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From stress-induced “sanity days” to Reddit quickly becoming the oracle of AI answers, business life has rarely been so strange. This week’s round-up looks at the unexpected ways work, money and technology are colliding – and what leaders can learn from the chaos.

Enjoy!

B2B content has hit saturation point – here’s the solution

In B2B marketing, the easy wins are gone. What once worked – educational posts, frameworks and checklists – has been commoditised by AI and drowned in copycat noise. As strategist Pierre Herubel argues, content today is a “red ocean”: barriers to entry are low, competition is extreme and attention hasn’t grown to match. The way through isn’t more hacks or formats but sharper differentiation – publishing what others can’t copy (and what AI can’t know), rooted in lived experience, not theory. In a post-AI market, unique perspective and real-world proof are the only currencies that cut through. It’s a super useful take on a growing challenge – read more about it here.

How to make a B2B video that converts

LinkedIn’s Creative Labs has crunched the numbers on what makes B2B video worth watching, and the answer isn’t glossy drone shots or Oscar-level acting. What works is much simpler: grab attention fast, use plain language, let customers do the talking and keep the pace brisk. Add some visual contrast and a clear product cue, and you’re ahead of most. In other words, story beats sparkle – you don’t need a blockbuster budget to keep people engaged. Get the report here.

Why multitasking is a productivity myth

We tell ourselves we can juggle emails, calls and projects all at once, but science says otherwise. What looks like multitasking is really rapid task-switching, and every switch drains focus. Research cited by Executive PA shows productivity drops by as much as 40 per cent when people try to do two things at once, with each interruption taking over a minute to recover from. It’s all about designing space for concentration because quality of attention, not quantity of activity, is what drives results. Find out more here.

Reddit claims crown as go-to answer source for AI

Reddit has become the most-cited domain in AI-generated answers, overtaking even Wikipedia, according to recent research. This shift marks a turning point: forums where users freely debate, dissect and meme are now fuelling the automated “answers” people see. In effect, Reddit’s crowd wisdom is being repackaged by AI as authoritative content – raising questions about citation accuracy, community moderation and loss of context in translation. Press Gazette has the story.​

Millennial managers are burning out

Millennials have become the largest cohort of managers in 2025, but many are finding the role less a promotion than a pressure cooker. A new Fortune report paints a picture of leaders juggling layoffs, return-to-office mandates and Gen Z expectations of empathy – all without the structured training or job ladders that older cohorts enjoyed. The result is hospital visits from stress, “sanity days” to fend off burnout and Slack channels swapping business ideas in case the next layoff hits. For employers, it raises the question: if the burnout generation is now managing the workforce, what happens when they run out of capacity themselves? Find out more here.

Will AI create more jobs than it replaces?

Big Think asks one of the most consequential questions of our time: as AI capability accelerates, will it destroy work – or shape new forms of it? The article notes that 41 per cent of executives expect net job losses in the next five years due to AI. But it also points out that generative systems are already automating routine tasks in areas like research, translation and content creation, which frees people to focus on judgment, oversight and relational work. The move from tool to agent means we must rethink where humans add value, rather than assume we must be replaced. Get the lowdown here.

The US middle class hits the brakes

Confidence among America’s middle earners has slumped after a brief summer uptick, according to surveys from the University of Michigan, the Conference Board and Morning Consult. Households earning $50,000 to $100,000 are now closer in outlook to low-income families, with worries about jobs, tariffs and rising costs weighing heavily. Executives from Walmart to IHOP report middle-class shoppers trading down or cutting back, even as wealthier consumers keep spending on flights, fashion and premium dining. The gap in optimism between high- and low-earners is now the widest in seven years – a split showing up in everything from grocery carts to airline cabins. The WSJ has the story. (Use Archive to avoid paywall.)

Google draws the line on lazy AI content

Google has sharpened its guidance to search evaluators, warning that pages dominated by low-effort AI content should be marked down for quality. The updated rater guidelines point to “almost all” AI-generated or paraphrased copy as a signal of unhelpful material, whether it’s text, images or video. The move comes as regulators, advertisers and consumers grow wary of synthetic content that looks polished but adds little value. For businesses, the implication is not that AI is off limits, but that scale alone is not enough – original thinking, human editing and clear utility remain the currency that keeps content visible in search. Find out more here.

AI prompt of the week: ecosystem partnership mapping

Most founders focus only on direct competitors, missing the broader ecosystem of companies that interact with their customers throughout their entire journey. These "adjacent" players often represent the biggest partnership opportunities – they already have your customers' trust and attention at different moments.

Map the ecosystem of companies that touch my customers before and after they interact with me. Include vendors, service providers and platforms they use. Where are the integration or partnership opportunities I'm missing? How could I create win-win relationships that add value to their existing customer relationships?

Why every board needs a strong SID

Senior Independent Directors (SIDs) are often neglected, even though they play a vital role in governance, succession and stakeholder trust – especially in moments of tension. According to C-suite exec search firm Warren Partners, while UK companies are required to appoint one under the Corporate Governance Code, few boards fully understand or empower the role. Done well, a SID acts as a mediator between chair and directors, sees conflict before it erupts, and builds goodwill with shareholders long before crises hit. In short, they are the difference between a board that reacts to problems and one that is prepared for them. Read the report here.

From idea to IPO: the equity journey

Here’s how equity evolves as a start-up grows – from founders holding 100 per cent at idea stage to owning a smaller slice of a much larger pie after IPO. It’s a clear guide for anyone mapping the trade-offs between control, dilution and growth.

Drop me a line

That’s it for this week, thanks for reading. If anything here sparked a thought – or a disagreement – I’d love to hear it. I find that the best conversations usually start when someone challenges you. See you next Sunday.

Cheers!
Adam

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