As we wind down 2024, the This is Working team is starting to dream big for 2025. Of course that means we have AI on our minds. And we’re not alone. AI has more than one spot on LinkedIn’s recent Big Ideas list. Who better to learn from than Fei-Fei Li, AI pioneer? Dr. Li is an AI researcher and professor at Stanford University and serves as Co-Director of Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute.

In this conversation with LinkedIn Editor in Chief Daniel Roth, Dr. Li shares her vision for a collaborative future with our advancing artificial intelligence.

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On this week's rapid fire Q&A, Bridgewater Founder and Chief Investment Officer Ray Dalio advises starters in the finance industry to just dive in — "know what you don't know" — wants Gen Z to know that pain plus reflection equals progress (and why everyone should meditate), the gigantic early career error that made him stronger, and much more.

When Ynon Kreiz took over as CEO of Mattel, he became the company's fourth chief executive in four years. His three predecessors had all resigned. The storied, 80-year-old toy company was still a top brand, but it was fraying at the edges and it needed a fresh start, some new ideas, and someone who was willing to take some risks.

Already a board member and a three-time CEO "drawn to perhaps maybe more complicated, more challenging situations," Kreiz had a brainstorm: Customers aren't really customers — they're fans. If you have enough of them, you have an audience. And playing to an audience is very different from manufacturing widgets. 

So he took his big gamble. "The company should transition from being a toy manufacturing company that was making items and become an IP company that is managing franchises," Kreiz told Dan Roth on the latest edition of This is Working.

Perhaps the Barbie movie is the most visible manifestation of Kreiz's vision for Mattel. But there is so much more in Dan Roth's interview for This is Working: How he hires, fires and reassigns, and his three chief management principles: collaboration, innovation, and execution

On this week's rapid fire Q&A, Uncle Nearest founder Fawn Weaver tells LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Dan Roth why she completely unplugs — without fail — for 24 hours every week, why her mentors are all "old dead white guys," and why you should always — always — go with your gut.

Fawn Weaver had a story to tell — and then she became the story. It started as a passion project, to make sure that the story of the first known African-American master distiller would no longer be lost to time. But while righting that historical wrong the serial entrepreneur got an idea so crazy that it just might've worked.

It did.

Her plan to make sure that Nathan “Nearest” Green would finally be celebrated took a new, serendipitous and daunting turn: Weaver decided that she could create a whisky brand named for Green. With no background in the industry. In an industry that is insular and decidedly male. No biggie.

Weaver didn't just create a niche brand that she could tell her grandchildren all about. In eight years she built, from scratch, a billion-dollar business. In this edition of This is Working the author of Love & Whiskey tells LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Dan Roth about the power of relentless determination — how she learned to leverage being habitually underestimated into a strategic advantage and why patience is not only a virtue, but profitable.

On this week's rapid fire Q&A, Taco Bell CEO Sean Tresvant tells LinkedIn Editor-in Chief Dan Roth why he considers his employees' work/life balance "mandatory," how art appreciation helps him get unstuck, how to decide how to upskill, and how observing his customers customized their orders changed his "go-to" meal.

Brand awareness is one thing. Brand nostalgia is quite another. Creating is hard enough. Maintaining it may be even harder. But it's second nature to Sean Tresvant, the brand-new CEO of Taco Bell, who cut his teeth in key marketing positions at Nike, Sports Illustrated and PepsiCo. That said, there is nothing ordinary about the challenge of nurturing and maturing this 60-year-old brand. It takes respect for the past and a willingness to charge into the future. "We have a DNA of feeding curiosity for the unconventional," Tresvant told me for the latest edition of This is Working. "We believe that's what Glenn Bell was trying to do 60, 62 years ago when he kind of introduced tacos to the mainstream of the U.S. And we try to carry that DNA for 62 years and 62 years beyond that."

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On this week's rapid fire Q&A, super sports agent Rich Paul shares how he built his first business ironing clothes, how he finds inspiration when he's stuck, and why patience is something he hopes Gen Z will embrace. The founder and CEO of Klutch Sports group also reveals his toughest negotiation — and it might surprise you. 

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What do LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Draymond Green have in common? Well, THAT, of course. But they are also all represented by Rich Paul, arguably the most driven, innovative and influential sports agent in the game. It didn't come easy. Raised in a tough Cleveland neighborhood, Paul leaned on and learned from a wise dad who provided, as Paul puts it now, a solid foundation.

But the author of the self-deprecatingly-titled memoir "Lucky Me" also learned a thing or two about the powerful, positive impact of adversity. That it might even be a necessary precondition for success. LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Dan Roth talked to Paul about leveraging adversity, the right — and wrong — kind of ego, and what you can learn about representing superstars from ironing clothes.

Share your thoughts via email at [email protected], or join the conversation directly on LinkedIn using the hashtag #ThisisWorking.

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On this week’s rapid fire Q&A, Steve Ells talks about his journey from studying art history to founding Chipotle Mexican Grill and how being open to the unexpected paved the way for his success. Ells also shares his secret to staying productive — keeping a highly structured morning routine and allowing for “spontaneity and chaos” as the day progresses — and he discusses the importance of bringing a solutions-oriented mindset to meetings.

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Steve Ells created a new standard for fast casual dining when he launched Chipotle 31 years ago. He’s looking to transform the sector once again with his latest venture Kernel — a plant-forward restaurant powered largely by robots. LinkedIn editor in chief Dan Roth talks to Ells about the novel hub and spoke system he’s deploying to streamline food prep and reduce human error and turnover. Ells discusses changing key elements of the business early on, including adding non-vegan options to the menu and reworking the layout to be more hospitable in response to customer feedback, and adapting production processes based on employee feedback. Ells also shares his top advice for those looking to mirror his entrepreneurial success.

Share your thoughts via email at [email protected], or join the conversation directly on LinkedIn using the hashtag #ThisisWorking. Follow Kernel Foods, Dan Roth and LinkedIn News on LinkedIn, and subscribe to the newsletter here.