Latest news with #adaptability
UAE Moments
13 hours ago
- Business
- UAE Moments
♉ Taurus: Daily Horoscope for June 29th, 2025
Today, Taurus, the Universe invites you to embrace the unexpected with grace. The Moon's square with Uranus may bring surprises, but remember, change is the only constant. Love Horoscope Today, dear Taurus, love may feel like a gentle breeze that refreshes your soul. The Moon's transition into Virgo brings a nurturing energy to your relationships. You might find yourself drawn to simple, heartfelt gestures that speak volumes. Whether it's a shared cup of coffee or a quiet walk in the park, these moments will strengthen your bonds. Remember, love doesn't always need grand declarations; sometimes, it's the silent support and understanding that truly matter. Embrace the warmth of companionship and let your natural loyalty shine through. Career Horoscope In the workplace, Taurus, today is a day to showcase your adaptability. The Moon's conjunction with Mars in Virgo energizes your professional life, encouraging you to tackle tasks with renewed vigor. Be open to new methods or technologies that can enhance your productivity. Your colleagues will appreciate your willingness to embrace change and your steady approach to challenges. Remember, your hard work and dedication are your greatest assets. By staying open to innovation, you can turn potential disruptions into opportunities for growth. Health Horoscope Your well-being today is closely tied to your ability to adapt to the unexpected. With Uranus stirring things up, you might feel a bit off-balance. However, this is an opportunity to practice flexibility. Try incorporating a new activity into your routine, like a spontaneous yoga session or a creative hobby. These small changes can invigorate your spirit and help you find joy in the unexpected. Remember, Taurus, your natural endurance is your strength, and embracing change can lead to personal growth and renewed energy. Finance Horoscope Financially, today calls for cautious optimism. The Moon's influence suggests that while there may be unexpected expenses, there are also opportunities for growth. Keep an eye out for small investments or savings plans that align with your long-term goals. Your natural wisdom will guide you in making sound decisions. Avoid impulsive purchases and focus on building a stable foundation. Remember, Taurus, your ability to plan and persevere is your greatest asset in achieving financial security.
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Why the best leaders embrace both ‘agile' and ‘waterfall' thinking
Have you ever admired a leader so dialed into their long-term mission that it seems nothing can shake their focus? Every move appears premeditated, every milestone perfectly timed. Now think about a leader who seems to always be in step with the moment. Their company launches timely features, aligns instantly with market shifts, and always feels fresh. For every leader who succeeds through single-minded focus, there are others whose obstinacy has led them and their organizations to arrive at a destination that is no longer desirable. And while adaptability can be a gift, it also leads many organizations to shift strategies with each change in the winds without ever hitting on a true contribution. This tension between structure and adaptability isn't just theoretical; it's a foundational dynamic that has shaped industries for decades. Approaches to enterprise software development provide a useful way to gauge whether you're leaning too far in either direction. Balancing Your Leadership Approaches Early on in the history of the software industry, a 'waterfall' strategy reigned supreme. Road maps guided development, with possible major platform releases happening every one to two years, version releases quarterly, feature sets monthly, and bug fixes weekly. Teams operated with near-military precision towards long-term goals, broken down into shorter term deliverables. But as the pace of change accelerated, that model began to break down. Agile software development emerged, favoring speed, iteration, and real-time user feedback. Short sprints (often 60 to 90 days) determined what was going to be released. Each sprint on a project added features, fixed bugs, and adapted to feedback from the previous release. Unlike with waterfall, employees from across agile teams were empowered to fix things and make many changes without going through their chain of command to get approval. In our coaching work, we've seen that the same push and pull between waterfall and agile playing out in leadership styles and company cultures. Some leaders operate like agile systems: adaptive, fast-moving, iterative, and with a distributed decision structure. They respond quickly to new data and aren't afraid to pivot when the market shifts. Others take a waterfall-inspired approach: structured, methodical, deeply focused on long-term outcomes, and more rigidly hierarchical. They chart a course and stick to it, often prioritizing consistency over speed. Neither mindset is wrong, but over-indexing on either one can create serious blind spots. Agile thinkers risk spinning in circles when they follow the tides. Waterfall thinkers risk charging toward goals that become outdated or foundering on unsolvable problems. For executives, the ability to integrate both approaches is no longer optional—it's essential. Here's how to strike that balance—and why your team's future may depend on it. 1. Assess your own leadership style In our coaching conversations with leaders, we often start by asking them to reflect on whether they naturally lean toward structure or spontaneity. We can expand on their natural preference by administering a personality profile survey as well. Are they more likely to build a road map and stick to it, or pivot at the first sign of change? Developing this self-awareness isn't about labeling or even changing your style—it's about recognizing where you need balance. If you default to agile thinking, ask yourself: Are we making measurable progress? Or changing directions without setting a course? Are we building anything lasting? If you favor waterfall thinking, ask: Is our goal still relevant? What feedback are we ignoring? Which market changes do we need to take into account? During a recent coaching conversation a senior marketing leader at large hospitality company expressed frustrations about her proposed product launch, a new menu item, being challenged by her colleague who runs operations. He thought a different item would be faster, easier, and aligned to what customers recently told him they wanted. Her team had spent the last six months toward brand alignment, market research, product iterations, testing, launch planning, and marketing planning and were now finally ready to do something. Her waterfall approach and his agile approach were in conflict. Both made great points. In the end, they struck a balance between both proposals and management styles. 2. Understand when culture amplifies leadership style As a leader, you have to ask whether your company culture reflects your style or balances it. A culture determines how people behave naturally, on average, even when a leader is 'not in the room.' Do people tend to work in a structured manner, with long-term goals in mind, always talking about progress against objectives? Or, does it feel like people question the current state, proposing new ideas and take initiative without seeking executive approval. Crucially, if the culture leans in a particular direction, how easy and safe is it for people who lean the other way to challenge the others. A lot of can depend on whether the company typically hires and promotes a 'type' that matches the leader's biases or whether it embraces individuals who bring unique perspectives and skills to the workplace. When you build a corporate ethos in your image, you magnify your own tendencies in ways that create a harmonious work environment. People are not likely to argue with your decisions, because they reflect their own opinions as well. Day-to-day, that can be pleasant. In the long-run, though, it creates problems. If the leadership and organization are all Agile, then chaos may manifest. A slow-moving Waterfall culture may stall innovation. Take Boeing as an example; it continued reliance on a hierarchical, Waterfall-style of leadership and development culture has been widely criticized for contributing to recent crises. The rigid, top-down approach delayed necessary changes in engineering and quality control, despite repeated warnings from employees and whistleblowers. The 2024 mid-air panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX reignited scrutiny, and internal documents revealed slow, structured processes that resisted fast adaptation or real-time feedback. The Waterfall mindset—prioritizing schedules, approvals, and internal reporting lines—led to safety risks, brand damage, and regulatory backlash. In contrast, consider Netflix. In the late 1990s, they recognized an inefficiency in the movie rental business. Leaders in this space had significant overhead costs from the physical stores from which people rented and returned movies. By allowing customers to select movies online and have then delivered, they created an economy of scale. Building this business required attention to detail and customer service. Yet, the company remained sensitive to technology trends. They realized that they were essentially sending computer files through a low-bandwidth connection (the U.S. Mail) and disrupted their own business model by pivoting to streaming. Further realizing that many companies could develop streaming models, they pivoted again to content creation. Becoming a content creator requires a lot of expertise, and so they had to implement this model using a more traditional Waterfall approach. This balance between Agile and Waterfall approaches has enabled Netflix to remain a significant force in the market. The takeaway? While a particular cultural and leadership disposition around Waterfall or Agile may be the natural to the organization and may have served it well for many years, great leaders are aware of those tendencies, and build a culture that can challenge the status quote and balance, when needed, Agile and Waterfall approaches to yield healthy (if sometimes uncomfortable) debate. 3. Combine long-term vision with real-time feedback A 2024 meta-analysis in the Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation found that agile leadership has a significant impact on organizational outcomes, team effectiveness, collaboration, and innovation. But the key isn't to replace long-term thinking entirely—it's to layer agility on top of it. That's why the most successful leaders use both mindsets. They know when to zoom out—building toward five-year goals—and when to zoom in, listening to customer feedback or shifting based on real-time performance indicators. New Balance has done this exceptionally well, maintaining its long-term manufacturing commitments in the U.S. while evolving its brand to meet changing consumer tastes—a move that helped drive a record $6.5 billion in sales in 2023. A CMO we coached recently calls her approach 'glocal marketing'—the balance between local and global marketing, which includes honoring the long term brand promise (Waterfall) while still connecting, through customization, at the local level to what is relevant and popular at that moment in a particular area (Agile). At the team level, this looks like maintaining a steady mission while adapting tactics. At the leadership level, it means pairing clarity of purpose with the humility to course correct. 4. Build balanced teams that challenge your defaults There's a method in psychology to measure individual tendencies known as need for cognitive closure, and it provides a useful way to think about your own leadership approach. People high in need for closure prefer action to thinking, so they tend to react to situations and engage with available information, which is characteristic of an agile approach. People low in need for closure prefer thinking to action and typically mull over information, which often leads to the focus on long-term goals characteristic of a waterfall style. Understanding your own tendencies as a leader as well as those of your trusted associates is valuable, because it gives you the opportunity to balance your team to include those with a range of levels of need for closure to ensure your team isn't heavily biased toward either the agile or waterfall style. You can measure these tendencies with the Need for Closure scale. It will help you to see whether the people you work with tend toward High (i.e., Agile) or Low (i.e., Waterfall) Need for Closure. If you find that your team tends to be biased more toward reaction or more toward deep thought, you can use timelines to help overcome those tendencies. For example, if your team tends to react quickly, set a deadline for finalizing a decision that's far enough out to allow your team the time and space to slow down and proceed carefully and thoughtfully. In contrast, if your team often deliberates too long and gets stuck in long-term patterns, an earlier deadline can push them to make decisions more quickly. Don't surround yourself with people who think exactly like you. Instead, build teams that stretch your instincts, pressure-test your assumptions, and help you operate at both 30,000 feet and ground level. Often, people's preferences reflect hidden assumptions that they themselves may not be aware of. Being forced to justify your strategic decisions explicitly in conversations brings those assumptions to the forefront. In addition, these strategic choices may sometimes reflect reasoning gaps that these conversations will also bring to light. Navigate with intention The best leaders don't choose between agile and waterfall—they learn to navigate the tension and switch gears with intention. Agility without direction leads to burnout. Direction without agility leads to obsolescence. So, ask yourself: Are you leaning too far in one direction? What conversations, feedback loops, or partners could help you rebalance? Because real leadership isn't about having a single style—it's about learning when to move fast, when to slow down, and how to bring your team with you, every step of the way.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tough love mentoring builds stronger leadership and more successful businesses
We're experiencing a profound shift in the leadership landscape; it's no longer enough to speak the loudest in a boardroom or present the most extensive experience. The pace and complexity within organisations demands more flexible, people-focused approaches, where adaptability and self-awareness drive success. I've spent many years in leadership roles, and it's evident that adaptability and resilience are no longer optional, but essential, to deliver value on both an individual and organisational scale. These skills cannot be shaped by a course, or learnt from a textbook, but built through real connections and in my view, mentoring is central to that growth. From being the first female chair of the John Lewis Partnership Plc, to my latest role as the chair of Sanctus group, I've seen first-hand the impact mentoring provides, both as a mentor and a mentee. I've personally turned to mentoring to gain perspective and clarity and truly believe it's the future of successful leadership. I'm a passionate advocate for mentoring, shaped by my own first-hand experience where it's served a significant role in my career. Fifteen years ago, I held a reasonably senior role at The Treasury and had the privilege of joining the Mentoring Foundation's FTSE 100 mentoring initiative. The programme was designed to increase the number of women on FTSE 100 Boards by connecting high-potential women with Chairs of top UK companies, supporting career progression and development. I truly believe mentoring should be a central pillar of leadership development I was fortunate to be paired with an incredible mentor who not only offered unwavering personal support but also gave a lot of tough love. I still see him all these years later and often reflect on how transformational that relationship was. It taught me to celebrate successes, provided me with the confidence to take on bigger roles, and helped me build the resilience needed to navigate some of the tougher moments. It's why I feel so strongly about the value of mentoring as I've seen just how transformational it can be. I truly believe mentoring should be a central pillar of leadership development. It's one of the most effective ways to build adaptability, self-awareness and a growth mindset at every level. Throughout my career, I've witnessed many forms of mentoring, each with unique strengths. Traditional mentoring, where experienced leaders guide junior employees, remains vital, but reverse mentoring, where junior colleagues share insights with senior leaders, is equally as powerful. Both play crucial roles in broadening perspectives, challenging long-held assumptions, and building deeper trust within organisations. When I held the role of Chair at the John Lewis Partnership Plc, we introduced reverse mentoring to infuse the leadership team with fresh perspectives and amplify voices that had historically been underrepresented. The approach allowed us to unlock insights from individuals whose backgrounds or viewpoints were less visible within the leadership team and provided leaders with an authentic window into experiences different from their own. I recall several members of the team who found these relationships deeply enriching By providing a voice to those who often go unheard, and encouraging open conversation, the reverse mentoring programme enabled leaders to see beyond their own lived experiences, fostering empathy and a deeper understanding of the diverse workforce within the organisation. I recall several members of the team who found these relationships deeply enriching as the experience went beyond a simple knowledge exchange; it cultivated an environment where curiosity was encouraged, biases were questioned, and assumptions were constructively challenged. More broadly, reverse mentoring demonstrated how intentionally providing space for diverse voices is not simply an exercise for inclusion; instead, it strengthens organisational culture and future-proofs organisations. My personal experience with mentoring is precisely what led me to take on the role of Chair at Sanctus Group of which the mentoring arm is powered by PushFar. I've seen first-hand how transformational mentoring can be, for both individuals and an entire organisation. Joining PushFar felt like a natural next step as it's an opportunity to help scale something I deeply believe in. The platform's mission to make mentoring more accessible, structured and inclusive aligns with everything I've experienced and championed throughout my career. Employee engagement, retention and development are more important than ever I believe all organisations and business leaders should consider mentoring as a strategic imperative. Mentoring programs offer a low-cost, high-impact approach to people development and can be the solution to an organisation's most pressing challenges. Mentoring also plays a key role in supporting underrepresented groups When thoughtfully designed and delivered, it supports long-term organisational health in many ways, nurturing future leaders by strengthening succession pipelines, ensuring leadership capabilities are passed on effectively, as well as identifying, developing and retaining top talent. Mentoring also plays a key role in supporting underrepresented groups, offering guidance, visibility and opportunities that they might not otherwise access. This not only promotes diversity and inclusion within organisations, but fosters innovation, improves engagement and builds resilient, high-performing workforces. Its human-centred approach is what sets mentoring apart. It creates a safe space for learning and growth focused on an individual's needs, strengths and goals rather than a 'box ticking' exercise. This encourages loyalty and enhances confidence and competence. For me, mentoring isn't just a 'nice to have,' it's an essential for any organisation to clearly demonstrate they value their people and are committed to long-term growth. At its core, leadership is about people not just performance, and the most resilient organisations will be those that prioritise human connection. Mentoring is one of the most powerful ways to foster that connection as it creates space for growth, not just for those at the start of their career, but at every level. Mentoring isn't just about developing others, it's a valuable opportunity for senior leaders to grow and should be viewed as a two-way exchange. The strongest and most effective leaders I've encountered are those who never stop learning and mentoring helps keep learning and development at the forefront. As leaders, we know that our greatest strength lies in our people. When we invest in them through genuine connection, we unlock loyalty that will stand the test of time. Great people will want to work for us and stay working with us. Mentoring and coaching done well, are incredible ways to build a happier and more effective workforce, and that in turn, makes for happier customers and clients. It's time we stop thinking of mentoring as optional and start recognising it as a strategic necessity, as when we invest in people, everything else follows. Dame Sharon White is Chair of Sanctus Group Sign in to access your portfolio
Globe and Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Scott Barbrack On Risk, Resilience, And Why London's Entrepreneurs Need Strategic Support Now
In a world of uncertainty, Barbrack's journey shows how adaptability, timing, and support systems are key to survival—and success In a powerful new interview titled How Wall Street Lessons Help Scott Barbrack Navigate Business Risk — and Why It Matters in London, veteran investor and entrepreneur Scott Barbrack offers timely insights into the universal need for strategic resilience in business—especially in today's unpredictable economic climate. Drawing on his three-decade career spanning high-stakes finance, hospitality, and fashion, Barbrack's reflections highlight a deeper issue: the urgent need for support systems and adaptable thinking for startups and small businesses navigating volatility, particularly in dense urban centres like London. 'You've got seconds to make a call,' Barbrack says. 'If you're slow, the market—or the customer—moves on without you.' His comment applies beyond the trading floor. In London, where over 1 million small businesses make up 99.9% of the city's business population, startup survival has become increasingly precarious. According to the UK's Office for National Statistics, nearly 60% of new businesses fail within three years. Barbrack believes many of these failures aren't due to bad ideas—but to a lack of preparation and guidance. 'If you don't know your downside, you don't belong in the deal,' he says. 'That's not about being cynical. That's about being ready.' In the interview, Barbrack recalls his move from finance into the hospitality industry, becoming a partner in The Lion, a popular New York City restaurant. He notes the striking parallels: tight margins, quick decision-making, and rapidly shifting customer expectations. 'Everything could change in a single night,' he explains. 'A bad review, staff shortages, supplier delays—just like a sudden shift in market sentiment. It's all about reacting without panic.' Barbrack also discusses his early investment in Pretty Green, a UK-based fashion brand. It was a bet on brand identity and cultural resonance, not just spreadsheets. 'You ride the wave, but you've got to know when to exit too,' he says. His takeaway is clear: successful entrepreneurs—whether in London or New York—must balance gut instinct with real strategy, and perhaps more importantly, must not go it alone. 'Behind every business decision I've made, there's been a team, a network, a circle of people I trust,' Barbrack adds. 'In finance, it's your network. In restaurants, it's your staff. In fashion, it's your customers. No matter the industry, people are the real asset.' Call to action: Support small businesses, entrepreneurs, and mentorship networks Barbrack's story isn't just a reflection on past success—it's a rallying cry. He urges policymakers, communities, and individuals to invest time, mentorship, and infrastructure into supporting entrepreneurs, especially those navigating change. 'There's no shortage of ideas,' he says. 'What we need are more people willing to share what they've learned, to provide that bridge for someone else starting out.' If you're reading this, consider reaching out to a small business in your area, offering mentorship, or joining a local startup incubator. As Scott Barbrack reminds us: 'The more we normalise uncertainty, the more we empower people to face it—and thrive.' About Scott Barbrack Scott Barbrack is an investor and entrepreneur based in New York and New Jersey. With more than 30 years of experience in interest rate derivatives, hospitality, and brand investing, he brings a unique perspective on risk, timing, and strategic growth. He is a supporter of education, athletics, and professional mentorship. To read the full interview, click here. Contact: info@ Media Contact Contact Person: Scott Barbrack Email: Send Email Country: United States Website:
Arab News
22-06-2025
- Science
- Arab News
Early humans survived in a range of extreme environments before global migration, study says
WASHINGTON: Humans are the only animal that lives in virtually every possible environment, from rainforests to deserts to tundra. This adaptability is a skill that long predates the modern age. According to a new study published Wednesday in Nature, ancient Homo sapiens developed the flexibility to survive by finding food and other resources in a wide variety of difficult habitats before they dispersed from Africa about 50,000 years ago. 'Our superpower is that we are ecosystem generalists,' said Eleanor Scerri, an evolutionary archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena, Germany. Our species first evolved in Africa around 300,000 years ago. While prior fossil finds show some groups made early forays outside the continent, lasting human settlements in other parts of the world didn't happen until a series of migrations around 50,000 years ago. 'What was different about the circumstance of the migrations that succeeded — why were humans ready this time?' said study co-author Emily Hallett, an archaeologist at Loyola University Chicago. Earlier theories held that Stone Age humans might have made a single important technological advance or developed a new way of sharing information, but researchers haven't found evidence to back that up. This study took a different approach by looking at the trait of flexibility itself. The scientists assembled a database of archaeological sites showing human presence across Africa from 120,000 to 14,000 years ago. For each site, researchers modeled what the local climate would have been like during the time periods that ancient humans lived there. 'There was a really sharp change in the range of habitats that humans were using starting around 70,000 years ago,' Hallett said. 'We saw a really clear signal that humans were living in more challenging and more extreme environments.' While humans had long survived in savanna and forests, they shifted into everything from from dense rainforests to arid deserts in the period leading up to 50,000 years ago, developing what Hallett called an 'ecological flexibility that let them succeed.' While this leap in abilities is impressive, it's important not to assume that only Homo sapiens did it, said University of Bordeaux archaeologist William Banks, who was not involved in the research. Other groups of early human ancestors also left Africa and established long-term settlements elsewhere, including those that evolved into Europe's Neanderthals, he said. The new research helps explain why humans were ready to expand across the world way back when, he said, but it doesn't answer the lasting question of why only our species remains today.
