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Picture a jazz quartet mid-performance. The bassist anchors the rhythm with meticulous precisionyears of practice evident in every note. The saxophonist, meanwhile, closes her eyes and ventures into uncharted melodic territory, responding to something she heard in the drummers improvised fill three bars ago. What youre witnessing isnt chaos, nor is it rigid execution. Its something far more valuable: the dynamic interplay between discipline and imagination that produces work no one has ever heard before. This is exactly the capability that distinguishes organizations that merely survive disruption from those that shape it. In an era defined by the rapid-fire shifts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the ubiquity of AI, many organizations find themselves chasing the prize of innovation without understanding the engine that drives it: creativity. Too often, leaders mistake innovation for a purely technical or systemic process, forgetting that it is actually a human competency rooted in a dynamic tension between two seemingly opposite forces. This is where the WonderRigor method becomes a vital strategic tool for the modern professional. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-16x9-figure-thinking.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-16x9-figure-thinking_0b545c.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cem\u003EWonderRigor Newsletter\u003C\/em\u003E","dek":"Want more insights, tools, and invitations from Dr. Natalie Nixon about applying creativity for meaningful business results and the future of work? Subscribe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u=https-3A__figure-2D8-2Dthinking-2Dllc.kit.com_sign-2Dup\u0026amp;d=DwMFaQ\u0026amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM\u0026amp;r=xHenyQfyc6YcuCNMBsOvfYGQILM1d1ruredVZikn4HE\u0026amp;m=F383gnrChFhYKPhcpNHI1hY3o58IHIn_LkB5QJDrs3G5Wfft-DcucUO4UEmGO7GZ\u0026amp;s=JlJm7GyKCJvPW0jyrsfTFtinteKDitN13vfPZiuJnP8\u0026amp;e=\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E for the free WonderRigor newsletter at Figure8Thinking.com","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"http:\/\/Figure8Thinking.com","theme":{"bg":"#3b3f46","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#6e8ba6","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91470060,"imageMobileId":91470061,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} What is WonderRigor? WonderRigor is the ability to toggle between wonder and rigor to solve problems and deliver novel value. Rather than treating these concepts as oppositesthe dreamer versus the doerthe method recognizes them as a chaordic system: a blend of chaos and order that mirrors how creativity actually works in the real world. Wonder is our capacity to exercise awe, to pause, and to ask audacious blue-sky questions like What if? It requires what the Italians call il dolce far nientethe sweetness of doing nothingto allow assumptions to suspend and ideas to marinate. Wonder is the CEO who, instead of immediately optimizing the quarterly report, asks her team: What problem would our customers pay us to solve that we havent even imagined yet? Rigor is our capacity for discipline, deep skill, and time on task for mastery. Its the backstage machinationsthe hard, sweaty work that anchors the wonder and ensures a project actually reaches completion. Rigor is the product designer who spends six months testing prototypes, the financial analyst who builds seventeen iterations of a model before presenting to the board, the writer who revises the same paragraph until it finally sings. Heres the insight that changes everything: rigor cannot be sustained without wonder, and wonder is often found in the midst of rigor. The designer who tests those seventeen prototypes isnt just grindingshes paying close enough attention to notice the unexpected behavior in prototype twelve that sparks a breakthrough. The analyst who rebuilds his model is cultivating the pattern recognition that allows him to see opportunity where others see noise. By intentionally toggling between these two states, individuals and teams can increase their Creativity Quotient (CQ) and navigate the complex, wicked problems that lack linear solutionswhich is to say, nearly every problem worth solving today. The Four Situational Modalities: Which problem-solving persona does this moment require? Theory is useful, but leaders need tools. The WonderRigor method provides four situational modalitiesor personasthat help teams determine how to approach a specific challenge. These are not fixed traits or personality types. Theyre lenses to try on depending on the needs of the moment, the way you might switch between different pairs of glasses depending on whether youre reading a contract or scanning a horizon. 1. Specialize: when precision is the priority The Specialize modality is high on rigor, lower on wonder. You choose it when the situation demands deep expertise, proven methods, and meticulous attention to detail. When to use it: Youre a surgical team performing a complex procedure. Youre an accounting firm closing the books on a major audit. Youre a manufacturing team where a 0.01% defect rate has real consequences. In these contexts, creativity lives in the micro-refinements, the accumulated wisdom of repetitive practice, the ability to execute flawlessly under pressure. The risk: Specialization becomes dangerous when its the only mode you inhabit. The specialist who never lifts her head develops blind spots. She may be so focused on optimizing existing processes that she misses the industry shift that makes those processes obsolete. In practice: A global logistics company had spent years perfecting their warehouse operations. Their specialists could move products with stunning efficiencyand they were completely blindsided when a competitor introduced drone delivery. They had specialized themselves into strategic irrelevance. The solution wasnt to abandon specialization, but to create deliberate moments where specialists stepped out of their expertise to explore adjacent possibilities. 2. Hack: when speed trumps perfection The Hack modality prioritizes expediency over polish. Youre working with what you have, moving fast, and tolerating imperfection in service of momentum. When to use it: Your startup needs a minimum viable product by next week. Your team faces an unexpected crisis that requires immediate workarounds. The market window is closing and good enough today beats perfect in six months. The risk: Hack mode can become an addiction. Teams that never leave it accumulate technical debt, cut corners that eventually collapse, and mistake activity for achievement. The quick fix becomes the permanent solution, which becomes the source of next years crisis. In practice: During the early pademic, restaurants had 48 hours to pivot to takeout-only models. This was hack mode at its best: owners repurposing parking lots, creating menu items that traveled well, cobbling together delivery partnerships. The restaurants that thrived, however, were those who eventually transitioned out of hack modewho took what they learned during the scramble and systematized it through specialization, or reimagined it entirely through invention. 3. Provoke: when you need to blow up the status quo The Provoke modality sits high on wonder, lower on rigor. Its characterized by audacious, imaginative thinking that shakes others out of their assumptions. When to use it: The team is stuck in groupthink. Everyone is optimizing a business model that may not deserve to exist. The organization has been asking the same questions for so long that no one notices theyre the wrong questions. The risk: Without rigor to ground it, provocation becomes loosey-gooseyexciting conversations that never translate into action. The perpetual provocateur can damage their credibility if theyre seen as someone who loves to challenge but never builds. In practice: When streaming was still a radical concept, the provocateurs inside Netflix asked: What if we put ourselves out of business before someone else does? That questionwhich seemed absurd to a company making billions from DVD rentalscreated the space for transformation. But the provocation only mattered because Netflix also had the rigor to execute on what the question revealed. 4. Invent: the synthesis that creates new markets The Invent modality is where wonder and rigor achieve balance. Its the space of the true thought leader, the market creator, the person who shapes categories rather than competing within them. When to use it: Youre not solving an existing problemyoure defining a new one. Youre creating a product that customers dont yet know they need. Youre building something that will make your current offerings obsolete. The requirement: Invention demands that youve spent equal time in the trenches working out kinks and in the clouds dreaming audaciously. You cannot skip directly to this modality. The inventor has done the reps; she has the intuition that only comes from deep practice combined with broad curiosity. In practice: When Apple introduced the iPhone, they werent improving existing phonesthey were inventing a new category. But that invention was only possible because Apple had spent years both specializing (obsessive attention to industrial design, user interface) and provoking (asking what a computer in your pocket really meant). The iPhone felt right because it balanced high expertise with sharp intuitionthe hallmark of the Invent modality. Putting it together: the art of situational toggle The power of WonderRigor lies not in finding the right modality and staying there, but in developing the situational awareness to know which lens the current moment requiresand the agility to shift when circumstances change. Consider a product development team working on a major launch. In the early ideation phase, they might operate primarily in Provoke mode: challenging assumptions, asking heretical questions, exploring possibilities that seem impractical. As concepts solidify, they shift toward Hack mode: quickly prototyping, testing rough versions, building momentum through iteration. As the launch approaches, Specialize mode takes over: refining details, ensuring quality, executing with precision. And throughout the process, the best teams maintain awareness of when they might be ready for an Inventiona leap that transcends iteration. The trap that most organizations fall into is getting stuck. They specialize forever, never questioning their approach until disruption forces them to. They hack indefinitely, accumulating shortcuts that eventually collapse. They provoke without building, mistaking critique for contribution. Or they attempt invention without earning ittrying to leapfrog into thought leadership without the rigor foundation that makes real invention possible. Think like a jazz musician Return to that jazz quartet. What makes their performance compelling isnt just the technical skill (though they have it) or the bold improvisation (though they do that too). Its the togglingthe bassist who knows when to lock into a steady groove and when to take a melodic risk, the saxophonist who has practiced scales for thousands of hours precisely so she can forget them in the moment of creation. This is what WonderRigor offers the modern professional: not a rigid framework, but a practiced flexibility. The ability to move between discipline and imagination, between execution and exploration, between the known and the possible. In a business landscape where yesterdays expertise can become tomorrows liability, this capacity to toggle isnt a nice-to-haveits the fundamental skill that separates those who shape the future from those who merely react to it. The next time you face a complex challenge, dont ask Whats the solution? First ask: Which modality does this moment require? Then be prepared to shift as the music changes. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-16x9-figure-thinking.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-16x9-figure-thinking_0b545c.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cem\u003EWonderRigor Newsletter\u003C\/em\u003E","dek":"Want more insights, tools, and invitations from Dr. Natalie Nixon about applying creativity for meaningful business results and the future of work? Subscribe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u=https-3A__figure-2D8-2Dthinking-2Dllc.kit.com_sign-2Dup\u0026amp;d=DwMFaQ\u0026amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM\u0026amp;r=xHenyQfyc6YcuCNMBsOvfYGQILM1d1ruredVZikn4HE\u0026amp;m=F383gnrChFhYKPhcpNHI1hY3o58IHIn_LkB5QJDrs3G5Wfft-DcucUO4UEmGO7GZ\u0026amp;s=JlJm7GyKCJvPW0jyrsfTFtinteKDitN13vfPZiuJnP8\u0026amp;e=\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E for the free WonderRigor newsletter at Figure8Thinking.com","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"http:\/\/Figure8Thinking.com","theme":{"bg":"#3b3f46","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#6e8ba6","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91470060,"imageMobileId":91470061,"shareable":false,"slug":""}}
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E-Commerce
In December 2025, Andrea Lucas, the chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, invited white men to file more sex- and race-based discrimination complaints against their employers. Are you a white male who has experienced discrimination at work based on your race or sex? You may have a claim to recover money under federal civil rights laws. Contact the @USEEOC as soon as possible, she wrote in a post on X. In February 2026, the EEOC began to investigate Nike on what the agency said was suspicion of discrimination against white workers. Both initiatives followed the EEOCs March 2025 characterization of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, or DEI, as potentially discriminatory against white men. The EEOC characterization falls within the Trump administrations larger pattern of calling DEI illegal discrimination. At the Center for Employment Equity at the University of Massachusetts, we have done extensive research on who files discrimination charges with the EEOC. Given the EEOCs December 2025 solicitation for white men to file discrimination complaints, we revisited our prior research to see what is known about discrimination against white people and, in particular, what is known about white and white male discrimination charges registered with the EEOC. As part of our research, the EEOC gave us access to discrimination charges submitted to the agency and state Fair Employment Practices Agencies from 2012 to 2016. By law, all U.S. employment discrimination claims must be submitted to the EEOC, or state agencies with equivalent roles, prior to any legal actions. While the EEOC has a history of sharing its data with researchers stretching back to the 1970s, the EEOC stopped sharing current and historical data with researchers in 2016. As a result, we do not have any data on discrimination complaints after 2016. Judging by the EEOCs yearly reports, the basic patterns have not changed much in the interim. White men already file complaints When we looked at all sex- and race-based discrimination charges received by the EEOC, unsurprisingly we found that men are much less likely than women to file sex-based discrimination charges. But white men do file about 10% of sex discrimination complaints. While Black, Hispanic, and Asian male employees are more likely to file racial discrimination complaints, white men file about 9% of such complaints. In the same study, when we compared legal charges filed with the EEOC to national survey data, we found that percentages submitting a legal complaint to the EEOC roughly correspond to the percentages of survey-reported experiences of discrimination at work. Together, these two findings suggest that white people generally, and white men in particular, were already filing employment discrimination charges. Second, we did a deeper dive on sexual harassment charges. We found that while white men were 46% of the labor force, they filed 11% of sexual harassment charges and 11% of all other charges, most commonly tied to disability and age. The general pattern is that, while white men already file discrimination charges, they are less likely to experience employment discrimination than other groups. The risk of filing complaints Charges filed with the EEOC can result in two types of benefits to the charging party: monetary settlements and mandated changes in workplace practices. White men who filed sexual harassment charges received some benefit 21% of the timelower than white women, at 29%. Thats also lower than Black women, at 23%, and higher than Black men, at 19%. The EEOC already receives discrimination charges from white men and, at least for sexual harassment, treats them similarly to other groups. Most people who submit a discrimination charge do so to improve their employment experience and those of their co-workers. But submitting these claims to the EEOC or a state Fair Employment Practices Agency is a high-risk, low-reward act. We found that, at least for sexual harassment, employers responded to white mens complaints in much the same way as to other groups. White men who filed sexual harassment discrimination charges lost their job 68% of the time and experienced employer retaliation at about the same rate. Retaliation can include firing but also other forms of harassment at work, such as abusive supervision and close monitoring by human resource departments. We found this pattern of employer retaliation and worker firings for all demographic groups that file any type of discrimination complaint. White men who file discrimination charges receive the same harsh treatment from their employers as any other group. Urging more white men to submit discrimination complaints based on the perceived unfairness of DEI practices, as the EEOC has done, is likely to lead to job loss and retaliation from employers. What will happen? Its possible that EEOC chair Lucas call for more discrimination charges from white men will increase the number of filings. This is exactly what happened after 2012 when the EEOC ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Acts prohibition of sex discrimination also protected LGBTQ workers from sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination. More concerning is the EEOC defining employer efforts to prevent discrimination and create inclusive workplaces as discrimination against white men. In the end, all workers want to be treated fairly and with respect. Employer efforts to create such workplaces should be supported. It would be a better use of EEOC resources to support companies efforts to create such workplaces. Donald T. Tomaskovic-Devey is a professor of sociology and director of the Center for Employment Equity at UMass Amherst. Steven Boutcher is an associate professor of social science research at UMass Amherst. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
Figmas fourth-quarter earnings report arrived on Wednesday afternoon with a notable claim from one of its top executives: AI should complement, not replace, employees. Its a bold statement from the leader of a tech company at a moment when many are scaling back. We don’t see it as a tool that replaces our talent, but rather how can we augment the team that we already have, Figma CFO Praveer Melwani said during Figma’s earnings call. So we will continue to hire, but we will be able to complement that with efficiency gained by some of the tools out there as well. The comment came in response to an analysts question about how AI might impact Figmas research and development. Figma is enjoying better-than-expected growth According to Figmas fourth-quarter earnings report, the strategy just might be working. The company reached $303.8 million in revenue, a 40% increase year over year. It also beat Wall Streets expectation of $293.15 million, according to consensus estimates cited by CNBC. Figma further predicts that it will reach $315 to $317 million in revenue for the first quarter of 2026. This result would bring an average of 38% year-over-year growth. In response, shares of Figma Inc. (NYSE: FIG) rose over 16% in after-hours trading. By midday Thursday, the stock’s price was still up almost 8%. Software companies have faced falling stocks amid AI fears Melwanis call to not overly rely on AI tools comes as the company has faced sliding share prices around that very topic, with investors growing worried about the impact of AI tools on software platforms. Figma opened at $85 per share during its IPO last July, reaching over $115 on its first day. However, it started a mostly downward trajectory soon after. February has seen Figmas shares hover in the low- to mid-$20sfalling more than 79% since that first day and over 35% year to date. Artificial intelligence plays a significant part in Figmas offerings. The company launched Figma Make last year, a prompt tool with AI-powered design capabilities, along with a range of AI features. Figma offers AI credits based on each users plan and will allow the purchase of additional credits starting March 11. Teams can track their credit usage in a shared billing dashboard.
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