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If youre order number 67 at In-N-Out, dont expect to hear your number called. The fast food chain has reportedly removed the number from its system, after viral videos show teens responding with wild celebrations after waiting around just to hear the number called. Imagine explaining this to someone in the future, one commenter wrote. Employees confirmed the number hasn’t been used for orders for about a month, according to a report from People magazine. After order number 66, the next order jumps straight to number 68. The chain has also removed the number 69, for good measure. The two digits, pronounced six, seven, not sixty-seven, have also been wreaking havoc in classrooms over the past couple months. Vice President JD Vance even took to social media and called for the numbers to be banned. He wrote on X, Yesterday at church the Bible readings started on page 66-67 of the missal, and my 5-year-old went absolutely nuts repeating six seven like 10 times. He continued, I think we need to make this narrow exception to the First Amendment and ban these numbers forever. Others have adopted an “if you cant beat em, join em” approach. In November, both Wendys and Pizza Hut added a 67-cent Frosty deal and 67-cent wings” to their respective menus, paying homage to the meme in the hope of enticing teens. Domino’s also launched its own promo deal, offering customers one large pizza with one topping for $6.70. The trend has, somewhat unbelievably, reached the house floor. Utah Republican U.S. Rep. Blake Moore, while reporting the ayes and nos for a vote on a joint resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives last month, joked the results were about 6-7 while doing the juggling hand gesture. “6-7” officially cemented its status as the choice for Dictionary.com‘s word of the year. “Perhaps the most defining feature of 67 is that its impossible to define, wrote Dictionary.com. Its meaningless, ubiquitous, and nonsensical.” For those still lost, the numbers can be traced back to a song called Doot Doot, released by hip-hop artist Skrilla in late 2024, in which he raps, 6-7, I just bipped right on the highway (bip, bip). From there, a video of a boy yelling 6-7 into the camera at a basketball game went viral. Since then, its taken on a life of its own.
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E-Commerce
Organizations often describe change as a technical exercise: Adjust a workflow, update a reporting line, reorganize a process or two. On paper, it all looks relatively contained. But the lived experience of change rarely aligns with the tidy logic of a project plan. Recently, I worked with a team in the midst of what leadership kept referring to as a small restructuring. And technically, it was. The core work wasnt shifting, no ones job was threatened, and the strategy made sense. Yet the emotional climate thickened almost immediately. One manager became more reserved than usual, answering questions with careful brevity. Another grew unusually fixated on minor details. A third found herself more irritable, though she couldnt articulate why. Nothing dramaticjust a low hum of unease moving through a group of otherwise steady professionals. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/11\/cupofambition.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/11\/cupofambition-mobile.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to A Cup of Ambition\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"A biweekly newsletter for high-achieving moms who value having a meaningful career \u003Cem\u003Eand\u003C\/em\u003E being an involved parent, by Jessica Wilen. To learn more visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/acupofambition.substack.com\/\u0022\u003Eacupofambition.substack.com\u003C\/a\u003E.","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/acupofambition.substack.com\/","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91454061,"imageMobileId":91454062,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} What struck me was how quickly this supposedly minor adjustment stirred up deeper questions for people. Thats the part of change we tend not to acknowledge. Even modest shifts can unsettle the psychological architecture we rely on to feel competent, grounded, and connected. The disruption isnt about the logistics of the change; its about the quiet, internal recalibration that follows. The Psychology Beneath Transition In both coaching and clinical work, clients often describe this experience in vague terms: I dont hate the change. Something just feels . . . off. That feeling isnt superficial. Its a signal that the change is brushing against something importantidentity, capability, belonging, autonomy, the sense of who we are in relation to the work and the people around us. Most reactions to change are not reactions to the actual change. They are reactions to what the change is interpreted to mean. A new workflow can raise doubts about whether ones skills remain relevant. A shift in reporting lines can evoke questions about trust or status. A more efficient structure may unexpectedly trigger fears of being left behind. Even when the change is welcome or long overdue, it can still destabilize the sense of continuity that makes daily work feel predictable. When these emotions arent acknowledged, they tend to surface indirectlyas tension, withdrawal, hypervigilance, or that familiar sense that the team is slightly out of sync without being sure why. A Leaders Turning Point I saw this play out with a director who couldnt quite understand why her team seemed anxious. Were not changing their jobs, she said. Why is this causing so much stress? She was looking at the content of the change rather than its psychological implications. So I asked her, If you were sitting in their chair what might this change symbolize? She thought for a long moment. Probably that Im losing control, she said quietly. Or that leadership thinks our judgment isnt strong enough. Once she recognized that meaning-makingnot mechanicswas driving the reaction, she changed her approach. Instead of doubling down on explanations of the strategy, she met individually with team members to ask how the transition was landing for them. These werent troubleshooting conversations; they were opportunities for people to articulate the emotional subtext of the change. Over the next two weeks, the atmosphere settled. People began to reengage. The same plan, once met with tension, now felt workable. The difference wasnt procedural. It was psychological. What Effective Leaders Actually Do Leaders often assume that smooth change management depends on clear plans and well-communicated timelines. Those matter, of course, but theyre not what ultimately determines whether people adapt. The leaders who navigate transition well understand that the emotional environment carries more weight than any formal framework. 1. They acknowledge the wobble Effective leaders dont pretend everyone is fine, nor do they treat every raised eyebrow as a crisis. They simply name whats happening in a way that feels matter-of-fact and compassionate: This kind of shift can throw people a bit. If youre feeling unsettled, youre not alone. The acknowledgment isnt performative; its grounding. It signals that disorientation is expectednot a personal failing or a sign that someone is resistant. When the leader names the wobble, the team doesnt have to expend additional energy hiding it. 2. They offer predictable touchpoints In times of transition, people instinctively look for something steady to hold onto. Leaders who understand this create simple, reliable anchors: a weekly check-in that doesnt get rescheduled, updates that arrive when theyre promised, a shared understanding of what will happen nexteven if what happens next is simply another conversation. Predictability doesn’t remove uncertainty, but it gives people a rhythm they can orient themselves around. It restores a sense of temporalityI know where we are, and I know when Ill hear something againwhich has a surprising regulating effect on the nervous system. 3. They reinforce continuity One of the most destabilizing parts of change is the fear that everything is up for grabs. Leaders who navigate change well remind people of what isnt shifting: the teams shared values, their collective purpose, the norms that shape how they work together, the relationships that predate the change. This isnt about offering false reassurance; its about locating the throughline. People need to know what they can still rely on so they can make sense of what is genuinely new. Continuity is the psychological counterweight to upheaval. 4. They return a sense of agency Change often creates a feeling of being acted upon, which is why even small choices can make a disproportionate difference. Leaders who understand this invite their team to help in decision-making in thoughtful, bounded ways: How should we sequence this work? What would make the new process feel more workable? Which aspects should wetest first? Its not about democratizing every call; its about restoring a sense of authorship. When people have a hand in shaping even a small part of the transition, the experience shifts from something happening to me to something Im participating in. 5. They make room for emotion without absorbing it Every change process brings emotion along for the ridefrustration, anticipation, grief, relief, confusion. Strong leaders dont pathologize those reactions, nor do they try to rescue people from them. They stay steady enough to listen without absorbing the emotional charge, and curious enough to understand what the emotion is pointing to. When they respond, they dont personalize the feelings or interpret them as pushback. They treat emotional reactions as datainformation about needs, fears, assumptions, or blind spots in the transition. That stance alone often lowers the temperature. Final Thought Change will always involve more than new workflows or org charts. It touches peoples sense of competence, identity, and place in the systemand thats where the real work of leadership happens. When managers pay attention to the emotional experience of changenot just the operational rolloutteams stay steadier and transitions land more cleanly. The leaders who succeed arent the ones with the perfect plan; theyre the ones who help people find their footing as the ground shifts. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/11\/cupofambition.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/11\/cupofambition-mobile.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to A Cup of Ambition\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"A biweekly newsletter for high-achieving moms who value having a meaningful career \u003Cem\u003Eand\u003C\/em\u003E being an involved parent, by Jessica Wilen. To learn more visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/acupofambition.substack.com\/\u0022\u003Eacupofambition.substack.com\u003C\/a\u003E.","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/acupofambition.substack.com\/","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91454061,"imageMobileId":91454062,"shareable":false,"slug":""}}
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E-Commerce
Electronic gifts are very popular, and in recent years, retailers have been offering significant discounts on smartphones, e-readers, and other electronics labeled as pre-owned. Research I have co-led finds that these pre-owned options are becoming increasingly viable, thanks in part to laws and policies that encourage recycling and reuse of devices that might previously have been thrown away. Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy have dedicated pages on their websites for pre-owned devices. Manufacturers like Apple and Dell, as well as mobile service providers like AT&T and Verizon, offer their own options for customers to buy used items. Their sales rely on the availability of a large volume of used products, which are supplied by the emergence of an entire line of businesses that process used, discarded, or returned electronics. Those developments are some of the results of widespread innovations across the electronics industry that supply chain researcher Suresh Muthulingam and I have linked to Californias Electronic Waste Recycling Act, passed in 2003. Recycling innovation Originally intended to reduce the amount of electronic waste flowing into the states landfills, Californias law did far more, unleashing a wave of innovation, our analysis found. We analyzed the patent-filing activity of hundreds of electronics firms over a 17-year time span from 1996 to 2012. We found that the passage of Californias law not only prompted electronics manufacturers to engage in sustainability-focused innovation, but it also sparked a surge in general innovation around products, processes, and techniques. Faced with new regulations, electronics manufacturers and suppliers didnt just make small adjustments, such as tweaking their packaging to ensure compliance. They fundamentally rethought their design and manufacturing processes to create products that use recycled materials and that are easily recyclable themselves. For example, Samsungs Galaxy S25 smartphone is a new product that, when released in May 2025, was made of eight different recycled materials, including aluminum, neodymium, steel, plastics, and fiber. Combined with advanced recycling technologies and processes, these materials can be recovered and reused several times in new devices and products. For example, Apple invented the Daisy Robot, which disassembles old iPhones in a matter of seconds and recovers a variety of precious metals, including copper and gold. These materials, which would otherwise have to be mined from rock, are reused in Apples manufacturing process for new iPhones and iPads. How do consumers benefit? In the past two decades, 25 U.S. states and Washington D.C. have passed laws requiring electronics recycling and refurbishing, the process of restoring a pre-owned electronic device so that it can function like new. The establishment of industry guidelines and standards also means that all pre-owned devices are thoroughly tested for functionality and cosmetic appearance before resale. Companies deeper engagement with innovation appears to have created organizational momentum that carried over into other areas of product development. For example, in our study, we found that the passage of Californias law directly resulted in a flurry of patents related to semiconductor materials, data storage, and battery technology, among others. These scientific advances have made devices more durable, repairable, and recyclable. For the average consumer, the recycling laws and the resulting industry responses mean used electronics are available with similar reliability, warranties, and return policies as new devicesand at prices as much as 50% lower. Suvrat Dhanorkar is an associate professor of operations management at Georgia Institute of Technology. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
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