Tech CEO launches ‘future-of-work practice’ with a wake-up call for managers

Nancy Lyons failed at sitting still. That’s what she planned to do eight months ago when she stepped down as CEO of Clockwork, the digital consultancy she co-founded 23 years ago (and still co-owns) in Minneapolis.

“I imagined hammock time and books and, you know, wellness,” deadpanned Lyons, the author of “Work Like a Boss” and a frequent keynote speaker whose impassioned takes on leadership, technology and cultivating a human-centered culture have landed her on stages for Fortune 500s and the White House Summit on Working Families.

But as soon as she sat back in that hammock, Lyons got scared. “I thought, I’m a woman in my 50s and I have just ruined my life.” She started to network and even considered going to work for someone else. “Everybody I talked to said you’re the dumbest person alive. You should not work for anyone.”

And so Lyons, the inevitable entrepreneur, kicked off the year with the launch of Everdare Advisors, which she describes as a “future-of-work practice.” Her proposition: “Help executives and teams get real about what is no longer working and develop the systems, structures and humans that can thrive in what comes next.”

She’s putting together a deep bench of technologists and organizational experts to help her with the work, which she sees as relevant to both startups and large companies.

“Corporate is struggling right now because they can’t move quick enough,” Lyons said. “In my 30-year career in technology, what I’ve seen over and over again is organizations deciding that technology is enough to solve their problems. It isn’t. If we don’t put people in the driver’s seat and encourage curiosity and create systems that support their leadership in this moment, we’re going to have more companies fail.”

The truth about AI, Lyons says, is it’s not creative; it’s predictive. “Right now, fear is shaping the conversation. We need all the soft skills I’ve always talked about: stronger cultures, improved communication, scrappier frameworks to enable organizations to actually move.”

Two years after abruptly dropping off shelves, halting what had appeared to be a meteoric rise, Rae Wellness is relaunching under the leadership of founder and CEO Angie Tebbe.

When the brand first launched in 2019, Rae was hailed by the beauty industry as a disruptor in the supplements category, offering affordable wellness products aimed at millennial women. Rae built a loyal following on TikTok and Instagram as a champion of mental and sexual health and closed a $9.5 million Series A funding round in 2021. Tebbe, a Target alum, formed an exclusive partnership with the hometown retailer and eventually expanded to Walmart and e-commerce channels Thrive Market and Amazon. Tebbe estimates Rae sold to 4.5 million customers in four years.

But fast growth can be challenging to manage. Tebbe said a “misaligned partner” and supply chain challenges forced her to stop production in 2023. She thought that was the end.

“In the last couple of years I would have thought someone else would have replicated our value proposition, but no one did,” Tebbe said. On social media, women continued to ask what happened to Rae.

So Tebbe dug into her 401K to fire up production again. She relaunched the Minneapolis-based enterprise in December as a direct to consumer brand exclusively, offering Rae’s eight “hero” products, including pre- and probiotic capsules, a vegan collagen powder and “Destress Capsules,” filled with amino acids and said to “calm the mind, fight mental fatigue and improve focus.” Rae manufactures in the U.S.

“My primary goal for 2026 isn’t tied to a title, number or milestone. It’s to remain faithful to the inputs that shape a life of lasting impact,” said Tyrre Burks, founder and CEO of Players Health, a Minneapolis-based risk services and insurance firm for athletes and sports organizations. “One action I’d strongly recommend is setting aside intentional, distraction-free time — weekly or quarterly — to step back, pray or meditate, and realign your inputs with your long-term outcomes. Efficiency and excellence flow from clarity.”

Call me pragmatic, I asked Burks how, as a father and founder of a fast-growing startup, he builds in that distraction-free time. He pointed me to his favorite hideout: Nature Link in Nisswa, Minn.

Ring that bell: Thrivent made its first appearance at the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 5 to ring the closing bell, marking the end of the second trading day of the year. There to represent the Minneapolis-based financial services company were president and CEO Terry Rasmussen, chief financial and investment officer David Royal, president of Thrivent Funds Mike Kremenak and several other leaders of the firm’s asset management and portfolio management team. Thrivent recently surpassed $1 billion in assets under management.

Happening today: U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent is in town Thursday, Jan. 8 for a lunchtime conversation with the Economic Club of Minnesota. Registration is closed but check the organization’s website for a recording of the event. You’ll also find videos of past speakers there, like Brian Sikes, Cargill chair, president and CEO.

Gameday donation: The Vikings 16-3 win over the Packers last weekend locked in a third-place finish in the NFC North, and it resulted in a sizeable donation to Second Harvest Heartland courtesy of Land O’Lakes. The Arden Hills cooperative pledged one ton of food for every point scored in the last game of the season. But the next morning, they upped the donation to 20 tons. Said Land O’Lakes spokesperson Logan Schumacher, “Since the Vikings left it all on the field to end the season with a win, we couldn’t help but round up.”