Illustration by Eliot Wyatt
On September 8, 2026, Meta launched Muse, a personal AI agent designed to act on a user’s behalf: filling out forms, negotiating, booking travel, and making purchases. Twelve days later, Amazon blocked Muse from shopping on its site, arguing that third-party agents should identify themselves and obtain a retailer’s permission before transacting on behalf of its customers.
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In the fall of 2017, as Hurricane Harvey’s floodwaters receded across Houston, employees from a local construction firm joined volunteer crews helping homeowners gut waterlogged walls and begin the long road to rebuilding—during regular work hours and while still receiving company pay. The company knew this was a moment for the organization to support its community, but what they didn’t anticipate was what these employees would bring back. One volunteer described the experience to us this way: “Seeing the resilience of those people we were helping, and the impact we were having on them—[that] truly builds my resilience as well.” Across the group, employees who had come to Houston’s aid shared that the experience had changed them, giving them greater confidence in navigating uncertainty and stronger capabilities to adapt and develop creative solutions in their daily work. Further evidence from managers we interviewed supports the idea that crisis volunteering can indeed help employees develop some of the skills most critical to today’s workplaces.
HBR Executive delivers trusted insights and actionable strategies to guide leaders through consequential decisions. Practical tools, and forward-looking perspectives cut through the noise to equip you to navigate uncertainty, stay ahead of emerging trends, and plan for a stable future.
Concrete strategies, tactics, and solutions to real challenges from your peers and other experts. Published every 2 weeks. All Playbooks (Opens a new page)
A weekly newsletter of timely insights that interpret today’s business climate and help you chart a path to what’s next. All Agenda (Opens a new page)