Vanshika Bhardwaj's Linkedin Analytics

Not everything AI touches turns to gold - The Ghibli Art trend is the perfect example. Hayao Miyazaki, the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, once called AI-generated art an “Insult to life.” And he’s right. Lately, my Instagram feed has been filled with this trend of AI throwing on Ghibli-style filters on photos. Looks all fun and cute? Sure. From influencers to brands and even politicians, everyone’s hopping onto it.   But let’s be real: It’s a mere filter, not creation. The same thing is happening here on LinkedIn. AI-generated posts.  Engagement-bait comments..  Polished, soulless success stories... All perfect words but with zero depth. Branding isn’t about looking perfect - it’s about being real. The late nights.  The lessons that hit hard.  The failure stories that shaped you. The quirks, struggles and raw moments that AI can’t copy. That’s what makes you stand out. So think about the one thing in your brand that AI could never replicate. That’s what matters. That’s what people will remember. AI can’t build your brand, only you can.

“Gen Z as professionals are a disaster.” Every other day, I see posts calling Gen Z lazy, entitled, and impossible to manage. In fact, recently, a famous news anchor even called them an employer’s nightmare. So, let’s just take a step back and think about it for a second: Is Gen Z really the problem?  Or is the workplace simply not evolving fast enough? On one hand, people call this a generation that values work-life balance, mental health, and purpose-driven work, Challenging outdated systems, questioning complexities, and refusing to glorify burnout. While on the other hand, if you think… Aren’t the very things that get them labeled as ‘difficult’ the same things older generations now wish they had stood up for? So, maybe Gen Z isn’t a disaster. They’re refusing to play by broken rules. And if your company can’t attract or retain Gen Z talent, maybe the problem isn’t them. Maybe it’s you.

Great business is built on fluff. Not fluff as in filler, but as in feeling. Every successful business partnership has one thing in common: It goes way beyond the scope of work and deliverables typed neatly on a piece of paper. It’s the ‘fluff.’ The kind of thing that doesn’t show up on a spreadsheet, but moves mountains in relationships. Think of Richard Branson. The man who is all about people.  He writes birthday cards to employees, responds to handwritten letters, and is known for celebrating wins, big or small. You might call it fluff. He calls it leadership. The truth is:  Transactional business is soulless. Be it with a client or your team. Quick in, quick out = Cold, forgettable and replaceable. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Loyalty is earned with warmth, care and trust – no matter how boring or ‘soft’ that sounds. So, that little ‘fluff’ you think doesn’t matter? It’s often the very reason why people come back, refer you, and root for your success when it counts.