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The underwhelming results of AI performance metrics should surprise exactly no one

<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Somebody at <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/meta">Meta</a> built an <a href="https://fortune.com/2026/04/09/meta-killed-employee-ai-token-dashboard/">internal leaderboard called Claudeonomics</a>. It ranked the company’s top 250 consumers of <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/artificial-intelligence" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="AI">AI</a> tokens and handed out titles like “Token Legend” and “Cache Wizard.” Engineers set agents running for hours to climb it. In one thirty-day stretch, employees on the dashboard burned through more than 60 trillion tokens. Meanwhile, a Disney employee reportedly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-ai-adoption-dashboard-tokens-tokenmaxxing-claude-cursor-josh-damaro-2026-4">interacted with an AI assistant 460,000</a> times in nine days. JPMorgan, KPMG, Amazon, and Accenture have all been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-use-tracking-jpmorgan-meta-kpmg-employees-tokenmaxxing-2026-5">reported to be tracking employee AI activity</a>, in some cases folding <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/91585152/output-used-to-mean-you-cared-with-ai-it-now-means-nothing-technology-ai-career-advice" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.fastcompany.com/91585152/output-used-to-mean-you-cared-with-ai-it-now-means-nothing-technology-ai-career-advice">“AI-driven impact”</a> into formal performance reviews.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The internet named the resulting behavior <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/91590942/tokenmaxxing-is-out-valuemaxxing-is-in" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.fastcompany.com/91590942/tokenmaxxing-is-out-valuemaxxing-is-in">tokenmaxxing</a>. People quickly learned how to make their numbers look good. They generated token usage with work that really didn’t require AI. They used agents and digital delegates to execute processes that might, or might not, be useful. The denouement came swiftly. Meta’s people took the leaderboard down once it went public. Amazon <a href="https://www.hcamag.com/us/specialization/hr-technology/amazon-shuts-down-ai-leaderboard-after-tokenmaxxing/577189">reportedly shut one down too</a>, with some observers saying that it incentivized the employees to cheat.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sigh. It seems that every generation or so we have to re-learn the painful lessons of previous attempts to measure progress against some brave new management idea. </p> <div style='position: relative;width: auto;padding: 0 0 33.59%;height: 0;top: 0;left: 0;bottom: 0;right: 0;margin: 0;border: 0 none' id="experience-689f56716c47e" data-aspectRatio="2.97674419" data-mobile-aspectRatio="1.01928375"><iframe allowfullscreen src='https://view.ceros.com/inc/fc-creatornetwork-1-1-1' style='position: absolute;top: 0;left: 0;bottom: 0;right: 0;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: 0 none;height: 1px;width: 1px;min-height: 100%;min-width: 100%' frameborder='0' class='ceros-experience' title='fc-CreatorNetwork-RitaMcGrath' scrolling='no'></iframe></div> <p><script type="text/javascript" src="https://view.ceros.com/scroll-proxy.min.js" data-ceros-origin-domains="view.ceros.com"></script></p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">In 1956, a sociologist named V.F. Ridgway <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2390989">published a short paper</a> in the very first volume of the academic journal <em>Administrative Science Quarterly</em>. It was literally titled “Dysfunctional Consequences of Performance Measurements.” Charles Goodhart <a href="https://www.cna.org/analyses/2022/09/goodharts-law">built upon that work</a> and formalized it in his famous law. That states that “when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” We forget the painful lessons of the past and resort to the same old dysfunctions with every new management idea that captures our imaginations.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">To review, 5 lessons from the past.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph" id="h-1-any-measure-that-carries-consequences-will-be-gamed"><strong>1. Any measure that carries consequences will be gamed</strong></p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Goodhart’s Law applies not because people are dishonest, but because they are responsive. Attaching stakes to a number is an instruction, and people follow instructions. Call centers taught us this when they measured average handle time and got agents who hung up on customers. Sales organizations taught us this with quarter-end channel stuffing. Hospitals taught us this with waiting-list targets that had patients parked in ambulances outside the door.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Token counts are an unusually easy target. Gaming a sales number at least requires moving a real deal around. Gaming a token count requires very little more than a modestly inventive prompt. When the cost of manufacturing the metric approaches zero, the metric will be manufactured. The unintended consequence is that the cost of running such models is completely disassociated from the value they create. The bill goes to someone who had nothing to do with the decision to create the cost. One unidentified company <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/technology/articles/company-blew-500m-claude-ai-173519468.html">reportedly burned through $500 million</a> in a single month when its token usage unexpectedly ran amok. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph" id="h-2-measures-that-get-gamed-lose-their-variance-reducing-their-predictive-power"><strong>2. Measures that get gamed lose their variance, reducing their predictive power</strong></p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">A metric is only useful if it discriminates, meaning that low levels of a metric predict low levels of the thing you are measuring and high levels the opposite. If AI usage genuinely separated high performers from low ones on the day you started tracking it, that would be as intended. But the moment you attach rewards to utilization, everyone will engage in the same behavior to maximize their reward. Soon, everyone is a heavy user. The distribution flattens.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">At that point the measure has no predictive power left. You cannot forecast anything from a variable that doesn’t vary. Worse, all the obvious numbers look great. The AI dashboard looks better than ever. Adoption is at 98 percent. Usage is up and to the right. Unfortunately, none of those things are providing information about whether real value is being created.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">We watched this happen <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681325001740">to performance appraisal ratings</a>, in which the ratings themselves were “compressed” and therefore pretty useless. We watched it happen <a href="https://www.ideationpeople.com/insights/the-illusion-of-progress-when-metrics-improve-but-the-business-doesnt">to the balanced scorecard</a>, in which a slew of metrics designed to provide a multi-faceted view of an organization’s performance go up but leave underlying performance unchanged.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph" id="h-3-inputs-are-not-results"><strong>3. Inputs are not results</strong></p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Tokens are an input. We keep forgetting that this is not the same as measuring outcomes.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Business Process Reengineering offers a cautionary tale. It started off with a thrilling call to action by Michael Hammer in <a href="https://hbr.org/1990/07/reengineering-work-dont-automate-obliterate">a famous <em>Harvard Business Review</em> article</a>. “Don’t automate: Obliterate” was the mandate. What was meant was to redesign obsolete practices from scratch, rather than timidly tacking on new technologies to existing processes. It’s still sound advice 36 years after the original article was published. Sprinkling a little AI fairy dust on a process from the age of COBOL isn’t going to deliver dramatic performance improvement. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Unfortunately, in the vast majority of cases what was really incremental cost cutting got wrapped in the reengineering banner. Firms hit their targets and emerged smaller, more brittle, and no better at serving anybody. Hammer himself later acknowledged that he had underweighted the human dimension. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph" id="h-4-what-s-measurable-crowds-out-what-matters"><strong>4. What’s measurable crowds out what matters</strong></p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The “McNamara Fallacy,” was named for Robert McNamara the U.S. Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War. He tried to manage the war using statistical indicators like enemy body counts, but ignored data on topics such as Vietnamese resident sentiment that were difficult to measure. As <a href="https://sketchplanations.com/the-mcnamara-fallacy">Daniel Yankelovich, a sociologist, observed,</a> it proceeds in 4 steps: </p> <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Measure what can be measured</li> <li>Disregard what we can’t measure</li> <li>Assume what cannot be measured is not important</li> <li>Conclude that what can’t be measured doesn’t exist</li> </ol> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">AI’s most valuable impacts are likely to be extremely difficult to measure. The value of a bad choice avoided, the benefit of quickly sorting alternatives or the increase in skill due to practicing via simulation are all hard to quantify. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Token usage, on the other hand, is easy to measure. Measuring that can crowd out something else that isn’t showing up on any dashboard.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph" id="h-5-statistical-significance-is-not-strategic-relevance"><strong>5. Statistical significance is not strategic relevance</strong></p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Six Sigma, done well, can be extremely beneficial. Done badly, it produces rigorous, unimpeachable, verifiably significant improvements to things that do not matter. Manufacturers optimized processes for products that were already losing to substitutes. <a href="https://medium.com/@danny_54172/the-optimization-trap-what-3ms-six-sigma-crisis-teaches-us-about-ai-adoption-04b82f985bd2">3M’s experience under a Six Sigma-heavy regime</a> is the case everyone cites: the operations got tighter and the innovation pipeline got thinner, and it took a successor CEO to re-ignte the messy, high-variance innovation practice the company is famous for.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">If you spend enough money on AI efforts, it isn’t hard to find statistically significant operational changes. The real question is whether those numbers reflect a solid, centered, strategy for effectiveness. In too many cases, they are divorced from one another.</p> <h2 id="h-the-questions-to-ask-before-you-install-another-dashboard" class="wp-block-heading">The questions to ask before you install another dashboard</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">None of this is an argument against measuring the utilization of AI. It is an argument for measuring it in the service of your strategy, not in splendid isolation. Some questions to consider:</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>What decision changes based on a change in the metric?</strong> If the metric doesn’t lead you to make different decisions depending on its value, what earthly purpose does it serve?</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Is it an input or an outcome?</strong> Track inputs for cost control, by all means. But don’t confuse that with genuine value creation.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Does it still discriminate?</strong> When the variance in a measure collapses, the metric should be replaced.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>What’s the counterweight?</strong> Every efficiency measure needs a paired quality or judgment measure that gets worse when the efficiency measure is gamed.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>What assumption is this testing?</strong> The most useful early measures in genuinely uncertain territory aren’t scores at all. They are checkpoints that test specific assumptions and either validate or invalidate them.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">When it comes to tokenmaxxing, management needs to understand that employees are behaving exactly as the system is designed for them to behave. There’s no reason to be surprised when rational people do things to improve the numbers on which they are being evaluated. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">We have known about how metrics can become dysfunctional for at least seven decades. It’s a shame we have to pay the same tuition for the same lessons over and over again. </p> <div style='position: relative;width: auto;padding: 0 0 33.59%;height: 0;top: 0;left: 0;bottom: 0;right: 0;margin: 0;border: 0 none' id="experience-689f56716c47e" data-aspectRatio="2.97674419" data-mobile-aspectRatio="1.01928375"><iframe allowfullscreen src='https://view.ceros.com/inc/fc-creatornetwork-1-1-1' style='position: absolute;top: 0;left: 0;bottom: 0;right: 0;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: 0 none;height: 1px;width: 1px;min-height: 100%;min-width: 100%' frameborder='0' class='ceros-experience' title='fc-CreatorNetwork-RitaMcGrath' scrolling='no'></iframe></div> <p><script type="text/javascript" src="https://view.ceros.com/scroll-proxy.min.js" data-ceros-origin-domains="view.ceros.com"></script></p>

2026/9/9

Don’t believe what you read about the ‘death of the CMO’

<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Every few weeks there’s another headline declaring the “death of the CMO.” The argument changes slightly each time but it’s basically the same thing, some version of: Companies are flattening leadership, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/marketing" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="7" title="Marketing">marketing</a> is becoming decentralized, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/artificial-intelligence" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="AI">AI</a> can create campaigns faster than people can, or automation will replace marketing. The implication is always the same: The role is becoming obsolete.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">It’s a strange narrative because no other executive position gets treated this way. You rarely see a steady stream of articles asking whether CEOs, CFOs, or CIOs are still necessary. Yet the CMO is constantly portrayed as expendable, as though marketing itself has somehow become less important. I think the opposite is happening.</p> <h2 id="h-it-s-not-just-about-speed" class="wp-block-heading">It’s not just about speed</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Marketing has never been more difficult. Consumers divide their attention across countless platforms and devices. Traditional search is being reshaped by artificial intelligence. Social algorithms change constantly. The number of companies competing for attention grows while the amount of attention available does not. Winning customers today requires far more than buying media or publishing content. It requires clear positioning, disciplined messaging, a strong brand, and an organization aligned around a coherent growth strategy. This is all exactly what great marketing leaders do, and much of it is human work. Machines don’t have the same judgement even if they can help you move faster in certain areas.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The misconception is that marketing leadership is primarily about execution and speed. AI has certainly changed execution. It can generate copy, summarize research, build presentations, analyze performance, and automate work that once consumed entire teams. Those capabilities will continue to improve, and marketers should embrace them. But execution has never been the defining responsibility of a great CMO. Spam companies have out-executed large brands like Apple for years, and yet will never come close to their market cap. The people who believe marketing is simply about “doing more” do not understand the craft.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Marketing leadership’s role has always been about making decisions that software cannot, such as understanding customers, identifying opportunities in the market, determining how a company should be positioned against competitors, deciding where to invest limited resources, and aligning product, communications, brand, sales, and demand generation around a common objective. Those responsibilities require judgment developed through experience versus simply access to better or faster tools.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">In many ways, AI makes those responsibilities even more important. As execution becomes easier, more companies will produce more marketing. The internet is already filling with AI-generated articles, advertisements, emails, videos, and social posts. Creating content is rapidly becoming a commodity. And some of the content might even be good, but earning attention requires more than “good content, faster.”</p> <h2 id="h-a-growth-engine-not-a-cost-center" class="wp-block-heading">A growth engine, not a cost center</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">That means the competitive advantage shifts away from simply producing more marketing and toward making better strategic decisions. Which customers should you pursue? Which markets should you enter? What story should your brand tell? How do you differentiate when everyone has access to similar technology? What should your pricing be? These are all leadership questions.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Companies that view marketing as a cost center may see AI as an opportunity to reduce head count. Companies that view marketing as a growth engine will see something different. They will use AI to eliminate repetitive work so their marketing organizations can spend more time on strategy, creativity, customer understanding, and cross-functional leadership.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">History suggests that organizations rarely outperform because they go cheaper on their marketing. They outperform because they market better, smarter, more human. The best CMOs succeed because they help define where a company competes, how it earns trust, and why customers choose it over the alternatives. Those responsibilities become more valuable as markets become noisier and competition intensifies.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The role will undoubtedly evolve; obviously, every executive role does. Finance leaders now rely on software that didn’t exist a decade ago, engineering leaders manage AI-assisted development, legal teams increasingly use AI to review contracts. New tools change how work gets done, but they don’t eliminate the need for experienced leadership. Marketing is no different.</p> <h2 id="h-shaping-strategy" class="wp-block-heading">Shaping strategy </h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The next generation of CMOs could potentially oversee leaner teams empowered by AI, but they will also be expected to have broader influence across the business. They will need to connect product strategy with brand, communications with demand generation, customer insights with executive decision-making, and long-term brand building with short-term revenue goals. Success will depend less on managing campaigns and more on shaping company strategy.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The “death of the CMO” makes for a provocative headline. It just doesn’t reflect reality. A company with a competent CMO will run circles around a competitor that is checking boxes and purely lets machines take the wheel.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>

2026/9/9

To be a great leader, you need to become a great listener. Here are 3 skills to master

<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I used to have a manager who worked for me and would often come to me with a tricky problem to be solved. We would go to a conference room and she would explain the details. I would ask a few questions, but would mostly listen. After about ten minutes, she would jump up, having solved the problem herself and exclaim, “Thanks, you really helped me!” </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">I didn’t have any answers, but my listening helped her find them. One thing I’ve noticed teaching undergraduates is that we train people to give answers, but not to ask questions and listen. By the time they reach my classroom, my students have had an impressive history of academic achievement and will likely go on to prestigious careers.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Yet most will struggle with what is perhaps the most important leadership skill for both business and life: listening. The truth is that leaders rarely get to make decisions that have quick, easy answers. Anyone can handle those. To handle genuinely difficult issues, you need to learn to be a great listener. Here are three listening skills that are easy to learn but take a lifetime to master: </p> <div style='position: relative;width: auto;padding: 0 0 33.59%;height: 0;top: 0;left: 0;bottom: 0;right: 0;margin: 0;border: 0 none' id="experience-688d02f2dc938" data-aspectRatio="2.97674419" data-mobile-aspectRatio="1.01928375"><iframe allowfullscreen src='https://view.ceros.com/inc/fc-creatornetwork' style='position: absolute;top: 0;left: 0;bottom: 0;right: 0;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: 0 none;height: 1px;width: 1px;min-height: 100%;min-width: 100%' frameborder='0' class='ceros-experience' title='fc-CreatorNetwork-GregSatell' scrolling='no'></iframe></div><script type="text/javascript" src="https://view.ceros.com/scroll-proxy.min.js" data-ceros-origin-domains="view.ceros.com"></script> <p></p> <h2 id="h-1-listening-for-comprehension" class="wp-block-heading">1. Listening for comprehension</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_W._Sharer">Kevin Sharer</a> was a tough, strong-minded leader. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, he rose through the ranks to become a lieutenant commander before entering corporate America. Following stints at AT&T, McKinsey, MCI, and GE, he joined the biotech firm <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amgen">Amgen</a>, where he eventually became CEO. Looking back, he <a href="https://www.physicianleaders.org/articles/are-you-really-listening">wrote</a>: “My approach was: ‘I’m the smartest guy in the room. Just let me prove that here, in the first five minutes.’ I would even interrupt people and tell them what they were going to tell me, to save us time so that we could get to the really important stuff, which was me telling them what to do. And I got away with it. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Then the company faced a major crisis. The FDA identified problems with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epoetin_alfa">Epogen</a>, a treatment for anemia that accounted for a third of Amgen’s profits. That led to restrictions on its use and a significant blow to the company. For the first time in its history, the company <a href="https://labusinessjournal.com/news/amgen-announces-big-cuts/">announced layoffs</a>. 2,600 employees, or 14% of its workforce, would have to go.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sharer realized that his leadership style was a big part of the problem and vowed to do better. Every semester in my class at Wharton, we play a <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/Videos/video?vid=2341006402001&plyrid=HkOJqCPWdb&aid=ABD3D92B-82EF-4BA5-BAF7-3479EAC5F48D">video</a> of him explaining how he changed. He said that he learned to listen for comprehension—not to critique, object, or convince—but to understand the information being put in front of him.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Listening not only increased his access to information, but it also showed respect for the people around him. They, in turn, felt empowered to go out and find new perspectives and insights, compounding the positive effects of those conversations. It also allowed him to relax. Without having to exert so much energy trying to control and dominate every exchange, he had more energy to devote to leading the company.</p> <h2 id="h-2-asking-deep-questions" class="wp-block-heading">2. Asking deep questions</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">One of the most common mistakes leaders make is assuming that listening begins when someone else starts talking. In reality, it begins much earlier—with the questions you ask. When you’re in a position of authority, people naturally become more guarded about what they share.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">In <a href="https://amzn.to/4pabOA5"><em>Supercommunicators</em></a>, author <a href="https://charlesduhigg.com/">Charles Duhigg</a> makes the case that the best communicators aren’t simply better listeners. They’re better at asking questions that encourage people to reveal what they’re really thinking and feeling. Rather than interrogating people for facts, they use questions to uncover motivations, concerns, and assumptions.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">That’s why great leaders ask questions that reveal motivations and feelings, not just facts. Instead of asking, “Why are you resisting this?” they might ask, “What concerns you most?” Rather than responding to an objection with an explanation, they might ask, “Tell me more about that,” or “What am I missing?” Questions like these signal genuine curiosity rather than a desire to persuade. They invite people to share information that might otherwise remain hidden.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The goal isn’t simply to gather more information. It’s to understand the person sitting across from you. When people feel understood, they’re far more likely to speak candidly, surface problems early, and offer perspectives that improve decisions. The best leaders know that the quality of their decisions depends on the quality of the conversations that precede them. Those conversations begin with thoughtful questions.</p> <h2 id="h-3-promoting-metacognition" class="wp-block-heading">3. Promoting metacognition</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Listening isn’t just about understanding what others are saying. It’s also about helping them understand their own thinking. Psychologists call this <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacognition">metacognition</a>, the ability to reflect on our own thinking. Great listeners encourage it by helping people examine not just what they believe, but why they believe it, which draws out their thought processes and motivations. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">One simple technique is to ask people to rate their confidence. You simply ask your interlocutor to rate their certainty about a specific issue, such as, “You seem to feel pretty strongly about this proposal. If you had to rate your certainty that this is the right way to go on a scale of 1-10, what would you give it?” Then you can ask why they chose that number, why not higher, why not lower, etc. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Other techniques are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/00D3EsAO0hI">mirroring and labeling</a>. Mirroring means simply repeating the last one to three words the other person said. It’s a simple technique that gets them to expand their thoughts in a way that triggers more reflection. Labeling helps validate their feelings by putting them into words with phrases such as: “It sounds like…”, “It seems like…”, or “It feels like…”.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">By combining these techniques with an active listening posture, you encourage others to share what they’re thinking and feeling in a thoughtful way. You aren’t challenging them, you are doing something better: you are encouraging them to challenge themselves in a way that is non-confrontational, but leads to more rigorous conversations. </p> <h2 id="h-creating-safety-to-operate-effectively" class="wp-block-heading">Creating safety to operate effectively</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">People tend to become leaders by first becoming great performers. In school, they raise their hands first and give the right answers. As they begin their career, they learn to speak up in meetings, deliver slick presentations and develop smart strategic plans. They work hard, push their teams harder and do what they need to to win. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Yet leadership isn’t about performing, it’s about raising the level of those around you and for that you need to create an environment where people feel safe enough to do their best work, share ideas even before they’re fully formed and to collaborate with colleagues in a <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/productivity" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="9" title="Productivity">productive</a> way. Part of that is how you <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/hiring" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="5" title="Hiring">hire</a>, manage and discipline. But the most important thing a leader can do is learn to be a great listener. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Fortunately, these skills can be learned. <a href="https://www.davidmcraney.com/">David McRaney’s</a> <a href="https://amzn.to/4wEinNC"><em>How Minds Change</em></a> offers an excellent introduction to techniques like <a href="https://deepcanvass.org/">Deep Canvassing</a>, <a href="https://streetepistemology.com/">Street Epistemology</a> and the <a href="https://www.joinsmart.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Smart-Politics-Handout.pdf">Change Conversation Pyramid</a>. <a href="https://www.blackswanltd.com/chris-voss">Chris Voss’s</a> book <a href="https://amzn.to/4h7JLz1"><em>Never Split The Difference</em></a> is another valuable resource, and many of his talks are available online for free.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Yet the most important factor is your desire to overcome years of training and education that rewarded you for speaking up first and delivering the “right” answers in the shortest possible time. In the real world, when you deal with tough, complicated issues, you never know what the “right” answer is. You only have the answer based on your best information.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">How good that information is depends on how well you listen.</p> <div style='position: relative;width: auto;padding: 0 0 33.59%;height: 0;top: 0;left: 0;bottom: 0;right: 0;margin: 0;border: 0 none' id="experience-688d02f2dc938" data-aspectRatio="2.97674419" data-mobile-aspectRatio="1.01928375"><iframe allowfullscreen src='https://view.ceros.com/inc/fc-creatornetwork' style='position: absolute;top: 0;left: 0;bottom: 0;right: 0;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: 0 none;height: 1px;width: 1px;min-height: 100%;min-width: 100%' frameborder='0' class='ceros-experience' title='fc-CreatorNetwork-GregSatell' scrolling='no'></iframe></div><script type="text/javascript" src="https://view.ceros.com/scroll-proxy.min.js" data-ceros-origin-domains="view.ceros.com"></script> <p></p>

2026/9/8

5 toxic management behaviors that make good employees stop caring

<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When performance slips, many <a href="https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/ceo-ai-experts-best-leaders/91371742">executives</a> look down the organizational chart for someone to blame. <a href="https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/employees-quitting-trends-work-institute-research-center/91340127">Employees</a> are accused of lacking motivation. Teams are criticized for bickering, missing deadlines, or refusing to collaborate.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">This information often comes from the same <a href="https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/middle-managers-burned-out-burnout-leadership/91332201">managers</a> who are complaining about their people while ignoring the conditions they created.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Employees certainly have to take responsibility for their performance. But when smart, creative, and previously dependable people begin checking out, leaders should resist the convenient conclusion that they suddenly stopped caring.</p> <h2 id="h-it-s-the-manager" class="wp-block-heading">It’s the manager</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sometimes the problem is the job. More often, it is the manager. <a href="https://www.gallup.com/394373/indicator-employee-engagement.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gallup’s latest findings</a> should get every executive’s attention. Only 31 percent of U.S. employees and <a href="https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/google-says-it-still-uses-20-percent-rule-you-should-totally-copy-it.html">20 percent</a> of employees globally were engaged in 2025. More importantly, Gallup reports that managers account for at least 70 percent of the variance in engagement among teams. In other words, the quality of the manager largely determines the <a href="https://marcelschwantes.substack.com/p/employees-need-to-experience-these" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quality of the employee experience</a>.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">If you inspect the management culture closely, you may find that poor performance is a predictable human response to how people are being led.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Here are five toxic management behaviors that drain energy, weaken trust, and eventually drive good people toward the exit.</p> <h2 id="h-1-people-are-treated-as-objects-not-human-beings" class="wp-block-heading">1. People are treated as objects, not human beings</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">In toxic cultures, people become head count, labor costs, or resources to be deployed. Their workloads are discussed, but their well-being is not. Their output matters; the human being producing it barely enters the conversation.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">This does not mean managers should become therapists or abandon accountability. It means they should notice when someone is drowning, understand what is creating unnecessary strain, and remove barriers that prevent good work.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Gallup now includes respect and organizational concern for well-being among the employee needs it measures. Yet as of May 2026, only 40 percent of U.S. employees said someone at work cared about them as a person.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">When people feel disposable, they protect their energy, withhold ideas, and keep one eye on the job market.</p> <h2 id="h-2-employees-are-forced-to-compete-against-one-another" class="wp-block-heading">2. Employees are forced to compete against one another</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Healthy competition can sharpen performance. Internal systems that turn colleagues into rivals usually accomplish something else: They teach people to hoard information, protect their territory, and quietly root against one another.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The problem often begins with performance systems that reward individual numbers while executives preach teamwork. Employees are not confused by this contradiction. They follow the incentive.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://hbr.org/2022/09/performance-management-shouldnt-kill-collaboration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Research</a> conducted by Heidi Gardner, distinguished fellow at Harvard Law School, has warned that forced-ranking systems can kill both collaboration and morale because they pressure employees to compete for position, compensation, and status.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">If collaboration matters, managers should measure it. Reward people for sharing expertise, helping colleagues succeed, and contributing to outcomes larger than their own scorecard.</p> <h2 id="h-3-managers-focus-almost-entirely-on-what-is-wrong" class="wp-block-heading">3. Managers focus almost entirely on what is wrong</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Some managers believe their job is to patrol the workplace looking for mistakes. When something goes well, they say nothing. When something goes wrong, they arrive with a magnifying glass and a lecture.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">This is lazy management. People need honest correction, but they also need to know which behaviors they should repeat. Research published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773161824000223" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics</a> found that positive feedback improved subsequent performance, while negative feedback alone showed no performance effect.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The answer is not empty praise. Employees can smell fake appreciation before the manager finishes the sentence. Give specific recognition tied to the person’s contribution: what they did, why it mattered, and how it helped the team or customer.</p> <h2 id="h-4-managers-steal-the-spotlight" class="wp-block-heading">4. Managers steal the spotlight</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The team develops the idea, solves the problem, survives the deadline, and delights the client. Then the manager walks into the executive meeting and starts using the word “I.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nothing drains discretionary effort faster.<a href="https://adclick.g.doubleclick.net/pcs/click?xai=AKAOjstygVkwA-Of0GgMYe_jTJkMAiViNkOO4nxek-NoegoV8mUPfBZLilZKFpEXtjeej55TKYzRnq3FrzZY82mjYw1y__3vRm5UuzPKCLsrRzB5dmx-pPblU2yywmP6RKb3UN93QSO6K-dgbQ_blB-lj8hAgSkxPbYE9SGwqtxP_6pdtSTe8WIssUrZs1sOZR2YqFCFDNDLN13jTpx4epZ3x_Z_cEo2iND-TjsRmBxntMvJEk_dFCK_AAYzy_a_X3jxxK4mFf5I0aPFv1jcSqOYohTEZTAnVAu8kbDb3dJ12s_D1K173I0prtuZM1LKVLWyJYaTfT6RDH2RcdYk8ripKZ5LCwHDnTHDdUU6DgSe9Zlk5cKRYTKZ3POCyTZaRSPFLe8GyM540HJGNdlNucskyRKCALWOCr8lcMhw&sai=AMfl-YRmiIder4OwPjDBadueIOSd7-5SqvnNp5AtSpoDC9lkoBq-cqeVkvJolxZM9wdEfNU-Fn0udzBZD9ngKmCxEiyIPFb-SiKVI_OHB8jGdOyMTrcuk43MLiI3HHCFPoP0Wz0Iegz6gkqjikR9x6Rb9gMvDITom0cSQyE8zdcuA2O-pO7EUCi8JUkcwM55JmC-AdLmg_MXaGhW4IkAgyXZOcPd7mBeXgmYcQttMCJNis7ZbgoHEQqohyWDT-evTmweZnTY7sWMVfP923DcvqbK_O2_Ei8DL7iCy9fjGI5V5EPUk5y5KbBtZpIbK2Nkh_tIlqPKBaJrtN59wLt1PvJXdpCpdVCdbhV-QNqWkyrdlzyQ8Fi0Sxwf3Mb7HU5UcxHoF7U51FiZyFluUH4h3iHZjevKEJmQu27S&sig=Cg0ArKJSzKcrfbquZAdSEAE&fbs_aeid=%5Bgw_fbsaeid%5D&urlfix=1&adurl=https://www.inc.com/chelseastoner/bootstrapped-businesses-need-to-become-ai-native-stat-two-prominent-tech-investors-offer-advice/91377041"></a><a href="https://adclick.g.doubleclick.net/pcs/click?xai=AKAOjstygVkwA-Of0GgMYe_jTJkMAiViNkOO4nxek-NoegoV8mUPfBZLilZKFpEXtjeej55TKYzRnq3FrzZY82mjYw1y__3vRm5UuzPKCLsrRzB5dmx-pPblU2yywmP6RKb3UN93QSO6K-dgbQ_blB-lj8hAgSkxPbYE9SGwqtxP_6pdtSTe8WIssUrZs1sOZR2YqFCFDNDLN13jTpx4epZ3x_Z_cEo2iND-TjsRmBxntMvJEk_dFCK_AAYzy_a_X3jxxK4mFf5I0aPFv1jcSqOYohTEZTAnVAu8kbDb3dJ12s_D1K173I0prtuZM1LKVLWyJYaTfT6RDH2RcdYk8ripKZ5LCwHDnTHDdUU6DgSe9Zlk5cKRYTKZ3POCyTZaRSPFLe8GyM540HJGNdlNucskyRKCALWOCr8lcMhw&sai=AMfl-YRmiIder4OwPjDBadueIOSd7-5SqvnNp5AtSpoDC9lkoBq-cqeVkvJolxZM9wdEfNU-Fn0udzBZD9ngKmCxEiyIPFb-SiKVI_OHB8jGdOyMTrcuk43MLiI3HHCFPoP0Wz0Iegz6gkqjikR9x6Rb9gMvDITom0cSQyE8zdcuA2O-pO7EUCi8JUkcwM55JmC-AdLmg_MXaGhW4IkAgyXZOcPd7mBeXgmYcQttMCJNis7ZbgoHEQqohyWDT-evTmweZnTY7sWMVfP923DcvqbK_O2_Ei8DL7iCy9fjGI5V5EPUk5y5KbBtZpIbK2Nkh_tIlqPKBaJrtN59wLt1PvJXdpCpdVCdbhV-QNqWkyrdlzyQ8Fi0Sxwf3Mb7HU5UcxHoF7U51FiZyFluUH4h3iHZjevKEJmQu27S&sig=Cg0ArKJSzKcrfbquZAdSEAE&fbs_aeid=%5Bgw_fbsaeid%5D&urlfix=1&adurl=https://www.inc.com/chelseastoner/bootstrapped-businesses-need-to-become-ai-native-stat-two-prominent-tech-investors-offer-advice/91377041"></a></p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Credit-taking managers may enjoy the limelight, but they pay for it in lost trust. Employees quickly learn that their manager is using their talent to build a personal brand. The next time that manager needs extra effort, the team will remember who received the applause.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Strong managers redirect the spotlight. They name the people responsible, explain their contributions, and make sure senior leaders know where the value originated. Giving away credit does not make a leader look smaller. It shows that the leader knows how to build a team capable of producing excellent work.</p> <h2 id="h-5-managers-go-missing-when-leadership-is-needed" class="wp-block-heading">5. Managers go missing when leadership is needed</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">They hide behind closed doors, fill their calendars with meetings, and become conveniently unavailable when employees need a decision, direction, or help resolving conflict. The disappearance is often driven by insecurity. Avoiding the issue feels safer than exposing what they do not know.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Meanwhile, the team works around the leadership vacuum. Decisions slow down. Resentment grows. Conflicts become personal because the person responsible for addressing them never enters the room.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">A manager does not need to hover over employees. But accessibility and an open door matter. Set predictable times for decisions, hold regular one-on-ones, and address tension before it becomes team folklore. When the situation is difficult, move toward it and go through the eye of the storm together with your team.</p> <h2 id="h-how-to-stop-promoting-toxic-bosses" class="wp-block-heading">How to stop promoting toxic bosses</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Toxic management is rarely just a “bad manager” problem. It is a senior leadership problem, because someone hired, promoted, rewarded, or tolerated that manager. The solution starts with changing what qualifies someone to lead.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Organizations still promote people because they deliver strong numbers, understand the operation, or possess valuable technical expertise. Those qualities matter, but they do not prove that someone can be trusted with the performance and well-being of other human beings.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Character has to carry real weight. <a href="https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/warren-buffett-says-you-should-hire-people-with-3-traits-but-only-1-separates-successful-people-from-everyone-else.html">Warren Buffett</a> famously advised employers to look for integrity, intelligence, and energy, warning that without integrity, the other two qualities can become liabilities.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Research supports the business case behind that advice. A meta-analysis published in the <em><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fa0038246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Journal of Applied Psychology</a></em> found that ethical leadership contributes meaningful value in predicting employees’ attitudes, performance, and workplace behavior. The influence of integrity is not sentimental; it shows up in how people respond and perform.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Executives should therefore assess prospective managers for observable evidence:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Do their actions match their words?</li> <li>Do they share credit?</li> <li>Do people feel safe bringing them bad news?</li> <li>Can they correct someone without stripping away dignity?</li> <li>Have they helped other people grow, or merely outperformed them?</li> </ul> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The behavior senior leaders tolerate from managers eventually becomes the culture employees experience. If your best people are disengaging, stop asking what is wrong with them long enough to examine who is leading them.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>Like this article? <a href="https://marcelschwantes.substack.com/subscribe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Subscribe here</a> for more related content plus exclusive leadership insights, best practices, and tools from executive coach Marcel Schwantes.</em></p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>—Marcel Schwantes</em></p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Get <em><a href="https://inc-1-smart-business-story.beehiiv.com/?modal=signup">1 Smart Business Story</a> </em>delivered straight to your inbox when you subscribe to Inc.’s free daily newsletter.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>This article <a href="https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/5-toxic-management-behaviors-that-make-good-employees-stop-caring/91391005">originally appeared</a> on </em>Fast Company<em>’s sister website, Inc.com.</em> </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Inc. <em>is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.</em></p>

2026/9/8

Why the most competitive companies resist the urge to do more

<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In business, as in life, it’s tempting to equate success with doing <em>more</em>: launching new initiatives, exploring new technologies, pursuing new revenue streams, and saying yes to new opportunities. But over time, all that activity can dilute your focus. It’s like trying to hit 10 targets at once: When everything becomes a target, it gets harder to aim at what actually sets your company apart.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">But the companies that stay competitive aren’t the ones constantly adding more; they’re the ones that stay committed to the few things that actually work—for them. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">As CEO of Jotform, I can attest that it’s a challenge to continually identify what’s working and maintain focus despite all the things you <em>could be</em> doing. But consistency in execution, clarity in direction, and discipline in priorities create momentum that short-term bursts of activity can’t sustain. Here’s a closer look at how.</p> <h2 id="h-focus-on-what-matters-most" class="wp-block-heading">Focus on what matters most</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are,” Steve Jobs <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/629613-people-think-focus-means-saying-yes-to-the-thing-you-ve">once famously said</a>. To put it even more simply: “Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">As a leader, I try to practice this approach. It’s tempting to explore every idea that comes across your desk: every <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/artificial-intelligence" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="AI">AI</a> tool, product update, partnership opportunity, business idea, and so on. But developing the discipline to prioritize the initiatives that create value has several advantages.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">For starters, saying no simplifies your life. No more time wasted on the paradox of choice. When you identify your priorities and what’s proven to work for your unique business, it becomes easier to pass on anything extraneous. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Identifying and clarifying your organization’s priorities can boost your bottom line. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296310000391">Research</a> has found that strategic consensus within management improves organizational performance. In other words, when everyone’s on the same page about goals and the strategies that support those goals, businesses do better.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Consider: What is your organization trying to accomplish? What is your competitive advantage? Which strategies have been shown to support that advantage? What are you choosing not to pursue? How should resources and attention be allocated?</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">That doesn’t mean everyone has to agree. But it does mean that leaders need a shared vision around those answers.</p> <h2 id="h-build-systems-to-support-focus" class="wp-block-heading">Build systems to support focus</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Once you have a clear and shared vision of your priorities, the next step is building systems that help people execute them consistently. Employees should help build those systems, but the initiative has to come from the top.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">I founded my company 20 years ago, but I’ve been an employee too. I know the frustration of competing priorities: knowing what your team is trying to achieve, but then getting pulled into tedious, time-consuming tasks that have little to do with those goals. It’s stressful, it drains your energy, and it steals attention from the kind of meaningful work that leaves you feeling inspired and reenergized. As <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/09/too-many-projects">Harvard Business Review</a> notes, “Many organizations lack mechanisms to identify, measure, and manage the demands that initiatives place on the managers and employees who are expected to do the work.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Good systems can make a difference. Clear workflows, defined responsibilities, and automated tools can take some of the friction out of the day-to-day. They make it easier for people to know what needs to happen, who owns it, and how to get it done—without reinventing the wheel every time. Importantly, they free up employees’ brainpower for the work that actually creates value.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Mapping out your workflows and building these systems takes time, but I think about them like flywheels: They require energy to get started, but once they’re turning, they build momentum. Processes become more consistent, work gets more efficient, and there are fewer opportunities for costly errors. Over time, those small gains compound.</p> <h2 id="h-stay-aligned-as-priorities-change" class="wp-block-heading">Stay aligned as priorities change</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Finally, every organization needs a system of checks and balances to keep teams on track. Circumstances evolve. Customer expectations shift. Goals change. Leaders can create systems to review priorities and keep an eye on whether teams are progressing in the right direction. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Today’s AI-powered tools and platforms can make this easier by streamlining task management and signaling when daily work starts to drift from top priorities. This gives leaders greater oversight, helping them reinforce focus, course-correct faster, and keep teams motivated.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">For example, Jotform AI Agents can automatically turn incoming requests into tasks in Jotform Boards, where teams can track ownership, priority, and status. Managers can also see progress, workloads, and resources in one place, giving them a clearer picture of whether day-to-day work is aligned with the priorities that matter most.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Again, priorities naturally change over time. As <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/09/too-many-projects">Harvard Business Review</a> recommends, initiatives should have sunset clauses with a clear end date for funding and employee resources. That forces leaders to revisit projects and workflows and make sure they’re still creating value rather than continuing simply because they’ve always existed.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The goal isn’t to keep teams doing the same things. It’s to make sure they’re always spending their time on what matters most.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>

2026/9/8

If your business doesn’t offer workers a 401(k) plan, maybe now is the time

<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The business of retirement savings has been going through some major changes lately. Financial services companies are seeking to grow the pie aggressively by getting more employees to invest in 401(k) plans and similar savings accounts. At the same time, more people are living longer in retirement, which is good for, well, people, but does mean their retirement savings must stretch further. Meanwhile, the population is aging, which threatens to deplete public sector retirement programs like Social Security. But then the Trump administration is touting new savings accounts for kids.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">So what does all of this mean for you and your employees, whether they are approaching retirement age or simply planning for the future? Jeff Schneble has been thinking about various scenarios quite a bit, in his role as CEO of Human Interest, a fast-growing digital 401(k) program administrator that serves primarily small and midsize companies. The San Francisco-based company positions itself as a kind of retirement program in a box, with greater automation and less administrative time required of participating companies. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Schneble recently sat down with Inc.’s Mike Hofman to talk through his vision for the future of retirement—and why he sees a huge opportunity ahead for Human Interest. <em>This transcript was condensed and edited for length and clarity.</em></p> <h2 id="h-you-first-joined-human-interest-as-a-board-member-and-then-became-ceo-correct-nbsp" class="wp-block-heading">You first joined Human Interest as a board member, and then became CEO, correct? </h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Yes. I led the Series A here nine years ago when the company was probably like 5 to 10 people, maybe $200,000 in revenue. I joined the board, which was almost the same size as the company, maybe there were a couple extra employees beyond that. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">It’s obviously pretty unusual to leave venture for a company, and it wasn’t because this was a breakout rocket ship growth story at the time. What attracted me was more that I really felt like there was an opportunity to build a big, important company here. It’s a product that everyone needs. Everyone gets old. Everyone’s got to save for retirement. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The average retirement span today is 20 years and climbing, so it’s becoming a quarter of people’s lives. And yet today 80% of people aren’t saving enough—so 80% of people are currently ending up financially insecure for a quarter of their lives. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">But research shows that if you get money out of people’s paychecks, some 85% of our participants will save about 10% of their income. And so it just felt like there was an opportunity to flip the problem around and go from 80% of people not saving enough, to 85% of people saving enough—if we could do a good job of building an easier-to-use product. </p> <h2 id="h-why-did-the-founders-of-the-company-want-to-pass-the-reins-to-you" class="wp-block-heading">Why did the founders of the company want to pass the reins to you?</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The founders did a good job identifying an opportunity and getting it off the ground, but when it became clear that the company didn’t kind of go from zero to 100 mph—a handful of customers and a few hundred thousand in revenue versus hitting thousands of customers and billions of dollars in revenue—that just wasn’t part of the journey that they were ready to do, and so I wanted to come in and try to turn this thing into what I thought it could be. </p> <h2 id="h-talk-about-the-initial-growth-strategy-from-seven-years-ago-and-how-that-strategy-s-evolved-over-the-past-couple-of-years" class="wp-block-heading">Talk about the initial growth strategy from seven years ago, and how that strategy’s evolved over the past couple of years. </h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The first few years were really focused on digital <a href="https://www.inc.com/marketing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marketing</a>, and saying let’s build the functionality of the product and see if people actually want it, and the easiest way to test that is to throw up some Google ads to get people to buy it. So seven years ago, that was 100% of the growth—just people buying it online through digital advertising. </p> <h2 id="h-and-it-was-focused-on-the-small-business-market-nbsp" class="wp-block-heading">And it was focused on the small-business market? </h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Yeah, the core product is 401(k) for business. We’ve moved a little bit beyond that, where we have an IRA product, too. And we have a lot of multi-thousand-person companies among our customers today. And it turns out even bigger companies than our target are not happy with the 401(k) options out there. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">But originally, we were very focused on the green field of companies with fewer than 100 employees. At the time, many of them didn’t have a 401(k) at all. So we originally focused on creating an offering that worked for these small companies, and then getting that to scale. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">When I joined, we probably signed up 10 to 15 new customers a month, and today we’re at about 2,000 new customers a month. We’ve become the market leader. In fact, we estimate we sold 37% of the first-time 401(k) plans in the country last year. </p> <h2 id="h-are-you-seeing-very-new-businesses-start-retirement-plans-or-is-it-existing-small-businesses-that-are-finally-coming-online-nbsp" class="wp-block-heading">Are you seeing very new businesses start retirement plans, or is it existing small businesses that are finally coming online? </h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">It’s always been a mix, and I’m not sure it’s changed dramatically in the sense that it was never just tech startups or never just small businesses. It is a very horizontal thing, by region and industry. Our customer base is super spread out. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">And this is interesting: Some 60% of our participants are in hourly positions. So it’s not just white collar. We see a lot of other job types that also benefit from an easier retirement plan. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Look, obviously, if you’re <a href="https://www.inc.com/startup" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">starting a business</a>, benefits might be something you want to offer out of the gate. But a lot of businesses told us that the reason they hadn’t historically offered retirement savings was the legacy stuff. It was so hard to set up and so hard to use and so expensive that a lot of employers hit a brick wall and were like, hey, I want to do this, but I’m not going to do it if I have to spend 10 or 15 hours a month to manage the thing on top of paying $10,000 a year in fees. </p> <h2 id="h-i-m-curious-for-the-companies-that-you-sign-up-do-they-typically-have-an-hr-department-or-are-they-smaller-than-that-nbsp" class="wp-block-heading">I’m curious, for the companies that you sign up, do they typically have an HR department or are they smaller than that? </h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">It runs the full gamut. Our smallest customers are one-person companies, and we have a lot of them. And among the biggest, we run the retirement program for Amazon delivery drivers in the U.S., and provide for like 100,000 drivers. So between 1 and 100,000 employees, there’s obviously a spectrum. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">But for many clients, there’s no HR department. It’s usually the business owners trying to run payroll and benefits themselves, and they have to figure all this stuff out. And they don’t have bandwidth, which is part of the reason they were never going to do a legacy retirement plan that required 10 to 15 hours a month, because for a business owner, spending 10 to 15 hours a month on this is just untenable. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">But we also have a lot of client companies—and we were a little bit surprised by this—who have multi-hundred or multi-thousand employees, and they also sometimes didn’t have an offering. Their small HR departments also struggled to manage 10 to 15 hours a month of admin work, and anytime they screwed up, they would get employees complaining about it. They know that’s probably not a great experience for the employees. So they sometimes avoided it until they found an offering that was easy to use and affordable.</p> <h2 id="h-one-of-the-things-that-drives-the-retirement-business-is-automatic-paycheck-deduction-and-i-imagine-there-are-other-trends-like-that-looking-at-the-growth-strategy-today-when-you-re-signing-up-many-more-customers-what-are-the-things-you-see-really-driving-the-business-in-the-short-term-and-then-maybe-even-longer-term" class="wp-block-heading">One of the things that drives the retirement business is automatic paycheck deduction. And I imagine there are other trends like that. Looking at the growth strategy today, when you’re signing up many more customers, what are the things you see really driving the business in the short term and then maybe even longer term? </h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">You’re exactly right that automatically taking savings out of people’s pay, that is what gets most people saving. We also really push the employer software match. We actually have a program where we do a match, even if the employer doesn’t want to. For certain employees who haven’t saved before, we offer a 3% incentive of what people save. We wanted to have an impact on people who have never saved beforehand, and so we’ve helped 10,000 people saving for the first time through that program. </p> <h2 id="h-that-seems-like-a-novel-feature-and-there-s-obviously-a-marketing-element-to-it-that-s-interesting-nbsp" class="wp-block-heading">That seems like a novel feature, and there’s obviously a marketing element to it that’s interesting. </h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Yes, but for us, we’re pretty mission-driven. So the <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/marketing" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="7" title="Marketing">marketing</a> element’s great, but we want it to be a real thing. And it only became possible with legislation that passed a couple of years ago. We looked at it and said, actually, the way the law’s written, it means the employer could do it, but it also means the sponsor could do it. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">And I don’t think any other sponsor or provider looked at it that way—it’s just not the orientation most folks in the industry have. They view themselves as, I don’t know, service providers to these companies. Whereas we say, how can we help people max their savings? And so if there’s this new tool, we’re trying to go build it. But to your point, we’re the only ones that have embraced it. <a href="https://adclick.g.doubleclick.net/pcs/click?xai=AKAOjsuBgYjByL_IF05V8a9fV7aGKPXBP4JQGP3mIB1JarhKhQnaxmQjhJIIEYTFRqkxVvvdcqAhyVku-1N9YBmtlHEpo34us2mLP1nY3hwkhD1Q2JSp2hfihtw-CqkwlxEmfVgqpVmc0dUOQCsWjubuGfIDvZX_9m-TLRiHPSad6oayTJLYq9kSG8GcK6YZrzpIMj0UUVBEfrJDBBr9o1YMjJuzap2RtmPj02mNviLg0VQaGsG0jc_lKcUaaL94i1Kd2rStwgj9xSsxAbJI2NwAXzOEo_xTOZF-nBNK_wvCNDl1WwBfumthV-RK_rrMpmBCC9Sfhpf_HQy7_qUbc7_0tRLp3i6S7ZTOFGX1dbjwXjaSqORzNR8s8mZKnTv0Qo5zOJ-E1SvowrA75Fd6M11Lboi6fW5keBAxJ604CQ&sai=AMfl-YTJ_dwCmU60qOLODCsxZLOoORHoz7IolakQ1XOtVaLBOjRr_Z5Rb47biW926kotWF6joWgtEnyk7XXdKTWbGLhiK7P3hbvo4KJhiNvnEDudR-maZZPlUc6S_xj3_kLS6Cs2tmKy2zdtNBRiod4IeVlA6vYj7mKvs300ODE4LCJHvBdsnA42pTw9_BaLGjjUQFdpBBOJA5qPBqryoMcR5cHZ_7Wr33ynxHCg0-3Cw0m5FSRkKp-qdoD6ElH7PeVYGXQAJmFYbLZ7aTGj6iW3hG5u1rNh4u_Gsle0UVofKlpr-5PQy_S8lt70GP0SpdbN-gRwr1g86DKMYONjJMMiPAxYcgIPgWWLRUQ5gWBSW61cGpwbUCZ9LtSjJHP6AixW42ZgFU7uFT1hMl9UqiRqHgHv2OlpMsPD&sig=Cg0ArKJSzPXzgiiV9zdlEAE&fbs_aeid=%5Bgw_fbsaeid%5D&urlfix=1&adurl=https://www.inc.com/inc-custom-studio/why-hr-needs-a-seat-at-the-leadership-table/91360831"></a><a href="https://adclick.g.doubleclick.net/pcs/click?xai=AKAOjsuBgYjByL_IF05V8a9fV7aGKPXBP4JQGP3mIB1JarhKhQnaxmQjhJIIEYTFRqkxVvvdcqAhyVku-1N9YBmtlHEpo34us2mLP1nY3hwkhD1Q2JSp2hfihtw-CqkwlxEmfVgqpVmc0dUOQCsWjubuGfIDvZX_9m-TLRiHPSad6oayTJLYq9kSG8GcK6YZrzpIMj0UUVBEfrJDBBr9o1YMjJuzap2RtmPj02mNviLg0VQaGsG0jc_lKcUaaL94i1Kd2rStwgj9xSsxAbJI2NwAXzOEo_xTOZF-nBNK_wvCNDl1WwBfumthV-RK_rrMpmBCC9Sfhpf_HQy7_qUbc7_0tRLp3i6S7ZTOFGX1dbjwXjaSqORzNR8s8mZKnTv0Qo5zOJ-E1SvowrA75Fd6M11Lboi6fW5keBAxJ604CQ&sai=AMfl-YTJ_dwCmU60qOLODCsxZLOoORHoz7IolakQ1XOtVaLBOjRr_Z5Rb47biW926kotWF6joWgtEnyk7XXdKTWbGLhiK7P3hbvo4KJhiNvnEDudR-maZZPlUc6S_xj3_kLS6Cs2tmKy2zdtNBRiod4IeVlA6vYj7mKvs300ODE4LCJHvBdsnA42pTw9_BaLGjjUQFdpBBOJA5qPBqryoMcR5cHZ_7Wr33ynxHCg0-3Cw0m5FSRkKp-qdoD6ElH7PeVYGXQAJmFYbLZ7aTGj6iW3hG5u1rNh4u_Gsle0UVofKlpr-5PQy_S8lt70GP0SpdbN-gRwr1g86DKMYONjJMMiPAxYcgIPgWWLRUQ5gWBSW61cGpwbUCZ9LtSjJHP6AixW42ZgFU7uFT1hMl9UqiRqHgHv2OlpMsPD&sig=Cg0ArKJSzPXzgiiV9zdlEAE&fbs_aeid=%5Bgw_fbsaeid%5D&urlfix=1&adurl=https://www.inc.com/inc-custom-studio/why-hr-needs-a-seat-at-the-leadership-table/91360831"></a></p> <h2 id="h-what-other-trends-are-you-seeing-in-the-retirement-space-are-more-people-taking-distributions-early-are-more-people-trying-to-max-out" class="wp-block-heading">What other trends are you seeing in the retirement space? Are more people taking distributions early? Are more people trying to max out? </h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">In my mind, the big exciting trend is, the old system was working for about <a href="https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/google-says-it-still-uses-20-percent-rule-you-should-totally-copy-it.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">20%</a> of the population, primarily high earners. And for those folks, I guess it’s fine, and the other 80% of Americans were basically just left out. And that wasn’t changing. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">If you look at the past 20 years of data, total funds in 401(k) balances have been going up, but again, that’s just because top earners are saving more and more. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">But in the past five years, with us and a couple other digital folks coming into the space, total participation is up by 5 or 6x. So you have a significant number of people coming into the system and saving for the first time, even as we are in a race against time, because depending on who is in office, the government would like to have retirement savings be privatized—Social Security 2.0—but you can’t leave a bunch of people financially insecure. </p> <h2 id="h-are-you-seeing-variation-in-terms-of-the-types-of-investments-within-accounts-crypto-has-been-sort-of-a-theme-of-late-right" class="wp-block-heading">Are you seeing variation in terms of the types of investments within accounts? Crypto has been sort of a theme of late, right?</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">So we’re pretty, I guess <em>conservative</em>’s the right word, but I think our view is that, on average, not everyone can beat the market. There’s a ton of academic research that passive investing strategies just outperform everything else. And what you save in fees more than offsets any theoretical potential outperformance you might have gotten. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">From day one, we think that’s best for participants. And so therefore, while we don’t offer financial advice to our participants, we generally recommend low-cost, passive investments. We will never push the envelope with alternatives or crypto or any of that stuff that we think is pretty unproven, and it’s not clear there’s a reason for it in people’s retirement accounts. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">I personally don’t think, and the experts we have here don’t think, that crypto is the right answer. There is demand for it, and we don’t want to be too paternalistic, but I would always look at an asset class distribution that has proved to perform well versus really kind of gambling, even a few percent, on something new. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Our philosophy for most of our users is, especially if someone is coming into retirement savings for the first time, just make it dead simple. In a lot of ways, the ideal user experience for a first-time user is no user experience. </p> <h2 id="h-what-role-might-ai-play-in-retirement-savings-going-forward" class="wp-block-heading">What role might AI play in retirement savings going forward?</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.inc.com/artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AI</a> is obviously the big new thing. I think for us from day one, simplicity really has been the core reason we exist. We think the legacy retirement products, both for companies and individuals, are just really complicated. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">I’m sure you’ve been invited to participate in a 401(k), and you log in and there are like 20 funds and you don’t know what you’re supposed to do. And even if you do kind of know, it’s just a lot of work on you to go research all 20 funds and figure out what all of them are and what their costs are, and how to weigh them—it can feel way more complicated than it needs to be. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">And we used technology to do all the work, so that companies and people don’t have to. And there’s more to do. As we expand into multiproduct savings—adding IRAs and so forth—I’m excited, because I think we can add a lot more value for somebody if they’re running three or four accounts with us; we can optimize all of that. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/artificial-intelligence" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="AI">AI</a> just kind of triple-charges all of that, because in terms of us taking on the administrative work, us taking on decision-making, AI lets us do a lot more of that. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">And not only do people want advice on retirement, but a lot of times they also want it when they are trying to figure something out, even if it’s nominally outside of their retirement plan, like, “Hey, can I afford to buy a house?” These more open-ended questions that, historically, you wouldn’t have turned to a 401(k) provider for. But we are actually in a position to answer, given that we already have your money and know a lot about you and your life. </p> <h2 id="h-so-last-question-is-it-more-fun-to-be-an-operator-than-an-lp-nbsp" class="wp-block-heading">So, last question: Is it more fun to be an operator than an LP? </h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Oh, 100%. Obviously, it’s a personal thing. I loved being an investor, but as an operator I love the tangible sense that every day I’m working really hard for customers, and you can see the impact. Not that every day is awesome. I mean, we obviously have setbacks, things that don’t go well, but at least every day, every week, it feels like you’re moving the ball forward in a tangible way for people. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">And like I said, we’re in a category where you can feel pretty good about what we’re doing. Nobody ever said they were saving too much for retirement. So it’s just like a pure positive. Whereas I felt like, as an investor, you’re kind of sitting on the sidelines watching other people play the game.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>—By Mike Hofman</em></p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em><strong>Correction:</strong> An earlier version of this article misstated the number of new Human Interest customers signing up per month. The company is adding roughly 2,000 new customers per month.</em></p> <hr> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Get <em><a href="https://inc-1-smart-business-story.beehiiv.com/?modal=signup" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1 Smart Business Story</a> </em>delivered straight to your inbox when you subscribe to <em>Inc.</em>’s free daily newsletter.</p> <hr> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>This article <a href="https://www.inc.com/mike-hofman/business-offer-workers-emplouyees-401k-plan-human-interest-ceo-jeff-schneble/91385150" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">originally appeared</a> on </em>Fast Company<em>’s sister website, Inc.com.</em> </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Inc. <em>is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.</em></p> <hr>

2026/9/7

How marketing and HR can work together to increase sales

<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Over nearly two decades in the <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/branding" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="2" title="Branding">branding</a> industry, I’ve seen way too many highly imaginative <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/marketing" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="7" title="Marketing">marketing</a> departments and ad agencies give it their all to develop and launch impactful sales campaigns, only to see them fall flat in terms of results. Many of those campaigns brought customers through the door as intended, but the increased traffic didn’t convert to the kind of sales that the organization had hoped for. Why? Because after walking through the door, those customers received subpar service from employees and walked straight back out, refusing to spend money with a brand that doesn’t value its customers.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">What many marketers seem to forget is that even the most creative, imaginative, or strategic advertising, marketing, or communications campaign can be completely derailed by disengaged employees delivering poor or mediocre service. As I tell my senior leadership clients and the audiences at the conferences where I speak, it is unreasonable to expect disgruntled, disillusioned, or otherwise disengaged employees to deliver the type of customer experience that will convert casual consumers into raving—and paying—fans of the brand.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">As the saying goes, your customer experience will never exceed your employee experience. Or, as Sybil F. Stershic, author of <em>Taking Care of The People Who Matter Most</em> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sybilstershic_recognitionmatters-customerexperience-activity-7130192643384307712-WnHg/">reminds us</a>, “The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers.” If your organization wants to get a higher ROI on its sales campaigns by improving its customer experience, it will first need to improve its employee experience! </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">This is where HR enters the equation and why your branding and HR teams should work more closely together in a relationship that I call “Bhranding” (Branding + HR = “Bhranding”).</p> <h2 id="h-why-branding-and-hr-should-work-more-closely-together" class="wp-block-heading">Why branding and HR should work more closely together</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">To the untrained eye, HR and branding professionals such as those involved in marketing, advertising, and communications initiatives have little to do with each other. After all, most branding professionals’ priorities revolve around engaging customers, while HR professionals most often deal with matters relating to employees. But, once you take a closer look, you’ll realize that the roles of branding and modern HR are intertwined, with the success of branding professionals being highly dependent on the work done by HR professionals.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">As the author and strategist Michelle Smith <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hr-marketing-bring-brand-promises-life-michelle-m-smith-cpim-crp/">notes</a>, “Enduring brands are built by people—not ads, clicks or views. Marketing has traditionally taken the lead in communicating the corporate brand promise, but when it comes to delivering on those promises, it’s people from all around the organization who have to do the meticulous work of successfully bringing the brand promise to life.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">When HR does a good job of people engagement by creating a culture where employees are excited about the work that they do and are willing to go the extra mile for customers, marketers’ campaigns are more likely to benefit from the type of enhanced customer experience that leads to increased sales.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Research backs up this idea that engaged employees deliver better customer service. A study by <a href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/393497/world-trillion-workplace-problem.aspx">Gallup</a> shows that companies that scored in the top quartile of employee engagement enjoyed 10% higher customer loyalty/engagement than companies in the bottom quartile. These companies with higher levels of employee engagement also benefited from 18% higher <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/productivity" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="9" title="Productivity">productivity</a> related to sales and 23% higher profitability overall.</p> <h2 id="h-5-ways-marketing-and-hr-can-cooperate-to-boost-sales" class="wp-block-heading">5 ways marketing and HR can cooperate to boost sales</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">As a passionate advocate of branding and HR professionals working more closely together, I routinely advise businesses to tear down the walls between their marketing and HR teams and have these two groups work in tandem, rather than in silos, to cocreate programs that benefit the entire organization. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Here are my top five recommendations for joint marketing/HR programs you can implement at your own organization to engage employees and, by extension, improve the ROI on your sales promotions.</p> <h2 id="h-1-internal-campaign-launches" class="wp-block-heading">1. Internal Campaign Launches</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Before launching any customer-facing campaigns, marketing and HR can launch the campaign to employees first, increasing its chances of success. Marketing can preview the campaign to employees and explain the campaign’s branding or sales goals; HR can translate these goals into mindsets, behaviors, and attitudes that employees need to adopt to bring the campaign to life through their interactions with both colleagues and customers. This simple and thoughtful act —which a surprising number of companies skip over—can help employees feel informed, valued, and emotionally connected to the brand, improving the chances that they will support the campaign in any way they can.</p> <h2 id="h-2-sales-training-sessions-nbsp" class="wp-block-heading">2. Sales Training Sessions </h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Once the campaign is launched internally, marketing and HR can work together to design training sessions for upcoming sales events. During these sessions, the marketing team can work with employees to ensure that they are fully aware of the specific features, benefits, and selling points of campaigns. That way, employees will be equipped to sell the benefits of the products and services being promoted, and confidently answer any queries that customers may have. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">As part of these training sessions, HR can clarify how employees’ attitudes, actions, and behaviors contribute to delivering on the promises being made publicly by the sales campaign, improving the probability that employees will not only be aware of the upcoming campaign but will also be engaged and ready to go the extra mile for customers.</p> <h2 id="h-3-employee-recognition-campaigns" class="wp-block-heading">3. Employee Recognition Campaigns</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">When employees are recognized for excelling in their roles, they are more likely to repeat the behaviors they were recognized for. This recognition is also likely to inspire their coworkers to model those behaviors. Employee recognition campaigns can become even more potent when marketing and HR work together to craft them.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">By focusing marketing’s expertise in communications, storytelling, and engagement inwards towards employees, and combining it with HR’s understanding of employee performance, marketing and HR can cocreate employee recognition campaigns that spotlight and celebrate employees who live the brand and truly support their organization’s sales campaigns.</p> <h2 id="h-4-brand-storytelling-initiatives" class="wp-block-heading">4. Brand Storytelling Initiatives</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">HR teams who are on top of their game often have access to inspiring employee stories of customer service, innovation, and teamwork in one corner of the workplace that never reach the wider organization. Marketing can work with HR to help transform these stories into engaging internal content pieces for the entire organization that benchmark and celebrate the behaviors and traits needed to build the brand and enhance marketing’s sales promotions. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Depending on your company culture and the resources available to you, these content pieces can include employee success stories, customer impact stories, peer recognition features, short-form videos, internal social media posts, digital newsletters, behind-the-scenes content, customer testimonials, and even employee podcasts.</p> <h2 id="h-5-brand-lovepoint-development" class="wp-block-heading">5. ‘Brand Lovepoint’ Development</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Great marketing teams understand what customers expect at each brand touchpoint, while great HR teams are able to inspire employees to deliver remarkable customer interactions. By collaborating on workshops, training programs, and internal messaging, marketing and HR can identify the key moments where employees interact with customers. Once those moments have been identified, marketing and HR can work together to improve those experiences, transforming ordinary customer brand touchpoints into what I refer to as “Brand Lovepoints.” These are moments that exceed customer expectations, create emotional connections, and leave customers feeling valued, appreciated, and loyal to the brand. When everyday customer brand touchpoints evolve to become Brand Lovepoints, your chances of increasing sales can rise dramatically!</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">In summary, the best way for marketing and HR to work together to increase sales is for marketing to help employees understand the brand promise, and for HR to help employees deliver on that promise. When marketing and HR work closely together, organizations stand a much better chance of creating more engaged employees, better customer experiences, and stronger sales results.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>

2026/9/7

5 ways leaders can harness brain chemistry for happier and more productive teams

<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Research <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90891844/research-happiness-new-performance-indicator">links</a> employee happiness with higher <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/productivity" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="9" title="Productivity">productivity</a>. A <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-10-24-happy-workers-are-13-more-productive">2019 study led by Oxford University</a>, for example, found that workers were 13% more productive when they were happier. HR teams have responded with enhanced benefits packages, flexible work options, and well-being resources. But leaders have another immediate lever available every day: the experiences they create for the people around them and what that means for their actual, physical well-being.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">One useful framework I include in my new book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668091658?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback"><em>Better Good</em></a>, involves brain chemistry. Specifically, the four chemicals commonly associated with feeling good: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins. The science behind them is complex and their effects overlap. But at work, they offer a means for thinking about four experiences leaders can influence: progress, recognition, connection and, yes, fun. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The payoffs include productivity, bonding, respect, and camaraderie, all of which can positively impact workplace culture <em>and</em> the bottom line. Acts of recognition, connection, progress, and shared laughter can engage overlapping neurochemical systems that reinforce motivation and social connection. Those experiences can also spread. One person’s enthusiasm can become a team’s energy. Enthusiasm, after all, is contagious. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Here are five ways leaders can put this brain chemistry and its good-inducing consequences to work.</p> <h2 id="h-1-design-for-small-wins-dopamine" class="wp-block-heading">1. Design for small wins (dopamine)</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22581-dopamine">Dopamine</a> plays an important role in reward, learning, and motivation, which means leaders should create more frequent moments of progress by emphasizing micromilestones and celebrating them publicly. Highlight a #WinOfTheWeek in Slack. Applaud a concrete victory during <em>every</em> all-hands meeting. Close a Friday team meeting by naming one thing the group moved forward that week. The wins could be anything from hitting a deadline to landing a meeting with a potential client to solving a recurring problem that has slowed everyone down. Progress along the way is still progress. And worth celebrating.</p> <h2 id="h-2-make-gratitude-routine-serotonin" class="wp-block-heading">2. Make gratitude routine (serotonin)</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Serotonin is the <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/serotonin-the-natural-mood-booster">body’s mood booster,</a> helping to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22206901/">regulate social behavior.</a> In leadership terms, gratitude and recognition create positive social feedback that can be built into the rhythm of a team.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Think about how a truly sincere “thank you” from a leader or teammate you admire can change the mood and texture of your day. You know the feeling, and there’s actually serotonin-fueled chemistry behind it. Add a 90-second “shout-outs and thanks” segment to every meeting, and rotate who heads up the segment so the recognition moves peer to peer and across levels. Create a Slack channel where people can thank a colleague and name exactly what they did that helped. Or ask managers to include one specific piece of appreciation in regular one-on-ones. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Repeated moments of gratitude can lift morale while highlighting the behaviors and contributions that help the organization work well. You can’t overdose on this.</p> <h2 id="h-3-create-connection-rituals-oxytocin" class="wp-block-heading">3. Create connection rituals (oxytocin)</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Oxytocin plays an <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/oxytocin-the-love-hormone">important role in bonding</a> and social connection, and <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/91384743/how-to-build-workplace-bonds-and-why-its-so-important-that-you-do-workplace-bonds">research</a> has shown the importance of workplace relationships in areas ranging from mentorship to problem-solving to emotional support. An easy way for leaders to encourage these bonds is by starting meetings with prompts that get their team members interested in each other’s lives. Who did something fun last weekend? Any big plans for the holiday? Or, bringing it back to the dopamine, does anyone want to share a win, professional, personal, or otherwise? Keep it short and constant; consistency beats length.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Leaders can also create connection through simple rituals like team lunches, one-on-one check-ins and volunteer activities, whether that’s a 5K charity run or a cleanup at the local park. Shared service may or may not be the best use of professional team time compared to what you can uniquely do as professionals. But from a team building perspective, the fact that they combine connection with purpose—while giving people a shared experience they can not only carry back into the workday, but look back on over time—creates a connection that people remember.</p> <h2 id="h-4-inject-fun-endorphins" class="wp-block-heading">4. Inject fun (endorphins)</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Think about your happiest moments at work, the moments that put the biggest smile on your face, made you laugh the hardest, or created the fondest memories. There’s a good chance fun played a role.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Leaders can make room for more of it deliberately. Laughter and movement can activate the body’s endorphin system and support feelings of wellbeing and social bonding. Hold a walking one-on-one meeting as Steve Jobs famously did. Build a 5-minute movement break into a long offsite. (Sure, it may feel a bit cringey at first, but don’t you <em>always</em> feel better afterward?) Create a playful team tradition around birthdays, milestones, or the end of a big project. Give people a reason to laugh together during an all-hands. In turbulent times, fun remains the best, and often most powerful, medicine for what ails workplace culture. The best version fits the culture and gives people room to participate naturally. It isn’t always for everybody at all times. But the resulting fun and enthusiasm will be contagious.</p> <h2 id="h-5-model-the-behavior-and-share-stories-of-impact" class="wp-block-heading">5. Model the behavior and share stories of impact</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Leaders—all leaders, not just “the boss”—who show empathy, celebrate progress, and express human emotions like joy and excitement, create the contagious energy we all inherently crave. People take cues from what leaders repeatedly notice, reward, celebrate, and share. That is how cultural norms take hold, cement over time, and create new foundations for connection and growth.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Workplace culture is built in moments: a win noticed, a thank you voiced, a laugh shared, a story that reminds people why the work matters, and by simply having fun. By designing more of those moments, you’ll recruit brain chemistry toward a greater purpose and, in the process, give people more reasons to feel good, connect with one another, and bring that energy back into their work. At a time when it is needed more than ever.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>

2026/9/6

They paid $470,000 for a ‘boring’ business. Within days, almost everything went wrong

<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Andrea Palacio and her husband thought they were playing it safe. In a search for a <a href="https://www.inc.com/soren-kaplan/passive-income-is-the-new-american-dream-the-psychology-behind-it-should-worry-leaders/91369287">passive income business</a>, they paid $470,000 for a South Florida landscaping company a few years ago. It was, in their words, a “boring business,” which was hands-off and had good cash flow. Within days of the deal closing, though, the seller vanished, 10 of the 12 employees quit, and revenue took a sudden dive from $70,000 per month to $40,000.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Making matters worse, they had pledged personal assets<a href="https://www.inc.com/rapid-finance/what-you-need-to-know-about-collateral-loans.html"> as collateral</a> on their Small Business Administration loan. Palacio, pregnant while raising a 7-month-old, was thrust into a role handling booking, <a href="https://www.inc.com/marketing">marketing</a>, admin work, and <a href="https://www.inc.com/customer-service">customer service</a>.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">“We got into this business thinking that we’re going to be these investors, that we’re going to acquire the companies and just eventually exit for millions of dollars,” Palacio said on<a href="https://www.sidehustlenation.com/we-bought-a-boring-business-running-it-was-another-story/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <em>The Side Hustle Show</em> podcast</a>. “And I end up just driving a landscaping truck that’s old without air conditioning. . . . Quitting was never an option because we would lose our home. I can tell you that it was the hardest moment of our lives, and that the pressure was—it got a few tears, a lot of tears out of us.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Over the course of the next year, Palacio and her husband rebuilt revenue to $60,000 to $65,000 a month, sometimes hitting $70,000. The problem was, they were working 80-hour weeks, leaving Palacio feeling like she wasn’t present for her kids.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Her sister mentioned ChatGPT, a tool that had just come out, and the tech-curious Palacio began experimenting with it. She eventually hired a freelancer to create <a href="https://www.inc.com/artificial-intelligence">AI</a> customer relationship software. She created an<a href="https://www.inc.com/georgia-fearn/your-business-should-hire-an-ai-receptionist-heres-how-quickly-they-can-pay-for-themselves/91362398"> AI receptionist</a> herself, which would forward calls to her if the client was upset, and book estimates on a calendar automatically. The automations saved her 20 hours a month, she said.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">By December 2024, Palacio and her husband put the business up for sale. The couple were hoping to simply recover the money they had invested.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The thought at this point is we can at least recoup what we paid for the business,” she said. “Maybe it’s not going to be a huge profit per se, but it’s better than it was, and we can kind of get out and try the next thing.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">An offer came in: $750,000—a 60% premium on what they had paid.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Ultimately, the couple decided not to sell, since doing so would leave them without an income source. But since the business was running so well, they moved abroad for six months, leaving the manager in charge.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">When they got back, the bank account had just $2.50 in it, Palacio claims, a result of alleged employee theft.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">“We just didn’t know how to lead a company. We were not good leaders,” she said. “Being a good leader is, like, are you able to see . . . the real important information, the real KPIs on your dashboard? Do you have those numbers? Are you keeping track of the key metrics? And we weren’t doing that.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Palacio fired the manager, but the asking price of a good replacement was beyond their budget. That led to more <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/artificial-intelligence" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="AI">AI</a>-driven automation, including a dashboard that tracks the efficiency of crews, how long jobs take, and salaries compared with what clients are charged.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">“AI just changed everything for me,” she said. “It’s the tool that allowed me to get my freedom back and really stop wearing so many hats as a business owner. You can delegate all these little tasks that you haven’t even thought of.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">In June of this year, the company posted $75,000 in monthly revenue with seven employees. Palacio’s husband now goes into the office just one day per week to handle sales appointments. And Palacio<a href="https://andreapalacio.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> launched her own company</a>, called Crewless, which helps other owners run AI-first ventures.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">As nerve-fraying as the saga has been, Palacio says it has taught her some important lessons. For example, she said she won’t ever buy a company “if the seller is not willing to finance at least a portion of it. They need to have some stake in the game.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Additionally, she said, when things become overwhelming, it’s important to take a step back and try to remove yourself emotionally from the situation and look at things logically.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">“My dad has the saying, ‘Just climb up the highest tree you can possibly find and look at things from a different perspective,’” she said. “Look down and see how you can come out of the maze that you’ve gotten yourself inside of. . . . Don’t ask yourself, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ but ask yourself, ‘What do I need to learn from this?’ And just keep going, because things will get better.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>—Chris Morris</em></p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Get <em><a href="https://inc-1-smart-business-story.beehiiv.com/?modal=signup">1 Smart Business Story</a> </em>delivered straight to your inbox when you subscribe to Inc.’s free daily newsletter.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>This article <a href="https://www.inc.com/chris-morris/they-paid-470000-for-a-boring-business-within-days-almost-everything-went-wrong/91383269">originally appeared</a> on </em>Fast Company<em>’s sister website, Inc.com.</em> </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Inc. <em>is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.</em></p>

2026/9/5

Great products don’t market themselves

<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At a recent board meeting, someone suggested that we needed to go hard on PR and <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/marketing" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="7" title="Marketing">marketing</a> to “build hype.” When the phrase “build hype” came up, the rest of the room soured immediately. To many, hype was synonymous with snake oil.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The company in question is doing legitimately impressive technical work, work that will define the category it is in, and almost no one outside its immediate customer base knows about it. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Later that meeting, I asked the founder: Had anyone, anywhere, ever pulled off a similar technical feat before?</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">No, he said. This would be a world first.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">That concern around self-promotion is something I see frequently among the technical founders I work with building deep tech and physical <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/section/artificial-intelligence" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="AI">AI</a> businesses, who want to be measured by the substance of their technical work, not their effectiveness at marketing them.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">In software, it’s common practice for sales and marketing materials to outpace what the product is capable of. In fact, it’s often encouraged as a way to probe for product-market fit. Taking this strategy to the extreme, however, can result in serious blunders and even outright fraud. Companies like Cluely, which <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/05/cluely-ceo-roy-lee-admits-to-publicly-lying-about-revenue-numbers-last-year/">misrepresented</a> its annual recurring revenue numbers; Delve, which experienced allegations of <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/23/insight-partners-scrubs-investment-post-amid-fake-compliance-allegations/">fake compliance audits</a>; and most infamously, Theranos, serve as cautionary tales of hype without substance to back it up.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">And so many of these founders remain silent, hoping the tech will speak for itself. But silence is not a strategy, and it creates its own risk. People will form an opinion of the company whether it does promotion or not. They simply do it with less information. This risk is <em>especially</em> high for deep tech companies, where the product may take years to mature and the market may not yet understand the category. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">As a deep tech investor, here are the five marketing principles I share with founders to help them build their identity early (when the substance is there, of course):</p> <h2 id="h-1-market-the-vision-not-just-a-product" class="wp-block-heading">1. Market the vision, not just a product</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Technical teams tend to describe a product based on what it <em>is</em>, not the radical change it might bring about. Things like form factor, model architecture, manufacturing process are all important attributes . . . but all subject to change. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Take the defense startup <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/91527326/anduril-redesigning-future-of-warfare">Anduril Industries</a>. The “Rebooting the Arsenal of Democracy” manifesto from one of its cofounders, Palmer Luckey, came before most of Anduril’s current product line existed, and it described a vision of what American defense should be. That worldview is part of what allowed Anduril to raise the capital to be a force in reshaping the industry and granted them enough flexibility to adapt what that looks like in practice over time.  </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The first product may become a wedge into a much larger market, or evolve into something else as the company does more customer discovery. A durable identity needs to survive those changes. </p> <h2 id="h-2-a-marketing-strategy-starts-with-defining-the-goal-and-the-audience" class="wp-block-heading">2. A marketing strategy starts with defining the goal and the audience</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Often, I hear founders say, “We should be in TechCrunch.” or “We need a launch video; we need to post more on LinkedIn.” </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">But these are wishes that are not anchored in business strategies. Ask yourself, what is the end goal? Do we want publicity because are we trying to fundraise? Hire a specific kind of researcher? Win a beachhead customer? </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">A founder preparing to raise a round has to communicate why-now, why-you, something suited for investor-facing publications like TechCrunch, or going direct with a launch video on LinkedIn. Founders recruiting talent must convey that the team is capable and employees’ work will matter, which is exactly what authentic team updates on X and LinkedIn are for. One selling to enterprise customers needs to focus on risk reduction signals like regulatory approvals or pilots and deployments with notable logos, clearly visible on its website as case studies and socialized in industry publications.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The strongest message changes with the audience, and so should the proof. Choose the story and format by starting with the decision you want someone to make. </p> <h2 id="h-3-establish-cadence-don-t-aim-for-perfection" class="wp-block-heading">3. Establish cadence, don’t aim for perfection</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Tech founders often wait for a single perfect moment to launch, rather than prioritizing a steady drumbeat of communication. Then as months pass, competitors pull ahead.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Just as software teams find product-market fit through ship/measure/iterate, so too can companies build their identity through continuous storytelling. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">One company that’s done this well is Physical Intelligence. They’ve barely engaged with traditional media but have shipped <a href="https://x.com/physical_int/status/1927786433776934922?s=20">technical updates on X</a>, <a href="https://github.com/Physical-Intelligence/openpi">open-sourced components</a>, and <a href="https://www.pi.website/blog/pistar06">long, unedited clips</a> of robots folding laundry and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG2fHqa6ohk">making espresso</a>—all of which are effective at addressing the growing skepticism of robotics amid competitors’ more polished demos. As a result, the company is about to close <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-27/ex-deepmind-staffers-robotics-startup-in-talks-for-11-billion-valuation">at an $11 billion valuation</a>, even <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/27/physical-intelligence-is-reportedly-in-talks-to-raise-1-billion-again/">without a commercialization timeline</a>!</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">If you don’t allow people to regularly update their view of your company, your less sophisticated competitor might, winning investors and customers before you ever had the chance to show them why you are better. </p> <h2 id="h-4-make-storytelling-a-real-in-house-job-with-a-direct-owner" class="wp-block-heading">4. Make storytelling a real, in-house job with a direct owner</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">This is the biggest error I see. A serious storytelling function should not be a small slice of the CEO’s busy calendar, or the job of a PR agency on a three-month retainer. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Companies need someone on the task at all times, and that person needs to be in-house. Yes, agencies help with positioning, media, design, content, and execution. But they work best when someone inside the company can gather materials, share business priorities, and track the company calendar, and that someone has an allocated budget. This person has goals aligned to the company’s and is held accountable for achieving them.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Without this kind of function in place, communications can become episodic, a mad scramble to announce when a financing round closes, then silence until the next big moment. </p> <h2 id="h-5-make-sure-there-s-substance-before-turning-up-the-volume" class="wp-block-heading">5. Make sure there’s substance before turning up the volume</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Before you do all this, consider whether your claims will survive interrogations with a Bloomberg reporter or a hostile board member, or a reference call to a customer. Claims can sit anywhere from “the result once worked in a lab experiment” to “the product performs reliably with customers, and economically at scale.” The claims might look similar in a headline, but critical eyes will know the difference. Ensure you know which one you are.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">I say this all with deep empathy for the teams who are responsible for executing it. Having played both sides, I know exactly what it feels like to attend to marketing when you are heads-down trying to ship the next milestone. It feels indulgent, like something real founders are supposed to be too busy for. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">But it is also wrong. The founders who treat communication as a discipline, with the same rigor they apply to their core road map, consistently get more shots in the goal than the ones who treat it as a side project or chore. Strong technical work gives you something worth saying, and building a brand helps the right people hear it.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>

2026/9/5

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