• Apple CEO Tim Cook earned $12,825,066 this year, plus another $89 million in share awards.

• Cook is a very private individual who wakes up early and makes time for exercise.

• He's a self-proclaimed "workaholic" who gets up to 800 emails a day.

Apple CEO Tim Cook's yearly earnings are directly tied to how well the tech giant performs in the stock market.

So judging from the size of his bonus, it's been a good year for Apple. Business Insider reported Cook raked in a grand total of $12,825,066 in 2017. About $3 million of that sum comes from the CEO's base salary — the rest amounted to "non-equity incentive plan compensation, which is essentially a cash bonus for top executives,"Business Insider's Becky Peterson writes. Bloomberg reported Cook also brought home $89 million in share awards, meaning his total compensation comes out to $102 million.

Since taking the helm of the tech giant in 2011, the CEO has established himself as a private individual, more focused on discussing Apple than his own life. Still, we can piece together some clues about his daily schedule.

Here's a look inside the typical routine of Apple's CEO:

SEE ALSO: Inside the daily routine of billionaire Bill Gates, who loves cheeseburgers, tours missile silos, and washes the dishes every night

Cook typically wakes up brutally early. According to USA Today, he usually rises at 3:45 a.m.

Source: USA Today

Once he's up, he gets to work reading through some of the 700 to 800 emails he gets every day. He once told ABC that he's "a bit of a workaholic" who reads "the majority of those" messages.

Source: Business Insider, Business Insider

Next, Cook hits the gym around 5 a.m. The CEO doesn't work out on Apple's campus, however. He prefers the privacy of an outside gym.

Source: Business Insider, Mashable

• In this op-ed, which originally appeared on Android Police, David Ruddock argues that Google has become one of the world's most important hardware companies.
• In Ruddock's view, this idea would have been laughable five years ago.

As we say goodbye to 2017, think back to five years ago.

Five years ago, if I had told you Google was one of the world's most important consumer electronics manufacturers, you'd have laughed at me.

Mentally put yourself in 2012: Google's just announced the fourth Nexus phone, the Nexus 4, running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, along with the Nexus 10 tablet. Six months prior, at Google I/O, it unveiled the Nexus Q, a device intended to be some sort of smart entertainment hub, and proceeded to never launch it to the general public.

The $300 Q never lived up to its potential, and given that Android@Home had foundered just a year before that, Google's smart home ambitions, it seemed, were dead in the water.

Its related efforts to get into the smart TV box game had similarly fizzled, and the consensus at this point was clear: Google was probably best off just sticking to phones and tablets meant for developers and enthusiasts that didn't sell very well.

But, Google didn't just stick to phones and tablets. And that perseverance — despite repeated failures — has paid some serious dividends.

SEE ALSO: Big tech succeeded in getting bigger in 2017 — but its failures to society became much more apparent

Step one: Chromecast

When Google announced the Chromecast in mid-2013, even our initial take was optimistic: this thing was good.

A $35 dongle that could replace a smart TV and cast browser tabs from your laptop using the power of Chrome OS and Android was exactly the sort of slightly hacky but pain point-resolving product that millions of consumers needed in their living rooms. And, since taking that first step, Google has just made the little dongle more and more powerful.

The standard Chromecast has undergone just one revision since being launched in 2013, along with the announcement of an Ultra HD variant last year. But between Chromecasts and other Cast-enabled devices like smart TVs and Google Home, Google says 55 million pieces of casting hardware have been sold to date. That's a pretty big number.

It's unlikely Google anticipated the Chromecast would be as popular as it is. But its insanely low price point and high level of interoperability — it works with Android, iOS, and anything with the Chrome browser — make it seem like an obvious slam dunk in hindsight.

With this little dongle, Google wormed its way into millions of living rooms and bedrooms, paving the way for its larger smart home ambitions. Casting content to a TV was just the start, but one that proved to be prophetic.

Step two: Google Home

When Google announced the Home last year alongside the first Pixel smartphones, many declared that the company was playing catch-up with Amazon's line of Echo speakers.

The Echo had been in a soft launch since mid-2014 and launched to general consumers about a year after that, putting Google over two years behind Amazon and Alexa's growing set of skills. Google, though, launched the Home with two distinct advantages: it worked just like a Chromecast for audio content (a product consumers are already intimately familiar with) and Google's Assistant, which is significantly more capable and, perhaps most importantly, has more access to your personal data than Alexa likely ever will.

It didn't take long for Google to realize that having a Cast-enabled home speaker and a device called a Chromecast, both of which could be casted to in the Chromecast app, might be a bit confusing.

That's why it renamed the Chromecast app to Google Home last year, signaling that the Home line of products would be taking over for the larger Cast brand. It's still not exactly clear what's going on with the Cast branding, but there's clearly a desire to get consumers to associate Google Home with casting content, even as the Chromecast itself remains the most identifiable Cast-enabled device on the market.

What Google Home did, though, was initiate a de facto convergence of Chromecast and Home devices. All are managed from the same app, can be grouped together for audio playback, and assigned locations.

The Google Home app is also the hub for any smart home devices linked to your Google account that can be controlled via Assistant endpoints, and the list of supported products just keeps growing and growing. While Alexa is still the reigning smart home control champion, Google has been consistently closing the gap.

And Google has a major advantage Amazon can't lay claim to: its Assistant is embedded on hundreds of millions of Android smartphones as the default search and voice provider. I control my smart outlet from my phone about as often as I do my Google Home, and with the Assistant just a long-press of my home button away, I have no desire to rummage around for the Alexa app.

In my view, the Google Home Mini solves the single greatest problem with Google Home: making it cheap enough to put in most rooms of your house. Given they were on sale regularly for $29 during the holidays, I imagine Google moved quite a few of these little speakers, and that those 55 million Cast-enabled devices will be reaching 100 million not too long from now.

Google's whole goal, after all, is to get the Assistant onto as many surfaces as possible. A value-focused smart speaker is as obvious as a $35 smart TV dongle if you want to get your product into someone's living room, as the Amazon Echo Dot has convincingly proved.

Step three: Nest

In 2014, Google acquired Nest, a company known for its smart home thermostat, for $3.2 billion. At the time, it wasn't exactly clear what Google would do with Nest, and to some degree it still isn't.

But if you want to see where Google is taking the smart home company, look no further than a single feature announced during a press conference earlier this year: Google Assistant integration in a smart camera.

Nest is currently the most well-known name in smart home monitoring solutions, and the company's thermostats are wildly popular. Its new security system is too expensive and rather frustratingly lacks Assistant integration, but I wouldn't be surprised if that changes down the road with software updates.

In any case, you can rest assured that future Nest products will integrate with Google Assistant, and the Google Home app, in more and more ways. It's even rumored that Google wants to combine the Nest and Google hardware teams into a single unit, which would undoubtedly streamline that process.

With Nest getting into home security and doorbells, along with its traditional thermostat and camera businesses, the Google Assitant will be able to learn more about and respond more intelligently than ever to you.

Parents, can you imagine saying "OK, Google — where's [insert child's name here]?" and the Assistant displays a live video feed from where they are in the house, or a dot on the Google Maps app? Sure, it's creepy — don't get me wrong. B

ut there's no doubt that this kind of thing was borderline Star Trek-level technology even ten years ago, and we're basically able to accomplish it today. That's pretty insane.

Long gone are the days where celebrities just had late-night talk show appearances and magazine interviews to talk about their feelings. On social media, they have a 24/7 way to talk to the world.

With that power, they find new ways to exert their fame. In the case of people like Ava DuVernay and Rose McGowan, they can change the studio system around them for the good. And with people like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and J.K. Rowling, they draw their fans deeper into their creative work.

We looked back at some of the biggest social media stories of the year as well as data from Crowdtangle to figure out which celebrities were shaping the conversation on the web. Here are the 13 most powerful celebrities on social media.

Rose McGowan didn't back down from her Harvey Weinstein accusations.

One of the biggest stories of 2017 is the pile of sexual assault, harassment, and rape allegations against movie producer Harvey Weinstein. It opened the floodgates to a series of accusations against other men in entertainment that's shaping Hollywood in profound ways.

In 1997, McGowan reportedly reached a $100,000 settlement with Weinstein following assault allegations. Two decades later, she spoke about her experience publicly and described the way the movie industry silences women like her in terms that everyone can understand. She also used her Twitter presence to hold the feet of other powerful industry men to the fire, like Roy Price. She uses social media to keep the conversation going.

Jordan Peele's Twitter jokes have a point.

One of the joys of "Get Out" becoming a monster box office hit was seeing Jordan Peele get so happy about it.

It's hard for celebrity interactions on social media to be authentic. Peele nailed it in an understated manner that made everyone rally around him. He tweeted self-deprecating jokes about the success of his movie, made funny memes referencing it, and just genuinely set a new standard for interacting with fans on social media.

Ava DuVernay may have helped end a Disney controversy.

In the movie industry itself, Ava DuVernay — who directed "Selma" and "13th"— is making waves. She's been feted by nearly every major studio, and is now directing an adaptation of "A Wrinkle in Time" for Disney. She's an outspoken advocate for women and people of color in the industry where women direct just 4% of major movies.

She's also been willing to put her job on the line to fight for her principles. When Disney banned the Los Angeles Times from attending its press screenings because the publication investigated the company's ties to the city of Anaheim, DuVernay bit the hand that fed her.

"Saluting the film journalists standing up for one another. Standing with you,"DuVernay tweeted. DuVernay herself worked in movie publicity before becoming a director.

A day later, Disney backed down, lifting its ban on the LA Times.

Some of the best video games of all-time launched in 2017. But the year also featured a few real low points that should make anyone concerned for the future of the industry.

Let's dive in.

SEE ALSO: The 25 best games every PlayStation 4 owner should have in their library

DON'T MISS: This free app lets you play incredible-looking PC games on any Mac computer

First, the high points: In March, Nintendo launched its highly-anticipated game console, the Switch. It's a clever piece of hardware that works with TVs and as a portable handheld device.

The Switch is a brilliant and simple design that I fell in love with almost immediately, and would recommend to almost anyone, even if you already own a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. In less than a year on the shelves, it already offers some of the best video game experiences that you simply can't find elsewhere.

The Switch owes much of its early success to its big launch game, "The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild," which is, simply, one of the best video games ever made.

"Breath of the Wild" defies adjectives. As I wrote in March, the game actually brought me closer to my fiancée, who, prior to playing, was not really into video games. But this game is not only transformative for the long-running Zelda series, but for video games in general. It won countless game-of-the-year awards in 2017 for good reason: It is simple and approachable like the best Nintendo games, but is deeply customizable in the sense that it's impossible for any two players to have the same experience.

"Breath of the Wild" presents a vast open world and asks you to explore it. It rewards you constantly for wandering off the beaten path, experimenting, and asking yourself, "What if I approached this problem this way?" It's got memorable characters, an easy-to-follow story, and gorgeous visuals; it's everything that is right with video games.

Nintendo's follow-up in October, "Super Mario Odyssey," is similar to "Breath of the Wild" in many respects: It's endlessly charming, beautiful to look at, and approachable for anyone to play. The game will put a smile on your face again and again, and surprise you with clever puzzles and rewarding solutions around every corner.

This was another game that I played with my fiancée, who was highly skeptical of this particular Mario game before playing it — but once she started, she couldn't stop. We spent hours handing the controller back and forth, sharing laughs and real "wow" moments. It is an unforgettable experience, and it is also everything that's right with video games. "Super Mario Odyssey" might be the best Mario game ever made (which is saying something), and easily my second-best video game experience of the year.

• Elon Musk has shared many of his favorite books and has explained how they shaped him.
• There are 5 that he's recommended that point to where future society is headed. 
• The list includes Peter Thiel's "Zero to One" and "Our Final Invention" by James Barrat.

Elon Musk has become one of the world's most ambitious and successful leaders by building tools of the future. He made his first fortune founding, and then selling, the company that would become PayPal; his current endeavors include electric car company Tesla as well as SpaceX, which he hopes will one day get him to Mars.

But Musk didn't get there all by himself. "I read books," he has replied when asked how he learned to build rockets, according to an Esquire profile. Indeed, the billionaire has long looked up to heroes in different fields for inspiration. 

He's not alone: A survey of 233 wealthy individuals found that the vast majority (88%) said they devote 30 minutes or more each day to reading. And many, like Musk, tend to prefer nonfiction.

Musk isn't shy about sharing his favorite books and explaining the ways they shaped him. And for a glimpse into how he's thinking about the future, here are 5 books that he has recommended to explain where we're headed.

SEE ALSO: What execs like Oprah, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk keep on their desks

'Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down' by J.E. Gordon

You may not be building spacecraft to colonize Mars, but in an interview with KCRW, Musk noted this book offers a more approachable take on engineering principles than many academic texts. "It is really, really good if you want a primer on structural design," Musk said of 'Structures.' The bestselling book has also been recommended by Scientific American and Architect's Journal.

'Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies' by Nick Bostrom

Musk believes deeply in the power of technology to help humans. But he's also expressed concerns about the harmful potential of artificial intelligence. He cofounded OpenAI, a billion-dollar nonprofit that aims to make AI safe. 'Superintelligence' tackles thorny questions about what might happen if computer intelligence surpasses human intelligence. Musk tweeted that it's "worth reading."

'Our Final Invention' by James Barrat

Musk also noted that Barrat's book exploring the future possibilities of AI is "worth reading." It no doubt made Musk aware of both the upsides and potential disastrous downsides of AI. The book even suggests how smart machines, if they exceed the intelligence level of people, could lead to the "end of the human era."

There’s nothing better than a movie moment you immediately know will be stuck in your mind forever.

It might be the emotion of the moment, the way the music matches the powerful visuals, or a line that’s delivered just the right way. Whatever it is, it’s the moment when you are hooked on the movie not just for the rest of the year, but for many more to come.

With 2017 coming to a close, I looked back on 11 moments in the movies this year that I won’t forget anytime soon.

Warning: Some spoilers are also included. 

SEE ALSO: All 36 notable characters in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," ranked from worst to best

11. The K-Ci & JoJo scene in “Ingrid Goes West”

I've pretty much been cracking up about this scene since I first saw it at the Sundance Film Festival back in January. Ingrid (Aubrey Plaza) befriends Taylor (Elizabeth Olsen), the person she's been stalking on Instagram, and they take a girls' trip to Joshua Tree. 

During the car ride they play the late 1990s hit "All My Life" by K-Ci & JoJo. Ingrid gets so into the song that she begins to stare at Taylor as she sings the lyrics, "I pray for someone like you, and I hope that you feel the same way too." This leads to her slamming into the guardrail.

Plaza's lust stare for Taylor makes the entire moment incredibly funny. 

10. Paz de la Huerta interrupts “My Scientology Movie”

This is definitely one of the top bats--t moments I have ever seen in a documentary. 

Louis Theroux is having a serious chat with former Scientology member Marty Rathbun in a hotel room when out of nowhere a bikini-clad Paz de le Huerta knocks on the window of their room. Theroux opens the door and the actress walks in demanding not to be filmed, though goes on to brag that she's been in over 45 films (there's a lot more to this story). And as quickly as she appears she's gone, and the two men are left wondering if somehow Scientology was behind the encounter.

The randomness of the encounter and Theroux's handling of the situation is something I can watch on a loop for days (and perhaps I have!).

9. Rachael reunites with Deckard in “Blade Runner 2049”

The appearance of a CGI version of Sean Young, as she looked in the original "Blade Runner" movie in 1982, filled me with nostalgia and a burning desire to find out how they did it. 

She looks flawless (though Deckard finds a flaw) and the moment beautifully links both movies. 

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

The Insider Pick:

• Tablets are ideal for kids, travelers, and professionals — it just depends on which one you buy. The best tablet for most people is Apple's 9.7-inch iPad, but we've also included a number of other excellent tablets that are best for different uses.

When I was a kid, and our family went on a long car ride, my parents would keep us entertained by making us play games like I Spy, Don’t Hit Your Brother, and Who Can Stay Quietest the Longest. These days, though, kids are just as likely to have a tablet screen in the backseat, watching movies or playing games while wearing headphones.

Tablets have contributed to the parental bliss of silence in the car like few other inventions.

Beyond that, tablets are interesting pieces of technology, giving you a nice mix of computer processing capabilities and entertainment on a touchscreen. 

If you already own a laptop and a smartphone — and you don’t have the need to entertain kids in the backseat — you may wonder whether you also need a tablet. Depending on how you use your current pieces of tech and based on what else you’d like to do, a tablet can be a great addition.

We've picked the best tablets you can buy in several different categories, including ones that are best for kids, professionals, and travelers. We've tested all but two of these tablets personally, so you can trust our recommendations. If you need more guidance before you choose, read the last slide for everything you should know about buying a tablet.

Read on in the slides below to learn why Apple's 9.7-inch iPad is our top pick and why you might also like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3, the Amazon Fire HD 8, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, the Microsoft Surface Pro 4, the Asus Zenpad 3S 10, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and the Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition.

SEE ALSO: The best iPads you can buy

The best tablet for most people

Why you'll love it: The new 9.7-inch iPad is an absolute steal at $330 with a gorgeous sharp screen and high-end metal design.

Apple's iPads have always been the best tablets you can buy, but the high price tags made it tough to find an iPad on a budget. All that has changed with the new 9.7-inch iPad. It costs a mere $330, and it offers nearly all of the same high-end specs and features as the top-of-the-line iPad Pros.

Early reviews are out, and big-name tech publications like Digital Trends, The Verge, and CNET are giving it top marks. If you own an aging iPad or iPad Mini, the new 9.7-inch iPad is an excellent upgrade. Obviously, if you have an iPad Air 2 or an iPad Pro, you don't need to get the new one. The new iPad is for anyone who has always wanted an iPad, but couldn't afford the $500+ price tag. It's an absolute steal at $329.99.

The 9.7-inch screen is sharp and clear with its 2,048 x 1,536-pixel resolution, the A9 processor is still very capable, the battery life should be great, and you can even buy things on it with Apple Pay, thanks to the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. 

You simply can't beat those specs at that price point. Comparable Android tablets cost hundreds of dollars more, and the iPad still has a better app library and accessory support. 

The aluminum build looks and feels premium, and the 9.7-inch screen size makes it a very portable device that's easy to stow away in your bag. It's quite light, too, so you can happily binge-watch Netflix in bed on your new iPad. — Malarie Gokey

Pros: Incredible price for an iPad, powerful A9 processor, slick aluminum design, Touch ID for security and Apple Pay, gorgeous screen, and iOS 10

Cons: No Apple Pencil support and it's not the latest A10 processor

Buy the 9.7-inch Apple iPad from Best Buy for $269.99 on sale (originally $329.99)

The best Android tablet

Why you'll love it: When you want to watch videos on your tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 provides outstanding image and audio quality.

If you’re looking for a great Android tablet for watching movies or streaming video, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 sits at the top of the heap. This screen not only gives you excellent images now, but it’s also a future-proof screen, as it contains HDR technology.

Even though HDR-enabled content isn’t really available for tablets yet, this Samsung tablet makes sure you’ll be ready when HDR content does appear. With a maximum resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 pixels, this tablet has better-than-HD resolution in its 9.7-inch screen.

Insider Picks' guides editor Malarie Gokey tested this tablet when it first came out and loved it. The sharp screen, fast processor, and incredibly lightweight build make it the best Android tablet you can buy.

In its review, TechRadar calls the Galaxy Tab S3 the best Android tablet developed yet, thanks to the high-quality display screen and four speakers that give you better audio quality than you’d expect from a tablet.

The Galaxy Tab S3 also has 12 hours of battery life, a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front camera, and 4 GB of RAM, all of which are above-average features.

You’ll appreciate having the Samsung S Pen stylus included with this tablet, and the stylus works incredibly well, according to one Amazon reviewer. However, an Amazon buyer wishes there was a storage location for the stylus attached to the tablet because the stylus can easily be lost. 

Pros: One of the best tablet screens for video quality, includes four speakers for better-than-expected audio quality, includes a stylus with the kit, plenty of above-average components for fast performance

Cons: No keyboard included with this model, no option to attach the stylus to the tablet for storage

Buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 on Amazon for $499 (originally $599.99)

The best tablet under $100

Why you'll love it: The Amazon Fire HD 8 is super affordable, but it still delivers a good set of features that you’ll enjoy using for watching videos and running apps.

Normally, you get what you pay for when it comes to technology. Once in a while though, you receive more than what you expect with a bargain-priced piece of tech. 

The Amazon Fire HD 8 is going to surprise you with its sub-$100 price tag and great performance. This certainly isn’t a tablet that’s going to compete with high-end iPads, but it has a good set of features for those who need only the basics from a tablet.

Insider Picks reporter Brandt Ranj tested the new Fire HD 8 and couldn't believe how good it was for the price. If you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you get access to tons of popular TV shows, movies, and music on the tablet. The app selection is also very good, and if you read Kindle ebooks, this tablet is just the perfect size.

CNET says the Fire HD 8 is one of the best cheap tablets you can buy, although PC Mag says this tablet doesn’t work as well unless you have a subscription to Amazon Prime services. But it’s still a good value among tablet options.

The Amazon Fire HD 8 also offers good parental controls, so it's a great tablet to give an older kid.

One Amazon buyer calls this tablet an amazing value that will perform all of the basic functions most people need from a tablet. However, a few other Amazon reviewers say the Fire HD 8 doesn’t last very long.

Pros: Extremely low price point, performs basic functions of a tablet well, offers expandable storage with a memory card slot, good for kids, works especially well for those with Amazon Prime accounts

Cons: Can’t compete with powerful iPads, battery charges very slowly, display size of just 8 inches

Buy the Amazon Fire HD 8 on Amazon for $49.99 (originally $79.99)

• New Year's traditions vary around the world.
• In Scotland, they swing large fireballs around on New Year's Eve. 
• Brazilians release white flowers into the ocean for the Goddess of the Sea. 

New Year's Eve is a practically universal holiday that's often celebrated with fireworks, parties, and a toast to a happy and healthy year to come. But different countries around the world ring in the New Year with unique cultural traditions.

INSIDER has rounded up some of the most fascinating New Year's Eve celebrations around the world.

From a Brazilian offering of white flowers to the Sea Goddess to magical bear dances in Romania, these New Year's traditions are all supposed to bring good fortune and prosperity in their own unique way.

In Stonehaven, Scotland, people wield large fireballs for the Hogmanay festival on New Year's Eve to ward off evil spirits.

The most famous of Scotland's many New Year'sHogmanay fire festivals is the one in Stonehaven, where right before midnight a parade of trained professionals swing balls of fire over their head and then toss them into the sea. 

The tradition dates back over 100 years, and many believe it's based on a pre-Christian ritual meant to purify and ward off evil spirits. Some believe that its timing with the winter solstice signifies that the fireball actually symbolizes the sun. 

Burmese people mark the New Year with the Thingyan water festival, a type of cleansing ritual.

The Thingyan water festival takes place in mid-April and marks the arrival of Thagyamin, a celestial Buddhist figure, on Earth with the firing of many water cannons. The streets are usually flooded with sprinklers and people celebrating, and the soggy celebrations last until  New Year's Day.

The water is meant to "wash away" the bad luck and sins of the previous year, and to begin anew through this cleansing ritual. 

In Siberia, trees are planted underneath frozen lakes and rivers on New Year's Eve as a symbol for starting over.

In Siberia, brave divers plant the New Year's Tree underneath frozen lakes — sort of like a polar plunge.

Much like a Christmas tree, the Siberian New Year Tree (or yolka) is supposed to signify the coming of Father Frost, but its planting also symbolizes starting over. The jumping-into-a-frozen-lake challenge is just another addition to the year-end festivities.

As the year comes to a close it’s time to look through all the online noise of 2017 (and there was a whole lot) and figure out the movies that got people talking the most.

Through data collected on over 600,000 sites across mobile, video, web, and social media, marketing company Amobee has come up with these titles as the top 10.

Many were box-office hits, including a lot of superhero movies — but one was also the new "Baywatch."

These are the movies we all talked, argued, and obsessed about online:

SEE ALSO: 11 most memorable movie moments of 2017

10. “Get Out”

9. “Thor: Ragnarok”

8. “Beauty and the Beast”

• Citigroup's investment bank has been showing signs of progress and competing among Wall Street's best.
• We asked two of the bank's top executives what they look for when hiring senior investment bankers.
• Performance matters, but it's not the only thing. "We can't have people on solo missions," says Raymond McGuire, Citi's global head of corporate and investment banking.

Citigroup's investment bank has been making strides in recent years to compete for top honors in the league tables.

The bank, already a strong performer in arranging bonds and loans, has made marked progress in 2017 in both its mergers-and-acquisitions advisory and equity-capital markets businesses.

One key to Citi's success is talent — retaining their top performers, but also bringing in star bankers that will fit into Citi's team culture. 

"The foundation to this, the bedrock to this is talent. You have to make certain that you have the talent that is the best trained, that has the best experience, that can exercise the most refined judgment," said Raymond McGuire, global head of corporate and investment banking, who's personally involved in every major strategic hire for his department.

Citi has hired more than 20 at the managing director level around the world for its corporate and investment-banking division this year, according to a memo McGuire sent his staff in early November.

And the bank this week promoted 33 staff in its corporate and investment bank to managing director, along with seven staff in capital markets origination. 

Business Insider recently spoke with McGuire and Tyler Dickson, the global head of capital markets origination, about what they look for in hiring senior-level bankers:

Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

SEE ALSO: We asked a top hedge-fund recruiter what it takes to get a senior-level job these days

McGuire's overall strategy revolves around both attracting and maintaining strong performers who are also "culture carriers"— no solo missions allowed. That means getting involved in every major hire.

"You have to attract and retain the best talent. So for the existing talent, you’ve got to make certain that they continue to perform, that they continue to be engaged and inspired to be the best. And for the talent that you onboard, you have to be really careful about the talent that you onboard. They have to not only be the best practitioners, but they also have to be culture carriers. And we have found that, while we've had some challenges, for the most part we've been very effective at integrating new people into the culture. In large part, we do that from the outset. I personally get involved in every one of these major strategic hires.

"It's very clear that you not only have to maintain the best of the existing talent. You cannot ignore that. You have to maintain it, you have to focus on that. And you also have to make sure that the talent that you onboard has got a value system and has got an alignment that is very clear. There should be no ambiguity in terms of what our objectives are. None."

What question does he ask potential candidates to find out whether they're the right fit?

"There's not one question that you ask, there are a series of questions. What kind of character do they have. What kind of client impact. How is that client impact reflected in their performance, historically. And character gets to whether they are a team player or whether or not they're on solo missions. We can't have people on solo missions, we need to have people who are prepared to engage as partners. 

"We also recognize that you have to have a combination of management and leadership. You have to be able to give people the details on a daily basis on the metrics that we expect for them to manage to. And then you have to be able to inspire them."

For equity capital markets, Dickson looks for leaders with years of experience and the respect of investors and issuers. But they also have to be comfortable sharing the spotlight.

"In the business of financial services, talent is the most valuable resource, if you can get the best talent. From Citi's perspective we want the best-in-class, best-performing people in the marketplace. So experience matters. In my case, if we're looking at the equity capital markets arena, are they leaders with issuer clients? Do they have the respect of investing clients? Do they have years of experience in their sector or subproduct?

"But I'd say what's also important is culturally for Citi, we're a firm that succeeds as a team, and so they have to be people who can fit in with Citi's overarching culture. But also within capital markets, we're very much a team-wins orientation, and so you need a lot of leadership and energy and inspiration to lead the team, but we want people who think when we're winning it's because the team is winning. And I think that the folks that we've developed, and I've said we've been blessed with this consistency, all feel like partners in the business."

We've reached the final week of the NFL regular season, and with it, our final chance to gamble on a full Sunday slate of games. It's been a profitable year for our NFL bets — with the help of a little Christmas magic from the Eagles on Monday night, our picks went 10-6 last weekend to bring us to a hearty 123-108-9 on the season.

With this in mind, I recommend you be careful with your bets during Week 17. With some teams already locked into a playoff spot and other teams fighting to extend their seasons, motivations are varient across the league and the lines in Las Vegas are especially volatile.

So we will proceed with caution as we take a look at the Week 17 spreads. If you're a fan of a team with a fringe chance of making the playoffs, consider the prudent thought of placing an emotional hedge bet, so that if your postseason hopes crash and burn on Sunday you'll at least make a profit off of your misery. Other than that, stick to what you know, watch the lines as they move, and make sure you have the most up to date information on who is sitting and who is starting before laying down any serious cash on a game.

Let's get to the picks.

LAST WEEK: 10-6
OVERALL: 123-108-9

Green Bay Packers (+6.5) at Detroit Lions (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET)

The pick: Packers +6.5

The logic: The Packers' offense looked bewildered last weekend in their shutout loss to the Vikings, but as home dogs in the final game of the season between two teams with nothing to play for but divisional pride, I like them to keep things close. The Lions are going to be cold and still licking their wounds from blowing a chance at the playoffs last week with their loss against the Bengals. The Packers will just be cold, and they're pretty used to that.

Houston Texans (+3.5) at Indianapolis Colts (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET)

The pick: Colts -3.5

The logic: I have no faith in either of these teams, but the Colts haven't won at home since October and when in doubt I take the side I'd rather cheer for.

Chicago Bears (+11.5) at Minnesota Vikings (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET)

The pick: Bears +11.5

The logic: The Vikings still have something to play for, as a win will secure a first round bye in the NFC playoffs. But despite their dismal record, the Bears have lost by double-digits just once since Week 4 of the season — even in losses, the Chicago defense has been able to keep things close.

The Vikings present a difficult matchup for the Bears, as the Minnesota defense should be able to stifle some of Chicago's most explosive weapons, but I still like Mitchell Trubisky and company to keep things within a touchdown.

• This past year was a busy one for the royal family. 
• With the birth of Kate Middleton and Prince William's third child, and the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, next year is expected to be an even bigger year for the royals. 
• From Prince Philip's retirement to Prince George's first day of school, here are the best royal family moments of 2017. 

The past six months have been a whirlwind of milestones for the royal family.

Just a few weeks after Prince Philip took part in his final solo royal engagement, his great-grandson Prince George started school.

Next year is expected to be an even bigger year on the royal calendar as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their third child come April and Prince Harry will marry Meghan Markle on May 19.

Below are the most memorable royal moments of 2017.

1. When Kate, William, and Harry raced each other in support of mental health

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with Prince Harry, showed off their competitive sides this year during a race as part of their Heads Together campaign.

2. When the family attended Pippa Middleton’s wedding

After Pippa stole the show at Kate’s wedding, it was only fair that Princess Charlotte and Prince George did the same at hers. The third and fourth in line to the throne donned adorable outfits for their aunts marriage to James Matthews – undoubtedly the wedding of the year.

3. When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge coordinated their outfits with their children during the royal tour of Poland and Germany

Kate and Will’s tour of Poland and Germany were jam-packed full of events and sartorial opportunities, but our favorites were the family’s color-coordinating airport photos.

This year was a good one for music. Musicians like HAIM released powerful rock ballads while rappers like Lil Uzi Vert started breaking into the mainstream.

But for every unexpectedly great song, there's a terrible one that got way too much attention. Taylor Swift oversold "Reputation," Katy Perry's latest album, "Witness," was anemic, and The Chainsmokers keep releasing "music."

Here are the 13 most overhyped songs of the year.

"Despacito (Remix Audio)" by Justin Bieber, Luis Fonsi, and Daddy Yankee

Justin Bieber has been having a great couple of years in his music career, but his "Despacito" remix is head-scratchingly overrated. A great music cover will add some special element you can't find in the original. All Bieber adds is himself.

Listen to Bieber's "Despacito" remix here.

"Gucci Gang" by Lil Pump

"Gucci Gang" went viral shortly after rapper Lil Pump teased it on Twitter, then rocketed to the near-top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Why? I have no idea. It's awful.

Listen to "Gucci Gang" here.

"Swish Swish" by Katy Perry ft. Nicki Minaj

It took me three tries to get through the entirety of Katy Perry's "Swish Swish" music video. I just kept cringing. I've seldom seen someone embarrass themself so badly.

Meant to be Perry's big single for her new album, she spent a lot of time conducting interviews for it, and positioned the song as a diss track against Taylor Swift, with whom she has an exhausting feud.

But "Swish Swish" is repetitive and boring rather than a harsh diss track. And the music video, with its outdated meme references and shameless desire to be turned into a series of GIFs, is just hard to watch. Even Nicki Minaj's rap doesn't save this song.

Listen to "Swish Swish" here.

President Donald Trump did a lot of tweeting in 2017.

On many days, Trump's tweeting provided the headline material for his roller-coaster first year as president.

He attacked everyone from former President Barack Obama to actress Meryl Streep. He tweeted about the Russia investigation, "fake news," 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, his travel ban, television hosts, and often what was airing on the "Fox & Friends" morning show in real time.

In total, Trump smashed the "tweet" button more than 2,500 times in 2017. And he is showing no signs of slowing down.

Here are the 60 most outlandish, eye-popping, and bombastic Trump tweets of 2017:

SEE ALSO: Obama-era ethics chief defends tweet urging people to stock up and 'take the streets' if Trump fires Mueller

DON'T MISS: 9 things Trump did since becoming president that the internet went nuts for

When he chastised "so-called 'Russian hacking'"

When he hit back at Hollywood legend Meryl Streep for calling him out in an acceptance speech

When he asked if we are "living in Nazi Germany?"

Good product design has the power to redefine the way we interact with the world.

That can mean presenting a new, more efficient way to cook dinner or changing the way parents interact with a sick child.

In that spirit, the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) picked 77 finalists for its 2017 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) earlier this year.

The distinction was given to designers and concepts that achieved excellence in product design in 2017. Of the finalists, 25 were given "gold honors" and the remaining 52 were given silver. 

Here are some of the best designs from around the world this year.

SEE ALSO: The 22 best product designs of the year

GOLD: The VECTRA WB360 3D Whole Body Imaging System is the first machine capable of producing a 360-degree picture of the human body. It has 92 cameras to capture the body's shape and skin conditions — useful information for surgeons and dermatologists.

SILVER: Real Rain uses the same amount of water as a traditional shower, but mimics actual rain with droplets and irregular spacing between bursts of water.

GOLD: Q-Collar helps athletes prone to brain injury, such as football or soccer players, minimize their risk. The collar gently tightens around the neck to reduce the brain's tendency to slosh inside the skull.

We've looked at the best and worst movies of the year, but which ones were the best reviewed?

Rotten Tomatoes released its annual list of certified fresh movie and TV shows Thursday. Out of 184 movies certified fresh only seven movies received perfect scores of 100% from critics.

They're not big blockbusters and you may not have heard of some of them. If you're looking for something different to watch that's also critically beloved, look no further than this list.

7. "Quest"

Number of reviews: 44

What it's about: The documentary follows a couple in North Philadelphia over the course of nearly a decade through their ups and downs raising a family.

Critics Consensus: "Simultaneously sweeping and intimate, 'Quest' uses one family's experiences to offer trenchant, wide-ranging observations about modern American life."

6. "Faces Places"

Number of reviews: 71

What it's about: "The documentary follows directors JR and Agnès Varda as they travel through France and create oversized portraits of people they meet on items along the way."

Critics Consensus: "Equal parts breezily charming and poignantly powerful, 'Faces Places' is a unique cross-generational portrait of life in rural France from the great Agnès Varda."

5. "The Work"

Number of reviews: 48

What it's about: Three free men participate in a group therapy retreat with convicts inside a prison in this documentary.

Critics Consensus: "'The Work' takes a gut-wrenching look at lives all too often written off as lost causes, persuasively arguing that growth and change can be waiting where we least expect it."

• Disney fans can finally relive their favorite fairy tales at these enchanting castles. 
• Some of the most memorable castles in Disney films were inspired by actual buildings. 
• Prince Charming's home in "Cinderella" is based on Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.
• Queen Elsa's ice palace was inspired by a hip ice hotel in Quebec. 

Forget about Prince Charming and talking animals — we're all about those Disney palaces (OK, and also the talking animals). While the stories themselves may be fairy tales, it turns out that some of cinema's most iconic castles were inspired by real life buildings. Relive your childhood fantasies with these eight magical Disney castles that you can actually step into (dancing and singing, optional). 

"Snow White": Alcazar Castle, Spain

The evil queen's castle in Disney's first animated feature film is said to be based on this impressive fortress in Segovia that's shaped like the bow of a ship. Built in the early 12th century, the striking building has been a royal palace, a prison, a college, a military academy and now a museum. (But we like it best for its role in the Disney classic.) 

"Tangled": Mont Saint-Michel, France

Based on the story of Rapunzel, this contemporary animation takes place in the Kingdom of Corona, an enchanted world inspired by the real-life Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy. Once one of Europe's most famous pilgrimage destinations, the island is now a tourism hot spot for its old abbey, quaint streets and dramatic views. Oh, and how's this for magic? Mont Saint-Michel Bay has the highest tides in Europe, which transform the island twice a day.

"Beauty and the Beast": Chateau Du Chambord, France

Fans of this Disney classic (and the recent Emma Watson version) can visit the real-life inspiration for the Beast's castle in Loir-et-Cher, France. One of the film's animators, Glen Keane, visited the château for research and knew right away that the "ominous, impressive place with all of these spires" was where the Beast lived. (Talking clocks and candlesticks not included.)

• Guy's American Kitchen & Bar in New York City will serve its last meal on December 31.
• The restaurant has become a cult favorite despite its food being poorly reviewed. 
• We visited when it opened in 2012 — here's what it was like.

"Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" host Guy Fieri has become one of the biggest food personalities out there, but on December 31, one major part of his empire will be no more. 

According to Eater NY, Guy's American Kitchen & Bar, located in New York City's Times Square, will close on New Year's Eve. 

The food itself has not been well-received over the years. In an infamous zero-star review from 2012, The New York Times' Pete Wells effectively destroyed the restaurant, comparing its Awesome Pretzel Chicken Tenders to "chewy air" and its watermelon margarita to "some combination of radiator fluid and formaldehyde."

As Fieri's first and only restaurant in New York, the place is totally decked out in everything Guy — everything on the menu is Guy-branded, the decor represents everything that Guy likes, and there's a gift shop with Guy merchandise.

And at 16,000 square feet and with 500 seats, the place is absolutely huge. It's located in what was once The New York Times Building, where the newspaper was headquartered for nearly a century.

We visited the restaurant shortly after it opened in 2012. Here's what it was like:

Kim Bhasin contributed reporting to an earlier version of this article. 

SEE ALSO: We ate dozens of meals at restaurant chains in 2017 — here are the 9 absolute best things to try right now

Here we are at the three-floor complex in the former New York Times Building. It's located right next to Bowlmor Lanes and Discovery Times Square.

And there's Guy on a screen near the entrance, promoting his Food Network show.

Inside is the gift shop, packed with all sorts of Guy memorabilia.

• Female travelers share some of the best places they've been to by themselves.
• Europe is full of countries that are some of the best places for women to travel alone.
• Latin American countries, like Costa Rica and Panama, are also great options.

Costa Rica

Though Stacy Schwartz is a born-and-raised New Yorker, the urge to quit her full-time gig to travel the world — alone — for three months struck her hard and she hasn't looked back since. Eventually, she started her own travel company, Ketanga Fitness Retreats. One trend she sees emerging is Costa Rica, where people are kind and welcoming, and weather provides a healthy blend of ease and chaos, where both sunshine and rainstorms abound.

Why does it make for a great solo getaway? One word: variety. "There are options to go to highly-visible, touristy areas or explore less-traveled areas depending on your level of comfort," she shares. Whether you stick to the shore or hike through the rainforest, pack an external battery pack because let's be real: you're going to kill your battery snapping pictures of monkeys, sunsets, rainbows, and more. Check out the Spanish phrases everyone should know.

Mount Koya, Japan

To be fair, if you're going to make the journey to Japan, you should definitely see more than just one city, but one destination you should add to your solo travel bucket list is Mount Koya, according to world traveler Shannon Ullman. Sandwiched between Osaka and Kyoto, just a five-hour bullet train away from Tokyo, this small town is not only beautiful but offers a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Here, you can stay overnight in a Buddhist Temple, experiencing the traditional rituals the Japanese are known for.

"You'll sleep on a traditional floor futon and monks will deliver vegetarian meals and sake to your room. You can bathe in the traditional, shared baths, and take a guided meditation class in the mornings. If you really want to get in touch with yourself, this is the place to do it," she explains.

Before you head to Japan, read these important etiquette rules for dining out.

Tuscany, Italy

If instead of having your Eat, Pray, Love moment, you're actually having an Under the Tuscan Sun experience, pack your bags and venture to the Tuscan region of Italy. As travel agent Kimberly Hart notes, this part of the world doesn't just offer beauty — and ahem, wine — but an escape that gives you ample time to think and unwind. When Hart made her way here for a getaway, she was able to book a stay at Cortona, which you will recognize from the film, and take easy bus rides to nearby wineries and small villages to sip and see.

"I felt completely comfortable in these small towns walking around by myself as they were easy to navigate and people were welcoming, friendly and helpful. It was nice to return to a home base each day as well. There was plenty of shopping, eating and wine tasting in the small towns, and it was a leisurely trip where I could really soak up the culture," she shares. "The advantage of being on a tour was that I had the option to explore with other people during our free time if that was preferred or I could venture on my own."

Brush up on these essential Italian phrases before you go.

Being more productive is about working smarter, not harder, and making the most of each day.

While this is no easy feat, getting more done in less time is a much more attainable goal if you're not sabotaging yourself with bad habits.

Below are 18 things you should stop doing right now to become more productive.

SEE ALSO: 10 tricks extremely busy people use to stay productive

DON'T MISS: 11 experts share their favorite tips so you can make 2018 your most productive year yet

Hitting the snooze button

It might feel as though pressing the snooze button in the morning gives you a little bit of extra rest to start your day, but the truth is that it does more harm than good.

That's because when you wake up, your endocrine system begins to release alertness hormones to get you ready for the day. By going back to sleep, you're slowing down this process. Plus, nine minutes doesn't give your body time to get the restorative, deep sleep it needs.

Prioritizing work over sleep

This isn't to say you should cut back on sleep.

As Arianna Huffington discusses in her sleep manifesto, "The Sleep Revolution," a good night's sleep has the power to increase productivity and happiness, lead to smarter decision-making, and unlock bigger ideas.

As Huffington explained to Business Insider, a McKinsey study showed a direct correlation between getting less sleep and workplace inefficiency. The prefrontal cortex, where the problem-solving functions of the brain are housed, is degraded if we don't get enough sleep. Working 24/7, "we now know, is the cognitive equivalent of coming to work drunk," she said.

The trick to getting enough sleep is planning ahead and powering down at a reasonable time.

Keeping your phone next to your bed

Another key to getting better sleep is not letting outside influencers impair your sleep.

The LED screens of our smartphones, tablets, and laptops, for example, give off what is called blue light, which studies have shown can damage vision and suppress production of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the sleep cycle.

Research also suggests that people with lower melatonin levels are more prone to be depressed.