FROM OUR EXPERTS 🎙️

I keep a close eye on what our Future Work Experts are thinking, saying, and questioning. I break down the key conversations and brainstorm practical steps we can take to move forward.

​This week:

LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT

​Want to Drive Change? Start with Your North Star​

​Phil Kirschner highlights the critical role of a "North Star" vision in guiding organizational change efforts, without a clear "North Star," teams risk losing alignment and momentum. He proposes a four-level framework for creating an actionable change vision:

1. Aspiration / Vision (L1) – Target within 2-3 years
2. Themes / Principles (L2) – Valid for 1-2 years
3. Workstreams / Initiatives (L3) – Completed in 6-12 months
4. Performance Measures (L4) – Monitors progress against L2 themes.

Without a North Star, you’re not leading change—you’re just drifting. And a drifting ship never reaches its destination.
​Phil Kirschner​

⚒️ Prompt: Today, take 30 minutes to write a clear, 1-2 sentence statement that defines your "North Star" vision for the next 2-3 years. Focus on answering: What does success look like?

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JOB REDESIGN

​How AI Can Transform Job Design and Efficiency​

​Josh Bersin explores the importance of job redesign in the age of AI. Instead of using AI as a quick fix for cutting costs or layoffs, Josh emphasizes a thoughtful approach to redesigning jobs to improve productivity and efficiency.

He outlines a "Job Redesign Blueprint" that includes analyzing tasks, identifying automation opportunities, and using advanced tools like Reejig, Draup, and Gloat to optimize job functions. Josh argues that AI should be used to enhance business objectives, not as a solution in search of a problem.

⚒️ Prompt: Review your team’s current job roles and tasks. Identify areas where AI could automate routine, low-value activities.

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AI IN REAL ESTATE

​Future-Proof Your CRE Career Amid AI Disruption​

​Antony Slumbers highlights AI's potential to revolutionize commercial real estate, comparing its impact to historical innovations like electric lighting. He urges CRE professionals to adapt to AI advancements like AI-assisted property valuation and intelligent asset optimization to stay competitive.

Antony warns that the rapid pace of AI development could leave unprepared professionals behind.

⚒️ Prompt: Start exploring AI tools and technologies today that can help you adapt to these changes and stay ahead of competitors.

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LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE

​Turning Values Into Concrete Behaviors: A Doist Approach​

​Chase Warrington shares Doist’s ongoing initiative to "operationalize" core values, providing concrete examples of how these values are translated into actions.

Doist has redefined key values such as Ambition, Mastery, Independence, and Communication to make them more practical and measurable. By creating clear expectations of what meeting these values looks like in practice, Doist aims to align individual and team actions with the company’s overarching principles.

⚒️ Prompt: Reflect on your team’s core values in a way that leads to tangible result. Are there specific examples you can provide to demonstrate what meeting expectations looks like in practice?

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AI IN HR

​Transform Data into Stories That Inspire Action​

​Anthony Onesto emphasizes the power of storytelling in HR data presentation. Storytelling with data makes insights memorable, actionable, and emotionally engaging, increasing audience retention and improving decision-making.

Research from Stanford, Harvard Business Review, and the Content Marketing Institute shows that data presented within a story framework is significantly more likely to be trusted and acted upon by executives.

Data rarely narrates its own tale; it's on us to become storytellers.​​Anthony Onesto​

⚒️ Prompt: Review one of your recent data reports and reframe it into a story. Define the audience, identify the core message, and add narrative elements like context, conflict, and resolution.

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HR TECH & LEGAL

​Rippling vs. Deel: A Legal Battle Over Corporate Espionage​

Rippling is suing Deel, claiming that Deel used a spy to steal confidential data like sales pipelines and customer profiles. The lawsuit details how the spy allegedly relayed Rippling's internal communications to Deel’s leadership. Deel denies the claims and is preparing a counterclaim.

​Ashley Herd analyzes the complaint, providing screenshots and highlighting the legal complexities in HR tech. Given her past work with both companies, her insights are particularly valuable. Ashley's summary is a must-read for understanding this high-stakes dispute.

💡 This case emphasizes the importance of transparency and legal adherence in competitive business practices.

FUTURE WORK ROUNDUP 📰

I track what’s worth your attention—bringing you the news and updates that matter most to how we work, lead, and grow.

This week:

TALENT STRATEGY

​Hire for Promise, Not Proficiency — Get 1.9x Results​

• Gartner research shows that hiring for promise—defined as the willingness and ability to learn—drives 1.9x better performance than hiring strictly for proficiency.
• Yet 51% of managers still demand full-skill matches, limiting internal mobility and stalling critical role fulfillment. With only 28% of employees saying their organizations value potential-based development, leaders must urgently shift toward promise-based hiring and define foundational role criteria more clearly.
• Skills-based learning networks, involving managers, L&D, and SMEs, nearly double preparedness outcomes versus 1:1 support models. Leaders should rethink job requirements and support infrastructure—not just to fill roles faster, but to build adaptable, future-ready talent from within.

⚒️ Prompt: Choose one hard-to-fill role, rewrite it to highlight potential development, and set up a learning network to grow talent from within.

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LEADING AND MANAGING

​Better Leaders Switch Coaching Styles That Matches the Moment​

Many leaders think they’re coaching but default to giving instructions, limiting growth. Research, including Google’s Project Oxygen, shows that coaching is a top trait of high-performing managers.

The Coaching Styles Framework—Telling, Hands-off, Asking/Listening, and Collaborating—helps leaders adapt using the right mix of push (guidance) and pull (empowerment).

Great coaches flex their style to unlock development and build resilient, self-sufficient teams.

⚒️ Prompt: Pick one direct report, match your coaching style to their development stage and task, then observe and record feedback.

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DEIB

​DEI at a Crossroads: Compliance or Commitment?​

As political pushback against DEI intensifies, many companies are rebranding, reducing, or dismantling initiatives—often citing legal risk tied to executive orders.

Major firms like Meta, Boeing, Walmart, and Pfizer have changed DEI terminology or disbanded teams, while companies like Target have faced consumer backlash and boycotts.

This shift highlights a growing tension between compliance protection and cultural credibility.

👉 Check out the Corporate DEI Tracker to see how employers are navigating this evolving landscape.

⚒️ Prompt: Pressure-test your DEI approach: is it legally cautious or culturally credible?

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UPSKILLING

​Is Your Team Ready for the AI Revolution?​

Generative AI adoption is being hindered by a talent gap, with two-thirds of executives citing a lack of in-house skills, and 65% of leaders lacking the expertise to lead the change.

Despite this, 94% of employees are confident they can develop the necessary skills.

Companies like Accenture have responded with upskilling programs, improving brand value and speed-to-market.

To unlock the full potential of gen AI, leaders must rethink collaboration between people and machines, focusing on intelligence amplification, dynamic skills, adaptable structures, and hands-on, team-based learning to close the talent gap and drive innovation.

⚒️ Prompt: Identify a task for AI automation, then run a team-based pilot to learn and refine.

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WELLBEING

​Overcome Burnout Now: Lead by Recognizing Efforts​

Employee burnout is costing you and your team a lot, with each burned-out employee potentially losing $21,000 in productivity every year.

While wellness programs are common, many fail because they treat symptoms, not the root causes.

Burnout isn’t the same for everyone, so one-size-fits-all solutions miss the mark. The real fix? Recognition.

Employees who feel appreciated are 73% less likely to burn out. To make a real impact, rethink how work is structured, build a culture of recognition, set clear boundaries, and model healthy work-life balance as a leader.

⚒️ Prompt: Acknowledge a team member’s hard work today, then lead by example with, 'After 6 p.m., my inbox is on vacation.'

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🔥 Quick Brief:

• AI STRATEGY AND SCALING
  ​Gen AI Rising, ROI Still Elusive: Gen AI adoption is accelerating, but most organizations still struggle to capture real bottom-line value. McKinsey highlights workflow redesign, AI governance, KPI tracking, and CEO ownership as key impact drivers—yet 80% report no enterprise-level EBIT gains, revealing a gap between experimentation and scaled outcomes.
• LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE​
  ​The Cuban Formula-Work, Learn, Inspire: Mark Cuban’s leadership philosophy boils down to sweat equity, deep expertise, and passion. He emphasizes aligning team goals with business goals, becoming the most knowledgeable in your field, and leading with purpose. Great leaders show up, work hard, and inspire others by living.
• PROFESSIONAL SERVICES​
  ​Consultants Must Think Like Engineers: Deloitte is shifting to an engineering-first mindset, urging consultants to become technologists first amid rapid AI disruption. With tools like DARTbot and NavigAite, Deloitte is automating manual work and redefining the consulting playbook around generative AI and digital agents.