David Lidsky's Blog, page 77

How a C-Suite mom of three stays sane in the summer

The secret is calendar control and open communication.

As the school year winds down, many working parents face a seasonal challenge that’s as predictable as it is taxing: how to stay productive at work while managing the logistics, emotions, and expectations that come with kids being home for the summer. For parents in leadership roles, the stakes can feel even higher.

3 ways any leader can develop more empathy

Empathy isn’t an innate quality. It’s a skill that can be honed. And it’s not about being nice—it’s about being effective.

Sharon found me at the drinks event after my keynote, wine in hand with a hesitant smile. As a keynote speaker focused on empathy and leadership, I am often approached at the bar for tough conversations. “I was told by my boss to come to your talk,” she began, “because apparently I don’t have any empathy.” 

Why the AI pin won’t be the next iPhone

From poor ergonomics to sci-fi wishful thinking, the AI pin’s problems are less technical and more conceptual—and history shows we’ve been here before.

One of the most frequent questions I’ve been getting from business execs lately is whether the AI pin will become the next great tech device. After all, with OpenAI recently finalizing its acquisition of Io Products, the AI hardware design firm led by legendary former Apple designer Jony Ive, it looks like we’ll soon see the next great interface: a voice-activated, lapel-pin-size AI device that’s a successor to the smartphone. And won’t it be a better, calmer form of technology, they ask me, freeing us from having to stare at a small screen in our hands?

Microsoft will soon delete your Authenticator passwords. Here are 3 password manager alternatives

Microsoft Authenticator is about to go through a radical downgrade. You might need to prepare.

Users of Microsoft apps are having a rough year. First, in May, the Windows maker shut down the popular VOIP calling app, Skype, for good. Microsoft said it was done so that the company could focus on its latest communications app darling, Microsoft Teams.

Why pecan milk Is suddenly crushing it

Pecan milk—a newcomer to the the $20 billion alt-milk industry—is sustainable, nutritious, and tasty. It could even help bridge America’s political divide.

At a conference in 2019, Laura Shenkar buttonholed Greg Steltenpohl—the founder of Odwalla and then-CEO of Califia Farms—to offer the juice and alt-milk pioneer a few sustainability tips.

Why setting boundaries makes you more valuable at work

An executive coach explains how the most impactful leaders are the ones who are best at protecting their time.

Here’s a truth that will challenge everything you think you know about success: The most impactful leaders are also the most vigilant about protecting their time. While everyone else is drowning in back-to-back meetings and late-night email marathons, these executives have mastered the art of harmonious integration, strategically aligning their energy with what truly matters while gracefully declining what doesn’t serve their highest contribution.

How to harness your emotions to fuel creativity

A Yale researcher provides tips on how to maximize your creativity

Fast Company recently interviewed Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, a senior researcher at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, on what it means to lead a creative life. In this essay, she shares one of her top tips for fueling creativity.

Forget Botox! Scientists say tripping on mushrooms might keep you young

Mice treated with psilocybin lived longer and had healthier fur, fewer gray hairs, and more hair regrowth.

Tech execs love popping supplements and infusing themselves with “young plasma” to ward off Father Time. New research, however, shows that a substance that humans have been ingesting for a thousand years holds powerful antiaging effects.

Delta’s creative tariff dodge: Leave the fancy new jet, bring home the guts

With grounded planes needing engines, Delta is shipping them from Europe without paying import taxes.

While tariffs threaten to whittle away profits for many businesses, those costs aren’t subtle when they’re tacked onto the price tag of an airplane.

Meet Devin: Goldman Sachs’s new AI software engineer that never sleeps

The bank says AI coders will tackle tedious tasks so human engineers can focus on bigger problems.

An AI called Devin just landed a job on Wall Street.