Author: Editor

At Taco Bell, a weeklong trip to Hawaii is more than a perk for top-performing managers — it’s part of the company’s growth strategy. Loading audio narration… The chain’s annual Golden Bell awards, held this year in mid-March, recognize its top 150 general managers and are as much a management retreat as they are an awards show. Taco Bell brings its top GMs to Maui, where they get a week of recognition, excursions, and a chance to compare notes with company leaders and one another.Like many companies, Taco Bell uses retreats and recognition to reward top-performing managers. However, what sets…

In 2024, I woke up to a difficult truth: I was unhappy. A solopreneur since the early 2000s, I’d built a six-figure business while raising three boys. Loading audio narration… My workaholic drive meant giving my all to every client. It paid off: the photography studio I ran earned flawless five-star Google reviews and a long roster of loyal clients. I even earned industry recognition (including a book deal and invitations to speak on stages at national events).But around me, things had been changing. The market had grown more crowded every year. The unique approach I’d brought to the marketplace…

On Jim Continenza’s first day on the job as Eastman Kodak executive chairman in 2019, he got a call from a star Hollywood filmmaker telling him the company was making a big mistake.The photography technology company was in the process of shutting down its acetate factory, which makes one of the key ingredients used in film. Christopher Nolan, the director behind major movies like “Inception” and “Oppenheimer,” urged Continenza to stop the process.”He goes, ‘Do not turn this off. Please take a look.’ And I did,” Continenza, now CEO, told CNBC. “He was right. I started looking at it because…

For most of my life, I believed in a very specific formula: work hard in school, build a strong résumé, study abroad, learn languages, get a master’s degree, and be globally aware. Loading audio narration… I studied journalism and media, and I leaned into storytelling early on. I spent time abroad multiple times in Rome, Florence, Kuwait, and Scotland. I learned how to navigate new cultures, new systems, and new expectations. I became fluent in spaces that were not designed for a first-generation student like me.After graduating, I went on to earn my master’s degree in international affairs as part…

The AI boom has catapulted tech stocks to historic highs, with many trading at punchy valuations. They’re even more expensive than they appear, Michael Burry says. Loading audio narration… The investor of “The Big Short” fame explained why he thinks this in a detailed Substack post this week, which he said was the product of weeks spent reviewing more than 1,000 annual reports from Nasdaq 100 companies going back a decade.Burry’s central claim is that companies, and the Wall Street analysts who cover them, don’t properly account for the full costs of stock-based compensation.He says they should include the money…

Michael struggled to pay down debt until he turned to an unconventional strategy: secretly working multiple full-time jobs at once. Loading audio narration… In 2020, Michael was working remotely as a technical recruiter, and his job wasn’t very demanding. He wished he could do something more productive with his time.”The only thing I could think about was: if I could get another job, I could save that whole salary,” said Michael, who is in his 30s and lives in California. His asked to use a pseudonym and his identity was verified by Business Insider.Two years later, Michael was earning more…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kevin Lustik, a 62-year-old needlepoint artist who also works at a law firm in New York. It’s been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration… I knew it was time to monetize my needlepoint hobby when my closets and drawers were bursting with artwork.I began my business in January 2025 after years of working at a law firm and doing needlepoint for fun. My love for needlepoint developed in college after buying my first kits. I remember thinking, “This is for me.” Eventually, I began designing my own.Now, I find…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jenna Hoffman, a 28-year-old communications professional, graduate-school student, and entrepreneur in Cedar Falls, Iowa. This story has been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration… Late last year, I applied for a communications and event manager position at a local nonprofit. What happened afterward drove me to quit job hunting.I had been on the market for nearly two years by that point, while pursuing a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. Since my classes are online, I knew I could do a 9-to-5 job during the week and then…

Maine could be the first state to successfully call a timeout on the AI race. Loading audio narration… Lawmakers in at least 12 states have tried this year to slow Big Tech’s AI infrastructure buildout with legislation that would impose temporary bans on approvals and construction of new data centers.The proposed moratoriums are a response to rising local resistance to data centers, as communities across the country raise questions about the impact of these facilities on local resources and infrastructure.The US has 4,000 data centers, and 3,000 either proposed or under construction, according to the American Edge Project, a tech…

Before throwing a résumé draft into ChatGPT or asking another AI tool to craft a message to hiring managers, job seekers should avoid a few things. Loading audio narration… “I never used the wording ChatGPT spit out, but I definitely used it to figure out where I was lacking in useful information and where I had too much,” one person said in response to a Business Insider poll asking how job seekers are using AI. Another person said they used it to create thank-you messages that draw on information from the company’s website, like the employer’s values. Another use was…