Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year, Bluesky! Purpose-driven companies outperform those without America’s need for a renewed #socialcontract is financial —not just social, political or philosophical In 2026, #culture is #strategy

Welcome, Weekenders! In this edition of Weekend: 20 great books to read over the holidays; the year's best video games; and what Nvidia’s year-end shocker says about 2026 Read more from Abram Brown 👇 https://thein.fo/4peAGVB

Resources for #leadership in the #vuca era hbr.org/2023/09/how-... sloanreview.mit.edu/toolkit-navi...

Help your employees put the pieces 🧩 together with clear #communication, an underrated skill in the era of STEM and AI #leadership #strategy hbr.org/2025/08/buil...

How can #AI and #humanity work better together? By putting #teamsfirst AI is a resource for knowledge, but it’s what humans do with it that makes the difference: channeling our ingenuity, our creativity—analogic thinking sloanreview.mit.edu/article/gena... www.instagram.com/p/DScsk4pFk-_

At its core, #designthinking solves a #communication problem in #business: a shared context for the team on common goals, challenges & ideas #innovation With the right #structure, #clarity arrives ahead of schedule. Here’s to a brighter 💡 2026 ahead hbr.org/2025/10/use-... hbr.org/2026/01/the-...

#reality bites: a sober analysis of your team’s capabilities and underlying data architecture can prevent a predictable #AI misfire #firstprinciples apply: AI needs machine learning to function since it is not yet sentient (AGI) #strategy hbr.org/2026/01/matc... www.bain.com/insights/the...

Today’s release improves OpenAI’s performance on a variety of industry benchmarks. f-st.co/vDFr8Jg

An underrated benefit of #designthinking for #business? The “engineering black box,” which Compaq used to enter the PC market to beat IBM’s monopoly Employees who haven’t seen competitors’ products can copy them without violating Copyright sloanreview.mit.edu/article/use-...

Another way of saying it: everything is a remix #innovation is rarely totally clean-sheet (tabula rasa). “Everything old is new again,” “the more things change …” youtu.be/X9RYuvPCQUA

There is a scientific approach to #ux design in software—testing theories based on human factors (psychology, ergonomics, human-computer interaction/HCI) As a field, #design channels #humanity to move us all forward, to figure out what “better” is & get us there www.exed.hbs.edu/blog/buildin...

Going into 2026, #culture is #strategy Putting #teamsfirst is the ultimate #productivity hack for #leadership, and now we have the data to prove it —in other words: how to avoid putting the cart ahead of the horse hbr.org/2025/12/most... www.instagram.com/p/DSKvmF-jXsX

“The #design is the details” —Charles Eames Leaving no stone unturned in the search for excellence in #typography means more efficiency in the workplace—fewer errors, and faster task completion times Consider this your sign to book a #ux consultation today

If now is the winter of your discontent in project planning, consider adding a consultant to the staff to give your team the gift of #clarity this holiday, a fresh perspective

Organizational #resilience sets your team up for success with #clarity of purpose Adding #strategy on the front end provides a framework for the stability and psychological safety needed for #innovation #culture #orgdesign sloanreview.mit.edu/article/resi...

According to Parkinson’s Law, work fills the available space. Tools can help channel employees’ attention strategically to help make sure that time is being used for the highest #productivity In #ux it’s called #designops; in #business it’s called #orgdesign lawsofux.com/parkinsons-law

#firstprinciples are a must before adopting any #ai #strategy Because AI is not yet AGI, the decisions are only as good as the data you feed it: machine learning, deep learning and data hygiene still apply

“The path to a sensible, defensible, and useful view of what’s going on lies in the #synthesis of many different sources … clear signals for business leaders to develop an enlightened stance” 💡 #AI #strategy hbr.org/2025/11/maki...

Quality, not quantity of output is the competitive edge your #business needs in 2026 In an increasingly automated world, the #productivity benefit comes from #humanity www.fastcompany.com/91383532/slo... www.fastcompany.com/91398451/mtr...

Tied up in knots trying to figure out your next move? Schedule a consultation today for a #strategy reset. #Clarity might be the missing ingredient in your #business plans —perhaps a trial balloon 🎈 with less hot air? hbr.org/2026/01/get-... Instagram shareable: www.instagram.com/p/DRxEWzQjboA

Once an opinion, now backed by data. In 2026, #culture is #strategy #teamsfirst hbr.org/2025/11/in-t...

It’s a bit of a paradox, but in uncertain times, clarity from #business helps employees navigate change successfully by removing an unnecessary source of stress in their lives, a lighthouse in a storm #strategy

So what can we do to address the issues we face now and our worries about the future well-being of our workforce? Check out our new paper to find out: techequity.us/2025/11/19/a...

Purpose-driven organizations outperform those without, and purpose is a key motivator in #productivity in general Corporate #culture can be a positive change agent for America with a bold, radically improved #socialcontract #orgdesign www.fastcompany.com/91444607/wor... hbr.org/2019/09/put-...

Our need to win is turning America into a losing nation, Anne-Marie Slaughter argues.

Expanding your mind and your POV require psychological safety and time 🕘 “Slow down to speed up” means using another part of your brain, higher functions involved in #synthesis and unstructured creativity —but you need more structure to do that (paradoxically!) #strategy hbr.org/2025/10/stop...

#designthinking is the fastest way to adopt this #culture on #tech projects —collaborative problem-solving with the user testing provided by #ux experts in human factors gives your company a needed “test run” for team #resilience #orgdesign www.exed.hbs.edu/blog/buildin... hbr.org/2020/03/buil...

The #ux of #AI for teams is coming to light; #structure is the component that was missing, and Latin America led the way: “the consistent cadence of interactions required both to achieve product launch and … adopt AI models that tend to learn and change over time” hbr.org/2025/11/most...

MIT Sloan writes about “a new corporate architecture” in its latest in “embedding purpose” as a #strategy in #orgdesign sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-... hbr.org/2019/09/put-... A new approach to corporate governance can be more responsive and adaptive: hbr.org/2025/11/beco...

Knowing what you don’t know is as important in #leadership as what you do know Unearthing a nugget of wisdom from others’ experience with #resilience may be the puzzle piece 🧩 you needed to thread the needle 🪡 that turns straw into gold

MIT Sloan has a toolkit #leadership can purchase that helps them make better decisions in times of political uncertainty, avoiding the binary thinking of overreaction and perfectionism sloanreview.mit.edu/toolkit-navi... More on binary thinking and #resilience: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/o...

For a more market-based example, there is Nvidia’s CEO, who puts it this way, short and sweet, to the point: “If you take care of people, everything else takes care of itself” #socialcontract fortune.com/2025/07/28/n... www.entrepreneur.com/business-new...

The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), whose brands include MAC, Clinique, Aveda, and Le Labo, is gaining momentum in its multi-year turnaround. trib.al/3WREeFt

“Shine a light” 💡 #culture #orgdesign sloanreview.mit.edu/article/why-...

Insights from behavioral #science and #psychology are informing the latest #leadership advice, a breath of fresh air for burnt out middle managers and line workers #strategy #orgdesign sloanreview.mit.edu/article/deco... www.fastcompany.com/91431390/how...

Since ideas are transactional these days, and we “sell” people on ideas instead of persuading … It might be easier next time the #socialcontract comes up in polite company to tell them about the virtuous cycle, which is pretty much the same thing using different words www.inc.com/ken-sterling...

“Turn on, tune in, drop out” was a rallying cry of the 1960s, fresh from the #beatnik era. Now, “the greatest generation” may be suffering from #affluenza, a condition associated with #stratification that prevents the wealthy from seeing long-term consequences www.economist.com/finance-and-...

I forget where I heard this phrase, or if I just came up with it on my own, but this is my approach to #tech #strategy: you need a definite point of view to build on, but then change needs to come easily if new information presents itself Works for #leadership too jeffgothelf.com/blog/strong-...

”Our brains are designed to stop us paying too much attention. This is well demonstrated by the optical illusion called Troxler fading … But this does not mean that habituating is always our friend“ #innovation hbr.org/2019/04/to-c...

Critical for brain health, sleep helps your brain function better. And the mental reset helps with complex problem-solving in general —“sleeping on it” really works! “Don’t sleep on” actually sleeping your way to #business success news.mit.edu/2025/your-br... www.newscientist.com/article/dn87...

The global reach of omyk.co is intended to bring together multiple perspectives, but an understated one is the benefit of knowing multiple languages to begin with www.vice.com/en/article/s...

Proper sleep helps with creative problem-solving, not just your personal #health As 996 burnout culture becomes the norm in #tech, “fail faster” shouldn’t be a continuously self-fulfilling prophecy: #productivity begins with a healthier day bsky.app/profile/omar... bsky.app/profile/omar...

With so many unknown unknowns and potential pitfalls on the path to successful agentic #AI, it can make sense to #focus GenAI #strategy on a well-trodden use case we know works to unlock value: LLMs are best at words, after all #marketing #firstprinciples #business hbr.org/2025/11/stop...

“Future mundane” is an approach recommended by a futurist to encourage companies to avoid the pitfalls of short-termism in quarterly capitalism. IBM’s CEO said to avoid "toys on the side” and focus on “the things you can scale” www.fastcompany.com/91426058/why... www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

“… companies often incentivize long hours, and tethering yourself to your desk is rarely a recipe for innovative, strategic thinking” #innovation #culture #strategy #leadership hbr.org/2018/06/if-s...

The connection between spirituality and #business is not an obvious one, but it’s real. Not that we necessarily have to become religious at work—any cult thinking can be destructive Shorter, bluntly: “Get over yourself” #groupthink #diversity #leadership #strategy www.inc.com/mike-maddock...

The cutting edge of #AI thought leadership is exploring how agentic AI models can communicate with one another to enable independent learning—still in its very early stages. Organizations would do well to prepare for this future by using data hygiene now for smarter decisions later #firstprinciples

“Solving the puzzle” can happen as a team effort sooner if #designthinking is deployed on #AI projects to reduce ambiguity, add #clarity of purpose, and define metrics and objectives for success #systemsthinking supplements these #firstprinciples hbr.org/2025/10/desi... hbr.org/2025/10/use-...

@fastcompany.com calls #ux one of the long-term investments you can make in your #business right now to set it up for future success And to build #resilience, lead with #clarity and purpose #vuca #leadership www.fastcompany.com/91364093/how...