The Latest from Big Think

Michelle Tillis Lederman defines a connector as a relationship-focused individual, emphasizing that nurturing professional networks with the same intent as personal relationships can significantly enhance career development, allowing connectors to achieve their goals more efficiently.

Despite the pitfalls of multitasking leading to burnout, productivity expert Cal Newport advocates for "slow productivity," which emphasizes focused, intentional work that prioritizes long-term output over performative tasks, ultimately enhancing both accomplishment and well-being.

In a world overwhelmed by confident yet often misleading claims, research professor Alex Edmans emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and informed decision-making to combat misinformation and enhance our freedom.

In this expert class, Kaufman explores how gendered expectations, such as boys not crying and girls playing with dolls, persist into adulthood and offers strategies for advocating for gender equality by reevaluating these societal norms.

Strategic thinking, as defined by Michael Watkins, involves critically and creatively envisioning potential futures beyond the current situation, and he outlines six specific disciplines to intentionally cultivate this mindset.

Professor Cass Sunstein defines "sludge" as the unnecessary bureaucracy and frictions, like long wait times and excessive paperwork, that hinder access to desired outcomes, suggesting organizations can improve experiences by minimizing these obstacles.

Leadership speaker Jon Acuff emphasizes that while no job or life is perfect and starting over is sometimes necessary, you can successfully navigate transitions by leveraging the skills, qualities, and connections you've developed throughout your career.

In this expert class, executive coach Alisa Cohn shares principles and practices designed to help you overcome self-doubt and insecurity, enabling you to become a more natural leader for your team.

Professor Valerie Purdie Greenaway highlights that while overt discrimination receives attention, subtle, unintentional biases can be equally or more harmful, yet everyone has the ability to recognize and address these biases.

Nathalie Molina Niño suggests that while big cities offer opportunities, businesses can thrive by targeting underserved markets in smaller areas and adopting a scrappy entrepreneurial mindset to find low-cost resources and build strategic partnerships for scalable success.

Positive psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar argues that while resilience is valuable, developing antifragility through the SPIRE model—focusing on Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Relational, and Emotional well-being—is even more beneficial for achieving happiness.

Top Gun, the iconic 1980s film about U.S. Naval Fighter Weapons School, may portray pilots as charismatic and confident, but real-life TOPGUN graduate Guy Snodgrass emphasizes that success requires more than just attitude and athleticism.

As AI rapidly transforms our reality and reshapes engagement with information, Professor Yuval Noah Harari urges us to pause and critically consider the implications of coexisting with non-human intelligence, emphasizing the need for responsible leadership and safeguarding our humanity.

Cultivating diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace is complex due to individual identities and biases, but inclusion specialist Ruchika Malhotra emphasizes that those in power should leverage their privilege to create opportunities for underestimated groups, while all employees can foster a more inclusive culture.

To enhance professional fulfillment, Liz Wiseman advocates for becoming an impact player—delivering exceptional value and aligning efforts with organizational priorities—without sacrificing well-being, thus earning independence and credibility while avoiding burnout.

Nir Eyal argues that to become "indistractable," one must first address internal triggers rather than external distractions, emphasizing that effective time management is fundamentally about managing emotional pain.

Tiffani Bova emphasizes that fostering employee satisfaction is crucial for enhancing customer experience, advocating for the integration of customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) to achieve predictable growth.

Engaging in "unreasonable hospitality," as defined by restaurateur Will Guidara, can be your strongest competitive advantage in sales by making customers feel valued, and it can be creatively and systematically implemented without being exhausting.

Marketing professor Jonah Berger emphasizes that understanding linguistics can enhance our communication skills, enabling us to fit in, persuade, engage, and positively influence others, especially with the aid of advanced language analysis tools and his SPEACC Framework.

Gary Vaynerchuk, known as Gary Vee, challenges the notion that professional success must be a choice between financial gain and positive impact, emphasizing that caring for customers and employees can be central to entrepreneurship and legacy-building.