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Fifty years is a long time for any company to stay in business. About 20% fail in their first year. By year five, roughly half are gone. By the end of a decade, nearly 70% dont make it. Reaching a golden anniversary raises a question about what allows some businesses to last. The answers are often framed in terms of Herculean efforts, access to capital, and brilliant strategy. All those matter. But in my experience, the gift of longevity is the result of something less visible and harder to measure: the quality of the relationships built along the way. This factor was apparent to me when I opened my first flower shop on April 1, 1976, and it only grew stronger as that little business blossomed into 1-800-Flowers.com. When we stayed focused on our relationships, we moved forward. When we lost sight of them, we stumbled. Those relationships, of course, begin with customers who trust you with moments that matter in their lives. They extend to the florists, growers, makers, and partners who bring care and craftsmanship to the work every day. And they include the people inside the company, whose pride, judgment, and commitment ultimately shape what the business becomes. Relationships, up close Fifty years ago, I was working full-time as a social worker and part-time as a bartender. Both jobs showed me how our lives are shaped by relationships and how difficult it can be to express what we feel when the stakes are high. When the opportunity arose to buy the small flower shop across the street from the bar where I worked, I took it. In both jobs, I had seen people searching for ways to connect. If words sometimes fell shortand alcohol helped loosen themwhy couldnt flowers do their own kind of work? That tiny shop on Manhattans Upper East Side became a place where people brought moments they cared about: a birthday, a reconciliation, a loss, to name a few. In those early days, orders rarely came without context. A customer might explain that her daughter had just moved into her first apartment and felt lonely. Someone else would describe a gathering they hoped would feel warm rather than formal. People shared intimate details of their livesit was the 1970s!and many stopped by simply to say hello, swap gossip, or ask for a restaurant recommendation. Funeral work made that lesson unmistakable. Families came in for flowers, but what they really wanted was a way to express what words couldnt reach. Over time, we became known for deeply personal tributesarrangements shaped like garbage trucks for a sanitation worker, or gates left intentionally open because, as one family put it, you never lock the gates to heaven. Those moments stayed with me. They made it clear, early on, that carelessness had consequencesand that trust, once given, had to be earned again every single day. Scaling trust Built on strong relationships, that single flower shop grew into a small chain. Business was good, but I could see opportunities to grow further. The challenge thenas it remains todaywas how to expand without losing the trust that had been built one customer at a time. We learned early on that convenience plays a role in trust, and technology became a powerful way to deliver it. In 1984, while listening to the radio one morning as I shaved in the bathroom, I heard about the growing impact of toll-free phone numbers. The company that owned the 1-800-Flowers number hadnt figured out how to turn it into a national floral business. I thought we could with the right investment in telemarketingthis has always been a relationship business, after all. It worked so well that the phone number eventually became the name of the company. That was just the first of several technology waves weve navigated. We moved online when plenty of people doubted anyone would buy something so personal over the internet. We embraced mobile early. And today, were exploring how artificial intelligence can help people choose, personalize, and communicate more thoughtfully. Each shift mattered only to the extent that it made human connection easier. Technology earned its place when it helped people act on intentions they already had. It succeeded when it reduced friction in relationshipsand failed whenever it distracted from them. Stewardship is a choice The trust required to build and sustain relationships is neither automatic nor permanent. It has to be earned again and again. I saw it up close as 1-800-Flowers.com expanded beyond flowers into gourmet food and gift baskets, and we began evaluating businesses to bring into the family. I remember my first visit to Harry & David after we acquired the company in 2014. Years of ownership changes and aggressive cost-cutting had taken a toll. Trust between leadership and employees had been badly damaged, and customers had noticed. When I arrived, the leadership team braced for a familiar conversation. They had grown used to owners focused on extracting value by cutting costs, narrowing ambition, and shrinking the future. People were understandably guarded, uncertain about what came next. But the conversation took a different turn. Instead of talking about what could be stripped away, we talked about planting more fruit trees and protecting what made the brand distinctive for the long term. The focus was stewardship rather than short-term returns. Previous owners had talked about harvesting value. We were talking about cultivating it. One longtime employee told me afterward that he had never heard an owner speak that way. Staying connected in a crisis The shift toward digital commerce brought challenges, especially when it came to maintaining relationships with customers who now encountered us through screens rather than storefronts. Technology created reach and convenience, but it couldnt replace the power of being together. The pandemic brought that reality into sharp focus. In a moment of urgency, we closed all but one of our remaining Harry & David retail stores. As the crisis unfolded, I asked a simple question of my executive team: How do we stay close to our customers now? How do we check in, not as a business, but as people? A young woman in my office suggested writing a newsletter. That idea became the Celebrations Pulse. The first subject line captured the intent: Just checking in. In those early weeks, I shared thoughts on staying connected and maintaining perspective during a period of isolation and uncertainty. The response surprised me. Readers were struck that a brand wasnt trying to sell them anything. As weeks turned into months, the focus naturally widened from COVID to loneliness, from crisis to connection, from coping to the deeper reasons we celebrate in the first place. We eventually invited readers to share their own stories, many of which became the foundation for future letters. What began as a simple outreach grew into an ongoing weekly conversation. Circulation steadily expanded, from six million to 10 million readers. Today, its approaching 20 millionproof that even in a digital world, people still value being seen, heard, and remembered. Another turning point Technology continues to evolve, and customer expectations evolve with it. The tools change, the pace increases, and leadership requires a willingness to keep learnng. What matters most is staying attentive to the people you serve and the promises youve made to them. Its easy to rely on approaches that worked well in earlier chapters. Over time, though, the work asks for new skills and fresh perspective. Relationships dont stay strong by standing still; they grow when you meet people where they are. We were reminded of that in late 2024, when our food brands introduced a new order-management system ahead of the holiday season. The rollout didnt meet our expectations, and some customers were left waiting during moments that mattered to them. It was a difficult experience, and a revealing one. As the company approached its 50th anniversary, that moment prompted reflection. Longevity brings responsibilitynot only to honor what has worked, but to make thoughtful decisions that support the relationships the business depends on today and in the future. In the spring of 2025, I stepped aside as CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com and continued as chairman. Im now partnering with our new CEO, Adolfo Villagomez. His experience at Home Depot and strength in operations and team culture balance my own perspective. Hes the yin to my yang as we move into the next chapter. After fifty years, the lesson is a simple one. As title and tools change, what endures is the work of earning trustby listening closely, acting responsibly, and making decisions that keep relationships at the center. 50 years of gratitude Rather than protecting a legacy, the work ahead is about continuing to earn trust one decision, one interaction, and one relationship at a time. Gratitude keeps that responsibility front and center. Businesses dont last because they declare success. They last because enough people decide, again and again, that theyre worth believing in. For that beliefand for the people who continue to extend itI remain deeply grateful.
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E-Commerce
At the Winter Olympics, skiers, bobsledders, speedskaters, and many other athletes all have to master one critical moment: when to start. That split second is paramount during competition because when everyone is strong and skilled, a moment of hesitation can separate gold from silver. A competitor who hesitates too much will be left behindbut moving too early will get them disqualified. Though the circumstances are less intense, this paradox of hesitation applies to daily life. Waiting for the right moment to cross the street, or pausing before deciding whether to answer a call from a number you dont recognize, are daily examples of hesitation. Importantly, some psychiatric conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder are characterized by impulsivity, or a lack of hesitation, while excessive hesitation is a crippling consequence of several anxiety disorders. As a neuroscientist, I have been working to uncover how the brain decides when to act and when to wait. Recent research from my team and me helps explain why this split-second pause happens, offering insight not only into elite athletic performance, but also how people make everyday decisions when the potential outcome isnt clear. We found that the key to hesitation is a response to uncertainty. This could be where a dropped hockey puck will land, when a race starts, or placing your order at a new restaurant. Hesitation and the brain To understand how the brain controls hesitation, my colleagues and I designed a simple decision-making task in mice. The task required the mouses brain to interpret signals that were predictably good, predictably bad ormost importantlyuncertain, meaning somewhere in between. Different auditory tones indicated whether a drop of sugar water would soon be delivered, not delivered, or had a 50/50 chance of delivery. How the mice behaved would not affect the outcome. Nevertheless, mice would still wait longer before licking to see whether a reward had been given in the uncertain scenario. Just like in people, unpredictable situations led to delays in response. This hesitation was not the result of vacillating between options in indecision, but an active and regulated brain process to pause before acting due to environmental uncertainty. When we examined neural activity associated with the onset of licking, we identified a specific group of neurons that became active only when outcomes were unclear. Those neurons effectively controlled whether the brain should commit to an action or pause to gather more information. The degree to which these neurons were active could predict whether mice would hesitate before making a decision. To confirm that these neurons played a role in controlling hesitation, we used a technique called optogenetics to briefly turn these brain cells on or off. When we activated the neurons, mice hesitated more. When we silenced them, that hesitation faded, and their responses were quicker by several hundred milliseconds, in line with their reactions to predictable situations. Researchers can use optogenetics to turn brain cells on or off. Daily life, disease, and downhill racing Our findings suggest that, rather than a weakness to overcome, hesitation appears to be a fundamental brain feature that helps people and animals navigate an uncertain world and avoid costly mistakes. Our study also provides insights into the balance of action and inaction in health and disease. The hesitation neurons are located in the basal ganglia, the same part of the brain affected in Parkinsons disease, OCD, and addiction. While researchers must still determine how much overlap or interaction there is between the cells involved in hesitation and those affected in psychiatric disorders, their overlap in circuitry points to possible targets for treatment. Our next step is to understand how cells controlling hesitation interact with drugs treating ADHD and OCD, conditions where patients can respond impulsively during volatile or uncertain situations. We also aim to identify which brain areas provide these cells with information about uncertaintythe environmental signal so critical to hesitation. While researchers have found that several parts of an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex encode uncertainty, its unclear how the brain actually makes use of this information, where the rubber meets the road. Hesitation is not a flawits a critical feature for navigating an unpredictable world. Whether youre a figure skater waiting for the perfect moment to launch your jump or just going about your day, the circuitry behind hesitation plays an important role in figuring out the timing to get the action right. Eric Yttri is an associate professor of biological sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
Before The Whale, I had everything to prove. And now, to be honest, not so much, Oscar winner Brendan Fraser, 57, told AARP The Magazine in an interview last month. The 50-and-older segment is the fastest-growing demographic in the world, according to Myechia Minter-Jordan, AARPs CEO. And three years ago, Frasera Hollywood mainstay for 35 years whose career has been marked by challenges like depression and work droughtwas nominated for (and won) his first Academy Award for playing the lead in director Darren Aronofskys prestige drama The Whale. In his acceptance speech, Fraser thanked Aronofsky for throwing me a creative lifeline. In the interview with AARP, he delves further into his professional journey, sharing high points and personal setbacks, as well ambitious persistence in middle age. From Encino Man and George of the Jungle to The Mummy and The Whale, Fraser has long been a leading man. But he flashes back to his first paid gig as a mascot for a storage unit company in Seattle, making $14 an hour: Ive never been flipped off more in my life, he said. Eventually, he got acting gigs and moved from roles like “Sailor Number One” to becoming a Hollywood megastar and blockbuster headliner. Fraser also detailed struggling with depression after an incident in 2003, when he alleged that the president of the Foreign Press Association groped him at an event. He talked about the importance of safeguarding his mental health following the incident: Ive learned to check in with myself and constantly reevaluate whats important. And you also need to ask for help when you need it. Early on, I didnt know you could ask for help. I only saw the stigma of it. I was afraid to say, I need a hand. Fraser said he again found himself in a dark place when, despite being a Hollywood A-lister, he ended up in a prolonged career lull for the entire 2010s (despite the fact that he never actually stopped working). The AARP The Magazine article called it a less star-studded period in which he wasnt connecting with audiences the way he once had. The silence in a career can be deafening, Fraser told the magazine. He expounded on his philosophy of perseverance: For a long time there, I felt like I disappointed people because I hadnt met their expectations, he said. But Im still here, you know? This is what I do. This lesson in humility and gratitude can create confidence and better health. In fact, theres research that shows gratitude’s heath perks, such as greater emotional and social well-being, improved sleep, lower depression risk, and even better heart heath markers, according to Harvard Health. In this job, you live in a constant state of panic, and you cant get too comfortable, Fraser revealed. Ive learned to check in with myself and constantly reevaluate whats important. Staying true to your values and your core goals can keep you focused on your career path, too. The intersection of values, passion, and purpose can culminate across industries, whether thats working as an actor, a software designer, an account executive, an attorney, or a small-business owner. In a Harvard Business Review article titled Values, Passion, or PurposeWhich Should Guide Your Career?, writer Irina Cozma summarizes the principle: We all know following this advice isnt as easy as it sounds, Cozma wrote. This commitment to self-reliance is a continual and evolving commitment. Incorporating these mantras can help you build a career that is a combination of feeling successful, but also deeply fulfilling, she said. Finally, supporting each others mental health is crucial. Fraser touched on the importance of reaching out for helpand the same is true in professional contexts. A 2024 study by the University of New Mexicos Anderson School of Management, published in The Journal of Social Psychology, showcases how receiving help at work can mitigate exhaustion levels for workers. This research points to the importance of us working together. Being able to find unique and creative ways to still foster those relationships, even virtually, is extremely important, said associate professor Andrea Hetrick, the studys lead author, in a press release. Frasers most recent film, 2025s Rental Family, has him starring as an American actor doing stand-in work for strangers for a Japanese talent agency. Its the latest movie in his decades-long careerone marked by resilience in the face of prolonged dry spells and huge mental health roadblocks in a brutally competitive, age-conscious industry. He said he relies on therapy, as well as reaching out to friends, getting the exercise you need, even having a bit of breakfast. Theyre small things, but when youre dealing with those feelings, they can make a monumental difference.”
Category:
E-Commerce
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