Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Transforming Work with Sophie Wade
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 129: Vidya Krishnan - Strategic Systems-based Upskilling to Enable Internal Talent Mobility | 25 Oct 2024 | 01:05:14 | |
Vidya Krishnan, Chief Learning Officer at Ericsson, combines her engineering experience, systems thinking, and love of learning to connect core upskilling with corporate strategy. For Vidya, learning at the speed of technology development requires a learning mindset and future-focused dynamic approach to jobs and skills. Vidya explains how a project marketplace enables internal talent mobility: redesigning work with a skills-focus; facilitating evolution to ‘resource fluidity’; and allowing organic shifts into emerging areas as employees gravitate towards where work is flowing. Vidya recommends stability management with change management.
TAKEAWAYS
[02:06] Vidya studies electrical engineering influenced by her family’s engineering legacy.
[03:16] Deeply admiring engineering and loving learning, Vidya admits she had ‘will before skill’.
[04:14] Vidya promotes internships: good summertime feedback boosts her while some college studies challenge.
[05:07] For personal reasons Vidya leaves AT&T joining Nortel (acquired by Ericsson) in Dallas.
[06:19] Always an engineer, now focused on people’s experiences in L&D, Vidya loves teaching.
[08:24] Learning is as the heart of every transformation for Vidya’s team and workplace.
[09:19] Learning even more from failure, by addressing both shame and ignorance after mistakes.
[11:11] Technology and people are inherently upgradable—ongoing learning at a tech company.
[12:34] How engineers need "power skills" like storytelling and managing stakeholders.
[14:05] Looking creatively to other industries, like aviation, to solve engineering challenges.
[16:49] Vidya has a double life for three years learning and networking at learning conferences.
[18:54] Managers want her to advance in engineering, but Vidya is determined to change field.
[19:45] Vidya overcomes self-doubt and family concerns while transitioning her career.
[21:15] After three years, Vidya transitions horizontally into technical training for customers.
[22:56] Becoming a studio offering digital learning using multimedia and experiential techniques.
[23:41] How to create capabilities that customers will pay for and employees value.
[27:00] Systems thinking to describe work’s three dimensions: digital ecosystem, business system, and culture system.
[30:14] A systems vs programmatic approach to work is strategic and natural at a tech company.
[31:20] Skills development is vital and therefore must be connected to company strategy.
[33:21] Constructing a framework where skills are derivative of corporate strategy.
[34:20] Starting with the one skill that is most consequential to the strategy—less is more.
[36:20] Two sets of skills—global critical skills (top down) and job role skills (bottom up).
[37:30] Digitalizing a job architecture starts development of a skills taxonomy.
[38:23] Getting on the skills games board through credentialing and contribution.
[39:13] To be future focused, skills and job roles are digitalized into a relational database.
[40:40] Skills’ journey phases: initialize, mobilize, and capitalize advancing with winnable games.
[43:10] "Resource fluidity" is where employees’ skills are not confined to their job role—reskill and constantly redeploy.
[44:45] A talent marketplace that is a project marketplace redesigns work to put skills to work.
[47:43] Disaggregating work into projects enables work packages doable outside of people’s day jobs—a third space—to develop new skills.
[50:30] Enabling employees to gravitate towards emerging areas from eroding areas.
[51:35] The hypothesis that progressive career reinvention at scale will pay for itself.
[52:25] A project marketplace creates capability and expands capacity.
[54:50] Partnership is the new leadership, and co-creation and co-ownership are key to execution.
[56:10] Stability management needs to accompany change management.
[57:16] How business cross-functionality can allow varied thinking and ‘wicked’ problem solving.
[58:13] Project marketplace decouples work from many traditional boundaries.
[01:00:21] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Start now. Start small with one critical skill. Connect it to strategy, which is done systematically.
RESOURCES
Books mentioned: The Problem with Change by Ashley Goodall Reinventing Organizations by Frederic Lalou
QUOTES (edited)
“If we give people the opportunity to put their skills to work, this is actually very healthy for the company because we are organically self-shaping away from eroding areas into emerging areas …people naturally gravitating to where the work is flowing.”
“You have a dynamic platform that's digitalized for jobs and skills to stay in lockstep with industry evolution: what's emerging, what's eroding, and for that stuff to easily automatically flow through every other system in the company where people are making decisions about who to hire, how to evolve their career, how to specify the requirements for this requisition, what job roles need to go out the window, what new job roles need to be introduced.”
“How do you put learning in the flow of work and work in the flow of learning so that it's happening to people experientially?”
“Work has three dimensions: there's an ecosystem, a business system and a culture system.”
“The logic was that if things that are vital should be systematic rather than programmatic so that they happen no matter what, because that's what vital things should do. And then you fundamentally believe that skills are vital, as I do, because they are what connect strategy to execution. So if you believe that, then it follows you must take a systematic approach.”
“Strategy without skills is a daydream. Skills and execution without strategy is a nightmare.”
“Capabilities are what create execution of the strategy.” “It's a means to an end. What's the end? It's to execute strategy. Therefore, it has to be systematically connected to strategy.”
“Partnership is a new leadership and co creation and co ownership is actually the key to execution, which is not clean and it may be a little bit messy.” | |||
| 128: Mark Ma - RTOs: Research-backed Realities and Recommendations | 18 Oct 2024 | 00:44:02 | |
Mark Ma, a research professor at the University of Pittsburgh, studies social and economic issues including Return To Office (RTO) mandates, AI, and tax evasion. A working parent during the pandemic, Mark describes how personal and community experiences initially generated his interest in researching remote work options and hybrid policies. He shares his discoveries that stock market declines generated RTO mandates but not improved corporate results. Mark discusses the dynamics of executives’ control, power, and distrust affecting work policies. He advocates for workplace flexibility—giving employees and teams choices.
TAKEAWAYS
[02:23] While Mark’s parents advised him to study accounting, he found it fascinating.
[03:01] For his PhD, Mark explores financial analysis, and his tax avoidance research is cited.
[03:45] Passionate about research, Mark pursues academia, also appreciating the flexible lifestyle.
[05:09] Parental challenges during the pandemic fuels Mark’s interest in remote work options.
[05:50] Noticing neighbors’ complaints about returning to the office, Mark attends a conference and hears about working from home research.
[06:41] Mark gets tenure and explores risky research projects that help improve people’s lives.
[08:25] In late 2022, Mark starts collecting data on companies’ return-to-office mandates.
[09:25] Leaders say remote workers aren’t working hard, while employees keep performing.
[11:06] Return-To-Office mandates often happen after a stock price crash—but why?
[12:00] How remote work gets blamed—without evidence—for poor performance.
[14:36] RTO mandates also result from executives’ loss of control and not trusting employees.
[15:40] Companies may also use RTO policies to easily/cheaply lay off employees.
[18:16] Male and powerful CEOs—with higher relative salaries—issue more RTO mandates to assert control.
[21:38] Employee and team choice is recommended combined with intentional office time.
[22:32] Mark needs data from companies offering employee choice to confirm the best approach.
[24:58] Amazon’s shifts to 3-days/wk then 5-days/week RTO has caused employee dissatisfaction and departures.
[25:50] One example of Nvidia’s flexible policy enables it to benefit from Amazon’s rigid one.
[26:59] Mark finds no evidence that RTO mandates help firms’ performance or stock price.
[27:43] Should productivity be measured appropriately and over what time period?
[29:12] States level data shows structured hybrid work reduces depression and suicide risks.
[32:00] Fully remote workers often self-select which fits their lifestyle and social setup.
[32:50] Companies going fully remote need regular off-site engagements to mitigate isolation.
[34:18] New research explores RTO mandates’ affect turnover, especially in finance and tech.
[35:20] Initial findings show higher turnover, especially among women, follows RTO mandates.
[36:48] After RTOs announcements, turnover increases quickly as some people can’t go back to the office.
[39:06] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: “First, allow flexibility so employees have choice. Second, promote flexible team leaders to signal that people working from home will not be penalized. Third, for new graduate hires who want to work at the office, ensure mentors are present to support them.
RESOURCES
Is Workplace Flexibility Good for the Environment? Research on Return To Office Mandates Mental Health Benefits of Workplace Flexibility
QUOTES “The more powerful CEOs and the male CEOs are more likely to impose return-to-office mandates.”
“You should allow team choice plus employee choice. That means teams decide when they want to come to office together. And on those in office days, those meetings should be intentional.”
“We clearly do not find any evidence that Return To Office mandates help firms’ performance or stock price.”
“Five-day in-office work is not necessarily good for your mental health.”
“A lot of top executives, when they do not see the employees in the office, they do not trust the employees. They feel they have lost control of the employees.”
"Firms are telling their employees, you can work from home, but you will not be promoted. That's not a good strategy because your good employees will leave."
"By promoting flexible team leaders, you will send a signal to those people who want to stay remote or hybrid that there is a clear career path for them." | |||
| 119: Tim Oldman - Measuring the Impact of Workplace Design on Performance | 19 Jul 2024 | 00:57:04 | |
Tim Oldman is the CEO of Leesman and Founder of the Leesman Index - the world leader in measuring and analyzing the experiences of employees in their places of work. Tim is an expert in user experience of the built environment. He explains why we need to be considering whether work environments are supporting employees’ activities, needs, and satisfaction. Tim brings his wealth of knowledge to explore and reveal how workplaces—wherever people work—are tools for organizational performance and how we can measure that.
TAKEAWAYS
[02:25] Having always enjoyed building things, Tim studies interior design at college.
[02:51 Tim opts for a shorter course in interior design admitting he is impatient!
[03:22] Tim would love to study at university now with rapid prototyping and other advances.
[04:00] Encouraged by his uncle and tutor, Tim secures his first design job at 16.
[05:36] Tim first works in transport design, realizing the impact of design on bus stations and airports.
[07:06] The attention and detailed science in every aspect of airport design, including signage legibility.
[08:08] Tim wants to apply more and more rigor and science as his career develops.
[09:33] Tim discovers retail design is more numerically driven that he had understood earlier.
[11:27] The shift in retail emphasizing the shopper's brand experience.
[13:26] Tim's time at Vitra exposes him to extraordinary design history and expertise.
[14:20] It was a mind-boggling experience to work on the campus every day for five years!
[15:10] The user-centric design of a new distribution center makes Tim energized and very curious.
[17:22] Using transport examples to illustrate the importance of employee-centric office design.
[18:48] Developing the Leesman Index, Tim encounters naysayers to begin with.
[19:46] Initially provocative, “space is a tool in organizational performance” sticks.
[20:59] How space is a tool in organizational performance.
[21:48] Contrary to expectations, the design community initially resists the Leesman Index.
[23:07] A friend’s referral leads to the first successful deployment of the Index.
[23:36] The index reveals engineers’ preference for compressed, energetic workspaces.
[24:41] The facilities management industry becomes a key user.
[25:02] Executive leadership teams appreciate data-driven insights.
[26:43] Tim describes the Index's methodology and its impact on workplace design.
[27:50] The Leesman index measures employee activities and their satisfaction with workplace features.
[29:41] ‘Sentiment Superdrivers’ are crucial to accommodate to achieve workplace satisfaction.
[32:54] The importance of supporting individual focused work.
[33:29] The pandemic highlights the inadequacies of traditional office designs.
[35:52] Many organizations are now seeking to improve their offices to better support employee needs.
[36:44] The rise of video conferencing underscores the need for better acoustic and visual privacy.
[38:12] Organizations increasingly seek to create offices that employees genuinely want to visit.
[39:45] Tim’s new venture aims to help clients improve both remote and office-based work environments.
[42:31] Commute satisfaction correlates with the quality of the office environment.
[45:28] The shift towards higher-quality, more amenity-rich office spaces.
[47:40] Standard Chartered Bank exemplifies successful office space reduction while enhancing quality.
[49:24] Tim advocates for clearly articulating the purpose of office spaces.
[52:15] How Facilities Management can create more technologically advanced, smarter buildings.
[54:09] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Use evidence and be real, conversational, human. Find out what impacts the human experience as the human dynamic is motivational guidance. Live a day in the life of a frontline employee, experience it yourself.
RESOURCES
QUOTES
"Whether it's an exhibition stand that you're building that's only up for five days, or it's a retail environment, or it's a bus station, or as we now are looking at the impact of office design on the organizational performance of the companies that we're working with.”
"I would leave work in a day feeling more energized than I arrived there in the morning. And I wanted to know why, fundamentally, I couldn't work it out. And that was really where the ideas behind Leesman and the idea of a measurement protocol started to seep through."
“It's all economics driven. Whether it's an exhibition stand that you're building that's only up for five days, or it's a retail environment, or it's a bus station, or as we now are looking at the impact of office design on the organizational performance.”
"Having thought about your day at work in the way that you have, can you tell us what you think about the following things in relation to your workplace? So, does it enable you to work productively? Are you proud of it? Do you enjoy it? Do you think it supports your organization's environmental sustainability standpoint?”
I think the bigger a workplace gets, the harder it is to satisfy everybody, because the more people are in it, the more variability there is in the work that they do and their personalities and their size and their demeanor and all the other things that make us different than individual human beings." | |||
| 29. Lisa Morton - How Purpose and Values Make a Difference in Business | 15 Oct 2021 | 00:40:22 | |
Lisa Morton, CEO of Roland Dransfield, founded her PR agency in Manchester, England, combining entrepreneurial spirit, Northern grit, purpose, and values to build her company and expand nationally and internationally. Lisa explains her intentional emphasis on purpose and living her values daily which has been core for attracting and retaining clients and employees, while guiding all their actions and decisions. She also shares what happens when values are not clearly defined and how they have benefitted from setting boundaries.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[02:50] Who was Roland Dransfield and how was he relevant to Lisa’s business?
[03:46] Lisa’s father great saying about cars and baked beans!
[04:16] How Roland Dransfield started Lisa off as an entrepreneur.
[05:54] Circumstances were not easy when Lisa started her company.
[07:34] A dramatic incident impacted the purpose and role of Roland Dransfield early on.
[08:53] Manchester has changed significantly since Lisa first started her career.
[10:19] How purpose is manifested for employees coming to work at the agency.
[12:15] Lisa’s approach to mutually enriching development and progress.
[13:20] The celebration dinner for Roland Dransfield alumni.
[14:21] What happens when values do not have defining boundaries?
[15:54] Lisa set hard lines to achieve alignment and expected some people to resign.
[17:16] How they explored values—finding out which values resonated most.
[18:20] What they did once new values were agreed to integrate them effectively.
[18:49] Exploring Greater Manchunian values through their podcast “We Built This City”
[19:29] Values are lived actively—one is selected and reinforced every week.
[20:44] Lisa confirms potential new clients’ values before agreeing to work with them.
[21:33] How their value “Admit it, fix it, move on” helps them improve.
[22:08] How BrewDog admitted their mistakes and made amends and why other companies don’t.
[24:17] After finding disconnected values were really upsetting her team, Lisa resigned a client project.
[26:31] The positive outcomes after Lisa took this difficult step.
[28:08] How new recruits connect with the company values.
[29:40] Purpose helps retention and values provide protection.
[31:04] Why Lisa feels pro bono work is important.
[32:14] Are the agency’s values manifested differently in London and Los Angeles?
[35:26] How do boundaries make it easier when things are really tough?
[36:25] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP – Take time out to work on your values. Write them down, do some iterations and consider how to integrate them into your life.
RESOURCES
Roland Dransfield on Instagram
QUOTES
“My dad always used to say, ‘if business is going well, have a great car and eat baked beans. And if business is going badly, have a great car and eat baked beans.”
“We will hope to make your lives better in terms of your personal professional development, and we want you to help us make our platform even richer.”
“You wouldn't come and join Roland Dransfield if purpose wasn't at your heart, or if you didn't feel you wanted to be part of a purpose driven organization.”
“I want to know—for a 21 year old who's coming into this business—what's important to you? What does work need to look like for you? What gets you out of bed in the morning?”
“What we don't want to be as individuals or an organization that just goes through life using all the resources around us. Our platform as people and as a business needs to use the platform to create more resources. So we go out having left more than we've taken out.”
“Having put that values piece in has helped me to create space for myself as a mom, as a business person, as a friend, and as a leader.” | |||
| 28. Jeremy Fleming - Shifting Skills and Scope for Growth and Resilience | 08 Oct 2021 | 00:41:57 | |
Jeremy Fleming, the Founder and CEO of Stagekings, discusses how he evolved and grew the Australian event and theater staging business after a necessary radical pivot at the beginning of the pandemic. Re-applying everyone’s crafts’ skills to design, develop, sell, and distribute innovative desks, they engaged new customers online and used feedback to help expand the product range. Jeremy also shares how encouraging people to work across all areas of the business as well as diversifying revenue and vertically integrating is creating resiliency to ensure the company’s ongoing stability and success.
[02:57] How Jeremy started his career in bridge carpentry and scaffolding.
[04:11] Jeremy brought his event staging experience from Europe to launch Stagekings in 2015.
[05:52] Versatile use of their skills expanded services into building theater sets and whole theaters.
[06:52] Jeremy’s scaffolding and event experience and innovative approach enabled rapid assembly and dismantling.
[08:07] Friday March 13th 2020: Devastating news for Stagekings’ business.
[10:03] Friday March 20th: Jeremy’s difficult decision to let employees go after exhausting all options.
[11:58] How chatting with a former employee seeded the idea of creating desks for people working from home.
[12:22] Sunday March 22nd: Mick’s furniture-making hobby and skills are engaged to explore desk ideas.
[13:13] Unique desk designs: no-tool quick assembly/disassembly, one packs flat for easy storage.
[14:15] Monday March 23rd: The business now needs ecommerce to sell the new desk products online.
[15:18] How Jeremy’s frank letter shared on social channels to market their desks goes viral.
[16:11] Tuesday March 24th: StageKings’ former employees are called back to work!
[16:55] Stagekings hires more people as the demand for IsoKing desks grows.
[18:25] New desk designs and other products are added as the business expands rapidly.
[19:19] Customers enjoy receiving desks delivered by entertainment event roadies.
[20:07] The product line expands driven by ‘community-led innovation’ with surprising requests!
[23:01] Stagekings consolidates IsoKings’ products and operations after rapid first year growth.
[24:27] A new brand of at-home furniture is launched as well as IsoKing becoming its own brand.
[26:42] With continuing uncertainties, the focus becomes establishing more income streams.
[27:58] Vertical integration enables Stagekings to broaden their offering and customer base.
[30:55] Jeremy attributes their success to the team, their adaptability, and positive attitudes.
[34:02] How Stagekings gives back to the event industry, supporting unemployed event workers.
[34:59] Discussing the challenges for freelance workers during the pandemic.
[37:02] The optimism Jeremy has about 2022 for Stagekings across market segments.
[37:39] What flexible approaches to work and encouraging employees to move around business areas means for them and the company.
[39:21] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: If you have an idea, go for it. And it doesn’t have to be massive steps. Small, consistent steps will get you much further.
RESOURCES
Jeremy Fleming on LinkedIn Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink Supportact.org.au/get-help/crisis-relief-grants Jeremy Fleming’s website
QUOTES
“There’s a time when the show must go on—and wherever we’re up to, that’s where it is when it happens!”
“We called it community-led innovation, where it was the community telling us what they wanted, and we’d design it.”
“Out of anything bad, something good will come, and you need to work on that. Don't focus on the bad, focus on the good that'll come from it.”
“It’s real event mentality—problems are going to come up, and you’re just going to deal with them, you’ve still got to get through it.”
“We lost all of our work, what can we do? What can we do? Yeah, there's something you can do.”
“I’ve really focused over the whole of the last 18 months on establishing more pillars of income.”
“I think that’s what people like about it here—it’s that nothing is every the same!”
“The big thing for me is if people have an idea, just really go for it.“
| |||
| 27. Laurel Farrer - Remote & Hybrid Models – Realities, Recommendations, Rewards, & Risks | 17 Sep 2021 | 00:37:13 | |
Laurel Farrer, Founder and CEO of Distribute Consulting—a virtual organizational development consulting firm, is well aware of the rewards of transitioning long-term to remote working, and the risks, especially with hybrid models. As a 15-year seasoned remote worker, Laurel has identified the key factors that are critical for success and benchmarking goals for healthy virtual organizations. She shares her experiences, insights, and cautions as we all work through our inevitable, work-related transformations.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[04:02] Laurel’s accidental exposure to remote working and her early experiences.
[07:43] The primary barrier to success was credibility.
[08:21] Determination to overcome the credibility gap fueled her company’s internal culture development.
[09:46] The benefits of facilitator in virtual discussions, especially for brainstorming including introverts and extroverts.
[10:53] How asynchronous communications and pre-work boosts collaboration and outcomes.
[12:29] Laurel works on benchmarking to develop goals for healthy virtual organizations.
[13:48] How to navigate the challenges as we explore new work arrangements.
[14:37] The importance of balance and transparent communication.
[15:29] Companies with economic challenges in offering work from home options benefit from explaining the situation to their employees.
[18:17] Company culture is impacting the management process because it takes time to develop a strong culture.
[21:03] Culture is one the six pillars of Laurel’s company’s methodology.
[21:21] Training is key for remote workers to be equipped as successful self-managers.
[22:11] Managers need training to be able to manage people they can’t see—replacing supervising with support and encouragement.
[23:14] The difference between deliverables and results and the importance of tracking both.
[25:15] How a knowledge management system unifies a team to streamline communication and collaboration.
[26:16] Virtual infrastructure encompasses documenting culture and workflows with virtual handbooks.
[27:01] Compliance is a major issue - we haven’t yet achieved operational models for location irrelevancy yet.
[28:16] Understanding what you are getting into is essential.
[29:05] When we were forced to work remotely, it was an emergency not a long-term plan—which are two very different things.
[30:52] Hybrid teams are complicated. The risks and rewards of hybrid work models.
[32:15] The ultimate goal is to be operating as location irrelevant as possible, but we have not broken our habits enough as organizations.
[34:09] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Communicate! Employers and employees need to be talking and listening to each other! Together you can work out how to unleash the power of remote work for your specific and unique organization and organizational culture.
[34:34] Remember, remote work is not a one-size fits all.
[35:23] Go at your own pace—if some people are stressed and resistant, slow it down.
RESOURCES
Laurel Farrer on LinkedIn
QUOTES
“We also leveraged asynchronous communication. So everybody always felt safe in the systems.”
“What is the checklist of things that I have to do in order to be better? That doesn't exist for virtual organizational development. It doesn't exist necessarily for remote work at all.”
“We really need to figure out how to communicate as transparently as possible about why decisions are being made the way that they are.”
“You might have those cat posters on the wall that say you're humble and that you're innovative and that you're adaptable, but are you really?”
“We need to be able to create space to measure and track all types of outcomes, all types of diverse productivity as opposed to just deliverables.”
“We haven’t yet achieved operational models for location irrelevancy yet.”
“There are so many organizations that say, "No, it's not possible. Everyone come back to the office." And it is possible. You just need to know what to do.”
“We haven’t broken habits enough to have location irrelevant mindsets yet so naturally we are dividing people by location which is going to be problematic as we try to move forward as a unified team.” | |||
| 26. Ramon Ray - The Empathy Factor Driving Small Business Success in the New Era of Work | 27 Aug 2021 | 00:37:48 | |
Ramon Ray, founder of SmartHustle.com, has been involved in the small business sector for over twenty years as a serial entrepreneur, podcast host, author, and expert advocating for small business success. As a vocal participant and active contributor, he helps small businesses adapt to new marketplace dynamics—from developing meaningful client relationships to motivating and supporting employees. He shares five priorities to focus on and the strategic importance of empathy.
TAKEAWAYS
[02:27] How Ramon’s experience working at the UN was the embryonic beginning of his focus on entrepreneurship and small businesses.
[03:56] Technology advice and understanding have been core to Ramon’s support to small businesses growth which has evolved with platform, application, and digital media advances.
[05:41] Ramon bridges the chasm between small emerging businesses and large tech companies trying to reach them—their empathy factor and influencer.
[08:36] Five priorities for small businesses to focus on to transform for the new era of work.
[11:34] How empathy came to the forefront for Ramon in 2020 as many significant events occurred.
[13;16] What it means to wear someone else’s shoes—in life and when offering business advice.
[14:59] Empathy can mean recognizing but not agreeing with another person’s perspective.
[16:14] Ramon encouraged a client to empathize with him, facilitating an effective way to work together.
[17:46] Understanding and fulfilling your own needs as well as supporting others during tough times.
[19:51] The power of contentment to appreciate the positive aspects of your situation.
[22:35] How empathy is particularly important now to bridge differences, connect with more people, and mitigate our more insular situations due to COVID19 restrictions.
[24:02] Managing differently in small companies to adjust to a less predictable marketplace while staying profitable—being more transparent, flexible, and supportive with employees.
[26:57] The reciprocal benefits of empathy, trust, and communication especially in changing conditions.
[27:56] Ramon shares the challenges of his kids—navigating work as a recent graduate and coping with very restrictive situations overseas during the pandemic.
[30:02] Wondering about new labor market entrants learning new work conditions as the standard.
[31:13] Aligned intention, shared values, and empathetic understanding with customers promotes strong relationships.
[34:33] The benefit of clients recognizing you for who you are!
[36:06] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Encourage and care about people. Be empathetic. Build and focus on your personal brand. Don’t be afraid to amplify who are you—in an empathetic way!
RESOURCES
Ramon Ray on LinkedIn Ramon Ray on Twitter Ramon Ray on Facebook Ramon Ray on Instagram Ramon Ray’s video “I’ll Wear Your Shoes” Ramon Ray’s latest book “Celebrity CEO”
QUOTES
“We cannot predict the future. Be comfortable with that.”
“It comes to the human dimensions, right? That make the biggest difference.”
“It’s not just shooting the target. 60% of it is mindset.”
“Somebody reading this may want to do it a different way. That’s okay.”
“We all need someone to reach out to us. It’s not a business thing. I go on WhatsApp once a week and send a message to 10-15 people and let them know I care.”
“I understand the broad strokes of your company [and your values], now unleash me and let me do what I do.”
“Don’t be afraid to amplify who you are.” | |||
| 25. Sacha Connor — How to Succeed as a Remote Leader: Include, Innovate, & Iterate | 23 Jul 2021 | 00:52:58 | |
Sacha Connor—Founder and CEO of Virtual Work Insider—was a remote work pioneer for The Clorox Company. Sacha explains how she transitioned to working 3000 miles away from HQ for eight years and became the first fully remote member of the Leadership Team of a $1 billion division. Sacha shares how processes were reimagined, what issues arose, what solutions were developed, as well as surprising benefits gained along the way.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[03:50] Sacha discusses her career in marketing.
[05:28] Why Sacha chose to go remote and move 3000 miles away from her company HQ.
[06:29] How Sacha planted seeds over time to get agreement to work remotely as an experiment.
[08:32] A trusted relationship laid the foundation for constructive conversations about how it could work.
[09:29] How Sacha was allowed to lead an innovation team remotely.
[10:43] The three major career limitations that were initially part of Sacha’s remote arrangement.
[11:26] How risk was assessed in allowing this remote experiment.
[12:15] Potential was initially linked to promotability which was tied to location.
[12:38] How acceptance was enabled by The Clorox Company’s existing performance management system which tracked her defined and detailed objectives and measured her success.
[13:55] Surveys allowed Sacha to monitor team sentiment and development of trusting relationships that were important for virtual collaboration.
[14:40] What were some of the challenges and benefits of remote working across time zones?
[15:50] How to work effectively with new team members.
[17:27] Sacha’s steep learning curve and technology challenges in 2010.
[20:19] Adapting workflow for a distributed innovation team.
[21:54] Sharing experiences, learnings, and resources improved effectiveness.
[22:24] How the Employee Resource Group for remote workers helped employees bridge gaps between office locations too.
[23:40] Sacha became an influential pioneer regarding Future of Work adaptations at a 100-year old organization.
[25:06] Definitions of workplace flexibility, hybrid models and working, and remote working.
[26:47] ‘Virtual’ used as a term to encompass work and relationships across locations.
[28:51] Myth #1: The ‘magic’ generated by chance office encounters does not happen in virtual environments.
[31:03] Intentionally establishing rituals to create the interactions that enable creativity, influence, problem-solving, and ideation for virtual and multi-office workers.
[32:58] The importance of stimulating intersections of people across divisions and networks.
[34:05] Myth #2: Brainstorming effectively is not possible in virtual environments.
[36:09] Unintended (beneficial) consequences of new processes for virtual brainstorming.
[38:35] Hybrid meetings: reducing the challenges and biases, and improving inclusiveness requires facilitation and conscious action.
[40:10] The impact of a ‘virtual-first’ work approach and being intentional about how work is done.
[44:05] Whatever workforce and workplace strategies companies are working on now are not the final answer—it takes a flexible and iterative approach.
[45:21] It takes an infinite mindset to tackle the Future of Work—with each organization iterating and adjusting as they go.
[47:15] Everyone needs to upskill for new work circumstances and learning virtual leadership skills, whatever role employees are in.
[48:30] More areas to emphasize to enhance virtual work—setting expectations clearly; building relationships; fostering a culture of trust and inclusion; having the right technology tools; and teaching how to use the tools.
[49:05] Empathy is key for understanding each other beyond the virtual curtains between people and other ‘soft’ skills which are critical.
[50:42] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Have empathy for yourself and others in order to be able to adjust and iterate and make this next transition. Everyone is at a different stage and comfort level about what’s next.
RESOURCES
Sacha Connor on LinkedIn
Sacha Connor on Twitter
Special resources available for podcast listeners ’10 Tips from 10 Years of Remote Work’ and ‘Hybrid Work Kickstarter Toolkit’
The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts, and Cultures by Frans Johansson
The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
QUOTES
“Do we want to live near the careers that we love or near the people that we love?”
“They trusted me and trust is a huge component with remote work. They knew I was dedicated.”
“Innovation felt like one step removed from the risk (of being remote) because it was something that we were preparing for the future.”
“Potential was linked to promotability which was linked to location.”
“You think about measuring performance. You need to have that in place whether you’re located together or not.”
“The seemingly innocuous moments that happen on the way to the elevator, they’re actually moments of influence. They're moments of problem-solving, connection, and idea generation.” | |||
| 24. Neil Bedwell — Marketing Internally to Effect Change, with Empathy | 25 Jun 2021 | 00:42:54 | |
This episode is about using sophisticated traditional marketing techniques to transform employees’ apathy and ambivalence into engagement and enable change initiatives to succeed. Neil Bedwell is a Founding Partner of LOCAL where he applies his extensive expertise in consumer marketing to internal corporate audiences to effect lasting change. The key is understanding how culture impacts new initiatives from ideation through development and execution. Neil explains what marketing techniques are core to LOCAL’s effective ‘Change Marketing™’.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[02:49] How Neil fell into marketing.
[04:49] Realizing the effect of corporate culture on ideas as they are developed.
[7:10] In big organizations, it is a challenge not to weaken ideas as they become more complex, trying to solve additional asks.
[10:06] Neil shifts to marketing to employees, founding LOCAL with two partners.
[11:00] What is ‘marketing’ and what is ‘Change Marketing’™?
[12:08] Why knowledge about your employees is a central sources of competitive advantage.
[13:30] Understanding the dire effect of unengaged employees on your business.
[14:33] Insights—Why Neil believes listening to employees is the difference between success and failure.
[15:23] Narrative—Change is a journey with employees as the heroes of the story.
[16:40] Helping people understand every step of transformative change by taking them along the storytelling journey.
[17:26] Craft—creating the quality of messaging to the win attention of employees.
[19:29] The significance of employees’ participation in change initiatives.
[20:17] What stories can fill the void if companies don’t communicate to their employees.
[21:32] How culture allows new initiatives to survive or die.
[21:57] Culture is created by your people, not you as a leader.
[22:42] How to influence employees by listening and crafting an intentional story.
[23:40] How to craft a story that is going to resonate with each employee.
[25:52] The meaningful role of a company’s ‘Believers’.
[26:46] Who influences the ‘Swayables’ in the middle?
[27:21] How to shift the norms within a company.
[30:30] The level of empathy in your company’s culture has determined resilience to disruption.
[32:36] Talented people are moving to cultures that have natural empathy built in.
[33:33] What it takes to foster, strengthen, and maintain a culture.
[34:10] Being in one place together used to be a key part of cultural ‘glue’.
[35:25] How cultural ‘cyclones’ can be developed away from the corporate hub and help solve the problem of cultural dilution.
[37:54] The powerful ‘Infinity Loop’: two connected halves—the customer and employee experiences.
[39:49] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: The Assumption Problem – Marketers don’t assume anything. Start with employees’ apathy and ambivalence. You have to earn their caring and their belief.
RESOURCES
Neil Bedwell on LinkedIn
LOCAL on LinkedIn
Neil Bedwell on Twitter — @Neilbedwell
LOCAL on Twitter - @insidelocal
QUOTES
“I’m a big believer that people shouldn’t have one career, that you should have as many different careers as you can.”
“Culture is what allows things to survive or die.”
“It doesn’t matter how helpful your idea is, if you don’t actually think about how it travels through culture, you’re likely going to lose that battle.”
“Marketing is ‘the orientation of everything you do around your audience.’”
“Around 2/3 of adults in the US are disengaged at work. They are unhappy, miserable, with the thing they spend half their waking life doing.”
“If you're not listening to your employees and understanding how they think and feel, you are in danger of not understanding the impact of that disengagement.”
“Disengagement hampers innovation, productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, customer service, the quality of your products, etc. Anything that you attribute to growth can be linked back to employee engagement.”
“Two thirds of those [change] initiatives require significant employee behavior change in order to succeed.”
“Smart talented folks are voting with their feet…they are seeking out those culture that have natural empathy built in.” | |||
| 23. Paul Reid — Triggering Trust and Engagement through Anonymity and Action | 28 May 2021 | 00:46:31 | |
Paul Reid is the CEO and Founder of Trickle and a serial entrepreneur. He shares how his early employment experiences taught him to build trust-based, thriving cultures at his first two start-ups. Now, these learnings have been encoded into the software that powers his latest venture, Trickle. Trust—which is key for employee engagement, effective communication, and collaboration—is generally earned, slowly. However, Paul explains how to generate trusting relationships more quickly through a purposeful combination of anonymity and action, supplemented by transparency.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[04:00] Paul’s first work experience at a tech start-up and the work conditions for employees.
[06:05] How Paul tried to solve employees’ issues by sharing anonymous data.
[07:18] The surprising response he got from the company’s founders.
[08:34] The recurring process established to fix the problems and its impact on the culture.
[10:12] How important was the co-founders’ role in the process?
[11:15] Paul’s first venture—a tech start-up that focused on feedback and open discussion to create a high-performance culture.
[13:15] Recruiting software engineers and then setting them free to do the right thing.
[14:22] As a business scales up, how trust can be sustained.
[15:09] The ‘Broken Windows’ criminology study of derelict buildings and what it signals.
[17:00] The benefit of Trickle’s internal ‘broken window sessions’.
[18:25] How do you ‘trigger’ trust in a company, enabling it to build quickly?
[19:00] Psychological safety is a huge component of a highly-functioning team. How do you cultivate that? People feel they can speak up without fear of negative consequences.
[20:18] Why Trickle doesn’t record anything if someone wants to contribute anonymously.
[21:14] Action must follow quickly after listening to employees. If you survey employees, it is important to show them progress is being made based on their feedback.
[22:01] Trickle’s effectiveness is based on tying engagement to the actual issues.
[22:58] Why Trickle focuses on introducing three things: inclusivity, transparency, and agility.
[23:25] As trust builds within an organization, many employees start to feel comfortable enough to submit feedback without being anonymous.
[25:05] How champions spend five minutes a day to support habit-forming.
[27:19] Due to the pandemic, people were afraid to ask doctors how they were doing, so Trickle added a feature to check in with them and gathered insights to help improve their well-being.
[31:20] How Trickle helps nudge people to establish new habits—e.g. sending a fist-bump!
[32:35] Why the sign of a healthy organization is engagement with a rolling cadence responding to issues of interest to talk about.
[33:45] The three stages of check-ins to engage employees feedback on key issues.
[35:16] What will happen when people go back into the office and how can Trickle help?
[36:23] How transparency is always a key theme for Trickle.
[36:51] Why not to fear anonymity – it helps more people engage in and contribute on key issues.
[37:47] The hybrid model that Paul anticipates for Trickle going forward and why.
[38:58] What is Paul’s onboarding process like, especially sharing the company’s culture?
[41:52] How Paul helps employees speak up during uncertain times and Trickle shares targeted mental health advice responding to anonymous check-ins.
[43:51] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Don’t get hung up on how to respond to employee feedback. Gather the data so you can understand how people feel. Without that, you can't create the environments that people are going to thrive in.
RESOURCES
Paul Reid on LinkedIn
Paul Reid on Twitter — @TricklePaul
Trickle on Twitter - @TrickleWorks
Smart and Gets Things Done by Avram Joel Spolsky
QUOTES
“You’re here because you’re very talented and you’ve got a desire to get things done and we’ve got a desire to be the best at what we do, and in order to do that, we are going to need to challenge each other.”
“The premise of Trickle is about helping people to speak up within an organization. So, we built it because we know that people don't often speak up about things that they care about.”
“When Google studied their highest-performing teams, what was the thing they had in common? Psychological safety. The ability to speak up without fear of negative consequences.”
“People don’t often see the value in speaking out, because they feel that things don’t change.”
“The idea is to tie the engagement and the action into one thread.”
“You’re trying to embed this openness.”
“When there's massive uncertainty, that’s when you want to be giving people a chance to speak up and get feedback.”
“If you don’t understand how people feel, you can’t create the environments that people are going to thrive in.” | |||
| 22. Laetitia Vitaud --The Unbundling and Re-bundling of Jobs in the Future of Work | 23 Apr 2021 | 00:49:22 | |
Laetitia Vitaud is an author and authority on the Future of Work and brings a European perspective with her experience living, lecturing, consulting, and doing research in France, the UK, and Germany. She has long been concerned about the unbundling of jobs and the impact on employees, especially women. In this episode, Laetitia shares her views on new employment dynamics and emerging options that mean proactive attention and re-bundling can change future outcomes for workers.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[03:51] Why did Laetitia have a mid-life crisis at 20 and what did she do about it?
[06:28] Laetitia initially focused on how individuals make professional transitions successfully.
[07:39] Evangelizing the idea of freelancing which was a novelty in France in 2016.
[08:10] Laetitia compares the difference between US healthcare vs. French healthcare.
[10:29] There was a rise in freelance job opportunities during the mid 2000s. Why is that?
[12:06] Consulting contracts for younger people are common in Europe because the full salary bundle has become a barrier to hiring someone as an employee.
[13:09] Rigid employee contracts for well-protected bundles led to outsourcing to service companies as well as freelancers.
[14:50] The evolution of the social contract with specialization, alienation, and subordination.
[16:23] The broad attractive work bundle offered by Ford and other auto manufacturers.
[18:01] Laetitia shares some key traits that have disappeared from the job bundle.
[18:56] Unalignment, exploitation, and inequalities are effects of the unbundling.
[19:45] Corporations’ attempts at realignment and filling in the gaps.
[20:34] Laetitia describes broad job dissatisfaction about trade-offs.
[22:18] What is a ‘good job’ now?
[23:33] Considering the concept of ‘good work’ which could mean bundling gigs.
[24:52] What questions should you be asking about your work?
[26:36] People aren’t calculating if their current bundle enough for the long-haul.
[27:32] The disparity in younger and older employees recognizing the reality of job bundles.
[29:08] How someone can become a craftsperson and remain relevant and valuable in the market.
[29:59] How employers can redefine contracts, employment arrangements, and open up work to be more flexible, attractive, and creative.
[31:09] How the pandemic has increased flexibility in work models to adapt to uncertainties.
[32:57] Managers are so reluctant to have a distributed workforce. Why?
[33:45] The return to the office is about order and rituals.
[37:07] ‘Hybrid work’ means many different things and must be applicable for everyone’s needs.
[39:28] Flexible working is a mindset first and not enforcing one model for everyone.
[40:28] How to create an inclusive workforce in a hybrid context.
[42:35] Increased options for creating new bundles—especially beneficial to counter ageism and discrimination against women.
[45:01] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Thinking about the impact of increased longevity, before you make any important decision, invite past and future selves to the table to confer with your current self. You should all have a say in discussing important issues before making your mind up!
RESOURCES
Laetitia Vitaud on LinkedIn
Laetitia Vitaud on Twitter — @Vitolae
Subscribe to Laetitia's Newsletter
QUOTES
“In France, whatever you do, you will have access to healthcare insurance and it would not cost you more [as a freelancer]. So, it’s easier to leave a salaried job and become self-employed even if you have a preexisting condition.”
“This quote what's good for GM is good for America and vice versa is actually a very profound thing because there's perfect alignment between what you do and the interest of the country, the nation, the planet, and that's that, that's also something that disappeared from the bundle.”
“What made the Fordist deal attractive was that in exchange of this alienation—division of labor and subordination—you had a very attractive bundle.”
“The more rigid the contract is, and the more companies want a flexible workforce and on demand work, the more hesitant they are to recruit people with that rigid contract.”
“The business of consulting is booming in those countries where the work contract is so rigid. You have so many consultants everywhere.”
“It’s not all bad for everybody. Some people have a satisfactory bundle, but by and large a lot more people are dissatisfied with the bundle that they have.”
“A lot of people are trapped in the vision of the old bundle and do not realize that without the job security [in this new bundle], they need to do some financial calculations that incorporate the risk of losing their jobs and transitioning to other jobs.”
“One way of inventing a new bundle by becoming a craftsman or craftswoman.”
“The question about what a good job is too narrow, because it's based on the assumption that basically there is a bundle behind a job.” | |||
| 21. Muriel Clauson — Skills versus Jobs — Talent Mapping, Mobility, and Management in the Future of Work | 26 Mar 2021 | 00:53:44 | |
Muriel Clauson brings a rich background in industrial and organizational psychology and psychometrics to the discussion about the importance of reorienting our employment focus from ‘jobs’ to ‘skills’. As co-Founder of Anthill—which enables adaptive talent management with employee buy-in using talent-mapping software—Muriel explains how we can emphasize people and skills, since talent, not technology, will ultimately determine competitive advantage.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[03:32] Muriel started in finance, but soon realized it wasn’t for her. What next?
[03:50] With a mentor and determination, she got a job, then did a PhD in industrial and organizational psychology.
[04:48] On a NASA program, looking at humanities’ challenges, she missed the connection to work.
[05:57] Muriel was asked to fill a keynote spot at short notice. Without experience, she stepped up!
[06:45] If you’re passionate about something, tell everyone!
[07:27] - How we have typically been cataloguing and defining different occupations—by KSAOs: knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics.
[08:40] Instead of thinking about how people can keep their jobs as automation comes to the forefront, what are people bringing to a work experience, starting with skills?
[09:40] Using a relationship database with a more understanding of people’s skills and their jobs, the projections on job replacement went down dramatically.
[11:25] Muriel wanted to change databases so technologies being created to navigate Future-of-Work changes would be built on top of data organized around skills.
[12:29] How executives need to help employees navigate work changes as technology won't be a real differentiator in the future, it will be people.
[12:42] Employers over-correct for a gap in skills, training everyone on that skill.
[13:50] The perfect world? Where each person understands all they bring to the table, what next steps they could take, where each could lead them, and what their priorities might be
[14:32] The 30 year linear “one” career is gone.
[15:08] How can companies best track and manage employees’ new non-linear careers?
[16:20] Public school systems still use the Strobe Test to assess what job someone should do, although it is most correlated to their parents’ socioeconomic status.
[17:51] Muriel helps companies think about the skills their people can bring to the table and develop a strategy and jobs around them.
[19:18] People leave companies not because they're disengaged or overworked, but because they don’t see a progression and a future.
[20:44] More enterprises are adopting a people-first approach, realizing treating people well is aligned with incentives.
[21:03] After a necessary mental shift, how can employers individualize skills’-based solutions at scale?
[22:56] What are YOUR skills today?
[24:20] Muriel digs into psychometrics to help people identify what their skills are.
[26:10] Context for different tests is important in order to understand what they are assessing.
[28:28] Using a relational database and much historical data, answering a few questions can generate a good hypothesis which is then refined.
[29:29] Sharing test results with employees so they also benefit from insights.
[30:59] The importance of establishing a culture of trust at organizations.
[32:28] The benefit of asking employees: What skills and interests are you not bringing to the table now that you’d like to use more of?
[37:01] The pandemic catalyzed many leaders to change their mindsets, strategies and thinking about work.
[39:06] Muriel has been surprised by the shift in executives’ approach to internal talent mobility.
[41:10] We do robust modeling for resources and companies, but not talent.
[41:55] Employers began to have more empathy—helping employees get the most out of work.
[43:00] Imagine employees feeling comfortable enough to say “Hey, I’m not feeling fully leveraged” so they can be moved to a new opportunity.
[44:14] Talking about the future of work, it always boils down to deciding between technology/profits or putting their people first, but it’s a false choice.
[47:09] Muriel considers how we can bridge the gap between employers and employees.
[48:35] As a new generation of graduates enter the workforce, what do they need to be aware of in this new work environment?
[50:40] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: The future doesn’t have a ‘type’. In a rapidly-changing world, there is no one type of person that is most ‘future ready’. Each of us has a seat at the table and plays a role in creating our future.
RESOURCES
Muriel Clauson on LinkedIn
Muriel Clauson on Instagram — @anthillai
QUOTES
“There is so much more to people than job description.”
“I became obsessed with actually helping governments restructure their labor data in a way that was skills first.”
“When people started to take a skills-based approach, the projection on job replacement went down dramatically.”
“Technology actually won't be a real differentiator in the future, it will be people.”
“We have employees who want to learn and develop their career but lack that navigation on how to do it.”
“We need to come up with a way to help people really understand what they bring to the table.” | |||
| 20. Reforming Capitalism, Promoting A National Human Capital Strategy, and Embracing the Future of Work | 26 Feb 2021 | 00:47:11 | |
Matthew Bishop—author of Philanthrocapitalism, visiting senior fellow of the Brookings Institution and a founder of the Social Progress Initiative—discusses how we can begin to rethink, and reform, capitalism and better value all workers’ contributions. As we plan to emerge from a period of extreme disruption, our economic framework needs to be reconfigured and the human capital of America assessed as to whether it’s well-suited for the Future of Work.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[04:00] The pandemic highlighted existing fault lines and intensified and accelerated disruptions that were already underway.
[05:37] Why does capitalism need to be reformed?
[06:55] After the crash of 2008, it became clear that we have a system of two halves – with almost all benefits going to the half with financial capital.
[07:45] COVID caused economic justice to rise to the top of the political agenda because of its impact on the average worker who already felt insecure about work.
[08:48] Capitalism wasn’t delivering for the average family and COVID accelerated the need to address this.
[08:57] The significance of the Business Roundtable announcement about all stakeholders, not just shareholders, benefiting.
[09:56] Why it makes sense to separate workers out from the rest of ‘social’ in the ‘S’ of ESG.
[10:43] There are a lot of conversations right now on how to be a better employer--but a big challenge is to figure out how to find broad agreement.
[11:49] WorkMoney is a new organization lobbying for working family rights in Washington—including the delineation between employees and independent contractors.
[12:50] What can be reconfigured to reform capitalism—setting an enabling context?
[13:33] Next steps--vocal companies talking about long-term stakeholder strategy.
[14:23] Measuring how companies are performing against UN Sustainable Development Goal targets.
[15:20] Is it time to reformulate GDP since it has never adequately measured progress?
[16:33] Matthew co-founded the Social Progress Index—a series of measures of the good society to use alongside GDP.
[17:22] COVID highlighted places with poor social performance as more vulnerable to deaths.
[18:39] What ‘normality’ may look like with the release of pent-up demand!
[20:28] Companies will be judged on how they responded during the crisis.
[22:00] CEOs know they have to change, but will their investors punish them if they do?
[23:40] The younger generation has seen nothing but chaos and catastrophe which likely results in jadedness and low trust levels.
[24:31] Without long-term career prospects, employees are happy to share opinions about their companies publicly especially credentials about social issues.
[26:40] Google has a large percentage of contract workers who are treated differently to employees.
[27:57] A bifurcated workforce can exist where high-paid employees are not focused on the social contract as regular employees are.
[29:47] Gender bias in management may improve after men have been more exposed in home-based chores and challenges during the pandemic.
[30:51] Matthew believes the ability to work from home will be an option for almost every job going forward.
[31:17] African American billionaire Robert Smith has proposed the 2% Solution to the Business Roundtable to address structural social challenges.
[33:17] COVID has highlighted deep social and structural problems in the economy and how difficult it is to get ahead.
[34:35] There will be a need for a massive re-skilling.
[35:19] The average American family needs to be equipped for the new world of work.
[36:02] A new initiative to create a national human capital strategy for America.
[37:03] The private sector needs to collaborate with universities and colleges and discuss future skills’ needs and what degrees will prepare future employees best.
[38:44] Employers, educators, and the government ought to get together and talk about what the future of work looks like even though you can’t predict how technology is going to evolve.
[39:51] The pandemic has shaken up the traditional four-year in-person degree.
[41:14] Where is ‘Philanthrocapitalism’ headed in the upcoming years?
[44:02] We have the opportunity to have a more constructive dialog between business and society.
[45:56] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Big picture - demand a national Human Capital Strategy and be willing to participate. Within your own company - Talk with your own team and find out what they really want, what their expectations are and what good practice looks like.
RESOURCES
Matthew Bishop on LinkedIn
Matthew Bishop on Twitter — @Mattbish
Association of American Colleges and Universities
QUOTES
“There was already a recognition that capitalism wasn’t delivering for the average family.”
“You look at the last year and the richest people in the world, they’ve done fantastically well, and the average worker with no benefits, their life has gotten much harder.”
“I do think a lot of CEOs get it, they get the need to change, but they are concerned that investors are ultimately going to punish them for doing that rather than reward them.”
“There is a need to look seriously, not just at economic growth, but about how the money is spent in terms of really investing in a healthy society.”
“The average working family needs to be equipped for the new world of work. What’s striking to me is that we don’t have a lot of ideas about what to do beyond going to college.”
“Nobody really knows what the human capital of America is and whether it’s well-suited to the work of the future.”
“Employers, educators, and the government ought to get together and talk about what the future of work looks like.”
“We have the opportunity to have a more constructive dialog between business and society.”
| |||
| 118: George Bradt - Onboarding—Culture First—for the Modern Workforce | 12 Jul 2024 | 00:50:01 | |
George Bradt is the Founder and Chair of PrimeGenesis, an executive onboarding and transition acceleration consultancy. He has authored many books including “The New Leader’s 100-day Action Plan.” George brings his international senior management experience, including witnessing and welcoming new leaders and team members into many large multinational corporations. He shares his experiences highlighting the importance of corporate cultural assimilation and relationship building for new hires. George explains when and how onboarding optimally starts and ends and how to update the process for a distributed workforce.
TAKEAWAYS [02:30] After studying economics, George starts in sales working for an industry leader.
[04:02] George brings a successful, different approach to selling.
[04:54] George moves to Procter and Gamble, the academy company for marketing at the time.
[06:36] The success of a multi-step process for his sales team at Unilever starts George realizing what onboarding means.
[08:39] At Procter and Gamble, it was all purposeful, disciplined onboarding.
[07:05] How ongoing support and alignment are crucial for the success of new hires beyond the initial onboarding period.
[09:10] He challenges the traditional notion of onboarding being limited to the first day, week, or month.
[10:30] Deliberate efforts are necessary to build relationships and company culture in distributed work environments.
[14:00] George's Forbes article gets much feedback about corporate cultures with distributed workforces.
[17:02] Onboarding new hires effectively is essential for productivity and retention.
[20:30] Coca Cola does not have a copy strategy while George is there.
[21:50] George explains his shift towards focusing on onboarding after realizing an unmet need in the industry.
[23:11] The four main ideas of effective onboarding.
[24:35] Why a structured onboarding plan before Day One matters.
[26:00] Consider an onboarding scenario, highlighting the different sentiments and expectations.
[27:20] Building relationships before starting a new job to set a positive initial dynamic.
[28:45] How leaders can onboard new team members, aligning and accomodating them.
[30:10] He suggests companies allow new hires to conduct due diligence before officially accepting a job offer.
[32:00] Transparency and providing necessary resources are crucial from Day One.
[33:25] George shares his experience with Procter and Gamble's rigorous and specific onboarding process, including the one-page memo format.
[34:50] After six years at Procter and Gamble, George contemplates staying forever.
[38:00] George explains experiences at Coca Cola that led him to focus on onboarding.
[39:40] He notes that despite Coca Cola's history, they had a flawed onboarding process for new hires.
[41:10] The importance of understanding and co-creating the ideal future culture with your team.
[42:30] He suggests that leaders should pay more attention to onboarding and actively create personal onboarding plans for new employees.
[44:00] To support onboardin cultural rituals are important to understand.
[45:15] He emphasizes aligning new hires with the current culture before co-creating an ideal future culture.
[46:30] George points out the lack of attention to onboarding by leaders and the need for their involvement in the process.
[47:50] He concludes by highlighting the importance of focusing on culture and relationships in a hybrid work environment.
IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: As soon as possible after someone accepts their new position, before Day One on the job, get their manager to sit down with them to co-create the person’s own personal onboarding plan, particularly emphasizing culture and building relationships.
RESOURCES
George Bradt on LinkedIn George’s book “The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan”
QUOTES
"The one most important idea is you have to converge into an organization or a team before you try to evolve it. You have to become part of the team and evolve it from the inside."
“If you're onboarding somebody who's working remotely, you've got to be incredibly deliberate and invest so much time in building the relationships."
"Give them the time, give them clarity of direction, give them the resources, and then eventually give them the authority they needed to do what they needed to do."
"All that matters is relationships. Any question, any meeting, you know, the answer to any question is you're caring about building relationships."
"Acquire them in the way that's going to work going forward, accommodate them so that they can do work, assimilate them so they can work with others, and then stick with it and help them accelerate."
"Ultimately, culture is the way people behave, the way they relate, their attitudes, their values, the environment. What's different with remote work is how deliberate you have to be about relationships." | |||
| 19. Rob Tercek — 2021: Forecasting and Planning a Foundational Year | 29 Jan 2021 | 00:45:20 | |
This episode Rob Tercek—author of Vaporized: Solid Strategies for Success in a Dematerialized World—discusses the reality of where we are, how to forecast appropriately, and plan strategically for 2021—understanding the opportunities and challenges. Rob poses questions to consider, identifies trends and advantages we can capture, as well as alerting us to dematerialization’s impact and how to work with it rather than be disrupted by it.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[02:56] Humans are used to adapting for short crises which made 2020 endless and hard.
[03:55] Business decisions were paralyzed as many people were unable to decide how to move forward in 2020.
[04:27] There is light at the end of the tunnel in 2021 with the vaccine rolling out.
[05:02] The vaccine doesn’t mean ‘normality’, but we can start to plan to go back to the office.
[06:10] COVID19 has just accelerated the process the internet began.
[06:53] Companies are not going to abandon the investment they made in work-from-home infrastructure leading to two kinds of workforce—distributed and onsite.
[07:56] Executives secret desires to go back to the office and concerns about remote working.
[08:46] Questions to consider as leaders assess strategic options about how to configure their workplaces for 2022.
[10:04] Companies may use a faulty forecasting process when planning for beyond crisis mode.
[10:57] Organizations can mistakenly think they are the only ones dealing with these circumstances.
[11:41] What is the impact of the broad shift in consumer behavior—changed habits and products they are no longer buying?
[12:35] Invest for the future will not be to rebuild the company as it was in 2018 and 2019.
[13:47] For B2B businesses, user and developer conferences are turning into tutorials for users—creating new habits and switching costs.
[14:57] How to use data to counter some of the loss in face-to-face meetings for sales people.
[16:47] Putting the IT department and CIO at forefront of rebuilding for the future.
[18:02] The importance of HR gathering and tracking data for C-suite discussions.
[18:46] The balance of responsibility between employer and employee to maintain skillsets.
[22:37] Rob describes how to create an actionable forecast.
[23:42] The only way you can tell if a prediction is accurate is after it’s happened.
[24:40] Why confidence intervals and probabilities matter.
[27:18] How to adjust for different geographic restrictions and vaccine rollout to develop a rough hypothesis and timeline.
[31:39] For companies to be laying a foundation in 2021 for 2022 and beyond. Robert thinks we will have two quarters this year that will not be great.
[32:19] Plan to deploy new digital infrastructure for 2022, since it usually takes 12-18 months.
[34:07] Robert describes the significant impact of COVID19 on digital healthcare.
[35:59] What smart companies are doing differently now to gain market share.
[37:00] Critical focus needs to be on the customer journey, which may be different now.
[38:15] We have to have more self-awareness, especially about our emotional state
[39:27] The impact of digital media immersion which can act as an outrage-generator.
[40:56] Disruption is scary. It’s hard. Cutting people some slack is being empathetic.
[42:49] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: What parts of your work and life can—and will—be replaced by software or ‘dematerialized’? Consider carefully taking action or leave the opportunity for someone else!
RESOURCES
Robert Tercek on LinkedIn
Robert Tercek on Facebook
Robert Tercek on Twitter — @Superplex
QUOTES
“There is a feeling, it’s a depressing thought, that 2021 seems like it’s going to be a continuation of 2020, and everyone knows 2020 was a terrible year on many levels.”
“Based on the current deployment of the vaccine, it seems unlikely we’re going to be through this COVID-19 until the latter half of 2021 and it could be as late as 2022. To set expectations.”
“You can’t turn back the hands of time. Many big organizations reallocated massive budgets to create a structure to work from home. That investment isn’t going to go away.”
“We lost two channels of information: Face-to-face meetings and conferences, but what we’ve gained is a different channel of feedback which is real-time usage data.”
“Everyone knows that we live in a changing world. Everyone knows that sudden dislocation seems to be the theme of this century.”
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| 18. Simone Sloan — Reframing Leadership: Shifting from Transactional to Inclusive | 18 Dec 2020 | 00:37:47 | |
Simone Sloan—diversity and inclusion specialist, business strategist and leadership coach—discusses how to become an inclusive leader. Simone shares her own early discovery that leaders with transactional management styles cannot nurture the kind of inclusive community at work that they need to succeed and advance. Bolstering practice with study and research, Simone explains how to lean in and understand team members’ experiences to: communicate differently, withhold judgments, connect and shift relationships, and improve collaboration.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[02:25] Feeling the impact of a manager saying your inputs and ideas aren’t important or valued.
[03:50] What Simone discovered when she started branching out across the organization.
[04:20] The benefits of advocates and allies within your company.
[05:18] Building social capital – where women often miss out.
[06:14] When Simone took time to reflect and started being intentional about reaching out for short one-on-one meetings, she was surprised by the positive reactions she got.
[07:08] The importance of follow through and being strategic about building your tribe at work.
[08:39] During a merger, a colleague told Simone they ‘didn’t know her’. What did they mean and why did it matter?
[10:30] How Simone connected differently with her reports after she re-introduced herself.
[11:35] As relationships deepened across the team, the energy shifted and collaboration improved.
[13:15] How Simone transitioned from marketing to inclusive leadership by studying human behavior.
[13:45] What is ontological coaching and how does it help leaders perform?
[14:15] The difference it makes to start a meeting genuinely asking, ‘How is everyone doing?’.
[16:00] By understanding how everyone is showing up, it’s possible to shift a meeting from being transactional to intentional.
[16:40] How emotional intelligence creates awareness which leads to organizational clarity.
[17:35] Changing leadership styles and how to define what kind of leader you are.
[18:56] Simone explains how to be intentional about fostering an empathy-based company culture as a leader.
[20:44] How to help people connect by telling their diverse stories.
[22:06] Combining understanding and accountability—are you asking the right questions?
[22:40] Inclusive leadership means creating a safe space for people to share without retribution.
[23:52] The additional human dimension that COVID has pushed us all to understand.
[24:22] How vulnerability humanizes leaders and helps support people they’re not alone.
[25:46] Simone starts with values—what do you value as a human being?
[27:03] People want to be: welcomed, valued, respected, and heard—with commitment. Without one one of these, it’s exclusion.
[27:40] It’s a lot of work to make sure all four of these components are in place, but that’s the role a leader has to take on.
[27:53] How we start to reduce polarization and division across the country?
[29:15] We are in a period of change, which is why there is tension.
[29:57] Simone sees lack of trust as the greatest hindrance to cooperation going forward.
[30:40] Communication is the key to building trust, paying attention to style, cadence and content.
[32:25] Putting aside assumptions and judgments about others is essential when collaborating and communicating with others -- allowing them to show you how they see themselves.
[32:52] How leaders can reduce judgments with intentional awareness and reality checking.
[36:10] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To become a more inclusive leader, think about what kind of experience people are having with you.
RESOURCES
Simone Sloan on LinkedIn
Simone Sloan on Facebook
Simone_Sloan_ on Instagram
Simone Sloan on Twitter — @AimInspireGrow
Biz Coach Network on YouTube
QUOTES
“When you are in it from a non-management role, that's where you feel the impact of what's inclusive, and what's not.”
“Think about who do I know, who knows me, who have I been interacting with? And start bridging out, and asking for a 15-minute one-on-one.”
“After opening up about our mood then we get into the agenda. Then we can start tackling things because now we have an understanding of where everyone's coming from and how they're showing up.”
“How are you defining your leadership style? Because some people have no clue, they're just like, ‘I just do.’”
“During this pandemic, I've seen more leaders get more vulnerable. When people can humanize themselves in front of large groups, people go, ‘Oh I'm not alone.’”
“People want to be welcomed, valued, respected, and heard. If one of those four things do not exist, it's an exclusion.”
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| 17. Michael Ventura — Transforming with Empathy: From Awareness to Application | 20 Nov 2020 | 00:42:31 | |
Michael Ventura—Founder of Sub Rosa and author of Applied Empathy—discusses his process for integrating empathy practices in work environments. He recommends doing self-work first and attaining sufficient awareness to stimulate and present an empathetic self. For business situations, he emphasizes cognitive empathy which involves perspective-taking driven by inquiry, as well as identifying and unpacking top workplace challenges. For the broader setting, Michael suggests we have conversations to understand, rather than conversations to win.
Key Takeaways
[00:53] Where the journey of empathy starts.
[03:36] Michael gets encouragement to be brave as an entrepreneur.
[04:00] Sub Rosa’s role as UN translator helping brands connect with their target audiences was Michael’s first empathy-making moment.
[04:42] How Michael’s entrepreneurial ventures have all applied empathy in order to connect with people in meaningful ways.
[05:15] Generations differ in how they relate to technology.
[06:28] Defining generations, and the conundrum for those born 1977 to 1984!
[09:27] The interior work involved in empathy—observation, witnessing, and practice.
[10:14] In his book, Applied Empathy, Michael included self-work practices and how these help us learn about others.
[11:53] What is the most effective way to communicate the value of empathy in business?
[12:30] How we can measure empathy—through its impact.
[13:42] Since March 2020, has interest increased in practicing empathy at work?
[14:30] People have recognized issues communicating and collaborating, but not known that practicing more empathy was the solution.
[15:28] An unintended consequence of quarantine work environments: that employees see more of the ‘whole person’ of their co-workers.
[17:10] If managers want to support their team better, they need to shift their behavior and manage each person individually.
[19:04] When managers understand more about themselves, they can show up more empathically and be more effective.
[20:09] We become more aware when we ask ourself questions, recognize and take care of multiple aspects of our ‘self’.
[21:42] Michael finds core issues by asking managers about the biggest rock they are facing.
[23:04] There is so much on managers’ plates right now, how can their transition be supported?
[23:58] Michael advocates for manager peer groups for problem-solving and support.
[25:15] How does Michael define empathy? It’s not about being nicer to people!
[26:24] The three types of empathy.
[27:59] The importance and challenge of cognitive empathy - the Platinum Rule.
[29:43] How cognitive empathy is the easiest to demonstrate value generation to an organization.
[30:22] Michael positions empathy as a hard skill—it’s hard to practice and slows things down before it speeds them up.
[31:12] Cognitive empathy is inherently neutral and needs to come with a set of ethics.
[33:10] How can we apply empathy and help bring people together across the country?
[34:59] Approaching conversations to understand, not to win.
[36:52] Michael shares learnings from conversations he and his wife have had while traveling cross country in their caravan.
[37:44] Practicing empathy is sometimes a slow process.
[39:26] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To create a daily practice of empathy, find the benign moment of the day or questions and think about ways to shift them—such as going from an autopilot ‘How are you doing?’ to ‘What’s it like to be you today?’
Resources
Michael Ventura on LinkedIn Instagram - @themichaelventura The Bridge Generation by Michael Rosa
Quotes
“If you don’t learn how to get into trouble, you’ll never learn how you will get out of it.”
“Good managers already know, especially in this time, that there is no one-size-fits-all way of managing. You can’t manage everybody the same way.”
“Everyone has a synonym for empathy because we don’t have a shared definition of empathy.”
“There's a big difference between having a conversation to win and having a conversation to understand.”
“Practicing empathy is sometimes a slow process.”
“Find the benign questions or moments in your day where you go on autopilot and think about ways you can shift that.” | |||
| Jeff Wald — On-Demand versus Remote Workers: Regulation, Opportunities, and Skills | 23 Oct 2020 | 00:43:07 | |
Jeff Wald, founder and former CEO of WorkMarket, shares his data-rich perspective with authoritative clarity to discuss the evolution of the On-Demand Economy, including the impact of technology, regulation, and the pandemic on its future direction and potential. Jeff considers how new understanding about remote working affects opportunities for on-demand workers, what is the ‘future of the firm’, and the critical issues facing us all with shifting business conditions and labor markets.
TAKEAWAYS
[03:44] A lack of systems and processes was holding back the On-Demand economy.
[04:57] The IRS has a 2-factor test to determine if someone should be classified as an employee or not.
[06:02] Each company has a complicated task to decide relevant criteria for their on-demand workers.
[06:55] Labor force regulation needs simplifying, but there’s zero near-term possibility of it happening.
[07:25] The impact (or continuing uncertainty) resulting from California’s Uber lawsuit conclusion.
[08:36] How regulation-related confusion is causing companies to consider hiring fewer freelancers.
[11:00] How much the On-Demand economy has been going over the last 10 years.
[12:20] Regulation has been hindering growth, but software has helped interpret regulations.
[12:39] Jeff guesses that regulation will shrink the on-demand economy over the next 10 years.
[14:48] Are more companies tapping into the ‘total extended workforce’ strategically?
[17:00] The percentage the remote workforce will grow as a result of COVID19.
[17:31] 42% of the US workforce CAN work from home.
[18:03] Moving on from ‘productivity equals presence’ mindsets.
[19:27] How policies, procedures, and infrastructure changed in March 2020, so that everyone possible could work remotely.
[20:11] Humans are social animals—the ‘Hub and Club’ role of offices in the future.
[21:39] The percentage of people wanting flexible work arrangements going forward.
[23:53] Needing to be more responsive, organizations can adapt the employee/freelancer composition of the workforce.
[24:42] One impetus for WorkMarket was the prediction that firms have small fixed cost kernels with everything else done on-demand.
[25:08] Understanding ‘total talent management’ where companies see all their labor resources together.
[26:08] Job versus income security relating to full-time jobs and on-demand work.
[27:12] How the economic environment might affect workers’ attitudes towards full-time positions.
[30:00] The changing social contract and convergence between full-time and on-demand workers.
[32:05] The depletion of training budgets with responsibility shifting to workers.
[32:49] The COVID19 disruption enabling non-incremental change and crafting new work conditions and practices.
[33:50] The rise of robots means displaced workers and re-skilling—but who owns workers’ training?
[35:15] What the impact of workers getting left behind means for society.
[36:00] Now, the average skill diminishes in four to six years, rather than 30 years.
[38:52] Jeff’s interim full-time gig with the Biden campaign, supporting the democratic process, and the need for Presidential support of the working class and retraining.
[40:31] Jeff’s next entrepreneurial venture—potentially helping companies benefit from staying connected with former employees.
[34:14] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Jeff’s lingering question—'who should own employees’ retraining?’ Until there is a clear answer, be proactive, keep learning, and keep your skills updated!
QUOTES
“My guess is that regulation wins that fight, and that the on-demand economy shrinks.”
“There is convergence between the part-time or on-demand worker, and the full-time worker.”
“You will see millions of workers that need to be retrained…and as a society we have not done that retraining well, and it’s unclear who should own that training.”
“Everybody has got to constantly be reading and updating and staying in touch with the new stuff, or you will become irrelevant… Everybody’s got to own it in some way on their own.”
RESOURCES The End of Jobs: The Rise of On-Demand Workers and Agile Corporations by Jeff Wald The Nature of the Firm by Ronald Coase | |||
| Karyn Twaronite — Leaning into Diversity and Inclusiveness with Empathy | 28 Aug 2020 | 00:31:01 | |
Karyn Twaronite, EY’s Global Vice Chair of Diversity and Inclusiveness, explains the depth and breadth of diversity and how inclusiveness is at the core of a culture of belonging. She describes the importance of practicing empathy and being authentically and actively involved for nurturing these values. Karyn suggests what more we can all do to enable fully-supportive corporate environments.
Key Takeaways
[2:48] Diversity has many different dimensions and has evolved. How does Karyn define it at EY?
[4:04] Karyn describes the evolution of diversity with four Cs: Compliance, Character, Commerce, and Culture.
[05:12] How important authenticity is to avoid an ‘inclusion allusion’ and keep striving.
[06:36] A sense of belonging creates inclusiveness which comes from people having empathy for each other.
[07:16] Employees felt the most sense of belonging was when the people they worked with checked in with them one on one.
[08:40] Highly-effective team leaders are being asked to lead their team and their teams’ families.
[09:25] Empathy is a key ingredient with respect to checking in and feeling a sense of belonging.
[10:00] How to create a culture of belonging while maintaining uniqueness and not asking for conformity.
[11:17] How equitable sponsorship has been a transformational lever for EY to increase diversity.
[12:56] Women who are sponsored are more likely to stay longer, lean in to opportunities and return from maternity leave.
[13:41] How executives can be measured and rewarded for achieving inclusive leadership goals.
[14:39] Empathy relating to recent experiences and protests has moved people from passive disapproval to more active roles.
[15:53] Racism and discrimination exist everywhere. Understanding, compassion and empathy also exist everywhere and have ignited new conversations, creating a sense of urgency.
[16:36] A platform for social equity: What does your organization stand for and against?
[16:56] How can you be an active anti-racist? What does that mean for you and your situation?
[19:37] What leaders and senior executives can do to create a more inclusive corporate culture.
[20:39] Key DNI reasons for companies include creating a safer and more respectful work environment.
[21:21] Key inclusive leadership behaviors.
[21:30] Creating DNI as a business topic to track and share updates on progress.
[23:40] Why checking in on employees matters.
[24:08] Leaning into similarities AND differences.
[25:26] Anybody can take charge and become an inclusive leader.
[25:50] ‘Violent politeness’ and why the highest earning team member should offer their opinion last.
[28:04] How to stay proactive—consider who is sitting on the sidelines in your company or team?
[29:46] Immediate Action Tip: Expand your A team. You might be pleasantly surprised who’s sitting in the wings.
Resources
How to strengthen inclusive leadership in times of crisis EY Global Executive Diversity & Inclusion Statement EY’s commitment to anti-racism in the US
Quotes
“If you aren’t really authentic in your effort to bring about a real inclusive culture, you can end up with something I call an inclusion illusion.”
“Employees felt a sense of belonging when the people that they worked with checked in with them one-on-one.”
“Empathy is a key ingredient and without it you’re really going to miss the bullseye.”
“A mentor stands beside you, but a sponsor is someone that stands in front of you and is very active.”
“Tone from the top is critical.”
“’You don’t have to be the most senior person on the team to be an inclusive leader.”
“Inclusion allows everyone on the field to play.”
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| Siham Jaafar — Diversity & Inclusion are Founded on Empathy | 07 Aug 2020 | 00:38:14 | |
Diversity and inclusion are best addressed with a multi-dimensional approach founded on empathy believes Siham Jaafar, President and CEO of 3D Consulting and Communications, whose training and consulting focuses on educational, law enforcement, and corporate audiences. Siham shares her perspectives and insights about how empathy-driven awareness increases our knowledge and decreases our fear of each other to bridge gaps and build connections, showing us that we are more the same than we are different.
Key Takeaways
[02:35] What drew Siham to diversity and inclusion training?
[03:48] Siham shares a vital turning point for her and how she thought about diversity and the catalyst for the Images & Perceptions Diversity Conference.
[4:35] Teachers have always been an important portion of the conference audience.
[4:40] Asking difficult questions allowed people to understand more and get comfortable.
[5:14] A vital turning point for Siham — How knowledge turns fear into enrichment about other people.
[6:40] Well-known speakers sharing their personal experiences in Hollywood and other industries brought credibility and relatability.
[8:06] Why many judges, lawyers, and law enforcement attend the conference.
[9:40] Empathy is the platform to build everything on.
[10:21] The difference between tolerance and acceptance and empathy’s role for achieving acceptance.
[11:16] The fear factor and its impact.
[12:41] The ‘need to know’ factor and getting a solid understanding of what you are dealing with.
[13:33] How COVID19 is making us all more vulnerable and aware.
[14:44] The challenge of talking about integration while staying physically distanced.
[15:25] How much are we thinking about everyone putting their lives on the line during this pandemic?
[17:48] What the pandemic and George Floyd’s death has revealed — ‘when the snow melts’ you see what’s underneath.
[18:28] People want police officers to be active, present, and do their jobs in a safe way, as well as stay safe.
[19:28] What kind of training helps police officers react empathetically when dealing with stressful conflict-ridden situations so things don’t escalate?
[20:10] The need for funding to have experts available and training for police officers to be better-equipped to respond and deescalate situations such as domestic violence.
[20:42] It’s critical for police officers to understand themselves—their way of thinking and backstories—and how that affects their personal perception of what they see.
[22:01] How the ‘fear factor’ influences African American parents’ discussions with their kids, creating different perspectives and emotional responses, such as during a traffic stop.
[22:58] If an officer has a different perception over why someone is acting a certain way, it can deeply affect their stress levels and conflict response.
[24:01] In most situations, when people are treated with respect and dignity, it creates an environment that encourages voluntary compliance.
[25:52] How do you create a safe place for people to tell their story in your organization?
[26:24] Someone asking questions wants to learn.
[26:54] We are more the same than we are different, we face the same challenges and want similar things.
[28:28] Remembering we can agree to disagree and still appreciate other’s thinking and accept it.
[29:05] Understanding more about our coworkers by seeing into their homes.
[30:26] A lot of disparities have been revealed during the pandemic.
[33:00] Life is about connectivity. It’s about human to human connection.
[34:00] We’re all in this together, but we’re not. The snow is melting and revealing the disparities.
[36:15] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIPS: Accept others. Get to know other people’s backstory. If someone reacts differently, don’t take it personally. And lend a helping hand where you can—now more than ever.
Resources
Quotes
“There’s a ‘need-to-know’ factor and there’s a fear factor.”
“I guess you fear what you don’t understand. It’s frightening, but once those gaps are filled they become more of a new enrichment process in your life.”
“Compassion and empathy can improve communications, inner personal relationships, and can even make you happy.”
“It’s definitely in the training. You wouldn’t send a brain surgeon to put out fire. When police officers go into situations and they don’t have any training or background, that’s going to be an escalated situation.”
“’Once the snow melts, the dirt shows’. And we have to address that dirt.”
“If you treat people with respect and dignity, regardless of the situation or who they are and where they came from, I believe you will instill more of an atmosphere of voluntary compliance.” | |||
| Mark Read -- Empathy: At the Core of Corporate Culture | 24 Jul 2020 | 00:38:00 | |
Mark Read, CEO of WPP, explains how strong cultural tenets help the organization connect with clients, support employees, and continue to innovate across the 100+ countries they operate in despite current circumstances. He emphasizes the importance of empathy for understanding evolving consumer behavior and workers’ different situations, as well as for responding to the protests sparked by racial injustice. Mark shares WPP’s commitments that ensure everyone feels comfortable to speak up and bring their whole self to work. Key Takeaways
[00:45] What is the connection between empathy and corporate culture?
[01:03] Multinationals are dealing with multidimensional challenges.
[03:47] How WPP’s purpose has guided the company during the COVID19 pandemic.
[05:05] The effect of responding with an empathetic, common sense approach.
[06:16] How communication helps manage and support employees through uncertainty.
[07:10] The benefit of making clear decisions and not changing tack during a crisis.
[08:25] Encouraging people to connect regularly with co-workers.
[09:22] The influence of WPP’s cultural values: being open, optimistic, and extraordinary.
[10:21] WPP recently launched WPP TV as a way to bring employees around the world together.
[11:50] How COVID19 has accelerated the arrival of the Future of Work.
[12:29] Mark’s views about the use of technology to work effectively and its role in attracting the best people.
[16:02] The world’s biggest period of self-reflection.
[17:32] WPP’s guiding principles for bringing people back to the office in 100+ countries.
[18:45] Anticipating a seismic shift in people’s attitudes towards remote working.
[20:15] How will brands be rethinking how to connect and engage with their consumers long-term? Mark breaks it down in three phrases.
[21:35] What area of business or society has not been changed by the pandemic?
[23:03] Clients’ interest to accelerate digital transformation has increased.
[23:47] WPP is thinking through the future of work, as well as rethinking the future of the high street.
[25:10] How have the protests against racial injustice around the world affected WPP?
[25:37] The changes WPP has committed to make.
[26:25] Why the perspective of anti-racism is important and working proactively to make a difference.
[27:31] Leaders’ roles in making lasting change with a focus on recruiting.
[29:03] Mark shares how WPP created a safe space and environment where people could speak up and share their experiences.
[30:27] How WPP’s culture helps cultivate a company where people are comfortable bringing their full selves to work.
[31:43] The essential role of empathy to support diversity and inclusion.
[32:12] Fighting racism becomes a task for everyone.
[33:03] How to sustain new approaches and initiatives long-term.
[34:14] Mark’s recommendations about how to stay connected, without having to travel!
[36:03] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Say hello. Check in with people and see how they really are doing.
RESOURCES
QUOTES
“Communicate as much as possible with people. You cannot overcommunicate with people.”
“Our clients have a much greater desire to accelerate digital transformation. Companies that can transact online have definitely come out in a much stronger position.”
“We’ve seen more innovation in the last three months than we’ve seen in the previous 10 years, and I think the world we come out to will be very, very different.”
“When we get back to normal, probably by the time we’re through this, we would have forgotten what normal is like.”
“We committed to use the power of our voice. This notion that silence is complicity I think it helps you to think through what you need to say.”
“If you don’t have empathy, you don’t try to understand where other people are coming from.”
“Fighting racism becomes a task for everyone.” | |||
| Jey Van-Sharp – Why Culture Matters--Especially Now | 10 Jul 2020 | 00:41:06 | |
Jey Van-Sharp, Principal at MyÜberLife, is an expert on culture. Jey discusses our many cultures as fundamental expressions of how we understand the world and each other. He explains why we are experiencing cultural dissonance and discomfort right now and how to step outside our own cultural codes. Jey offers insights into how companies and brands can make important cultural shifts.
Key Takeaways [00:47] The role of empathy within our culture.
[01:18] Why culture’s core role becomes more evident during times of uncertainty.
[02:38] How do you define corporate culture?
[04:33] In unsettled conditions, culture needs to be emphasized, how can companies best focus on culture?
[05:19] We are each born into multiple cultures as social creatures.
[06:34] People try to create dominance of one culture over another.
[07:38] Why we are experiencing cultural dissonance now.
[08:30] How a company can create a sense of community and build a strong culture.
[09:15] What happens when a company, its employees and customers do not have aligned cultural values.
[10:20] Why youth culture is the most dominant culture.
[10:48] Historical channels of information presented conventional wisdoms pretending to be truths.
[11:49] How can brands fill in cultural texture for consumers with limited current options.
[13:01] Once you understand a community, then you can serve them.
[14:24] The value of empathetic listening.
[14:45] The effect of operating from the standpoint that everyone has value.
[15:49] Learning the ‘code’ of the dominant culture. Being a ‘code switcher’ to be able to see value.
[17:47] How to generate shifts to change culture—view your company as a platform of empowerment.
17[] Bring in additional voices, have authentic conversations, listen to and train them. [19:53] The unwithering of old ideologies.
[21:00] When private enterprise and people team up, change happens very quickly.
[21:17] The aim is not for comfort. The aim is for understanding and truth.
[23:23] Is age a demographic or a mindset? Create new archetypes.
[24:26] The fourth branch of American government is the media and the fifth branch is corporate marketing.
[26:35] Cross communication is critical, not just of races, but also genders and age ranges so as to not miss out on understanding and opportunities.
[28:15] We have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable
[29:42] With continued economic strain and ongoing uncertainty, this is the moment for culture to bring us together.
[30:35] The consequence of having a culture of dismissal, dominance, and superiority.
[31:57] Crafting the new normal with empathy and human values.
[32:49] We are all scared human beings in awe of this reality and the best leaders will guide us through the uncertainty.
[34:59] Recognize the history of the world we live and the people within it.
[35:32] When you see a source of information, try a counter-factual simulation: try and disprove your assumptions.
[37:11] As executives, business people, corporations, and brands, we are part of the narrative of equality and justice.
[38:03] Memes are part of memories, passed down through culture, oral stories, statues, language and frameworks.
[38:41] We need to practice rational empathy—less academia, less rational thought, more feeling and understanding.
[39:39] You have to incentivize feelings.
IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Question what you know. Try to disprove your own assumptions. Try not to judge. Get into the habit of inquiry. Operate from a place of humility.
Resources:
Quotes:
“Culture beats strategy. For me, culture is the memories, value system, the beliefs, the shared goals, the fears, the ideology, mythology that exists within each community of people.”
“Don’t try to speak on the behalf of people you don’t understand. Bring those people in. Lend them your platform.”
“Brands and private enterprise play a big role. When private enterprise and the people team up, change happens very quickly.”
“Get interested in the world again, read about the world, question everything that you know.”
“Every day is a brand new day to operate from a place of complete humility, complete awe, complete transparency, complete authenticity.’
| |||
| Norman De Greve – The Integral Role of Empathy in Leadership and Business | 26 Jun 2020 | 00:31:28 | |
Norman de Greve, the CMO of CVS Health, discusses the importance of practicing empathy, both as a senior leader and an executive of the largest health and wellness company in the US. He describes their ongoing response to the COVID19 crisis—listening to customers and employees, addressing their needs, and communicating frequently. Norman shares his views about the beneficial outcomes for leaders who take empathy-driven action to build trust, connection, and demonstrate commitment to helping people achieve what they want to achieve. He notes how CVS Health measures and rewards empathy-driven results.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[01:13] Empathy is indispensable for business leaders to practice to help customers and employees feel safe.
[02:03] A strong focus on caring and empathy has long been a deep-rooted value at CVS Health.
[04:00] How integral is empathy now to corporate mindsets and practices, especially for leaders?
[04:46] Companies that are succeeding now have a deep understanding of both their employees and consumers.
[05:43] Norman shares how empathy has helped CVS Health respond to the Covid-19 crisis.
[07:00] How CVS Health listens to the voices of customers and employees to understand and address their needs.
[08:13] Considering the servant leader mindset and relevance in current circumstances.
[10:00] Key challenges CVS Health faced were being able to pivot quickly and preparing for the unknown.
[10:29] At the leadership level, what did CVS Health do differently?
[12:05] This crisis has brought out the humanness in people.
[13:18] Norman shares a more human approach as plans to return to the office are developed.
[14:06] How communication was the key to reassuring employees when CVS Health started Covid-19 testing.
[15:09] Across corporate environments, there is a heightened listening to, understanding, and responding to employees.
[16:00] How Norman is preparing for months of uncertainty and considering remote work options.
[17:24] Moving into a new world where we value the individual more than just a ‘resource’.
[18:30] Delivering empathy through a C.A.R.E.R. interaction model in stores increases customers’ adherence to their medication.
[19:21] CVS Health’s satisfaction scores are going way up because people are valuing empathy and kindness even more than ever in this stressful time.
[19:47] When CVS Health decided to track empathy internally, the reaction was ‘thank goodness’!
[20:30] An organization needs to deliver both operational follow-through as well as having empathic behaviors to enhance the customer experience.
[21:41] How empathy impacts the compensation of the management team of CVS Health.
[22:28] How does Norman define empathy?
[23:13] The role of empathy in cultivating a welcoming environment for a diverse population so people can reach their potential.
[24:08] We have a racism problem in America, as well as a mental health problem. People are not feeling enfranchised to bring all their skills and talents to work.
[25:26] How CVS Health supported their diverse workforce and achieved #24 on Diversity Inc’s top 50 companies for diversity for 2020.
[27:57] For leaders, Norman cautions that empathy is not just about listening, but also taking action.
[28:49] For any company, to enable everyone to bring their full potential, it starts with: what do we believe is the right vision for who we are and how we operate.
[29:37] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Ask your boss how they’re doing, not just the people who work for you. It’s a way to connect and hear what’s going on, and people need it.
RESOURCES
QUOTES
“It’s a very different environment than it used to be and companies that are succeeding are the ones that have a much deeper understanding both their employees and consumers.”
“The theory of the firm, which is usually why companies exist; and they exist to take the friction out of working together. Turns out Zoom does that pretty well.”
“This is challenging the paradigms we have in our heads.”
“Success really comes from a combination of operational and empathic behaviors.”
| |||
| Leading with Empathy Through Uncertainty and Change | 12 Jun 2020 | 00:33:24 | |
Disruptions, uncertainty, and social unrest have raised the bar for leaders, compelling them to adopt more personal styles and practice empathy. Sophie shares how we can learn new leadership styles incorporating empathy to ensure organizations can adapt for current conditions and ongoing changes. The Future of Work is NOW and we need to make long-term adjustments for the next normal—there is no going back to how things were.
[00:50] The current environment has generated a very different dynamic for leaders. [01:19] Leaders are needing to adopt more personal styles and practice empathy. [02:14] The Future of Work is NOW—COVID19 lockdowns have accelerated adoption of new technologies and forced us to experience new work habits. [02:30] We are in the midst of new upheaval with restrictions easing unevenly. [03:08] How are you supporting your community of employees? [03:46] Things are NOT going back to normal. Long-term changes are unavoidable to adjust for where we are now and what’s ahead. [04:44] How much have you been empathizing with customers recently? [05:10] Have you been connecting with your reports experiences? [05:22] What is needed to transition through this uncertainty sustainably—business-wise, execution-wise, and regarding employees’ well-being? [07:06] Everyone has been dealing with very different situations. [07:53] Leaders need to learn new mindsets and approaches to deal with COVID19 uncertainties and social unrest related to racial injustice. [08:56] We can learn and adapt to new leadership models [10:07] Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and feel what they are going through. [10:32] Empathetic leaders in the marines are able to achieve success under extraordinary pressure. [11:54] Leaders are the ones to create new cohesive environments and drive meaningful change. [13:11] How does Empathy make a difference? [14:03] The three components of empathy: Cognitive Empathy, Affective Empathy, and Empathetic Action. [16:28] What it takes to become an empathetic leader – intermally-focused and externally-applied. Internally—focusing on mindset, manner, and model. [17:22] The mindset of an empathetic leader is open and inclusive. [19:36] A signature of empathetic leaders is an individualized approach towards team members. [20:38] Being accessible, approachable, and authentic is important for empathetic leaders. [24:16] Are you setting the example for others by modeling behaviors? [25:12] Externally—key areas to focus on applying an empathetic approach include culture and values, talent, teamwork, intergenerational integration. [25:56] It is rarely sustainable to be an empathetic leader without a support environment. [27:43] Your role as a leader is indispensable to highlight and live by cultural values on a daily basis. [28:44] Self-awareness is the best places to start to recognize your own reactions, emotions, and judgments in order to start to understand other people’s. [29:03] How to identify the best work set up for yourself and your direct reports. [30:10] Using empathy to explore sensitive issues. [31:18] It is essential to be alert for mental health issues across your team. [31:52] Empathy IS second nature to us, says Frans De Waal, a Dutch primatologist. [33:00] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP – Start anywhere, and build incrementally and you will see the results-- share MORE information, include more people, consider more perspectives, invite more inputs, ask more questions, observe more closely and listen more actively.
Resources ‘The Age of Empathy’ by Frans De Waal ‘The Empathy Effect’ by Dr. Helen. Riess
Quotes ‘The current environment has generated a very different dynamic for leaders.’ ‘As a leader, to transition through this uncertainty and change SUSTAINABLY, your responsibilities have expanded and deepened.’ ‘Empathy is the critical characteristic of leadership now.’ ‘As humans, we are empathetic beings.’ ‘Self-awareness is the best place to start.’ | |||
| 117: Allison Vendt - Virtual First: Research-based Intentional Reinvention for Modern Work | 28 Jun 2024 | 00:46:55 | |
Allison Vendt is Senior Director, People Operations (Virtual First, People PMO, People Analytics) at Dropbox. She shares key reasons and research behind Dropbox’s transformation to ‘Virtual First’ starting with an office-centric culture. Allison discusses insights since the initial design phase and implementation including the change management required. She explains the ongoing evolution of the company’s virtual first approach to the Future of Work as they continue to pilot, learn, and iterate. Allison describes how they create high impact employees’ experiences with emphasis on culture, connections, and community.
TAKEAWAYS
[02:38] Allison quickly discovers law school is not for her and finds American studies fascinating.
[04:00] Allison wants to do something creative and starts working in media planning.
[04:55] Wanting more daily impact on people, Allison does a graduate degree in education.
[05:16] Allison was a student athlete herself – a swimmer.
[06:20] As an academic advisor, Allison runs orientation, tutoring, and development programs as well as coaching and counseling.
[06:48] Intrigued by Silicon Valley, while at Stanford, Allison runs a technology-integrated program for entrepreneurs.
[08:46] Parallels between high-achieving student athletes and Allison's current coworkers.
[10:19] Starting her first job in tech, Allison feels at home at once thanks to Dropbox's culture.
[11:24] While the L&D group transitions, Allison is open to experimenting and shifts role.
[13:18] Exploring how employees can own their careers through personal growth plans.
[14:08] More current focus on mentorship and skills.
[15:30] Pandemic shifts give Allison ‘Virtual First’ as her first strategy and operations project.
[16:40] Before 2020, Dropbox explores remote work while having an office-centric culture.
[18:02] The company's mission is relevant as they become intentional about reinventing what modern work looks like.
[20:44] Mindset shifts for virtual first, prioritizing human connection and adopting asynchronous by default
[22:22] Research on effective distributed work principles focused on an asynchronous by default mindset and upskilling everyone.
[23:48] Needing to reinvent everything, one work stream is dedicated to culture and community.
[24:57] Investing in cultural tethers and touchpoints that connect people and drive belonging include a neighborhood program with local relevant events.
[26:53] A mentoring program helps build weak ties, reinventing core elements for Virtual First.
[27:54] The empowering essence and elements of Dropbox’s self-serve mindset and strategy.
[29:48] Investing in training managers who play a critical role in distributed work effectiveness.
[30:52] Iterative ongoing piloting and learning with an open source Virtual First toolkit.
[32:19] Research drives the decision not to choose hybrid to avoid creating two employee experiences.
[34:06] Being transparent about choices and principles, Virtual First still wasn't for everyone, but some have returned.
[34:46] Virtual First is executed with a learning mindset, just like Dropbox builds products.
[35:26] Change management is critical for the organizational transformation.
[36:30] Onboarding is overhauled and refined—identifying synchronous and self-paced aspects.
[37:29] What are the frameworks for success? How to make Virtual First work for you.
[39:14] The potential for AI to reduce friction at work starting with AI training.
[40:40] Potential AI opportunities as behaviors and tools must go hand in hand to get more focus time and flow time.
[42:35] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Consider virtual first over hybrid. Whatever the size of your organization, you can adapt the core framework appropriately. Try a virtual first approach with one unit of your company to see if it could work. The benefits of happy productive employees outweigh the challenges.
RESOURCES
QUOTES edited
“We really had to take this opportunity to reinvent what modern work looked like.” “We wanted to do our due diligence. We came up with a set of guiding principles that four years later continue to guide the work. It was really important for us to be intentional about what we were doing to have a solid design to kick us off.”
“Virtual First means we work remotely, that's our primary orientation of work. But we do prioritize human connection. We really believe there's just no replacement for that face-to-face in-person connection.”
“We had to reinvent how we work. All the research that we had done on effective distributed work principles was leading with an asynchronous by default mindset that we had to get really good at.”
“We try to think about meetings being for debate, decision making, and discussion, not about status updates, for example, which you can easily do asynchronously.”
“We were very clear we need to reinvent everything, including looking at our culture.”
"We've done a lot of transformation around the knowledge management piece. So much about Virtual First is about empowerment -- individual empowerment."
“The role of the manager is so critical in any workplace, but certainly in a distributed environment. So we've invested a lot in manager training, making sure that all of our Virtual First principles, research that we're learning and insights that we have are getting are embedded into our manager training.”
"We deliberately elected not to adopt a hybrid model that was based on the research that we had done. Ultimately, we felt like leveraging a hybrid model was going to create two different experiences for employees." | |||
| Gary Bolles - Adapting Our Systems and Ourselves for a Reset at Work | 21 May 2020 | 00:47:33 | |
Global disruption has created the opportunity for a Great Reset. Gary A. Bolles, Chair for the Future of Work at Singularity University and Co-Founder of eParachute.com, believes we can redesign our business systems to be optimized to help people learn needed and evolving skill sets and develop agency. For individuals, he explains the new rules of work require constant self-inventory, experimenting to match skills, needs, and interests, and the benefits of identifying a personal Northstar.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[03:18] The Future of Work is an evolution to a digital work economy.
[03:55] The impact of automation is supposed to both increase human’s capacity to create things and solve problems, but it also impacts human work.
[04:33] Automation is channeling human energies to be able to solve problems in completely new ways
[06:14] Disruptive technologies change the way that industries function and then the roles of workers in those industries.
[07:17] The internet evaporates the middle.
[08:19] There's two things that are different now, the pace of change and the spread of change.
[09:22] Every individual needs four skills-- P.A.C.E: to be Problem solvers who are Adaptive, Creative, and with Empathy—to help create agency.
[13:43] The least advantaged are the ones that are the most disadvantaged in terms of- of being remote.
[14:51] We can try to design the things that we want to have happen, but nobody can actually predict really what the next 12, 18 months is going to hold.
[16:02] The more command-and-control, the more highly-structured organizations were the least adaptable.
[16:22] The organizations the pushed decision-making down to the team level have done the best.
[18:48] Organizations that really understand their purpose are going to be the best prepared for tomorrow.
[20:18] The great reset involves a changing landscape of rules and norms.
[20:44] What are the rules across the ecosystem?
[21:16] What is the best way to create value for my customers?
[21:51] The constantly changing landscape means that we all have to have much better sensor network and be continually adaptive.
[23:03] The landscape of the future of work distilled down into four domains: individuals, organizations, communities, and countries.
[25:08] Creating incentives to ensure people remain employed
[26:22] Why we need systems that are optimized to help people find meaningful work.
[26:56] Why we need to help people have P.A.C.E. and agency.
[27:47] It will require massive investments in helping humans gather the new information and learn the basic digital toolkit
[28:45] The largest game of employment musical chairs in the history of the world.
[29:16] What are the roles of government and the private sector in making necessary changes?
[30:17] It's critical is to have the tool set--understand your own unique skills and interests, and experiences—and have your own agency.
[31:15] Schools must think of themselves as lifelong learning platforms.
[32:07] Industries must send stronger signals about what they're hiring for now.
[32:42] If you're not training the workers of tomorrow, we will simply not have the workforce that we need.
[33:40] You can impact the system, if you hire somebody with a non-standard background
[37:55] if there's one major takeaway to have empathy for so many others that are going through this process
[39:06] With the new rules of work, you- you have to do constant self-inventory.
[39:20] Keep on experimenting and trying different techniques--you've got to go find or create that work.
[40:12] Most important for people is to have a Northstar--a directional goal that you are working towards.
[42:49] IMMEDIATE TIP ACTION: The three key characteristics of leadership now are Competence, Compassion, and Courage.
RESOURCES
The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed”-- Bruce Sterling
‘Big Shift: Measuring the Forces of Change’ – John Hagel
The Inside Gig – Edie Goldberg and Kelley-Steven-Waiss
QUOTES
“The internet evaporates the middle.”
“We all need to be problem solvers who are adaptive, creative and with empathy.”
"Teams are going to be much more problem centric”
“We don't have a health care system, we have a sick care system…We don't have an employment system. We have an unemployment system.”
“One thing we can predict is that the market asymmetry is going to be biblical.”
“Schools must think of themselves as lifelong learning platforms.”
"If you're not training the workers of tomorrow, we will simply not have the workforce that we need." | |||
| Kimmi Wernli — Aligning Values, Collaborating in Crisis | 08 May 2020 | 00:44:26 | |
When Kimmi Wernli took over as owner and CEO of Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter Company, she brought a holistic perspective and vision—wanting to enrich people’s lives and diets with sustainable, healthy peanut products. She focused on elevating and articulating their mission, connecting customers and employees with their purpose, and the company became a B-Corp. They also chose vendors and retail partners who shared their values and this alignment has helped the company handle tough and unpredictable operating conditions.
Key Takeaways
[02:55] Why is the company called Crazy Richard's Peanut Butter?
[03:56] Kimmi’s veins run with peanut butter!
[04:35] It was a smooth transition taking the business over from her father.
[06:05] Kimmi brought a more holistic perspective of how peanut butter can help people and enrich their lives.
[08:11] Peanut butter is the number 1 most requested item in food banks worldwide.
[08:55] Crazy Richard’s has always been about giving back.
[09:58] What is our vision? We need to articulate our mission, what is our ‘why’?
[11:15] Kimmi and her leadership team took 6-9 months to define their mission and core values and rebrand.
[12:54] They shared and aligned their values with their partners—across logistics, manufacturing, and retail—and parted ways when values were not in alignment.
[14:45] Why did Kimmi decide on making her company a B-Corp?
[15:20] Peanuts are a sustainable crop and great for the earth.
[17:53] To provide affordable products that are high quality required some significant operating changes for the business.
[20:46] For their Give-Back Program, they not only donate their product, but employees donate their time as well—which is great bonding time too!
[24:10] Kimmi is also an Ambassador for peanuts and advocates for US peanut farming and agriculture.
[25:37] Peanut butter sales are through the roof, and Kimmi feels a huge responsibility to get products to their customers
[27:09] It’s complicated making sure everyone involved in the process is safe.
[28:00] New technology is helping ensure they can do everything hands-off in logistics processes.
[29:08] New procedures and distancing means manufacturing orders are 10-20% short.
[30:15] Everyone along the supply chain is working together to try and absorb the extra costs.
[32:23] Close coordination with supply chain partners is possible because of their aligned values.
[34:38] Kimmi shares how she interacts with customers and shares some customer stories.
[37:46] Kimmi loves peanuts but is empathetic about tree nut allergies as her husband is very allergic.
[38:56] L-E-A-P study shows new preventative treatment for peanut allergies with early exposure.
[41:55] What is Kimmi’s favorite way to eat peanut butter?
[44:14] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP – Hone down your company's culture and values!
Resources:
Quotes:
“Peanut butter itself is the number one most requested item in food banks worldwide.”
“How can we get peanut butter into more people’s hands and really help solve the problems of the world one step at the time?”
“One of the great things about our product is it’s so sustainable. Peanuts themselves as a plant is a fantastic crop. It’s fantastic for the earth.”
“The guys in the warehouse, they’re not getting out on the front lines and on social media and seeing where our products are going to help others, but every quarter they get to spend a day at a food bank.”
“People have really overcome a lot of health issues and diseases they’re recovering from and peanut butter is one of the things they can eat.”
| |||
| Brian Day — Leading Remotely and Adapting for What’s Ahead | 24 Apr 2020 | 00:44:19 | |
Brian Day is the CEO of Fuze, a global cloud communications provider for enterprises. Fuze’s workforce went mostly remote in 2017. Brian shares his insights as an experienced leader of remote teams focusing on mindset, culture, communication, and tools. He also looks ahead towards a new normal and embraces productive new habits that are benefitting his organization. Key Takeaways [02:32] How has the COVID-19 crisis affected progress towards Future of Work environments?
[03:20] With the right mindset and culture, you can enable your workers to work remotely.
[04:15] How can you cultivate the right mindset and culture?
[05:29] Setting expectations with employees about working from home.
[07:11] Every communication should be video.
[08:10] Using technology to protect employees’ health.
[09:01] What changes has Brian seen with more people are working from home?
[11:35] How are managers managing and communicating with their remote teams effectively?
[13:46] Brian shares how he uses different communication channels with remote employees.
[16:46] The benefit of integrated applications—content sharing and communications history.
[19:09] Recognizing how to set up and be equipped for remote working.
[20:42] Establishing the right rules when working from home, including boundaries and habits.
[22:32] Brian thinks most industries will not go back to Jan/Feb 2020, instead companies will continue to benefit from remote working, with shorter commutes for employees.
[24:54] When working from home, if you have the right tools, you don’t lose productivity.
[25:54] Preparing and hiring for what’s ahead.
[27:25] What is Fuze’s company’s culture like?
[27:49] Fuze believes in ‘Work from Anywhere’—what does that really look like?
[31:24] What recommendations does Brian have for CEOs leading virtual companies now?
[35:47] How can managers nurture internal relationships when working remotely?
[38:52] Brian believes we have to unplug from the past—the world is a different place.
[40:39] The more seamless you can make communication, the better it is.
[42:19] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP – Use your video!
Resources: The Ultimate Guide to Remote Working
Quotes:
“The crisis that the world is living through today is essentially accelerated where we were all going in the first place.”
“As long as you have the right mindset and culture, you can enable your workers to work remotely, that’s the Future of Work.”
“For a lot of people, it’s a brave new world right now. I don’t think we’ll ever go back to the world of January or February of 2020.”
“I think the days of dedicated desks and offices, all that, I think those are numbered in most industries at this point.”
“You really need to unplug from the past and think about “That doesn’t matter anymore. The world’s a different place.””
| |||
| Heidi Melin — Managing Remote Teams and Workflow | 10 Apr 2020 | 00:41:02 | |
Heidi Melin is the Chief Marketing Officer at Workfront which provides a work management application platform for the enterprise. She has been a remote leader for years and shares her first-hand experiences and recommendations. Heidi has seen how companies that understand their workflow have been able to pivot quickly and be less impacted by current conditions as well as be prepared to adapt as situations improve.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[1:00] The COVID-19 virus has taken us out of our working norms.
[3:45] Is remote working easy?!
[4:35] How Heidi views the Future of Work and the accelerating effect of work-from-home restrictions.
[5:35] Heidi has had a front-row seat in seeing which companies pivot successfully to remote work and adjust processes to keep their businesses going.
[7:00] Organizations can distribute work successfully to an entire remote workforce leveraging a combination of tools, including Workfront’s work management software.
[7:20] What kind of behaviors do employees need to adapt to?
[9:50] You CAN establish a strong personal connection with someone you only met via video!
[11:44] Being empathetic about mandated work-from-home situations.
[14:55] Heidi has been working mostly remotely at Workfront, successfully leading and managing her office-based team, for over two years.
[16:20] Heidi shares her remote working best practice tips!
[20:55] How to help people who get distracted when working from home?
[22:42] The importance of flexibility and focusing on outcomes.
[23:54] Why it matters to have visibility into the work being done at any organization.
[26:15] How does Workfront’s work management platform help remote employees?
[27:25] It’s difficult for a leader to make strategic decisions without a holistic view of the work being done.
[28:38] What ability will enable companies to emerge from this crisis most successfully?
[31:20] How can teams get productive work done right now?
[31:38] How do you own your own resilience?
[36:00] It’s critical to understand how work moves through the organization. Then you can adapt the ‘in-person’ aspects of previous work processes quickly.
[38:18] How Signet Health has accelerated the clinic trials for a COVID-19 vaccine.
RESOURCES
Done Right: How Tomorrow's Top Leaders Get Stuff Done by Alex Shootman
QUOTES
“We’re having to adapt, today, to managing a remote workforce and the companies who have been able to pivot most successfully had a vision for the future of work.”
“We have the tools and infrastructure to do remote work, but it’s the behavior piece that requires some adapting to.”
“As companies look at which work they need to prioritize and which work they do not need to prioritize. That gets hard. If you don’t have a holistic view of the work being done in the organization, how can you make those trade offs?”
| |||
| Navigating Change: From Disruption to Sustainability | 13 Mar 2020 | 00:47:48 | |
Sophie addresses the disruption we are now facing in our working lives. How can we navigate unprecedented changes due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak and technological advances? Sophie explains evolving conditions and how to adapt both in the short-term—transitioning to remote working—and for the longer-term, making important strategic changes. She describes sustainable ways of working to adopt that will enable your company to thrive in a digitized, less predictable business landscape when things turn around.
Key Takeaways [01:00] How to approach the disruption we are facing in our working lives. [01:27] Sustainable ways of working that can handle short-term and longer-term needs. [01:52] Traditional work practices aren’t adaptable enough to handle current circumstances. [03:08] Short-term focus on transitioning to remote working. [03:47] Strategic long-term potential changes to be equipped to ramp up successfully when conditions improve. [04:53] Fundamental changes to our work conditions and lives primarily due to technology advances. [07:15] Why Sophie is well-qualified to provide clarity and direction. [08:16] How to approach your company’s unique situation. [09:21] Seven interrelated key areas to assess for action to transform and future-proof your company. [11:08] How technology is impacting our business models, revenues, operations and workers. [13:40] Shorter timeframes for projecting out and planning with more project work. [14:18] Companies undergoing fundamental strategic reviews to stay competitive in a digitized business world. [15:44] Employees needing to adapt and respond to faster, less predictable market conditions. [16:37]Learning new skills ongoing – the start of life-long learning. [16:55] Human beings resist change. [18:30] Culture and values matter especially during times of great uncertainty and change. [19:40] Questions to assess and actions to take relating to your company’s culture and values. [21:12] Leadership styles shifting: sharing more responsibility and using more empathy. [23;10] The importance of transparency—one of Atlassian’s core values. [23:41] Questions to assess and actions to transform relating to your company’s leadership. [26:04] The need to combine all generations’ expertise, skills, and creativity to compete effectively. [27:28] How empathy bridges generational gaps—increasing productivity at a ServePro franchise. [29:26] Questions to assess and step to take relating to your company’s intergenerational integration. [31:05] The increase of teamwork to respond faster to more complex projects. [31:48] The challenges of working effectively for teams including remote workers and non-employees. [32:17] How to manage and motivate distributed and blended teams. [34:08] Questions to assess and actions steps to transform your company’s remote teams and contractors’ performance. [36:04] New careers are self-directed, non-linear with shifts between work arrangements, functions and industries. [37:44] How is your company projecting out future skills’ needs and helping upskill employees? [39:24] Questions to assess and steps to act upon relating to you and your direct reports’ careers and upskilling needs. [40:40] Updating historical approaches to policies, measuring productivity, and performance reviews. [41:46] Policies and other transformation efforts should be coordinated and consistent. [42:32] How to monitor and support employees through and beyond periods of unsettling change. [44:18] Questions to assess and steps to take to update your company’s policies, productivity metrics, and performance reviews. [45:38] Immediate Action Tip: Urgency to transform for immediate needs and longer term sustainability.
| |||
| Workers' Wellbeing - The Holistic Approach | 09 Mar 2020 | 00:41:28 | |
Max Weiner is Founder and CEO at Resilient, a company that provides inclusive insurance options to low- and moderate-income freelancers and hourly workers Americans. It is difficult for hourly workers to find consistent work so they have benefits that can protect them from health shocks. However, companies are recognizing the benefits of taking a more holistic approach towards the well-being of all their workers. Key Takeaways: [01:28] The growing emphasis on inclusive culture and values. [02:02] Hourly workers are seen as expendable and cannot gain enough hours to pay for health care coverage. [03:34] What does the Future of Work look like for low income freelancers and hourly workers? [04:46] What are some of the challenges of having a viable and sustainable work environment? [05:18] The concern about wages and benefits for contract workers and what protection is needed. [06:57] What are the pillars of a stable society and economy? [08:12] Options for providing holistic support for hourly workers. [08:59] How to shift the full cost off hourly workers of protecting their wellbeing. [10:08] The challenges of overall financial health for workers without predictable schedules. [11:46] How benefits and insurance help individuals deal with health-related shocks. [12:57] Should the private sector solve this problem or is it time for the government to step in and help these workers? [13:47] Companies are increasingly seeing the benefits of taking their workers holistically as financially stressed workers are less productive. [15:07] Education and tools that nudge people to establish better financial habits. [16:07] Max shares how a traditional NYC taxi company is retaining drivers using Resilient. [20:02] How freelancer platforms could reward loyalty with insurance protection. [24:43] The Business Roundtable announced the role of corporations is to maximize the interests of ALL stakeholders. [27:55] Proactive regulators in the UK and NYC are open to new innovation. [30:15] How technology benefits and enables inclusive insurance. [33:09] Low income Millennials want life insurance more than cash back. [35:23] The population that is underserved by the banking sector. [38:14] Immediate Takeaway Action: Stakeholder capitalism—consider the full spectrum of the workforce and how to support their financial health.
Resources:
Quotes:
“It’s in everybody’s interest to protect stakeholders and workers are a very large part of that and providing worker’s protections is not only fair, but it’s fundamental if you want a stable society.”
“As the world changes, [fair treatment of workers] is increasingly important for consumers and consumers will vote with their purchasing.”
“People really want insurance protections and will do quite a lot to receive them if you provide them in ways that are comprehensive and easy to interact with.” | |||
| Optimizing Skills For Today and Tomorrow | 27 Feb 2020 | 00:50:03 | |
Sean Hinton, Founder and CEO of SkyHive, explains how SkyHive uses AI to help organizations and individuals identify their current and trending skills and best align them in real-time with business and career growth trajectories. In this episode, Sean explains the myth and fact of automation threats and how companies can focus resources on reskilling their current talent to retain them and stay competitive. Key Takeaways: [01:09] The half-life of skills used to be 10 years, now it is only 5 years. [03:44] Sean finds purpose and founds SkyHive. [05:29] We have had a hard time identifying our skills. [07:27] Sean defines the Future of Work in three categories: rapid digital transformation; digitalization of the workplace and classroom; and the changing nature of the worker and learner. [08:25] More than 45% of existing full-time employees define themselves as independent workers. [10:20] Compared to 10 years ago, 20% of any job now requires digital skill sets. Over the next 10 years, 65% of a job is anticipated to become digitized. [10:56] The myth and fact of reskilling: we have more time! [13:07] The number one barrier to the success of widespread automation is the reskilling of humans. [16:11] How do we know what our company’s workforce is truly capable of? [17:22] Defining the Future of Work by skills and SkyHive’s creation of ‘quantum labor analysis’ to understand how skills needs are constantly changing. [21:48] What skills does the workforce of the future need? [22:30] How to find the skills gaps in your existing workforce and be able to adjust rapidly. [24:54] What it means to understand current and trending skills and jobs in real-time in the labor market and be able to acquire talent efficiently. [29:15] Careers are no longer linear. How can employees or people know what skill sets they should be focusing on? [30:37] How identifying individual people’s skills reveals what each person is really capable of. [31:03] Matching relevant content to skills’ gaps allows cost-effective, focused training. [33:19] Displaced workers can identify new opportunities and options by identifying their skills and where they could be used. [35:19] Employees’ development enabled by applying their skills in different areas. [37:42] Mentoring as a means to develop and retain people. [38:55] Does anyone have 100% of the skills they need for a job? [39:52] How SkyHive’s technology identifies upward mobility opportunities quickly. [41:20] SkyHive can help identify jobs that don’t yet exist. [43:52] What is the number one soft skill you should be learning? [44:25] Soft skills are becoming increasingly important. [47:15] Immediate Action Tip: Discover and use your untapped skills.
Resources:
Quotes:
“If I ask anyone, ‘What are your skills?’ People would have a very hard time conclusively answering that question.”
“95% of job growth in the United States since 2007 is contract-based and independent labor.”
“We still have control over our destiny. The robots are not taking over any time soon.”
“If the employee is not seeing the opportunities in front of them and being engaged, you’ll lose them.”
“There’s a much greater multitude of engagement and less attrition and turnover the faster you can connect somebody to a mentor.” | |||
| The Secrets of Productive Remote Meetings | 27 Feb 2020 | 00:44:36 | |
Beth Porter is CEO and Co-Founder of Riff Analytics. Riff offers AI-enabled tools that provide powerful insights about individual behaviors and team dynamics, which improves remote working teams’ results. Beth explains the effect of different types of meeting interactions and how Riff nudges people to form better meeting habits so they can develop trust, all share their thoughts and feel heard improving collaboration and outcomes.
Key Takeaways: [01:36] We are often not set up for success in our meetings. [02:11] Behavioral science identifies turn-taking as critical for productive meetings [03:44] The two parts of the Future of Work: more complex, non-routine work using different skills and more remote working. [06:16] Relationships are becoming more important as we become more distant physically. [07:23] A shift from incentivizing individual work to teamwork. [09:08] The pros and cons of remote versus office working. [09:59] Community building is important to build trust for people working from home. [11:41] Beth’s early career as a math teacher emphasizing team-based work. [15:44] What is computational social science? [17:33] How is Riff Analytics using artificial intelligence? [20:00] What the dynamics of conversations tell us. [21:06] The impact of unspoken signals during meetings. [22:01] Engagement is measured and feedback is given in real-time about who is dominating the conversation. [22:39] The effect of interrupting during meetings. [23:51] Feedback raises awareness in all meeting attendees. [24:01] Visualization of each person’s meeting participation. [25:12] Riff is a tool for promoting and practicing productive meeting habits. [25:53] Post-meeting surveys capture each attendee’s experience. [27:53] Original goal was to help online course learning where trust levels are low. [30:21] Riff increases social presence feeling as though you are meeting in person. [31:48] The relevance of trust and taking turns in conversation. [34:12] Successful patterns of different meeting interactions. [36:36] Riff nudges people to adopt better collaboration habits. [41:26] Immediate Action Tip: Understand that time is a collective responsibility—respecting and optimizing other people’s time as well as your own.
Resources:
Quotes:
“Research shows 71% of people find meetings unproductive and inefficient.”
“Everyone has something to share and it requires you to trust that if you give up your speaking time to others that something valuable is going to happen on the other end.”
“Optimizing time is a collective responsibility, not an individual responsibility alone. If you’re in a meeting with other people, it’s not just your time.” | |||
| Managing Your Careers in the Future of Work | 27 Feb 2020 | 00:51:16 | |
Ben Brooks is Founder and CEO of Pilot, a software-based employee coaching platform. Careers are becoming more self-directed with people needing to be more self-aware, advocate for themselves, and make career development a priority. Ben explains how Pilot is reframing growth and development, enabling employers to support employees’ individual development while also improving competitiveness and retention.
Key Takeaways: [00:58] Every individual should plan to have 5 careers in their lifetime. [01:52] Nurturing employees’ potential is key for engaging and retaining them. [03:40] The Future of Work is self-directed, which means a greater reliance on the human brain, not less. [07:03] Future of Work transformation has just started -- we are going through the teething stage now. [08:22] Ben has had a varied career which he describes it as a zigzag. [10:25] Why was Ben’s first job at Enterprise the most fun job he had? [12:49] Why did Ben launch his career coaching platform, Pilot? [14:54] Most people do not feel powerful at work. [15:34] How to make employee growth and development a priority, not a hobby. [16:47] We need help to focus as the attention economy pulls us in too many directions. [17:56] One size doesn’t fit all for work or careers. [18:35] Coaching helps unlock people being able to advocate for themselves. [19:36] How Pilot handles the diversity of work across industries, organizations, and people. [21:30] How Pilot helped a top salesman not have to choose between his health or success. [22:25] Pilot enables users to focus on what really matters in life. [25:24] Ben has a holistic approach when it comes to growth and development, focused on addressing current dissatisfaction and growing where you are. [26:43] The commonalities in how to manage yourself as a professional and ensure the employee experiences suits you. [28:17] The benefit of personal agility. [29:42] A college degree is no longer sufficient. [31:37] What employees need to future proof their careers. [32:55] Leadership is not a position. [36:09] How to manage your own inclusion by decoding and explaining yourself to others. [39:30] The intent to democratize coaching to support employees owning their careers. [41:59] The strategic role of HR and their need for data is supported by the product’s design. [43:02] Pilot’s initial non-enterprise version. [44:45] What are some of the biggest misconceptions of coaching? [48:17] Immediate Action Tip: Look at any frustrations as an indicator to take action, advocate for yourself and own your life and experiences at work.
Resources: Steve Jobs Commencement Speech Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World How Will You Measure Your Life? By Clayton Christensen
Quotes:
“The Future of Work is self-directed”.
“Most people do not feel powerful at work.”
“The intent to democratize coaching.”
“People seldom regret speaking up and advocating for themselves.“ | |||
| 116: Ryan Anderson – Evolving Workspace Landscaping Un/Tethered by Technology | 21 Jun 2024 | 00:58:19 | |
Ryan Anderson is Vice President of Global Research and Insights at MillerKnoll leading research and providing workplace strategy and application design advisory services. He also hosts MillerKnoll’s “About Place” podcast. With much experience at the intersection of workplace research, innovation, and technology, Ryan discusses evolving working needs un/tethered by technology. He explains how urban landscaping concepts support human-centric office-based design. Ryan recommends incremental office improvements to match evolving work needs and change management to support any facility update.
TAKEAWAYS
[02:19] A random decision to study marketing, however Ryan finds he loves the audience focus.
[03:55] In furniture product development, Ryan finds the commercialization process tough, but learns a lot.
[04:24] Ryan is drawn to the conceptual phases, empathizing to understand unmet needs.
[06:07] How West Michigan has a concentration of workplace design companies.
[06:54] Ryan grew up thinking furniture was boring but learns how much more there is to it.
[08:35] In Chicago, Ryan meets his wife and studies purpose-driven business and ethics-based leadership.
[10:27] Ryan transitions to a corporate/design role as technology integration changes work settings.
[11:19] Commercial interior design and Ryan respond to employees’ new technology setups.
[13:14] A history lover, Ryan describes key design people and an office landscape movement.
[13:37] The fascinating use of urban planning principles for office landscaping.
[14:30] Desk-based workers’ needs drive workspace planning and fuel industry growth.
[15:00] The original goal of the cubicle—to provide workplace variety!
[16:08] Workspaces need to evolve to keep in tempo with work.
[17:07] Tech trends dictated earlier workplace constraints and are now releasing us from them.
[18:36] Understanding evergreen needs while envisioning and maturing ideas through experimentation.
[20:00] Ryan moves company to align with designing for the tech user not the technology.
[21:42] Mid-2010’s, The Living Office anticipates and amplifies the consumerization of technology.
[22:52] Partnering with big tech companies to revisit office landscaping for the modern era.
[23:40] Exploring ‘prop tech’ – the technological evolution of the building – smart buildings.
[24:30] Sensors and other tech enhancements start to personalize office experiences.
[25:00] The SaaS business model interest Ryan who joins a fast-growing prop tech venture.
[26:18] Ryan shifts focus to changing digitized work experiences rather than tech integration.
[26:59] The workplace ‘product’ must support diverse teams’ evolving digitalized work needs.
[31:08] Douglas McGregor’s framework of Theory X and Theory Y management.
[32:45] With distributed work, designing spaces to supervise work is unrealistic.
[33:58] Community building and urban planning are enabling an ecosystem of people.
[34:51] Optimizing for office-based work activities, such as for longer form collaboration.
[35:53] What do offices best provide – structured collaboration and focused concentration?
[37:03] Understand teams operating in a facility to address their changing activities and needs.
[38:25] Not many organizations are supporting their employees’ home working settings yet.
[39:51] The prospect of major projects and expensive capital are stalling renovation plans.
[42:03] Service As A Space concepts also involve investing in space that evolves over time.
[43:55] AI has the potential to create safer, healthier, smarter buildings.
[44:56] The possibilities of AI tools to augment the design process.
[48:28] Work is best determined by a social contract that’s beneficial not location-based or too restrictive.
[49:52] Ryan shares how his team updates their team working agreement protocols.
[50:49] Rewind assumptions to consider old and new ideas to support teams’ needs.
[51:10] Neighborhood-based planning allows connectedness, attachment, and scalability.
[54:18] New office landscaping uses neighborhoods similarly to 15-minute cities.
[55:00] Why strong and weak ties matter.
[50:49] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Real estate strategies follow talent—so develop incremental office improvements that purposefully encourage connection and interaction. Create in-office neighborhoods to support teams’ sense of community and belonging with flexibility for regular updates responding to evolving work needs.
RESOURCES
Douglas McGregor’s framework of Theory X and Theory Y
QUOTES (edited)
“We're all looking at what is the post desktop, post cubicle era of working looks like.”
“You design for the technology user, not the technology. You have to understand the patterns of behavior, even though the tool sets evolve.”
“Recognizing that our work experiences are increasingly becoming digitized and virtual, the work is becoming digital, but that we're physical beings and physical spaces. We need to figure out how to allow people to exist in these physical spaces and use those tech tools in a really healthy, fun, productive way.”
“Facility managers and corporate real estate leaders are product owners that own the product—the workplace. The focus is on helping them better understand their teams, the diverse nature of those teams, the evolving nature of the work, and trying to conceptualize a space that gets better over time.”
“Regardless of your inherent perspectives on management, the thought of using a space to supervise work in an era of digitized distributed work is extremely unrealistic.”
“What can this space do to help our employees to collaborate in new ways, offer them experiences they can't have at home. That is a healthy and better approach. It's just complicated. It's more complicated than saying, well line 'em up in rows so that I can watch them effectively.”
“It’s urban planning. We’re taking these principles, we’re bringing them inside the building. We’re enabling an ecosystem of people.”
“Any facilities project is a change management project, and any real estate strategy has to follow talent.” | |||
| 115: Jenny He - Pursuing Productivity Managing Distributed Teams | 14 Jun 2024 | 00:57:15 | |
Jenny He is the Founder, CEO, and licensed contractor at Ergeon, a construction company making home renovation easier for consumers and contractors. Jenny combines her strong engineering, technology, and consulting background to convert and facilitate contractors’ construction projects as well as to manage Ergeon’s fully distributed workforce. She applies a consistent, rigorous approach to contracted project progress and outcomes as well as to evaluating individual employees’ task and teamwork results. Jenny shares her thoughtful analysis of how productivity can be assessed and tracked appropriately for specific disciplines, teams, and individuals.
TAKEAWAYS
[03:15] Jenny is born in China to parents who are both engineers.
[03:53] Jenny moves to the UK at 10 years old as her father pursues research and his PhD.
[04:48] The family moves to Canada and Jenny studies electrical engineering at college.
[05:24] Enjoying solving hard problems, Jenny's PhD optimizes Internet routing protocols.
[07:23] A random situation results in Jenny becoming a consultant and joining McKinsey.
[08:37] Learning leadership and soft skills, Jenny follows good managers, not projects.
[09:34] The hardest part is not solving the problem but defining the right problem to solve.
[11:42] Jenny discovers insufficient technology is built to support skills tradespeople.
[13:00] Jenny proposes a useful solution for a skilled field tech—how else can she help?
[13:59] EZ Home’s app gamifies workflow for gardening service providers.
[15:28] The CTO/Founder of EZ Home also co-founded Odesk and has great relevant experience.
[16:22] Tackling physical work projects is even harder than Odesk’s business.
[16:48] Why the technology needs to be more mature for the new venture.
[19:29] Jenny wants to empower high skilled trade entrepreneurs.
[20:50] Renovating her home, Jenny plans and uses technology and has a positive experience!
[23:02] The name Ergeon captures the vision of the company.
[25:07] Measuring customers’ experiences is a key productivity metric.
[28:12] Jenny takes project complexity into account and assesses contributions to set prices.
[29:09] How Jenny's business takes care of most front- and back-office construction coordination.
[36:06] Creating a scalable, full distributed factory with an iterative communication process.
[31:02] Scalable groups perform tasks with construction knowledge embedded into the technology.
[32:28] They identify specific skills to hire for and teach the rest.
[33:25] Is the unit of productivity the team or the individual?
[34:55] To measure productivity, there often need to be sufficient similar jobs to compare.
[36:44] Onboarding is very deliberate since Ergeon hires many people with no experience.
[37:32] In the first few days, new hires are trained about processes and best practices.
[38:44] Role-playing in initial weeks’ boot camps increase knowledge and confidence.
[40:25] Onboarding timeframes and programs depend on the type and complexity of the role.
[42:30] Distributed working issue #1: Building trust is hard.
[43:15] Transparency is important to avoid a tiered system of senior execs and everyone else.
[44:12] Distributed work issue #2: Mitigating time zones using async methods and alignment.
[45:13] Distributed work issue #3: Interpersonal connections need purposeful nurturing.
[47:03] How to evaluate individuals whose productivity is measured at a team level.
[50:34] Technology progress leads to reskilling, evolving roles, and supported outplacement.
[53:27] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To measure productivity, start with performance and assess variation between identical roles. Address systematic challenges hindering goal achievement including employees’ access to suitable tools before identifying productivity measures and ensure people have the training and support to focus their efforts.
[54:48] Jenny is revising for multiple exams so Ergeon can operate in many more U.S. states.
RESOURCES
QUOTES (edited)
“Often the hardest part isn't solving the problem, but defining what is the right problem to solve.” “We also have other teams in the company like supply ops because it's a small team. we're looking at the team level targets and productivity versus the individual. Because I do believe, unless you have say five plus people doing exactly the same job, they can't be having some different variants of the job.” “Building trust is hard, and it is harder in a distributed environment.” “We are trying to create a scaleable factory where no one’s co-located.” “We do a lot of async communications and make to make [work] sustainable for people. We're generally thoughtful about hiring for specific roles where async work is easier.” On connection, “It's not even just about distributed or not, it's if everyone is co-located, it happens somewhat naturally. When you can't not see other people and have casual conversations, it has to be then very purposeful to create that environment. To give people that opportunity to connect.” “Start with performance, before you think about productivity. Understand how much variation you have within the exact same roles. If the delta is huge, what is causing the delta—are there systematic challenges that make it difficult for people to achieve their goals?”
| |||
| 114: Dart Lindsley – Reframing Work as a Product and Employees as Customers | 31 May 2024 | 00:50:59 | |
Dart Lindsley is Strategic Advisor, People Experience at Google. He is also a writer, speaker, and host of the Work for Humans podcast – on a mission to humanize work. Dart share insights about his realization that businesses are multisided marketplaces where employees are (overlooked) customers of work and work is a product. To better design the work product, Dart recognizes teams’ agency and ability to allocate their attention among themselves to complete tasks effectively. He discusses a flipped org chart with managers in supportive, rather than authoritative, roles. Dart advocates for more leadership closest to the customer.
TAKEAWAYS
[02:05] Dart is an undergraduate for seven years partly because his brother told him never to graduate!
[03:47] Dart explores unpopular forms of writing which makes earning a living hard.
[04:37] Being a criminal defense investigator rearranges Dart’s soul.
[06:45] After a master’s degree, Dart becomes a recruiter to earn more as he starts a family.
[08:34] Dart’s family are scientists, so his career transitioned to analytical work after a recruiting downturn.
[09:49] Dart inserts himself into the team doing strategic work designing the new staffing system.
[10:52] Finding a home in analytical disciplines which are less burdensome and emotional.
[12:26] Dart explores tooling, UX, change management and Six Sigma, ending up with organizational design.
[13:36] Facilitating business architecture resonates with Dart who is very interested in how large systems create experiences.
[15:03] Companies are ‘n’ dimensional: humans cannot observe them or handle more than 3 dimensions.
[15:49] Human Resources had not been analyzed from a business architecture point of view before.
[17:03] Business architecture is only needed for companies going through significant transformation to discover new operational capabilities needs and how they interrelate.
[18:08] Translating strategic capability requirements into tech systems and architecture is not easy.
[20:48] Business architecture change derives from either market changes or new tech capabilities—as now.
[21:20] The pace layer of technology is usually the slowest thing. Not now, so much experimentation is needed.
[22:35] Dart initially subscribes to the traditional model of HR where employees are the inputs of production.
[23:48] Employee has happiness has not been a concern—only productivity which Dart finds ethically flawed.
[25:10] Dart notices ‘employees’ show up in two places—inside (production inputs) and outside (customers).
[25:59] Working on a patent for Cisco, Dart explores multi-sided businesses and realizes employees are also (forgotten) customers.
[28:25] If employees are customers, what are we selling them? We need to design work better.
[29:03] Do people want only autonomy, mastery and purpose? Dart finds 35+ more answers!
[30:15] People usually want 8 things from work. Only 4 likely overlap, so how to optimize individually?
[31:05] Lack of autonomy is a cost of a job, like social anxiety and threats to health and safety.
[32:33] Managers are key to a design-centered solution.
[33:28] Design is about empathy, understanding employees’ needs, scaling with managers below on the org chart.
[34:10] Managers are brokers between demand for the team’s labor and the market for work—the work people want to do.
[37:10] A team can act as a smart organism allocating its attention to work and delivering value.
[38:32] Color coding how rewarding work is—green, yellow, and red. What happens when colors change.
[39:41] The range of issues and solutions affecting the cost side of work.
[42:14] How do we design our lives so as not to be ‘inputs of production’?
[43:31] How a team agrees on what business value is and the core mission.
[44:25] Is the manager winning the work the team wants to do? And the type of client the team wants?
[47:10] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To enable a dexterous organization, let the edges closest to the customers lead. Giving more agency to the agents will facilitate guided emergence, while anchoring your organization with values, purpose, and focus.
RESOURCES
Dart’s Work for Humans podcast Bill Burnet’s book “Designing Your Life”
QUOTES (edited)
“if you're an input to production and my main objective is to make you productive, then if I can make you productive by being happy, great. But, if I can make you productive and you're miserable, great. It's not a concern.”
“The only reason I'm going to care about a human is because of what they give me as a company? It just struck me as like ethically flawed.”
“For the first 10 years of working in HR, I subscribed to the traditional model of HR which is that employees are inputs of production who must be acquired.”
“If employees are customers, what are we selling them? We’re selling them work. If work’s a product, then it’s a design problem and we can design it better.”
“Managers are designers, even ‘product’ managers. [They act] as a broker between two markets. One market is the demand for the labor of the team—so the value that flows towards the traditional customer. The other is the market for work and the work that people want to do.” | |||
| 113: Melissa Puls - Leading From Anywhere: Trust, Purpose, and Results | 24 May 2024 | 00:47:43 | |
Melissa Puls is the Chief Marketing Officer and SVP of Customer Success at Ivanti which provides software solutions that elevate and secure EverywhereWork. Melissa brings deep experience building and leading decentralized teams. She shares her critical learnings that have enabled effective teamwork and successful outcomes. Melissa discusses key principles when implementing flexibility, the importance of change management, and how to identify non-performing remote team members. Melissa describes the holistic support distributed employees need, especially including IT and security.
TAKEAWAYS
[02:27] Melissa studies communications and psychology not realizing their connection with marketing.
[03:40] Melissa’s mother is head of marketing at a tech company teaching Melissa women can do anything.
[04:17] Her entrepreneur father becomes mayor wanting to do good things for their country city.
[04:50] Her parents partner well, managing to prioritize Melissa and her sister, and demonstrating the importance of workplace flexibility.
[07:15] As her mother exits Kronos, Melissa feels purposeful in her starting role as a fulfillment coordinator.
[08:55] Melissa’s mother put the human element first in building teams, embracing different points of view.
[09:35] After setting up the fulfillment center, Melissa’s time is freed up. Should she relax or solve new problems?!
[10:15] Melissa pitches a promotion to help out the stressed-out marketing managers—her boss says yes!
[12:05] Wanting to live and raise a family by the ocean, and tired of commuting, Melissa leaves Kronos and moves to the Cape.
[13:16] Melissa lands a lead marketing role at a local tech company which then rolls up into a billion-dollar global organization.
[13:55] Maintaining her boundaries, Melissa stays remote, managing her teams based everywhere.
[15:26] At times, Melissa commutes in part of the week when certain leaders didn’t share her mindset.
[16:56] The first, critical principal is to give people the benefit of the doubt that they will do the right thing.
[17:10] Put people in an environment where they can do their best work and respect their boundaries.
[17:51] Many leaders don’t trust people to do the right thing. How to identify the few employees who don’t?
[18:57] Every employee must understand their purpose, how it relates to the bigger picture, and have clear metrics and expectations.
[19:40] What people say and how they react if there isn’t a good fit.
[21:28] Melissa learned from her father that some choose to set their boundary at doing the minimum work.
[22:42] Melissa joins Iron Mountain for an integrated growth marketing role.
[23:25] Highly corporate centric when she joins, Iron Mountain decides to move and shrink their office space.
[24:39] Employees get two choices: all in-office with a dedicated desk or flexibility with a shared desk.
[26:30] Motivated by costs, Iron Mountrain creates great new space and supports others’ change to work flexibly.
[28:16] Engagement goes up, people are more productive opting for the environment they can work best in.
[29:41] Iron Mountain is set up for success with a strong culture, purpose, and good performance management principles and protocols.
[30:17] Not everyone is on board with the change—which is natural.
[31:19] Ask, not assume, if people can meet your needs.
[32:21] Impressions can be misleading. Set your boundary and have the tough conversation.
[34:36] Melissa's current company is paving the way for flexible work everywhere—internally and for customers.
[35:44] Leaders support flexible work, but are IT and security professionals set up to support them?
[35:15] In new work situations, what new risks are employees under that need to be addressed?
[37:56] Silos between security and IT are decreasing their effectiveness.
[40:32] Frontline managers need to buy in fully to the value of flexible working, not be ‘told’.
[42:09] Deploying flexible work principles: holding people accountable and respecting their independence.
[42:58] Every industry, company, and job is different, so flexibility differs.
[44:23] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Put people in an environment where they can do their best work being clear about purpose, roles, responsibilities, outcomes, and deliverables, and ensure there is alignment between IT and security teams so they can provide and support the right tools for flexible work. Then trust that employees will do the right thing.
RESOURCES
Ivanti’s 2024 Everywhere Work Report
QUOTES (edited)
“We understand flexibility is not only about what the company needs, but also what the individual needs.”
“It takes time and effort and energy and focus for an organization to bring along the right frontline managers so that they understand the purpose of what they're doing and making sure they deploy those principles of flexible work.”
“Hire the best people for the best job it really doesn't matter where they're located.”
“Most important is to give people the benefit of the doubt that they're going to do the right thing.”
“Every single person in your organization needs to understand what their purpose is and how it relates to the bigger picture, vision, and mission of the company and what they can do to contribute to that.”
“Only upside for the company financially—they were in a better spot, less space, more flexible. And the people that opted for that were in an environment where they felt that they could do great work.”
"The importance of having alignment between IT and security, where they have real insights into how the business is operating so they can provide the right tools and really maximize flexible work." | |||
| 112. Juliette Powell - Co-creating with AI: Creative Friction, Trust, and Transparency | 17 May 2024 | 00:59:41 | |
Juliette Powell is Founder and Managing Partner of Kleiner Powell International, a consultancy working at the intersection of responsible technology and business. She is co-author of “The AI Dilemma: 7 Principles for Responsible Technology.” Juliette brings rich technology research and innovation experience to evaluate our evolving landscape as we anticipate AI integration. She explains her core concerns—what we need to pay attention and lean into. She discusses the importance of personal data ownership, creative friction, digital trust, and logic. Juliette explains how diverse contributions diminish divergent, asymmetric trajectories, so we all need to be actively involved.
TAKEAWAYS
[02:30] Monopoly is Juliette’s favorite game as a kid, showing how you can change your circumstances.
[02:50] Juliette studies finance and international business to understand global interconnectedness.
[03:15] At university, Juliette develops a TV career focusing on the business side of media.
[04:32] Interviewing Janet Jackson and Nelson Mandela reveals juxtaposed insecurity and confidence.
[07:30] Juliette’s first book results from her involvement with TED’s original founder producing the conference and meeting visionary thinkers.
[08:10] Transitioning from TV, Juliette explores technologies and the rise of social media.
[10:25] Citizen journalism and political messaging delivered using digital channels fascinates Juliette.
[12:10] Juliette tries to lead as her whole self, seeing people disconnecting their work/non-work lives.
[13:20] Where engineers can experience misalignment making decisions in their AI-related work.
[14:20] Juliette highlights those who live holistically as fully integrated people in her first book.
[15:00] Integrated work/life experienced early on meeting a couple working remotely in Thailand.
[16:50] Early career motivation to find work thinking about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
[18:58] How the internet extended possibilities beyond someone’s local geography.
[19:50] Ecosystem pressures raise mental health issues and people trying to survive not thrive.
[20:50] Navigating uncertainty—personally and professionally—requires having Plan A, B, C, and D.
[21:44] Juliette founded the Gathering to ensure diversity and avoid past mistakes in tech development.
[24:41] At TED, there is no separation between the expertise on stage and the audience.
[26:04] Turing AI and WeTheData.org focus on the personal data ecosystem, ownership, and ethical use.
[27:48] Research reveals four grand challenges include digital trust and digital infrastructure/access.
[29:30] An ‘eBay for data’ to aggregate and monetize personal data as Finns do.
[31:31] Research on Americans’ and Europeans’ different attitudes to their personal data.
[35:26] Most of Juliette’s NYU students are terrified of the potential impact of AI on their skills.
[36:25] Students’ potential questions ‘Will I have meaning? Can I contribute anything?’
[37:40] Juliette teaches students research methods to reduce fear and build confidence.
[41:30] The importance of creative friction to reconnect across seamless technology divides.
[42:45] Taking a moment to rise above the sand, things have changed a lot, probably within yourself.
[43:40] Diverse teams earn the most as they take the longest time to deliberate.
[44:45] With diverse debate, deliberating longer, with ongoing feedback, we can create better AI systems.
[45:53] Bias is part of human nature, so how we can reduce asymmetry of power?
[49:00] If we wake up to the power we have and give away, what we can do with that power.
[50:08] Juliette is excited to be alive right now when we are shaping the future such as digital infrastructure, digital literacy, and digital trust.
[50:40] Historically, curators of knowledge have been our sources of truth.
[53:05] We must be able to manage all this uncertainty on the individual level as a community.
[53:45] The Four Logics framework: government, corporate, engineering, and social justice logic.
[54:35] Increasing awareness of misalignment between employees’ morals and employer brands.
[55:47] Checking on personal values, culture, and vision that enable fulfillment.
[56:33] How reducing human biases with AI leads to other biases.
[57:27] Encourage employee experimentation with AI and launch internal challenges.
RESOURCES
Kliener Powell International’s website The AI Dilemma: 7 Principles for Responsible Technology" co-authored by Juliette Juliette’s first book. “33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking”Juliette’s co-authored book “The AI Dilemma: 7 Principles for Responsible Technology.”
QUOTES (edited)
"I've always been of the perspective that I'm a whole person. There are many different parts to my whole person, but nonetheless, I try to think of myself holistically as I navigate the world."
"Creative friction can only come from deep diversity. The more diverse, the more they produce questions, the longer it takes to deliberate, but the better the outcomes."
"We need to take responsibility and intentionally co-create with AI to ensure diverse perspectives are debated, increasing initial friction to reduce asymmetries and improve capabilities and relevance."
"Digital trust is kind of key. If we want data, personal data, to work for everyone on the planet, and not just the usual suspects, we need to address digital trust and infrastructure."
"If you feel that your personal morals are being confronted by what you're being asked to do at work, now is the time to recognize that disalignment and seek a place where you can be fulfilled and work on meaningful things."
"I'm excited about shaping AI's future because we are the generations that get to shape it. The decisions we make now will determine where digital trust will be in the next hundred years."
“There is expertise in the everyday person. We don't necessarily reward financially or recognize that, but that tacit knowledge is invaluable.”
“If we take longer to deliberate around our AI systems in their specific use cases and context, bring in the various communities that will be affected before we start building them, and deploy them constantly incorporating that feedback, we'd have much better systems that would work for far more people.”
“If we all woke up a little bit more to the kind of power that we give away, then we could also realize the kind of power that we actually have if we decide to do something about it.”
“We have to be able to manage all this uncertainty on the individual level as a community.”
"If you feel that your personal morals are being confronted by what you're being asked to do at work, now is the time to recognize that disalignment and seek a place where you can be fulfilled and work on meaningful things."
"I'm excited about shaping AI's future because we are the generations that get to shape it. The decisions we make now will determine where digital trust will be in the next hundred years."
“There is expertise in the everyday person. We don't necessarily reward financially or recognize that, but that tacit knowledge is invaluable.”
| |||
| 111: David Abrams — Office Building Owners and Occupiers Co-creating New Experiences | 10 May 2024 | 00:43:17 | |
David Abrams is the co-founder and CEO of HILO, a platform that is digitizing customer experience to create connected communities of people in buildings. David is also host of the TEN, the Tenant Experience Network podcast. David brings his entrepreneurial and marketing background and context to explore commercial real estate landlords’, owners’, and occupiers’ evolving circumstances. He explains why they need to be collaborating to create hospitality-driven, new tech-enhanced environments and programmed experiences for tenants—for each individually and together as a community.
TAKEAWAYS
[02:29] David takes a while to sort out what he wants to study at college ending up focusing on marketing and accounting.
[03:01] David enjoys the ability accounting gives him to explore how businesses operate.
[03:49] As a first entrepreneurial opportunity, David gets involved in repositioning a struggling agency.
[04:58] Early agency clients span commercial real estate and nonprofit, the latter which David finds especially satisfying.
[05:45] Raw Society is launched to focus on critical strategic work before the creative process begins.
[07:15] The ESG movement makes building operators start to think about environmental impact.
[07:52] What is the effect of the densification of people living and working in central business districts?
[09:13] New thinking is first driven by occupants, relating to basic ESG initiatives like recycling.
[10:14] Operators go paperless, initiating digital communications their tenants’ employees.
[11:32] David loves the opportunity to start creating environments that people enjoyed being in.
[12:16] The smartest operators recognized they could develop better relationships and community by connecting their tenants.
[12:55] The ultimate goal is to improve tenant retention through better customer service and experiences.
[14:09] Every building has constant turnover—both tenants and tenants’ employees.
[14:51] David launches his new company in 2019, gets financing and is in full growth mode when the pandemic hits.
[15:37] As an entrepreneur, David recognizes his two choices - give up or dig in.
[17:38] With little clarity about the future, they tried to be pragmatic about future technology needs.
[21:30] New realizations emerge after a difficult period that extended operators’ boundaries.
[23:09] Operators realize their responsibility to be involved in spaces beyond their buildings.
[24:24] Extra costs can be covered by charging premium rent or sharing new community spaces.
[26:20] Connectivity is a huge driver of experience when it is pervasive and consistent.
[27:18] Investments go into programming, content, services and staff to offer white glove experiences.
[28:51] Office and multifamily categories are all hiring people from the hospitality industry.
[29:37] Programming, services, and staffing are becoming integral and significant to buildings’ offerings.
[31:00] The key factor is not the size of the building, but the commitment of its ownership.
[31:49] Across building classes, technology can be an equalizer to provide higher levels of service.
[34:05] Technology delivers better experiences and reduces friction when people choose to enter the built world.
[35:27] How can we put the power of personalization into the hands of the individual?
[36:29] David imagines we are between first and second base in the evolution of office buildings.
[37:15] People need to congregate for the right reasons in the right environments to do the right kind of work.
[39:49] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Occupiers and landlords need to think beyond the work that needs to get done in an office and co-create experiences that support good work. Consider all the various touchpoints for each person across technology, programming, content, services and staffing.
RESOURCES
David’s company HILO’s website TEN – The Tenant Experience Network
QUOTES
“Buildings are not silos. They're part of a neighborhood, they're part of a city and they create community.”
“It's a conversation around where should I work on any given day where can great work happen?”
“How can we put the power of personalization into the hands of the individual. How can they use technology to better connect and engage with all the various spaces and places in their lives and have it not be top down driven.”
“People need to come together for the right reasons in the right environments with the right people to do the right kind of work.”
“The occupier and the landlord need to be open minded. They need to think beyond just the work that needs to get done and start to think about creating an experience that will support great work.” | |||
| 110: Dr. Zofia Bajorek — Are Your Employees Doing Good Work? | 26 Apr 2024 | 00:52:36 | |
Dr Zofia Bajorek is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Employment Studies (UK). She was HR Magazine’s Most Influential Thinker in 2022 and 2023. Zofia’s recent work has focused on the quality of work to improve workforce health and wellbeing. She describes why giving employees good quality work improves results, why good work matters, and what it comprises. Zofia explains how good management contributes significantly to employee retention and well-being.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[02:33] Zofia studied psychology to understand how people think, as well as behavior change, why and how we do things.
[04:17] Zofia’s Master’s focuses on the Future of Work and occupational stress/health at work.
[05:03] Zofia is curious about temporary work arrangements after her own—voluntary—experience.
[06:18] Temporary workers’ different agency and autonomy affects their experiences and health.
[08:01] Zofia’s PhD analyzes temporary staff management and patient care in NHS emergency departments.
[08:47] Possible safety/quality effects when emergency dept. employees get temporary assignments.
[09:42] NHS ‘bank’ and agency staff differences highlight many important talent management nuances.
[11:56] A systems approach to analyzing the UK’s ‘Speedy Summary Justice” – the promise.
[12:45] The effect of disconnects in a system that is overworked, underpaid, and understaffed.
[13:50] The practical reality of human messiness and how organizations and people work.
[15:02] Evidence shows workers’ health and wellbeing affects their productivity and retention.
[16:00] Q: What interventions make the biggest difference to employees’ health and well-being?
[16:50] A: Good management and good employment relationships are the most impactful.
[18:05] In 2006, two researchers discover “Work IS good for your health IF it’s good quality work.”
[18:26] People don’t really know what good quality work is.
[19:27] Good work includes: varied tasks that match interests and skills, co-collaboration, having a voice, autonomy and a fair work environment, with growth opportunities and strong work relationships.
[22:50] “Secure work” depends on the contractual arrangement—imposed or two-way.
[24:24] To achieve a healthy workplace with engaged employees, good quality work is essential.
[25:42] An important factor is someone’s choice about the work they have and can do.
[26:27] Zero-hour contracts are detrimental when managed badly with no communication or flexibility.
[27:28] Freelancers can have good choices: clients, autonomy, relationships, and interesting work.
[28:48] Empathizing is important to discover what encourages people to work, their values, what they bring to the workplace.
[30:26] Companies with embedded focus on wellbeing and good work pre-pandemic were able to transition well through and beyond the crisis.
[31:36] Good management practices including consistent communication, listening, and workplace policies.
[32:15] Zofia shares some examples of data points companies can colligate to increase understanding of their employees’ well-being.
[37:32] The challenges facing organizations are numerous, but a lot of the change can be addressed with good management practices.
[43:55] Young and old want the same thing from the workplace, but demographic pressures are changing the face of retirement.
[47:46] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Good work requires good managers. Ensure those promoted to managerial positions have people management skills and technical excellence. They need training, coaching support, and feedback to help them continue to improve.
RESOURCES
Follow Dr. Bajorek on X @DrZofia Website for employment-studies.co.uk The Institute for Employment Studies Interesting articles by Dr. Bajorek: ‘People leave managers, not companies’ - but is the manager really at fault? Are we ‘pulling more sickies’ or do organisations need to focus more on ‘good work’? Health and wellbeing at work: where we are and where we want to be It’s time to stop squeezing the ‘squeezed middle’, for everyone’s benefit Will management ‘productivity paranoia’ be the undoing of hybrid work? The line management conundrum – let’s hug and not squeeze our line managers
QUOTES (edited)
“If we don't look after people's health and well-being in the workplace it can have an impact on both retention and productivity levels.”
“Work is good for your health, but there is a strong caveat that it has to be good quality work. And that is where we are still struggling because people don't know what good quality work is.”
“Every human has fluctuating mental health. But what's important for the workplace is that work doesn't make it worse.”
“If you want good work and good health, you have to have good management.” | |||
| 127: Mika Cross - Learning from Public Sector Distributed Teams, Telework, and Wellness | 11 Oct 2024 | 00:53:11 | |
Mika Cross is a Workplace Transformation Strategist at Strategy@Work. She discusses her military career and years federal government agency experience including talent management, workplace flexibility, and wellness. Mika shares her approach to distributed teams, performance management, and work-life balance. She describes how flexible private sector workforce management policies, informed by public sector successes, foster engagement, retain talent, and meet the diverse needs of the modern, distributed workforce. Mika describes how remote work options allow us to reimagine veterans’ and civilians’ working lives and communities.
TAKEAWAYS
[02:39] MIka works wants to be a journalist then has to take a break in her studies.
[03:17] A mentor suggests military service so Mika can complete her education and serve nobly.
[04:26] Mika has some job options from Uncle Sam after finishing top three in her officer training class.
[05:35] Mika is attracted by inclusive workplaces that support the whole soldier and family.
[06:32] Working for a rapidly deployable unit, Mika must support distributed teams holistically.
[07:33] The military is facing shortages, how can retention be improved using flexibility?
[09:15] How to share knowledge across agencies while dealing with confidential information.
[10:31] What does employee experience look like in the federal government?
[11:49] The power of communication to enable effective policy implementation.
[13:41] Managers want discretion and information to make the right decisions for their teams.
[16:11] With deep knowledge of federal regulations, Mika takes an integrated systems approach.
[17:44] What are the blocks to effective equal opportunity?
[18:37] Mika finds some workplace flexibility policy options blocked by supervisors.
[19:50] Mindsets can prevent advancements or enable cultural transformation.
[21:26] How to measure the impact of policies including cost savings.
[23:04] Taking a multi-pronged approach with broad buy in and incentivized training.
[24:25] Celebrating wins, measuring engagement, and saving on leases.
[25:34] The benefits of getting multiple share stakeholders on board.
[26:36] The USDA gets recognition and rewards as one of America's best workplaces.
[27:25] Achieving savings of $8 million per year through telecommuting.
[31:00] Negotiating work policies with 92 unions!
[36:34] Enabling veterans’ smooth transitions into civilian jobs requires many types of flexibility.
[38:20] Mika explores upskilling, reskilling and benefits.
[40:14] Veterans often returning to Hometown USA find few jobs after years of rural brain drain.
[41:20] Three ways to provide thriving healthy supportive workplaces to veterans.
[42:43] Military spouses need remote work options as they support transitioning veterans.
[45:01] The wild opportunity to reimagine the nation, rebuilding Hometown USA.
[46:58] The importance of soft skills -- or success skills as Mike calls them.
[48:18] Mika believes in career readiness skills so workers learn how to work.
[49:14] Moving to a skills-based talent economy.
[50:27] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: If you don’t include flexibility in your work policies and turnover increases, recognize the burden on employees who stay and the loss of skills and organizational knowledge. Instead, extend a little trust and autonomy first, hold people accountable second, and teach flexible open mindsets.
RESOURCES
QUOTES
“I ended up seeing the power of inclusive workplaces, supportive workplaces, policies, procedures and programs that supported the whole soldier in order to get the best out of our troops, especially when they are deploying into conflict and being separated from their families and having to support the other half of that equation, which is their spouse, their families, their children, their loved ones.”
“It really helped me to inform, regardless of what my work was or what projects I was working on, how are people interpreting even the wording in these policies to be able to implement them successfully the way we intended.”
“The Secretary of Agriculture had included telework work life and wellness as a component of his vision for cultural transformation and had monthly metrics to which he reviewed and held his sub cabinet committee accountable for each and every month.”
“If you have jobs that are suitable to be done in a remote capacity, could you be leveraging those remote jobs for the purpose of attracting and hiring an amazing skillset of talent from either military spouses or transitioning veterans?”
“We're looking at wild opportunity for our nation to rebuild and put emphasis in areas of the country that sort of have been left behind in the past.”
“When you consider older workers staying longer, trying to continue working, this can really create opportunity not just for employers, but for those communities where they live. If they're able to continue contributing their tax base, to the infrastructure, and re-imagining what our Hometown USAs can look like all around the country.”
“What we used to call soft skills; I like to call them success skills—skills that any worker needs in any industry and occupation. These are what can set you apart from someone else. Things like critical thinking, autonomous work ethic, conflict resolution skills, interpersonal, and intergenerational skills.” | |||
| 109: Dr. Gleb Tsipursky — Making Good Decisions At and About Work | 19 Apr 2024 | 00:54:32 | |
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is the CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts, a consulting, coaching, and training firm. Gleb is a behavioral scientist and best-selling author of seven books, including “Never Go With Your Gut” and “Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams”. He shares his interest in human behaviors focused on decision-making and cognitive biases. Gleb explains his passion to help people make good decisions, discussing the role of emotions, and why to try to prove yourself wrong. He emphasizes how to optimize work-related decisions to improve working environments, experiences, policies, and outcomes.
TAKEAWAYS
[02:59] Interested in human behaviors, Gleb studies history--people in their historical contexts.
[03:53] Gleb narrows his research to behavioral science decision-making in historical and contemporary contexts.
[04:53] Gleb’s interest focuses on motivations and historical archives reveal what people were saying behind the scenes.
[05:39] We’re not very good at making decisions. We often follow our intuition or go with our gut.
[06:32] How a client’s early experiences affect how he handles conflict as a business leader.
[07:41] How do individuals and groups make decisions? What motivations cause what effects?
[08:12] How to have healthy conflicts with people.
[09:32] How do you make good decisions, proofing yourself against future disruptions?
[10:50] Decision hygiene—identify biases including not what you don’t do, that's a decision too!
[13:55] How you can misperceive yourself, your skills.
[15:04] Blind spots and how humans are full of contradictions.
[16:42] Gleb’s early books about different aspects of decision making.
[17:29] Before making a decision ask: Q1 - What information haven't I fully understood yet?
[19:28] Q2: What judgment errors haven't I fully considered?
[20:30] The need to be introspective about our emotions so they don't dictate our decisions.
[21:50] Gleb starts his own company, Disaster Avoidance Experts, in 2018.
[22:30] Gleb’s targets people whose possible bad decisions could have disastrous consequences.
[23:35] Paying attention to leading indicators to make informed decisions early in the pandemic.
[24:49] The challenges belief bias and confirmation bias can cause.
[26:30] What comparable data is relevant to ensure you are making good decisions?
[29:40] Looking at the data and challenging the motivation to be back in the office—for what?
[31:10] Managers weren't comfortable that they could control their teams working remotely.
[31:56] Combining training and techniques to not manage by walking around the office.
[33:04] Switching to weekly performance evaluations with three to five goals per week.
[35:27] Coaching style leadership was gaining ground long before the pandemic.
[38:32] College educated males choose to work fewer hours, valuing well-being and leisure more than before the pandemic.
[40:02] Research and resignations show willingness to take a 10% pay cut to keep flexibility.
[40:38] The impact of not being empathetic about your employees.
[42:37] What is best for knowledge workers? Not sitting in factory style offices.
[43:22] For knowledge work: creativity and collaboration of the human mind determine any company’s value add.
[44:33] The four principles of knowledge work to set up workplaces of the future.
[45:44] To establish trust, new systems and processes are needed including regular performance evaluations.
[47:20] Don't let one bad apple spoil it for others.
[49:35] Finding truth through content curation versus creation in an AI-powered world.
[51:40] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To adapt to modern work, survey employees about they feel about hybrid work, best practices, problems, and opportunities for improvement. Focus conversations on trust, autonomy, support, and collaboration.
RESOURCES
Dr Gleb Tsipursky on Instagram Dr. Gleb Tsipursky speaker video Dr. Gleb Tsipursky’s books include: The Truth-Seeker’s Handbook: A Science-Based Guide. Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters
QUOTES
“People often don't know what their own motivations are. They don't know how they interact, and they don't understand why they make the decisions they do. We're not very good at making decisions. We often just follow our intuition; we go with our gut.”
“There was research showing that in order to have healthy conflicts with people, you should follow a 5:1 ratio. For each one conflictual thing you do at least five equivalently positive things.”
“Taking all the social intelligence, emotional intelligence, and cognitive biases. If you can identify those in yourself right now, you can really set up set yourself up for a lot of success down the line.”
“We are human beings, we are full of contradictions.”
“Seeing the truth is very important to make a good decision, but that's not the same thing as making a good decision.”
“If you actually want to make a good decision what you want to do is try to prove yourself wrong. Try to prove that your decision is incorrect. Try to disconfirm your decision.”
“One issue is the empathy gap. We might underestimate the emotions that other people are experiencing. One of the biggest challenges in business decision making is failure to think sufficiently about emotions, our own emotions and other people's emotions. We don't realize how important emotions are.”
“Not being empathetic and understanding emotions matters. The emotions of your employees matter. How they feel matters. And they're actually taking steps based on their feelings around retention, engagement, productivity, morale.”
“Knowledge workers function best as a combination of providing them with trust, trusting them to work in the way that they know how; providing with autonomy, having control over their time and location of work; providing them with necessary and appropriate support, giving them knowledge, information, tools: and facilitating their collaboration with others.” | |||
| 108: Amina Moreau — Offering Flexibility: The Essence of Modern Work | 12 Apr 2024 | 00:49:45 | |
Amina Moreau is the CEO and co-Founder of Radious, an online marketplace offering companies flexible work locations to give their employees commute-free, homestyle, collaborative workspaces. She is a serial entrepreneur, multiple Emmy-winning filmmaker, and photographer. Amina explains why employers need to create a framework and processes that enable workplace flexibility and support employees’ autonomy, incorporating comfortable and convenient work environments. Amina shares insights about empathetic leadership and upskilled managers to improve employees’ experiences and performance. She describes critical environmental and social components of new workplace solutions.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[02:38] Amina changes majors five times exploring what she wants to be when she grows up!
[03:35] Amina loves photography but also thinks learning how the brain works is handy.
[4:40] Storytelling means understanding who people are and how they think and see their future.
[05:49] Amina’s first business initially emphasizes innovative technology and equipment.
[07:04] Taking wedding storytelling to the next level – what has shaped who these people are?
[07:44] Tomatoes are a metaphor for one couple’s relationship.
[09:22] How relationships evolve on film and with clients.
[10:46] Entrepreneurship is Amina’s path—starting in her dorm room.
[11:47] A talent for seeing gaps in the market spawns multiple new ventures.
[12;15] Amina develops opportunities related to her core passion.
[14:30] Pandemic-related issues are the genesis for non-profit Float Small Business.
[15:43] Creative ground support for local businesses keeps Amina busy during a tough period.
[17:34] A new venture to suit flexible workstyles emerges from their Airbnb host business.
[19:22] Eliminating the overnight component increases safety and solves other hosting pain points.
[21:25] New adaptations as employers integrate remote policies for the long term.
[23:30] A compelling combination: no commuting, collaboration space, and the comforts of home.
[24:28] Who pays for the space? Shifting to a B2B model.
[26:24] Current RTO headlines don’t match the majority of companies’ work policies.
[27:50] Amina believes most companies are trying hybrid as they are stuck with office leases.
[28:38] The benefits of flexible, on-demand office spaces and who is likely to benefit most.
[32:12] Have leaders who proclaim remote work isn’t sustainable been trained to manage in remote/hybrid environments?
[34:20] Terminology needs to evolve to reflect the variety of remote work options and benefits.
[35:58] Empathetic leadership leads to better team outcome for which leaders need upskilling.
[36:58] Team level agreements need setting about expectations and communication styles.
[38:35] How much autonomy is optimal to drive motivation and outcomes?
[39:27] Companies signing up for flexible workspaces need a framework and process to ensure their employees use it.
[40:22] Working with companies to understand their context and help them choose relevant workspaces.
[41:29] Amina’s sense of purpose that energizes her and the team—we’re here to help bring fulfillment and work/life balance.
[43:35] Radious’s core environmental and social solutions are significant motivators for Amina.
[44:40] Local workspaces also support community relationships and business.
[46:04] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: It doesn’t have to be a two-sided equation — either working at the office or from home. There are many other options to consider to support your employees, which don’t have the costs or commute of an office, yet offer camaraderie and community.
RESOURCES
Radious on Instagram @Radious.Pro
QUOTES (edited)
“One of the best things that you can study is how people think because in any profession, understanding how the brain works is kind of handy.”
“It turns out that having a psychology background is really valuable in storytelling.”
“There are some companies that from the beginning of the pandemic were hell-bent on getting people back to the office. Come hell or high water, those companies still exist. Thankfully, they are in the minority.”
“The headlines we see about RTO are usually made by the biggest companies on the planet which have the largest PR megaphones … and the largest real estate holdings.”
“A lot of people equate remote work with working from home, but remote work is now an umbrella term that encompasses a wide variety of ways, and places to work from. And it doesn't have to be in isolation.” | |||
| 107: Tom Hunt — Leading with Intention in the New World of Work | 22 Mar 2024 | 00:39:05 | |
Tom Hunt is the Founder and CEO of Fame which builds profitable podcasts. Tom is also host of the podcast “Confessions of a B2B Marketer”. He leads a fast-growing fully-remote company and shares his journey intentionally learning effective leadership styles, management methods, and organizational practices. Tom discusses what he looks for in successful leaders and how he purposefully develops and upskills inexperienced employees.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[03:01] Why Tom goes from studying chemistry to consulting.
[04:11] A pivotal role working on outsourcing projects happens by chance.
[05:19] Tom realizes being employed is not his thing and focuses on selling online.
[06:32] Tom's first venture leverages his experiences outsourcing for large companies.
[07:33] Tom focuses on what he enjoys doing and is good at.
[08:41] The ability to fail and keep going is one of the best predictors of success.
[09:53] The genesis of Fame and how they landed their first client.
[11:19] Tom shares the multifaceted benefits of being transparent about Fame’s earnings.
[13:36] Empathy is a crucial skill for leaders which takes more effort in distributed settings.
[16:14] The benefit of paying attention to signals in asynchronous communications.
[16:50] Continuing to explore how best to nurture distributed culture and connection.
[17:56] Building culture through values awards.
[18:29] Impactful for remote cultures: client-focused operational excellence and engaging elements in team meetings.
[20:51] Employees are trained in interviews to assess for specific work history criteria.
[23:19] Office space has been considered and Tom explains what issues it would create.
[25:00] Fame's business is output-driven and well-defined effectively supported by strong, positive performance management.
[26:59] intentional training and management engages and retains employees and adds value to less experienced hires.
[27:45] Multi-touchpoint, frequent check-ins—with superiors and peers—help account managers grow.
[28:35] The intentional approach to help supervising managers improve too.
[30:45] The onboarding process is a key value add driver for Fame, continually evolving and being improved.
[31:34] One employee's career development and why upskilling people builds strong cultures.
[33:03] Tom promotes employees’ proactive and self-determined progression.
[33:57] Study of leadership focuses Tom on creating cohesion, communicating with clarity, and reinforcing the clarity.
[36:24] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: For leaders of fully distributed teams, use live interaction time with team members wisely to collect and convey information to improve people’s work lives. Don’t take those meetings for granted. You have to do your best work as a remote leader.
RESOURCES
Confessions of a B2B Marketer podcast Top Grading by Brad and Geoff Smart High Output Management by Andy Grove The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni
QUOTES (edited)
"The thing that I was looking for most with angel investing was founder resilience. Had this founder failed before and kept going? The ability to pivot, tweak things, and then go forward is probably the most important at that very early stage."
"Empathy for each individual is one of the crucial aspects of leading. If you understand how each person is feeling, you can tailor your approach to working with them to maximize the output for both them personally and their group."
"We decided that if a team member meets another team member in person, whether they’re doing work or not, they get an allowance for that meeting to be spent on anything. It’s a decentralized campaign that promotes in-person interaction, which benefits the company and the individual."
"It’s not a process in which we try to fire somebody. It’s a process in which we’re looking to support someone to perform better."
“The monthly chat with managers is the review of: ‘What’s gone well this month? What’s not gone so well? What do you want to more of?’ and we’ve added in ‘How can I be a better manager for you?’”
"If you have something that you want to learn or do and there’s a business need for that thing and you’ve mastered your current role, then you can do it. You just have to find the person who’s going to replace you." | |||
| 106: Debbie Lovich — Co-creating, Iterating, and Enjoying New Ways of Working | 15 Mar 2024 | 00:42:46 | |
Debbie Lovich is Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). She leads BCG’s thinking on making work work. Debbie describes Harvard research conducted at BCG on work/life balance. She shares insights as to why lasting solutions must be co-created, continuously improved, and include teams having open discussions about team norms. Debbie explains why her focus on joy (and productivity) is an economic one especially as Gen AI forces everyone to rethink work. Debbie portrays the Generative Leader and explains how their intent for improvement and team approach enables transformation projects to succeed.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[02:28] Debbie loves business from an early age so she studies economics.
[02:56] Companies move too slowly! Debbie discovers quickly that consulting is the right fit for her!
[04:12] A random connection introduces Harvard professor Leslie Perlow about a research study on work/life balance.
[05:01] Debbie has no work/life balance but wonders what Leslie might come up with.
[06:30] Detailed data reveals consultants expect long hours but the lack of predictability is a huge issue.
[07:30] Leslie wants to conduct an experiment with one team testing a more predictable schedule.
[08:52] Looking for a team for the experiment, Debbie hears “Great idea, but why not your team?!”
[09:57] How the lack of predictability is experienced by BCG consultants.
[11:02] Debbie asks her important local client to support doing the HBS research with her team.
[12:10] The experiment is successful and the model is scaled to the rest of BCG.
[13:17] Debbie temporarily leaves BCG to commercialize the research results with Leslie.
[14:34] Scaling a model is very different than managing one controlled experiment.
[15:50] Data on client value delivery is key to convince others as the model is expanded.
[16:56] Everyone has to design the change—at the start and evolving improvements over time.
[18:40] Agreeing team norms is essential so different people and projects determine parameters.
[22:01] With new tools, ubiquitous work is possible with zero boundaries and much waste.
[23:35] When you constrain work, people have to prioritize and innovate.
[24:10] In today’s labor market, work/life balance is an important reason to rethink work.
[27:44] Debbie believes that work is fundamentally broken.
[28:38] In a VUCA world, employers are giving workers more to do with fewer resources.
[29:27] - The ‘unbroken state’ is when we are all in this together.
[30:32] Debbie focuses on joy for economic reasons.
[32:51] Trader Joe's employee-centric positive results.
[34:56] Why organizations should think of employees like customers—including emotional benefits.
[36:12] Gabby Novacek's work reveals everyone is motivated differently. Programs focusing only on few segments won't succeed.
[38:24] Who Generative Leaders are.
[39:18] Debbie explains the head, heart, and hands of generative leadership.
[40:54] The most important things employees want from leaders and where leaders spend their time.
RESOURCES
QUOTES (edited)
“If you want to make change stick, there has to be something in it for all parties.“
“Everyone has to design the change…15 years later, thousands think that they invented it, because they did.”
“If you tell people they can’t work 24/7, you have to think about what’s the most important work to do. Are there different ways to get it done? And that leads to better work.”
“We need to solve the needs of the work and the needs of the team in how we rethink work.”
“When you constrain the work, you force people to prioritize. You force teams to talk about what’s going to get in the way of everyone getting their time off and making it work. So it forces innovation of new approaches.”
“How do we make work more productive and more enjoyable at the same time?”
“Gen AI is coming and is forcing everyone to rethink work.”
“My focus on joy is an economic one.”
“Employees are customers too. They choose to work with you. They choose to expend their energy at work every day as opposed to just punch the clock.”
“You need to think about not just the functional needs of pay and benefits and hours, but the emotional needs of feeling supported, enjoying your work, feeling respected.” | |||
| 105: Denise Brouder — A Systems Approach to De-risk Flexibility at Scale | 08 Mar 2024 | 00:48:15 | |
Denise Brouder, Founder and Head of Data and Insights at SWAY Workplace. As a flexible work skills expert, researcher, and consultant—with a Wall St background in financial oversight and controls—Denise discusses a risk-adjusted systems approach to implement flexibility and optimize performance. She explains why AI is a key factor driving us from fixed hybrid to flexible models as the only viable long-term solution. Denise explains the critical importance of empathy-based trust to effect flexibility at scale and fuel high-performing teams and that to work differently, we need to start by thinking differently.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[02:39] From rural Ireland, Denise writes to Wall St. banks asking for an internship and gets one!
[03:55] Denise is systems-oriented, finding banks’ capital, economics, and operations fascinating.
[04:37] Denise compares Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs as organizations and employers.
[05:17] As a young mother, Denise leaves Wall Street to join a tech startup and get more flexibility.
[06:00] Denise finds she loves the process of starting with a problem and building something.
[06:48] Working in a large company becomes transactional while at a startup to see how your everyday effort contributes to progress.
[07:41] At a fast-paced startup, Denise learns to hustle, figuring things out as they build the business.
[08:22] Denise finds building and scaling with limited resources a very interesting challenge.
[09:02] Denise follows a colleague to LugTrack, launching with five people and a patent.
[10:19] Persistence, creativity, and grit are critical for success as a startup—which are emotional skills.
[11:06] Lithium-ion batteries catching fire on planes meant LugTrack’s business runway ran out.
[11:49] After a course on the Future of Work, Denise takes a big leap of faith and founds a company.
[12:30] Denise recognizes the work change ahead and wants to productize how to work flexibly.
[14:29] Denise wants to yell “AI is coming! AI is coming!” from the hilltop!
[14:45] Denise feels strongly about mastering flexible work at scale to propel everyone forward.
[16:10] Denise thinks that flexibility at scale levels the playing field for women. [17:10] The first iteration of SWAY is a technology play using apps to convene the conversation digitally around new ways of working.
[18:15] The advancement of women will happen by changing the system from the inside out, making flexibility a gender neutral issue.
[19:38] Denise discovers she is a systems thinker and we have a systems problem.
[20:32] The Science of Flexibility helps de-risk flexibility as an operational strategy for a large company.
[21:17] If flexibility is demonstrated, measured, and communicated like a risk-adjusted talent model, senior leaders can get people on the same page.
[22:49] In SWAY’s work, EQ and empathy demonstrate the intelligence that is in flexibility that we’re going to need in an AI-influenced world.
[23:42] High-performing flexible teams are fueled by empathy-based trust.
[25:32] Emotions are fundamental to our human design, but we only just starting to understand them.
[27:47] Traditional working norms evolved around visual-based trust.
[28:26] In hybrid models, trust levels feel low and are questioned—these are growing pains.
[29:16] Flexibility at scale requires empathy-based trust.
[32:03] The social contract used to provide stability. Now, what is the system? Do we trust it?
[32:49] Reimagining the social contract may be an even bigger shift to prepare for in the future of work.
[33:40] Denise is concerned that some employees are not fighting RTO mandates anymore.
[36:05] In-office mandates are not long-term models, but the current situation is still malleable.
[36:45] In face of AI disruption, Denise’s goal is to articulate that flexibility is not a fad or a perk but an intelligent model for the modern era
[38:33] Mindset is first—to facilitate adaptability and resiliency.
[40:08] If we want to work differently, we have to think differently.
[41:20] Cultural differences about work and historical religious underpinnings.
[43:00] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: First, the Future of Work is a journey, not a destination. Take the pressure off “completing” the transition as it is an evolution. Second, we learn and communicate new ways of working through documentation rather than observation. Third, lead by outcomes and create social space to learn team members’ work styles.
RESOURCES
QUOTES (edited)
“Our original social mission was to level the playing field for women at work, using flexibility at scale.”
“The Science of Flexibility is my way of communicating with senior leaders who are accountable for performance within a flexible model. We have to demonstrate how it works, why it’s better than before, how we measure the impact, and how we deploy it.”
“It’s a risk-adjusted talent model. We explain it in a condensed, easy-to-consume setting under the umbrella term “the Science of Flexibility” specifically for senior leaders.”
“In an AI-influenced world, where a lot of our work is going to be transformed, we are left with the work of being human to one another.”
“We evolved our working norms around visual-based trust. When we were all shifted home for fully remote work, it was a very uncomfortable period. A lot of leaders found themselves on Teams wondering if we trust each other.”
“An in-office model of work is not suitable for where we need to grow economically, regardless of where your industry is. It just isn’t.”
“If we want to work differently, we have to think differently, and if we want to think differently, we start with resiliency.”
“Gen X has always associated a hard day’s work with a sense of decency, patriotism, and honor, and when they look at the younger ones looking to reach those outcomes differently, they have a hard time associating value with that style of work.”
| |||
| 104: Phil Kirschner — Integrating Workforce Innovation and Workplace Strategy | 23 Feb 2024 | 00:58:59 | |
Phil Kirschner, Senior Expert and Associate Partner, Real Estate & People and Organizational Performance at McKinsey where he advises executive teams on the future of work, employee experience, organizational health, and workplace strategies. Phil discusses systemic changes, expected rebounds in cities’ commercial real estate, and organizational health. He shares insights about workplace utilization, the critical emphasis on ‘how’ we work and change management to evolve behaviors, and the new retail-oriented perception of work.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[02:25] Phil calls himself an accidental work strategist, starting out in banking.
[03:37] Phil starts in the efficiency management group looking to save money in real estate.
[04:40] How workplace innovation by Google and Microsoft caught public attention.
[05:23] Competition for talent from other industries drives investment to improve work ‘place’.
[06:30] Balancing not having your own desk with other amenities to improve the experience.
[08:06] Trying to reduce office-based friction with shared environments.
[09:00] Most managers absorbed a bit more pain to give team members a better experience.
[10:00] The loss factor and importance of change management to establish new behaviors.
[11:32] Where managers set the example carefully, the highest satisfaction is reported.
[14:02] These are not real estate projects, but culture projects—requiring a cultural shift.
[16:21] Ten years ago, productivity at the bank was measured through self-attestation and surveys.
[17:00] Team dynamics, people’s ability to focus, and overall engagement all increased significantly.
[19:57] McKinsey’s Organizational Health Framework and Index helps analyze work practices and how these tie to performance.
[21:04] Studying fully remote companies to isolate specific variables, Phil finds them to be top decile performers.
[23:20] Organizational practice surveys show if you give someone flexibility, they are much more likely to report positive outcomes for the organization.
[25:25] You have to teach people how to use new environments and tools differently.
[27:15] The four ways companies are showing up in the world nowadays.
[28:35] Building facilities for very specific purposes rather than trying to solve all needs all the time.
[30:10] Clearly defining the purposes of a workspace unlocks better outcomes.
[32:37] Progressive companies with flexible hybrid policies are working hard to figure out how to adapt fully to all the new ways of working.
[36:45] Most companies need to be focusing on ways of working and responsive spaces.
[40:27] Technology is undoubtedly driving the change in how we work, Phil touches on how AI may change this further.
[44:22] Phil explains the increasing retail nature of our work choices and some of the implications of this when it comes to competition.
[46:56] The HR/IT/Real Estate stool now needs a seat to bridge the gap in employee and customer experience.
[51:10] RTO is not sustainable; Phil explains why and what RTO focused companies can expect.
[55:47] Phil breaks down what commercial real estate issues and positive trends to watch for in the coming years.
[59:05] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Stop thinking about inputs, the days in the office, or “what’s the right hybrid?” Focus on outputs and the impact on organizational health. Study work practices and outcomes across your organization based on how people work and collaborate to figure out the secret sauce, then pilot, test, learn, and scale those behaviors, and keep evolving.
RESOURCES
QUOTES (edited)
"Those work environments with the bean bags, the beautiful amenities, and the campus also have a desk for each employee. We didn’t have the means for that, so to give you a better experience, you had to make a trade with us: give up your assigned seat."
"We found that where you had the managers who were willing to be sitting in the open having calls or conversations in the open, those zones by far were the ones where people would report the highest satisfaction."
"These are not real estate projects, they are change projects. They are culture projects that happen to manifest in space."
"When you’ve created a culture where lots of work can happen in the open, it eases demand for the formal spaces."
"Fully remote companies that have never had an office, who were born remote and not forcibly remote are top quartile, if not top decile performers against McKinsey’s 20-year experience of measuring Organizational Health."
"If you give someone a choice in where they work, either in the office or home or when they’re working their hours, we find that they’re about one and a half times as likely to report positive outcomes for the organization."
"I am fully a believer that the ways of working are far more powerful as a tool for organizational performance and experience than where we happen to be working. And I wish I knew that 10 years ago."
"For a city like New York, we have to make it compelling and affordable for people to want to live here, even if they’re not working for someone who is here."
"I will go back for experiences that I enjoy, back to the same restaurant, same bar, same shows. We like that our customers are repeat customers. We can be repeat workers, and that’s going to be a huge unlock in the coming years."
"Changing the way we work is hard, no matter the best tools in the world. It's still hand-to-hand combat group by group, culture by culture, process by process. It’s hard, so instead of doing the hard thing, we do the easy thing and there is a call to all go back to the office."
| |||
| 103: Michelle Coulson — Reflecting on Our Working Lives: Why, What, and Remotely? | 16 Feb 2024 | 00:40:53 | |
Michelle Coulson is Founder and Chief Remote Rebel at Remote Rebellion whose mission is to enable people to live the life that they choose. Michelle shares her journey working around the world finding opportunities in response to economic, pandemic, and workplace changes. She explains how the COVID19 crisis gave everyone time to reflect about their life, work, and happiness. Michelle discusses reactions to being told to go back to the office--and finds meaning in launching her own venture. She questions what people settle with but could ask for and explains how to explore and navigate new remote working possibilities.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[03:02] Michelle early love of travel guides her studies.
[04:06] 2009 is a bad year to graduate, so Michelle makes her way to Thailand via Australia.
[05:50] Michelle finds comfort and a better version of herself in Southeast Asia.
[07:15] Working as a tour guide takes its toll on Michelle’s health and she turns to digital marketing.
[08:27] Planning to cycle the globe motivates Michelle to find more lucrative opportunities, she stumbles into recruitment, and a relationship.
[11:27] Catalyzed by a breakup and the pandemic, Michelle leaves London for Bali.
[12:22] A forced return to the office prompts Michelle to quit and explore what career will let her work from anywhere.
[14:14] Michelle explains the birth of Remote Rebellion.
[17:19] Recognizing “there is more to life than work,” Michelle explores what makes her happy and builds a remote community.
[20:43] After reflecting during the pandemic, many people still feel guilty to ask for more for their lives.
[21:49] Michelle dives into Remote Rebellion’s mission vision and purpose.
[23:56] Remote Rebellion’s clients are diverse and yet all enjoy choosing where they work.
[26:09] Jack is one client who went from fitting kitchens to SEO work!
[28:53] Building confidence is a significant part of the journey.
[30:45] What Michelle misses and hopes for the future of Remote Rebellion.
[32:46] Remote work is here to stay while growth has slowed, for now.
[34:15] Michelle is wary of some companies’ reasons and parameters for their hybrid model.
[36:21] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: If you want a remote job, first check why you want it. If you aren’t happy with your life, what would enrich your life and how can you achieve that? Remote working may not be the solution, but if you think it is, also investigate the downsides. Then experiment to see if you like it.
RESOURCES
@RemoteRebellion on X Remote Rebellion on Instagram The 4 C'S Formula: Commitment Courage Capability and Confidence, by Dan Sullivan
QUOTES (edited)
“I changed and I became quite materialistic, which I hadn’t been before. I bought a designer handbag, and I don't even like this stuff. What am I doing?”
“And when the call back to the office came, I was literally holding onto the post… I don’t want to do this. I said, if you won’t let me work remotely from here like I have been for the past year and a half, then I quit.”
“I felt like it was a rebellion because I was angry that we were being forced back into the office when we didn’t need to be. We were working great. A lot of people work better when they’re able to have the freedom to choose where they work from.”
“I’m not anti-hybrid. I'm anti being told and being forced when you go into the office. And a lot of hybrid companies do do that. I just think there’s a lack of trust.”
“Do you not get lonely if you work remotely? If your only source of social interaction is in the office or the people you work with, maybe you need to be questioning that.” | |||
| 102. Nick Bloom — Data-Driven Decisions to Make Hybrid Work | 09 Feb 2024 | 00:35:43 | |
Nick Bloom, Professor of Economics at Stanford University and co-Founder of wfhresearch.com and wfhmap.com, has studied remote work for over two decades. Nick discusses fundamental data issues, sources, and collection as well as understanding macro and firm level productivity. He talks about the demise of RTO (Return To Office) efforts and the stabilization of hybrid models. Nick describes the changing attitudes and demographics of people working from home. He also shares insights about HR’s rising strategic importance as talent management increases in complexity.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[03:02] Born and educated in the UK, Nick starts off consulting and working at HM Treasury.
[03:35] On a speaking engagement in California, Nick is offered a job and returns to live long-term.
[04:42] Nick was interested in management practices early on and, as a child, experienced both parents working from home.
[05:22] One of Nick’s students is a travel agent. Their randomized WFH trial generates much interest.
[04:42] Focused on daily commuting, early WFH data only tracked fully remote or fully in the office.
[06:50] Nick begins bridging the gap and finding multiple sources as government data collection lags.
[07:35] Nick finds ways to collect reliable and more frequent data from many businesses.
[09:41] Productivity is easy enough to measure at the macro level, critical for setting interest rates.
[10:31] At the firm level, productivity is very hard to measure for many disciplines and jobs.
[11:34] Initially surprised at the pandemic’s duration and effect on WFH, Nick then visualizes the tombstone for Return To Office.
[12:35] Nick explains the inherent bias in Kastle’a data for trending upwards.
[14:01] The perception of working from home is much more positive than a decade ago.
[15:28] People working remotely are now more likely to be higher paid professionals.
[16:25] The leisure boom resulting from reduced commuting—why not play golf then?!
[17:57] With hybrid stabilizing, HR is more important to manage more complex talent dynamics.
[20:55] In-person outperforms virtual teaching for now, but Nick expects this to evolve.
[22:11] How important coordination is to improve in-office experiences and activities.
[23:34] MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) learning is likely to improve dramatically with technology advances (e.g. new headsets).
[25:58] Why CEOs tend to have the most negative opinions about remote working.
[26:49] At all levels, most people find no change to corporate culture caused by working from home.
[27:32] A reasonable cadence of in-person connection to build and maintain culture.
[28:49] Nick was amazed hybrid stabilized so quickly.
[29:33] Top human resources pay has risen steeply recently to support new work- and talent-related developments.
[31:10] How work arrangements are best tailored for the target audience, product/service, and talent.
[32:16] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Your priority should be getting your hybrid model to work. If compliance is low for four days a week in the office, try one or two days and make those a success so people feel it’s valuable time spent in the office (not on Zoom).
RESOURCES
QUOTES
“Hybrid’s going to get better in the sense of more coordination, better use of space.”
“At the end of 2022, there's a little tombstone somewhere that says “Return To Office, Rest In Peace.” And since then, work from home levels have been stable.”
“I could easily see a norm being two or three days a week in the office and two, three days. The thing for me is that coordination really matters.”
“Mid-managers tend to actually be relatively positive working from home because they have houses and kids.”
“Meeting up once a month for a day or once a week for one or two days, you can really get a big boost to culture building and there are diminishing returns which is why hybrid is so popular. You just don’t need to be in all five days.”
“There's been a leisure boost. The typical professional is working from home two and a half days a week. You typically save 70 minutes a day when you work from home. If you add it up, you're looking at two, maybe three hours. And you can easily sneak in a game of golf.”
“I think now we have stabilized in hybrid. I know you occasionally read scary headlines from Elon Musk or Jamie Diamond, but in the data I'm looking at, you just don't see that.” | |||