Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2017/January 2018 i Fast Company

Let’s not waste any time. The simple solution that we’re all looking for: It doesn’t exist. Want your business to thrive like Amazon’s? Want to emulate Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg? Follow the road map of Nike or Warby Parker to build the next brand that matters? Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. What succeeded for them may not work for you. Too bad. Get over it. One-size-fits-all strategies just aren’t effective in today’s age of flux (and maybe they never were). That’s one of the insightful messages in senior writer Austin Carr’s feature “The Future of Retail in the Age of Amazon” (page 94). It’s become common practice to refer to billiondollar startups as “unicorns,” but there is no more one-of-a-kind business than Amazon: hard-driving, customer-focused, yet broadly directed,…

Beyond Meat Beginning in January, the plant-based Beyond Burger will roll out to its largest restaurant partner yet: TGI Fridays. More than 465 of the casualdining chain’s outposts will incorporate the patty into the company’s recently revamped Burger Bar, helping Beyond Meat in its quest to convince carnivores that meatless alternatives can taste (and be cooked) like their animal-protein counterparts. Since its launch in May 2016, the Beyond Burger has become the most successful item on Beyond Meat’s roster, thanks to the company’s efforts to get the vegan burger placed in grocery store meat cases alongside ground beef. In the past year, Beyond Meat has partnered with major grocers and distributors including Safeway, Kroger, and Sysco to get its frozen products into 12,000 stores (the burger is currently in 3,500…

FACEBOOK When Facebook f irstunveiled News Feed in 2006, its 10 million users threatened to revolt. In a matter of months, though, the redesigned product took off with users and, ultimately, advertisers. The familiar, bluebordered scroll of news articles and baby pictures now reaches 2 billion people around the world and accounts for much of the company’s more than $30 billion in annual advertising revenue. News Feed is also under fire, of course, for reinforcing partisan viewpoints by creating social echo chambers, spreading misinformation, and, through its targeted advertising tools, possibly enabling election interference. As investigations unfold into how Russian intelligence operations manipulated Facebook, it’s clear that News Feed has become a global political weapon—and some users are rethinking its place in their lives. This controversy exacerbates a more basic…

1. The Academy Awards 3,200+ GIFS 1.5 BILLION VIEWS Along with live GIFs of the Oscars, Giphy has helped the academy create clips from ceremonies dating to the 1930s. 2. U.S. National Archives 948 GIFS 381.8 MILLION VIEWS The archives have turned everything from the Iwo Jima flag raising to Lincoln portraits into mini videos. 3. NASA 1,000 GIFS 296.4 MILLION VIEWS The space agency uses its channel to educate the public on past and current missions. 4. GE 611 GIFS 142.1 MILLION VIEWS How do you make industrial engineering cool? By slapping cheeky captions on videos of wind turbines and jet engines.…

TILIT THE PROBLEM There was one thing Alex McCrery hated about his job as Jerry Seinfeld’s personal chef: his uniform. Chef’s coats and aprons are typically made with polyester, which is more waterand stain-repellent than cotton but feels hot and uncomfortable. And the cheap cotton pants wear out quickly. THE EPIPHANY In an era of open kitchens and celebrity chefs, McCrery sensed an oppor tunity to design high-quality uniforms stylish enough to wear to and from work. He and his wife, Jenny Goodman, started experimentthe ing. (Both are restaurateurs: They once owned a casual burger and biscuit joint in Brooklyn.) THE EXECUTION In late 2012, the couple launched Tilit with a chef’s coat, pants, and a pair of aprons—all in flattering cuts and made with blends of cotton, polyester, and…

WIEDEN+KENNEDY In September,Nike unveiled a new retail experience that reduces the time it takes to customize shoe graphics from eight weeks to less than two hours—short enough that it can be done on demand and in-store. The project, which combines video-game-style motion capture and projection mapping, was developed by the Lodge, a fiveyear- old tech-focused division of the Portland, Oregon– based ad agency Wieden+Kennedy. Led by managing director Paulo Ribeiro and director of creative technology Nilesh Ashra, the Lodge’s 25-person staff harnesses emerging technologies, such as AI and robotics, to help W+K create products and experiences for major brands. “Everything we’re doing is in a new format in some way,” says Ribeiro. Here are four recent projects that signal the future of brand marketing. NIKE’S LIVE DESIGN EXPERIENCE Nike debuted…

Chairman and CEO, Kaiser Permanente At Kaiser Permanente, we spend a lot of time talking about how to maintain resilience and make sure that we have good mental health and wellness in the midst of the stresses in our lives. Much of my daily routine is intended to create that balance. I compartmentalize everything. It’s the way I focus. I like to have my stuff in specific folders, clearly marked for those specific projects or initiatives. For example, every day I get a folder for all of my meetings, and they put a little tag on top of the folder to specify the contents, with specific data highlighted and organized. I have three of them in front of me right now, one of which says “New Growth Strategy for Kaiser…

30 Days Before Understand your audience, says Alexa Fischer, Udemy public speaking and confidence instructor. Identify the most valuable information you’re going to share and how you can offer the greatest amount of service in the moment, she says. Then build your content and slides around that premise. “People often put off preparing for a presentation as a way to cope with fear,” says Fischer. But getting an early start is more effective. 30 Hours Before Practice at least five times, says Peter Arvai, cofounder and CEO of Prezi. Go through your presentation to ensure you’re comfortable with the content, flow, and pace. Do a trial run in front of a trusted colleague, or rehearse the material out loud rather than silently in your own head. “Hearing your speech builds…

A A client will usually come with an idea that they want, but without the idea of how to realize it. The Lowline [the world’s first underground park, proposed for the Lower East Side of Manhattan] originally started with these large slabs of bent, solid, un seen, large-scale surfaces. [Design is] really about searching out the function of each component, being sensitive to what those components need to be in con junction with each other, then allowing that expression to become the design. I start each day around 8. I jump right into either sketching or 3-D modeling. [When I get stuck] I go for a walk with my dog, just to get out from behind the computer. Sometimes researching other areas will open up new possibilities. To design motorcycles,…

Sources: PwC, Quartz, and Financial Times (retail square footage); Credit Suisse (2008 store closings); Fung Global Retail & Technology (2016 and 2017 store closings; major store closures; affected retail segments; fast fashion); Andy Dunn (digital-native brands); L2 (beauty); eMarketer (Apple sales per square foot); CoStar (average retail sales per square foot); Burlington (Burlington store data); Cowen & Co. (Burlington store growth); TJX (HomeGoods and Marshalls/T.J. Maxx store data)…

It’s not easy being a meeting planner these days. Along with the endless details involved in booking rooms, selecting a menu, and making sure the video equipment works on cue, you face the larger of ensuring that attendees are (and remain) engaged, focused, and productive. The bottom line: You’ve got to wow them. Hilton’s popular Meet with Purpose program grew out of this insight and is now in almost 300 hotels. Based on three core principles— mindful meeting, mindful eating, and mindful being—it gives planners a creative and flexible offering designed to resonate with attendees on an individual, even emotional level. The goal is making attendees feel something, through a combination of healthy food, energizing exercises, social impact activities, and puppies. Yes, actual puppies. But more on that later To…

1. Food Network The culinary channel’s chatbot lets users browse recipes by celeb chefs such as Bobby Flay and play games like Meal Match with friends. 2. American Express Launched last summer, the AmEx bot can respond to questions about a user’s card balance and enable purchase notifications to protect against fraud. 3. American Eagle Take a photo of something you like, anywhere, and the retailer produces a custom catalog of similar, shoppable styles. 4. Shop T-Mobile Buy a new phone or sign up for a T-Mobile plan through the company’s AI-enabled bot. 5. Spotify The streaming service lets users create playlists with friends from within an existing conversation.…

LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY Now that LosAngeles has claimed the 2028 Olympics, it’s embarking on an ambitious effort to reduce congestion and transform the city’s transportation infrastructure. Last November, residents approved Measure M, a sales-tax increase that will give the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (known as Metro) an estimated $120 billion over 40 years for the overhaul. Mayor Eric Garcetti has promised to add bus and train lines, along with an array of on-demand, autonomous, and electric transit options within the next decade. Here, five ways L.A. is charting new paths to navigate a city. A NEIGHBORLY CITYSCAPE “We’re trying to create communities where people can walk to a lot of the things they might otherwise have had to drive to,” says Joshua Schank, chief innovation…

GOFUNDME Hewitt Bauguss Sr., 95, worked for most of his life as a ranch foreman in a tiny desert town in West Texas, population 837. His children settled 500 miles east, in greater Houston, and Bauguss, a World War II veteran, decided to join them in 2001. He moved into a trailer home in the suburb of Brazoria and established a routine: grocery shopping with his children and grandchildren; long talks with men of his generation at a local diner. Bauguss was living in the trailer when Hurricane Harvey began to pummel the Gulf Coast in August. As the floodwaters rose, he evacuated, not long before neighbors spotted alligators swimming outside his door. Kourtney Rodefeld, Bauguss’s granddaughter, visited the trailer two weeks later. “At first you drive up and it…

James Corden’s office, at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, is crammed full of showbiz clutter—dog-eared scripts, award-show trophies, a framed thank-you note from a former first lady. But there’s one small item sitting atop a pile of magazines on a coffee table that Corden couldn’t get through the day without, a simple artifact that plays a key role in the Zen order of his work-life philosophy. “I try to carve out six or seven minutes of silence twice a day, which is where this thing comes in handy,” he says, picking up a little black sleep mask, the kind airlines give away in first class. “Some people would call it meditating. But I don’t do breathing exercises. I don’t ‘go’ anywhere in particular. I just do this”—he slips on…

30 Days Before Encourage judgmentfree idea generation in meeting invitations. Successful entrepreneurs and leaders have failures in their past, says David Eagleman, neuroscientist and coauthor of The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World. Elon Musk recently shared his SpaceX blooper reel. “You can’t do anything cool without failing,” says Eagleman. 30 Hours Before Invite the right people. “A brainstorm is only as strong as the brains in the room,” says Tina Seeling, author of Creativity Rules: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and Into the World. Bring in different points of view. When designing a new car, for example, don’t just invite engineers; include people who don’t drive, who design rockets, or who work valet parking, says Seeling. 30 Minutes Before Set up the room. “The space for…

A SHORT GUIDE People are naturally social beings: It can’t be helped. While we all crave different levels of connection, we still need to feel like we belong—especially at work. Here are a few things you might want to consider when building a product to help people get things done: 1. ADD VISUALS Enable users to communicate visually in some way, not just verbally. It helps people overcome language and social barriers when working with others. 2. CREATE SPACE FOR CONNECTION Trust and rapport are the backbone of good working relationships, so look for ways your product can help people exchange ideas and connect across teams while they work. An example could be as simple as a feature that helps people openly celebrate the completion of a task or project,…

DENIAL “Well, I have a lot of interesting thoughts on [the Amazon–Whole Foods deal], but I will provide none of them on the record.” David Simon CEO, mall developer Simon Property Group ANGER “Certain categories are much more a natural fit for [Amazon]... paper towels, toilet paper, AA batteries, and groceries.... As soon as you get into categories that are more emotive, more visual, people want unique items, the delivery requires a unique type of handling system... a whole series of things that frankly we’ve oriented around and vertically integrated around.” Niraj Shah CEO, home goods e-commerce company Wayfair BARGAINING “Because more than 50% of online product searches happen on Amazon, and of those, 37% buy that product in a store, we believe Amazon is not a death knell for…

PepsiCo Milestones PepsiCo is continuing its push into healthier snacks with a new line of Frito-Lay products, called Simply, that includes organic versions of Doritos, Tostitos, and Cheetos. Challenges PepsiCo still faces skepticism from organic stores like Whole Foods that are not accustomed to stocking larger, mainstream brands such as those from Frito-Lay. Buzz ← → Ikea Milestones After partnering with Task Rabbit in 2016 to offer London customers assistance with furniture assembly, Ikea recently acquired the on-demand services company—a sign that the Swedish giant is building out its customerservice capabilities. Challenges Ikea is still figuring out how to make delivery cheap enough to compete with Amazon. The company’s fee for large items starts at $99, while Amazon Prime offers free two-day shipping. Buzz ↑ Boeing Milestones In October, the…

THE ADVENTURER 2018 MARIN FOUR CORNERS BIKE $1,040 marinbikes.com The mark of a good adventure bike is how easily it can go from dirt roads and gravel paths to the city streets of a daily commute. Marin’s Four Corners bike is optimized for comfortable multi-terrain touring, with a long, tall frame that steers slowly and has extra braze-ons for storing cargo without sacrificing balance and speed. ABOM ONE GOGGLES From $250 abom.com Crafted in Abom’s Oregon labs, these goggles are not only scratch- and glareresistant, they also banish fog (the bane of skiers) with a micro-current that heats the lenses via a six-hour rechargeable battery. LEATHERMAN TREAD TEMPO WATCH $575 leatherman.com Leatherman has created the ultimate multifunctional watch: a Swiss-made timepiece attached to a stainless-steel band containing 30 links that…

GIPHY On a mild Sunday evening in September, a handful of staffers from Giphy gathered in the reception area of the company’s Los Angeles studios to watch the Emmy Awards. Sitting opposite a wall of flat-screen TVs with laptops perched on knees and La Croix cans nearby, the staffers gave off a convivial collegiate vibe. But this was only incidentally a social event. The Giphy folks had been tasked by the Emmys producers to “live GIF” the show, creating shareable, seconds-long video loops that could be used to comment on the broadcast itself—and punctuate digital conversations long after the Emmys were over. By the time host Stephen Colbert was high-kicking through the opening number with a group of white-hooded dancers—a nod toThe Handmaid’s Tale—Giphy’s team had already filled its home…

MICHELE CLAPTON Costume Designer Whether she’s designing a runway-worthy fur coat for the Mother of Dragons to wear on HBO’s Game of Thrones or a gown for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation on Netflix’s biopic seriesThe Crown, costume designer Michele Clapton knows that clothes often make the story. Sometimes they can even become characters in their own right. As she prepares for a 2018 that includes filming the final season of Game of Thronesand the release of two films that she worked on (the sequel to the hit musical Mamma Mia! and The Death and Life of John F. Donovan,starring Natalie Portman and Kit Harington), Clapton explains how she uses clothing to enhance a story. GO MINIMAL FOR MAXIMUM EFFECT The first season of The Crown features an array of ornate,…

TV The Late Late Show With James Corden 2015–PRESENT CBS Every weeknight, Corden hosts his signature Emmy-winning talk show, which he also coproduces (through Fulwell 73). Carpool Karaoke: The Series PREMIERED AUGUST 8, 2017 Apple Music Produced by CBS and Fulwell 73, this Late Late Show spin-off has featured appearances from the likes of Will Smith, Miley Cyrus, John Legend, and Corden himself. Drop the Mic PREMIERED OCTOBER 24, 2017 TBS Another Late Late Show spin-off, the rap-battle series is hosted by Method Man and Hailey Baldwin. Training Days (working title) SPRING 2018 YouTube This unscripted comedic series, produced by Fulwell 73, will visit a different pro soccer team each episode and lead the players on an offfield adventure. The 10-installment run will air on YouTube’s free, ad-supported platform in…

30 Days Before See who’s going, says Dorie Clark, author of Stand Out Networking: A Simple and Authentic Way to Meet People on Your Own Terms. The event organizer will often publish the names and bios of people who’ll be there, she says. “Get a head start by identifying who you want to meet,” says Clark. Contact the organizer and offer to volunteer, says Judy Robinett, author ofHow to Be a Power Connector. “This will allow you access to leaders who can make key introductions.” 30 Hours Before Do an internet and Twitter search of the people you want to meet, says Robinett. “Get to know what matters most to them so you can have something meaningful to talk about or ask,” she says. Reach out now via email, text,…

TV journalist, correspondent, and host of MSNBC’s AM Joy Technology has made it a lot easier to be productive. It’s incredibly helpful to be able to get little bits of information quickly. I used to have this ritual of going throughThe New York Times and The Washington Post [online], but now I just don’t have time to do that. That would take up my whole morning. So I put specific and important reporters and people on alert so that if they post something new I get it right away. Unfortunately I’ve had to put Trump on alert as well, because he will tend to blow up our show. Twitter is really useful for that. I think social media tools are helpful, so long as you pick your social media wisely.…

WIN Historian, writer, and political commentator Every morning I go downstairs to this room we call the “reading room.” There’s a couch—and a fireplace in the wintertime—and I sit with a blanket and my laptop perched on a pillow. I start immediately on whatever book I’m working on. I don’t turn email on, don’t turn the television on for news. Those are wonderful hours. I feel this great sense of solace to know that I’ll have, maybe, three hours and the outer world is gone completely. That’s when I get my best work done. I always take notes. If I don’t have the computer, I have a piece of paper. Lincoln had this rolltop desk, and he would scratch thoughts out for speeches and then put them in this desk.…

Access Wi-Fi A feature in Apple’s iOS 11 and Mac OS High Sierra makes logging on to Wi-Fi easy, assuming you have someone nearby already on that network. Once invited to enter the network’s password, hold your device next to your colleague’s, and the online device offers a prompt to share the password. Meet Up With Friends There’s something uniquely annoying about trying to reach consensus with a group. Facebook Messenger has a solution. Via the “+” section on mobile or the “graph” button on a desktop, you can set up a digital questionnaire. Then, using an animated survey icon, others can click to vote, and the results show up in graph form in a message. Looks like tacos (again) tonight. Insert an Image Easily To include a picture from…

THE MALL OF AMERICA’S TERRAZZO FLOORS, GLAZED WHITE LIKE DOUGHNUT FROSTING, RIBBON OUT IN EVERY DIRECTION, creating a vast mirror maze of consumerism with 520 glassy storefronts. Shoppers, who have escaped an endlessly gray Bloomington, Minnesota, sky on a Monday morning in October, drift through the largest mall in the United States like tourists at an Atlantic City buffet. A couple holding hands strolls into a Zales while buttery perfumes emanate from an Auntie Anne’s next door. Kids and some willing parents fling around on the SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge roller coaster, one of 27 rides at the Nickelodeon-branded amusement park on-site. Distant echoes of saxophone Muzak clash with both elevator whirs and bubbly pop songs. Somewhere in this otherworldly commercial expanse are five Lids stores and four Sunglass…

MARTINPATRICK3 MINNEAPOLIS “ This is one of the most beautifully curated retail experiences I ’ ve ever seen, and it ’ s for men. I love Amazon, but I don ’ t go back there to discover what they have on the shelves. It ’ s rare to walk into a store and feel like I have to come back because I need to know what they’re selling.” West Stringfellow Founder, retail consultancy Potintia; former product guru at Visa, Target, and Amazon AVENUE TUCSON, ARIZONA “ Avenue is led by this incredible woman [ Alexis Mosij ] whose sense of design and taste is just unreal. You look at her store and you just want to live that life.” Healey Cypher CEO, Oak Labs, a retail technology startup MALENA ’…