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In my work, I frequently observe teams whose purpose is to provide top-level service fall into frustration with their inability to deliver. With stress coming from a lack of support from their workplaces practices, communication, or training, I can empathize. Studies find that workplace burnout is at unprecedented levels, and with layoffs forcing workers to handle multiple roles, emotionally exhausted teams deserve support to carry on. With frustrated customers being redirected to apps, endless hold times, or inadequate self-service forums that can’t address complex problems, we need solid teams to help us with our customer-facing problems. When trapped in bureaucratic dysfunction, even high-performing teams feel defeated by their inability to create solutions. Despite advanced technologies, research shows employees spend significant time frustrated by organizational processes and policies that block their progress. And when customers experience these stall-outs, it translates to sinking loyalty and profits. Why Workplace Productivity Is Falling In fact, a recent study from Gallup found the average knowledge worker spends nearly 10 hours each week navigating internal processes and bureaucracy, which translates to 25% of their total workweek. Referred to as the productivity tax, these findings revealed that 77% of employees report differing levels of frustration with organizational barriers; only 23% feel organizational procedures support employee productivity. It’s not just employees that are discouraged. Larger enterprises lose up to $15 million annually per 1,000 employees due to process inefficiencies and bureaucratic friction. Thats not to mention the emotional tolls employees sufferlike spikes in anxiety and cortisol levelsfrom handling angry customers. The result: sagging motivation to keep trying to make progress, often culminating in a sense of defeat by the very systems that are supposed to help employees complete their work. How can teams exhausted from these experiences stay agile to spark the needed innovative work-arounds that will solve customer and morale problems quickly? Three proven strategies can give teams the needed momentum to not give up. A Stressed Team on the Frustration Threshold At her bank, Sara’s team struggled with routine foreign account payments for premium clients. The process required verbal approval from the account holder plus two digital approvals, making it cumbersome for busy executives who often confirmed without reviewing transactions. Multimillion-dollar transfers disappeared for days. Some accounts experienced bounce-backs weeks later due to system errors, one banking team member said. Yet Saras team always cited the same reasons as the source of their stall-outs: The Dodd-Frank Act requirements for international transfers leave us no options to do better. For years, multistep confirmations have been used by banks, exacerbating banking clients frustrations. Already wasting thousands of dollars in lost time, the team asked a key question: Why is transferring the same amount, to the same account, on the same day each month so complicated? Interrupting the Team Frustration Pattern The breakthrough came not from accepting established limitations, but from three key elements working in concert. 1. Identifying the right people. The team-based resolution accelerated three essential perspectives from a small team of the right people close to the problem: A customer with a problem, perplexed by a seemingly simple task, asking the question, Isnt there a better way by now? An operations specialist with deep systems knowledge A customer service representative willing to dig deeper into the maze of systems to check assumptions and ask, Whats missing in order to do this? All parties unwilling to accept the answer, Sorry, that’s just how it works.” This combination provided the authority, expertise, and motivation needed to pursue nonstandard solutions. 2. Safely asking the same question differently (and repeatedly). Returning to one fundamental question, and reframing it in a psychologically safe way, the solution came from a practice referred to as shifting frames, coupled with not accepting explanations about regulations and international banking protocols. “There must be a better way. What are we missing?” This refusal to normalize inefficiency eventually cracked the case. After hearing the same question framed slightly differently multiple times, the customer service representative looped in an operations specialist who recognized, “Waitis this account a certain type? Because if so . . .” The aha moment came not from new information, but from seeing existing information through a different lensprecisely because they refused to stop questioning. 3. Problem-solving collaboratively with a shared goal. What made this experience remarkable wasn’t that one person found the solution. Rather, it was how three peoplefrustrated but committed to finding an answerworked together with increasing focus. The answer that the customer had received for nearly six months from other banking team members transformed into “How can we make this work?”reframed from explaining why it wouldn’t. The Breakthrough Formula The resolution revealed a repeatable formula for breaking through frustrating problems: Persistence + Right People + Questioning Assumptions = Breakthrough Solutions. This approach works because it addresses the three common failure points in problem-solving: Giving up too soon. Most teams stop at the first or second “no,” never reaching the insight that comes after sustained effort. Involving the wrong people. Problems often stall because the people with the expertise, authority, or motivation to solve them aren’t in the conversation. Accepting false constraints. Teams frequently operate within imagined limitations, never questioning whether the rules that appear to block progress actually apply to their specific situation. So how can you apply these principles to your own seemingly intractable problems? Create psychological safety around persistent questioning. Te most valuable question wasn’t the first or second asking about alternativesit was the fifth. Eliminate fear by creating an environment in which people feel comfortable asking the same fundamental questions repeatedly, knowing that breakthrough insights often emerge from persistent inquiry. Bring multiple expertise levels to stubborn problems. While the banking example is a simple one, its also one many can relate to. The long-standing issue wasnt solved by a single technical specialist, frontline employee, or customer pressure. It required the combination of all three perspectives. Focus on the desired outcome, not the process. Throughout the teams interactions, focus was maintained on the end goal (completing the transaction) rather than debating the merits of existing processes, Sara explained. This orientation prevented the team from getting lost in explaining why things weren’t working and kept them searching for how they could find a solution. The Payoff of Productive Persistence The difference between problems that linger forever and those that get solved quickly often comes down to how teams approach the frustration threshold. Average teams give up when initial solutions fail. Exceptional teams recognize that the moment of greatest frustration often precedes the breakthrough. By assembling the right people, maintaining persistent questioning, and collaborating with a solution focus, even the most frustrating bureaucratic tangles can unravelrevealing pathways that were available all along, just waiting for the right combination of perspectives to discover them. This isn’t just about banking transactions or customer service. It’s a fundamental approach to organizational effectiveness that transforms frustration from a signal to give up into a signal to dig deeper, ask better questions, and find the people who can help you see the problem differently. In 2025 and beyond, the competitive advantage belongs not to organizations with perfect processes, but to those with teams who excel at breaking through barriers when those processes inevitably fail.
Category:
E-Commerce
Well over a decade on from its initial launch, its safe to say that Google Glass was not a success. While the product had some forward-thinking ideas, its generally not a good sign when your product leads to the coinage of a brand-new insult. The design was off-putting and the technology wasnt readyand neither was society. Today, things are a little different. Meta and Ray-Bans smart glasses are a hit, despite offering the same camera capabilities that turned so many off Google Glass in the first place. It helps, of course, that they just look like normal Ray-Bans. So for Googles second swing at the product category, its focusing on design and functionality. At its I/O keynote this week, Googles XR VP Shahram Izadi gave a snappy but convincing demonstration of how the company plans to attack the form factor this time around. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/multicore_logo.jpg","headline":"Multicore","description":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It's written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit multicore.blog","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}} Android apps and Gemini While Googles glasses strategy falls under Android XR, the same operating system powering Samsungs upcoming Vision Pro competitor, it made sure to emphasize that the platform will appear in different forms on a range of hardware. We believe theres not a one size fits all for XR, and youll use different devices throughout your day, Izadi said, noting that an immersive headset like Samsungs is better suited to movies or games, while lightweight glasses are designed for on-the-go use as a complement to a phone. The connecting thread between the form factors is Android apps and Gemini. Google says its adapting its own apps like Maps, Photos, and YouTube for XR, while mobile and tablet apps will work as wellalthough presumably not on glasses, unless they get some significant updates from developers. A multi-device future The Gemini AI assistant, meanwhile, ought to work seamlessly across both headsets and glasses. Elsewhere at I/O, Google placed an emphasis on how Gemini will benefit when you share more personal information, which positions it well for a multi-device futureincluding the phone. Meta, of course, will have something to say about that after recently converting its Ray-Ban companion app into a more general app for Meta AI. The standard spec for Android XR glasses covers devices with and without an in-lens screen. Google didnt go into details about the display technology involved, but its the most obvious path to a functional improvement over the current Meta Ray-Bans. Lately Ive been using Gemini with Googles Pixel Buds Pro 2supposedly built for Gemini AIand while it works well for what it is, I think AI chat interfaces are a lot less compelling when you cant read the responses. Beyond Gemini, the ability to see notifications, Maps directions and real-time language translations could make a huge difference to the smart glasses experience. Design Partners Design is obviously critical to any wearable technology, and Meta made a strong move by tying up dominant eyewear company EssilorLuxotticaparent of Ray-Ban and many other brandsto a long-term partnership. The Meta Ray-Bans would not be anywhere near as popular if they werent Ray-Bans. In response, Google has partnered with U.S. retailer Warby Parker and hip South Korean brand Gentle Monster for the initial batch of Android XR glasses. No actual designs have been shown off yet, and itll be hard to compete with the ubiquitous Wayfarer, but the announcement should ensure a solid range of frames that people will actually want to wear. Google is also working with AR company Xreal on a pair of developer-focused XR glasses called Project Aura. Xreal is a leader in the nascent space for smart glasses; Ive been using its Air 2 glasses for a while and have found them to be great for watching movies or extending a MacBook display on the go. Project Aura is intended to be more capable than the first set of display-equipped Android XR devices that hit the marketitll hook up to an external processing puck that handles computational tasks. Project Aura [Photo: Xreal] Normal glasses Google cofounder Sergey Brin weighed in on the companys past ventures into glasses in an I/O interview with Alex Kantrowitzs Big Technology Podcast this week. I learned a lot, he said. Definitely feel like I made a lot of mistakes with Google Glass, I’ll be honest. I’m still a big believer in the form factor, so I’m glad we have it now. And now it looks like normal glasses and doesn’t have the thing in front. Beyond the form factor, Brin pointed to the rise of AI as a game changer for smart glasses capability, allowing them to help you out without constantly distracting you. He also noted that this time Google is working with hardware partners rather than attempting to wrangle efficient manufacturing by itself. Compelling and deliverable Overall, Googles take on Android XR for glasses looks pretty compelling at this stagebut more importantly, it feels deliverable. Its still early, of course, and lifestyle products like this arent necessarily well-suited to keynote demonstrations. But as someone who uses Meta Ray-Ban and Xreal glasses regularly, it isnt hard to imagine a world in which Android XR glasses are ultimately able to combine the best qualities of both. Now Google has to execute on the design and the software. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/multicore_logo.jpg","headline":"Multicore","description":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It's written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. o learn more visit multicore.blog","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}}
Category:
E-Commerce
Fast Company explores the complicated truth about the effect social media has on this generation’s teen population.
Category:
E-Commerce
Meghan carries many titles these days. Besides being the Duchess of Sussex, she’s a podcaster, a philanthropist, a children’s book author, the star of a Netflix show, and the founder of a direct-to-consumer startup. But when I sit down to speak with her, she says she’s recently taken on a new role: that of Tooth Fairy. Archie, her 6-year-old son, recently lost his first tooth. Meghan rushed home to ensure she could be the one to leave a little money and a small dinosaur under his pillow. At 2 a.m., Archie woke Meghan up excitedly to tell her what had happened. “I had a lot of business meetings the next morning, but I still chose to cuddle with him the rest of the night,” she says. “Those mom moments energize me to be a better founder, a better employer, a better boss.” These are the kinds of work life details that Meghan likes to get into in her podcast series, Confessions of a Female Founder, made with the production company Lemonada Media (which is also behind podcasts by Sarah Silverman and David Duchovny, among others). It has had more than 800,000 downloads since its April launch. On the show, Meghan talks with female founders about the origins of their business, along the lines of Guy Raz’s How I Built This. But the show also has another dimension: It allows Meghan to get practical advice about launching her own lifestyle brand, As Ever. “I’m pulling back the curtain to allow people to see the candid experience of being a founder,” Meghan says. In the eight-part series, she’s spoken to guests ranging from Bumble’s Whitney Wolfe Herd to Kitsch’s Cassandra Thurswell. The finale, released May 27, features Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx and Sneex. Sara Blakely [Photo: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images/Fast Company] A Pioneering Netflix Deal In her conversation with Blakely, Meghan talks about how she partnered with Netflix to create As Ever, her new brand, which launched in February. The line included products like tea, jams, honey, cookie mixes, and her iconic “flower sprinkles,” which are edible flower petals that spruce up dishes (priced between $9 and $28). Over the past few years, even as Netflix’s subscriber numbers have continued to show impressive growth (it added 18.91 million subscribers, a year-over-year increase of 15.9%, in the fourth quarter of 2024), it has also been exploring how it can create products tied to the content of shows. The streaming service now has an online shop that sells everything from cosplay costumes for Squid Game to Stranger Things bomber jackets. With Bridgerton, one of Netflix’s biggest hits, the streaming service produced its own products, like coffee mugs, but also licensed Bridgerton branding to other companies, like Hill House Home and Selkie, to produce dresses. Meghan says that she had been exploring various ways of launching a business when Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer, approached her. “At the time, I had been working towards building out my own in-house team,” Meghan says. “But I had a complete U-turn because I completely bought into the vision she was sharing, which is where content and commerce meet, not in a product placement way, but rather in an ideological way.” In many ways, this is a pioneering partnership for Netflix. Along with Meghan, the Netflix team decided that it made sense for As Ever to exists on its own, without any Netflix branding. This is why the line isn’t called, “With Love, Meghan,” like the show. “The brand is in the same universe at the show, but they’re not the same,” Meghan says. Meghan also points out that Netflix is not just a financial backer. The company’s consumer packaged goods team works closely with Meghan’s team to manufacture the products. “We are on calls daily, working through product development, SKUs, and inventory,” she says. “We have a field trip tomorrow to look at different manufacturers and suppliers as we expand the brand.” What Comes Next for As Ever As Ever’s first collection was a runaway success. Meghan says that even though the team spent a year preparing the line and forecasting demand, all the products on the site sold out in 45 minutes. Now, they’re trying to plan As Ever’s next phase. The easiest thing to do would have been to simply restock the products, which would likely sell out very quickly again. But instead, Meghan wants to take a step back, gather data from the launch, and figure out exactly what As Ever could be. She says she’s planning to announce new products in the first quarter of 2026. There are some clues about what new items might be in the pipeline. Meghan’s trademark application for her brand includes things like cookbooks, tableware, cutlery, and serving ware. “I want to really focus on the hospitality angle of As Ever, but as we take the learnings, we can understand what the customer’s needs are seasonally,” she says. There are now many models for successful celebrity brands. As Meghan contemplates what comes next, there are many directions she could go, from focusing on a single product category, like Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty and Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS, to a broader play, like Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop and Jessica Alba’s The Honest Company. But for now, she believes it makes sense to build a brand around a single idea. “My heart is very deeply in my home,” she says. “Everything comes from being rooted in the love story of your home and garden, and then you can imagine different verticals coming out of that.” In the future, though, the sky’s the limit. I ask whether she might explore a clothing business, since many women are drawn to her personal style. “The category of fashion is something I will explore at a later date, because I do think that’s an interesting space for me,” she says. As she continues building As Ever, there’s a good chance we’ll hear about her twists and turns through through a podcast. There’s interest in doing a second season of Confessions of a Female Founder, and many female founders have approached her to be a guest on the series. But Meghan is now involved in such a wide range of projects, she’s sure to find some way to tell her story. “If I had to write a résumé, I don’t know what I would call myself,” she says. “I think it speaks to this chapter many of us find ourselves in, where none of us are one note. But I believe all the notes I am playing are part of the same song.”
Category:
E-Commerce
Keyboard shortcuts are efficiencys greatest secret weapon. Yes, they can take a bit to learn and yes, sometimes youve got togasp!take your hand off your mouse to reach all the keys. But man, oh man, once youve mastered the best ones, youll wonder how you ever lived without them. If you want to navigate Windows 11 faster, work smarter, and minimize unnecessary clicks, these are the 10 shortcuts worth memorizing. Alt + Tab: Switch Between Open Apps As far as most shortcut experts are concerned, this is the Windows shortcut to rule all shortcuts. This venerable classic lets you cycle through open applications with ease. Hold Alt and tap Tab to jump between the windows youve got open. Its perfect for multitasking without losing momentum. Win + E: Open File Explorer Instantly No more hunting for the File Explorer icon: just press Win + E, and all your files are right there. Whether youre accessing documents, downloads, or external drives, this shortcut is a must-learn. Win + D: Show the Desktop Im not ashamed to admit that sometimes I have so many projects going at once that I get overwhelmed by my own mess of windows, apps, and settings. Sometimes you just need a clean slate, you know? Press Win + D, and all your open windows will minimize, revealing the desktop instantly. Take a breath, and then tap it again to restore everything right where you left it. Win + V: Access Clipboard History Something of a dark horse in the handy shortcuts competition: Ever copied something only to lose it moments later? Win + V saves the day by opening the Clipboard history, allowing you to retrieve text or images youve copied earlier. Alt + Spacebar: Open Copilot Now for a relative newcomer. For quick assistance, answers, and creative ideas, Alt + Spacebar launches a little Copilot search box, making it easy to get help directly within Windows. Use it to look stuff up on the web, launch programs, or open folders, all with a quick keyboard combo. Win + I: Open Settings Tired of digging through menus just to get to Settings? Why did they bury it so deep?! Press Win + I to open Settings instantly, letting you tweak stuff much more quickly than navigating there by mouse. Win + Shift + S: Take a Screenshot When you need to capture something on your screen, the excellent Snipping Tool is your best friend. Win + Shift + S opens it, letting you select and save any part of your display. Ctrl + Shift + Esc: Open Task Manager Slow? Laggy? Chugging along? Keep tabs on your system performance by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc. This shortcut opens Task Manager immediately, letting you manage RAM-hogging apps and CPU-taxing processes with ease. Win + L: Lock Your Computer This ones especially handy for those of you whove been summoned back to the office. When you step away from your desk, pressing Win + L locks your screen instantly, securing your work and keeping prying eyes out. Win + Period (.) or Win + Semicolon (;): Open Emoji Panel Heres one for the youths out there. Spice up your messages with emojis and GIFs. Press Win + . or Win + ; to open the emoji panel and add some flair to your messages.
Category:
E-Commerce
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