The most popular brainstorming strategy is BS

“How Might We…?”: If you’ve spent any time brainstorming, there’s a good chance you’ve heard this phrase. Popularized by the prominent design studio IDEO, it has been embraced by major companies as a prompt for sparking innovative ideas. But it may do more harm than good. According to former IDEO expert-in-residence Tricia Wang, “The HMW paradigm actually elevates the voices that are already the loudest. This prompt is so open-ended that it encourages powerful people to respond first and most often.” The result is that ideas, which enforce existing biases, rise to the top of the heap and end up in the products and services consumers use every day. So what should replace it? Read Wang’s essay to find out.

—Suzanne LaBarre

co.DESIGN

The ‘How might we’ design prompt is insidious, and it’s time to bury it. Read more.

tech

Hackers are investing in each other’s operations—just like VCs invest in startups

Ransomware continues to grow more sophisticated and lucrative, and now security firm LIFARS says operators have built a Silicon Valley-like VC ecosystem. Read more.

impact

How palm oil became the world’s most used—and most hated—fat

Farming the date palm results in deforestation and atrocious labor conditions. But it’s also a cheap and easy source of biofuels and a replacement for trans fats. The question is now: boycott or reform? Read more.

This startup is training doctors to deliver better care for people of color

Spora, a recent graduate of UnitedHealthcare’s startup accelerator, is aiming to make primary care more culturally competent. Read more.

work life

Work friends make life happier. Here’s how to make them when you’re remote

Having friends at work is a game changer, but it can be tricky to form connections when you’re not sharing the same physical space. Read more.

co.design

Why it’s so hard to get rid of fake online reviews

Government regulators are trying to catch fake reviewers, but their work is like a game of whack-a-mole. Read more.

CO.DESIGN

See how hospitals inflate bills and shake down patients for millions

Is your hospital among the worst offenders? Read more.

IMPACT

4 ways to fact check if your offsetting is legitimate

Not all carbon projects are good for the climate. Some may even actively harm it. These four questions will help you spot the initiatives that actually work. Read more.

coronavirus

Delta variant in the U.S.—this CDC tracker and map shows where it’s spreading

The delta variant is likely to become dominant in the U.S. within weeks and is shown to be more infectious than previous variants—even to the vaccinated. Read more.

NEWS

Scorching in Seattle: What you need to know

The Pacific Northwest will continue to boil over the next few days with cities in the region seeing all-time record highs.

On Saturday, Portland, Oregon, reached 112º F while Seattle easily broke 100º F and Redding, California, hit 113º F. The heat is expected to continue on Monday.

Experts calling the heatwave a “once-in-a-millennium” event, and pointing to a phenomenon known as a heat dome. That’s an area of high pressure over a region that has bubbled up from the normal pattern of the jet stream.

Some scientists have theorized that the jet stream warping could be due to the increasing temperatures in the arctic, meaning such rare heat events may not be as rare in the future.

podcast

This is the question you need to ask yourself before looking for a new job

In the latest episode of Hit the Ground Running, we talk to Bianca Jeanty, the author of Ya’ll Hiring? The Playbook for Managing Recruiters and Referrals, for some advice about how to find a job and ace an interview.

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