The Focus Group

The LEGO Group has made the decision to rid its toys of harmful gender bias. This is on the heels of California enacting new legislation in 2024 requiring retailers to not separate toys by boys and g…

Shop Talk looks at the Eisenhower Matrix as a method to plan your day and prioritize tasks. Caught My Eye highlights another treasure found in a drawer of a UK estate worth millions. Also, the nine p…

China has a problem in suburban areas with loud dance music from “dancing grannies,” sometimes late into the night. One man has invented a remote-control device that he now sells—20K units to date—th…

Shop Talk discusses electric cars with the latest entry promising over 500 miles on one charge. It will cost you though. Caught My Eye celebrates the naming of a Michigan Post Office in honor of Amer…

A museum says they gave a Danish artist $84,000 in cash to use in artwork they wanted updated. He delivered blank canvases and titled them “Take the Money and Run.” But first, Dollar General is now r…

Shop Talk discusses Oliver Burkeman’s new book, “Four Thousand Weeks.” That’s about the average number of weeks in a lifetime, and a good lens to look at time management through. Caught My Eye looks …

Finance savvy TikTokers find success mimicking the stock buys from members of Congress. Many believe politicians may be in the know, but a recent study says that they are just as unlucky as the rest …

Shop Talk looks at long term care options that some of us may face in our retirement years. Caught My Eye relays that several states are starting to see shortages of certain alcohol brands. If you li…

Venerable Sears continues its decline with the closing of the last large format store in their home state of Illinois. Sadly, what was once America’s largest employer is down to fewer than 300 stores…

Shop Talk covers an article that predicts the changing nature of business travel. Better tech, efficiencies with staying put, and helping with carbon emissions mean many Fortune 500 CEOs are rethinki…

The Taliban inherited billions of dollars’ worth of NATO and American military hardware including planes and Humvees. The Pentagon made sure most of it can never fly or be used again. Then, more stat…

Shop Talk looks at regaining your identity after a hard job loss according to an article from Fast Company. Caught My Eye covers a promotion between Oscar Meyer’s Wienermobile and LYFT—would you ride…

Famed fashion photog Bruce Weber settles lawsuits with male models who were allegedly “Brucified.” Ford Motor Company in Germany takes a consumer’s gay comment about a color and gives the vehicles th…

Shop Talk covers two stories this week. Apple’s Tim Cook is an early riser because he feels he can unplug and get more done in the morning uninterrupted before his day gets blown off-track. Then, whi…

Former President Obama gets pushback from a local Chicago neighborhood group for wanting to build his $700 million Presidential Library in Jackson Park. They claim it will clear over 800 trees and di…

Shop Talk looks at a recent study that tries to settle the age-old question as to whether left-handed people are more creative. Then we explore the power of silence in business negotiations. Caught M…

A former nurse gets bullied by her co-workers for posting some naughty pics on social media, but when those same workers find her Only Fans videos, it proves too much for the nurse and she quits. Whi…

Shop Talk looks at a Fast Company article that highlights the real reasons—beyond being productive—that employees want to work remotely rather than going back to the office. Caught My Eye brings us a…

Billie Jean King and her partner of 42 years, Ilana Kloss, finally tie the knot. (They actually did it privately, 3 years ago.) Billie Jean says that she had “trust issues” as detailed in her new boo…

A company that fought back legally after a former employee trashed them online through several employment review boards is the topic of Shop Talk. Be careful what you write, and probably not smart to…