David Lidsky's Blog, page 202

How to spot bad tax advice

There’s no shortage of ambiguous, misleading, and downright wrong tax advice that could put you on the wrong side of an IRS auditor. Here’s how to recognize and avoid it.

Bad tax advice is not a new phenomenon. Years ago, I can remember hearing a small business owner explaining that making a single comment about his business before dessert allowed him to deduct a dinner out with his wife. According to his logic, his one-sentence remark about work made the meal a business expense.

Researchers calculated exactly how much employee burnout is costing companies per year—it’s staggering

A new study estimates that a worn-out worker’s lost productivity can add up to $21,000 per year.

Feeling burned out? It could be costing your company millions of dollars each year in lost productivity and employee turnover. A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine estimates that employee burnout in the U.S. costs somewhere between $4,000 and $21,000 per worker per year.

The silent strain tourism disproportionately has on women

Travel can be a force for good, but that requires focus beyond profit—prioritizing people and places.

The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more.

Invest in women or prepare to fall behind

As progress in gender equity stalls, the message of International Women’s Day is even more urgent. Here’s why supporting women’s advancement is a strategic decision that strengthens businesses.

I have spent my career watching companies make bold declarations about gender equality, only to see those promises fade when tested. Women are often spotlighted in recruitment campaigns but left behind in promotions, appointments, and development opportunities. Policies designed to level the playing field disappear without explanation, replaced with vague references to “merit,” “culture fit,” and the elusive “gravitas.”

44 housing markets where inventory has spiked, and homebuyers have gained power

Among the nation’s 200 largest housing markets, these 44 metro areas now have active inventory at or above 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

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Fired federal workers are dealing with backlash—from their own relatives

Expecting sympathy, some axed workers are finding family and friends who instead are steadfast in their support of what they see as a bloated government’s waste.

Scrambling to replace their health insurance and to find new work, some laid-off federal workers are running into another unexpected unpleasantry: relatives cheering their firing.

How one of Brooklyn’s most expensive neighborhoods became home base for the creative class

In the past two years alone, more than 40 architecture and creative firms have signed leases in Dumbo. That’s by design.

When international architecture firm Snøhetta found its Manhattan lease was coming up last year, a search kicked off for a new workspace. The firm, which had been located in New York City for 21 years, scoured neighborhoods near and far, such as the Brooklyn Navy Yards. 

How to come up with cash in a hurry

More than a third of Americans couldn’t come up with $400 in an emergency—and the difficulty of finding cash goes up with the dollar amount. Here are some ways to get money quickly that you probably haven’t thought of.

The 2001 Tilda Swinton film The Deep End features a scene that has stuck with me for nearly 25 years, even though I’ve forgotten almost everything else about the movie. Swinton’s character is being blackmailed for $50,000 and is given 24 hours to come up with the cash. Although her character is shown to live a comfortable, upper-middle-class life, she spends a stressful day on the phone trying to find the money—and she misses the deadline.

This secret site lets you try DeepSeek on a trustworthy U.S. server

Get your hands on the hypeworthy AI engine without sending a sliver of data to China—or dropping a single dime.

We need to talk about AI. Have you noticed it often just isn’t—well, very intelligent?

Golf industry tees up fight to keep daylight saving time

The move is intended to stave off efforts to establish permanent standard time, which would leave less time for an evening on the links.

Looking forward to more evening sunlight thanks to daylight saving time this weekend?