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Few objects embody the endurance of the human spirit better than a medal. This Sunday, when the projected 55,000 breathless souls cross the finishing line of the annual TCS New York City marathon, they will be receive a one-of-a-kind medal to remember this achievement. The NYC marathon medal looks different every year. While many previous versions have attempted to etch the experience onto metal, the 2025 medal takes an even more tangible approach. At first glance, the surface of the new medal appears to be brushed with an array of diagonal stripes. But flip it on its side, and you will notice that the stripes are ribbed, and they reflect the actual elevation of the five-borough course. The brutal start up the Verrazzano Bridge; the seemingly endless 5th Avenue incline, the rolling hills of Central Parkthese topographies can be felt (or re-felt) at the glide of a finger. [Photo: courtesy NYRR] The medal is an exquisite piece of design that celebrates the experience of running a marathon through touch. And it has been so popular since it was unveiled that it has even placated the prickliest of armchair critics. “In the 10 years I’ve been at this company, it’s the best reaction we’ve ever seen,” says Thomas Cabus, the creative director at nonprofit New York Road Runners, who designed this year’s medal. “All of them are positive, which is rare.” Finishers medals lined up at the 2015 marathon. [Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images] “Can we jazz it up a bit?” The TCS NYC marathon medal archive, on display at the NYRR Run Center, shows how wildly the design of marathon medals has been over the years. The 2005 medal showed a crowd of runners huddled against the Verrazzano Bridge. The 2018 medal was shaped like an apple. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Raman Oberoi (@ramanjitoberoi_georgian) But some things never change: the TCS logo has to feature; the five boroughs have to be listed (in this case on the back of the medal) and there has to be room for willing finishers to get their initials engraved. Each medal also features braille lettering on the back. Since NYRR rebranded in 2023courtesy of brand consultancy Chermayeff & Geismar & Havivthe medal designers also have to include a variation of the new motif, namely diagonal stripes to symbolize the five boroughs coming together on marathon day. [Photo: courtesy NYRR] The idea for the 2025 medal was born while the team was experimenting with those diagonal stripes. “The idea was, can we jazz it up a little bit?” recalls Keziah Makoundou, lead designer at NYRR, who codesigned the medal alongside Cabus. Once the idea materialized, the team took an official graphic of the course and extruded that to a three-dimensional shape. The elevation map was born. [Photo: courtesy NYRR] Designing a time capsule Since the medal was unveiled in early October, it has been so popular that some runners who were planning on deferring are now considering walking the marathon just to get it. Others have called for this medal to become the signature medal of the TCS NYC marathon. But what makes each medal so special is precisely the fact that it acts as a time capsule from a particular race. Tomasz Sablinski, a 69-year-old running aficionado who splits his time between New York City and New Jersey, has run over 80 marathons across North America and Europe. This year’s five-borough race will be his 12th. “I must have over 100 medals,” he told me in an email. “And with so many of them, it’s fun when a medal stands out from the others because of its unusual design, or if it’s specifically related to the course it’s from.” Sablinski is particularly fond of some of his wooden medals, but he loves this year’s design for the NYC marathon medal because it is so directly tied to the course. “You won’t be able to look at this year’s medal without recalling the elevation of the bridges around the boroughs,” he says. When Sablinski crosses the finishing line on November 2, Cabus and Makoundou will be there to watch his and the reaction of 55,000 others when they receive their well-earned medal. And with so much positive feedback already, they feel both proud and pressured to top themselves next year. “Runners are very difficult people to please, so it’s like a challenge,” says Makoundou, before adding with a chuckle: “I don’t know what we’re going to do next year.”
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E-Commerce
The news that Microsoft is making 9,000 workers redundant this year, with a focus on jettisoning managers, has sent ripples through the business world. Andy Jassey, Amazons CEO, explicitly said this summer that AI advances will lead to job cuts. So its no wonder that workers all over the world, including one in five Gen Z workers, are “very concerned” that AI will take their job in the next two years (with Americans being more concerned than Europeans), and 32% of U.S. workers believe that AI will lead to fewer job opportunities. AI has advanced to encompass a vast range of skills, not only data-driven ones such as coding and debugging, but also more managerial tasks, including generating reports and managing schedules. With this technology snapping at managers heels and the worry about remaining relevant in a digitally driven world, how can you future-proof your management role and survive the AI purge? The answer lies in developing your human-centric skills. Valuing human-centric skills For years, the value of human-centric skills, such as empathy, active listening, and effective communication, has been diminished by the label “soft,” in opposition to “hard” skills like writing code or analyzing data, which are more easily quantified. In a world rapidly and increasingly reshaped by AI and automation, these distinctions are under scrutiny. Were seeing that its the hard skills that AI can replicate incredibly easily, whilst soft skills remain the preserve of humans and are becoming increasingly crucial as managers need to navigate their teams through tumultuous change. Theyre so important, in fact, that they need a name change. Theyre no longer soft; theyre now the imperative “power” skills that will future-proof your management career. More than just a semantic shift, this is a fundamental re-framing of how “soft” skills are perceived and valued. No longer dismissed as inferior or fluffy, these power skills need to be appreciated as the foundations of excellent management that will amplify the effectiveness of every hard skill you possessthink nuanced judgment, strategic thinking, genuine connection, and intuition. And, in fact, power skills can be quantified; we can clearly see the impact they have on a workforce when used effectively by managers. Because good management and engagement matter. Gallups annual State of the Global Workplace research has shown that a manager accounts for 70% of the variance in employee engagement, which feeds into the fact that at least a third of the variance in productivity between countries and companies is due to poor management. However, once someone is empowered by their manager to recognize and utilize their strengths daily, theyre nearly six times more engaged. Businesses with highly engaged staff experience 78% less absenteeism and significantly lower turnover rates. The answer is a question So how can you develop these power skills and ensure youre using them to truly engage the team you manage? The answer lies in learning to ditch the command-and-control approach to management and use an enquiry-led approach instead. Adopting coaching-related behaviors, which include developing situational awareness and knowing when and how to ask purposeful questions, is the core premise of a popular new approach to management known as Operational Coaching. Proven effective in large-scale research conducted by the London School of Economics, adopting this new approach as part of a managers everyday style has been shown to shift the paradigm from directive management to facilitative leadership, while managers also generated a 74x return on investment. Learning to adopt an Operational Coaching style of management isnt about telling employees what to do, but rather about guiding them to discover their own solutions, leveraging their strengths and taking ownership of their contributions. At its heart is the power skill of thought-provoking questioning, where instead of jumping in to solve every problem themselves, managers ask powerful questions that encourage employees to engage in self-reflection, critical thinking, and problem-solving. This approach empowers individuals to take ownership of their challenges and solutions. Its then supported by active listening and empathy, strengths-based development, and continuous feedback and reflection. Described as the missing superpower, this style of management fosters critical thinking, which in turn builds confidence as employees are empowered to unlock their potential. Its particularly suited to working with millennials and Gen Z workers, who favor a collaborative and supportive work environment over rigid hierarchies, and crave purpose in their work with regular feedback and opportunities for growth. Operational Coaching also helps managers regain valuable time as it shifts the weight of routine problem-solving from themselves to their team members. This capacity can be reinvested in higher-value work, while empowering employees to develop their own skills. Measurable improvements in employee engagement levels, a direct result of the change in their managers approach, lead to higher profitability, increased productivity, and better business outcomes, including, for example, sales and customer service. A shift in whats valued In an era of rapid change driven by the democratization of knowledge through AI, human-centric skills that promote engagement, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking will be the key differentiator between managers who can and those who will be displaced from their roles. By moving away from a typically directive approach, managers who adopt an Operational Coaching style will cultivate environments of trust and psychological safety, where employees can experiment and take risks without fear of blame. As routine tasks become increasingly automated, our human value must shift towards how we think, adapt, interact, and lead. Its time to stop viewing these as passive, soft traits and instead appreciate them as active, powerful skills that hold the key to future-proofing your role as a manager who can get things done by mobilizing and enabling the skills and talents of others.
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E-Commerce
When the new Chevy Bolt arrives early next year, it will start at $29,995, making it one of the most affordable new EVs in the U.S. Its thousands of dollars cheaper than Teslas “affordable” new versions of its Model 3 and Model Y. It’s also significantly less expensive than the average gas car, and like other EVs, it’s cheaper to operate. GM faces major headwinds with the loss of the $7,500 tax credit for electric cars, and it’s scaled back production plans and cut jobs in response. But the new Bolt is so affordable that it could win over consumers even without the incentive. We wanted to get that under-$30,000 number, says Jeremy Short, chief engineer on GMs Bolt team. For Short and his team at GM, achieving that price required some creativity under constraint. Below, Short details how GM kept the price low. [Photo: Chevrolet] A new battery Instead of using standard lithium-ion chemistry, GM turned to a different type of battery that eliminates expensive materials like cobalt and nickel. Called lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, theyre cheaper, longer-lasting, and safer than other lithium-ion batteries, though they dont store as much energy. Its the first time that GM has used this type of battery. We had to develop this because we had an aggressive target to get to for price, says Short. And this is one of those things that balanced price and performance. The company also engineered a new low-cost, low-weight battery pack. The battery can also charge more quickly than the battery in the previous version of the Bolt. When the original Bolt was developed as the first affordable EV with long range, fast-charging infrastructure was limited. Many EV drivers also charge at home most of the time. But the engineers knew that faster charging is a priority for customers. The new Bolt can charge from 10% to 80% in 26 minutes, with a peak speed of around 2.5 times faster than the older model. [Photo: Chevrolet] We were really in tune with things in 22 that customers thought there was some potential to improve, Short says. Top of that list was the charging rate. The range is also slightly better than the previous version, at 255 miles versus 247 miles per charge. The new Bolt is also now compatible with Teslas Supercharger network. Now, Short says, a vehicle that had a reputation as a commuter car is “a bonafide road trip car.” When the company held a launch event in Los Angeles earlier this month, the engineering team drove four of the cars from Detroit to California. “At two of our lunch stops, we fully charged to 100%,” he says. “We had to start limiting our charges because we couldn’t even eat lunch fast enough.” The company is temporarily importing the batteries from China, subject to steep tariffs. But its also ramping up production at one of its U.S. factories, which will begin in 2027. (The company has said that it plans to absorb some of the costs of tariffs across all of its vehicles, with an estimated $3.5 billion and $4 billion hit on its bottom line in 2026.) [Photo: Chevrolet] Economies of scale The new Bolt also adds other new features, including around 20 safety and driver assist features that the last model didn’t have. Features like adaptive cruise used to be optional, Short says, but now are standard. That meant adding hardware like sensors. Extra features made staying on budget more of a challenge, but it was possible, he says, because of the new battery and economies of scale on other parts. To make those economy of scale happen, GM borrowed components from its other EVs to help keep the new Bolts price down. When the original Bolt came out, it was a bespoke architecture, says Short. It had a unique battery, a unique motor, unique everything. Now, after GMs heavy investment in electric vehicles, it had more resources to work with. [Photo: Chevrolet] The Bolt uses the same front drive motor as the Equinox EV, the same integrated power electronics, the same drive mounts, and other parts, including a heat pump that helps make the car run efficiently when the heat is on. The center screen in the vehicle, with the ability toscreen YouTube and HBO Maxsomething that drivers can use when theyre sitting at a public chargeris borrowed from the brands mid-size trucks. Adapting the parts meant redesigning them, in many cases, for the much smaller Bolt, but it helped make a significant difference on cost. By teaming up with other programs, we were able to get some economies of scale for what are truly better parts than we had before, Short says. “Between ourselves and the Equinox EV, we’re going to be the volume players for Chevy in EVs.”
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E-Commerce
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