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Last week, some of the worlds most notable brands, creatives, and executives gathered at Cannes Lions to explore the issues shaping the future of advertising and communicationsfrom the rise of AI to the growing importance of ESG to the topic currently under fire: diversity, equity, and inclusion. Since January, many across the industry have noted a shift. The momentum behind DEIonce front and centerhas been dimmed by growing backlash, driven largely by U.S. political pressure and a wave of corporate rollbacks. These critics are trying to distract, deflect, and delay progress. But they wont win. Despite the backlash, it wasnt hard to find leaders at the festival choosing courage over caution. Leaders like Adrianne C. Smith, founder of the Cannes Can: Diversity Collective (CC:DC) and chief inclusion and impact officer at FleishmanHillard, who opened the fifth Inkwell Beach installation with a clear message: Dont talk about it. Be about it. This call to action resonated with me and many others, but it raises an important question: were brands and their leaders in attendance truly listening? As we head into the second half of 2025, one thing is clear: the metric brands must begin to track, integrate, and prioritize is Return on Inclusion. Its the ROI that will define the future of the creative industriesand its one brands can no longer afford to ignore. Heres why. Brands Should Hit the DEI Reset ButtonAs Long as Its Done with Intention Amid the glitter and glamour, spaces like Inkwell Beach stand outnot as performative checkboxes, but as intentional, purpose-driven platforms for real progress. One of the most rewarding aspects of Cannes Lions is hearing diverse perspectives that truly move our industries forward. One of these leaders is Frank Starling, VP and Chief DEI Officer for Cannes Lions. We sat down to discuss whats next for DEI, what brands should be thinking about now, and where they can focus to make a meaningful impact. As Frank pointed out, as a world, we are living in a paradox: hyperconnected, yet more fragmented than ever. This is why brands must prioritize both relevance and resonance and be ready to answer two crucial questions: How do we reset with intention? And what does that look like inside our organization? In 2025, the workplace is more generationally diverse than ever. According to SHRM, as many as five generationstraditionalists, baby boomers, Gen X, millennials, and Gen Zcan now be found at the same company, sometimes at the same table. These employees need to feel safepsychologically and physically. And its up to brands to make more, not less, room for the unique perspectives, values, and lived experiences they bring. According to Frank, in todays fast-changing world, we must build and foster climates that spark creativity and innovation. Every organizations DEI reset will look differentbut it must be rooted in intention. Creativity Drives Disruption. And You Cant Spell Creativity without E&I. When I launched The Sway Effect in 2019, I knew two things were nonnegotiable: diversity, equity, and inclusion had to be central to everything that we do, and we would only collaborate with brands that believed inclusivity leads to the best work. Research continues to prove this: according to Harvard Business Review, inclusive organizations are 73% more likely to reap innovation income 70% more likely to capture new markets up to 50% more likely to make better decisions, and up to 36% more likely to have above-average profitability. The bottom line is, inclusivity separates the leaders from the followersand shows both employees and customers that you are showing up for the communities that you represent and serve. Despite the clear value of this approach, fearnot convictionis driving too much of todays creative work. And its not surprising, with critics like Elon Musk declaring that DEI must die and the U.S. government labeling some DEI efforts as egregious and discriminatory. But apprehension cannot outweigh the responsibility to build safe, inclusive workplacesand create lasting impact across our industries. After all, you cant spell creativity without E&IEquity and Inclusion. When I shared my 2025 (and beyond) mission statement with Frank, heres how he expanded on the vision: Ensure that inclusive leadership is at the center of your organization.That means collaborating across differences, challenging bias, and leading with courage and cultural intelligence. Embed inclusion to spark innovation and creativity. Make space for everyone to speak up, challenge ideas, and be themselves. That sense of belonging fuels innovation. Focus on impact over volume. Pull back, assess what will truly move the needle, and invest your time, budget, and resources there. The Future Belongs to Those Who Show Upand Stay the Course As the dust settles from a thought-provoking week on the Croisette, one thing is clear: there will always be a place for purpose. My message to brands post-Cannes is thismeasure DEI success not just by return on investment, but by Return on Inclusion. Thats what will shape the future of creativity, culture, and DEI. Lead the conversations. Build the culture. Drive the change. Those are the brandsand the leadersthat will always have a seat at my table.
Category:
E-Commerce
Who says the world needs another podcast? We do. By Design is your new home for design news and criticism, plus in-depth interviews with some of the biggest names in the space. Its the first podcast from Fast Companys design desk and is hosted by senior editor Liz Stinson and global design editor Mark Wilson. Our first guest is Michael Bierut, the man behind some of the most iconic design work in recent history including Mastercard, Slack, Saks Fifth Avenue, and countless others. Now, as Bierut steps into (semi) retirement, he sat down with Liz and Mark for a thoughtful reflection on his legendary career and why both humans and technology will need to work together for real design innovation. (And yes, they do revisit the infamous H logo he designed for Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign.) Liz and Mark also give their analysis on the latest in design news: Is Apples Liquid Glass any good? Can Sam Altman and Jony Ive make a useful piece of AI hardware? Plus, they rank the best and worst designs of the month. Listen to the first episode now on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get podcasts.
Category:
E-Commerce
Productivity myths can stand in the way of personal and professional growth, often without our awareness. Moreover, what equals productivity for one person or company may not be the same for others. This article challenges common misconceptions about productivity that experts have found to be misleading or harmful in the workplace. Here, experts offer practical alternatives to these myths that actually make a difference in your efficiency. Redefine Productivity for Your Role One belief about productivity that I’ve found particularly misleading is the idea that it has a fixed definition. While there are standard ways to define it, in reality, it looks different depending on where you work and what you do. In some companies, productivity is measured by how many tasks you check off. In others, it’s deals closed or impact created. It’s not one-size-fits-all, and treating it as such is where we go wrong. It’s also a mistake to assume we’re all productive at the same time or for the same number of hours. I’ve had days where I accomplished more in two hours than I did in a full eight-hour stretch. Quantity is not quality. And creative roles, especially, can’t be measured with the same yardstick as technical ones. You can’t expect a content writer to be productive in the same way a software developer is. What’s made a real difference for me and my team is being intentional about when we work, not just what we work on. I actively encourage everyone to block out focus time on their calendars during their personal peak hours. That’s when the real work gets done. We leave meetings, admin, and the lighter tasks for the rest of the day. In the end, productivity isn’t just about how much you do. It’s about when and how you do it and whether it actually matters. Marialena Kanaki, content marketing manager, TalentLMS Embrace Flexible Daily Planning Strict scheduling doesn’t work for everyone. While it makes me feel great, as managing partner, to see an organized calendar for each team member’s entire week, I’ve learnedsometimes the hard waythat this approach can actually decrease productivity. I’m a natural scheduler. I make a plan, stick to it (barring emergencies), and get a real sense of satisfaction from knowing exactly what I’ll be doing on any given day. But not everyone works like I do. Some people genuinely struggle with rigid schedules. They do their best work when they follow their instincts, tackling the task that best matches their energy, mood, or the day’s circumstances. Asking them to hand me a detailed weekly plan on Monday often backfired. It locked them into commitments that didn’t match how the week unfolded. Instead of leaning into their strengths, they felt stuck doing tasks they no longer felt primed to complete. So I’ve changed my approach. Now, I ask team members to give me a heads-up each morning about what they’re planning to focus on. If something shifts, they can check in again around lunch with any updates. It’s a compromise that keeps me in the loop but gives them the flexibility to do their best work, when and how it makes the most sense. Megan Mooney, managing partner, Vetted Take Regular Breaks to Boost Performance There’s a strange idea that if you’re behind or have a lot to do, you shouldn’t take breaks. We almost shame ourselves into it, or feel guilty because there’s this growing list of things that need to be done. I think it’s really harmful, and it almost always backfires. You’re not a machine. When you don’t give yourself a break, your focus drops, mistakes creep in, and you end up working longer with less quality. Even if there are a rising number of inquiries and our team has a lot to catch up with, we still take regular breakseven on the busiest days. It helps us recharge and come back sharper as opposed to feeling drained or not giving our best. Caring for our team means trusting them to manage their work in a way that’s sustainable. Mike Roberts, cofounder, City Creek Mortgage Prioritize Recognition Over Rewards Having spent over a decade in the field of employee engagement, I’ve gained a unique perspective on what truly drives workplace productivity. Many leaders believe that rewards alone, monetary or otherwise, are the key to boosting performance. However, my experience, especially through building our employee engagement platform, has shown me that recognition, a sincere appreciation and acknowledgement of an employee’s effort, is a far more powerful and sustainable motivator. This insight aligns with the motivational crowding theory, which explains how extrinsic rewards can sometimes crowd out intrinsic motivation when not balanced carefully. To ensure this approach is fully embraced, we introduced the “flipping of Rs” concept, shifting the focus from rewards to recognition. Practically, embedding consistent, personalized recognition moments into daily workflowswhether through peer-to-peer shoutouts or leadership appreciationhas transformed how our people connect with their work, driving efficiency and fulfillment far beyond what rewards alone can achieve. Partha Neog, CEO and cofounder, Vantage Circle Shift to Decision-First Culture Popular belief: more meetings mean more alignment. This sounds reasonable in theory, but in practice, it often kills momentum. We’ve found that excessive internal check-ins, especially when not tied to immediate outcomes, tend to drain time, fragment focus, and slow execution. In fast-paced sales environments like ours, where every hour matters, this mindset can quietly erode team performance. We shifted from a “meeting culture” to a decision-first culture. If something doesn’t require a clear decision or unblock a team, it probably doesn’t need a meeting. We tightened our weekly rhythm to focus on what moves deals forward, such as pipeline blockers, campaign results, and fast-turn feedback. A practical habit that works: we moved to a lightweight, asynchronous reporting approach where each team member, whether a sales development representative, account executive, or campaign lead, shares a quick weekly update outlining key developments, shifts in prospect behavior, and immediate next actions. It keeps everyone aligned without overloading calendars. The result? More autonomy, less friction, and more time spent on what actually drives growth. Vito Vishnepolsky, founder and director, Martal Group Align Work with Your Natural Rhythm The myth? That productivity starts with a 5 a.m. wake-up call. There’s a persistent narrativ that equates early rising with ambition and discipline while sidelining anyone whose energy doesn’t peak with the sunrise. Night owls, caregivers, and individuals managing chronic health conditions are all left out of that picture of “success.” I’ve done my best thinking at 9 p.m. and struggled through 8 a.m. meetings. Once I stopped contorting my schedule to fit someone else’s idea of productivity, everything shiftedmy focus, creativity, and energy. What’s made the biggest difference? Protecting time for deep work and being honest about how and when I work best. Christin Roberson, CEO and career coach, the Career Doc Batch Process Communications for Focus One of the most problematic and harmful beliefs about productivity is the idea that to be responsive in the workplace, you need to have notifications on for emails, Slack, Teams, etc., and answer as quickly as possible. In fact, studies show that every time you get interrupted or distracted (and yes, that’s happening even when you just glance at a message to determine if it’s important), it takes, on average, 23 minutes (!) to refocus on what you were previously doing. This results in productivity losses of about a third of the workday. And all that context switching is not only killing your productivity, it’s also very stressful. Here’s how you can avoid falling prey to this “always on” belief. These are strategies that work well for me, for the teams I’ve worked with, and for my clients: Turn off all the email notifications (no one uses email in an emergency) and, if you can, turn off the Slack/Teams notifications as well, or at least ensure that you’re only receiving notifications for direct messages (no channel notifications). Batch process your email/Slack/Teams. Instead of checking your inbox 30 times a day, process your incoming messages a few times a day. Most people can do this every couple of hours and still be very responsive, perhaps even more responsive than they were prior to moving from “checking” to “processing.” Processing means handling the email (by archiving (because no response is needed), responding, and/or adding the work to your task system, as the case may be). Determine with your team what the “emergency channel” is (text, phone call, etc.); this is the method of communication to be used if a message truly can’t wait. If it makes you feel more comfortable, update your status on Slack/Teams during periods when you’re not active to, “Heads down on a few things, will be back in here at [time]. If it’s urgent, contact me at [emergency channel].” Relish in how much you can get done when you’re not interrupted by pings and dings every five minutes. Most of my clients tell me that when they adopt the process above, they start immediately saving an hour a day, and my experience has been similar in my life and business. Alexis Haselberger, time management and productivity coach, Alexis Haselberger Coaching and Consulting Create Capacity Matrices for Smart Planning One popular belief about productivity that I’ve found to be harmful is the idea that “being constantly busy equals being productive.” This belief not only glorifies burnout but also penalizes peopleespecially those from historically excluded communitieswho may need flexible work arrangements, mental health accommodations, or simply a different pace to thrive. It reinforces a one-size-fits-all model of performance that is neither sustainable nor inclusive. In my work with organizations, we overcome this by shifting the focus from visibility and hours worked to outcomes, clarity of purpose, and psychological safety. One strategy that’s made a real difference is creating “capacity and competency matrices”a tool we use to align people’s strengths, availability, and bandwidth with organizational priorities. This allows teams to plan smarter, reduce overload, and foster shared ownership instead of individual overextension. The real productivity gains come not from doing more, but from doing what mattersand doing it in a way that honors people’s mental health, lived experiences, and need for balance. Bhavik R. Shah, founder and culture change strategist, Bhavik R. Shah Simplify Tools to Enhance Workflow Many teams fall into the trap of thinking that adding a new productivity tool to their tech stack will fix workflow inefficiencies. In reality, layering more tools without fixing underlying habits can lead to fragmentation, decision fatigue, and duplication of work. You end up spending more time figuring out how to work instead of actually doing the work. Our team learned this lesson the hard way. At one point, we were juggling Jira for tickets, Notion for docs, Slack for stand-up meetings, Loom for async updates, Asana for project management, and Linear for roadmap planning. Our workflow looked modern, but it was a big mess. Context-switching was constant, and some critical updates were lost across systems. After thorough deliberation, we decided to audit our workflows, and the result was astonishing. A single product sprint involved seven-plus tool handoffs, and over 25% of dev time was spent navigating or syncing between tools. The turning point was simplifying everything. We cut back our entire workflow to three tools and standardized their use. The result was a 20% reduction in sprint cycle time over two quarters and noticeably less burnout. The real gain wasn’t from adding another productivity tool, but from aligning the team around fewer, clearer ways of working. That is what made the difference. Roman Milyushkevich, CEO and CTO, HasData Make Your Hard Work Visible The belief that “hard work pays off” can be harmful and misleading, especially for people who identify as part of minority groups like myself. I spent over 15 years in corporate jobs in two countries, with 10 of those years in corporate America. I thought working hard was the answer to getting a promotion or a raise. I believed my manager would see my hard work, and eventually, I would begin to climb the ladder. The reality was that I went from job to job, underpaid, undervalued, and unappreciated. All my hard work was invisible to my peers and my manager. I remember watching colleagues doing less work than me, arriving late and leaving the office early, and not caring as much about their tasks. Then, during a performance review, they got raises and promotions. I felt defeated and blamed myself for not doing more, even though I was already working close to 60 hours a week and was exhausted. I felt like being who I was was not enough; even though I knew I had value I didn’t feel I could sell that at work. As an introvert, I didn’t feel empowered to speak up and thought only loud voices could get ahead until I learned the power of quiet confidence. I began learning about self-advocacy for introverts. I realized the issue was that my work wasn’t visible. So, I began to work on a strategy to improve my relationship with my manager. I asked for feedback, shared my goals, set low-stakes boundaries with extra requests and workload, brought structure to my one-on-one meetings with my manager, and discussed my results before waiting for the performance review. The change wasn’t an overnight success, but little by little, I felt more comfortable speaking up and advocating for myself. You don’t need to brag about your accomplishments, but it’s essential to help your manager understand that you are getting results. Your manager can’t read your mind and know everything you do. The goal with self-advocacy is not necessarily to consistently achieve the result, but to be on a journey to change your mindset about how you see yourself and perceive your achievements. Our brains love to go for negativity and seek situations to confirm that. However, the little you do to change that mindset, the more equipped you’ll feel to see the positive results of self-advocacy. It’s about standing up for yourself and using your voice. Hard work only pays off if it becomes visible to your manager. Working hard constantly without recognition can lead to burnout, not productivity. Ana Goehner, career strategist, Ana Goehner Career Strategist Select Right People for Task Efficiency Delegating more people to a task, especially a project, will not always improve the quality of outcomes or efficiency. Context matters. One needs to carefully select individuals with the right mindsets and personalities who possess the optimal skills to complete the task at hand. Having the wrong personalities, regardless of their competency, can create more bottlenecks, thus triggering a domino effect of negative side effects impacting operational efficiency and company morale. When frustrations rise and morale declines, becoming the new norm, it creates an opportunity for employees to leave the organization. Sometimes, it’s not the titles that dictate who should work on specific deliverables but the right perspective that can guide people effectively to the finish line. This is more common in entrepreneurial environments than in traditional settings, where the latter may risk taking longer to complete work while adhering to more organizational red tape and mediocre productivity standards. This comes down to whether people are being rewarded for productivity or just logging hours to receive a paycheck. The latter can impact motivation and how an employee approaches their obligations. While not always the case, it happens often enough to prompt managers to become selective in how they delegate tasks. Sasha Laghonh, founder and senior advisor to C-suite and entrepreneurs, Sasha Talks Practice Serial Monotasking for Better Results We’ve been taught that multitasking (doing two or more things at once) is bad because it usually leads to more mistakes, takes longer to complete tasks, and increases our stress level. While this is true, what workplace, job, or leader allows you to focus on only one task at a time? And multitasking can still be found on most internal job descriptions. Because there will always be competing priorities, our team has learned to work with them, not against them. Taking a break from one task to work on something else can actually help you. It gives your brain a chance to rest when you’re feeling stuck or tired, so you come back feeling fresh. Plus, stepping away lets your subconscious keep working on the problem, which can lead to creative ideas. Also, if you focus too long on one thing, your energy and creativity can drop, so switching tasks helps keep you sharp. And in busy workplaces where you have lots going on, jumping between tasks can help you make steady progress on everything without getting overwhelmed. So the one practical strategy that we practice daily is “serial monotasking.” We focus on one task for a set period (for 25 to 50 minutes), then intentionally switch to another when we need a break or hit a mental block. Before switching, we jot down quick notes about where we left off to make it easier to pick up later. This helps us enjoy the benefits of task switching without falling into the trap of multitasking. This isn’t about semantics. It’s about navigating our workload by working smarter. If you feel stuck when you’re trying to get things done, give yourself permission to switch tasks intentionally, but avoid trying to do both at the same time. Anu Mandapati, CEO, Qultured
Category:
E-Commerce
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