Hello and welcome to a special edition of Modern CEO! Im Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs; this week Im dropping a few extra newsletters from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning.
Engaging with consumers and clients has traditionally been the purview of customer service teams and chief marketing officers (CMOs) who communicate with customers through advertising and messaging. CMOs are the folks gathered at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this week.
But thanks to social platforms, consumers now have the ability to tarnish or burnish brands, impact revenue, and even hurt or help stock pricesall part of the CEO remit. Consumers are more powerful, and they have more access and more tools, says Anton Vincent, president, Mars Wrigley North America and global ice cream at Mars. The creator economy will only help to accelerate consumer power.
Straight from the top
As a result, more CEOs are going direct to consumer. LinkedIn says it has seen a 52% increase in posts from CEOs in the past two years. We think about [posts] as a conversation, says Dan Shapero, LinkedIns chief operating officer. Executives feel safe posting because it is a platform for constructive conversation. Indeed, comments on LinkedIn are up 32% year over year.
The most progressive companies and CEOs arent just talking to customers, they are harnessing customers energy to help build loyalty and support for their waresand even to help companies build new products. Research from ad agency TBWA\Worldwide found that 15% of adults globally would spend more for a brand that lets them participate in collaborative projects via co-creation, decentralization, or crowdsourcing.
The customer connection
Thanks to generative AI, consumers are already creating art, marketing messages, and other content for brands, much of it unauthorized and much of it technically impressive but conceptually shallow, says Jen Costello, global chief strategy officer for TBWA\Worldwide.
A better approach is where co-creation is less about spectacle and defined more by transparency, reciprocity, and the infrastructure for true partnership, she says. Think co-branded product lines with fans, closed-loop design labs with select contributors, and shared revenue or credit for substantial contributors. With that in place, AI becomes a powerful accelerant rather than the showpiece.
Vincent of Mars Wrigley says the company engages consumers by offering superfans a peek under the tent of what may be coming next. The M&M candy brand, for example, has embraced personalization, selling customized packaging and candies, and its Fun Club community engages members with quizzes, surveys, recipes, and more. Vincent says he also is upskilling his employees to become fluent in technologies and platforms that consumers are using to communicate displeasure or loyalty.
CEOs who cede responsibility for engaging with consumers do so at their peril. Says Jim OLeary, North America CEO and global president at Weber Shandwick: Consumers are much more important to CEOs today because they have a much greater ability to influence things.
How are you connecting with customers?
CEOs, how do you engage with customers? Are you posting on LinkedIn or TikTok? Send me your examplesand links. Id love to feature helpful examples of CEO-consumer interactions in a future newsletter.
Read more: CEOs go direct to consumer
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The stats are ironic. There are near-impossible odds to hit a Powerball jackpot (one in 292 million), yet a high probability that those that do will squander it (70% of lottery winners go broke). Not Tim Schulz. In 1999, he was a 21-year-old buried in student debt and working at a gas station for minimum wage before an improbable $28 million Iowa Powerball win instantly reversed his circumstances.
More than 25 years later, Schultz is happy, successful, and still wealthy. He invested the majority of winnings, and still lives off of the interest on top of earnings from his successful Lottery, Dreams and Fortune podcast.
I’m still incredibly grateful, said Schultz, now 48. Your life can go in different directions. It’s one of the biggest things that’s ever happened to me.
Schultz’s initial purchases were practical. He eliminated his debt. He hired a financial advisor who put him on a budget. His first purchase was a Nintendo 64 game console, and eventually, Schultz purchased a modest house and car.
Managing the logistics of a massive windfall
The prospect of upgrading your life situation overnight is the lotterysor anyone who falls into instant wealth like an inheritancegreatest seduction. There are the problems you would solve, the house in Newport Beach you would buy, the tech startup you could start, and the money (or Birkin bags) you would gift your family.
But rarely do dreamers factor in the actual logistics that immediately precede a golden ticket.
From a process standpoint, I do think some of [the lottery winners] are a little surprised to find out how much is involved after the win, said Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the California Lottery. They are learning in real time.
As fiscally responsible as Schultz was, there were tough lessons along the way. Demands for money from family and friends led to fallings-out. And becoming an instant Powerball millionaire at 21 created pressure, guilt, and stress at times for Schultz.
Fast Company spoke to Schultz, who has also interviewed dozens of fellow lottery winners and financial advisors on his podcast, and representatives from the California Lottery to explain what to expect after hitting a 9- or 10-figure jackpot. And more importantly, how to survive it.
1. SECURE THE TICKET
No ticket, no payout. Take it to a safety deposit box or someplace that will protect it from fire or getting wet, getting ruined, or lost, said Schultz, who suggests getting your ducks in a row before you claim your prize. In addition, if you are a part of an office pool or a shared ticket situation, the California Lottery advises a representative of the group can sign the ticket and attach an affidavit or pool agreement to the ticket to prevent internal disputes later.
2. BUILD A TEAM OF EXPERTS
In most states, you have 365 days from the date of the draw to claim your winnings. That’s plenty of time (but not too long, there have been close calls and missed deadlines) to prepare a plan and hire the professionals who will protect you and your money, before redeeming your ticket. A reputable financial advisorto build your investment portfolio and veto the Birkin bag idea aboveis a given. But Schultz takes it a step further. There are lots of different types of attorneys, but I recommend an estate attorney before you redeem the ticket, he said, noting estate attorneys can often assist with taxes, legal forms, insurance, drafting media statements, and dispersing cash between family members. Schultz also warns against prematurely broadcasting your new fortune, rather, keeping those in the know limited to your new professional team and a few trusted family members and friends.
3. FILE YOUR CLAIM. (SPOILER ALERT: YOU WONT BE PAID TODAY)
Unfortunately, the process of claiming a billion-dollar Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot (or even anything over $1,000 for that matter) is a little more complicated than just providing a routing number, explained Daniel Kelly, a spokesperson for the California Lottery. The first step involves completing and delivering a claims form, either in person or by mail, to the official lottery office in your state. In addition to providing the legitimate physical ticket, the lottery winners identity will be vetted. They want to make sure, because this is so much money that it’s going to the right person, Schultz said. They don’t want to mess that up.
Also expect filling out formsand lots of them. Once the winner decides on whether to be paid in a lump sum (a one-time payment, which Schultz said is typically half of the sticker prize) or an annuity payment (annual payments, often for around 30 years), they must complete a variety of tax formsincluding state and federal tax (typically 24% is withheld). Eight states, including California, Washington, and Wyoming, do not tax lottery winnings.
And dont expect a same-day deposit. The waiting time can be between six and eight weekssometimes longer if you have outstanding payments (unpaid parking tickets, child support, etc.) with the government. I think there was an overdue vehicle registration fee [from a major lottery winner in California] three years ago, literally $20 that stalled the process, said Becker.
4. CONSIDER MOVING (OR AT LEAST DELETE FACEBOOK)
The degree of privacy for major lottery winners depends on the tickets point-of-sale origin. Some states like Wisconsin require you to claim your winnings publicly, while others like Arizona and Michigan allow large prize winners to remain anonymous. In California, winners names are public record, although they are not required to have their photo taken or talk to the media. I’ve been here five years, and no big winner has ever agreed to appear at a press conference with us, which is fine, said Becker.
Edwin Castro, a Los Angeles-area resident who won a Powerball record $2.04 billion in 2023, did not appear on camera (he did provide a written public statement) but news media outlets like TMZ and the New York Post have tracked his home purchases and recent dating life. An anonymous lottery winner from California, who recently hit an eight-figure jackpot, told Fast Company that she eliminated her social media accounts, hired a company to scrub her digital footprint, and started a LifeLock account to protect her from identity fraud. Schultz advises refraining from drawing attention to yousef (suddenly driving a mustard-yellow Ferrari F80 might qualify).
There is a safety component when you win a massive amount of money and I’ve definitely talked to winners who have changed their phone numbes, said Becker.
5. SAY NO. AND REPEAT
In Schultzs own press conference two decades ago, he expressed returning to school to study film and journalism. Letters (early internet and pre-social media) poured in from around the country from filmmakers seeking funding. But it wasnt the shameless asks from strangers (sob stories and loans that will never be paid back) that were most challenging for Schultz, it was the entitlement from those closest to him. If you just get [your wealth] from a one or two-dollar lottery ticket, then for some people, it’s viewed as getting something for nothing, he said. The consequence was the relationships were really damaged because of that. Creating boundaries and understanding that he cannot help everyone has helped Schultz manage the requests. He also learned how to deflect. I blame it on my financial adviser, he said. Which is true, because I want to be financially responsible.
6. VIEW A LOTTERY WIN AS A BLESSING, NOT A CURSE
Quit your job. Start a charity. Go on a safari in Tanzania. Do what feels authentic, is Schultzs two cents for anybody who wins a Powerball jackpot like he did 26 years ago. He is aware that his life benefited from a little luck. And hes grateful for that. I did pay off my debt, and I went back to college, and I pursued my dreams, he said. And you don’t need to win the lottery to do that. Almost everyone in the world whos ever achieved their dreams has not won the lottery, but you can, and people do.
The official posters for the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics were revealed today, and theyre designed to introduce the world to some of Italys foremost emerging artists.
For next years Milano Cortina Games, 10 posters have been created: 5 for the Olympic Games and 5 for the Paralympic Games, featuring the work of 10 Italian artists (all younger than 40) hailing from different regions of the country. According to a press release from Milano Cortina, the artists were chosen in collaboration with the Triennale di Milano, an art and design museum in Milan that displayed the torches designed for the 2026 Games earlier this year.
The tradition of Olympic posters goes back to the 1912 Stockholm Games, when Swedish painter and illustrator Olle Hjortzberg was tasked with advertising the Games as a newly global media phenomenon. More than a century since then, the posters have become an integral symbol of each unique edition, ranging from an explosion of color for the 2016 Rio Olympics to a series of trippy designs for the 2020 Tokyo Games and a multimedia collection of high art for the Paris Games in 2024.
Giorgia Garzilli, 2026 [Image: courtesy Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026]
The Olympic posters
The five designers tasked with creating posters for the 2026 Olympic Games are all women: Flaminia Veronesi, Beatrice Alici, Giorgia Garzilli, Martina Cassatella, and Maddalena Tesser.
Maddalena Tesser, The Mountain [Image: courtesy Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026]
Veronesi, a 39-year-old from Milan, took the prompt in a whimsical direction with her work The Oasis of Play, a bubbly portrait overflowing with bright color and dynamic shapes.
Flaminia Veronesi, The Oasis of Play [Image: courtesy Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026]
It tells how we create a parallel world when we play that is an oasis of joy, Veronesi explained in a video promoting the designs, adding that the paintings subject represents a young athlete or young spectator dreaming about the Games. Sprinkled throughout the work are Easter eggs referencing the Biscione of Milan, a symbolic dragon; the Dolomites mountain range; and the five Olympic rings.
Beatrice Alici, Silver Peaks, [Image: courtesy Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026]
Alici, a 33-year-old from San Don di Piave, took a more literal approach with her work Silver Peaks, opting to render three true-to-scale Olympic athletes in the foreground of the Venetian Prealps. The compositions cold, subdued color palette draws viewers eyes to the medals held by each figuregold, silver, and bronze. In contrast, 28-year-old Cassatella, hailing from San Giovanni Rotondo, chose a warm palette for her painting Torch. The poster spotlights a close-up of two glowing, intertwined handsreminiscent of the Olympic torchin a deep range of reds and yellows.
Martina Cassatella, Torch (Olympics) [Imge: courtesy Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026]
Representing a poster for the Olympic Winter Games has been, especially at the beginning, a challenge, since I did not want my work to be too explicit, too didactic, Cassatella shared in a video interview. Instead of leaning too literally into the symbolism of the winter season, she chose to highlight a warmer image of unity and inclusion.
Andrea Fontanari, Together We Play, Together We Transform [Image: courtesy Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026]
The Paralympic posters
Of the five posters created for the Paralympic Games by artists Roberto de Pinto, Andrea Fontanari, Giulia Mangoni, Aronne Pleuteri, and Clara Woods, several take a distinctly unexpected direction.
Aronne Pleuteri, Untitled [Image: courtesy Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026]
Perhaps the most abstract among them is 24-year-old Pleuteris Untitled. The piece is a burst of brightly colored shapes made using digital sketches on paint, inkjet prints, and mixed-media add-ons, resulting in a composition that verges on chaotic. According to an interview with Pleuteri, the poster works with the idea of escaping from visual stereotypes.
Roberto de Pinto, Untitled (Snowdrops) [Image: courtesy Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026]
For his work Untitled (Snowdrops), 29-year-old De Pinto chose to forgo color altogetherrelying only on black charcoal against a white background to depict a field of snowdrops, white flowers that bloom in late winter and early spring, often when theres still snow on the ground. Its captioned, Cracking the limit just like snowdrops crack cold ice.
Clara Woods, You Love [Image: courtesy Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026]
[I compared] the figure of the para-athlete with the snowdrop, since it is a flower that breaks the ice and snow to blossom, De Pinto said in an interview. It is a symbol of hope.”
Giulia Mangoni, Victory is more than a moment [Image: courtesy Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026]
More than $60 billion of investment will be spent by Texas Instruments to build and expand seven semiconductor factories in the United States, creating more than 60,000 jobs in the country, the company said today.
The announcement, which will see the investment spent across seven semiconductor fabrication sites, is a boost for President Donald Trump, though it is not exactly new cash, some experts argue.
“I think its exactly what they’ve been saying for the last four or five years,” says Stacy Rasgon, a senior analyst at Bernstein who covers semiconductors. “Theyre probably one of the few thats actually put massive amounts of dollars in the ground in the U.S. already. So you might as well get credit for it.”
The announcement also does not include a time frame. Texas Instruments CEO Haviv Ilan said in a statement: “TI is building dependable, low-cost 300-millimeter capacity at scale to deliver the analog and embedded processing chips that are vital for nearly every type of electronic system.”
While the announcement may be aimed at pleasing Trump, it reinforces a strategy to ensure the survival of the U.S. AI sector at a time when the country is increasingly at odds with China. The threat of a potential invasion by China looms constantly over Taiwan, the worlds main manufacturer of computer chips.
“Personally, I think TI has been preparing for a decoupled world, where its no longer viable, for whatever reason, to source parts from Asia. And theyll be sitting here with a whole bunch of capacity,” Rasgon says.
“TI’s latest investment is another move for the U.S. legacy semiconductor player to show its determination in strengthening its production capacity in the United States, which aligns with the current administration’s agenda,” says Ray Wang, research director for semiconductors and emerging technology at the Futurum Group.
Others believe the announcement is a move to onshore chip production in an uncertain world.
“This announcement builds on Texas Instruments’ long-standing efforts to build new chip factories in Texas and Utah,” says Chris Miller, professor at the Fletcher School at Tufts University.
Miller points out that Texas Instruments is already “a key supplier of the foundational semiconductors that industries from autos to smartphones require.” He adds that the company seems poised to grow its footprint even more, having steadily added new facilities and ramped up capacity in recent years.
That puts TI in a position of relative strength, giving the company the ability to ramp up domestic production and reduce reliance on overseas partners like the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) by bringing more manufacturing back in-house.
A $100 billion deal, announced in March 2025, would also see TSMC bring more chip production capacity to the United States. At the time, experts questioned whether the move might result in Taiwan losing its economic defensive shield against a Chinese invasion.
“This is the exact countermove that the U.S. needed in the context of increasing its annual chip output,” says Koray Köse, founder and chief analyst at Köse Advisory. “This enhances the U.S. supply chain resilience and the security of it, especially when we look at the geopolitical tensions and the over-reliance on Taiwan from foreign chipmakers.” This, Köse says, shifts the balance in Americas favor by giving the country a stronger, more self-reliant supply chain.
It also helps Texas Instruments be insulated from Chinese competition.
“Those segments they are in are really commodity segments, where a lot of that supply, Chinese manufacturers are trying to take share from them,” says Willy Shih, a professor at Harvard Business School.
Beyond cash, more work is needed to keep the U.S. up to pace with China and others, says Miller, the Tufts professor. “Facilitating chip production will require streamlining regulation, training more workers, and ensuring that U.S. firms don’t face unfair competition from heavily subsidized companies in China,” he says. “The U.S. needs to continue to invest in training programs at universities and community colleges to produce a strong supply of fab technicians, trained construction workers, and engineers to build and operate chipmaking facilities.”
But Trump may resist one key step that Miller says is vital for the U.S. to become a chipmaking champion: immigration. “It also needs to facilitate immigration of high-skilled engineers with unique, chip-specific capabilities,” he says.
Extreme levels of heat and humidity are forecast to spread across the country over the next two weeks, blanketing the Southwest, Midwest, and East Coast with high temperatures beginning this June 19 and 20, and extending through the next several days.
High heat alone is a risk to humans, but heat and humidity together make an especially dangerous combination. Humidity has to do with the concentration of water vapor in the air, that cloying stickiness that separates it from dry heat. When humidity is high, it affects how well our bodies can cool down via sweating.
And when high humidity happens in conjunction with high temperatures and intense sun, it poses an even bigger threat. One measurement of that risk comes via the wet bulb temperature forecasts.
This weekend, some regionsspecifically around Chicago and down to the Florida Panhandleare expected to reach high and even extreme wet-bulb temperatures of 85 degrees and higher, which increase the threat of heat stress.
This forecast, issued on June 18, 2025, shows predicted “high” and “extreme” wet-bulb events across the U.S. for the afternoon of Saturday, June 21, 2025. [Screenshot: NWS]
What is wet-bulb temperature?
The wet-bulb globe temperature is one way meteorologists quantify heat. It includes not just the airs temperature, but also factors including humidity, wind, and sunlight. This makes the wet-bulb temperature a particularly important measurement for those who have to spend time outdoors often without shade, like many construction workers or farmworkers.
Its also a useful measurement for those who partake in sports and outdoor recreational activities. The National Weather Service warns that as the wet-bulb globe temperature rises above 80 degrees, athletes should take increasing precautions, such as more rest and water breaks to help reduce the effects of the heat, and they may even want to remove their pads, gear, and other equipment.
This graphic by the National Weather service explains the equipment used to measure wet-bulb globe temperature. [Image: NWS/NOAA]
To get the wet-bulb measurement, the bulb of a thermometer is wrapped in a wet cloth. As the water evaporates, it cools the thermometer, mimicking the way the evaporation of our sweat cools our bodies. Meteorologists measure the rate of evaporation, and the temperature difference between the “wet bulb” and the dry bulb, or air temperature. The wet-bulb temperature is always lower than the dry-bulb temperature, except for when humidity levels reach 100%, and then the measurements are the same.
Wet-bulb temperature vs. heat index, and their risks
The heat index is another way to show the risk from extreme temperatures. But unlike the wet-bulb measurement, the heat index is measured in the shade. It takes into account the air temperature and relative humidity when someone’s not in direct sunlight, to give a sense of how warm it really feels like, at least when standing in a shady spot.
Step into the sun, though, and its likely to feel even hotter. The wet-bulb temp is measured in direct sunlight and takes the angle of the sun into account, along with humidity, wind, cloud cover, and air temperature.
Both are important for figuring out the risks to our bodies in high temperatures. And its important to look at both, because they can be different measurements depending on the conditions.
When the heat index is at 80 to 90 degrees, thats a caution warning, per the National Weather Service, meaning fatigue is possible with prolonged exposure or physical activity. Between 90 and 103 degrees is an “extreme caution” classification, with a risk of heatstroke, heat cramps, or heat exhaustion possible. A heat index of 103 to 124 degrees is a danger level, increasing one’s risks from “possible” to likely. A heat index of 125 degrees or higher poses extreme danger.
With a wet-bulb temperature of 85 to 88 degrees, experts warn that working or exercising in direct sunlight will stress your body in just 30 minutes. As that wet-bulb temp climbs to 88 to 89, that amount of time shrinks to just 20 minutes. If the wet-bulb temperature is above 90, then only 15 minutes of work or exercise in the sun will stress your bodyand you should take at least 45 minutes to rest each hour.
Climate change is making extreme heat worse
Wet-bulb temperatures dont always last all day, especially since they take into account the suns angle. Looking at the National Weather Services map of the country that shows the forecast for this weekend, those high and extreme wet-bulb temperatures show up for the 2 p.m. ET forecast on Saturday, June 21, and are mostly gone by 8 p.m. ET.
Still, heat can be dangerous even at a lower wet-bulb temperature, and those high and extreme temperatures are concerning. As the earth warms, extreme heat is more likely overall2024, for example, was the hottest year on record, and humans experienced, in general, an extra 41 days of dangerous heat because of climate change. And in places like the tropics, and especially along the monsoon belt, humidity is also increasing along with heat. People there are seeing an increased rik of experiencing lethal wet-bulb temperatures in which their bodies cant cool themselves.
The heat dome that will be building in the central and eastern parts of the country beginning this weekend could be historic, the Union of Concerned Scientists saysand climate change is making extreme heat events (and wet-bulb temperatures) like this worse.
Currently, the nonprofit science advocacy organization notes, the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Coast are warmer than usual for this time of year, anomalies made 30 times more likely by climate change. That then leads to more moisture in the atmosphere, which leads to higher dew points and humidity levels over the eastern U.S. “The fingerprints of climate change are all over this event,” the group says.
Are you ready for reinvention? Our rapidly evolving world is demanding more from us as leaders than ever.
Market challenges and opportunities used to come from competitors, economic conditions, and the quality of our products and operations. This fast-moving world once required responsiveness, an eye for detail, and efficiency. But the age of AI is introducing a competitive threat at a faster clip than weve ever faced before. With a new technology arises a new leadership style: a reinvention mindset, one primed to navigate uncertainty.
Two decades ago, psychologist Carol Dweck developed the idea of the growth mindset to describe people who believe their abilities can be developed through hard work, learning, and perseverance. She also proposed the idea of the fixed mindset for those of us who think our abilities are already set and cant change no matter how hard we try. Her concepts influenced management theory for decades. But times have changed. Twenty years ago, we were flipping our phones, sending faxes, and thinking of Google as a new verb.
As a transformational specialist who has worked with thousands of people, I have observed a new type of leader thats better equipped to help their people adapt to the new reality of AI: a reinvention mindset.
Adapting leadership in the age of AI
A reinvention mindset builds on Dwecks ideas by extending beyond the pursuit of mastery. Reinvention requires identity shifts, mindset rewiring, and stepping into unknown territory with courage.
Thats also where a failure mindset comes in. It describes a willingness to see setbacks not as signals to stop, but as vital data for course correctionskills critical to face uncertainty with confidence and enthusiasm.
The mindsets we model as leaders shape the culture around us. If we want an adaptive, courageous, and future-ready workforce, it begins with us embracing reinvention ourselves.
How to cultivate a reinvention mindset
Because reinvention is based on our own unique views, beliefs, and experiences there is an art to how we approach reinvention. Here are six steps to develop a reinvention mindset.
Accept that change is coming. As experienced leaders, we have managed change before, then observed the mixed responses from ourselves and our people as we face the fear of the unknown. People either fight, take flight, or freeze in the face of change. Our job is to prepare ourselves and our people to accept change, because denial is not an option that has a future.
Have a reality check. Reinvention starts with a brutally honest look at whats working and whats not. That includes ourselves. Take a moment to review the good, bad, and ugly habits that may have contributed to where you (and your business) are now or going to be. Are they still serving you? What do you need to leave behind to move forward?
Empower yourself (and others). In times of change, people often feel powerless. This is when leadership matters most. Your role is to reframe uncertainty as opportunity and equip your team with the tools, resources, and mindsets to navigate it. This means more than sending them to a training course. Its about consistent communication, creating safe spaces for experimentation, and modelling vulnerability when you dont have all the answers. Because not even the AI experts have all the answers.
Take action. Do something (anything!). Reinvention is not just about thinking differently; it demands you start taking action. Analysis paralysis and procrastination are the enemy of action. Learn from the experts. Create some hypotheses and then test them so you can see which one gets the best results. Do some A/B testing, where you invest small amounts into two options until you identify a clear winner, then back it.
Try, try again. In a reinvention environment, failure isnt the exceptionits a part of the process. Try, miss, adjust. repeat. Your leadership sets the tone for whether your team sees failure as fatal or just feedback. Create a culture where experimentation is rewarded and resilience is nurtured, and do it quickly.
Enjoy the process. Reinvention is tough. But it doesnt have to be joyless. As leaders, we need to help our teams stay present, not obsessed with what was or paralyzed by what might be. Take time to reflect, celebrate progress, and laugh together. Youre not just managing tasks, youre leading humans. And humans need hope as much as they need strategy.
A reinvention mindset isnt about having it all figured out. Its about being willing to rethink, reimagine, and rebuild again and again based on the information you have. When leaders embrace this mindset, they dont just adaptthey begin to inspire.
The fashion brand Kith just released its latest collaboration with Wilson, and the capsule manages to bring the best of each brand to the table. From Kith, you get upscale, off-court tennis-inspired apparel and accessories, and from Wilson, performance and equipment.
[Photo: Kith]
It’s gear for actually playing tennis in, like a $160 tennis dress and $50 Kith x Wilson sweat towel, along with shirts, jackets, and cardigan sweaters you can still wear even if you’ve never picked up a racket. A $260 Wilson tennis racket comes in a handsome Kith carrying case with a joint logo that combines the Wilson W logo with a Kith-branded wreathe laurel. The slogan embroidered on $60 caps and printed on a $70 Kith for Wilson Court Tee is “Quiet Please.”
[Photo: Kith]
Tennis is booming in popularity thanks to factors like the pandemic, the rise of athleisure, and 2024’s Challengers starring Zendaya. Athletic apparel brands like Nike and Adidas have cashed in on the trend. Earlier this year Fila teamed up with Hailey Bieber for a collection that took inspiration from tennis.
Kith has teamed up with Wilson before for collections in 2021 and 2023. This is a long-running partnership, not just a one-season tennis theme. Kith is clearly eager to prove that it’s serious about a sport that already has tons of competition from apparel brandsand they nailed the brief on this one.
[Photo: Kith]
Open your news feed or turn on a screen and images of conflict are impossible to avoid. Geopolitics is not the exclusive precinct of diplomats and politicians. For many, it is an intensely personal and emotional topic; a distant calamity can strike very close to home. And people do not leave their opinions behind when they go to work.
In fact, many workers expect their employers to take a stand on social and geopolitical issues. In the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, almost 80% of respondents said that CEOs are justified in addressing a social issue when they can make a difference. Moreover, business remains more trusted than government, the social sector, or the media. With that position comes responsibility.
A charged environment
But its a complicated one. Particularly in large global organizations, opinions are certain to vary: Where people grow up, what they experience, and how they consume news all shape their response to geopolitical events. Leaders need to be prepared to manage a highly charged environment where a single remark can spark controversy. Missteps can lead to a loss of trust, talent, and reputation.
Insight, oversight, and foresight are all required to build geopolitical resilience There is also a fourth dimension: a people agenda. Just as business leaders develop a strategy to guide operational decisions, they need to do the same for engaging with their workforce on geopolitics. That means learning how to talk about sensitive topics; how to balance transparency with confidentiality; how to meet the rising expectations of employees, customers, regulators, and other stakeholders; and how to unify the organization around a shared commitment to good global citizenship.
A strategic approach to engagement can be built on five pillars: multipolarity, mobility, messaging, motivation, and mission.
Multipolarity
In a fragmenting global order with new opportunities in emerging markets, issuing decrees from headquarters is not enough. Employees want the unique risks and opportunities in their home markets to be understood and reflected. To demonstrate a multipolar mindset, leaders can hold board meetings in different regions, ensure that important roles, such as on global risk committees, are filled with people who reflect the global nature of the organization, seek input from experts and advisors with a wide range of views, and get local advice when developing risk frameworks in markets with geopolitical sensitivities.
Mobility
Companies can help employees build understanding and trust with colleagues by creating opportunities for them to experience life and business outside their home markets. One global retailer, for example, brings its entire incoming analyst class in China to its U.S. headquarters each year. Many firms also offer rotational programs to help up-and-coming leaders gain a deeper understanding of how and where the company operates.
Messaging
Business leaders should define and communicate a set of principles that provide a clear rationale for which issues the company will take a stand on and which it will not. Considerations include the specific legal situation, the companys values, the business case, and impact on the brand.
These ideas informed McDonalds messaging when it decided to pull out of Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. While the message must come from the top, communicating it can be done more broadly. Indeed, the messengers are as important as the message.
Messengers may need to be on the ground in markets experiencing disruptions to learn from local colleagues and other stakeholders and show support in person. Employees tend to trust their immediate supervisors more than senior leaders; supervisors usually have more time to listen and learn. Similarly, seasoned executives with strong relationships across the organization may be able to play the role of shuttle diplomats and help employees understand the companys position while also serving as sounding boards and relaying frontline perspectives to senior leaders.
Motivation
Employers understand that the workforce values job security, compensation, and the opportunity to advance. But the desire for purpose and community is often underestimated. Management can enhance employees sense of belonging during a crisis, for example, by offering matching funds for charitable contributions. If geopolitical issues force a company to suspend operations in a market, management can demonstrate its commitment to employees by offering support to those in the affected region.
Mission
A clear mission statement can transcend geopolitical differences and serve as a rallying point in moments of internal division. The mission of one large U.S. multinational, for example, includes making its services universally available. This informs leaders debates about whether the company should serve certain markets.
Keeping the peace in the workplace when the world is in turmoil can be challenging. In revising their vision of the world to one that is connected yet contested, leaders may also need to revise how they engage with their people on a topic that is personal. In addition to taking steps to reduce risks ranging from screening processes to data access protocols, leaders must also take proactive steps to emerge as resilient organizations that can withstand centrifugal forces and seize new opportunities.
Mere weeks into his new role as CEO of Starbucks, Brian Niccol joined an earnings call with investors and trumpeted an iconic brand. But it wasnt Starbucks.
Bringing the Sharpies back to our baristas, Niccol declared last October, will give them the opportunity to put that additional human touch on every coffee experience by writing each customers name or an inspiring note on their cup. Were tracking down the Sharpies, Niccol later told CNBC, estimating the company would need about 200,000 of them.
The comments drew attentionStarbucks even followed up with a TV ad featuring baristas jotting on cupsbut in a way, they revealed more about Sharpie than they did about the coffee giant. Sharpie defines a category. Its simultaneously universal and personal, instantly recognizable, and ubiquitous. Its such a strong brand, in fact, that Starbucks, a global juggernaut with a market cap of more than $100 billion, is in effect leaning on it for support.
Yet when the CNBC hosts mused that maybe it was time to go long on whoever makes Sharpies, they werent certain which company that was3M, maybe?until they looked it up. Its Newell Brands, the Atlanta-based conglomerate behind Rubbermaid, Mr. Coffee, and Oster appliances. Sharpie is part of a suite of learning and development brands that includes Paper Mate, Elmers, Expo, and Prismacolor, which is the companys most profitable division, says Kris Malkoski, the segments CEO.
Nobody at Sharpie knew the Starbucks announcement was coming. We were totally psyched! says Gina Lázaro, vice president of brand marketing for Newell’s writing segment, who recalls being bombarded with congratulatory messages from within the company and without. Newell CEO Chris Peterson even reached out to Niccol to say thanks.
The real significance to Sharpie wasnt the wholesale order. A five-pack of Sharpies runs about $5 at Walmart; at that price, 200,000 markers would work out to $200,000, not exactly a game changer for a company like Newell, with 2024 revenue of $7.6 billion. It was the free, and highly complimentary, publicity. Its amazing when a fantastic brand calls out your brand by name, Lázaro says.
[Photo: Heami Lee; prop stylist: Christine Keely]
Not that Sharpie doesnt market itself. Newell advertises the marker brands vast spectrum of products and colors across digital and social media, in stores, and at events such as SXSW and Comic-Con. And the brand promptly chimed in on Instagram to amplify Starbuckss endorsement; it also sent its promotional Sharpie Bus to a nearby Starbucks in Atlanta to give out markers.
But Sharpie, like a crafty Zelig, just has a way of quietly turning up. Artists rely on the markers. Actors and athletes sign autographs with them. Their scent has inspired perfume (Love the smell of permanent markers? reads the marketing copy for Sharpie, by Wicked Good) and candles. Stephen Colbert has made a running gag of sniffing them. When President Trump drew on a map to offer his unsubstantiated take on a hurricanes potential path, well, that became #sharpiegate. Trump, who uses Sharpies for all official business and has boasted about having them custom-made, isnt even the first president to endorse Sharpie: George W. Bush was a fan, too.
With its familiar script logo and unflashy form factor, Sharpies core attribute is dependability, says Paola Antonelli, senior architecture and design curator and director of research and development at the Museum of Modern Art. You can trust a Sharpie to do exactly what it says itll do, without trying to wow you with any special effects, she says, distilling its appeal into three words: Consistent, definitive, indelible.
Dependability might not be the sexiest brand attribute, but it sure seems to work. The company says that it has sold an estimated 21 billion Sharpie markers worldwide over the past 60 years, and nearly five billion over the past decade alone. In a 2024 survey commissioned by the brand, respondents said they owned, on average, about seven Sharpies, and that at any given moment there was one within 10 feet. Three in four said that the markers made them more creative.
[Photo: Sharpie]
It sits right in the middle of that Venn diagram of office supply and art supply, says Austin Kleon, the artist and writer of illustrated books such as the New York Times bestseller Steal Like an Artist. Ive joked for years that I use them because you can steal them from any office supply cabinet.
Its been about 40,000 years since our ancestors figured out how to leave expressive marks on cave walls, kicking off centuries of design and technology improvements in tools for handmade communication. Ballpoint pens, first patented in 1888, became the epitome of a mass writing tool. The felt-tip, introduced in 1910, had more versatility. A permanent version, the Magic Markerwhich used quick-drying ink that worked on glass, metal, and plasticwas invented by entrepreneur Sidney Rosenthal in 1952. It proved popular both on the factory floor and in the kitchen drawer. But its fat tip yielded much cruder marks than a regular pen, limiting its use. It took a nearly century-old American company to figure out a solution.
Sanford Ink Co. started out in 1857 as an ink and glue manufacturer in Worcester, Massachusetts. It moved to Chicago, narrowed its focus, and became a successful ink manufacturerNorman Rockwell illustrated an ad marking its 70th birthday in 1927. But by the 160s, the market for ink for fountain pens was dwindling, leading Sanford to create its own writing instrument. The first-ever pen style permanent marker, with a slimmer barrel and a tip made from extruded acrylic fibers that came to a sharp point, debuted in 1964. It was called the Sharpie Fine Point.
In a precocious influencer-courting move, Sharpie sent some markers to Johnny Carson, who loved them and mentioned them on The Tonight Show. This, according to Sharpie lore, evolved into a sponsorship with NBC and endorsements from such other personalities as Jack Paar and Hugh Downs.
It wasnt until the 1990s that Sharpies story got colorful again, after Newell acquired Sanford in 1992. Newell absorbed Sharpie and the dry-erase marker brand Expo, then smartly decided to expand the Sharpie line when big-box retailers like Staples and Office Depot were on the ascent.
[Photo: Sharpie]
Five new Sharpie marker styles debuted between 1997 and 2002, along with the first new colors in decades, including aqua, berry, turquoise, and lime. The brands first TV campaign aired in the late 1990s, emphasizing the many ways to use a Sharpie. Small packaging tweaks allowed the product to fit into a range of retail settings; Sharpie ended up everywhere from Costco to Tractor Supply Co. to Blick Art Materials. Sharpie started making self-expression part of its core brand message.
At the same time, the brand owed a good piece of its growth to a parallel phenomenon that probably wasnt in its business plan: the rise of celebrity culture and the memorabilia market. Sharpie became an essential part of autograph signings, notes Sharpies Lázaro. The markers work on jerseys, footballs, baseballs, and bats, making them the writing instrument of choice for fan interaction, she says. The company introduced the Sharpie Autograph Pen in 1992the first and only made just for getting and giving autographs.
Connecting the Sharpie to autograph seeking did the brand a favor, creating a link between an everyday quotidian tool that sits in a kitchen drawer or supply closet and something more rarefied and aspirational. The association with sports stars, in particular, emerged as a primary Sharpie branding strategy. The company lined up endorsement deals and ads with golfer Arnold Palmer, Nascar drivers including Kurt Busch, and, later, soccer superstar David Beckham. The brand currently promotes a Rookie of the Year initiative, highlighting top college football players poised to Sharpie-sign more autographs and NFL contracts.
But the moments that gave Sharpie its biggest brand boosts continued to be those in which it was an accessory in someone elses spotlight. A memorable example: San Francisco 49ers star receiver Terrell Owens catching a touchdown pass in 2002then pulling a Sharpie from his sock, signing the ball, and handing it to his financial adviser in the stands. The stunt prompted the NFL to institute a rule against players bringing foreign objects onto the field. It became a legendary end-zone celebration, with Sharpie playing a discrete yet vital role.
Terrell Owens of the San Francisco 49ers signs a football after scoring a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during their game on October 14, 2002. [Photo: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images]
More recently, Sharpie has highlighted its connection to another constituency: creators. Its most recent new products, S-Gel pens and water-based paint pens called Sharpie Creative Markers, are aimed explicitly at this cohort. As part of its World Is Your Canvas campaign, the brand recruited Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian and Blavity cofounder Morgan DeBaun in 2023 to promote the S-Gel pens; last year, the Sharpie Bus visited New Yorks Gov Ball, San Diego Comic-Con, Miamis Art Basel, and other festivals, giving out hundreds of packs of Creative Markers to help people uncap creativity.
Sharpies creative audience has been core to its success all along. Timothy Goodman, an artist and designer, and author of the graphic memoir I Always Think Its Forever, remembers adopting the Sharpie largely because there were just a lot of them around. But he says that the decisiveness of a permanent marker fit well with his playful, there-are-no-mistakes style, and he used Sharpie paint pens to create a mural for the Ace Hotel in New York that gave his early career a boost; later, he published the book Sharpie Art Workshop, full of Sharpie-centric projects by him and other artists.
Artists are picky consumers, finicky about their tools (Goodmans work these days involves thicker-nibbed Molotow paint markers and Montana markers and spray paint). Yet for many, that classic Sharpie becomes a mainstay. Portland, Oregonbased artist Jason Sturgill started using one while working as a designer at Nike. Its ridiculous, he says, how many tools I have in this space, and I still just have a bucket of Sharpies and thats kind of my go-to. My drawing is very simpleI try to not have a lot of detail. So its easy for me to wield.
Kate Bingaman-Burt, an artist and professor of graphic design at Portland State University, uses Sharpies for zine-making workshops, where that confident line emboldens studentsand photocopies well. For many, the flagship Sharpie functions as a gateway drug, leading to an interest in a wider range of creative tools that, increasingly, Sharpie itself provides. (Bingaman-Burt is a fan of the new Creative Markers.)
[Photo: Sharpie]
In design thinking workshops, Allan Chochinov, founder of the School of Visual Arts Products of Design program, distributes classic Sharpies and Post-it Notes, because the combination of those two toolsan unforgiving marker and limited space to markforces action and concision. Its like permission, he says. It frees you up to not worry about your skills and still get on with the messy and imperfect process of creating.
Which isnt to say that every idea will be a gem, let alone every autograph, executive orderor personalized coffee-cup message. Starbucks really did order a significant number of Sharpies, says Lázaro, though she declines to say whether it was actually 200,000, and in Starbuckss earnings call in late January, CEO Niccol cited the companys reintroduction of handwritten notes on cups to better connect with customers as a pillar of the companys effort to reestablish Starbucks as the community coffeehouse.
That said, sales at Starbucks are still down year over year, and some of its customers reportedly find the mandated return of the human touchvia written names and well wishesto feel a bit forced, even cringey. You cant blame the Sharpie Fine Point marker for that. It may be a powerful tool, but what it expresses is still up to the user.
In high-stakes meetings or chaotic team moments, the person who stays grounded often becomes the one others follow. And this outcome isnt about status or rankits biological.
Human groups are wired to seek cues of stability. In uncertain situations, people scan for behavioral signals of calm, control, and composure. Those who project these signals can influence group dynamics in powerful ways, whether or not they hold formal authority.
In my work on Leadership Biodynamics, a biology-based approach to executive presence, I train leaders to tune their behavioral signals intentionally. The goal is not to fake confidence, but to engage practices that create real calm in the body and broadcast it to others. This is rooted in the biology of behavior. When your nervous system signals stability, others systems start to regulate in response.
Here are three tiny behaviors that can make you the calmest person in the room.
1. Slow Your Exhale
One of the fastest ways to regulate your nervous system is through your breath. Specifically, focus on extending the exhale. A longer out-breath activates the parasympathetic nervous system, signaling to your body and brain that you are safe and in control.
In stressful moments, most people unconsciously shorten their breath, which heightens physiological arousal. By contrast, slowing your exhale lowers heart rate variability and helps maintain executive function under pressure.
Neuroscience research supports this. Controlled breathing patterns are shown to downregulate the amygdala, the brains threat detection center, and improve prefrontal cortex performance. In leadership terms, this allows you to think clearly and signal calm even when tension is high.
2. Master the Neutral Face
Facial expressions are among the most contagious signals in any room. Subtle cues of tensiontightened jaw, furrowed brow, compressed lipstrigger mirror neuron responses in others, escalating stress contagion.
One of the simplest yet most powerful techniques is to practice what I call a neutral face. Relax your facial muscles, release tension from the jaw and brow, and let your gaze soften. This sends nonthreatening signals that calm others nervous systems.
A recent story on how fighter pilots maintain calm in high-stakes situations echoes this principle. Pilots are trained to maintain neutral, composed facial expressions because they know crew members will mirror their affect. The same applies in leadership settings.
3. Use Stillness Strategically
Movement is another powerful signal. Rapid, jittery gestures broadcast anxiety. Deliberate stillness, on the other hand, projects control.
In tense meetings, practice purposeful stillness. Rest your hands lightly on the table, slow your gestures, and allow silences to stand without rushing to fill them. This creates a grounding presence that helps regulate group energy.
Behavioral research confirms that leaders who demonstrate controlled stillness are perceived as more composed, credible, and trustworthy. The effect is amplified when combined with calm vocal tone and centered body posture.
Why Projecting Calm Matters at Work
These behaviors may seem small, but their effects are anything but. In group settings, emotional states are highly contagious. The person who maintains composure can anchor the emotional tone of the entire room.
This is especially critical in hybrid and remote environments, where subtle behavioral cues carry more weight. In my work with global leadership teams, I often see that those who can project calm consistently gain disproportionate influence, not through dominance but through stabilizing presence.
In Biohacking Leadership, my book of science-based techniques for better leadership, I emphasize that influence is not about charisma alone. It is about biological signaling. When your own system is grounded, you help others self-regulate. That is what builds trust and followership in high-stakes moments.
The bottom line is this: if you want to become the calmest person in the room, start with these three behaviors. Slow your exhale. Relax your face. Use stillness strategically. These tiny actions, grounded in the biology of behavior, can shift not only how you feel, but how others respond to you.
And in leadership, that is the signal that often matters most.
