Think back to the last time you had that “what the…?” moment when you were listening to someone explain concepts that were highly technical, detailed, or nuanced. You most likely experienced confusion, stupidity, or even anger. We have all been there. Conveying complex information in a clear, concise manner is a huge challenge for communicators of all stripes—scientists, technologists, business professionals, etc.

In order to make your complex information understandable for your audience, you first need to address some bad habits that get in the way.

When it comes to communicating, we tend to fall victim to two tendencies: We suffer from the “curse of knowledge,” and we explain things in ways that work best for us, not our audience.

The curse of knowledge (a term I first encountered in Dan and Chip Heath‘s great book Made to Stick) simply means we know too much about our topic. Therefore, we make assumptions about our audience’s knowledge and take shortcuts in our explanations or use jargon. Second, we tend to relay concepts to others in the manner we are most comfortable receiving information. This is to say that if we rely on data and detail to learn, we naturally tend to provide data and detail when we explain. These two communication habits serve to make it more difficult for our audiences to understand and learn from us.

Taking an audience-centric approach to your communication serves as the antidote to these two tendencies. Rather than start drafting your presentation, email, or meeting agenda by asking, “What do I want to say?” start by asking, “What does my audience need to hear?” In order to answer this, you must first think about what your audience knows and how they go about knowing. This reflection helps you to include information that you might have left out as well as to consider using different ways of explaining, such as stories, images, etc.

From your audience’s perspective, you need to consider ways to make your complex material more accessible. Below are six tools you can use to help your audience understand your complex concepts: Diagram, deconstruct, compare, picture, backward map, chunk.

See how we illustrate the steps in archery by using these tools below.

This article was originally published on Stanford Business and is republished here with permission.

Nobody wants another store designed for the ‘gram. Seriously, brands. Cut it out.

We don’t want more stores covered in kitschy wallpaper that is entirely designed to be a selfie backdrop. We were under the impression we were visiting a shop, not an oversized photo booth. We also don’t care for the third-rate art installation hanging in the middle of the room. No, if we wanted art, we would go to a real museum.

We’ll all remember 2018 as the year that visiting retail stores got downright nutty. Rather than focusing on the mainstays of shopping–products and customer experience–brands spent a lot of time making stores a kind of carnival funhouse, with plenty of opportunities for customers to get great photos for social media. In fact, many brands seemed inspired by pop-ups like the Museum of Ice Cream or Candy-Topia, which serve no purpose but to provide backdrops for selfies.

The problem with this “immersive and experiential retail”–to use industry jargon–is that it often has little to do with what a brand is actually selling. They can be fun, but they’re ultimately a superficial gimmick that does not make customers’ lives better in any way, besides giving them a good photo op.

In many ways, these experiences were a desperate effort to get the customer’s attention, and woo them into stores. For years, there has been a decline in foot traffic to brick-and-mortar stores, culminating in the retail apocalypse of 2017 when nearly 7,000 stores across the country closed. Industry analysts predicted that 2018 would be even more devastating for the retail sector. In response, many brands scrambled to get customers’ attention, throwing weird, whacky ideas against the wall, seeing which ones would stick. At first, these colorful stores were delightful and entertaining, but over time, as they became more common, they all began to blend together.

In 2019, we think it is time for some of the flashiest of these in-store experiences to die off. No more flower walls. No more random art hanging from the ceiling. Customers want a thoughtfully designed in-store experience. Winning brands will focus less on the superficial, eye-catching installations, and more on the parts of the store that actually address real needs. Take M.Gemi, for instance, where store attendants can pull out your online profile so they can instantly bring you styles and sizes that fit you. Or Everlane, where cashiers can log you into your digital profile and use the credit card you have on file.

The bottom line is this: Actually solving a customer’s problem, like saving them time and effort, is worth a lot more than a gimmicky flower wall. Here are the four retail trends that need to go away next year.

The Instagrammable pop-up

Listen, brands, we’re tired of Instagrammable pop-ups. For months, brands have tried to outdo one another with stores designed primarily to be photogenic. But these glorified photo booths are all beginning to blend together.

Take, for instance, Yankee Candle’s Candle Power pop-up in New York City, which opened a year ago. In a SoHo space, the brand opened what it described as a “multi-sensory experience” that involved a series of rooms that looked inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. One room had flowers the size of an adult human. Another was an upside-down living room, so you could take a picture that looked like you were falling from the sky. A few blocks away, eyewear brand Prive Reveau had launched a pop-up with an identical premise. It featured a series of backdrops: One looked like the inside of a subway, another looked like a graffiti-covered wall, and another featured a blue space with fake clouds hanging above.

What did any of this have to do with candles or eyewear, you ask? Great question. They seemed fun, but these experiences weren’t all that different from the many other Instagrammable pop-ups on the market now, including the Rose Mansion, and the Museum of Pizza. The pop-up didn’t help customers understand how the brand’s candles or eyewear are different from others on the market.

It’s not enough to simply get the customer’s attention: You need to say something meaningful about your brand and your products. Or even better: Go beyond storytelling. Instead, why don’t you create a product that actually improves people’s lives, and introduce customers to this product at your store?

The monochromatic store

One way that brands have tried to get customers’ attention in stores is by playing with color, which has led to the trend of the monochromatic store. COS, for instance, introduced a store that only featured nudes and grays. In Paris, a store called Le White is, as the name suggests, an entirely white store. Theory hired the design firm Nendo to create nine stores in different cities that are striking because of their grayscale color palette.

Makeup brand Glossier’s recent stores have been a study in millennial pink, which happens to be the color of its logo. Its San Francisco pop-up, at the well-known sandwich joint Rhea’s Cafe, featured an exterior painted pink, plus walls painted pink on the inside. Glossier products, whose packaging is largely pink, were sprinkled throughout.

While monochromatic stores give off a vibe of an elevated modern art gallery, they’ve become a tired cliché. What’s more problematic is that it is very easy for form to overtake function in a store like this. If customers come into the store with the goal of testing out a product they have seen online, they may find it hard to locate this item since the store isn’t organized according to product category, but rather by color.

Gimmicky “experiences”

These days, retail companies are trying to lure customers away from the comfort of shopping in their pajamas using “experiences”–preferably experiences that people will be compelled to post about on social media. The king of such experiences? The e-commerce mattress company Casper, which this year opened a nap bar called The Dreamery in SoHo. The conceit: You pay Casper $25 for a 45-minute nap in a Casper-branded space. On the one hand, you have to applaud the effort. At least Casper was encouraging customers to interact with Casper’s products, and the concept was 100% on brand. But it required too much effort (and money!) on the part of the consumer. You might do it once for the ‘gram, but for Casper, it’s hardly a sustainable retail model.

Calling stores anything other than stores

Nike’s new “House of Innovation”–a fancy new name for its global flagship stores–in New York might well be the future of retail. There’s a digital app that works seamlessly with the store, a speed shop where you can pick up clothes you reserved online without ever talking to anyone, and of course, hundreds of shoes.

But there’s also a lot of lingo to describe what’s fundamentally just a very large store. During a tour of the place, John Hoke, Nike’s head of design, described it as a plaza, a museum, a gallery, a carnival ride, and even likened it to the Agora in Greece. The ground floor of the store is literally called the arena. My favorite analogy? “I think retail in many ways . . . is the last great campfire,” Hoke says. “People are coming together to convene, it’s the idea of being online by yourself and then together with everyone else.”

Calling stores by anything other than a store is pure spin. It’s a trend others employ–Apple, most notably, refers to its stores as “town squares.” And it’s easy to speculate on why. The old retail typologies–malls, mom-and-pop shops–aren’t as stable as they once were, and retail designers are grasping for new metaphors. But a store is still a store. In 2019, this terrible jargon must die.

Earlier this week, the New York Times came out with a bombshell story about the user data it shared with other companies. Essentially, Facebook’s plan to scale was based on having companies integrate it into their own systems–and the payoff was that these other businesses would gain access to data.

It seems that every week or so there’s a new revelation about the way the social network has bungled user trust, but this one seemed more serious. This wasn’t a one-off deal, nor was it a security breach it could cover up–this was business as usual, which used user information as its currency. And even Wall Street has swiftly responded.

Over the course of yesterday, Facebook stock dropped over 7%. Now, in pre-market trading, the stock is still continuing to sink. In total, compared to Tuesday’s close, the company lost about $29.95 billion in its market capitalization.

Facebook’s stock has been on a downward trend for months now–following revelations about how Cambridge Analytica was able to hijack the platform and extract user data. It seems with every new headline, investor trust continues to sink. This latest instance, however, caused one of the bigger drops Facebook has seen this year.

At its peak this year, Facebook’s market capitalization hit almost $630 billion. Today, it’s at $382 billion, meaning the company’s value dropped by over $248 billion in the last six months.

What will it take for its performance to improve? Perhaps something that really shows that Facebook does value user trust–beyond apologizing and promising to do better. The company sure seems like it’s at a turning point, but it’s unclear if it will be able to make the necessary changes. If not, perhaps more stock drops are on the horizon.

Sometimes you just have to stop and think to yourself: “Am I just living in a really awful computer simulation?” That’s the only thing that comes to mind after learning about a new GoFundMe aimed to raise money to build that border wall between Mexico and the United States that President Donald Trump has so emphatically promised.

Trump has long said that Mexico would pay for the wall. Mexico has (rightfully) refused. Recently, Trump said that Mexico would indirectly be paying for the wall because of a new North American trade deal. This seemed like a suspect claim.

Now we have a GoFundMe for the wall, which seems like exactly what Trump would not want since he said taxpayers would not be paying for it. But, alas! This is the world we live in now!

This fundraiser is supposedly set up by a veteran named Brian Kolfage, who I guess really really wants a border wall–despite the fact that it will probably do nothing. Kolfage is hoping to raise $1 billion (ONE BILLION DOLLARS!!). So far he’s raised about $2.8 million. While that does sound like a lot of money, compared to the $1 billion (ONE BILLION DOLLARS!!) it’s a drop in the bucket.

There are many ironies to boot with this ordeal, but the most obvious one is that the one promise Trump made–that Americans wouldn’t pay for the wall–is being ignored and thrown to the very platform Americans turn to when they can’t access affordable healthcare.

People say that playing the lottery is a tax for people who can’t do math. Contributing to a GoFundMe to build the border wall may very well be a tax for people who don’t understand taxes and campaign promises.

It’s almost noon, and Loni Edwards’s client is drooling on the carpet in the lobby.

Chase, an 8-year-old pitbull mix, is large and stout, with a smooth, gray coat that makes him look more like a seal than a dog. He plops onto the carpet with a hmph, and glances slowly around the room. He’s quiet and laid back, with a disposition that makes his giant frame seem more dopey than intimidating. His tongue lolls out of his mouth, forming a sweet grin under his big, yellow-brown puppy dog eyes.

This dog’s a star. Or, at least, that’s what Edwards is betting on.

View this post on Instagram

kept it suuuuuper cool at the street festival today, so now that we’re home — BRING ON THE WEIRD. ⁣ ⁣ (???????? to everyone who came up to say hi!!! made our day!)

A post shared by Chase (@sometimescarl) on Sep 23, 2018 at 11:34am PDT

Edwards is the founder and CEO of The Dog Agency, a New York City-based management agency that caters exclusively to “pet influencers.” The popularity of pet accounts on social media has exploded in the last few years–particularly on Instagram, where #dogsofinstagram has more than 124 million posts and the most popular dog account, Jiff the Pomeranian, has more than twice as many followers as Hillary Clinton. Edwards’s 160 clients also include a few cats and monkeys, though her primary focus is still canines. She advises their “humans” on growth strategies and brand management, and books for paid posts, ad campaigns, and in-person appearances around the country.

“We help them think about how to grow their brands,” Edwards says from the midtown Manhattan WeWork she’s based out of. “We help them think about what makes sense for them to do next, whether it’s getting a book deal or starting a merchandise line.”

Edwards’s entry into the pet influencer world began in 2013, when she got a French bulldog named Chloe. At the time, the Harvard Law-graduate was running a fashion technology business in New York City, and got a dog to keep her company as she managed a hectic schedule. When she started posting Chloe’s photos on Instagram, she amassed tens of thousands of followers–and with them, offers to begin posting paid content.

“Chloe was getting all of these opportunities to work with brands, and I was meeting all these other pet influencers and their humans at events,” Edwards says. With her background in law, Edwards began advising other pet influencer owners on contracts as a favor. When a buyer expressed interest in her fashion technology company, she took the opportunity to make advising a full-time gig with The Dog Agency.

“There was no central hub pulling together this new pet influencer space,” she says. “Brands were sending direct messages to hundreds of pets and hearing back from a fraction of them. These humans a lot of times have full-time jobs, they’re not checking their dog’s email regularly. So there was a definitely a need to kind of pull everything together.”

Today, Edwards’s portfolio includes both superstar influencers–like @tunameltsmyheart, a chihuahua-dachsund mix with 2 million followers–and up-and-comers, like Chase, whose account @sometimescarl has a still-impressive 85,000-follower reach. Her clients have worked with plenty of pet supply companies on product placements and ads, but also book gigs with human brands like Dyson, the Ritz Carlton, and Ralph Lauren. 

Dogs are becoming more popular with advertisers, Edwards says, because they’re a safe alternative to controversy-prone humans. “Pets are universally loved, they make people happy,” she says. “And they’re safe. They’re not going to say politically charged things or get drunk at a party. So they have all the benefits of traditional, human influencers with all these extra plus factors.”

View this post on Instagram

All hail the weekend, I’m ready for a cab ????????????

A post shared by Sprout (@brussels.sprout) on Oct 19, 2018 at 2:51pm PDT

For her clients, Edwards is an essential go-between for managing their pets’ careers with their own. Sigrid Neilson, a corporate lawyer in New York City, says The Dog Agency has helped her dog, Sprout (@brussels.sprout, 115K followers), get work with companies including Facebook, Google Pixel, and Shutterfly over the past two years. “I have a full-time job, and the thought of how to try to manage all of that was really overwhelming to me,” Neilson says. “So working with Lonnie made a lot of sense, because they help take care of all of the logistics and make life so much easier.”

In order to be considered for The Dog Agency, Edwards requires influencers to have at least 50,000 followers on Instagram and good engagement on their posts. But beyond numbers, she says, an important part of her job is also vetting the human-pet relationships in potential clients. “[We have to] make sure that they’re in it for the right reasons, that they love their pet and they love that they’re able to spend this extra quality time with their pet,” Edwards says. “It’s more prevalent now than when I started the agency, but now that people know that you can make money from this, there are people trying to force their pet into this.”

That’s not surprising, when you hear Edwards’s estimates on how much money pet influencers can bring in: her average client, with 100,000-200,000 followers, can bring in “a couple thousands dollars per post,” while dogs with one million-plus followers can charge $10,000-16,000 per sponsored post.

View this post on Instagram

We are so grateful to @dawgpainter for painting our whole family! She has a true talent for capturing the personality and spirit of her subjects! We LOVE how bright and colorful they are too! And good news, she’s still taking holiday orders! #MervinTheChihuahua #LittlestJack #QuincyAndMagoo #MinnieTheMage #DawgPainter

A post shared by Mervin The Chihuahua™ (@mervinthechihuahua) on Nov 25, 2018 at 7:41am PST

But beyond Instagram, Edwards sees an even larger market for pets owners, influencers, and followers in the future. In 2017 she launched PetCon, a two-day conference that blends pet products and animal behavior informational sessions with meet-and-greets and panels featuring her most influential clients. For $75 a ticket (or $300 for all-weekend VIP access), attendees and their dogs could meet Edwards’s clients, take photos in brand-sponsored backdrops, shop high-end pet products and, hopefully, learn a trick or two for starting their own pet influencer channels. The 2018 convention took place at the Javits Center in New York City, and brought in a few thousand attendees. For 2019, Edwards has already added an L.A. convention, to reach pet lovers on the West Coast.

“People’s love of pets is not going anywhere, I actually see it expanding and growing,” Edwards says. “We’re going to see more companies in the travel space working with pets, because people don’t want to leave their pets at home. New fashion companies are popping up, because similarly people want their pets to be stylish, just like themselves. People want whatever they want for themselves for their pets.”

Including, it seems, their own influencers to make recommendations.

No matter how much you try to like people, there is always someone in your work life who annoys you. You see them coming down the hall and your skin crawls. Invariably, they say something that rubs you the wrong way, and you leave the interaction feeling justified that you dislike this person so much.

As it turns out, you may be creating your dislike for this person all by yourself.

Back in the 1970’s, Tory Higgins and his colleagues pointed out that most of the behaviors you observe in other people are ambiguous. Suppose you meet Donald and find out that he is very certain of his ability to perform well at work. Is he self-confident or conceited? How you interpret his behavior depends on what you think about him already. If you like him, then you admire him for his confidence. If you don’t, then you think he is a narcissistic jerk.

The first thing you have to realize is that your reaction to someone is self-fulfilling in some ways. If you don’t like someone, you will interpret their behaviors in a more negative light than if you like them. So, the very same behavior can be taken as evidence for why you should or shouldn’t like them depending on what you already believe.

Compounding this problem is our tendency to focus on a coherent story about people. So, when you don’t like someone, you emphasize their negative qualities and minimize their positive ones. Then, when you think about them, most of the information you have is consistent with your overall belief.

Tell yourself you like them

These two lines of work suggest that the first thing you need to do when you are faced with someone who bugs you is to think happy thoughts about them. Really, if you start your interaction with someone focusing on what a good person they probably are, you will be more likely to interpret what they do charitably and to focus on their desirable characteristics.

Of course, some people will still do things that bother you. Perhaps they complain all the time when you wish they would just find something nice to say. Or maybe they don’t participate in workplace events and seem aloof or superior to everyone else.

Focus on the situation

The next thing you should do is to focus on the situation rather than the person. At any given moment, a person’s actions are being driven by three factors: their deep-seated motivations (what we often call personality), their current goals, and the constraints of the situation. A colleague might drink the last cup of coffee in the kitchen without putting up a new pot because they are selfish (an aspect of personality), because they were rushing to bring that coffee to a supervisor (so, they were pursuing a particular goal), or because they were running late to an important meeting (an aspect of the situation).

Your general tendency is to assume that someone else takes the actions they do because of their traits. So, when you see someone do something that annoys you, you assume it is because they are a bad person.

Consider everything else

If you want to think differently about this person, ask yourself what other factors might have led to this behavior. Is there some goal they might have that would make this behavior sensible? Is there something you missed about the situation where you would do the same thing if you were in that situation? If so, then maybe what you witnessed was perfectly reasonable.

Finally, when all else fails, you want to be proactive. It turns out that you can also create negative interactions with people by your own interactions. You see someone who bothers you coming down the hallway, and your facial expression goes dark. You say a clipped “hello” and try to get away. The other person might have been in a perfectly good mood until they saw your stormy face, which then affected their own behavior.

Instead, take advantage of people’s natural tendency to mirror what you do when you interact with them. Give a big smile. Wave. Wish them a good day. Tell them a piece of good news. You just might find that the advice to “fake it ’til you make it” works for your social interactions as well.

Silicon Valley data agreements, Cambridge Analytica-like consultancies, surreptitious location-tracking apps, and just a flood of creepy advertising. You’re not being paranoid about online privacy if they really are out to get you. To keep you safe, Mozilla introduced a special privacy-first version of the Firefox browser, called Focus, for Android and iOS a few years ago. And today it gets significant upgrades–maintaining privacy protections while tuning down the usability compromises they had entailed.

Firefox Focus comes in a default mode with many privacy features turned up all the way. That includes blocking all trackers: Cookies (small data files) or code-laced ads that phone home with information such as sites you visit or how you navigate around those sites. The aggressive cookie blocking, however, can often cause glitches in how websites load and appear.

Mozilla has added fine-grained controls to limit the problem in its Android version of Focus. For reasons I’ll explain in a moment, it couldn’t do the same with the iOS app. But Mozilla adds other fixes that make browsing better on iOS: the ability to enable search suggestions and to autocomplete URLs as you type.

Big Android fixes

Let’s start with the Android upgrades, beginning with a quick refresher on cookies. These small data files, stored in web browsers, perform many useful functions. For instance, they may allow a website to “remember” you and your preferences by writing your username into the cookie, which it can read when you return to the site. But many cookies that a website drops into your browser come from third parties that may use them to store information about where you go around the web. Data brokers and social networks, for instance, can use these cookies to identify you across the web and build profiles on you, allowing, for instance, advertisers to deliver creepily specific offers.

Problem is, Focus originally blocked all these third-party cookies–including ones that don’t facilitate tracking. Pinterest, for example, is a third party that uses cookies to facilitate its clipping service, one that people voluntarily sign up for. Mozilla’s scorched-earth approach to third-party cookies, however, can often cause websites to malfunction. Sites like Facebook or Netflix may not allow people to even log in until they enable cookies.

Mozilla started working on this problem in the “desktop” (PC, Mac, and Linux) versions of Firefox, introducing what it called enhanced tracking protection as an experimental feature in August and adding it as an option in the standard (aka Release) version in October. Now the same capability comes to Android.

Related:If you care about your privacy, try these special versions of Firefox

Enhanced tracking protection allows the browser to recognize and block just the third-party cookies that communicate with sites known to engage in tracking, based on a list compiled by the privacy app company Disconnect. Other third-party cookies are left alone, reducing the chances of “breaking” a website on the browser. But if there are still problems, you can unblock all cookies on a site-by-site basis, by tapping on the address bar in Focus.

Why doesn’t the iOS version get this upgrade? Because Firefox is limited to the capabilities Apple provides. On Android (as well as desktops), Mozilla builds the underlying software, known as the engine, that powers the browser. On iOS, all web-enabled apps have to use Apple’s own engine, called WebKit.

WebKit can block all third-party cookies, so Firefox Focus for iOS enables that feature. But WebKit doesn’t allow the selective blocking that Mozilla’s engine does.

Another promising new feature in the Android web browser is a warning system for sketchy websites. When you type in a URL or click a link, the browser first checks it against a list, maintained by Google, of sites known for devious behavior like phishing scams and planting malware. (Here’s a rather technical explanation of how it works.) Both the Focus and standard version of Firefox for Android get this capability.

This feature being built on a Google service, it’s not surprising that Google’s Chrome browser has been providing unsafe site warnings for some time.

If a site’s on the list, you’ll get a warning screen providing the option to back away, or proceed at your own risk.

Related: 7 digital privacy tools you need to be using now

Upgrades on iOS

Though iOS prevents some upgrades, the Apple version of Focus does get two much-needed features that Android users got back in October. It now offers the option to provide search suggestions. As you start typing, “brad,” for instance, you’ll see a list of popular search terms, like “bradley cooper” and “brad pitt.”

The new version also offers to autocomplete URLs as you begin typing them in. This happens for 450 of the most popular sites, as determined by the web analytics company Alexa (Mozilla filters Alexa’s list to remove sketchy sites.) You can also add autocomplete for any other sites by tapping an option that appears below the address bar.

Both features can reveal some details of your surfing, but they are also handy time-savers.

Even the latest upgrades don’t protect your data from all the ways that companies and crooks try to spy on you around the web. And Mozilla is already working on more fixes for 2019. But today’s upgrades make guarding your privacy a little less cumbersome.

In 2015, a number of major companies jumped on the bandwagon to provide generous parental leave. Given that the United States–unlike the rest of the developed world–doesn’t have a federally mandated paid leave policy, this perk was seen by many as a way that companies compete for talent. And it’s not just for birth mothers. These generous policies include fathers, as well as adoptive parents.

Some companies believe that the benefits go beyond attracting talent. EY and American Express, for example, are of the view that instituting generous paternity leave policies can help increase the leadership pipeline for women in the company, and contribute to employee loyalty and retention in the long term. After all, women tend to be penalized for taking the time off to have children. When they come back, they might find themselves relegated to the “mommy track“–with very few paths to advancement and leadership roles, or punished for requesting flexible arrangements. This has caused many women to drop out of the workforce altogether.

But both companies acknowledge that to fix this issue, they have to go beyond introducing generous leave policies. They needed to make it culturally acceptable for both mothers and fathers to take that leave, and eliminate the stigma that often comes with new parents who choose to be absent from the office when their child is born. Both recently spoke to Fast Company and shared what they’re currently doing to get themselves closer to that goal.

The business case for paternity leave

Currently, EY offers 16 weeks of fully paid leave for its U.S. employees for both biological and adoptive parents. American Express offers 20 weeks for both mothers and fathers, with an additional six weeks for mothers who have given birth and require medical leave.

Both tell Fast Company that the introduction of that policy required them to present a “strong business case” to the top leaders of the company. “It was not as complicated as I would have thought,” says Karyn Twaronite, partner and EY’s global diversity & inclusiveness officer. EY surveyed 10,000 workers and found that millennials (who make up most of their workforce) were twice as likely to be in dual-income households. They also found that a significant percentage would leave the U.S. to go to another country with better parental leave policies. “Offering paid parental leave around the world had a more significant robust pipeline for women,” says Twaronite. “This would serve a number of problems, but it would serve as a business pipeline builder.”

American Express introduced their 20-week policy out of a survey that they conducted to determine what was important to their workforce. Out of all the initiatives they suggested, “This is the one that took off,” says David Kasiarz, executive vice president, global total rewards and medical at American Express. For Kasiarz, the main argument for introducing such a policy was that it would bring “greater loyalty to the company.” Like EY, American Express also found that for many of their younger workers, childcare is no longer the domain of just one parent. It wasn’t just women who were having conversations about children, says Kasiarz, “It’s men and women asking, What do you do when you think about having children? How do you ensure they’re healthy?” Kasiarz tells Fast Company.

On eliminating the stigma

Kasiarz and Twaronite both tell Fast Company that they knew it would take more than introducing the policy to make employees feel empowered to take advantage of it, and assuage any worries that doing so will negatively impact their careers. “People come to work with their own history, their own preconceived notions,” admits Twaronite. One of the skepticisms that she heard when EY introduced the policy was that fathers were less likely to take leave, let alone the full 16 weeks. She didn’t find this to be the case. Instead, she is seeing the number of fathers taking advantage of the leave grow every year. “Dads want it, dads are taking it.”

But Twaronite knew that even relying on those numbers weren’t enough. She needed to get the leaders to endorse the policy and also take the leave themselves. “We have a daily news alert, which we share around the world or locally, where . . . we talk about a story,” Twaronite says. That might include stories of a dad that had twins, took his full leave, and was still promoted to partner. She tells Fast Company that one of the turning points was when EY’s global chairman and CEO, Mark Weinberger, told an audience of EY employees in China that he would have to skip a banquet dinner because he wanted to fly home for his daughter’s driving test. “It’s funny, no one remembered his 90-minute speech,” says Twaronite, but many remembered the fact that he cut his trip short to be home for his daughter. 

Twaronite believes it’s these kinds of moments that can shift an employee’s perception about what taking leave means for their careers. “If dads, like moms, take leave, it becomes a no-brainer. It doesn’t become a stigma, that they don’t care about their work, it just becomes . . . a stage in someone’s life.” 

Kasiarz shares the same sentiment, and says American Express had to be aggressive about “sending signals of promoting women when they’re on leave and not slowing down the process.” He acknowledges that they still have a long way to go when it comes to eliminating the stigma for men, but that they’re making progress by actively acknowledging that work-life balance and parenting is just as much of a man’s issue.

The business realities of parental leave

When American Express introduced their 20-week parental leave, Kasiarz also realized that in addition to eliminating the stigma, the company needed to think about making arrangements once the person comes back from leave, and what would happen to the work while they were away. “We needed to make sure that people who were picking up the work were part of the discussion,” says Kasiarz.

He acknowledges that introducing the policy requires upfront investment, and the benefits don’t come immediately. As Lydia Dishman previously reported for Fast Company, introducing parental leave often requires companies to shoulder some financial burden. These include hiring a temp, a potential decrease in productivity, and also the cost of paying the benefits while the employee is out on leave. Yet Kasiarz points out that the cost of not doing it are even greater. “I think it’s a necessity that the company has to do something,” he says. “Because if they don’t . . . they’re not going to get the people that they want.”

Twaronite also admits that in the world of professional services, balancing client expectations and allowing for paid parental leave can be difficult. Technology, she says, has made it possible for clients to reach EY’s employees 24/7, and keep people tethered to their phones. On the other hand, “[This is also] a good thing because you have more flexibility with when and where to meet their needs,” Twaronite says. “We’re able to meet this because of the team dynamics. I think it will be complicated when you have a small consulting shop or financial services shop,” she acknowledges.

Parental leave and gender equality as a whole

Both American Express and EY believe that there’s a strong business rationale for introducing generous paid leave policy. After all, the financial benefits of having a diverse and heterogeneous workforce is well-documented, and doing that starts with attracting those candidates in the first place.

But can boosting gender equality in the workplace translate to gender equality as a whole? After all, a study set to publish in Gender and Society, as reported by the New York Times, found that while many Americans believe in egalitarian ideals in the workplace, not as many believe in equal roles for men and women when it comes to the domestic realm.

Myra Strober, a professor emerita at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and author of Sharing the Work: What My Family and Career Taught Me About Breaking Through (and Holding the Door Open for Others), tells Fast Company that while she believes introducing parental leave policy can improve equality in the workplace, translating that beyond office walls requires a much bigger cultural transformation–one that requires policy change at the federal level so that companies have a mandate to organize a workforce that’s not hostile to working parents. Without that kind of institutional support in place, it’s difficult to achieve large-scale changes in equality.

But Mary Pharris, director of business development and partnerships at Fairygodboss, is optimistic. While companies might not be federally mandated to provide these generous policies, like Kasiarz, she believes that more companies have no choice but to introduce family-friendly benefits. As more employees expect a family-friendly culture, companies will find that they have no choice but to create that kind of environment to retain the top talent.

Equality at home aside, both Kasiarz and Twaronite acknowledge that they still have a long way to go to achieve full equality at work. At American Express, Kasiarz says that while they’re seeing progress, he expects that the big changes will come steadily and slowly.

Talking about how the policy has impacted the number of women leaders in the company, he says, “I don’t think you’re going to see a significant difference yet. I think over the course of time, you’re going to see increases. I would say we’re pretty comfortable that it is adding women to the pipeline. We’ve promoted women who have been out on leave or are about to go on leave . . . Culture change takes time.” 

It’s become a fact of our sad, meaningless lives that Amazon is big. The $810 billion e-commerce giant is taking over our world in almost every capacity. It’s both extremely visible and disturbingly invisible, building new headquarters in U.S. metropolises, amassing unprecedented tax benefits, buying up more companies in nearly every industry, and commanding an ever-larger share of online sales. For conscientious consumers, now may be the time to start thinking about ways to resist.

There are more than a few reasons why people should consider halting their Amazon use, beyond its sheer immensity. For instance, the company has a notably poor record when it comes to its warehouse conditions, and these warehouses are becoming more prevalent as Jeff Bezos expands his domain. The founder himself is one of the richest people in the world, and as his company rakes in profits, it has been squeezing smaller entities out of business. The Amazon playbook is to extract as much labor out of its workforce for as little money as possible through technology and automation. Meanwhile, small businesses continue to flounder as a result of its domination.

The only real way to fight back is with your wallet, but for such a large company, it may feel impossible. Here’s our guide for beginning the journey to boycotting Amazon:

That one simple thing…

First, let’s get to the easy stuff. If you want to live the Amazon-free life, the first step is … not shopping at Amazon! Get rid of your Amazon Prime account. Don’t shop on the website. While we’re at it, stop using Amazon products like Echo. Voila!

The best alternative is shopping local. I know this sounds trite, but it’s also true. Shopping from smaller shops will probably be more expensive than Amazon’s low prices–but if you’re able to shell out a few extra bucks, it’s definitely worth it. Go to a local bookstore. Brick-mortar retail stores are dying out, so if there’s a small one near you, why not support it?

If you need to shop online, maybe try the website of your favorite local store, or even eBay or Etsy, which will also support individual merchants. You may be tempted to look toward other bigger platforms like Jet, which is owned by Walmart, and while it’s not Amazon, it’s not much better, either. Target is another viable option, although it, too, is a big corporation, albeit a less ubiquitous one than the Amazon behemoth.

The ethics of shopping online can be challenging, especially since Amazon secretly owns a lot of companies you may not even know it owns. If you’re serious about going Amazon-free, here’s a list of Amazon subsidiaries to avoid.

• AWS Elemental
• AbeBooks
• Alexa Internet
• Audible
• Blink Home
• Brilliance Audio
• ComiXology
• CreateSpace
• Diapers.com
• Double Helix Games
• Evi
• Fabric.com
• GoodReads
• IMDb
• Junglee
• Mobipocket
• Ring
• Shelfari
• Shopbob
• Souq(dot)com
• TenMarks Education
• Twitch
• Whole Foods
• Woot
• Zappos

Watch what you watch

Entertainment is another growing area for Amazon, and there’s only one way to avoid it: Stop watching Amazon Prime Video. This means no The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Transparent, or Homecoming. You’ll have to make do with streaming services like Netflix and Hulu (and soon Disney).

Amazon also owns IMDb, which is the go-to source for film industry information. You could also stop using that, although this might prove difficult if you work in the movie business. If you’re a filmmaker, you should also know that Amazon owns Withoutabox, the movie-submission platform.

Look at the politics

Another way Amazon is growing its clout is in the political realm. As it builds new headquarters and expands its operations, it often tries to curry favor with local lawmakers. There are a few reasons for this. One, the company is trying to pave the way for favorable legislation, but it’s also hoping to accrue new clients.

Stacy Mitchell, a co-director at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), explained to me via email that many local governments are now signing large contracts with Amazon for office and classroom supplies. The ILSR investigated the contract that Amazon signs with local communities and found that it “lacks standard safeguards to protect public dollars, and it puts cities and schools at significant risk of paying more.”

“When cities shop with Amazon, they are, in many cases, undermining their own tax base by shifting their spending away from local companies that create jobs and pay taxes locally,” Mitchell explains. She also recommends people contact local and state governments to urge them to rethink their business dealings with the company.

I reached out to Amazon about these criticisms. The company provided me with the following statement regarding the ILSR report:

In September of 2016, Prince William County Public Schools issued a formal request for proposals (RFP), subject to full and open competition, for an online marketplace covering ten purchase categories. Amazon Business was one of 12 suppliers that responded and, after formal evaluation, which included performance and cost criteria, we were awarded the contract. As a result, we signed a multi-year contract whereby U.S. Communities-participating agencies can now take advantage of Amazon Business’ dynamic marketplace pricing, helping to ensure competitiveness and best-value pricing for education and public sector organizations.

The competitively-solicited contract helps education and public sector organizations purchase directly from the Amazon Business marketplace, which includes small, local and socio-economically diverse businesses. More than 90,000 public sector organizations, from individual schools to school districts to higher education institutions across the nation, can now access multiple purchasing categories in an online marketplace, as well as be confident that they are receiving dynamic and competitive pricing. We have seen great progress to date and look forward to continuing to work with Prince William County Public Schools and U.S. Communities.

Going beyond commerce

Now let’s get to the harder stuff. One of Amazon’s burgeoning businesses is digital advertising. Though it’s still a drop in the bucket compared to Google and Facebook, this segment of Amazon’s business is growing larger and larger every year. And the company has been known to advertise on some questionable properties–which has led to calls for boycotts. You can read up on movements like Sleeping Giants that have tried to make people aware of Amazon’s advertising program.

If you still have your Amazon account, try to limit the amount of data the company collects from you. You can go to your advertising preferences and choose to not receive personalized ads. While this won’t stop the company from placing digital ads in front of you, it will mean it isn’t using your online history to power its advertising engine.

Meanwhile, you can stop the company from tracking your browsing by clicking “browsing history” at the top bar, “Manage history,” and then turning browsing history to the “off” mode. These are all small steps, which ironically involve you having an Amazon account in the first place, but they limit the amount of data the company can use to further its advertising ambitions. Your data is every tech company’s currency, and your best defense is to limit the amount they have.

Facing the dark cloud

Finally, we have the toughest cookie to crack: Amazon Web Services. While Amazon is known for e-commerce, one of the ways it’s been able to make so much money is by secretly underpinning much of the web through its hosting services. In Q3 of 2018, AWS earned $6.68 billion of revenue, which accounted for 56% of Amazon’s entire operating income. As the company hosts more sites, the more ubiquitous and powerful the entire business becomes. Many competitors are realizing this threat and have decided to use other hosting services, but that hasn’t stopped this segment from growing. (And boy is it growing!)

One easy way to fight this is to stop hosting your websites on AWS. It’s as simple as that. Another extreme measure you can take is not visit AWS-powered sites. This is actually possible, as it turns out: One enterprising person built a helpful script–it’s a bit technical, but you can find the instructions here. When implemented, it makes it impossible to visit any AWS site, although a word to the wise, doing this will significantly handicap your web viewing experience. Indeed, services and apps including Netflix, Spotify, Reddit, and even this article here are hosted on Amazon’s servers.

The bottom line

Of course, it’s true that an Amazon boycott very likely won’t accomplish much. The company is so vast–and has become so engrained in our culture–that it’s nigh impossible for a critical enough mass to make a real dent. Still, decoupling your relationship with Amazon any way possible helps you, at the very least, become a more conscious consumer. Amazon’s business imperative is to make everything frictionless and easy–it wants there to be no choice but the cheap Amazon products right in front of you with the click of a button; it wants all consumption to be powered by its own engines.

Think about Amazon Go, the company’s cashier-less stores that are slowly expanding to cities around the United States. Here is a very blatant example of Jeff Bezos’s aspirations. He wants consumers to go into a store, see an item they like, and then pick it up and leave without even thinking of it like a purchase. He also wants to erase the need for human labor like cashiers. By creating even a mental distance from this dystopia, you are fighting the future the company is slowly building.

Currently, there are legal movements to define and limit Amazon’s conquest. One scholar named Lina Khan wrote a paper about the company’s antitrust leanings, and how current legal frameworks aren’t adequate to address the threat posed by Amazon’s size and dominance. She’s now advising various politicians and organizations about how to prevent Amazon from becoming over-encompassing. Meanwhile, the company has an uphill regulatory battle in Europe, which already implements much stricter antitrust laws.

Put together, there is a growing movement to quell Amazon’s recalcitrant growth. It may seem like an un-winnable battle, but if Amazon’s size concerns you, the only way to go forward in the coming year is to be both informed and intentional. And those are two words that go against Amazon’s business strategy.

When interior designer Christina Higham found her first client via Instagram, she knew she was onto something. Higham, the owner San Francisco-based Sun Soul Style, cut her professional teeth in tech as a marketing and PR executive for a mobile advertising startup called Fetch. That experience keyed her into the potential of a platform like Instagram as a business tool, but it wasn’t until years later that she saw what the app could do for her own pursuits.

The customer in question was looking at a sconce on West Elm’s website. It was the sort innocuous clicking around that we all do on home furnishing sites, imagining how that coffee table from CB2 or that funky chair from Ikea would look in that vacant spot in the living room. Interior design is a nearly $10 billion business, and advertiser spending on Instagram is set to hit nearly $7B, up from $3.64B in 2017. Design companies also know they have a captive audience, and have concentrated on growing their follower counts as a play for direct advertising. West Elm has 1.8M followers, Ikea has 1.7M, Crate and Barrel 1.3M. They all know social media is another lever to pull when it comes to transforming browsers into buyers, and they’re doing what they can to ratchet up those conversion numbers.

View this post on Instagram

This ones for all you punks out there ???????? | designed for @sonderstays in San Francisco | ????: @carolvaziri

A post shared by Christina Higham (@sun.soul.style) on Aug 8, 2017 at 8:06am PDT

But back to the sconces. Like a lot of brands, West Elm provides a feed of people who have tagged given items on Instagram so you can see how they look in real people’s homes rather than in the well-manicured, perfectly lit ersatz homes of West Elm’s photo studio.

One of those tagged photos was from Higham, who had bought the same sconce months earlier. Higham was working as a professional designer, but her clients had come from word of mouth–this was the first time someone had reached out via Instagram.”It was just someone local who said, ‘Oh, this girl is in San Francisco, I really like her style.’ And that’s how we started working together,” Higham told Fast Company over the phone from her offices in San Francisco. “It wasn’t a huge project, but it felt really good. I was like, wow, tagging and doing all this social media—there’s a real benefit to this.”

In the years since, Instagram has become a central part in how Higham finds clients and builds her brand. She estimates that 40% of her business comes from Instagram, and says that the social media platform serves as a way to centralize her archive and inspirations, and showcase her evolution as a designer.

“It’s democratized design in a way,” Higham said. “It’s made people feel that anyone can be a designer because they have all of these things at their fingertips.”

View this post on Instagram

This all black beauty is just what the dr. Ordered on this spooky Friday night!! Nice job @william_mclure it’s a real stunner!! // image via @themarynofficial ???? @martaxperez //

A post shared by Amber Lewis (@amberinteriors) on Oct 19, 2018 at 5:16pm PDT

You’d be hard-pressed to find a tool more suited for interior design than the 8-year old photo- and video-sharing platform. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, images are the point of Instagram. Snapchat is purposefully ephemeral, making it ill-equipped for displaying an archive or exhibiting professional growth. Pinterest is too scattered, Tumblr too lovably weird for the average suburbanite looking for a nice sofa or side table.

Instagram has altered the velocity and business of interior design, and our living rooms will never be the same. What that means for the business is still up for debate. The platform is rife with plagiarism and IP issues, and accusations of straight-up copycatting are rampant. It’s also created a mad dash for consumer eyeballs, with companies churning out designs that are so invariably similar they border on parody. Still, in a few short years, Instagram has created a generation of designers that have access to millions of potential clients with a few clicks, and broken down the barriers of an industry formerly dominated by haughty tastemakers.

Years ago young designers would have to spend time working in one of the grand old houses of interior design like Colefax and Fowler or Dedar Milano before striking out on their own. Developing client bases was done by word of mouth or reputation, and trends were defined from the top down from the doyens of interiors like Sister Parish and Albert Hadley, whose tastes were championed by powerful editors at Vogue, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar. Those trends that were formerly measured in decades now change with the seasons, and that acceleration has created an aesthetic tinged with circular logic: People like the things they see on Instagram, and they’re on Instagram because people like them.

View this post on Instagram

working through construction estimates for #samuelfamilyfixer and making some design changes because my dreams are a bit bigger than our pocketbook (aren’t they always ????????‍♀️). one thing for sure is I’m still not over @mandymooremm’s master bath and maybe that is because mine currently has blue shag carpeting, acid yellow walls and mirrors that I have to crouch to see my face in ????????‍♀️. I love the @hudsonvalleylighting sconces we put in hers and really can’t wait to use their lighting in our #samuelfamilyfixer. ????????#hudsonvalleylighting #sssinteriors . . Interior Architecture by @emilyfarnhamarchitecture Interior Design by @sarahshermansamuel Photography by @tessaneustadt Built by @bronstruction

A post shared by Sarah Sherman Samuel (@sarahshermansamuel) on Nov 5, 2018 at 4:20pm PST

“These trends definitely move faster than they used to,” says Erik Herrmann, an assistant professor at Ohio State’s Knowlton School of Architecture. Along with his wife and fellow professor at Knowlton, Ashley Bigham, Herrmann is a co-director of the architecture firm Outpost Office, and uses Instagram for business development and to exhibit new work, as well as in the classroom as a pedagogical tool. “There’s a genre of work that feels a little bit like the WeWork aesthetic, and projects that are premised on the idea that they’re trying to draw people in to generate their own Instagram content,” Herrmann says.

Before the calendar turned over to a new millennium, each decade of American design could be easily identified. The ’70s had funky Scandinavian couches and buffets, the ’80s were defined by plexiglass and pastels. The ’90s were bland by comparison, defined by sponge-textured walls and pine-covered kitchens. Fast–forward to the last half of the 2010s, and in the last few years alone we’ve gone from the moody tones of industrial chic to pastel-hued minimalism to neon maximalism.

View this post on Instagram

Fin!…a mock-up for stage II of the Design Center in a Box competition in Detroit. • • • • #outpostoffice #architecture #designer #architect #knowltonschool #critday #imadethat #next_top_architects #nexttoparchitects #nextarch #superarchitects @critday @imadethat_ @next_top_architects @superarchitects @suckerpunchdaily @archdaily @dezeen @architizer @thearchiologist @designmilk @the_b.n.a @koozarch

A post shared by Outpost Office (@outpostoffice) on Aug 1, 2018 at 3:55pm PDT

The acceleration and saturation of trends isn’t the only development Instagram has ushered in; it’s also speeding up consumption of design. Herrmann and Bigham have seen firsthand how the platform has influenced their incoming students, from the way they understand their own work to how they source inspiration. They encourage their students to use Instagram to keep up with design and architecture trends, and have even taken to helping pupils create a curated feed so they can use the platform to engage with architecture the same way they engage with their friends’ photos of parties and football games. “We’re always challenging our students to think critically about their own work and understand it as a complete project, which is much deeper than what you would get looking at an image for a few seconds,” Bigham tells Fast Company from Columbus. “We want the project to survive that quick viewing.”

Those issues with consumption extend to consumer habits as well. Kyle Chayka, a journalist who has written extensively about design trends, wrote about the flattening of taste in his seminal 2016 Welcome to AirSpace and thinks that the surge of Instagram-oriented design creates hyperactive cycles of taste. “People get overexposed instantly,” he tells Fast Company. “It’s as if we’ve gone from overall styles to memes of interior decorating. You have these quirks that are meant to be specific but they end up being the opposite. The incentive is to show what everyone is expecting.”

Chayka, who is currently writing book about design minimalism, also sees Instagram creating a market for designers that moves at breakneck speed. “There’s this real-time war to expose yourself fast and wide,” he says, referring to the bombardment of ads for couches and beds users receive on the platform. “It doesn’t make me think of these things as living pieces. It’s about affordability and instant delivery more than it is about originality.”

Democratizing design comes with some unique pitfalls. Interior design is, of course, a professional discipline with long-standing conventions. People spend years studying space, color, and psychology to understand how rooms come together and how to interpret the willfully obtuse whims of clients. And, just like every other industry, some designers are better than others. But because policing of image attribution on Instagram is often left to mob justice, sometimes you don’t know whether the majestically appointed room you’re looking at was posted by a designer or a designfluencer.

Theft is an issue endemic to the influencer economy, and interior design isn’t any different. Natalie Myers, the principal of L.A.-based Veneer Designs, says she’s seen designers post other people’s work on Instagram with attribution.

“Some designers don’t make it clear that it’s not their own work,” she tells Fast Company in a phone conversation. “It’s an easy and lazy way to do things and, why, because you get 10 more followers that day?”

View this post on Instagram

Alec got the day off from work to mourn President Bush. Can you believe it? He took up school drop off and party supply shopping duties. T minus 3 days before we host our neighborhood progressive dinner for 100 people. Eeep. The dining room will be looking fine but what about the menu??? ???? by @iamdearsparrow . . . . . #ourbedfordhome #interiordesign #veneerdesigns #californiacool #interiordesigner #californiadesigner #organicmoderndesign #sodomino #midcenturymodern #interiorstyling #californiadesign #midcenturyrenovation #currentdesignsituation #modernboho #makehomematter #thatsdarling #makehomeyours #pursuepretty #mymidcenturymix #finditstyleit #designedbyme #pocketofmyhome #flashesofdelight #californiacooldesign #midcenturyremodel #currenthomeview #cornerofmyhome #myhousebeautiful #diningroomdecor #mylampsplus

A post shared by Natalie Myers (@nataliemyers) on Dec 5, 2018 at 8:30am PST

There’s no law against omission or plagiarism, but it’s forced professionals to patrol the platform in order to ensure their work is being properly credited and calling out those who are pilfering posts. But the truth is that most folks scrolling through Instagram’s endless feed don’t really care where the picture came from as long as it looks nice.

That’s led to rifts between designers like Myers–she estimates about 60% of her business comes from clients finding her on Instagram–and those who are talented at social media. “The market has gotten really crowded because of the rise of the hashtag influencer,” Myers said. “It’s getting saturated and it’s getting cheesy. There’s this whole downmarket of the industry and it’s gross.”

But neither Myers or Higham are planning on leaving the platform anytime soon. Both designers told Fast Company that they’ve met friends and expanded their network through Instagram, and it remains too vital and too entrenched as a business development tool for either of them to ditch it. The issues they’re facing aren’t unique to interior design, either. Fashion has seen several instances of Instagram-enabled rip-offs, with designers like Aurora James and Philip Lim accusing fast-fashion stores of stealing designs. The fine art world was shaken when Richard Prince sold photos taken from his Instagram feed for as much as $100K in 2015; the fiasco launched a heated debate about the limits of appropriation in the age of social media.

The debate over ownership in the age of social media won’t disappear anytime soon. Neither will the question of whether or not consumers care about the authenticity of the design they double tap.

Entrepreneur Tristan Walker founded Walker & Company in 2013 with a mission to create health and beauty products for people of color. Earlier this month, it was announced that Procter & Gamble was acquiring the company for an undisclosed sum. That doesn’t mean Walker is retiring anytime soon, though. In fact, Walker may be busier than ever as he takes the reins as CEO of the newly wholly owned subsidiary, growing his men’s shaving brand, Bevel, and his women’s hair care brand, Form.

Here, Walker reveals his tips and tools for getting the most out of every day.

What classic product do you believe nobody’s ever improved on? 

The safety razor! Get a Bevel.

My Peloton bike. The bike has completely changed my lifestyle for the better. Peloton conveniently delivers amazing content that inspires me to work out (almost) every day. Even though we ride the bike at home, I feel connected to a large, inspiring, and supportive community of people who have a strong desire to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Sonos + Spotify/Tidal. I love music, and I love playing music loudly. Between my office and my home, I use about 12 Sonos devices I’ve collected over the years.

View this post on Instagram

HARIBO: the sweetest gift to give!

A post shared by Haribo USA (@haribousa) on Sep 5, 2017 at 9:06am PDT

What’s your necessary vice?

Haribo Gummi Bears are life.

What’s your Off Switch?

I love reading. I’d say it’s my On Switch too. Novels, poetry, plays, anything I can get my hands on. I try to read up to an hour or two before bed.

What books are on your nightstand?

Robert MacFarlane’s Landmarks: A fun book giving power to what he calls “the literature of nature,” the power of words to shape one’s own vision of the world. It’s a beautiful book.

Samuel Kirkham’s Kirkham’s Grammar: A favorite book, which many people say helped shape Abraham Lincoln’s prose. This book is a fun treatise on the science of language. I have a copy that was published in 1811, and I’ve carried it with my everywhere I’ve gone throughout the past year.

Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration: This book chronicles and contextualizes the 20th century Black American refugee crisis in the United States, it’s incredible.

The Complete Histories of Polybius: Polybius details events during the 53 years in which ancient Rome became a dominant world power. His writing style is succinct, direct, and honest. It’s great.

The Bible: My sustenance. Every day.

Live Nation is getting a new board member, Maverick Carter, who will join Beats founder Jimmy Iovine and uber-agent Ari Emanuel on the board of directors as they help guide the growth and evolution of the events promoter and talent group.

Carter is a natural fit for the entertainment giant. He has been running SpringHill Entertainment with his childhood friend LeBron James (maybe you’ve heard of him?) since 2008, where they have helped bring a slate of film and television projects to life, including the HBO series The Shop and the forthcoming Ryan Coogler-directed Space Jam sequel. Carter also serves as the CEO of the other two companies he and James cofounded, Uninterrupted, a digital multi-media platform for athletes, and the integrated marketing agency The Robot Company.

If those obligations didn’t keep him busy enough, he also watches over the LRMR Ventures holding company that oversees the duo’s investments and assets, and helps guide James’s expansive, diverse career off the court, which runs the gamut from entertainment to content creation to marketing and business development, including working with Nike to create one of the most successful shoe lines in the company’s history. In short, he is bringing a lot of experience to the Live Nation board.

“I’m incredibly proud of Maverick for earning such a prestigious appointment, but it should not be a surprise to anybody,” James tells Fast Company. “Live Nation is all about the talent and how to support the artists. There isn’t anyone today who understands the business of talent and the importance of empowerment better than Maverick Carter.”

“At the core we are an artist- and talent-based business who helps artists onstage and off, grow their business,” says Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment. “Someone like Maverick Carter who has worked with one of the greatest talents in sports history, LeBron James, understands the complexity of dealing with an artist, finding them new ways to create revenue, and bringing their story to life. We look to Maverick as we continue evolving our artist-centric strategy.”

“We just think he is a great addition that brings new energy,” adds Rapino.

For his part, Carter says he is honored to be joining the board. He has worked with Rapino, Emanuel, and Iovine for at least a decade and is looking forward to bringing his talent for understanding, well, talent to help “grow an already big company, and help them keep growing it.”

Shopping for a new high-tech gift for the child in your life this holiday season? It’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the options. Bright boxes, colorful apps and cute plastic robots will promise that learning outcomes will improve if your child plays with x, y or z.

You might be tempted to believe them. Maybe if your child plays with that robot, she’ll learn to code. Maybe if he plays with that computer game or that app, he’ll improve his literacy and math skills.

If you like technology, you probably think it’s a good thing for children to be exposed to it at an early age. After all, studies show that by fifth grade, stereotypes regarding who is good at math and science, technology and engineering are already formed.

It’s important to get in there early to counter the formation of these stereotypes, by piquing everyone’s interest when they are young. That way doors aren’t preemptively closed for them later on, when choosing a field of study or a profession.

But it’s confusing to browse all the tech toys on the market, looking for one that will support a child’s budding STEM knowledge. I coined the metaphor of “playgrounds versus playpens” as a way to understand the best developmentally appropriate experiences with technology. As new gadgets, robots, apps and games are commercially released, going back to this metaphor can guide you beyond the bells and whistles to focus on how a tech toy may support learning and development.

Cozy coddling or exhilarating exploration

Now, think of a playpen. These safe, confined spaces are in stark contrast with playgrounds. The playpen conveys a lack of freedom to experiment, lack of autonomy for exploration, lack of creative opportunities and lack of risks. It’s a place where a child can be stowed to pass the time.

While playgrounds are open-ended, playpens are limited. The playground promotes while the playpen hinders important aspects of human development.

Unfortunately, from a developmental perspective, many of today’s technologies for young children are playpens and not playgrounds.

Of course, computer games, like playpens, deprive children of physical activity. But the metaphor goes further than that. Some computer games are marketed as educational because they promote academic skills and teach about shapes, colors, letters, sounds and numbers. Most software provides tasks with right and wrong answers and thus doesn’t encourage problem solving and logical thinking or exploration and creativity. Most robots provide prepackaged challenges for children to complete, and in the process, learn to code. These are all examples of high-tech playpens–they’re limited and do not tap into many important dimensions of healthy positive development in children.

Six C’s to look for

Over two decades of research, I’ve developed a theoretical framework called Positive Technological Development to guide parents, educators and researchers in distinguishing high-tech playgrounds from playpens.

This framework focuses on six positive behaviors that can be promoted through the use of technological playgrounds. These behaviors involve:

• content creation
• creativity
• choices of conduct
• communication
• collaboration
• community building

These six C’s can be fostered in real-world playgrounds and can also be supported by robotic platforms, virtual worlds, programming languages, apps, games and storytelling systems for children.

But it’s not enough to read the label on the box. It’s important to understand the kind of experiences children will have when interacting with the technology.

Marina Umaschi Bers is a Professor of Child Study and Human Development and Adjunct Professor of Computer Sciences at Tufts University. This post originally appeared on The Conversation. 

Maybe being better at your job, or getting a promotion, or even switching careers is on your list of resolutions for 2019. Or maybe you just want to be more competitive or expand your thinking. Whatever your motivation, why not use these last few days of the year to read one of our picks for the best books on work life and business for 2018? Then, start 2019 off with a renewed inspiration.

Can You Learn to Be Lucky? Why Some People Seem to Win More Often Than Others by Karla Starr

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity,” according to Roman philosopher Seneca. Journalist Karla Starr takes the investigation of “luck” one step further, by examining whether or not people can cultivate these opportunities they’ve worked so hard to prepare for. Starr investigates all the unintentional ways that humans self-defeat, like being overly focused on a specific opportunity, and overlooking better ones as a result. Through interviews, scientific research, and Starr’s personal experience, she concludes, “I discovered not only that many ‘random’ outcomes do have predictable causes, but that we can prepare for these and nudge the system toward our favor. I learned that getting the luck of an unplannable collision depended on how willing I was to put myself in a place where those encounters were more likely to happen.”

My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired by Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander

Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, what you do when you wake up can set the tone for your day. As Spall and Xander wrote, “It’s difficult to have a good day without starting your morning with intention. Your mornings are a blank state, an opportunity to start again.” Everyone’s needs and lifestyles are different, and their morning routines should reflect that. Rather than give a prescriptive approach, this book examines the morning habits of successful people across various disciplines–from Olympic medalists, professors, and entrepreneurs. Whether you are looking to adopt a morning workout routine, or for ideas on how to make your mornings a little less hectic as a working parent, there are plenty of ideas on how to craft the right routine for yourself.

Imagine It Forward: Courage, Creativity, and the Power of Change by Beth Comstock

Former GE’s vice chair Beth Comstock knows about implementing change. During her 30-year career, she initiated GE’s digital and clean energy transformation, and pushed a company that was set in its ways to implement new ideas and adopt innovative solutions. In this part-memoir, part-biography, Comstock shared some of the most valuable lessons she learned at GE, from the advantage of being an “outsider,” to understanding when a battle is worth fighting.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Building and maintaining good habits are crucial to achieving any goal–whether it be in your personal life, career, finances, or health. But far too many of us fail to maintain the habits necessary to get there, or we struggle to give up the ones that hinder us. Author James Clear argues that the key is in making tiny changes that, over time, compounds into large transformations. This book shows you how.

Calm Clarity: How to Use Science to Rewire Your Brain for Greater Wisdom, Fulfillment, and Joy by Due Quach

When Quach was an undergraduate student at Harvard, she struggled to feel accepted by her college and her peers. A Vietnamese refugee who grew up in inner-city Philadelphia, she couldn’t relate to her privileged classmates who lived sheltered lifestyles and were neurotically obsessed with their grades. It wasn’t until later on that she realized she had endured PTSD from her experiences as a child. After a not-so-successful attempt at therapy, she began to study neuroscience and mind-hacking techniques to “rewire” her brain, which she shared in this book.

Wisdom @ Work: The Making of a Modern Elder by Chip Conley

Older Americans are staying in the workforce longer and longer, and in this day and age, that requires updating their new skills and understanding how to reinvent themselves in a constantly changing landscape. Hospitality entrepreneur and Airbnb’s strategic adviser Chip Conley shares his advice in this book on what it takes to thrive and stay relevant.

Building on Bedrock: What Sam Walton, Walt Disney, and Other Great Self-Made Entrepreneurs Can Teach Us About Building Valuable Companies by Derek Lidow

These days, entrepreneurship is often synonymous with tech startups and venture funding. But that’s not the reality for a lot of business owners. CEO, entrepreneur, and business professor Derek Lidow gets into the heart of what it really takes to build a long-lasting business from the “why,” the ‘how’, and how to know whether you are suited to the roller coaster ride of entrepreneurship.

Capital & Main is an award-winning publication that reports from California on economic, political, and social issues.

On December 11 the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors green-lit the controversial Centennial project, with only Supervisor Sheila Kuehl voting no. The project, nearly two decades in planning, would bring more than 19,000 homes to a private wilderness area on Tejon Ranch, approximately 65 miles north of downtown L.A.

The proposed Centennial development, covering mostly grassland and some high brush and woodland, straddles “high” and “very high” fire hazard severity zones as defined by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Cal Fire recorded 31 wildfires larger than 100 acres within five miles of the proposed Centennial acreage between 1964 to 2015, and four within Centennial’s boundaries, according to county planning documents.

Critics have said the project will create more sprawl, greenhouse gases and traffic congestion. Others question why Los Angeles County, or any county in the state, would approve a wilderness community just a few weeks after two of the most devastating fires in California history, with one destroying the town of Paradise. A new Los Angeles Times analysis based on Cal Fire data estimates that up to a million structures in California are at high risk because of wildfire.

Donald Falk, a professor with the University of Arizona’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment, told Capital & Main that fires in the Western U.S. are now hotter, faster spreading and increasingly unpredictable. “Now fires are burning with high energy in places that don’t appear to have enough fuel to support them,” he said. Falk added that the fire threat to homeowners who build in what is often called the wilderness-urban interface will be much greater in 30 years throughout California and much of the West. A 2017 study Falk co-authored projects that by mid-century the burn area in the U.S. will be five times greater than it is now.

“The fire behavior we are seeing today is so far out of the norm, and getting more extreme every year, that the conventional notions of what it means to be fire safe may quickly become outdated,” he said.

Falk isn’t the only expert sounding the alarm about development. In a recent interview with the Associated Press, outgoing Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott said government officials should consider banning home construction in fire-vulnerable areas, such as canyons lined with flammable grass or tinder-dry chaparral, so that homeowners, firefighters and communities “don’t have to keep going through what we’re going through.”

Barry Zoeller, a spokesperson for Centennial’s developer, the Tejon Ranch Company, claimed in an email that the planning is “focused on minimizing fire risk and maximizing fire defense” through stringent fire codes, fire resistant buildings and placement of fire hydrants.” Homeowners must also clear brush around their properties and, because the community is master planned, Tejon Ranch Company officials say, all of its homes will be built to the same specifications and surrounded by fire-resistant landscaping and open space. Power lines, a frequent cause of fires, will be buried.

Zoeller also noted that, while Centennial sits in an area mapped as a higher fire risk, “There have been no fires on the site in the last 15 years and only four in the last 50 years.”

Tim Piasky, CEO of the Building Industry Association, L.A./Ventura Chapter, said that projects like Centennial would go a long way toward addressing the state’s housing shortage, and he asserted that 18 percent of the homes in Centennial would be set aside as “affordable housing.” And as for fire danger, “Centennial doesn’t provide the fuel for fire as other areas did, and people will have an easier way to get out.”

The Camp Fire in Butte County, the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history, proved that grassland does burn if conditions are right. And urban planning critics contend that in the worst case, up to 60,000 people–double Paradise’s population–would have to evacuate Centennial on short notice.

Centennial’s plan has been peer reviewed by experts at Wildland Resource Management and has been reviewed and approved by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. But that doesn’t assuage J.P. Rose, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. Rose said his and other environmental organizations might sue to stop the project. “The California Environmental Quality Act [CEQA] prohibits Centennial to go forward unless public benefits outweigh environmental costs. And in our view the price on people, wildlife and our wallets outweighs any benefit of this project.”

There is precedent for stopping such a project. Earlier this month, a Kern County Superior Court judge determined that all approvals for another Tejon Ranch Company project, Grapevine, in Kern County, be rescinded because they did not comply with CEQA. The court had previously cited Kern County for failing to study the full environmental impact of that project.

Centennial and similar developments epitomize dueling priorities in California, which in this case include the need for housing and the need to mitigate wildfire danger to residents.

Char Miller, a professor of environmental analysis at Pomona College, said developers’ promises to use modern building and safety practices to reduce fire risks lead to a false sense of security.

“Wherever we build, fire follows,” Miller said, adding that human infrastructure itself–barbecue pits, electricity lines–is risky. “There is no such thing as fireproofing a house. The Thomas Fire in Ventura torched new homes that were built to a stringent code.”

Miller added that municipalities are generally reluctant to stop development projects like Centennial, because “housing starts is a barometer–but a false barometer–of economic health. City and county zoning offices have been green-lighting these projects, even when they see the Cal Fire [fire risk] maps. They have the information.”

In Southern California, some communities have been slowly buying up land to create more open space and prevent development where cities meet wildlife. Monrovia, a city 20 miles northeast of downtown L.A., in 2000 put a measure on the ballot to raise taxes to pay developers for fair-market value of hillside land. The tax brought in $10 million, with a matching grant from Governor Gray Davis and different pots of money to fill in the rest, to reach $24 million to purchase 1,416 hillside acres. Gloria Crudgington, a community activist at the time of the ballot measure and now a Monrovia city councilwoman, said the tax was not based on fire danger, but rather on quality of life issues. “We didn’t want to ruin views and hurt wildlife. But now we see that keeping the land open could prevent fire disasters too.”

Voters of Flagstaff, Arizona, have shown that citizens can, beyond buying back the land, take ownership of reducing wildfire risks. Reeling from two 2010 fires and post-fire flooding, in 2013 Flagstaff taxed itself by passing Proposition 405, a $10 million bond to prevent fires by thinning woodland in the Coconino National Forest surrounding the city.

Miller and Falk both say California’s housing crisis could be addressed by building up, rather than out, with infill developments. University of California, Santa Barbara wildfire specialist Max Moritz has suggested California could avoid some of these developments by creating a state building commission that would refuse to rubber stamp new community developments in the wilderness. Right now, no such commission is on the drawing board.

Some 110,000 passengers on 760 flights were scheduled to fly to and from London’s Gatwick Airport for the third busiest day for Christmas travel, but many of those flights were canceled thanks to some apparent morons with drones.

Gatwick’s runway, the second busiest in the U.K., has been shut since Wednesday night, the BBC reports, because of a “deliberate act” of flying drones near the airport’s airspace, making it impossible for planes to land or take off safely. The runway briefly reopened, only to shut down again 45 minutes later, and it remains closed on Thursday. The airport has since confirmed that it expects its runway to be closed until at least 4 p.m. on Thursday. Sussex Police claim the incident is not terror-related, but a “deliberate act” ostensibly by some idiots who think it’s hilarious. That said, the seeming ease with which this runway invasion has taken place is worrisome.

???? Have you been affected by the #drones at Gatwick ✈️? If your travel plans have been changed, we’ve made the following arrangements to help get you on the move without any further hassle.

ℹ️ Info here ???? https://t.co/YLA9Cox16Ypic.twitter.com/ICS7fYmGeK

— Gatwick Express (@GatwickExpress) December 20, 2018

As you undoubtedly surmised, it’s illegal to fly a drone within 1 km (0.6 miles) of a U.K. airport without explicit permission. Responding to the incident on Twitter, the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority said that “it is totally unacceptable to fly drones close to airports and anyone flouting the rules can face severe penalties including imprisonment.” Per the BBC, if the people piloting the disruptive drones are caught, they could face up to five years in prison as well as the inevitable pitchfork-and-torch wielding mob of disgruntled would-be passengers. Airports around the globe have been in an ongoing battle with drones, and companies have stepped up with innovative ideas on how to fix the problem, including using AI, radio bubbles, and more, but there has yet to be a universally effective solution.

Due to the drones, the travel disruption could last “several days,” and because of the backlog of passengers from the canceled flights, ripples of the effect could last even longer as people try to make it home for the holidays. Not only are travelers stuck at Gatwick, but hundreds more passengers are stranded across the U.K. and Europe on flights that were supposed to land at Gatwick. In short, it’s the perfect time for a Planes, Trains, and Automobiles sequel set in Europe.

“It will be a beautiful bridge. One that will last one thousand years.”

Those were the words of renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano, speaking this week as he presented his design for a bridge that will replace Genoa’s Ponte Morandi, the four-lane viaduct that collapsed in August during an intense storm.

The structural failure of the bridge–which was built in 1967–killed 43 people and injured 16. According to the ongoing investigation, decades of corrosion and poor maintenance, combined with a flawed design and poor construction materials, led to its dramatic collapse.

According to the newspaper L’Repubblica, the new bridge will cost $230 million and will open to traffic by Christmas 2019.

Piano, whose best-known works include the Centre Pompidou in Paris and The Shard in London among many other iconic projects, added that the viaduct’s apparent simplicity conceals great complexity–it matches the magical nature of city. Most importantly, it’s built to last. Because, according to the architect, “bridges do not have to collapse.”

The higher you climb up the corporate ladder, the more responsibility you have and the less time to assimilate into each new role. And short of the CEO, nobody feels the pressure more acutely than the executives charged with leading the people team.

Chief human resources officers (CHROs) often arrive with an immediate slate of problems to fix. To do this effectively, they need to understand a range of variables including business models, market positioning, culture (strengths and risks), growth plans, talent, what’s working well, what must be fixed, and more.

Jumping into “fix” mode without a firm grasp of these variables can create even more problems. According to a study last year by the Harvard Business Review, 70% of new executives cited a poor grasp of how their organization works as a stumbling block for effective onboarding.

This may help explain why the profile of a CHRO is changing. Many of today’s HR executives are business operators who focus on people. They view their role as aligning the people strategy to support the business needs and objectives, not just compliance and oversight of core HR functions like benefits and recruiting.

So how do successful CHROs approach their first 100 days in a new job? I put that question to more than a dozen top people executives, and their answers may help you acclimate effectively into a new leadership role, whether or not you work in HR.

Preboarding

Executive onboarding starts to happen during the interview process, especially for an early stage or relatively young company. Candidates can experience firsthand some of the growing pains an organization is feeling with lack of alignment among the exec team about the role, priorities, or even profile that will be successful. If you start this onboarding mentality during the interview phase, you’re more likely to get an accurate read on your ability to make an impact.–John Foster, principal at Gamut and former chief people officer, Hulu & Ideo

Develop a 30-60-90 day plan

Create an outcome-driven 30-60-90 day plan. During your first two weeks on the job, put this together and share with your CEO so they know where you are going to be spending your time. In each of your one-to-ones, bring this back to reference and discuss progress and/or impediments. It’s totally fine that new priorities emerge, but this allows you to always come back to what you set out to achieve together.–Adrienne Gemperle, chief people officer, SoulCycle

Seek to understand

Your primary objective in your first 100 days should be to “seek to understand.” You want to understand the business and build relationships with as many people as possible. Use a modification on a “new leader assimilation” process, making sure as many people get to know you as a leader and as a human being. Listening more than talking is critical in having the information you need to set priorities of the work.–Beth Steinberg, chief people officer, Zenefits

Know your key client groups

You have at least 4 key client groups–the CEO, the executive leadership team you are on, the HR leadership team you lead, and the employees of the company. Develop a thoughtful plan to devote meaningful time to get to know all of them.–Michael Ross, HR tech adviser and former CHRO, Visa

Pause and prioritize

When you come into a new HR role, there’s a tendency to want to “fix” everything you see that’s wrong, but some of those quirks are what define organizations. Ultimately you have finite time and resources to get things done, so keep a running list of questions and concerns but wait 60 days to truly identify the biggest problems worth solving versus selecting issues, teams, or organizational challenges that may not actually be the biggest impact projects to tackle.–Katie Burke, chief people officer, Hubspot

Understand the budget

Make sure you thoroughly review and understand the budget, not just headcount. Understanding an organization through the lens of its budget will help you understand what the company prioritizes and truly values.–Anna Binder, head of people operations, Asana

Prioritize your projects

Plan how you’ll get to know the organization and the people. Start a 2-by-2 chart of your ideas for initiatives and those from feedback–with one axis being High or Low impact and the other being Easy or Hard to start. Use this to plan how you’ll prioritize, as it’s different for each organization.–Ciara Lakhani, chief people officer, Dashlane

Lose the playbook

Onboarding for any new CHRO always should be heavily focused on learning, starting by listening to the people in the organization about what’s working, what’s not working, what’s missing, and what’s possible. Coming in with a predetermined playbook, without genuine humility and a curiosity to learn about the company’s history and culture, is never a good idea.–Matt Hoffman, VP people, Digital Ocean

Build trust

Really listen to people at all levels of the organization and show them you care in your own authentic way. Your role is to truly care about their experience in the company. This will help you build relationships, which leads to trust. From that base, you build the allowance to try new things out and make it a great place to work.–Max Hunter, chief joy officer, Loylogic

Understand the past

Learn how the executive and leadership teams have worked with people executives in the past, and what their expectations are now. The ultimate goal is to bridge the expectations gap and clearly communicate that we are business leaders who can affect change through people-related decisions.–Sean Lee, VP people & culture, Food52

Demonstrate courage

Lean into something that’s hard by the end of the 100 days. It could be taking on a big and long-term project that is intimidating but important for the company, or voicing something really tough organizationally that no one else has wanted to address. Demonstrate your insight and judgment, and also your courage.–Jevan Soo, VP talent, Stitch Fix

Understand organizational language

Gather a blend of branding, executive team perspective, customer, and staff views on culture and perceived organizational capability. Check for alignment and gaps. Conduct a language audit in parallel–what words and phrases are used among the above stakeholders as a sign or indicator of prevailing beliefs and assumptions.–Steve Schloss, chief people officer, United States Golf Association (USGA)

Collective onboarding

Collect as much data and insights as possible. Consider launching some type of engagement/employee survey and make it anonymous. Ask people to help you as part of everyone onboarding you into the company. This will inform your roadmap that shows you’re listening and addressing the themes they shared.–Mai Ton, VP of humans, White Ops

When you are a new executive, you’re often perceived as a fixer. That pressure can put you in a place where you’re constantly reacting, derailing your long-term strategy. As you consider the advice above, be sure to take time to reflect on your best path forward. That space will allow you to process all the internal and external drivers thoughtfully, and formulate a tailored plan that best meets the needs of the teams and the business.

This post is part of a new series on 21st century human resources (HR) practices. The series explores new and next approaches in the field of HR. Each month, we’ll cover topics ranging from emerging practices, HR technology, diversity and inclusion, and other areas related to the future of work. You can view the full series here.

If you didn’t grow up in Texas, it can be hard to fully grasp the role that the cowboy boot plays in Southwestern culture. But many Texans grew up with the boots, choosing their first pair from the store when they were just toddlers. For some, it’s an important symbol of their culture, heritage, and identity. And for others, it’s just an everyday fashion choice.

Just ask Paul Hedrick, who was born and raised in Texas, before moving to the Northeast to attend Harvard University–where he showed up to class decked out in cowboy boots. “There’s a whole subculture of cowboy boots,” says Hedrick, who founded Tecovas, a fast-growing cowboy boots brand that just landed $24 million in funding. “There are intricate designs and patterns, different grades of leather, a whole range of price points. It’s a messy, crowded market.”

Hedrick is here to cut through some of this noise and deliver a high-quality cowboy boot to his fellow millennials. After spending his post-college years working in consulting and finance, where he focused on retail, he believed he was uniquely poised to disrupt the cowboy boot market. “It’s a multibillion-dollar sector, but it really hasn’t experienced much innovation,” he says.

Hedrick launched Tecovas in 2015, with a line of high-quality men’s and women’s cowboy boots made in Mexico and sold through a website using the same direct-to-consumer model popularized by Warby Parker and Everlane. Thanks to Tecovas’s approach, it is able to sell boots at prices that start at $195, with its most expensive, alligator pair costing $455. This is a fraction of the premium brands, whose prices easily go north of $1,000.

Rebooting a classic

Tecovas was an instant hit. By its second year in business, the brand was generating more than $10 million in revenue, and is on track to triple that this year. Hedrick says one-third of sales come from Texas, and the rest comes from all over the country. Some sales come from Texans who have left the state and cannot find a good pair of boots, while others are purchased by non-Texans who think the boots make a good fashion statement. “I think it’s hard for people outside the Southwest to understand how important these boots are to people in this region,” says Hedrick. “But I think the fact that this market is so hidden is actually one of our advantages. We don’t actually have that much competition.”

To keep up with this pace of growth, Tecovas landed the aforementioned $24 million in Series A funding led by Elephant. (This is on top of $4.4 million in equity funding the brand raised earlier.) Hedrick plans to use this funding to invest heavily in brick-and-mortar stores throughout Texas. A year ago, Tecovas opened a pop-up in Austin that successfully introduced new customers to the brand, and led to a spike in sales. Tecovas will open its first permanent store in Austin, then shortly thereafter in other major cities in the state. Hedrick says he cannot confirm where they will be since the company is currently negotiating contracts, but we can assume they will be in cities like Dallas and Fort Worth.

But Hedrick says Texas is just the first step in his plan for Tecovas’s growth. He believes there’s space to transform the brand into a national sensation, and get people in places like California and New England to wear the boots. It’s an ambitious plan, for sure, given that cowboy boots have such distinct cultural associations. Will the same consumer who buys Warby Parker glasses, Away luggage, and Everlane cashmere also pick up a pair of Tecova boots? It’s unclear, but Hedrick is going to give it his best shot.

“I see the cowboy boot as an iconic American product,” he says. “I believe our boots can be styled in a lot of different ways, and look good across the country.”

As much as baseball and apple pie, free speech and the free market symbolize America for many. Both are at the center of the ongoing argument around a boycotting campaign calling for advertisers to ditch Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson.

The activist group Sleeping Giants, for example, is encouraging people to email advertisers asking, “Why are you putting your marketing budget towards supporting Tucker Carlson’s white nationalist message on national TV every night?”

Seems pretty straightforward.

However, some prominent media observers like Jack Shafer and Nate Silver oppose any boycott of Tucker Carlson advertisers, on the grounds that, as Shafer wrote on Politico, it ends up giving “corporate advertisers … the power to decide what ideas should be discussed and how they should be discussed.” Silver tweeted this week, “The logical endpoint of deeming advertisers to have endorsed the political messages of the shows they run ads on is that only milquetoast both-sidesism with a pro-corporate bent will be advertising-supported, if any political content is ad-supported at all.”

When I talk to marketers and company executives about why they decide to create strong brand work, the first answer is always to attract new customers, excite existing ones, and ultimately sell more products. But a close second is that every company is made up of people–50 or 50,000 employees, potential employees, business partners, and stakeholders. Creating compelling, strong advertising for many is a point of pride. Something that says, “This is who we are, and who we aim to be.”

Companies are not only accountable to their customers but also to those inside their own four walls. This is also a primary reason these same execs give about why their brand has taken a stand on one issue or another–gun control, immigration, climate change, equal rights. It’s not meant to be a tagline but rather a reflection of the voices and values within the company. As Wanda Pogue, chief strategy officer of Saatchi & Saatchi New York, told Fast Company last year regarding brands in the age of Trump, “It is essential that companies remain true to their inherent values and do not come across as opportunistic. Their position needs to be genuine to their DNA.” That includes where their ads run.

Why would any corporation that puts that much thought into their advertising want that work to appear alongside Tucker Carlson’s immigrant fear-mongering and racial dog whistles? The premise of the anti-boycott argument is that what Tucker Carlson does is journalism and giving advertisers the right to control it is akin to The New York Times asking Coca-Cola to approve the front-page.  What this straw man fails to acknowledge is, as Slate’s Jamelle Bouie points out, “the objection depends on classifying racism/white nationalism/white supremacy as just another category of political speech rather than something qualitatively different, and more dangerous, given our history.”

Silver traces his opposition to the boycott of boycotts of the past, tweeting, “In fact, I am gay, and I’m just old enough (40) to remember when conservative groups urged boycotts of advertisers and networks who were seen as promoting LGBTQ or other ‘nontraditional’ lifestyles.” A false equivalency between tolerance and non-tolerance. Boycotts based on LGBTQ issues are just as intolerant as a TV personality spewing anti-immigrant bile.

This isn’t, as Shafer argues, a new brand of McCarthyism. That was the government, while these are companies, global and domestic, that are able to choose where and when to spend their massive advertising budgets and consider the opinions of employees, investors, and consumers in doing so.

Brands are good at espousing values: Capital One says on its website that it has a “commitment to build and foster a diverse and inclusive culture where every voice is heard and matters.” Yet its advertising runs alongside a man who claims immigrants are making the U.S. “dirtier.” To decline to advertise on Carlson’s show would theoretically betray that commitment to every voice being heard, but it’s hard to read that values statement as meaning that Carlson’s is the sort of voice that’s going to achieve the “diverse and inclusive culture” part of that mission.

Corporations are scrutinized for the politicians they donate to, causes they lobby, working conditions they provide, and materials they source. So why should their advertising budgets be any different? It is ludicrous to think marketing–the very face and voice of any brand–would be exempt from this consideration. A free press and a free market must live together. Commentators can write, print, broadcast opinions of any kind. What they can’t do is expect brands to blindly pay for it.