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At the Exceptional Women Alliance (EWA), we empower high-level women to mentor one another, encouraging personal and professional fulfillment through meaningful connections. This month I am delighted to introduce Mary Knobler, a retired managing director in the finance sector. Mary was a senior fellow in the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard and holds a masters degree in negotiation and conflict resolution from Columbia University. Mary shares her insights on how professionals can design work that reflects their values, strengths, and aspirations Q: Thats a bold promise. How does someone start? Mary Knobler: Career alignment begins with better self-inquiry. High performers often ignore quiet discomfort because they fear appearing ungrateful or disloyal. But ignoring misalignment costs companies in innovation and retention. Ask yourself these foundational questions: – What values must a workplace reflect to feel worthy of your energy?– What conditions allow your full engagement and flow?– Which dealbreakers should you never tolerate again?The most successful professionals dont just chase opportunitythey evaluate it against what matters most to them. Writing is an effective tool for uncovering values and purpose. Putting thoughts on paper helps turn vague unease into grounded strategy. Then we can begin to align our work with our inner compass, and thats where true momentum begins. Q: What common traps stop people from designing better-fit roles? Knobler: One trap is mistaking busyness for progress. High performers often remain in roles that no longer fit, simply because daily demands leave no space for reflection. Many professionals are rewarded for endurance, not alignment. But being good at hard things doesnt mean staying in situations that no longer fit. A clear frameworkone that names must-haves, growth goals, and non-negotiableshelps people shift from reacting to designing. Thats when work starts to feel more authentic, energizing, and sustainable. Q: How can leaders foster this clarity for teams? Knobler: Psychological safety is the hidden catalyst. Teams that trust each other are more likely to speak up when a role no longer fitsand proactively redesign work before burnout hits. Simple, well-timed questions to your team members goes a long way:– What part of your job energizes you most right now?– Whats something youd be excited to grow into over the next six months?– Where are we unintentionally asking too much of you?These check-ins support retention, surface leadership potential, and reduce the silent disengagement that often precedes departure. Q: What practical tool makes this real? Knobler: A simple three-column exercise works at every level:1. Must-haves: conditions necessary for focus, trust, and satisfaction2. Nice-to-haves: preferences that enhance performance and morale3. Dealbreakers: red lines that drain energy or violate valuesThis isnt a wishlist. Its a professional boundary map. For example, a seasoned executive may list autonomy in decision making as a must-have, and toxic competitiveness as a dealbreaker. Once clarified, these patterns guide negotiations, job searches, and even internal redesigns.This tool is especially powerful during transitions such as promotions, new leadership, organizational shifts, because it reinforces what matters most before making big decisions. Q: What mindset shift supports this practice? Knobler: Silence is strategic. Many fast-moving executives underestimate the value of quiet time. A brief daily pausewhether through meditation, breathwork, or a quiet walkhelps leaders respond rather than react. This practice builds discernment, clarity, and steady judgment. Pausing to check in with one’s values is not a delay; its preparation. Stillness sharpens decision making, especially in high-stakes conversations and negotiations. When personal alignment meets professional vision, confidence becomes quieter, more groundedand carries more influence. Q: How does this approach help with self-advocacy and negotiation? Knobler: Those who clarify what they need are more confident in voicing it. Self-advocacy isnt about asking for moreits about asking for better alignment. When someone knows their core strengths and conditions for success, negotiation becomes a collaborative act, not a confrontation. For example, reframing a promotion conversation around the kind of work that brings out my best often yields more support than defensively voicing dissatisfaction. Teams appreciate clarity, especially when its grounded in self-awareness and tied to shared outcomes. Q: What should every ambitious professional remember today? Knobler: High achievers often accept roles by default instead of by design. But the strongest careers grow when professionals regularly ask:– What matters most now?– Does this role still match that?– Where have I outgrown the work Im doing?Work that aligns with current values and strengths supports longevity and resilience, both for individuals and their organizations. The goal isnt perfection. The goal is fit, and fit is dynamic. Regular reflection helps people evolve their careers with intention instead of inertia. When work is grounded in purpose, it fuels energy, strengthens confidence, and opens doors to meaningful growth. By asking the right questions and honoring what matters most, people can build careers that are fulfilling and successful.Larraine Segil is founder, chair, and CEO of The Exceptional Women Alliance.
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E-Commerce
Shares in the quantum computing firm Rigetti Computing are experiencing what you might call quantum leap. The Berkeley, California, company announced on Wednesday that it has achieved its mid-year performance milestone of 99.5% median [two-qubit gate fidelity] on its modular 36-qubit system. What that means is that the company has managed to build the biggest modular quantum computer to date, and also cut its error rate in halfmarking progress toward making quantum computers more viable for commercial users. Investors appear to see the news as further evidence that practical quantum computing is right around the corner, rather than decades away, as some have suggested. Following the announcement, Rigetti stock (NASDAQ: RGTI) saw a significant increase, rising more than 30% as of Wednesday afternoon. We benefit from the many advantages of superconducting qubits, including gate speeds more than 1,000x faster than other modalities like ion trap and pure atoms, and scalability,” Rigetti CEO Subodh Kulkarni said in a statement. “By leveraging well-known techniques from the semiconductor industry, weve developed proprietary technology that we believe is critical to enable scaling to higher qubit count systems. The company added that it plans to share additional updates when it releases its second-quarter 2025 operating results. Quantum computing is having an eventful year Even with AI sucking up the lion’s share of attention from investors this year, quantum computingwhich involves complex processes that can carry out tasks far faster than classical computershas not gone unnoticed, although there is debate over when and to what extent advances in the space will yield world-changing results. Shares in the major publicly traded firms have remained somewhat volatile. With Rigetti’s stock boost today, the company is trading at around $16.57 a sharea more than six-month high, but still lower than they were during a rally of quantum-related stocks at the end of last year. Other companies, such as Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, and Google are also in the quantum arms race, which could potentially lead to increased computing power on a massive scale, with a wide variety of potential use cases. Some companies, for example, are using them to develop new materials or drugs on time scales that dwarf existing development cycles. Quantum computing has remained largely theoretical until recently, but companies like Rigetti have been eager to share their developments backed by actual data. In March, quantum computing company D-Wave announced that it had achieved “quantum supremacy.” The claim was challenged by researchers in Switzerland, but investors have rewarded D-Wave since then, particularly after the release of its Advantage2 system in May. Shares are up more than 191% over the last six months.
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E-Commerce
The popular Icelandic skyr yogurt brand, siggi’s, wants Americans to take their paid time off. No excuses! But siggi’s is doing more than just urging their own employees to take their PTO, they’re offering to foot the bill for any hard worker’s vacay. The brand just announced a new contest that’s easy to enter and comes with a pretty amazing prize: $5,000 and a $1,000 flight voucher. All you have to do is tell the siggi’s, in a few sentences (200-300 words) why you haven’t used all your PTO in the past. A siggi’s spokesperson told Fast Company that the inspiration for the challenge was, quite simply, the normalization of a society that never stops working. “At siggis, we believe that less sets you free. In our product, that means less sugar and simple ingredients. But that belief extends beyond food. The spokesperson continued, In a culture obsessed with doing more, working more, and sometimes, burning out siggis is on a mission to help people find their greatness by doing less. That is where the PT-Yo Program was born.” Of course, there may be a ton of reasons why so many Americans (62%, according to a 2024 report) may leave vacation days unused, like competitive culture, stress or guilt about taking time off, but the days add up. They also have a massive price tag. Last year, Americans had more than $312 billion in untouched vacation days. The yogurt brand believes that trend is worrying. “As an entrepreneur, I know how hard it is to step away, said Siggi Hilmarsson, founder of siggis in a press release. But stepping away is where the real breakthroughs happen. This summer, we’re motivating people to take their timeand take it seriously. The brand also recently debuted a billboard in New York Citys Times Square urging workers to use their PTO. Because, if they dont, well, nobody wins. However, if youve managed to slack off on slacking off in the past, you can still be one of 10 people to win siggi’s PTO challenge. According to the spokesperson, contestants need to be over 18, live in the U.S. (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and all other territories and possessions outside of the continental U.S), and basically just want to take an epic (and well-earned) vacation. Check out the challenge here and put in your PTO request.
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E-Commerce
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