that ultraprocessed foods are linked to diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and cancer. “They took food and made it unrecognizable and harmful to the human body,” Chiu said in a news release. “These companies engineered a public health crisis, they profited handsomely, and now they need to take responsibility for the harm they have caused.” Ultraprocessed foods include candy, chips, processed meats, sodas, energy drinks, breakfast cereals and other foods that are designed to “stimulate cravings and encourage overconsumption,” Chiu’s office said in the release. Such foods are “formulations of often chemically manipulated cheap ingredients with little if any whole food added,” Chiu wrote in the lawsuit. The other companies named in the lawsuit are PepsiCo; Kraft Heinz Company; Post Holdings; Mondelez International; General Mills; Kellogg; Mars Incorporated; and ConAgra Brands. None of the companies named in the suit immediately responded to emailed requests for comment. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been vocal about the negative impact of ultraprocessed foods and their links to chronic disease and has targeted them in his Make America Healthy Again campaign. Kennedy has pushed to ban such foods from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for low-income families. An August report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that most Americans get more than half their calories from ultraprocessed foods. In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law to phase out certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals over the next decade. San Francisco’s lawsuit cites several scientific studies on the negative impact of ultraprocessed foods on human health. “Mounting research now links these products to serious diseases—including Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease, colorectal cancer, and even depression at younger ages,” University of California, San Francisco, professor Kim Newell-Green said in the news release. The lawsuit argues that by producing and promoting ultraprocessed foods, the companies violate California’s Unfair Competition Law and public nuisance statute. It seeks a court order preventing the companies from “deceptive marketing” and requiring them to take actions such as consumer education on the health risks of ultraprocessed foods and limiting advertising and marketing of ultraprocessed foods to children. It also asks for financial penalties to help local governments with health care costs caused by the consumption of ultraprocessed foods. —Jaimie Ding, Associated Press View the full article

Solution selling is a strategic approach that focuses on comprehension and addressing the specific needs of your clients. Unlike traditional product selling, which emphasizes features and prices, solution selling prioritizes active listening and empathy to uncover pain points. This method nurtures trust and builds long-term relationships, leading to better customer satisfaction. To fully grasp how this process unfolds and its implications for your sales strategy, it’s crucial to explore its key components and benefits. Key Takeaways Solution selling is a customer-centric approach focused on understanding and addressing specific pain points to provide tailored solutions. It involves active listening and empathy to diagnose challenges effectively, fostering trust and long-term relationships. Unlike product selling, solution selling emphasizes customized recommendations rather than generic solutions, enhancing customer satisfaction. The process includes researching buyer personas, conducting discovery calls, and maintaining ongoing engagement post-sale to ensure customer success. Solution selling prioritizes delivering real value, focusing on long-term partnerships rather than immediate transactional outcomes. Understanding Solution Selling Grasping solution selling requires recognizing its foundation in customer-centricity, where the primary goal is to address specific pain points rather than merely pushing products. This solution selling methodology emphasizes comprehending customer needs through active listening and empathy, allowing you to diagnose challenges accurately. By aligning product features with these identified requirements, you create customized solutions that resonate with customers. Solution-based selling nurtures trust-based relationships, shifting the focus from transactions to long-term partnerships. Effective solution selling training equips you with the skills to conduct discovery calls, map solutions to customer needs, and stay informed about product offerings and market dynamics. In the end, mastering this approach improves your ability to engage in complex sales environments, particularly within B2B contexts. Key Differences Between Solution Selling and Product Selling When comparing solution selling to product selling, you’ll notice a clear focus on customer needs in the former versus a product-centric approach in the latter. Solution selling prioritizes building relationships through active listening and comprehension of unique challenges, whereas product selling often emphasizes pushing sales without considering individual client circumstances. This difference not merely impacts the sales process but additionally shapes the long-term connections formed with customers. Focus on Needs Focusing on customer needs is a fundamental distinction between solution selling and product selling. In solution selling, the sales solution revolves around diagnosing customer pain points and tailoring recommendations that address those specific challenges. This solution selling sales methodology emphasizes active listening and empathy, allowing sales representatives to understand client needs deeply. Conversely, product selling primarily promotes product features, often adopting a one-size-fits-all approach that overlooks unique customer requirements. During solution selling aims to build long-term relationships through consultation and support, product selling tends to be transactional, lacking follow-up and ongoing engagement. Ultimately, solution selling prioritizes customer success and satisfaction, nurturing trust and loyalty, which can drive repeat business and deeper partnerships over time. Relationship Building Approach One key distinction between solution selling and product selling lies in their approach to building relationships with clients. In solution selling, the focus is on comprehending and addressing customer pain points, nurturing long-term partnerships. Here are four key differences: Consultative Interaction: Solution selling emphasizes active listening and consultation, whereas product selling focuses on pitching features. Trust Building: Sales representatives in solution selling build trust-based relationships, contrasting with product selling’s transactional nature. Tailored Recommendations: Solution selling provides customized solutions based on individual needs, in contrast to product selling promoting generic offerings. Ongoing Support: Solution selling encourages follow-up and ongoing consultation, whereas product selling often lacks after-sale engagement. For more insights, check a solution selling website to deepen your comprehension of this customer-centric approach. The Importance of Solution Selling Solution selling plays a crucial role in today’s sales environment by prioritizing the comprehension of customer pain points and needs. This method leads to customized recommendations, improving customer satisfaction and nurturing loyalty. By focusing on long-term success rather than immediate sales, you’re likely to see higher deal sizes and improved retention rates. Solution selling encourages trust-based relationships, with 80% of sales reps recognizing the importance of ongoing customer connections throughout the sales funnel. It likewise forms deeper partnerships with clients, allowing for continuous feedback and adaptations to meet evolving needs. In the end, this approach aligns with the sales culture shift from “Always be closing” to “Always be helpful,” which boosts the overall sales experience through genuine value delivery. Steps in the Solution Selling Process Effective implementation of solution selling requires a structured approach that emphasizes grasp of the customer and their unique needs. Follow these crucial steps to streamline your process: Grasp the Customer: Research buyer personas and their specific industry needs to tailor your recommendations effectively. Conduct Discovery Calls: Ask leading questions to uncover customer priorities, pain points, and desired outcomes, ensuring you’re aligned with their needs. Grasp Product Features: Gain deep knowledge of how your product features address the identified customer challenges and needs. Build Knowledge: Regularly update your grasp through demos, recorded calls, and note-taking, allowing you to offer relevant solutions at every stage. Pros and Cons of Solution Selling When considering solution selling, it’s important to weigh both its advantages and challenges. On the plus side, this approach nurtures long-term customer relationships and offers customized solutions that directly address individual needs, often leading to higher satisfaction and retention rates. Nonetheless, the implementation can be resource-intensive, requiring significant time and training to build the necessary rapport and comprehension of customer pain points. Advantages of Solution Selling Focusing on individualized customer needs, solution selling nurtures lasting relationships that lead to higher customer satisfaction and repeat engagement. This approach emphasizes long-term customer success and growth, cultivating deeper partnerships that benefit both parties. Here are four key advantages: Customized Solutions: Customized recommendations address specific customer pain points, enhancing relevance. Trust Building: By prioritizing customer needs, you create trust, leading to mutual benefits. Higher Retention Rates: Satisfied customers are more likely to return, promoting loyalty and ongoing business. Increased Deal Sizes: Comprehending client challenges often results in larger, more valuable contracts. Challenges in Implementation Implementing solution selling comes with its own set of challenges that can impact its effectiveness and adoption within sales teams. First, the method demands a significant time investment for building relationships and comprehending customer needs, which can prolong sales cycles. You also need to possess in-depth product knowledge and strong active listening skills, requiring extensive training that can strain resources. Moreover, solution selling may not provide immediate short-term gains, as it focuses on customized solutions rather than quick sales. Finally, adapting to a predictable sales process can be difficult, necessitating flexibility and adaptability from sales representatives. These challenges can hinder the successful integration of solution selling into your sales strategy, affecting overall results and team morale. Building Trust and Relationships Through Solution Selling Building trust and relationships through solution selling is essential for achieving long-term success in today’s competitive sales environment. This approach emphasizes comprehension and aligning with customer goals, which promotes deeper connections. Here are key elements to reflect on: Active Listening: Engage with your customers by truly hearing their needs and pain points. Ongoing Engagement: Maintain relationships post-sale, as 92% of evaluations depend on customer value and retention. Value Delivery: Shift the focus from “Always be closing” to “Always be helpful,” ensuring you provide real value throughout the sales process. Customer-Centric Approach: Prioritize customer needs over mere product functionality to improve the overall sales experience and nurture long-term partnerships. Frequently Asked Questions What Is an Example of Solution Selling? An example of solution selling is when a telecommunications provider assesses a company’s communication inefficiencies. You might find they conduct thorough discussions to identify specific challenges, such as poor call quality or missed calls. Then, they recommend a personalized VoIP solution designed to address those issues during the process of improving productivity. This approach focuses on comprehending your needs and delivering a solution that boosts your overall communication capabilities rather than just selling a standard product. What Are the Four Steps of Solution Selling? To effectively engage in solution selling, you’ll follow four crucial steps. First, comprehend your customer by researching their needs and goals. Next, conduct discovery calls to ask open-ended questions that reveal their pain points. Then, map solutions by aligning your product features with these identified challenges, demonstrating how they can alleviate the issues. Finally, build knowledge by continually updating your awareness of both the product and the customer’s evolving needs. What Does Solution Sales Do? Solution sales focuses on comprehending and addressing specific customer pain points through customized recommendations. It involves actively listening to clients, conducting discovery calls, and mapping solutions that align with their needs. By emphasizing a consultative approach, you build trust and nurture long-term relationships. This method prioritizes the return on investment for clients rather than merely promoting product features, ultimately leading to higher customer satisfaction and ongoing engagement in complex sales environments. How to Do Solution Selling? To effectively engage in solution selling, start by comprehending your customer’s specific pain points and needs. Use active listening during discovery calls to ask open-ended questions that encourage dialogue. Map your product features to the identified challenges, guaranteeing your recommendations are customized. Maintain a focus on building trust and long-term relationships, and don’t forget to follow up post-sale to assure customer satisfaction, which nurtures loyalty and repeat business over time. Conclusion In conclusion, solution selling is an effective approach that emphasizes comprehending customer needs and aligning products to address those specific challenges. By focusing on building trust and nurturing relationships, this method cultivates long-term partnerships over simple transactions. As it has distinct advantages, such as increased customer satisfaction and larger deal sizes, it requires time and effort. In the end, excelling in solution selling can greatly improve your sales effectiveness in complex B2B environments, leading to better outcomes for both you and your clients. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Is Solution Selling and How Does It Work?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Solution selling is a strategic approach that focuses on comprehension and addressing the specific needs of your clients. Unlike traditional product selling, which emphasizes features and prices, solution selling prioritizes active listening and empathy to uncover pain points. This method nurtures trust and builds long-term relationships, leading to better customer satisfaction. To fully grasp how this process unfolds and its implications for your sales strategy, it’s crucial to explore its key components and benefits. Key Takeaways Solution selling is a customer-centric approach focused on understanding and addressing specific pain points to provide tailored solutions. It involves active listening and empathy to diagnose challenges effectively, fostering trust and long-term relationships. Unlike product selling, solution selling emphasizes customized recommendations rather than generic solutions, enhancing customer satisfaction. The process includes researching buyer personas, conducting discovery calls, and maintaining ongoing engagement post-sale to ensure customer success. Solution selling prioritizes delivering real value, focusing on long-term partnerships rather than immediate transactional outcomes. Understanding Solution Selling Grasping solution selling requires recognizing its foundation in customer-centricity, where the primary goal is to address specific pain points rather than merely pushing products. This solution selling methodology emphasizes comprehending customer needs through active listening and empathy, allowing you to diagnose challenges accurately. By aligning product features with these identified requirements, you create customized solutions that resonate with customers. Solution-based selling nurtures trust-based relationships, shifting the focus from transactions to long-term partnerships. Effective solution selling training equips you with the skills to conduct discovery calls, map solutions to customer needs, and stay informed about product offerings and market dynamics. In the end, mastering this approach improves your ability to engage in complex sales environments, particularly within B2B contexts. Key Differences Between Solution Selling and Product Selling When comparing solution selling to product selling, you’ll notice a clear focus on customer needs in the former versus a product-centric approach in the latter. Solution selling prioritizes building relationships through active listening and comprehension of unique challenges, whereas product selling often emphasizes pushing sales without considering individual client circumstances. This difference not merely impacts the sales process but additionally shapes the long-term connections formed with customers. Focus on Needs Focusing on customer needs is a fundamental distinction between solution selling and product selling. In solution selling, the sales solution revolves around diagnosing customer pain points and tailoring recommendations that address those specific challenges. This solution selling sales methodology emphasizes active listening and empathy, allowing sales representatives to understand client needs deeply. Conversely, product selling primarily promotes product features, often adopting a one-size-fits-all approach that overlooks unique customer requirements. During solution selling aims to build long-term relationships through consultation and support, product selling tends to be transactional, lacking follow-up and ongoing engagement. Ultimately, solution selling prioritizes customer success and satisfaction, nurturing trust and loyalty, which can drive repeat business and deeper partnerships over time. Relationship Building Approach One key distinction between solution selling and product selling lies in their approach to building relationships with clients. In solution selling, the focus is on comprehending and addressing customer pain points, nurturing long-term partnerships. Here are four key differences: Consultative Interaction: Solution selling emphasizes active listening and consultation, whereas product selling focuses on pitching features. Trust Building: Sales representatives in solution selling build trust-based relationships, contrasting with product selling’s transactional nature. Tailored Recommendations: Solution selling provides customized solutions based on individual needs, in contrast to product selling promoting generic offerings. Ongoing Support: Solution selling encourages follow-up and ongoing consultation, whereas product selling often lacks after-sale engagement. For more insights, check a solution selling website to deepen your comprehension of this customer-centric approach. The Importance of Solution Selling Solution selling plays a crucial role in today’s sales environment by prioritizing the comprehension of customer pain points and needs. This method leads to customized recommendations, improving customer satisfaction and nurturing loyalty. By focusing on long-term success rather than immediate sales, you’re likely to see higher deal sizes and improved retention rates. Solution selling encourages trust-based relationships, with 80% of sales reps recognizing the importance of ongoing customer connections throughout the sales funnel. It likewise forms deeper partnerships with clients, allowing for continuous feedback and adaptations to meet evolving needs. In the end, this approach aligns with the sales culture shift from “Always be closing” to “Always be helpful,” which boosts the overall sales experience through genuine value delivery. Steps in the Solution Selling Process Effective implementation of solution selling requires a structured approach that emphasizes grasp of the customer and their unique needs. Follow these crucial steps to streamline your process: Grasp the Customer: Research buyer personas and their specific industry needs to tailor your recommendations effectively. Conduct Discovery Calls: Ask leading questions to uncover customer priorities, pain points, and desired outcomes, ensuring you’re aligned with their needs. Grasp Product Features: Gain deep knowledge of how your product features address the identified customer challenges and needs. Build Knowledge: Regularly update your grasp through demos, recorded calls, and note-taking, allowing you to offer relevant solutions at every stage. Pros and Cons of Solution Selling When considering solution selling, it’s important to weigh both its advantages and challenges. On the plus side, this approach nurtures long-term customer relationships and offers customized solutions that directly address individual needs, often leading to higher satisfaction and retention rates. Nonetheless, the implementation can be resource-intensive, requiring significant time and training to build the necessary rapport and comprehension of customer pain points. Advantages of Solution Selling Focusing on individualized customer needs, solution selling nurtures lasting relationships that lead to higher customer satisfaction and repeat engagement. This approach emphasizes long-term customer success and growth, cultivating deeper partnerships that benefit both parties. Here are four key advantages: Customized Solutions: Customized recommendations address specific customer pain points, enhancing relevance. Trust Building: By prioritizing customer needs, you create trust, leading to mutual benefits. Higher Retention Rates: Satisfied customers are more likely to return, promoting loyalty and ongoing business. Increased Deal Sizes: Comprehending client challenges often results in larger, more valuable contracts. Challenges in Implementation Implementing solution selling comes with its own set of challenges that can impact its effectiveness and adoption within sales teams. First, the method demands a significant time investment for building relationships and comprehending customer needs, which can prolong sales cycles. You also need to possess in-depth product knowledge and strong active listening skills, requiring extensive training that can strain resources. Moreover, solution selling may not provide immediate short-term gains, as it focuses on customized solutions rather than quick sales. Finally, adapting to a predictable sales process can be difficult, necessitating flexibility and adaptability from sales representatives. These challenges can hinder the successful integration of solution selling into your sales strategy, affecting overall results and team morale. Building Trust and Relationships Through Solution Selling Building trust and relationships through solution selling is essential for achieving long-term success in today’s competitive sales environment. This approach emphasizes comprehension and aligning with customer goals, which promotes deeper connections. Here are key elements to reflect on: Active Listening: Engage with your customers by truly hearing their needs and pain points. Ongoing Engagement: Maintain relationships post-sale, as 92% of evaluations depend on customer value and retention. Value Delivery: Shift the focus from “Always be closing” to “Always be helpful,” ensuring you provide real value throughout the sales process. Customer-Centric Approach: Prioritize customer needs over mere product functionality to improve the overall sales experience and nurture long-term partnerships. Frequently Asked Questions What Is an Example of Solution Selling? An example of solution selling is when a telecommunications provider assesses a company’s communication inefficiencies. You might find they conduct thorough discussions to identify specific challenges, such as poor call quality or missed calls. Then, they recommend a personalized VoIP solution designed to address those issues during the process of improving productivity. This approach focuses on comprehending your needs and delivering a solution that boosts your overall communication capabilities rather than just selling a standard product. What Are the Four Steps of Solution Selling? To effectively engage in solution selling, you’ll follow four crucial steps. First, comprehend your customer by researching their needs and goals. Next, conduct discovery calls to ask open-ended questions that reveal their pain points. Then, map solutions by aligning your product features with these identified challenges, demonstrating how they can alleviate the issues. Finally, build knowledge by continually updating your awareness of both the product and the customer’s evolving needs. What Does Solution Sales Do? Solution sales focuses on comprehending and addressing specific customer pain points through customized recommendations. It involves actively listening to clients, conducting discovery calls, and mapping solutions that align with their needs. By emphasizing a consultative approach, you build trust and nurture long-term relationships. This method prioritizes the return on investment for clients rather than merely promoting product features, ultimately leading to higher customer satisfaction and ongoing engagement in complex sales environments. How to Do Solution Selling? To effectively engage in solution selling, start by comprehending your customer’s specific pain points and needs. Use active listening during discovery calls to ask open-ended questions that encourage dialogue. Map your product features to the identified challenges, guaranteeing your recommendations are customized. Maintain a focus on building trust and long-term relationships, and don’t forget to follow up post-sale to assure customer satisfaction, which nurtures loyalty and repeat business over time. Conclusion In conclusion, solution selling is an effective approach that emphasizes comprehending customer needs and aligning products to address those specific challenges. By focusing on building trust and nurturing relationships, this method cultivates long-term partnerships over simple transactions. As it has distinct advantages, such as increased customer satisfaction and larger deal sizes, it requires time and effort. In the end, excelling in solution selling can greatly improve your sales effectiveness in complex B2B environments, leading to better outcomes for both you and your clients. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Is Solution Selling and How Does It Work?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Kevin Indig’s 2026 predictions reveal the end of AI dashboards, the rise of agentic SEO, and a web divided between bots and verified humans. The post 7 SEO, Marketing, And Tech Predictions For 2026 appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

AI is everywhere! Writing essays, editing photos, producing social-media slop, doing your browsing for you, making plenty of mistakes—and now, if you've installed the latest Android 16 update (currently rolling out to Pixel phones), summarizing your notifications so you have less text and fewer alerts to wade through. The new summarization feature, as per Google, will "help you cut through the clutter and stay focused," and give you "quick understanding and context at a glance." I'm all for cutting through the clutter, so as soon as the update landed on my own Pixel device, I decided to enable the feature and see how useful it really is. How AI summaries work, and how to turn them on Enabling the feature on an Android phone. Credit: Lifehacker AI notification summaries won't automatically take over your phone, after the update—you need to enable them manually. From Settings, head to Notifications, then tap Notification summaries to turn this on. The same screen lets you choose which apps you want notifications summarized for. There are actually two parts to the new update: the actual notification summaries, and what Google is calling a "notification organizer." This organizer is designed to group and silence lower-priority notifications (including social alerts and promotional messages), though there doesn't appear to be a separate toggle switch for this. Of course, other Android phone makers will be able to implement this in whatever way they choose. It looks as though Samsung is testing the feature with the One UI 8.5, which should be launching in beta any day now. A full release of the software is expected early next year, alongside the Galaxy S26 phones. Using AI notification summaries for 24 hoursReady to banish notification clutter from my life, I turned on AI summaries for all my apps to see exactly how this worked. For a start, it doesn't apply to all apps, at least not yet: My Snapchat and Instagram alerts remained the same as always, so further updates will be needed from Google and app developers before this is something you see everywhere. The apps I saw summaries for most often were Google Chat, WhatsApp, and Slack—almost always in group conversations, and some of the time for single messages (the length of the message seems to affect this somehow). And the summaries were ... mostly okay. They tended to catch the gist of who had said what, and in that sense were an accurate recap of what I was missing by not actually opening these apps. The summaries work, up to a point. Credit: Lifehacker These summaries did update as more messages were added, but the summary preview window is only a couple of lines long—so once multiple people start piling into a group chat, the summary isn't going to be able to cover everything. From the lock screen and pull-down notification shade, it's possible to expand notifications to see full messages (as usual), and then minimize them back to the summary view again. There was one occasion when the AI notification summaries got confused by the Lifehacker slack and by the various @mentions included—attributing a message to the person who had been tagged in a message, rather than the person who had sent it. On the whole, though, there were no obvious mistakes, just certain details left out from summaries of longer chats that I would've liked to have known about. Now I've tested this out, I'm going to turn it off again, for a couple of reasons—and inaccuracy isn't really one of them (though that might certainly creep in). First, given the small size of the preview window, I'm not sure an AI summary is any more useful than the first couple of lines of text you get as standard anyway. That's usually enough for me to tell whether or not a message is important before opening it. This Slack summary wasn't fully accurate—and Snapchat alerts weren't affected. Credit: Lifehacker Second, I'm not sure I really want my messages and group chats summarized—at least not the important ones. If a friend, family member, or work colleague has something to tell me, I'd like to know exactly what it is, rather than reading a précis. It feels like AI is being used just for the sake of it—and not for the first time. I didn't see any evidence of the notification organizer in action, by the way, perhaps because of the way I've got my Android notifications set up—there are now a host of granular options for alerts in Android, for silencing and dismissing notifications. This feature sounds vaguely useful, but again, I'm not sure I'm ready to hand over the job of judging how important notifications are over to AI just yet. View the full article

Earlier phaseout dates to be set for liquefied natural gas and short-term supply contractsView the full article

Spotify Wrapped 2025 is here, and it’s inspired by mixtapes, DIY aesthetics, and all things pre-internet. After plenty of anticipation, Wrapped has now debuted for the eleventh year in a row. As public interest in Wrapped has mounted exponentially each year—and other brands have flocked to dupe the format—Spotify has been compelled to continuously up the ante on its own design concept, and this year is no exception. Wrapped 2025 comes with 12 brand new features, each intended to make the experience more personalized than years past. In the music world (and everywhere else), 2025 has been a year dominated by conversation around the explosion of AI technology. In September, Spotify itself issued new policies around AI-generated music, explaining that while it won’t ban AI-generated songs or AI tools, it is focused on removing what it calls “AI slop” from the platform. At the time, Spotify said it had already removed 75 million spammy AI tracks from the site in just 12 months. Now, it appears Spotify is going full anti-AI in the design of Wrapped. “If brands are looking to the future or to AI for inspiration, we did the opposite,” Payman Kassaie, Spotify’s director of brand and creative, said in a press conference ahead of the launch. This year, Wrapped is rooted in the world of mixtape culture—and it’s a refreshing change from last year’s Wrapped, which was widely critiqued for embracing AI. How Spotify Wrapped became a marketing hit Since debuting in 2014, Wrapped has become a massive hit for Spotify. In 2023, the campaign drew in more than 225 million monthly active users and increased engagement by 40% year-over-year across 170 markets, according to an earnings report from the company. And that’s not even counting the free marketing that Spotify rakes in annually through the thousands of user-generated, organic posts from Spotify’s user base of 700 million, who share their Wrapped results with followers across socials. To meet the hype, Spotify has slowly turned Wrapped into a design-centric extravaganza, debuting an entirely fresh look and feel for the review each year. In 2021, the brand introduced “Audio Aura,” a color analysis of users’ top musical moods. In 2022, it tried out a zodiac-esque feature called “Listening Personality” alongside a psychedelic design. And last year, it opted for a techy, glitchy aesthetic to complement a new add-on called “Music Evolution,” which tracked users’ musical eras over the course of the year, and an AI-generated podcast feature that narrated users’ listening history (but somehow did not include top album or genre stats). While typically an easy brand win, last year’s launch was broadly panned. Spotify Wrapped 2025 embraces a retro aesthetic To appease those critiques, Spotify appears to be doing a full 180 with this year’s design. The techy aesthetic has been traded for a look that calls to mind an era when listening to music was a physical process—from building a mixtape to burning your own CD or even putting together a scrapbook of your favorite artists. “We looked back at the way people used to share music before Wrapped existed, and that led us to rooting our visual identity this year in the world of mixtape culture,” Kassaie said. “I may be dating myself a bit here, but if you’ve ever burned a CD for a friend, you know that each one becomes its own little canvas for the creator. That’s kind of the feeling we wanted to capture with this year’s design.” Every visual, he added, is made to feel handmade, with cutouts, images, doodles, and various textures lending the platform a DIY quality. The design is grounded in a palette of black and white, with pops of color reserved for key moments like artist images and album covers. On the data side, Spotify’s team went back to the drawing board to differentiate itself from competitors. This year, it will offer a top album list for the first time ever. In addition, it’s introducing 12 entirely new data-driven features, including “Listening Age,” which analyzes the five year span of music that users engaged with more than others in their age group; “Wrapped Clubs,” which sorts users into one of six clubs based on listening style; and “Wrapped Party,” which lets groups of friends compare their Wrapped data in a real-time, interactive setting. Spotify hasn’t entirely forgone AI in this process, either. “Listening Archive” is an AI-powered feature that spotlights certain days throughout the year, like a user’s biggest discovery day or most nostalgic day. Still, the overall vibe of Spotify Wrapped 2025 is less a celebration of AI, and more a return to the fundamentals that make sharing music fun. View the full article

The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped 8 basis points to 6.32% in the week ended Nov. 28, which included the Thanksgiving holiday, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. View the full article

Less than five months have passed since American Eagle’s controversial Sydney Sweeney campaign, which led to accusations ranging from cluelessness to Nazi propaganda. While the mall mainstay defended the campaign and has escaped relatively unscathed, a new quarterly earnings report shows the success of its sister-brand Aerie is buoying its financial results. On Tuesday, December 2, apparel retail company American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) shared its third-quarter earnings for fiscal 2025, including $1.36 billion in revenue. The 6% increase year-over-year (YOY) beat Wall Street’s predicted $1.32 billion in revenue, according to consensus estimates cited by CNBC. The company also reported earnings per share of 53 cents, compared to 44 cents expected. American Eagle’s namesake brand—and home to the “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” advertisements—can’t claim much responsibility for the jump. Its comparable sales grew by only 1% YOY, while Aerie’s comparable sales jumped 11% YOY. “Resurgence in intimates” Looking at the fiscal year to date, Aerie also reported higher revenue than last year, while the American Eagle brand lagged behind itself YOY. In an earnings call, president and executive creative director of American Eagle and Aerie, Jennifer Foyle, pointed to a “resurgence in intimates” and “strength” across all of the brand’s offerings, as key to Aerie’s success. Foyle added that the brand has seen an “acceleration in demand” since the spring. In October, Aerie made an anti-AI pledge, promising not to use the technology to generate bodies or people in its ads, staying “100% Aerie real.” AEO has raised its fourth-quarter guidance, with CEO Jay Schottenstein sharing that the company had a “record-breaking Thanksgiving weekend led by an acceleration in demand across brands and channels and underscored by outstanding growth at Aerie and Offline.” Offline is an activewear brand opened by American Eagle in 2020. The company now predicts $155 to $160 million in operating income for the fourth quarter, up from $125 to $130 million, and an 8% to 9% increase in comparable sales. Its operating income guidance for the fiscal year also rose, jumping from between $255 and $265 million to $303 to $308 million. Investors responded with glee to the news. American Eagle shares (NYSE:AEO) rose more than 14% after-hours and into premarket trading on Wednesday. The stock is up more than 21% year to date. View the full article

The The President administration is pausing all immigration applications such as requests for green cards for people from 19 countries banned from travel earlier this year, as part of sweeping immigration changes in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard troops. The changes were outlined in a policy memo posted Tuesday on the website of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency tasked with processing and approving all requests for immigration benefits. The pause puts on hold a wide range of immigration-related decisions such as green card applications or naturalizations for immigrants from those 19 countries that the The President administration has described as high-risk. It’s up to the agency’s director, Joseph Edlow, on when to lift the pause, the memo said. The administration in June banned travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access for those from seven others, citing national security concerns. The ban applied to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen while the restricted access applied to people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. At the time, no action was taken against immigrants from those countries who were already in the U.S. before the travel ban went into effect. But now the news from USCIS means those people already in the U.S. — regardless of when they arrived — will come under extra scrutiny. The agency said it would conduct a comprehensive review of all “approved benefit requests” for immigrants who entered the country during the Biden administration. The agency cited the shooting of two National Guard troops by a suspect who is an Afghan national as a reason for the pause and heightened scrutiny for people from those countries. One National Guard soldier was killed and another wounded in the Thanksgiving week shooting near the White House. “In light of identified concerns and the threat to the American people, USCIS has determined that a comprehensive re-review, potential interview, and re-interview of all aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021 is necessary,” the agency said. The agency said in the Tuesday memo that within 90 days it would create a prioritized list of immigrants for review and if necessary, referral to immigration enforcement or other law enforcement agencies. Since the shooting, the administration has announced a flurry of decisions it was taking to scrutinize immigrants already in the country and those seeking to come to the U.S. Last week, the director of USCIS said in a social media post that his agency would be reexamining green card applications for people from countries “of concern.” But the policy directive Tuesday goes further and lays out in more detail the scope of who will be affected. USCIS also said last week that it was pausing all asylum decisions, and the State Department said it was halting visas for Afghans who assisted the U.S. war effort. Days before the shooting, USCIS said in a separate memo that the administration would review the cases of all refugees who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration. Critics have said that the The President administration’s actions have amounted to collective punishment for immigrants. —Rebecca Santana, Associated Press View the full article

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is warning consumers about a type of fraud in which threat actors pretend to be from trusted financial institutions in order to obtain login credentials and gain access to financial and personal data. The consequences are high: With stolen credentials, scammers can gain full control of your accounts and your money. According to the FBI advisory, criminals will quickly wire funds from your bank to cryptocurrency wallets, making the money nearly impossible to trace and recover, and lock you out of your account in the process. Here's how account takeover scams work—and how to avoid becoming a victim. Account takeover scams may impersonate your bankMost account takeover scams use social engineering: a series of tactics designed to manipulate you into giving up personal information, downloading malware, or paying money to bad actors. Scammers impersonate financial institution employees as well as customer support and technical support staff and reach out to targets via text, call, or email to say that their account has been compromised in some way. They may tell you that there have been fraudulent charges on your account and send you a link to report the fraud—but this is actually a phishing site designed to harvest your login credentials. They may ask directly for your username, password, or multi-factor authentication (MFA) code over the phone. In some cases, they may even claim that your information was used to buy firearms and pass you off to a second scammer impersonating law enforcement. They're counting on you to feel fear and confusion and act quickly to "resolve" the issue by handing over your information. The FBI has also identified a version of account takeover using search engine optimization (SEO) poisoning, in which scammers buy ads that appear to be for legitimate businesses but actually allow them to place malicious links to spoofed bank websites higher in search results. How to avoid falling for account takeover scamsWhile being targeted for an account takeover may be unavoidable, there are a few red flags that can help you identify the fraud before it goes south. First, you should always be wary of calls, texts, emails, and other communication (such as social media messages) from someone claiming to be from your bank or creditor, especially if they ask for personal information like your username, password, or time-based one-time password (TOTP). Reputable institutions will not contact you to request your credentials or other sensitive data—so these are almost certainly phishing attempts. You should also be wary of trusting websites that look like they belong to your financial institution, especially if you click to them from a browser search. Cybercriminals can easily build convincing (but spoofed) websites and place the malicious links at the top of search results. Bookmark the trusted link rather than going through a search engine, or use the verified app on your mobile device. Always avoid clicking directly from unsolicited communication, and check URLs and email addresses carefully, as scammers can also use homographs to hide malicious links. Finally, protect your personal information. Use complex, unique passwords stored securely (such as in a password manager), enable a stronger form of MFA (and never give away codes), and limit what you share online. Scammers may use what you've posted—like your date of birth, pet's name, or information about family members—to get past your security questions, guess your password, or make an impersonation attempt sound more convincing. The IC3 also recommends monitoring your financial accounts for irregularities, such as unauthorized withdrawals or transfers, which may be a sign of an account takeover. Consider setting up transaction alerts with your financial institutions to be notified immediately of any suspicious activity. View the full article

Google’s Daily Hub is more complex than it first appears. It’s part of the broader acceleration toward hyperpersonalization we’ve been seeing in recent months – Preferred Sources, Profile Pages with followable elements in Discover, Brand Profiles in Merchant Center – all converging toward a single goal: anticipating your needs before you even formulate a query. Daily Hub is the concrete expression of the “News Digest and Daily Brief” agent identified during our investigations this summer into Google’s 90 AI projects via the AI Mode debug menu. The internal architecture of the system, which Damien Andell managed to decrypt and share with me in advance, reveals a level of technical complexity that also explains why Google temporarily suspended the feature in September 2025, just a month after its launch on the Pixel 10. The three-tier architecture of Daily Hub To understand Daily Hub, imagine a conductor (Gemini) who must coordinate three sections of a symphony orchestra, each playing a different score but having to harmonize in real time. This is exactly what Google is trying to do with this system. First tier: The ‘memory and embeddings’ layer Daily Hub relies on two fundamental types of documents that constitute its memory: MemoryDocument represents the complete content unit. Each document contains: Structured textual content (title, summary, rawText divided into segments). A list of entity identifiers (entityIds) extracted from the Knowledge Graph. Two types of embeddings: contentEmbeddings for the entire document and chunkEmbeddings for each segment. Technical metadata (sourceDataIds, memoryTimeMs, servingState). Binary data (memoryContentBytes, memoryInfoBytes) for optimized storage. MemoryEntityDocument is lighter and represents each extracted entity: Entity characteristics (entityType, entityText, entityDescription, entityTag). Link to parent document via parentMemoryId and memoryQualifiedId. A single embedding (contentEmbeddings) without chunk division. A specific timestamp (entityTimeMs). Concretely, if Daily Hub processes an article about “Lionel Messi joins Inter Miami”, the system will create: A MemoryDocument containing the complete article with its embeddings. Several MemoryEntityDocument: one for “Lionel Messi” (type: Person), one for “Inter Miami CF” (type: Organization), one for “soccer” (type: Sport), etc. This dual structure allows the system to navigate either by content (via documents) or by entity (for thematic recommendations). Second tier: The personalization triumvirate Andell discovered that three parallel systems feed Daily Hub’s personalization: Nephesh (the universal embeddings system) This is Google’s universal embeddings system that Andell had already documented in his analyses of Discover (to preserve its anonymity, the name of this model has been changed in this article). In the context of Daily Hub, Nephesh: Stores interests in ContentInterest.db via SQLite. Associates each subject with a numerical score (string parsed to double). Uses deduplication keys (dedupe_key_nephesh_content_interest) to avoid duplicates. Example of Nephesh data structure: { "football": "0.82", "cooking": "0.65", "AI": "0.91" } The code reveals the parsing mechanism: CustomNepheshData.getScore() → String parseDouble() → Double → Injection into interest builder AIP_TOP_ENTITIES This system manages the user’s “top entities” from the Knowledge Graph: Daily updates based on interactions. Fed via “Follow” buttons in Discover as part of the Google Profile Pages project. List ordered by decreasing importance. When you click “Follow” on a publisher in Discover, their KG entity (with its MID like /g/11h7hztqbj) is added to your profile via the profile.google.com URL. These Google Profile Pages allow you to see the publisher’s social history, their latest articles, and create a persistent link between you and that entity. The next day, this entity appears in the prompts sent to Gemini to personalize the Daily Hub. However, this list is not built solely from clicks on the “Follow” button, but from a mix of explicit signals (what you choose to follow) and implicit signals (what Google infers from your browsing and the content you consume). In other words, the “Follow” button is just the visible part of the iceberg: it provides a strong explicit signal, but AIP_TOP_ENTITIES ultimately orchestrates a broader ranking that also aggregates these implicit signals. TAPAS_USER_PROFILE The semantic profile system that aggregates: Behavioral features (clicks, reading time, scroll). Cross-product browsing history. Implicit preferences deduced from usage patterns. Third tier: ‘ambient’ orchestration This is where coordination happens. The AmbientRanking system orchestrates card display via structured metadata: AmbientRankingMetaDataDocument contains for each card: Global validity window: startTimeMillis → endTimeMillis. Important intervals: importantTimeFrames (list of priority slots). Confidence score: confidence (double between 0 and 1). Actions: tapAction, dismissAction, seenAction. Metadata: creationTimestamp, documentTtlMillis, notificationDedupeId. Let’s take a concrete example: Card “Lakers vs Celtics Score” Global window: 6:00 PM → 11:00 PM Important intervals: 8:00 PM → 10:00 PM (game in progress) Confidence: 0.92 Behavior: At 9:00 PM: Maximum score (in window + important interval + high confidence). At 10:00 AM: Card invisible (outside window). At 7:00 PM: Average score (in window but outside important interval). The system supports different types of Ambient cards: SportsScoreAmbientDataDocument: Real-time sports scores. EventAmbientDataDocument: Calendar events. InvestmentRecapAmbientDataDocument: Financial market summaries (recall that in our summer experiments, we found JUNE FinanceDailyRecapImplicitAppbarLaunch::LaunchLAUNCH). CommuteAmbientDataDocument: Commute information. TypedThingAmbientDataDocument: Generic typed content. Gemini prompts: The system’s thought process revealed Andell managed to capture the exact prompts sent to Gemini. This is a goldmine for understanding the system’s logic. Prompt ‘news topics’: News over 7 days The system uses gemini-2.5-flash-lite with this detailed structured prompt: “You’re an expert at understanding a person’s interests and identifying what news topics they would be interested in following. You are also an expert at scanning the latest news announcements and articles published over the last seven days using Google Search. You are then able to quickly identify the most interesting and important topics in the news over the last week that a person would be interested in knowing about, and you can summarize the key takeaways for them in a way that’s easy to understand.” The numerous imposed constraints: “Guidelines for finding news topics: 1. The current date is 2025-08-31. The news and articles you focus on should all be published in the last seven days. 2. The news topics you summarize should be interesting and important for someone that has the following top interests: [LIST OF 100+ INTERESTS] 3. Each news topic should be related to a different interest. No interests should be repeated in the news topics list. 4. Do not include any news themes related to Banking or Shopping. 5. News topics should be related to these 7 categories: Global News, Business News, Technology News, Popular Culture News, Sports News, Science News.” Explicit thematic restrictions: “Do not include any news themes related to Banking or Shopping.” “Do not choose virtual activities related to online banking and online shopping.” The ultra-precise output formatting: { "suggestions": [ { "headline": "In 4 words or less, what is this news topic about. The headline must reference the main topic from the article that was published in the last seven days. Do not use periods.", "category": "Global News, Business News, Technology News, Popular Culture News, Sports News, Science News", "article_publish_date": "The most recent article publish date for this news topic", "article_title": "The Title of the most recent article", "rank": "A number, 1 to 5, that represents the ranking", "pitch": "In 6 words or less, describe the article and why this news topic is interesting for the person. Start with a verb that creates a call-to-action. Do not use periods.", "image_description": "Using 15 words or less, describe an image that would represent the news topic. Be specific and creative. The image should not include people. Do not mention a color in the description. Do not describe the light. Use all lower case letters." } ] } Prompt ‘virtual activities’: Elaborate YouTube recommendation The complete prompt reveals complex logic: “You’re an expert at finding ‘Virtual Activities’ that fit a person’s interests and persona. ‘Virtual Activities’ are digitally-accessed events and YouTube videos. ‘Virtual Activities’ focus on news and entertainment. Examples of ‘Virtual Activities’ include: live-streaming events, watching replays of events online, watching sporting events, streaming concerts, watching entertaining videos, watching the news, watching YouTube videos that report on news for a topic of interest. You are able to understand a person deeply by reviewing a list of their interests, and then connect those interests to real world virtual activity suggestions. Guidelines for finding virtual activities: 1. Consider interesting the person’s top interests in order of importance starting with the highest interest: [100+ INTERESTS LISTED]. 2. Consider the current time 10 AM, and whether the virtual activity would be appropriate for the current time or later in the day. 3. Consider how and when the person might fit these virtual activities into their schedule and plans for the day. 4. Consider the current location: San Jose, Santa Clara County, California. 5. Consider how the weather could impact the person’s plans. 6. Do not choose virtual activities related to online banking and online shopping. 7. Focus on Virtual activities that are related to news and entertainment. 8. Prioritize new, fresh, and live content that’s most relevant for today.” The detailed selection algorithm: “Your task is to: 1. Based on the person’s interests, understand their persona and character. 2. Identify 5 interesting suggestions for virtual activities. 3. For each of the 5 virtual activities, identify the best 3 creator channels on YouTube. 4. Perform a live Google Search query to verify that the YouTube creator channel is valid. 5. After you have generated all 15 creator channel options, review them and rank all 15 options from most relevant (1) to least relevant (15). 6. Out of the 15 ranked creator channel options, include only the 4 creator channels ranked at [7, 4, 5, 1].” Prompt ‘focus areas’: Personal growth “You’re an expert helping people identify personal growth goals that are important to them, based on the person’s interests and preferences. You are able to understand a person deeply by reviewing a list of their interests, and then connect those interests to goals the person is likely to have. You are also able to break down these goals into more specific and narrow subtopics and focus areas.” Personalization instructions: “Guidelines for identifying goals focus areas: 1. Only consider focus areas that are related to these 5 goal subtopics: {subtopics with subtopicRank from 1 to 29}. 2. Focus areas should be relevant for the person’s interests. 3. Identify 2 new focus areas for each of the 5 subtopics. 4. Make sure the Focus areas are creative and exciting. 5. Do not choose focus areas related to banking and shopping.” Prompt ‘distilled context’: Contextual synthesis “You are a personal assistant and help people quickly understand the most important information about their plans for the day. You can understand key events and phases that happen in a person’s day, and understand how weather and travel times like commuting can impact their schedule and plans. Consider these factors which impact the outlook for a person’s day: 1. weather outlook for today: [WEATHER_DATA or “No available weather forecast”] 2. The person’s plans and schedule, which includes these calendar events: [CALENDAR_EVENTS or “no scheduled event/plan on my calendar”] 3. Commuting times between Home and Work for today 4. The current time of day: [TIME]. Consider the phases of the day to be morning (4am-12pm), afternoon (12pm-6pm), evening (6pm-10pm), night (10pm-4am) 5. The current day: [ISO_DATE] 6. The person’s top interests in order of importance: [100+ INTERESTS]” The output format reveals psychological analysis: { "DistilledContext": "Summarize using 50 words or less, the person's outlook for the day, considering their calendar events. Only consider the part of the day after the current time. Include a general summary that identifies how busy they are, and mention specific time ranges when you know they will be busy, as well as specific time ranges when they are likely to have free time. Mention specific times or periods of the day, where they are likely to have time to include shorter activities (less than 1 hour), or longer activities (more than 1 hour). Mention how they might feel at different parts of the day based on their schedule and persona." } Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. The ‘new topics’ generation system A notable aspect discovered is the pipeline for generating new topics, stored in NewTopic.db. Data structure with fixed categories: { "new_topic": [ {"topic_category": "Learning","topic": "Game Development"}, {"topic_category": "Self Improvement","topic": "Mindfulness Meditation"}, {"topic_category": "Fitness & Wellness","topic": "Yoga Practice"}, {"topic_category": "News Themes","topic": "Tesla Earnings"} ] } Discovered fixed distribution: 10 “Learning” topics: Data Science, Blockchain Technology, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Stock Trading, Digital Photography, Creative Writing, Culinary Arts, World History, Game Development. 10 “Self Improvement” topics: Mindfulness Meditation, Financial Planning, Relationship Building, Time Management, Stress Reduction, Public Speaking, Emotional Intelligence, Personal Branding, Habit Formation, Conflict Resolution. 10 “Fitness & Wellness” topics: Yoga Practice, Cycling Outdoors, Weight Training, Swimming Laps, Pilates Class, Hiking Trails, Rock Climbing, Boxing Fitness, Dance Cardio, Running Club. 20 “News Themes” topics: Tesla Earnings, iPhone Release, Metaverse Development, Semiconductor Shortage, Cybersecurity Threats, Beyonce Album, Grammy Awards, Marvel Movies, Netflix Series, Coachella Festival, Lakers Playoffs, NFL Draft, Champions League, World Series, Kentucky Recruiting, Bitcoin Price, Inflation Report, Fed Meeting, Google Stock, Hollywood Strike. Total: Exactly 50 topics, periodically regenerated to maintain freshness. Local databases: The intelligent cache Daily Hub uses several SQLite databases for local storage: ContentInterest.db: Stores Nephesh interests. Key-value format via SqliteKeyValueCache. Dedup key: dedupe_key_nephesh_content_interest. String → double parsing for scores. NewTopic.db: Stores 50 new topics. Periodic rotation. Dedup key: dedupe_key_new_topic. Fallback mechanism: If retrieval fails, the system generates default interests via a builder that applies standard scores. Integration with the Google Ecosystem The data flow: Entity synchronization via Google Profile Pages The data flow: Day D – 10:00 AM: User clicks “Follow” on a publisher in Discover Redirect to profile.google.com/cp/[ENTITY_MID]. KG entity is added to user profile. Day D – 6:00 PM: Batch update executes Entity appears in AIP_TOP_ENTITIES. Synchronization with Google Profile Pages. Day D+1 – 12:00 AM: Daily Hub prompts regeneration Publisher is included in top interests list. Weighting according to engagement score. Day D+1 – 6:00 AM: Daily Hub opening Content linked to this entity gets scoring boost. Priority display in relevant cards. Types of recommendable entities The system distinguishes two categories of entities: recommendationEntityTypes: RECOMMENDATION_TVM (TV/Movies) RECOMMENDATION_ENTERTAINMENT_VIDEO RECOMMENDATION_EBOOK RECOMMENDATION_AUDIOBOOK RECOMMENDATION_PERSON RECOMMENDATION_ARTICLE continuationEntityTypes: CONTINUATION_TVM CONTINUATION_ENTERTAINMENT_VIDEO CONTINUATION_RESTNT_RESERVATION CONTINUATION_TRANSPORTATION_RESERVATION CONTINUATION_SHOPPING CONTINUATION_EBOOK Temporal and spatial context An important element of Daily Hub is its context awareness. Temporal awareness: Current time injected: “Consider the current time 4 PM” Day phases: morning (4 am-12 pm) afternoon (12 pm-6 pm) evening (6 pm-10 pm) night (10 pm-4 am) Calendar events: “No scheduled events for the remainder of the day” Spatial awareness: Location: “San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, United States” Weather: “No available weather forecast” (when unavailable) Commute time: “Commute time Home-Work: empty” Impact on recommendations: The “DistilledContext” prompt generates a 50-word maximum summary that evaluates: Person’s busyness level Free slots for short (<1h) or long (>1h) activities Probable emotional state based on schedule: “They might feel relaxed and have the flexibility” Advanced scoring mechanisms Multilevel confidence score Each element in Daily Hub receives three levels of scoring: Embedding score: Cosine similarity between user embedding (Nephesh) and content embedding. Entity score: Boost if entity is in AIP_TOP_ENTITIES. Temporal score: Multiplication by AmbientRanking factor. The system combines these three scores to determine the final relevance of each item. Reasons for the temporary failure Problem 1: System desynchronization Nephesh: batch update every 24 hours. AIP_TOP_ENTITIES: continuous refresh. TAPAS: aggregation on 7-day sliding window. AmbientRanking: real-time calculation. Result: temporal inconsistencies generating offset recommendations. Problem 2: Combinatorial explosion With 50 new topics × 100+ top entities × 6 news categories × 4 daily phases, the system must handle millions of possible combinations. Gemini prompts become too complex and generate unpredictable results. Problem 3: Recommendation quality User feedback collected on forums and social media reports inappropriate suggestions: “Perfect belly dance finger cymbals” for a tech/SEO profile. YouTube videos with low-quality AI avatars. Generic topics like “Analyze game engine capabilities” unrelated to actual interests. Complete architecture: Overview Recommendation lifecycle Step 1: Signal collection (T-24h) Discover, YouTube, Search interactions compiled. Nephesh embeddings calculation updated. KG entities extracted and scored. Synchronization with Google Profile Pages. Step 2: Context preparation (T-1h) TAPAS profile retrieval. TOP_ENTITIES loading from AIP. Temporal/spatial context extraction. Restrictions verification (no banking, no shopping). Step 3: Gemini Generation (T-0) Prompt construction with 100+ top interests. Call to gemini-2.5-flash-lite. JSON response parsing. Format constraint validation. Step 4: Ambient Scoring (T+10ms) Validity windows application. Temporal score calculation. Final relevance sorting. Step 5: Display (T+100ms) Card rendering according to score. Interaction tracking. Signal update for next cycle. Hidden optimizations Deduplication system dedupe_key_nephesh_content_interest dedupe_key_new_topic Multilevel cache L1 Cache: Local SQLite on device (ContentInterest.db, NewTopic.db). L2 Cache: AppSearch for MemoryDocument with semantic index. L3 Cache: Server for embeddings and KG entities. Hierarchical embeddings Complete document: contentEmbeddings. Text chunks: chunkEmbeddings. Entities: simple embedding. A system too ambitious – for now Daily Hub reveals Google’s overreaching ambition: creating an assistant that not only understands your interests but anticipates your needs based on time of day, location, schedule, and even probable emotional state. The three-layer architecture (Memory, Personalization, Orchestration) is technically impressive but suffers from coordination problems that explain the service’s suspension. The Gemini prompts show a remarkable attempt to generate personalized content, but output quality remains insufficient. What’s striking in this analysis is the convergence of all Google systems toward this hyperpersonalization. Knowledge Graph entities become central via Google Profile Pages, behavioral embeddings are refined, and generative AI attempts to orchestrate everything. Daily Hub isn’t a failure. It’s a public prototype that reveals the direction Google is taking. When the technical problems are resolved, we’ll be dealing with a system capable of anticipating our needs with remarkable precision. The question is no longer “if” but “when” – and given the acceleration observed since mid-2025, the answer could be: sooner than we think. Andell’s discoveries provide us with a rare glimpse into this ongoing transformation. Today’s suspended Daily Hub could very well be tomorrow’s new paradigm for our interaction with digital information. View the full article

You’re three minutes into a Severity 1 incident when you realize nobody knows why the previous responder decided to restart the database cluster. The logs are scrolling, alerts are firing, and the executive team has joined the war room. Someone asks, “Did we check replication lag before the restart?” Nobody knows. The person who made that call is already troubleshooting the next failure mode, unreachable in another Slack thread. You’re holding a lit fuse with no idea how long it’s been burning. This happens because blameless culture meets its infrastructure problem during handoffs. You’ve done the postmortem training. You’ve removed “human error” from your vocabulary. You understand that systems fail, not people. But when you inherit an incident mid-stream with zero context, blameless culture becomes a future promise you can’t access right now. The gaps in handoff force you into blame-seeking behavior because you can’t understand decisions without the situational awareness that informed them. The escalation process itself generates the blame it claims to prevent. Why Incident Handoffs Create Blame During Escalation You’ve probably noticed a pattern in postmortems. The timeline reconstruction reveals reasonable decisions made with incomplete information. Everyone acted appropriately given what they knew. The corrective actions focus on monitoring gaps and automation. The culture stays healthy. Then, three weeks later, another incident hits, and someone in the war room says, “Who decided to fail over to the backup region?” with an edge in their voice that everyone hears. That edge isn’t a cultural failure. It’s a cognitive one. When you inherit an incident without context, your brain doesn’t have the luxury of systems thinking. You’re pattern-matching under pressure, trying to build a mental model while the system continues degrading. Every gap in the handoff, every missing “why” behind a previous action, registers as a potential error because you can’t reconstruct the reasoning. You need to evaluate whether to undo the previous action or build on it, and you don’t have the information to decide wisely. The accusatory questions emerge not because people reject blameless culture, but because they’re trying to de-risk their own decision-making in real time. “Did anyone check X before doing Y?” sounds like blame. It’s actually a desperate attempt to reconstruct situational awareness while the clock runs. Handoffs occur at the worst possible moment: when cognitive load is highest and time pressure is extreme. The person handing off is usually context-switching to another problem. The person receiving the handoff is ramping up from zero while alerts continue firing. Both parties are operating in a mode where human communication is least reliable. Your incident channels during escalations look like archaeological dig sites. Someone shares a log snippet four messages up. Someone else posts a theory three messages down. The actual resolution decision gets made in a thread branch nobody links to. When the next shift takes over, they’re reading a conversation that made sense to participants in the moment but requires a decoder ring to parse after the fact. This is where teams get the insight backwards. Most treat an incident’s context as something you reconstruct afterwards. You collect logs, correlate timelines, and interview participants. The postmortem becomes archaeology. You’re excavating what happened from fragments. The better question is: what will the next responder need to know when they inherit this incident? That reframe changes how you structure handoffs. Instead of documentation you create after the fact, you build context as infrastructure during the incident. When you make a decision to restart the service, fail over to backup, or disable a feature flag, you’re not just executing an action. You’re creating a waypoint for the next person. They need to know what you tried, what you observed, and what you ruled out. That information needs to be immediately accessible, not buried in a scroll. Your monitoring tools capture your system‘s state. Your escalation process needs to capture decision states with the same fidelity. Using SBAR Protocol for Incident Response Handoffs When you’re inheriting an incident at two in the morning, your prefrontal cortex isn’t running at full capacity. You need a structure that works when your brain doesn’t want to. This is why protocols matter more than principles during handoffs. Blameless culture is a principle. SBAR is a protocol. What SBAR brings to DevOps escalation SBAR comes from healthcare: Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation. It’s designed for high-stakes handoffs where miscommunication kills patients. The structure is rigid by design. Situation: what’s happening right now. Background: what led to this state. Assessment: what you think is causing it. Recommendation: what you think should happen next. For DevOps escalation, SBAR provides cognitive scaffolding when you’re past the point of creative thinking. You don’t have to figure out what information matters. The protocol tells you. When you receive an SBAR handoff, you don’t have to reconstruct the responder’s mental model. It’s explicitly documented. SBAR in action during escalation Here’s what SBAR looks like in an actual escalation: Situation: API response times spiked to eight seconds at 14:23. Most requests timing out. The customer-facing dashboard is showing degraded service. Background: Deployed new caching layer at 13:45. No issues until 14:20. Cache hit rate dropped significantly when response times spiked. No infrastructure changes. Database load increased but is still within normal operating range. Assessment: Cache invalidation pattern is broken. The new layer is missing entries it should have. The database is handling load it shouldn’t need to because the cache isn’t working. Not a database problem. Recommendation: Escalating to caching team to investigate invalidation logic. Considering rollback if no diagnosis in fifteen minutes. Metrics to watch: cache hit rate, database connection pool saturation. Notice what this structure does. The receiving responder immediately knows the current impact (Situation), doesn’t have to read deployment logs to understand what changed (Background), gets the previous responder’s diagnostic reasoning (Assessment), and understands both the escalation rationale and the rollback threshold (Recommendation). They can agree or disagree with the assessment, but they’re not starting from zero. The protocol also prevents common escalation mistakes. Without structure, people escalate with just the situation: “API is slow, can you look?” This forces the receiving team to rediscover everything. Or they over-explain the background and bury the current state in historical detail. SBAR enforces information hierarchy. The assessment section is where blame traditionally hides, and where SBAR provides the most protection. By making assessment explicit and separating it from situation and background, you’re distinguishing between observed facts and diagnostic reasoning. This separation is what makes handoffs actually blameless. You’re not passing judgment on previous actions. You’re sharing your current understanding of system behavior. For teams adopting SBAR, the hardest part is usually the recommendation section. People feel uncomfortable making explicit recommendations during escalation, as if suggesting the next action implies criticism of previous ones. This discomfort is itself a symptom of blame culture. In truly blameless environments, recommendations are hypotheses, not judgments. The person escalating has context that the receiving team doesn’t. Sharing that reasoning helps them ramp up faster. Why the protocol works under pressure The protocol works because it matches how your brain processes information under stress. You need current state first, then just enough history to understand causation, then the previous responder’s mental model, then clear guidance on what they think matters next. Trying to absorb this information in a different order or extracting it from an unstructured conversation costs cognitive cycles you don’t have during incidents. Building Incident Management Infrastructure That Preserves Context SBAR gives you the protocol. But protocols fail when they require manual discipline during chaos. You need infrastructure that makes context preservation automatic, or at least low-friction enough that people actually use it when systems are on fire. What context-preserving infrastructure does Most incident management tools treat escalation as notification routing. They’ll page the right person and create a ticket, but they don’t preserve the decision trail that led to escalation. You end up with an audit log of who got paged when, but not the situational awareness those people needed to respond effectively. Context-preserving infrastructure means building escalation workflows where the act of escalating forces context capture. When someone escalates an incident, the system should require them to fill out SBAR fields before the escalation completes. Not as optional documentation for later, but as a mandatory structure for the handoff itself. The infrastructure needs to make context visible without requiring active searching. When a new responder joins an incident, they should see the decision trail automatically: What actions have been taken What was observed after each action What was ruled out during diagnosis Timeline correlation between system changes and response actions Timeline visualization becomes critical. During an escalation, the receiving responder needs to see system changes and response actions on the same timeline. When did error rates spike? When did someone restart the service? What was the gap between them? This temporal relationship between system behavior and human decisions is what lets you evaluate whether previous actions helped, hurt, or had no effect. Preserving negative information matters as much as positive findings. If the previous responder verified that disk space was fine, the next responder shouldn’t waste time checking disk space. But without infrastructure that captures “checked disk: OK,” people naturally re-verify previous checks because they don’t trust that they happened. This redundant checking feels like safety, but delays resolution. Making tools work together during escalation Integration between tools needs to preserve context across boundaries. If you’re escalating from an infrastructure team to an application team, and those teams work in different systems, the context packet needs to move with the escalation. Your monitoring system captures metrics, your incident management system captures actions, and your chat system captures discussions. These systems need to maintain context coherence during handoffs, not scatter information across three browser tabs that responders have to manually correlate. Tools don’t replace protocols. Tools should make protocols easier to follow. The integration architecture you build needs to support SBAR, not substitute for it. This means designing workflows where structured context capture is the default path, not an optional enhancement. When someone escalates in your incident channel, the integration should prompt for SBAR fields before creating the escalation. When someone updates an incident in your ticketing platform, the integration should automatically post the update to your incident channel with appropriate formatting. The architecture also needs to handle bidirectional context flow. Information captured in one system should be available in another without manual copying. If someone documents a diagnosis in your ticketing system, that information should appear in your incident timeline automatically. If someone shares an important metric in chat, it should attach to the incident record. The right integration architecture feels invisible during incidents. Responders follow natural workflows in familiar tools, and the infrastructure ensures that context accumulates and travels with the incident. They’re not thinking about integration. They’re thinking about resolution. The infrastructure just makes sure that when they hand off to the next person, the context comes along. Making Blameless Culture Operational in DevOps Incident Response That two-in-the-morning escalation scenario plays out differently when infrastructure preserves context. You inherit the incident and immediately see what’s been tried, what was observed, and what the previous responder thinks is happening. You might disagree with their assessment, but you’re building on their work, not rediscovering it. The question isn’t “who decided to restart the database?” It’s “given what they saw, does that make sense?” This is what a blameless culture looks like when it has structural support. You’re not asking people to be generous and forgiving after the fact. You’re building systems that make blame unnecessary in the moment, because responders have the context to understand decisions as hypotheses rather than mistakes. Teams that handle incident escalation well have realized that incident management isn’t just about resolution speed. It’s about preserving the cognitive trail that makes learning possible. Every incident is a chance to understand your system in greater depth, but only if you can reconstruct the reasoning behind decisions, not just the timeline of actions. The measure of good escalation infrastructure is simple: can someone inherit your incident and know what you know? If the answer is yes, you’ve built something that makes blameless culture operationally real, not just aspirationally nice. That infrastructure starts with protocols like SBAR that give responders cognitive scaffolding under pressure, and extends to integration architecture that preserves context automatically as incidents move between teams and tools. When you’re ready to build this kind of infrastructure, Unito’s ticket escalation workflows can help you maintain context as incidents move between your monitoring tools, IT service management platforms, and development systems. The goal isn’t replacing your incident response process. It’s ensuring that context flows through it, so escalations preserve understanding instead of fragmenting it. Need an integration for ticket escalation workflows? Meet with a Unito product expert and see how a two-way integration can transform your workflow. Talk with sales View the full article

Weaker than expected figures from payroll processor ADP highlight weakness in labour marketView the full article

An LLC, or Limited Liability Company, is a popular business structure in the USA that offers a blend of liability protection and tax benefits. When you form an LLC, your personal assets are typically shielded from the company’s debts, which is a significant advantage. This structure allows for an unlimited number of members, including individuals and foreign entities. Comprehending how to start an LLC and its unique characteristics can help you make informed decisions about your business. Key Takeaways An LLC (Limited Liability Company) combines liability protection and pass-through taxation, safeguarding members’ personal assets from business debts. LLCs can have an unlimited number of members, including individuals and foreign entities, promoting diverse ownership. Ownership interests in an LLC are represented by membership interests, not shares of stock, allowing for flexible investment structures. To form an LLC, Articles of Organization must be filed with the state, and a registered agent must be designated. LLCs benefit from fewer formalities and regulations compared to corporations, offering management flexibility and simplicity in operation. Definition and Characteristics of an LLC When you consider starting a business, one option you might explore is forming a limited liability company, or LLC. An LLC in the USA combines the liability protection of a corporation with the pass-through taxation advantages of a partnership. As a member of an LLC, you’re not personally liable for the company’s debts, which means your personal assets remain protected. This type of company in the United States allows for an unlimited number of members, including individuals and foreign entities, without citizenship restrictions. Instead of shares of stock, ownership interests in an LLC are represented by membership interests, offering flexibility in profit and loss allocations. Each state has specific regulations for forming and operating an LLC, so it’s crucial to comply with local laws. Tax Advantages of an LLC Comprehending the tax advantages of an LLC can considerably impact your business’s financial health. Here are some key benefits you should know about forming an LLC en USA: Pass-through taxation means profits and losses appear on your personal tax returns, avoiding double taxation. Single-member LLCs are disregarded entities, letting you report income on Schedule C without filing a separate tax return. Multi-member LLCs file IRS Form 1065, reporting income and deductions like a partnership. Tax flexibility allows LLCs to elect corporate status, enabling taxation as a C or S corporation if advantageous. Understanding these advantages will help you make informed decisions that can improve your business’s profitability and tax efficiency. How to Start an LLC Starting an LLC can be a straightforward process, especially once you understand the key steps involved. First, choose a unique business name that meets your state’s requirements and check its availability in the state’s database. Next, file the Articles of Organization with your state’s Secretary of State, including details like the business name, principal address, and registered agent information, along with the required filing fee. Designate a registered agent with a physical address in your state to receive legal documents. Although not mandatory in all states, consider creating an operating agreement to define management structure and profit-sharing. After forming your LLC, obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS and comply with ongoing state requirements, such as annual reports. Pros and Cons of an LLC Comprehending the pros and cons of forming an LLC is crucial for anyone considering this business structure. Here’s what you need to know: Limited Personal Liability: Your personal assets are typically protected from business debts. Pass-Through Taxation: Profits and losses are reported on your personal tax return, avoiding double taxation. Flexible Structure: LLCs require less formal structure and paperwork than corporations, simplifying setup and maintenance. Self-Employment Taxes: You may face self-employment taxes on profits, and raising capital can be tougher compared to corporations. While there are significant benefits, be aware of potential drawbacks like varying state regulations and compliance costs that can impact your overall expenses. Grasping both sides helps you make informed decisions about your business. Differences Between LLCs, Partnerships, and Corporations When deciding on a business structure, it’s important to understand the differences between LLCs, partnerships, and corporations, as each offers unique benefits and drawbacks. LLCs provide limited liability protection, shielding your personal assets from business debts. Conversely, partnerships expose you to personal liability for business obligations. Tax-wise, LLCs enjoy pass-through taxation, avoiding the double taxation faced by corporations. Management flexibility is another advantage for LLCs, allowing for member-managed or manager-managed structures, unlike the rigid hierarchy of corporations. Furthermore, forming a partnership doesn’t require formal filing, whereas LLCs must file Articles of Organization. Finally, LLCs can have an unlimited number of members without citizenship restrictions, whereas partnerships and corporations have specific regulations governing ownership. Variations of LLCs Comprehending the various types of Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) available can considerably impact how you structure your business. Here are four significant variations to evaluate: Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC): Customized for licensed professionals like doctors and lawyers, offering liability protection during compliance with specific state regulations. Series LLC: Allows multiple divisions within one LLC, each with its own assets and liabilities, enhancing protection against liability. Low-Profit Limited Liability Company (L3C): Merges for-profit and social enterprise goals, enabling you to pursue charitable objectives as you generate profit. Anonymous LLC: Conceals member identities from public disclosure, appealing to those who prioritize privacy in ownership. Keep in mind that state regulations dictate the characteristics and benefits of each type, so research is crucial. Legal Considerations for LLCs When forming an LLC, comprehension of the legal considerations is vital for protecting your interests and ensuring smooth operations. An operating agreement, although not always required, is important as it defines how your LLC will be managed and can help avoid conflicts among members. Furthermore, enjoying limited liability protection allows you to separate your personal assets from the company’s debts, making it imperative to adhere to state regulations and compliance requirements. Operating Agreement Importance An operating agreement is an essential document for any Limited Liability Company (LLC) in the USA, as it clearly defines the management structure, member responsibilities, and operational procedures. Although not required in every state, having one is highly recommended to solidify your LLC’s separate existence and protect its limited liability status. A well-crafted operating agreement can help prevent disputes and misunderstandings among members. Here are some key elements to reflect on: Capital contributions: Clarifies how much each member invests. Profit distribution: Outlines how profits will be shared. Member management: Details each member’s responsibilities. Adding/removing members: Establishes processes for changes in membership. Limited Liability Protection Limited liability protection is one of the primary advantages of forming an LLC, as it effectively separates your personal assets from the business’s debts and liabilities. This means that your home, savings, and other personal property are typically shielded from claims against the business, providing you peace of mind. The “LLC veil” is more challenging to pierce than in other business structures, ensuring that you maintain this protection as long as you don’t mix personal and business funds. Nonetheless, be cautious; courts can hold you personally liable if fraud or misconduct occurs. Furthermore, a well-drafted operating agreement is crucial for governance, helping to prevent disputes and reinforcing your limited liability status, safeguarding your interests in the LLC. Membership Flexibility Options Ownership in an LLC is marked by significant flexibility, offering various options for membership that cater to different needs and preferences. Here are some key features of LLC membership flexibility: You can include a diverse range of members, like individuals, corporations, or other entities, with no citizenship restrictions. Membership interests can be customized in units or percentages, allowing you to personalize ownership distribution. There’s no limit on the number of members, which promotes unlimited participation in ownership and management. Operating agreements, whether written, oral, or implied, dictate how your LLC operates, helping to prevent disputes among members. This flexibility accommodates both passive investors and active managers, ensuring that the structure meets your specific goals. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Purpose of Having an LLC? The purpose of having an LLC is primarily to limit your personal liability for business debts, protecting your assets from business-related risks. It furthermore provides pass-through taxation, so profits and losses appear on your personal tax return, avoiding double taxation. In addition, an LLC offers a flexible ownership structure, allowing various entities to be members. This can improve your business’s credibility and streamline management through defined roles in an operating agreement. What Is US LLC and How Does It Work? An LLC, or Limited Liability Company, functions as a hybrid structure that protects your personal assets from business debts. It allows you to report profits and losses on your personal tax return, avoiding double taxation. To form an LLC, you file Articles of Organization with your state, detailing your business name and registered agent. You can choose a flexible management structure, either member-managed or manager-managed, based on your operational preferences. Does an LLC Have to Pay Its Owner? An LLC doesn’t pay its owners directly like a corporation does. Instead, profits pass through to your personal tax return, where you report income. You can take distributions based on your LLC’s operating agreement, which details how profits are shared. If you’re a single-member LLC, you report everything on your tax return without a separate filing. Multi-member LLCs require IRS Form 1065, and each member receives a Schedule K-1 for their share of income. Do LLCS Get Money Back? LLCs themselves don’t receive money back as they’re not taxed at the entity level. Instead, profits pass through to you, impacting your personal tax return. If you’ve overpaid your taxes, you might receive a refund based on your individual situation. Furthermore, expenses and deductions can lower taxable income, which could lead to refunds if your withholdings exceed your tax liability. Always consult a tax professional to understand your specific circumstances better. Conclusion In conclusion, an LLC is a flexible business structure that offers liability protection and tax benefits, making it a popular choice for many entrepreneurs. By comprehending its characteristics, advantages, and how to establish one, you can make informed decisions about your business. Remember to reflect on the differences between LLCs, partnerships, and corporations to choose the best structure for your needs. With careful planning and adherence to legal requirements, you can successfully navigate the process of forming an LLC. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Is an LLC in the USA?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

An LLC, or Limited Liability Company, is a popular business structure in the USA that offers a blend of liability protection and tax benefits. When you form an LLC, your personal assets are typically shielded from the company’s debts, which is a significant advantage. This structure allows for an unlimited number of members, including individuals and foreign entities. Comprehending how to start an LLC and its unique characteristics can help you make informed decisions about your business. Key Takeaways An LLC (Limited Liability Company) combines liability protection and pass-through taxation, safeguarding members’ personal assets from business debts. LLCs can have an unlimited number of members, including individuals and foreign entities, promoting diverse ownership. Ownership interests in an LLC are represented by membership interests, not shares of stock, allowing for flexible investment structures. To form an LLC, Articles of Organization must be filed with the state, and a registered agent must be designated. LLCs benefit from fewer formalities and regulations compared to corporations, offering management flexibility and simplicity in operation. Definition and Characteristics of an LLC When you consider starting a business, one option you might explore is forming a limited liability company, or LLC. An LLC in the USA combines the liability protection of a corporation with the pass-through taxation advantages of a partnership. As a member of an LLC, you’re not personally liable for the company’s debts, which means your personal assets remain protected. This type of company in the United States allows for an unlimited number of members, including individuals and foreign entities, without citizenship restrictions. Instead of shares of stock, ownership interests in an LLC are represented by membership interests, offering flexibility in profit and loss allocations. Each state has specific regulations for forming and operating an LLC, so it’s crucial to comply with local laws. Tax Advantages of an LLC Comprehending the tax advantages of an LLC can considerably impact your business’s financial health. Here are some key benefits you should know about forming an LLC en USA: Pass-through taxation means profits and losses appear on your personal tax returns, avoiding double taxation. Single-member LLCs are disregarded entities, letting you report income on Schedule C without filing a separate tax return. Multi-member LLCs file IRS Form 1065, reporting income and deductions like a partnership. Tax flexibility allows LLCs to elect corporate status, enabling taxation as a C or S corporation if advantageous. Understanding these advantages will help you make informed decisions that can improve your business’s profitability and tax efficiency. How to Start an LLC Starting an LLC can be a straightforward process, especially once you understand the key steps involved. First, choose a unique business name that meets your state’s requirements and check its availability in the state’s database. Next, file the Articles of Organization with your state’s Secretary of State, including details like the business name, principal address, and registered agent information, along with the required filing fee. Designate a registered agent with a physical address in your state to receive legal documents. Although not mandatory in all states, consider creating an operating agreement to define management structure and profit-sharing. After forming your LLC, obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS and comply with ongoing state requirements, such as annual reports. Pros and Cons of an LLC Comprehending the pros and cons of forming an LLC is crucial for anyone considering this business structure. Here’s what you need to know: Limited Personal Liability: Your personal assets are typically protected from business debts. Pass-Through Taxation: Profits and losses are reported on your personal tax return, avoiding double taxation. Flexible Structure: LLCs require less formal structure and paperwork than corporations, simplifying setup and maintenance. Self-Employment Taxes: You may face self-employment taxes on profits, and raising capital can be tougher compared to corporations. While there are significant benefits, be aware of potential drawbacks like varying state regulations and compliance costs that can impact your overall expenses. Grasping both sides helps you make informed decisions about your business. Differences Between LLCs, Partnerships, and Corporations When deciding on a business structure, it’s important to understand the differences between LLCs, partnerships, and corporations, as each offers unique benefits and drawbacks. LLCs provide limited liability protection, shielding your personal assets from business debts. Conversely, partnerships expose you to personal liability for business obligations. Tax-wise, LLCs enjoy pass-through taxation, avoiding the double taxation faced by corporations. Management flexibility is another advantage for LLCs, allowing for member-managed or manager-managed structures, unlike the rigid hierarchy of corporations. Furthermore, forming a partnership doesn’t require formal filing, whereas LLCs must file Articles of Organization. Finally, LLCs can have an unlimited number of members without citizenship restrictions, whereas partnerships and corporations have specific regulations governing ownership. Variations of LLCs Comprehending the various types of Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) available can considerably impact how you structure your business. Here are four significant variations to evaluate: Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC): Customized for licensed professionals like doctors and lawyers, offering liability protection during compliance with specific state regulations. Series LLC: Allows multiple divisions within one LLC, each with its own assets and liabilities, enhancing protection against liability. Low-Profit Limited Liability Company (L3C): Merges for-profit and social enterprise goals, enabling you to pursue charitable objectives as you generate profit. Anonymous LLC: Conceals member identities from public disclosure, appealing to those who prioritize privacy in ownership. Keep in mind that state regulations dictate the characteristics and benefits of each type, so research is crucial. Legal Considerations for LLCs When forming an LLC, comprehension of the legal considerations is vital for protecting your interests and ensuring smooth operations. An operating agreement, although not always required, is important as it defines how your LLC will be managed and can help avoid conflicts among members. Furthermore, enjoying limited liability protection allows you to separate your personal assets from the company’s debts, making it imperative to adhere to state regulations and compliance requirements. Operating Agreement Importance An operating agreement is an essential document for any Limited Liability Company (LLC) in the USA, as it clearly defines the management structure, member responsibilities, and operational procedures. Although not required in every state, having one is highly recommended to solidify your LLC’s separate existence and protect its limited liability status. A well-crafted operating agreement can help prevent disputes and misunderstandings among members. Here are some key elements to reflect on: Capital contributions: Clarifies how much each member invests. Profit distribution: Outlines how profits will be shared. Member management: Details each member’s responsibilities. Adding/removing members: Establishes processes for changes in membership. Limited Liability Protection Limited liability protection is one of the primary advantages of forming an LLC, as it effectively separates your personal assets from the business’s debts and liabilities. This means that your home, savings, and other personal property are typically shielded from claims against the business, providing you peace of mind. The “LLC veil” is more challenging to pierce than in other business structures, ensuring that you maintain this protection as long as you don’t mix personal and business funds. Nonetheless, be cautious; courts can hold you personally liable if fraud or misconduct occurs. Furthermore, a well-drafted operating agreement is crucial for governance, helping to prevent disputes and reinforcing your limited liability status, safeguarding your interests in the LLC. Membership Flexibility Options Ownership in an LLC is marked by significant flexibility, offering various options for membership that cater to different needs and preferences. Here are some key features of LLC membership flexibility: You can include a diverse range of members, like individuals, corporations, or other entities, with no citizenship restrictions. Membership interests can be customized in units or percentages, allowing you to personalize ownership distribution. There’s no limit on the number of members, which promotes unlimited participation in ownership and management. Operating agreements, whether written, oral, or implied, dictate how your LLC operates, helping to prevent disputes among members. This flexibility accommodates both passive investors and active managers, ensuring that the structure meets your specific goals. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Purpose of Having an LLC? The purpose of having an LLC is primarily to limit your personal liability for business debts, protecting your assets from business-related risks. It furthermore provides pass-through taxation, so profits and losses appear on your personal tax return, avoiding double taxation. In addition, an LLC offers a flexible ownership structure, allowing various entities to be members. This can improve your business’s credibility and streamline management through defined roles in an operating agreement. What Is US LLC and How Does It Work? An LLC, or Limited Liability Company, functions as a hybrid structure that protects your personal assets from business debts. It allows you to report profits and losses on your personal tax return, avoiding double taxation. To form an LLC, you file Articles of Organization with your state, detailing your business name and registered agent. You can choose a flexible management structure, either member-managed or manager-managed, based on your operational preferences. Does an LLC Have to Pay Its Owner? An LLC doesn’t pay its owners directly like a corporation does. Instead, profits pass through to your personal tax return, where you report income. You can take distributions based on your LLC’s operating agreement, which details how profits are shared. If you’re a single-member LLC, you report everything on your tax return without a separate filing. Multi-member LLCs require IRS Form 1065, and each member receives a Schedule K-1 for their share of income. Do LLCS Get Money Back? LLCs themselves don’t receive money back as they’re not taxed at the entity level. Instead, profits pass through to you, impacting your personal tax return. If you’ve overpaid your taxes, you might receive a refund based on your individual situation. Furthermore, expenses and deductions can lower taxable income, which could lead to refunds if your withholdings exceed your tax liability. Always consult a tax professional to understand your specific circumstances better. Conclusion In conclusion, an LLC is a flexible business structure that offers liability protection and tax benefits, making it a popular choice for many entrepreneurs. By comprehending its characteristics, advantages, and how to establish one, you can make informed decisions about your business. Remember to reflect on the differences between LLCs, partnerships, and corporations to choose the best structure for your needs. With careful planning and adherence to legal requirements, you can successfully navigate the process of forming an LLC. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Is an LLC in the USA?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article