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The devil mightve worn Prada in 2006, but two decades later, the fashion elite are wearing books. Case in point: Coachs hot new accessory is a keychain made out of literal hardcovers. Coach revealed the new book charms in a series of social posts on February 25. Created in collaboration with the publisher Penguin Random House, the charms include adorably teeny, fully readable versions of classics like Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, alongside more recent titles like Untamed by Glennon Doyle and A Forest of Wool and Steel by Natsu Miyashita. The book bag charms will be available for $95 on the Coach website in early March. [Photo: Courtesy of Penguin Random House x Coach] The charms represent an evolution of a broader trend: Physical books are making a comeback, both in the cultural zeitgeist and in the fashion world. Gen Zers are flocking to reading as a hobby, largely driven by online communities like BookTok and BookTube. Meanwhile, interest in the craft behind physical media is on the rise as more and more daily tasks shift online in the AI era. These converging winds are turning the humble book into a kind of intellectual status symbolone that can be worn as a bag, toted around as part of a performative male ensemble, or, in Coachs world, converted into a charming keychain. Why the hot new accessory is a book It would be difficult to miss the recent resurgent cultural interest in reading. Since 2023, Barnes & Noble has staged a massive comeback, which it attributes in large part to Gen Zs online communities. BookTok and BookTube are driving interest in genres like romance and fantasy, while celebrity book clubs like Dua Lipas Service95, Kaia Gerbers Library Science, and Reese Witherspoons Reeses Book Club are making reading an aspirational hobby. Inevitably, this trend has spilled over into fashion. In 2024, Saint Laurent opened its own bookshop. Last year, brands including Prada, Miu Miu, and Valentino all hosted literary-themed events or campaigns. And in January, Dior launched an extremely Instagrammable line of tote bags inspired by books. The brand advertised the bags with an Instagram Reel highlighting their detailed manufacturing process, drawing a clear parallel between the physical craft of bag-making and the intellectual craft of literature. Shan Yichun [Photo: Courtesy of Penguin Random House x Coach] Coach, it seems, is attempting something similar. In a press release, CMO Joon Silverstein explained that the concept for the brands book charms came from the insight that in a world shaped by fragmentation and digital overload, many Gen Zers are turning to long-form storytelling as a kind of refuge. “The future of brand building isnt about broadcasting messages. Its about building cultural relevance through participation, Silverstein told Fast Company, noting that Coach shaped the campaign with collaborators who “helped define the insight, craft the narrative, select the books at its core, and determine how it shows up across culture. (It also features Gen Z spokespeople such as the WNBAs Paige Bueckers, Oscar-nominated actress Elle Fanning, Emmy-winning actress Storm Reid, and Chinese pop singer Shan Yichun, among others.) [Photo: Courtesy of Penguin Random House x Coach] How book and accessories design team up To design the actual charms, Coach prioritized selecting books across a range of topics and aesthetics to capture different readers. While the first consideration was the stories themselves, cover designs were also a factor. Since the books were destined to be charms, the team tended to prefer bold colors and visually forward, distinctive designs that would be eye-catching at a glance ( la BookTok). Each charm has a colorful leather spine embossed with the Coach logo: The cool-toned image of a planned community on Celeste Ngs Little Fires Everywhere, for example, is complemented with a deep green; while Camryn Garretts rainbow-hued Friday Im in Love cover pops with a rich navy. Gold hardware (a loop and clip) makes each piece easily attachable to a purse or backpack. And to clarify, these charms are fully readable, miniature booksnot just inspired by them. Adam Royce, executive creative director at Penguin Random House, tells Fast Company that the project represents a broader shift in how people engage with books. For many readers, storytelling is part of how they signal identity and values, he explains. Partnering with Coach allows us to bring books into a space where personal expression is already central. In 2026, reading isn’t just a pastime. It’s a statement piece.
Category:
E-Commerce
Generational conflict has become one of the most overused explanations for workplace tension, with plenty of stereotypical blame to go around: Baby Boomers resist change. Millennials lack loyalty. Gen Z is lazy. But after more than three decades working inside founder-led and multi-generational companiesfrom first-generation startups to fourth-generation enterprisesIve learned something counterintuitive: Generational conflict usually isnt about age. Its about clarity. Family-owned businesses offer a powerful lens on this issue. In the U.S., approximately 87% of businesses are family-owned, collectively employing millions of people and contributing significantly to the American GDP. These companies dont have the luxury of avoiding generational dynamics: succession, legacy, and long-term survival depend on navigating them well. When generational harmony fails, its rarely because one generation is unwilling to listen. Its because the organization lacks alignment on the fundamentals. When there isnt clarity, everyday decisions start to feel personal, strategy becomes something thats up for debate, change feels risky instead of necessary. And suddenly, even small choices carry more tension than they should. But when clarity is strong, something shifts. Different generations stop competing for control and start collaborating around a shared future. Four foundational elements consistently create generational harmony within workplace cultures. Heres how to implement them in your workplace. 1. Define Your Cultural Cornerstones Every resilient organization has cultural pillars that provide stability regardless of who is in charge. While perspectives may differ across age groups, most generations can agree on fundamentals: how employees should be treated, for example, or what doing the right thing means in practice. The problem is that in many companies, these standards are implied rather than explicit. Organizations with generational alignment make their cultural expectations clear. They document core values, reinforce them through hiring and performance standards, and use them as a decision filter. When values are visible and shared, disagreements become easier to navigate because everyone is working from the same foundation. Instead of arguments turning into generational standoffs, clear values give people a neutral reference point to come back to. 2. Align Around a Shared Purpose Many companies talk about legacy. Few define it in operational terms. A shared purpose answers three essential questions: Why do we exist beyond making money? Who do we serve? What are we trying to build for the future? In multi-generational organizations, purpose becomes the bridge between tradition and transformation. Older leaders see their experience honored and younger leaders see a future worth building. When purpose is clearly articulated, decisions feel connected rather than reactive. Communication becomes more consistent. Growth feels intentional instead of disruptive. Tradition stops acting as a barrier and starts serving as a foundation. Purpose reframes succession as stewardship rather than replacement. 3. Clarify Strategic Focus Many generational conflicts are actually unresolved strategic debates, such as: Which markets should we prioritize? Where should we invest? Which clients should we keep or let go? Without a defined strategy, every decision becomes a negotiation. One generation wants to preserve a long-standing client relationship. Another wants to cut losses and redirect resources. Both believe theyre acting in the companys best interest. High-performing organizations remove ambiguity. They define core clients, priority segments, profitability thresholds, and long-term positioning. Everyone understands where the company chooses to compete, and where it does not. Strategic clarity speeds decisions and reduces emotional friction. The debate shifts from my way versus yours to what aligns with our plan? 4. Ensure Operational Alignment Execution clarity is the final, and often overlooked, component. It answers questions like: What are we uniquely good at? What value do we consistently deliver? What outcomes can we prove? When messaging outpaces capability, generational blame often follows. Sales teams promise innovation operations cant deliver. Leaders advocate change without systems to support it. Employees grow cynical. Clients lose trust. The strongest organizations align their value proposition with operational reality. They connect what they promise to what they can consistently execute. They define measurable outcomes and build systems that validate performance. When expectations and capability are aligned, trust increases across generations. The Real Competitive Advantage Generational harmony isnt accidental. Its structural. When leaders and managers work together to clarify cultural standards, shared purpose, strategic priorities, and operational strengths, harmony becomes a byproduct of alignment. Decisions are based on mutual goals, not age. Experience and innovation complement rather than compete. In a workplace landscape defined by rapid change and shifting workforce demographics, clarity may be the most underrated competitive advantage of all. Because when everyone understands what matters most, generational differences stop being liabilitiesand start becoming strengths.
Category:
E-Commerce
Youve tried it all before. Waking up at 5:30 a.m. Journaling first thing in the morning. The exercises youre supposed to do before work. But do your morning habits stick? Are you still practicing them? We all want to win the morning, to be productive and intentional. The trouble with morning routines is that they dont work as they should if you dont fix your evening habits. People are obsessed with morning routines. But they forget that winning in the morning starts the night before. Every single choice you make after dinner is either setting you up for a great morning or sabotaging tomorrow before it begins. That late-night binge doesnt just keep you up. Its changing your entire sleep-wake cycle. That work email you answered at 10 p.m. stays on your mind and makes you think about all the many responses youre expecting. Doing work or dealing with issues right before bed keeps your brain thinking, figuring out options. And the worst part is that you pick it all up again when you wake up. Youre not just losing sleep. Youre training your brain to wake up in stress mode. The quality of your evening routine determines the success of your morning habits. Every time you miss out on a better evening ritual, your morning routine will suffer. Your willpower will be lower. The decision fatigue trap most people overlook By the end of your day, youve already made thousands of decisions: what to wear, what to eat, which emails to answer, which tasks to tackle first. Each decision demands mental energy. The more decisions you make in the morning, the less energy you have left for your tasks. The bigger problem? If you wait until morning to decide what youre going to do first, youre not starting your day right. Make your morning decisions at night instead. In just 10 to 15 minutes the night before, eliminate the decisions that stop you from taking action on your ideal morning routine. Write down a list of things you want to get right in the morning. Youll sleep better and feel more prepared when you wake up. By creating a good plan the night before, you set yourself up to be productive. Ive been using this pre-decision method to make my writing habit stick for years. And its working for me. I decide what to write the night before. I even write down the introduction. And then I pick up where I left off. You could start by prioritizing three tasks for the morning. By reducing the number of decisions you have to make, you free up time to actually make your morning habit, whatever you intend it to be, stick. I think of an evening routine as a systema series of small dominoes you set up for the results you want. Start with your sleep. Everything flows from this. Your brain begins winding down for sleep a few hours before bedtime as part of your natural sleep-wake cycle. Work with this, not against it. That means two hours before bed, start dimming lights. Put away work. No more emails. Your body needs time to transition into a good morning. You could even take it further30 minutes before bed is your clarity window. Journal if you want. Read a good book. The goal is to empty your brain so youre not lying awake thinking about all the things you need to remember. Now try to go to bed at the same time each night. An inconsistent sleep routine prevents your body from releasing hormones at the right time, which can throw off your sleep cycle. Give your brain the right evening routine to shut down. When you prepare the night before, youre not relying on willpower in the morning. Youre just following the plan you already made. Self-control is highest in the morning and steadily deteriorates over the course of the day. Use your evening brain, which is tired but still functional, to set up your morning brain for success. Establishing a Routine Takes Time Youre not going to nail this immediately. Youre going to forget something in the evening. Youll most likely stay up late watching just one more episode. If you break the chain, dont stress yourself about it. The goal is to make your defaults a little bit betterto remove some of the friction between you and the person you want to be in the morning. Start small. Pick one thing youre going to decide the night before. Just one. Maybe its writing down three things you need to do in the morning. Do that for a week. Then add another thing. Aim to add one or two changes at a time, slowly building a routine. What you want is sustainable change. Morning people are not more disciplined than you. They just figured out that mornings are won the night before. Do the boring work the night before. And go to bed on time. Tonight, before you go to bed, do three things. Decide what time youre waking up tomorrow. Be specific. Write down what youre doing first when you wake up. Prep whatever you need to make that happen. Make it visible. Thats the system and the setup to give your morning a chance to be successful. Everything else can come later. Your morning routine is failing because youre trying to build a routine without systems, and making decisions when you should be doing things. Fix the night habits, and the mornings will be better.
Category:
E-Commerce
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