With the turn of the calendar comes important personal health checks — the kind of things you do annually to make sure you’re staying on top of your well-being. It may be tempting to avoid these checkups. I mean, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” right? Yet, we don’t always know we’re “broken” until we look more closely. And we can’t get healthier if we don’t get checkups, set goals and work toward them.

Your entrepreneurial health matters, too. And while the hustle of running a business can cause you to overlook your entrepreneurial health, it’s critical. If you want to be successful and build a company that outlasts your leadership, you need annual checkups.

The goal is to build value within your company that prepares you for the future. This starts with yearly internal culture, personal and value checkups, which result in a process for short — and long-term planning that will set you up for personal, financial and business success. That’s why, each calendar year, I set three checkups in motion to ensure good entrepreneurial health.

Related: 10 New Year’s Resolutions Entrepreneurs Should Make Every Year

Checkup #1: People and culture

Every year, I send an internal survey to check the health of my company’s people. They are incredibly important to the company’s value. The survey takes about 20 minutes, and I use it to produce an employee satisfaction barometer so I have a true measure of the atmospheric pressure inside the business.

A highlight of this survey is that I ask them to rank 20 or so benefits in order of what they’d like to have included in their compensation package. Then, in the coming year, we provide all of the top five and most of the next five benefits. Benefits ranking #11 and #12 might be provided if certain key performance indicators are met in the coming year, and each employee can select the two most important benefits to them. It’s a way to understand what’s important to the employees overall while recognizing not every employee needs the same things from a benefit package.

Related: How to Master Your Strategic Planning As You Prepare Your Business for 2025

Checkup #2: Value

I also complete an enterprise value assessment each year, which helps me understand the value of my company if I were to sell it at that moment. A value assessment helps me identify areas in which the company has increased in value and where our opportunities for growth lie in the year ahead. It also helps me consider whether this year is the right time to sell the business.

For example, if my business is worth $50 million and my wealth gap — the amount of money I need to harvest to meet my personal lifetime wealth needs — is $25 million, it may make financial sense to sell, even if this won’t be my last business. For the clearest picture, I always recommend engaging a value advisor — one who is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA).

Checkup #3: Personal

Of all the checkups, this is the most often overlooked, which is strange since the new year often brings a time of personal introspection. Let’s say your value assessment says that your company needs to enter a period of growth, and your advisory team is telling you that your market conditions are ripe for growth. That means your business will need an injection of cash and time. Is it the right time for your personal goals — as a parent, as a spouse — for you to invest further into your company? Both with time and money? If your personal goals aren’t aligned with where your business is heading, you’ll need to resolve those issues before you enter into any yearly planning process.

Related: Successful Entrepreneurs Use the Holidays to Reset–Will You Be One Of Them?

Processing your checkup, planning with a process

Once I’ve completed those three checkups, I’m armed with the right information to head into planning for the new year, as well as any longer-term strategy. The value and personal checkups help me understand whether or not my business is entering into a period of growth (or what I have to do to get it there) and if I’m preparing to exit my company. With that understanding, I can envision my short and long-term goals. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Start with long-term thinking — three to five years out. Host a retreat to discuss the vision and path ahead with your company’s leadership, using the direction you have from your three yearly checkups.
• Then, take a step back. Together, develop a written plan for the next two years, including both strategy and financial goals. Don’t just include numbers — explain how you’ll meet those numbers. Give each department leader time in the retreat to explain to their fellow executives how they’ll meet those goals.
• Then, focus on the year ahead. Identify short-term goals, opportunities, threats, income-producing and value-producing strategies. Identify the themes within the plan. Do you need more technology? More strategic partners? Operational changes? If you’re planning an exit, how can you maintain or accelerate value quickly? This should be your most detailed plan — it’s the one you’ll start working toward when the calendar turns on a new year.

This time of year is always invigorating for me. Every new year brings unlimited possibilities that really excite my entrepreneurial spirit. Making sure I build a plan that stays true to what I discovered during my yearly checkups gives me the best shot at moving closer to my personal and business goals.

A government shutdown is just hours away and lawmakers are scrambling to come up with a plan. If Congress doesn’t agree on a measure, the shutdown goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Each year, Congress must pass a spending bill to keep the government running. That’s supposed to happen by Oct. 1. Now, after continuing resolutions, Friday is the new deadline. Two measures have failed already.

Experts from EY tell Entrepreneur that a government shutdown could leave “a visible mark on the economy.”

“We estimate that each week of a government shutdown will cost the U.S. economy $6 billion,” says EY Chief Economist Gregory Daco.

What services would be affected by a government shutdown?

A government shutdown would put a stop to most government agency activities, including the IRS. Though TSA officers and active-duty military will have paychecks delayed, they will stay on duty, reports CBS.

National Parks and Smithsonian museums would close—just in time for the holidays.

How does a government shutdown impact the U.S. economy?

A very brief shutdown would have a “negligible impact” on the economy, though as time goes on it grows significantly.

On an annualized basis, a one-week furlough would cut $6 billion, or 0.1% off real GDP growth in Q4 (even though furloughed workers have always been paid retroactively), Daco says.

“The 35-day government shutdown in early 2019 led to rising policy uncertainty,” he added.

What services are not affected by a government shutdown?

Air traffic controllers, food safety inspectors, armed services, and the U.S. Postal Service would not be affected. Those services have separate funding, as does The Fed.

How many government shutdowns have there been?

There have been 20 shutdowns, with the longest being 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019. At that time, 375,000 federal government employees were furloughed and another 425,000 workers were required to work without pay, per EY data.

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If there’s one enduring lesson from my career, it’s this: Bureaucracy is the enemy of innovation. It stifles creativity, clogs decision-making and traps bold ideas in endless loops of approvals. Bureaucracy wasn’t designed to foster progress — it was built to maintain control.

During the Industrial Revolution, it provided organizations with the structure and predictability needed to scale factories and manage vast workforces. At the time, hierarchies and approval systems were revolutionary. But now? They’ve become chains holding us back.

Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini articulated this perfectly in their book Humanocracy: “Bureaucracy was not invented to foster human creativity but to enforce control.” They’re absolutely right. How many times have you seen great ideas dismissed in meetings with the excuse, “That’s not how things are done?” How much energy is wasted navigating processes rather than solving problems? Bureaucracy survives on fear — fear of change, fear of risk and fear of the unknown.

That’s why forward-looking organizations are setting up innovation labs, startup accelerators and creative hubs — places where employees are encouraged to break free from the constraints of “business as usual.”

Now, imagine what happens when everyone is empowered to innovate without limits. That’s the potential of AI that excites me most: It has the power to democratize innovation. Yet this is precisely why AI will encounter resistance — not from competitors but from entrenched bureaucratic systems. AI doesn’t just make workflows more efficient; it redefines them. It questions the very existence of the layers of management created to maintain outdated processes.

Related: Scale Your Business, Not Your Hierarchy. Here Are 3 Ways You Can Harness The Benefits of a Flat Organizational Structure As You Grow.

AI: The great bureaucracy disruptor

AI doesn’t just optimize — it transforms. It flattens hierarchies, demands transparency and dismantles traditional power structures. For those managers who thrive on gatekeeping, AI represents a fundamental threat, eliminating barriers they’ve spent careers building.

Consider this: AI thrives on efficiency, speed and clarity. Tasks that once consumed hours of human effort — like vetting vendor contracts or managing customer service inquiries — are now handled instantly by AI systems. Employees can experiment with bold ideas without wading through endless committee approvals.

But the true power of AI lies in decentralizing decision-making. By analyzing vast datasets, AI equips frontline employees with actionable insights that previously required executive oversight. This creates organizations that are faster, more agile and less dependent on gatekeepers.

AI also brings unparalleled transparency. Where bureaucracy thrives in murkiness, AI thrives in openness, democratizing data and providing visibility into organizational workflows. This transparency builds trust, accelerates progress and creates accountability — areas where bureaucracy has historically fallen short.

Lessons from history: Why AI is different

As I’ve shared many times, resistance to transformation is nothing new. During the Industrial Revolution, workers feared the loss of their livelihoods. The printing press threatened institutions that once controlled information. Today, AI faces similar skepticism as it redefines work and automates repetitive tasks.

The difference this time? Speed. Past revolutions unfolded over decades, but AI is evolving at an exponential pace. Leaders don’t have the luxury of slow adaptation. Organizations that embrace AI as a tool for innovation, not just efficiency, will uncover new opportunities to create, grow and thrive.

Related: 6 Steps to Leading Effectively in an Artificial Intelligence Environment

Leadership in an AI-first world

Bureaucracy has taught leaders to protect the status quo, but in an AI-first world, the status quo is a liability. As I share in my AI executive workshops, leadership today demands a new paradigm that reimagines how organizations operate:

1. From control to curiosity

Leaders don’t need to be AI engineers, but they must ask the right questions: What can AI automate? Where can it uncover opportunities? How can it drive creativity? Leadership in this era requires experimentation and exploration.

2. From authority to empathy

As AI reshapes roles, it will disrupt workflows and create uncertainty. Leaders must be transparent and empathetic, showing employees how AI will enhance their potential rather than replace them.

3. From hesitation to decisiveness

The rapid adoption of AI leaves no room for indecision. Leaders must move quickly to dismantle outdated systems and embrace AI-driven solutions.

4. From delegation to empowerment

AI enables decisions to happen faster and closer to the action. Leaders must empower their teams to leverage AI insights and act independently, focusing on creativity and strategy — areas where humans shine.

5. From obfuscation to transparency

Bureaucracy thrives on silos and opacity. AI thrives on openness. By embracing transparency, leaders can foster trust and hold everyone accountable, creating a culture where innovation thrives.

The road ahead

This isn’t just a shift in leadership — it’s a complete redefinition. The role of a manager will evolve from enforcing rules to facilitating creativity, championing innovation and guiding transformation.

In an AI-first world, hierarchies will begin to collapse as real-time data eliminates the need for multiple layers of oversight, enabling faster and more efficient decision-making. At the same time, workflows will be reimagined as leaders take on the critical task of redesigning processes to seamlessly integrate AI, ensuring organizations can adapt quickly and effectively.

Related: How to Become an AI-Centric Business (and Why It’s Crucial for Long-Term Success)

As AI takes over repetitive tasks, creativity will rise to prominence, with human ingenuity becoming the most valuable and irreplaceable asset within any organization. Moreover, transparency will emerge as a defining advantage, as organizations that embrace openness and accountability gain trust and agility, leaving legacy systems and bureaucratic competitors far behind.

The future of leadership is already here. The question is no longer whether this transformation will happen but who will lead the way.

Tired of the endless hustle? Most entrepreneurs are working harder than ever, but their results aren’t keeping up. In 2025, that’s about to change. There’s a free, hidden AI from Google that’s a light year ahead of ChatGPT, and it’s poised to revolutionize how you grow your business.

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Ever find yourself bogged down by repetitive tasks in Google Sheets? Imagine if you could automate those mundane chores and reclaim valuable time for strategic initiatives. Repetitive tasks can drain valuable time and resources, hindering productivity.

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Kylie Kelce’s new podcast, “Not Gonna Lie,” is currently No. 1 on Apple’s podcast chart. It also hit the top spot on Spotify this month, though at press time, it is No. 2 below “The Joe Rogan Experience.” (Rogan’s podcast, meanwhile, took first place on Spotify for all of 2024.)

Kelce’s podcast’s Instagram bio reads: “One mic. Zero f*cks. No lies.” Reviews call it “relatable” with a mix of “humor, candor, and an unmistakable sense of camaraderie.” The episodes are tailored to a female audience and capped at 45 minutes to prioritize “the timeline of busy women,” she told the New York Times. There is talk about raising children, holiday shopping, and how uncomfortable high-waisted jeans really are.

In its first week, the podcast had a combined 25 million social views and audio downloads, according to Wave Sports + Entertainment, per the New York Times. Wave is the company behind the show that also produces Travis and Jason Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast.

Not bad for a mom of three (currently pregnant with No. 4) who coaches field hockey at her local high school. Of course, she isn’t a random person with no followers, either. She can boast 2.3 million on Instagram.

Kelce is married to Jason Kelce, the now-retired Philadelphia Eagles star, and seven-time NFL Pro Bowler, who she reportedly met on Tinder without knowing who he was (see, relatable). Her brother-in-law, Travis Kelce, is the Kansas City Chief’s tight end who is famously dating Taylor Swift, one of the most famous people in the world.

This has all led to a built-in following and the ability to land some pretty impressive guests.

Her first guest on Dec. 5 was one of Hollywood’s hardest workers, “honorary Philadelphian” Kaitlin Olsen. Besides starring in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadephia” for 17 seasons, Olsen also appears in HBO’s comedy series “Hacks,” which took home an Emmy Award in 2024, and she stars as the lead in ABC’s new hit show, “High Potential.”

Related: I Tried Making an AI-Hosted Podcast with Google’s NotebookLM. It Worked Surprisingly Well.

However, when it comes to landing guests and creating content to beat Joe Rogan, Kelce is clear it’s not about that.

“I’m focused on putting out content that people like to consume,” Kelce told the Times. “If that puts us there for a week, cool. If it puts us there for longer than that, cool. But I also don’t need to feed any conflict that’s created by it.”

There’s been criticism, too, from nepotism to her parenting advice, but Kelce continues to give “zero f–ks.”

“I mean this in the most respectful way,” she added. “I don’t care what other people have to say.”

Have a question for ChatGPT but lack a Wi-Fi connection? OpenAI has introduced a new way to connect with its popular AI chatbot for U.S. users: Call 1-800-CHATGPT or 1-800-242-8478.

OpenAI announced the feature on Wednesday and demonstrated how it works through a YouTube livestream. OpenAI researchers called the number with everything from an iPhone to a flip phone to a landline. No matter the medium, the end output was the same: A female voice saying, “Hello again, it’s ChatGPT, an AI assistant. Our conversation may be reviewed for safety. How can I help you?”

In the live demo, ChatGPT helped identify landmarks that a researcher said he saw on a road trip. In another instance, it provided a different researcher with an English-to-Spanish translation so that she could greet a friend’s grandmother in Spanish.

The move to have ChatGPT available via phone call is part of the company’s goal to make AI “as accessible as possible to as many people,” OpenAI product lead Kevin Weil said in the demo video.

Related: After This 26-Year-Old Got Hooked on ChatGPT, He Built a ‘Simple’ Side Hustle Around the Bot That Brings In $4,000 a Month

Right now each phone number is limited to 15 free minutes of call time, with no disclosed plans to monetize the feature.

Only U.S. users get to call ChatGPT, but OpenAI also announced Wednesday that global users can access the chatbot by sending the 1-800-242-8478 number messages via WhatsApp. In the demo, ChatGPT offered a recipe for a pesto pasta dinner via WhatsApp and modified it to be vegan at the user’s request.

Both calling and messaging features involve talking to ChatGPT without creating an account.

The OpenAI team built this capability within a few weeks, according to Weil.

“They hustled really hard to ship it and it’s awesome to see it here,” he said.

The feature is one of many announcements that OpenAI has made as part of its “12 Days of OpenAI” event. Other new features released by the company under the same event include opening up ChatGPT Search for all users, free or paid, and releasing its text-to-video generator Sora to the general public.

Related: Is ChatGPT Search Better Than Google? I Tried the New Search Engine to Find Out.

Teams are more diverse than ever. With advancements in technology, a skilled labor shortage and the booming demand for remote work, work has come to defy borders. Companies that don’t embrace this reality and adapt risk being left behind.

I’ve witnessed this transformation firsthand through my work at DOXA Talent, where we help businesses build high-performing teams leveraging talent from across the world. With team members across the Philippines, Vietnam, Kenya and Colombia, I see how today’s technology and remote work are not just reshaping the future of business but also giving people equitable opportunities to earn a good living.

This journey has taught me meaningful lessons about creating a truly global culture. By blending different cultural perspectives while uniting everyone under a common mission and purpose, we’ve seen remarkable results. Our attrition rate is less than half the acceptable industry standard, and our teams consistently deliver outstanding service with an NPS of 82.

But the most important lesson I’ve learned is that when we put people first and maintain high standards, we create an environment where teams can truly thrive.

Here are five key strategies we’ve discovered for building a successful global culture that brings out the best in your international workforce.

Related: A Culturally Diverse Workforce Could Be a Boon to Your Business

1. Define your global culture

A global culture is fundamentally about creating a shared set of values, principles and practices that transcend geographical boundaries. To this end, DOXA prioritizes a few key values.

One of our most important values is curiosity, which drives us to learn about and appreciate the differences that make each culture unique while encouraging open-mindedness and new ways of working. The next is relationships matter. It’s about seeking to understand and accept our differences. This means honoring the unique traditions, perspectives and practices of every culture represented in our organization, building trust and fostering an environment where everyone feels valued. Understanding the experiences and needs of team members from different backgrounds helps us create meaningful connections and fair opportunities.

2. Recognize cultural differences

One of the biggest challenges in managing a culturally diverse workforce is navigating communication styles, decision-making processes and giving feedback. At DOXA, we recognize these processes are all shaped by cultural norms.

For example, team members in high-context cultures, such as the Philippines, often use indirect communication, while those in low-context cultures, such as the U.S., prefer directness. When it comes to feedback delivery, certain cultures are more to the point, while others tend to soften criticism. The decision-making process also reflects differences, as I’ve observed how some cultures favor egalitarian input and others rely on hierarchical structures. Differences extend to time management as well, with punctuality taking precedence in some cultures while others emphasize maintaining relationships over strict schedules.

Related: 3 Tips for Managing a Cross-Cultural Workforce

3. Build a framework for expectations

Something I’ve found highly helpful is defining our DOXA culture overview, a map per se, which expresses how everyone, regardless of background, is expected to show up within our global culture. This framework sets clear expectations for behavior, communication and decision-making that transcend cultural differences.

Our culture map helps all team members be aware of the cultural nuances that may impact interactions and adapt accordingly. For example, we encourage direct and respectful communication while remaining sensitive to cultural preferences. We also emphasize both relationship-building and accountability to balance task-oriented and relationship-based approaches. Ultimately, our framework is about integration: bringing out the best of every culture while aligning everyone under a common operation and purpose.

4. Adapt your leadership style

Leading a global team very well might require you to adjust your natural approach. I know I’ve had to adapt my style to fit the more reserved and relationship-focused cultures of our Philippine and Colombian teams. This means creating a safe space by asking more questions, listening actively and resisting the urge to jump in, solve or debate. That, in turn, gives others the opportunity to share their thoughts more comfortably.

As a leader, I’ve also adapted my communication style. I’ve had to temper the directness that comes instinctively to me with cultural sensitivity and invest in relationship-building to foster trust. It hasn’t always been easy, but finding ways to respect my team’s cultural differences while staying true to my strengths has been a successful formula.

Related: 3 Ways for Leaders to Embrace the Cultural Quotient

5. Embrace continuous learning

A final piece of advice to businesses looking to blend multiple cultures: Become a student. Seek out mentors who lead diverse teams and learn from their experiences. Study what other companies are doing — within and outside your industry — and take note of best practices you could leverage.

By continuously learning and staying open to new ideas, you can chart a thoughtful path forward. Also, approach this journey with humility. Remember that blending cultures doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process of understanding, evolving and building a workplace where everyone feels valued and aligned with your company’s mission. Your ability to integrate diverse perspectives and life experiences can be the catalyst for winning in today’s competitive global market.

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