• Alpine Investors CEO Graham Weaver teaches at Stanford, where he helps students determine a career path.
• He uses something he calls the "genie framework" to guide them.
• Weaver said in a recent podcast interview that interest and persistence are the keys to success.

Alpine Investors founder and CEO Graham Weaver often finds himself teaching the students of his Stanford class about more than just strategies for growing a business.

The private equity CEO said that students frequently come to him not with questions about business but about life — specifically, what to do with theirs.

Weaver said on a recent episode of "Lenny's Podcast" that he often prescribes a series of exercises that previously helped give him clarity on his own goals. Chief among them is asking yourself the "genie question."

Weaver said a typical meeting on the topic consists of a student laying out possible career paths and talking through the pros and cons of each.

Weaver said he often watches as students consider option A, which they see as more practical, and try to talk themselves out of option B, something that they have their hearts set on.

"First, I try to let them realize that their real energy is for B. Just let them feel that, and understand that," Weaver said. "And then secondly, I try to figure out — what are the limiting beliefs they have? What are the fears? What are the obstacles?"

His students are often held back by external pressures, whether that be a desire for stability, or simply a fear of failure, he said. They then end up pursuing what they think they should, rather than what they want to.

Getting locked into a career for which you have no enthusiasm leads to a life lived on autopilot, the CEO said. Rushing through a familiar daily routine, with no time to consider what you're doing or whether you even want to be doing it, can lead to an increased degree of anxiety and friction, he added.

"But then once I kind of got into the path of the thing that I was excited about, that's when I really felt my energy change dramatically," Weaver said. "And I developed almost like a superpower in that thing, because, you know, I had more energy. I was willing to work longer, I was willing to do it."

He instructs participants to imagine a genie grants them a boon — guaranteed success in whatever career they dedicate themselves to.

"If that were true, and you had that genie blessing you with that wish, what would you wish for?" Weaver said. "And then the students come up with an answer that's really close to their heart. And it's the thing they would do, absent the fear of failure. And then the second part of the exercise is — that's what you should do."

Weaver said he understands that there can be limitations, often manifesting in financial needs. To help demystify them, he recommends writing problems down instead of actively ruminating on any limitations, thereby reducing hurdles to a series of manageable steps.

"When you get it down on paper, it will almost immediately strip that limiting belief of a lot of its power, and a lot of its scariness," Weaver said. "Because now it's just something like, for example, 'How would I fund this?' So, the second thing is that a lot of that scariness becomes just a to-do item."

But Weaver says success isn't just about overcoming fear. The main variable in Weaver's "formula" is time. He's found that people's expectations are often skewed in favor of an unrealistic immediacy.

"You have to go in at the beginning with that mindset and the structural ability to stay at it for a long period of time," Weaver said. "So the missing ingredient in most of the people that fail is time."

Without patience and grit, he said, his own success would instead be a museum of failures. Weaver's philosophy is that pursuing improvement is always uncomfortable.

"The first move is negative to getting in shape, the first move is negative to get out of a bad relationship, to get into a career you want to be in," Weaver said.

We only get one life, Weaver said. He thinks it's best to start making the most of it as soon as possible — before "not now" becomes "not ever."

"Take the time to really figure out and answer the question, 'What does a wonderful, amazing, incredible life look like?'" Weaver said. "And just get as clear as you possibly can on that."

• Jeff Bezos sorts decisions into two categories — those you can walk back, and those you can't.
• The concept of "one-way door" and "two-way door" decisions is meant to help big companies move quickly.
• AWS CEO Matt Garman recently talked on a podcast about the decision-making framework.

Have you ever wondered how Amazon calculates risky decisions? Founder Jeff Bezos famously simplified the process by sorting decisions into two camps — one-way doors, and two-way doors.

The concept, intended to help a big company categorize decisions and move quickly, appears to be alive and well within Amazon four years after Bezos announced he was stepping down as CEO.

Matt Garman, the CEO of Amazon Web Services, broke down how he applies Bezos's decision-making model on a recent episode of The Verge's "Decoder" podcast.

"Well, part of my job is to make the one-way door decisions," Garman said. "So I think that framework is, it's a useful one to think about. And just to clarify, in case you're not aware of it, largely that's how you go fast. You try to define what those decisions are."

Bezos has previously said that a common pitfall for companies is employing a "one-size-fits-all" model — sacrificing speed by not knowing what to run up the flagpole, and when. Ideally, two-way-door decisions require minimal executive oversight, if any.

Garman agrees.

"You want the people that are owning those teams at the edges of the organization that really own those products to make important decisions because they know best about their product," Garman said. "But they're also decisions that could be undone if we decide that it wasn't the right thing to do."

Garman said he's rarely the expert on any particular subject AWS is working on — and doesn't try to pretend otherwise, instead devoting time to absorbing their views.

"And so I make sure that I listen and leave space for those experts who spend all of their days thinking about that to weigh in as to how they've come up with their recommendation, how they think about what we should do," Garman said.

The cloud services CEO also asks questions. Garman said he sees his "non-expert" point of view as essential to the decision-making process, as a zoomed-out focus can help him bridge knowledge gaps between one area of the business and another.

"I try to make sure that, as an organization, we've connected those dots and then ask the right sets of questions," Garman said.

Garman said his role leading AWS, ultimately, is to keep things moving by handing down the final word. After all — speed is of the essence.

"And then if there's a tiebreaker decision I'll have to do it so that we can move fast," Garman said. "I think the place we don't want to be in is to sit there and just debate forever. At some point, you need a tiebreaker decision, and that's what I view my job as doing as well."

• The Supreme Court ruled to uphold a TikTok ban — and several apps are vying for its crown.
• Sister app Lemon8 has soared in popularity but is likely to get the ax, too.
• Meta, YouTube, and Snapchat have competed in short-form video for years, and RedNote recently attracted US users.

As TikTok inches toward potential extinction in the US, creators are trying to transition viewers to other platforms, while some viewers are already in a state of mourning.

The app is set to be yanked from US app stores on January 19, after the Supreme Court ruled to uphold a law on Friday forcing China-based ByteDance to divest its ownership of Tiktok or face a ban.

If the app goes dark, US users will have to look elsewhere for a short-form video fix. TikTok's ethos and community are unique, but competing formats exist on the world's biggest social-media apps, and are also offered by emerging competitors.

Here's who is — and who's not — in the running.

Meta, YouTube, and Snapchat have been competing in short-form video for years

Data shows that new apps often struggle to gain long-term traction when they have well-established rivals. And Meta, YouTube, and Snapchat have all been competing in the short-form space for years.

Meta launched Instagram Reels in 2020 to great success — even chipping away at TikTok usage, according to two studies from last year. Analysts predict Meta will be the biggest winner if TikTok goes dark in the US.

YouTube, the original video giant, added short-form video in 2021, which has paid off handsomely. More recently, the Google-owned platform has used the prospect of a ban as a selling point for its ad team.

Snapchat, for its part, launched a TikTok counterpart called Spotlight in 2020, offering payouts to get creators to post.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn has more recently targeted TikTok by encouraging influencers to post short-form content. Some have told Business Insider that they've seen engagement boosts as a result.

Chinese app Rednote has seen a surge in popularity

Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, another Chinese social app — which functions like Instagram and TikTok but with more commerce features — has recently surged in popularity, with some TikTok users learning Mandarin to make the transition.

It could, however, also be subject to the same divest-or-ban law as TikTok if the US government chose to target it.

Downloads have spiked for Texas-based Clapper

Clapper, a Texas-based challenger, was founded in 2020, when the idea of a Tiktok ban was first tossed around by the Trump administration.

The app at one point reached third place in the free iPhone app download charts, with Clapper seeing an uptick in downloads whenever the news of a Tiktok ban again makes headlines.

Triller has long positioned itself as a TikTok rival

Triller has long sought to position itself as an alternative to TikTok — and currently offers a tool to help creators save their videos.

Triller has gone through a series of strategy shifts over the years. After several false starts, it went public late last year through a reverse merger with a Hong Kong-based company called AGBA Group Holding Limited.

It recently hired former TikTok product head Sean Kim to run its video app, as well as several other subsidiaries.

Apps like Whatnot could fill a shopping void

TikTok helped social shopping break through in the US in a major way in 2024. The app drove $100 million in US sales on Black Friday alone, for example.

It's not the only one in the space, however. Some of its competitors include Flip and Complex Shop, formerly known as NTWRK. Flip, which raised $144 million last April at a $1 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg, launched in 2019 and enables users to post short, shoppable reviews.

Whatnot also made headlines after closing a $265 million funding round earlier this month at a $5 billion valuation. The app hosts livestreams across categories like fashion, collectibles, and storage unit finds.

TikTok's sister app, Lemon8, would likely get the ax too

TikTok sister app, Lemon8, has soared to the top of the app charts in recent weeks. Lemon8 is reminiscent of Pinterest and contains a mix of photos and videos.

However, given that the law specifically mentions ByteDance, the parent company of the two apps, Lemon8 would likely be banned along with TikTok.

Christopher Krepich, the communications director for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, previously told Forbes the bill would ban Lemon8 unless ByteDance divested.

• Doug McMillon, the CEO of Walmart, shared some insight into his reading habits.
• His book list covers a wide range of interests — from managerial strategies to developments in tech.
• Here are 10 books that McMillon read in the last year, and the one he said impacted him the most.

While their calendars are often chock-full of meetings, some CEOs still find the time to read for pleasure — or to dive deep into a particular topic. Business leaders have long shared their picks for books that helped inform their strategies, both personally and professionally.

Doug McMillon, Walmart's CEO, posted his usual end-of-year roundup, listing 10 of the books that shaped his 2024.

"It was most impactful reading Sam's book again," he said. "Every time I read it, I pick up new ideas and am reminded of why our culture is so successful."

This time, a few more titles on AI made the cut, with three recent books on the subject included in the list.

Here are the authors McMillon has been reading, with a brief summary of what each book has to offer.

"How to Know a Person" by David Brooks

David Brooks' 2023 "How to Know a Person" draws from the world of psychology to help readers better understand how to connect with those around them.

"Just the Good Stuff" by Jim VandeHei

This book, published last year, looks to offer a practical guide to achieving success in life and career by pulling from Axios and Politico cofounder Jim VandeHei's own experiences with journalism and entrepreneurship.

"Financial Literacy For All" by John Hope Bryant

Bryant, who served on the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, aims to provide anyone looking to build strong financial foundations with an accessible guide to reaching their goals.

"Genesis" by Henry Kissinger, Craig Mundie, and Eric Schmidt

"Genesis," co-written by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, explores the potential benefits and repercussions that could result from the evolution of AI and debates how the technology could interact with humanity in the long-run.

"Co-Intelligence" by Ethan Mollick

"Co-Intelligence," authored by Wharton associate professor and co-director of AI labs, Ethan Mollick, encourages readers to engage with AI in a productive way — not by replacing human skill, but augmenting it. The book examines how people might be able to benefit from AI and learn to use it to their advantage.

"Competing in the Age of AI" by Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani

In their artificial intelligence-focused book, Iansiti and Lakhani provide a framework for competing in the evolving age of AI by examining the structures of what they call "AI-centric organizations."

"How Stella Saved the Farm" by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble

This book, published in 2010, is about a troubled farm threatened by bankruptcy and competition and serves as a parable to deliver a lesson on innovation.

"Collaborative Disruption" by Tom Muccio

"Collaborative Disruption: The Walmart and P&G Partnership That Changed Retail Forever" explores, from an insider's perspective, how the relationship between Walmart and Procter & Gamble profoundly affected the retail industry.

"The Wisdom of the Bullfrog" by Adm. William McRaven

"The Wisdom of the Bullfrog" draws from Adm. McRaven's extensive military career to impart the reader with fundamental lessons in leadership.

"Made in America" by Sam Walton with John Huey

Written by Walmart's founder, Sam Walton, "Made in America" was McMillon's most "impactful" read of the year, the CEO said.

Walton's autobiography, published in 1992, tells the story of Walmart's rise to become a retail giant.

McMillon said he gleans "new ideas" from every read.

• Firefighters are using a range of technologies and equipment in their efforts against the fires in California.
• New AI-powered sensors for detection are paired with kerosene-powered aircraft for suppression.
• Here are some of the tools on the scene helping to protect lives and property from the flames.

With a 27,000-acre inferno bearing down on America's second-largest city, fire crews are using multiple tools at their disposal in their efforts to protect lives and property.

California firefighters have a range of old and new technologies to aid in their task, ranging from AI-powered sensors for fire detection to kerosene-powered aircraft for suppression.

US and Canadian water bomber planes and helicopters have been some of the most prominent pieces of equipment in the field as they scoop up seawater to quench the blazes nearby.

Less visible forms of tech are also contributing to the effort — sometimes without any initial human involvement.

UC San Diego's ALERTCalifornia project now has a network of cameras at high-risk sites, with 115 located in Los Angeles County alone, with more than 1,140 cameras across the state.

Last month, Orange County fire officials credited the system for being instrumental in their first AI detection of a vegetation fire, which allowed first responders to contain the incident to less than a quarter acre.

Startups are getting involved too. Sonia Kastner, CEO and cofounder of the Salesforce Ventures-backed startup Pano AI, told Business Insider that new trends in firefighting are shifting as fire seasons worsen, with an increased focus on early detection and rapid containment.

"You can think of it as similar to how we treat cancer," Kastner said. "We screen early, then treat cancer aggressively at stage one, so that it never becomes stage four."

Rather than relying on bystander reports, Kastner says cameras and analysts can provide first responders with quicker confirmations and more precise locations.

" It's a matter of luck of whether a bystander sees the fire," Kastner said. " And then there's a mandatory confirmation step where a single fire engine is dispatched to drive around and try to find the fire. With that, you lose hours."

Satellites and drones are also taking a more significant role in wildfire management and response, offering drastic before-and-after comparisons of the fire's effects.

The cameras and sensors are only good for letting responders know where a fire is — getting it under control still requires the use of more physical kinds of tech.

The US Forest Service's website details the range of aircraft it uses to respond to wildfires, ranging from single-engine air tankers that can deliver up to 800 gallons of fire retardant, to larger air tankers that carry up to 4,000 gallons and water scoopers that collect water from nearby sources.

In addition to government planes, aircraft from private sector partner Coulson Aviation, which has a contract with Los Angeles County — have also been spotted dousing flames.

In particular, the Canada-based company operates a fleet of specialized helicopters that can drop water with a high degree of accuracy, though high winds in recent days have complicated the effort.

"The Coulson Crew is currently on the frontlines of the Palisades Fire in California. We remain dedicated to supporting suppression efforts and safeguarding lives and property," the company said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, crews on the ground continue to rely on tools and techniques developed over a century of modern firefighting, with hoses, chainsaws, and even buckets.

It's hard, dangerous work, but modern technologies are helping responders on the ground and in the air do the job more effectively.