Have you ever tried quickly looking something up on Wikipediajust because youre curious or maybe for workonly to, a half an hour later, wonder why youre reading about the history of the European Space Agency?
In my opinion, Wikipedia is one of the last good websites on the internet. Outside of the occasional fundraiser, there are no ads, no dark patterns, and no clickbaitits just information. Which leaves no doubt in my mind that falling into a Wikipedia rabbit hole is healthier than scrolling on social media.
Even so, it can be addictive, and links are the reason why. Every Wikipedia article is jam packed with links to other Wikipedia articles, which is exactly why you end up down rabbit holes. Often, though, you dont understand how you wound up where you didso what if you could visualize exactly that?
This tip originally appeared in the free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. Get the next issue in your inbox and get ready to discover all sorts of awesome tech treasures!
Your new digital cork board
To create a visualization of how you got from point A to point B on Wikipedia, head to Wikiboard.
Wikiboard creates a mind mapwhich allows you to see how various concepts are connectedas you browse Wikipedia.
You can start browsing immediately.
To get started, open Wikiboard and enter your search termit will pull up the corresponding Wikipedia page.
The first article you select opens in its own box on Wikiboard, and as you browse, the site creates new boxes for every link you click, drawing lines from one article to another as they open.
Once your board is created, you can scroll and zoom as much as you like. You can also rearrange the boxes and add sticky notes, allowing you to organize and add a bit of context to everything as you browse.
~wikiboard.pngThis isn’t your father’s Wikipedia.~
One note: Wikiboard is currently only for larger screens, so you wont be able to use it on your phone.
This could be a useful research tool, enabling you to see how concepts relate to each other as youre learning. You can even save separate boards in your browser so you to come back to them later.
And while I could spin this as purely a research tool, its also just plain fun. Theres something amazing about visualizing your Wikipedia rabbit holes.
Next time you feel like going on a deep dive, give Wikiboard a go. Going back and seeing the steps you took on your Wikipedia rabbit hole is endless entertaining, and can teach you a lot about your interests as well.
You can open Wikiboard in your browser on any desktop-sized device.
Wikiboard is free to use. You can opt to make a donation to support the developer if you like, but its not required.
You dont need to create an account to use Wikiboard, and the site has no ads.
Treat yourself to all sorts of brain-boosting goodies like this with the free Cool Tools newsletterstarting with an instant introduction to an incredible audio app thatll tune up your days in truly delightful ways.
Planning to hit the road this holiday season? Or maybe just thinking about an extended drive of some sort for sometime in the new year?
The next time youve got a driving adventure ahead of you, todays Cool Tools discovery is exactly the new virtual companion you need. Its a truly cool app I encountered recently that enhances your standard navigation setup and offers some really smart extras thatll make whatever trip youre taking infinitely more interestingand enjoyable.
Lemme show ya what its all about.
This tip originally appeared in the free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. Get the next issue in your inbox and get ready to discover all sorts of awesome tech treasures!
Next-level navigation
So, weve all got our standard navigation go-tobe it Google Maps, Waze, or (maybe?) even (gasp!) Apple Maps (hiccough).
But in addition to those basic getting-you-where-you-need-to-go basics is an opportunity to inject some extra entertainment into your journey along the way.
And thats precisely what an app called Roadtrippers is all about.
Roadtrippers is a service that helps you find worthwhile stops and sights along whatever route youre taking. Whether youre looking for parks and monuments, activities and experiences, or even just especially interesting or commendable hotels and restaurants, its a spiffy supplement to your standard mapping setup and a welcome way to enhance an adventure.
Depending on the nature of your trip and how deeply you want to explore your options, youll need anywhere from three to 15 minutes to poke around a route and unearth something useful.
To start, either pull up the Roadtrippers website in any browser youre using or grab the official Android app or iOS app for a phone or tabletand then:
Click inside the Starting point field within the Create a route box on the web or tap the Start planning your trip field in the mobile app.
Fill in where youre starting and where youre going. You can use a specific address, if you want, or just stick to a broad city name for either piece of the puzzle.
At some point along the way, Roadtrippers will prompt you to sign in or create a free account. You can either use an email address or follow the options to sign in via Google, Apple, or Facebook, if youd like.
Make sure you pick the Quick Launch option, then click or tap through to get your trip a-goin.
Roadtrippers may prompt you to upgrade to a free trial of a premium plan somewhere in this process, but you can just X out of that prompt and continue with the free version. It has plenty of info to keep you busy.
Once you see the map view, just tap any icon along the route to look at it more closely and optionally add it into your trip.
Roadtrippers surfaces interesting spots all along your route.
Be sure to zoom in to specific parts of the route, toousing either the standard two-finger pinching gesture on mobile or the plus and minus icons (or, alternatively, a mouse scroll wheel) on desktopto reveal even more detail and specific suggestions for different parts of your drive.
The more you zoom in, the more possibilities you’ll see.
You can also click or tap the Explore tab to browse through the available suggestions. There, you can filter by the specific type of attraction, as well as its distance from your route, and also choose to sort by popularity, distance, rating, or number of reviews.
The “Explore” tab is a fantastic way to filter and find the exact types of attractions you want.
And, once more, anytime you find something interesting, you can add it directly onto your route with a single click or tap.
Anything you discover can be added into an trip with a quick click or tap.
Now, a note: Sooner or later, youll almost certainly encounter limitations and additional nudges to upgrade to a paid subscription. Those plans do offer some intriguing extras, and if you use Roadtrippers enough over the long haul, they might be worthwhile to considerif youre so inspired.
BUT, you realy can make the most of the app and its drive-enhancing intelligence even with just the free base version. Keep in mind:
Even though Roadtrippers wont let you add more than three total destinations to any trip youre planning, you can still use it to look along a route and find interesting placesthen simply add em into your plans in Google Maps or whatever regular navigation app youre already using.
While Roadtrippers allows for only a single saved trip at a time in its free level, you can easily delete any trip youve already planned and then reset that limitation so you can start again.
And if you really get into the Roadtrippers thing and want to go all in with one of its premium plan options, you can find coupon codes thatll bring the cost down by a good amount right on the Roadtrippers website.
Whether you end up taking one of the premium plans out for a test-drive or just stickin with the simpler free version, Roadtrippers is a tremendous resource to add into your trip-planning toolbox.
All thats left is to plan out the perfect road trip playlist and secure some salty snacks.
Roadtrippers is available on the web or in native apps for both Android and iOS.
Its free to use, at its base level, with optional subscriptions that lift limitations and unlock extra features. Those range from $36 to $60 a year, though coupon codes can lower those costs considerably.
The site does require you to create an account to do much, but promises not to send you any upsells or other marketing info if you opt out of those options. And it doesnt share or sell any information.
Treat yourself to all sorts of brain-boosting goodies like this with the free Cool Tools newsletterstarting with an instant introduction to an incredible audio app thatll tune up your days in truly delightful ways.
In the Star Trek universe, the audience occasionally gets a glimpse inside schools on the planet Vulcan. Young children stand alone in pods surrounded by 360-degree digital screens. Adults wander among the pods but do not talk to the students. Instead, each child interacts only with a sophisticated artificial intelligence, which peppers them with questions about everything from mathematics to philosophy.
This is not the reality in todays classrooms on Earth. For many technology leaders building modern AI, however, a vision of AI-driven personalized learning holds considerable appeal. Outspoken venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, for example, imagines that the AI tutor will be by each childs side every step of their development.
Years ago, I studied computer science and interned in Silicon Valley. Later, as a public school teacher, I was often the first to bring technology into my classroom. I was dazzled by the promise of a digital future in education.
Now, as a social scientist who studies how people learn, I believe K-12 schools need to question predominant visions of AI for education.
Individualized learning has its place. But decades of educational research are also clear that learning is a social endeavor at its core. Classrooms that privilege personalized AI chatbots overlook that fact.
School districts under pressure
Generative AI is coming to K-12 classrooms. Some of the largest school districts in the country, such as Houston and Miami, have signed expensive contracts to bring AI to thousands of students. Amid declining enrollment, perhaps AI offers a way for districts to both cut costs and seem cutting edge.
Pressure is also coming from both industry and the federal government. Tech companies have spent billions of dollars building generative AI and see a potential market in public schools. Republican and Democratic administrations have been enthusiastic about AIs potential for education.
Decades ago, educators promoted the benefits of One Laptop per Child. Today, it seems we may be on the cusp of one chatbot per child. What does educational research tell us about what this model could mean for childrens learning and well-being?
Learning is a social process
During much of the 20th century, learning was understood mainly as a matter of individual cognition. In contrast, the latest science on learning paints a more multidimensional picture.
Scientists now understand that seemingly individual processessuch as building new knowledgeare actually deeply rooted in social interactions with the world around us.
Neuroscience research has shown that even from a young age, peoples social relationships influence which of our genes turn on and off. This matters because gene expression affects how our brains develop and our capacity to learn.
In classrooms, this suggests that opportunities for social interactionfor instance, children listening to their classmates ideas and haggling over what is true and whycan support brain health and academic learning.
Research in the social sciences has long since proved the value of high-quality classroom discourse. For example, in a well-cited 1991 study involving over 1,000 middle school students across more than 50 English classrooms, researchers Martin Nystrand and Adam Gamoran found that children performed significantly better in classes exhibiting more uptake, more authenticity of questions, more contiguity of reading, and more discussion time.
In short, research tells us that rich learning happens when students have opportunities to interact with other people in meaningful ways.
AI in classrooms lacks research evidence
What does all of this mean for AI in education?
Introducing any new technology into a classroom, especially one as alien as generative AI, is a major change. It seems reasonable that high-stakes decisions should be based on solid research evidence.
But theres one problem: The studies that school leaders need just arent there yet. No one really knows how generative AI in K-12 classrooms will affect childrens learning and social development.
Current research on generative AIs impact on student learning is limited, inconclusive, and tends to focus on older studentsnot K-12 children. Studies of AI use thus far have tended to focus on either learning outcomes or individual cognitive activity.
Although standardized test scores and critical thinking skills matter, they represent a small piece of the educational experience. It is also important to understand generative AIs real-life impact on students.
For example: How does it feel to learn from a chatbot, day after day? What is the longer-term impact on childrens mental health? How does AI use affect childrens relationships with each other and with their teachers? What kinds of relationships might children form with the chatbots themselves? What will AI mean for educational inequities related to social forces such as race and disability?
More broadly, I think now is the time to ask: What is the purpose of K-12 education? What do we, as a society, actually want children to learn?
Of course, every child should learn how to write essays and do basic arithmetic. But beyond academic outcomes, I believe schools can also teach students how to become thoughtful citizens in their communities.
To prepare young people to grapple with complex societal issues, the National Academy of Education has called for classrooms where students learn to engage in civic discourse across subject areas. That kind of learning happens best through messy discussions with people who dont think alike.
To be clear, not everything in a classroom needs to involve discussions among classmates. And research does indicate that individualized instruction can also enhance social forms of learning.
So I dont want to rule out the possibility that classroom-based generative AI might augment learning or the quality of students social interactions. However, the tech industrys deep investments in individualized forms of AIas well as the disappointing history of technology in classroomsshould give schools pause.
Good teaching blends social and individual processes. My concern about personalized AI tutors is how they might crowd out already infrequent opportunities for social interaction, further isolating children in classrooms.
Center childrens learning and development
Education is a relational enterprise. Technology may play a role, but as students spend more and more class time on laptops and tablets, I dont think screens should displace the human-to-human interactions at the heart of education.
I see the beneficial application of any new technology in the classroomAI or otherwiseas a way to build upon the social fabric of human learning. At its best, it facilitates, rather than impedes, childrens development as people. As schools consider how and whether to use generative AI, the years of research on how children learn offer a way to move forward.
Niral Shah is an associate professor of learning sciences & human development at the University of Washington.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
In todays corporate landscape, optics often precede outcomes, especially in technology-led transformations. Announcements of new platforms, AI-powered strategies, or digital-first pledges frequently come long before the underlying infrastructure to support them. That was Teds reality as the chief growth officer at a global bank when his CEO unveiled a high-profile AI-Powered Growth Strategy positioned as a bold leap forward.
The announcement made headlines and thrilled investors, but behind the scenes, the organization wasnt prepared. Ted was given a skeletal team of two direct reports, a patchwork of third-party tools, and the mandate to partner with five global banking divisions serving more than 500 employees. He was expected to turn the AI vision into reality with little structural support.
This tension is commonand survivable. Leaders who maintain credibility dont scrap such pledges or decry them. Instead, they manage the gap between promise and proof. A well-intentioned CEO may launch an initiative to signal innovation, but when systems or skills lag, ambition can outpace execution.
WeJenny, as an executive adviser and learning & development expert, and Kathryn, as an executive coach and keynote speakerhave identified five strategies to help executive teams navigate these moments with integrity and strategic foresight, especially when the initiative is more symbolic than substantive in its early stages.
1. Balance bold aspiration with candid honesty
In the early stages of transformation, perception often outpaces progress. Stakeholders want visible proof that change is real. McKinsey found that 70% of digital transformations fail to meet their intended outcomes because senior executives either overpromise or disengage when early wins dont materialize.
Those charged with execution must balance bold aspiration with candid honesty, communicating both the vision (Heres where were heading) and gap (Heres what it will take to get there) to maintain trust and momentum.
Behind the scenes, Ted allocated 20% of the budget to data cleanup and capability-building, unseen but essential work such as strengthening data quality and governance, building the pipelines and quality controls that support mission-critical AI, and elevating the organizations baseline AI literacy. Within a year, three pilots validated the transformation narrative and quieted early skeptics. Edelmans Trust Barometer shows that stakeholders extend grace when leaders communicate with clarity and consistency, not performative certainty. Credibility, not charisma, sustains momentum through uncertainty.
Try this: Balance vision with transparency. Use confident yet realistic language, such as Were learning in real time or This is a multi-year capability build.
2. Map Whats Performative vs. Whats Possible
Not every element of a high-visibility initiative will yield immediate results. The key is distinguishing symbolic actions that signal intent from those that build lasting capability.
Theresa, chief digital officer at a consumer goods firm, launched a public digital transformation week with town halls and press coverage. She brought in her AI agency partners and major retail customers to show alignment and signal momentum, partnership, and focus. The event created attention, but she knew the real work would happen out of sight.
She used a short-horizon/long-horizon approach. The short horizon created urgency and rallied stakeholders, while the longer horizon anchored on execution. She reassigned 30% of her team to integrate legacy systems, clean priority datasets, and run joint sprints with her AI partners. That groundwork created a technical foundation strong enough to support advanced modeling. Within nine months, they delivered a demand-forecasting model that reduced inventory outages by 18%, transforming a performative launch into measurable operational value.
When mapping an initiative, clarify two horizons:
Short horizon (06 months): What signals matter? (e.g., visible executive sponsorship, internal messaging, external storytelling)
Mid / long horizon (624+ months): What structural enablers must be built? (e.g., data platforms, technology partnerships, governance, skills)
Visibility matters, but only when its paired with substance.
Try this: Separate the symbolic from the structural. Create a two-horizon map to test balance: Which actions build momentum? and Which build capability? Then ensure both are visible.
3. Leverage Visibility as Currency
When a high-profile initiative captures attention, use that spotlight to build political capital and secure future resources. Leaders who link early symbolic wins to longer-term learning sustain engagement and trust.
Julie, a chief marketing officer we advised, leveraged her companys Digital Reinvention campaign to secure additional funding for employee upskilling, positioning it as the bridge between aspiration and execution.
Try this: Treat visibility not as validation, but as leverage. Ask, What can this attention buy us: credibility, talent, or momentum? That perspective turns optics from vanity to value.
4. Build Small Wins that Prove Real Value
Symbolic gestures lose power without substance. Once the spotlight fades, stakeholders want proof. Anchor your narrative in small, visible wins: projects, pilots, or behaviors that validate early promises.
Start with pilots that address real pain points: automate a reporting process, improve data access for a critical team, or integrate AI into a single workflow. For Ted, that meant delivering credible proof pointsan AI-powered lead scoring model that lifted conversion rates by 12%, a unified customer insights dashboard, and a monthly What Were Learning series to build internal momentum.
Small, visible progress converts skepticism into trust and gradually shifts perception from Its all optics to Its starting to work.
Try this: Start small, but make progress visible. Choose one pilot that solves a visible pain point within 90 days. Publicize lessons learned, not just the result, to show that momentum is real, even if imperfect.
5. Reframe the Narrative: From Optics to Opportunity
The best leaders dont deny the optics, they reframe them as stepping stones to a larger transformation.
Gary, a nonprofit CEO we coached, introduced his first AI pilot as symbolic but necessary. It wasnt yet transformative, but it sparked a mindset shift: leaders began talking about data ethics, digital fluency, and decision-making transparency. As he put it, The project wasnt about the tool. It was about changing how we think.
Reframing is essential. Deloitte and BCG both show that real value emerges when strategy, technology, and human systems align. Symbolic gestures only matter if they lead to lasting capability and behavior change.
When leaders treat optics as openings rather than distractions, they turn visibility into belief. Stakeholders who see learning, transparency, and follow-through extend trust, and grant the runway needed for real transformation.
Try this: Name the signal and the shift. Say, This initiative signals where were headed. Then ask, What new conversations or capabilities did this open up?
In complex transformations, optics are not the enemy. Theyre a catalyst for belief. What matters is how leaders use those moments to align teams, secure investment, and guide the narrative from promise to proof.
Integrity isnt about rejecting optics; its about ensuring they serve a larger purpose. The most effective leaders turn visibility into accountability and symbolic beginnings into lasting systems.
UnitedHealth Group has laid off dozens of remote employees in healthcare technology and services marketing from its Optum unit, who were given two weeks notice in November, sources told Health Payer Specialist.
Fast Company has reached out to UnitedHealth for confirmation.
Those employees were based in “multiple states on the East coast and in the Midwest,” according to that report, and are among UnitedHealth’s roughly 400,000 employees across the U.S. (It is the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest healthcare insurer.)
The healthcare giant is just the latest company in a string of industries to announce layoffs, which have hit almost every sector of the American economy in 2025. The layoffs come amid fierce criticism of the company’s healthcare and insurance practices.
UnitedHealth Group and UnitedHealthcare have received backlash and widespread criticism over consumer allegations of costly insurance, overbilling, denial of necessary care, and patient privacy violations, among other complaints. (UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder in December 2024 was met with little sympathy by some Americans, as Fast Company previously reported.)
On Friday, the company released the first round of results of an independent audit of its business, saying it was committed “to setting a new standard of transparency for the health care marketplace,” and vowing to make improvements through “23 action plans”with 65% to be completed by the end of 2025, and all 100% by the end of the first quarter of next year in March 2026.
Those include: enhancing policy governance and maintenance, strengthening processes for ongoing monitoring and tracking progress of corrective actions, enhancing risk, and optimizing manufacturer discount processes.
“We hope that you see these assessments as a commitment to setting a new standard of transparency for the health care marketplace, as we believe that you and every person who engages with our health system deserves to understand how we go about our work,” CEO Steve Hemsley said in the statement.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for the stock market, which may be headed for a “Santa Claus Rally,” according to analysts, including at Goldman Sachs and Citadel Securities.
Barring any major shocks, it will be hard to fight the overwhelmingly positive seasonal period we are entering and the cleaner positioning set-up, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.s trading desk team said in a client note, as reported by Bloomberg. While we dont necessarily see a dramatic rally, we do think there is room to go up from here into year end.”
Scott Rubner of Citadel Securities agreed, noting: “Following a year of strong portfolio returns and record household wealth, retail participants enter 2026 with both conviction and balance-sheet capacity to increase market participation.”
Markets saw a pickup in volatility between November and mid-December, but that volatility appears to be easing, stock strategist at Zacks Investment Research Ethan Feller told Fast Company.
“At the same time, major indexes are consolidating just below record highs. Taken together, those conditions tilt the odds toward a Santa Claus rally this year,” he added.
Here’s what to know about the so-called “Santa Claus Rally.”
What is a Santa Claus Rally, anyway?
A so-called “Santa Claus Rally” refers to a rally in the last five trading days of the year, and the first two of the next year. On those days, the S&P 500 Index has gained an average of 1.3% about 79% of the time since 1950, according to Investopedia.
With those odds of nearly 80%, the likelihood is pretty good, but not guaranteed. On Wall Street, the saying goes, “If Santa Claus should fail to call, bears may come to Broad and Wall.” Meaning, if there is no rally, that can be a bad sign for the year ahead.
Why does the Santa rally occur?
There are a few general theories about why this year-end rally exists, including: holiday spending, year-end bonuses that get recirculated into the market, general holiday optimism, and end-of-tax-year considerations.
How is the S&P 500 Index performing now?
At the close of afternoon trading on Friday, the S&P 500 Index was up nearly 1% at 6,834.50, well above the 6,000 threshold. It closed up 0.8% on Thursday, after four straight days of losses.
What are some risk factors this year?
There are some reasons for concern. Some analysts told Barron’s it is too early to tell if there will be a “Santa Claus rally” before those five days start on December 24, as they are still assessing how inflation, the labor market, consumer spending, and future Fed rate cuts could pave the way for Santa’s return.
Much like how the character Jack Dawson proudly proclaims to be king of the world after boarding the Titanic, film director James Cameron could claim to be king of the box office.
Cameron chooses to take a mellower approach, letting the numbers do the talking. His latest film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, hits theaters this Friday and is primed to break even more box office records.
Lets take a look at the history of this franchise before we discuss industry projections.
A brief history of the ‘Avatar’ films
The first Avatar film came out in 2009 and received generally positive reviews. Cameron and his artists have so lovingly imagined the moon of Pandora that every shot of the film contains new wonders. One can lose oneself in this world, gushed Vultures Bilge Ebiri.On both the domestic and world stages, Avatar became the highest grossing film of all time.
Domestically, Star Wars: Episode VIIThe Force Awakens dethroned it in 2015, and similarly, Avengers: Endgame took the No. 1 spot worldwide in 2019.
However, Avatar fought back in 2021 and retook the title of worldwide highest grossing film of all time thanks to a re-release.
Beyond box office records, the first Avatar film also introduced the industry and audiences to new technology.
Cameron and his team developed the Fusion Camera System, which shot in 3D. Additionally, the team utilized virtual cinematography to aid in the motion-captured sequences.
The release of Avatar: The Way of Water, the second film in the series, was delayed, in part, so even more technology could catch up with Camerons vision.
This time around, Cameron created new ways to film underwater to introduce a new group of Navi, the moon-dwelling species at the heart of the franchise.
The 2022 release also marked an expansion of the scope of the project. Camerons original idea was to make a trilogy. After establishing a writers’ room in 2013, three movies became five.
Camerons gamble paid off as the sequel became the third highest-grossing film of all time globally.
[Image: 20th Century Studios]
What are critics saying about ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ so far?
Ahead of its theatrical release, critics have given Avatar: Fire and Ash mixed reviews. Most praise the films visuals, but lament the thin repetitive storyline.
Fire and Ash is sound and fury signifying nothing. Or at least nothing excitingly new, wrote David Rooney of the Hollywood Reporter.
Owen Gleiberman of Variety agreed and even posed a hard question. Its fine, but do we actually care about it?
On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie had a 67% Tomatometer rating and a 93% Popcornmeter rating as of Friday.
What are the box office predictions?
Despite the mixed reviews, Avatar: Fire and Ash is still expected to perform well at the box office.
Variety predicts the film will make $90 million to $105 million domestically on its opening weekend and an additional $250 million to $275 million around the world. (Deadline makes a similar forecast with a combined global box office of $340 million to $380 million.)
The previous Avatar films, Variety further notes, become record breakers not only because of impressive opening weekends but also because of long-running box office dominance.
Fire and Ash is expected to follow the same pattern. If it does, the potential is huge. Combined, the previous two films have already generated more than $5 billion at the global box office.
Either way, the movie is expected to be a boon for Twentieth Century Studios and parent the Walt Disney Company.
The discovery of the body of Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a Portuguese national who studied physics at Brown University, earlier this week in a New Hampshire storage facility brought closure to two alarming cases. Authorities say they believe Valente, a 48-year-old who recently arrived in Boston, was behind the December 13 mass shooting at Brown University, and the December 16 murder of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro.
The identification of Valente brings calm to communities worried about a mass killer on the loose. But it also puts the lie to theories floated by right-wing influencers, including Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire.
In recent days, Maguire, acting as a self-appointed digital detective, has shared posts suggesting that an entirely different man was behind the crimesa Palestinian student at Brown University. On December 16, in a post on X that has subsequently been deleted, Maguire speculated that it seems very likely that the student was behind the shooting, pointing to the fact that Brown is actively scrubbing his online presence. In fact, the student’s digital footprints were being wiped as a protective measure against rampant, errant speculation about his link to the shootings.
Accusations, speculation and conspiracies were seeing on social media and in some news reports are irresponsible, harmful, and in some cases dangerous for the safety of individuals in our community, Brian Clark, vice president for news and strategic campus communications at Brown, told Fast Company in an emailed statement. It is not unusual as a safety measure to take steps to protect an individuals safety when this kind of activity happens, including in regard to their online presence.
Clark adds: Its important to make clear that targeting individuals could do irrevocable harm.Neither Maguire, nor Sequoia, responded to interview requests for this story. Natalie Miyake, Sequoia Capitals communications partner, was not available when Fast Company called the firms offices. Still online is a subsequent post by Maguire speculating that MIT professor Loureiro was shot because he was Jewish. As evidence, Maguire points to a Google Gemini chatbot response and a Threads post criticizing Hamas. That Threads post is by a person sharing the same name as the slain man — but not actually the MIT professor.
The tenuous attempts to link an innocent man to a mass murder and a subsequent slaying follow months of inflammatory posts by the venture capitalist targeting Muslims and pro-Palestine activists. On July 4, Maguire made inflammatory comments calling New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani an Islamist, which resulted in an open letter calling for his firing that gained more than 1,000 signatures.
Maguire subsequently partially apologized for those comments in a video. This tweet did not land the way I thought it would,” he said. Sequoia’s then-managing partner Roelof Botha said in late October that Sequoia is a company to celebrate diversity of opinions, saying the firm needed spiky people within it, while acknowledging it can come with trade-offs. Maguire has previously called DEI policies within companies structural racism.”
Maguires comments may have cost the company staff. In October, chief operating officer Sumaiya Balbale stepped down from Sequoia,reportedly because of the firms inaction over Maguires past comments about Muslims. (Balbale did not respond to a request for comment.) Botha himself stepped down in November.
One VC figure, who asked not to be named because of the risk of repercussions, says the inaction against Maguire speaks to broader issues about Sequoia. If youre a partner at KKR or Blackstone, you would haveat the very minimumbeen told to stop posting stuff, they say. The fact its allowed to happen is just weird.
The VC figure points out that if such words were used about any other minority they would be immediately condemned. If you substitute any of this language, and you remove the word Muslim and put Jews, or you put Italians, or you put Irish, it would definitely not pass the sniff test.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which previously called for Maguires firing over his comments about Mamdani, tells Fast Company that Sequoia should reconsider their position on whether or not its appropriate for him to represent their company in any sort of way. Mr. Maguires rush to indicate that this Muslim student who supports Palestinian human rights was likely responsible for the Brown University shooting was deeply irresponsible and incredibly dangerous,” says Edward Ahmed Mitchell, CAIRs national deputy director. He believes that every person who fanned the flames of bigotry against this young man without any basis or any justification should apologize and be held to account if they cross the line into illegal defamation.In one post earlier this month, Maguire railed against the mainstream medias slow pace of reporting on the Brown shooting. It’s impossible to shake the feeling that we’re not getting the truth fast enough from law enforcement and our media … when it doesn’t fit their narrative, he wrote. Maguires posts imply which narrative he would have preferred as this story came to an end.
Most businesses start with a spark, an idea fueled by hunger, resilience, or grit. But sustaining that energy through scale is the real challenge. Founders and leaders play a defining role in that journey. The same values, authenticity, and style that ignite early momentum can easily crush it. That’s why builders and entrepreneurs are essential to a new business. Think Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, or Sara Blakely. But that style is NOT for everyone, especially those who prefer less out-front leaders. These founders are visionary, pushing their teams to act in the way they want every employee to show up.
But leaders at successful companies realize that business and talent need to change when moving from idea to execution to real scale. With growth comes complexity, and with complexity comes the risk of losing what made you successful in the first place.
I am a firm believer that it’s possible to scale without losing either the speed or the special energy that makes the early stage so dynamic. Here’s how.
BUILD IT RIGHT
It’s common for early-stage company culture to revolve around the founder’s values, style, and passion. What actually makes it work? Leaders recruiting like-minded people, aligning around a clear vision, and rallying teams toward a common goal. But whats equally as important are the challengers, those who push them to think and do differently. Success cant be tied to just one person.
To manage growth and cultivate innovation, you need two types of people: leaders who provide guidance and trust, and entrepreneurs who move fast and are comfortable with failure.
Why is this so important? It establishes both the arena and terms for innovation. AI is shifting innovation to the edges of the organization. That’s a good thing, as long as leaders set the direction and standards, so speed doesn’t turn into waste or redundancy. Trust is equally important. No one takes risks or tries new things in a culture where failure equals termination. Leaders who ask for innovation hold others accountable, and see failure as a learning opportunity that will foster more successful teams and outcomes.
MOVE QUICKLY AND DECISIVELY
What’s also critical to ongoing entrepreneurship is a functioning feedback loop. We know that not every initiative will be a gamechanger, and that’s okay. The key is to find out quickly. That’s why we help clients build a quick prototype, test it fast, and either double down or shut it down before we’re too far down the line. Doing that effectively requires leaders who can collaborate but not necessarily seek consensus. They need to digest inputfrom customers, employees, and influencersand cut through it to make go/no-go decisions quickly. Wishy-washy or delayed decisions destroy entrepreneurial spirit.
Fail-fast cultures become harder to maintain as the stakes get higher. Everyone may understand in theory that the only way to discover breakthroughs is to experiment. But reality hits the moment you’re sitting across from an investor staring at a tough quarter or a revenue dip. Thats exactly why its important to celebrate mistakes (yes, you heard that right), learn from them, and allow them to fuel what comes next.
In those moments, “fail fast” can sound like “we’re failing, period.” But the best investors don’t expect perfection. They’re looking for accountability and transparency about why it didn’t work and what you learned. That builds trust.
In Airbnb’s early days, an investor advised the cofounders to go door-to-door with a camera to improve listing photos at underperforming properties. It worked on a small scale, but became painful and impossible. So they pivoted, first by hiring others, then expanded by offering photography to property owners. The failure wasn’t the endit was a learning leading to a bigger business opportunity.
Another example of this is with the Calm app, which started as a guided meditation platform but quickly hit a ceiling because users needed more variety. They pivoted by expanding into other content types, like sleep stories and mental health resources. What started as a narrow tool evolved and became more impactful because the team learned fast and iterated even faster.
REWARD INTENTIONALLY
Most technology and services companies rely on strong sales and delivery teams to drive revenue and support customers. Sales professionals are commonly charged with quotas and rewarded on deal size. That model works well, but if the organization only rewards selling and delivery, that’s where the energy and focus will go.
In my experience, incentivizing entrepreneurs, innovators, and idea-drivers is equally important. It’s not about delivering a bonus for every idea, but having a system that tracks impact KPIs like success rates, impact on sales and reputation, and time saved. With a clear incentive and KPI framework, plus a space to share stories that highlight both smart failures and big wins, you’ll spark entrepreneurial energy across every level and department.
When it’s working, you can see it and feel it: Teams challenge each other productively in meetings, new ideas flow consistently, and careers progress quickly. Speed is not sacrificed with the addition of discipline and relentless prioritization. At West Monroe, we also recognize the importance of celebrating and rewarding a culture of innovation by awarding bonuses to those who bring new ideas to life in ways that drive commercial success.
Companies that build this type of cultureand nurture it intentionallywon’t just survive in this era of constant disruption, they’ll create and lead it.
Casey Foss is chief commercial officer at West Monroe Partners.
First there was Spotify Wrapped. Then came Snapchat Wrapped, YouTube Wrapped, and even Uber Eats Wrappedshortly after, SNL parodied the idea.
If you thought you were officially wrapped up for the year, LinkedIn had other plans. The platform just dropped its inaugural Year in Reviewessentially, LinkedIn Wrapped.
LinkedIns Year in Review recaps your activity on the platform, from how often you logged on and when you were most active to how many posts you shared. It tallies your comments, new connections, and total profile impressions, then assigns you a personality type based on how you used LinkedIn.
The feature also taps into the platform nostalgia trend, which has defined 2025: It tells you the exact date you joined LinkedIn and who your very first connection was. If youre looking for either an ego boost (or a reality check) it also summarizes engagement metrics, like new followers, reactions, comments, and for Premium users, profile views.
All of it is packaged into a sleek highlight reel designed for social sharing. And people have been sharing though with mixed feelings.
Ah. LinkedIn reminding me that I was a top applicant for 28,388,338 jobs and landed 0 of them this year, the user wrote, with a screenshot on X showing that 865 of their connections started new jobs this year.
Woohoo. Thanks, LinkedIn Wrapped.
Another joked: linkedin wrapped didnt include ___ jobs applied because they knew it would be too much of a humiliation ritual.
A third put it bluntly: My 2025 LinkedIn wrapped is actually the last thing in the world I need right now
LinkedIns timing isnt the best: The U.S. unemployment rate recently hit a four-year high and earlier this year, the number of job seekers exceeded the number of jobs available for the first time in four years. Most jobseekers wont be looking back with fond memories on the hours/days/weeks they spent on the hiring platform this past year.
You applied for 1,000 jobs and none of them were actually hiring! one X user quipped.
The Linkedinfluencers, however, were slightly more enthusiastic.
Where my 5% crew at??!!, one wrote. Didn’t think I would get sentimental about a LinkedIn ‘Year in Review’ but here we are!
Another wrote: 344 days out of the 365 days in 2025 was spent on Linkedin! People often think I joke around when I say that Linkedin is actually the most used app on my phone. But Linkedin wrapped don’t lie!
Others are simply over the wrapped of it all.
Stop reviewing my life, stop wrapping it up, TikTok user @litty_city said in a video on Wednesday, pointing to the onslaught of year-end summaries. Everyone from Amazon and Apple Music to PlayStation, Discord, Duolingo, Asana, and even Partiful joined the wrapped party this year.
Im tired, she concluded.
Time to wrap it up.
