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Ikea’s new collection is all about accessibility. The furniture maker’s new Bäsingen collection, which is available this month, includes six items for the bathroom that the company designed to be easy to use for people with disabilities: a shower chair, two kids of stools with rails, a towel rail, a shower shelf, and a toilet roll holder. The products range from about $12 to about $39. The collection was designed to be sturdy and non-slippery, with tube handles on the stools and that are thick for an easy grip. The dark color for the products in the collections was also chosen so the items would be easily visible, but stylish enough so to be something you’d want to keep out in view, Ikea says. Sarah Fager, Ikea’s senior designer, said she started working on the Bäsingen collection “by wanting to learn more about the needs and wishes of people with physical limitations.” She said it was one of her most challenging design projects “because it was about meeting needs that were new to me,” but it was also one of her most enlightening. “The products were created to bring great functionality together with a beautiful design, as they have a minimalistic expression that is rooted in our Scandinavian design tradition,” she said. “Bäsingen is designed to help customers create a comfortable experience.” At least 61 million U.S. adults have at least one disability, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows. Some may have more requirements than the average user for household products, like stools with handles they can hold onto for stability for safety in the bathroom or shower. Global sales of assistive furniture reached an estimated $4.93 billion in 2024, according to data from Fact.MR, a market research firm. And Ikea isn’t the only furniture maker that’s designing for accessibility. Last year, Pottery Barn added optional, accessible features to three of its most popular furniture lines. Ikea released Omtänksam, a collection of ergonomic products for comfort and support in 2020. There are many people who experience impactful and common circumstantial changes that can make something as simple as taking a shower challenging, Ikea product design developer Watts Zijlstra said in a statement. Yet, we see that the home environment is often not equipped for change. The starting point for Bäsingen was a clear need for specific product functions.
Category:
E-Commerce
In HBOs hit show Succession, patriarch Logan Roy pitted his children against each other for the top spot of leading his media conglomerate. Those whove seen the show will know how it ends, but what if he took a different route? What if he established a collaborative, multi-generational leadership team to guide Waystar RoyCo into the future? Granted, it would have made for far less dramatic tension (and probably fewer award wins) for the show. But for Roys shareholders, it wouldve been a smarter move in a rapidly changing media industry. Succession planning is a non-negotiable principle for any thriving organization, yet its also one of the hardest to get right. And in todays volatile, fast-changing environment, proactive planning is even more critical. There are relentless technological disruptions, and diversity initiatives are under scrutiny. For the first time in history, five generations will work side-by-side in offices around the world. These dynamics present unique challenges for maintaining growth and stability. For CEOs, whose average age is 59, the following questions are critical: Are they equipped to engage Gen Z employees and the subsequent generation? Are they prepared to lead in an AI-driven world? Without support, the honest answer is often no. Last year, the Financial Times reported that a record number of CEOs stepped down due to investor pressures, technological disruptions, and underperforming markets. All of these factors are making the role harder than ever. After years of thought, I recently decided to appoint a new CEO for our U.K. and European business. It was a bold move as we skipped a few generations. But he was ready to take the reins after a lot of training, learning, and success. So far, its working. In a very short period, our business already feels more energized, agile, innovative, and resilient. Heres how you can create the same momentum for your business. Build an open culture of multi-generational learning By the time Generation Alpha enters the workforce, five generations will be working together in a single workplace. Rather than seeing this as a challenge, treat it as an opportunity. Harnessing multi-generational perspectives fosters creativity, improves decision-making, and strengthens collaboration across teams. To align generational differences, encourage multi-generational open learning. For example, you could introduce mentoring schemes that encourage a two-way flow of ideas and perspectives between senior and junior staff, rather than solely top-down programs. Balancing continuity with the pursuit of innovation is the leadership challenge of our times. A multi-CEO model with age diversity might just be the way to navigate it. A diverse suite of leaders can help bridge the gaps between generations because it creates a synergy that benefits employees, clients, and organizational growth. Identify and support the right successors from each generation Finding qualified leaders has always been a challenge, and todays hyper-disruptive business environment has only made it more difficult. From tech to media, industries undergoing transformation need leaders who can navigate complexity and disruption, even though it may be the first time theyve done it. You might be wondering whether you should promote internally or hire from the outside. My view is clear, and its that home-grown works best. Ive tried both, and in our type of business, growing a successor over time always seems to work better than bringing in someone from outside. Once youve identified a potential successor, help them rise with a development plan that gets them to the top job. Theyll have plenty of opportunities to succeed and fail along the way. By observing how they handle these moments, you build confidence in your choice. Just be aware that high-performing employees will have their choice of job offers, so you need to figure out how you can incentivize them to stay. Twice, Ive developed successors only to have them leave for competitors. Losing these experts can be costly and immensely frustrating. A multi-generational C-suite acts as a safety net, retaining these individuals while equipping them with the tools and mentorship they need to continue excelling. Act now to prepare for the future The best time to think about your succession strategy is now. Tomorrows leaders need opportunities to observe, contribute, and think collectively about the decisions, products, and services that will define your organization in three to five years. Invite emerging leaders to share their opinions and take on increased responsibility. Encourage them to collaborate across generations. By empowering future leaders today, you foster innovation and resilience for the years ahead. Succession wasnt just the heart of a TV drama; its a real-life leadership challenge. For business owners, Logan Roys missteps offer a cautionary tale. Procrastination and neglecting to nurture a diverse pool of future leaders are risks that no organization can afford. A multi-generational leadership pipeline isnt just an asset; its a necessity in an environment defined by rapid transformation and complexity. Developing new leaders while leveraging the expertise of seasoned executives positions your business to weather disruptions and capitalize on opportunities. Dont wait. Start building a forward-thinking succession strategy today and ensure that your organization is ready for tomorrows challenges. A dynamic, multi-generational C-suite can secure your place as a disruptor, not the disrupted.
Category:
E-Commerce
In todays turbulent economic climate, theres an intense pressure to perform. Organizations are exploring new business models and ways of working to accelerate growth and stay competitive. Boards and shareholders demand results, which pushes leadership teams to dial up their expectations. The term accountability has become a buzzword in discussions, but far too many misunderstand and misapply it. When leaders talk about creating a culture of accountability, they often rely on shame and blame tactics. This approach might seem effective in the short term, but it ultimately undermines the culture leaders seek to build. Instead of motivating individuals to do more, it drives people to hide from responsibility. Redefining accountability The challenge is redefining accountability. How do you set clear, high-performance expectations and hold people to them without sliding into the counterproductive cycle of shaming and blaming? To create a culture of accountability that truly enhances performance, leaders need to think about accountability differently. That means moving away from coercion and blame to mutual responsibility and ownership, which empowers individuals to own their roles and contribute to the teams success. Consider the case of a manufacturing company I worked with. Facing stiff competition and the need to innovate quickly, the companys executive team realized that the old ways of operating were no longer sufficient. Its traditional approach to accountability was stifling innovation and preventing the company from adapting to new market realities. The culture had to change from blame-focused to one where everyonefrom the top downfelt invested in the companys success and comfortable owning both their wins and their mistakes. Leadership needed to break down accountability into the distinct behaviors they wanted to see: identifying the issues, claiming the issues as your own, and changing the outcomes. This approach made the change real and enabled leaders to work collaboratively to implement the new culture. Heres how: 1. Identify the issues: proactively ask for understanding The first step to building accountability in the company was for leaders to help their teams see issues before they escalate. They brought this to life through scaled leader sprints, which were focused, short-term initiatives designed to instill key habits across the organization. This practice encouraged leaders to seek feedback from their teams and peers, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and transparency when team members felt safe to speak up. Leaders also practiced how to pause before reacting to bad news. The simple act of taking a moment to consider the best response helped them approach problems with a clear mind, avoiding knee-jerk reactions that might discourage team members from raising concerns. Lastly, this practice also taught leaders to invite perspectives by asking, How do you see it? rather than the more typical What do you think? This promoted open dialogue and the consideration of multiple viewpoints to understand the same problem. By cultivating these habits, the companys leaders focused more on inquiry, shifting active problem-solving to a collaborative process with the team. 2. Claim the issues as your own: embrace the outcomes The second part of accountability for the company was about taking actions that delivered the most critical business outcomes. The company needed to train leaders to prioritize initiatives that had the highest impact on these goals, avoiding the trap of rewarding busy work that appeared productive but didnt contribute to organizational objectives. Leaders practiced skills to evaluate their initiatives to concentrate on high-leverage actionsthose that would generate the most significant results with the least amount of wasted effort. That means setting the example of refocusing themselves on impactful actions (while stopping those that were mere activity) and then deliberately taking time in team meetings to review and reassess priorities. As a result, the leaders were able to develop a new muscle in themselves and their teams. The clarity on prioritizing the right actions over simply working harder energized the organization to continue to make the change. 3. Change the outcomes: measure and adapt The company focused on evolving its key performance metrics to support these new priority outcomes. Leadership realized that if they tried to change behavior, yet continued to measure the same old actions, the change wouldnt stick. The company also needed to shift these key performance metrics to reflect whats more important or impactful as business priorities evolved, which required more flexibility and transparency from the leaders. In this phase, the leaders moved to create a new dashboard, identifying the core metrics they were trying to accomplish that would tell them if they were moving the needle in response to competitive threats. They agreed to review the data quarterly and share what they learned with the organization. When the metrics moved in the right direction, there was a public celebration of the progress. And perhaps more importantly, when they didnt, the leaders engaged their teams in ideating how to adapt their actionsand what they were measuringrather than placing blame. The new habits practiced in these three phases created visible early momentum, as the aura of shame and blame noticeably lifted. One team, for example, reduced the time that it took to get product updates to market. Their rapid prototyping test-review-fail program allowed them to experiment quickly, share learnings at weekly meetings, and fail without fear of reprisal. By shifting away from traditional views of accountability and embracing a more collaborative and trust-based approach, you can help your team achieve the high performance that current market conditions demand.
Category:
E-Commerce
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