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At work, we still talk about careers like theyre ladders. As if success must be a straight line upward: more responsibility, bigger title, better office. But that old image isnt just outdated. It can be harmful. Ladders come with an unspoken message: if youre not climbing, you must be falling. If you experience job loss, the ladder metaphor makes you feel like you slipped off and cant recover. If you take a step sideways, it makes you look like you stalled and arent motivated. If you change careers completely, it can feel like you have to start from scratch. Most people dont need any more pressure or extra worry about what others think, when theyre already trying to make hard decisions about their work and their lives. Thats why I think we need a better metaphor. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-169-Ashley-Herd.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-11-Ashley-Herd.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cem\u003EThe Manager Method\u003C\/em\u003E","dek":"Want practical leadership development training that actually sticks? Visit managermethod.com to learn more and order Ashley Herds book, \u003Cem\u003EThe Manager Method\u003C\/em\u003E.","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"http:\/\/managermethod.com","theme":{"bg":"#2b2d30","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#3b3f46","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91478992,"imageMobileId":91478994,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} Why a quilt is a better model than a ladder Imagine a quilt. Its not one long piece of cloth that stretches up into the sky. Instead, its many pieces, each with its own shape, material, color, and history, stitched together into something useful and uniquely meaningful. Thats what modern careers look like: Pieces of skill you build over time Patterns of work that overlap and influence one another Mistakes, leaps, and detours that add texture Priorities and goals that can shift as life changes (sometimes by your own choice, and sometimes because a square ended before you expected) A career quilt has direction, purpose, and depth. And unlike a ladder, it doesnt require you to constantly compare your height to someone elses. How to think about your own career If youve been picturing your career as a ladder, its easy to fall into critical self-talk about where you should be. You might feel behind or worry that a change means youve lost everything youve worked for. The ladder metaphor leaves very little room for lifes unexpected turns, or for choices that dont look like a straight climb upward. A quilt gives you a different way to look at your past, and your future. A job loss isnt slipping off the ladder, its simply a square that ended before you expected. A pivot isnt failure, its a new piece of fabric. A sideways move isnt stalling, its part of your quilt that builds depth, resilience, and new skills. So instead of asking, Whats my next rung? try asking, What do I want my next square to be? What skills do you want to strengthen? What kind of work feels most important to you right now? What chapter are you ready for, even if it doesnt look like a promotion on paper? Careers dont have to be explained in a straight line to be valid. Youre allowed to choose your next piece intentionally, without worrying about how it looks from the outside. How to support your team members career quilts You dont just stitch your own quilt. Managers (from first-line leaders through senior executives) have an enormous influence on whether your team members feel boxed into ladders or supported in building something broader. One of the most helpful things you can do is expand the conversation beyond titles and promotions, and focus instead on skills, experiences, and growth that can happen in many forms. If someone feels stuck waiting for a promotion, instead of saying, You just have to wait for the next role, a manager might say: Lets look at the skills you want to build and how you can grow and demonstrate them in this role so youll be ready when the time comes. That feels empowering and grounded, instead of simply waiting to be chosen. If someone shares that theyre interested in trying something new, even if theyre not 100% sure its for them, respond with openness: Im glad you let me know. Lets think about ways you can start getting exposure – maybe by shadowing someone, sitting in on a project, or meeting a few people on that team. This acknowledges that growth often starts with exploration, not certainty. And if someone shifts direction entirely – for example, moving from people leadership back into an individual contributor role – your words matter. Reminding them that it isnt a step down, but another meaningful square in their career quilt can help make that transition successful, and it may matter more to them than you realize. Redefining success Ladders measure success by how high you climb. Quilts measure success by what you build along the way. When we help people (including ourselves) see their careers in a different light, we stop equating promotions with progress. We start valuing depth over direction, learning over hierarchy, and stories over status. And careers become something people shape, rather than something they endure while waiting for their turn. Because real growth isnt about how high you goits about shaping a career that reflects who you are and allows you to contribute something uniquely valuable along the way. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-169-Ashley-Herd.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-11-Ashley-Herd.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cem\u003EThe Manager Method\u003C\/em\u003E","dek":"Want practical leadership development training that actually sticks? Visit managermethod.com to learn more and order Ashley Herds book, \u003Cem\u003EThe Manager Method\u003C\/em\u003E.","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"http:\/\/managermethod.com","theme":{"bg":"#2b2d30","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#3b3f46","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91478992,"imageMobileId":91478994,"shareable":false,"slug":""}}
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Mark Zuckerbergs new house in Miami Beach has sweeping waterfront views. It also sits at ground zero for climate change. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are the latest in a string of billionaires and celebrities to move to Indian Creek, a private island in Miamis Biscayne Bay. Neighbors include Jeff Bezos, who owns three homes on the island, as well as investor Carl Icahn, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner. Like much of Miami, the area faces mounting climate risks. Its very subject to flooding and rising seas, says Stephen Leatherman, an environmental professor at Florida International University who studies the states islands. Miamis sea levels have risen eight inches since 1950. By 2040, the water is projected to be 10 to 17 inches higher than it was in 2000. As the water rises, thats making sunny day flooding from high tides more commonup 400% over the last 20 years in Miami Beachand storm surges are increasingly dangerous. First Street, an organization that analyzes climate risk for specific properties, doesnt yet have data for Zuckerbergs house, which was newly built. But it estimates that a home down the street faces severe flood risk, with the potential for 5.9 feet of flooding in an extreme event. That property also faces possible 184-mile-per-hour hurricane winds and more than three weeks per year of extreme heat. Indian Creek is an artificial island, created in the early 1900s by dredging sediment from the bay. It was once a mangrove forest, dense with trees and shrubs that helped shield Miami from storms. Today, only about 2% of mangroves remain in the area. Ironically, wealthy homeowners have often cut down mangroves in front of their own homes to have better views, increasing their flood risk. The island sits around seven feet above sea level, slightly higher than some other parts of Miami. But other parts of Miami are sinking, and its not clear if the island, built on soft sediment, may also be subsiding. And if a hurricane comes, theyre going to get a big storm surge in there, says Leatherman. In theory, the water could surge as high as 15 feet to 20 feet in parts of Miami in a worst-case hurricane. Of course, Zuckerberg and his neighbors have money to throw at the problem. If youre willing to build to a higher standard to mitigate against wind by putting concrete gables on your house, and you basically build a bunker, you can do that, says Ed Kearns, chief science officer at First Street. And if you raise that bunker up 10 feet, then youre above the storm surge. He points to a house that survived Hurricane Michael when every nearby house was destroyed. (Zuckerberg and Chan did not immediately respond to Fast Company‘s request for comment.) Climate change also poses other threats to infrastructure in the areafor example, saltwater is beginning to contaminate drinking water, and critical power stations are more exposed to flooding. Still, a billionaire has the option to easily leave in a disaster: Zuckerberg, for example, also owns other houses in California and Hawaii. The new house, worth perhaps $150 to $200 million, is only 0.087% of his net worth; if it was destroyed in a hurricane, he could handle the loss. (Its worth noting that Zuckerberg may be changing his primary residence to avoid the possibility of a 5% wealth tax in California, which could put him on the hook for an $11 billion tax bill; so far, the proposed tax hasn’t yet been approved as a ballot measure for this fall’s election, but some wealthy residents are already moving.) The same isnt true for non-billionaires in the area. Floridians are already grappling with rising insurance premiumsor the challenge of getting insurance at allas extreme storms keep hitting the state. As Miamis population grows, housing costs are climbing, potentially pushing lower-income residents into more flood-prone neighborhoods. The city as a whole has far fewer resources to invest in resilience than the small, heavily fortified Billionaire Bunker island of Indian Creek. The contrast is stark. Most Miami residents face increasing vulnerability to climate change. Billionaires like Zuckerberg can mitigate many of the risks, but doing so comes at a price and raises broader questions about whether $200 million might be better spent strengthening public resilience rather than building private fortifications.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is refusing to consider Moderna’s application for a new flu vaccine made with Nobel Prize-winning mRNA technology, the company announced Tuesday.The news is the latest sign of the FDA’s heightened scrutiny of vaccines under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., particularly those using mRNA technology, which he has criticized before and after becoming the nation’s top health official.Moderna received what’s called a “refusal-to-file” letter from the FDA that objected to how it conducted a 40,000-person clinical trial comparing its new vaccine to one of the standard flu shots used today. That trial concluded the new vaccine was somewhat more effective in adults 50 and older than that standard shot.The letter from FDA vaccine director Dr. Vinay Prasad said the agency doesn’t consider the application to contain an “adequate and well-controlled trial” because it didn’t compare the new shot to “the best-available standard of care in the United States at the time of the study.” Prasad’s letter pointed to some advice FDA officials gave Moderna in 2024, under the Biden administration, which Moderna didn’t follow.According to Moderna, that feedback said it was acceptable to use the standard-dose flu shot the company had chosenbut that another brand specifically recommended for seniors would be preferred for anyone 65 and older in the study. Still, Moderna said, the FDA did agree to let the study proceed as originally planned.The company said it also had shared with FDA additional data from a separate trial comparing the new vaccine against a licensed high-dose shot used for seniors.The FDA “did not identify any safety or efficacy concerns with our product” and “does not further our shared goal of enhancing America’s leadership in developing innovative medicines,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement.It’s rare that FDA refuses to file an application, particularly for a new vaccine, which requires companies and FDA staff to engage in months or years of discussions.Moderna has requested an urgent meeting with FDA, and noted that it has applied for the vaccine’s approval in Europe, Canada, and Australia.In the last year, FDA officials working under Kennedy have rolled back recommendations around COVID-19 shots, added extra warnings to the two leading COVID vaccineswhich are made with mRNA technologyand removed critics of the administration’s approach from an FDA advisory panel.Kennedy announced last year that his department would cancel more than $500 million in contracts and funding for the development of vaccines using mRNA.The FDA for decades has allowed vaccine makers to quickly update their annual flu shots to target the latest strains by showing that they trigger an immune response in patients. That’s a far more efficient approach than running long-term studies tracking whether patients get the flu and how they fare. In an internal memo last year, Prasad wrote that the streamlined method would no longer be permittedleading more than a dozen former FDA commissioners to pen an editorial condemning the statements.-The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Lauran Neergaard and Matthew Perrone, Associated Press
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