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It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Managers who don’t want to hear about problems without solutions Why do managers tell employees to only bring them solutions, not problems? I hear this a lot, and I’m not sure I get it. I understand that they don’t want people to complain to them about minor issues that could be solved with direct communication. However, I feel like if people take this advice literally, they won’t report actual problems. Recently, my team had an issue where two employees were repeatedly shouting at each other in meetings. In this case, a manager did witness one of the incidents, so it was addressed without a peer needing to escalate. Presumably, if the manager wasn’t around to see it, they would still want to hear about it. It was pretty stressful for the rest of the team and impacted productivity. I don’t know how to make people stop shouting at each other. I don’t even really know why they were shouting at each other because the last thing I wanted to do is become personally involved in the conflict. Am I actually supposed to brainstorm possible solutions to things like this before I can tell my manager? If I can’t think of any, do I just ignore the problem? Yeah, “don’t bring me solutions, only problems” is a good way for managers to ensure they don’t hear about problems they actually need to know about them, or at least not until those problems have festered and grown worse. And in many cases, employers have neither the standing nor the resources to solve the problem at hand; it’s a manager’s job to do that. It’s true that in some cases it makes sense to ask people to think about how to solve a problem rather than just dumping it on their manager’s lap, and it can be a way to help them develop skills and expertise, but it absolutely doesn’t apply across the board. Sometimes a problem will be above your pay grade, or could cause legal issues, or you simply don’t have the ability to solve it on your own. 2. I want to talk to a person, not ChatGPT I have a very 2025 question. In my role, we’re the client of an agency that has two people working on our file. One of the two people is new to the workforce, and her responses are always straight from ChatGPT. I can tell she has plugged my emails in and copy-pasted an AI reply, which does not always make sense and always sounds robotic. Along with not really taking ownership of mistakes (and I think the AI use means she makes a lot of them) and responding in a very generic way, it is driving me nuts. How do I handle this? I don’t find she properly reads my emails (missing information, getting times wrong, not responding to questions), and I have to wonder how much her use of AI is contributing to this issue. But obviously, I can’t prove it. The other person on our file is more senior, but not her manager. What do you think? You’re the client; you have a ton of standing in this situation to push back! You could do that on three fronts: first and foremost, when the agency rep sends you something that doesn’t make sense or is overly generic, you should point out that it doesn’t make sense / doesn’t address what you were asking for. And if she’s not taking ownership of mistakes, you can push back on that, too — “I’m concerned that X happened; what’s the plan for making sure that doesn’t happen again?” Second, you could talk to the more senior person there and share your concerns (“I’ve been getting responses from Jane that don’t make sense and don’t include any nuance; my hunch is she’s using ChatGPT but I don’t know for sure — either way, we’re not getting what we need”). Third, you could talk to whoever is in charge of your contract with the agency and let them know you’re not getting what you need from the agency team. You could do all or any of these — but you should definitely speak up, because they’re getting paid to provide you with a service that they’re currently doing badly. 3. My coworker is upset that I got the promotion he wanted A coworker and I recently applied for the same position as a supervisor. We both have been filling in as interim supervisors and we both have been told we did well in that role. He admittedly has more experience than me in nearly every category and is much older than me. I’m 30 and he’s 50. I feel like I’ve been kinda being groomed for the position as the director has been letting me fill in more than my coworker, although he still does a good job. We weren’t close before this, but we were at least casually friendly. I think he felt he was a a shoo-in for this position but he didn’t get it, I did, and he is pissed. It’s been a couple of months now and he doesn’t talk to anyone unless he absolutely has to. If I speak to him, he will reply but it’s very curt and he won’t give me eye contact. Normally he just finds an excuse to leave the room if I walk in. In his defense, he still does very good work, it hasn’t slipped at all and I’m not his direct supervisor, nor is the director who we interviewed with. The director did not follow up with him but I wish she would have. We were hoping that he would stay on to still fill in as needed, but he informed us that he felt that was a slap in the face and was not interested. We spoke to his manager, but her response was, “He’s doing fine with me and his work isn’t suffering” so basically deal with it. Is there anything I can do to maybe salvage how we were before? Well, his manager really should talk to him. He doesn’t need to be chatty and gregarious with you, but it’s not okay to be curt either. Plus, she has someone on her team who’s clearly demoralized; that’s not something she should just ignore with, “Well, his work is still fine.” But since she’s not going to intervene, there’s not a lot you can do. You should continue being warm, friendly, and professional, of course, but this sounds like something he’s doing to need to work through on his own time. (Also, there are managers messing up all over the place here! What’s up with the hiring manager for this position not talking to him about the decision? It sounds like there are some bad management role models around you right now, which is worth being aware of as you’re learning the job.) 4. Is our director recording us? I work in a small office. Outside of the usual IT security, there is no known surveillance to monitor employee conduct or conversation. However, our executive director frequently makes comments about “hearing everything in the office,” whether they are there or not. We all think it’s a little strange, but what’s concerning is the inconsistency of how thier door is left when they leave the office. Their office overlooks our cubicles and when they leave, sometimes the door is shut. Other times it is fully open, and at other times (particularly when they will be out of the office for an extended period of time) it is cracked about an inch. Thoughts? I think you’re reading way too much into how their door is positioned. If they’ve told you they hear everything in the office and that seems to be true, even things they shouldn’t have been aware of, then you might be right that some kind of surveillance is going on, but I wouldn’t assume the door is a particular indicator of that. You could also just ask outright what they mean the next time they mention hearing everything. (Who knows, maybe they just mean sound travels more than you realize and they hear conversations people don’t realize can be overheard.) But for what it’s worth, if they are recording you without your knowledge, there might be legal issues with that. Employers are generally allowed to record employees but in most states need to inform them that they’re being monitored, so you should check your employee handbook or any written policies to see what might be in there. The post “don’t bring problems without solutions,” coworker is upset that I got the promotion he wanted, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

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Marketers are setting the cultural conversation — with their successes as much as their missteps. But which campaigns are creating healthy tension? When is the right time to walk back a rebrand? Autodesk CMO Dara Treseder breaks down branding and marketing lessons from the most high-profile campaigns of 2025, giving her unvarnished opinion on everything from Sydney Sweeney to Cracker Barrel and more. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by the former editor-in-chief of Fast Company Bob Safian and recorded live at the 2025 Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. [Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad] sparked all kinds of controversy and discussion about jeans versus genes. You and I talked before about what is healthy tension and toxic tension. So was this healthy tension, toxic tension? What does the reaction mean about where we are? Healthy tension is tension that moves the brand and the business forward. Great work must always have tension. If it doesn’t have tension, it’s not great and it’s not causing conversation. Healthy tension, when it moves the brand and business forward, it goes beyond awareness to drive actual acquisition and business results. Sometimes you can have awareness and instead of acquisition, you end up with alienation. So that is where instead of it being healthy, it goes into the toxic space. I think that they checked the box on tension, they raised awareness, but was it healthy? There was a lot of alienation. You don’t need a focus group to know that in this very polarized world that we are living in, when you use the word genes, and by genes I mean, G-E-N-E-S, and then you show only one demographic, they’re going to be people with thoughts, right? And there’s going to be a lot of energy around that. You don’t need to do a focus group or spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on research to get to that point. So there were some people that felt alienated. Did the awareness overall drive acquisition? We don’t know yet. I think a good example of a brand that jumped into the conversation and drove awareness and acquisition is Gap. They had a counter ad with Katseye and that drove a lot of acquisition and Gap sales on TikTok are through the roof. So that’s an example of healthy tension. Of using the tension to help? Of using the tension in a healthy way to drive not just awareness, but acquisition. I think, gone are the days where all publicity is good publicity. There’s some publicity we just don’t need, you know what I mean? All right, let’s try. Let’s go to number two. When Cracker Barrel fans responded to the removal of this old timer from the logo, right? They walked—and we’ve seen other brands backtrack, like HBO walking back Max, right? So are there situations, do you know, in the situations where it’s like, this is a cultural conversation that I’m losing. I can’t drive this conversation versus like I just made a mistake. First of all, brands have a lot of power because when we have brands where we’re having commentary from everybody, from the President, to your hairdresser, you’ve touched a nerve. And what I will say is, as a brand, Cracker Barrel had been experiencing a decline in sales. That’s why they said, what can we do to ignite or spark the next wave of growth for the business? So we have to give them kudos for saying, “hey, we can’t just keep going down the path we’re going, we need to change something.” Now when you are evolving a brand, you have to either adapt or you die as a brand. You have to evolve. So they got, check, we need to evolve. Now there’s the heart of the brand or the soul of the brand because what is a brand at the end of the day? A brand is the sum of the promises we make and the experiences we deliver. That is what it is. It is the sum of the promises we make and the experiences we deliver. The soul of the heart of the brand is at the core of that. For Cracker Barrel, it’s around that southern hospitality and comfort. That is a non-negotiable. I think with the logo change, I mean you all can see the second logo. It’s not exactly screaming Southern hospitality. It’s not really screaming anything. It’s pretty sanitized. It’s not screaming. It could be Panera Bread, you know what I mean? And so, if you are someone who, immediately you see this, you go to, this is changing southern hospitality and comfort. So all of a sudden you start to question what is this brand going to deliver? And so it affects the trust with the customer because you’re evolving something that is too core. So I think Cracker Barrel learned, hey, this is too core. We can’t touch this. Let’s look at other things that we can evolve. So I’m going to give them kudos for actually saying, hey, we listened and we’re going to not touch the heart or the soul of the brand. We will evolve something else. I don’t actually think it’s capitulation, I think it’s smart. I think it’s good stewardship of the brand. We’re not in a perfect world. We’re all going to make mistakes. I give bravery and courage for saying, hey, we messed up this. We’re going to go back. All right, so this is an image of the UK street wear designer, Tega Akinola. It’s part of Autodesk’s, Let There Be Anything campaign. Partnerships are so important for brands right now. So how do brands associate and get the most authentic partnerships with creators, celebrities? How do we think about making sure you get the right choice so you get the right ROMI, the right return on marketing investment? Yes. Show me the ROMI. Everything has to start with business impact. First of all, you have to figure out, how is this going to advance my brand objective and ultimately drive the results that I’m going for? So there are three key things you look at. First of all, is this an add? It has to be an add and a build. It should not be a detraction. And honestly, if it’s going to be neutral, don’t even do it. Do something else with your resources. So that add and that build is really important. The second thing is you need to be pushing not just for reach, but also resonance because reach does not equal resonance and you cannot compromise resonance for reach because if you are not getting both resonance and reach, you’re ultimately not reaching that new target audience and you’re not expanding your demographic to get the needed business results. I think the third thing is you have to make sure that whatever partnership you’re doing, it fits into the bigger picture and is a force multiplier, not a force divider. So that’s a third thing you need to look at. I think when you check those three boxes, whether you’re working with a creator or it’s a brand partnership, that’s how you get to ROMI. And if you’re thinking, what should the math be? I like to use a 1:3 ratio. So if I’m spending a dollar, I want to make sure that I’m making at least $3. If I’m not going to make $3, there might be a better investment for those resources. View the full article

Washington agrees frameworks with Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador on a range of productsView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. You can get the Dragon G3X Ultra Flexible Wired Gaming Headset on sale for $49.99 on StackSocial right now, priced comfortably between budget and mid-range gear. The design is bold, with a red shell and a breathing LED light that cycles through seven colors, adding atmosphere when you’re gaming in a dimly lit room. The headset feels sturdy enough for daily use but flexible where it matters: The bendable headband adjusts easily, and the over-ear pads are soft and skin-friendly, built to reduce heat and pressure during long sessions. Performance-wise, the Dragon G3X prioritizes consistency over luxury. It connects through a 3.5mm audio jack for sound and a USB port to power the LED lights. The sound profile is tuned for gaming, with clear mids and highs that make dialogue and footsteps easy to pick up, with enough bass to add punch to explosions without drowning everything else out. The retractable microphone picks up voices clearly, which is key if you spend time in team-based games or multiplayer chats. It’s not noise-canceling, but the directional design helps minimize background interference. The headset is compatible with most platforms, including PC, the older PlayStation 4 series, Nintendo Switch, tablets, and smartphones, with a separate cable provided for desktop setups. That means you can use one pair for gaming, streaming, or even listening to music on your phone. It’s a wired setup, so you’ll have to deal with the cable, but you also avoid the lag and charging hassle that comes with wireless options. Overall, the Dragon G3X doesn’t promise professional-grade audio, but for casual and mid-level gamers looking for a comfortable, durable headset with solid sound and a little visual flair, it’s a good deal. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods 4 Wireless Earbuds — $84.99 (List Price $129.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $319.35 (List Price $349.00) Shark AV2501AE AI XL Hepa- Safe Self-Emptying Base Robot Vacuum — $294.99 (List Price $649.99) Apple Watch Series 10 — $309.99 (List Price $429.00) Google Pixel 9 128GB Unlocked 6.9" OLED Smartphone (Obsidian) — $544.98 (List Price $799.00) Amazon Fire HD 10 (2023) — $69.99 (List Price $139.99) Sony WH-1000XM5 — $328.00 (List Price $399.99) Blink Outdoor 4 1080p Wireless Security Camera (5-Pack) — $159.99 (List Price $399.99) Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus 1080p Security Camera (White) — $99.99 (List Price $179.99) Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus — $24.99 (List Price $49.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Today, Google announced three new AI shopping features, all centered around keeping you engaged with its AI throughout the entire shopping process. On the one hand, these features have the potential to make shopping more convenient—on the other hand, maybe lowering friction isn't the best idea when it comes to spending money. Beyond selling you on convenience, these features all share something else in common—helping businesses up their clickthrough rates. It starts with AI Mode and Gemini, which can now access all the same information as Google Search's shopping tab. That means you'll start to see product cards alongside your AI answers, which you can click on for a bunch of shopping links, or hit a checkmark to compare the selected products. They won't show up on every question, but on about half of the prompts I tried, I got the option to spend money right away. Then, if you're still not sure you want to buy yet, now you can have Google's AI robocall local businesses for you to check on product availability and pricing, as well as any deals or bundles you might not know about. There are a few caveats—businesses can opt out, and Google will avoid calling them at odd hours or too frequently—but the idea is that if you're on the fence, you can have an AI help you know which stores to go to. Finally, when it comes time to actually purchase whatever you're shopping for, you can have Google's AI check out for you. This feature is an extension of the existing price tracking feature, and will add a "Buy for me" button to any price tracking notifications you get from certain participating stores, like Wayfair, Chewy, Quince, or certain Shopify merchants. You'll get a link to the product you'd be buying from your notification, and the price will be pulled from that, so the company says you won't have to worry about the AI getting the price wrong. Instead, it's just supposed to remove any hesitation you might feel from having to enter your shipping or payment details into a checkout form. I won't deny that, when holiday shopping, I usually won't turn down assistance. But a continued refrain I had while hearing about these new features was "Why?" Personally, I'm mortified at the idea of sending employees at local businesses robocalls to deal with. And if I'm researching products, while it might be helpful to be able to involve an AI so I could ask specific question, I think I'd still prefer full access to all the filters and hundreds of links available in Google Shopping. The big thing for me, though, is agentic checkout. While I'm actually willing to trust Google that it won't make mistakes (and you do get a reference ID to hand to support in case it does), I'm also not sure why I'd want to go right from getting a price drop notification to having an AI spend money for me. It doesn't take long to fill out a checkout form, and while Google Shopping is a useful price tracking tool, it's not the only one around. I'd probably want to comparison shop a bit more before committing, at which point I might as well fill out the checkout form myself. But if you think about these features from the perspective of a business, the "why" behind all of this suddenly becomes a lot clearer. Turning people browsing web listings into actual paying customers has been a problem for about as long as the internet has existed, and all of these features introduce new opportunities for impulse purchases at every step of the buying process, while also erasing the opportunity for users to get caught up on a larger selection of options. It's not a conspiracy. Google charges companies for sponsored slots and ads, and the more people that buy products using a Google service, the more companies will want to pay for those. And for what it's worth, Lifehacker makes money on affiliate links. I won't deny that companies needs money, and that people need to buy gifts. What this does do, however, is reduce the friction that might pop up in between having an idle thought to buy something, and opening your wallet. While it plays at being a research buddy, it takes control out of your hands, obfuscates sources and other options, and instead encourages you to spend your money as quickly as possible, while discouraging skepticism. As someone who writes reviews and best-of lists, I like to think that my readers are a bit more savvy than that. Convenience is great, but taking the extra few minutes it takes to find an actual human opinion from someone who's used the product, or to double check that the price Google is serving you is really your best option, could save you from hours of pain down the line. Like most AI tools, there's potential here. But as much as AI will try to convince you that it's just some neutral buddy, remember that there are business motivations behind everything the companies behind these chatbots do. Keeping your whole shopping search in the same ecosystem as a company that's main profit still comes from ads and e-commerce probably isn't the best way to get your information. View the full article

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If you're anything like me, you'll come back to a book or TV show after pausing it for a few days or weeks, only to have to spend hours on a wiki reminding yourself of where you left off, while also trying to dodge spoilers. Spotify is doing its best to fix at least one of those problems, by testing AI recaps for some of its audiobooks. It's the first new AI-powered feature in a while that I would actually use. In fact, I've played a few video games with similar features (not powered by AI, admittedly), and it's always such a value-add that it makes me pine for it in pretty much every other piece of media I engage with. Here's how Spotify's new feature works: First, you unfortunately do need to be using the Spotify app for iOS, so Android, web, or desktop listeners are out of luck, at least during this beta test. Then, you'll need to have listened to a supported English language audiobook for at least 15-20 minutes. After that, you'll see a Recap button at the top of the page that will quickly generate a one- to two-minute-long summary of what's happened in the book so far, which Spotify promises will be spoiler-free for future plot events. Credit: Spotify Previously on [your book]Spotify's likening it to a "previously on" segment on a TV show, although it also says that, "Recaps do not replicate narration or replace the original audiobook in any way," so don't expect to hear actual clips from the book, nor an AI voice trying to mimic the narrator. However, just as TV's "previously on" segments will change with new episodes, your AI Recap will be "regularly updated to match your progress." As for any potential issues with the feature, the company says it is "not using audiobook content for LLM training purposes or voice generation" and that authors can opt out of having Recaps on their books. Still, there are a few caveats, including the fact that the Recap feature isn't free. On the plus side, it is included alongside the free audiobook hours you get with Spotify Premium, as well as any add-on hours you might buy. But otherwise, audiobooks on Spotify need to be bought on a per-book basis, so for users without Spotify Premium and with no audiobooks in their libraries (that's me), there's no way to try AI Recaps before you buy, which means it's maybe not a convincing reason to swap audiobook platforms just yet. Not all books will get RecapsSpotify's also not being upfront about which books have Recaps, so it could be a bit before you see the button pop up for you. So while I like the idea in theory, I'm probably not going to get to test it anytime soon. (I've reached out to Spotify to ask for a current list of books with Recaps enabled, and will update this article when I hear back.) Could Recaps include hallucinations?Another potential issue with these Recaps: hallucinations. Spotify didn't address accuracy at all in its announcement, which I'd like to think implies the company is feeling pretty confident it won't be an issue. But there is still a potential for an AI to misreport specific details of your story, or accidentally slip a spoiler in regardless of what Spotify claims. One would hope your memory would be jogged enough by a general outline to catch inconsistencies, but still, it might be worth keeping a few notes while you read, just in case. How to get AI summaries for any book (without using Spotify)If you aren't a Spotify audiobook listener or just haven't gotten to try the beta, I'll give you a cheat: You can already ask other AI chatbots for book summaries for free. So long as you remember where you left off, just head over to your AI of choice and ask for a summary up to that point. Here's one for the opening chapters of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt (via ChatGPT) I won't deny that there's real convenience in having a summary feature baked directly into your app, especially one that doesn't require you to cross reference where you left off lest you, I don't know, spoil the Red Wedding for yourself or something. But if you're like me (not a Spotify audiobook customer), at least you're not out of options. View the full article

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If you have multiple Android devices, you might like to keep the experience about the same across them. If you download an app that's useful on your phone, there's a good chance you'll also want that app on your tablet, or even your Chromebook. Likewise, if you no longer find an app useful on one device, you likely won't want to keep it on your other devices, either. It can be annoying, however, to uninstall the app from each of your devices individually. Maybe you're using the app on your smartphone and you decide to delete it, but forget to delete it on your other devices. It might live on your tablet or Chromebook for a while before you realize you want it gone. That's annoying, but, in extreme cases, it can also be risky: Maybe you're trying to delete an app that was later discovered to be malicious, but if it still lives on your other devices, it might end up causing you harm. While there has been a way to remotely uninstall apps on other devices, it's been buried in the "Manage apps and device" section, and isn't all that easy to execute. The latest update to the Play Store aims to fix that problem. As spotted by Android Authority, with version 48.8, the Play Store now lets you simply uninstall apps from your other devices using your smartphone. Once you're running this version of the Play Store (as well as future versions), you can visit an app's Play Store page and look for a new "Available on more devices" section. Here, you'll see all of your connected Android devices, with options to either "Uninstall" or "Install" the app on those devices. There's no longer the need to dig through your settings. This feature should make it easy to keep your Android ecosystem a bit more ordered and organized, but it's not the only improvement the Play Store is rolling out. Starting next year, Google will start penalizing apps that use too much battery power. The Play Store will either remove those apps from discoverability pages, or add an alert to the apps' Play Store pages, warning users these apps take up more battery than necessary. View the full article

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In a strange reversal of the usual seller/customer dynamic, Google is now giving buyers the power to send out their own robocalls. It's not the first time the company has experimented with giving the average Joe the ability to send AI robocalls, but it is much more robust than previous outings. Rolling out today, the feature will show up while you're browsing for certain products on Search, so long as you add a "near me" to the end of your query. If the product is supported, you'll see a "Let Google Call" button, which is where the fun begins. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Tap "Get started," and the AI will ask you a few clarifying questions and have you fill in your email (or phone number) and address information. After that, it'll call local businesses on your behalf and ask for product availability and pricing before sending you an email or text with information broken down by store. At a press event, I got to experience a live demo of what these robocalls sound like from the seller's perspective. If you're worried about getting blacklisted for pestering your local stores with too many calls, don't be. The robocall does not link itself to you at all, and instead says it's an AI calling on behalf of Google and that it won't use the information on the call for training purposes (phew). It'll then ask a few questions before hanging up and moving on. In the demo, the Google employee acting the part of store clerk was also able to interrupt the call and refer to previous statements for context without issue, although she also spoke clearly and slowly—this might not pan out as well in the real world. For what it's worth, I did think the call sounded a little disconcertingly close to a human voice for me, so I could see some employees getting confused if they miss the first line clarifying it's coming from an AI. A Google spokesperson at the press event also addressed what might happen if your robocall gets picked up by an automatic answering system, saying "they'll figure it out" before suggesting that, in a worst case scenario, the answering system would probably forward the call to a human. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Unfortunately, Google didn't give any indication of how long it might take for you to get your text or email with results from your calls. Examples that Google demonstrated showed that the robot can do more than simply report inventory and price; it can also make notes about special deals or bundles an employee might mention. This feature is currently limited to "categories like toys, health and beauty, and electronics" for now, so don't expect to be able to use it for everything yet. It also seems to have a somewhat slow rollout—either I didn't know what to search, or I don't have the feature yet, because I couldn't get it to pop up for me while I was writing this article. If you're anything like me, your biggest concern about this feature is that you might annoy the workers at whatever stores you're calling. Google says it will try to limit multiple calls asking for the same info (such as from multiple customers who want to know the same thing) and that it will avoid calling late at night or early in the morning. Businesses are also able to opt out of getting AI calls by saying something like "please stop calling my business" during the call, or by updating their business profile under More > Business Profile settings > Advanced settings > Google automated calls and text messages. Google's AI robocalls also are only available in the U.S. and only in English, so business owners abroad can breathe a sigh of relief. Because of state laws, AI robocalls also can't be placed in Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, and Nebraska. I'll admit that I have opted not to call a business because of social anxiety before, although I'm not sure having a robot bother someone for me would make me feel any better. View the full article

Public service broadcaster says there is no basis for a defamation claim by the US presidentView the full article

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Anne-Laura Le Cunff on life as an experiment: “No matter how good your tool or deliberative your thought process, one thing never changes: There is no right choice. If you’re used to zero-sum thinking, that point of view may frustrate you. But it’s almost impossible to fail when you see everything as an experiment. In a life of experimentation, there is no wrong choice, either. A pact isn’t a destination. It’s a path you want to discover more about yourself and the world. Success and failure are fluid constructs, not fixed labels. If you simply keep going as is, it means you found an ideal groove—amazing! If you decide to stop, it means this direction didn’t feel good—now you know! “The only failure is to confuse mindless movement with mindful momentum. As long as you keep on adapting, learning, and growing, you are winning.” Source: Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World II. Nick Bare on consistency: “Showing up and being consistently good creates results. “Consistency compounds. Training for a marathon is hard. Building a business is hard. Being a great husband and father is hard. If you start with the expectation of succeeding right away, you are probably going to be disappointed. Consistency always wins. Show up day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, and keep putting in that hard work because it will compound over time. That compounding consistency only gets better and better and better. “Consistency is the foundation to build everything else on.” Source: Go One More: Find the Clarity to Make Intentional, Life-Changing Choices * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index. * * * Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas. View the full article

The hidden costs of homeownership total nearly $16,000, rising 4.7% in the past year. View the full article