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Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! Im Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. CEOs and other business leaders are scrambling to understand how customers might respond to financial uncertainty brought on by tariffs and other factors roiling the markets. Early signs are not great: the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index in April fell for the fourth straight month, and the Conference Boards April Expectations Index, which measures short-term outlook each month, dropped to its lowest level since October 2011. In the travel industry, some executives are bracing for a hard landing: Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, and Alaska Air recently withdrew 2025 earnings guidance, while United Airlines took the unusual step of offering two sets of profit guidance, depending on whether or not the U.S. enters a recession. A shipshape outlook So, what to make of cruise company Royal Caribbean Groups rosy forecast? In late April, the company reported better-than-expected first quarter earnings and increased the midpoint of its full-year guidance for adjusted earnings by 3.8 %. (Rival Carnival Corp. also beat earnings expectations and boosted guidance, but Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings missed its numbers and signaled softening demand.) In 2024, Royal Caribbean Group reported net income of $2.9 billion on revenue of $16.5 billion. CEO Jason Liberty says his cautiously optimistic outlook validates the consumers appetite for experiences. They treasure vacations, and theyre going to lean more [into experiences] than into buying stuff, he says. Indeed, consumer discretionary spending on experiences, which fell dramatically during the pandemic, has reached an all-time high, according to McKinsey & Co., while spending on things, which ticked up during lockdown, is down again. (Not surprisingly, the pandemic was a low point for the travel industry; Royal Caribbean voluntarily suspended cruise operations and reported a loss of $5.8 billion in 2020.) Experiences arent recession-proof, of course, and theyre not immune to tariff impacts. The United States Tour Operators Association, a travel trade organization, says its research arm predicts that higher import taxes will result in price inflation and declines in tourist sentiment, particularly among international travelers to the U.S. Royal Caribbeans own data, fielded in April, found that 7 out of 10 consumers intend to spend the same or more on leisure travel in the coming 12 months, and that 9 out of 10 consumers are looking for value when making vacation plans. Steady as she goes Liberty is quick to point out that value is different from low-budget. Rather, he says, travelers may value the convenience of being able to access dining and entertainment in the same place, or they may appreciate being able to see multiple destinations in one trip. And Royal Caribbean, which operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Silversea brands, is adding more experiences to its portfolio. In December, the company will open its first Royal Beach Club, an all-inclusive property in the Bahamas that its passengers can access via an island day pass thats part of a plan to grow from two to seven private destinations by 2027. Liberty says Royal Caribbean doesnt compare itself to other cruise companies; the company aspires to measure up to travel destinations known for their dining, amenities, and activities. If you look at our Oasis Class ships or Perfect Daya private island with a water park and a zipline, multiple pools, and separate section for adults”you may ask: why did they go there? We went there to take share from Orlando, he says. Some ships have added Broadway shows and enhanced gaming activities to compete with Las Vegas, Liberty adds. And while a cruise isnt exactly for the budget-conscious consumertravelers pay $576 per person for a three-night getaway on Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas, with fares climbing to $6,350 per person for a 12-day trip around the Iberian Peninsula and Mediterranean on Silverseas Silver DawnLiberty notes that Royal Caribbean travel is about 20% cheaper than comparable land-based experiences. If water slides, gaming rooms, and cabarets seem like a lot to fit on a ship, keep in mind that Royal Caribbeans Oasis Class ships, for example, are more than 1,000 feet long and can accommodate 5,600 guests. These are floating cities, Liberty says. Everything that can happen in the city happens on a ship. Everything you have to plan for on a city, whether its power, whether its sanitation, whether medicaland then all the experiences that take placeweve got to be able to do that. Whats your experience? Is your company in the experience business? Are you seeing any softness in consumer demand as a result of bearish sentiment? Or are you, like Royal Caribbeans Liberty, cautiously optimistic? Send your thoughts to me at stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. Id like to share your examples in a future newsletter. Read more: the experience economy The 10 most innovative live events and experiences companies of 2025 Why Airbnb, Target, and Walmart are betting on the experience economy Read the 1998 piece that coined the term experience economy How to get ahead in the experience economy
Category:
E-Commerce
Performance reviews are often arduous, but they dont have to be. AI tools can enhance the process for both managers and employees, offering new possibilities for efficiency and fairness. From streamlining data analysis to eliminating bias, heres how AI is transforming performance evaluations and employee development across various industries. AI Connects Dots for Comprehensive Reviews AI has significantly improved our performance review process by providing managers with a clearer, more comprehensive view of their teams. Previously, we had vast amounts of data buried across various productivity toolsincluding meeting notes, shared documents, messages, and task updatesbut none of it was truly actionable. Let’s face it: No manager with a team of 10 can realistically remember everything that happened over the last quarter for each person. Today, the way we workhow we communicate, collaborate, and deliverleaves behind valuable signals. AI helps connect the dots across that information to highlight key trends, surface individual contributions, and flag potential blind spots. For employees, it means their impact is more accurately recognized, even if they’re not the most vocal. For managers, it creates a more holistic, data-informed foundation for conversations around performance and development. We also believe this approach can save a tremendous amount of time during review season, when so much energy is typically wasted trying to gather feedback and recall details. Equally important, it helps managers make fairer, more balanced assessments by surfacing the full scope of each person’s contribution. Simon De Baene, CEO and Cofounder, Workleap Streamline Reviews with AI-Generated Questions I used AI to take a client’s company values, create performance questions around them, and then tier the reviews so they were applicable to entry-level employees, individual contributors, managers, leaders, and senior executives. It produced those products for me in minutes. HR professionals or managers who aren’t using AI are wasting time and missing out on major enhancements to their leadership. Kerri Roberts, Founder and CEO, Salt & Light Advisors AI Tools Enhance Review Quality and Satisfaction We have found that managers dread the performance review process as much as employees do. Both struggle with effectively articulating KPIs [key performance indicators], achievements, and challenges in the required documents and during the review itself. This contributes to the second major shared complaint regarding the “paperwork” and workload to complete the process. We encourage managers and employees alike to utilize AI tools to analyze KPI trends, provide tables and charts, and even draft the performance review to save time and reduce anxiety. Additionally, AI tools can suggest appropriate SMART [specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound] goals for the next period and/or recommend learning and development opportunities for the employee. As always, useful output from AI requires good input. Furthermore, the employee and manager must carefully review and edit all AI-generated information to accurately and clearly represent reality. However, we have found AI tools have greatly decreased the workload of the performance review process, while at the same time increasing the quality and satisfaction with the results for everyone involved. Joe Palmer, Managing Partner, Prosperity Partners Consulting Balance AI Objectivity with Human Touch One specific example from our organization involved the marketing team, where managers had long struggled with bias and inconsistency in performance reviews. To improve the process, we introduced an AI tool that aggregated peer feedback, performance metrics, and goal progress into clear, objective drafts. It flagged subjective language and suggested more neutral alternatives, reducing bias and saving managers valuable time. However, a new challenge emerged: Employees described the AI-generated feedback as sterileaccurate but impersonal. This concern became especially clear during a departmental feedback session. To address it, we encouraged managers in marketing to use the AI drafts as a foundation, then add personal insights, context, and specific examples to restore a sense of authenticity. This balance between AI-driven objectivity and a human touch made a noticeable difference. Employees received clearer, fairer, and more meaningful feedback, while managers gained a tool that streamlined the process without losing the connection that makes reviews truly valuable. Michael Ferrara, Information Technology Specialist, Conceptual Technology AI Creates Personalized Development Plans Post-Review As part of my current doctoral research in learning and organizational change, I’ve been studying how HR leaders are actively using AI to enhance human-centric leadership practicesand performance reviews have definitely come up. One high-level HR executive I interviewed shared how they used AI to create a personalized learning and development plan immediately after a performance review. The AI helped analyze feedback and skill gaps, then recommended tailored next stepswhat the employee could do now, next, and later to grow in a specific area. The employee later thanked their manager for recommendations that were on that plan, suggesting they felt supported. Another HR executive at a global automotive company used AI-enabled project management tools to analyze team metrics that correlated with performance. She felt this helped her make more objective, data-informed decisions rather than relying solely on instinct. In both cases, AI didn’t replace the human side of leadershipit amplified it by making conversations more personalized, fair, and focused on growth. Bailey Parnell, Founder and CEO, SkillsCamp Voice Notes Capture Nuanced Performance Feedback One thing that has surprised us was how well an AI-powered voice note tool worked during performance reviews not as a replacement for feedback, but as a way to capture tone, nuance, and real-time reflection. In our own staffing agency, where many of our clients rely on private staff-like housekeepers, chefs, and estate managers, soft skills matter just as much as task completion. Managers started using short voice notes to highlight specific interactions, such as how a nanny handled an unexpected visitor at the door or how a housekeeper went above routine to solve a problem without being asked. These moments used to get lost between checklists. On top of everything else, rather than treating reviews like a checklist, the voice notes created a space where real appreciation could be felt. A personal chef once told us that hearing the emotion behind thewords made all the differenceit felt honest, not formal. These notes turned routine evaluations into conversations that captured what often goes unseen. In our world, where intuition and quiet consistency define excellence, giving those qualities a voice brought something far more meaningful than numbers or written summaries ever could. Brooke Barousse, CEO, Lexington Executive and Household Staffing AI Builds Objective Benchmarks for Fair Reviews We’re starting to use AI to build objective performance benchmarks to make our reviews more fair and impartial. Essentially, the AI analyzes key metrics and skill feedback from our own internal, anonymized data across similar roles, comparing performance among our project managers, engineers, or CNC [computer numerical control] machinists, for example. It helps our managers get a better grasp on ratings and performance discussions, as they can use the data to more easily identify if someone is truly excelling in their specific job or spot an area where the entire group could benefit from improvement. Our employees gain a much clearer understanding of the expectations for their role and can see how they’re performing compared to others in similar positions, which can be motivating or help pinpoint areas for development. The AI might highlight that one of our project managers consistently achieves client satisfaction scores that are 10 points higher on average than other PMs performing similar jobs, for instance. It provides solid evidence supporting positive feedback about their client skills, allowing us to go beyond mere gut feelings. Since implementing this data-driven approach, we’ve noticed that our manager calibration meetings for reviews run more smoothly and efficiently, reducing subjective debate time by 30%, because everyone is working from the same baseline comparisons to initiate the conversation. Leon Huang, CEO, RapidDirect AI Analysis Improves Review Conversations We implemented an AI feedback tool that analyzes communication patterns during performance reviews. Managers upload meeting recordings, and the AI provides insights on speaking time balance, interruption frequency, and sentiment analysis. This improved our reviews in several ways: Managers now receive data showing they dominated 70% of conversations (previously unaware), and they adjusted to achieve better balance. Employees report 40% higher satisfaction with review fairness. The AI also flags emotional responses, revealing when discussions trigger defensiveness. Most importantly, the AI tool summarizes action items and creates trackable goals, increasing follow-through by 65%. What surprised us was how the AI revealed that our female team members were interrupted twice as often as male counterpartsan insight that led to meaningful cultural change. The technology doesn’t replace human judgment, but it makes our performance conversations more balanced, actionable, and fair. Kirti Poonia, Founder, Caimera Creative Performance Profile Tracks Progress We’ve always found it challenging to review the performance of roles that aren’t tied directly to strategic goals, like our graphic designer. They don’t set quarterly targets or lead major initiatives. Their work is reactive, based on tasks assigned to them, which makes it hard to define clear goals or track measurable progress. Feedback often felt generic, and improvement was tough to gauge other than informal good jobs. To change that, we set up an AI-enhanced performance tracker using tools we already had access to. We connected Asana to Google Sheets through Zapier, which allowed us to automatically track things like task volume, turnaround time, and revision frequency. We also pulled in feedback from Slack, where a lot of real-time collaboration was happening. Using OpenAI, we ran sentiment analysis on both task comments and relevant Slack messages, which described how work was being received and the tone of the day-to-day communication. Together, this gave us a monthly snapshot we called the Creative Performance Profile. It helped spot progress over time and gave our designer real insights they could reflect on during their review, without needing a complex dashboard. In one case, we saw our designer’s average turnaround time improve by 22% over the quarter, while revision rates dropped by 35%. That led to a great discussion around how they were proactively clarifying briefs earlier in the process, something we wouldn’t have uncovered from the numbers alone. What’s been most valuable is how this gave us a new way to talk about progress in roles where goal-setting has always felt forced. It’s not about ranking team members against each other, but helping them see how their efforts translate into measurable growth. For the first time, our designer walked into their review with stats that reflected their day-to-day work and was able to explain where they could show improvement over the coming year. Not only did this help them grow their individual performance, but oddly, they expressed that it made them feel more part of the team in our planning and goal-setting discussions. It was just an overall win. Kyle Senger, Founder and Lead Strategist, Unalike Marketing AI Triggers Timely Check-ins Between Reviews AI is a powerful tool not only for performance reviews themselves, but also for pre-review and post-review check-ins. Instead of just standard calendar pings, we’ve experimented with systems that trigger automated reminders based on actual work data. For example, a manager could get a nudge to schedule a check-in if an employee’s key goal from the review isn’t progressing on track or if feedback indicates a challenge or bottleneck arising. This way, managers can intervene early and potentially prevent problems rather than waiting months for the formal review. From the employees’ perspective, it means they receive more regular support and feedback throughout the year. When the formal review time does arrive, it feels less like a big reveal because progress and any issues have already been discussed along the way. Traditionally, employees’ biggest complaint about reviews is that they feel like a pointless, arbitrary exercise. However, with AI reminders, it’s easier to take real action and create an ongoing conversation rather than forgetting about reviews a few weeks later until the following year. This approach is more supportive and more productive. Fineas Tatar, Co-CEO, Viva Automated Tools Spot Patterns and Reduce Bias AI has really changed performance reviews for the better. It’s made a huge difference in how managers view the work of their teams. Two tools that I absolutely love are Lattice Analytics and Betterworks. Lattice is useful because it tracks all the performance data automatically and spots pattrns that might be overlooked. It has cut down prep time and helps craft feedback without bias. Betterworks, on the other hand, is useful for picking up wins that people usually forget to mention themselves by analyzing project work and communication. These tools can be game changers for efficiency when implemented, since they focus on actual data instead of just opinions. I know there are a lot of tools out there, but I think it’s best to find one or two that align with your organizational goals and leverage them for maximum benefits. Jacqueline Twillie, Leadership Officer, ZeroGap.co AI Promotes Equitable and Actionable Feedback As a former senior HR leader at a global tech company, I have observed how performance reviews can either foster growth or reinforce inequity. The thoughtful use of AI tools has begun to shift that balance when used intentionally. One impactful example: For a recent client in Big Tech, we introduced AI to support managers in writing more objective, bias-aware feedback. Performance reviews often contain vague or personality-driven comments, especially for women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ professionals. Research from Stanford and McKinsey confirms this disparity. We asked managers to run their draft feedback through an AI tool trained to flag vague, nonactionable phrases and suggest more equitable alternatives. For example, “Indira is a pleasure to work with” might prompt: “Consider elaborating on Indira’s specific contributions or business impact.” This helped leaders offer fairer, more actionable reviews and also created powerful learning moments around unconscious bias. Crucially, we do not see AI as a replacement for human leadership, but as a collaborator. Tools like ChatGPT or Gemini cannot grasp context or individual nuance, and they reflect the bias in their training data. However, they can help standardize fairness, sharpen awareness, and prompt better conversations. Used well, conversational AI can encourage leaders to ask, “Am I being fair? Am I being specific? Am I giving everyone the same chance to grow?” In a system where performance reviews shape careers and compensation, those questions matter. And AI, used wisely, can help us answer them better. Manuel Schlothauer, Founder, HeyManuel.com
Category:
E-Commerce
Since before he took office, President Donald Trump made his disdain for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) clear. Now, hes leaving survivors of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in Arkansas without any federal aid. After large swaths of the South and Midwest were hit by deadly thunderstorms and tornadoes in March and April, Arkansas Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sandersa frequent supporter of the presidentrepeatedly wrote to FEMA asking for support in her state. The sheer magnitude of this event created disastrous amounts of debris, extensive destruction to homes and businesses, and resulted in the death of three citizens, and caused injuries to countless others, Sanders wrote in her initial request. (Since that letter was sent, 40 people in the path of the storms were killed.) After reviewing Sanders pleas, which went on to describe the extent of the hazardous weather and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, the Trump administration ultimately wrote back that it had determined that the damage from this event was not of such severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the state, affected local governments, and voluntary agencies, and that it therefore would not provide supplemental federal assistance. In contrast, in 2023, former President Biden granted Arkansas’ disaster declaration request following a deadly tornado within 48 hours. Given that Arkansas is a red state that voted for Trump in the 2024 election, many were shocked that the president denied Sanders request for aid. But this isnt the only time that Trump has turned down appeals for federal help after severe weather eventsand, while disappointing, the administrations insistence that states should help themselves during times of crisis is in line with its larger efforts to dismantle federal disaster mitigation infrastructure. Several states are denied support from FEMA Since January, Trump has denied several other FEMA requests that have surprised state lawmakers. In March, North Carolinas Democratic Governor Josh Stein wrote to ask for 180 days of extended FEMA support for recovery costs related to Hurricane Helene, which was denied by the Trump administration in April. That same month, Washingtons Democratic Governor Bob Ferguson requested FEMA support for repairs after a bomb cyclone windstorm last November that caused an estimated $34 million in damages. His appeal was also denied. There are very clear criteria to qualify for these emergency relief funds. Washingtons application met all of them, Ferguson said in a statement on April 14. This is another troubling example of the federal government withholding funding. Most recently, in early April, Trump did approve a FEMA disaster declaration in Virginia to help the state recover after severe flooding. However, he refused Republican Governor Glenn Youngkins request for hazard-mitigation money as part of the disaster-aid packagea step that no president has taken in nearly 30 years. The Hazard Mitigation and Grant Program (HMGP) is overseen by FEMA and allocates funds to help communities protect infrastructure from future damage after severe weather, like by elevating flood-prone homes or strengthening buildings in earthquake zones. According to Politico, the program has allocated nearly $18 billion to states to safeguard 185,000 properties. Its an extremely important program for hazard mitigation, Anna Weber, senior policy analyst for climate adaptation at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told Politico. Instead of just rebuilding, were building resilience so were preventing future damages, deaths and injuries. Historically, presidents have paired HMGP funds with FEMAs overall recovery efforts, accounting for about 15% of overall costs for any given disaster response. But, since early April, Trump has stopped approving allocations from the program. A larger plan to dismantle federal disaster response infrastructure This scaling back of HMGP runs parallel to a larger effort within the Trump administration to potentially shut down FEMA altogether. On the 2024 campaign trail, Trump repeatedly spread misinformation about FEMAs response to Hurricane Helene. In office, hes already cut hundreds of staff from the agency, leaving its remaining staffers concerned about their ability to handle upcoming severe weather, like tornado and hurricane seasons. The administration has also withheld FEMA aid to migrant shelters, suggesting that they may have violated a law used to prosecute smugglers. Funding reductions have further resulted in FEMA canceling programs like federal fire training academy courses. In March, Kristi Noem, secretary of Homeland Security, reportedly said that her department planned to eliminate FEMAa notion that Trump has also echoed. And last Monday, Trump named 13 members to a council tasked with recommending potential overhauls at the agency, though its still unclear how significant those overhauls might be. Experts have repeatedly warned that scrapping FEMA would result in a dark future for disaster relief. Now, several statesincluding some that voted for the presidentare getting a first glimpse at that future.
Category:
E-Commerce
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