When Places Stop Talking About Themselves
Place branding is shifting from a broadcast‑first model to a talent‑centric approach that asks "why me?" rather than "why here." The new paradigm emphasizes listening to residents and delivering accountable promises, as illustrated by Gold Coast’s resident‑driven narrative and Greater Copenhagen’s Life Quality Insurance pledge. The upcoming Place Brand Leaders Yearbook 2026 showcases 32 examples where trust, not flashy campaigns, drives talent attraction. CNP Americas highlighted that credibility now hinges on measurable outcomes and genuine community engagement.
Firing Someone After Years of Underperformance, Coworker Keeps Falling Asleep, and More
The article tackles four common workplace dilemmas. It advises managers to handle long‑standing underperformance with early, transparent feedback and generous severance, framing the exit as a layoff rather than a firing. It recommends clear signage and bold communication to stop...
Karen Thompson on Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy, Processing Modernization, and Workforce Challenges – by Tamer Elbokl, PhD (Canadian Mining Journal...
Canada is moving its critical‑minerals agenda from announcements to on‑the‑ground execution, but success hinges on processing plants, equipment supply chains, and a skilled workforce. Karen Thompson, CEO of Haver & Boecker Niagara, warns that long permitting timelines and outdated processing infrastructure could...
Hospitality Ranks Least Prepared for AI as Workforce Gaps Widen
A 2026 Resume Now analysis finds hospitality is the least AI‑ready industry, trailing healthcare, financial services and logistics. The report highlights a widening skills gap as AI tools are deployed faster than frontline workers can be trained. Automation is reshaping scheduling...
How Do I Interview with the Person I Would Be Replacing?
A candidate has reached the second interview round and will meet the employee who is leaving the role. The conversation could serve either as a standard evaluation interview or as an informational session to learn the job’s nuances. The article...
What to Do If Employee Refuses to Sign Handbook Acknowledgment
A California employer discovered an employee has refused to sign the employee handbook acknowledgment for four months, citing the need for attorney review. While state law does not require a signature for the handbook itself, California regulations do mandate a...
Flight Attendants Union Head Sara Nelson Is Now “Praying” For President Trump To Save Spirit Airlines
Flight attendants union leader Sara Nelson is pleading with former President Donald Trump for a bailout to rescue Spirit Airlines after the Biden‑administered Justice Department blocked the JetBlue‑Spirit merger. Nelson had previously championed the merger as a labor win, arguing...
Rob Brown Joins Howden Markets to Head Employee Benefits
Howden Markets has appointed Rob Brown as head of employee benefits, bolstering its offering. Brown joins from Zurich, where he led corporate life & pensions in the Middle East and managed global employee benefits solutions. His experience spans network partner...
Apple. Nike. TikTok. + 77 Open Marketing Roles
The latest Landing Pad roundup lists 79 open marketing positions across marquee brands such as Apple, Nike, TikTok, Disney and NVIDIA. The collection highlights two clear hiring trends: a surge in public‑relations and communications roles and a flood of influencer/creator‑focused...
What the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit Taught Me About Where Talent Is Headed
At the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit in Phoenix, leaders highlighted a fundamental shift in how talent approaches careers. Professionals are now playing the "long game," investing in relationships and continuous learning rather than rapid title jumps. High‑impact focus, the...
Delete Every LinkedIn Skill Today. Start at Zero.
The post urges senior executives to delete all existing LinkedIn skills and rebuild the section with 100 hard‑keyword entries. It explains that recruiters rely on the Skills field for Boolean searches, and most executives leave 88 slots empty or fill...
Are Recruiters Relying Too Much on Job Boards?
Recruiters are still leaning heavily on job boards, but the data shows the model is broken. About 70% of applicants from boards lack basic qualifications and 59% have outdated profiles, forcing recruiters to spend roughly six hours a week screening...
Early Filers: CEO Compensation Up; Bonus Payout at Target
Compensation advisory firm CAP found that median CEO total direct compensation among 50 early‑filing companies rose 8% year‑over‑year, driven primarily by a 9% increase in grant‑date long‑term incentive value. Annual bonus payouts remained tightly anchored to target, with a median...
Team Cultures Where Blame Is Common
The article warns that many teams unintentionally develop a blame‑centric culture, where the focus shifts from solving problems to pinpointing who is at fault. This mindset erodes trust, discourages risk‑taking, and leads to information hoarding that hampers decision‑making. Over time,...
You Say You Add Business Value. How to Show It on Paper and in the Interview.
A recent LinkedIn poll revealed that 55% of professionals believe they add business value, yet most fail to demonstrate that value on their resumes or in interviews. The article argues that merely listing responsibilities, tools, or skills does not convince...
Which Workers Are Most Worried About AI?
A recent MIT study likens AI progress to a rising tide, indicating steady, broad improvements rather than sudden breakthroughs. Anthropic’s research builds on this view, analyzing how workers perceive the encroaching capabilities of AI. By combining an AI‑derived exposure score—measuring...
How Canva Boosts Morale Amid a ‘Vibecession’
Canva has turned workplace culture into a strategic asset, hiring a dedicated "head of vibe" in 2016 and expanding the vibe team to 70 employees by 2023. The group curates everything from office aesthetics and cafeteria menus to recognition rituals...
How to Build Influence at Work
Influence at work isn’t granted by a fancy title; it’s earned through everyday actions. The post outlines seven habits—becoming a go‑to expert, asking sharper questions, delivering clarity, collaborating across teams, fixing problems, delivering consistently, and easing others’ workloads—that help early‑...
Workplace Myths #4: Performance Reviews Actually Work
Annual performance reviews are widely regarded as broken, consuming massive managerial time without improving outcomes. Research shows they fail to boost performance, engagement, or accurate measurement, with managers spending roughly 210 hours per year on the process. Companies like Adobe...
Before the Breakdown: How to Spot Burnout Before Crisis
Burnout develops silently, often disguised as high performance, before a crisis hits. HR leaders must recognize five early warning stages—from honeymoon disconnection to chronic cynicism—to intervene years before breakdown. Practical solutions include micro‑purpose alignment, priority clarity, boundary micro‑habits, and mental‑fitness...
Business Insider Interviewed 12 Amazon Employees on How Layoffs, AI Mandates, and RTO Policies Are Reshaping Work and Culture There
Business Insider spoke with 12 current and former Amazon staff about sweeping changes at the tech giant. The company has eliminated over 57,000 corporate roles since its 2019‑2021 hiring surge, leaving survivors facing tighter performance reviews and heightened anxiety. Employees...
Meta Will Install Keystroke and Screenshot Tracking Software on Employee Computers to Train Its AI Models, with No Opt-Out Option
Meta is deploying a software suite called the Model Capability Initiative on U.S. employee and contractor laptops, silently logging keystrokes, mouse movements and capturing screenshots of work apps such as Gmail, GChat and its internal AI assistant Metamate. The data...
Target Doubles Down on Inclusion and Women’s Advancement in Rare Public Remarks
Target, under new CEO Michael Fiddelke, sent Vice President Alisa Dalton to open Catalyst’s Convene conference, marking a public re‑engagement with diversity and inclusion after a year‑long rollback. Dalton admitted past missteps that eroded trust with Black shoppers and pledged...
AI Requires Recruitment Teams to Rethink Skills and Their Value in the Hiring Process
AI is reshaping talent acquisition by moving hiring away from static résumé keywords toward dynamic skill assessments. CodeSignal’s CEO Tigran Sloyan argues that AI can reverse‑engineer roles from actual work tasks, creating a three‑tier skill model of essential, foundational and...
Remote Work Didn't Break Your Leadership. It Just Stopped Hiding It.
The post argues that remote work didn’t create leadership problems—it simply removed the office’s invisible feedback loops, forcing managers to confront the gaps in how they monitor and connect with their teams. Without physical cues, leaders rely on thin digital...
One CV for Every Job? That Is the Problem
The post argues that a one‑size‑fits‑all CV often fails because recruiters evaluate candidates against the specific requirements of each role, not against a generic résumé. Even strong experience can look irrelevant if the wrong achievements, keywords, or messaging are highlighted....
The Workforce Learning Platform That Doesn’t Exist Yet
The workforce learning market is rapidly consolidating as vendors acquire complementary tools and rebrand them as unified platforms. However, most of these platform narratives describe future architectures; actual technical integration typically takes 18‑24 months. L&D leaders who purchase now may...
The Joint Employer Is Back (Again): DOL Proposes New (or Is that Old?) Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a proposed rule that revives the classic four‑factor test for determining joint‑employer status under the FLSA, FMLA and related statutes. Unlike the 2020 Trump‑era rule, the new proposal counts indirect or reserved authority...
Factors to Consider for Leave Request Not Related to Medical Reasons
An employee has asked for several months of non‑medical personal leave, but the company’s handbook lacks a specific policy. While family‑ and medical‑leave statutes provide clear entitlement criteria, personal leave remains discretionary and must be evaluated on a case‑by‑case basis....
Your Team Reflects Your Leadership Values
In the latest Duct Tape Marketing podcast, executive coach Aiko Bethea introduces her "Anchored, Aligned, Accountable" framework, arguing that many team conflicts stem from hidden values misalignments rather than pure communication flaws. She defines the "BS"—limiting beliefs like scarcity, perfectionism,...
Research Highlights Who Wins, Loses in AI-Influenced Job Market
Washington University researchers surveyed nearly 2,000 U.S. workers in December 2025 and found that AI adoption hinges on two factors: perceived productivity gains and, more strongly, whether employees view AI as a career‑relevant learning tool. Respondents who see AI as...
If You Work Long Hours, Can You Still Have a Life?
The article examines the controversial 9‑9‑6 work schedule—nine a.m. to nine p.m., six days a week—borrowed from Chinese tech firms that later banned it. U.S. AI and tech startups have experimented with the model to speed product development, but the author argues...
Why Great Leaders Ask More Questions Than They Answer
Leaders increasingly favor certainty over curiosity, a bias that hampers adaptation in today’s AI‑driven workplace. The article cites legacy firms like Kodak and Hudson’s Bay that collapsed by clinging to outdated models. It argues that intellectual curiosity—asking more questions than...
Rule #9: Be Ruthless About Who You Listen To
The post warns that today’s flood of advice—from AI tools to social‑media influencers—often lacks real‑world credibility. It urges leaders to vet sources by checking proximity to the work, proven outcomes, and whether the advisor has skin in the game. Using...
How to Recognize Workplace Bullying in the Legal Profession and What Your Law Firm Can Do to Stop It
Attorney Andy Regal warns that ending workplace bullying in law requires accountability, not perfection. A recent International Bar Association survey shows 57% of bullying incidents go unreported, and over 60% of victims leave firms lacking support. Legislative efforts such as...
The Biggest Announcement of My Life
After five months of development, the founder announced Custard, a professional‑grade AI platform designed to transform managers into high‑impact leaders. The tool gathers anonymous weekly pulse surveys in under 30 seconds, then delivers personalized dashboards with actionable recommendations drawn from...
“Lincoln May Have Freed the Slaves, But I’m Keeping You” — and the Case Still Got Dismissed
A Black legal assistant sued a law firm partner and the firm for a hostile work environment after the partner told her, “Lincoln may have freed the slaves, but I’m keeping you.” The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal,...
10 Phrases That Kill Leadership Progress
The article lists ten common phrases that silently sabotage leadership effectiveness, from “We’ve always done it that way” to “I already know that.” Each expression reinforces rigidity, hierarchy, or disengagement, eroding trust and stifling continuous improvement. By spotlighting what not...
What Does It Mean to Work Under Algorithmic Eyes?
Algorithmic surveillance tools, dubbed “bossware,” are rapidly infiltrating offices, gig platforms, and call centers, tracking everything from keystrokes to facial expressions. The technology creates opaque performance scores that can misclassify workers—especially women, older employees, neurodiverse and people of color—leading to...
Leaders Are Burning Out: Stop Fixing People and Start Fixing the System
Burnout has moved from an individual flaw to a systemic crisis, with 91% of UK adults reporting high pressure and 77% of leaders showing exhaustion. Continuous digital connectivity and accelerating complexity have turned episodic peaks into relentless strain, exposing a...
The Psychology of a Hiring Manager: How They Really Make Decisions
The post argues that hiring managers rely more on emotion than data when choosing candidates. First impressions, likability, gut instincts, mirroring, and perceived risk dominate the interview process, often before the final questions are asked. Unconscious bias further skews decisions,...
Cost Centre Trap
Learning and development (L&D) teams are often labeled cost centres because they are measured by activity‑based metrics such as course completions and hours delivered, not by business outcomes. This perception arises from a reactive role that treats L&D as a...
Why Can't They Just...? Revisited
The article revisits the perennial "why can’t they just…" question that surfaces across engineers, managers and senior leaders, using AI tool mandates as a case study. It argues that such questions often overlook deep legal, tax, strategic and cultural constraints...
The Cost of Being Right
The article argues that organizational culture is forged not by what leaders say, but by what they tolerate. Small, repeated lapses—such as ignoring interruptions, keeping underperformers, or excusing high‑performers’ bad behavior—solidify into lasting norms. Modern leadership’s emphasis on empathy and...
GM’s Paying Out Big Money for Top Executives
General Motors disclosed its 2025 executive compensation, keeping CEO Mary Barra at the top of the Detroit Three with a total package of $29.9 million, a modest 1.4% rise. Jim Farley earned $27.5 million after an 11% increase, while Antonio Filosa’s pay fell...
What Are the Advantages of a Senior Management Development Program?
Senior management development programs combine case studies, simulations, role‑plays and networking to fast‑track experienced professionals into executive roles. They sharpen leadership, strategic thinking, communication and decision‑making skills through immersive, peer‑driven learning. Participants also gain access to alumni and industry‑leader networks...
Staffing Shortage: How Districts Are Responding
The Intelligence Council released a decision playbook on staffing shortages in U.S. school districts. Research of 37 districts shows the issue is a structural mismatch, not merely a hiring problem. Persistent vacancies degrade operating models, forcing leaders into trade‑offs. The...
U.K. Job Postings Hit 5-Year Low As Employers Turn Cautious
UK employers posted the fewest job vacancies in almost five years, with vacancies slipping to 711,000 in the March quarter. Unemployment unexpectedly fell to 4.9% as a surge in inactive students boosted the inactivity rate. Average weekly earnings growth eased...
Meta To Track Employee Keystrokes, Mouse Movements To Train AI Models
Meta is rolling out a new internal tool called Model Capability Initiative (MCI) that records U.S. employees' mouse movements, clicks and keystrokes on work‑related apps to train its AI models. The data will also include occasional screen snapshots for contextual...
Meta Isn’t Laying Off 8,000 People. It’s Converting Them Into GPUs
Meta announced a cut of roughly 8,000 employees, about 10% of its workforce, framing the move as a conversion rather than a traditional layoff. The payroll savings—estimated at $2.26 billion annually—are earmarked for a massive GPU purchase, enough for roughly 70,000...