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Though many companies are still in the early days of AI adoption, one thing is clear: Many of our interactionsbetween employees and even organizationsare already being carried out entirely by agentic technology. As this trend increases, the need for leaders to keep humanity at the core of their businesses is critical. Thats why this years annual meeting of the Fast Company Impact Council was centered on the theme of Maintaining a Human Touch in a Digital World. In May, 123 of the Impact Councils 422 members gathered in New Canaan, Connecticut, at the 80-acre headquarters of humanitarian nonprofit Grace Farms. In panels and roundtables held across the organizations buildingsdesigned by Pritzker Prizewinning architecture firm SANAAattendees explored how businesses can center innovation around real-world needs and values, even as they navigate the AI revolution. Here are some insights from the event. [Spot illustrations: Lauren Tamaki] How to Lead With a Mission The DEI backlash is short-term thinking. This is a time to stick to your valuesit will yield better results than if you hadnt.Sharon Prince, Founder and CEO, Grace Farms Foundation “Your message supports your mission. When youre doing it right, both of those things are working together. But when those elements get muddied, brands run into problems.Celia Jones, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Finn Partners How To Lead Like A Human “Many leaders ask employees how they are but dont leave space for a real response. Its about providing space and being prepared for the answer so you can be supportive.Elyse Cohen, Chief Impact Officer, Rare Beauty “People like the freedom of remote work, but we also hear from younger employees that theyre struggling with the lack of human contact and learnings theyd get in personbecause Zoom doesnt cut it.”David Ko, CEO, Calm What Role Does Your Company Play in a City? “One of the core principles of our practice is to create shelters for those in need, but also to elevate the presence of those shelters so that residents feel good about their environment. Its a little easier for us as architects because it is a built environment, but we are able to project our creativity and social awareness literally onto our city.Nerin Kadribegovic, Founder and Principal, Kadre Architects “More public art increases our quality of life. Why wouldnt every city want some type of focus and intentionality behind what art can do and bring to the city?Alan Bacon Jr., Cofounder and Chief Strategist, Ganggang Putting the Customer Back in Customer Experience “Unlike product design, which focuses on unmet user needs, with immersive experiences, you cant really ask someone what they want from an experience theyve never had. Thats why an ideation processwith teams that are cross-disciplinaryrelies on the alchemy of bringing different people together.Andrew Zimmerman, CEO, Journey A lot of companies are too worried about getting everyone on board with a decision. if you have clear values and a point of view, people will come along.Barbara Bouza, Executive DirectorLive, Work, Play, CannonDesign Improv For Authentic Connection “What are organizations doing with the time freed up by AI? Are we adding more tasks to peoples workload, or are we giving them space to connect with other humans?Tyler Dean Kempf, Creative Director, Second City Works Ensuring Tech for Good is Good for Humanity “We are starting to experience a cognitive industrial revolution. But technology is never neutral. Alone, it wont make the world betterwe have to do that.Hala Hanna, Executive Director, MIT Solve “Most nonprofits have a deficit when it comes to tech expertise and capital, and most companies have those things. If you can put those two together, theres tremendous opportunity, even as tech companies keep their heads down on mission-driven work.Tom Subak, Founder, Re/Imagination Lab Beauty And Logic: Music and the Advent of AI At the base level, human capacity is what we are able to do, imagine, experience, and share that really comes from us. In this moment, its worthwhile to advocate for the development and expansion of human capacityregardless of what the market conditions are.Marcus Garrick Miller, Music Director, Grace Farms Leading The Next Generation With Empathy and Purpose “There are so many stereotypes about Gen Z that it can be easy to misinterpret their intentions. So focusing on communication is key to avoiding ntergenerational conflictwhich you dont need in the workplace.”Christina Elson, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Capitalism at Wake Forest University “Graduates face a harsh job market, and many see entrepreneurship as a path to wealth and impact. To turn founder abundance into lasting success, we must scale up support systems and resources for these founders.”Andrea Carafa, Director of the Blackstone Launchpad Powered by Techstars, QB3 Entrepreneur in Residence, and Lecturer, University of California, Santa Cruz
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Not long ago, one of our coaching clients called us in a panic. His team was floundering, his peers were keeping their distance, and the feedback from HR was . . . not glowing. He was baffled. Im hitting the numbers, he said. What else do they want from me? Weve had this conversation more times than we can count, and this is what weve learned: Leaders rarely fall short because they lack intelligence, but because they lack emotional intelligence. The emotional gaps are what bruise egos, stall progress, and erode trust until theres nothing left to stand on. Research supports this: High emotional intelligence in leaders is linked to stronger team communication, performance, and innovation, while low-EQ environments see more burnout, conflict, and turnover. The good news? Emotional intelligence is a muscle you can strengthen with feedback and practice. Heres how: 1. REFLECT ON YOUR IMPACT You cant improve what you dont notice. Self-awareness isnt just about identifying your strengths but recognizing your impact. Harvard Business Publishing reports that 56% of employees say their immediate supervisor demonstrates self-awareness, which means nearly half of leaders may be unaware of how theyre coming across. When a team isnt responding the way you expect, something in your approach may need adjusting. The question becomes: Are your intentions aligning with your impact? One executive we coached realized his high standards came across as micromanagement. Once he saw it, he was able to shift from scrutinizing details to building trust. The action here is simple, but not easy: Ask for feedback. Reflect without defensiveness. Consider not just what you do, but how you do it. Most executives avoid feedback because theyre afraid of what theyll hear. But pretending you already know how people see you is the fastest route to losing their confidence. In leadership, perception is reality, and you cant afford to ignore it. 2. HIT PAUSE BEFORE YOU REACT When stress spikes, so do reactions. Thats where self-regulation, the ability to manage your emotions before they manage you, comes in. One emotional outburst can undo months of goodwill. People will forget your PowerPoint. They wont forget how it felt to be on the receiving end of your anger. EQ isnt about suppressing emotion, but harnessing it in a way that commands respect instead of fear. Weve coached leaders who prided themselves on being straight shooters. But theres a difference between candor and emotional impulsivity. One client, after a tense leadership meeting, told us he blew up because nobody else seemed to care. The fallout? Silence from his peers for days. Through coaching, he learned to spot his triggers and hit pause. Sometimes that meant walking away for five minutes. Sometimes it meant writing the email, then deleting it. Over time, he rewired his instincts from reacting to responding. 3. REPLACE RESISTANCE WITH ADAPTABILITY Change is hard. But adaptability is a defining trait of emotionally intelligent leadership. One leader we worked with described herself as decisive, to a fault. That fault became clear when her team avoided decisions, fearing her inflexibility. What shifted her mindset was honest feedback about how her rigidity was stalling innovation. Adaptable leaders adjust their strategies when new information emerges. That means listening more than talking, asking better questions, and being open to different ways of getting to the goal. Executives often equate adaptability with weakness, but the truth is, rigidity is what makes leaders fragile. In a world where market shifts and disruptions are the norm, adaptability is survival. And your team is watching closely. If you resist change, theyll resist you. 4. LEAD WITH EMPATHY TO BUILD REAL CONNECTION Empathy isnt weakness. Its strategic, ranking second only to integrity as the most valued leadership trait, according to the Harvard Business Publishing report. Yet only 58% of employees say their manager consistently shows empathy, which leaves a gap between what teams need and what theyre getting. When you tune into what others are feeling and respond authentically, you create the conditions for motivation, creativity, and collaboration. One executive we coached led a team through a massive reorg. Technically, she handled it well. But it wasnt until she started checking in emotionallyasking people how they were really doing and making space for honestythat engagement began to recover. Many executives fear that showing empathy will make them look soft. But who would you rather follow into uncertaintythe leader who makes you feel invisible, or the one who makes you feel human? 5. USE RELATIONSHIPS TO INFLUENCE Some leaders influence with data. Others connect through stories. The best do both. They know when to persuade with logic, when to listen with empathy, and when to lead with conviction. Weve seen leaders transform simply by becoming better at conflict resolution, and by learning to address issues head-on with respect instead of avoidance. Others learned how to rally a cross-functional team by genuinely valuing diverse input instead of tolerating it. Heres the leadership edge most miss: Relationships are currency. Ignore them, and your political capital evaporates. Nurture them, and you gain influence that outlasts any quarterly metric. This starts with relational intelligencereading the room, adjusting your approach, and showing others they matter. The bottom line? In todays climate, EQ isnt a bonus skill. Its the differentiator between leaders who merely survive and leaders who truly transform organizations. Ignore it, and youll plateau. Embrace it, and youll leave a legacy.
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E-Commerce
This drone is so small that it can sneak anywhere. Flying with the stability and agility of a normal quadcopter, its design is unlike anything youve seen before. The tiny aircraft, which could fly comfortably through a Pringles can, also has a built-in camera. Imagine the Death Star’s trench-run-like possibilities. I wanted to build the worlds smallest FPV drone, declares its creator in his how-to video. While there are other commercial drones that are almost as small, I couldn’t find a true first-person-view dronea remote-controlled aircraft you can maneuver with VR glasses onthat could approach the diminutive size of this thingamajig. To create the drone, the inventor, who goes by the YouTube alias Hoarder Sam, needed to redesign traditional drones, defying the accepted wisdom in the drone community that quadcopters with a 2.5-inch (65-millimeter) frame are the absolute minimum for stable flight. His flying critter measures just 0.86 inches between rotors, and yet it flies with perfect precision. Hoarder Sams genius wasn’t in inventing new parts or embracing biomimicry, like experimental robotic insects, but in radically rearranging existing parts. The core idea was inspired by an old community design known as a “bone drone,” which overlaps its propellers to create an extremely narrow profile, allowing it to navigate tight spaces. He started by gutting a popular commercial micro-drone, the BetaFPV Air65, and transplanting its electronics into a completely new, much more compact body. To understand how radical this is, you have to consider how a standard quadcopter works. Drones achieve stability and movement by precisely controlling the speed of four propellers, each placed at the corner of a square or “X” frame. This layout gives it a stable center of gravity and allows for straightforward control logic. A bone drone throws that convention out the window by stacking the motors and propellers closer together, creating an I shape that looks like a comic-book dog bone. This arrangement makes the drone inherently unstable and much harder to control, as the physics of its lift and balance are completely altered. Sams challenge was to make this unstable design work at a micro scale. Using SolidWorks, a 3D modeling program, he designed a new chassis with just 0.86 inches (22 millimeters) between the motorsa nearly 70% reduction from the original Air65. The new 3D-printed skeleton sandwiches the flight controller between two plates and positions the motors on offset mounts. The final structure, fully assembled with its battery and camera, weighs just under an ounce (25 grams). Microsurgery and key components The drones brain is its five-in-one flight controller, which combines five essential componentsthe flight controller itself, an electronic speed controller (ESC) for each motor, and the radio receiveronto a single tiny board. It uses an ICM42688P gyroscopea device that knows the orientation of whatever object it’s attached toand runs on a central processor unit with an unusually high amount of computing power for its size. This processing is crucial, because the drone’s strange layout requires constant, lightning-fast calculations to stay in the air. The gyroscope feeds motion data to the processor thousands of times per second, and the processor adjusts motor speeds independently in real time to keep the drone from tumbling out of the sky. This brain is paired with four motors that spin up to 23,000 times per minute, designed to power quick adjustments for its extreme agility. Power comes from a LiPo battery that’s a bit bigger than a quarter. As with the other core electronics, he reused the camera from the original BetaFPV Air, transplanting it to his reduced micro-chassis. Taming the software With the hardware assembled, the rebuilt drone was a totally new beast, so its original control software couldn’t handle its flight. The “bone” configuration completely confused the system. Using Betaflight, an open-source drone configuration software, Sam rewrote the flight parameters from scratch. He discovered the flight controllers orientation was off by 45 degrees, and the motor configuration was wrong. He had to correct the yaw anglethe drone’s rotation on its vertical axisand then remap the motors one by one in the software until the system understood the new physical layout. After several trials, the micro-drone finally hovered as expected, responding to his controls with surprising stability. Despite its extreme design, the machine is remarkably functional, albeit limited by its batterys size: It achieves a flight time of two and a half minutes. Thats only 30 seconds less than the commercial drone it was born from, but still too little time to be practical for, say, military surveillance missions. It also has to be hand-launched to prevent the propellers from hitting the groundbut once airborne, it demonstrates incredible agility. The latter is not a showstopper. The former could be fixed, perhaps, with wireless power using microwaves. I have no doubt that will happen. We live in the era of the drone. As the war in Ukraine keeps raging on, we are seeing daily iteration and innovation in drones of all sizes and form factors. From Cessna-size aircraft and drones that think they are cruise missiles to hypersonic drone motherships, there is no end to this particular flavor of destructive creativity. Ukraine used radios to jam Russian drone transmissions. So Russia responded by tethering its drones with direct cable connections as long as 25 miles. The idea of swarms of insect-size snooping drones that could be easily deployed by troops to map a terrain, locate enemies, or establish defensive perimeters seems like the kind of application every army will want to have. If only an insect-size flying camera could be limited to creative selfies.
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E-Commerce
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