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If you work in an office, your next coworker might not be human at all. Workers are already well-acquainted with artificial intelligence in the office, using AI tools to take notes, automate tasks, and assist with workflow. Now, Microsoft is working on a new kind of AI agent that doesnt just assist, but acts as an employee. These Agentic Users will soon have their own email, Teams account, and company ID, just like a regular coworker. Each embodied agent has its own identity, dedicated access to organizational systems and applications, and the ability to collaborate with humans and other agents, states a Microsoft product roadmap document. These agents can attend meetings, edit documents, communicate via email and chat, and perform tasks autonomously. The rise of AI has already spelled death for middle management, and is having a significant and disproportionate impact on entry-level workers in the American labor market, according to economists at Stanfords Digital Economy Lab. Gartner projects that by 2028, 33% of enterprise software applications will incorporate agentic AI, and at least 15% of daily business decisions will be made autonomously by AI agents. If AI employees can soon take over the grunt work no one wants to do, like scheduling and reporting, leaving people to handle the big picture tasks, thats a win, right? Yet it also raises questions like: whose job is it to supervise AI employees? How much can AI really be entrusted with? And what happens if, or when, something goes wrong? Last year Deloitte surveyed organizations on the cutting edge of AI, and found just 23% of these organizations reported feeling highly prepared to manage AI-related risks. According to one study, 40% of agentic AI projects could be canceled by the end of 2027 due to inadequate risk controls, unclear business value and escalating costs. As AI rapidly establishes itself as a workplace norm, 2025 will be remembered as the moment when companies pushed past simply experimenting with AI and started building around it, Microsoft said in a blog post accompanying its annual Work Trend Index report. The rollout of Agentic users could start later this November, according to internal documents first reported by The Register. With Microsoft Ignite this week, stay tuned.
Category:
E-Commerce
Our culture equates busyness with importance, overcommitment with achievement, and exhaustion with value. For high-achieving professionals, this belief system isnt just inconvenient, its quietly eroding energy, focus, and fulfillment. Meetings pile up, emails never end, and the pressure to do it all becomes a measure of worth. And yet, this version of productivity is deeply misleading. The truth is, sustainable success doesnt come from cramming more into your day. It comes from aligning what you do with who you are, and giving yourself permission to prioritize energy, clarity, and presence over perpetual motion. Because motion for the sake of it is meaningless. The Cost of Outdated Beliefs Most of our thoughts are inherited patterns: echoes of beliefs we absorbed without realizing or having context. Many high achievers carry invisible scripts around their worth and value that may seem insignificant, yet arent harmless. They quietly shape decisions, drain energy, and fuel cycles of overcommitment. Left unchallenged, they keep us trapped in performance over presence, forcing a choice between professional success and personal fulfillment that shouldnt exist. The data confirms the danger: Nearly 60% of professionals report negative stress impacts, including irritability, fatigue, and decreased motivation. Chronic stress is linked to over 120,000 deaths each year in the U.S. alone. Leaders who push past their limits not only compromise their own well-being, but they also set a tone for teams that normalizes depletion. Rewriting Your Inner Story The first step to changing the way you work and live is identifying the beliefs running the show. Ask yourself: Which internal narratives drive my decisions? Which of them are inherited, unexamined, or outdated? Do they still serve me, or do they keep me misaligned? Once these scripts are visible, you can begin to rewrite them. Old belief: I must prove my worth by doing more. New truth: My worth is inherent; I do not need to earn it through busyness. Old belief: Busyness is a sign of importance. New truth: Stillness is a strategy, not a liability. Reflection and focus expand my impact. Old belief: I can (and should) do it all. New truth: Freedom comes from focus, not volume. Saying no is wisdom, not weakness. Even small shifts in thinking create space for bigger changes in behavior, energy, and presence. Story in Action Consider Laura, a senior leader at a fast-growing tech firm. On paper, she was thrivingleading teams, closing deals, and responding to emails at all hours. Yet she felt perpetually drained, anxious, and disconnected from both her work and her personal life. Every day felt like a treadmill she couldnt step off. When she began questioning her internal narratives, she realized her default belief: If Im not constantly available, Im failing. With that recognition, she experimented with small rituals to reclaim her energy. She started each morning with a 10-to-20-minute walk, phone-free, allowing her to plan her day with clarity. Before meetings, she paused to breathe and set her intention. And in the evenings, she created simple rituals that increased her presence: journaling one win for the day as she stepped away from her laptop, a gratitude circle at dinner with family, and reading for pleasure. These small, deliberate actions transformed her experience of her own life. Laura wasnt doing less; she was choosing differently. Her focus sharpened, her decisions felt clearer, and she felt more present in conversations with her team and family. By embedding rituals instead of relying on autopilot routines to just get through the day, she reclaimed control over her energy, rewrote the story she was living by, and discovered that sustainable success comes from alignment, not overextension. Rituals, Not Routines: A Practical Tool Changing beliefs is only the beginning. Without intentional action, old habits quietly reassert themselves. This is where ritualsintentional and meaningful rhythms unique to youbecome transformative. Unlike routines, which can be automatic and draining over time, rituals are infused with purpose. They create moments of renewal, grounding, and clarity. For example: Starting your day with a five-minute reflection instead of jumping straight into email. Brewing coffee or tea while you set an intention for the day or the next meeting. Closing the workday with a transition ritual, signaling the shift from professional to personal time. Winding down with reading, candlelight, journaling, or a hot shower. These intentional pauses are strategic, not indulgent. They preserve energy, enhance focus, and allow you to operate from alignment rather than autopilot. Presence as a Leadership Advantage The most effective professionals arent necessarily those who work the longest hoursthats the old way of working. Theyre those who show up whole because theyre in alignment with who they are, inside and out. Presence is a competitive advantage. It fosters better decision-making, inspires teams, and creates ripple effects that extend far beyond individual performance. Leaders who model energy stewardship and intentionality shift culture without a single memo. By choosing rituals that anchor them in alignment, they normalize boundaries, reflection, and focused contribution. And in doing so, they give others permission to do the same. Practical Steps to Begin Identify your top stress-beliefs. Notice moments you feel compelled to say yes or overcommit. Ask what underlying belief is driving the behavior. Reframe them. Convert old stories of proving and performing into new narratives of presence, permission, and focus. Anchor with rituals. Introduce small, meaningful practices that support the beliefs you want to live by. Examples include morning reflection, mid-day resets, or transition rituals between work and personal life. Observe the ripple. Notice how these changes affect your energy, decision-making, relationships, and the culture around you. Even small, consistent choices shift patterns over time. They turn pressure into presence, busyness into clarity, and stress into sustainable energy. Redefining Work-Life Success Utimately, high performance doesnt require sacrifice, but it does require alignment. When you stop measuring worth by how much you do and start measuring it by how intentionally and fully you show up, everything changes. You dont have to do it all. You have to do what matters, and do it in a way that preserves your energy, your joy, and your ability to be fully present. The rest will follow. The future of work starts now, and success is being redefined: Lead not from exhaustion, but from alignment. Lead not to impress, but to empower. Your rituals are the blueprint, not only for your own performance but for the culture you create.
Category:
E-Commerce
Do you know that the longer a decision-maker views your résumé, the more likely it is that youll get an interview? Recent research combined eye-tracking and machine learning to understand résumé decisions better. The most actionable conclusion was that Experience section dwell time predicts interview invitations. Thats next-level information. Weve had eye-tracking studies for years. They tell us what readers look at, but give no additional meaning. Now, by applying AI, we know which sections of the résumé matter the most for getting interviews. I was a retained search consultant for 25-plus years. For the last 10 years, Ive been writing executive and board résumés. When I did search, the first question I asked candidates after interviews was, How long were you there? That was the best way for me to know how well the interview went. Thus, it makes sense that résumé dwell time also predicts success. So, lets talk about how to make your résumés Experience section sticky to readers via design and content choices. Eliminate Walls of Text People dont read word by word. They scan, looking for information relevant to their needs. Large blocks of text lose readers because theyre hard to scan. In How People Read Online: The Eyetracking Evidence Report, The Nielsen Norman Group, a user experience firm, described a wall of text as a major repellent that instantly makes users think twice about engaging. To avoid that, limit résumé text blocks to three lines, four if you must. Nothing else about your résumé matters if people wont read it. Focus on Experience Help readers navigate your résumé by providing clear section labels (Professional Experience, Education, Skills, Community Service, etc.). Nielsen Norman also shared that many readers assess whether a page is worth any time in less than a second. They appraise before they even start the infamous six-second scan. Because the Experience section drives interviews, place it below the summary at the top of your résumé. You have to show your relevance immediately to earn deeper reader attention. Use a Consistent Structure Present your recent experience in a consistent structure. I include: Company names Company descriptions The locations where my clients worked for companies Job titles Employment dates Job scope descriptions Impact statements. I always place company names and job titles on left margins to help readers who are scanning. They want that information. Give it to them effortlessly. Also, lighten readers cognitive loads by separating job scope information and impact bullets. Describe scope in a narrative paragraph. Follow that with impact bullets. Dont force your readers to do the scope and impact sort. They want you to tell them what your role was and how you performed in it. Make it easy for them if you want to keep their attention. Rank Order Your Impact Stories Based on Your Readers Needs Identify a jobs deliverables. To do this, use job postings, talk with insiders, and ask AI platforms questions. Then, write your impact bullets to convince readers you can succeed in their roles. Let go of what you think is important about you; youll have time for that later. To grab and keep your readers attention, align your bullets’ content and order with their most critical needs. Provide White Space White space makes résumés easier to read and understand. That ease increases dwell time because it makes readers more willing to engage. Use these minimum parameters: Three-quarter-inch top and bottom margins One-inch side margins Half-point spaces between bulleted impact statements If you need more room, edit your content; dont fudge the white spaceyoull lose readers. When I see a crowded résumé, I think the person hasnt learned whats important to their audience. Because of that, theyre sharing everything they guess might be relevant. That erodes the likelihood readers will find what they need and, in turn, dwell time. Readers Evaluate Résumés and Make Decisions Ive talked a lot about readers here, but the reality is that the people who view your résumé are evaluators. They look at your presentation. Then they decide whether you appear to meet enough of their needs to merit more of their time. Make it easy for them to understand your relevance, and they will slow down to focus on you.
Category:
E-Commerce
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