Labor Day usually marks the slowdown. Not this year. From corner offices to checkout lines, businesses are scrambling as shaky markets test prices, patience, and loyalty. Tech is still the flashpointAI is fueling record demand while doubling as cover for layoffs and financial gymnastics. IPOs are slowly coming back, but only for companies that can prove theyve got the growth to back it up. Meanwhile, D.C. drama over tariffs and the Fed is shaking currencies, commodities, and investor confidence.
On the consumer side of things, it was all about value this week. Retailers and restaurants are leaning on old tricks to keep shoppers spending. Housing is caught between too many unsold homes and buyers who cant afford them. And gold? It just smashed a record, flashing a warning about the nerves running through the economy.
Heres your week in business:
Oracle lays off thousandsor moreglobally amid rapid AI shifts
A freh wave of cuts came this week at Oracle. The cuts expanded beyond 101 Seattle layoffs disclosed in state filings, with posts from Kansas, Massachusetts, and Texas suggesting a broader reduction.
Anonymous boards noted that thousands were exiting company Slack, though Oracle hasnt confirmed totals. The belt-tightening contrasts with record stock highs and astronomical cloud/AI demand Larry Ellison touted. Translation: Oracle is racing to fund capacity while reshaping talent for its AI-first road map.
Amazon ends Prime Invitee; household-only Family sharing begins Oct. 1
Amazon is sunsetting the Invitee program that let members share shipping perks beyond their household. The replacement, Amazon Family, limits benefits to one co-adult plus up to four kids (and legacy teen accounts), consolidating broader Prime perks under one roof. The move mirrors streamings crackdown on out-of-home sharing as Amazon chases higher paid conversion. Expect some churnand clearer attribution on whos paying for what.
Frozen veggies recall: Endico peas, carrots, and mixes flagged for listeria
Check your veggies! Endico Potatoes voluntarily recalled 2.5-lb bags of peas & carrots and mixed vegetables sold in six states and D.C. this week due to listeria concerns.
No illnesses have been reported yet, but consumers should check lot codes and return affected bags for refunds. Listeria can be severe for pregnant people, seniors, and immunocompromised individuals. Retailers will be watching inventory pulls and shrink; brands will be revisiting QA and supplier audits.
Homebuilder inventory hits 2009 levelscreating room for deals
Completed but unsold single-family homes rose to 121,000 in July, the highest since 2009. While the Finished Homes Supply Index shows slack growing, its nowhere near the 200708 extremes. Pressure is sharpest in Sun Belt markets like Florida and Texas, where resale listings run hot. Expect incentives, price trims, and rate buydowns in oversupplied metros as builders protect pace.
Gold sets a record above $3,551safe-haven bid returns
Gold hit a record high this week. The surge caps a year of +36% gains, fueled by macro jitters, a softer dollar outlook, and expectations for a near-term Fed cut.
Legal uncertainty around tariffs and escalating pressure on Fed independence add to haven demand. Non-yielding assets typically shine in lower-rate regimesand traders are positioning accordingly. For portfolios, the move is both a hedge and a sentiment signal.
Trump to seek expedited Supreme Court ruling to save emergency tariffs
After a 74 appeals court decision found broad IEEPA-based tariffs illegal, the administration is planning a fast-track appeal. If the Supreme Court curtails tariff power, the government could face duty refunds while pivoting to other authorities (e.g., Section 232, Smoot-Hawley §338). The case tests the major questions doctrine against executive trade leeway. Markets are bracing for policy whiplash into 2026.
Lucids 1-for-10 reverse split fails to stop the slide
LCID executed a reverse split to maintain Nasdaq compliance this week, consolidating shares ten-to-one. The stock still fell double digits post-action and remains down sharply YTD amid missed revenue expectations and steep losses. Reverse splits dont fix fundamentals; they buy time. Investors want delivery scale, cost control, and clearer demand signals beyond flagship models.
Klarna sets $35$37 IPO range, eyeing a ~$14B valuation
The BNPL pioneer filed to sell ~34.3M shares on the NYSE under KLAR, aiming to raise up to $1.27B. The valuation is well below the 2021 peak but reflects renewed IPO risk appetite for profitable (or near-profit) fintechs with durable top-line. Klarna posted 2024 profitability on rising revenuenow it must show operating discipline at public-market scrutiny. Execution post-listing will determine multiple expansion.
Via Transportation files to go public at up to $44 a share
The transit-tech operator, heavily tied to government contracts, is targeting a valuation up to ~$3.5B. Company revenue more than tripled since 2021, though losses persist with a narrowing trendline. The pitch: software-led, dynamically routed transit that augments aging bus networks. Investors will parse contract durability, unit economics, and path to profit across cities and rural deployments.
Stocks notch worst day in a month as AI leaders drag
Nvidia, Broadcom, and other AI beneficiaries led declines, with the S&P 500 off ~1.2% and yields climbing. Rising long rates, debt sustainability concerns, and political pressure on the Fed weighed on multiples. Tariff-lgal uncertainty added noise to Treasury trading. Defensive pockets (hello, gold) outperformed as investors rotated and trimmed froth.
McDonalds revives Extra Value Mealsfor now
Starting Sept. 8, the chain brings back bundled Extra Value Meals about 15% cheaper than la carte, part of a broader value push alongside $5 deals and nostalgic promos. The goal is traffic: meet cost-conscious diners where they are without deep margin erosion. Expect mix shifts toward bundles and potential competitive responses from rivals. Limited-time framing creates urgencyif it works, dont be surprised by an encore.
We live in a world where workers are doing more varied and complex tasks. And in most instances, theyre doing so at the expense of focus and performance, according to a global EY study.
People are juggling priorities that shift by the hour and filling their days with decisions that drain more than they deliver. And after more than two decades working with leaders and teams on productivity and time management, Ive seen the same pattern play out again and again. That of smart, capable people caught in a cycle of saying yes to everything. As a result, they leave little space for what really matters.
My client, Alex, was no exception to this. Most days were a familiar and exhausting routine. On a typical day, hed finally open his laptop around 10:15 a.m. By then, hed already had three conversations, reviewed an urgent email thread, made lunchbox sandwiches, resolved a childcare drop-off tantrum, and sat through half a leadership meeting with his camera off and a blank stare. His day had technically begun hours earlier, but it wasnt until then that he had a moment to look at his calendar and feel the weight of nine meetings, two deadlines, and yesterdays unfinished list pressing in.
Breaking the cycle of yes
If this sounds familiar to you, thats because most of us in the modern world have developed an unconscious reflex to keep saying yes to urgency, opportunity, and momentum. In doing so, weve trained ourselves to push forward without pause. We’ve also convinced ourselves that availability equals value and responsiveness equals worth.
Our best thinking, most meaningful contributions, and clearest leadership rarely emerge from this state of constant forward motion. They emerge from space. And space is only possible when we learn to press pause, even briefly, and reclaim our right to decide when something deserves our time, attention, and energy.
This echoes cognitive load research, which shows that the brain’s working memory can only process so much before it starts dropping or distorting information. Overcommitting is more of a capacity issue than a time issue.
The power of a deliberate pause
One of the most underused and undervalued tools in this regard is not a new app or a color-coded calendar system. Its a simple phrase: not now. Its not about avoidance or indecision. This phrase lets us be deliberate with how we navigate our days and our decisions. Not now allows us to acknowledge somethings importance without letting it run our schedule. It gives us permission to protect our current focus, preserve our mental bandwidth, and delay commitment until we have the capacity to give it our full attention.
What makes this particularly powerful is that it doesnt rely on dramatic change. It asks only for awareness. In fact, small shifts in how we respond to requests and obligations can be the most transformative, precisely because theyre sustainable.
Start by noticing where the automatic yes creeps in. That might be meetings you dont need to attend, projects that belong on someone elses desk, and tasks that are loud but not actually important. Begin questioning the pull to respond immediately by pausing before you commit. Let silence do some of the heavy lifting. This kind of deliberate delay can be uncomfortable at first. Were conditioned to equate speed with success. Slowing down can feel risky, even subversive. But what were really doing is replacing reflex with intention. And the impact can be profound.
Leading with discernment
By saying not now, we arent rejecting opportunity or disengaging from our responsibilities. Were creating room to assess whether those opportunities align with our values, goals, or priorities. Were choosing to invest our energy where it will have the most impact, not just where the noise is loudest. Over time, this practice becomes more than a productivity tactic. It becomes a leadership mindset. At some point, every effective leader needs to learn to stop reacting and start choosing.
We all operate in dynamic environments. There will always be times when there is real urgency, and we need to respond. But even in those moments, the ability to discern between what demands our attention now and what can wait becomes a defining skill. Leaders who master this are often those who appear calm amid chaos. Not because they arent busy, but because theyve learned to carry less noise. They know how to separate the signal from the static. They are discerning with their time, and clear in their decisions. They’re also generous with their presence because theyve protected it from being scattered in too many directions at once.
So when you next feel the tug of obligation, urgency, or expectation, try asking yourself one question: Does this need me now or am I simply in the habit of saying yes? Then, give yourself the grace to wait. Remember, its not forever. Its just for now.
The first time I read The Count of Monte Cristo, I was astounded by how freakin cool it all was. Heres a story about daring prison escapes, finding hidden treasure, and elaborately executed revenge. It felt aliveno matter that it was written 180 years ago.
That book, and everything else published before 1930, is currently in the United States public domain. That means its perfectly legal for anyone to re-create the original text and publish it online or off. And there are a number of websites dedicated to offering public domain ebooks online, which is fantastic.
But free downloads can be kindawell, ugly. Whether its typos from the transcription process, inconsistent style choices, or missing details like cover art, an exceptional digital reading experience isnt always easy to find. Its almost enough to make you want pay a few bucks for an ebook thats technically free, just to get a better designed product.
Before you do that, though, you should check out todays Cool Tools discovery. Itll change how you think about reading on a screen, and youll never want to go back to the old way again.
This tip originally appeared in the free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. Get the next issue in your inbox and get ready to discover all sorts of awesome tech treasures!
Beautiful ebook downloads$0
The great thing about free culture is that people can build on whats freely offered and better adapt it for a specific purpose. The website I want to share with you today is a perfect example of that, building on the free ebook downloads from sites like Project Gutenberg and The Internet Archive.
Its called Standard Ebooks, and its a collection of over 1,000 free ebooks with a real focus on style, design, and compatibility. The result: Every book offered on the site is absolutely beautifuland an absolute pleasure to read.
You can start browsing the archive immediately and transfer a book to any device you like in 20 seconds or less.
Whether you read books on a Kindle, a Kobo, or even just on your phoneAndroid, iOS, whateveryoull find beautifully formatted books made specifically for your screen.
Standard Ebooks looks and feels like a polished, premium marketplaceeven though it’s free.
Youll also find easy-to-follow instructions for getting the books onto your device and into a place where you can easily read them.
Formats offered include epub, azw3 for Amazon Kindle gadgets, and kepub for Kobo devices. Or you can opt to simply read a book right within your browser, evenwith an easy-to-navigate chapter-by-chapter framework or on a single click-free page.
You can get books formatted for any kind of device you’re using.
Standard Ebooks has a handy search function if youre looking for something specific, or you can browse by things like genre, release date, or author. Every ebook offered has a visually pleasing cover, also from the public domain (and with not a single AI-generated illustration in sight). And all are edited to adhere to a rigorous style guide.
Books from Standard Ebooks aregasp!actually a pleasure to read.
Its the rare free software project thats focused on aesthetics. Ive read several books from Standard Ebooks over the years, and I always appreciate the attention to detail. I bet you will, too.
Standard Ebooks is available online, within any web browser on any device.
Its a completely free service, though it does offer opportunities for both donations and volunteering.
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Treat yourself to all sorts of brain-boosting goodies like this with the free Cool Tools newsletterstarting with an instant introduction to an incredible audio app thatll tune up your days in truly delightful ways.
Most types of financial fraud are relatively straightforward: the fraudster uses creative accounting, inflated numbers, or out-and-out lies to trick their victim into handing over money or valuables they wouldnt otherwise part with, usually while twirling a villainous mustache. You can probably think of a dozen examples off the top of your head, from Bernie Madoffs Ponzi scheme to the phone scams that try to convince your Nana her Social Security benefits are in danger. But until allegations were recently brought against Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, most people had never heard of mortgage fraudand for good reason.
This type of fraud is exceedingly rare. In 2021, only 58 mortgage fraud offenders were sentenced in the federal system, and the number of offenders has decreased by nearly 70% since 2017.
Understanding what makes mortgage fraud such an uncommon financial crime can help clarify whats behind the recent allegationsand can make your own brushes with mortgage underwriting feel less opaque. Heres what you need to know.
Defining mortgage fraud
The specific type of mortgage fraud that Federal Reserve governor Cook (as well as New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Senator Adam Schiff) have been accused of is intentionally deceiving a mortgage lender or underwriter in order to secure a mortgage loan. There are several types of mortgage fraud that a borrower may engage in, including:
Income fraud: When a buyer misrepresents their income to the mortgage lender.
Straw buyer: When a fake buyer acts on behalf of a true borrower to misrepresent the transaction because the real borrower couldnt qualify for the loan. Typically, the straw buyer transfers the title to the property after the sale is done.
Illegal property flip: When a buyer purchases a property at below market value and quickly resells it at an artificially inflated price. Although flipping a house for a nice profit is not illegal, if it involves a fraudulent appraisal or misleading the new buyer, it is considered mortgage fraud.
Occupancy fraud: When the borrower lies about the occupancy status of the property to obtain a better rate, since owner-occupied primary residences receive more favorable terms than second homes or rental properties.
Occupancy fraud is the type of fraud that Cook, James, and Schiff have been accused of, since the allegations against all three center on which of their properties are designated as primary residences. (Its important to note that Schiff claims he got permission from his lender to consider two homes as primary residences because of his need for a home base in both California and the D.C. area.)
The high bar for mortgage underwriting
Mortgage fraud is not so easy to pull off, as anyone who has been through mortgage underwriting can attest. This process puts the borrowers credit, income, and financial background under the microscope to determine if they are a good candidate for the loan.
Specifically, mortgage underwriting looks at things like:
employment records for the previous two years
W-2 tax records for the past two years
pay stubs for the past 30 to 60 days
account information for every type of account you have, includingchecking and savings accountsCDsinvestment accountsretirement accounts
that money market account you opened three years ago and forgot about
additional income, like alimony, child support, bonuses
a gift letter if friends or family have given you money to help with your down payment
Underwriters have the tenacity of a bloodhound and will halt the process to ask for additional information about unexplained gaps in employment or funds that they consider unverified. (The card that Nana sent the $500 birthday check in may not be enough to satisfy your underwriter about the source of that unverified extra five Benjamins. Ask me how I know.)
Depending on the lender, underwriting may also require the borrower to provide an intent to occupy letter as part of the process. This legal document offers proof that the borrower is purchasing the property as a primary residence, and works as a legal protection against occupancy fraud.
Why is mortgage fraud different from all other fraud?
With the exception of illegal property flipping, the most common types of mortgage fraud involve a borrower deceiving a mortgage lenderin order to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars.
This is not like tricking someone into giving you money and disappearing with it. The mortgage lender literally knows where the borrower lives.
Additionally, if the borrower succeeds in deceiving the lender into a more favorable loan through mortgage fraud, the bank risks losing money if the borrower defaults, but the borrower faces higher risks. If they default, they will ruin their own credit. The lender can easily write off the loss of the money, especially since it still has the property as collateral, while the borrower will be in much worse financial straits after defaulting.
This is not to say that mortgage fraud is some kind of victimless crime that can only hurt the borrower. But a type of fraud where you plan to make monthly payments to your victim is a noticeably different beast from simply illegally transferring money from victim to fraudster.
Fraud or error?
Fed Governor Cook has responded to the allegations that she fraudulently took out mortgages on two primary residencesone in Michigan and another in Georgiaby claiming she made no attempt to deceive anyone and that an unintentional error may be behind the problem.
It is impossible to know for certain what happened in this situation. Mistakes certainly happen in mortgage paperwork. There is no specific definition of primary residence, which can vary from one state or county to another, and from one lender to another. And while mortgage records are public, they do not necessarily include all the information shared between borrowers and lenders. There is no way to prove or disprove fraudulent intent on Cooks part.
Along with the fact that mortgage underwriting is very effective, the difficulty of proving mortgage fraud is why there are so few convictions. Yes, its possible that many borrowers are fibbing about their income or where they plan to live. (Donald Trump was famously found liable for fraud by a New York state judge for inflating his net worth in order to secure more favorabe loan and insurance terms.) Or they may have an agreement in place with their lenders. Or there may be a clerical error on their mortgage records.
If they are making their mortgage payments on time, no one is paying much attention.
Borrowing with an intent to defraud
Mortgage fraud is a real financial crime where a home buyer deceives a lender in order to get more favorable loan terms. But its a difficult fraud to pull off because the mortgage underwriting process requires such attention to the borrowers financial situationalthough falsely claiming that a property will be a primary residence is probably one of the easiest types of mortgage fraud.
While mortgage fraud is not a victimless crime we can simply accept from governors of the Federal Reservewho need to be above reproachits also unlike most other types of fraud. The fraudster is committing to years of monthly payments and faces financial ruin if they default.
Lenders are in an excellent position to protect themselves from mortgage fraud through underwriting. The system appears to be working as intended, considering how difficult it is to identify or prove definitive cases of fraud.
Which raises the questiondo we really need to examine the intent behind the borrowing irregularities that are currently in the news cycle?
You know MillerKnoll as one of the few great American design brands. Or perhaps, a mega brand of design brands including Design Within Reach, Hay, and Muuto. But the furniture manufacturer is still shaking off a difficult few years. Its revenue dropped nearly half a billion dollars as COVID closed offices. And while margins are up since Herman Miller and Knoll joined forces in 2021, the company is still facing headwinds from global uncertainty around the economy, future of work, and tariffs.
But when I spoke to CEO Andi Owen earlier this week, she was primed with energyand dare I say, real enthusiasm. Our conversation was pegged to the appointment of MillerKnolls new Board ChairJohn Hoke, the former chief innovation officer at Nike. But the frank, 45-minute discussion that followed touched upon every aspect of the MillerKnoll business and brand, including a spirited debate about RTO, why Herman Miller and DWR are central to her strategy to make up the $400 million in revenue lost thanks to COVID, and why she won’t try to sell you a new Eames Lounge to replace your old one.
For anyone nervous about running a business in our current climate, Owens POV offers a masterclass in staying grounded. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
So John Hoke recently left his role of Head of Innovation at Nikeone of the other few great American design brands. And hes just taken the role of Board Chair at MillerKnoll. It feels like you want to put the pedal to the metal on innovation.
John’s been on the board for 25 years, almost, which is kind of hard to believe. He brings this incredible, enthusiastic, creative, sort of big thinking design vision to an environment which typically leans financial results oriented.
When Mike Volkema [the former board chair] retiredwhich is very sad, he’s an amazing human being, but I think it’s the right time for him in his lifeJohn was just a natural choice for so many reasons. Because if I think about the journey we’ve been on in the last four or five years, MillerKnoll coming together as two companies and going through all the integration processwere at that stage where we can really lean in to sort of the fruits of our labor post integration, and really lean into all of our 15 brands and who they are and what they can do best.
I’m really excited about his leadership at this time. I think what he’s done in the past helps us to think differently, helps us to look outside of our industry and what we’re doing and think more expansively.
[Photo: courtesy MillerKnoll]
Since the Knoll acquisition in 2021, its been what I assume is a massive amount of work around mass consolidation of brands. You closed two major production facilities. Youve joined offices. Obviously, there were layoffs. Do you feel like the merger is finally done?
Yeah, I would say it felt like a gorilla off my back, and I think off all of our backs. So things that you just illustratedfinancially, the facilities, consolidationall of those things, those are hard but easier decisions. They’re sometimes very black and white.
The harder things are understanding where you’re not going to encroach and what you’re not going to damage. So for us, as we went through this process, which took the better part of the last three and a half four years, it was really about, how do we keep each one of our brands, identity and creative juices intact? How do we keep the soul of each brand, while we find a way to build a culture that is all of us together?
The good news is the heavy lift is behind us, which is why this time is so important because we feel like we can kind of lift up and look out we know who we are. Smooth sailing is the wrong word, but I think I would be remiss if I didnt mention, we’ve all been managing in a kind of perma-crisis mode for the last few years.
[Photo: courtesy MillerKnoll]
Perma-crisis seems like the perfect descriptor of our world today.
I mean, it’s sort of been one thing after another thing after another thing. COVID was kind of the crisis that never stopped. That brought on a whole series of supply chain issues, and then you have changes in the administration and all these things. And I think at a certain point, as leaders in any business integration aside, you have to move past perma-crisis and just make your bets and manage a very uncertain environment. You have to steer clear and just be steady, because you can’t continue in crisis mode forever. It’s unhealthy, it’s difficult.
What allowed you to get out from perma-crisis? Because you’re still dealing with a lot of these same problems you were a few years ago! Return-to-office not really happening. Supply chain uncertainty. Now tariffs.
I think for me personally, and I think for the team, it was really more of a mindset shift. At first, there’s the surprise and shock and awe, and it’s one thing after another thing after another thing. And it’s very easy to get in your war room and start to plan everything you’re going to do, to react. And after a time, you realize you just can’t do that anymore. You’re exhausted.
First of all, you lose sight of where you want to take the business, and you have to re-anchor on these are the bets we’re making. We can’t control the macroeconomic or the external environment. Things are going to happen. We just have to steer clear down the path that we feel is the right path, which is around product innovation, building culture, creating human centered environments, developing a really strong retail business, staying clear on our focus and our vision, and then we#8217;ll manage the day-to -day crisis as it comes.
Its just too difficult to stay in reaction mode. You’re right, [the environment] hasn’t changed. But ultimately, that’s the only way I think you can really be healthy right now.
I do want to get into some of the ongoing challenges of the business. Your profit margins are up post consolidations, but your revenue is still down about $400 million since COVID. How do you buck this trend in declining revenue?
I think the downward trend in revenue can be attributed to a variety of things, right? You can say macroeconomic COVID.
Ultimately, if you look at the industry in two buckets, there’s the commercial interior (office furniture) contract side of the business, and theres the retail side. The contract furniture side of the business was due for consolidation. Number one, it has never really consolidated in the history of the business. And secondarily, when COVID struck, people found a new way to work. So that drop in revenue, the bulk of that came immediately, when it was like, we’re all working from home and who needs to be in an office?
I don’t think the industry has fully recovered, which I actually think is good news, because we’re starting to see that trend reverse. We’re starting to see the return to office debates become less of a debate. We’re starting to see people realize the value of human connection in a workspace and otherwise. So I think that trend is on an upward curve.
And I also think the industry has consolidated in a very healthy way. So if you start with Miller and Knoll coming together, and then you look at the latest consolidation of Steelcase and HNIthat’s good for us, that’s good for the industry, that’s good for competition, that’s good for margins, it’s good for all the things.
So I think we’ve right-sized to what demand should be in the future to how people are working today. The industry was due for a step-down. And then if you think about the residential side of the business, that’s where we see a huge amount of growth for us. Our business is very nascent. It’s smaller. We’re under-stored. We’re under-assorted. We have a huge advantage from a design perspectivean advantage in that we manufacture many of our own products. We have no real international footprint. So on the retail side of the business, opening 10 to 15 stores every year and continuing to build both of those brandsDWR and Herman Millerwe think is a top line and bottom line grower.
And then if I take everything I just said about the contract side of the business, and I say that was mostly North America. If you look at the rest of the world from a commercial interior standpoint, we have a very small market share. It’s a very profitable business for us. So there’s a lot of opportunity for us to grow internationally. Jeff Stutz, our new COO [promoted from CFO], has a really critical understanding of the contract businesses, and as we grow the international contract businesshis financial expertise is going to be huge.
So I think the worst has passed, and we’re in a growth mode now, which is really nice.
[Photo: courtesy MillerKnoll]
I think the return to office debate is still raging.
You know, it was, though, not as much.
I mean, every year, Im asked to moderate another panel on will we return to office?
Isnt it old now? Aren’t you done with the conversation?
[Photo: MillerKnoll]
Oh, I’m so sick of it! Yet still, nobody exactly knows how its going to land. Offices have recovered a bit. The hybrid thing is here to say. I think a trend we do know now is that office footprints are shrinking. We have seen cutbacks in terms of overall square footage as companies re-invest in offices. And that doesn’t seem like it will be changing anytime soon.
And so I wonder, do you accommodate that differently? Do you design differentlylike you did with the modular OE1 line? It doesn’t feel like a company of your size can just count on the office coming back to the substantial numbers people expect.
I think what you’re saying, Mark, is absolutely right on. I don’t think anybody in this industry is banking on the days when there were rows and rows of cubicles and tons and tons of office space, because we don’t live that way anymore. When I think about whats cool about our company is that whether you’re downsizing, whether you’re moving, whether you have less people in the office, those are all opportunities to think differently about your space. And what’s interesting is that people are looking at smaller spaces nownot everyone, but many companies are looking at smaller spaces that are actually more enticing and more geared towards what they do. There are very few people that are sort of stamping out the same desk in the same chair for everybody.
So that opportunity to really uniquely think about space, to innovate around products that might suit an engineer versus a marketer versus a CEO, those are things we do really well. We think about the entire space. That’s all business opportunity. Less space is not necessarily a bad thing.
We’re not sitting here banking on the days of yore in the 80s, when it was Action Office everywhere. What we’re banking on is that people will understand that a premium space thats geared to your employeesa place where people actually want to come, whether they’re coming for two days or three dayslike, I don’t care. Whatever your tenets are around being together, people want that space t be compelling.
I’m just so bored by the conversation. But [back to office] mandates don’t work. Like whatever, you can try to do a mandate if you want to, but what works is people wanting to see each other and wanting to work in a space thats compelling.
[Photo: MillerKnoll]
Its like psychological theory, right? Positive reinforcement works better than negative.
Treat people like adults. Give them a space they want to come to, create a culture they want to be in, and the problem is solved. That’s not easy to do, but space plays into that, and that’s really good for us.
When you talk about expanding your office contract business internationally, what does that involve? Does that really just involve stepping up the amount of people who are doing direct sales to these companies? Overseas manufacturing?
We try, and mostly do, manufacture in the locations where we sell our products. So we manufacture in Asia for Asia. We manufacture in Europe for Europe. So it’s a matter of manufacturing facilities. It’s a matter of building up internal teams, and it’s also a matter of building up our external dealer partners. So what countries do we have enough dealers? What countries do we need to add dealers? You know, the Middle East right now is on fire. How do we support growth in those areas? Then additionally, what are the products we need that we have to develop for these countries? Because it’s not the same everywhere. You can probably take 80% of your product portfolio unchanged everywhere, but that other 20% you really do have to be uniquely developed for that country in some cases.
It seems like tariffs have made a minimal impact on your business thus far. Will that change?
Now, I would say tariff planning has had maximal impact! I mean, it’s a lot of money for everyone, but I think we’re in the place of sort of waiting to see how this all comes out. We have our worst case scenario and our best case scenario, and we’re sort of taking it a day at a time. I don’t think we have seen every tariff fully enacted going through the supply chain. There will be an impact, and we’ll try to be as efficient and effective as we can to offset costs, because the last thing we want to do is keep [increasing] prices to cover these costs. So right now, we’re in a wait-and-see mode. I will say it has been impactful, but we have not gotten to our worst case scenario yet.
[Photo: courtesy MillerKnoll]
You also talk about the domestic sector being this big area of growth for you. Does that include the home office sales that you had that incredible spike during COVID? Or is it really like me getting that Eames Lounger for my living room?
I think that it’s both. When I came to the company, we said Herman Miller is one of those brands that’s able to live in five or six or seven different places with equal authority. So it can be in a doctor’s office, a healthcare institution, it can be in an office, it can be your home. It can be gaming. And it has relevance everywhere.
With Herman Miller retail stores, we said what if we took that thing that we do really well, which is ergonomic task seating, and expanded that part of the brand and the lifestyle piece. It’s been an amazing retail concept for a variety of reasons. Part of it is we attract that small business owner that doesn’t really want to work with an office furniture dealer, but wants five, ten, twenty setups for a startup or whatever that might be. Plus for the residential buyer, we’re on a street that they can easily access. They can come and get fitted for a chair.
DWR is more of our marketplace of modern design, and we have 38 stores now. We’re opening them so quickly. I lose count of how many we have. But if you compare that to other folks in the residential home furnishings business, it’s dramatically under where we [we should be]. We have a great digital storefront. But what we find is that people want to have both.
In places where we have both the brick and mortar and the digital it’s a really magic formula. So again, it’s kind of both. We experienced a massive bump during COVID with home office because we had a path to market that many folks didn’t have in office furniture. We’re still growing it, because we have the opportunity to get market share in places where we’re not. And I think that opportunity will exist for the next five to seven years, because we just are so under-stored.
[Photo: courtesy MillerKnoll]
You bring up brick and mortar retail. I know that you’re aiming to double it over the coming years. Could you speak more specifically on why it is such an opportunity for you. Because while I know were both sick of talking about if the office is coming back, we could say the same thing about is physical retail coming back?
Having been in retail for so much of my career, there have been limitless debates over the years. Stores are down! Stores are not dead! No one will ever shop online! Name the debate.
I think what works really well for us is that the people that staff our stores tend to be architects and designers. So yu’re not necessarily just buying a piece of furniture. We can help you with a variety of things. So we can help you design your space if you want that. I think our secret sauce is the people that work in our stores. That’s number one.
Secondarily, I think that what works well for us is that people do want to understand touch and feel. Our products tend to not be inexpensive products! They’re an investment for many people.
I’ll give you a perfect example: When I joined the company, I was lucky enough to buy an Eames lounge and ottoman. My husband and I looked at it online forever, and I thought we were going to get the tall because my husband is taller than me. We went into a store. Sitting in both was what made the difference for us (and we didnt get the tall). Had we just done it online, we probably would have ended up with a very different decision.
Unfortunately, I do have to bring up return-to-office one more time. Where we’re seeing investment in enterprise buildouts right now is actually in data centers. Every architecture firm we’re talking to is now designing data centers as their cash cow. How much is the data center an explorable market for you?
You know, I would be lying if I said we weren’t thinking about how we play in this market, because it’s growing. I’m not sure yet how we can play in that. Theres probably a way, but not one I’m comfortable sharing at this point. Its interesting, though.
Ive followed MillerKnolls efforts around incorporating recycled plastics, but I also just feel like what you do best is longevityif you just can convince people to stick with the products you built for a long time and for businesses not to throw them away.
That’s what we hope. Where was I? I think I was in the La Jolla store, and a woman came in, and she brought the ottoman of her Eames Lounge that her father had. And she was an older woman, probably my age, and she’s like: I want it just like this, but I want a new one. And I was like, No, you don’t. I said, First of all, this is rosewood. You can’t get it anymore, and there was such a patina to the leathers. I said, Listen, keep this one. We can refurbish it. Well restuff it. We’ll do whatever you want, but hang on to this one.
So anyway, I lost the sale, but on the other hand, that’s what we want. We want you to have something that’s an heirloom that you can keep for a very long time, that we can fix and repair. And if we can’t fix and repair it, let’s give it to another user, or recycle it. Something we really don’t want our products ending up in a landfill in any way, shape, or form.
Old leather hits different. You bring up the Eames Lounge. So much of your brand storytelling is around archive pieces, archive releases, archive collaborations. How important is the archivethat sort of deeper mid century-plus archiveto your business versus the newer designs?
Its hard to look at brands like Herman Miller and Knoll and not acknowledge that a big part of what we do is making sure that we honor that legacy, right? So I think if you look at everything from Eames Lounge and Ottoman to building our archives in West Michigan, to Hays latest collab with Emma Colemanlike we have both, right? And we just hired a new creative director for Herman Miller, Carlos Martinez. Because in my opinion, that’s amazing history. But we’re also at a point in time where we have to evolve into the future.
So I think that’s one of the things that Carlos, who just joined us this week, will be really focused on. I think you make a good pointit’s hard when you have such an amazing history to make sure you’re moving quickly and effectively into the future. And I think with Knoll we’ve done a really nice job of that in the last three or four years. We’ve definitely done that with some of our newer brands, whether that’s Mutto, Hay, NaughtOne, CBS. With Herman Miller, we’re going to turn the corner.
That’s interesting, because aesthetically, I don’t know how I would define Herman Miller today. Im a little historical storied out, and I feel like, well, what’s the future? Because I’m seeing the future everywhere else, and it’s depressing.
We have to be the ones to make the future not depressing, right? And I think you’re right. I think the vision for Herman Miller is something we are in the process of evolving and unleashing. With all the things that are going on in the world, we have such an opportunity to be a force for good. Part of our goal [is]…how we do bring that human connection even in the darkest of times?
[Photo: MillerKnoll]]
An insider told me a while back that that your initial push into gamingthe Embody gaming chairwas actually a big disappointment: it had flopped and the sales had done poorly.
No, actually, just just the opposite! I think our initial gaming chair was a huge success. Actually, it continues to be a huge success. So much so that we’ve invested pretty dramatically in this business…all the way to working with Esports teams and launching our second gaming chair. I would say our second gaming chair, which was really our attempt to do a lower cost chair, has been successful, but didn’t have all the bells and whistles that we really wanted for the either professional gamer as well as just the casual gamer.
So we have two [new gaming chairs] in the works right now, and they take a long time to put together. But no, we believe in the business. We have not been disappointed by the business at all. I think if we’re disappointed in anything, it’s about the speedthe speed with which you can develop something like this, which, it takes time.
Looking five years ahead as a customer or someone studying the company, what’s going to surprise me most?
Oh, gosh, I think you’re going to be surprised most by how the brands have evolved and how much Herman Miller and DWR have grown. I think you’re going to be surprised by bottom line growth, too. Integration and all of that costs so much money and so much investmnt, and I think the years that we have ahead will be super profitable.
You’re going to be surprised by how much noise we’re going to make and how many things we’re going to change in the world. I really do. I’m excited about it. I think our sustainability efforts will make a huge difference. And I think some of the people that we’ve brought on board have such unique and innovative perspectives that we’re thrilled where well be in five years.
Apple holds several events throughout the year, but none is as vital to the companys bottom line as its annual one in September. Thats when Apple unveils its new iPhone lineup, drawing our attention again to the device that accounted for just over half of the $391 billion the company brought in in fiscal 2024.
Apples next iPhone event is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 9. The iPhone 17 event, taglined “Awe Dropping, represents a significant shift: Apple is expected to discontinue one of its current iPhone models and launch a new iPhone device in its place. The company is also likely to introduce several other hardware products. Heres what you can expect to see on Tuesday.
iPhone 17 Air
The star of the iPhone 17 event is expected to be a brand-new model of the iPhone, currently dubbed by tech pundits and analysts as the iPhone 17 Air (also sometimes referred to as the iPhone 17 Slim).
As its name suggests, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to be a thin devicethe thinnest iPhone ever. Most rumors indicate that the iPhone 17 Air will have a thickness of between just 5.5mm and 6mm. (Its likely the 5.5mm thickness will be the device’s thinnest point, and the camera bump will add heft to the new iPhone near the top of the device.)
Previously, the thinnest iPhone ever was the iPhone 6, released in 2014, measuring 6.9mm in thickness. (The thinnest iPhone 16 models are the iPhone 16, iPhone 16e, and iPhone 16 Pro, all of which have a thickness of 7.8mm.)
In addition to a skinny form factor, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to feature a 6.6-inch display, an A19 chip, and a single-lens 48MP rear camera. The lack of a more advanced camera system suggests that the iPhone 17 Air will be for consumers who prioritize form and design over functionality.
The new iPhone Air model will replace the current iPhone Plus model, which Apple is retiring this year.
iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max
Apple is also expected to upgrade the rest of its current iPhone lineup at the event on Tuesday. This includes the release of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Maxsome of which may have a higher starting price than last year.
If youre a fan of the entry-level iPhone, you may be disappointed to hear that the base iPhone 17 will likely get the fewest upgrades this year. Expect a display size bump from the current 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches. The iPhone 17 is also expected to get the A19 chip and a new 24MP front camera (up from the 12MP in the iPhone 16). But beyond thatand new colorsdont expect too many other significant feature improvements.
The story is different when it comes to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Expect significant design changes, including a rectangular rear camera bump, a new aluminum frame, a hybrid aluminum and glass backplate, and a new orange color option.
The iPhone 17 Pro is expected to feature a display size increase to 6.3 inches (from the current 6.1 inches), and the iPhone 17 Pro Max is expected to have a display size of 6.9 inches. Both models are also likely to feature the A19 Pro chipset, a 24MP front camera, and a new 48MP lens in their rear telephoto camera (up from 24MP).
All iPhone 17 models will ship with the new iOS 26 and its Liquid Glass software design.
Apple Watch Ultra 3
Last year, Apple Watch fans were disappointed to learn that Apple did not release an updated Apple Watch Ultra. Instead, the company kept the same Apple Watch Ultra 2 modelfrom 2023on sale, only adding a new color option.
But on Tuesday, the company is finally expected to introduce a new Apple Watch Ultra 3. However, dont expect a radical overhaul of the high-end smartwatch. Instead, it is likely to get iterative hardware improvements. As noted by 9to5Mac, those improvements include a slightly larger display (the Ultra 2 has a 49mm display), a new S11 chip, high blood pressure detection, 5G cellular support, and satellite connectivity for messaging.
Apple Watch Series 11
Apple is also expected to debut the new Apple Watch Series 11. However, those hoping for a larger display, like the one coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3, will be disappointed. The Series 11 is expected to retain its current 42mm and 46mm options.
Yet, the Apple Watch Series 11 is expected to gain many of the other features coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3, including a new S11 chip, high blood pressure detection, and 5G cellular support.
Apple Watch SE 3
The Apple Watch SE is Apples budget Apple Watch product. The current Apple Watch SE 2 came out nearly three years ago, so its long overdue for an upgrade, which is expected on Tuesday.
However, as a budget model, dont expect the Apple Watch SE 3 to feature significant improvements. Rumors suggest that it could feature a slightly larger display and that Apple may have opted to use a plastic, color body to keep costs down.
AirPods Pro 3
Finally, Apple is also expected to introduce an updated AirPods Pro 3. However, rumors about what new changes we can expect are more opaque than with the other Apple products listed above.
Signs point to the new AirPods Pro 3 having a tweaked, possibly smaller, design, improved Active Noise Cancellation and audio quality, as well as a new heart rate monitoring health feature.
Apples iPhone 17 event kicks off on Tuesday, September 9, at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET.
For farmers, every planting decision carries risks, and many of those risks are increasing with climate change. One of the most consequential is weather, which can damage crop yields and livelihoods. A delayed monsoon, for example, can force a rice farmer in South Asia to replant or switch crops altogether, losing both time and income.
Access to reliable, timely weather forecasts can help farmers prepare for the weeks ahead, find the best time to plant or determine how much fertilizer will be needed, resulting in better crop yields and lower costs.
Yet, in many low- and middle-income countries, accurate weather forecasts remain out of reach, limited by the high technology costs and infrastructure demands of traditional forecasting models.
A new wave of AI-powered weather forecasting models has the potential to change that.
By using artificial intelligence, these models can deliver accurate, localized predictions at a fraction of the computational cost of conventional physics-based models. This makes it possible for national meteorological agencies in developing countries to provide farmers with the timely, localized information about changing rainfall patterns that the farmers need.
The challenge is getting this technology where its needed.
Why AI forecasting matters now
The physics-based weather prediction models used by major meteorological centers around the world are powerful but costly. They simulate atmospheric physics to forecast weather conditions ahead, but they require expensive computing infrastructure. The cost puts them out of reach for most developing countries.
Moreover, these models have mainly been developed by and optimized for northern countries. They tend to focus on temperate, high-income regions and pay less attention to the tropics, where many low- and middle-income countries are located.
A major shift in weather models began in 2022 as industry and university researchers developed deep learning models that could generate accurate short- and medium-range forecasts for locations around the globe up to two weeks ahead.
These models worked at speeds several orders of magnitude faster than physics-based models, and they could run on laptops instead of supercomputers. Newer models, such as Pangu-Weather and GraphCast, have matched or even outperformed leading physics-based systems for some predictions, such as temperature.
AI-driven models require dramatically less computing power than the traditional systems.
While physics-based systems may need thousands of CPU hours to run a single forecast cycle, modern AI models can do so using a single GPU in minutes once the model has been trained. This is because the intensive part of the AI model training, which learns relationships in the climate from data, can use those learned relationships to produce a forecast without further extensive computationthats a major shortcut. In contrast, the physics-based models need to calculate the physics for each variable in each place and time for every forecast produced.
While training these models from physics-based model data does require significant upfront investment, once the AI is trained, the model can generate large ensemble forecastssets of multiple forecast runsat a fraction of the computational cost of physics-based models.
Even the expensive step of training an AI weather model shows considerable computational savings. One study found the early model FourCastNet could be trained in about an hour on a supercomputer. That made its time to presenting a forecast thousands of times faster than state-of-the-art, physics-based models.
The result of all these advances: high-resolution forecasts globally within seconds on a single laptop or desktop computer.
Research is also rapidly advancing to expand the use of AI for forecasts weeks to months ahead, which helps farmers in making planting choices. AI models are already being tested for improving extreme weather prediction, such as for extratropical cyclones and abnormal rainfall.
Tailoring forecasts for real-world decisions
While AI weather models offer impressive technical capabilities, they are not plug-and-play solutions. Their impact depends on how well they are calibrated to local weather, benchmarked against real-world agricultural conditions, and aligned with the actual decisions farmers need to make, such as what and when to plant, or when drought is likely.
To unlock its full potential, AI forecasting must be connected to the people whose decisions its meant to guide.
Thats why groups such as AIM for Scale, a collaboration we work with as researchers in public policy and sustainability, are helping governments to develop AI tools that meet real-world needs, including training users and tailoring forecasts to farmers needs. International development institutions and the World Meteorological Organization are also working to expand access to AI forecasting models in low- and middle-income countries.
AI forecasts can be tailored to context-specific agricultural needs, such as identifying optimal planting windows, predicting dry spells, or planning pest management. Disseminating those forecasts through text messages, radio, extension agents or mobile apps can then help reach farmers who can benefit. This is especially true when the messages themselves are constantly tested and improved to ensure they meet the farmers needs.
A recent study in India found that when farmers there received more accurate monsoon forecasts, they made more informed decisions about what and how much to plantor whether to plant at allresulting in better investment outcomes and reduced risk.
A new era in climate adaptation
AI weather forecasting has reached a pivotal moment. Tools that were experimental just five years ago are now being integrated into government weather forecasting systems. But technology alone wont change lives.
With support, low- and middle-income countries can build the capacity o generate, evaluate, and act on their own forecasts, providing valuable information to farmers that has long been missing in weather services.
Paul Winters is a professor of sustainable development at the University of Notre Dame.
Amir Jina is an assistant professor of public policy at the University of Chicago.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Stress on college students can be palpable, and it hits them from every direction: academic challenges, social pressures, and financial burdens, all intermingled with their first taste of independence. Its part of the reason why anxiety and depression are common among the 19 million students now enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities, and why incidents of suicide and suicidal ideation are rising.
In the 2024 National College Health Assessment Report, 30% of the 30,000 students surveyed said anxiety negatively affected their academic performance, with 20% at risk for symptoms that suggest severe psychological distress, such as feelings of sadness, nervousness, and hopelessness. No wonder the demand for mental health services has been increasing for about a decade.
Many schools have rightfully responded to this demand by offering students more counseling. That is important, of course, but theres another approach that could help alleviate the need for counseling: creating a campus environment that promotes health. Simply put, add more green space.
We are scholars who study the impact that the natural environment has on students, particularly in the place where they spend much of their timethe college campus. Decades of research show that access to green spaces can lower stress and foster a stronger sense of belongingbenefits that are particularly critical for students navigating the pressures of higher education.
Making campuses green
In 2020, our research team at Texas A&M University launched a Green Campus Initiative to promote a healthier campus environment. Our goal was to find ways to design, plan, and manage such an environment by developing evidence-based strategies.
Our survey of more than 400 Texas A&M students showed that abundant greenery, nature views, and quality walking paths can help with mental health issues.
More than 80% of the students we surveyed said they already have their favorite outdoor places on campus. One of them is Aggie Park, 20 acres of green space with exercise trails, walking and bike paths, and rocking chairs by a lake. Many students noted that such green spaces are a break from daily routines, a positive distraction from negative thoughts and a place to exercise.
Our survey confirms other research that shows students who spend time outdoorsparticularly in places with mature trees, open fields, parks, gardens, and waterreport better moods and lower stress. More students are physically active when on a campus with good walkability and plenty of sidewalks, trails, and paths. Just the physical activity itself is linked to many mental health benefits, including reduced anxiety and depression.
Outdoor seating, whether rocking chairs or park benches, also has numerous benefits. More time spent talking to others is one of them, but what might be surprising is that enhanced reading performance is another. More trees and plants mean more shaded areas, particularly during hot summers, and that too encourages students to spend more time outside and be active.
Less anxiety, better academic performance
In short, the surrounding environment matters, but not just for college students or those living or working on a campus. Across different groups and settings, research shows that being near green spaces reduces stress, anxiety, and depression.
Even a garden or tree-lined street helps.
In Philadelphia, researchers transformed 110 vacant lot clusters into green spaces. That led to improvements in mental health for residents living nearby. Those using the green spaces reported lower levels of stress and anxiety, but just viewing nature from a window was helpful too.
Our colleagues discovered similar findings when conducting a randomized trial with high school students who took a test before and after break periods in classrooms with different window views: no window, a window facing a building or parking lot, or a window overlooking green landscapes. Students with views of greenery recovered faster from mental fatigue and performed significantly better on attention tasks.
Its still unclear exactly why green spaces are good places to go when experiencing stress and anxiety; nevertheless, it is clear that spending time in nature is beneficial for mental well-being.
Small can be better
Its critical to note that enhancing your surroundings isnt just about green space. Other factors play a role. After analyzing data from 13 U.S. universities, our research shows that school size, locale, region, and religious affiliation all make a difference and are significant predictors of mental health.
Specifically, we found that students at schools with smaller populations, schools in smaller communities, schools in the southern U.S., or schools with religious affiliations generally had better mental health than students at other schools. Those students had less stress, anxiety, and depression, and a lower risk of suicide when compared with peers at larger universities with more than 5,000 students, schools in urban areas, institutions in the Midwest and West, or those without religious ties.
No one can change their genes or demographics, but an environment can always be modifiedand for the better. For a relatively cheap investment, more green space at a school offers long-term benefits to generations of students. After all, a campus is more than just buildings. No doubt, the learning that takes place inside them educates the mind. But whats on the outside, research shows, nurtures the soul.
Chanam Lee is a professor of landscape architecture and urban planning at Texas A&M University.
Li Deng is a Ph.D candidate in landscape architecture & urban planning at Texas A&M University.
Yizhen Ding is a Ph.D. candidate in landscpe architecture & urban planning at Texas A&M University.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Time and attention have become the most depleted resource in the modern workplace. Back-to-back meetings, calendar congestion, and constant context-switching crushing our ability to carry the daily cognitive load have created a time deficit that undermines performance, energy, and decision quality.
Managers can spend up to 23 hours a week in meetings. Yet a recent study found 70% of meetings keep employees from valuable work, and that 71% of managers reported meetings to be costly and unproductive. Other sources report meeting overload costs an estimated $37 billion in productivity losses per year. Similar research echoes this, pointing to the psychological and cognitive toll of unproductive meetings: lost focus, delayed decisions, shallow work, and chronic burnout.
The problem isnt just the number of meetingsits the lack of discipline around what meetings are for.
When team meetings try to do everythingbrainstorming, decision-making, status updates, conflict resolution, and social connectionthey end up doing nothing particularly well. Worse, they sap time from crucial areas such as deep thinking, team coaching, problem-solving, decision making, and actual execution.
The fix isnt expanding or tightening agendas. Its about making bold fixes: cutting what doesnt belong, investing time where it matters, and establishing group or team norms that prioritize value over volume.
To help combat time wasting tendencies from your team meetings, I have found simple fixes to common meeting problems that can give your team some much needed time back each week.
1. Stick to focused agendas
Overstuffed agendas cause meetings to run long, drift off course, overflow, kicking topics down the road then requiring follow-ups to resolve what wasnt finished. Research from Harvard reports that poorly planned and executed agendas are of the top drivers of time wasters. When it comes to agenda prioritization, trade-offs can be made.
The FixDefine what is truly meeting worthy, then narrow the scope for the agenda. Name a meeting executor, and have them be a stickler for managing topics, time and outcomes. Examples include:
Meeting worthy
Issues that need collaborative input or high-stakes alignment
Topics with clear urgency and strategic impact
Decisions with broader impact needing stakeholder perspectives
Meeting unworthy
Status updates (move to asynchronous tools like Loom videos or email)
Topics without a decision requirement or clear purpose
Client Case Tip
A global technology firm I partner with cut their 90-minute executive meeting down to 50 minutes by using a topic submission rubric. If a topic wasnt timely, decision-ready, or aligned to the top three priorities, it was deferred or redirected to another time or appropriate forum.
2. Be selective about participants
Including everyone to be fair or be seen as inclusive creates bloated attendee lists and meetings where most participants arent essential. Some cultures signal that if you receive a meeting invitation, accept it as normative behavior no matter if you think you should attend. MIT researchers suggest that even simple acts of becoming more deliberate about accepting meeting invitations will make a positive impact.
The FixInvite only those with a clear purposeand say a kind refusal to contextual participants, who can get briefed on the meeting through other means.
Include
People with decision rights, implementation roles, or critical knowledge to share or weigh in
Defined roles (e.g., decider, advisor, executor)
Someone or AI tracking the decisions, actions, and essential communication follow-through items with ownership to share with those who need informational outputs
Exclude
Stakeholders without a direct role in the outcome
Passive or contextual participants coming only to follow whats happening on a project or issue
Client Case Tip
One global leadership team assigned a project lead to review the AI summary and output from every meeting, along with the recording in order to clarify the stakeholders who would need to be kept in the loop. Leaders cut attendance by 35% and saw meeting quality and preparation engagement rise significantly.
3. Create Meeting Norms
Meetings that feel productive in the moment often generate confusion afterward when the expectations of how the meeting should unfold are unmet. My observation is that team members have unspoken and mixed expectations about meeting etiquette, norms, and outcomes. As such, unmet expectations can easily result in everything from disgruntled emotions to repeated discussions that waste time and create churn. Stephen Rogelberg, a professor at University of North Carolina and author of The Surprising Science of Meetings, recommends norms such as taking breaks, limiting individual speaking time so everyone gets a chance to weigh in, and disciplined accountability discussions at the close of meetings to reduce confusion, delays, and rework.
The FixBuild in useful closure norms, such as 5 to 10 minute closure with mandatory ownership and accountability discussions closing every meeting as to be clear on expectations.
Include
Budget for a minimum five-minute end-of-meeting recap of what was resolvedand what wasnt. Leave no loose end unattended to by speaking about where and when what didnt get resolved would be reviewed
Capture clear decisions, action items with ownership, timing for completion, and next steps. Many AI tools can summarize and clarify meeting highlights, decisions, actions steps, and other specifics that simply need reviewing for accuracy and distributing to team members
Exclude
Ok, it looks like we are out of time, from poor agenda and time management
Unhelful or dated norms that serve as tradition but have no real purpose
Open-ended conversations with no resolution, especially when the purpose is to manage through a conflict or conflicting ideas
Deferred decisions without a timeline
Client Case Tips
I worked recently with a team that was notorious for raising issues and bringing ideas to the tablea seemingly great thinguntil they ran out of time every meeting. I noticed many off-topic issues were surfaced and time was squandered away from the meetings purpose. Eventually, they would place those topics in the parking lot of topics, never to be revisited. This was a legacy norm from the previous leader, providing no value, yet consuming precious time. I asked them to assess the relevance of these issues and either commit to discussing them if pertinent or take responsibility for moving the topics to a relevant meeting.
Once they realized no one followed up on the items, the choice became easy and the parking lot practice was dropped.
Another team of executives I worked with would talk over one another until the loudest person in the room dominated the conversation. This left out valuable feedback and points of view prior to important decisions being made. A norm the team agreed upon was to sound a specific ringtone chime when the dynamic occurred. The team would then break for 5 to 10 minutes and return to decide next steps so other voices could be heard in the room.
Finally, one team I worked with saved roughly 32 hours per quarter by simply standardizing next-step assignments at the end of each meeting.
4. Get rid of legacy recurring meetings
Recurring meetings often persist out of habiteven when their original purpose has faded. This cuts into time for strategic work and deep thinking.
The FixOnce a meeting has a purpose, spend time ruthlessly on that purpose. When that purpose has been met, carefully consider the need to keep meeting or pivot toward addressing a different purpose.
On Purpose
Meetings with required prework and defined outcomes
Pre-aligned prep expectations (e.g., review docs, submit questions)
Assessing how close the team is to addressing the purpose fully
When/if purpose has been fulfilled, determine next steps immediately
Non on Purpose
Standing meetings without an active agenda
Meetings held just because its Monday
Legacy meetings that have been repetitively happening out of habit, but no one knows why
Case StudyA consulting firm eliminated a recurring hour-long weekly meeting and replaced it with a decision-ready model. Team members were expected to complete prework and submit questions five days in advance. If prep engagement was low, the meeting was canceled, and decision rights were delegated to the project lead. This reclaimed over 100 hours per yeartime reallocated to design work, coaching, and client strategy.
Time as a Strategic Asset
Meetings are not just a coordination toolthey are a budgeting choice. Every meeting is a trade-off with real work, deep thinking, and energy management.
When leaders begin treating time like capitalwith scrutiny, intention, and disciplineteams get better outcomes with fewer meetings. They make decisions faster, feel less drained, and spend more time on what actually moves the needle. Even at a minimum, teams can reclaim time starting with one question: What are we willing to stop doing so we can spend time where it counts?
Every career path has obstacles. Even the most accomplished leaders have faced moments where their goals felt out of reach. What separates the people who moved forward is how they respondedby adapting, learning, and finding new ways to progress.
Below, 17 members of Fast Company Executive Board share the challenges that once stood in their path and the lessons they drew from those experiences. If any of these roadblocks sound familiar, apply their expert advice for working through them.
1. TAKING THINGS PERSONALLY
I used to take every loss personally. I was rejected from Cambridge, I lost my first three boxing matches, VCs passed, deals collapsed. And Id lose control, trying to figure out what I did wrong. As time passed, I learned that the world doesnt punish you; it reveals you. A setback says, somethings not alignedyet. Now I see setbacks as course corrections. Youre not being punished, youre being prepared. – Aron Alexander, Runa
2. BEING TOO AMBITIOUS
Early in my career, my ambition often clashed with my career goal timeline. I thought I was ready for a promotion, but I hadnt yet learned that the business also needs to be ready for you to step into a new role (not just the other way around). As I grew into the executive level, I found balance in the following: keep driving forward, but recognize that not everything will follow my timelineand thats okay. – Irina Soriano, Seismic
3. FAILING TO BALANCE TECH WITH GENUINE HUMAN CONNECTION
I once believed that the right tools, dashboards, and processes would drive innovation. But I learned the hard wayinnovation is a team sport. Without a genuine human connection, even the best tech fails. That experience taught me to lead with relationships. I see this mistake repeating with AIchasing efficient systems over trust and collaboration. Thats a recipe for disaster that I hope others avoid. – Alex Goryachev
4. STRIVING FOR PERFECTION
Early in my journey, I let perfectionism delay progress. I wanted every detail to be flawless before taking the next step. But I was taught magic lives in momentum. I overcame it by embracing imperfection as part of the story. My advice? Start before youre ready. Let passion lead, and polish as you go. Progress, not perfection, opens the door to your purpose. – Sudhir Gupta, FACTICERIE
5. CONFUSING DREAMS AND GOALS
Learning how to set a goal with honesty was transformative. Recognizing the difference between a dream, a goal, and an objective helped me give myself adequate time and grace. It takes work to evaluate your personal and environmental readiness, and sitting with myself in truth was often the first and most difficult obstacle. Check yourself, check your resources, check your alliesthen go. – Joynicole Martinez, The Alchemist Agency
6. DOING IT ALL ALONE
Trying to do everything myself slowed my progress toward key goals. Like many entrepreneurs, I believed no one could match my pace or standards. Over time, I learned to delegate and build a team I trust. That shift allowed me to scale faster and focus on what really moves the business forward. The takeaway: growth often starts when you stop doing it all alone. – Boris Dzhingarov, ESBO ltd
7. FEARING ‘NO’
Early in my career, fear of rejection stopped me from pitching big ideas. I overcame it by reframing no as feedback. Practicing small, low-risk pitches built confidence. Others can adopt this mindset shift to turn setbacks into growth. – Gianluca Ferruggia, DesignRush
8. LACKING BALANCE BETWEEN VISION AND EXECUTION
In the early days of my career, it was not that easy to balance vision and execution. It took some time for me to create a structured approach to taking ideas to action. To find a solution, I started to think about small, manageable tasks with the approach of using my mentors to guide me. My best advice is to focus on small iterative progress rather than trying to hit a perfect presentation. – Asad Khan, LambdaTest Inc.
9. BEING A ‘JACK OF ALL TRADES’
Early on at our agency, we struggled with being a “jack of all trades,” trying to do everything instead of focusing on our strengths. It was hard to let go of potential opportunities, but narrowing our focus to what we do best led to greater success and growthproving that specializing can be more rewarding than trying to do it all. – Martin Pedersen, Stellar Agency
10. LACKING CONFIDENCE
Lack of confidence held me back early in my career. I overcame it by leaning into small wins, seeking feedback, and focusing on progress over perfection. Building self-trust made a real difference. My advice: dont wait until you feel 100 percent readytake action, learn as you go, and growth will follow. – Maria Alonso, Fortune 206
11. KEEPING COMPANY THAT IS AFRAID TO BRANCH OUT
My biggest setback came from sticking with a circle that valued stability over innovation. Once I sought out peers who weren’t afraid to disrupt norms, my career accelerated rapidly. Your network sets your ceiling, so build relationships with people whose bold ideas push you beyond your comfort zone. – Eddy Vertil, Vertil & Company
12. THINKING SUCCESS IS LINEAR
Early in my career, Ibelieved that career success followed a linear path: do X, get Y, and you progress. I couldnt have been more wrong. What it really took for me was quite the opposite: embracing risk, raising my hand, and pursuing unexpected opportunities to truly move forward and eventually achieve my goals. – Jani Hirvonen, Google
13. DISAGREEING WITH CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK
I would sometimes get feedback that I didn’t accept (it wasn’t always accurate). I needed to learn that it didn’t matter if it was true or notI had to address the feedback of that person. If 99 percent of folks thought I was a good communicator, but the one percent was an influencer, it was up to me to help that one percent see me differently. Reframe yourself because one size doesn’t fit all. – Sabrina Farmer, GitLab
14. STAYING COMFORTABLE
The biggest obstacle was my comfort zone. Chasing perfection sometimes paralyzed me. Instead of overthinking, I embraced imperfection and took bold, imperfect actions. I didn’t reach the goal right away, but I learned to celebrate small wins. Failure can be the best teacher. Instead of aiming for a perfect path, be willing to stumble. It’s in those mistakes that true growth and creativity happen. – Shawn Galloway, ProAct Safety, Inc.
15. CHASING EVERY OPPORTUNITY
As a classic achiever, I passionately chased almost every opportunity. As a result, I spread myself thin and was often behind the wave, not my best self. Learning to get altitude wasn’t just shifting perspective; it was knowing which priorities deserved my focus and would energize me. I am slower to jump, more selective, and happier. – Dr. Camille Preston, AIM Leadership, LLC
16. CARING WHAT OTHERS THINK
My ego stood in the way. I was too focused on how others perceived me, which ultimately hurt my progress. Real growth came when I prioritized purpose over image. Letting go of that mindset ultimately allowed me to move forward, making smarter decisions and building a successful company. – Toni Pisano, PortPro Technologies, Inc.
17. FAILING TO PRIORITIZE GROWTH
Prioritizing the work over growth is a very common challenge for emerging leaders. There are always competing priorities, and there will always be “something else” to do, but you have to make the time to prioritize your growth. – Monica Hickey, The Evoke Agency
