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Fast Company
13 minutes ago
- Business
- Fast Company
From pilot to payoff: Unlocking real AI value
BY Listen to this Article More info 0:00 / 0:23 In today's uncertain economy, businesses need flexible AI strategies to improve efficiency, reduce technical debt, and automate manual tasks. As the focus shifts toward more practical, adaptable solutions, Fast Company teamed up with Red Hat and Intel to explore how optimizing flexibility with AI helps organizations better respond to evolving customer needs.
Fast Company
43 minutes ago
- Business
- Fast Company
14 myths about business wealth management, debunked
At its core, wealth management is about making thoughtful decisions to grow, protect, and pass on what you've built. For business leaders, that means managing not just personal finances but also how money moves through their companies, covering everything from tax strategy and risk management to succession planning. However, several common and persistent myths and missteps can stall or even hinder your financial well-being. To help you avoid these pitfalls, 14 Fast Company Executive Board members debunk the most common business wealth management myths and share what leaders should remember instead. 1. TRADITIONAL INVESTMENT ADVISORY GUARANTEES SUCCESS. Investment advisory is a myth in itself. Screenplays, private stock, and indices in retirement portfolios can all be optioned. Payout structures to equity holders in movies can be more certain than private equity, since royalties are paid in the absence of liquidation preferences. The velocity from derivatives and private equity can generate wealth more quickly, but the distribution varies. – Sean Adler, SWN 2. WEALTH GROWTH AND MANAGEMENT IS STRAIGHTFORWARD AND GLAMOROUS. There isn't one perfect path. Sometimes the product or service that gets you there isn't glamorous. Know that wealth isn't just what's earned—it's what's built sustainably, passed along wisely, and anchored in purpose and people. Managing wealth isn't simply about tracking the cash flow or accumulating assets—it's about stewarding value, passing it on, and uplifting others along the way. – Larry Brinker Jr., BRINKER 3. YOU SHOULD WAIT UNTIL YOU'VE BUILT UP 'ENOUGH' CAPITAL. The biggest myth is thinking you need to wait until you've built more wealth to start managing it. Leaders overlook how far ahead you get by having capital to work with early and investing in things you know you'll need. It's like housing. If a $1M home rises 10 percent in a year, you'd need to save $100K just to keep up. Delaying can cost more than starting with what you've got. – Travis Schreiber, 4. BUILDING WEALTH MEANS NEGLECTING OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE. Chasing account balances while their health crashes, marriages crumble or souls are empty is not a 'rich life.' True wealth integrates everything. You're broke if you're rich but can't sleep, disconnected, or dead inside. Real wealth management means investing in vitality, love, and purpose. The fullest accounts mean nothing if you're too depleted to enjoy them. – Dr. Camille Preston, AIM Leadership, LLC 5. WEALTH MANAGEMENT IS SOLELY FOR THE WEALTHY. One of the biggest myths is that wealth management is only for the ultra-wealthy. In reality, strategic planning is crucial at every stage of business growth. Many leaders overlook how early tax planning, investment diversification, and succession strategies can protect assets and fuel long-term sustainability, even before they reach peak revenue. – Maria Alonso, Fortune 206 6. BUSINESS WEALTH MANAGEMENT IS ALL ABOUT INVESTING PROFITS. The biggest myth is that business wealth management is only about investing profits. In reality, it's a holistic strategy that includes tax planning, risk management, succession planning, and aligning personal and business finances. Ignoring this broader view can lead to missed opportunities and long-term instability. – Stephen Nalley, Black Briar Advisors 7. THERE IS A SINGLE GUARANTEED FORMULA FOR SUCCESS. The biggest myth in business wealth management is believing there is a singular, proven process everyone follows. You benefit mostly from close fiduciary advisors who ask deep questions on how you view financial success, and then help you create a specific plan customized for you. It sounds simple, but remember, wealth management is not 'one way/right way'—it's what way is best for your goals. – Rich DePencier, Brand Growth Accelerators 8. YOUR WEALTH DATA IS INHERENTLY SAFE. The biggest myth is that wealth data is automatically safe. Leaders often overlook backup strategies for financial records, risking catastrophic loss. Diversify storage locations and test recovery processes regularly—your wealth management is only as secure as your data. – Chongwei Chen DataNumen Inc. 9. YOU DON'T NEED TO THINK ABOUT WEALTH MANAGEMENT FROM THE START. There is a lot of misconception where people think business wealth management only matters once you're making serious money. Early cash flow management, reinvesting wisely, and keeping your business and personal finances separate can save you from running into issues later in the business journey. Often, it's the difference between just getting by and building something sustainable. – Gianluca Ferruggia, DesignRush 10. WEALTH MANAGEMENT BEGINS AND ENDS WITH INVESTING FUNDS POST-SALE. The biggest myth? That business wealth management is just about investing the money after a sale. In reality, it's about preparing for the emotional, financial, and family impact of that transition—ideally, years in advance—to avoid surprises and protect what you've built. – Mark Valentino, Citizens 11. A FINANCIAL ADVISOR ISN'T NECESSARY. The biggest myth that most leaders fail to realize is the value that a competent financial advisor can provide, and that the business leader is capable of doing it on their own. This may be true, but in most cases, business leaders realize what they excel at and understand those areas where they need help and hire the best to be around them. The same is true with hiring a financial advisor. – Richard McWhorter, SRM Private Wealth 12. YOU SHOULD FOCUS SOLELY ON MAXIMIZING PROFITS. Effective wealth management is about strategically balancing risk, aligning financial decisions with long-term business goals, and safeguarding the organization's economic stability and sustainability. Leaders who narrowly focus on profit maximization often overlook essential factors, such as risk mitigation, succession planning, liquidity management, and tax optimization. – Britton Bloch, Navy Federal Credit Union 13. GROWING YOUR SURPLUS FUNDS IS ENOUGH. Wealth management is not solely about investment returns; it also involves optimizing cash flow and tax strategy. Focus on maximizing profits and retaining them. Prioritize capturing all available business deductions, optimizing tax efficiency, and maintaining adequate cash reserves. True wealth management begins by maximizing operational earnings and keeping, not just growing, surplus funds. – Joynicole Martinez, The Alchemist Agency
Fast Company
5 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Why you need to ask the right questions to get the right results
Many leaders believe in the value of asking questions, but asking the right questions is still an underused and underappreciated leadership tool. The wrong questions can lead to misleading answers and wasted effort. 'The bottom line is: If you're asking the wrong question, the right answer doesn't help,' says Patrick Esposito, president and cofounder of ACME General Corp. 'A lot of people look to the power of analytics or AI, thinking that if they can get a bunch of data, they can make sense of it. But the reality is that asking more questions and gathering more data doesn't necessarily provide you with better results. It doesn't help you make the right decisions for your business, for your team, or for your customers.' Bombarding customers with questions to collect meaningful feedback can also be counterproductive. Surveys range from too generic ('How was your service today on a scale from one to 10?') to excessively detailed ('Please answer these 50 questions to let us know how we're doing'). Neither extreme leads to data with real business value. Working to bridge the gap between public-sector organizations and emerging tech companies, Esposito and his team have developed four strategies to help clients understand how to ask the right questions to advance their goals. Subscribe to the Daily newsletter. Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you every day Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters 1. START WITH WHY Simon Sinek's classic leadership book Start With Why applies to lessons that go beyond organizational mission. It helps uncover the true reasons behind your questions. Ask yourself: Why am I asking this question? What is it I want to achieve? Am I just asking a question because I want to validate that what I'm doing is right? Or do I really want to get an answer that tells me what I could do better? 'One of the pillars in our team's work is assessment,' says Esposito. 'The first step of making any change in an organization to improve is assessing what's working, what's not, and what to change. This requires structured, thoughtful questioning. I always tell our clients: If you start by asking customers to tell you about the problem and get their ideas on how to solve that problem, you're going to end up with better outcomes for you, your customers, and your employees. If you're not solving your customers' problems, you're not going to have customers for very long.' 2. ASK CUSTOMERS AND EMPLOYEES THE RIGHT QUESTIONS Companies frequently rely on customer surveys to shape their decision-making process. This feedback is valuable, but so is input from employees. 'I'm a firm believer that you have to get that ground truth from customers,' says Esposito. 'However, I will also say that surveying your team around what they are seeing, what they are hearing, and what they are feeling is just as important. A customer may or may not take the time to fill out a survey, but your team is more invested in the outcome. Follow Clayton Christensen's advice to focus on the outcome.' Learn to solicit the opinions of both internal and external stakeholders. Simple questions can lead to big process improvements. For customers, avoid feature-based questions, such as 'What do you want?' A better question would be 'What could we do better?' or 'What were you trying to do when this didn't work?' Frontline employees know where the problems are—but they will only speak up if they trust you. Build psychological safety first, then think about incentives to gain insights. A powerful prompt is 'What's one small thing that gets in the way of you doing your job?' advertisement 3. UNDERSTAND THE DANGERS OF POORLY ASKED QUESTIONS Common mistakes around gathering feedback include asking vague or leading questions, only paying attention during a crisis, and ignoring feedback. The stakes are high; when people stop telling the truth, trust erodes. 'Ask questions that align with what you are attempting to do,' says Esposito. 'Tailor questions to the input you're seeking for improving either your internal functioning as a business or your external delivery of products or services. Focus on where you think you need the input, and be specific. That doesn't mean the questions that you ask this quarter have to be the same questions you ask next quarter. They can evolve with your objectives.' 4. BUILD FEEDBACK INTO YOUR STRUCTURE Great companies make feedback routine, not occasional. Employee one-on-ones, customer interviews, project postmortems, and 'stop/start/continue' frameworks should be integrated into organizational systems. Give customers a place where they can provide feedback any time they choose—and collect that data in a way that it can be used across the organization. Let go of the idea that team feedback is only collected in annual employee reviews. Schedule regular conversations with every team member to normalize and optimize continuous improvement and systemic change. 'As Peter Drucker said, 'The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong questions,'' says Esposito. 'The right questions lead to better decisions, more trust, and faster evolution. Asking strategically—and acting on responses—is core to building a structure for success.'
Fast Company
6 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
In a world of uncertainty, agility is king—and tech is the key
Disruption has gone from an exception to a baseline. Between inflation, labor shortages, global instability, and economic volatility, real estate operators are under pressure to do more with less. In this environment, agility matters—operators who adapt quickly and intelligently will win. And in nearly every case, technology is the lever that makes that agility possible. Having steered teams through three once-in-a-generation-style disruption events, I've learned what separates the resilient from the reactive. Read on to see five tech-driven strategies that can help real estate operators stay lean, responsive, and competitive—no matter what the market throws at them. 1. THINK OF TECH AS A TEAM MEMBER, NOT A REPLACEMENT Subscribe to the Daily newsletter. Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you every day Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters There's a tendency to think of technology as something that replaces people. The best technologies augment human teams, helping them focus on higher-value work and make better decisions, faster. Many real estate firms are avoiding layoffs, opting instead to delay filling vacant positions or redistribute workloads. From May 2022 to 2023, entry-level commercial real estate job listings saw a 35% drop, indicating both economic prudence and a growing trend toward utilizing technology in order to bolster strained teams and preserve output levels. Whether it's AI that prioritizes which maintenance requests to address first or intelligent tools that help you understand micro-level trends in individual markets, tech is making it easier to do more with leaner teams. It's not about replacement; it's about reallocation. You must major on the majors, and tech helps you identify what those majors are. 2. BET ON FLEXIBILITY, NOT JUST COST SAVINGS In periods of uncertainty, budget flexibility is just as important as cost control. That's one area where technology often wins. Most SaaS solutions operate on month-to-month or low-commitment contracts, giving companies the ability to scale usage based on performance or business needs. That kind of adaptability is harder to achieve with traditional hiring, which involves long-term investments in onboarding, training and infrastructure. Yes, software still costs money. A Fortune 500 company typically spends around $13 million a year on real estate tech. But there's hidden waste too, with research indicating that up to 20% of a CRE tech stack budget goes to unused or duplicative tools. The takeaway? Treat your tech stack like any other high-value investment: review it regularly, refine as you go and ensure each tool is pulling its weight. 3. RECOGNIZE THAT THE NEXT DOWNTURN WILL BE A DIFFERENT KIND OF DOWNTURN By the time you read this, the next downturn may already be here – or looming. Market cycles are inevitable, and when the next one hits, it's not about chasing every new tool. It's about reassessing what's possible and remembering that the best time to invest in tech to support your team is before you urgently need it. For the first time, AI isn't just a buzzword – it's a practical tool helping lean teams shift focus from repetitive tasks to strategic ones. Unlike in 2008 or even 2020, we're now facing a market disruption where AI is part of the solution set. Back then, proptech could help streamline workflows, but it didn't meaningfully augment decision-making. That's changed. Today, generative AI tools can intelligently process work orders, analyze history to estimate costs, predict churn and summarize tenant feedback – quickly and accurately. It's no surprise that AI in the proptech market is growing at nearly 23% annually. advertisement As adoption accelerates, forward-thinking owners and operators are already testing and optimizing these tools. In an uncertain market, that kind of agility is a competitive advantage. 4. USE PLATFORMS TO SOLVE LABOR PROBLEMS, NOT JUST AUTOMATE TASKS Tech isn't just about data – it can also address real-world labor shortages, particularly in maintenance operations. Before the pandemic, the common industry rule was one technician per 100 apartment units. Since then, those roles have become harder to fill and retain. In response, operators are shifting to centralized maintenance models, often using software to handle intake, triage and dispatch based on skillset and proximity. During my time at Generac, we built a product called MobileLink that remotely monitored generator performance. That simple connectivity shift allowed us to help our dealers shift from expensive, reactive maintenance (that did not always allow us to make sure a customer was protected) to proactive interventions, improving uptime while reducing truck rolls. That same principle applies in real estate: resolving maintenance issues quickly – whether by guiding a resident to reset a breaker or dispatching a tech before a HVAC unit fails – saves money, reduces frustration and boosts retention. 5. MONETIZE THE DATA YOU ALREADY HAVE You don't need to buy a new sensor or tool to get more value from your operations. In many cases, the data you need is already being collected – it just hasn't been put to work. While at PointCentral, we had millions of thermostats live in rental properties, but we didn't have field service data to match it against. At Lessen today, we can pair those same indicators with real-time technician inputs to predict failures and optimize dispatch. The opportunity is there across the industry. Whether it's maintenance logs, vendor performance, or IoT data, most operators are sitting on a gold mine of insight. The next step is finding tools that help you activate it, or assigning someone on your team to start connecting the dots. LOOKING AHEAD A lead economist at CBRE recently pointed out that 'most returns over the last decade were made through cap rate compression.' But that tailwind is gone. For the foreseeable future, being a strong operator matters. That means getting crystal clear on where your team creates value, and where you don't. The smartest companies are doubling down on core competencies and using tech (or tech-enabled partners) to handle everything else. Agility is no longer a buzzword; it's a business imperative. And in this market, technology is one of the few levers that offers both resilience and upside.
Fast Company
a day ago
- General
- Fast Company
Motivation is a pattern: Moving from alarm clocks to purpose-driven success
Motivation isn't just a feeling—it's a pattern. A pattern of behavior, of habits, of choosing again and again to pursue something that matters. Too often we confuse motivation with external forces: deadlines, alarms, or pressure from bosses. But the most lasting, fulfilling kind of motivation comes from within. There are two types of motivation: alarm clock motivation and fulfillment-driven motivation. Alarm clock motivation is just what it sounds like—an external push. It's the reason you get up at 6:30 AM because your job or responsibilities demand it. It's duty-bound, sometimes driven by fear or necessity. Think of a teacher who wakes early because they have 30 kids waiting for them. It's not passion that gets them out of bed—it's the obligation. Fulfillment-driven motivation is different. It's internal. It's what happens when you believe you were meant to do something. That same teacher might be waking up at 6:30 AM not just to teach, but because they believe they're shaping minds and making a real difference in their community. That's purpose in action. And when your motivation is tied to fulfillment, your energy, creativity, and resilience increase dramatically. But to operate from fulfillment, your basic needs have to be met. You need stability: shelter, food, rest, safety, love. Only then can you lift your gaze beyond survival and start to think about the impact you want to make in the world. Subscribe to the Daily newsletter. Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you every day Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters Many people set huge, noble goals—to start nonprofits, write books, change lives—but fail to get traction because they haven't overcome the basics. They're still stuck in alarm clock mode. And that's okay. It's a phase. But we must recognize that we can't get to fulfillment-driven motivation if we're still fighting to meet our daily needs. Once I reached a point where my family was stable—economically, emotionally, spiritually—that's when my motivation began to shift. I was no longer driven just by the need to provide, but by the desire to help others, to make an impact, to mentor and inspire. People lose enthusiasm when their motivation isn't sustainable. If you're driven only by money, fame, or a target metric, what happens when you hit it? Often, you find that the goal doesn't simplify your life—it complicates it. You need a deeper 'why' to carry you through. That's what fulfillment provides. The key is setting goals that are both attainable and purpose-driven. Don't aim for something completely out of reach just to prove a point. Instead, chunk your big dream into manageable pieces. One of my mentors used to say, 'The best way to eat an elephant is in hunks, chunks, and bites.' That's how motivation works best too. For example, instead of setting a goal to lose 50 pounds, start by going to the gym every day for two weeks. Then build from there. Instead of trying to get on a nonprofit board immediately, show up to events, serve, and connect authentically. Motivation builds when you take meaningful action—bit by bit. As I've grown, my motivation has shifted again. In my 20s, I was motivated by fun. In my 30s, by financial stability and growing a business. Now, as I approach 40, I'm motivated by spending time with my family, mentoring others, and making a meaningful dent in the world—just as Steve Jobs encouraged others to do. Ultimately, motivation is about setting yourself up for success, not burnout. It's about recognizing the season you're in and aligning your goals accordingly. So ask yourself: What motivates you now? And how can you break it down into the bites that will carry you forward? When you understand that motivation is a pattern—not a mystery—you gain the power to shape it.
