Ive been feeling grossly inadequate, career-wise. Some of this has been driven by my perception that the economy is failing and Im going down with it, and my addiction to reading industry trends on LinkedIn.Dont get me wrong, I love LinkedIn. The anticipation of logging on and, fingers crossed, earning my long-awaited prize of a new client, job invite or contract is what drives me. But lately, Ive been opening up to anxiety-inducing posts like, Last night, an AI destroyed my career opportunities, but now I have a million-dollar business, or My startup sold for $20 million, and Im an investor now, and I built an app that was so dumb, and then a community of millions downloaded it; heres how I did it! or I just earned a massive sponsorship and partnership with [name your favorite celebrity], and I just lost it.
The upside of envy
It seems like everyone but me is thriving in their new super-fab job, reaping the benefits of AI, or sharing highly informed commentary on a topic I know nothing about; then I see 15,000 engaging comments on their posts! Some people take selfies, use skin filters, and celeb-obsess on Instagram. But for me, Im all about LinkedIn and its been killing my creator spirit. But the real truth is very painful and inconvenient: I am coldly and blisteringly envious.
Warren Buffet quipped: As an investor, you get something out of all the deadly sinsexcept for envy. Being envious of someone else is pretty stupid. Wishing them badly, or wishing you did as well as they didall it does is ruin your day. Doesn’t hurt them at all, and there’s zero upside to it.But what if you could prevent this awful feeling, and turn it into a business opportunity? Even when you arent religious, this quote from the bible makes sense: “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice,” James 3:16. Right now, jealousy seems to be at an all-time high in the United States.
Some people are having such extreme career and financial success these days. If you are like me, you scratch your head daily and ask yourself, “How they are doing this amid layoffs and a souring political and economic environment?” And then, “What am I doing wrong that I cant succeed too? Dont I deserve success? I work so hard.”
I imagine that many of you who are reading this are, like me, not feeling successful or satisfied. I know this to be true because after I read yet another Im winning post, I go right to the comments. Im not seeing the glass half full when comments I read are lined with the bitterness of regret and the sour taste of envy. You know those posts, the ones where the first comment makes a resentful or snarky complaint about the privileged, the well-connected, or the trust fund baby, or how they slept their way to the top. The morally upright you tries to dismiss such comments, but the envy in us feels some satisfaction knowing that we are not alone.
Feeling envious or jealous is no way to work or grow a brand or a business. At some point, it will consume your entrepreneurial spirit, your happiness, and your time, just like it did mine. But I decided to repackage how to approach my feelings of envy, and it placed me on a path of professional and creative recovery. Give these five ideas a try to see if they help you like they are helping me.
1. Define success
Have we forgotten how to do this since we are so focused on other people? Do you define success as financial stability and comfort, or do you define it as having optimal health? Maybe you define success as finding hope, happiness, and abundance even in moments of despair? What does the outcome look like and what does it feel like for you? Defining your own version of success can arm you against self-pity, anger, and most certainly envy. Your version of success will be unique to you.
After you define what success is for you, put the vision of success at the beginning of a journey map or flowchart and backtrack to get to where you are now. I find that seeing success first can prevent stagnation. As you build toward your vision of success, know that you will find envy potholes filled with people who appear to have already reached the goals you’ve been trying to reach for yourself. You may feel that the grass is greener on the other side, and that might be true. But this part of the story is about you finding a place in your own heart firstwhere you can see your own success on paper and begin to act.
2. Embrace social comparison
Social media, with repeated use and exposure, makes us feel that we know successful people like they are friends, and that they see us. Social media is not real, and the people we see on it are not our friends. This actually reminds me of the woman on the plane who screamed That MF is not real! Remember her crash out the next time you see a person social posting their perfection. But scrolling with the intention to conduct research can help you learn, copy, admire, then repackage what youve learned to align with your own brand. Study competitive products, watch how your perceived competitor creates content, read their posts, add them to a social media monitoring platform and run analytics. Study, study, and study more. Become a student of your jealousy. Identifying insights instead of flaws is empoweringnot spiritually depleting and extractive. Copy what you are jealous of and apply your own creativity to it. Replacing your competitiveness with curiosity will be a mental and career game changer.
Of course, you could put blinders on and never consume anyone else’s success content to keep your sanity. But if you are in business and are an entrepreneur like me, youll need to use all your social media tools for business outreach and to broadcast what problems you’re solving for others.
3. Express gratitude
Speaking your gratitude out loud instantly changes your energy. Have you noticed that when you doomscroll you forget where you are and your surroundings go dark? I combat this when I do my morning runs. The first 10 minutes I express thanks for my health, my children, whatever is left over in my bank account, my current clients, current contractsno matter how small, the sun, moon, air, trees, and light. I also use a mantra. One of my mantras is I will bring health and wealth to Birk Creative this quarter.Gratitude and mantras pull me from barbed wire thoughts and back to the present moment, which is always the best place to be. Force yourself to speak positivity into existence. What also works for me is to put away my screens, take a deep breath, relax my shoulders, roll my neck, and stretch. This helps me to remember I am a human and connected to the earth.
4. Beat the algorithm
Nope. There’s no way to beat the algorithm, but you can try to trick it. Force yourself to not look at, linger on, or tap at content that triggers your envy. Find and like content that is the opposite of what you typically consume. Click like on things that bring you joy, a smile, or a laugh. Just make sure something about it brings you to a place of learning that lines up with your vision of success.
Focus on your bodys response to this feeling. Does your body relax or tense up? Do you keep scrolling or do you hang on and rewatch? Rewatching content to understand it is better for this exercise than empty scroling to the next post. There’s no way to stop unwanted content on social media channels from showing up, but you can program new content.
Delete an app and dont visit it for a few days, maybe a week, and then reinstall it. Visit the profile of a person you are jealous ofmake a screen shot and repost something of theirs you like or recreate it to add your own spin. Experiment with this strategy every day for at least a week.
As another idea, look for business inspiration quotes and like them or repost them. Prompt an LLM to give you five quotes on positivity, then plug them into Canva to make your own positivity quotes. Write an essay based on the quotes; relate it to your experience and share it. Whats your favorite color? Prompt and create a beautiful image online that includes your favorite color and use that image to accompany the post. Heres a prompt: A [fill in your color] flower floats above the ocean, under a [fill in your favorite color] sky with white fluffy clouds [water color painting style]. Use this image to accompany your essay; post it to your favorite social media channel.
Stumbling across someone elses path of success can distract you with jealousy. Instead, try to find just one thing to authentically celebrate about the person or product you are jealous of. You know the saying: If you cant say something nice, dont say anything at all. Make a habit of finding something nice to say to combat your envy.
5. Create or refine your own brand
If there was ever a time to get to know AI it would be right now. Even if you are tired of hearing about professional branding, creating your own is the one thing that will keep you from looking outward and being jealous and force you to look within and reinvent yourself. A professional and personal brand also helps to keep focused on creating your own platform for business growth and personal development.
For those with a reservoir of content, go back to your saved articles, essays, YouTube videos, and social media posts, and repurpose them all using an AI tool like Whisper, Opus if its video, or Perplexity. Copy the words or YouTube link, paste it in the AI tool, and prompt it to create fresh buckets of bite-sized content that you can share. Or feed it to the AI and ask it to analyze your content and write your new professional brand statement. (To accompany this article, I created a playlist on YouTube called Songs to Help You Not Be Jealous.)
Use these tools to help you hone in on what you are good at by reviewing your content or by helping you write new content. Be honest, talk about your interests and your skills with these AI tools; use them to help you create a fresh personal brand even if youve never had one. The exercise here is to get you to navel gaze a little bit and focus on your own ideas in order to avoid becoming lost in greener pastures.
Transform your thoughts
The bottom line is there’s no real way to avoid business envy and jealousy. Unless you are the rare person able to feel altruistic joy for someone else’s success, it’s unrealistic to not wish that what somebody has could be yours. But each time you see something that you’re jealous of or envious of, transform your thoughts and actions, learn from them, express gratitude, and create away. Eventually, if you stay consistent with learning, your professional jealousy will turn into greater self-awareness, which most often leads to your vision of success.
Take a quick look around the office or scan the names of your colleagues on Slack. Two-thirds of your coworkers are feeling burned out. Maybe you are, too. In a survey conducted for Moodle, an e-learning tool, 66% of workers are struggling, citing too much work, not enough resources, and a poor economy.
While all these circumstances have a role in burnout, there may be an internal problem also in play, according to Jeffrey Hull and Margaret Moore, coauthors of The Science of Leadership: Nine Ways to Expand Your Impact. Your ego could be too noisy!
A noisy ego describes a person who is constantly thinking about themselves, Moore says. Theyre asking Am I OK? Are they insulting me? Am I being positioned correctly? Its a self-referencing, self-oriented noise.
A quiet ego is a term coined by Jack Bauer, a professor of psychology at the University of Dayton, and Heidi Wayment, a professor of psychological sciences at Northern Arizona University. It describes a personality type characterized by being mindful, emotionally intelligent, compassionate, and growth-oriented.
The quiet ego is an evolved person who’s integrated all the noise, Moore explains. Theyve been through life. Its where stress turns into growth; the next stage beyond emotional intelligence of self-awareness and self-regulation.
Why We Shift into the Noisy Ego
The noisy ego often gets triggered during a loss of vitality. Perhaps youre not getting enough sleep or youre not eating well. This is a really important transitional moment when the ego could get really noisy and make things difficult, Hull says.
Your battery is basically drained, and there’s no energy left, Moore adds. [Your prefrontal cortex goes offline], and you’ve lost your ability to control things. You can’t blame the individual for all of it. It’s an equal balance of external factors and internal factors, and you can’t get out by yourself.
Being in a crisis can trigger the noisy ego since it pushes you out of the familiar and into reaction mode. It can also stir up emotions that are uncomfortable to handle. You can easily slip into feeling out of controlanxious, afraid, and hopeless. Its also common to not ask for enough support, believing you can power through. But this can quickly become a place with a lot of negativity and too little positivity, Moore says.
Shifting Back into the Quiet Ego
Getting yourself out of your noisy ego involves positive psychology. How do you find gratitude and inspiration? Moore asks. How do you get a little bit of upward liftby socializing or taking a break? You build those positive resources, but you also have to resolve the negative with a friend, a coach, or by journaling.
A good place to start is investigating the noise. When youre coming from a place of fear, the main negatives are worry, anxiety, sadness, disappointment, and anger. Look at each of those, Moore says. If you’re angry, what are the emotions telling you that you need more? Do you need more safety or stability? Then, how do you meet the needs of those parts of you?
Curiosity is a superpower, but it isn’t accessible with a noisy ego. You need to quiet that energy to be more open and receptive. When you notice symptoms of burnout, Hull recommends reflecting on a time when things were working. What did it look like? he asks. Very successful people wouldn’t be in positions of success if they had always been burned out. They had to come from a place of having done well. But that noisy ego gets in the way, and they forget the gifts and talents and strengths that got them to that place of success.
Hull recommends reflecting on a resource called the resourceful past. What got you through college? What got you your first job? Or try to remember a time that was really difficult. What did you do to get through that? he asks. Those capacities are still there.
The Quiet Ego Is Your Natural State
Its easy to forget what it feels like to have a quiet ego because we live in an overstimulated world. We become so caught up in the noise that we no longer recognize it, seeing it as normal. But the quiet ego is our natural and normal state, Moore says.
Start noticing your heartbeat and your breathing, she suggests. It is a place of quiet.
Think about a time when you exhaled and felt calm and in control. This place is a state of stillness, and it can become a refuge you visit when you want to regain control of your mind, Hull says. The challenge we have in our culture is that we’ve made [stillness] wrong. We think we don’t have time for that, that its wasteful. But when you get calmer, you start to explore because your ego is not in the way.
“Its not about having no ego,” he adds. “Its setting aside the noise. Its the process of becoming awake to yourselfphysically, emotionally, and mentally. Your energy shifts to a calmer place. And from that calmer place, you can access creativity, ideas, and curiosity.
Ask any employer about their current workforce tribulations, and unabashedly, entitlement raises its hand as probable cause. But if your mind has gone straight to Gen Z and younger millennial employees, pause for a moment. Entitlement now pervades every generation, job function, title, and demographic. Its a behavioral contagion, akin to yawning or laughing, but with workplace effects that are anything but benign.
Employee entitlement hasnt emerged independently. Its shaped by context. Post–pandemic, the workplace faced a global skills crisis. In response, organizations upped the ante. Salaries rose, perks and benefits were no longer a bonus but a prerogative, and moreso much more. Companies doled out anything to attract and keep employees. With that came the shift of power and influence.
The alternative was decreased returns with increased workloads and pressure, so it made sense. Dont think of it as an employees personal flaw, but a system response. Here are some signs you may need to reset the systemand put healthier expectations in place for everyone to thrive at work.
1. Rescuing instead of supporting
The shift toward more empathetic leaders is long overdue. Empathy and understanding in the right measure forges trust and deepens relationships. But with too much support, managers can fall into the trap of over-accommodating, weakening the very structure we are trying to strengthen. Before we know it, the role has morphed from manager to workplace guardian and carer.
Support without boundaries enables dependency. We buffer, soften, and sometimes take over when things get hard. It removes the precious opportunity to learn and grow, instead creating a learned helplessness.
When we overprotect, we underprepare. The fix: Challenge is where resilience is built. Let your team go through the tough lessons.
2. Making rules la carte
Its otherwise known as inconsistent standards. You bend the rules to avoid conflict, and think you are keeping people happy. You might look the other way from repeated tardiness or dropping the ball on customer response times. You might let the team repeatedly rearrange meetings to suit personal needs while on the clock.
When rules and policies are viewed as optional, other workplace expectations are also seen as negotiable. Your employees, of course, believe they are now entitled to different treatment and will resist any attempt to restore standard company rules and policies. Why wouldnt they? You havent held the line before and instead been whimsical in response. The fix: its time to communicate that expectations have become too lax as of late, and youll be (kindly) holding up firmer standards from now on.
3. Giving rewards without anchors
Rewards work best when they’re anchored to behaviors and outcomes that serve the organizations actual objectives, not its moods. While moments of appreciation matter, recognition thats not tied to performance risks becoming more about emotional optics than meaningful impact. And rewards given as a thank you need a direct link to the act being appreciated.
Thats because recognitions handed out without anchors cause confusion, both for those rewarded and those observing. When rewards feel arbitrary, morale doesnt rise, it fractures. And just like that, resentment takes root. Bonuses not linked to transparent, measurable goals quickly shift from recognition to assumption. It becomes a right and not a recognition for achievement. The fix: make every recognition clear for how it helped the team, the business, or the goals.
4. Over-accommodating for poor performance
In this case, poor performance is explained away instead of corrected. You find a way to make it okaytheyre still coming up to speed, or the working environment is different now. After all, you have been told to be more flexible and patient, and to relax a bit on yesterdays standards. In a workplace that also calls for upskilling and training, its understandable to lessen the pressure.
But too much over-accommodating shifts to, as long as you try, its okay. Or a culture of blame for underperformance being out of their control: I wasnt given enough training, time, or resources. Over time, this erodes ambition and personal agencyand its often why teams start to feel directionless. Continued poor performance is not business sustainable. Mediocrity becomes the norm, and its a downward spiral. The fix: address when an employees missed the mark, and make a plan together so they can hit it next time.
5. Taking psychological safety too far
Speaking up, having a voice, admitting mistakes, and expressing yourself without fear of negative consequences are fundamental for team success and employee engagement. But psychological safety doesnt mean perpetual comfort. There are consequences for mistakes, and not everything voiced needs to be heard.
Safety and accountability must coexist. A culture of shielding employees from standard workplace pressures, not receiving challenging feedback or criticism for fear of reaction or using psychological safety as a weapon becomes problematic. When discomfort is automatically treated as harm, organizations lose the ability to grow, and people lose the muscle for resilience. The fix: Reset expectations that having difficult conversations are a part of the job, then model a healthy way to have them
Ending entitlement at work
Entitlement is not born: it is brokered, signed in the margins of crisis. It doesnt arise from malice or laziness; it grows in the fertile ground of contradiction. We cant moralize our way out of entitlement, nor can we appease it. We need a rebalancing, a return to shared psychological contracts where contribution, growth, and recognition are earned and expected by all.
With any innovation comes risk, but those risks can be managed with the right precautions. Protecting yourself online is just as important in your crypto wallet as it is in your email inbox or your banking app.
According to the largest ever study of crypto holders in America, which my organization conducted, just 3% reported negative experiences with crypto, and of these, less than a third had experienced fraud or security breaches personally. Thats less than 1% total. Compare that to traditional banking scams, where 34% of U.S. adults have experienced in the last year, or online dating, where 40% of users have reported being targeted by scams.
The point is that scams happen in every corner of the internet. The good news? The habits that keep you safe in other online spaces also work in Web3.
Find the scams before they find you
Scams can happen to anyone, anywhereno matter how smart or tech savvy you may be. By staying alert, you can avoid the hassle and heartache that comes with being swindled.
These are some of the most common tactics used by online scammers:
Pig butchering: Scammers build fake relationships onlineposing as a friend, love interest, or mentorbefore persuading you to invest in a cant miss opportunity. Once the crypto or money is sent, the scammers vanish.
Pump and dump: A lesser-known token gets hyped up by influencers or group chats, driving up demand. The scam organizers then sell their holdings at the topleaving latecomers holding the bag.
Fake giveaways: Look out for messages claiming youll receive free crypto if you send a little first. No legitimate organization or person asks you to pay in order to receive a giveaway.
Impersonation scams: Fraudsters pretend to be customer service reps, government agencies, or wallet providers to get you to send funds or hand over your login details.
Phishing attacks: These often come through fake emails or links on social media, asking you to log in or verify your wallet. The goal? Steal your private keys or seed phrases.
Stay safe with smart internet habits
Online safety isnt about paranoiaits about preparation. Governments, companies, and organizations are working to improve consumer protections so that people can use crypto securely. And while those measures can make everyday use more secure, no system is completely foolproof.
But with these six simple practices, you can help protect your coins, your identity, and your peace of mind:
Never share your private key. Your public wallet address is safe to share (its like your email) but your private key or recovery phrase gives full access to your wallet (its like your password). Keep it secret, and store it securely offline.
Avoid clicking random links. Whether its a text, tweet, or email, always double-check the source before responding or clicking.
Be skeptical of urgency. Scammers rely on pressure tactics. If someones telling you to act fast or youll miss out, take a step back. Real opportunities dont rush you.
Research before you invest. Dont believe the hype or anonymous tips. Look up the project, the people behind it, and whether its widely recognized and reputable.
Trust your gutand verify the details. Misspelled names, strange email addresses, or too-good-to-be-true offers are always red flags.
Beware of random texts or emails. Hey I found your number in my contacts, a random How are you? from an unknown number or, other out of the blue overtures should always be treated skeptically.
General rule of thumb: If it seems too good to be true, it’s probably a scam.
Take control of your digital destiny
Crypto gives people more control, more access, and more opportunity. But that means nothing without trust and safety.
You dont have to be a tech wizard or finance pro to use crypto. You just need to be a little crypto curious. When you decide to dip your toe in, practice and a few smart habitshabits you hopefully already uselike double authentication (where your bank, for example, will text you a code).
So lets build a safer digital future together. Not by avoiding whats new, but by learning how to navigate it responsibly.
Stu Alderoty is president of the National Cryptocurrency Association.
In a time where almost anything you could want is just a tap awayAI-powered answers in seconds, groceries delivered within the hour, endless content streamed instantly, and real-time validation through likes and sharesit’s no surprise that we’ve come to expect that same level of immediacy from our health. GLP-1 drugs promise rapid weight loss. Telemedicine provides patient care from the comfort of your own couch. At-home diagnostic tests deliver near-instant health insights. Social media and on-demand culture have rewired our brains to crave this kind of instant gratification, trapping many of us in a dopamine loopthat endless cycle of seeking out short-term rewards at the expense of long-term well-being.
The consequences of this mindset are much deeper than we realize. In fact, the ripple effect is reshaping how we view our bodies, our health, and what it means to feel good. And it’s taking a toll on our physical and mental health. The health and wellness industry, which should be offering a counterpoint to this culture, has too often played into it, promising overnight results, quick fixes, and immediate transformations. The truth is, our bodies dont operate on the same timeline as our screens.
The disconnect between instant gratification and whole-body health
Biological transformation is a slow and intuitive process, one that unfolds over months and years, not overnight. Yet we’ve been conditioned to feel like we’re failing if we don’t see instant results. This gap has real consequences: People abandon solutions that could meaningfully improve their health simply because they haven’t delivered fast enough. In the chasing of short-term wins, we’re ignoring the foundational systems that fuel long-term well-being: our stress response, hormone health, gut microbiome, and the delicate balance of nutrients that power our bodies.
The rise of quick-fix wellness has only reinforced this cycle. The common thread? They all offer a dopamine hita fleeting sense of progresswithout addressing the root causes of why we don’t feel good in the first place.
The problem is, quick wins rarely translate to lasting health. When we expect instant results from our bodies, we’re setting ourselves up for disappointment, and that disappointment breeds distrust. We start to believe that our bodies are failing us, when in reality, it’s our expectations that need recalibrating.
Whats more concerning is that this mindset is compounding the very issues we’re trying to solve. Stress, fatigue, thinning hair, breakouts, brain fogthese are all signals that our bodies are out of balance, not problems to be hacked. But in the dopamine loop, we treat the symptoms, not the root causes. So the cycle continues.
A new mindset: Longevity over quick fixes
The most profound health transformations happen when we work with our bodies, not against them. This requires a radical mindset shiftone that prioritizes optimization over instant gratification and rewires the way we measure progress. What if the question wasnt How quickly will this work? but instead How will this support the future version of me?
This is the mindset of whole-body longevitythe belief that how we feel today is deeply connected to how we’ll feel five, 10, or 20 years from now. It’s about setting your body up to not just feel good right now, but to stay strong and thrive for the long haul.
As an industry, we have a responsibility to lead this shift. That means telling the truth about what it really takes to transform your healththat lasting change happens over months, not days. It means designing products that address the root causes of how people feel, not just surface-level symptoms. And it means empowering people to celebrate progress, not perfection, and to understand that feeling better is a journey, not a destination.
The future of health is whole-body
True wellbeing doesnt come from quick fixes; it comes from lasting habits. While treatments and medications can offer short-term relief, sustainable transformation requires a deeper, long-term commitment to how we live every day.
Whole foods, regular movement, quality sleep, stress management, and mindful choices like reducing alcoholthese arent trends; theyre the foundation for clarity, resilience, and longevity.
When these habits are supported by science-backed clinical tools, they create the conditions for real, lasting change. Health becomes something we cultivate, not hack.
Imagine if we shifted the focus from fast results to long-term vitality. If success was defined not by how quickly we feel better, but by how well were preparing our bodies and minds to thrive for decades to come.
This is the future of health: slow, intentional, science-driven, and whole-body, because no part of us functions in isolation. As leaders, aligning with this vision means building not just better businesses, but a healthier world.
Giorgos Tsetis is cofounder and chairman of Nutrafol.
Recently, Google dropped a quiet but monumental announcement: Google Meet will soon support real-time translation. It may seem like a product feature update, but it’s actually a glimpse into the future of how the internet and global business will function. Were on the cusp of a world where every conversation on the internet, regardless of language, can happen in real time. And that changes everything.
For B2B enterprises, this isn’t about novelty. It’s about unlocking collaboration, creativity, and commerce at a global scale.
Language wont be as big of a limitation
Language has long been one of the final friction points in cross-border collaboration. Even as video calls and messaging platforms brought teams closer together, they still relied on a common language, most often English, as the conduit. That created limitations on who could participate, how much nuance was retained, and how ideas flowed.
With real-time translation, we move from a world of adaptation to one of direct contribution. Suddenly, a designer in Buenos Aires, a strategist in Nairobi, and a developer in Tokyo can jump into the same conversation without stopping to translate or interpret. Everyone speaks, and is understood, in their own language.
This isnt just a productivity boost. Its a structural shift in how we think, ideate, and build together.
Collaboration without borders
What happens when you remove the communication tax from global teamwork? You get more voices in the room. More diversity in thought. More creativity, sparked by perspectives that were once hard to access in real time.
Enterprise companies will be able to:
Run global design sprints with fully multilingual teams
Support customers in their native language with real empathy
Develop cross-cultural products with richer user insights
The internet becomes not just a place to publish or consume, but a space to co-create. Together. Instantly.
Here comes a new kind of global enterprise
This technological leap doesnt just make business more efficientit makes it more human. Companies will no longer have to localize after the fact. Theyll build global from day one, with the input and collaboration of people around the world.
Imagine:
Sales teams conducting live pitches in any language, without intermediaries
International vendor partnerships operating in sync, not in silos
Internal documentation, onboarding, and training auto-translating in real time
This is about scaling relationships, not just transactions.
Culture, context, and the human layer
Of course, language is more than just words. It’s culture, tone, idioms, and nuance. Real-time translation won’t always get that right. And thats where intentional leadership comes in.
Companies will need to:
Equip teams with cultural fluency alongside technical fluency
Stay alert to how AI translation might flatten or distort meaning
Create norms and rituals that preserve empathy and clarity
Technology can connect us instantly. But connection without understanding is just noise. The opportunity lies in blending speed with sensitivity.
What B2B enterprises can do today
Real-time translation is arriving fast. To stay ahead, enterprise leaders can:
Audit your communication tools: Are they ready for multilingual functionality?
Rethink your hiring lens: Global talent is no longer gated by English fluency
Train teams to collaborate across cultures, not just across time zones
Start small: Pilot real-time translation in internal meetings or support channels
Be prepared for errors
The future of work isnt just distributedits multilingual, multicultural, and massively connected. Real-time translation is the infrastructure that will make it all possible.
Remember technology should elevate human connection, not replace it. Real-time communication, across every language, brings us closer to that vision. Not just faster meetings or wider reach, but deeper collaboration, richer relationships, and a more inclusive world of work.
The internet just got a lot more fluent. Lets build what comes next.
George Brooks is founder and CEO of Crema.
Metas artificial intelligence tool might be a little too easy to use.
The discover feed for Meta AI, the social media giant’s one-stop shop for AI image creation and chatbot brainstorming sessions, is full of what appears to be peoples deepest, darkest personal queriesunknowingly shared for all to see.
The feed is accessible via Facebook and is mostly a collection of harmless user-generated AI images, such as Tony Stark designing Air Jordan sneakers and Donald Trump surrounded by a pit of flames. But interspersed throughout the fire hose of content is a significant amount of chatbot prompts from users who may have no idea that their activity is public.
Examples include a user asking for tips on how to ask Asian women if they date older men, what to do if you have red bumps on certain parts of your body, and how to improve bowel movements. Many of the queries include the chatbots responses and follow-ups from the users, resulting in full-on conversations about highly inappropriate topics.
And since Meta AIs discover feed is meant to be a social experience, users can comment on the conversationstherefore, many of the most inappropriate threads also include comments from well-intentioned users trying to alert people that their potentially embarrassing posts are public.
One Meta AI user even asked Meta’s chatbot if it is aware of the problem and how it plans to fix itself: “YOU are the app. What do YOU think?”
Meta did not immediately respond to Fast Company‘s request for comment.
Breaking a few eggs in the AI arms race
Meta AI does warn users when theyre about to post something publicly, but the interface is new and may not be familiar to Facebook users who are newly encountering the discover feed.
The intimate and inappropriate nature of the chats offers an interesting window into the types of queries that people plug into AI tools when they think no one is watching.
Meta, like all other Big Tech giants, is investing heavily in generative artificial intelligence, most recently preparing a research lab that it reportedly hopes will lead to the AI holy grail of “superintelligence.”
But the company has seen missteps along the way. As Fast Company reported earlier this year, its AI studiowhich allows users to create AI characterswas prone to creating bots that were sexually suggestive and sometimes appeared to be underage.
Don’t expect Meta to slow down, however. The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp said in its most recent earnings report that it expects capital expenditures of a staggering $64 billion to $72 billion this year.
In the short term, it may need to use some of that money to make the merging of social media with generative AI a little less awkward.
At the Exceptional Women Alliance, we empower high-level women to mentor one another, encouraging personal and professional fulfillment through meaningful connections. This month, I am delighted to interview Marissa Andrada, culture master and kindness catalyst at the firm bearing her name. Marissa shares her valuable insights on all things fashion, empowerment, and the importance of self-expression in the workplacewhy dressing confidently is about who you are, not just what you wear.
Q: How has your personal relationship with fashion evolved alongside your career growth?
Marissa Andrada: Early in my career, the companies I worked in had a power profile, e.g. a language to use, a certain style of clothing to wear. I was coached to adapt to this power profile as a way of fitting in and making it. I felt like I could only show up as a small part of me and it impacted my ability to bring my full self to work. I had to carefully curate my outfits each day. Because I wasnt dressing authentically, it became exhausting to get ready every morning, overthinking how not to be too much. However, navigating that phase taught me so muchit helped me to build resilience, reinforce my personal values, and deepen my understanding of how culture shapes belonging. Today, I intentionally create and advocate for cultures that embrace authenticity and celebrate individual style. I can now use my experience to empower others and help evolve workplace fashion norms and labels. I have seen firsthand the impact of connection through style and self-expression.
Q: Many people feel pressure to dress the part at work. What advice would you give someone trying to stay authentic while navigating professional expectations?
Andrada: If you are in a culture with a specific dress code that feels limiting, look for small and personally meaningful ways to express your individuality. For example, sport a pair of funky socks that only you can see, rock a statement ring, wear your favorite drop earrings, a cool watch, special belt, or your post-gym ponytail (sans Nikes). The key is to find little moments of joy and self-expression even within the boundaries of a formalized dress code. The small touches will remind you and those around you of who you are. Pro tip? Gamify the experience each dayhave fun with it.
Q: In your experience, how does feeling good in what you wear impact how you show up as a leader?
Andrada: Oh wow, this is a great question because, when you show up for yourself, when YOU feel good, it radiates through everything you dohow you walk and carry yourself, how you talk and greet others, how you inspire those around you, and how you lead. Feeling good transforms your energy. Feeling confident in your appearance is not about aesthetics, it is about ownership and honoring yourself. When you can do that for yourself, it gives permission for others to do the same.
Q: How can organizations better embrace and support authentic self-expression through fashion in the workplace?
Andrada: It starts with leadership. Culture is a reflection of leadership. When leaders set the tone and lead by example, it has a ripple effect on the rest of the team and ultimately the organization. It is about values and outcomes, not conformity. When companies create true cultures of belonging, dress codes naturally evolve and allow more room for authentic self-expression. When employees feel seen, accepted, and empowered, they will perform at their best, and that includes how they express themselves through style.
Q: Who or what inspires your approach to fashion, style, and leadership today?
Andrada: I am inspired daily by life itself. Each day is a new opportunity for me to discover something or someone new, whether its a new designer or a future business leader. My regular interactions always lead to new energy and inspire my approach to fashion, style, and leadership. I love the creativity of using what I wear as an extension of my energy. While I follow whats happening on the runway, I am equally inspired by street fashion. I love a high-low combo too as it reflects my perspective on leadershipbeing bold but remaining real. A touch of aspiration while being relatable and attainable.
Q: What advice would you give your younger self about fashion, work, and self-confidence?
Andrada: I would tell her that it will get easier and to continue to follow and lead with heart. Your style is an expression of you and your true spirit, and you should never have to hide that but embrace and celebrate it in the ways you can at any given moment. Confidence isnt about being fashionable, its about being true to yourself.
Through Marissa, its clearly visible that fashion isnt just about clothes, and if you saw her in person you would know what I mean! It is about confidence, identity, connection, and empowerment. Through style and spirit, we can create cultures of inclusion and vibrancy.
Larraine Segil is founder, chair and CEO of the Exceptional Women Alliance.
The energy has shifted in 2025. You can feel it too, right? AI used to be this shiny side project, something people would experiment with in their spare time. Theres been a massive change. AI is now baked into the way work gets done. Some people like myself have run with it, attempting to automate their entire workflow and educate their teams on the many dos and donts. Others are still staring at their screens and wondering where to start.
The gap between those two groups is growing, and quickly. I have a secret to share, and this is where most people get it wrong: Closing the gap isnt about becoming a tech genius. Its about staying curious and getting scrappy.
The AI skills gap is widening, but heres a game plan to keep up.
1. Build AI fluency, not just prompt tricks
The first step to building AI fluency is learning how to prompt a chatbot. This is exactly where my own team began with our agencys weekly AI training program, coined Thursd-AI (very clever, I know).
In this stage, you build your skillset and learn what AI can actually do across your workflow, and how to structure your asks to get meaningful results. Its not a magic command per se, more of a collaboration mindset. And heres a pro tip: You can actually ask your AI chatbot how can I improve this prompt to get a more accurate/more detailed response?and it will tell you!
2. Pick one workflow and start automating
Dont overhaul everything at once. Start with one task you do often (summarizing docs, writing content, analyzing feedback) and let AI take a pass. Then refine it. The more you experiment with this, the faster youll get a feel for whats possible, and whats most realistic for you.
3. Follow the builders, not just the headlines
The news is relentlessly covering AI, but that doesnt mean these stories are always packed with value. The real insights, the kinds that will make you stand out, are not in the stories with catchy headlines. Seek out case studies, tutorials, and demos from people are using AI in the wild.
Follow technologists, no-code tinkerers, indie hackers, the companies making it happen, and people sharing real, tactical ways to apply AI today. A great place to start is OpenAI News, Google AI News, AI Foundations on YouTube, and Quantiouss Weekly Tech Roundup (yes, a shameless plug for my agencys tech newsletter).
4. Make AI a daily habit
The people staying ahead arent just using AI occasionally, theyre working with it every day. That means brainstorming with ChatGPT, creating reports with Perplexity, or turning text-to-image with Canva. Youve likely heard this once, and Ill say it again; You need to treat AI as a team member.
5. Focus on what AI cant replace
For now, ignore the news saying that AI is going to make us dumb. AI is not meant to make us lazy, its meant to allow us to take charge of our projects and our lives and empower us to be more powerful, more effective, and more creative. AI cannot replace soft skills, creative instincts, and emotional intelligencethis is where you come in. The more that AI handles the grunt work, the more you are empowered to use these skills.
Use AI to buy back your time, and use that time to get better at being you. Use your critical thinking skills, trust your instincts, and embrace your human curiosity and creativity, while AI handles the little details. You know, the little details that used to leave you in a time crunch and keep you from being your fully present, creative self.
The AI fluency gap isnt about who knows the most, its about who is willing to put in the work learning by trial and error. Youre never going to find a one-size-fits-all approach with AI. Stop waiting on a roadmap, and start building your own. In just a few months, youll be amazed at how much youve learned and how far youve come. The biggest risk here is sitting still. If youre still reading this, youre further along than you think.
Lisa Larson-Kelley is founder and CEO at Quantious.
On this weeks episode of The Most Innovative Companies Podcast, Josh and Yaz sit down with Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman to talk all things Sweetgreen from prices to AI “cooks” and his favorite item on the menu.
