Fast Company

Risk management, perspective, and creativity are career skills these execs learned while chasing storms, sculpting ice, and playing soccer.

Risk management, perspective, and creativity are career skills these execs learned while chasing storms, sculpting ice, and playing soccer.

All work and no play can make life pretty dull. But for some, play is more than a weekend game of golf or a night out at the movies. It’s a project that fuels a passion. From chasing storms to teaching soccer, these six business leaders make the most of their nonworking hours.

Read Full Story

To-do lists get a lot of flack, but the simple act of planning has some psychological and productivity benefits all by itself.

To-do lists get a lot of flack, but the simple act of planning has some psychological and productivity benefits all by itself.

For a long time, I resisted to-do lists. I wanted the flexibility. I felt that if I kept a list, it would tie me down to a particular set of tasks. Gradually, though, I came around. The busier my work life became, the more crucial it was to have some sort of running agenda on hand. Before long, I even started adding some of those items onto my weekly calendar. In other words, I’d reluctantly become a planner.

Read Full Story

You weren’t planning to have to look for a job, but now you’re unexpectedly out of work. Here’s what to do.

You weren’t planning to have to look for a job, but now you’re unexpectedly out of work. Here’s what to do.

You liked your job. Or at least, you were comfortable in it. It didn’t feel like time yet to start looking around—but fate intervened anyway: You got fired. Your job was cut in a sudden round of layoffs. Maybe your partner or spouse landed a new gig you’ll both need to move for. Or maybe you were dissatisfied already and just hit a breaking point that you hadn’t yesterday. Whatever the case, now’s the time to kick your job search into high gear.

Read Full Story

19-year-old Connor Krukosky has been collecting computers for years. His latest relic helped land him a job.

19-year-old Connor Krukosky has been collecting computers for years. His latest relic helped land him a job.

The IBM z890 Mainframe computer weighs 1,500 pounds and stands over five feet tall. When it was first unveiled in 2004, it cost over $300,000. At that time, the z890 was a cutting-edge solution that helped midsized enterprises run their businesses. A 2004 ComputerWorld article described it as small, but by today’s standards it’s a big honking computer, and it’s for anything but personal use.

Read Full Story

Eight Days A Week offers a fresh take on the band’s touring years—thanks to fan treasures and a meticulous restoration process.

Eight Days A Week offers a fresh take on the band’s touring years—thanks to fan treasures and a meticulous restoration process.

Listening to Ron Howard talk about his latest film, you get the sense he’s been wanting to make it since 1964, when he was 10 years old. He had watched The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show just weeks before his tenth birthday, when he opened a box containing the only gift he truly wanted: a Beatles wig. As Beatlemania proceeded to sweep America—and then the world—Howard reacted the same way millions of kids did—fanatically. He’s a lifelong fan, so you can hardly blame him for sounding giddy when he talks about directing The Beatles Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years, a documentary that lands in U.S. theaters on September 16 and on Hulu the next day.

Read Full Story

The iPhone/Apple Watch payment system is already easy to use. But it won’t become a daily habit until it’s available everywhere.

The iPhone/Apple Watch payment system is already easy to use. But it won’t become a daily habit until it’s available everywhere.

Apple Pay is nearing its second birthday, and mobile payments are far from ubiquitous. The credit-card replacement, which lets you use an iPhone or Apple Watch to pay at retail stores, only touts a user base numbering in the “tens of millions,” according to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Read Full Story

August’s top leadership stories may get you to take your to-do list analog and help you get noticed by a Google recruiter.

August’s top leadership stories may get you to take your to-do list analog and help you get noticed by a Google recruiter.

This month we learned how Patagonia recoups 91% of the cost of onsite child care, why an Industrial Age to-do list hack still has life in it, and why Google is thinking more creatively about hiring engineers than it used to.

Read Full Story

The main upside, says one Buffer employee, isn’t about early birds catching worms—it’s about the power of choice.

The main upside, says one Buffer employee, isn’t about early birds catching worms—it’s about the power of choice.

I work for an incredible company, with teammates scattered around the globe. Most of us tend to work nine to five–ish hours, and up until a few months ago, I did, too. My schedule was pretty standard:

Read Full Story

This behavioral scientist harnessed the psychology of choice to grow his Twitter account from 85 to over 101,000 followers.

This behavioral scientist harnessed the psychology of choice to grow his Twitter account from 85 to over 101,000 followers.

I opened my Twitter account a few years ago, but for a while I didn’t have much to show for it. As of April 27, 2014, I had never posted a single tweet and had a mere 85 followers.

Read Full Story

The news on September 7 won’t just involve product specs, prices, and availability dates.

The news on September 7 won’t just involve product specs, prices, and availability dates.

Apple is holding its big product launch for 2016 on September 7.

Read Full Story