Below, Muriel Wilkins shares five key insights from her new book, Leadership Unblocked: Break Through the Beliefs That Limit Your Potential.
Muriel is the founder and CEO of the leadership advisory firm Paravis Partners. She is also an executive coach to high-performing C-suite and senior executives, as well as host of the award-winning podcast Coaching Real Leaders.
Whats the big idea?
When leaders get stuck, their first instinct is to do more and push harder. But those actions dont create lasting results because theyre focused on what they do and not on what they think. Sustainable leadership growth comes from examining the beliefs that drive our actions. Left unchecked, we risk stunting our leadership potential.
Listen to the audio version of this Book Biteread by Muriel herselfbelow, or in the Next Big Idea App.
1. Youre part of the problem.
Every leader goes through rough patches. If you havent yet, you will. Ive seen many accomplished leaders, from executives to emerging managers, eventually hit a wall. Theyre chasing results that remain out of reach, struggling to influence, or trying to find their footing in a new role. No matter their title or situation, they share one thing in common: something is standing in the way of their leadership potential.
Despite their best efforts, theyre still blocked. Usually, its because theyre focusing on whats happening around them instead of whats happening within them. Many high achievers try to hustle their way through whatever is holding them back. They double down on tactics and skills, thinking that if they just do more, theyll break through. But until you turn inward and uncover whats holding you back, youll keep repeating the same struggle and leadership will feel harder, more draining, and less rewarding than necessary.
2. Old beliefs cant create new results.
Weve all been told that if you want to change something, change your actions: work harder, build new habits, learn new skills. But a change in behavior only scratches the surface. Real change happens on the level of your beliefs.
Beliefs that helped you succeed at one stage of your career may no longer serve you during the next.
The Buddha said, What we think, we become. Modern research backs that up. Scholars of psychology like Alia Crumb, Ellen Langer, and Carol Dweck have shown that what you believe about yourself, your circumstances, and your ability to grow has a measurable impact on outcomes. Beliefs act like the internal code that drives your leadership operating system.
Beliefs that helped you succeed at one stage of your career may no longer serve you during the next. If you believe you need to have all the answers, youll struggle to empower others. If you believe your value comes from being in the details, you lose sight of leading through others. If you believe you cant make a mistake, youll avoid risk and stifle innovation. You cant lead at a new level with the same inner operating system. Until you evolve your beliefs, your results will stay the same.
3. Seven common beliefs quietly keep high performers stuck.
Most leaders share a common set of beliefs that keep them stuck. I call these hidden blockers because they keep us locked in unproductive patterns, and theyre experts at eluding detection:
I need to be involved.
I need it done now.
I know Im right.
I cant make a mistake.
If I can do it, so can you.
I cant say no.
I dont belong here.
These self-talk mantras arent character flaws. Theyre old success strategies. When you can identify the belief youre leading from, you regain choice. Awareness is the first step to unblocking.
4. Ease comes when you can uncover, unpack, and unblock.
To lead with more ease, the work is to uncover, unpack, and unblock what drives you:
Uncover: Bring your belief to awareness.
Unpack: Examine where the belief came from and how it shows up.
Unblock: Reframe the belief so that it serves how you need to lead.
This framework isnt about positive thinking; its about strategic thinking. When you align your beliefs with the present moment, you expand your range and elevate your leadership altitude.
5. Great leaders learn to coach themselves.
The ultimate goal is developing the capacity to coach yourself. When you can observe your patterns, question your beliefs, and realign in real time, you no longer need a crisis or coach to spark growth. You become your own coachgrounded, adaptive, and effectivein each moment. As you increase your capacity to coach yourself, you increase your capacity to coach others, which after all is what great leaders do.
A leader cannot transform an organization beyond their own capacity to transform themselves.
To lead differently, you must think differently. A leader cannot transform an organization beyond their own capacity to transform themselves. It can feel lonely and difficult at the top, but you dont have to suffer through your leadership challenges, nor should others suffer because of how you lead. Becoming free of your hidden blockers unlocks your potential for achieving goals, delivering results, and leading with ease.
Enjoy our full library of Book Bitesread by the authors!in the Next Big Idea App.
This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
It’s that time December’s waning days, when we prepare to turn the calendar page. Many Americans take stock, review goals accomplished and unmet, ponder hopes and plans. How’s our health? What’s up with our money? What about the country? Will the coming year look like the departing one year, or be something entirely different?
Are we ready?
It can be an overwhelming period. So The Associated Press reached out to professionals with varying expertises home organization, risk management, personal training, personal finance, and political science to talk about their perspectives on changes and transitions.And for something a little different, we gave each interviewee a chance to ask a question of one of the others.So let’s talk endings and beginnings.
The change expert: Milestones stir emotions
Transitions are professional organizer Laura Olivares’ working life. As co-founder of Silver Solutions, she works with senior adults and their families to help make sure they’re in safe environments, whether that means decluttering a lifetime of possessions, downsizing to another home, or helping families clear a house after a loved one’s passing.She offers this: Changes, even exciting ones, can unearth sadness or grief over places, things and people left behind. Acknowledging those feelings can help smooth the move from one chapter to another.“When you let go of something that was meaningful to you, it deserves a moment,” she says. “Whatever that moment is, could be a second, could just be an acknowledgement of it. Or maybe you set it on the on the mantle and you think about it for a while and when you’re ready to let it go, you let it go.”NEXT QUESTION: Certified personal trainer Keri Harvey asked: “What small weekly habits can I build that will help me stay organized during the year?” Olivares’ tips: In December, do a brain dump of thoughts, ideas, and goals. Then, before Jan. 1, schedule out tasks that move those priorities forward over the course of 2026. Olivares suggests three tasks on each of three days, so nine tasks per week.
The actuary: Planning is important but sometimes fickle
Probably no group of people think more about the future than actuaries. Using data, statistics and probabilities, they devise models on how probable it is that certain events happen, and what it could cost to recover from them. Their work is vital to organizations like insurance companies.Listen to R. Dale Hall talk, though, and he sounds almost philosophical. He’s managing director of research at the Society of Actuaries. Asked how the general public could think about a new year, he readily brings up strategies like mapping out risk scenarios and how to respond.There’s a balance to be struck, he says: We can’t control or predict everything and must accept the possibility of something unexpected. And the past isn’t always a perfect guide; just because something happened doesn’t mean it must again.“It’s the nature of taking risk, right? That yeah, there are going to be uncontrollable things,” Hall says. “There are ways to maybe diversify those risks or mitigate those risks, but no one has that perfect crystal ball that’s going to see three, six, nine, 12 months into the future.”NEXT QUESTION: From personal finance educator Dana Miranda: “Thinking about the variables we consider when making decisions or plans, how might the juxtaposition of the holiday season with the new year affect the way people are evaluating their finances and setting goals at the beginning of each year? What do you recommend they do to ensure the holiday experience doesn’t skew financial goal-setting?”Hall’s advice: Keep ’em separate. He recommends people enjoy the holidays and hold off on financial goals until January.
The personal finance authority: Be intentional about money
In her work as a financial writer and a personal finance educator, Miranda encourages people to make conscious choices around their spending and saving, and understand that there’s no absolute rule.Miranda, author of “You Don’t Need a Budget,” says details are key. What works for one person may not work for another. And it’s something Americans should consider as another year of goals and resolutions approaches. Insisting that the same technique works for everybody can leave people feeling stuck, Miranda says.“We tend to be not good at talking about the nuances and that leaves people with, ‘Here’s the one right rule. It’s not possible for me to achieve that perfection, so I’m just going to feel ashamed of every move that I make that is not moving toward that perfect goal.'”NEXT QUESTION: From Jeanne Theoharis, a political science professor, who asked how Miranda gets people to look beyond the micro and consider the larger system of capitalism. “How does she also get people to think about more collective solutionslike union organizing, pressing City Council or Congress for changes?”Miranda is quick to make it clear she’s not an organizer but says she tries to evoke larger systemic issues when discussing personal finance. “The way that I try to move that needle just a little bit is to always bring in that political aspect to whatever conversation we’re having to make the systemic and the cultural impact visible.”
The trainer: Make goals attainable
When it comes to changes and new years, one of the most popular areas is fitness, the subject of many a (failed) resolution. Personal trainer Harvey, of Form Fitness Brooklyn, says you can make positive, lasting change in fitness (and generally) with one philosophy: Start small and build.“We want to be mindful of making sure that we’re not asking too much or trying to overcompensate for what we feel like we left behind this past year or what we feel like we left on the table this past year,” she says. “It’s very reasonable to try and have the goal of getting to the gym twice a week, maybe three times a week, and then building from there instead of saying ‘Jan. 1, I’m starting, I’m gonna be at the gym five days a week, two hours a day.’ That’s not realistic and it’s not kind to ourselves.”NEXT QUESTION: From Hall: “What advice do you have for me to transition to an even more robust workout schedule in 2026 without falling into the risk of injuring myself by doing too much too soon?”Harvey emphasized warming up and having a mobility routine, and making the goal attainable by making it fun. “Find things that you actually enjoy doing and try and fit those in as well so that the idea of starting something new or adding to it isn’t one that comes with a negative like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to have to do this,’ where you’re dragging yourself into it.”
The historian: Learn from your past
It’s not just as individuals that we think about transitions. Nations and cultures have them, too.We can learn from them if we look at our history honestly and not through the guise of trying to hide the ugly parts, says Theoharis, professor of political science and history at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center.She points to the story of Rosa Parks, remembered as the catalyst of the Montgomery bus boycotts 70 years ago. But when Parks chose to resist, she didn’t know what her arrest would mean or what the outcome would be. Theoharis sees a lesson there for people looking to make change in today’s world and even individuals wanting to evolve.“A number of us would be willing to do something brave if we knew that it would work,” Theoharis says. “And we might even be willing to have some consequences. But part of what looking at the actual history of Rosa Parks or the actual history of the Montgomery bus boycott is in fact you have to make these stands with no sense that they will work.”NEXT (AND LAST) QUESTION: From Olivares, who wanted Theoharis’ thoughts on today’s civil rights battles. Theoharis referenced voting rights, which have been eroded in recent years. At the same time, remembrances of the turmoil during the Civil Rights years have become glossed over by a mythology of America overcoming its injustices.There’s a lesson there about what it takes to make real change for individuals, too, Theoharis says: It’s difficult to move forward if you’re not honestly addressing what’s come before. “Part of how we’ve gotten here is by that lack of reckoning with ourselves, lack of reckoning with where we are, lack of reckoning with history.”
Deepti Hajela, Associated Press
The United States on Monday announced a $2 billion pledge for U.N. humanitarian aid as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to slash U.S. foreign assistance and warns United Nations agencies to “adapt, shrink or die” in a time of new financial realities.The money is a small fraction of what the U.S. has contributed in the past but reflects what the administration believes is a generous amount that will maintain the United States’ status as the world’s largest humanitarian donor.The pledge creates an umbrella fund from which money will be doled out to individual agencies and priorities, a key part of U.S. demands for drastic changes across the world body that have alarmed many humanitarian workers and led to severe reductions in programs and services.The $2 billion is only a sliver of traditional U.S. humanitarian funding for U.N.-backed programs, which has run as high as $17 billion annually in recent years, according to U.N. data. U.S. officials say only $8-$10 billion of that has been in voluntary contributions. The United States also pays billions in annual dues related to its U.N. membership.Critics say the Western aid cutbacks have been shortsighted, driven millions toward hunger, displacement or disease, and harmed U.S. soft power around the world.
A year of crisis in aid
The move caps a crisis year for many U.N. organizations like its refugee, migration and food aid agencies. The Trump administration has already cut billions in U.S. foreign aid, prompting them to slash spending, aid projects and thousands of jobs. Other traditional Western donors have reduced outlays, too.The announced U.S. pledge for aid programs of the United Nations the world’s top provider of humanitarian assistance and biggest recipient of U.S. humanitarian aid money takes shape in a preliminary deal with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, run by Tom Fletcher, a former British diplomat and government official.Even as the U.S. pulls back its aid, needs have ballooned across the world: Famine has been recorded this year in parts of conflict-ridden Sudan and Gaza, and floods, drought and natural disasters that many scientists attribute to climate change have taken many lives or driven thousands from their homes.The cuts will have major implications for U.N. affiliates like the International Organization for Migration, the World Food Program and refugee agency UNHCR. They have already received billions less from the U.S. this year than under annual allocations from the previous Biden administration or even during Trump’s first term.Now, the idea is that Fletcher’s office which last year set in motion a “humanitarian reset” to improve efficiency, accountability and effectiveness of money spent will become a funnel for U.S. and other aid money that can be then redirected to those agencies, rather than scattered U.S. contributions to a variety of individual appeals for aid.
US seeks aid consolidation
The United States wants to see “more consolidated leadership authority” in U.N. aid delivery systems, said a senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide details before the announcement at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Geneva.Under the plan, Fletcher and his coordination office “are going to control the spigot” on how money is distributed to agencies, the official said.“This humanitarian reset at the United Nations should deliver more aid with fewer tax dollars providing more focused, results-driven assistance aligned with U.S foreign policy,” said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz.U.S. officials say the $2 billion is just a first outlay to help fund OCHA’s annual appeal for money, announced earlier this month. Fletcher, noting the upended aid landscape, already slashed the request this year. Other traditional U.N. donors like Britain, France, Germany and Japan have reduced aid allocations and sought reforms this year.“The agreement requires the U.N. to consolidate humanitarian functions to reduce bureaucratic overhead, unnecessary duplication, and ideological creep,” the State Department said in a statement. “Individual U.N. agencies will need to adapt, shrink, or die.”“Nowhere is reform more important than the humanitarian agencies, which perform some of the U.N.’s most critical work,” the department added. “Today’s agreement is a critical step in those reform efforts, balancing President Trump’s commitment to remaining the world’s most generous nation, with the imperative to bring reform to the way we fund, oversee, and integrate with U.N. humanitarian efforts.”At its core, the reform project will help establish pools of funding that can be directed either to specific crises or countries in need. A total of 17 countries will be targeted initially, including Bangladesh, Congo, Haiti, Syria and Ukraine.One of the world’s most desperate countries, Afghanistan, is not included, nor are the Palestinian territories, which officials say will be covered by money stemming from Trump’s as-yet-incomplete Gaza peace plan.The project, months in the making, stems from Trump’s longtime view that the world body has great promise, but has failed to live up to it, and has in his eyes drifted too far from its original mandate to save lives while undermining American interests, promoting radical ideologies and encouraging wasteful, unaccountable spending.Fletcher praised the deal, saying in a statement, “At a moment of immense global strain, the United States is demonstrating that it is a humanitarian superpower, offering hope to people who have lost everything.”
Jamey Keaten and Matthew Lee, Associated Press
Were at a rare inflection point. Robots are moving from research labs and factory floors into everyday life. Right now, theyre being dropped into human spaces and, often, missing the mark. Yet embodied AI is becoming more intelligent, manipulation more capable, and perception more attuned. These shifts are giving robotics a new expressive range, the ability to move, interact, and take shape in ways that feel natural in human environments. Its a moment full of possibility.
Currently, people see robots as humanoid helpers or robotic arms, but we dont have to be limited to these. They represent only a small slice of a much broader category of intelligent and autonomous physical systems, which are starting to show up across hotels, operating rooms, and beyond. Together, they make up an emerging landscape where many meaningful use cases havent yet been defined. Though theyll share capabilities around intelligence and automation, each will need a distinct format that expresses its promise.
All these use cases will require different robotic formats. What connects them is the need to fit and belong in human spaces. And not just physically fit, being able to navigate spatial and material complexities, but fit into the inherent social constructs these spaces embody. We need systems that move with the grain of human life, make people comfortable with their presence, and offer moments of surprise, delight, and personality. These are the kinds of systems we deserve, systems that let us engage with emerging technologies in ways that preserve our humanity.
DESIGN FOR HUMAN SPACES
Every human space is a system of invisible rules. We rarely think about them, but we follow them intuitively. They govern how we navigate, how we share space, and what feels acceptable or intrusive. Together they form culture.
The home is a great place to begin understanding what it means to design robotic systems for human spaces because the lessons learned extend to other spaces, like hospitals, airports, and back-of-house environments.
Home is one of the most complex human systems, full of rituals and meaning. Movement is deliberate and human-paced. At home, we adjust our speed without thinking, respond to subtle cues, and act in rhythm with others. Interaction is continuous, a fluid exchange of words, gestures, and glances. Trust is built gradually, through consistency and reliability.
A robotic system entering a home must be designed with this context in mind. Our team has been developing a concept for a robot designed to keep the home in rhythm. Its body draws from familiar domestic archetypes, somewhere between furniture and appliance, so it feels native. A single arm at counter height allows it to take part in most daily routines, tidying, setting a table, and lending a hand where needed. Ultimately, the goal is to create a robot that follows the flow of home life. Their presence must be clear in intent, socially aware in behavior, and gentle enough to support home life without ever intruding on it.
The same goal is true as we design robotics for other human domains. The challenge is to let go of our preconceived notions about technology and reflect on the context were entering by asking:
What human patterns are at play?
How do people move, communicate, and collaborate within them?
What physical and social contexts shape our routines and expectations?
From there, form, motion, behavior, personality, and interaction paradigms can be designed to reflect the domestic, civic, industrial, or social environment they inhabit. A restaurant kitchen, a factory, or a city street each has its own tempo, spatial grammar, and expectations of grace.
Design that reads those cues and responds in kind builds trust; design that ignores them breaks it. Robots and other intelligent systems that respect these invisible rules will be accepted, while those that overlook them will feel out of place. Designing for context ensures these technologies feel like they belong in human spaces.
[Photo: created by frog]
HOW TO SHAPE THE NEXT INTERFACE
As intelligence extends beyond screens and into the world around us, design grounded in people and context will make these technologies feel like they belong in human spaces. While were solving the technical hurdles, we also have a chance to define how these systems live among us.
The prototypes and interaction models we create today will become the foundations others build upon, eventually solidifying into platforms, patterns, and conventions. They will shape not only how these systems look and act, but also our own behaviors and expectationswhat we call culture.
Because of that, these first design moments matter. The exciting thing is that we are still at the beginning. The frameworks and languages of robotics and other intelligent systems are in flux, giving us a rare opportunity to design without inherited norms. While were sharing how we can break paradigms in the home, this same approach can be used across contexts to frame new formats and use cases.
In this moment, we are effectively writing the DNA for how intelligent systems will coexist with people. It is an incredible moment to shape the next chapter of human experience and ensure its one worth living with.
Inna Lobel is the head of industrial design at frog.
Thanks to my colleagues Katie Lim and Tom Frejowski for their collaboration and contributions to this work.
Zohran Mamdani has promised to transform New York City government when he becomes mayor. Can he do it?Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, already faces intense scrutiny, even before taking office in one of the country’s most scrutinized political jobs. Republicans have cast him as a liberal boogeyman. Some of his fellow Democrats have deemed him too far left. Progressives are closely watching for any signs of him shifting toward the center.On Jan. 1, he will assume control of America’s biggest city under that harsh spotlight, with the country watching to see if he can pull off the big promises that vaulted him to office and handle the everyday duties of the job. All while skeptics call out his every stumble.For Mamdani, starting off strong is key, said George Arzt, a veteran Democratic political consultant in New York who worked for former Mayor Ed Koch.“He’s got to use the first 100 days of the administration to show people he can govern,” he said. “You’ve got to set a mindset for people that’s like, ‘Hey, this guy’s serious.'”That push should begin with Mamdani’s speech on the day of his inauguration, where Arzt said it will be important for the new mayor to establish a clear blueprint of his agenda and tell New Yorkers what he plans to do and how he plans to do it.From there, he said Mamdani will have to count on the seasoned hands he’s hired to help him handle the concrete responsibilities of the job, while he and his team also pursue his ambitious affordability agenda.
Managing expectations as a movement candidate
Mamdani campaigned on a big idea: shifting the power of government toward helping working class New Yorkers, rather than the wealthy.His platform which includes free child care, free city bus service and a rent freeze for people living in rent stabilized apartments excited voters in one of America’s most expensive cities and made him a leading face of a Democratic Party searching for bright, new leaders during President Donald Trump’s second term.But Mamdani may find himself contending with the relentless responsibilities of running New York City. That includes making sure the trash is getting picked up, potholes are filled and snow plows go out on time. When there’s a subway delay or flooding, or a high-profile crime or a police officer parks in a bicycle lane, it’s not unusual for the city’s mayor to catch some heat.“He had a movement candidacy and that immediately raises expectations locally and nationally,” said Basil Smikle, a Democratic political strategist and Columbia University professor, who added that it might be good for Mamdani to “Just focus on managing expectations and get a couple of good wins under your belt early on.”“There’s a lot to keep you busy here,” he said.A large part of Mamdani’s job will also be to sell his politics to the New Yorkers who remain skeptical of him, with Smikle saying “the biggest hurdle” is getting people comfortable with his policies and explaining how what he’s pushing could help the city.“It’s difficult to have this all happen on day one,” he said, “or even day 30 or even day 100.”
Challenges and opportunities
Mamdani’s universal free child care proposal perhaps one of his more expensive plans is also one that has attracted some of the strongest support from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a moderate from Buffalo who endorsed the mayor-elect.Hochul is eager to work with Mamdani on the policy and both leaders consider the program a top priority, although it’s not yet clear how exactly the plan could come to fruition. The governor, who is up for reelection next year, has repeatedly said she does not want to raise income taxes something Mamdani supports for wealthy New Yorkers however she has appeared open to raising corporate taxes.“I think he has allies and supporters for his agenda, but the question is how far will the governor go,” said state Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris, a Mamdani ally.“There’s an acknowledgement that the voters have spoken, and there’s very clear policies that were associated with his successful campaign,” he said, “so to not make progress on them would be us thumbing our noses at the voters.”Mamdani’s pledge to freeze the rent for roughly 1 million rent stabilized apartments in the city would not require state cooperation.But that proposal perhaps the best known of his campaign is already facing headwinds, after the city’s departing mayor, Eric Adams, made a series of appointments in recent weeks to a local board that determines annual rent increases for the city’s rent stabilized units.The move could potentially complicate the mayor-elect’s ability to follow through on the plan, at least in his first year, although Mamdani has said he remains confident in his ability to enact the freeze.
Other challenges await
His relationship with some of the city’s Jewish community remains in tatters over his criticisms of Israel’s government and support for Palestinian human rights.The Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish advocacy organization, plans to track Mamdani’s policies and hires as it pledged to “protect Jewish residents across the five boroughs during a period of unprecedented antisemitism in New York City.”Earlier this month, a Mamdani appointee resigned over social media posts she made more than a decade ago that featured antisemitic tropes, after the Anti-Defamation League shared the posts online.The group has since put out additional findings on others who are serving in committees that Mamdani set up as he transitions into his mayoral role. In response, Mamdani said the ADL often “ignores the distinction” between antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli government.The mayor-elect’s past call to defund the city’s police department continue to be a vulnerability. His decision to retain Jessica Tisch, the city’s current police commissioner, has eased some concerns about a radical shakeup at the top of the nation’s largest police force.And then there’s Trump.Tensions between Trump and Mamdani have appeared to cool for now after months of rancor led into a surprisingly friendly Oval Office meeting. Future clashes may emerge given the sharp political differences between them, particularly on immigration enforcement, along with anything else that could set off the mercurial president.
Anthony Izaguirre, Associated Press
For years, accessibility was treated as a compliance exercise, something required rather than desired. Yet in todays consumer landscape, where aging, chronic illness, and situational disability touch every household, accessibility is no longer a specialty category. It is one of the biggest growth opportunities in business. Companies that recognize this shift are discovering a new kind of ROI. It is not return on investment alone. It is return on inclusion.
Return on inclusion happens when brands design products, services, and experiences for people across all levels of ability, not as an afterthought but from the start. When companies do this, they not only expand their total addressable market; they build loyalty, relevance, and emotional connection. In a world where product categories are crowded and loyalties are fragile, inclusion is becoming one of the strongest competitive advantages.
INCLUSION EXPANDS MARKET REACH
Nearly every person will experience a disability at some point in life. Some will be permanent, like paralysis or arthritis. Many will be temporary, like recovering from surgery or managing a sprained wrist. Others will be situational. Situational disabilities occur when external conditions limit ones abilities, like carrying groceries that occupy your hands and make it difficult to open a door, using a mobile phone in bright sunlight that washes out the screen, or trying to follow a conversation in a noisy environment where hearing becomes challenging. These circumstances are universal, which means the audience for accessible products is universal too.
When companies design with these realities in mind, they open their products to more users and more use cases. A bed that improves mobility helps someone with arthritis, but it also helps someone recovering from an injury or taking care of a newborn. A kitchen tool designed for dexterity challenges becomes easier for everyone to use. The more inclusive a product is, the more people can say, This works for me. Inclusion grows the market because it grows the moments when a product is relevant.
INCLUSION BUILDS EMOTIONAL LOYALTY
Brands often underestimate the emotional impact of accessibility. People form their strongest attachments to products that make their lives easier, safer, and more dignified. When a product removes friction or eliminates frustrations someone has struggled with for years, the emotional response is immediate. It becomes a product they trust, recommend, and repurchase.
Consumers reward brands that make them feel seen. They remember the company that listened to their needs or anticipated their challenges. This is especially powerful for people who have rarely felt included in mainstream product design. When brands design with dignity, people feel valued rather than accommodated. That emotional connection becomes a durable form of loyalty in a marketplace where loyalty is hard to earn.
INCLUSION REDUCES CHURN AND INCREASES LONGEVITY
Products that work for people across different stages of life stay in use longer. A chair that feels good at age 40 but also feels good at age 70 has a longer lifespan in the home. A bathroom fixture that supports mobility today and continues to support it as abilities change becomes a long-term investment.
When design anticipates the natural progression of life, customers do not need to replace products as their needs evolve. This strengthens trust in the brand and reduces churn. When people know they can rely on a company through different life stages, that company becomes their default choice.
INCLUSION ENCOURAGES INNOVATION
Many breakthrough innovations start at the edges, not the center. Voice control, curb cuts, electric toothbrushes, ergonomic grips, and captioning all began as accessible solutions. They became mainstream not because they were designed for everyone, but because they worked so well that everyone adopted them.
Designing for the edges forces companies to confront real constraints and real needs. Constraints inspire novel thinking. They reveal overlooked use cases and untapped potential. When teams design for a wider variety of abilities, they expand their creativity and produce ideas that would not have surfaced otherwise.
In this way, inclusion is not a limitation. It is a catalyst.
INCLUSION STRENGTHENS BRAND REPUTATION
Todays consumers expect brands to demonstrate values, not just state them. Designing for inclusion communicates empathy, responsibility, and leadership. It signals a commitment to humanity rather than a narrow focus on a demographic segment.
Companies that embrace inclusion early build reputational equity that becomes increasingly valuable over time. As society becomes more aware of disability and aging, brands that lead with empathy will stand apart. They will also attract talent, partnerships, and consumer goodwill. Return on inclusion is not just internal. It is cultural.
INCLUSION CREATES A BETTER PRODUCT FOR EVERYONE
The strongest case for return on inclusion is also the simplest. Inclusive products are better products. They are easier to use, more intuitive, more comfortable, safer, clearer, and more emotionally engaging. They remove friction. They reduce error. They prevent injury. They inspire confidence.
This does not dilute creativity. It strengthens it. It forces teams to consider how a product is seen from 10 feet away, how it is understood from three feet away, and how it feels within one foot. It challenges teams to design for discovery, delight, and long-term use. Inclusion expands the criteria for success, and in doing so, produces a better outcome for everyone.
THE FUTURE BELONGS TO INCLUSIVE BRANDS
As the population ages and public awareness of accessibility grows, return on inclusion will become one of the most important business metrics of the next decade. Companies that design with inclusion at the core will grow their markets, deepen loyalty, and lead with integrity.
Inclusion is no longer a compliance requirement or a niche specialty. It is a strategy for growth, innovation, and long-term relevance. The brands that understand this now will shape the next chapter of consumer experience.
The future belongs to those who design for every body.
Ben Wintner is CEO of Michael Graves Design.
Brigitte Bardot, the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later a militant animal rights activist and far-right supporter, has died. She was 91.Bardot died Sunday at her home in southern France, according to Bruno Jacquelin, of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the protection of animals. Speaking to The Associated Press, he gave no cause of death, and said that no arrangements had been made for funeral or memorial services. She had been hospitalized last month.Bardot became an international celebrity as a sexualized teen bride in the 1956 movie “And God Created Woman.” Directed by then husband Roger Vadim, it triggered a scandal with scenes of the long-legged beauty dancing on tables naked.At the height of a cinema career that spanned more than two dozen films and three marriages, Bardot came to symbolize a nation bursting out of bourgeois respectability. Her tousled, blond hair, voluptuous figure and pouty irreverence made her one of France’s best-known stars, even as she struggled with depression.Such was her widespread appeal that in 1969 her features were chosen to be the model for “Marianne,” the national emblem of France and the official Gallic seal. Bardot’s face appeared on statues, postage stamps and coins.“We are mourning a legend,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in an X post.Bardot’s second career as an animal rights activist was equally sensational. She traveled to the Arctic to blow the whistle on the slaughter of baby seals. She also condemned the use of animals in laboratory experiments, and she opposed Muslim slaughter rituals.“Man is an insatiable predator,” Bardot told The Associated Press on her 73rd birthday, in 2007. “I don’t care about my past glory. That means nothing in the face of an animal that suffers, since it has no power, no words to defend itself.”Her activism earned her compatriots’ respect and, in 1985, she was awarded the Legion of Honor, the nation’s highest recognition.
Turn to the far right
Later, however, she fell from public grace as her animal protection diatribes took on a decidedly extremist tone. She frequently decried the influx of immigrants into France, especially Muslims.She was convicted and fined five times in French courts of inciting racial hatred, in incidents inspired by her opposition to the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep during annual religious holidays.Bardot’s 1992 marriage to fourth husband Bernard d’Ormale, a onetime adviser to far-right National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, contributed to her political shift. She described Le Pen, an outspoken nationalist with multiple racism convictions of his own, as a “lovely, intelligent man.”In 2012, she supported the presidential bid of Marine Le Pen, who now leads her father’s renamed National Rally party. Le Pen paid homage Sunday to an “exceptional woman” who was “incredibly French.”In 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, Bardot said in an interview that most actors protesting sexual harassment in the film industry were “hypocritical,” because many played “the teases” with producers to land parts.She said she had never had been a victim of sexual harassment and found it “charming to be told that I was beautiful or that I had a nice little ass.”
Privileged but ‘difficult’ upbringing
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born Sept. 28, 1934, to a wealthy industrialist. A shy child, she studied classical ballet and was discovered by a family friend who put her on the cover of Elle magazine at age 14.Bardot once described her childhood as “difficult” and said that her father was a strict disciplinarian who would sometimes punish her with a horse whip.Vadim, a French movie produce who she married in 1952, saw her potential and wrote “And God Created Woman” to showcase her provocative sensuality, an explosive cocktail of childlike innocence and raw sexuality.The film, which portrayed Bardot as a teen who marries to escape an orphanage and then beds her brother-in-law, had a decisive influence on New Wave directors Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut, and came to embody the hedonism and sexual freedom of the 1960s.The film was a box-office hit, and it made Bardot a superstar. Her girlish pout, tiny waist and generous bust were often more appreciated than her talent.“It’s an embarrassment to have acted so badly,” Bardot said of her early films. “I suffered a lot in the beginning. I was really treated like someone less than nothing.”Bardot’s unabashed, off-screen love affair with co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant eradicated the boundaries between her public and private life and turned her into a hot prize for paparazzi.Bardot never adjusted to the limelight. She blamed the constant media attention for the suicide attempt that followed 10 months after the birth of her only child, Nicolas. Photographers had broken into her house two weeks before she gave birth to snap a picture of her pregnant.Nicolas’ father was Jacques Charrier, a French actor who she married in 1959 but who never felt comfortable in his role as Monsieur Bardot. Bardot soon gave up her son to his father, and later said she had been chronically depressed and unready for the duties of being a mother.“I was looking for roots then,” she said in an interview. “I had none to offer.”In her 1996 autobiography “Initiales B.B.,” she likened her pregnancy to “a tumor growing inside me,” and described Charrier as “temperamental and abusive.”Bardot married her third husband, West German millionaire playboy Gunther Sachs, in 1966, and they divorced three years later.Among her films were “A Parisian” (1957); “In Case of Misfortune,” in which she starred in 1958 with screen legend Jean Gabin; “The Truth” (1960); “Private Life” (1962); “A Ravishing Idiot” (1964); “Shalako” (1968); “Women” (1969); “The Bear And The Doll” (1970); “Rum Boulevard” (1971); and “Don Juan” (1973).With the exception of 1963’s critically acclaimed “Contempt,” directed by Godard, Bardot’s films were rarely complicated by plots. Often they were vehicles to display Bardot in scanty dresses or frolicking nude in the sun.“It was never a great passion of mine,” she said of filmmaking. “And it can be deadly sometimes. Marilyn (Monroe) perished because of it.”Bardot retired to her Riviera villa in St. Tropez at the age of 39 in 1973 after “The Woman Grabber.” As fans brought flowers to her home Sunday, the local St. Tropez administration called for “respect for the privacy of her family and the serenity of the places where she lived.”
Middle-aged reinvention
She emerged a decade later with a new persona: An animal rights lobbyist, her face was wrinkled and her voice was deep following years of heavy smoking. She abandoned her jet-set life and sold off movie memorabilia and jewelry to create a foundation devoted exclusively to the prevention of animal cruelty.Depression sometimes dogged her, and she said that she attempted suicide again on her 49th birthday.Her activism knew no borders. She urged South Korea to ban the sale of dog meat and once wrote to U.S. President Bill Clinton asking why the U.S. Navy recaptured two dolphins it had released into the wild.She attacked centuries-old French and Italian sporting traditions including the Palio, a free-for-all horse race, and campaigned on behalf of wolves, rabbits, kittens and turtle doves.“It’s true that sometimes I get carried away, but when I see how slowly things move forward my distress takes over,” Bardot told the AP when asked about her racial hatred convictions and opposition to Muslim ritual slaughter,In 1997, several towns removed Bardot-inspired statues of Marianne after the actress voiced anti-immigrant sentiment. Also that year, she received death threats after calling for a ban on the sale of horse meat.Environmental campaigner Paul Watson, who was beaten on a seal hunt protest in Canada alongside Bardot in 1977 and campaigned with her for five decades, acknowledged that “many disagreed with Brigitte’s politics or some of her views.”“Her allegiance was not to the world of humans,” he said. “The animals of this world lost a wonderful friend today.”Bardot once said that she identified with the animals that she was trying to save.“I can understand hunted animals, because of the way I was treated,” Bardot said. “What happened to me was inhuman. I was constantly surrounded by the world press.”
Elaine Ganley provided reporting for this story before her retirement. Angela Charlton contributed to this report.
Thomas Adamson and Elaine Ganley, Associated Press
A potent winter storm threatened blizzard-like conditions, treacherous travel, and power outages in parts of the Upper Midwest as other areas of the country braced Monday for plunging temperatures, strong winds, and a mix of snow, ice, and rain.The snow and strengthening winds began spreading Sunday across the northern Plains, where the National Weather Service warned of whiteout conditions and possible blizzard conditions that could make travel impossible in some areas. Snowfall totals were expected to exceed a foot (30 centimeters) across parts of the upper Great Lakes and as much as double that along the south shore of Lake Superior.“Part of the storm system is getting heavy snow, other parts of the storm along the cold front are getting higher winds and much colder temperatures as the front passes,” said Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster at the National Weather Service office in College Park, Maryland. “They’re all related to each other different parts of the country will be receiving different effects from this storm.”The weather service warned of “dangerous wind chills” as low as minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 34.4 degrees Celsius) in North Dakota and into Minnesota from Sunday night into Monday.In the South, meteorologists warned severe thunderstorms are likely to signal the arrival of a sharp cold front bringing a sudden drop in temperatures and strong north winds that will abruptly end days of record warmth throughout that region.The high temperature in Atlanta was around 72 F (22 C) on Sunday, continuing a warming trend after climbing to 78 F (about 26 C) to shatter the city’s record high temperature for Christmas Eve, the National Weather Service said. Numerous other record high temperatures were seen across the South and Midwest on the days after Christmas.But the incoming cold front was expected to drop rain on much of the South late Sunday night into Monday, and a big drop in temperatures Tuesday. Forecasters said the low temperature in Atlanta to 25 F (minus 3.9 C) by early Tuesday morning. The colder temperatures in the South are expected to persist through New Year’s Day.In Dallas, Sunday temperatures in the lower 80s (upper 20s C) could drop down to the mid 40s (single digits Celsius). In Little Rock, high temperatures of around 70 (21 C) on Sunday could drop down to highs in the mid-30s on Monday.“We’re definitely going back towards a more winter pattern,” Oravec said.The storm is expected to intensify as it moves east, drawing energy from a sharp clash between frigid air plunging south from Canada and unusually warm air that has lingered across the southern United States, according to the National Weather Service.
Leah Willingham and Jeff Martin, Associated Press
Construction materials are responsible for nearly one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions. And as global demand for construction continues to rise (it has already tripled over the past 25 years), its emissions are bound to climb even higher.eIn fact, some, like environmental engineer and University of Virginia professor Andres Clarens, see materials potential negative impact as so existential that he calls them the last major frontier in the fight against climate change. If thats the case, we need to reduce the emissions associated with commonly used building materials like cement and steeland we need to develop alternative materials that emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions by default. And we need to do it fast.This year, material designers delivered. Some of these new materials are still in the testing phase, others are already on the market. All five have tremendous potential to make our buildings more sustainable.[Photo: RMIT University]1. A superstrong material inspired by the deep-sea spongeEarlier this year, researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology invented a bio-inspired building material that is both lightweight and resilient under pressure, which could help reduce the use of steel and concrete. The key to their innovation? A little creature that lives thousands of meters deep in the ocean.The deep-sea sponges lattice-like skeleton, which has been optimized over millions of years, can absorb force while maintaining its strength. According to the researchers, a similarly designed material could enable thinner load-bearing walls and slimmer columns, which in turn, would reduce the amount of steel and concrete required to achieve structural integrity.The material is still in the testing phase.[Photos: InventWood]2. A Superwood that is stronger than steelSeven years ago, scientists at the University of Maryland said they discovered a way to make wood so strong that it could compete with steel. This year, their research culminated in the launch of Superwood, a material that has 50% greater tensile strength than steel and a strength-to-weight ratio thats 10 times better.Superwood was developed by a spin-off startup called InventWood, which began mass-producing the material this summer. The companys first facility in Frederick, Maryland, can produce one million square feet of Superwood per year, with applications varying from interior finishes to exterior-grade panels for siding and roofing.The plan, according to InventWood cofounder Alex Lau, is to build a larger facility that will scale to over 30 million square feet, enabling use in infrastructure and large developments.[Image: Carbon Smart Wood]3. A cross-laminated timber made of fallen treesBy some estimates, cities lose a staggering 36 million trees a year to storms, insects, and disease. Over the past six years, the Washington, D.C.-based startup Carbon Cambium has salvaged six million board feet of wood from these fallen trees, diverting it from the landfill, and turning it into usable timber for furniture with companies like Room & Board and Sabai.This year, the startup developed its first product for the construction industry. Carbon Smart Wood is the first cross-laminated timber (CLT) made from salvaged trees, which promises to make mass timber construction even more sustainable.The company offers millwork like decking and flooring, and full CLT structural panels for buildings. Forty thousand linear feet of the material will appear on the facade of the new JFK Airport expansion in 2026.a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/91453541/architects-embracing-rammed-earth-designs">Horizon House [Photo: Casey Dunn/courtesy Lake Flato]4. A new take on rammed earthRammed earth, a building technique where damp soil is compacted in layers within temporary forms, has propped up buildings for millennia. This year, the humble material got an upgrade when researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology encased it in a cardboard tube.The resulting material, dubbed cardboard-confined rammed earth (CCRE), consists of rammed earth thats been compacted inside cylindrical tubes. Typically, rammed earth walls also include a dose of cement to improve strength and durability, but the cardboard formwork in CCRE acts as a shell, negating the need for cement. The researchers say the cardboard helps protect the rammed earth from surrounding environments, while additional treatment on the cardboard can extend its life as well. They have also developed a similar version using carbon-fiber tubes.To date, the team has built a small-scale prototype, but if scaled, the material could be used to build low-rise and modular buildings with no cement.[Image: courtesy Joe Doucet and Partners]5. A paint that changes colors with the seasonsWeve known for a while now that painting surfaces like streets and roofs in white can make them cooler because white reflects heatand painting them black can make them warmer because black absorbs heat.This year, industrial designer Joe Doucet took this time-tested innovation to a new level by developing a climate-adaptive paint that can change colors based on the outside temperature. The paint, which can be mixed with other tints (so you can still have your yellow house) could save an estimated 2030% in energy costs every year. Doucets team is currently testing the final formula, with the goal of licensing it to paint manufacturers when ready.
Throughout 2025, weve watched companies treat employees with a stunning disregard: rolling layoffs (with thousands let go at a time), unchecked workloads, turning a blind eye to burnoutwith 76% of U.S. workers reporting at least one health condition todayand a near-gleeful rush to replace people with AI.
Over 200,000 American women quit their jobs this year, many citing inflexible policies and lack of support for balancing work and life. Relentless rounds of cuts have destabilized employee trust and left employees uncertain and questioning leadership at every level. Across industries, leaders have routinely prioritized short-term efficiency over human impacts, sending a clear signal that employee well-being is treated as irrelevant to how most CEOs define organizational success.
Despite a year in which many companies acted as if they were actively anti employee well-being, theres clear evidence that 2026 will be the year everything changes. This isnt wishful thinking or naivete. Its grounded in hard business realities that CEOs can no longer afford to ignore.
First, investorsthe same ones who have historically applauded employee layoffsare beginning to reward companies that prioritize employee flourishing because multiple years of research show that firms with high well-being scores consistently outperform peers in stock performance, profitability, and innovation. Second, the talent market is unforgivingtop performers now demand workplaces that offer trust, growth, and the conditions to thrive; ignoring this risks losing the very people who drive competitive advantage. Additionally, weve reached a point of destabilizationa crisiswhere people are hitting a no more moment and simply wont continue in the old way any longer. This will be a major catalyst for change. Third, the AI-driven transformation of work depends on human adaptability; organizations that fail to foster well-being, learning, and resilience will sabotage their own investments in technology. Finally, the reputational and financial costs of ignoring well-being are increasingly visible, from mass departures of key employees to heightened public scrutiny. Taken together, these forces create a perfect storm: 2026 is the year CEOs will have both the incentive and the imperative to finally make employee well-being a central strategic priority.
The Reckoning Arrives
If 2025 will be remembered for the callousness and disregard organizations showed their people, 2026 will be remembered as the year CEOs felt the consequences of those decisions and were forced to pivot. And this shift wont happen because leaders suddenly became more empathetic. It will happen because the data is now unequivocal: employee well-being isnt a soft ideaits a hard, proven driver of performance, retention, customer experience, innovation, and long-term value creation. When people feel genuinely valued, respected, supported, treated humanely, and that they truly belong, they dont just perform more optimallythey think more clearly, solve problems more creatively, and bring far greater energy and commitment to their work. Research from leading business schools and global workplace studies demonstrates this; 2026 is simply the year the evidence becomes impossible for CEOs to dismiss.
The Well-BeingPerformance Link Is No Longer Debatable
For years, employee well-being was treated as a feel-good afterthoughtsomething leaders knew mattered but never put on the same level as profits and shareholder returns. That era is over. Rigorous, multiyear research from investment firm Irrational Capitalanalyzing thousands of public companies, including the entire S&P 500 and Russell 1000shows that organizations in the top 20% for employee well-being have outperformed the market by hundreds of basis points. Oxford research finds that a single-point increase in employee happiness correlates with billions in additional annual profit for large enterprises. McKinsey on burnout, Deloitte on retention, Gallups global workplace dataall of it points to the same conclusion: when people feel genuinely supported, productivity, profitability, innovation, and customer loyalty surge. Harvard leadership professor Arthur C. Brooks puts it bluntly: Happier employees are more profitable, more productive employees. Thats just the way it is. Investors are now baking these realities into their models. The gap between human flourishing and financial flourishing isnt philosophical anymoreits mathematical.
Where Companies Have Gone Wrong
Most organizations spent the past decade conflating well-being with wellness programs. They handed out meditation apps, gym stipends, and yoga classes while ignoring the root causes of poor well-being: uncaring and untrustworthy managers, a lack of connection and belonging, expectations of always being onand feeling unappreciated for ones hard work. The result was predictableburnout soared, engagement flat-lined, and the best people walked away. The damage is undeniable in 2025s data. Trust in senior leadership has fallen to its lowest point in years. Employees are using words like disconnect, misalignment, distrust, and hypocrisy in record numbers. The power shift back to employers has been used to push return-to-office mandates, endless restructurings, and the forever layoffsmall, rolling terminations that keep everyone fearing theyll be next, exhausted, and diminished in what they can contribute.
Why 2026 Changes Everything
2025 exposed the cost of treating people as expendble. 2026 will reveal the cost of continuing to do so. The forces now converging leave CEOs no room to hide:
Investors have begun rewarding cultures of genuine care. The same financial logic that once justified layoffs now proves that sustained well-being creates superior performance. Boards are asking hard questions about turnover, culture risk, and the long-term sustainability of workforce models built on burnout.
The cost of neglect is now impossible to hide. The U.S. Surgeon General has warned that workplaces are a major driver of the nations mental health crisis. The result is spiking turnover, steep drops in productivity, skyrocketing medical claims, and a workforce whose resilience has been systematically erodedlosses that dwarf the cost of actually supporting people.
Young talent is reshaping the expectations of work. Gen Z and millennials, who will soon be the majority of the workforce, refuse to accept fear, overwork, or indifference as normal. They demand growth, stability, and humane leadershipand they walk quickly when they dont get it. The mistake leaders continue to make is by framing this attitude as entitlement. Its not. Its clarity. Younger generations simply refuse to tolerate what older generations accepted as normal. The battle for talent has become a battle for well-being.
AI is acceleratingnot reducingthe need for well-being. The belief that technology could replace people and eliminate the need for authentically supportive leadership has been proven wrong. AI demands adaptability, creativity, emotional intelligence, and resiliencecapacities that collapse under chronic stress. Organizations that want their people to master the tools of the future must first keep them energized and trusted today.
A new leadership mandate is forming. This is the shift Deloitte calls human sustainability: the deliberate choice to build organizations where people can thrive for the long haul, not just survive to the next quarter. It means embedding respect, growth, and genuine care into every systemhiring, development, compensation, communication, and even the way difficult decisions are handled. Most importantly, well-being must become a leadership competency. Leaders must learn the importance of trust, how team cohesion gets built, how psychological safety is created, how meaningful work is designed, and how human energy is sustained. Leaders must embrace new practices known to support human thriving.
The companies that make this pivot in 2026 wont just repair the damage of 2025. Theyll dominate the decade. Theyll keep their best people and attract everyone elses. Theyll turn AI from a source of fear into the greatest amplifier of human potential weve ever seen. Theyll build resilience that no disruption can break.
In my new book, The Power of Employee Well-Being, I lay out exactly how this transformation happens and why its the single greatest untapped performance lever left in most organizations. The evidence is settled. The investors are watching. The talent is voting with their feet. And 2026 is the year the old excuses finally die. Leaders who still treat people as costs to be managed will be left behind. The rest of us will be building the futureand its one where people are flourishing, trusted, and bringing everything they have to work every single day.
Happy New Year!
