Table of contents for Winter 2021/2022 in Fast Company

The term “productivity” has many definitions. The Oxford English Dictionary, citing examples from the 1600s, equates the term with being “creative” and “generative.” In economics, productivity is associated with labor, as a measurement of the output of goods and services against the human hours worked to make or deliver them. More recently, though, productivity has become synonymous with long hours, being “always on” for clients and coworkers, and an overall culture of busyness. This last definition is one that organizations need to identify within their cultures right now and address immediately Research from McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn.org finds that 42% of women—and 35% of men—surveyed say they are consistently burned out at work, up from 32% and 28%, respectively, a year ago. And a lot of what has made…

A new store opened in the suburbs of Pittsburgh in September. Built to resemble a rustic—albeit enormous—country cabin, the 50,000-square-foot space is really eight stores in one, each devoted to a different outdoor or adventure activity such as camping, fishing, or paddling. But there’s more than just goods on shelves. The cycling shop, for example, sells bikes, but also offers repairs and rentals. Climbing instructors don’t just fit customers for climbing shoes; they facilitate test runs on the store’s 30-foot climbing wall. There’s even a concierge on hand, advising shoppers about local parks, classes, and environmental volunteer opportunities. Employees aren’t just there for the transactions, but to foster a community around America’s 640 million acres of parks, forests, and wildlife refuges. One percent of sales from this store, called Public…

In the 1990s, the business world underwent a seismic shift with the advent of the internet. It changed the way companies did everything from creating their products to selling them to consumers. These days, companies are poised on the edge of another massive transition toward artificial intelligence and machine learning. “AI is going to touch every company, in every industry, in a material way,” says Rodrigo Liang, cofounder and CEO of AI solutions provider SambaNova. “It’s going to be such a competitive advantage.” Yet, AI and machine learning isn’t accessible to every company. In-house AI systems typically require large staffs and heavy investments in infrastructure, putting the technology out of reach for many organizations. Liang and SambaNova co-founders Kunle Olukotun and Christopher Ré rejected that resource-intensive approach, aiming instead to…

T-38 Jet Training Epps learned how to operate a two-seat, twin-jet supersonic jet trainer used by the military. “A lot of people can design an airplane but don’t know how to fly it. I had to understand how to do both,” she says. National Outdoor Leadership School Epps completed a program with NOLS, a nonprofit outdoor education school that teaches participants leadership, risk management, and wilderness skills. ESA CAVES Epps was the second woman to complete the European Space Agency’s three-week, subterranean astronaut training course, Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behavior and performance Skills. Winter and Water Survival Her knowledge of Russian helped her communicate with cosmonaut teammates while training at Star City, learning to change quickly out of a space suit and then jump into water from…

Marine Dream The Traditional Seaweed Bath by natural skincare brand Haeckels ($32, trouva.com) contains 100% organic seaweed handpicked off the coast of Margate, a seaside town in southeastern England. A grown-up alternative to bubble baths, the antioxidant-rich formula also hydrates and softens the skin. Instagram @JUMPMANHISTORY I’m a basketball player and fan who grew up worshipping Michael Jordan. This has endless old videos and photos of MJ and his shoes. TV Show ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING [I love] Steve, Marty, and Selena together. And, forgive the cliché, but Ted Lasso is just wonderful. Podcast IT WAS SAID Nothing fires me up on a 15-mile [run] like Jon Meacham walking you through one of Churchill’s addresses to Parliament in this history podcast. Twitter @SUPER70SSPORTS It plugs into pop culture and…

What’s your best habit, and what’s your worst? I’ve heard some people say my laugh is infectious, so I guess that’s a nice habit to have. My worst [is that] it’s difficult for me to stop and smell the roses. What do you do when you’re creatively stuck? I try to physically change my energy. If I can, I’ll go for a walk, or if I have more time, I’ll bike. That clears my mind and allows me to think more freely. Did you have a career fork in the road? When I decided to [let my hair] go natural, I stepped into my authentic self. I approached my career with a sharper focus, purpose, and intention. Ultimately, I believe that decision led me to this role, as the CEO…

ACTING Encounter A sci-fi film about a Marine protecting his sons from a mysterious force. (In theaters December 3) Exit West An upcoming adaptation of Mohsin Hamid’s best seller. Hamlet This modern-day version was written by his Oxford classmate Mike Lesslie. PRODUCING Left Handed Films Ahmed’s production company has 16 projects in development, including Flee, an animated doc about a refugee’s journey that’s co-executive produced by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. (In theaters December 3) ACTIVISM Pillars Artistic Fellowship Ahmed conceived of and helped launch the program, which awards financial sums to emerging Muslim film writers and directors.…

I haven’t had a day off in 20 months. There are people out there—particularly the nurses and physicians and respiratory therapists—who are doing the same thing, only in the trenches. So I’m not complaining. But it is thoroughly unusual to be working 15 hours a day at minimum, 20 months in a row. Two years ago, [my job involved] meeting with my laboratory, making rounds, seeing patients, going to conferences, traveling to give lectures, meeting with scientists, writing papers, occasionally being in the media, always having time for a 4-mile run in the middle of the day, and going out occasionally to dinner with my wife. It was a life that was intense, busy, productive, diversified. Today, it’s almost unidimensional. Sunday is no different from Thursday. Because of the threats…

Productivity to me right now is about communicating to create a solution. It’s about articulating my ideas to larger groups of people and companies who may not get it right away. That’s often looked at as a bad thing, like, “Oh man, these people don’t get my ideas.” But what I’ve learned is that it just takes some expert level communication to paint the picture for different people you’re working with. For example, in [the upcoming ABC series] Abbott Elementary, which is set in my hometown of West Philadelphia, we have a scene that takes place in a nail salon, and I really wanted it to look like a West Philadelphia nail salon. When I first saw the pictures, it wasn’t right. That’s another thing, knowing that it’s going to…

I found that the best place for me to work is in bed. I don’t know why, but that’s true for me. I know a lot of people feel it’s sacrilegious and terrible for your sleep, which it probably is, but I also have found that sometimes my best ideas come to me when I can’t sleep. Most of [My Body, a collection of personal essays published in early November] was written before I even had a book agent, so I wasn’t on deadline or anything, which was nice. I was extremely productive because I didn’t feel the pressure. I wasn’t aware of readers. The more self-aware you become, the harder it is to write. Once I sold the book and was on a deadline to finish it, it was…

Last December, Stephen Snowder, a 37-year-old communications staffer at a white-shoe law firm in New York, Googled “pandemic weight gain.” He’d stopped jogging and had indulged in comforting Grubhub meals while quarantining. He wanted to fit into his 2019 clothes again. As he found himself sifting through information about various weight-loss companies and programs online, one slogan caught his eye: “Stop Dieting. Get Lifelong Results.” An app—called Noom—promised to use psychology to help “build new habits to crush your goals.” The company’s website described how he’d be paired with a wellness coach and receive short lessons and quizzes based on cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. Crucially, the app said he could eat anything he wanted. Noom ads soon flooded Snowder’s Instagram feed. He signed on. The American Psychological Association reports that…

Cabela’s The retailer’s then CEO, Tommy Millner (who previously spent 15 years leading gunmaker Remington), reportedly said his company enjoyed such a rush of gun buyers after the Sandy Hook massacre that it “didn’t blink” about continuing to sell them. Cabela’s still sells semiautomatic and military-style rifles. Kroger The company decided to completely phase out guns from its Northwest based Fred Meyer supermarkets weeks after Parkland. It didn’t mention the school shooting as a motive, but cited “softening customer demand.” Walmart Walmart retired semiautomatic weapons in 2015. After a shooting inside its own store in El Paso, Texas, in 2019, it discontinued handguns and short-barrel rifles. In 2020, the superstore temporarily pulled its remaining shotguns and ammunition after the murder of George Floyd, mentioning “civil unrest.”…

The COVID-19 pandemic presented both a challenge and an opportunity for many businesses. Many companies had to rethink not only how they did business but also how they interacted with customers, employees, and partners. At the recent Fast Company Innovation Festival, software and cloud solutions company Altair hosted a discussion that brought together three executives from companies that succeeded in refreshing and maintaining their brands, all while staying authentic to their core values and responsive to the changing world. Here are four key takeaways from the event: 1. Take your time. A branding (or rebranding) process requires deep listening and learning. For Amy Messano, chief marketing officer at Altair, immersive workshops can foster deep conversations among employees and executives. “We were much more secure and confident in our path forward…

After eight years of design and construction, the eight-tower Raffles City complex, in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, is a striking landmark, with its two tallest towers rising 1,150 feet. Up in the sky, but also on the ground, the building creates new connections for the city’s 31 million residents, a mix of publicly accessible spaces unlocking its long-obstructed waterfront. 1. Waterfront Access Located at the convergence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, the skyscraper complex is set on a former traffic circle that blocked access to the waterfront for anyone who was not getting off a bus or ferry. Safdie Architects, renowned for founder Moshe Safdie’s cube- stacked Habitat 67, in Montreal, set out to restore that ac cess. The design rerouted roads to make much of the…

Higher Vibrations Known for its Theragun personal percussive massager, Therabody makes vibration therapy even more accessible with the Wave Solo ($79, therabody.com). The portable, grapefruit-size device relieves muscle tension with three frequencies of pinpointed pressure, and boasts a 120-minute battery life. 01 “PINK CASHMERE,” PRINCE I’ve marked many special moments of my life with Prince’s music. His genius inspires me. It’s a go-to. 02 “EK LADKI KO DEKHA TOH AISA LAGA,” R.D. BURMAN AND ROCHAK KOHLI This song, from a Bollywood film directed by my mom, is beautiful lyrically and melodically. It reminds me of home. 03 “TILL I COLLAPSE,” EMINEM This one I listen to loud and on repeat when I’m having a hard entrepreneur day. 04 “WE KNOW THE WAY,” LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA AND OPETAIA FOA’I My 3-year-old son,…

ZOOM ✓ DO • Plan ahead Make sure every invite has an attached agenda, detailing what decisions will be made, says Darren Murph, head of remote at GitLab. • Make a better connection In small meetings, move the Zoom window so that the video of the person speaking is directly beneath your camera instead of at the bottom or to the side. It’ll convey the feeling of making eye contact, says Lynne Oldham, chief people officer at Zoom. • Hold Zoom-free days Even Zoom employees do, on Wednesdays. “It gives you a day for focused work,” Oldham says. • Darken your surroundings If you’re bothered by the reflection of your screen or ring light in your glasses, try using a solid black background behind you or turning your monitor wallpaper…

In the morning, I take five Duolingo lessons. I do three French lessons, one Portuguese lesson, and, of late, a Japanese lesson. It’s mostly to test out the product: My teams get reports from me at 6:30 a.m. every day, saying, “You should fix this,” or “You should improve this.” Then I work out. I do some weight training, followed by 16 minutes of running as fast as I can, which is like 9 miles an hour. When I do it, I look like I’m having a heart attack. I do it to optimize my time—I burn about 360 calories. I hate it, but it’s over fast. Then I head to the office. I believe in everyone being in the office together, so we are getting back to that [with…

I haven’t found a cooler community to work with than nature enthusiasts. For whatever reason, it just attracts really cool people. It’s motivating to interact with them, learn how they do their visual or auditory classification, or their research if they’re card-carrying academics. From December 2020 to June 2021, I was with my parents in California. It was kind of a stereotypical story, working out of my parents’ spare bedroom [creating the sound ID function on the Merlin Bird ID app, a Shazam for birdsong, which was released in July]. I had the final model ready by May. That’s a fast turnaround time for something like this. That mentally drained me. The good press we got was definitely a lift, to show that it was worth it. My best brainstorming…

Our lookout season in Montana starts in late June, early July, and runs through September. Before that, I’m prepping to go to the lookout where I’ve lived for close to 25 seasons, and training other lookouts. The rest of the year, I work as a substitute teacher in West Yellowstone, and I drive a snow coach [a minibus with giant tires] and give tours of Yellowstone National Park. Once we go to the lookouts, we work independently. I wake up and take check-ins over the radio with trail crews, recreation guards, and Great Falls Interagency Dispatch. Then I survey the landscape, looking for fires. When I turn in a “fire start,” I stand by to assist the engine or hand crews, helicopter crews, or smoke jumpers—suggesting routes to the smoke,…

After showing steady growth for five years, e-bike sales skyrocketed in 2020. Recent innovations have resulted in lighter frames, a range of safety features (reflective paint, LED lights, hydraulic brakes), and more comfortable rides. Meanwhile, investments in city infrastructure are helping to make e-bikes a more viable option for urban commuters looking for safer (and less sweaty) modes of transportation during the pandemic. Ride-sharing companies like Lyft have taken notice and entered the market, and the industry continues to introduce features that target new markets, including mountain bikers and hunters. 130 MILLION Number of electric bikes expected to be sold globally between 2020 and 2023 400 Number of e-bike brands available in the U.S. 130% 2019 2020 Growth of e-bike retail sales $1,500 Amount Americans could receive as a refundable…

Growing up in Syracuse, New York, as the youngest of seven children, Jeanette Epps dreamed of going to space, just like her hero on TV’s Doctor Who. (The show instilled a lifelong interest in math and science.) When her older brother came home from college and, after glancing at her fourth-grade report card, suggested that she could become an aerospace engineer, the idea stuck. But the path to Houston wasn’t always clear. Here’s how Epps conquered her fears and fought her way to NASA. EDUCATION BACHELOR OF SCIENCE Physics, from Le Moyne College MASTER’S THESIS “Experimental Theoretical Study of the Effects of Tip Sweep on the Natural Frequencies of Rotating Composite Beams,” University of Maryland PHD DISSERTATION “ In-flight Tracking of Helicopter Rotor Blades Using Shape Memory Alloys,” University of…

During the past decade, technology has driven change across all aspects of society, especially business. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend, sparking tremendous increases in remote work and e-commerce and intensifying shifts in the way people communicate and consume media. The widespread adoption of digital tools and skills will provide greater flexibility and resilience to deal with future risks and uncertainties, according to the World Economic Forum 5G Outlook report, and 5G will play a critical role in enabling this. It will also create new opportunities for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). “Redefining the customer and employee experience is of critical importance right now for businesses of all sizes,” says Wendy Taccetta, senior vice president for nationwide small business and channel chief at Verizon Business. “In fact, according to research…

We’re living in an age in which employees expect company leadership not only to espouse values but to live by them. Businesses that succeed in the new paradigm will be the ones that organize around purpose and encourage workers to take an active role in advancing it. At the recent Fast Company Innovation Festival, the Elevate Prize Foundation hosted a virtual panel of experts to discuss why companies must foster a purpose-driven culture of employee empowerment. Here are four key takeaways: 1. Inspired employees drive innovation. Every organization wants a productive, innovative team. But conventional incentives can only get you so far. Values are the more reliable motivator. “How do we actually get innovation?” asks Wendy Woods, managing director, senior partner and vice chair of social impact at Boston Consulting…

Lucky Numbers This wooden Sudoku board, made by Luckies of London ($22, barnesandnoble.com), moves the classic game off the page and into your hands. The set includes 81 numbered pegs and a game guide with puzzles for both beginners and experienced players. HIRE LEARNING Burn Rate Seventy-seven percent of U.S. employees have experienced burnout at their current jobs. Here are the biggest drivers. Lack of support or recognition from leadership Unrealistic deadlines or expectations Consistently working long hours or on weekends 01 Wild Seed OCTAVIA E. BUTLER A magical story about good and evil, about polarity and balance. Octavia Butler is one of my favorite authors, and this is my personal favorite book of hers. 02 Tao Te Ching LAOZI Because the way you go isn’t the real way. 03…

Riz Ahmed is running late. The London-based actor is in New York in mid-September for meetings, interviews, photo shoots, and fittings. He got stuck in traffic, and then he realized he forgot the key to his Airbnb. “This is what really productive people do,” he jokes as he settles behind a table for our chat via Zoom, about an hour after the appointed time. “That’s actually one of the secrets I want to share with your readers.” Whatever system Ahmed has or doesn’t have in place, it’s working. Since his Oscar-nominated performance as a drummer who loses his hearing in the 2020 film Sound of Metal, Ahmed’s agenda has been packed with a dizzying array of projects. He released an album, The Long Goodbye, on his own imprint, Mongrel Records.…

We talk a lot about the 80/20 rule—that we need to focus on the 20% of the issues that have 80% of the impact. Especially when it comes to sustainability, it’s important to set a clear strategy to focus on what matters most. That means sometimes I have to be the boring person in the room [at electric vehicle company Polestar] and say no to projects that might be popular, or look really good on Instagram, if they’re actually not having any impact. It also ensures that my team doesn’t get overworked. Another thing that drives exhaustion is that we lose connection to our own voice and the purpose we were filled with when we went to university, or whatever. It’s important that my team and I stay connected to…

I don’t like to wake up and immediately start. I need a second. So I set my alarm for earlier so that I can lie in bed and just breathe. I’ll have my coffee in the morning, and then I’ll usually work out, then eat breakfast. I’m very big on the reward of things. I schedule everything. The pandemic helped me understand how important it is to schedule time for yourself and for your family. Picking up my daughter from school is still important to me. That’s when you get all the excitement from the day, that’s when she talks the most freely. We go for coffee or boba, and I won’t miss that. I’ve worked overseas, in countries like Russia and Turkey, and I’ve learned how to adjust. You…

I joined the company in 1997. When I was graduating from college, the one thing I knew I wasn’t going to do was work for my family. I love my dad, mom, and uncle, but I wanted to do my own thing. But eventually, I got to a place where my experience with psychedelics helped me understand my grandfather and his All-One philosophy. It wasn’t a straight line from there to joining the company, but it was definitely foundational. It’s a great company... I’m a founding member, along with Patagonia, the Rodale Institute, and others, of the Regenerative Organic Alliance and Regenerative Organic Certification, combining the best of sustainability, animal welfare, and fair labor in a single standard. That’s a real example of our activism and policy intersecting with our…