Many companies, especially in the tech world, have come to embrace the idea of growth at all costs. But according to research from Gary Pisano, professor at Harvard Business School, most firms fail to consistently increase revenues and profits over the long term, adjusting for inflation. He says that it’s important for leaders to think more strategically about not just the rate of growth they want to achieve but the direction they want to grow in and their method for doing so. Trying to grow too fast can be the downfall of many organizations. He shares examples of companies that have fallen into this trap, as well as those getting the balance right.  Pisano wrote the HBR article "How Fast Should Your Company Really Grow?"

There was a time when consumer goods companies paid musicians, athletes, and actors for endorsements, or to license their name and likeness. But in recent years, there's been an explosion of celebrities getting into business directly, selling everything from shapewear to tequila. Ayelet Israeli, professor at Harvard Business School, says the growth of social media and online, direct-to-consumer retail accelerated this trend, but notes that not all celebrity brands are a success. She explains what works and doesn't, and outlines lessons for non-famous entrepreneurs and established companies. Israeli is coauthor of the HBR article "What Makes a Successful Celebrity Brand?"

Around 18 million adults in the U.S. alone suffer from long Covid, a chronic illness with a wide range of symptoms and severity. With approved therapies a long way off, workers with long Covid often struggle in silence. And most companies have neither a good understanding of the situation nor effective policies in place, say MIT research scientist Beth Pollack and Vanguard University professor Ludmila Praslova. They share the conditions associated with long Covid, what life is like for those workers, and the accommodations and flexibility they recommend HR leaders and organizations implement. Pollack and Praslova are coauthors with researcher Katie Bach of the HBR Big Idea article “Long Covid at Work: A Manager's Guide.”

It's hard to imagine a more challenging work environment than the International Space Station. During her 24 years as a NASA astronaut, including a six-month stint on the ISS, Cady Coleman learned pivotal lessons about everything from managing stress and assessing risk to cross-cultural communication and navigating bias. She shares how the skills she picked up can be applied in all kinds of careers. Coleman is the author of the book Sharing Space: An Astronaut's Guide to Mission Wonder and Making Change.

CEOs get a ton of credit or blame for a company’s performance. But the entire leadership team is vital to success, and any dysfunction is often overlooked. Sometimes the CEOs leading them don’t even see that they’re not working. Thomas Keil, management professor at the University of Zurich, and Marianna Zangrillo, a partner at The Next Advisors, have interviewed more than 100 CEOs and senior executives. Their research identifies three main types of failing leadership teams: shark tanks, petting zoos, and mediocracies. And they identify the pitfalls of each pattern and how to turn those teams around. Keil and Zangrillo wrote the HBR article "Why Leadership Teams Fail."

Around the world, the past few years have been marked by increasing political polarization and public outrage. Like it or not, this spills over into the business world, with employees, customers, and shareholders more willing than ever to challenge companies -- and one another -- on a range of issues. It's hard to know how to lead gracefully in such turbulent times, but Karthik Ramanna, professor at the University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government, has some answers. Drawing on his work with government officials and corporate executives, he walks us through the root causes of our current crisis, explains how to effectively navigate through disagreement, and offers practical takeaways for managers at every level. Ramanna is the author of the book The Age of Outrage: How to Lead in a Polarized World.

With more than $7 billion in annual revenue and 24,000 employees, SAIC provides engineering, digital, AI, and mission support to defense, space, intelligence, and civilian customers. CEO Toni Townes-Whitley took the helm a year ago, after stints as a senior executive at Microsoft, CGI Federal, and Unisys. She discusses her approach to strategic transformation at SAIC through fine tuning and employee upskilling, rather than wholesale change. She also shares how the company is incorporating cutting edge technologies, like generative AI, with appropriate safeguards for government clients.

Move Concierge, a service that connects utilities and home services for new homebuyers, has announced a key partnership with Side, a real estate brokerage platform that helps agents create and grow their own boutique companies.  Through this partnership, real estate agents who work with Side will have access to Move Concierge services through Side Marketplace,…

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Are you a puzzle lover? I’m so excited to share this with you all. A puzzle like no other made with my Tree of Life art (also available as an art print). It was so fun putting it together with … Continue reading →

Leading global fashion brands are looking to Asian markets beyond China, with 67 per cent of respondent fashion executives citing promising growth prospects in India in 2025, The State of Fashion 2025 report says. Japan’s luxury boom will likely continue into 2025. But next year will be turbulent for global fashion and a deep sense of uncertainty persists amongst fashion industry executives.

Coaching is a valuable tool that offers numerous benefits to agents and brokers, let alone teams. Working in real estate requires constant education and development to be at the top of your game, and coaching provides an easy way to pursue this. Hiring a coach can allow team members to grow and flourish within their…

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Staying motivated in the real estate business can be a challenge, especially when it comes to prospecting. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed or uninspired, but staying on track is crucial for your success. Whether you’re a seasoned agent or just starting out, there are strategies you can adopt to keep yourself motivated, even when you…

The post From Doldrums to Deals: Keeping Your Prospecting Spirits High appeared first on RISMedia.

As we kick off the fourth quarter of 2024, it’s more critical than ever for real estate professionals not to take their foot off the gas and coast through the remaining weeks of the year. With so much noise in today’s post-settlement world, those prepared and running alongside the change will be the ones ahead…

The post Pushing to the Finish Line: Strategies for a Productive Fourth Quarter appeared first on RISMedia.

Kids bored and driving you crazy? Maybe the Fashion Loom rubber band loom is the solution to parental peace!

Maria shows you how to create a gothic candy bowl project for Halloween with dollar store supplies!

The Philippines’ apparel exports are projected to reach $1 billion next year, backed by an expected boost from the FTA with South Korea expected to be effective in Q1, the Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines said. It believes the FTA will attract South Korean players to set up units in its economic zones and domestic manufacturers can penetrate the zero-tariff Korean apparel market.

Chic Wings (BD) Lingerie Co Limited, a Singapore-China joint venture, will invest $18 million to set up a garment manufacturing plant in BEPZA Economic Zone, Chattogram. The company plans to produce 30 million garments annually and create 3,000 jobs. The agreement was signed on November 12, with BEPZA. BEPZA EZ hosts 36 companies with a total investment of $868.5 million.

The images below look like an ArtCenter grad's portfolio, but apparently the development of these machines is being pursued.

An Austrian startup called CycloTech is working on a novel propulsion style for electric flying vehicles. Rather than using conventional rotors or propellors, they're using what they call CycloRotors, which are an array of adjustable fins contained within a cylindrical package.

These CycloRotors can provide thrust in 360 degrees around their circumference. With six of them around the vehicle—four in a transverse orientation, two in a longitudinal orientation—a unique benefit is gained: The arrangement "enables high-precision sideways and backward flight, as well as mid-air braking – all without tilting or banking the vehicle."

While the test vehicle looks fairly prosaic…

…the forms they're envisioning for the finished product are socks-knocking:

If you can't get your head around how the 360-degree thrust thing works, see the video below:

CycloTech says their planned production vehicle, to be called CruiseUp, will be safe; the six CycloRotors "provide a high level of redundancy, allowing [one] to fly and land safely, even in the event of a rotor failure."

The company envisions these being used not as an air taxi service, but as privately-owned vehicles that will take the place of cars. The design of the CruiseUp is intended to fit within our existing domestic environment. "While the 20th century taught mankind to fly with fossil fuels," they write, "the 21st century will see emission-free 'Flying Cars/Air Cars' become part of a new normality."

A French mobility company called Mobilize has designed a new type of vehicle from scratch. Two, actually: The Duo, an enclosed two-seater electric quadricycle, and its sibling the Bento, which ditches the back seat for a large storage box.

Both vehicles were meant to be strong urban design statements, and to not draw on outdated references. "The Duo's greatest strength is its unique design," says Jean-Philippe Salar, Mobilize's Design Director. "What we wanted for this vehicle was to avoid imitating a car. It's in effect a little spaceship, a little lunar capsule on 4 wheels."

Not being a car, the diminutive Duo can be driven by folks as young as 14 in France.

The tandem seating arrangement, rather than side-by-side, is to make the vehicle as narrow as possible, the better to slip through traffic.

The gullwing doors allow ingress and egress even in tight spaces.

The charging cable sits in a dedicated compartment in the vehicle's nose. And, surprisingly, the vehicle features an airbag for safety.

The company refers to the single-seater Bento as a micro utility vehicle; it boasts a cargo box on the back that can swallow nearly a cubic meter.

The Bento requires a proper driver's license, as its more powerful electric motor can top out at 80 km/h (50 mph). It's targeted at last-mile delivery services and tradespeople who travel with tools.

Intriguingly, the dashboard of both vehicle was inspired by an icon of 1980s urban culture: The boombox. "The design of Duo et Bento, both on the outside and inside – with its dashboard that refers to boomboxes – deliberately goes against the grain of classic automotive language," says Salar. The designers also decided not to include a screen, reckoning that most people are already carrying one these days.

Both vehicles require half the space to park as a car.

The construction of the vehicles is decidedly un-car-like: "It's based on a metal birdcage structure to which we simply glue plastic panels," says Benoit Abadie, Mobilize's Director of Engineering. "We have around 300 parts in Duo, that's 5 times less than in a normal car, which has around 1,500."

Mobilize is a subsidiary of Renault, and both vehicles are manufactured at Renault's factory in Tangiers. "It's an ISO 14001 plant that's working towards carbon neutrality," says Wafa Boujguenna, the company's Industrial Project Manager. "Duo and Bento are eco-designed vehicles, made from 40% recycled materials, battery included, and are 95% recyclable, including the battery."

The vehicles will be sold in France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. No word on if these will come to the U.S.

There's a great interview with the design team below, explaining what they were going for:

Dorel Juvenile is the world's leading juvenile products company. When they wanted to develop a new infant car seat, they turned to Pennsylvania-based ID firm DesignThink.

DesignThink as the Innovation Incubator for the Ultra Lightweight Maxi Cosi Coral XP

A Cold January Day in 2017

The team at DesignThink was asked to visit Dorel Juvenile Group USA to review a "Special Project". The development team at Dorel JG wasted no time introducing us to their latest infant car seat (ICS) project. They were experimenting with the idea of developing a seat that would reduce the struggles parents faced when trying to transition their baby from the car and carry their baby in the removable seat portion of the ICS. The team at DesignThink has designed several car seats over the years and we instantly recognized the unique opportunity, as well as the challenge that this project offered, and were eager and excited to get started.

Our Role as the Innovation Incubator

We partnered with Dorel to act as the innovation incubator to lead the project team through the fuzzy front-end and define the product's overall features and characteristics of use. Upon successful concept definition, the project would be positioned under the Maxi Cosi brand and ultimately transferred to the Maxi Cosi team in Europe and a European design group to carry the innovation to production.

The Problem at Hand

By removing the seat from the base that is installed in the car, parents can take the baby with them while running errands or visiting people and places. However, a problem associated with this system is that some removable seats can weigh up to 16 lbs. and the baby can weigh up to 35 lbs. for a combined arm-crushing weight of 50+lbs.!!

We established two primary goals: 1) reduce the overall weight of the seat to lighten the load, while maintaining structural integrity as to achieve a top crash test rating, and 2) develop new methods that enable parents to more easily lift the seat when moving in and out of the vehicle and when transporting the child in the seat.

Our Approach (Decades of Experience and User Understanding Put to Test)

DesignThink is one of the leading firms in car seat development having brought several seats to the market and has a long history of creating break-through innovation, but this project pushed our team in new ways. The structure for the project utilized DesignThink's simplified "DEEP" process;

Define that for which we will solve

Express possible solutions as quick thumbnail stories

Explain the "what – why – wow" related to user needs

Prototype to demonstrate the merits of the idea

How the Project Unfolded

A series of innovation workshops were hosted at our studio to enable the team to think and problem solve with product at hand. The objective was to think in the "ideal" (do not worry about cost and construction initially) and to "fail fast" (explore, evaluate, and evolve). The following provided the high-level framework for how the team identified and pursued their ideas.

Established Design Targets

Led by our usability team, along with team members from Dorel, we hosted a several day innovation workshop at our studio. We began with a collaborative defining of the design targets based on use, expectations, pain points, and opportunities, which we affinitized and moved directly into physical prototyping to address and evaluate how well the concepts improved the user experience during day-to-day interactions.

DEEP: Innovation Workshops to prototype your idea. You are encouraged to be chaotic and messy! Fail fast! Dorel made sure plenty of product was on hand to fuel the innovation.

Inutitive Carry

Enhanced Confidence

Improved Transitions

Development of Design Targets

Role-Play is the Best Way

To truly understand and empathize with users, we role-played, exploring typical use-case scenarios to inform our ideation. Placing ourselves in the same situations helps us quickly evaluate and improve our concepts.

Handle-Carry:

Evolution for improved ease when attaching the seat to the base and removing the child from the vehicle

Cradle-Carry:

Exploration to improve how parents can bond with the baby in a more natural holding position

Cross-Body Strap:

Exploration to provide alternate ways to carry the baby while reducing the effects of weight and fatigue on the parent

Iterative User Evaluation Cycle

Our early thoughts and ideas were evaluated by the team and with parents in our research lab. These ideas were then refined to strengthen the evolving direction. The learnings obtained through this method enabled the team to focus on the most meaningful directions and build their value. Listening, understanding, and empathizing allowed our team to develop new ideas in this category that were previously unexplored.

DesignThink presents the refined design direction.

A series of prototypes and user evaluations enabled us to reach a stage of concept definition for an ultra lightweight car seat that provides parents with improved ways to carry, hold, and secure their baby.

Our Results

User-Centered Insights lead to Market Defining Solutions

Having developed many juvenile products such as car seats, strollers, and highchairs, DesignThink understands the day-to-day challenges parents face, both physically and emotionally. We embarked on this project with Dorel to define a new car seat with features that take into account those challenges and offer relevant and meaningful solutions. Exploring innovation that is rooted in user insights enabled our team to quickly define those solutions and overcome technical hurdles to deliver new experiences to address real problems faced by parents when using an ICS.

Defining the Direction

As mentioned, DesignThink was hired as the innovation incubator in the fuzzy front-end to develop and define a new architecture for this seat. Our work was documented and handed off to the Maxi-Cosi team in Europe. The output of our innovation incubation became the driving framework used by the teams in Europe to create a truly meaningful and relevant solution for parents in this category.

The DesignThink team is very proud to have been selected by Dorel to play such an important "behind the scenes" role in setting the direction for, and contributing to the success of, the Maxi Cosi Coral XP.

It takes a Village to Design a Car Seat

Snapshot of the iterative concept development that led to the final product

You can see more of DesignThink's work here.

German company Brabus provides aftermarket upgrades to Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, Porsche and Rolls-Royce vehicles. They also produce their own limited-edition rides, and this is their largest: The Brabus Big Boy 1200, a luxury motorhome.

At nearly 40' long, 8.2' wide, and 13.1' tall, it's shocking you don' t need a CDL to drive the thing. (To make it a little easier to pilot, there is a 360-degree camera monitoring system.)

It offers 320 square feet of living space. Once you park the vehicle, it self-levels. You can then deploy the slide-outs, extending the width of the bedroom and living room to 14.8'.

The bed, which is in a transverse orientation, is the European equivalent of a queen-size (63" x 79", versus the 60" x 80" we've got on this side of the pond). The mirrors beyond the bed conceal a large closet.

The bedroom features a desk and a 43" 4K television with an integrated Playstation 5 system and, thanks to satellite internet via Starlink, access to the internet and streaming services.

The living room features leather-upholstered sofas with Alcantara wood accents.

The kitchen boasts an induction stove, oven, coffee machine, dishwasher, and refrigerator with an interior freezer. There's an additional dedicated wine fridge.

The bathroom is done up in actual stone and features a "rainforest shower."

Directly above the driver's cabin is an electrically lowerable bed, also 63" wide. I have no idea why they don't show this in the photos, it sounds pretty cool.

Lastly, it's got a 12.8-liter six-cylinder turbodiesel, and the vehicle tops out at 56 mph. (I'd be terrified to drive this thing at half that speed.)

"Thelma & Louise" alternate ending

Despite some optimism that the US truck freight market would begin to recover from continued downward pressure during Q3 2024, U.S. Bank freight metrics showed challenges remain for motor carriers with shipments and spending softer in Q3. Shipments were off 21.2 per cent YoY, one of the largest drops. The bank’s national shipments index fell by 1.9 per cent in Q3 after a 2.2-per cent drop in Q2.

There have now been four or five years of huge ocean freight rate volatility, according to Drewry, which has cautioned its customers to expect little change in 2025, likely the fifth year in a row of high volatility. Shippers need to be aware that the shipping industry will continue to be disrupted and there are risks and a need for contingency plans and active vendor management, cautions Drewry.

China’s latest fiscal announcements seem aimed at addressing medium-term structural impediments to economic growth from strained local government finances, but are unlikely to immediately boost or offset deflationary risk, Fitch Ratings said. It expects a budget deficit of 7.1 per cent of GDP this year. It believes fiscal stimulus will remain incremental and responsive to downside risks.

As the world begins to recover from 2020 and the economic detriment, what is next on the horizon? Download our recorded webinar discussing the current economic state and the positive uptick in the market. You’ll learn about: Economic impact on business post-pandemic Best practices for moving your business forward How to plan for the remaining fiscal year...

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The 33rd annual Hoops for Hope tournament attracted 681 colleagues, clients and friends of the firm to support the 2021 Anders Charity of Choice, The Child Center. Heather Kemper of The Child Center joined Anders for a celebration lunch where a check for $11,500 was presented. “With the pandemic especially, it’s amazing the amount of...

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Companies and candidates are continually asking, “what does the current hiring market look like?” And many are shocked by the response. The truth is that the market is incredibly short on good quality candidates right now, and many job postings are open for extended periods while companies search for candidates. So, how did the job...

The post Hiring Challenges Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels – 5 Ways to Recruit the Right Hire appeared first on Anders CPA.

Corcoran CA Christie Bahamas, a franchisee of Corcoran Group, LLC, has announced the opening of its newest office location on Harbour Island in the Bahamas. Led by Corcoran CA Christie Bahamas Broker/Owner Gavin Christie, the new office will cater to the brokerage’s existing agents who serve the Harbour Island area, and any newly recruited agents,…

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This release describes how e-cigarette affect middle and high school students

The latest vital signs report detailing the affects of exposure to electronic cigarette advertisements on middle and high school students in the United States during 2014.

Report on the latest statistical data regarding middle and high school students and tobacco use.

Infographic showing data regarding middle and high school students and tobacco use.

Characteristics of e-cigarette use among middle and high school students in the United States during 2015.

US stocks have been on a roll since Donald Trump's victory. A bullish investment chief shared three concerns that investors should keep their eyes on.

Protein powders, yogurts, and bars make hitting our protein targets easy, but can contain UPFs. Here's what happened when health reporter Rachel Hosie quit them for a week.

Intel is struggling to overcome a series of challenges and establish itself as a globally competitive chipmaker.

Cathie Wood's Ark Venture Fund aims to disrupt venture capital by granting retail investors access to high-growth startups, tripling assets to $70 million despite lagging S&P 500.

Younger Americans are moving to rural areas, with large increases in Colorado, Texas, Montana, and the Southeast.

The "SNL" comedian Chloe Fineman said Musk made her cry when he hosted the show in 2021. On Sunday, he said "SNL" had been "slowly dying for years."

A Spirit Airlines flight diverted after being shot on approach to Haiti. JetBlue and American flights were also found to have been struck by bullets.

Australia donates rare 1920 film to the IFI Irish Film Archive

Rare Paralympic history preserved by NFSA

Fellowship to support preservation of audiovisual Indigenous heritage

Tagging the content at the article and sub-article level will make it easier to surface content more precisely relevant to the SSP community

The goal of the collaboration is to develop advanced algorithms that yield more efficient and user-friendly visual representations of application structures

Creatio works to transform legacy processes that impact enterprise productivity

One thing is clear: The widespread adoption of GenAI will not lead to fewer knowledge jobs, but rather, it will pave the way for their growth and evolution.

Experts from Shelf, Coveo, and Progress Semaphore joined KMWorld's webinar, Unlocking the Power of RAG, to speak to the nuance of extracting value from RAG at scale while mitigating its complications

AI adoption as a whole is very fragmented depending on the organization, depending on the market business vertical. The real game changer of AI is embedding into those deeper systems of operations, not just surface level use cases of generate a blog, generate news. AI should be evolving with your organization, your culture, and your appetite for risk. That's where Workgrid certainly comes in. Workgrid's platform is built to meet you wherever you happen to be on that journey.

Be sure to send your special events for us to include on "Whats Happening on I-Drive!"