Category: Tools and Information

Stuck in a Career Plateau? Use This 3-Step Framework to Regain Momentum | Entrepreneur

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  • A Glassdoor survey reveals that 65% of professionals feel stuck in their careers, expressing frustration even at executive levels.
  • A three-step framework is critical for overcoming career stagnation, involving diagnosis of underlying issues, defining success metrics, and taking intentional action.
  • For lasting change, executives must build on self-awareness, intentions, and consistent actions tailored to their unique experiences and career longevity.

It’s normal to feel stuck or underwhelmed in your career from time to time. In fact, nearly two-thirds (65%) of professionals report feeling stuck in their careers, according to a recent Glassdoor survey.

Career plateaus can take many forms, including feeling underutilized, lacking passion, or even just feeling bored, to name just a few. Some executives who are feeling stagnant in their careers may look busy and “successful” on the outside, but on the inside, they feel frustrated, disconnected, or unsure of their true impact. For example, I recently worked with a tech executive who was leading multiple company-wide projects but felt invisible since he was never involved in strategic meetings or decisions.

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How to Create a Winning Incentive-Based Compensation Plan| Entrepreneur

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  • Incentive-based compensation can boost productivity and alignment by tying pay directly to results that matter for the business.
  • The key is keeping incentives simple, measurable, and margin-protected, then testing and adjusting until they drive the right behaviors in a way that also protects the business.

If you run a small business, you’ve probably wrestled with the question of how to pay your team in a way that motivates them without wrecking your margins. Oftentimes, owners overpay without guardrails to ensure they get the value they’re paying for.

You may have heard of incentive-based compensation — it can be a powerful growth lever, but it can feel overwhelming to design and roll out. A good plan rewards the right behaviors, protects profitability and keeps everyone aligned on your company’s bigger goals. And the data backs this up: Studies show that incentive comp can increase team productivity by up to 44%. Here’s how to structure one that actually works.

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Should you upgrade to iOS 26? Pros and cons of the new update. | Mashable

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The latest version of Apple iOS has been out for more than a month, but plenty of folks are probably still undecided as to whether or not to install the upgrade.

iOS 26 features the biggest design overhaul to Apple’s mobile OS in a decade, bringing the new Liquid Glass aesthetic to iPhones. But in the weeks since iOS 26 launched, users have shared as many opinions about it as there are apps in the App Store. Its new translucent visual style, user complaints about battery drain, and other quirks have led some users to conclude that they don’t need to download it just yet. After all, once you download iOS 26 and switch to Liquid Glass, there’s no going back.

However, there are positives to iOS 26, as well. Here are just a handful of reasons why you should (or shouldn’t) download iOS 26 on your iPhone.

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New study reveals why time seems to move faster the older we get | Live Science

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Scientists may be closer to understanding why time seems to pass more quickly as we age — and brain scans of people watching an old Alfred Hitchcock show helped them address this enduring question.

In a study published Sept. 30 in the journal Communications Biology, scientists pulled data from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN), a long-term brain-aging research project. In total, 577 people had previously watched an excerpt from the old television series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” — specifically, eight minutes of an episode called “Bang! You’re Dead.” As the study participants watched the clip, functional MRI (fMRI) scans were recorded; these scans would provide a measure of how the participants’ brain activity changed over time.

This particular clip was chosen because previous research showed that, compared with other video clips, it elicits the most synchronous patterns of brain activity in a wide variety of viewers. That makes it ideal for studying how the brain divides and tracks unfolding events.

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Mysterious glow at the Milky Way’s center could reshape a major cosmic theory | Live Science

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Dark matter near the center of our galaxy is “flattened,” not round as previously thought, new simulations reveal. The discovery may point to the origin of a mysterious high-energy glow that has puzzled astronomers for more than a decade, although more research is needed to rule out other theories.

“When the Fermi space telescope pointed to the galactic center, it measured too many gamma rays,” Moorits Mihkel Muru, a researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam in Germany and the University of Tartu in Estonia, told Live Science via email. “Different theories compete to explain what could be producing that excess, but nobody has the definitive answer yet.”

Early on, scientists proposed that the glow might come from dark matter particles colliding and annihilating each other. However, the signal’s flattened shape didn’t match the spherical halos assumed in most dark matter models. That discrepancy led many scientists to favor an alternative explanation involving millisecond pulsars — ancient, fast-spinning neutron stars that emit gamma-rays.

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How Social Media Could Affect Your Job Search | Business News Daily

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In today’s digital hiring landscape, it’s common for employers to go beyond traditional background checks and review a candidate’s online presence. A quick search can reveal far more than a résumé ever could.

You may think of your social media accounts as “personal,” but chances are, employers see them as part of the bigger picture when evaluating candidates. The good news? With some awareness and preparation, you can shape your digital footprint to leave a strong, positive impression. We’ll explain what social media screenings involve, why employers use them, and how you can manage your profiles to your advantage.

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Why Is Delegation Important in Leadership? | LifeHack

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Are you a manager with a to-do list that seems to stretch for miles? You finalize a client proposal, answer a barrage of emails, troubleshoot a team conflict, and try to make headway on a strategic plan for the next quarter. Your calendar is a jigsaw puzzle that’s getting more complex by the hour….

In this whirlwind, managers often hesitate to delegate. They worry that their team won’t complete tasks to their standard, or they fear that letting go of control might reflect poorly on their abilities. Some think that teaching someone else will take more time than just doing the task themselves.

Does this situation ring a bell?

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Morning Routine for Productivity: Science-Backed 5-Phase System That Works | LifeHack

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Let me be honest with you. Six years ago, my mornings were a disaster. I’d hit snooze four times, stumble to my laptop still half-asleep, and waste the first two hours of my day scrolling through emails and feeling overwhelmed. As the CEO of LifeHack and a father of two boys, I knew something had to change. My chaotic mornings were setting a terrible example for my kids and sabotaging my company’s growth.

Everything shifted when I discovered the neuroscience behind creating a morning routine for productivity and built a systematic approach around it. Within weeks, I was accomplishing more before 9 AM than I used to achieve in an entire day. My energy levels soared. Decision-making became clearer. Even my team noticed the difference—I was showing up as a better leader, more focused and present.

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Nonprofits are lacking the resources to fully utilize AI | Fast Company

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Uncertainty is the defining condition of our time. The pandemic reminded us how quickly our systems can fracture. Today, with political shifts, economic instability, and technological disruption intersecting, leaders are preparing for more turbulence ahead.

From where I sit, however, there are nearly 2 million reasons to be optimistic. America’s 1.9 million nonprofits make up a fiercely resilient force for scaling impact to our toughest challenges. They deliver food and housing, safeguard youth wellbeing, respond to natural disasters, and fight for fairness and opportunity. They are trusted by millions of people across many topic areas—and they are built to move fast, adapt, and deliver under pressure.

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