Shares of Palantir Technologies (Nasdaq: PLTR) are surging to new highs after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 2025 results.
During the quarter, the AI software company saw its revenues surge nearly 50% and surpass more than a billion dollarsthe companys first quarterly 10-figure haul in its history. Heres what you need to know.
What did Palantir report for Q2?
Yesterday, Palantir reported its Q2 2025 earnings after the closing bell. The companys quarterly earnings were phenomenal, according to CEO Alex Karp. The headline result of the quarter is the billion-dollar revenue intake.
Total revenue for the quarter reached $1.004 billion. Thats just $4 million over the psychologically important 10-figure line. Palantir achieved that number by growing its revenue 48% year-over-year and 14% quarter-over-quarter.
U.S revenue was a big driver of the companys financial intake for the quarter. The companys stateside revenue grew 68% year-over-year and 17% quarter-over-quarter to $733 million.
That number includes 14% quarterly revenue growth from U.S. government sources, totaling $426 million. U.S. revenue from commercial sources was up 20% for the quarter to $306 million.
As noted by CNBC, Palantir exceeded its two most important metrics, based on LSEG estimates. The companys total earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter were 16 cents (adjusted). Analysts had been expecting 14 cents per share. Palantirs revenue haul of $1.004 billion also easily exceeded its expected quarterly revenue of $940 million.
The companys Q2 revenue was, in large part, helped by its government contracts. Palantir has benefited from the Trump administration’s push to overhaul and streamline government operations, which include mass layoffs.
The work done by some of those who were laid off will be offloaded to AI and other software systems, which Palantir and other companies are in the business of providing.
Looking ahead to its Q3, Palantir forecasts another billion-dollar quarter. It says it expects Q3 2025 revenues to come in between $1.083 billion and $1.087 billion.
Good news for investors. What about employees?
Judging from the way PLTR stock is rising in premarket trading this morning, investors are clearly cheering Palantirs results. But the companys employees may not be.
After the companys Q2 results were announced, Palantir CEO Alex Karp was interviewed by CNBC about the companys AI software offerings and revenue results. During that interview, Karp told interviewer Morgan Brennan that workforce reductions are on the table thanks to efficiencies driven by artificial intelligence..
Were planning to grow our revenue . . . while decreasing our number of people, Karp said. This is a crazy, efficient revolution. The goal is to get 10x revenue and have 3,600 people. We have now 4,100.
But as noted by CNBC, Karp did not reveal how the company would shrink its workforce from 4,100 to 3,600. Besides layoffs, companies have other options to reduce their workforce, such as freezing hiring and not replacing workers who voluntarily leave their roles.
The good and the bad of PLTR stock
After Palantir reported its Q2 results, the companys stock jumped. As of the time of this writing, during premarket trading this morning, PLTR stock is currently trading up over 6.1% to $170.53. That means that PLTR stock is currently trading at an all-time high.
As of yesterdays closing share price of $160.66, PLTR has seen its price rise by more than 112% since the year began. And over the past 12 months, PLTR shares have surged more than 549%.
However, it’s worth pointing out that some investors, while buoyed by Palantirs recent gains, may also have reservations about its lofty stock price. At its current stock price, PLTR shares have a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 730.27.
A triple-digit P/E ratio means that a stock’s price is currently far outstripping its earnings. Few major tech companies have a P/E ratio in the triple digits, although their are some notable exceptions. Tesla, for example, has a P/E ratio of 185. If future earnings dont continue to match the rising price of the stock, shares could pull back.
Other tech companies have P/E ratios that most investors find more acceptable. This includes Microsoft (P/E of 38), Nvidia (56), Apple (30), Amazon (32), Alphabet/Google (20), and Meta (28).
Back in June, Tools for Humanitya startup cofounded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altmanlaunched its first U.S. brand campaign for World, an identity and financial network that includes a cryptocurrency called Worldcoin and an unprecedented piece of hardware: the Orb.
The volleyball-size spherical device uses a retina scan to authenticate users as human, and then provides a digital verification code. World is also opening brick-and-mortar locations for the Orb in six U.S. cities: Austin, Nashville, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, and Atlanta.
So far, World has more than 27 million participants and nearly 13 million verified humans across more than 20 countries. Its goal is to verify 50 million people by the end of 2025, and eventually to sign up every human being on the planet.
The company hopes the biometric verification code it creates will essentially be our digital passport, to ward against fake AI-driven content, and utilized for everything from online banking to dating apps. Altman told Time, If this really works, its like a fundamental piece of infrastructure for the world.
However, before that, we all need to be convinced to use it.
The consumer brands of the new AI era are already emerging. We have Anthropics Claude, OpenAIs ChatGPT, Googles Gemini, Microsofts Copilot, DeepSeek, and more. The tools and promise of our AI future are both exciting and terrifying, which is an incredibly thin tightrope for any marketer to walk.
In this episode of Brand New World, Im talking to John Patroulis, chief marketing officer at Tools for Humanitythe guy tasked with convincing us all to get human verified by the World platform.
On why he joined Tools for Humanity in 2022: It was the sincerity of the ambition that really drew me to it. The world was going to change, artificial intelligence was going to become increasingly powerful, and it was going to be disruptive in many wonderful ways, but also create new challenges. And this was going to be an absolutely critical thing to have to ensure human beings remain central and benefit from all of those changes.
On making World a local brand: This is an open-source protocol, and this is an open-source brand. So I really believe the brand needs to be built from the ground up in the communities that it exists in. So when we’re in Argentina, yes the insight needs to be human and universal, but it needs to look and feel Argentinian.
On why World’s brand vibe has been using fun over futurism: My feeling is that we need a sense of lightness and what is right for a human brandthat the real human network reflects humanity. And I think human beings are funny, they’re confusing, they’re silly. They can be sincere. But it allows for a range of emotion. But the tone needs to continue to feel relatable. The tone through all of [the brand work] is human and relatable.
Despite years’ of headlines about the importance of workplace well-being and culture, the latest Gallup State of the Global Workplace report paints a stark picture: global employee engagement has declined yet again. But one overlooked yet deeply effective lever for change is also one of the simplest: genuine appreciation.
It might be considered “a soft skill,” but when practiced with consistency and care, appreciation can reshape teams, rewire the brain, and reinvigorate entire cultures. Heres how leaders can turn everyday recognition into a powerful force for performanceand why its one of the most untapped tools in the leadership playbook:
1. Understand the neuroscience
Appreciation doesnt just feel good, it changes the brain and can be a high-impact leadership tool, according to Amy Brann, applied neuroscience expert, founder of Synaptic Potential, and author of Make Your Brain Work.
“Expressing appreciation boosts dopamine and serotonin in both the giver and the receiver, activating brain regions associated with motivation, connection and emotional regulation.”
Importantly, appreciation also helps shift people out of a defensive mindset. “It lowers activity in the amygdalathe brains threat detectorhelping people feel safer and more valued,” Brann explains. “When people feel recognized and appreciated, they shift into what I call a High-Performing Neural Environmentone where creativity, focus and collaboration thrive.”
To embed gratitude into everyday routines, Brann recommends leaders look for micro-moments of acknowledgement: “Quick, sincere acknowledgements embedded into existing routines. Over time, these create neural associations that reinforce trust and belonging.”
2. Make it safe, human, and consistent
When we think of employee appreciation, we often think of grand gestures like bonuses and flamboyant parties. But according to Ella Davidson, founder of book PR agency, The Book Publicist, “Its about the small, consistent actions that show people theyre truly valued.”
In her remote agency, daily check-ins are a normnot just for status updates, but to see how people are really feeling. “When someones struggling (personally or professionally), we listen, not just with empathy, but with the intent to support in practical ways,” Davidson says.
And appreciation isnt just reserved for technical achievements: “We also make room to say thank you and well done, for results but also for dealing with a tricky situation or being supportive to others in the team,” she adds.
Employees should know the buck stops with you. “Creating a culture of appreciation means letting people know you trust them, youve got their back, and that if things go wrong, the responsibility lies with you as the leader. That level of safety takes the pressure off and allows people to show up authentically.
Most of all, appreciation means making it okay to be human. No blame, just support. Thats when people feel safe, seen, and truly appreciated and thats when they do their best work.”
3. Hardwire 360° gratitude in daily habits
Gratitude cant just happen when theres time, it needs structure. “Appreciation and gratitude should not just flow top downit should be 360 degrees.” says Christina Lovelock, senior leadership coach and author of Careers in Tech, Data and Digital. “To enable this, we need to normalize recognition of good work and create specific opportunities for people to be nudged to think about where their colleagues, leaders, and teams have done something positive or noteworthy.”
These nudges might include a regular agenda item in team meetings, a dedicated Teams or Slack channel, or a weekly wrap-up email. “It might be tempting to leave it ad hoc or worry it will seem forced or manufactured,” Lovelock adds, “but actually people usually find a regular cadence around gratitude and appreciation very valuable.”
Worried you might struggle to find wins? Christina recommends looking beyond big things: “It can also be the day-to-day demonstrations of support or assistance, a well-handled conversation or really clear presentation slide. If you are specifically looking for good work to highlight, you can generally find it.”
4. Praise thoughtfully, not excessively
Leaders are often told to give more praise. But quantity isnt the only factor that matterscontext does, too.
“Its well-known both that praise is a good (and cheap) motivator and that most leaders overestimate just how much they give it,” says Nik Kinley, leadership consultant and author of The Power Trap. “But you can overdo it. If you praise too much, you devalue it, and praise actually works best when its unexpected.”
Praise is also not one-size-fits-all. “People just beginning projects or who are less experienced typically need more praise,” Kinley notes. “Seasoned vets or those near the end of tasks tend to value praise less.”
He also points to the power of public recognition. “Praise usually has more impact when given for simple tasks rather than complex ones. It also always has more value when given publicly, even if the individual being praised feels embarrassed by it.”
He suggests thinking of praise as a tool and a tactic and using it as such.
5. Broaden the spotlight
Recognition often shines only on the loudest, most powerful voices, silencing the most interesting or challenging ideas.
To broaden the spotlight, Charlotte Otter, an executive communications expert and author of We Need New Leaders, recommends fostering smaller, unscripted spaces for conversation: “Organize small meeting rounds, unrecorded, where people feel safe to ask questions and share opinions. Give credit in the meeting for great ideas and afterwards, publicly, if theyre implemented.”
Otter also emphasises inclusive meeting practices: “Send agendas in advance, make sure everyone gets a chance to speak, and actively quell the noisy ones. Introverts appreciate the chance to prepare, so let someone know in advance if youd like their opinion to be heard. Its about tuning in better and appreciating differently.”
6. Use genuine appreciation to create a ripple effect
Thanking your team is one thing, but taking the time to geninely acknowledge their accomplishments from the top creates a ripple effect.
“Each time a person encounters you and your kindness, that same person may be inspired to do the same,” says Gaelle Devins is chief customer officer at Breitling and author of Flow Leadership. “Imagine how powerful such a gesture could become in your team.”
Devins encourages leaders to pause and reflect on how gratitude feels to themthen replicate it. “We often take things for granted and forget to look at life with childrens eyes or from the perspective of others. By being present, aware, and mindful as a leader, we become more aware of the needs of others.”
More than a nicety
In a world where employees are increasingly stressed, uncertain, and worried about the future, appreciation is more than a nicety, its a necessity. Leaders who get this right wont just see better performance and stronger retention, theyll build teams where people feel seen, heard, and motivated to do their best work.
Entrepreneurs typically contribute less to the overall economy than people who are employed by others. Transitioning from being formally employed to working for yourself or starting a business typically results in working longer hours to earn less and contribute less to the economy and society at large. However, theres no question that entrepreneurs still command high levels of popular approval and appreciation.
In particular, we tend to glorify self-made billionaires no matter what they do, how they impact society, and how they behave. To the point that even antisocial acts, contrarian rants, or counterproductive work behaviors can be celebrated if they come from Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, or Peter Thiel. But the truth is, it’s unwise to blindly follow in these folks’ footsteps. Here are four particular habits to avoid.
1. Being a jerk and calling it vision
Many successful entrepreneurs are lionized for being difficult. The logic goes like this: if youre abrasive, impatient, or rude, you must be brilliant. After all, ordinary people cant see the world-changing picture youre obsessing over. But in most domains, being disrespectful or treating others poorly is a recipe for failure, not success. Unsurprisingly, these difficult personalities often resort to founding their own business after they are fired or rejected from other peoples businesses, since they are dispositionally unemployable. And if your genius only shines through when you belittle or ignore others, it may not be genius at all. It may just be bad behavior that got rewarded because the outcome was profitable.
2. Obsessive overwork masquerading as passion
The hustle culture narrative has convinced many aspiring entrepreneurs that burnout is a badge of honor. But glorifying 100-hour weeks and chronic sleep deprivation doesnt build resilience or productivity. It breeds tunnel vision and poor decision-making. Many of the worlds most iconic founders have spoken openly about their struggles with exhaustion and breakdowns. Yet somehow, the myth persists that if you’re not killing yourself for your company, you’re not serious. In reality, it’s not noble to sacrifice your well-being for work. It’s just avoidable.
3. Disdain for rules and norms
Disruption is often code for breaking things without thinking about the consequences. From dodging taxes and ignoring labor laws to trolling regulators and bypassing democratic processes, some celebrated entrepreneurs treat norms as nuisances. But rules exist for a reason. They are not always efficient, but they are meant to protect the many from the power of the few. When tech CEOs behave as if laws dont apply to them, we shouldnt call that boldness. We should call it what it is: entitlement.
4. Being yourself as a leadership strategy
Be yourself is the kind of advice that sounds profound on a coffee mug but performs poorly in the real world. The myth of entrepreneurial authenticity suggests that success comes from unleashing your unfiltered self, no matter how impulsive, erratic, or unlikable that self may be. As I argue in my forthcoming book, Dont Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated and What to Do Instead, the most effective leaders arent radically transparent; they are strategically self-aware. They know when to adapt, how to filter, and which version of themselves is most useful in a given situation. If being yourself means ignoring feedback, resisting self-regulation, or broadcasting your every mood swing, its not authenticity, its self-indulgence. And when your decisions affect thousands of employees or millions of users, indulging your quirks becomes a liability, not a virtue.
In short, there is a fine line between charisma and narcissism, between vision and delusion, and between confidence and arrogance. When we admire entrepreneurs, we should separate their contributions from their character. Otherwise, we risk turning toxic traits into aspirational goals, and forgetting that success is not a moral justification for how you got there.
The irony is that we often celebrate these traits not because they are rare but because they are familiar. The workplace is already filled with insecure overachievers, domineering micromanagers, and burned-out strivers. When the most famous founders exhibit these behaviors, it legitimizes them. It tells the rest of us that being insufferable is part of the price of ambition, that success excuses everything, and that empathy or humility are optional luxuries rather than core leadership competencies.
But leadership is not just about being right. Its about making others better. And while many entrepreneurs have indeed changed the world, the best ones do so without leaving a trail of broken people behind them. Admiring entrepreneurs should not mean excusing toxic behavior. It should mean holding them to higher standards, especially because of the influence they wield. If were going to celebrate their impact, we should also expect them to be decent humans.
Thinking of leaving the United States for life abroad? Youre not alone. A record-setting 21% of Americans expressed a desire to emigrate in 2024.
While politics might play a role in the uptick, an increasing number of creative professionals are also leaving for career reasons. They want to embrace work cultures that foster balance over burnout, escape design echo chambers, and have the ability to afford launching their own studios.
In the Bay Area in particular, it just felt like the treadmill was getting faster and faster, says Lisa Baird, president and principal strategist of the creative consultancy Fraîche Design Thinking. Baird moved to Paris with her family in 2022. I knew that quality of life was sort of slowly but surely disintegrating, because people were becoming more and more attached to work, like a religion.
We were curious about how creatives like Baird made the move, so we checked in with designers who have decamped for other countries to learn more.
In this story you’ll learn:
The French program that gets you in the country and doubles as a business plan
Why even expats need to maintain a mix of U.S. clients and make occasional return visits
How Europe’s social programs foster personal and professional growth
The ways in which designers adapt to being hours ahead of the U.S.
The great emmigration
Baird, who is originally from the Dallas suburbs, has spent time at a kaleidoscopic array of creative shops, including Ideo, Collins, and Frog. Long ago in San Francisco, she noticed one word rising in prominence and impact: hustle. It led her to rethink her life choicesspecifically how she might tip the balance less toward work and more toward life.
I just didn’t want to be on my deathbed wishing that I had spent more time with my kids or with family, or pursuing personal interests, or just living life, really, she says.
It’s a similar story for Rachel Gogel, a fractional creative director, who is relocating to Paris in January 2026. Gogel was born in Paris to American parents, but she moved to the U.S. to attend the University of Pennsylvania in 2005. From there she worked in publishing in New York City, followed by Facebook in Silicon Valley and other gigs.
After a decade in the Bay Area, the dual U.S.-French citizen found herself fatigued by the hustle culture as well, and witnessed the impact of golden handcuffs, where employees trade heaping salaries for overworked misery.
But working hard isn’t a golden ticket to the American dream. Meredith Hattam, founder of design studio A Present Force, says she left the U.S. because she grew disillusioned by the design of American systems at large.
I don’t want to be ridiculously wealthy. I don’t want to have some crazy life. I want to be able to buy a house one day, Hattam says. I want to be able to raise children and not have debt. I want to be able to run a creative studio or do creative things and not be super stressed about having to take jobs to make ends meet. I don’t want to be worried about healthcare.
So she took a job in Berlin in early 2023and now manages her own studio, something she says would have been prohibitively expensive in New York.
Moving strategically
The first step to moving abroad is obtaining a visa. Given how they vary by territory, it’s too expansive a topic to dig into here, but it’s worth noting how Baird obtained hers: Frances talent passport program.
Launched in 2017, it offers a way to relocate ones business to France. It demands a robustly documented plan that involves specifying the number of jobs youll create for French citizens, among other things, but the upside to all that work is that you have a plan in place.
By the time I finally got it all approved and landed in France, in a weird way, all I had to do was open up this business plan and look at page one, and be like, Well, what did I say I would do? Baird says.
She advises deciding up front if moving abroad is a fun, novel thing you plan to do for a year or soor whether youre looking to full-on emigrate, and let that dictate whether youll work with immigration attorneys, as she did.
Gogel has been consulting with one as she looks ahead to her move. Strategically, she has also been taking on more international speaking engagements to carve out a global footprint, adjusting her verbiage to more commonly understood international terms (e.g., focusing more on the term creative consultant in lieu of fractional leader), and rekindling East Coast relationships since maintaining clients there will mean less of a time zone discrepancy with Europe.
A new work schedule
Baird adjusted the entire cadence of her work life; rather than establish the days marching orders through a client call in the morning, she shifted that call to the end of her workday, and then hits pause until the following morning.
Hattam, meanwhile, works a modular schedule based on the meetings or standing calls on her calendar, starting late on days when she has an evening meeting. Thanks to Slack, Loom, and other services, she says she works completely asynchronously, and establishes that up front with clients. At first, she was worried that would be seen as a problem but notes instead, If they want to work with you, they’ll work with you.
Most of the people interviewed for this story maintain a mix of U.S.-based clients and some local work. What they all note: U.S. clients pay better. Cari Sekendur, founder of Butter Studio in Berlin, says European budgets are a lot lower in general. In her experience, clients in Europe invest less in marketing across the board.
Her advice is to have a solid client network before leaving the U.S. I think it would have been really hard for me if I had just moved here straight after leaving my last full-time job, she says.
The perks of life abroad
If you’re working anyway, what makes life in Europe any different? Sekendur and Gogel both note that theres a prevailing cultural ethos of working to live, rather than living to work.
Hattam says that in Berlin, the shift is palpable: All the noise around the next achievement you should be seeking and how youre doing compared to your peers is quieter. She says she had to adjust to a culture where What do you do? is not the first thing asked in the course of conversation.
It’s actually been really healthy to decouple my professional status from my life, she says. I have actually had to undo a lot of toxic patterns in thinking about careerism, finances, all of these things. It’s not that you can’t think about these things at all, but it’s just that they’re not front and center in the same way.
For Sekendur, the international life finds its way back into her work. Belin has long been a hub for art and music, and the city has always had a strong DIY culture as well.
Being around a lot of creativity and people creating things from scratch gives me inspiration, whether it’s a direct connection or not, she says.
But it comes with a practical boon, too. In Sekendurs case, Berlin is a very international city, and thats reflected in the people on her team; while New York is, too, she says the Brooklyn studio where she worked was comprised of people from the same cultural backgrounds.
Being able to bring different experiences and backgrounds to the work just makes it better, in the same way that any kind of diversity makes work better, because you’re having more perspectives coming to it, she says.
What that looks like practically: In her current studio, for example, Sekendur worked with a copywriter from Syria on a menstruation activewear line for Puma. That colleague was able to offer critical perspective on how to talk about the subject with a Middle Eastern audience.
Ultimately, as Baird adds, Not everybody’s just on some tech treadmill, trying to help the next rich guy get richer, which, you know, God bless you, everybody’s got to have a way to put bread on the table. But you just meet a broader mix of people here, because the way society is structured enables more types of careers to exist in a shared community.
It’s not a panacea
One thing in particular that Sekendur misses about the States is networking. So she dedicates a couple of annual visits to New York City, where she crams in as many meetings as possible. She says shes also been beefing up her LinkedIn presence.
The creatives we spoke to don’t play up the fact that theyre not based in the States. Sekendur says she doesnt tout it, but she also doesnt hide it (Berlin is indeed on her LinkedIn profile).
It’s so interesting to me because [being based out of the U.S.] felt like the most important thing for so long, until the pandemic, and now nobody even asks, she says.
Baird says her best advice is to not bring it up constantly.
There’s no need to just be like, Hey, its Lisa dialing in from Paris at the start of every Zoom call, she says. It’s not relevant. It doesn’t need to be the focus or the focal point of any and all conversations.
After all, as it happens, location isnt everything, and Hattam cautions against romanticizing a move abroad at large.
It’s still really hard in different ways. Living in Europe isnt going to fix all of your problems, she says, though shes grateful for some of the structural differences that she wishes America could fix, like healthcare, education, gun violence . . .
She adds: It’s more about wanting to find more of your own voice and challenging yourself. I never thought I was capable of moving abroad, period. But once you do something like that, you’re like, Oh, I can do all these other things that I was scared oflike starting my own design studio, or going freelance, or pitching clients that I never thought I could pitch. Whatever it is, you’re going to feel more and more empowered. I think that’s just a really beautiful thing.
Do these designers have any plans to move back to the U.S.?
No, Hattam says.
No, Sekendur says.
No plans, Baird says.
And in all likelihood, Gogel is hoping to soon be able to say the same.
Have you ever found yourself desperately wanting to move forward in life or at workwhether its launching a new venture, making a bold pivot, or finally saying yes to the idea thats been tugging at your mindbut somehow, you cant gain momentum?
You might be living out what I call the Gas and Brake Paradox. This paradox shows up when you press the gas pedal of ambition, opportunity, or desire while unknowingly stomping on the brakes through unconscious resistance. You’re accelerating and stalling simultaneously.
And heres the thing: The most visionary, high-performing leaders Ive worked with often dont even realize theyre caught in it. Its not laziness. Its not a lack of clarity or capability. Its usually an unspoken inner conflict between expansion and safety.
The Hidden Drag on High Performers
A Deloitte study found that 59% of high-level leaders feel trapped in successtheyve hit the outward milestones but feel unfulfilled, stagnant, or quietly disengaged. Meanwhile, a Harvard Business Review survey revealed that 71% of executives cite internal resistance, not external barriers, as the biggest roadblock to innovation. The Gas and Brake Paradox is often the invisible force behind that drag. It manifests subtly:
You plan obsessively but never hit “go.”
You say yes to everything except the thing that matters most.
You dream of change but cling to whats familiar.
And just like a car doing both at once, you create friction, burnout, and inertia. You move nowhere, exhaustingly fast.
Why We Hold the Brake
At the root of this paradox isnt just a fear of failure; its often a fear of transformation. Real growth demands letting go not only of titles or routines, but also of identities. And thats terrifying. Because who will I be if Im not this anymore?
Many leaders push forward externally while holding onto internal stories that no longer serve them. One of my clients was poised to launch a disruptive new startup after spending decades in corporate leadership. But he kept defaulting to one more safe project. Another was ready to write a book that would redefine her field, but she couldnt stop editing chapter one. Both had one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. And heres the reframe: Resistance isnt weakness. Its often a form of inner wisdom, a message from your psyche: This next move requires a new version of you.
5 Ways to Release the Brake Without Losing Control
You dont need to floor the gas or stomp on the brakes. True momentum comes when you learn to navigate both with intention. Heres how.
Name the pattern. Awareness is the first unlock. Ask yourself: Where do I feel both excitement and dread? What patterns keep repeating, despite my best intentions? One client described it like reaching for the door but never turning the handle. He journaled his stuck points for a week and discovered a subtle pattern: Anytime he came close to clarity, hed immediately flood his calendar with distractions. That awareness changed everything. Use a habit tracker for a few days. Highlight moments where you feel conflicted. What triggered the brake?
Reframe the story. Most resistance lives in outdated personal narratives. You might believe that success requires sacrifice, or that changing will result in losing everything you have built. In my coaching practice, I guide leaders through rewriting their origin stories. Because transformation doesnt mean erasing your past; it means integrating it. When you shift from Im starting over to Im evolving forward, a whole new possibility opens up.
Create a future snapshot. Instead of fixating on what to do next, picture a day in your life two to three years from now. Where are you? What are you doing? Who are you becoming? Choose one image or object that symbolizes this version of you and keep it visible. Its not about fantasy; its about anchoring into possibility.
Have a mirror conversation. We all need someone who can reflect us back to ourselves, without an agenda. Ask a trusted peer or coach: Where do you sense I am holding back? Where do I seem most alive but also most hesitant? What feels ready to emerge in me that I might be missing? A single honest conversation, when grounded in curiosity and care, can surface insights you cant reach alone. Sometimes, clarity doesnt come from more thinking, but from truly being seen.
Take a micro-move. Instead of leaping into the void, start with a courageous toe-dip. Small, aligned action builds confidence while creating momentum. Write the first sentence of the book, block off one hour to explore the bold idea, or share your vision with a trusted colleague. As behavioral scientist BJ Fogg puts it: Tiny habits lead to big change. Micro-moves signal to your nervous system: This is safe. This is possible. And it’s okay to keep going.
The Gas and Brake Paradox isnt a flaw; its a signal. It means youre on the cusp of something important. So instead of asking how you can go faster, ask: What part of me am I ready to release so I can move freely?
Success without fulfillment isnt success, and movement without alignment is just motion. However, when your ambition meets inner claritywhen gas and brake begin to harmonizeyou stop spinning your wheels and start driving with purpose.
What if buildings and neighborhoods were planned with health and climate risks in mind, just like businesses use financial data to guide their decisions? What if public health and real estate werent at odds, but instead coauthors of a healthier, more equitable urban future?
Thats the bold premise of Architectural Epidemiology, a new book that offers a radical rethinking of the relationship between place and health. Written by architect and public health expert Adele Houghton and Dr. Carlos Castillo-Salgado, an epidemiologist, the book introduces a place-based framework for aligning real estate investment with public health goalsusing the tools of epidemiology to guide design decisions that affect buildings and the way they engage the surrounding city.
At its core, architectural epidemiology is not a metaphor. Its a methodology.
Diagnosing places like patients
Just as a doctor might diagnose a patient based on symptoms and environmental exposures, Houghton and Castillo-Salgados framework helps designers, developers, and policymakers diagnose the health of a place.
The process begins by gathering publicly available health and climate datarates of asthma, heat exposure, housing-cost burden, chronic illness, and moreand dialing into the specific needs of any real estate project boundary. These place-based insights then inform customized development strategies tailored to local needs.
(Courtesy Johns Hopkins University Press)
This isnt a one-size-fits-all checklist. Its a locally calibrated, equity-centered approach that asks: What are the most urgent public health and climate concerns in this neighborhood? And how can this project become part of the solution?
Two case studies from the book, one in the South Bronx and another in East London, show how this approach plays out in the real world.
Toxic infrastructure to health-first housing
The South Bronx is one of New York Citys most environmentally burdened neighborhoods. Residents face compounding public health concerns, including high rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and pediatric asthmaconditions tied directly to chronic exposure to air pollution, extreme heat, and poor housing conditions. Infrastructure like solid waste transfer stations, natural gas plants, and a daily flow of more than 750 diesel trucks has left a lasting environmental footprint.
Three projects demonstrate how health-driven interventions play out in real life.
Arbor House, a 124-unit LEED Platinum affordable housing development, took an indoor-focused strategy. With no regulatory leverage to reduce nearby traffic or emissions, the project team instead designed a protective shell: a high-performance building envelope, mechanical exhaust and ventilation systems, low-VOC materials, and a no-smoking policy. These features directly addressed local respiratory and cardiovascular risk data, providing a sanctuary of clean air in a polluted context.
The Eltona, another LEED Platinum project by the same developer, built on these strategies but also benefited from its location within the Melrose Commons urban renewal zone. This area, guided by a community-authored plan, introduced pedestrian-prioritized streets and small green spaces to break up heat and pollution hot spots. This sort of coordinated planning can push health equity beyond the building envelope.
The Peninsula represents an even bolder intervention: transforming a former juvenile detention center into a mixed-use anchor of community well-being. Once all phases are complete (anticipated in 2026), the project will deliver 740 units of affordable housing, a wellness center, daycare, supermarket, light industrial space, and a workforce development huball aligned with the long-standing Hunts Point Vision Plan. Created through a collaborative effort between local government and community groups, the plan calls for cleaner air, economic opportunity, and access to green space without displacing existing residents.
This multiscalar transformation wouldnt have been possible without partnership. The development team committed to providing both affordable and middle-income housing, as well as commercial and industrial spaces aligned with local needs. The local government played a convening role, confronting outdated zoning and building codes to enable community-led regeneration. And community groups acted as watchdogs and visionariesdocumenting health inequities, advocating for residents needs, and ensuring decades of disinvestment didnt translate into displacement.
From industrial blight to inclusive growth
In East Londons Hackney borough, Gillett Square shows how long-term, community-led urban design can build resilience without triggering displacement. Residents here also face elevated risks from exposure to traffic-related air pollution, unsafe pedestrian conditions, and mental health stressors, particularly among children and the elderly. Climate concerns such as extreme temperatures compound vulnerability, especially in a borough with high poverty rates and a large renter population.
The project began in the 1980s as part of a broader, three-pronged effort to reduce crime, create economic opportunity for women- and minority-owned businesses, and preserve affordability in the face of rapidly rising property values. Organized by Hackney Co-operative Developments, a community interest company, this initiative has grown over 40 years into a model of place-based health equity.Unlike top-down redevelopment, the transformation of Gillett Square unfolded through continuous negotiation among residents, developers, and the local government. A former parking lot became the square itself. Adjacent buildings were renovated to create 30 affordable workspaces and 10 retail units prioritized for local startups and cultural groups. The existing street-facing storefronts remained intact, maintaining the character and economic rhythms of the block. During construction, current tenants were temporarily relocatedbut not displaceda rare feat in most urban redevelopment narratives.
The built environment improvements werent just aesthetic or economic. The renovated Bradbury Works building added insulation, operable windows, and improved ventilation to respond to extreme temperatures and indoor air quality concerns. It was also designed to accommodate a future rooftop solar array.
Elsewhere on the square, an old factory became a jazz club. Another was converted into a mixed-use building with social housing and office space. Each adaptive reuse project layered with health-promoting elements such as natural light, passive ventilation, and energy efficiency.
Importantly, these design moves responded to both immediate and long-term public health concerns identified in the architectural epidemiology framework: exposure to air pollution, heat vulnerability, mental health stressors, and pedestrian safety risks.
The health situation analysis for the neighborhood emphasized the need for strategies that reduced the risk of obesity, mental health issues, and traffic-related injury, many of which were tackled by fine-grained, community-rooted design rather than by sweeping interventions./p>
Gillett Squares evolution also depended on progressive land use policy and community engagement over time. The local government enabled critical rezonings: converting the parking lot into a plaza, allowing mixed-use development, and permitting the installation of small retail kiosks. The development team, operating as a nonprofit social enterprise, prioritized community interests. And community groups, many of which had been active in Hackney for decades, fought to ensure that the squares benefits didnt come at the expense of its existing residents.
In a borough where 75% of residents are renters, and poverty rates among children and the elderly are among the highest in the U.K., the stakes of gentrification are high. Gillett Square proves that design can support resilience without fueling displacementand that longevity, not speed, can be a hallmark of justice-oriented urban development.
These case studies show that health equity can be the foundation, not a by-product, of urban development. By aligning investments with public health and climate data, Architectural Epidemiology offers a road map for building places that protect and uplift communities. This framework identifies community needs and guides community residents, developers, and designers to solutions that create value for both stakeholders and shareholders.
This story was originally published by Next City, a nonprofit news outlet covering solutions for equitable cities. Sign up for Next Citys newsletter for the latest articles and events.
The designers Charles and Ray Eames were two of the most important designers of the 20th century, and their legacy of innovative furniture, product, and industrial design continues to have an influence today. Now, the foundation that carries the couple’s torch is planning to open a new museum that explores their work and its enduring impact on the design world.
The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity just announced the purchase of a disused corporate campus in the San Francisco Bay Area that it will be converting into a large-scale art and design museum. With an adaptive reuse design by the architecture firms EHDD and Herzog & de Meuron, known for its work on the Tate Modern art museum in London and the De Young Museum in San Francisco, the new museum will focus on design through the lens of purpose. The Eames Institute expects to open the museum before 2030.
John Cary, president and CEO of the Eames Institute, says the museum is a dream project that’s finally taking form. “When we conceived of the Eames Institute seven years ago, we always wanted to create a very large, high-capacity venue for the community and the public to come and experience art and design in ways that they might not be able to otherwise,” he says.
[Photo: courtesy Eames Institute]
The Eames Institute is still in the early stages of thinking through the curatorial angle for the museum, but Cary says it will be undeniably Eamesian. “We’re especially inclined toward problem-solving design, the kind of design that actually addresses a need. What we’re really interested in is trying to untangle the process from the product. That’s something that the Eameses did so well.”
[Photo: Iwan Baan/courtesy Eames Institute]
Known best for iconic furniture pieces like their molded wood lounge chair and ottoman, the Eameses were multihyphenate designers who worked on projects ranging from World War II leg splints to lamps, children’s toys, and educational films. Cary says this range of outputand the emphasis on designing things people neededmakes the Eameses’ work continually relevant.
He says the new museum will celebrate this legacy of design work and house the official Eames archive, while also championing newer generations of designers and artists, as well as emerging talents. “We’re interested in really teasing out the life stories of these creatives. What were their trajectories? How did they come to be who they are?” Cary says.
[Photo: courtesy Eames Institute]
Located about 30 miles north of San Francisco in the city of Novato, the museum project is adapting a 1960s-era corporate campus and distribution center originally designed for the publisher McGraw-Hill, and used most recently by the shoemaker Birkenstock. The 88-acre campus was designed by John Savage Bolles, a modernist architect who designed San Francisco’s Candlestick Park stadium and the IBM campus in San Jose.
[Photo: Herzog & de Meuron/courtesy Eames Institute]
Despite the Novato campus being mostly a utilitarian warehouse, it jumps out from its freeway-adjacent landscape with a boldly layered shark-tooth roofline in bright white. After Birkenstock left in 2019, it sat unused.
“I fell in love with that warehouse, mostly by driving by a lot, then managing to sneak my way in. Authorized, but nonetheless, it wasn’t on the market at that point or anything,” Cary says. “I just am pretty relentless about things.”
The campus eventually went up for sale, and Cary says the Eames Institute had to beat out some stiff competition to take it over. They bought the property for $36 million and have been working with Herzog & de Meuron for the past few months to come up with conceptual designs for adapting the warehouse, an adjacent office building, and the site’s vast landscape.
[Photo: Iwan Baan/courtesy Eames Institute]
Herzog & de Meuron have deep experience creating museum spaces, including the Tate Modern in London and the De Young Museum in San Francisco, and in adaptive reuse. According to Simon Demeuse, partner at Herzog & de Meuron, the firm is “deeply committed to working with existing buildings whenever possible.” Turning a former goods distribution facility into a museum offers the potential to rethink how collections are made accessible to the public, he says, via email. “The Eameses explored the world and their designs in a very open manner, leading to new ways of understanding and seeing their surroundings,” says Demeuse. “This building will allow its stewards and visitors to experience the collections and exhibits in an open manner as well, from many different perspectives and vantage points that can evolve over time.”
Despite sitting right next to Highway 101, which expands from four to six lanes across the span of the campus, berms around its edges make the property surprisingly quiet. “That kind of acoustical protection was really, really appealing,” Cary says.
[Photo: Iwan Baan/courtesy Eames Institute]
It’s a bucolic condition that’s led the Eames Institute and the architects to think about the warehouse building as a kind of indoor-outdoor space. Made up of five long bays that once held canyons of pallets full of schoolbooks and, later, sandals, the warehouse’s edges could feasibly open up wide to allow programming to spill outward. Partly subterranean, the warehouse stays naturally cool, which works well for preserving artwork and archival materials, as well as for handling the region’s hot summers.
These conditions all play into the problem-solving ethos of the Eames Institute. Adapting the building to a new use instead of simply building from scratch is squarely on brand.
But Cary is cautious to note that this is not a museum about the Eameses, or at least not only that. “We’re really interested in creating a multigenerational offering for a truly multigenerational audience,” he says. “While we will always celebrate the Eameses as the seed of all of this, we have the chance to create an even bigger canvas and to bring others into it.”
When theres extra wind or solar power on the grid in the Netherlands, some of it now goes to a new type of battery made from just three components: iron, air, and water.
Called an iron-air battery, the technology uses rust from the iron to store energy cheaply. When rust forms, it releases energy. The batteries turn that energy into electrical current. To recharge, they reverse the reaction, using electricity to turn rust back into metal.
With cheap, abundant iron as the main component, the batteries have advantages compared to standard lithium-ion. On a megawatt-hour basis, our batteries are 5 to 10 times cheaper than lithium-ion batteries, says Bas Kil, who leads business development at Ore Energy, the Dutch startup that just deployed the new battery in the Netherlands.
[Photo: Ore Energy]
Because the batteries dont use rare earth minerals, the company also doesn’t have to rely on complex supply chains or worry about tariffs. Another advantage: The new batteries have very low fire risk, unlike lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries are being added to the electrical grid at an exponential rate. Still, they work well only for short-term energy storage, covering around four hours (after that they become less efficient and start to degrade). Though their cost has dropped, theyre still relatively expensive. They also degrade more quickly if they have to store power over longer spans.
Iron-air batteries, which work more slowly, aren’t a good replacement for short-term storage. But they can easily cover longer periods, up to around 100 hours of storage. “If you look at wind energy, it’s very common for there to be two or three days in a row where there’s a lot of wind production, and then on the other end of the spectrum there might also be two or three days where there’s very little wind production,” says Kil. “To cover these gaps you need longer-duration storage where our battery is very suited.”
Other companies are also developing iron-air batteries, including Form Energy in the U.S., which built a large manufacturing plant in a former steel mill and plans to deploy its first pilot project this year. Ore Energy, which spun out of Delft University of Technology in 2023, is moving quickly. The battery that it just deployed, in the city of Delft, is the first of its kind to connect to the grid anywhere in the world, the company says.
As Ore Energy studies the battery’s performance, it’s working on plans for its first factory, which will open next year. The team intends to commercialize the product by 2027.
It could help the grid continue transitioning to clean powerwithout the need for backup from fossil fuel power plants. The Dutch government aims to have a zero-emission electric grid by 2035. More than half of the country’s electricity already comes from renewables.
Right now, the Netherlands has a challenge that’s common in other places with abundant clean power: There’s often so much renewable power available that electricity prices temporarily dip below zero. Some of the power is wasted. Iron-air batteries can store the extra power and then release it later when wind and solar are unavailable. The system also helps avoid the need to overbuild new wind and solar farms, shrinking the overall cost of moving to a clean grid.
Walk into a library and youll feel it right away. Its quiet but alive. People are reading, learning, applying for jobs, finding shelter, escaping for a moment into a story. No ones selling anything. Yet the value being created is enormous.
In 2022 (the most recent year for which we have data), there were 671 million visits to public libraries in the United Statesthats more than the attendance at all MLB, NFL, and NBA games, plus National Park and theme park visits combined. Despite changes in media habits, younger generations use libraries more than any other cohort (54% of GenZers and millennials in the U.S. reported visiting a physical library in the past year). And thats not counting the millions more who use the myriad digital services public libraries offer.
Libraries are not businesses. But they offer a model that many companies would do well to study.
Were living in a time of rapid change. Trust in institutions is slipping, and funding is at risk (many U.S. libraries, for example, rely on federal support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which is being dismantled). AI is transforming the nature of work. Economic pressure is rising for employees, founders, and leaders alike. Against that backdrop, its tempting to think only in terms of efficiency, cost-cutting, and optimization.
But theres a deeper opportunity. What if long-term success is more about building environments where people feel inspired, curious, and connected?
Thats what libraries do. And thats what the best organizations of any kind are learning to do, too.
Let people dream
Libraries dont ask you to justify your interests. You can check out a book on astrophysics or attend a poetry reading. No ones measuring your productivity. The door is open, and the invitation is simple: Explore.
Great companies operate with a similar principle. They give people space to think. To chase ideas that might not have an immediate return. Not because it’s soft or unfocused, but because it leads to better breakthroughs.
On the way to becoming a company worth more than $2 trillion, Google famously gave employees “20% time,” encouraging them to pursue passion projects without immediate commercial goals. This freedom led directly to innovations like Gmail, Google Maps, and AdSenseproducts that started as dreams and became essential tools for billions.
Give people the freedom to wander, and they just might find the next big thing.
Focus on more than transactions
A library is not about monetization. Yet its value shows up everywhere: literacy rates, employment readiness, civic health. The best organizations understand this. They offer more than a product. They offer meaning, trust, and alignment with peoples values.
Patagonia demonstrates this principle powerfully through its environmental activism, which goes far beyond selling outdoor gear. The company’s bold stancesfrom suing the government over environmental policies to donating profits to climate causesmight seem risky from a traditional business perspective. Yet Patagonia’s sales have quadrupled in the past decade to more than $1 billion annually. Patagonias commitment to meaning over pure profit resonates deeply with its community, strengthening brand loyalty and trust.
In uncertain times, thats what people hold on to.
Support the whole person
Libraries recognize that people are more than readers or borrowers. They offer after-school programs for children, job training for adults, and social services for those in need. They understand visitors have complex lives, and that growth rarely follows a single, predictable path.
The best organizations understand this, too. Work is not just work. It’s identity. Its purpose. Its how people spend the majority of their waking hours. When leaders recognize that and respond with flexibility, empathy, and real support, the results speak for themselves. People stay longer. They perform better. They build things theyre proud of.
In 2012, Adobe replaced cumbersome and bureaucratic annual performance reviews with check-insopen, ongoing, two-way conversations about performance and career growth. This change acknowledged employees as individuals with diverse needs and ambitions, not just as resources to be optimized.
The results: Adobe reduced voluntary attrition by more than 30% while saving 80,000 manpower hours previously spent on reviews. By treating employees as whole people with evolving aspirations rather than quarterly performers, Adobe created a system that serves both human development and business outcomes.
Healthy people build healthy organizations.
Be a platform, not just a point solution
The modern library is more than books. It hosts résumé workshops. Offers tax help. Provides warmth in the winter. It meets people where they are.
Thats a powerful concept for any organization. Consider Airbnb. What began as a way to find short-term lodging is steadily evolving into something broader: a platform for travel, connection, and cultural exchange. Now the company is expanding from where you stay to how you explore, offering everything from pasta-making in Rome to wildlife walks in Nairobi. Its a bold attempt to transform a transactional service into a layered, participatory ecosystem that reflects the ways travelers want to feel at home in the world.
What if you stopped thinking of your offering as a single product or service? What if you thought of it as a foundation people could build from?
Libraries remind us that value isnt always immediate or measurable in quarterly reports. But its real. The impact accumulates over time, quietly compounding.
The same can be true for any organization willing to think more expansively.
Invest in culture. Make room for imagination. Support your people. Serve your community. Not because it looks good, but because it works.
Long live the library. And long live the companies that learn from its example.
