The human brain is engineered to ignore most of what it sees and hears, according to the neuroscientists I interviewed for the audio original Viral Voices. If thats the case, how are you supposed to make a memorable impression?
The empowering news is that if you understand how the brain works, what it discards, and what it pays attention to, youll be far more persuasive than youve ever imagined. Persuasive people have influence in their personal and professional lives.
BRAIN RULES FOR THE WORKPLACE
The brain doesnt pay attention to boring things, says John Medina, a molecular biologist at the University of Washington and author of the bestseller Brain Rules. If the brain is bored with something, itll move on to something else. It has a lot of stuff to do, Medina told me.
According to Medina, our brains lock onto stimuli that evoke an emotion. Medina says this stimuli acts like a mental Post-it note, telling your listeners brain to pay attention to you and your ideas.
Imagine being able to identify the exact emotional triggers that will hold your listeners attention.
Well, thanks to scientific experiments in the lab, we now know what grabbed peoples attention when they lived in caves. It turns out the secret to effective communication isnt new. Its an ancient formula that can be traced back some 2,300 years to a really smart guy named Aristotle, the father of persuasion.
ARTISTOTLES FORMULA FOR PERSUASION
Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, said that a persuasive speech has three elements: ethos, logos, and pathos.
Ethos is credibility. These are the things that often precede you before you walk into the room to give a presentation. They are your résumé builders, your credentials, and your experience.
Logos is logic. These are the facts and figures you provide to support your argument.
Pathos. These are the emotional hooks that make people care.
Pathos is the tricky element, especially in todays workplace. How do you connect emotionally with your audience through PowerPoint, Zoom, or an online video? Once again, the ancients revealed the secret that makes people stars on the TED stage and TikTok.
STORYTELLING IS YOUR SUPERPOWER
Storytelling is not something we do. Storytellers are who we are.
Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and author of Sapiens, one of the bestselling nonfiction books in the world. When I interviewed Harari about communication skills, he shared a theory that completely changed the way I teach public speaking.
It all startsand endswith story.
According to Harari, Sapiensour speciesdominated the world because they could use language to tell stories. We are wired for stories because narratives were the key to convincing large groups of people to cooperate.
Great stories follow structures. The three-act structure is the most popular. Youll see it in nearly every Hollywood movie.
Act 1. Set-up: We meet the hero and experience the world they live in.
Act 2. Conflict: This is the middle hour of a film where the hero embarks on an adventure and encounters villains, hurdles, challenges, and near-death experiences.
Act 3. Resolution: During the final 30 minutes of most films, the hero resolves the conflict, slays the dragon, and returns with the treasure.
The three-act structure doesnt just work for movies. Its the foundation for great business presentations, too.
Steve Jobs followed the formula to launch the iPhone in 2007. In the first few minutes, he talked about Apples experience in designing great products. He then introduced the problem, or what he called the usual suspects. Jobs explained how existing smartphones were complicated and hard to use. The better path would be to get rid of the fixed keyboard and replace it with a giant screen customers would navigatenot with a stylusbut with their fingers.
The pattern is simple, and you can follow it for nearly any pitch or presentation: status quo, problem, solution. Describe the way the world works today for your customer. Explain the problem your customer might be facing in the current world. Reveal the solution to the customers problem.
Many content creators who find success on social media follow the structure, whether they know it or not.
Sahil Bloom, a former finance professional who now shares business advice to nearly 1 million Instagram followers, recommends following the three-act structure when pitching ideas.
Its very simple, really. First, paint a very clear, vivid picture of what the world looks like today. Then describe why the current world is bad, dark, and stormy. Finally, paint a very clear, vivid picture of what the world would look like in the future that you envision. Beautiful, sunny, clear skies. If you can take an investor on that journey, youll get all the money you need to raise.
Did you spot the pattern? Its no different from the three acts of a Hollywood movie. Its just condensed from two hours into a 20-minute presentation or a 20-second Instagram reel.
Persuasion, by definition, means combining words and ideas to move people to action. You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you cannot convince other people to take action on that idea, you wont be nearly as successful as you could be.
Your ideas deserve to be heard. Sharpen your communication skills, avoid boring content, and keep your audience engaged, and youll transform both their world and your career.
At first glance, it could be the trailer for a new Hollywood blockbuster starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.
This was a 2 line prompt in seedance 2, Irish filmmaker Ruairí Robinson clarifies in a caption on X of the 15-second clip, which shows two of the industrys biggest stars locked in a fistfight on a crumbling rooftop, complete with sweeping camera angles and crisp sound effects.
This was a 2 line prompt in seedance 2. If the hollywood is cooked guys are right maybe the hollywood is cooked guys are cooked too idk. pic.twitter.com/dNTyLUIwAV— Ruairi Robinson (@RuairiRobinson) February 11, 2026
The viral AI-generated clip has garnered more than 1.8 million views since it was posted on X last week, triggering panic and backlash from Hollywood.
Deadpool screenwriter Rhett Reese reposted the video with the message, “I hate to say it. Its likely over for us.”
I hate to say it. Its likely over for us. https://t.co/248PmWnEgr— Rhett Reese (@RhettReese) February 11, 2026
Much has been made of the threat AI poses to a range of industries, including Hollywood. From screenwriters to special effects teams, the dawning realization that the latest tools can now produce highly realistic likenesses alongside high-octane production has only deepened the anxiety among already beleaguered industry insiders.
Reese expanded on his stance in a follow-up X post: My glass-half-empty view is that Hollywood is about to be revolutionized/decimated. If you truly think the Pitt v Cruise video is unimpressive slop, youve got nothing to worry about. But Im shook.
The clip was created using Seedance 2.0, a new AI service from ByteDance, the Chinese company that also owns TikTok, which launched last Friday. Upon its release, X was quickly flooded with clips from others trying their hand at generating their own major motion pictures. An alternate ending to Game of Thrones went viral (it has since been taken down), as did riffs on Spider-Man, Shrek, and more.
New Spiderman trailer? Nope, just another scene created seamlessly with Seedance 2.0Incredible stuff pic.twitter.com/v5eJ4pZAo3— 0xMarioNawfal (@RoundtableSpace) February 9, 2026
ByteDance has since promised to tighten the rules governing its new AI tool following intense backlash from Hollywood over copyright concerns. We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property and likeness by users, the company told Deadline. (ByteDance did not immediately respond to Fast Companys request for comment.)
Meanwhile, the studio backlash has been swift and severe. Charles Rivkin, the chairman and chief executive of the Motion Picture Association, which represents the major U.S. studiosNetflix, Paramount Pictures, Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Discoverycalled on ByteDance to immediately cease its infringing activity.
By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs, he wrote in a statement last week.
The actors union SAG-AFTRA has also accused Seedance of blatant infringement, while the Human Artistry Campaign added that, Authorities should use every legal tool at their disposal to stop this wholesale theft.
SAG-AFTRA Statement on Seedance 2.0. https://t.co/lbqj1m0AYt pic.twitter.com/Etl8bsj5tA— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) February 13, 2026
Disney, which agreed in a $1 billion deal last year to bring its characters to Sora, the AI companys short-form video platform, also sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, according to Axios.
The letter accused the Chinese company of supplying Seedance with a pirated library of Disneys characters. “We believe this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Disney attorney David Singer wrote, “which is shocking considering Seedance has only been available for a few days.”
You may be loyal to United, but the airline really wants you to show your loyalty by carrying around a United MileagePlus credit card or debit card.
Chicago-based United Airlines announced a major overhaul to its frequent flyer program on Thursday, with better benefits arriving soon for its cardholders. While the airline cheerily billed the changes as giving travelers new reasons to have one of its credit or debit cards, the changes mean that non-cardholders will soon accrue fewer rewards than they currently do.
The biggest change is that starting on April 2, United MileagePlus cardholders can earn up to four times more miles on travel booked with the airline than non-cardholdersand even if the flight wasnt booked with that card. That provision ensures that cardholders, which United deems its most loyal members, still reap more rewards for travel, even if they have to book with a different credit card.
As the airline lays out in detail, the changes mean that different tiers of membership status or different cardholders will accrue different rewards for travel. But other changes are also designed to benefit cardholders, including a discount of 10% or 15% on airfare and access to a benefit once reserved to the highest-status members: Saver Award seats for less miles in United Polaris business class.
MileagePlus is designed to reward loyalty to United, and our best customers deserve the best benefits in the industry,” Andrew Nocella, United’s chief commercial officer said in a statement. “MileagePlus members can now earn more miles faster with a United cardand every one of those miles will go further with our always-on award ticket discounts and expanded access to Saver Award fares.”
STRAIGHT UP INSULT
United claims the forthcoming changes to its frequent flyer program will offer cardholders some of the richest rewards among airline or travel credit card programs. But United frequent flyers who dont have a card will likely view the changes as a considerable downgrade because theyll soon earn less on a ticket than they do today.
A standard MileagePlus member without status or a credit card currently earns 5 miles per dollar on travel, which will be cut to 3 miles per dollar starting April 2. Cardholders, meanwhile, will earn 6 miles per dollar. Another significant blow to non-cardholders who dont have elite status is that theyll no longer earn miles by booking the airlines basic economy fares.
Not only is the scaling back of benefits frustrating to some United flyers, but also how much the airline is pushing its line of credit cards co-branded with JPMorgan Chase.
Several Redditors on the r/unitedairlines subreddit lamented that the changes will hurt United frequent flyers who arent U.S. citizens and cantor dont want toget a credit card, with one calling it a straight up insult. Several people also noted that the changes seem to indicate that United cares more about its banking relationship with Chase than flying, with one person saying the airline has essentially become a subsidiary of the bank.
Finally, one Redditor who said theyve achieved both gold and “platinum” status levels with the airline purely based on butt-in-seat miles and flights, declared: There goes the last of my United loyalty.
CHANGES TO AIRLINE PROGRAMS
The travel reward space has become big business in recent years, as credit card companies and airlines individually and collectively try to up the ante to lure customers. But these companies must balance the perks they offer in pursuit of the biggest spenders versus those they dole out to the hoi polloi.
Since airlines started teaming up with banks to offer co-branded credit cards, theyve reserved their best rewards for cardholders. Uniteds latest move goes beyond the changes that other airlines have made to their frequent flyer programs in recent monthsand could test the limits on loyalty.
United follows competitors Delta Air Lines and American Airlines in stripping the reward benefits for basic economy travel, after those airlines announced the same change in December. Delta also announced increased rewards for people who have one of its credit cards that are co-branded with American Express.
Last year, United raised the spending requirements to achieve its premier frequent flyer status. The latest changes to the MileagePlus program have been in the works for about 18 months and are in response to a changing landscape for travel credit cards, as Nocella told CNBC. The company didnt immediately respond to an interview request from Fast Company.
In the credit card space in general, a lots changed over the last five to 10 years in terms of the number of travel credit cards that are out there, Nocella said. What Im thinking about as we make these changes for United is to make sure that if you hold the credit card, you put it top of wallet, and then if you dont hold the credit card, theres a reason to get the credit card that seems incredibly compelling if youd like to fly United Airlines and if youd like to have that … trip to Tahiti or to Rome or wherever we may be able to take you.
WILL TRAVELERS BE ONBOARD FOR CHANGES?
The rewards space has been a bonanza for savvy customers in recent decades, but those freebies come with more and more strings attached. While many companies have opted for the subscription model, leading to subscription fatigue, United may find that theres some pushback in so aggressively tying its sense of loyalty to what credit cards flyers carry in their wallets
Its also happening at a time when Americans are increasingly stretched thin financially.
Americans had $1.28 trillion outstanding in credit card balances in the fourth quarter, up 5.5% from the same period in 2024, according to figures from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Meanwhile, 29% of Americans have more credit card debt than emergency savings and less than half (47%) of Americans have sufficient liquidity to cover a $1,000 emergency expense, according to an annual survey conducted by Bankrate.
And the changes to the MileagePlus Program werent embraced by investors in the stock market. As of late Thursday, United shares fell nearly 6%.
West Virginias attorney general filed a lawsuit against Apple on Thursday accusing the iPhone maker of knowingly allowing its software to be used for storing and sharing child sexual abuse material.
John B. McCuskey, a Republican, accused Apple of protecting the privacy of sexual predators who use iOS, which can sync images to remote cloud servers through iCloud. McCuskey called the companys decisions absolutely inexcusable and accused Apple of running afoul of West Virginia state law.
Since Apple has so far refused to police themselves and do the morally right thing, I am filing this lawsuit to demand Apple follow the law, report these images, and stop re-victimizing children by allowing these images to be stored and shared, McCuskey said.
The West Virginia attorney general said the state would seek statutory and punitive damages, changes to Apples child abuse imagery detection practices and other remedies to make the companys product designs safer going forward.
In the new lawsuit, the state cites a handful of known complaints about Apples mostly hands-off approach to its image hosting service. The biggest concern: Apple finds far fewer instances of online child exploitation than its peer companies do because it isnt looking for them.
In a statement provided to Fast Company, Apple pointed out an iOS feature that automatically intervenes when nudity is detected on a childs device. All of our industry-leading parental controls and features are designed with the safety, security, and privacy of our users at their core, an Apple spokesperson said.
Apple walks the privacy tightrope
The West Virginia lawsuit isnt the first of its kind that Apple has faced in recent years, though it is the first coming from a state. In late 2024, a group thousands of sexual abuse survivors sued the company for more than $1 billion in damages after Apple walked away from a plan to more thoroughly scan the images it hosts for sexual abuse material. In the case, the plaintiffs legal team cited 80 instances in which law enforcement discovered child sexual abuse imagery on iCloud and other Apple products.
Most tech companies rely on a tool developed by Microsoft more than a decade ago to automatically scan images they host and cross-reference those images against digital signatures in a database of known child abuse imagery. That tool, known as PhotoDNA, flags those images and acts as the first step in a reporting chain that leads to law enforcement.
In the U.S., internet platforms are required by law to report any instances of suspected child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the organization that spearheads child abuse prevention online in the country. NCMEC collects tips from online platforms through a centralized CSAM reporting system known as the CyberTipline and forwards those concerns, many collected via PhotoDNA, to relevant authorities.
In 2023, NCMEC received only 267 reports of suspected CSAM from Apple. During the same time frame, the organization received 1.47 million reports from Google, 58,957 reports from Imgur and 11.4 million reports from Meta-owned Instagram.
Apple appears to know the extent of the problem. We are the greatest platform for distributing child porn, Apple executive Eric Friedman said in an infamous 2020 text message that surfaced in discovery during the lengthy court battle between Apple and Fortnite maker Epic Games. Friedman made the statement in a conversation weighing whether the companys policies are weighted too heavily toward user privacy rather than safety.
Apple is known for robust privacy practices that make its products famously safe from potential hackers. Over the years, those same encryption systems have frustrated law enforcement agencies like the FBI who have sought data locked away on iPhones in the course of their investigations.
At Apple, protecting the safety and privacy of our users, especially children, is central to what we do, an Apple spokesperson said. We are innovating every day to combat ever-evolving threats and maintain the safest, most trusted platform for kids.
By now, the so-called “Staples Baddie” may have crossed your feed with her tutorials and informational videos exploring her workplace. TikTok creator @blivxx, known online as Oblivion, started getting attention in January for highlighting niche services and products offered at Staples.
It’s a distinctly Gen Z approach to social media. Videos from Staples Baddie (whose real name is Kaeden) feature ASMR, heavy slang, and an authenticity that has viewers hooked.
Comments on Kaeden’s videos range from tame (“Staples better give you your flowers asap” on a January 21 post about business cards) to unhinged (“Staples did my BBL” on a February 6 video about the one-stop shop). Each video is flooded with users sharing that they went to Staples after seeing Staples Baddie’s (unofficial) promo.
The influx comes as much-needed relief for the office supplies provider. Staples has been open about its financial struggles in today’s increasingly online shopping-driven economy.
But what’s most effective about this kind of influencer marketing is that, well, it isn’t really marketing. Staples Baddie isn’t a paid micro-celebrity; she’s paid, but it’s her wage for working at the store. The creator’s videos are often filmed on the clock, with her sporting the Staples-branded red shirt, lanyard, and name tag, but she’s still found a way to be authentic about what she’s promoting, something that paid collabs with influencers often miss the mark on.
Staples Baddie is self-aware, too: In a January 30 video, Kaeden dryly argues that she deserves commission because “[she’s] like the Paris Hilton of Staples.”
And Staples seems to agree.
Were incredibly proud of our associate, Kaeden, and the passion she brings to her work,” Staples Chief Marketing Officer Bob Sherwin said in an email to Fast Company. “Its been exciting to see the positive response and enthusiasm shes sparked.”
As for what’s next, the plan is simple for now. Kaeden will continue to film her content as Staples Baddie, with the support of Staples, which is mutually beneficial for everyone involved.
“Weve connected with her to share our appreciation, and we are exploring opportunities to collaborate and continue supporting her creativity and engagement with the community,” Sherwin said in an email.
It all makes sense: When an opportunity arises like this one, for a content collaboration with an influencer who actually has a real connection to the brand, well, companies might be wise to support their local baddie.
Picture a jazz quartet mid-performance. The bassist anchors the rhythm with meticulous precisionyears of practice evident in every note. The saxophonist, meanwhile, closes her eyes and ventures into uncharted melodic territory, responding to something she heard in the drummers improvised fill three bars ago. What youre witnessing isnt chaos, nor is it rigid execution. Its something far more valuable: the dynamic interplay between discipline and imagination that produces work no one has ever heard before.
This is exactly the capability that distinguishes organizations that merely survive disruption from those that shape it.
In an era defined by the rapid-fire shifts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the ubiquity of AI, many organizations find themselves chasing the prize of innovation without understanding the engine that drives it: creativity. Too often, leaders mistake innovation for a purely technical or systemic process, forgetting that it is actually a human competency rooted in a dynamic tension between two seemingly opposite forces. This is where the WonderRigor method becomes a vital strategic tool for the modern professional.
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What is WonderRigor?
WonderRigor is the ability to toggle between wonder and rigor to solve problems and deliver novel value. Rather than treating these concepts as oppositesthe dreamer versus the doerthe method recognizes them as a chaordic system: a blend of chaos and order that mirrors how creativity actually works in the real world.
Wonder is our capacity to exercise awe, to pause, and to ask audacious blue-sky questions like What if? It requires what the Italians call il dolce far nientethe sweetness of doing nothingto allow assumptions to suspend and ideas to marinate. Wonder is the CEO who, instead of immediately optimizing the quarterly report, asks her team: What problem would our customers pay us to solve that we havent even imagined yet?
Rigor is our capacity for discipline, deep skill, and time on task for mastery. Its the backstage machinationsthe hard, sweaty work that anchors the wonder and ensures a project actually reaches completion. Rigor is the product designer who spends six months testing prototypes, the financial analyst who builds seventeen iterations of a model before presenting to the board, the writer who revises the same paragraph until it finally sings.
Heres the insight that changes everything: rigor cannot be sustained without wonder, and wonder is often found in the midst of rigor. The designer who tests those seventeen prototypes isnt just grindingshes paying close enough attention to notice the unexpected behavior in prototype twelve that sparks a breakthrough. The analyst who rebuilds his model is cultivating the pattern recognition that allows him to see opportunity where others see noise.
By intentionally toggling between these two states, individuals and teams can increase their Creativity Quotient (CQ) and navigate the complex, wicked problems that lack linear solutionswhich is to say, nearly every problem worth solving today.
The Four Situational Modalities: Which problem-solving persona does this moment require?
Theory is useful, but leaders need tools. The WonderRigor method provides four situational modalitiesor personasthat help teams determine how to approach a specific challenge. These are not fixed traits or personality types. Theyre lenses to try on depending on the needs of the moment, the way you might switch between different pairs of glasses depending on whether youre reading a contract or scanning a horizon.
1. Specialize: when precision is the priority
The Specialize modality is high on rigor, lower on wonder. You choose it when the situation demands deep expertise, proven methods, and meticulous attention to detail.
When to use it: Youre a surgical team performing a complex procedure. Youre an accounting firm closing the books on a major audit. Youre a manufacturing team where a 0.01% defect rate has real consequences. In these contexts, creativity lives in the micro-refinements, the accumulated wisdom of repetitive practice, the ability to execute flawlessly under pressure.
The risk: Specialization becomes dangerous when its the only mode you inhabit. The specialist who never lifts her head develops blind spots. She may be so focused on optimizing existing processes that she misses the industry shift that makes those processes obsolete.
In practice: A global logistics company had spent years perfecting their warehouse operations. Their specialists could move products with stunning efficiencyand they were completely blindsided when a competitor introduced drone delivery. They had specialized themselves into strategic irrelevance. The solution wasnt to abandon specialization, but to create deliberate moments where specialists stepped out of their expertise to explore adjacent possibilities.
2. Hack: when speed trumps perfection
The Hack modality prioritizes expediency over polish. Youre working with what you have, moving fast, and tolerating imperfection in service of momentum.
When to use it: Your startup needs a minimum viable product by next week. Your team faces an unexpected crisis that requires immediate workarounds. The market window is closing and good enough today beats perfect in six months.
The risk: Hack mode can become an addiction. Teams that never leave it accumulate technical debt, cut corners that eventually collapse, and mistake activity for achievement. The quick fix becomes the permanent solution, which becomes the source of next years crisis.
In practice: During the early pademic, restaurants had 48 hours to pivot to takeout-only models. This was hack mode at its best: owners repurposing parking lots, creating menu items that traveled well, cobbling together delivery partnerships. The restaurants that thrived, however, were those who eventually transitioned out of hack modewho took what they learned during the scramble and systematized it through specialization, or reimagined it entirely through invention.
3. Provoke: when you need to blow up the status quo
The Provoke modality sits high on wonder, lower on rigor. Its characterized by audacious, imaginative thinking that shakes others out of their assumptions.
When to use it: The team is stuck in groupthink. Everyone is optimizing a business model that may not deserve to exist. The organization has been asking the same questions for so long that no one notices theyre the wrong questions.
The risk: Without rigor to ground it, provocation becomes loosey-gooseyexciting conversations that never translate into action. The perpetual provocateur can damage their credibility if theyre seen as someone who loves to challenge but never builds.
In practice: When streaming was still a radical concept, the provocateurs inside Netflix asked: What if we put ourselves out of business before someone else does? That questionwhich seemed absurd to a company making billions from DVD rentalscreated the space for transformation. But the provocation only mattered because Netflix also had the rigor to execute on what the question revealed.
4. Invent: the synthesis that creates new markets
The Invent modality is where wonder and rigor achieve balance. Its the space of the true thought leader, the market creator, the person who shapes categories rather than competing within them.
When to use it: Youre not solving an existing problemyoure defining a new one. Youre creating a product that customers dont yet know they need. Youre building something that will make your current offerings obsolete.
The requirement: Invention demands that youve spent equal time in the trenches working out kinks and in the clouds dreaming audaciously. You cannot skip directly to this modality. The inventor has done the reps; she has the intuition that only comes from deep practice combined with broad curiosity.
In practice: When Apple introduced the iPhone, they werent improving existing phonesthey were inventing a new category. But that invention was only possible because Apple had spent years both specializing (obsessive attention to industrial design, user interface) and provoking (asking what a computer in your pocket really meant). The iPhone felt right because it balanced high expertise with sharp intuitionthe hallmark of the Invent modality.
Putting it together: the art of situational toggle
The power of WonderRigor lies not in finding the right modality and staying there, but in developing the situational awareness to know which lens the current moment requiresand the agility to shift when circumstances change.
Consider a product development team working on a major launch. In the early ideation phase, they might operate primarily in Provoke mode: challenging assumptions, asking heretical questions, exploring possibilities that seem impractical. As concepts solidify, they shift toward Hack mode: quickly prototyping, testing rough versions, building momentum through iteration. As the launch approaches, Specialize mode takes over: refining details, ensuring quality, executing with precision. And throughout the process, the best teams maintain awareness of when they might be ready for an Inventiona leap that transcends iteration.
The trap that most organizations fall into is getting stuck. They specialize forever, never questioning their approach until disruption forces them to. They hack indefinitely, accumulating shortcuts that eventually collapse. They provoke without building, mistaking critique for contribution. Or they attempt invention without earning ittrying to leapfrog into thought leadership without the rigor foundation that makes real invention possible.
Think like a jazz musician
Return to that jazz quartet. What makes their performance compelling isnt just the technical skill (though they have it) or the bold improvisation (though they do that too). Its the togglingthe bassist who knows when to lock into a steady groove and when to take a melodic risk, the saxophonist who has practiced scales for thousands of hours precisely so she can forget them in the moment of creation.
This is what WonderRigor offers the modern professional: not a rigid framework, but a practiced flexibility. The ability to move between discipline and imagination, between execution and exploration, between the known and the possible. In a business landscape where yesterdays expertise can become tomorrows liability, this capacity to toggle isnt a nice-to-haveits the fundamental skill that separates those who shape the future from those who merely react to it.
The next time you face a complex challenge, dont ask Whats the solution? First ask: Which modality does this moment require? Then be prepared to shift as the music changes.
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In December 2025, Andrea Lucas, the chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, invited white men to file more sex- and race-based discrimination complaints against their employers.
Are you a white male who has experienced discrimination at work based on your race or sex? You may have a claim to recover money under federal civil rights laws. Contact the @USEEOC as soon as possible, she wrote in a post on X.
In February 2026, the EEOC began to investigate Nike on what the agency said was suspicion of discrimination against white workers.
Both initiatives followed the EEOCs March 2025 characterization of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, or DEI, as potentially discriminatory against white men. The EEOC characterization falls within the Trump administrations larger pattern of calling DEI illegal discrimination.
At the Center for Employment Equity at the University of Massachusetts, we have done extensive research on who files discrimination charges with the EEOC.
Given the EEOCs December 2025 solicitation for white men to file discrimination complaints, we revisited our prior research to see what is known about discrimination against white people and, in particular, what is known about white and white male discrimination charges registered with the EEOC.
As part of our research, the EEOC gave us access to discrimination charges submitted to the agency and state Fair Employment Practices Agencies from 2012 to 2016. By law, all U.S. employment discrimination claims must be submitted to the EEOC, or state agencies with equivalent roles, prior to any legal actions.
While the EEOC has a history of sharing its data with researchers stretching back to the 1970s, the EEOC stopped sharing current and historical data with researchers in 2016. As a result, we do not have any data on discrimination complaints after 2016. Judging by the EEOCs yearly reports, the basic patterns have not changed much in the interim.
White men already file complaints
When we looked at all sex- and race-based discrimination charges received by the EEOC, unsurprisingly we found that men are much less likely than women to file sex-based discrimination charges. But white men do file about 10% of sex discrimination complaints. While Black, Hispanic, and Asian male employees are more likely to file racial discrimination complaints, white men file about 9% of such complaints.
In the same study, when we compared legal charges filed with the EEOC to national survey data, we found that percentages submitting a legal complaint to the EEOC roughly correspond to the percentages of survey-reported experiences of discrimination at work. Together, these two findings suggest that white people generally, and white men in particular, were already filing employment discrimination charges.
Second, we did a deeper dive on sexual harassment charges. We found that while white men were 46% of the labor force, they filed 11% of sexual harassment charges and 11% of all other charges, most commonly tied to disability and age.
The general pattern is that, while white men already file discrimination charges, they are less likely to experience employment discrimination than other groups.
The risk of filing complaints
Charges filed with the EEOC can result in two types of benefits to the charging party: monetary settlements and mandated changes in workplace practices.
White men who filed sexual harassment charges received some benefit 21% of the timelower than white women, at 29%. Thats also lower than Black women, at 23%, and higher than Black men, at 19%. The EEOC already receives discrimination charges from white men and, at least for sexual harassment, treats them similarly to other groups.
Most people who submit a discrimination charge do so to improve their employment experience and those of their co-workers. But submitting these claims to the EEOC or a state Fair Employment Practices Agency is a high-risk, low-reward act.
We found that, at least for sexual harassment, employers responded to white mens complaints in much the same way as to other groups. White men who filed sexual harassment discrimination charges lost their job 68% of the time and experienced employer retaliation at about the same rate. Retaliation can include firing but also other forms of harassment at work, such as abusive supervision and close monitoring by human resource departments.
We found this pattern of employer retaliation and worker firings for all demographic groups that file any type of discrimination complaint. White men who file discrimination charges receive the same harsh treatment from their employers as any other group.
Urging more white men to submit discrimination complaints based on the perceived unfairness of DEI practices, as the EEOC has done, is likely to lead to job loss and retaliation from employers.
What will happen?
Its possible that EEOC chair Lucas call for more discrimination charges from white men will increase the number of filings.
This is exactly what happened after 2012 when the EEOC ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Acts prohibition of sex discrimination also protected LGBTQ workers from sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination.
More concerning is the EEOC defining employer efforts to prevent discrimination and create inclusive workplaces as discrimination against white men.
In the end, all workers want to be treated fairly and with respect. Employer efforts to create such workplaces should be supported. It would be a better use of EEOC resources to support companies efforts to create such workplaces.
Donald T. Tomaskovic-Devey is a professor of sociology and director of the Center for Employment Equity at UMass Amherst.
Steven Boutcher is an associate professor of social science research at UMass Amherst.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Figmas fourth-quarter earnings report arrived on Wednesday afternoon with a notable claim from one of its top executives: AI should complement, not replace, employees.
Its a bold statement from the leader of a tech company at a moment when many are scaling back.
We don’t see it as a tool that replaces our talent, but rather how can we augment the team that we already have, Figma CFO Praveer Melwani said during Figma’s earnings call. So we will continue to hire, but we will be able to complement that with efficiency gained by some of the tools out there as well.
The comment came in response to an analysts question about how AI might impact Figmas research and development.
Figma is enjoying better-than-expected growth
According to Figmas fourth-quarter earnings report, the strategy just might be working. The company reached $303.8 million in revenue, a 40% increase year over year. It also beat Wall Streets expectation of $293.15 million, according to consensus estimates cited by CNBC.
Figma further predicts that it will reach $315 to $317 million in revenue for the first quarter of 2026. This result would bring an average of 38% year-over-year growth.
In response, shares of Figma Inc. (NYSE: FIG) rose over 16% in after-hours trading. By midday Thursday, the stock’s price was still up almost 8%.
Software companies have faced falling stocks amid AI fears
Melwanis call to not overly rely on AI tools comes as the company has faced sliding share prices around that very topic, with investors growing worried about the impact of AI tools on software platforms.
Figma opened at $85 per share during its IPO last July, reaching over $115 on its first day. However, it started a mostly downward trajectory soon after. February has seen Figmas shares hover in the low- to mid-$20sfalling more than 79% since that first day and over 35% year to date.
Artificial intelligence plays a significant part in Figmas offerings. The company launched Figma Make last year, a prompt tool with AI-powered design capabilities, along with a range of AI features.
Figma offers AI credits based on each users plan and will allow the purchase of additional credits starting March 11. Teams can track their credit usage in a shared billing dashboard.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday invited leaders of some of the top artificial intelligence companies to gather on stage as part of a commitment to build more inclusive and multilingual AI around the world.
And they did. But what caught some of the audience’s attention, and later went viral on social media, was an awkward interaction between two rival tech leaders: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
Modi, host of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, clasped hands with those closest to him Altman to his left and Google CEO Sundar Pichai to his right and beckoned all 13 tech leaders to lift their hands up in a chain, like theater actors at the end of a show.
Everyone was holding hands except for Altman and Amodei, who stood next to each other but for several seconds awkwardly avoided hand contact. Both eventually put up their fists instead.
The interaction quickly became a visual symbol of the deep rivalries in the AI industry, particularly between OpenAI and Anthropic, though Altman sought to brush off any deeper meaning.
I didn’t know what was happening, Altman later said in a video interview with Indian media outlet Moneycontrol. He said he was confused, like when (Modi) grabbed my hand and put it up, and I just wasnt sure what we were supposed to be doing.
Anthropic declined to comment.
The two AI developers have a history, one that predates the creation of OpenAI’s hit product, ChatGPT, and Anthropic’s competing chatbot Claude.
Amodei worked at OpenAI before he and a group that included his sister, Daniela Amodei, quit to form Anthropic in 2021. The newer company promised a clearer focus on the safety of the better-than-human technology called artificial general intelligence that both San Francisco firms aim to build.
OpenAI first released ChatGPT in late 2022, revealing the huge commercial potential of AI large language models that could help write emails and computer code and answer questions. Anthropic followed with its first version of Claude in 2023.
Their different approaches spilled over into public debate earlier this month in the United States when Anthropic aired TV commercials during the Super Bowl that ridiculed OpenAI for the digital advertising its beginning to place in free and cheaper versions of ChatGPT.
While Anthropic has centered its revenue model on selling Claude to other businesses, OpenAI has opened the doors to ads as a way of making money from the hundreds of millions of consumers who get ChatGPT for free. Altman took to social media to criticize the TV commercials as dishonest.
Sheikh Saaliq and Matt O’Brien, Associated Press
On the heels of his recent political hit song “Streets of Minneapolis,” about President Donald Trump’s deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents into that city, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have announced the spring 2026 dates for their “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour, dubbing it the “No Kings” tour (in reference to a series of massive nationwide anti-Trump protests).
The tour kicks off in Minneapolis on March 31. Last month, Springsteen performed his political single there, during a live benefit concert organized by former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello.
Springsteen also dedicated his song “Promised Land” to Renee Good during a recent concert in his home state of New Jersey, and spoke out against the president and ICE.
“Right now, we are living through incredibly critical times,” Springsteen told the audience. “The values and the ideas [of the United States] have never been as endangered as they are right now.”
Springsteen continued: “If you believe in democracy, in liberty, if you believe truth still matters, and it’s worth speaking out and worth fighting for, if you believe in the power of law and that no one stands above it, if you stand against heavily armed masked federal troops invading an American city, using gestapo tactics against our fellow citizens . . . send a message to this president . . . ICE should get the fuck out of Minneapolis.”
Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on January 7, and ICU nurse Alex Pretti, also 37, was fatally shot by two federal agents on January 24.
The movement is growing, and were glad to have the Boss join the chorus,” said Eunic Epstein-Ortiz, a national spokesperson for the “No Kings” organizing group. “He understands what Americans know: We dont do kings.
What are the dates for Bruce Springsteen’s “No Kings” tour?
Springsteen’s tour dates are as follows:
March 31: Minneapolis, MN Target Center
April 3: Portland, OR Moda Center
April 7: Inglewood, CA Kia Forum
April 9: Inglewood, CA Kia Forum
April 13: San Francisco, CA Chase Center
April 16: Phoenix, AZ Mortgage Matchup Center
April 20: Newark, NJ Prudential Center
April 23: Sunrise, FL Amerant Bank Arena
April 26: Austin, TX Moody Center
April 29: Chicago, IL United Center
May 2: Atlanta, GA State Farm Arena
May 5: Belmont Park, NY UBS Arena
May 8: Philadelphia, PA Xfinity Mobile Arena
May 11: New York, NY Madison Square Garden
May 14: Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
June 6: New York, NY Madison Square Garden
June 19: Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena
June 22: Cleveland, OH Rocket Arena
June 24: Boston, MA TD Garden
June 27: Washington, D.C. Nationals Park
Tickets go on sale Friday, February 20, and Saturday, February 21.
When is the next “No Kings” protest?
The third “No Kings” nationwide protest is scheduled to take place in a little over a month, on March 28.
More than 1,000 locally organized events in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., are already confirmed, including gatherings in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Organizers predict the March event will be even larger than the previous ones. In June, more than 5 million people attended the first “No Kings” protests. The movement grew to over 7 million people at the second “No Kings” protests in October.
