Everyone’s had that panicked moment googling “wtf is a deck” in their first month on the job—or discovering that a “quick question” from a client will always mean staying late. So you already know learning on the job is crucial.

• But besides learning through trial and error how to use emojis on Slack, what’s the best way to know what’s what at work?

Enter: learning & development, aka L&D.

• If you’ve ever had to attend a mandatory workshop on conflict resolution, it was probably part of HR’s larger L&D strategy.
• But depending on your company, L&D can set you up with way more interesting (and helpful) things, like certifications, conferences, networking opps, and educational courses.

Companies like L&D because it makes their employees smarter, and employees like it because they get smarter while getting paid.

Not sure your company provides benefits like these? Here are a few ways to advocate for L&D on your team:

Bring it up. Your HR department isn’t full of mind readers, so if you want to learn a new skill that’ll make you better at your job, ping your friend in HR about courses to take. Or, if you’ve already got one in mind, see if they’ll cover the cost.

Talk with your team. Chances are, if you’re looking for ways to level up, so is the rest of your division.

• If you all discover common learning themes (e.g., how to navigate certain software platforms or how to create data visualizations), that’s a good indicator to your boss or HR to include learning opportunities around this, both to your team and any new hires.

Make it a win-win. Your company probably has an allocated L&D budget, but it’s not unlimited. So if you want to get your org to pay for a conference or other learning opp, it always helps to show the benefit in numbers.

• Hit ’em with stats like how IBM discovered that for every dollar spent on online training, it galvanized $30 worth of productivity.

And if your company has a really tight L&D budget, try advocating for more conversations with the leaders within your co. A lunch and learn is a great way to get the deets on someone else’s experience, plus there’s usually free pizza.—CS

…Did you know that Morning Brew Learning offers custom programs and bulk seat discounts for companies that value employee engagement and upskilling—on top of its regularly scheduled programs?

The hilarious and humble writers of Raise are the exact same brilliant minds writing these programs (yes, we’re busy). So if you like this newsletter, you’ll love our deeper dives on business themes, like:

• Unlocking your team’s potential
• Building business dashboards
• Making better decisions using data
• Calling out your boss without sounding like a tool

Plus, you’ll get the inside scoop from expert operators like Kat Cole (COO of Athletic Greens), Dr. Emily Anhalt (co-founder of Coa), and plenty of other industry leaders.

Ready to accelerate your career—or your team’s—on the company’s dime?

Check out our corporate offerings here.

In the latest piece of the Bed Bath & Beyond bankruptcy drama, competitor Overstock.com purchased the fluffy towel company’s intellectual property—including its naming rights. Later this summer, when you type overstock.com into Chrome, you’ll be redirected to bedbathandbeyond.com.

• According to Overstock’s CEO, it might even trample a little harder and rename the entire company as Bed Bath & Beyond.

While buying up and subsequently using the name of your competitor feels as spiteful as vacuuming at 7am because your downstairs neighbors had a party last night, it’s not the first time in the business world we’ve seen emotion play a role in biz decisions.

Here are three of our favorite business spite stories:

• The possessive S. When Ruth Fertel wanted to expand her restaurant, Chris Steak House, beyond its only brick-and-mortar location, she got the legal runaround on the name. So she decided to simply call her restaurant Ruth’s Chris Steak House, leading to 100+ locations and a tongue twister for waiters.
• Adidas vs. Puma. Adi and Rudi Dassler were brothers who launched two of the most successful shoe companies in the world (with factories across the river from each other), largely because of a family quarrel in the 1940s. The topic of that fight is still a mystery, though rumor has it that it had to do with their wives.
• Ring’s FU to Shark Tank. After being rejected by the Sharks, Ring founder Jamie Siminoff saw wild success, leading to the company’s acquisition by Amazon for a rumored $1b. Siminoff later guested on Shark Tank as one of their investors. Talk about a glow up.

Have any other juicy business goss that rivals the pages of People magazine? Reply to this email with your suggestions.

Back by popular demand is the game where we take company names, scramble them like cafeteria eggs, and then let you figure out who’s who.

For example: Grim newborn Morning Brew

This go round, we’re sticking with an industry with full-on summer vibes: craft beer. See how many companies you can identify (and since they all basically end in “Brewing,” we’ve left that part out).

1. Area invaders
2. Sweater wet
3. Saga hall
4. Tail tech
5. Age rants rant

Read: Has your partner asked you to stop complaining about your job during dinner? Here’s why “rage applying” probably isn’t a great coping mechanism either.

Listen: As always, Kara Swisher asks the tough questions—on this episode with Sarah Jessica Parker and the business of shoes and wine.

Travel: The art of being a flâneur.

Learn: How to read an S-1 (and what parts to skip).

Watch: Dan Toomey reaches peak investigative journalism as he searches for answers to the big question: Why is every celebrity starting a brand?

Shop: You’ve heard of FIRE (financial independence, retire early). Get there faster with the “Retired” Manifestation Tee, now on sale.