Short Takes #2: Color of the Year, Layoffs, AI Sales
Cloud Dancer | Layoffs Reach 1.17M | Microsoft AI Sales Stall
My second day of Short Takes. Got a pretty positive response on #1.
Are these snippets related? A drab white as 2026 color of the year, layoffs way up, and AI is hard to sell. Hmm. Maybe a foretaste of 2026 downturn?
Cloud Dancer
Pantone released its color of the year for 2026: Cloud Dancer, which is basically white.
I decided to add it here mostly because of Callie Holterman’s description:
This white, in particular, strikes me as a little flavorless. It’s the color of cottage cheese and dental floss, of marshmallows and AirPods. It reminds me of the clothes I put on when I’m in a rush and the foods I eat when I have a stomach ache.
Might be apt. Looks like toilet paper to me.
Layoffs
Challenger, Gray & Christmas says 2025 total layoffs now 1.17 million, the largest since the pandemic.
AI Is Hard To Sell?
Microsoft shares slid on news of difficulties in getting customers to pay for AI, so much so they’ve adjusted sales quotas:
