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One of the most frequent questions Ive been getting from business execs lately is whether the AI pin will become the next great tech device. After all, with OpenAI recently finalizing its acquisition of Io Products, the AI hardware design firm led by legendary former Apple designer Jony Ive, it looks like well soon see the next great interface: a voice-activated, lapel-pin-size AI device thats a successor to the smartphone. And wont it be a better, calmer form of technology, they ask me, freeing us from having to stare at a small screen in our hands? No. In a world teeming with intelligent interfaces, the AI pin chooses to be dumbnot technically, but emotionally, socially, and spatially. The core failure of the AI pin genre isnt technical, but conceptual. But seemingly no one involved or interested in the form factor has stopped to ask: Is a chest pin even a good interface? Not questioning this is to ignore decades of interaction design: that good form emerges from use, from behavior, from affordance. Heres what I mean. The Narrative Inertia and Unanswered Questions Behind the AI Pin To begin with, there are a number of very real questions with this new form factor yet to be plausibly answered, including: Can you hear it in the wind or while in a crowd? Can others around you tell if its listening? What new social cues does it produce? How do you use it while walking, biking, cooking, parenting, holding a coffee, working in a noisy office, standing in line, or going on a date? What does it feel like to wear something thats constantly watching, blinking, and projecting? By all appearances, the AI pin concept wasnt born out of ergonomic study, social anthropology, or material intuition. It was born out of narrative inertiathe idea that because voice agents exist, and because wearables exist, the next logical step is to wear a voice agent. The Problem With Invisible Interfaces Another driver of the AI pins narrative inertia is the concept of the invisible interfacethe belief that our computing is best served through a device we dont have to see, but that seamlessly responds to our stated wishes. This vision has a long history, starting with voice-based computers in science fiction (more on that below); its conceptual stickiness was further strengthened with the launch of Siri and other voice-activated assistants in the 2010s. As a design goal, invisibility is best understood through a famous quote by Xerox PARCs Mark Weiser (though its easy to misinterpret): A good tool is an invisible tool. . . . By invisible, we mean that the tool does not intrude on your consciousness; you focus on the task, not the tool. The second part of the quote tells all. Its not about the device itself being invisible, but the act of usage rendering it invisible. For instance, when we use a hammer, we focus on the nail, not the hammer. To a good woodworker, the very act of using the hammer renders it invisible. In my experience across countless design and tech conferences, the notion of an invisible interface quickly becomes a very powerful semantic black hole. Once people start hearing the term, they cant see anything other than it, and their minds (and design practices) auto-complete to it, instead of considering other formats such as physical buttons and other familiar technologies. Invisible technologies lack the feedback that people need to develop a relationship with them. Your mind has to make up for the invisibility in other ways, adding a cognitive strain and microfriction to their usage. If you have voice-controlled lights in your house, for instance, you have to remember what you taught Alexa to call themthe upstairs lights or something else? Imagine having a conversation like this with an AI pin all day, across many topics! If design is governance, making an interface invisible takes away agency and ensures that design choices are far removed from the people who use it. Which takes us to the sci-fi culprit behind the AI pin. Truthy Tech vs. Track Record When product developers assume pins are a natural form factor for ambient computing, they must then reverse-engineer behavior, trust, and social rituals to support it. They think the form factor will look so cool that it will just work, and address none of the cultural aspects. Its yet another variation of what I call truthy tech: products or concepts that are exciting at first glance, usually because they resemble props from sci-fi TV shows and movies, but that quickly lose their luster when real-world considerations creep in. In other words, the AI pin may seem inevitable because for decades, weve watched characters on the Star Trek series communicate with each other and the ships computer through the ComBadges on their uniforms. Its easy to forget that the ComBadge is only designed to be visually exciting and help advance the shows storyline, and not actually to be functional. As a real-life consumer device, however, nearly a dozen pin-based devices have come and gone over the years without gaining mass adoptionfrom 2003s SenseCam by Microsoft (promoted by famed tech pioneer Gordon Bell) to 2024s Humane AI Pin, which imploded despite $240 million in funding. Ive and the Search for a New Steve Jobs-Level Visionary I should stress that none of this is meant as a criticism of Jonny Ive. He is an amazing supply chain innovator who thrived in Apples halcyon days. But his best work was always done alongside a genuine visionary. And it is very debatable if Sam Altman can ever fill Silicon Valleys conspicuous Steve Jobs-shaped absence. In any case, the likeliest form factor for a wearable AI device is one that already exists and has been integrated into our daily lives: the earbud-type AirPods. Rather than assume Altman can somehow completely transform culture enough that we will want to interact with artificial intelligence through a lapel pin, it makes far more sense to expect a future where the AI program is connected to our iPhones and AirPods. And after all, Jony Ive helped develop those.
Category:
E-Commerce
Users of Microsoft apps are having a rough year. First, in May, the Windows maker shut down the popular VOIP calling app, Skype, for good. Microsoft said it was done so that the company could focus on its latest communications app darling, Microsoft Teams. Now, Microsoft has announced that it is nerfing one of its most popular mobile apps, too. While not shutting the app down completely, Microsoft Authenticator is about to go through a radical downgrade. The app previously acted as a password manager and authentication app, but starting this month, Microsoft has stripped Authenticator’s ability to autofill your saved passwords. And come August, Microsoft will delete all your saved passwords from Authenticator. This means that just as users of Skype needed to find a new VOIP app, those who use Microsoft Authenticator as a password manager will need to hurry up and find a new one. Heres why Microsoft is making its changes to Authenticator, and the alternative password managers you may want to migrate to before the August deadline. Why is Microsoft killing Authenticators password management feature? Microsoft first introduced Authenticator in 2016 as a stand-alone app used to manage two-factor authentication security codes. In 2020, it added password management support to Authenticator, making the app a one-stop shop for autofilling passwords and security codes on websites. However, in 2020, Microsoft also introduced its new Edge browser, and since then, Edge has become a top priority for the company. And Microsoft has now decided that Edge should act as a Microsoft users password manager of choice, partly due to the fact that the Edge browser supports multiple platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more, while Authenticator only supports iOS and Android. The logic here is that if Edge is now your password manager, all your passwords will be accessible on every device logged into Edge. To facilitate this transition, Microsoft will automatically transfer a users saved passwords from Authenticator to Edge before permanently deleting them from Authenticator next month. This move is great for people who dont mind a web browser serving as their password manager. However, many people prefer a dedicated password manager app because it is usually more versatile, offers advanced features like password sharing, and integrates seamlessly with various desktop and mobile browsers. If you are in that second group, youll want to export your passwords from Authenticator before they are deleted and import them into a new dedicated password manager appbut which one to use? Microsoft Authenticator password manager alternatives There is no shortage of dedicated password managers out there. However, if you are moving from Microsoft Authenticator, there are three in particular that you might want to consider: Apple Passwords: This is Apples designated password manager, which the company introduced last year. The biggest advantage of Apple Passwords is its clean, simple interface. It lets you store not only your passwords, but your passkeys and security codes, too. The Apple Passwords app is perfect if you operate primarily in Apples ecosystem, but the app also supports Windows PCs (via the iCloud app) and major browsers, including Chrome and Firefox. The app is also free to use. However, Apple Passwords does not support Android, so if you have a ‘droid, its best to consider using one of the two password managers below. 1Password: One of the most popular password managers on the planet is 1Password. Its also one of the most versatile. Not only does it support passwords, passkeys, and security codes, but you can also save identity and credit card information and even important documents. 1Password supports all major platforms, including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux. One drawback, especially if you are used to Microsoft Authenticator, is that 1Password is a paid app. Individual plans start at $2.99 per month. Bitwarden: In addition to 1Password, there is another other cross-platform password manager champ: Bitwarden. Like all good password managers, it offers robust password management and passkey support. It also supports all the major platforms, including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and more. Best of all, Bitwarden offers a free tier of the app, allowing anyone to use its password management feature. However, if you want a password manager that also handles your security codes, like Authenticator does, youll need to upgrade to a Bitwarden plan, which starts at $10/year. Don’t forget to export your passwords from Microsoft Authenticator If you do switch to one of the above apps, youll need to transfer your passwords from Microsoft Authenticator to the app you choose. Just do it quickly. Microsoft will delete all your passwords stored in Authenticator on August 1, 2025. From that date, youll need to download Microsoft Edge and export them from the companys web browser instead. To export your passwords from Authenticator before the August deadline, follow Microsofts instructions here.
Category:
E-Commerce
At a conference in 2019, Laura Shenkar buttonholed Greg Steltenpohlthe founder of Odwalla and then-CEO of Califia Farmsto offer the juice and alt-milk pioneer a few sustainability tips. I was like, There are a lot of things you need to do to get Califia to be truly environmentally sensitive, recalls Shenkar, an environmental business strategist at the time, laughing now at the flex. And he said, Yes, thats true. This company cant do what youre describing. Youd need to start a company from the ground up. It was a gargantuan task, he warnedone that would require designing the business at every step with a team that thinks differently, not the usual corporate CPG types. Viewing that as a challenge, Shenkar launched PKN, a pecan milk brand, two years later in an attempt to tap into the alternative milk market. Califia and others had been mostly focused on oats and almonds. Almonds are a notoriously thirsty nut, with the highest water footprint of all major California crops. Shenkar had become fixated on pecans, instead. Pecans are nutritious, packed with vitamins A, B, and E, omega-3s, and impressive amounts of manganese, zinc, and copper. They boast the highest antioxidant content of any tree nut. Theyre wind-pollinated, so they dont rely on bees trucked across the country like almonds do. And theyre native to the United StatesAmericas only major indigenous tree nut, growing naturally in places like Georgia, Texas, and New Mexico, where theyve thrived without needing ecological intervention. Pecans on the ground after harvest at Pearson Farm, Fort Valley, Georgia. [Photo: Robert Holmes/Getty Images] Theyre also drought-tolerant, something Shenkar was primed to appreciate after having spent years thinking about water preservation. In the early 2000s, she founded Artemis Water Strategy, a consulting firm that helped governments and corporations such as Intel, IBM, Walmart, and Bain & Company implement advanced water-management technologies. She designed the pilot that helped Walmart cut water use by 30% at 2,000 stores and coauthored a paper that influenced Californias drought response. Later, the Nature Conservancys impact investment arm, NatureVest, hired her to study a drought-prone stretch of the Texas Colorado River outside Austin. She concluded that one major problem was alfalfaa high-water-use crop grown for animal feed thats become a bane of the entire Southwestand that the solution was to plant native species in its place. Theyre additive rather than depletive of the environment, she says. You dont have to import water from 200 miles away. You use the water thats falling from the sky. That very stretch of the Colorado River is also home to San Saba, known as the pecan capital of the world. But Shenkar noticed that local farmers were leaving the pecan business. The market, they said, was fragmented and difficult. While their best nut piecesUSDA Fancy-grade halvesfetched higher prices than other nuts, the darker, nutritionally identical Choice pieces had few buyers and often got sold for animal feed at a loss. What if, she wondered, someone used those pieces to make milk? The idea was to upcycle pecans to create a new revenue stream for farmers, to fund their transition into regenerative and organic production, she says. She knew it would take capital and technology. But to her, it was clear: Pecans, and not alfalfa, are the future for at least that part of Texas. Tree shaker shaking pecan tree to free nuts for harvest, Tifton, Georgia. [Photo: Edwin Remsberg / VWPics/Universal Images Group/Getty Images] Pecan milk vs. almond, soy, and oat milk Today, plant-based alternatives often claim more supermarket shelf space than traditional dairy. Industry forecasts suggest the market is still heating up. Currently valued at $20 billionlarger than telehealth or pizza deliveryit is predicted to double globally by 2030, reaching more than $40 billion. However, as the category evolves, its not almond, soy, and oat that are posting strong growth. The legacy alternatives are now joined by milks made from every conceivable nut, seed, grain, and bean. There are now barley, potato, corn, and water-lentil milks. A brand calling itself MILKish sells half-gallons of watermelon seed milk for $10. Oatlys investors have backed Quiny, a quinoa milk. Yet just because a plant can be milked doesnt mean it should be. Almond milk still accounts for more than half of all category sales, according to the Plant Based Foods Association and Good Food Institutes 2024 market overview, which is based on SPINS data. Almond milk benefits from having a mild flavor and a well-documented health halo, thanks in part to prolific research funded by the Almond Board of California. But Californias almonds require an average of 3.2 gallons of total water per nut, according to one frequently cited 2019 study. And the states groundwater suppliesparticularly in heavy almond-producng regions like Joaquin and Sacramento countiesare worryingly overdrawn. These two counties alone produce roughly 80% of the worlds almonds. If the plant-milk market does double by 2030, California almond growers wont be able to double their output to keep pace. If anything, production is slipping: Almond acreage fell by 40,000 last year, a 3% drop and the third consecutive year of decline. Soy milk, meanwhile, may be affordable and high in protein. But soybeans are more than overplanted; the vast monocultures in which theyre grown contribute to deforestation and hasten biodiversity loss. Oat milk is beloved for its creamy texture, but that texture often comes courtesy of canola or other vegetable seed oilssometimes in quantities comparable to what youd get in a small order of fries. Cows milk, of course, produces the highest greenhouse gas emissions of all, and increasingly comes from dairies modeled on industrial factories. And then there are pecans: nutritious, sustainable, and native to the United States. The nut was a dietary staple for Native Americans living in the Pecan Belt region spanning from Georgia to New Mexico and down into Mexico. In the 16th century, the Algonquians were preparing a creamy pecan liquid called powcohicorapotentially Americas very first plant-based milk! Colonists quickly adopted the practice. By the 18th century, George Washington was growing pecan trees at Mount Vernon, and Thomas Jefferson was so enamored that he demanded James Madison send him boxfuls in Europe as fresh as possible, packed in sand. By 1920, U.S. production had topped two million pounds. Today, the country produces nearly 300 million pounds, more than four-fifths of the worlds supply. This still pales in comparison even to other nuts: Americas pecan crop is valued at roughly $500 million annually. Last year, California produced almost three billion pounds of almonds worth over $4 billion, or eight times more. Yet Shenkar believes that pecan milk could capture 2030% of the alt milk market by 2030. Chris Harrell, CEO of Southern Rootsa $150 million grower-owned pecan cooperativewould be pleased. He explains that pecan economics are a little, well, nutty. Pecans are expensive because they taste better, and if youre a health nut they check all the boxes, he says. But you wont see a lot of investment going into pecans, because the margins are much thinner than on almonds, or even walnuts. I sit on four different industry boards, Harrell adds, and I spend a good portion of every day discussing how we can generate more demand so were not selling the Choice pieces at a loss, and we can bring down the price point for consumers. [Photo: Pkn] Reaching the grocery chainsand across the ideological divide PKN sources its pecans from San Saba, where farmers harvest from trees said to be more than 200 years old. The company currently offers six products, from a basic, four-ingredient milk containing just pecans, water, vanilla extract, and salt, to sweetened options like chocolate, several different creamers, and a version for baristas. Theyre sold online (through PKNs site, Amazon, and Walmart) and at about 500 stores across 31 states, including Albertsons, Sprouts, Erewhon, and Central Market. A 32-ounce carton costs around $6, a dollar more than Oatly. PKN has only two competitors. One, a Georgia-based brand called Treenhouse Naturals, makes canned pecan drinks that recently earned a spot in Garden & Guns annual Made in the South awards. The other, Pecana, launched in 2023 and has begun infiltrating grocery chains including Whole Foods and H-E-Bit can currently be found in nearly 300 stores. Pecana also sources from San Saba, Texas, and is owned by the Chase family, heirs to the Mack Energy Corporation fortune in New Mexico. That the top two brands are run by such different peopleShenkar, a self-described tree hugger who engages with outlets like VegNews and Green Queen, and a family that made billions in the Permian Basin oilfieldsshows that pecan milk has a refreshingly broad appeal that is missing from other plant-based alternatives. Like it or not, food choices have become political. Our milk preferences maybe most of all: Conservatives have long mocked urban progressives supposed love of sipping not just lattes, but soy lattes. MAHAs recent rise, meanwhile, has inspired liberals to declare raw milksomething Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just took shots of at the White Housethe preferred beverage of science deniers. Pecan milk might just sidestep the culture wars entirely. The sharpest divide over this product seems to be about pronunciation: Many Southerners (and apparently Martha Stewart) go with puh-CAWN. Northerners lean toward pee-CAN, as evidenced by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryans famous When Harry Met Sally scene. The truly deranged say PEE-CAWN. Whatever gets people to buy into sustainability is fine with Shenkar. We can address a lot of things with pecan milk if it tastes good enough, she says. Shes been excited to discover that, with pecans, patriotism and environmentalism can be sides of the same coin. Theres a provenance thing here, she notes, which is directly tied to the environmental impact. Mature pecans on the orchard floor that have just been shaken from the trees during the harvesting process/near Corning, Tehama County, Northern California, USA. [Photo: Kathy Coatney/Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group/Getty Images] Selling the “supernut” Now its up to the industryand companies like PKNto get the word out. Matthew Bailey, a Georgia-based pecan executive who publishes the Pecan Report, says pecans once conjured images of holiday pies and traditional Southern treats. But the pecan industry is working to change that image. Last August, eight years after the American Pecan Council formed, Snickers rereleased a previously limited-edition, Texas-only pecan bar, this time nationwide. Southern Rootss Harrell says Dave & Busters is about to debut a pecan-encrusted chicken dish. The pecan council, meanwhile, has since launched a national consumer campaign under the banner American Pecans, the Original Supernut, modeled on successful industry promotion slogans like Beef, Its Whats for Dinner and Pork, the Other White Meat. Pecan milks profile is also growing. Its a good time to be in the not-almond, not-oat, not-soy milk business: All three lost ground last year, with sales down 7.4%, 1.8%, and 3.5% respectively, according to NielsenIQ. The lactose-free market continues to expand anyway. More than a third of Americans say that dairy gives them digestive trouble. Yet plant-based milks market penetration hovers around 17%, and 6 in 10 Americans say they dont like how it tastes. PKNs store count, fittingly, keeps climbing: Its products debuted on Targets milk aisle in June. Theres a lot of stuff were looking at doing with our marketing dollars, Harrell says. But pecan milk was one of the first. He adds: Lauras been very instrumental in leading that charge. Shenkar is now looking to set even higher sustainability goals for PKN, looking for ways to shrink the physical distance involved in manufacturing and distributing the products. She believes that would further deepen pecan milks connection to place. Were a ways off, but Id like to make an Arkansan pecan milkdoes Arkansan pecan milk taste different than Texan pecan milk? she asks. Wouldnt you like to know?
Category:
E-Commerce
Here’s a truth that will challenge everything you think you know about success: The most impactful leaders are also the most vigilant about protecting their time. While everyone else is drowning in back-to-back meetings and late-night email marathons, these executives have mastered the art of harmonious integration, strategically aligning their energy with what truly matters while gracefully declining what doesn’t serve their highest contribution. In my coaching practice, I’ve been tracking this phenomenon with 47 C-suite executives over the past two years. Those who consistently hold firm boundaries around their availability aren’t just happier, they’re advancing faster. This isn’t about achieving perfect work-life balance, becauselet’s be honestthat mythical equilibrium rarely exists. Instead, it’s about making conscious choices about where you invest your most precious resource: your attention. The data behind strategic boundaries The data backs this up in ways that should make every ambitious professional pay attention. Gallups State of the Global Workplace report revealed that global employee engagement declined to just 21% in 2024, with managers experiencing the largest drop. Additionally, the report found, disengagement cost the global economy $438 billion in 2024. But here’s where it gets interesting: According to a Slack State of Work report, 67% of workers believe that having predictable blocks of time when everyone is disconnected would improve their productivity. Take Sarah, a VP at a major tech company who stopped responding to emails after 7 p.m. and started declining meetings that didn’t align with her quarterly priorities. Her manager’s reaction wasn’t frustration, it was relief. “Finally,” he told her, “someone who knows what they’re worth.” She was promoted within six months. This isn’t an anomaly. It’s a pattern that reveals something profound about how value is perceived in the modern workplace. Strategic thinking over heroic effort Here’s what most professionals get wrong: They think being available equals being valuable. But in a world where 48% of employees report being productive less than 75% of the time, what’s scarceand therefore valuableis focused, strategic thinking. Four-day workweek trials have shown 20% productivity improvements, proving that working smarter consistently beats working longer. When you protect your energy for high-impact work, people notice. When you’re selective about your yes, your contributions carry exponentially more weight. Consider this: In Slacks State of Work report, 77% of those surveyed said that the ability to automate routine tasks would boost productivity. The same report found that workers who did use automation saved 3.6 hours weekly. The leaders who are thriving aren’t just automating tasks, they’re automating their decision-making about what deserves their attention. They’ve created systematic boundaries that filter out the noise so they can focus on what moves the needle. The strategic no framework Effective boundary setting isn’t about being difficult; it’s about being deliberate. The highest performers I work with use what I call the “Strategic ‘No’ Framework. Alignment Over Availability: Before saying yes to any request, they ask: Does this align with my top three priorities this quarter? If the answer is no, they offer alternatives or decline politely but firmly. Value-Based Scheduling: They block calendar time for deep work and treat it as sacred as any client meeting. This isn’t selfishnessit’s strategic resource management. Communication Clarity: They set explicit expectations about response times and availability. Instead of being reactive, they proactively communicate their boundaries, which actually increases trust and respect. When you evaluate opportunities through these lenses, saying no becomes easier, not because you’re being difficult, but because you’re being deliberate about creating harmony at work. The most successful executives have mastered the art of saying no without saying no. Instead of “I can’t take on that project,” they say, “To give this the attention it deserves, I’d need to shift priorities. Which of my current commitments should I deprioritize?” This language does something powerful: It positions them as strategic thinkers who understand resource allocation, not as people trying to avoid work. Why this matters now We’re at a pivotal moment in workplace culture: 82% of workers say feeling happy and engaged at work is key to their productivity. However, engagement continues to plummet. The old model of proving dedication through hours logged is not only outdated, it’s counterproductive. Smart organizations are recognizing that their most valuable employees aren’t the ones who say yes to everything, they’re the ones who say yes to the right things. They’re looking for people who can cut through the noise, focus on strategic priorities, and deliver exceptional results rather than just exceptional effort. The leaders who understand this are advancing in their careers and redefining what leadership looks like in the modern workplace. They’re proving that in a world obsessed with productivity, the most productive thing you can do is be intentional about where you direct your attention. The boundary advantage When you protect your time and energy for high-impact activities, you perform better and you become more valuable. You shift from being seen as a worker to being seen as a strategic asset who understands how to integrate all aspects of life into a coherent, powerful whole. The question isn’t whether you can afford to set boundaries. In today’s economy of attention, the question is whether you can afford not to make conscious choices about where you invest your energy.
Category:
E-Commerce
Fast Company recently interviewed Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, a senior researcher at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, on what it means to lead a creative life. In this essay, she shares one of her top tips for fueling creativity. Creativity is the powerhouse that differentiates good organizations from great ones. It goes beyond generating ideas. It is about the long process of developing ideas for more effective performance and the process of building abstract notions into concrete products. Creativity is full of emotionsthe reputational risk of not knowing how an idea will be received by stakeholders, the frustration of dealing with constraints and obstacles, conflict about directions to take, and elation when you finally develop a product. Successful creativity does not depend on the kinds of emotions experienced. Rather, it depends on your ability to harness the power of emotions and manage them when they get in the way of progress. In my book, The Creativity Choice: The Science of Making Decisions To Turn Ideas Into Action, I write about how to use emotional intelligence to manage the creative process, regardless of industry or job role. Notice emotions to identify opportunities A traditional (and outdated) idea of professionalism demands that emotions be left at the doorstep. But that is neither possible, nor desirable. Emotions contain messages about the state of our minds and the situations around us. This is valuable information that can spark inspiration and help us identify opportunities ripe for innovation. Is something frustrating you? This might point to a problem that can be solved. Entrepreneurs are skilled at identifying opportunities by reading their own and others feelings. Hate everything about the grocery shopping experience? Apoorva Mehta did not ignore this feeling, he used it to found Instacart. He created a way to shop for groceries from ones phone, which completely bypassed all the frustrations of going to the store, searching for items, and waiting in lines. Frustrated about the state of the beauty industry? Melissa Butler founded Lip Bar. Its products are vegan and cruelty-free and offer a wide variety of vibrant lipstick colors and complexion products. Innovators inside organizations do the same. For example, when a supervisor in a food services unit of a major hospital realizes his workers are exhausted, hes identifying a problem in need of a creative solution. As a result, the hospital redesigned the workflow, removing the need to bend or stretch to reach far away items. This reduced worker burnout and improved their accuracy on the job. Take advantage of thinking/feeling connections Emotion scientists have discovered moods boost different kinds of thinking. There are times when we feel positive, energized, and enthusiastic. These times are best for brainstorming and charting new ideas. At other times we are subdued or even sullen. At these times we are best at critical thinking. These moods make us see all that is wrong or not quite right. Creativity is not just a spark of inspiration or what we call “feeling creative.” Inspired ideas have to be developed and improved upon. To optimize creative work, it takes skill to match different moods to tasks which benefit from them. Feeling playful? Come up with new ideas for a project. Feeling down? Review and revise. Generate emotions What if you have to attend an ideation meeting, but are feeling down? Remember that we have more power over emotions than we might realize. You can create the mood that is most helpful in the moment. Recall a past win. Put on a song that gets you going. Reach out to a colleague whose enthusiasm is infectious. Just as athletes pump themselves up or find calm focus when needed, you can find a workplace equivalent of getting pumped up. Another skill is generating emotions to communicate and inspire. Leaders skilled at communicating their passion inspire others and end up having workers who are clear about their responsibilities and goals. Similarly, when pitching creative ideas, those who project fiery determination are perceived as both passionate and well prepared. And communicating these feelings is related to higher funding pledges. Use emotional intelligence to build a climate for creativity and innovation Leaders set the emotional tone in their teams and serve as models for what is expected and accepted. A Yale study including more than 14,000 people across industries in the U.S. asked workers to describe how their supervisors act in emotionally fraught situations. Emotionally intelligent supervisors do four specific things: They are skilled at reading emotions and acknowledge them. They realize when people are upset or worried about organizational or industry changes. They inspire enthusiasm and model decision-making that takes into account both optimistic and cautious voices. Emotionally intelligent supervisors understand how their decisions or other events affect people. They are able to successfully manage their own emotions, and also help their team members when they are upset or frustrated. Employees whose supervisors acted in emotionally intelligent ways were motivated, challenged, and fulfilled at work. However, employees whose supervisors did not act in emotionally intelligent ways felt unappreciated and angry. And this emotional climate had consequences. Having an emotionally intelligent supervisor makes workers see opportunities for growth and act in more creative and innovative ways. If the goal is creativity and innovation, leaders should develop emotional intelligence skills. A review of dozens of studies shows that training programseither in higher education or through workplace professional developmentmake people better at accurately perceiving, using, understanding, and managing emotions, regardless of their industry. When leaders develop these skills, they notice how their team members feel, demonstrate understanding of how their decisions impact others, and help people deal with challenges of work. Investment in leadership development will pay off in capacity for innovation.
Category:
E-Commerce
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