Duolingo's ex-head of product says the best performers are not always the people with deep experience

Tech Insider : Business
Duolingo mascot and logo
Duolingo's former head of product said that "high agency" can be more important than experience.

illustration by Cheng Xin/Getty Images

Getting laid off ended my Big Tech career. I needed that push to do work I love.

Tech Insider : Travel, Business
Alaina Appleman is posing in a Facebook sign.
After being laid off from Meta in 2023, Alaina Appleman decided she was done with Big Tech and global media.

Provided by Alaina Appleman

I'm the only person in my family to go to grad school and become an entrepreneur. I often feel guilty for 'making it.'

Tech Insider : Business
a woman in graduation cap and gown looking down
The author is the first to earn a master's in her family.

Iuliia Burmistrova/Getty Images

My father-in-law retired at 55 and is 87 now. His early retirement made me realize I don't want to travel the same road.

Tech Insider : Business, Environment, Travel
Author Melissa Noble smiling on a deck in front of her laptop
Retiring early is a dream for so many people (and a great reality for my father-in-law), but it's not something I'm hoping to do.

Melissa Noble

I quiet quit my job after years of prioritizing my career. It only made my burnout worse.

Tech Insider : Business
The author working at her laptop while her cat sits on a desk next to her.
The author has now found a balance between her career and her well-being.

Courtesy of Hannah Wilkinson

The Gen Xers turning to odd jobs — from summer internships to ice hockey refereeing — to stay employed

Tech Insider : Business, Economy
William Simon
William Simon works as an ice hockey official when he has the opportunity to.

William Simon

John Studzinski, a titan of finance and philanthropy, shares 4 simple tips to help you succeed

Tech Insider : Business
Pimco's vice chair, John Studzinski
Pimco's vice chair, John Studzinski, shared four tips for winning at work.

Zhong Zhi/Getty Images for CNBC International

I quit JPMorgan after rising through the ranks over 14 years. I don't blame the bank alone for my burnout.

Tech Insider : Business, Sports, Style
Wilma Ramona de Souza
Wilma Ramona de Souza worked at JPMorgan for 14 years, becoming an executive director by her mid-thirties.

Wilma Ramony de Souza

Ford's CEO says a Japanese management practice he picked up from rival Toyota helps him make better decisions

Tech Insider : Business
Mustang Mach-E GT presented at the 2025 Canadian International AutoShow.
"Before you make a big decision," CEO Jim Farley says, "you have to go and see the real problem — where the waste is."

Anatoliy Cherkasov/Informa Plus Photo Agency/LightRocket via Getty Images

These co-CEOs can't imagine running things on their own

Tech Insider : Business
Connor Diemand-Yauman and Rebecca Taber Staehelin
Connor Diemand-Yauman and Rebecca Taber Staehelin are co-CEOs of the nonprofit Merit America. The times they've disagreed on strategy tested their thinking in ways that were "exponentially beneficial," she said.

Courtesy Merit America

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