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Check out eight of the sharpest, boldest business books shaping how we think, lead, and grow as professionals in 2025. After the Idea: What It Really Takes to Create and Scale a Startup By Julia Austin Entrepreneurship expert Julia Austin shares battle-tested strategies to help founders and startup joiners build their venture from the ground up. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Julia Austin, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. Black Capitalists: A Blueprint for What Is Possible By Rachel Laryea A groundbreaking look at how Black visionariesfrom Wall Street to Lagos, Nigeria and beyondare reimagining capitalism to benefit the needs of Black people and, ultimately, everyone. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Rachel Laryea, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs By Neri Karra Sillaman Unlock the principles that drive the remarkable success stories of immigrant entrepreneurs from around the world. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Neri Karra Sillaman, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. Click: How to Make What People Want By Jake Knapp with John Zeratsky A guide for starting big projects the smart waybased on firsthand experience with more than 300 new products and businesses. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jake Knapp, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. Ping: The Secrets of Successful Virtual Communication By Andrew Brodsky The essential guide for when (and how best) to use virtual communication tools, from video to instant messaging and everything in between. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Andrew Brodsky, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. Inner Entrepreneur: A Proven Path to Profit and Peace By Grant Sabatier A comprehensive blueprint detailing how to start, build, buy, scale, and sell a business that expands your life. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Grant Sabatier, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. The Insiders Guide to Innovation at Microsoft By Dean Carignan & JoAnn Garbin In this unique guide, youre not just reading about innovationyoure learning how to do it from the people behind some of the biggest breakthroughs of the last 50 years at one of the most influential and valuable companies in the world. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by authors Dean Carignan and JoAnn Garbin, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. Gambling Man: The Secret Story of the Worlds Greatest Disruptor, Masayoshi Son By Lionel Barber The first Western biography of SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, financial disruptor and personification of the 21st centurys addiction to instant wealth. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Lionel Barber, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
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E-Commerce
From on-again-off-again tariffs, economic uncertainty, and layoffs, fresh graduates are in one of the toughest job markets in recent history. More than half do not have a job lined up by the time they graduate, and the unemployment rate for young degree holders is the highest it’s been in 12 years, not counting the pandemic. Technological advancements are further making the situation harder, as artificial intelligence (AI) has wormed its way into the workforce, cannibalizing the number of entry-level jobs available. Whats a young grad to do? I interviewed hiring managers, career advisers, and college students, and in this piece youll learn: What out-of-work new grads need to be doing right now in their limbo How to identify industries that are hiring you may never have thought of The right approach to developing AI literacy to stand out 1. Use limbo productively What several recent college grads refer to as limbo, the time period between graduation and employment, is often regarded as an excruciating phase of uncertainty. Experts recommend using this time as an opportunity for gaining experience outside of traditional corporate work. Gig work and seasonal jobs like events and festivals can be a great opportunity to pick up some work experience, hone soft skills such as team work and attention to detail, and make some extra cash and contacts. Adam Stafford, CEO of AI-powered recruitment platform Recuritics, says he is often impressed by young applicants who take on gig work while searching for jobs. I see somebody who comes into our organization says, I got out of college and I worked my tail off for three or four months while I was looking, that shows me that is somebody whos got hustle, Stafford says. If its not possible to find gig work, volunteering is also a good way to gain experience. Volunteering can help provide actionable examples of leadership and teamwork to share during job interviews if you have little to no work experience, Lucrecia Borgonovo, chief talent and organizational effectiveness officer at Mastercard, points out. Even though you’re not necessarily acquiring a job, volunteering is a really great way to gain a lot of experience, she says. In addition, its important to keep applying to jobs, even if it feels like youre not getting anywhere. Having a routine can help. Cherena Walker, executive director of career and professional development at Stevens Institute of Technology, recommends treating job applications like a college course. For instance, applicants can learn from their own college schedule to determine what days and times they work best in, allotting that time for applying as if it were a class. If you do that on a regular cadence, you’ll get a whole lot more done, Walker says. That’s a lot more focused, and you can have the rest of the time to yourself. 2. Be flexible and look at the big picture As AI makes its way into the workforce, its impact will be greatly felt among entry-level jobs. Just a few months ago, Anthropics CEO Dario Amodei told Axios that AI could be responsible for wiping out about half of white collar entry-level jobs in the coming years. The best way to ride the wave? Be okay with going into fields you hadnt thought of and look ahead, experts tell Fast Company. While the idea that it’s unlikely to land the perfect job straight out of college isnt exactly groundbreaking, I think we still spend too much time searching for the exact role or location that aligns perfectly with our experience, Jamie Shearer, an account executive at communications agency Pinkston who writes about postgrad experiences on LinkedIn, shared via email. This can leave new grads with a frustratingly narrow field of opportunities. Stafford suggests grads look into industries that are hiring, where there might be a skill overlap. For instance, he notes theres a high demand for applicants in the healthcare, aerospace, and defense industries, which might be a great fit for applicants who were previously looking for tech jobs. Additionally, thinking about broader economic trends might better position young professionals in the workforce. Step back and look at the global economic environment, Stafford advises. Where are governments investing? Where are big companies investing? Those all then start to flow into the private sector. Stafford says Europes ongoing rearming efforts are making aerospace and defense industries a booming market for young talent. Regardless of how you think or feel about that whole movement, it is creating a lot of economic opportunity, he says. Even for grads who are looking to stay in an industry, considering new specializations is vital. Angela Tran, a 2024 graduate and current account executive at Astrsk PR, struggled to find work after her internship in public relations for lifestyle and beauty ended. However, she was able to find a job after pivoting to tech PR. I didn’t know that I was going to enjoy it, and I didn’t know I was going to be good at it, Tran says. It was an eye-opener for me, that I should try new things in different sectors. 3. Intentionally upskill yourself It is no surprise AI literacy is the most coveted skill for young employees entering the workforce. This year, LinkedIn named it the top skill on the rise. According to research from Autodesk, 46% of employers say AI skills are a priority for hiring over the next three years. These tools can include everything from LLMs like ChatGPT, or industry-specific tools like Adobes AI-powered features for the design field. Yet it’s easy to forget that ChatGPT was released in 2022, during most recent graduates sophomore or junior year in college. AI is table stakes, it’s no longer optional,” says Mary Hope McQuiston, VP of education experiences at Autodesk. “If you’re a young grad, make sure you are learning how to work with AI tools, don’t wait if your school isn’t preparing you. AI literacy is not only about learning how to write prompts, but also looking into what specific AI tools are used in an applicant’s industry. Do your homework and be really intentional about acquiring those skills, whether it is through formal learning like taking a course, or through projects, getting a mentor, like learning from a colleague, Borgonovo says. For those who did not have access to AI resources in college, recent grads can sign up for free online courses, teach themselves how to write prompts for LLMs via trial and error, or even ask industry professionals what tools they use at work to get a head start. And, as the technology quickly evolves, staying consistent and curious on technology is key to keep up. It’s kind of like a gym. You go to a gym, you try a bunch of different machines, you set up a practice, and you slowly build the muscle, McQuiston adds. 4. Lean into soft skills The times are changing so quickly that when fresh graduates entered college they were told STEM degrees were a must. Now, it seems that humanities are making a comeback, as AI cant replace human skillsyet. Honing in on human skills will give applicants an edge over traditionally hard-skill-based applicants. Conflict mitigation was second to AI literacy, on LinkedIns skills on the rise. When I talk to our commercial customers, they are not just looking for technical skills, because those are going to constantly change. They’re looking for folks who are effective at problem solving, communication, collaboration, leadership, McQuiston says. AI raises the floor . . . but human ingenuity is going to raise the ceiling. What is great about soft skills is they may come from everyday experiences, and applicants who learn how to leverage those during interviews can set themselves apart, experts say. You have transferable skills from past experiences. Don’t be afraid to talk about how you think they can link to the job. It shows you’ve thought about the job seriously, says Robert Whitehouse, SVP of business partnership and talent acquisition for MiQ Digital across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North America. 5. Network strategically Both experts and recent graduates who have scored a job agree that one of the most powerful tools for entering the job market is networking. But, good networking looks different from the now-common mass messaging on LinkedIn. The key is to be targeted and intentional with relationship building. Avalon Fenster, the founder of Internship Girl, an online community that offers advice for early-career women, emphasizes that applicants often rely on vertical networking like reaching out to executives from companies. Instead, Avalon suggests also prioritizing building strong relationships with peers. Some of the most powerful networking is with people who are in the beginning level, who are in their first job, Fenster says. Those are the people who really know what it’s like to have broken through this glass floor and will be able to give the most current, relevant advice.
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E-Commerce
Arthur Brooks is the poster child for an interesting and accomplished life. He has made it a practice to upend his career every decade. He played the French horn for the Barcelona orchestra, is friends with the Dalai Lama, and is the author of 14 books (including one coauthored with Oprah Winfrey). Hes also a happiness evangelist and a professor at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, where he teaches a popular course on leadership and happiness. In addition, he’s a columnist for The Atlantic, where he writes weekly about the tools for building a happier life. Yet even he struggles with his own happiness, which is why he studies it. Now hes gathered his most popular essays into a new book, The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life (Harvard Business Review Press), which goes on sale August 12. Arthur Brooks [Photo: Jenny Sherman] I connected with Brooks on August 4 for an in-depth conversation, in which youll learn: Why worrying about whether you feel happy is the wrong way to assess whether you are happy How you can stop doing the things you hate Why ambition often works as a counterpoint to happiness The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity. I know youve been asked this question a million times, but lets establish a baseline definition. What is happiness? I start by defining happiness by what it’s not, which is a feeling. People often say that I can’t define happiness, but I know when I feel it, or it’s how I feel when I’m with the people that I love. That definition is the reason most people aren’t as happy as they want to be. They have the wrong definition of happiness. Feelings and emotions exist to give us signals about what’s going on around us. Happiness is something that you actually can study and become more skillful at. Its similar to nutrition, where you have to get past the smell of the food, which is the feelings of happiness, and getting more toward the macronutrients, which are its component parts. The macronutrients of happiness are enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning. To be happy, you need to understand what they are and change your habits to get more of them. If happiness isnt a feeling, how do you know youre on the right track for achieving a happy life? To begin with, this requires that you pay attention to something other than your feelings. Think about: How much are you enjoying your life? How much do you feel that your life does have meaning? How much satisfaction are you taking in your accomplishments? Aristotle talked about eudaimonia, which is the good life, well lived, notwithstanding your feelings. It should come to the point where you’re so good at understanding and practicing happiness that you can say, I had a terrible, terrible day today, and I’m an incredibly happy person. In The Happiness Files you write that we should stop doing things we hate. How do you balance that with understanding that some of what you hate doing is an investment into living a happy life? Thats right. There are things that you do because they are necessary, but you dont like them. For example, no one wants to wake up at 2 o’clock in the morning to be with their crying child. That’s something that’s not enjoyable, but it is meaningful. Thats why the three component parts of happiness are so important. If the things that you hate are not enjoyable, they’re not satisfying, and they’re not meaningful, those are the things that you should eliminate if you can. You can’t eliminate all of them, because life is life. But the best life is one that doesn’t just look for more enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning. It’s one where you move away from the parts of your life that aren’t any of those things, but you were doing them just because you thought you were supposed to. In many of your essays, you point out that some of our suffering is because we are trapped in systems that are preying upon our anxiety and fears. What do you tell people who are in these systems but can’t necessarily get out for one reason or another? It depends on the system that we’re talking about. If we’re talking about a technological system where there’s an overuse of devices and social media, I treat it much the same way that I do with addictive substances and behaviors. Its the same set of protocols for detoxing from the dopaminergic pathways where your learning system has been hijacked. You have to put together a series of habits in your life that will replace the things that you’re trying to avoid. There are lots and lots of ways to do this, but you have to recognize that these systems work the same way as any other addictive system. What if these systems are built into our career progression? For example, you mentioned the news is an entire industry that preys upon people’s anxiety to keep them scrolling. However, for many people, its important to stay informed about what’s going on. To stay informed is very, very different than constantly updating your information. News can be quite addictive, but only when it’s feeding fear, alarm, or anger. Those are amygdala-based responses, and the news media has gotten very good at feeding that and then using technology so you can maximize time in the app. That’s actually predatory and unethical, but I can’t prohibit it, because I believe in a free society. The truth is nobody should be consuming more than half an hour a day of news. You’re not going to stop reading news, but you have to set up protocols around it. For example, I read the news once in the morning, and I don’t update. I’m not going to learn anything. I’m just distracting myself, and the best thing to do with these distracting technologies is set up rules. No more than half of your news reading should be politics. If you read more than 10 or 15 minutes a day of politics, youre hurting yourself. Even if you work in politics? [Laughs] You shouldnt work in politics. Thats another way to hurt yourself. But someone has to do it! I know. I mean it would be great if representing citizens was more of a positive thing to do. Local politics, which isn’t so contentious, is more about that, but theres this political entertainment establishment that’s really troubling at the national level. I think we can see this playing out across many different industries beides politics, where the top level is really competitive and can be part of a sick system that exploits you. But what about people who do want to be in the top echelons? Is it possible to be happy at the top? It’s hard. I wrestled with this my whole career. The truth is that people at the top like CEOs are rarely very happy people. Part of the reason is because their dreams came true, and it turned out they had the wrong dreams. Look, I’m glad that we have good leaders, and I know some who do really well in spite of it. But nobody does really well in their happiness because of worldly success. They do really well in life along with their worldly success. The truth is people who have big dreams to help other people, to run organizations, to be a great leader, they need to be very, very careful of other impulses and very careful of other goals. And their goals should not include money, power, pleasure, and fame. If they do, they’re going to wind up incredibly unhappy people. Youve had an incredible career. How have you implemented these guardrails in your own life? Poorly at times, and it’s one of the reasons that I studied this material because happiness has not come naturally to me. It’s not that I’m miserable, it’s that it’s been hard, and I’ve chased the lure of worldly success an awful lot, and I’ve had to understand what really matters to me along the way. One of the reasons I dedicate my life to the love and happiness of others is because I want to understand these things. I want to teach these things. I want to bring more of these ideas to the world. The result of it is that now when things go wrong, it doesn’t crush me, and when things go right, it doesn’t throw me so much. Now I’m able to focus more on what I really care about, which is to lift people up and bring them together in bonds of happiness and love, using science and ideas. And I focus on that. And that’s the kind of success that I actually want, transcending myself and bringing a better life to other people. Then some days, I wake up and I’m like Darn it. Nobody read my article in The Atlantic today. And then my wife will say, Go read your research. What has surprised you the most in your research about happiness? The shocking truth is that we’re not built for happiness. Mother Nature doesn’t care if we’re happy. Mother Nature wants us to survive and pass on our genes and get calories. She also wires us with all of these impulses to make more money and acquire more stuff and use people and worship ourselves. It makes us miserable. I thought that like food, or craving protein after I work out, if I really have a natural craving for something, it’s probably based on something really healthy. And it’s not necessarily true when it comes to happiness. It turns out Mother Nature lies to me, and I have to be at war with my impulses to become a happier person. Philosophers have always said that there’s an animal component to the human prefrontal cortex and a transcendent component to our consciousness. The animal component is your physical impulses, and the divine component is your moral aspirations, and going from one to the other, that’s the life in life. That’s the magic of it all What are the biggest unanswered questions about happiness? Oh, there are so many. For one, why is it that happiness is so much harder for some people than it is for others? For example, my wife is just naturally so much happier than I am. Why? Is it just brain chemistry? Is there something supernatural about it? Is it a different way of living? I don’t know. I wish I knew. But if I can put the information that people have about their own selves in their hands, then at the very least they can have strategies for becoming happier.
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E-Commerce
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