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One thing I genuinely love about my job is mentoring young professionals who are just getting started in their careers. Gaining a foothold in the tech industry is tough, especially in the AI age. And todays new generation of employees are asking compelling questions: How do I focus in complex environments? How do I create a competitive advantage? What happens if I fail? I recently found myself asking similar questionsabout my golf gameto one of the worlds top golfers, Padraig Harrington. It was humbling to be on the other side of the fence, getting insights from a global legend that not only improved my swing, but helped me better coach the next generation of tech employees. Here are four highlights. Commit to a strategy. Pressures on. Its time to step up and take a swing. But then you second-guess your approach. Do you have the right strategy? Should you try something new? Padraig says that changing your strategy at the last minute could ruin your shot; you need to have a plan and stick to it. Your key goal on the golf course, he says, is to not change your mind over the ball. This might seem counter to advice you would typically give young professionals. At SAS we talk a lot about staying flexible and agile amid changing market conditions. But while flexibility has its place, so does confidence and consistency. Once you lock in during the moments that matter most, youll get the job done the way you intended, instead of panicking under pressure. Seek metrics that no one else measures. This one really resonated with me, because in data and AI its tempting to default to metrics that are easy to capture: latency, throughput, conversions. But Padraig also zeros in on his own personal performance indicators that are slightly outside the norm, like how often his first putt is taken from inside the eight-foot marknot because it looks good on paper, but because it increases his chances of converting birdies or rescuing par. As a data and AI organization that helps customers stay ahead of the game, this insight is incredibly useful. We will always track the necessary metrics, but we can also dig deeper to find that extra edge. This is true for individual employees, as well. If you do things a little differently than everyone else, find your own performance indicators, and sharpen your unique skills, youll stand out from the crowd. Lean into the difficult shots. Practice putting from off the green is a strategy Padraig lives by for short game. It sounds simple, but what hes really saying is you should challenge yourself when practicing. Great golfers, he says, practice being under pressure. They give themselves obstacles to overcome and being out of position by practicing from difficult lies or in unfamiliar wind conditions, so theyre ready for anything when its tournament time. In organizations, just like in golf, you dont only win in good conditions. You also win by managing through tough conditions. Its how you adapt when facing a challenge, like overcoming a volatile market, mitigating bias, or managing data quality. If youre just starting out in your career, uncertainty is a given; but if you learn to anticipate it, or even welcome it, youll be ready for anything thrown your way. Love the next shot. Padraigs advice is pivotal when it comes to playing the game: Love the next shot. Dont dwell on past mistakes, especially as theres nothing you can do about them. This is a powerful mindset shift in any profession, especially in tech, where failure is part of the terrain. Ive found that young professionals tend to be harder on themselves; they fear that one mistake could tank their future career. As technology leaders, mentors, or even golf professionals, we need to remind the younger generation not to beat themselves up over the last shot. Just learn, adjust, and commit fully to the next one. With the next SAS Championship PGA Tour Champions golf event happening now, Im already applying these insightsboth on the course and in the conference room. And if I end up in the rough? Thats fine. Ive got another shot to look forward to. Bryan Harris is the executive vice president and chief technology officer at SAS.
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E-Commerce
Artificial intelligence is changing everything: how we work, build, create, and grow. Its unlocking opportunities daily. At Grove Collaborative, weve seen it firsthand. AI helps us move faster, make smarter decisions, and, most importantly, serve our customers better. But heres the part not enough people are talking about: the environmental cost. AI is resource-intensive, especially when rolled out at scale. It uses a ton of electricity and water, drives new forms of e-waste, and complicates carbon accounting. For mission-driven companiesespecially those built on sustainabilitythat creates a real tension. We want to innovate. But we also want to protect the planet we all share. So we asked ourselves a deceptively simple question: Whats our AI footprint? We didnt know the answer. There was no standard. No export from a large language model. No tool. Just a growing impact no one seemed to be measuring. So we built one. A METHOD TO ESTIMATE AI EMISSIONS Partnering with our longtime friends at Gravity, a carbon and energy accounting platform, we developed a science-informed method for estimating AI emissionsfactoring in compute time, server power, and grid emissions. Its not perfect (no model is). But its a practical start that gives us real visibility into the footprint were creating. Our projected 2025 AI-related carbon footprint is 17.8 metric tons of CO2e, equivalent to roughly 6% of our 2024 business travel emissions (299 metric tons of CO2e). This is a first estimate based on our current usage today, but we know this number will grow. And having a baseline is essential to understand our impact so that we can explore how to reduce it over time. During NYC Climate Week, we became one of the first retailers to disclose estimated AI emissions. And beginning in 2026, well include them in our annual sustainability reporting. But this cant just be about us. Which is why were open-sourcing the methodology. Any company, whether a startup or multinational, canand shoulduse it to measure and track their AI footprint. Because the speed of AI adoption is outpacing our ability to measure its impact. Without transparency, theres no path to making AI both powerful and sustainable. This isnt about slowing innovation. Its about making sure innovation and sustainability move forward together, not in opposition. 4 WAYS TO MEASURE YOUR AI FOOTPRINT Heres the playbook were proposing for you to measure your AI footprint: Measure what matters. Dont guess. Track AI emissions with as much granularity as current science allows. Build them into Scope 3 emissions reporting. Mitigate with integrity. Offset what you cant reduce, but dont stop there. Balance AI emissions with high-quality carbon offsets and, based on your measurement, invest in strategies to reduce them over time. Choose more sustainable models. Favor AI platforms that share environmental data, prioritize efficiency and water stewardship, and embrace circular design. Lead through disclosure. Perfect measurement doesnt exist. But transparency builds trust and drives momentum. Of course, this only works if the upstream providersthe companies building the AI infrastructure itselfstep up too. Were calling on OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, Meta, NVIDIA, and others to disclose their tools environmental impact. Without their transparency, no one can truly measure with accuracy. LEAD WITH TRANSPARENCY We know were early. We dont have all the answers. But we believe in leading with openness, not waiting for perfect data, and driving progress over perfection. Our mission at Grove has always been to create healthier homes and a healthier planet. That mission doesnt end with AI, but it does have to evolve to include it. Our current AI emissions are modest. But even small footprints matter. And if we dont measure them, theyll grow unchecked. So heres the challenge Ill leave with my peers: Dont let sustainability lag behind innovation. Measure your impact. Share your findings. Hold yourself accountable. The future of innovation isnt just faster. Its more responsible, more transparent, more human. Thats how we make real progressand make sure it lasts. Jeff Yurcisin is CEO of Grove Collaborative.
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E-Commerce
Theres a line I heard recently from Mel Robbins thats been echoing in my head ever since: People do well if they can.Its deceptively simple. The kind of phrase you nod at, maybe even repost. But when you sit with it, really sit with it, it starts to challenge a lot of the assumptions we make every day.Especially when it comes to financial health. Not lazy, just locked out Lets be honest: Its easy to judge what we dont understand. We look at people struggling with money and tell ourselves stories. Theyre reckless. They dont care. They should know better. But heres the thing: Most people do care. They want to pay off debt. They want to build credit. They want to save for the future, buy homes, support their families, live with dignity. What they often dont have is access, or a roadmap. Thats not laziness. Thats infrastructure failure.You wouldnt expect someone to drive to a job interview without a car, a license, or a GPS. So why do we expect people to navigate complex financial systems with zero guidance and very few guardrails? Skill, not will I grew up in a community where financial literacy wasnt part of the conversation; not at school, not at home, not even at the bank. I didnt learn what a credit score was until I had already messed mine up. And let me tell you, the learning curve wasnt gentle.So I get frustrated when financial challenges are framed as a lack of personal responsibility. That framing is lazy.Let me say that again: That framing is lazy. Not the people. Not the effort. The framing. Because once you believe that people are doing the best they can with the tools they have, everything changes. You stop asking, Why dont they just fix it? and start asking, Whats missing from the toolbox? The illusion of equal opportunity We love to talk about equal access in this country, but the truth is, access is rarely equal. Its shaped by geography, race, internet speed, ZIP code, history, policy, and yes, banking systems.You can’t teach people to swim and then throw them into a pool with no ladder. Thats what we do when we say, Just build credit. But we dont acknowledge that millions of people are credit invisible or have a thin file because their rent, utility payments, or side hustle income doesnt get counted.And then we wonder why so many people feel stuck. Lets redesign the system like we believe in people What would it look like if we actually operated from the belief that people want to do well, and will, if given the right support?In my role at FICO, were constantly asking that question. We dont just talk about financial inclusion. Were reshaping how our tools show up in communities, how our education reaches people, and how our partnerships remove friction, not create more.Weve launched programs that meet people where they are. Not just where we think they should be. We partner with nonprofit organizations, elected officials, and even local credit unions to host free credit education sessions, translated, and culturally relevant. Because accessibility isnt just about logging in. Its about feeling safe enough to show up. And what about the kids? This mindset shift isnt just for adults, either. Im a mom. And Ive seen firsthand how easy it is to label kids as difficult, especially neurodivergent kids, when theyre just overwhelmed or unsupported.They dont lack motivation. They lack tools, patience, and sometimes, a grown-up who gets it.Sound familiar?Adults are no different. Most of us are still carrying money habits, shame, and silence from childhood. If we werent taught how to manage money at 7, why do we expect everyone to have it figured out at 37? A better way forward So where do we go from here?We start by telling the truth: – Financial hardship isnt a character flaw. – Credit education isnt a luxury. – Access to opportunity should not depend on what side of the city you live on. And then we build programs, products, and policies that reflect that truth.That means working with communities, not on them. It means bringing empathy into corporate boardrooms. It means seeing people as capable, not broken.Because if we believe people do well if they can, then its on us to make sure they can. A final thought Theres someone out there right now who wants to fix their credit, get out of debt, or open their first savings account. Theyre not lazy. Theyre not unmotivated. They just havent had a fair shot.We dont need to change people. We need to change how we see them, and what we give them to work with.Because people do well if they can. And theyre counting on us to act like it. Rukiya Kelly is global head of corporate impact and engagement at FICO.
Category:
E-Commerce
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