Thursday 24th April 2025

The Problem With "Ego Parenting"

Mental health experts explain what is ego parenting and how ego parenting can contribute to anxiety in children.

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Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Is Already Coming for U.S. Citizens - Intelligencer (No paywall)

Local cops and ICE agents are trial-ballooning the president’s darkest ambitions.

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Inside the controversial tree farms powering Apple’s carbon neutral goal - MIT Technology Review (No paywall)

The tech behemoth is betting that planting millions of eucalyptus trees in Brazil will be the path to a greener future. Some ecologists and local residents are far less sure.

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Will Tariffs Drive Domestic Innovation?

Leaders of Western companies trying to compete in industries dominated by Chinese manufacturers need to understand a phenomenon known as the learning curve: how major increases in production allow companies to learn how to lower their production costs. A case in point is the lithium-ion battery industry. Chinese companies may have such a lead that protectionist policies may not allow their competitors to catch up; their only hope may be to change the game via process or product innovations. The same may hold true for other industries.

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Don't Be Distracted by the Trade War. Here's What Should Inform Your China Strategy Instead.

While U.S.–China trade tensions have drawn intense attention, business leaders who focus too narrowly on tariffs risk missing a deeper, longer-term shift. China’s economic strategy—centered on reducing dependence on foreign firms, building domestic dominance, and translating that into global competitiveness—has quietly and steadily progressed. Its “Made in China 2025” agenda has succeeded in most targeted sectors, creating a domestic profit base and challenging foreign market share. But global competitiveness has lagged in some areas due to limited international leadership experience and structural barriers abroad. For executives, the takeaway is clear: don’t mistake momentary trade flare-ups for the main story. Instead, understand China’s enduring objectives, anticipate continued decoupling pressures, and craft long-range strategies that go beyond policy reaction—diversifying supply chains, stress-testing assumptions, and influencing key regulatory landscapes before the next eruption hits.

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Get It Done: Why Action Beats Perfection

It's easy to procrastinate. To overthink. To plan a little too long and call it "strategy" when really, it's just a delay tactic. I know the pattern because I've lived it. Case in point: It took me weeks to write this article. 

When I want to gain momentum, I start by unloading everything onto a to-do list. It's a full-on brain dump—tasks I need to do, want to do, should do… or definitely shouldn't do. And here's the paradox: The list gets massive, which feels counterproductive, but somehow, it works. The more I stack on my plate, the more I power through. Because here's what I've learned: Doing more—even if it's not perfect—always beats standing still. 


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Core Leadership Learnings from Time-Tested Business Books

Throughout my career there are a few business books I continue returning to for inspiration and advice. As requests have come in over the years for a short list of recommended reads, it seems helpful to curate a list of those books categorized by purpose for various points in a professional journey.  

This article covers starting a new role, achieving strategic goals, and building a high performing team. I identified nine books—think of them as a leadership library starter pack, serving as a solid foundation for early career professionals to executives. Many of these books are more than 15 years old and the sage advice has stood the test of time.  


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How to Domesticate Your Supply Chain--Without Raising Prices

In early 2023, one of Shane Dyer's investors saw the "writing on the wall." Dyer, who is CEO and co-founder of Irrigreen, a high-tech, water-saving sprinkler company, says he was sitting down with investors when one of them issued a warning: Supply chains were going wonky. They needed to start sourcing their product domestically, instead of in Asia. 

He says the investor cited increased tensions between the U.S. and Asia, particularly over Taiwan, as the reason for moving the supply chain home. And that was well before the 2024 election put the country squarely in topsy-turvy tariff universe. 


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Is It Gaslighting or Am I Crazy? This Quiz Will Tell You

The term gaslighting comes from the classic 1938 play Gas Light. You might have seen Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 film version with Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. In it, an abusive husband convinces his perfectly sane wife that she's going crazy by manipulating the lighting in their home.

Perhaps thanks to these origins, many people associate gaslighting — when someone pretends the other person is crazy or lying when confronted with their own bad behavior — mostly with romantic relationships. 


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3 Ways to Stop a Bully in Their Tracks, According to a Psychotherapist

Have you ever left a meeting with a customer, investor, colleague, or boss and felt like you'd just been bullied? It's probably not your imagination. In one study, 48 million Americans reported being bullied according to Joyce Marter, LCPC, a psychotherapist and mental health expert. In a post for Psychology Today, she explains how to stop bullies without destroying your confidence, or your company.

Bullying in the context of work can take many different forms. You may not always recognize it at first. A customer who calls up and yells at you for half an hour might be bullying you. But someone who flatters you while explaining that you simply must meet yet another impossible deadline is also bullying you. It's just taking a different form. What's more, someone who's unpleasantly blunt but fair isn't necessarily a bully, according to a report from SHRM. How can you tell the difference? Bullies typically have a need to exert power and control, Marter explains.


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