Inevitable: The Future Of Work

Coach Loya was coming back from an away game with his team when his plane encountered disturbing turbulence. This harrowing flight set off a chain of events that led Lance to move from the ranks of college coaching to infusing people and their organizations with mindset and capacity to allow all of us to contribute by being a better teammate. Learn about the “We Gear”… and be ready to put yourself into Drive as soon you’re done listening.  

Dr. Murray Sabrin is many things, including being a university professor of finance, a student of and writer about economics, geography, and history, and a candidate for public office as well as a regular commentator on all manner of poliitcal and social issues. His appearance on the IFOW is focused mainly on his research on the options for employers to optimize the healthcare benefit for their people. We talk about his new book, "The Finance of Health Care: Wellness and Innovative Approaches to Employee Medical Insurance," delving into the strategies you can leverage to do better for your people and your business.

Thriving - not merely surviving - in a data world requires learning the foundational elements of data analytics instead of learning the next fancy tool. That's the conclusion of business intelligence and analytics leader, Sangeeta Krishnan, in her book, Thriving in a Data World: A Guide for Leaders and Managers. While there is a bit of "math on the test," you'll benefit from Sangeeta's straightforward, value-based counsel about topics ranging from big data versus small, the data function as a cost center or a positive ROI generator, and whether data resources are better centralized or embedded locally. That is, of course, if you're in the 100% of organizations seeking to become more data driven.

Digitalization of professional advice makes all the sense in the world to consultant-turned-technology platform entrepreneur, Stefan Debois, CEO and Co-founder  of Pointerpro. Stefan's experience and expertise haven't just led to the development of a tool through which to economize and accelerate the process of determining good client fit and the best ways to service their needs; the approach he recommends begins with and relies on fundamental knowledge capture and process mapping. Put the two together and you're on your way to tech-enabled consulting. Drop in for a quick boost to the efforts you are or should be making to streamline how you engage prospects and deliver value.

Shane Kovalsky is Co-founder of Mystery - a facilitator of incredible experiences for organizations investing in opportunities for their teams to forge and sustain the bonds that continue to be a key ingredient of high performance even - or perhaps especially - in the hybrid workplaces of today. The Zoom Happy Hour may still be on life support; but for those truly looking for an edge, this is a must listen conversation.

Bjorn Reynolds is known as Chief Guardian at Safeguard Global. Formally, he's the Founder and CEO. Regardless of title, his commitment is to help Safeguard's clients hire and manage the best, highly-skilled workers they can from around the globe without screwing it up. In fact, the phrase "don't try this at home" comes up in our conversation. More importantly, Bjorn helps debunk a lot of the conventional "wisdom" that continues to limit how people locate and position talent. In a moment of both low unemployment and looming recession, leaders may well find "permission" to finally make a Goldilocks commitment (of the "just right" variety) by hiring to and for their specific needs through expanding a flexible, just-in-time workforce segment. Check it out.

Bailey Showalter is the VP Product | Ecosystem Partnerships & Solutions for Pearson where she advocates for and advances efforts to reimagine opportunity in the workplace - especially for women. Critical elements of her approach include a shift from a mentor to a champion mindset to ensure getting woment into the spotlight. Recognizing potential not just history is key - building on transferable skills - is part of the key to unlocking an under-tapped talent pool. Our straightforward discussion of overcoming significant bias in the workplace is sure to inform and inspire adjustments to your approach that will make a positive difference.

Scott Wharton is VP & GM at Logitech - the digital tools and worker connection giant - with a focus on video collaboration. His insights about what people need to succeed in TODAY's work environment are more than just timely, they're critical. This a must-hear wake-up call for all the employer "grandpas" providing a laptop and not much else as we round the corner towards being 25% done with the 21st century!   https://www.logitech.com/content/dam/logitech/en/video-collaboration/pdf/study-equipping-your-employees-for-hybrid-work.pdf

Carol Schultz is an executive search expert who believes the industry is broken. Her company, Vertical Elevation, is dedicated to helping employers better understand their needs and their cultures to truly find the right people. Whether in her book, "Powered by People," her podcasts, or her no-nonsense discovery sessions with people who think they have a recruiting problem, Carol always brings her clear and actionable point of view. Listen and learn ;-)!

Who knew that the key to a great buainess meeting was mimicking Howard Stern? Answer: Sam Kolbert-Hyle, CEO of Brandlive, who - along with his trailblazing team - brings production constructs and techniques to best use the time available in modern, hybrid gatherings. Sam paints the picture of how to segment your agenda much like an episode of Ellen and lays out the case and approaches to creating pre-recorded content that ensures your effectiveness.

Dr. Jon Finn has spent years researching and developing clear processes for helping each of us improve and transform our lives...by shifting from the ever-vexing state of knowing what we want to do and helping us make sure we do it. Part of the secret - don't be put off by the things that don't go as well as we hoped. Adapting failure into success is a multi-step and ongoing process that Jon walks us through. His commitment to creating tougher minds is inspiring and imminently practical.

Meaghan Wiliams is Manager, Hybrid Enablement & Operations for HubSpot. In her role, she helps to facilitate a great culture for all 6,400+ empoyees around the globe by making sure they can connect when, how, and for what suits and serves them. Meaghan advises that culture should be decoupled from location, and takes the listener through a number of very accessible ways in which to successfully do that anywhere. And, she makes it sound so darned fun!

Who knew that people and bots could be teammates? Turns out, they can - and really good ones if used well. Bots can offload the scut work that slows down innovation and just good experiences. Even better, bots can own the repeatable drudergy that can suck the life out of workers longing to create more meaningful impact..and free folks up to do just that. All while saving money and time. Take a verbal stroll through the land of thoughtful automation with Co-founder and Chief Platform Officer of Thoughful, Dan Parsons. There are some great takeways that may lead you to call Dan for more information...and that will help you make your next tech buying decision differently - in a good way!