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Running a large company, you will not be surprised to learn, is a richly rewarding experience. Success itself is nice, of course, but being a CEO delivers its fair share of privileges that go beyond the bottom line, from managing a skilled and ambitious staff to growing a community of satisfied and grateful customers. But being a CEO is not without its perils. Occupying rarified spaces in corner offices of large steel-and-glass towers, its easy for accomplished executives to grow disconnected and aloof. Which is why Im so fortunate to have the absolute best mentors a CEO could ask for: college students. Our company, Scion, owns and operates apartments for students at 82 colleges and universities in 35 states, totaling nearly 95,000 students. This means Ive had plenty of opportunities to closely observe students, their priorities, and their sensibilities. And these observations have delivered some of the best insights into running a business one could ever receive. Five in particular stand out: 1. Shut up and listen To hear some of our pundits tell it, Generation Z is all about trends, perks, and glam, eager to deliver some Instagram-ready flash to their FOMO-addled friends and desiring of nothing more than infinity pools, fancy gyms, and other luxury perks. The truth, actually, couldnt be more different. Decades of data suggests that, when it comes to anything from choosing a university program to selecting a place to live, young Americans are practical, responsible, and price-conscious. Companies making any decisions based on unchecked preconceived notions would likely find themselves in trouble, while those taking the time to observe what clients truly want will thrive. 2. Easy does it Running a business is a complicated affair, with many variables to consider and challenges to meet and overcome. But college students see none of that. They see a narrow sliver of the transaction, in which they want the interaction to be as seamless and simple as possible. This is why we spent a lot of time setting up a system that lets students fill out applications quickly and effortlessly on their phones, and why every company should make sure its engagement with clients and employees offers easy ways of meeting basic needs that take the users sensibilities into account. 3. Keep it fast and furious Imagine the following scenario: its 5 a.m., youre back from a very early morning jog, you step into the shower, and discover that theres no hot water. Youre jittery and unhappy, and so you reach out to your landlord. What happens next? Thankfully, very few people would expect a real, live human being to materialize immediately in the wee hours of the morning and fix the problem within minutes. But as our student residents repeatedly remind us, what they do expect is recognition, some indication that their complaint was received and will be dealt with shortly. The lesson here couldnt be clearer: Speed is key. Your clients and your employees need to see their concerns acknowledged instantaneously, even if addressing and resolving them might take much longer. 4. Build community Its easy, when listening to college students talk about community, to dismiss them as wide-eyed idealists. The real world, after all, is unremitting, transactional, and uncaring about anything but bottom lines, right? Not so fast. Again and again, our college-aged clients remind us of a far more profound universal truth. Namely, its that if you give people a bang for their buck, they would be pleased, but if you let them feel like theyre part of something bigger, they would be elated. And heres the good news: Building community doesnt necessarily mean spending a fortune on activities that are tangential to your core business. It means making sure that people feel heard and respected, that their particular life circumstances are taken into consideration, that they matter as human beings and not merely as clients or employees. Address these needs, and youll guarantee a more profound and sustainable long-term loyalty. 5. Remain human We live in an increasingly digitized environment, with AI rapidly rising to fill newer and bolder functions. Thats a terrific opportunity to make processes that used to take hours or days cheaper, faster, and more efficient. Its also a reminder, however, that no business could ever truly do away with real, live human beings. Our students are happy to fill out forms and applications and interact with machines if that means getting something done seamlessly. But when they have a problem, they expect to talk to a person who is intimately familiar with their environment and their needs. As we invest in incorporating better and more groundbreaking artificial intelligence into our businesses, then, we should invest just as much, if not more, in highly trained, capable, and empathic human beings who could meet our clients and employees needs when it matters most. Rob Bronstein is CEO of The Scion Group.
Category:
E-Commerce
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will travel to Madrid this weekend for negotiations with his Chinese counterparts over tariffs and national security issues related to the ownership of social media platform TikTok. Bessent is slated to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Madrid to discuss national security and economic issues, a Treasury news release states. This will be the fourth round of discussions between U.S. and Chinese counterparts after meetings in London, Geneva, and Stockholm. The two governments have agreed to several 90-day pauses on a series of increasing reciprocal tariffs, staving off an all-out trade war. During the last round of discussions in Stockholm, Bessent described his talks with the Chinese as very fulsome.” We just need to de-risk with certain strategic industrieswhether its the rare earths, semiconductors, medicinesand we talked about what we could do together to get into balance within the relationship, Bessent said at the time. China remains one of the biggest challenges for the Trump administration after it has struck deals over elevated tariff rates with other key trading partners, such as Britain, Japan, and the European Union. The U.S. and China delegations are also expected to continue discussions about ownership of TikTok. Congress approved a U.S. ban on the popular video-sharing platform unless its parent company, ByteDance, sold its controlling stake. President Donald Trump said last month that he will keep extending the sale deadline until theres a buyer. But Trump has so far extended the deadline three times during his second termwith the next deadline coming up Wednesday. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late February and early March found that about one-third of Americans said they supported a TikTok ban, down from 50% in March 2023. Roughly one-third said they would oppose a ban, and a similar percentage said they werent sure. The Treasury Department also says Bessent will meet Spanish government counterparts to discuss the relationship between Spain and the United States. After his Spain trip, Bessent is expected to travel to the U.K. to join Trump for his official state visit with Britains King Charles at Windsor Castle. By Fatima Hussein, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
A decade ago, few predicted that TikTok scrolling and YouTube creator videos would surpass cable TV and Hollywood as Americas top leisure activity. These, and a handful of other social media platforms, transformed content consumption to favor user-generated entertainmentbut those very platforms are now showing signs of fatigue. Gen Z spends over half their screen time on social content. But with one-way content, passive scrolling, and ad overload overwhelming users, what once felt participatory now feels mundane. The solution isnt more content; its deeper interaction and more creativity. The next generation of platforms will achieve that goal by pairing human creativity with generative AI. Creators will be able to generate great stories, rich characters, and new worlds with the help of AI toolsno expensive software or special skills required. And users wont just consume that creative content; theyll be able to dive into it, change it, and make it their own. This wont be just another way of getting content for a passive feed; instead, it replaces the experience entirely. Unlike algorithms that serve you what worked yesterday, AI-native entertainment reacts to you in real time. It invites you in. Instead of scrolling past someone elses creativity, youre generating your own. This unlocks a future of co-creation and a future of entertainment. This is whats next and how to prepare. HOW HYPER-INTERACTIVITY ELIMINATES DOOMSCROLLING Social media transformed entertainment by making it personal. Platform algorithms curated a feed based on your clicks and interests. But despite all the time spent on the platform, no creativity is necessaryyour participation only goes as far as passively scrolling, giving a like or adding a comment. Doomscrolling has replaced discovery. Today, that structure is starting to crack. The more people scroll, the more they report feelings of anxiety and disconnection. At the same time, platforms are doubling down on monetization, increasing ad loads even as user engagement quality declines. The result is a paradox: More content, but less satisfaction. And thats not just a user problem; its a business one. With an AI-empowered feed, humans are at the center of creation to not only consume creative content, but to remix and create something new. This new format evolves with the user, whether they want to take the story in a different direction or add in a new setting. Its AI entertainment that requires a human at the center of creativity, not just consumption. HOW THE CREATOR AUDIENCE IS REDEFINING ENTERTAINMENT The audience demanding a fundamental innovation in online entertainment is Gen Z, a generation raised not on linear storytelling but on interactive worlds. Theyve built elaborate games in Roblox, shaped lore in Discord communities, and remixed themselves into every TikTok trend. Nearly 70% of Gen Z say they want to socialize in game worlds. And 65% already consider themselves content creators. They dont want permissionthey want agency. And generative AI delivers exactly that: The power to generate characters, scripts, stories, and entire universes from scratch. What used to take a film crew, and a studio budget now just takes a creative idea and a prompt. For this generation, fans and creators arent separate roles, theyre the same. This is a new era of media, one that learns, adapts, and evolves with its community. WHY YOU SHOULD BE CREATING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE As were shifting from a passive consumption experience into a creative world, we need to take cues from how AI-native platforms are already operating and invite the user to create. Regardless of whether youre an entertainment company, well-established brand, influential creator, or legacy social media platform, we must start to give audiences the tools to create, not just consume. That shift will be uncomfortable for many and disrupt industries as we know them. Legacy systems werent built for real-time participation. This active co-creation shifts brands and platforms from being the star of the show to supporting actors. Moving forward, the brands and platforms that thrive will need to have co-creation in mind. By developing creative playgrounds, audiences dont just watch, but rather build, remix and shape the story in real time effectively ending doomscrolling and lean-back entertainment and shaping a new wave of AI-native media. Karandeep Anand is the CEO of Character.AI.
Category:
E-Commerce
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