The most enduring leaders arent the ones with flawless résumés. Theyre the ones whove been tested, humbled, and reshaped by failure.
From an early age, I trained intensively to become a professional ballet dancer. Ballet wasnt just a passion. It was my identity, my future, my entire world. Until an audition in Vienna changed everything. A sudden injury ended the career I had spent years building.
That moment could have marked the end of my story. Instead, it became the beginning of a new one. I pivoted into finance and marketing, building a career at American Express and Amazon. Today, I advise boards and CEOs on succession, governance, and talent strategy at Egon Zehnder, one of the worlds preeminent global leadership advisory firms.
One truth has stayed with me throughout this journey. Setbacks arent detours. Theyre gifts. And if you havent failed in a meaningful way, you may not be ready to lead yet.
Setbacks clarify what matters
When things dont go as planned, its a moment that forces reflection. Perhaps youve been passed over for a promotion, convinced you were the most qualified candidate. Or the product you thought would set a new sales record didnt perform as well as expected, and customers were underwhelmed.
Suddenly, you start asking different questions. Are you communicating your impact clearly? Have you built strong sponsorship? Are you recognized as a leader or just as someone who executes well? Can you pivot quickly and creatively based on changing circumstances?
Failure shakes our sense of certainty and exposes how fragile our narratives about ourselves can be. It reminds us that success isnt always linear, and performance doesnt speak for itself. These moments are hard, but they also teach us the difference between doing good work and being seen as ready to lead.
Resilience isnt built in moments of triumph. Its forged by challenges
Mary Barra, now CEO of General Motors, rose through engineering and manufacturing at a time when few women held those roles. Her experience proved essential in 2014, when GM faced a major crisis over ignition-switch failures. Barra didnt deflect blame. She addressed Congress directly, took responsibility, and began reshaping the companys culture.
That could have been a defining failure. Instead, it became a defining moment.
Barras story is a reminder that leadership isnt about never being questioned. Its about responding to challenges with clarity, consistency, and a willingness to grow. Ultimately, resilience is built in the quiet, difficult moments when no one is cheering you on.
Conviction without listening is arrogance
Jeff Bezos once said Amazon succeeds by being stubborn on vision, flexible on details. That mindset helps explain how even a product like the Fire Phone, a commercial failure, still served a strategic purpose.
Rather than doubling down on a misfire, Amazon listened to customer feedback, learned from the experience, and used those insights to develop Alexa. The distinction matters: Conviction without listening is arrogance. But conviction that adapts based on what customers are telling you? Thats leadership.
Passion, unfortunately, doesnt replace market truth. Tenacity can easily turn into tunnel vision. As leaders, our job is not just to have ideas. Its to make sure those ideas matter to someone else. If were not listeningto our teams, to our customers, to the world around usthen were building in a vacuum.
Ideas only matter if others believe in them
In my work advising CEOs and boards, I meet leaders with really good ideas who struggle to influence others. They know what needs to be done, but they cant bring people along. Thats not a strategic problem. Its a leadership problem.
Influence starts with empathy. The ability to see what others value, where they hesitate, and how to connect with them. Often, that empathy is forged through failure. When leaders fall short, theyre forced to see blind spots, hear hard truths, and confront the real impact of their decisions.
Consider Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. After early stumbles in Microsofts mobile strategy, he leaned into a more collaborative, learning-oriented culture that valued listening over ego. That shift helped him rebuild trust internally and reposition Microsoft as a more agile, empathetic company.
Nadellas story is a powerful reminder that failure isnt just a test of resilience. Its a chance to become the kind of leader others actually want to follow.
Failure builds humanity. And humanity builds leadership
Many of todays most respected leaders have careers marked by public missteps and personal reinventions. In the process, theyve developed resilience and deeper empathythe foundations of strong leadership.
Because setbacks dont just humble you, they humanize you. And leadership without humanity doesnt last.
Ballet is still a part of me. I attend performances. Some of my closest friends are dancers and choreographers. In a twist of lifes full circle, I now have a daughter who is already a more talented dancer than I ever was. Watching her on stage reminds me that what I once thought was the end of my story was really the beginning of hers.
Thats the unexpected gift of setbacks. They dont just close doors. They open better ones. But only if youre willing to walk through them without the armor of perfection.
Your best chapter may begin in your hardest moment
As I advise CEOs and boards navigating complexity, I see a clear pattern. The most effective leaders are the ones whove been tested by hardship and hold their conviction while remaining open to challenge. Theyre the ones who understand that every stumble is an opportunity to rethink, reframe, and reemerge more strongly.
In a world of relentless disruption, we need leaders who can metabolize failure into progress. We need leaders who understand that credibility isnt built on being right all the time, but on how you respond when youre wrong.
So if youre facing a setback, dont rush to move past it. It could very well be the greatest gift you receive on your leadership journey. Embrace it, learn from it, and let it remake you.
Because the story you planned might not be the story youre meant to live. And your best chapter may be the one that begins right after your biggest setback.
Its been 70 years since Douglas McGregor sketched a management theory at MIT Sloan that leaders still ignoreand their teams pay the price.
Known as Theory X and Theory Y, McGregors framework built on Abraham Maslows work on employee self-actualization, and it quickly became one of the foundational texts of modern management thinking.
In McGregors theory, leaders fall into two camps. Theory X managers assume that employees are inherently lazy, need constant supervision, and would rather coast along than contribute. Theory Y managers, by contrast, see employees as self-motivated, responsible, and capable of growth if given the right environment.
And the kicker is that both kinds of managers usually get exactly the employees they expect, no matter who they originally hired.
What McGregor was tapping into was the fact that certain beliefs have an uncanny way of turning into real, measurable effects on human behavior. Whether its placebo studies in medicine or examining how teachers’ expectations impact classroom performance, the science is unambiguous about how far-reaching effects simple expectations can have.
The psychology behind high expectations
Psychologists were among the first to observe and take note of the feedback loops that expectations set off.
Take the now-famous study by Rosenthal and Jacobson in 1968. Elementary school teachers were told that a group of randomly selected students had been identified as “late bloomers” who were about to show remarkable academic growth. The result surprised even the researchers themselves. Those students did indeed outperform their peers, in part because the teachers, subconsciously or not, started treating them differently by offering more encouragement, more patience, and more challenging material.
The students responded in kind, rising to the challenge now that someone in authority believed them capable of meeting it. The only thing that had changed was the expectations.
Journalist David Robson chronicles just how far this phenomenon goes in The Expectation Effect, a book that should be required reading for leadership. From placebo heart surgeries that deliver real relief to workouts that burn more fat just because people believe theyre working harder, Robson lays out the scientific evidence showing how our expectations construct reality around us.
The psychology behind the effect is simple: Your brain doesnt sit around waiting for input like a neutral recordkeeper. It ceaselessly guesses and simulates what might happen so that you can be prepared for whatever comes across your desk. At each moment, the brain is busy constructing an internal map of whats likely to happen, and then it updates that map based on whatever comes next.
Its no surprise to find that our expectations prime the brains sensory and emotional circuits almost as if its already happening. If you are expecting pain, the amygdala lights up before you even stub your toe. If you expect failure, your cortisol rises, your attention narrows, and your working memory takes a hit before youve even started the task. Expect a sense of existential dread and meaninglessness at work? Here you go, says the brain, lowering your dopamine levels until motivation plummets because your brains prediction model no longer sees a reason to invest cognitive effort.
Thats why a sugar pill can relieve chronic pain, why sham surgeries produce real outcomes, and why a warm-up jog feels harder if you think it’s the workout. The experience conforms to the prediction, and belief becomes biology.
When leaders talk about setting the tone or creating a culture of excellence, theyre not that far from hitting upon something truly powerful. If we accept that expectations change biology, cognition, and motivation, then leveling them appropriately becomes one of leaderships central tasks.
Be careful what you expect, because you might get it
If you walk into a boardroom assuming your team lacks ambition, youll subconsciously act like it by designing processes that assume failure. Your team, in turn, will riseor in this case, sinkto the level you’ve set. Welcome to management by cynicism.
Nelson Repenning, an MIT Sloan School of Management professor and coauthor of the new book Theres Got to Be a Better Way, has spent his career helping leaders break out of this cycle. He advises leaders to expect moreand betterfrom their people as a starting point.
When people fail, we treat it like a character flaw. But in most organizations, failure is a design problem, he says. The question every leader should ask isnt why did they screw up? Its what about our system made it easy to screw up?
Repenning and his longtime collaborator Don Kieffer argue that modern management has become too disconnected from the work itself. Youd be amazed how many executives cant describe how the work actually gets done, Kieffer says. Its like trying to fix a car without opening the hood. These leaders cant set a good expectation because theyre so far removed from reality to begin with.
Without that intimacy, leaders default to assumptions, not expectations. Before long, youre managing caricatures of your team instead of the real people doing the work.
Anyone can ask for a 17% increase in revenue and expect it to happen, Repenning says. But thats not a healthy way to set goals, let alone a culture of expectations. Leaders need to know what they are asking for, and they need to understand how powerful the expectations they set are. This is where too many leaders trip over their own lofty visions. They expect more, but enable less. Perhaps some even care less.
Repenning calls this the paradox of servile leadership: Great leaders dont set expectations and step back. They ask, What do you need from me to get there? Then they go and move those boulders.
The accompanying leadership model isnt that much more complicated. Set the target, communicate belief, and then roll up your sleeves to start fixing whats brokenwhether its systems, workflows, org charts, tools or, yes, your assumptions.
McGregor and Maslow would be nodding along if they were still with us. Decades before we started talking about psychological safety and employee empowerment, they argued that the job of management was to unlock people’s natural drive. Give them autonomy and show them how their work connects to a bigger picture. Eliminate the management by the stopwatch, and start practicing management by the soul.
Expectation is freedisappointment is expensive
If you expect your team to take shortcuts, youll create a culture of cutting corners. If you expect your team to challenge ideas, theyll innovate. If you expect mediocrity, youll be surrounded by it.
And the inverse holds, too. When leaders believe in their people, when they really believe in their capacity to achieve, something remarkable happens. People stretch to meet the expectations, and trust begins to compound. Done right, simply expecting greatness might do more than any retreat or bonus ever could, Repenning ays. But expecting isnt enough. You still have to earn it.
Thats the fine print of McGregors theory, and the trap too many leaders fall into. They want the results of Theory Y, but still manage like they believe in Theory X. The message that sends is: I dont really think youve got it in you. But prove me wrong. Thats not leadership. Thats abdication. And now you know how to do better.
It should be shocking to nobody that were dealing with an absolute surplus of AI consumables. Breakthroughs. Policy changes. New tools that promise to “10x your productivity.”
Most of it is either too technical, too abstract, or just plain filler. You don’t need another wall of text, you need the signal.
Luckily, there are a handful of AI newsletters that consistently deliver real value without taking up half your morning. (My editor wanted to make sure you knew about Fast Companys own such newsletter, by senior reporter Mark Sullivan: AI Decoded. You can sign up for it here.)
The Rundown AI: The Daily Scan
If you have exactly five minutes between pouring your coffee and jumping on your first call, The Rundown AI is for you.
All business, no fluff, it gives you the full, daily landscape in a highly digestible format. If something major drops from OpenAI, Google, or Meta, you’ll know about it. This is best for the busy professional or anyone who just wants the highlights without having to chase links all day.
Superhuman AI: The Productivity Power-Up
The Superhuman AI newsletter runs the gamut from grand philosophical debates of AI to the tools that make your job easier.
At its best, its practical, actionable, and focused on handing you the tools, tips, and tutorials to integrate AI into your daily tasks.
Think prompt engineering tips and how to use the latest AI to automate something you hate doing. This one is ideal for individuals looking to boost their personal productivity and executives focused on operational efficiency.
The Neuron: Connecting the Dots
If The Rundown is the summary, The Neuron is the analysisthe one that tells you what the news means.
Expect a thoughtful analysis with a touch of dry humor. The Neuron is excellent at connecting the technical developments to the real-world impact. This is excellent for strategy leaders and those who need to understand the implications of AI for their industry.
Ben’s Bites: For the Builders
Bens Bites is less about the press releases and more about what the AI community is actually building right now.
Curated by Ben Tossell, its a daily digest packed with new tools, product launches, and startup funding news. If youre a founder, developer, or just love being the first to try a new app, this is your resource.
The Batch: The Educational Authority
When you need to go beyond the chatter and understand the foundational elements of AI, The Batch is authoritative, educational, and reliable.
This weekly digest strikes a nice balance, covering the major research breakthroughs alongside the applied use cases.
It keeps you current without oversimplifying the complex subject matter. This is best for anyone transitioning into a technical AI role or the leader who needs to speak confidently about AI.
Last week, Congress released more than 23,000 pages of documents from the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epsteins estate to the public.
Since then, the bombshell release has garnered commentary from the Trump administration, thousands of internet users, Saturday Night Live, and, now, merch sellers on Etsy.
In recent years, a certain contingent of ultra-niche online merch sellers (and, most likely, dropshippers) have decided that any notable event is fodder for potential T-shirts, mugs, and bumper stickers.
In recent months alone, sellers have profited off of merch designed to covertly signal anti-Trump messaging; merch promoting “Alligator Alcatraz,” the Trump administrations migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades; and merch based on a series of New Jersey drone sightings that spawned conspiracy theories across the internet.
Just days after the new Epstein documents were released, merch sellers on sites including Etsy and Amazon have already turned the disclosures into NSFW statements.
Etsy and Amazon flooded with merch inspired by the Epstein emails
Of all the information included in the documents revealed by Congress (including one message in which Epstein claimed that Trump knew about the girls), most merch sellers are focusing on a specific email exchange in March 2018 thats become a major subject of internet scrutiny.
In the exchange, Epsteins brother, Mark Epstein, asks Epstein how hes doing. When Epstein responds that hes with Steve BannonTrumps former White House chief of staffMark Epstein follows up, Ask him if Putin has the photos of Trump blowing Bubba?
Given that Bubba is a well-known nickname for former president Bill Clinton, netizens have begun speculating that the comment might refer to a sex act between Trump and Clinton. The comment even got some national airtime on Saturday as part of SNLs cold open on November 15.
(Both Trump and Clinton have denied any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse or sex-trafficking operations and neither appears to have been explicitly implicated of wrongdoing in the emails.)
Mark Epstein has since gone on record to multiple publications claiming that he was just jokingbut thats not stopping merch sellers from capitalizing on the theory.
A look into the NSFW merch designs
Out of the dozens of new Etsy and Amazon listings that have popped up since the files were released, one of the most common themes is a riff on the phrase Big beautiful bill, which Trump used to describe a major tax and spending law that he signed in July.
In these merch items, however, the bill in question is Clinton.
The items, many of which are not safe for work and potentially offensive, feature President Trump and former president Clinton along with a variety of suggestive phrases. (See here, here, here, and here for examples, but click at your own risk.)
While most of the merch is fairly predictable, a few sellers have opted for more creative designsincluding one image of Trump and Clinton inspired by the iconic film Brokeback Mountain.
Etsy and Amazon did not immediately respond to Fast Companys request for comment on whether its aware of an uptick of merch in this vein, and whether the merch fits within their terms for seller designs.
It’s not just executives or knowledge workers in offices who are using artificial intelligence. It’s being adopted in fields like healthcare, retail, hospitality, and food services, too. But frontline workers often aren’t prepared for AI adoption. In fact, many are completely unaware that it’s being implemented in their workplaces at all.
Workplace management platform Deputy surveyed 1,500 frontline workers across the U.S., U.K., and Australia for its “2025 Better Together Survey: How AI and Human Connection Will Transform Frontline Work.” The survey found that nearly half of workplaces (48%) use AI. However, only 1 in 4 workers say they regularly interact with it. But, surprisingly, 10% don’t know if their workplace is even using the technology to begin with.
That could be due to the fact that employers aren’t being totally transparent about whether their companies have adopted AI. Just 17% of shift workers say their employer was open about the company’s AI use. Likewise, only 15% say they were consulted about new AI tools in the workplaceeven though they want to bewith 63% of frontline workers saying that communication about AI is essential.
“Employees are sending a clear message: They want to be part of the conversation about how AI is used and introduced in their organizations,” Dan Schawbel, managing partner at research and advisory firm Workplace Intelligence, said in a press release.
“When workers feel informed and included, trust growsand thats what unlocks the full potential of AI. Empathy, transparency, and inclusion arent just soft skills; theyre the foundation of successful AI adoption,” he said.
While AI’s role in the workplace isn’t always clear, what is clear is that the workers using it are having positive experiences with the technology. In fact, 96% of shift workers say they are happy with the technology’s role, which shows up in tasks like scheduling, in AI-powered kiosks for ordering, as well as streamlining administrative tasks, and more, in their workplace. Likewise, 94% say it makes their job easier. That’s likely why nearly 1 in 4 employees who were surveyed said they’d rather have more AI support than an extra week of PTO (23%) or even a promotion (24%).
And that’s likely why workers want to be in the know when it comes to how their organization is using the technology: 27% say they desire more transparency and communication about the technology and how it’s being used.
“New tech arrives. We’re supposed to just figure it out,” one food worker who took part in the survey said. In retail, the statistic is even higher, with 31% saying more communication is needed, likely because the technology is so visible to customers. “They put in self-checkout without even telling us why,” one retail worker explained. “Customers ask us questions we can’t answer.”
Interestingly, while workers report positive experiences with AI, only 37% feel optimistic about the technology’s future at their workplace, which could point to how the technology is implementedoften with little communication. As another worker put it: Employees can’t integrate AI properly if it’s never been introduced to them, which leaves employees feeling the need to push back rather than use the tools to their advantage.
“If you explain it, we’ll accept it,” that same worker said. “If you don’t, we’ll resist.”
When you open Microsoft Excel to review quarterly results or check Waze to optimize your route to the office, youre tapping into technologies born not in corporate boardrooms, but in university labs. Thinking of innovation, our minds often jump to the titans of tech: Jobs, Musk, Altman, Gates, Bezos. But behind everyday tech innovations and healthcare breakthroughs are academic researchers whose work catalyzed billion-dollar industries.
The unsung heroes of the lab and lecture hall have laid the groundwork for some of the most transformative technologies of our time. A few make celebrity status as Nobel prize winners, but the glory of most academics is poorly understood for its formative early impact on products now essential to our livescivic, commercial, and medical.
As we gather for the World Changing Ideas Summit on November 19 in Washington, DC, cohosted by Fast Company and Johns Hopkins University, we shine a spotlight on those whose curiosity-driven research has sparked breakthroughs that quietly shaped the world around us.
ACADEMICS AND THE INNOVATION ECONOMY
Here are four ways academic researchers have quietly shaped America’s innovation economy and impacted daily life.
1. GPS: The backbone of modern logistics
You have probably tried to optimize your driving time and cherished every minute saved from your commute. Google Maps has over 2.2 billion monthly active users, and 71% of U.S. smartphone users rely on it weekly. At the root of this technology is the global positioning system (GPS), whose origins trace back to 1957. When Sputnik launched, two young physicists at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)William Guier and George Weiffenbachdriven by the national urgency of the Cold War and scientific curiosity, used the Doppler shift of Sputniks radio signals to determine its orbit. They and others at APL soon realized the inverse was also true. Their breakthrough inspired the worlds first global satellite navigation system, sponsored by DARPA and the U.S. Navy. This innovation, aimed at solving national security challenges for the U.S. government, became the foundation for modern GPS, revolutionizing navigation and telecommunications for military, government, and civilian applicationsfrom global defense operations to everyday delivery routes.
2. Spreadsheets: A new language for business
According to a survey, 84% of office workers use Microsoft Excel daily. Thank you, Bill Gates, right? Not so fast. The spreadsheet was not actually born in the Seattle tech scene; that credit goes to Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston, students at Harvard and MIT. VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet software, was thought of as a magic blackboard, revolutionizing business modeling. The two werent aiming for market disruption, but simply trying to make homework easier. Bricklin was frustrated by tediously recalculating financial models by hand; Frankston, an experienced coder, helped bring it to life. VisiCalc launched in 1979 from a shared belief that computers should empower people. Their work was nurtured in university settings, supported by federal research grants and computing infrastructure. What began as an academic collaboration became the backbone of how we financially model todayfrom managing family budgets to forecasting industry trends. One could argue that this technology catalyzed our data-driven economy.
3. Self-driving cars: Autonomy realized
Science fiction has arrived! Thats what I was thinking as I stepped into my first self-driven Jaguar in San Francisco, courtesy of Waymo. Waymo alone operates over 1,500 robotaxis across major U.S. cities, with plans to expand to 3,500 vehicles by 2026. The roots of this revolution trace back to Sebastian Thrun, a German-born scientist, whose childhood love of robotics and desire to reduce traffic fatalities led him to Stanford. There, he directed the Artificial Intelligence Lab and spearheaded a team that won the DARPA Grand Challenge, a competition funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. That success caught Googles attention and ultimately led to the creation of Waymo and a multi-billion-dollar industry.
4. Cancer detection: Learning what to look for
Cologuard has been used over 16 million times. detecting more than 623,000 cancers and precancers, with 80% caught in the early stages. This technology started with the journey of Bert Vogelstein, a Johns Hopkins oncology researcher fixated on a simple scientific question: Why do some cells become cancerous? At Johns Hopkins, supported by sustained federal funding from agencies like the National Institutes of Health, Vogelstein, Ken Kinzler, and colleagues spent decades unraveling the genetic mutations behind tumor development. Their work led to the discovery of p53, a key tumor suppressor gene, and laid the foundation for our modern understanding of cancer as a genetic disease. Researchers insights into cancer cell origins enabled industry to develop methods for detecting disease. Today, we rely on genetic tests for early cancer detection, prenatal screenings, and personalized medicine.
IT TAKES THREE PARTS
So how do ideas from a university lab end up in your pocket or your car? Its a well-tested recipe. American innovation thrives on a three-part formula: federal investment, university research capabilities, and private sector development.
Federal funding fuels foundational science, long before theres a market. Universities cultivate talent and ideas, allowing researchers to follow where the science leads rather than what a corporate budget dictates. Once science shows promise, the private sector tailors the science toward specific applications and scales those ideas into products and companies.
Since 1980, federally funded academic research has resulted in over 17,000 startups and $1.9 trillion in economic output. But as global competition intensifies, the U.S. must double down on its research ecosystem.
This tripartite innovation ecosystem is not just a source of economic strength. Its a reflection of our American values: open inquiry, public good, and the belief that big ideas can come from anywhere. This three-pronged approach unleashed a century of American technological leadership. At a time when federal research funding is being severely cut, we are wise to remember its central role in our economyand its promise for American leadership throughout this century.
Christy Wyskiel is senior advisor to the president for innovation and entrepreneurhip, and executive director of Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures.
Being the children of Francis Ford Coppola had a profound impact on the filmmaking sensibilities of Sofia and Roman Coppola. But their mother, Eleanor Coppola, may have played a larger role in nurturing their creative pursuits.
She taught me how to be in charge without being loud, and the importance of being real, Sofia writes in her introduction to Two of Me: Notes on Living and Leaving, Eleanor Coppolas posthumous memoir, published by A24 on November 11.
[Cover Image: A24]
Sofia and Roman convened in New York City last week for a conversation about the book and their mother, who died in April 2024 at the age of 87. One of Eleanors last wishes was to have Two of Me, which she wrote over the course of a decade using material from the diaries she kept for 50 years, published as a book. Eleanors other last wish was to have the 100 hours of video footage she shot on the set of Sofias 2006 film Marie Antoinette edited into a documentary, which is expected to be included in a 20th-anniversary edition of the film to be released next year.
An artist and filmmaker whose mediums ranged from sculpture and conceptual art to photography and dance, Eleanor made her first documentary, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, after her husband asked her to shoot behind-the-scenes footage on Apocalypse Now. In 2016, at the age of 80, she became the oldest American woman to direct a debut feature film when she released the comedy Paris Can Wait.
At an event last week, moderated by Vogue editor Keaton Bell and held at Barnes & Noble Union Square, Sofia and Roman shared some of the ways in which their mother influenced them, both as artists and as people. Here are the five biggest lessons they learned from her.
1. Stories are made of details
Whether its the neon lights of Tokyos Shinjuku district in Lost in Translation or the elaborate floral arrangements in Marie Antoinette, Sofia Coppola is known for her filmmaking style that focuses on small details. She credits her mother with teaching her the importance of paying attention to such details. I got a lot from her just being this quiet observer, Sofia said. I notice details and I think thats in my films, which comes from her eye.
2. Everything is art
Shortly after Sofia was born, Eleanor presented a gift to husband Francis in the form of one of Sofias dirty diapers, as it was the only work of art that Sofia could create at the time. Eleanor also once turned her home into a performance art space where she welcomed friends to observe a young Sofia watching a video of her own birth on a TV. What inspired me in my work is, she was very interested in conceptual art, specifically, and conceptual films, Roman said. She dabbled in that in the ’70s. And so the notion that anything can be a work of art, and that sense of play and idea art is something Ive brought into my work.
3. Film is not the only visual art form
An avid appreciator of many different forms of art, Eleanor often brought her children to museums all over the world. One of Sofias most memorable experiences with her mother was being taken to see a performance by the German dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch. I was, like, Oh, we have to go to some weird modern dance with Mom. And it was one of the most incredible, most beautiful things Ive ever seen, Sofia said. Im really glad she brought us to see a lot of really interesting contemporary art that she was excited about.
4. Challenges are opportunities
As an adult dealing with some personal issues and financial issues, Roman Coppola learned how his mother valued the experience of struggling in life. I was sort of moping a little bit, and she was, like, Wow, this is really great. There are a lot of things you have to figure out now in your life, and youre really going to take that on, Roman said. Some of the lessons werent just average things, but how to sort of embrace difficulty. It spoke to her confidence, but also just instilled that push to strive to pull yourself out of things and to work hard and be committed.
5. Mothers can also be filmmakers
Eleanor didnt let her role as a mother prevent her from pursuing creative and artistic endeavors. She stressed to Sofia that it was important to make time to be both a mother and an artist. I learned from my mom that it was okay to do both, Sofia said. I think every mom that works feels guilty about it, so youre always torn. But she really encouraged me, and I was excited that I could do both.
Novo Nordisk, the Danish drug company that makes Ozempic and Wegovy, is now offering the drugs at lower prices for self-pay patients.
On Monday, the company announced it would offer both medications, Ozempic (the weight-loss version of the drug) and Wegovy (the version that addresses diabetes), at a discounted rate of $199 per month for a limited time. The introductory offer goes from now until March 31, 2026. The announcement noted that the pricing is only good for the first two months of treatment, and at the lowest doses of the medications. After the initial months of treatment, the cost will move to the new monthly self-pay rate of $349 per month, down from $499.
“As pioneers of the GLP-1 class, we are committed to ensuring that real, FDA-approved Wegovy and Ozempic are affordable and accessible to those who need them,” Dave Moore, executive vice president of U.S. operations at Novo Nordisk, said in a press release.
Moore continued: “The U.S. healthcare system is complex, with different types of insurance and various ways for patients to obtain their medicines. Our new savings offers provide immediate impact, bringing forward greater cost savings for those who are currently without coverage or choose to self-pay.”
Per the announcement, patients can access the new offers in three different ways: through Wegovy.com or Ozempic.com; through NovoCare Pharmacy; or through participating organizations and select telehealth providers that work directly with Novo Nordisk, such as Costco, GoodRx, WeightWatchers, Ro, LifeMD, and eMed.The offer comes amid the Trump administration’s call for the companies that manufacture weight-loss drugs to lower prices. Earlier this month while speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said that, after months of negotiation, a deal had been reached that would impact prices on the drugs for those who receive Medicaid and Medicare, and for users of the TrumpRx website, which is expected to launch by the end of the year.“Today, I’m thrilled to announce that the two world’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturers, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, have agreed to offer their most popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugI call it the fat drug, rememberat drastic discounts,” Trump said.The competitive pricing comes as the obesity rate is trending down, as a result of reliance on weight-loss drugs. While in 2022, 39.9% of Americans met the criteria for obesity, that number today is down to 37%with 7.6 million Americans no longer meeting the threshold.
Looking for some holiday cheer? Customers who want to try Starbucks’ new holiday treat, the Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate drink, will have to go to Target, where it will be exclusively available throughout the holiday season at all in-store Starbucks cafes.
The drink is a creme Frappuccino with a blend of mocha sauce, milk, and ice, poured over a layer of peppermint-flavored whipped cream and red and green sprinkles, finished with another layer of that same whipped cream and sprinkles.
Starbucks is hoping to capitalize on the holiday season and the holiday craze around its special drinks and limited-edition cups. And customer enthusiasm is high, as evidenced by this year’s limited-run Bearista cupswhich have customers literally fighting and lining up at 3 a.m. to shell out $30 a pop.
“Last Thursdays Holiday launch was our biggest sales day ever in North America,” Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said in a recent note. And according to the company, millennials and Gen Z customers are driving Q3 improvements in customer value perception. The new Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate appears to be an attempt to keep that momentum going.
The collaboration between the coffee chain and the big-box retailer debuts Monday for Target Circle 360 loyalty members, just in time for the busiest and most profitable time of the year: the run up to Christmas Day. The rest of us will have to wait till tomorrow, Tuesday, November 18.
Both Starbucks and Target have been hit hard by consumer backlash and boycotts respectively, at a time when Americans are buying less due to increased inflation and higher living costs.
Starbucks, which recently announced a wave of store closings, is under pressure to increase profits. At the same time, management is facing baristas striking for higher pay and better hours. (Last week, unionized workers went on strike at more than 65 Starbucks locations across 42 cities.)
Meanwhile, Target is facing its own problems as customers boycott the stores due to its rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI). It’s also contending with lower in-store foot traffic.
Starbucks financials
Starbucks reported fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, October 29, with quarterly same-store sales growing for the first time in nearly two years and global same-store sales rising 1%, but same-store sales in the U.S. staying flat for the quarter (which turned positive in September).
The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of 52 cents adjusted versus 56 cents expected, and revenue of $9.57 billion, beating expectations of $9.35 billion.
Target is set to report its third-quarter earnings results this week.
Last week, the baby nutrition company ByHeart recalled all of its infant formula over concerns that it may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes infant botulism.
Now the company is facing increasing legal drama and backlash from customers for potentially exposing babies to the dangerous illness.
According to a November 14 update from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a total of 23 infants in 13 states who were exposed to the formula have developed suspected or confirmed infant botulism. All of the infants have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported to date.
ByHeart had voluntarily recalled two batches of its infant formula on November 8. Just three days later, it expanded that recall to encompass all of its products, including any unexpired lots of formula cans and single-serve anywhere pack sticks.
Per the FDA, most babies with infant botulism will initially develop constipation, poor feeding, loss of head control, and difficulty swallowing, which can progress to difficulty breathing and respiratory arrest.
Symptoms of infant botulism, which is diagnosed clinically, can take as long as several weeks to develop following formula ingestion. Parents are advised to stop using any ByHeart infant formula products immediately.
As new botulism cases potentially related to ByHearts products continue to emerge, the companywhich positions itself as dedicated to making the best formula in the worldis facing backlash both through multiple lawsuits and a social media firestorm led by its own customers.
Legal backlash against ByHeart ramps up
As of this writing, at least five different lawsuits have been filed against ByHeart related to the infant botulism outbreak, according to federal court records.
All of the plaintiffs are identified in the complaints as buyers of ByHearts products. Three of the complaints are proposed class actions. In at least two cases, the plaintiffs have infant children whom they believe contracted infant botulism through the contaminated formula, the court filings show.
According to a November 12 legal complaint, plaintiffs Stephen and Yurany Dexter of Flagstaff, Arizona, decided to introduce formula three days after the birth of their child (referred to as E.D.) to supplement breast milk.
Looking at the available choices, they chose the ByHeart brand because of the healthy-looking labeling, top shelf placement, and higher price, the filing reads.
But over a month later, the child began to exhibit symptoms of infant botulism, it says, resulting in multiple hospital stays and hundreds of thousands in medical expenses.
In a second complaint filed on that same day, plaintiffs Michael and Hanna Everett of Richmond, Kentucky, detail a similar experience with their child, referred to as P.E.
This case arises from a parents worst nightmare: infant formula laced with dangerous Bacteria, the suit reads.
It goes on to explain that the Everetts purchased ByHearts products due to its promises to be a “healthier alternative to traditional formula, only for their four-month-old daughter to contract infant botulism.
Soon after consuming the formula, she developed constipation and alarming neurological symptoms, it reads. Plaintiffs brought their first-born daughter to the emergency department where doctors diagnosed P.E. with infant botulism. Public health investigators later confirmed that she was part of a multistate outbreak caused by ByHeart formula.
Reached for comment by Fast Company, ByHeart emailed a statement from cofounder and president Mia Funt.
Our number one priority is infant health,” Funt says. “We express our deepest sympathy to the families currently impacted by the cases of infant botulism. We are working with the FDA and independent experts to implement the recall quickly while the factual investigation continues. We are committed to getting answersincluding partnering with the FDA and independent expertsand will share updates as soon as we can.
Disappointed customers take to social media
Throughout the new lawsuits against ByHeart, a recurring theme is the idea that parents chose the companys products due to its positioning as a healthy, science-backed alternative to traditional formula.
And under an Instagram post from ByHeart apologizing for the recalls, hundreds of commenters have echoed those sentiments, expressing their disappointment in the brand.
I’m a sitting duck waiting around to see if my baby is okay because she consumed contaminated formula from you,” one commenter wrote, added that “we trusted you with nourishing our baby and you failed us.
Another added, From the bottom of my heart I hope your company goes bankrupt and that no retailer will ever carry your products again.”
New York-based ByHeart was founded in 2016 and most recently raised $72 million in a Series C round from undisclosed investors, according to PitchBook, for a post-valuation of $908 million.
In the wake of the recalls, ByHeart has updated its website to spotlight information about the situation, including a link to its customer support line (866-201-9069).
Fast Company reached out to the FDA for the latest details. The agency says it is continuing to investigate the outbreak along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state-level public health officials.
