The Future of Work

Is HR Still Viable in the Digital Age?

Many have been challenging the role of Human Resources (HR) in the new workplace, as more technology takes over what HR professionals have traditionally done. The whole entire employee life cycle with an organization is shortening, and there is a trend to managers being more HR savvy. We also now have predictive analytics, digital onboarding and career planning. How do HR practitioners add value in this digital age? We contend they will be needed more than ever, but some of the old industrial and bureaucratic practices of the past must be updated or thrown out all together. This week’s show will explore with Neil Reichenberg, the Executive Director of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR), who will offer his perspective on the changing role of HR and what HR professionals must do to stay current in an ever-changing field.

Neil Reichenberg serves as the chief executive officer of IPMA-HR and is responsible for the overall management of the association. He is in his 38th year with IPMA-HR and his 22nd year as Executive Director. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and New York Law School.

Are you Ready for the HR Revolution?

Is all this talk about AI and robots making your head spin? It is ours. Today things are happening so fast it’s hard to know what jobs are in, what are out, and what industries are going to survive. But one thing is for sure – humans will always be a necessity as we move forward into this world of data and technology everywhere. So what can we do as humans to stay relevant in this tsunami of change? We focus on our unique humanness. We are thrilled to have as our guest this week the preeminent Tom Peters, author, professor, and consultant who is best known for his groundbreaking book In Search of Excellence. We will be talking about Peters’ latest insights into how the unprecedented digital revolution is driving a profound and deep human revolution.

Tom Peters is coauthor of In Search of Excellence—the book that changed the way the world does business, and often tagged as the best business book ever. Seventeen books and thirty-five years later, he’s still at the forefront of the “management guru industry” he single-handedly invented. What’s new? A lot. As CNN said, “While most business gurus milk the same mantra for all its worth, the one-man brand called Tom Peters is still reinventing himself.” His most recent effort, forthcoming in April 2018, is The Excellence Dividend: Meeting the Tech Tide with Work that Wows and Jobs that Last. Tom’s bedrock belief: “Execution is strategy—it’s all about the people and the doing, not the talking and the theory.” In November 2017, Tom received the Thinkers50 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Are you still doing Leadership Development you did 20 years ago?

The world is moving fast and getting faster. How you build human capacity has to keep up with the changing times and trends. Old methods may still work, but you need to infuse your learning approaches for the new context of the rapid response workplace. Today more than ever you have to co-create and co-curate learning to confront the current reality. This is not a nice to have approach, but an essential one to keep learning relevant. Joining us on this week’s show is Nigel Paine, author and consultant with vast experience in learning leadership and technology. Nigel is a change-focused leader with a worldwide reputation and a unique grasp of media, learning and development in the public, private and academic sectors.

Nigel Paine has been involved in corporate learning for over twenty years. He was appointed in April 2002 to head up the BBC’s Learning and Development operation. Under his leadership, his excellent team transformed the learning function and put it on the corporate map.

Disruptive Innovation

It seems like everything these days is being disrupted. Some for good, and some that seem pretty scary. But using disruption to drive innovation and positive transformation can and should be a good thing. After all, we can’t be doing the same old thing we were doing years ago and expect to get the same results. The world and business have moved on. Not only do you have to disrupt your organization out of complacency, but you have to disrupt yourself to stay a constant and curious learner. Our guest this week is Whitney Johnson, one of the 50 leading business thinkers in the world (Thinkers50) and expert on disruptive innovation. We will be discussing how to use disruption for the good, not only for your team but also for yourself. Join us for a great show that is sure to be loaded with actionable advice in this sea of what seems like endless change.

Recognized as one of the 50 leading business thinkers in the world (Thinkers50), Whitney Johnson is an expert on disruptive innovation and personal disruption; specifically, a framework which she codifies in the critically acclaimed book Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work and the upcoming book Build an “A” Team: Play To Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve. (Harvard Business Press, 2018). She is also the author of Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream.

She developed her proprietary framework and diagnostics after having cofounded the Disruptive Innovation Fund with Harvard Business School’s Clayton Christensen. This framework is complemented by a deep understanding of how executives create and destroy value, having spent nearly a decade as an Institutional Investor ranked equity analyst on Wall Street.

In addition to her work as a speaker and advisor, Whitney is one of Marshall Goldsmith’s original cohort of 25 for the #100 Coaches Project, is a coach for Harvard Business School’s Executive Education program, frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, is a Linkedin influencer, and hosts the twice-monthly Disrupt Yourself Podcast. You can follow her on Twitter at @johnsonwhitney.

Is our Education System Failing Us?

Learning will be a key factor in the 21st century. Making sure we personally are learning and that educators are helping develop the next generation is a challenging task. This is because our models for learning and educating are routed in the 20th Century mindset. Is a 4 year degree necessary when the job market will be so changed by the time you get out? You’ll graduate into jobs that don’t exist. We need to learn how to learn, how to build relationships, and innovate collectively. These are not things necessarily discussed in today’s curriculum. Where should you look to further your education? Join us as we discuss with this week’s special guest, Dr. Jim Goodrich, Stoller Distinguished Chair of Business and Dean of the College of Business at Pacific University.

Jim Goodrich is currently Dean of the College of Business at Pacific University, where he is responsible for creating a new strategic plan for the College and growing the operation. Prior to this he was Dean of the College of Business and Economics at Cal State Los Angeles, where he was chief academic and administrative officer responsible for strategic management, internal operations, faculty, budgets and external relations. Goodrich has been active in strategic planning and leadership development in higher education as Dean or Associate Dean for the past 20 years.

Jim’s career also includes accomplishments as a teacher, scholar and consultant. Dr. Goodrich started his teaching at the University of the Pacific in California, where he became a tenured full professor and Director of the Westgate Center for Management Development. Jim has done training and consulting for national and international clients including IBM, Coca-Cola, Lawrence Livermore Labs, Deloitte, the Red Cross and public agencies such as CALTRANS. He has also done executive coaching for the Marshall Goldsmith organization with C-suite executives in multinational firms – as well as innovative leaders of smaller organizations – for many years.

Are we Catching Up to Make Star Wars a Reality?

Are we catching up to make Star Wars a reality? Yes we are, according to Vivek Wadhwa, Distinguished Fellow and adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will change the world forever; and as history teaches us, we can never go back. Join us this week as we discuss the meaning of work when robots can do everything, and we are quickly realizing what seemed like fiction in Star Wars. What will happen to the driver in driverless cars? Vivek Wadhwa argues (and we agree) that AI is changing the dynamics of life and that we are on the verge of solving the “grand challenges of humanity”. It is an exciting time for those who embrace it and a very bumpy one for those who have their heads in the sand. Join us for a lively discussion with Vivek Wadhwa, author and named one of the top 100 global thinkers and top 40 most influential minds in tech by Time Magazine.

Vivek Wadhwa is a globally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post and author of The Driver in the Driverless Car: How Our Technology Choices Will Create the Future;  The Immigrant Exodus: Why America Is Losing the Global Race to Capture Entrepreneurial Talent, which was named by The Economist as a Book of the Year of 2012; and of Innovating Women: The Changing Face of Technology, which documents the struggles and triumphs of women. Wadhwa has held appointments at Duke University, Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, Emory University, and Singularity University.

Traditional Leadership Tools are Dead Along with Hierarchy

As we careen into the 21st Century, it is becoming increasingly clear that the traditional tools and techniques of the 20th Century are designed for a bygone era. Gone are hierarchies and traditional talent management tools that served a great purpose in industrial settings, but are not as effective in the fast-paced world of the gig economy and agile organizations. Strategy as we know it is no longer the business power house it used to be. Organizations can be gone by the time they pull together their strategy, yet alone try to implement it. Leadership is much more distributed and project-based than the control-based vertical leadership of the past. Join us in talking about the new shape of the 21st Century workplace and the new tools and approaches that will catapult you and your organization to the forefront. We will be discussing these topics with Michael Chavez, CEO of Duke Corporate Education, who is leading the cutting edge for the work world of the future.

Michael’s interest and focus is on helping his clients to connect strategy and leadership. In particular, he teaches, facilitates and advises in the areas of leadership and culture, organizational networks, team collaboration, strategy and execution. Michael brings to Duke CE more than 20 years of experience in the fields of executive management, marketing, strategy consulting, and organizational learning and development. He has led projects all over the world and in a variety of industries, including software, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, retail, financial services and media.

What to do when Machines do Everything – How do Humans Get Ahead?

A couple of months ago, artificial intelligence and robots seemed like great dinner party discussion, but it has fast become a reality of the world of work. When we published our book last April, there were only a few hotels that were run by robots (a novelty at the time). Fast forward 10 months, and robots and hotels are becoming the norm.

The Internet of Things is fast shaping the way we interact with our world, and it is only just beginning. No industry will be left untouched. Industries and careers are transforming before our eyes; and some are rising, and some are falling. How will we survive?

Join us with our guest Benjamin Pring, co-leader of Cognizant’s Future of Work Center – a global technology organization that helps clients bring the future of work to life today. We will be discussing case studies and strategies to put into action today for success tomorrow.

In the 20th Century Humans were the Extension of the Machine – What about the 21st Century?

Robots are taking all the jobs… or are they? The automation economy both destroys and creates jobs, and most of us will be “working side-by-side with robots” in the future. The extension of “man and the machine” is well recognized as the hallmark of the 20th Century. What the 21st Century offers is the integration of humans and the machine.

 What does this all mean for us as a race as we go forward? What will work mean, and what will it look like? What kind of jobs will we be doing, and how will be learning? All important questions that will drive this century, which will be the most advanced and profoundly impactful on humanity in history. Join us this week as we talk with J.P. Gownder, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research. We will be discussing the 10 key predictions for the evolution of automation in 2018 that everyone should know and prepare for.

J. P. Gownder is a vice president and principal analyst with expertise in devices and platforms. His research covers the role that technology innovations play in the workforce, employee experience, and the adoption of emerging technologies. He leads Forrester’s research into the impact artificial intelligence, automation, and robotics have on the future of the economy and the workforce. He also covers virtual and augmented reality, wearable computing, PCs, tablets, mobility, smartphones, and the devices and systems that power retail experiences. He also has expertise in operating systems, software, applications, and the digital platform wars. J. P. holds M.A. and B.A. degrees from Harvard University.

Closing the Technology Skills Gap

To get work done today and in the future, leaders must embrace technology and the gig economy. Resistance is futile, yet we continue to ignore the technology skills gap, which threatens the future vibrancy of the U.S. economy, workforce development and national security. Who is responsible for creating it? What are the best solutions needed to address it?

This week’s special guest is Gary Beach, Publisher Emeritus, CIO Magazine, Wall St. Journal journalist, and thought leader, who is an authority on closing the technology skills gap. We will be discussing how technology links to strategy as a business imperative and discuss steps that must be taken to embrace diversity in the technology world.

Gary Beach’s career spans over three decades in the information technology media business. He has held executive posts at McGraw-Hill on Data Communications, the world’s first digital networking magazine, and at International Data Group where he was publisher of Network World (1987), Computerworld (1991) and CIO Magazine (1997). In 1999, he founded of CIO India Magazine.

Mr. Beach contributed technology commentaries to National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition” programs for four years and appeared regularly for a decade on CNBC’s “Squawk Box”, “Squawk on the Street” and “The Closing Bell” programs where he spoke about technology investment and acquisition trends.

In August 2013, John Wiley and Sons published Mr. Beach’s best-selling book “The U.S. Technology Skills Gap” which critics acclaim the “best contextual history of STEM education written”. In 2014 he began an assignment as a columnist for The Wall Street Journal’s CIO Journal where he writes regularly on the topic of technology talent.

In 2015, Mr.Beach began work on “The Skills Gap Almanac” which appears on the Twitter platform, and monthly he partners with Oklahoma State University’s Institute of Technology to publish the “Skills Gap Misery Index” which measures the pain caused by the skills gap.