It’s August, and horror and humor came to play.In a month that’s long been known to let edgier movies thrive, Zach Cregger’s highly anticipated horror film “Weapons” did not disappoint, topping the box office during its debut weekend with $42.5 million domestically from 3,202 theaters. It made $70 million internationally.The film’s success also handed its distributor, Warner Bros. Pictures, the seventh No. 1 opening of the year, and became the studio’s sixth film in a row to debut with over $40 million domestically.“Freakier Friday,” Disney’s chaotic sequel to the 2003 classic, “Freaky Friday,” took the second spot during its premiere weekend, earning $29 million in 3,975 North American theaters. Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis return, this time for a double body-swapping between the mother-daughter duo and Lohan’s teen daughter and soon-to-be stepdaughter.Viral marketing tactics, coupled with strong social media word-of-mouth, boded well for both films’ success, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for the data firm Comscore.“The top two films could not be more different, and that’s what makes this weekend so appealing for moviegoers,” Dergarabedian said. “Both are perfectly tailored for their audiences to react in real time over the weekend to these films and then post on social media.”“Weapons” transports audiences to the small town of Maybrook, where 17 kids up and leave their homes at 2:17 a.m., leaving bewildered parents in their wake. The town is left to navigate the lingering effects of trauma through horror, paranoia and a touch of existential humor.The film is Cregger’s follow-up to his solo directorial debut with the 2022 genre-bending horror, “Barbarian.” That critically-acclaimed film had a slower start and smaller budget, but still topped the charts during its premiere with $10 million domestically and made a splash in the genre.“Weapons” generated a lot of buzz for its strong reviews (95% on Rotten Tomatoes).“The internet’s exploding right now between Friday and today. You just see that people are having a great time with it,” said Jeffrey Goldstein, president of global distribution for Warner Bros. “It starts with an exceptional movie, an exceptional marketing campaign, and the date was exceptional too.”The success of the comedy-horror double premiere meant “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” surrendered its two-week run in the top spot and landed in the third position, bringing in $15.5 million domestically. The superhero movie enjoyed a strong $118 million debut, but stumbled in its second weekend.“The Bad Guys 2,” which got a healthy start at the No. 2 spot during its premiere weekend, came in fourth place, earning $10.4 million domestically. “The Naked Gun” had a similar fate, reaching the fifth position with $8.4 million in North American theaters.“Jurassic World Rebirth,” which came in seventh this week, is expected to hit $800 million globally by Monday, according to NBC Universal, following a successful run in theaters.Warner Bros. started off slow this year, but made a comeback with the box-office hit, “A Minecraft Movie,” which opened with $157 million domestically. Since then, movies like “Sinners,” “Superman” and now, “Weapons,” have found success.The studio set “a blueprint to how to create a perfect summer lineup,” Dergarabedian said.“Weapons “also joins a stream of successful horror movies this year, its opening numbers coming in just behind “Final Destination: Bloodlines” and “Sinners.”
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
“Weapons,” $42.5 million.
“Freakier Friday,” $29 million.
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” $15.5 million.
“The Bad Guys 2,” $10.4 million.
“The Naked Gun,” $8.4 million.
“Superman,” $7.8 million.
“Jurassic World Rebirth,” $4.7 million.
“F1: The Movie,” $2.9 million.
“Together,” $2.6 million.
“Sketch,” $2.5 million.
Itzel Luna, Associated Press
Authorities overseeing the development of artificial intelligence in Indonesia have proposed a “sovereign AI fund” to finance the archipelago’s ambitions to become a regional hub for the fast-growing technology, a government document showed.
Last month, Reuters reported that Southeast Asia’s largest economy would release its first national roadmap on AI in a bid to attract foreign investment as it looks to join the global AI and chip-making race.
The race has seen neighbouring Malaysia secure billions of dollars from global tech firms seeking to build critical infrastructure to meet growing demand for cloud and AI services.
The Indonesia strategy, released in the form of a 179-page white paper seen by Reuters, recommends, among other things, a sovereign AI fund mainly handled by the country’s new sovereign wealth fund, Danantara Indonesia, which controls over $900 billion in assets.
Danantara Indonesia did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The paper did not specify the amount that would be needed, but estimated a 2027 to 2029 timeline to set up the fund, and a public-private model to finance Indonesia’s AI push. It also suggests increasing fiscal incentives for domestic investors in AI, without providing details.
The strategy paper, which the communications and digital ministry said still awaits public feedback before the final draft, maps Indonesia’s computational readiness for AI and makes recommendations for AI-related policy strategies until 2030.
“Indonesia right now is in the early stages of AI adoption,” the document reads. Industry players including Chinese giant Huawei and Indonesia’s biggest technology company GoTo contributed to the report.
An April report by the Boston Consulting Group said ASEAN nations were positioned for substantial AI-driven gains, with GDP contributions ranging from 2.3% to 3.1% by 2027, and Indonesia could see the highest impact in terms of absolute gross domestic output growth.
The roadmap also details challenges for Indonesia, including a lack of talent, low research funding, uneven connectivity outside big cities, risks of misinformation, and data leaks.
Global tech companies have courted the AI drive in Indonesia, including Nvidia and Microsoft.
Stanley Widianto, Reuters
A group of masked thieves stole about $7,000 worth of Labubu dolls from a Los Angeles-area store this week, authorities said.The incident took place early Wednesday morning at a store in La Puente, a city about 18 miles (29 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, the LA County Sheriff’s Department said. The department said the suspects used a stolen Toyota Tacoma in the incident, which was recovered shortly afterward. The agency said it was investigating the case and did not have additional information.Labubu dolls, created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, have become a popular collectible item a decade after the toothy monsters were first introduced.Toy vendor One Stop Sales said in an Instagram post that the thieves took all of the store’s inventory and trashed the establishment. The store posted surveillance footage showing a group of people wearing hoodies and face coverings breaking in. The suspects are seen shuffling through items and carrying boxes out of the shop.“We are still in shock,” the store said in its post, urging people to help find the thieves.
This story has been updated to correct the store’s name. It is One Stop Sales, not One Stop Shop.
Associated Press
In Novo Nordisks legal fight against dozens of U.S. pharmacies and companies selling cheaper copies of its weight-loss drug Wegovy, one name remains conspicuously absent: Hims & Hers. The high-profile telehealth company continues to sell compounded versions of Wegovy at lower prices, testing the limits of federal restrictions on such copies and contributing to weaker sales growth for Novo.
In June, Novo accused Hims of violating its intellectual property and endangering patients, scrapping a brief arrangement enabling them to sell Wegovy directly to consumers and raising expectations of litigation.
A Novo spokesperson said the Danish drugmaker was not ruling out further legal action after announcing new lawsuits against 14 small pharmacies, telehealth providers and weight-loss clinics this week, but declined to comment on Hims. The drugmaker has filed more than 130 cases in 40 U.S. states.
A spokesperson for Hims defended personalization of medicines as the future of healthcare, saying patients and providers use their platform to make clinical decisions.
“Investors are happy to see Novo getting more aggressive on the litigation front, but remain puzzled as to why they havent confirmed that they are filing or have filed litigation against Hims yet,” said Barclays analyst Emily Field.
Legal experts say Novos expanding litigation against smaller telehealth players could add pressure on a company like Hims to negotiate a settlement or help the drugmaker test out strategies.
At the same time, the fact that Novo and Hims had a prior collaboration may complicate legal action. “Business happens in the shadow of the law,” said Robin Feldman, a professor at UC Law San Francisco who has written books on the pharmaceutical industry and its intellectual property battles. “Sometimes companies file against smaller players as a shot across the bow, a way to rattle the larger players.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration set a May 22 deadline for compounding pharmacies to cease mass-producing copies of Wegovy, a practice allowed only when a drug is in shortage.
Hims says it still offers personalized versions of Wegovy, in doses not manufactured by Novo, that better suit individual patient needs. The telehealth provider argues that individualized dosing remains legal under compounding rules.
Compounding laws are just vague enough to allow for different interpretations, and the interpretation that matters that of the courts has not been provided to our knowledge, said TD Cowen analyst Michael Nedelcovych.Novos cases against smaller compounders could shape how courts interpret those boundaries, said Gaston Kroub, a partner at patent litigation firm Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov. This is an untested set of affairs, said Kroub. If you want to train for a heavyweight championship fight, you start sparring with lighter opponents.In addition to trademark infringement, Novo has accused pharmacies of steering people toward compounded Wegovy by interfering with the relationship between clinicians and patients.Josh Gerben, an intellectual property attorney, said the fact that Hims and Novo had a prior business relationship will complicate any claim Novo could bring.
Maggie Fick and Diana Novak Jones, Reuters
New Jersey-based DermaRite Industries has announced a voluntary recall of individual lots of soap and skincare products due to microbial contamination, which has been identified as Burkholderia cepacia, the company said last week.
The bacterium can cause serious and life-threatening infections.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a recall announcement on August 9. Impacted products include over-the-counter (OTC) antiseptic lotion soaps, external analgesics, antimicrobial foam soaps, and antiseptic cleansers.
The following products are included in the recall:
OTC Healthcare antiseptic lotion soap DermaKleen
OTC External Analgesic DermaSarra
OTC Antimicrobial foam soap KleenFoam
OTC Antiseptic cleanser PeriGiene
The FDA recall notice includes a list of impacted products with their lot numbers, expiration dates, reorder numbers, product descriptions, and product labels. The recalled products were distributed nationwide in the United States and Puerto Rico.
You can also find full-color images of the impacted product labels on DermaRite’s website. The company says it has not received any reports of adverse events related to the recall.
Bacterial infection could cause life-threatening sepsis
According to a “risk statement” published by DermaRite, the contaminated products may be used by immunosuppressed individuals and people caring for immunosuppressed individuals.
Burkholderia cepacia can cause serious, life-threatening infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
While healthy individuals with minor skin lesions are only likely to experience local infections, people with weakened immune systems are more at risk.
For immunosuppressed individuals, the infection is more likely to spread into the bloodstream and could lead to life-threatening sepsis. Sepsis can cause extensive inflammation throughout the body and cause tissue damage, organ failure, and death.
Consumers should destroy impacted products
DermaRite alerted distributors and customers to the voluntary recall by email and told them to examine their inventory and destroy all affected products immediately.
If you have questions about the recall, contact Mary Goldberg by calling 973-569-9000 x104 Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST or by emailing voluntary.action@dermarite.com.
If you have experienced problems related to using the impacted products, contact a healthcare provider. Report any adverse reactions experienced as a result of using these products to the FDAs MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program.
You can file a report online, download a reporting form, or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form to submit by fax or mail.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer met privately in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump to make a case he did not want to hear: The automotive industry he said he wants to save was being hurt by his tariffs.The Democrat came with a slide deck to make her points in a visual presentation. Just getting the meeting Tuesday with the Republican president was an achievement for someone viewed as a contender for her party’s White House nomination in 2028.Whitmer’s strategy for dealing with Trump highlights the conundrum for her and other Democratic leaders as they try to protect the interests of their states while voicing their opposition to his agenda. It’s a dynamic that Whitmer has navigated much differently from many other Democratic governors.The fact that Whitmer had “an opening to make direct appeals” in private to Trump was unique in this political moment, said Matt Grossman, a Michigan State University politics professor.It was her third meeting with Trump at the White House since he took office in January. This one, however, was far less public than the time in April when Whitmer was unwittingly part of an impromptu news conference that embarrassed her so much she covered her face with a folder.On Tuesday, she told the president that the economic damage from the tariffs could be severe in Michigan, a state that helped deliver him the White House in 2024. Whitmer also brought up federal support for recovery efforts after an ice storm and sought to delay changes to Medicaid.Trump offered no specific commitments, according to people familiar with the private conversation who were not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke only on condition of anonymity to describe it.Whitmer is hardly the only one sounding the warning of the potentially damaging consequences, including factory job losses, lower profits and coming price increases, of the import taxes that Trump has said will be the economic salvation for American manufacturing.White House spokesman Kush Desai said no other president “has taken a greater interest in restoring American auto industry dominance than President Trump.” Trade frameworks negotiated by the administration would open up the Japanese, Korean and European markets for vehicles made on assembly lines in Michigan, Desai said.But the outreach Trump has preferred tends to be splashy presentations by tech CEOs. In the Oval Office on Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook gave the president a customized glass plaque with a gold base as Cook promised $600 billion in investments. Trump claims to have brought in $17 trillion in investment commitments, although none of those numbers has surfaced yet in economic data.Under his series of executive orders and trade frameworks, U.S. automakers face import taxes of 50% on steel and aluminum, 30% on parts from China and a top rate of 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico not covered under an existing 2020 trade agreement. That puts America’s automakers and parts suppliers at a disadvantage against German, Japanese and South Korean vehicles that only face a 15% import tax negotiated by Trump last month.On top of that, Trump this past week threatened a 100% tariff on computer chips, which are an integral part of cars and trucks, though he would exclude companies that produce chips domestically from the tax.Whitmer’s two earlier meetings with Trump resulted in gains for Michigan. But the tariffs represent a significantly broader request of a president who has imposed them even more aggressively in the face of criticism.Materials in the presentation brought by Whitmer to the meeting and obtained by The Associated Press noted how trade with Canada and Mexico has driven $23.2 billion in investment to Michigan since 2020.General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis operate 50 factories across the state, while more than 4,000 facilities support the auto parts supply chain. Altogether, the sector supports nearly 600,000 manufacturing jobs, forming the backbone of Michigan’s economy.Whitmer outlined the main points of the materials to Trump and left copies with his team.To Grossman, the Michigan State professor, a key question is whether voters who expected to be helped by tariffs would react if Trump’s import taxes failed to deliver the promised economic growth.“Everyone’s aware that Michigan is a critical swing state and the auto industry has outsized influence, not just directly, but symbolically,” Grossman said.AP VoteCast found that Trump won Michigan in 2024 largely because two-thirds of its voters described the economic conditions as being poor or “not so good.” Roughly 70% of the voters in the state who felt negatively about the economy backed the Republican. The state was essentially split over whether tariffs were a positive, with Trump getting 76% of those voters who viewed them favorably.The heads of General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have repeatedly warned the administration that the tariffs would cut company profits and undermine their global competitiveness. Their efforts have resulted in little more than a temporary, monthlong pause intended to give companies time to adjust. The reprieve did little to blunt the financial fallout.In the second quarter alone, Ford reported $800 million in tariff-related costs, while GM said the import taxes cost it $1.1 billion. Those expenses could make it harder to reinvest in new domestic factories, a goal Trump has championed.“We expect tariffs to be a net headwind of about $2 billion this year, and we’ll continue to monitor the developments closely and engage with policymakers to ensure U.S. autoworkers and customers are not disadvantaged by policy change,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said on his company’s earning call.Since Trump returned to the White House, Michigan has lost 7,500 manufacturing jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.Smaller suppliers have felt the strain, too.Detroit Axle, a family-run auto parts distributor, has been one of the more vocal companies in Michigan about the impact of the tariffs. The company initially announced it might have to shut down a warehouse and lay off more than 100 workers, but later said it would be able to keep the facility open, at least for now.“Right now it’s a market of who is able to survive, it’s not a matter of who can thrive,” said Mike Musheinesh, owner of Detroit Axle.
Joey Cappelletti and Josh Boak, Associated Press
A 90-day pause on imposing higher tariffs on China is due to expire on Tuesday and it is unclear if it will be extended.After the most recent round of China-U.S. trade talks, held late last month in Stockholm, Chinese and U.S. officials said they expected the deadline to be extended for another 90 days. The U.S. side said the decision was up to President Donald Trump. So far there has been no formal announcement about whether he will endorse an extension or push ahead with the higher tariffs.The uncertainty has left businesses in limbo and a decision to raise the import duties could jolt world markets.
SILENCE FROM WASHINGTON AND BEIJING
Trump has repeatedly shifted deadlines and tariff rates, and neither side has indicated what it plans for Tuesday. Extending the August 12 deadline for reaching a trade agreement with China would forestall earlier threats of tariffs of up to 245%.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump was deciding about another 90-day delay to allow time to work out details of an agreement setting tariffs on most products at 50%, including extra import duties related to illicit trade in the powerful opiate fentanyl.Higher tariffs are aimed at offsetting the huge, chronic U.S. trade deficit with China, which hit a 21-year low in July as the threat of tariffs bit into Chinese exports.It’s not unusual for the U.S. to give hints on where talks stand, but it’s rare for China to make announcements until major decisions are set. So far, Beijing’s refrained from commenting ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.In an interview with Fox News taped on Thursday but aired on Sunday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Trump was considering additional tariffs on Beijing because of China’s purchases of Russian oil. But he said Trump “hasn’t made any firm decisions.”
CHINA RESISTED CUTTING AN EARLY BARGAIN
Prohibitively high tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States would put huge pressure on Beijing at a time when the Chinese economy, the world’s second largest, is still recovering from a prolonged downturn in its property market. Lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have left millions of people reliant on “gig work,” crimping the job market. Higher import taxes on small parcels from China have also hurt smaller factories and layoffs have accelerated.But the U.S. relies heavily on imports from China for all sorts of products, from household goods and clothing to wind turbines, basic computer chips, electric vehicle batteries, and the rare earths needed to make them. That gives Beijing some powerful leverage in the negotiations with Washington.Even with higher tariffs, China remains competitive for many products. And its leaders are aware that the U.S. economy is only just beginning to feel the effects of higher prices from Trump’s broad tariff hikes.For now, imports from China are subject to a 10% baseline tariff and a 20% extra tariff related to the fentanyl issue. Some products are taxed at higher rates. U.S. exports to China are subject to tariffs of around 30%. Before the two sides called a truce, Trump had threatened to impose 245% import duties on Chinese goods. China retaliated by saying it would hike its tariff on U.S. products to 125%.
MUCH IS AT STAKE
A trade war between the world’s two largest economies has ramifications across the global economy, affecting industrial supply chains, demand for commodities like copper and oil, and geopolitical issues such as the war in Ukraine.After a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in June, Trump said he hoped to meet with Xi later this year. That’s an incentive for striking a deal with Beijing.If the two sides fail to keep their truce, trade tensions could escalate and tariffs might rise to even higher levels, inflicting still more pain on both economies and rattling world markets. Businesses would refrain from making investment commitments and hiring, while inflation would surge higher.Companies are in an “extended wait-and-see mode,” Oxford Economics said in a recent report.
Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press
In a historically unusual move, two of the world’s largest chipmakers, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), have reportedly cut a deal with the Trump administration to hand over 15% of their revenues from certain chip sales to the U.S. government. Heres what to know about the deal and how Nvidias and AMDs stock prices are reacting.
What’s happened?
Yesterday, the Financial Times reported that chipmaking giants Nvidia and AMD have struck a highly unusual deal with the U.S. government. According to the Financial Times, the deal will see Nvidia and AMD give up 15% of revenues from chip sales of two specific chips to China, the H20 chipset by Nvidia and the MI308 chipset by AMD.
In return for the 15% revenue-sharing agreement, the U.S. government has approved export licenses for those chips to China. Without export licenses, which the U.S. had previously failed to grant the companies, Nvidia and AMD could not legally export their chips to the country.
The Financial Times cited people familiar with the situation, including a U.S. official as the sources of the information.
“We follow rules the U.S. government sets for our participation in worldwide markets,” a Nvidia spokesperson told Fast Company when reached for comment. “While we haven’t shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide. America cannot repeat 5G and lose telecommunication leadership.”
Fast Company has also reached out to AMD and the Commerce Department.
The revenue-sharing agreement is an unusual one, as no other companies before now have ever agreed to share a portion of their revenue with the U.S. government in exchange for export licenses. The Trump administration has reportedly also not decided what the U.S. government will do with the proceeds it reaps from Nvidia and AMDs chip sales to China.
A spokesperson for Nvidia did not deny the deal, with the company telling the Financial Times, We follow rules the US government sets for our participation in worldwide markets.
What are the H20 and MI308 chips?
Before the two chip giants made a revenue-sharing deal with the Trump administration, the H20 and MI308 chipsets had been waiting for months for export license approvals.
The H20 chip by Nvidia and the MI308 chip by AMD were designed by the companies for the Chinese marketplace specifically, and within the constraints that the Biden administration had placed on exporting U.S. chips to China. But when Trump came into office earlier this year, his administration placed export controls on those chips over national security fears.
Nvidia has previously disputed that its H20 chips could give Chinese industry a leg up in the AI race.
Now, however, any supposed national security concerns are taking a back seat to profits, as the export licenses have now been granted after the revenue-sharing deal was agreed.
That revenue-sharing agreement stands to see the U.S. government rake in billions as the chipmakers now have the go-ahead to sell to China. According to the Financial Times, one estimate noted that Nvidia could sell as much as $23 billion worth of its H20 chips to China in 2025 alone.
How are Nvidia and AMD stock reacting?
Obtaining export licenses for chips is usually considered a good thing by investors in any chipmaking company.
However, after the Financial Times broke the news of the revenue sharing deal, shares of both Nvidia Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (Nasdaq: AMD) are down in premarket trading as of the time of this writing.
NVDA shares are currently down about 0.71% and AMD shares are currently down about 1.6%. While these share price drops arent that large, any decline in a chipmakers stock price after winning an export license is pretty rare.
This could suggest that investors are concerned that companies are ceding too much revenue to the U.S. government in exchange for export licenses, potentially harming their bottom lines.
But just as likely is that investors arent entirely sure how to digest the news. The deal potentially sets a new precedent where companies that need export licenses now may need to start sharing their revenue directly with the U.S. government. Such a system is unheard of in free-market democracies.
Forget Cowboy Carter or the Eras tour, the hottest ticket this year is for your favorite podcast.
Content creator tours sold nearly 500% more tickets this year compared to 2024, according to StubHub, with Alex Cooper’s “Unwell” tour, Crime Junkie’s podcast tour and Mel Robbins’ “Let Them” tour the highest in demand.
With ticket prices at nearly 40% less than traditional live events on average, its easy to see why. Going to a live concert is only getting more expensive, with many concertgoers sucking up the eye-popping prices and price gouging on resale sites rather than deal with the potential FOMO.
The average price of tickets sold across all live entertainment in 2024 was $159. The Taylor Swifts Eras tour cost fans an average of $1,088 per ticket in 2023, The New York Times reported. For the top six creator tours, it was just $99.
Scheduling tour dates in locations often bypassed by mainstream artists, like Wyoming and Vermont, has also helped boost sales. During her own “Eras” tour, influencer Trisha Paytas paid visits to Tysons, Virginia and St. Louis, Missouri. Meanwhile, TikTok star Jake Shanes Therapuss cross-country tour stopped in places like Birmingham, Alabama and Athens, Georgia.
When we look at state-level consumption, Illinois has emerged as the creator economy’s biggest fanbase, purchasing 20% more tickets than any other market, Adam Budelli, Partnerships & Business Development at StubHub told Fast Company.
Texans are not only the largest single-state fanbase for female-hosted podcast content, but also show unique consumption patterns, with 7% more single-ticket buyers than California, despite having a smaller population.
Thanks to the boom in video podcasts, what started as an audio-only experience enjoyed alone, now has more in common with your traditional chat show. Nearly three-quarters of podcast consumers watch their podcasts, compared with about a quarter who listen only.
I think the biggest differentiator is that there are more opportunities for audiences who do attend to actually interact with the creators, creator economy expert Lindsey Gamble tells Fast Company. Because being able to tour and bring people out in real life shows that they actually have a community and relationship with their followers or subscribersenough where people are willing to dedicate their time and their dollars to see them in person.
For creators, it can also be lucrative. As well as bringing in money through membership models and merch, with many podcasts typically over an hour long, a live show or tour is a natural extension of the existing format.
We’re seeing fans who have built these deep, parasocial relationships with creators through podcasts and social media finally getting the chance to complete that connection in person, Gamble says. It’s different from a traditional concert where you’re watching a performance, where at creator events, fans feel like they’re hanging out with someone they already know intimately.
In a relentless pursuit of agility and efficiency, many organizations are aggressively flattening their hierarchies, effectively eliminating layers of middle management. This move to a flattened organizational structure is often inspired by the success of tech giants like Amazon and Google, with the goal of accelerating decision-making and streamlining operations.
However, while automation can replace tasks, it cannot replicate the nuanced skills of strategy, vision, and decision-making that define true leadership. Even AI cannot replace the human element of leadership that drives innovation, inspires teams, and navigates complex strategic challenges.
Our collective challenge, therefore, is to understand the unintended consequences of this organizational flattening and implement actionable strategies to ensure that we are not sacrificing our long-term leadership capacity for short-term gains. The good news is that with intentional effort and a rethinking of how experience is gained, you can still build a formidable bench of executive talent. Heres how:
1. STOP ERASING AND START REDEFINING YOUR MID-LEVEL EXPERIENCE
The most significant leadership development challenges in flattened organizations stem from the absence of director-level readiness. Without mid-level roles, you might miss crucial opportunities to manage people, budgets, and complexity at scale.
Think about the typical progression: from individual contributor to senior individual contributor, and then, traditionally, to manager. The manager role was where many learned the intricacies of people management, conducting performance reviews, navigating difficult conversations, and fostering team development. When organizations eliminate this stepping stone, employees can jump from senior individual contributor to director without ever developing these foundational skills. This creates a dangerous experience gap.
To counter this, identify the core managerial and strategic skills that were learned in those now-eliminated roles and create alternative pathways to gain them. For instance, you could take on internal mini-CEO roles for specific projects, giving yourself full accountability for budget, team oversight, and strategic outcomes, even if for a temporary period. Even at an individual contributor level, you can seek out opportunities to lead specific initiatives or mentor newer team members to build these skills.
2. PRIORITIZE PROJECT-BASED LEADERSHIP AND EXECUTIVE SHADOWING
In a flatter structure, traditional promotions are fewer, but opportunities for leadership experience arent. Empower yourself to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives. This is a powerful way for you to gain influence and exposure outside of your direct reporting lines, learning to navigate organizational politics, manage diverse stakeholders, and deliver results under pressure.
Simultaneously, seek out executive shadowing opportunities. Ask if you can sit in on high-stakes meetings or strategic offsites. This direct access to senior thinking provides an unparalleled understanding of how decisions are made at the highest levels, building your confidence and presence. This real-time learning is invaluable when formal management layers are gone.
3. FORMALIZE MENTORSHIP, SPONSORSHIP, AND TARGETED CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT
Leadership readiness will not emerge by default in a flat structure; it must be deliberately built. Establish formal mentorship programs where senior executives provide direct coaching and feedback. Even more critically, sponsorship programs should be implemented where senior leaders actively advocate for emerging talent, opening doors and creating opportunities for growth you might not find on your own.
Beyond these relationships, create targeted development tracks with clear milestones that focus on specific capabilities required for future executive roles. For example, if critical thinking under pressure is a key executive skill, you might find that participating in leadership simulations or strategic case studies allows you to practice decision-making in a safe environment. This ensures that even without traditional promotions, you are continually acquiring and demonstrating executive-level skills.
BUILDING A CULTURE OF CONTINUOUS LEADERSHIP GROWTH
In the absence of established leadership ladders, organizations must take deliberate, proactive steps to build their future leadership pipeline. This presents a unique opportunity, whether you’re just starting your career or are a seasoned executive, to define your impact by the comprehensive leadership development strategies you intentionally create. It also clearly communicates the new growth expectations for leadership within a flatter structure.
If you lead an organization that has embraced flattening, you must recognize that designing meaningful development programs in this new landscape may be one of the most important contributions you make to your companys long-term success.
