In a world of hustle culture and stressors of all kinds, joy can seem both illusive and impossible. But despite barriers, you can create the conditions for happiness.
Well-being and joy are critical issues today, with 69% to 77% of Americans feeling stressed about factors like the economy, current events, violence, and lack of connections, according to the American Psychiatric Association. In addition, a global mental health study of 17,000 people across 16 countries by Ipsos/AXA found that 64% face stress, 43% are suffering from depression, and only 25% of people are flourishing.
But strategies for micro joy can be a solution to the struggles and a way to build both well-being and resilience. Micro joy is made up of the small moments of happiness, presence, and mindfulness that we can find in the midst of challenge or difficulty. It is about embracing the power of little delights in the everyday.
How can you create micro joy in your life? Heres what works best.
Take action
Perhaps most important to micro joy is realizing that you have power over your actions and reactions. There may be a lot that is getting in the way of your happiness, but you can take action to contribute to your mental health as well. Even if you cant change your situation, you can adjust your thinking and your habits.
Remind yourself of all youve achieved and all youre capable of. Reframe problems as opportunities to learn. When youre faced with a new opportunity, instead of resisting it, motivate yourself to move out of your comfort zone by saying Why not? Take a walk, spend time outside enjoying nature, get enough sleep, and stay hydrated. Also consider keeping a gratitude journal.
These kinds of actions have positive effects, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research of almost 18,000 people in 169 countries. They contribute to improved emotional well-being, greater positive emotions, feelings of empowerment, reduced stress, increased health, and better sleep.
Taking action contributes to happiness because it helps you feel empowered, and it reinforces your agency. It also gives you an opportunity to learn. When you attempt to solve a problem or you address a challenge, you get feedback about what works, what you can improve, and the best ways to keep going.
Focus on small wins
You can also create moments of micro joy by focusing on small wins. Its natural that work may include good days and not-so-good days. But in a study of 12,000 people over three years by Harvard, the people who tended to be the most motivated were those who felt like they had made progress on any given day. It wasnt always the big achievements that created satisfaction, but simply the feeling they had moved things forward. Another study published in Health Psychology found that frequent, small experiences (think: small steps) had measurable positive impacts on emotions and physical health and reduced depression and anxiety.
Small acts like keeping a gratitude journal or tracking your progress on a project at work can help you reinforce small wins. You can also track small wins in your personal life like monitoring your streaksincluding the days you meditate or the times you go to the gym or take the dog for a walk.
Focus on others
When were seeking happiness, it can be natural to focus on our own needs, but ironically, focusing on others can help us even more. In fact, a surefire way to achieve happiness through micro actions is to do small kindnesses for others. We all have an instinct to matter, and when we help others, we not only help them but also ourselves.
Based on a survey by BioLife, when people helped others, 45% felt a greater sense of purpose, 36% felt happier, 26% experienced greater mental well-being, 20% improved their self-esteem and self-confidence, and 11% said they were less stressed. And fully 49% volunteered because they expected to feel personally fulfilled.
Set a goal that every day youll actively help another person, visit a friend who needs support, or reach out to a neighbor who is sick. Do a random act of kindness for a stranger.
Focus on the present
You can also increase happiness with moments of micro joy that are focused on the present. If we ruminate too much on the past or worry too much about the future, we can exacerbate mental distress. Of course, you want to reflect and learn and you want to plan for the future, but when you keep enough focus on the present, you also stay grounded.
One way is to focus on your senses. Smell your freshly brewed coffee and enjoy that first cup in the morning. Step outside and notice the sun on your face or enjoy the new crispness in the fall air. Listen to the children playing in the yard down the street or pause to hear the trickle of the stream as you walk through a park on the way to work. Any of these will help you pause and enjoy where you are.
You are also wise to focus on what youre grateful for. When you think consciously about the people and experiences you appreciate, or the skills and capabilities that you celebrate in yourself, youll reinforce what you have, rather than what youre yearning for. When you express more gratitude, youll also tend to feel happier, according to research conducted by the University of Montana.
In a 1991 movie called The Fisher King, Robin Williams plays a man who is without a home and who has had a psychotic break. Despite his suffering, he says that he has all he needs and holds out his hand to show a few stones. Each one represents a memory or special moment. They are his touchstones for healing, redemption, and a new beginning. And they remind him of parts of his life hes grateful for.
Micro joys are like this as well. You can tap into micro joy with strategies to focus on small things in the present, as well as your own ability to embrace moments and memories with gratitude and fulfillment.
When I was learning to play bass, my first teacher told me, Find your groove and stay in it. As a musician, that meant discovering the rhythm that allowed me to lock in with the drummer so the rest of the band could shine. Years later, as a consultant and culture architect, I realized the same principle applies to productivity: Each of us has a groovea natural style of workingthat, once discovered, allows us to perform at our best.
The challenge is that most professionals attempt to replicate productivity systems that dont align with their brains natural rhythm. They read about a CEO waking up at 4 a.m. or a time-blocking hack and feel frustrated when it doesnt work for them. Thats like asking a jazz saxophonist to practice like a classical pianist. Both are musicians, but their artand their brainsrequire different approaches.
Neuroscience supports this. Research on brain plasticity reveals that each of us develops distinct cognitive strengths and energy patterns based on our experiences and genetic wiring. In other words, your productivity style is as unique as your fingerprint. Leaders who thrive are those who learn to recognize, honor, and harness their styleand then build teams that groove together like a jazz ensemble.
The Four Productivity Styles
Over the course of decades working with leaders, teaching project portfolio management, and performing music, Ive identified four broad productivity styles. Think of them as sections of an orchestra: Each contributes differently, and the magic happens when they play in harmony.
The Disciplined Virtuoso (Focus & Discipline)These are your practice room professionals. Like Prince, who mastered 27 instruments through relentless repetition, they thrive on structure, consistency, and clear goals.
The Creative Shape-Shifter (Reinvention & Innovation)Think David Bowie or the Beatles. These individuals thrive when they can reinvent themselves, innovate, and question the status quo.
The Resilient Improviser (Experimentation & Recovery)Modeled after jazz legends like John Coltrane, this style thrives in uncertain times. They treat challenges as improvisational prompts, seeing them as opportunities to adapt and grow.
The Collaborative Conductor (Collaboration & Vulnerability)Like Beyoncé, who builds a powerhouse creative team, these leaders excel at orchestrating others. Their groove is creating safe, trust-filled environments where collective brilliance emerges.
Each style can lead to extraordinary resultsbut only if you work with it rather than against it.
Why Knowing Your Style Matters
Failing to identify your productivity style is like ignoring the bass in a songit leaves everything else hollow. Heres why it matters:
Energy Alignment: When you work in harmony with your natural groove, tasks that once felt like mountains become more like your favorite tune.
Reduced Burnout: A Kronos study found 95% of HR leaders believe burnout is sabotaging retention. Misaligned productivity approaches are a silent culprit.
Team Synergy: Just as an orchestra needs strings, winds, brass, and percussion, organizations need a mix of productivity styles.
Strategic Clarity: The most successful companies, from Apple to Walgreens, found their hedgehog concept by aligning passion, capability, and economic engine. Individuals must do the same with their productivity.
How to Find Your Productivity Style
Think of this as a discovery processnot unlike learning to play music by ear. Heres a framework I use (inspired by my Productivity Smarts podcast and methodology):
Identify Peak Energy Hours Track your energy for a week. Virtuosos often peak early; shape-shifters may find evenings more generative.
Map Motivational Triggers Do you thrive on checklists or freedom? Pay attention to when you feel in flow.
Replay Your Work History Look at past projects. Were you most engaged when innovating, executing, adapting, or collaborating?
Run a Jam Session Try tasks outside your default style for a week. Notice whether they energize or drain you.
Seek Feedback Ask colleagues what they see as your strengths. Others often notice patterns you miss.
Turning Style Into Strength
Discovering your productivity style is only the first step. The real magic comes when you apply it with intention:
Design Your Environment Like a StudioVirtuosos thrive with tidy desks and project management tools. Shape-shifters may need whiteboards and inspiration boards to help them visualize their ideas. Improvisers benefit from safe sandbox spaces. Conductors need open collaboration zones.
Build Your Productivity ParthenonIn my book, Productivity Smarts, I describe the Parthenon as a metaphor for enduring productivity. Each pillarFocus, Innovation, Experimentation, Collaborationmust be represented. Your style shows which pillar is strongest and which requires partners.
Sync With the BandProductivity is not a solo act. Leaders should intentionally compose teams with a mix of styles. Thats how you avoid the all-drummers problemlots of noise, no melody.
Use Neuroscience to Hack Your GrooveNeuroscience tells us emotion, novelty, and stories enhance memory and performance. If youre a Virtuoso, add novelty breaks. Shape-shifters should ground ideas in stories. Improvisers should embed recovery rituals. Conductors should practice emotional intelligence to deepen trust.
Make Decisions Like a Jazz SoloistIn my book A Symphony of Choices, I wrote that effective decision-making is about striking a balance between structure and freedom. Let your style guide not only how you work but what you choose to work on.
When Styles Collide
I once consulted with a federal agency IT department that was paralyzed. Projects were late, innovation was flat, and morale was low. After assessments, we realized the leadership team was composed almost entirely of virtuosos. They were masters of execution but resistant to improvisation.
We introduced shape-shifters and improvisers into the project management leadership pipeline, pairing them with virtuosos in co-lead roles. The result? Innovation flourished, risks were managed, and execution remained strong. Within two years, their project delivery rate improved by 35%, and employee engagement scores jumped.
The lesson: When you know your style, you not only work better, you know who to partner with to fill your gaps.
Action Plan: Finding Your Groove
Heres a simple five-step plan you can use tomorrow:
Take Inventory: Track when you feel most energized.
Label Your Style: Decide whether youre primarily a virtuoso, shape-shifter, improviser, or conductor.
Align Your Calendar: Schedule high-value tasks during your peak windows.
Curate Your Ensemble: Partner with colleagues whose styles complement yours.
Review Weekly: Ask, Did I honor my style? Did I balance it with others?
Why This Matters Now
We live in what Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez calls the Project Economy: a world where most of our work is structured as projects with clear outcomes and stakes. In this environment, productivity isnt about doing more; its about doing what matters most in harmony with how your brain works.
Leaders who ignore this reality will continue to fight burnout, disengagement, and wasted resources. Leaders who embrace it will unlock resilience, creativity, and sustainable high performance.
Closing Note: Play Your Part
When I play in a jazz ensemble, no one asks the bassist to sound like the trumpet or the drums. My job is to provide the groove that makes the whole band sound better. Productivity is the same. Your style doesnt need to match anyone elses. It needs to be yoursand when you play it well, others will find their groove alongside you.
Your brain already has a productivity style. Its time to discover, honor, and utilize it. Because in the great symphony of work, the world doesnt need more noise. It requires your unique music.
Most personal branding advice assumes youre one thing. But what if youre not? What if youre a strategist and an artist, a CEO and a musician, a parent and a community builder?
For leaders who live at these intersections, the advice to pick a lane can feel suffocating. I know this tension firsthand. My own path has spanned finance, strategy, leadership development, writing, and creating art. Initially, I worried that showcasing this diversity would appear disjointed.
Over time, I realized that my multidimensionality isnt a liability; its part of my brand. The question isnt How do I simplify myself? Its How do I integrate my many identities into a coherent, compelling story?
Why This Matters
Research shows multidimensionality is more commonand more valuablethan ever. A recent McKinsey study found that half of American professionals now identify with more than one career identity, often blending side hustles with traditional roles. Meanwhile, the Harvard Business Review reports that leaders earn more trust when they reveal dimensions beyond technical skillsuch as creativity, vulnerability, and even hobbies. And as Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha argue in The Startup of You, the most resilient brands are those that adapt, iterate, and broadcast a multidimensional story. The challenge? If you dont actively design your personal brand, the world will do it for you, and it will often default to the narrowest version of you.
Examples of Multidimensional Branding Done Right
Too often, leaders feel pressure to pick one defining trait: strategist, innovator, operator. But the most resonant brands are those that embrace complexity. Here are some well-known examples of multidimensional personal brands that have gotten it right.
Bozoma Saint John: The former CMO at Netflix and Uber has a brand that stands for more than marketing expertise. She weaves her identity as a Ghanaian-American, a fashion icon, and a champion for diversity into her professional story. That integration has made her one of the most recognizable CMOs in the world, known as much for her bold presence and narrative as for her marketing results.
Lin-Manuel Miranda: A creator who fuses theater, history, and hip hophis brand isnt playwright but storyteller across genres.
Reshma Saujani: The founder of Girls Who Code is also a lawyer, advocate, and author. Her personal brand is built on a throughline of bravery in the face of imperfection that ties her varied pursuits together.
These leaders didnt collapse themselves into one lane. Instead, they built brands around the connective tissue of their pursuits.
A Framework: The Three Cs of Multidimensional Branding
So how do you put this into practice? When I work with leaders, I use a framework inspired by The Startup of You to help them embrace, not erase, their complexity.
Clarify Your Throughline. Whats the connective idea across your roles? Maybe its expanding access, bridging art and science, or helping people reimagine whats possible. This becomes the anchor of your brand.
Curate Your Narrative. Not every role needs equal airtime. Instead of a laundry list, craft a story arc. Example: I started in finance, which gave me analytical rigor. I layered in strategy and biotech, which taught me the importance of scale and innovation. Today, I bring that foundation into leadership development, blending structure with creativity.
Communicate Across Contexts. Your brand isnt staticit flexes depending on the audience. On LinkedIn, you can highlight your leadership coaching skills. On your podcast, your identity as a connector and storyteller comes to the forefront. Consistency lies in tone and values, not identical messaging.
Together, these steps ensure your brand reflects your wholeness, not just one polished fragment.
Practical Tips for Leaders Building a Multidimensional Brand
Frameworks are powerful, but they only come alive when translated into daily practice. Many leaders nod along to the idea of integration over simplification, but then get stuck when it comes to LinkedIn headlines, bios, or introductions at networking events.
The gap between knowing and doing can make multidimensional branding feel abstract and intangible. Thats why it helps to start small with practical, repeatable actions that align your external signals with your internal story. These arent about over-engineering your brand. Theyre about cultivating habits that make your complexity relatable and memorable.
Here are four ways to put multidimensional branding into action:
Audit your brand signals. Google yourself, review your LinkedIn headline, and ask: Does this reflect all the sides of me that matter most now?
Experiment in public. Post about a project outside your main lane. When I first began sharing my artwork alongside my leadership insights, I was surprised by how strongly it resonated with them. That integration signaled more authenticity than adhering to a single professional script ever could.
Borrow language from others. Listen closely to how colleagues describe you. The phrases that recur often point to your authentic differentiators.
Tell stories, not resumes. People remember narratives of how you moved between worlds, not a bullet list of achievements.
The old model of branding said: be consistent by being narrow. The new model says: be consistent by being authentic. You dont need to shrink yourself to be relatable; you need to integrate yourself to be memorable. So, ask yourself: Whats the throughline that ties together my many identities? How can I share my story in a way that feels both multidimensional and coherent? Because in an era where disruption is constant and roles are fluid, the leaders who thrive wont be the ones who fit a mold. Theyll be the ones who embody the power of andand in doing so, expand what leadership itself can look like.
Five years ago, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong did a bold thing. He banned political conversations at work. He made this decision because he knows what the job of a business leader is: to deliver for customers, employees, and shareholders.
More recently, another executive did the opposite. Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerrys fame left the company as part of a row with its parent company over social activism. For Greenfield, political stances are not just part of the company; they ultimately outweigh everything else.
This stark difference is very instructive at this time. Amid Americas rising polarization, what stance should businesses take? Many people who think of themselves as social justice activists criticized Armstrong and praised Greenfield. But in reality, for society, Armstrong showed the kind of leadership America desperately needs.
The degradation of public discourse is corrosive to society and individual well-being. It might be the greatest social challenge we face today. Government leaders are, all too often, exacerbating this. But businesses canand mustbring Americans together.
Years of research have proven this. Studies of intergroup contact theory find that when people work across differences and focus on common goals, they build much greater understanding. Workplaces are often the main places in which this happens, and they benefit from greater cooperation and collaboration.
By recognizing how interpersonal trust, the foundation of teamwork, is primarily formed in our workplaces through acknowledgement, respect, and relating, as well as by modeling trustful behaviors, team leaders can manage political discourse,” a 2023 study on political polarization found. They can also “acknowledge the good, and refocus on the mission, culture, and goals that united us in the first place, before polarization became so pronounced.
How is this done? Should companies take stands on controversial issues or avoid them? When a stand is taken, will that create an echo chamber of aligned social warriors that alienates the nonaligned?
Unite around meaning
Businesses must create environments in which people do their best work. Employee engagement drives productivityand its all about how people feel about work. Yes, in this data-driven world, feelings still matter more.
Leaders should build cultures that make people feel excitement and connection over shared aims. Decades ago, President John F. Kennedy confronted a perceived threat from Russia, and raging controversies in America about what to do. He responded by motivating people to share a dream of U.S. astronauts making it to the moon. That dream was so compelling that it was faithfully delivered seven years after JFKs assassination.
The lesson: focus on big goals and build camaraderie around what it takes to achieve them. Business leaders must set up moonshot aspirations. Lay out what it takes for the organization to get there. Make that the driving force of daily operations.
Build focus amid overstimulation
Anthropologist Grant McCracken talks about todays culture being concussive. People have so much coming at them at all times that theyre distracted and often triggered. They feel overwhelmed just by being alive. The pervasive complaint of overwhelm is a symptom of this condition.
An absolutely essential job of a leader today is to deliberately and methodically pull people out of that morass of overstimulation. Make work the place in which people derive a sense of meaning from achievements that become core to their identity. Create an environment in which they take pride in work well done and beautifully executed.
This happens when leaders make clear what the purpose of the enterprise is. That purpose must override everything else. So a leader should ask: Are we in the business of creating the funkiest, most creative ice cream on earth, at scale? If that’s the purpose, then everything else comes second. You dont divide the company, customers, workforce, corporate partners, suppliers, or anyone else over issues outside that purpose.
Over the years, I have noticed that the happiest people I know are a bit obsessed with their work; they find meaning and joy in what they do. The CEOs job is to foster this environment. One where a sense of purpose and meaning comes from being part of an organization larger than themselves, and where it is clear to everyone what the relevant beliefs, mindsets, and mental models are.
At its core, the job of culture is to find that which unites people. With political extremism and violence endangering Americas future, the nation needs workplaces to step up. There, leaders can create clear, positive cultures, capture peoples attention, and help them rediscover what its like to come together.
Colleagues are a critical part of what makes your work experience enjoyable and meaningful. You interact with your colleagues and (in the best of cases) create a neighborhood of peers that you can rely on both to push the work forward and to share the joys and tribulations of the workday.
Thats why annoying colleagues can be a particular thorn. When you have a peer at work that you dont want to deal with, it disrupts the flow of your day and diminishes your intrinsic enjoyment of work.
So, what can you do to deal with annoying coworkers? A lot of that depends on what is making them annoying. Here are a few possibilities.
Missing social norms
One thing that can make a colleague annoying is that they just dont understand the social norms of the office. This is particularly likely to be true of people who are new to your organization and especially those who are new to working in general. Also, these social norms can be very hard to pick up when the company works remotely.
You might want to help these colleagues get acclimated to the workplace. Talk to them about what colleagues expect in the organization. Offer to give them feedback on the interactions you witness in meetings or group gatherings. Give them a heads-up about upcoming situations.
The idea here is that annoying colleagues are particularly annoying when you feel like there is nothing you can do to avoid them. By becoming a proactive part of the solution, you are giving yourself some agency that will make your colleague feel less like a rock in your shoe.
Lack of trust
Some colleagues are annoying, because you flat-out dont trust them. You suspect that they are using any information they obtain to get ahead at the expense of others. Perhaps they have the ear of leadership and tend to badmouth members of the team. They might even try to take more credit for projects than they deserve.
This is a hard one, because you have to be able to engage with your peers to get your work done. For one thing, if you witness a colleague doing something that undermines your trust in them, find a time to talk with them. It is possible that they are insecure and doing some of the things they do to feel successful. They may not even realize that others have picked up on what theyre doing. The aim is to try to convince your colleague that playing with the team is likely to help them to be more successful than undermining the team.
If you do have this conversation, focus on the observable facts without implying a motive. Tell them what you saw them do and allow them to talk to you about why. Hopefully, the conversation will improve that colleagues future behavior. Of course, if they deny having done anything wrong, it reinforces your lack of trust.
If you do have a colleague who is truly untrustworthy, try to avoid engaging with them more than necessary. Hopefully, their supervisor will have some sense that this person isnt trustworthy and will provide some feedback to correct their behavior. Machiavellian individuals in particular may treat their peers poorly, but suck up to leadership. Still, your best bet is to steer clear and focus your efforts on your trusted colleagues.
Social awkwardness and neurodivergence
Some people are just socially awkward. They mean well, but they dont pick up on the social cues that others use to know that a social interaction isnt going well or they should leave someone alone. Some (though not all) of these socially awkward individuals may be on the autism spectrum.
There are two things to do here: First, give some grace. If youre fortunate enough to be socially skilled, you may not realize how hard it is to be socially awkward. Everyone wants to feel some connection to their colleagues, and your socially atypical and neurodivergent colleagues have a particularly hard time sustaining those connections. Being a good colleague and friend is going to improve their work experience (and yours).
As you befriend these colleagues, talk with them about whether they would appreciate you letting them know if theyre being a bother. Often, they will value getting more direct feedback about when an engagement has gone awry. That way, you can help them and also redirect interactions before they become annoying.
AITA?
If several colleagues are being annoying, it could be a run of bad luck, but there is also a significant chance that the problem is you.
Reflect a bit on the way you engage with your colleagues. Are there things youre doing that may rub them the wrong way? If you cant figure it out, find a colleague you think you get along with well, and ask.
If you do figure out (or are told) that you are driving your colleagues nuts, then sit down with your colleagues individually and apologize. Discuss the situation and assure them that you want to be a good colleague and are working to improve. Conversations like that can go a long way toward repairing your relationships with your peers.
Business leaders are scrambling to understand the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence. But if companies are struggling to keep up, can todays business schools really prepare students for a new landscape thats unfolding in real time out in the real world?
Stanford University thinks it might have the answer.
At its Graduate School of Business, a new student-led initiative aims to arm students for a future where AI is upending in ways that are still unfolding. The program, called AI@GSB, includes hands-on workshops with new AI tools and a speaker series with industry experts. The school also introduced new courses around AIincluding one called AI for Human Flourishing, which aims to shift the focus from what AI can do, to what it should do.
But Sarah Soule, a longtime organizational behavior professor who became dean of the business school this year, told Fast Company that preparing students for this brand-new work environment is easy to say, harder to do. Especially given how quickly AI is changing every function of every organization, she says.
So the school hopes to lean on its network of well-connected alumni, as well as its location in Silicon Valley, the heart of the AI boom, to lead business schools not just into a future where AI knowledge will be necessarybut in the present, where it already is.
[Photo: SGSB]
It would not be easy for me as the new dean to just come in and mandate that everybody begin teaching AI in whatever their subject matter is, Soule said, explaining that that approach likely would fail.
In a conversation with Fast Company, the dean shared more about what she hopes will work, and how she plans to train the next generation of leaders for an AI-powered world.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Many business schools are adding AI courses. But it sounds like youre thinking of AI as less of an add-on, and more like a core part of the schools DNA going forward. How do you make that distinction?
I think it has to be [a core part]. Developing a very holistic leadership model, alongside all the offerings in AI, is going to allow usI hopeto think about the questions of ethics and responsibility, and the importance of human beings and human connection, especially in an AI-powered organization.
AI is going to change the future of work completely. So having those two parallel themes at the same time is going to be critical.
What does ethical, responsible AI mean to you?
HR comes to mind right away. Im thinking about privacy concerns: What do we need to be worried about? If were outsourcing scans of résumés and so on to algorithms and agents, do we need to worry about privacy?
I also think about: What does the world look like if a lot of entry-level jobs begin to disappear? How do we think responsibly about reskilling individuals for work that will enable AI?
I dont think we have the answers to these questions, but Im really glad that we as a business school are going to beand have beenasking these questions.
The new AI initiative is student-led. But what is the school doing to train faculty to better understand how they can, or should, teach about AIor use AI in their classes? Implementing this has been a mixed bag for a lot of universities.
We have a teaching and learning hub here that has very talented staff [members] who are pedagogical experts and who are offering different kinds of sessions on AI. So thats of course been helpful.
But one of the most gratifying things to see is how faculty are talking to one another about their researchto see them really jazzed about how they’re using AI in the classroom, and sharing speakers that they’re going to bring in, and thinking about new case studies to write together. Its really fun to see the buzz amongst the faculty as they navigate this.
Many, if not most, of our faculty are using AI in their research. I think because theyre becoming so comfortable with AI, theyre genuinely excited about teaching AI noweither teaching content about AI, or bringing AI into the pedagogy. I’ll give you an example.
In one particular class, the faculty member essentially created a GPT to search all of the management journals and to help answer common managerial questions and dilemmas. So it’s an evidence-based management tool that the students can use. They could say, What’s the optimal way to set up a high-functioning team? And it will search through the journals and give an evidence-based answer.
One of Stanford GSBs most popular courses is Interpersonal Dynamics, known as the Touchy Feely class. Do you think teaching skills like emotional intelligence as an aspect of leadership becomes even more important in an AI-dominated world?
Absolutely. Touchy Feely is an iconic class. Even though it’s an elective, nearly every student takes it; it transforms people’s lives, and they love this course.
It focuses on an important facet of leadership: self-awareness. But that’s only one piece. We also have courses that get students to think about a second facet of leadership, which is perspective-taking: the ability to ask very good questions, and to listen really well to others to understand where they’re coming from.
So, self-awareness and perspective-taking are part of the leadership model. The third thing: We have a wonderful set of classes on communications, not just about executive presence and executive communications, but classes that focus on nonverbal communication and written communication.
The last two facets of our leadership model are: critical and analytical decision makinghaving the judgment and wisdom to make the kinds of decisions that leaders always have to makeand contextual awareness to think about the system in which they’re embedded. Not just to understand it, but to navigate it, and to have the will to try to change it if it needs to be changed.&nbs;
All of those dimensions of leadership are going to be more and more important in the coming years with AI.
So many of the rote tasks and analysis will be being done pretty wellmaybe better than humansby AI.
But we are going to need people who can lead othersand lead them well, and lead them in a principled and purposeful fashion.
As companies adopt AI, the conversation is shifting from the promise of productivity to concerns about AIs impact on wellbeing.
Business leaders cant ignore the warning signs. The mental health crisis isnt new, but AI is changing how we must address it. More than 1 billion people experience mental health conditions. Burnout is rising. And more people are turning to AI for support without the expertise of trained therapists. What starts as empathy on demand could accelerate loneliness. Whats more, Stanford research found that these tools could introduce biases and failures that could result in dangerous consequences.
With the right leadership, AI can usher in a human renaissance: simplifying complex challenges, freeing up capacity, and sparking creativity. But optimism alone isnt a strategy. Thats why responsible AI adoption is a business imperative, especially for companies building the technology. That work is not easy, but its necessary.
UNCLEAR EXPECTATIONS
Weve seen what happens when powerful platforms are built without the right guardrails: Algorithms can fuel outrage, deepen disconnection, and undermine trust. If we deploy AI without grounding it in values, ethics, and governancedesigning the future without prioritizing wellbeingwe risk losing the trust and energy of the very people who would lead the renaissance.
Ive seen this dynamic up close. In conversations with business and HR leaders, and through my work on the board of Project Healthy Minds, the signals are clear: People are struggling with unclear expectations around AI use, job insecurity, loneliness, uncertainty, and exhaustion.
In a recent conversation with Phil Schermer, founder and CEO of Project Health Minds, he told me, Theres a reason why professional sports teams and hedge funds alike are investing in mental health programs for their teams that enable them to operate at the highest level. Companies that invest in improving the mental health of their workforce see higher levels of productivity, innovation, and retention of high performers.
5 WAYS TO BUILD AN AI-FIRST WORKPLACE THAT PROTECTS WELLBEING
Wellbeing should be at the core of the AI enablement strategy. Here are five ways to incorporate it.
1. Set clear expectations
Employees need to understand how to work with AI and that their leaders have their back. That means prioritizing governance and encouraging experimentation within safe, ethical guardrails. Good governance builds trust, and trust is the foundation of any successful transformation.
Investing in learning and growth sends a powerful message to employees: You belong in the future were building if youre willing to adapt. We prioritize skill building through ServiceNow University so every employee feels confident working with AI day-to-day.
In a conversation with Open Machine CEO and AI advisor Allie K. Miller, she told me that we need to redefine success in jobs by an employees output, value, and quality as they work with AI agents. This means looking at things like business impact and creativity, not just processes or tasks completed.
2. Model healthy AI behavior
AI implementation is a cultural shift. If we want employees to trust the technology, they need to see leaders and managers do the same.
That modeling starts with curiosity. Employees dont need to be AI experts from day one, but they need to show a willingness to learn. Set norms around when, why, and how often teams engage with AI tools. Ask questions, share experiments, and celebrate use cases where AI saved time or sparked creativity. AI shouldnt be an opt in for teamsit should be part of how we work, learn, and grow. When leaders use AI thoughtfully, employees are more likely to follow suit.
3. Pulse-check employee sentiment consistently
To design meaningful wellbeing programs, leaders must ground analysis in data, continuously improve, and build for scale. That starts by surveying employees to track sentiment, trust, and AI-related fatigue in real time.
Then comes the harder part: acting on the data to show employees theyre seen and supported. Leaders should ask:
Are we tailoring wellbeing strategies to the unique needs of teams, regions, and roles?
Are we embedding empathy into our platforms, workflows, and automated tasks?
Are our AI tools safe, unbiased, and aligned to our values?
Are we making mental health a routine part of manager check-ins?
According to Schermer, The organizations making the biggest strides are the ones treating wellbeing data like commercial data: measured frequently, acted on quickly, and tied directly to outcomes.
4. Focus on connection, keeping people at the center
AI should not replace professional mental healthcare or real-world connections. We must resist the urge to scale empathy through bots alone. The unique human ability to notice distress, empathize, and escalate is largely irreplaceable. Thats why leaders should advocate for human-first escalation ladders and align their policies to the World Health Organizations guidance on AI for health. Some researchers are exploring traffic light systems to flag when AI tools for mental health might cross ethical or personal boundaries.
AI adoption is a human shift, so people leaders need to take responsibility for AI transformation. Thats why my chief people officer role at ServiceNow evolved to include chief AI enablement officer. Todays leadership imperatives include reducing the stigma around mental health, building confidence in AI systems, creating space for open human connection, and encouraging dialogue about digital anxiety, loneliness, or job insecurity.
5. Champion cross-sector collaboration
We need collaboration across industries and leadership rolesfrom tech to healthcare, from HR professionals to policymakersto create systems of care alongside AI. The most effective strategies come from collective action.
Thats why leaders should partner with coalitions to scale access to care, expand AI literacy, and advocate for mental health in theworkforce. These partnerships can help us shape a better future for our people.
THE BOTTOM LINE: AI MUST BE BUILT TO WORK FOR PEOPLE
The future of work should be defined by trust, transparency, and humanity. This is our moment to lead with empathy, design with purpose, and build AI that works for people, not just productivity.
Jacqui Canney is chief people and AI enablement officer at ServiceNow.
Most of the software that truly moves the world doesn’t demand our attention: It quietly removes friction and gets out of the way. You only notice it when it’s broken. That’s not a bug in the business model; it’s a feature. In fact, “unnoticed but indispensable” is the highest customer-satisfaction score you can get.
Consider these categories that already figured this out.
The log-in that isn’t a task anymore
Password managers, once you build the habit, fade into the background. They fill the box before you even remember there was a box. Single sign-on (SSO) systems go a step further and make logging in to everything feel like one action instead of 17 small, annoying ones. And passkeys get rid of passwords entirely. The pattern is consistent: Tools that turn a chore into a non-event ultimately win.
It’s tempting to treat authentication like a “moment”: a page, a button, a ritual. The better approach is to treat it like plumbing. You notice good plumbing by its absence. Otherwise, you just enjoy the hot shower.
Invisible infrastructure already won the internet
Some technologies graduate from “choice” to “ambient.” Transport layer security (TLS) and HTTPS used to be optional. Now they’re table stakes, largely thanks to Let’s Encrypt making it approachable. Your browser nudges everyone toward secure defaults and the ecosystem complies. We don’t “do” TLS; we benefit from it.
This wasn’t always so seamless. In Windows early days, you literally had to install a Winsock stack just to speak TCP/IP. Today, the network stack is simply present, like oxygen. Progress in software often looks like this: The thing we once had to fiddle with becomes the thing we don’t think about anymore.
AI’s next act: not a chat box
Chatbots are neat, but they aren’t the end state of AI. They’re a first draft, like when we used to watch early web pages load images line by line. The real value emerges when intelligent assistance is in the room where work already happens, and it becomes part of the workflow.
In a CRM, the note writes itself while you talk and is already tagged correctly when you hang up.
In design tools, the spec is updated everywhere when you change a component once.
In code review, a suggestion appears inline with a one-click fix, not in a separate AI tab that hijacks your focus.
This is the same story as passwords, SSO, and HTTPS: The win comes from disappearing the steps, not adding a new surface area for attention.
(The funny thing is, most of the work of making AI invisible is just plain old engineering. Yes, there’s lots of AI engineering to make the bots work at all. But plugging them into things in a way that works, that’s the part we’re really behind on.)
BORING ON PURPOSE IS A STRATEGY
At my company we talk about being boring in a specific way: Security and connectivity should feel like electricity. You flip the switch, the lights come on, and nobody argues about the generator or the continent-wide high-voltage distribution network. Being invisible is not the same as being trivial; it’s the reward for sweating details users never see.
Here are five design principles for making software people won’t notice
1. Make the default the decision.
Someone once told me the golden rule of user interface design: If there’s a popup with two options, imagine one of them is “work” and the other one is “don’t work.” Then make “work” the default and delete the popup.
Most users will never visit settings. If the secure, performant, accessible path is the default, adoption happens for free.
2. Budget for latency like it’s a feature.
Under ~100ms, interactions feel instantaneous. Over ~1s, they feel like work. Invisible software feels fast because it never gives the user time to switch contexts. Cache, prefetch, and defer like your product’s life depends on it. Because it does!
3. Automate the paperwork, keep the signatures.
Autofill, SSO, and passkeys are all versions of the same idea: The system should carry the burden. Let humans make approvals and set intent; let machines do the form filling and compliance trail.
4. Progressive disclosure beats feature sprawl.
Hide power tools until they’re needed. The user who needs advanced controls will find them; the one who doesn’t should never meet them. UIs that start simple and get deep on demand feel “light” and earn trust.
5. Fail quietly, recover loudly.
When background systems hiccup, self-heal first. If you must involve the user, say exactly what to do in one step and show you’ve already done the other three. Invisible products don’t turn every exception into a ticket.
THE BUSINESS CASE FOR BEING FORGETTABLE
“Unobtrusive” can sound like “unmonetizable,” but it’s the opposite. Products that vanish into the workflow produce fewer support tickets, shorter onboarding, and more expansion inside organizations. They spread by word-of-mouth because they don’t create new habits; they remove old pain. You don’t need a big campaign to sell relief.
The tricky part is cultural, not technical. Teams must be okay shipping value that isn’t screenshot-worthy. That means investing in the edges: reliability, identity, zero-touch setup, and instant rollback-so customers never have to learn those words.
A SIMPLE TEST
If turning your product off causes immediate, confused swearing from the people who didn’t even know they depended on it, congratulations: you’ve built something great. Now make it a little faster and a little quieter, and do that every quarter.
Because the best compliment your software will ever get is silence.Avery Pennarun is CEO and cofounder at Tailscale.
The trajectory of our national economy is a central concern of every American. Our living costs rise as would-be hegemons battle over neocolonial control through tariff policies. And while social media creativity holds our attention, some part of us recalls older ways of storytelling, and we wonder, where do we belong? Most of us, even newcomers to this countryespecially newcomerswere taught from an early age that anyone who works hard will eventually thrive. But we repeatedly see and know that this is merely a story told to us, not reality.
The community in which you are born has a tremendous impact on your eventual life outcomes. If you are born into a poor community, you will likely remain poor. If you are born into a wealthy one, you are likely to remain wealthy. Author Isabel Wilkerson and socioeconomic researcher Raj Chetty both describe this grating reality. We want to believe in the American Dream, but our eyes see, our ears hear, and our cortisol levels reflect the stress we feel as we strive to reconcile reality with the conflicting narratives of America as a place where anyone can thrive through hard work.
Instead, it is time for a new narrative.
THE POWER OF NARRATIVE IN SHAPING ECONOMIC REALITY
Narrative, more than facts alone, shapes perceptions about who deserves opportunity and resources. Media, pop culture, and policy discourse reinforce or challenge our status quo by elevating the stories of the bootstrapping successful entrepreneur while ignoring stories of the barriers still in place.
After the murder of George Floyd, local TV and the culture turned its attention to topics of structural racism. What followed? Increased business attention on audiences, stakeholders, and customers who were concerned with undoing generations of discrimination. No one with any knowledge of history expected such attention and focus to be permanent. Like looking into the sun, we knew America would quickly avert its eyes. Yet we still hoped that this solar moment would have greater public resonance.
Despite the very public backlash against all things equity, support for diversity, equity, and inclusion persists among many Americans who have experienced the richness and benefit of desegregated life. We now struggle to find the safest words and phrases to describe our internal sense of sharing humanity with otherseven those beyond recently erected walls. This unlabeled value is the seed of a new national narrative.
THE RIGHT TO THRIVE
At Living Cities, we believe the conversation around opportunity must shift from scarcity and survival to abundance and flourishing. When we reframe narratives to center the right of every person to truly thrive, particularly those from marginalized communities, we unlock powerful new possibilities for individuals, families, and entire cities. This positive focus moves beyond merely surviving in systems that were not designed for everyone, toward actively building systems that empower all to grow, innovate, and lead.
By emphasizing narratives of thriving, we foster hope, agency, and dignity. We see entrepreneurs of color not as risky bets but as vital engines of economic growth rooted in resilience and innovation. We recognize neighborhoods historically denied capital not as liabilities, but as sites brimming with untapped potential. This new storytelling affirms that systemic barriers can and must be dismantled, and that access to resources drives shared prosperity, stronger communities, and sustainable development.
Living Cities experience with cross-sector coalitions in cities has shown that using positive narratives of abundance can help community leaders see all individuals as worthy of investment. This helps strengthen community trust, catalyze authentic partnerships, and accelerate economic opportunity. Thriving is more than an aspirational goalit is a proven strategy for revitalizing cities and fundamental motivation for transforming lives.
REFRAME THE CONVERSATION
Living Cities supported city coalitions to use narrative change for direct results. For example, in Albuquerque and Memphis, positive use of narrative enabled loan underwriters to re-examine their assessment of risk related to Black and Latino entrepreneurs.
To reframe the national conversation, organizations and companies can use these best practices in narrative and communications strategies:
Cocreate stories with those affected: Community-led storytelling creates authenticity and greater impact.
Blend hard data with lived experience: Combining human stories with local economic data persuades both hearts and minds.
Invest in media literacy: Teaching audiences to identify and question stereotypes can reduce bias.
Counter negative narratives with abundance, agency, and equity: Highlight systemic successessuch as new Black-owned businesses or increases in affordable homeownershipover deficit-based stories.
INSPIRE A CULTURE OF ABUNDANCE AND EQUITY
Reframing risk as a function of structural barriers, not personal failure, will give us the foundation we need for increased economic opportunity. Storytelling can shift public policy, local business investment, and economic outcomes. Anything is possible when we eliminate our outdated stereotypes and create a new foundation.
Leaders, policymakers, businesses, and media must invest in narrative work as a core equity strategy, reframing the conversation to foster true abundance and agency in Americas communities.
Joe Scantlebury is president and CEO of Living Cities.
Ive spent much of my career in fintech, but some of the most inspiring innovations Ive seen came from a town most people have never heard of.
In early 2025, Ipava State Bank, a tiny community institution in western Illinois, embedded a small amount of life protection into every eligible checking and savings account. No app to install, no portals, no extra stepscoverage was calculated from balances and capped per account. Six months in, reported results included $3.45 million in protection delivered, 7% deposit growth, 4.8% higher average balances, and a 25% increase in customers reaching maximum coverage levelsat a time when many peers were losing deposits.
The program, developed in partnership with Wysh, is part of a growing wave of fintech innovation thats meeting people where they already areat their local banks and credit unions. For The National Alliance for Financial Literacy and Inclusion (NAFLI), its exactly the kind of progress we champion: Technology designed not just for scale, but for inclusion.
Lets talk about why it workedand how other banks could adapt the idea without copying the setting. We worked alongside partners on this effort; here are five observations weve made about the projects design choices any institution can adopt.
1. Default-on beats opt-in.
People dont lack interest in protection; they lack bandwidth. Making the benefit automatic eliminated friction and avoided the shame tax of apply if you can navigate the process. In low-adoption markets, behavioral simplicity is a strategy, not a shortcut.
2. Lead with the institutions trust, not the partners tech.
The coverage showed up through the bank customers already relied on, which reframed the offer from a new product to learn to my bank is taking care of me. Community banks have a trust surplususing it thoughtfully matters more than adding another feature tile.
3. Translate the benefit to local risks.
In Ipava, protection wasnt a perk; it mapped to single-income households, inherited farm debt, and small-business succession. Wherever you operate, write the value statement in the communitys language first, product language second.
4. Measure outcomes the customer can feel.
Deposit growth is great; confidence is the point. Track balance stability, dormant-to-active reactivation, and share-of-wallet movements following benefit awarenesssignals that the relationships getting stronger, not just more expensive to promote.
5. Make branches the on-ramp, not the afterthought.
Frontline staff need a 10-second script. For example, This account now includes a small layer of protectionautomatically and a two-minute FAQ guide. When the explanation is simple, you dont need an app demo to earn adoption.
WHAT THIS CHANGES ABOUT FINANCIAL WELLNESS
Most wellness programs ask people to learn more and do moredownload the app, change the habit, attend the webinar. The Ipava example flips that script: Make the institution do more so the customer doesnt have to.
When protection is embedded where money already lives, inclusion stops being an aspiration and becomes the default state of the relationship. Thats the shift Wysh is helping banks unlockand the kind of design NAFLI believes can redefine what financial literacy looks like in practice.
If your bank is ready to make this shift too:
Dont over-engineer choice. In high-emotion categories, asking users to select multiple options underperform simple and common defaults. If possible, offer clarity, not a catalog.
Dont outsource the story. Tech partners enable; the bank narrates. If customers dont hear it from you, they wont feel it from you.
Dont chase app adoption as the goal. Adoption of the benefit matters more than adoption of the interface. Design to be understood in a branch foyer, not just a home screen.
THE BIGGER INVITATION
If community institutions want to win back deposits and relevance, they dont need shinier featuresthey need more visible care. The lesson from a small bank in western Illinois isnt that every place is Ipava. Its that trust-first, default-on design can work anywhere people still value a bank that shows up for their best daysand their worst.
Maybe the bigger takeaway is simpler: innovation doesnt always look like new technology. Sometimes it looks like a familiar bank doing something timelessshowing up for people when it matters most. And thats why NAFLI is watching this movement closelybecause when fintech starts working for the people who dont download fintech, were finally getting somewhere.
Edwin Endlich is the president and board chairman of The National Alliance For Financial Literacy and Inclusion.
