At my company, Jotform, our intern program is serious business.

When a new class of interns signs on to work with us, their first week is spent in training, getting them up to speed on who we are, what we do and how we do it. Then, we team them up with experienced staff and get them working on their own projects. By the time they depart our offices to return to the classroom, we’ve planted the seeds to make them successful employees.

Working with interns is a time- and resource-consuming proposition. But it’s also an investment. Some of our best employees are former interns; standout workers who we knew had the potential to learn and grow into bigger roles.

Sometimes, it might be easier to hire candidates with the experience we’re looking for. To me, that’s a prime example of short-term thinking, a mindset that can seriously harm your company in the long run. By nurturing young employees, we not only save money on recruiting a prestige hire that may or may not work out; we also develop the talents of someone we already know we want on our team.

Too often, though, leaders go with the easier-sounding option; the one that sounds most appealing right now. Here’s why that’s a mistake.

Related: Why Long-Term Strategic Planning is the Lifeline Your Business Needs Right Now

Focus on sustainable growth

If your company, like mine, is built around Software as a Service (SaaS), building a subscriber base requires a lot of time — and a lot of happy customers — to reach sustainability. This is one of the hazards of taking outside investment — it creates the illusion of success without actual organic growth.

The cautionary tale that looms largest in my mind is that of Theranos, the doomed blood-testing startup that was valued at $9 billion. Theranos was subsumed by hype, but in the end, the technology the company was theoretically built around didn’t even exist. Eventually, Theranos evaporated into a giant cloud of fraud allegations and even a lengthy prison sentence for its founder, Elizabeth Holmes.

Theranos is an extreme case of VC funding gone awry, but it does show what can happen to a founder under extraordinary pressure to produce results quickly, and the mirage of success that VC funding can create.

Rather than taking outside funding, I advocate for bootstrapping. It’s less glamorous, sure, but it also fosters real, sustainable growth, enables innovation and builds resilience. Most importantly, you have the freedom to operate on your own timeline, gather user feedback and focus on developing a product that really works.

Related: Focusing on Speed When Building Your Company is a Mistake. Here’s Why.

Beware of the scarcity mindset

Short-term thinking doesn’t just come from a desire for instant gratification. It can also come from fear.

In particular, the scarcity mindset, an idea developed by Princeton University psychology and public affairs professor Eldar Shafir and Harvard University economist Sendhil Mullainathan, explains how having limited resources — be it time, capital, etc. — narrows our mental bandwidth, creating a tunneling effect that allows only the space to focus on short-term goals.

“Every psychologist understands that we have very limited cognitive space and bandwidth,” Shafir explained. “When you focus heavily on one thing, there is just less mind to devote to other things.”

Founders, especially in the early days of starting a business, are constantly at risk of developing a scarcity mindset. After all, who ever really feels like they have enough resources? But the consequences of caving to scarcity can be grave: Short-term thinking not only stifles creativity, it can lead to knee-jerk, ill-conceived decisions you wouldn’t have made if you were thinking clearly.

Don’t let a scarcity mindset become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead, practice cultivating an abundance mindset. A great place to start is by focusing not on what you don’t have, but on what you do. If you’re a bootstrapped founder, you have the greatest of all resources: Time. Give yourself the luxury of trying out different ideas, and not beating yourself up if they don’t work out the way you hoped. The best ideas come from experimentation.

Remember also that change is incremental, so don’t assume you can overhaul your way of thinking in a single day. Pick one area in which you feel like a scarcity mindset is holding you back, and start there.

Related: This Is How Thinking About Abundance Has Helped Me Build a Success Mindset

Envision the future

Short-term thinking is an easy trap when the future seems so theoretical. Maybe you love pizza — sure, you know it’s not great for your health. But when presented with the opportunity to enjoy eating it today, your future self has a way of dimming from view.

Researchers have found that those with the ability to see and empathize with their future selves possess the quality of “self-continuity.” In other words, if you can see your future self as clearly as your present self, you’re more likely to make decisions that are beneficial in the long term.

So how do you make the future seem less abstract? Try conducting a self-interview. You can do this by envisioning sitting down with your Future Self, and asking them where they would advise your Present Self to focus your time and attention. What do you want to accomplish in 10 years from now? In 20 years? In 50 years? By identifying these long-term goals, you can start to plan accordingly in the present.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of short-term thinking. But by focusing on sustainable growth, practicing an abundance mindset and making the future as tangible as the present, you can make decisions that will serve you in the long run and keep your business growing for years to come.

Data storytelling will account for 75% of all data consumed by 2025, according to research and advisory firm Gartner. This is the process of using narration and visualization to communicate insights your data provides. It’s gained popularity because it’s so effective for businesses that make data-driven decisions based on complex information.

Still, approximately 75% of the data that companies collect remains unused because the technique isn’t widespread. Now, you can develop future-proof tech skills with the Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 + The Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle while it’s on sale for just $55.97.

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There was a time not too long ago when everything looked successful from the outside — company growth, media features, funding rounds. But underneath the wins, I was living a lifestyle that was quietly sabotaging my edge. I had gained weight. I wasn’t going to the gym. I drank wine almost every night. I ate whatever was convenient, often skipping meals or grabbing ultra-processed takeout.

My body was running on junk fuel, and so was my mind. It showed up in the form of burnout, decision fatigue and emotional volatility — especially when dealing with tough negotiations, naysayers and setbacks.

Everything began to change when I flipped the script and made three lifestyle behaviors non-negotiable. Not suggestions. Not goals. Non-negotiables.

These three changes didn’t just improve my health — they sharpened my focus, made me a better leader and gave me the endurance to scale through chaos. Every entrepreneur, no matter their industry, age or stage, should treat these three areas like core business infrastructure. Because if you break down, so does the company.

Related: 5 Health Habits These Successful Entrepreneurs Swear By

1. Work out like it’s a board meeting

Let’s be clear: Working out isn’t about looking good for Instagram. It’s about training your discipline, managing your stress and building stamina for mental warfare.

Top entrepreneurs treat fitness as sacred. Jeff Bezos is known for his transformation post-Amazon CEO — trading in the skinny tech guy image for someone who clearly takes lifting seriously. Mark Wahlberg, an actor and entrepreneur, runs F45 gyms and often shares his grueling 4 a.m. workouts. Even Kevin Hart, who built an entertainment empire, ties his fitness routine directly to his mental sharpness and business resilience.

For me, getting back into daily workouts was humbling at first. The strength wasn’t there, and the discipline had eroded. But within weeks of consistency — whether it was lifting, walking or high-intensity intervals — my clarity returned. I was sleeping better. My moods leveled out. I could deal with stressors head-on without needing a glass of cabernet to decompress.

Science backs this up. A Harvard Medical School study found that regular aerobic exercise improves executive function, which includes decision-making, problem-solving and focus — exactly what we’re paid to be good at.

Entrepreneurship is a sport. Start treating your body like an athlete does.

2. Eat like your decisions depend on it — because they do

The old saying goes, “If you don’t make time for your wellness, you’ll be forced to make time for your illness.” And that’s exactly where most entrepreneurs go wrong.

The culture glorifies 18-hour workdays and fast food lunches as signs of hustle. But that mentality is broken. The truth? Your body is a processing machine, and what you put into it becomes your fuel for thinking, speaking and leading. If you feed it poorly, it breaks down. Fast.

I changed my diet by adopting a flexitarian approach — leaning mostly on vegetables, grains, legumes, fish and occasionally red meat. I didn’t go extreme. I went intentional. That shift alone gave me more energy in the afternoons, less brain fog and zero crashes from sugar or processed carbs. I started reading labels. I stopped pretending “protein bars” were meals. I drank more water and fewer glasses of wine.

Look at Tom Brady — still peak-performing into his 40s because of a clean, disciplined diet. Or Tim Ferriss, who famously follows strict dietary regimens to optimize performance. Even companies like Sweetgreen, Sakara Life and Athletic Greens have built empires catering to high-performers who don’t want to compromise clarity or energy for convenience.

There’s nothing glamorous about burnout-induced hospital visits or running your team from a place of low energy. Entrepreneurs must start thinking of food as strategic fuel.

Related: 12 Ways to Eat Healthy No Matter How Busy You Are

3. Sleep like a pro, not a martyr

One of the dumbest myths in the business world is the glorification of sleep deprivation. You hear it all the time: “I only sleep four hours.” “Sleep is for losers.” “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

That kind of thinking will kill your performance — and possibly you, too.

Neuroscience is unequivocal: Seven to eight hours of quality sleep each night is essential for memory consolidation, emotional regulation and cognitive performance. The CDC has declared sleep deprivation a public health epidemic, and for entrepreneurs, it’s even more dangerous.

Research has revealed that during sleep, your brain flushes out toxins that build up during the day. Without adequate sleep, those toxins accumulate and impair function.

Elon Musk famously tweeted about working 120-hour weeks and later admitted it nearly “cost him his mind.” Since then, even he has pulled back and begun advocating for better sleep. Arianna Huffington built an entire movement around sleep culture after collapsing from exhaustion and hitting her head on her desk.

I learned to treat my sleep like my calendar — scheduled, protected and predictable. No screens late at night. No late-night wine. Same bedtime every day, including weekends. The result? Fewer irrational decisions, less emotional reactivity and more strategic thinking in the morning.

Good sleep is a competitive advantage. Use it.

Related: This Is the Sleep Routine That Keeps Top CEOs at Peak Performance

Success isn’t just strategy. It’s physiology.

Too often, we think we need better tactics, better funnels or better venture partners. But more often than not, what we really need is a better body to carry the weight of our ideas.

Fitness. Diet. Sleep.

Those three pillars, when treated with the same intensity and rigor as your next investor pitch or product launch, will give you a mental edge money can’t buy. They’ll make you more calm under pressure, more focused during chaos and more persuasive in every room you enter.

Entrepreneurship is not for the weak. So, stop training your company harder than you train yourself. The ROI on your body will be the greatest investment you ever make.

Gone are the days when a home desktop would fulfill all of our computing needs. These days, business professionals need a reliable, portable device that keeps up with their on-the-go lifestyle. The refurbished Lenovo 11.6″ 300E Touchscreen Chromebook is designed to meet these demands, providing a nice blend of functionality, durability, and affordability.

Weighing just 2.9 pounds and measuring 11.80″ x 8.40″, the Lenovo 300E is tailored for travel. Its sleek profile allows it to slip easily into your bag, making it an unobtrusive companion during commutes or business trips. Whether you’re navigating airport security or working from a café, this Chromebook won’t weigh you down.

The 11.6-inch HD touchscreen display offers the flexibility of a 360-degree hinge, allowing you to switch effortlessly between laptop and tablet modes. This adaptability is invaluable for professionals who need to present to clients, take notes during meetings, or catch up on work while traveling.

Equipped with an Intel N3450 Quad-Core Processor and 4GB of RAM, the Lenovo easily handles everyday tasks. The 32GB storage capacity provides space for essential documents and presentations, while Chrome OS offers quick access to a suite of productivity tools and apps. This means you remain productive, even when away from the office.

Travel can be unpredictable, but bringing the Lenovo 300E on the road wouldn’t send you into a panic attack. Because it’s a grade-B refurbished model, it might already come with some light cosmetic blemishes (although in excellent working order). Plus, it’s so affordable that it would probably not be the hugest deal if it took a spill during a train trip or flight.

Investing in the refurbished Lenovo 300E Chromebook at this price point offers exceptional value for anyone who travels frequently. The significant savings allow you to allocate resources to other aspects of your business or travel needs without compromising on quality or functionality.

Why this deal is worth it

Securing the refurbished Lenovo 300E 11.6″ Touchscreen Chromebook at just $79.99 offers exceptional value for professionals seeking a versatile, travel-friendly device. Its 2-in-1 design provides the flexibility of both a laptop and a tablet, catering to various work scenarios. The compact size and durable build make it ideal for commuting and business trips. Equipped with an Intel N3450 Quad-Core Processor, 4GB RAM, and 32GB storage, it efficiently handles daily tasks. The inclusion of free shipping further enhances the affordability of this practical and reliable Chromebook.

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Most entrepreneurs and business owners understand they need a comprehensive communications strategy to reach their target customers. However, all too many think that only means branding, marketing and advertising and forget to include public relations (PR). In particular, many small businesses and startups neglect this part of the communications equation.

This has always been a mistake, but that’s even more true today. Here, I explain how PR impacts brand credibility and customer trust, as well as how those seemingly ineffable factors connect to your hard revenue numbers.

The problem with investing solely in marketing

Investing only in marketing and ignoring PR is a problem because marketing drives awareness, but PR builds trust — and without trust, awareness doesn’t convert.

One study has put the number of consumers who believe advertisers have integrity at 4%. Customers’ trust in conventional advertising is also plummeting, especially for members of the younger generations. As Wharton Magazine reports, 84% of millennials not only dislike traditional ads but also distrust them.

Research also shows people don’t pay attention to ads and actively avoid them. According to consumer research firm Bulbshare, 63% of Gen Zers use ad blockers, meaning they don’t even see ads online. If they do come across one, 99% say they hit “skip” when given the choice.

In short, today’s consumers are savvy. They know how to follow the money trail and identify conflicts of interest. Indeed, the Content Marketing Institute has found that 80% of corporate decision-makers prefer to glean information from articles that are more objective rather than ads, which are recognized as biased and self-interested.

Meanwhile, today’s consumers increasingly prioritize ethics. B2B services company BusinessDasher explains that 84% of customers weigh companies’ ethics and values when considering a purchase, and 63% say they would like companies to adopt more ethical practices.

For companies that would like to expand their market reach, these statistics send a clear signal. Investing only in advertising and marketing is unlikely to move the needle. To develop a good reputation for your brand, you need to do PR.

Related: How to Make the Most of Your Public Relations

PR: Ethical strategic communications

PR differs from other communication strategies like branding and marketing because it specifically focuses on developing your organization’s positive reputation and earning consumers’ trust. While ads and marketing campaigns may attempt to tell people about the business’s great reputation, good PR shows them. It enables the business and its spokespeople to demonstrate ethical conduct rather than just making claims to this effect.

For instance, while a top PR team will draft and release press releases and media advisories on a company’s behalf, they will also seek out opportunities for the company’s leadership to serve as expert sources in the media. When the public needs help understanding current events and a journalist turns to a company’s spokesperson for expert analysis, the viewers understand that this person and their company are trustworthy. In addition, they come to rely on and appreciate the spokesperson’s valuable advice.

In the course of such an interview, the company’s representative may never even mention their product or service. By demonstrating their willingness to share important information, however, they signal their care for the greater good, their own sterling character and that of their company. This forms positive connotations in viewers’ minds. People come to associate the spokesperson and company with credibility and garner their trust.

Behaving in an ethical manner and showing goodwill tends to be more convincing than merely claiming to be good. This is how strong connections with customers can still be forged despite today’s cynical environment.

Related: How You Can Leverage These PR Strategies to Build Your Company’s Credibility and Trust — Even When Under Attack

How PR contributes to revenue growth

To be clear, PR is not a direct method of boosting sales or generating leads. Instead, it works in the background, burnishing your brand’s reputation and predisposing people to think highly of your company. This can pay off in the end, however.

Take Sears, Roebuck and Co. as an example. When the brand partnered with The Oprah Winfrey Show to provide Christmas gifts for 100 foster children, the results were staggering. After the episode aired, customer surveys showed an 11% jump in positive sentiment toward the brand — and people said they planned to spend 39% more at Sears.

The final impact? That single PR moment helped generate $13 million in new revenue.

In addition, father-daughter co-authors Al and Laura Ries studied 91 launches of new products in their book “The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR.” Those campaigns that incorporated PR were more successful than those that only deployed marketing approaches. Indeed, they conclude that PR is a better investment than advertising for most businesses.

In my own experience leading a PR firm, I can attest that campaigns sometimes generate so much new business that clients can’t scale fast enough and have to pause our services while they catch up with demand.

Enter the limelight with PR

Hiring a PR firm, especially one that can show a track record of success in your particular industry, is indispensable to make your brand image shine. This strategic communications approach avoids the common missteps of advertising and marketing while aligning with today’s customers’ preferences for ethical business practices.

For these reasons, more businesses should consider taking PR firms up on their offers of a free consultation call. There’s nothing to lose and the limelight to gain.

If you think using AI to save time is enough — you’re already at risk.

Your clients aren’t just admiring your efficiency. They’re studying it to replace you. AI now delivers 80% of what most service providers offer — at a fraction of the cost. Freelancers, consultants and agencies are getting blindsided as their clients quietly build AI workflows that eliminate the need to rehire. In this video, I’ll show you how to flip the script and become irreplaceable.

While most professionals are still stuck using AI for content drafts or task automation, the smartest entrepreneurs are repositioning themselves as designers of outcomes, not just doers of work.

Inside, you’ll learn the three steps to audit, evolve, and future-proof your offer — before your clients replace it.

• How to spot the hidden weakness in your offer before your clients do
  If you don’t audit your service, your clients will — and when they realize AI can do it faster and cheaper, it’s game over. I’ll show you the first move to make now.

• Why “doing the work” is making you replaceable — and what to do instead
  Execution used to be enough. Not anymore. Discover how to shift into the only role AI can’t automate (and clients will actually pay a premium for).

• The one thing AI can’t replicate — and why it’s now your greatest asset
  It’s not your skills. It’s not your speed. Learn how to turn your story and perspective into a positioning moat that makes you untouchable — even if AI clones your voice.

Whether you’re a solo consultant or leading a lean team, this is your blueprint for staying one step ahead of AI — and 10 steps ahead of your competition.

Download the free “AI Success Kit” (limited time only). And you’ll also get a free chapter from my brand new book, “The Wolf is at The Door – How to Survive and Thrive in an AI-Driven World.”

In today’s high-stakes business climate, being a founder isn’t just ambitious — it’s brutal.

You’re managing more capital, facing fiercer competition, navigating tighter fundraising criteria, and are expected not only to win the initial success sprint but also to continue to complete the marathon at record pace.

The truth? Founders today are expected to perform like elite athletes — and yet far too many are competing without a coach.

Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, once described entrepreneurship as “throwing yourself off a cliff and assembling an airplane on the way down. That’s terrifying enough. But even more terrifying is the fact that you’ve convinced an entire community of people you care about to throw themselves off the cliff with you.”

It’s lonely. It’s scary. And it’s exactly why founder coaching isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity.

Related: Why Real Mentors Don’t Just Give Answers — They Ask the Right Questions

Why coaching is a strategic growth lever

In a world of pitch decks, burn rates, and blitzscaling, “coaching” may sound like a nice-to-have. But business leaders who treat coaching as an early-stage line item, rather than a mid-life correction, are playing a smarter long game.

A founder coach isn’t just a sounding board. They’re a pressure release valve, a pattern recognizer, a strategic challenger and a partner in emotional resilience. In the founder role, your clarity, confidence and consistency impact every key business decision. Coaching multiplies that impact.

Would you bet millions on an athlete without a coach?

No serious investor would. So why are we still betting on founders to outperform — often at the cost of their mental health and long-term clarity — without that same level of support?

If you’re serious about building something that lasts, then investing in coaching isn’t just good for you — it’s good business.

Ready to take coaching seriously? Here’s your playbook.

1. Budget for it — and talk about it openly

Set an annual budget for coaching from day one. Share that plan with your investors and advisors. Doing so signals strategic foresight, not weakness — and they may even help you find the right coach through their network.

2. Vet for real-world experience

Choose someone who’s been in the trenches. A coach with actual founder experience will have the scars and stories that resonate. Academic degrees and fancy titles are nice — but insights from someone who’s scaled a company (or failed and learned from it) are invaluable.

3. Find someone who balances strategy and humanity

Business is personal. A good coach can navigate both spheres, helping you manage the inner game (mindset, fear, identity) while guiding the external one (team, fundraising, scaling). You need someone who gets that it’s all connected.

4. Align their ‘superpower’ with your growth gaps

Ask bluntly: What’s your superpower? Great coaches have one. Maybe it’s helping high-performers avoid burnout, guiding first-time CEOs or scaling culture across continents. Their strength should directly align with what you need most right now.

5. Prioritize the work

This isn’t a “fit it in when I can” relationship. Coaching works when you consistently show up, prepared to be honest, vulnerable, and accountable. Put it on your calendar like a board meeting — because that’s how valuable it is.

6. Be patient — Growth isn’t instant

You’re used to chasing fast wins, but coaching is a long game. Emotional rewiring, perspective shifts and sustained behavior change take time. Progress may be invisible at first — until it becomes undeniable.

Related: Mentorship Isn’t Enough — Leaders Need Executive Coaching, Too. Here’s Why.

The founder advantage: Why coaching creates a ripple effect

In a world of AI automations, pitch-perfect branding, and venture-backed pressure, the most undervalued asset in your business is your own clarity and conviction.

When founders are supported, grounded and guided, everything improves — culture, retention, leadership, decision-making, fundraising. The returns compound. And in the age of burnout, founder breakdowns, and quiet quitting at the top, mental resilience is your most defensible edge.

Make coaching a non-negotiable

Founders pour everything into their companies — time, money, sanity. But if you’re not investing in yourself as a leader, you’re putting all that effort at risk. In this market, the strongest competitive edge isn’t just product or funding — it’s founders who are mentally equipped to weather storms and make clear, confident decisions.

Coaching helps you become that founder. Start treating it like the growth engine it is.

That $10 monthly fee for Microsoft 365 might seem harmless until you realize you spend $120 every year just to keep using apps you’ve relied on for years. For entrepreneurs and everyday users alike, the idea of renting software is starting to wear thin.

There’s actually always been a smarter alternative that’s only now gaining serious traction as subscription fatigue is wearing people down: Microsoft Office lifetime licenses. Priced at $49.97 through April 27, these software bundles pay for themselves in just five months if you cancel your 365 subscription today.

Microsoft 365 vs. Office lifetime licenses

You’re not just buying software but investing in tools that power your days. Whether you’re drafting proposals in Word, tracking financials in Excel, building decks in PowerPoint, or managing email through Outlook, Microsoft Office apps remain a staple for serious productivity.

With this lifetime deal, you’ll get access to:

• Word
• Excel
• PowerPoint
• Outlook
• Teams
• OneNote
• Publisher
• Access

Once you buy, you’ll receive an email with your download link and software key. Just install and activate the apps on your PC, and they’re yours for the life of your computer. No subscriptions. No auto-renewals. No chasing promo codes every month.

While Microsoft 365 does include extras like mobile app access and cloud storage, many simply don’t use them enough to justify the ongoing costs. If you’re working primarily from your desktop or laptop, the lifetime license offers nearly identical functionality.

Why this deal is worth it

Most people don’t think twice about renting software because that’s what they’ve gotten used to. But when you stop and realize you’re paying Microsoft every single month for the same apps you’ve used since high school, it starts to feel like a trap. This Microsoft Office deal isn’t just cheaper, it breaks that loop. You buy it once, it’s yours, and suddenly, you’re not budgeting for Word and Excel like they’re Netflix.

Download Microsoft Office for Windows while it’s down to $49.97 through April 27 at 11:59 p.m. PT with no coupon needed (reg. $219.99).

Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License – $49.97

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StackSocial prices subject to change.

As an inclusive leader, here’s one thing you can remember amidst the swirling controversies around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI): It’s always legal and a good idea to understand and reduce bias in the workplace. Consider this functional definition of bias as “actions that produce advantage for some people or ideas and disadvantage for other people or ideas.”

Sociologists have identified dozens of types of bias, and all are worth understanding. But right now, there are three particular biases that cry out for reduction:

• From win-lose to competition and collaboration

• From diversity vs. merit to differences as qualifications

• From DEI uniformity to respectful conflict resolution

Related: If You’re Not Aware of These Common Biases, Your Entire Leadership Strategy Is at Risk

1. From the win-lose bias (or zero-sum beliefs) to competition and collaboration

Research shows that those who have more to lose are more likely to adopt win-lose biases. A current wave of loss aversion can be seen in the assumption that undocumented immigrants take the jobs of American-born people, in the argument that equality and equity are not compatible and in the presumption that learning about human differences is inherently discriminatory.

Inclusive leaders recognize this tendency to win-lose but do not accept its dominance. And the way forward is not to blithely assure people that it’s all really win-win. While there are synergies and “rising tides that lift all boats,” it is not effective or truthful to counter win-lose narratives with simplistic “we all can win” platitudes.

Why not? Because there are winners and losers in corporate life. Some people get the project assignment, some don’t. Some earn a larger bonus, some receive performance improvement plans. Some get the promotion, some don’t. We compete, and that’s okay, as long as it drives excellence and is fairly practiced (no small feat). Inclusive leaders acknowledge the challenge and opportunity in both competition and collaboration, on their teams and with customers.

As an inclusive leader, are you talking out loud about how competition and collaboration co-exist as success factors, specifically to counter the win-lose bias?

Related: 5 Examples of Unconscious Bias at Work and How to Solve Them

2. From the diversity vs. merit bias to differences as qualifications

Another well-worn bias on the loose is diversity vs. merit — the reality that those who differ in identities from established “norms” face persistent doubt that they are “qualified” and that they deserve or earned the job or assignment. The current shorthand for this bias is “they are a diversity hire.”

Inclusive leaders diagnose and respond to this bias efficiently because presumed and ill-defined “merit” hurts the organization.

• The diversity vs. merit bias reinforces that “different is bad,” when the research is clear that well-managed diverse teams innovate and produce more than homogeneous teams.

• This bias fuels the internalized self-doubt of those who are “different.” Such an impact causes some to avoid applying for positions and can isolate the “only ones” who try to produce and advance in such low-performing environments. Know this: Claims of merit and meritocracy are not credible among those whose parents taught them “you have to work twice as hard to get half as far.”

• One of the most troubling expressions of this bias shows in performance appraisals. To be specific, Black and Hispanic employees may receive lower performance ratings than they have earned. This can impact their work assignments, compensation, productivity, promotion and eventually their retention.

As a corrective, inclusive leaders can define “merit” in a more rational way. Merit is the demonstrated and rewarded pattern of high performance, in a combination of individual effort, team success and positive results.

The Society for Human Resource Management puts it another way: “Merit-based frameworks prioritize inclusivity and belonging, ensuring that everyone has the chance to contribute, develop, and succeed, shifting the focus from traditional measures of ‘most qualified’ to fostering environments where all talents can be discovered, nurtured, and valued.”

Inclusive leaders know that talent is distributed relatively evenly across populations. The way forward with equitable hiring is to focus on the market availability of the mix of talent, which is not discrimination. Thoughtful, fair-minded leaders don’t need quotas or targets or any other representational method that runs the risk of unfair preference when applied to individuals.

When we are positioned to compete for our fair share of market-available talent across relevant identity points, it brings “excellence” and “well-qualified” into focus. We steer away from bias inclined toward or against anyone primarily on the basis of their identities, so we can direct our decision-making toward competing for the mix of talent we need to succeed.

When it comes to development opportunities and advancement, rather than diversity vs. merit, we can move toward differences as qualifications. In this construct, diversity may include aspects of identity like race and gender, when, for example, the HR team is composed only of women. The new discipline is to analyze the relevance of any identity point and consider all manner of distinct abilities and transferable skills in the definition of qualifications.

One of my favorite examples: The tech company that always has a sentence in a management promotion announcement explaining how the rising person is skilled as an inclusive leader. When the promoted person is a white man, announcing his inclusive leadership capabilities sends three important messages: 1) all leaders are expected to lead inclusively, 2) white men observing the announcement discover that white men can also be rewarded for leading inclusively, and 3) it rightly pressures the rising leader to get even better as an inclusive leader.

Many DEI leaders have missed a key theme in this meritocracy mess. To focus on merit and qualifications is not only a risk for bias — it’s also vital to excellence in the organization. We should not abandon the pursuit of quality because the idea of merit has been used to abuse. So, we don’t shy away from the discussion of qualifications, but instead we reduce how bias creeps into decisions via assumptions of merit, and we join our colleagues in committing to what is truly meritorious in past and expected performance.

Inclusive leaders need to get clear about merit and meritocracy in their own minds, understand the coded bias of this language for many and then redefine diversity vs. merit to differences as qualifications.

Related: 7 Ways to Check Your Bias When Evaluating Your Team

3. From DEI uniformity to respectful conflict resolution

There is no question that inclusion has fallen short of including many, and I say that as a white guy who has been developing inclusive leaders for more than 40 years. To the degree that leaders claiming to be inclusive have permitted DEI to operate coercively, perhaps pushback can be seen as a reaction to being pushed.

When we evaluate the current controversies around DEI, we can see the aversion to losing in the win-lose frame. Inclusion fails anytime the tone of an interaction, program or policy comes across as “It’s our turn now, you’ve had your run, so sit down and be quiet.” When white men worry about their white son’s opportunities, responding only with data to counter the concern is tone deaf and uncaring. There’s fear to unpack, and scared colleagues to care about.

I realize it’s easy for me, as a person with much accumulated advantage, to point out the problems with “It’s our turn now.” However, as inclusive leaders, we have a decision to make: Are we going to coerce or influence? The recent election offers up the data: Requiring uniform acceptance of a progressive DEI agenda is not working, and it’s unscalable.

Inclusive leaders now must open the door to anyone feeling excluded by inclusion, marginalized by equity work or stereotyped by “diversity.” This opportunity calls us to depressurize DEI by connecting it to the company’s core values, by equipping colleagues to try on how inclusion helps them succeed and by inviting people in but not mandating this learning.

Obliging employees to “get with the program” is not scalable, but it does fuel conflict. So, it’s also time to tune up policies and practices around conflict resolution. The years ahead will be filled with opportunities to equip your culture to identify and resolve conflict driven by differences. Two vital resources to support this:

Inclusive leaders, right now, are finding the courage to reduce bias in their organizations. Be one of them. It’s a powerful moment to lead your teams beyond:

• Win/lose assumptions to embracing collaboration and competition

• Meritocracy as an argument to diverse excellence as an expectation

• Respectful learning and dialogue that can navigate conflict

It won’t be easy, but it will be good, when you lead more inclusively by reducing bias.

As the cost of rent has increased by more than 50% over the last decade, some popular cities like Miami are becoming less and less affordable.

To find the most affordable cities for renting in the U.S., financial site WalletHub compared the median annual gross rent to the median household income in 182 cities, ranking them from most to least affordable.

Related: Here’s How Much a Family of 4 Needs to Live ‘Comfortably’ in Every U.S. State, According to a New Report

The most affordable city was Bismarck, North Dakota, where the median annual gross rent is around 15.3% of the median annual income. The average salary in Bismarck is $69,989 per year, according to ZipRecruiter. The average rent, meanwhile, is $1,023 per month, per Apartments.com.

The second most affordable city was Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The mean annual gross rent there costs around 16% of the median income. Cheyenne, Wyoming, came in at a close No. 3 — residents spend 16.1% of their earnings on rent in the city.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Fargo, North Dakota, rounded out the top five most affordable.

The bottom of the list featured Glendale, California (No. 178), followed by Detroit, Michigan; New Haven, Connecticut; Newark, New Jersey; and finally, in the last spot (No. 182), Miami, Florida, where residents spend 33.48% of their income on rent.

In Miami, the average salary, according to ZipRecruiter, is $55,183. The average rent is $2,950, per Zillow.

“In the most affordable cities for renters, the median cost of rent is as low as 15% of the median income, compared to more than 33% in the most expensive cities,” said WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo. “This gives people in the least expensive cities a clear financial advantage; the money they save on rent could go toward their emergency fund or savings for future home ownership.”

View the full list of all 182 cities, here.

Related: Here Are the Best and Worst States for Retirement in 2025, According to a New Report