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Published by Sophie Wade
Sophie addresses current business conditions and explores ways to navigate the disruption. She shares informative insights and interviewing leading innovators who are providing or benefiting from transformative solutions that will allow companies to emerge with sustainable models, mindsets, and business practices. Find out how to transition to more effective, productive, and supportive new ways of working—across locations, generations, and platforms—as we harness these challenging circumstances to drive significant, multidimensional changes in all our working lives.
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Patrick Regan OBE is author of Sunday Times bestseller " Small Steps for Big Change ", Director of Brighter Days, and a wellbeing advocate. Patrick shares meaningful experiences in his life that helped him understand how to manage overwhelm. He describes the importance of setting boundaries and living our values during today's ongoing changes. Patrick explains how self-awareness helps people take small steps, make intentional choices and lead differently. He advocates for compassionate leaders who emphasise human connection and psychological safety, while addressing systemic causes of burnout. Patrick highlights his practices of creating space and thinking differently. KEY TAKEAWAYS [01:10] Patrick's life is impacted when facing a school incident as a youth worker during his gap year. [01:56] Patrick helps at the school and discovers how trauma and violence shape young people's lives. [02:55] Trying to solve unfixable problems leads to Patrick absorbing others' pain. [04:22] Comparing suffering can prevent people from recognising and addressing their own needs. [05:12] Multiple family health crises compound Patrick's stress. [06:04] Patrick has to face his own health crisis. [07:21] Health is Patrick's Achilles heel; his knee pain fuels unresolved anxiety. [08:02] Everyone bears the burden as Patrick wants to feel useful, but his capacity is limited. [08:46] Embracing limitations is a sign of maturity that ultimately supports flourishing. [09:58] Boundaries allow people to care for themselves and others at the same time. [10:46] Caregivers can suffer "secondhand smoke" supporting someone through serious difficulties. [11:31] Effective boundaries are personal, evolving, and shaped by individual needs and situations. [13:23] Men's mental health requires more attention, conversation, and accepting vulnerability. [14:51] Being courageous requires vulnerability to enable connection and recognise you're not alone. [15:40] Suppressed emotions eventually surface, making human connection vital to deal with issues. [18:10] Belonging matters more than fitting in, particularly when people need meaningful support. [18:55] Regular check-ins with trusted friends create a valuable personal support network. [18:47] Asking for "eight minutes" can signal an urgent need to feel heard and shift perspective. [20:11] Honest conversations are important especially where role models are missing. [21:08] Small changes reduce stress responses, enabling sustainable habits for long-term transformation. [23:38] Compassionate leaders create psychological safety so people feel able to speak up and contribute. [24:16] Patrick explains compassion as a fierce and courageous word. [24:28] Wellbeing tools cannot change organizational cultures that burn people out. [25:16] Questions for workplaces to address to improve culture, behaviours, and reduce burnout. [27:29] Organizational values are meaningful when they actively guide decisions and daily actions. [28:10] Patrick and his wife practice their belief that success is living up to your personal values. [31:30] Different experiences shape values, confront biases, and deepen understanding of humanity. [32:56] Listening to understand, not respond, helps people connect across different perspectives. [35:12] Caring for others needs to coexist with self-compassion and managing the inner critic. [37:00] Patrick comes up with "Start small, create space, think differently" when totally exhausted. [38:23] Gratitude shifts attention toward good experiences without denying that difficulties exist. [38:46] Creating mental space allows questioning of inner critique and listening to more constructive voices. [39:17] Self-awareness is a fundamental characteristic of effective leadership. [39:27] Power can be used with and for people rather than being exercised over them. [41:53] Social media echo chambers weaken abilities to debate, disagree and understand other's views. [43:39] Patrick seeks critical soft skills, valuing character and chemistry more than competence. [44:00] Younger generations seek 'JOMO' (Joy of Missing Out) not sacrificing wellbeing and family. [44:40] Connecting young people with their passions to unlock energy, creativity, and contribution. [45:41] Creative problem-solving requires intentional space away from constant overwhelm and competing demands. RESOURCES Patrick Regan OBE on LinkedIn Patrick's book "Small Steps for Big Change" Patrick's book "Brighter Days" Brighter Days website QUOTES "I think success is actually living true to your values." "How do we use our power 'with' and our power 'for', rather than our power 'over', which is the traditional use of power." " My favourite definition on boundaries is 'boundaries are how I love you and love me simultaneously." "So you want to create that psychological safety within your organisation because that actually leads to more creativity and innovation and people feeling seen, valued and heard." "Compassion? That's quite a weak word? Well, actually, it's a fierce word, it's a courageous word." "Embracing your limitations is a sign of maturity. And actually helps you flourish ultimately." "Let's think differently . Let's think creatively. For that, you need space."
Angeliki Galanopoulou is Founder and Host of "the adaptive times" podcast, meanwhile taking a purposeful career break after more than seven years at Google. Angeliki discusses how AI is transforming work, job security, and career opportunities, particularly for millennials. She shares how burnout, loss, and rapid advances in AI prompted her to reassess work, wellbeing, and career priorities. Angeliki discusses why human connection, empathy, self-awareness, and continuous learning matter to stay relevant and thrive. She explains how millennials can build adaptability and agency to redesign work, explore entrepreneurship, and navigate increasingly uncertain careers. KEY TAKEAWAYS [ 01:34] Angeliki studies management science and technology while her career direction is unclear. [02:36] Digital marketing fascinates Angeliki combining technology and customers decision-making. [03:54] Understanding how the brain works - motivations, fears, and goals - improve sales. [04:98] Empathy, energy, and memorable relationships can produce stronger business results. [05:56] Burnout and coaching experience reshapes Angeliki's approach to skills, mindset, and work. [06:36] Relentless high performance becomes unsustainable without reassessing personal priorities. [07:05] Questioning what she wants, Angeliki identifies what gives her energy and does not. [07:48] Self-awareness matters to help optimise how work is done and reduce burnout risk. [09:05] Grief creates profound recalibration that cannot truly be prepared for beforehand. [09:35] Previous burnout awareness can help protect energy during difficult periods, including grief. [10:21] Major life events provoke deeper questions about choices, regrets, and careers. [13:11] Traditional long-term job security is disappearing as careers become less predictable. [13:42] Staying relevant now requires individuals to be 'selfish' about their professional growth. [14:35] People staying in stable corporate jobs must keep pace with AI to stay relevant and improve their wellbeing. [15:05] Other people leave their corporate jobs since AI lowers entrepreneurial barriers. [17:04] Time spent AI upskilling is limited inside companies as people don't feel they have time. [18:48] AI upskilling requires deliberately protecting learning time like formal education. [19:46] Individuals must actively practice new tools rather than await organizational guidance. [21:11] AI-prompted internal moves closer to technology for AI influence or to revenue for more perceived safety. [22:00] Communication and influence skills become increasingly important as technology advances. [22:15] Side hustles allow experimentation while maintaining the stability of corporate income. [23:35] Adaptability begins with comfortably admitting uncertainty and remaining genuinely curious. [26:06] Reframing is powerful, e.g. using frustrating situations to improve learning, communication, and personal agency. [28:38] Effective communication starts with deep listening beyond another person's spoken words. [29:31] Self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses reduces defensiveness and improves communication. [30:23] Professional positioning should prioritize audience value while being authentic personally. [32:18] Angeliki is advised to interview externally each year to test her market relevance and polish her positioning. [33:55] Internal mobility helps employees pursue evolving interests while remaining organisationally relevant. [34:54] Organizations should create protected time and resources for continuous AI learning. [35:34] Smaller companies are likely more human-centred than larger companies to keep talent. [37:30] Agency grows by noticing triggers, reframing reactions, and choosing constructive responses. [38:46] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Practice communication, storytelling, positioning, and visible courage to build future readiness. RESOURCES Angeliki Galanopoulou on LinkedIn the adaptive times podcast on YouTube the adaptive times website QUOTES " The safety doesn't really exist, the job safety. Which means that it's on us selfishly and personally to arm ourselves and do what we can to stay relevant and be on top and succeed and thrive in the rest of our careers as millennials." "It's your responsibility to keep up with AI for two reasons. Either to be super up-to-date, relevant and always top of mind, when it comes to doing your job more effectively and, and performing highly. Second, to actually improve your own wellbeing." "The barrier to entry in anything you want to build is minimal. Anyone can build and launch anything with almost minimal cost." " You build it [a side hustle] while you have the stable income. So I like to talk about corporate not necessarily as safe, but as stable." " We should all be adaptable. That's the skill we should all build." "See what triggers in you... And ask yourself, 'Is there a better way that will not ruin my mood for the day that I can look at it?' And then, 'Can I do something about it?'"
Professor Ayelet Segal, Human-Computer Interaction and UX expert and Head of the " AI & I " Lab of Bar Ilan 's Faculty. Drawing on decades of experience in cognitive psychology, user experience, and technology innovation, she explains how AI can amplify rather than replace human expertise . She discusses human-centred design working on AI digital twins, personality-informed avatars, and why context and trust influence the quality of human-AI interactions. Ayelet describes how LLMs are not search engines but simulate our world and expand human capabilities. She shares how new methodologies are accelerating scientific breakthroughs . Ayelet explains how she is preparing emerging leaders to effect change, combining AI with soft skills to transform industries. KEY TAKEAWAYS [00:31] Visual communication studies le a d s Ayelet toward interactive media and human technology. [01:41] Her doctoral research explored touchscreen gestures for improved learning applications. [05:12] Every technological revolution creates significant human behavio u ral change. [05:45] Human-cent re d design combines cognitive psychology, design skills with emerging technology. [06:40] Effective innovation begins with human needs, expert input, and iterative testing. [09:14] T ech advances now enable more natural, human-centred interactions. [09:59] Video avatars can provide accessible, conversational expertise across many professional fields. [11:35] Digital twins use someone's knowledge base as well as their appearance and voice. [12:14] AI companions sustain 'natural' conversations by answering, encouraging, and remembering. [13:25] Video mentors generate longer, richer, more accurate interactions than text-based chatbots. [14:14] Natural conversation and proactive prompting can strengthen users' trust and engagement. [17:02] L LMs are not search engines. They simulate our world, including its strengths and biases. [17:40] Effective AI companions benefit from personalities appropriate to the specific professions. [18:36] Touchcast's avata rs incorporate five personality traits as well as other parameters. [19:11] AI communication – to/from humans – should adapt language according to the audience. [21:21] Clear, defined context helps LLMs deliver more accurate answers. [22:30] LLMs gradually learn about the user, creating important foundation context about them. [23:55] Human-AI interaction is two-way, making individual accounts important for accuracy. [25:57] AI should become a cognitive partner that amplifies professional capabilities. [26:30] Professionals must creatively develop methodologies that expand their abilities with AI. [27:00] AI is transform ing UX research, enabling greater scale, depth, and analysis. [27:30] AI-generated s ynthetic personas support research when human participants are unavailable. [29:01] Integrating AI throughout scientific research can enable new breakthroughs. [30:00] AI can help researchers rethink questions, not simply accelerate solutions. [33:21] New AI implementation roles require leaders who bridge technology and industry. [34:00] Students can become change makers using AI to identify transformative approaches . [34:57] AI implementation skills can accelerate graduates into meaningful management roles . [37:15] Successful change makers need skills in leadership, creativity, collaboration, and con flict mitigation . [38:00] Leading AI change requires gathering supporters and navigating organizational resistance. [39:00] E ngag ing deeply with AI now creates competitive edge for future leaders. [42:10] Even experienced AI experts feel overwhelmed by the technology's rapid growth. [43:13] People should focus on AI tools and developing solutions relevant to their profession. [44:27] Treat AI as a superpower extending your mind , capabilities, and professional impact. [44:48] Exploring real workplace needs can quickly inspire useful AI applications. [45:58] Despite genuine risks, AI can solve previously intractable global problems. [48:11] AI can advance sustainability, healthcare, education, and other critical domains. [48:40] Everyone can use AI's superpower to create positive global impact. [49:00] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Explore one professional challenge and develop an AI-supported solution this week. QUOTES " We've experienced a few technological revolutions ….E ach time, for example, when we started to create the applications for mobiles, th ere was also a big behavio u ral change." "We have now a technology that could be finally much more natural and human-centred ." Re LLMs " It's a simulation of our world and it comes with everything that we know about it. With the good things and the bad things and we need to treat it this way. " " It's about the context that you feed it, and then it's learning you through time and it's adjusting the answer based on that. So you really want to be cognisant about that … .t he interaction is two-way." "We really need to be creative about how to use it [AI] and develop our own methodologies." "In order to be a change maker and lead, you really need to learn how to deal with people who are against change." "Every one of us has a [AI] superpower, and we should use it to do good in the world."
Thomas Arnett is Senior Research Fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute , focused on disruptive innovation in education. He is author of research on "What actually determines AI's impact on humanity ". Thomas discusses how disruptive innovation transforms established systems and describes the incentives , governance, and business models shaping AI development. He explores how AI is changing the 'game' of work and education and that we must shift from traditional models as AI expos es the ir limitations . Thomas explains the need for curiosity and adaptable skills-based learning as career pathways change . KEY TAKEAWAYS [01:0 4 ] Fascinated by how the world works, Thomas studies economics . [01: 53 ] Teaching middle school convinces Thomas that much of today's education system is outdated. [02: 5 5] Thomas pursues graduate school to explore how to reinvent education. [03:3 8 ] T he Christensen Institute gives Thomas a framework for understanding disruptive innovation. [0 4 : 48 ] Established systems are usually optimized to solve yesterday's problems rather than tomorrow's . [0 6 : 23 ] Disruptive innovation positive side effects making scarce solutions more abundant and available. [06:55] School systems face the innovators' dilemma as entities struggling to adopt new innovation s . [08:26] Disruptive innovation frequently starts with inferior solutions to mainstream alternatives. [0 8 : 5 4] D isruptive innovations initially often serve overlooked users before improving and reaching mainstream audiences . [ 1 0: 27 ] AI represents a technology capable of fundamentally changing how education creates value. [1 0 : 56 ] AI has created a new game to play while education systems teach how to succeed at the old game . [1 1 : 33 ] School is an artificial game where AI can help students succeed at school assignments while undermining the assignments' purpose . [1 2 :1 6 ] Assessments need rethinking because AI changes what knowledge and capabilit ies matter . [ 14 :1 7 ] AI companies' missions and their business models often drive them in different direction s . [1 5 : 3 0] Investors, governance, and customer markets increasingly influence how AI products evolve. [ 16 : 33 ] Understanding incentives provides better in sights into AI's future than reviewing technical capabilities. [ 18 : 0 2] The business model s behind AI shape which applications receive the greatest investment. [18:26] Factors tempering AI companies' 'arms race' as feedback and safety issues influence decisions. [21:24] Thomas is optimistic about young people considering their reservations about AI. [ 22 : 29 ] Learning should focus more on critical thinking, developing judgment , and problem-solving. [23:02] Thomas stresses learning how to uncover nuances to succeed in the era of AI. [25:49] AI's cost efficiencies and capability expansion is generating more entrepreneurship possibilities. [29:06] AI's language interface adapts to us, rather than humans having to learn a new tech interface. [29:53] Many human roles were previously needed to deal with messy tech-human interfaces. [31:22] New entrants can adapt fast er with new interfaces , fitting the organisation, designed AI-first. [33:4 9 ] Shifting to tax capital not labour as one possible solution to improve labour market dynamics. [34:44] Thomas suggests new modes of financing ventures as community-based capital. [37:24] Existing examples of Universal Basic Income – upsides and downsides are inevitable. [38:34] Recognising how financial security affects people's career decisions and viable opportunities . [39:09] School experiences must evolve as they determine students' ability to succeed in the workplace. [27:35] AI lowers barriers for individuals wanting to create value independently. [31:05] D efined career ladders are evolving into more fluid and adaptable pathways . [34:00] The future belongs to people who identify worthwhile problems before searching for solutions. [40:30] Education must prepare people to navigate uncertainty not just master established knowledge. [44:10] Human curiosity becomes increasingly valuable as AI can handle more routine cognitive work. [48:25] Career success will increasingly depend on adaptability. [53:15] Solving meaningful problems creates more lasting value than completing prescribed tasks. [59:50] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Focus on understanding the problems that need solving and cultivate the curiosity to keep learning and creating solutions throughout your career. RESOURCES Thomas 's research publication " What actually determines AI's impact on humanity ". Thomas's article QUOTES "School is an artificial game... we've constructed this game and now we've got this technology that helps you win at the game but actually lose at the purpose of the game." "Most of the AI getting used in schools today is... not rethinking the assumptions of how school works , it's just using it to try and enhance the way the school system has always worked." "Don't just look at what AI can do. Look at the incentives driving the companies building it." "If you want to see where these [AI] companies are going, look at their governance structures, look at who their investors are, look at what customer base they're trying to target." "As long as you maintain that curiosity for understanding those problems and a desire to try and solve them, I think that is a mindset that is go ing to serve people well." "Systems get designed to solve certain problems and they get really good at doing the things they were designed to do, but not very good at doing things that are radically different from what they're originally designed to do."
Professor Subramanian (Subi) Rangan, Professor of Strategy and Management at INSEAD and Endowed Chair in Societal Progress, explores "Capitalism 2.0". He explains how traditional model succeeded in development and wealth creation goals, yet leaving critical gaps from focusing on efficiency over equity, output over outcomes, and growth over sustainability. He discusses the "K-shaped" economy, concentrated power, and leadership responsibility to use influence with more moral character to improve well-being. Subi recommends "better not new" models, urges leaders to consider more human-centric assumptions, and reframes business as a platform for both performance and societal progress. KEY TAKEAWAYS [01:29] Professor Subi Rangan describes early influences shaping his career and perspective. [02:25] Subi explains his exposure to Tata's positive societal impact in India. [04:06] During his PhD, Subi observes multinational firms as platforms for global human capital. [05:50] Contrasts between business income generation and societal impact outcomes. [06:37] Government intervention rises when markets fail to self-correct. [07:14] Since 1980s, liberalization increased legitimacy of private enterprise self-regulation. [07:30] Capitalism 2.0 addresses gaps in the current system – e.g. enormous wealth creation, but well-being is lacking. [10:15] Efficiency over equity is one driver of the modern "K economy". [10:59] Emphasis on outputs neglected sustainability despite economic growth and scale. [11:47] Mass production and consumption can produce better outcomes with more thoughtful producers and consumers. [12:58] Society is influenced by four systems: bio, cultural, political, and economic. [13:35] Interdependence is regulated to resolve differences – using culture's soft power. [15:00] Hard power, civic interdependence with norms and consequences. [15:51] Economic interdependence excels at efficiency with inherent contradiction. [18:01] Highlights divergence of opportunity and income fuels dissatisfaction. [19:00] The concentration of power comes with moral responsibility to exercise it. [21:04] Inequality is a choice influenced by leadership values. [22:03] Lack of fairness and wellbeing can bring down society. [24:19] Focus on outcomes not outputs, especially fairness as an outcome. [24:56] Economic drivers of ill- or well-being – adjusting the structure of employment. [25:55] Labor immobility challenges adaptation pushing for an ecosystem of adjustment. [26:33] Adaptive individuals emphasises workplace learning over formal education. [26:52] An ecosystem approach supports workforce adaptation and stability. [27:35] How to incorporate non-price value outcomes like wellbeing and equity. [29:05] We have a moral problem, not a technical one. [29:33] After achieved development, wellbeing, equity, and sustainability need economic integration. [31:08] Deeper leadership character must complement competence in AI era. [31:52] AI can be a potential equalizer if guided intentionally. [34:32] Moral reasoning can be incorporated into business education systems. [35:20] Updating applied professions to combine competence and character for meaningful careers. [36:55] Points to Better Life Index as multidimensional well-being measurement model. [38:14] Outcome-based metrics rarely exist at the enterprise level thus far. [39:30] Ideas, academic research, and conversation can drive systemic change. RESOURCES Professor Subramanian Rangan's biography Societyforprogress.org website Professor Rangan's chapter " From Market-Pareto to Moral-Pareto: Seven Problematic Assumptions in Business Economics Theory " in the 2025 book " Core Assumptions in Business Theory: A Wedge Between Performance and Progress " QUOTES "The models that we have really do work to enable this wealth creation. However, they seem to not have done a good job on creating wellbeing." "There is an anxiety that is quite unprecedented about the future and about the state of the world." "The 20th century economy produced great output, but it fell short on outcomes." "It's not about the concentration of power, it's about the exercise of concentrated power." "Business actually is a great platform for not only positive income, but also for positive impact."
Maya Middlemiss is Founder of Remote Work Europe, a Remote Work Strategist, and author of 'Remote Readiness for Jobseekers'. With over two decades of remote work experience, Maya reflects on developing and scaling fully remote teams long before pandemic-related "forced remote" distorted perceptions of flexible work. She highlights the mindsets, autonomy, self-discipline, and trust required for sustainable remote models, along with practical hiring indicators for remote readiness. Maya describes collaboration infrastructure, leadership evolution, and how companies and workers can intentionally position themselves for the future of distributed work. KEY TAKEAWAYS [01:12] Maya works abroad before studying psychology to better understand herself and others. [03:24] An offer to supply research via the internet launches Maya's early remote work. [04:17] Early remote work requires experimental setups with basic technology at home. [05:40] Maya hires independent, self-directed people suited to technical and remote autonomy. [07:33] Entrepreneurship, novel writing, and marathon training clues signal remote readiness. [11:17] Technologies enabling remote work are solved pre-pandemic while versioning issues remain. [12:45] Distributed collaboration needs shared repositories and synchronous communication. [13:42] Video meetings are now basic expectations using seamlessly integrated tools. [15:46] COVID forces remote adoption without change management. [16:40] Pandemic burnout experiences from surveillance management and excessive Zoom calls. [17:44] Despite challenges, people recognise the long-term potential of working remotely. [18:18] Pause and reflection causes workers to seek guidance to work remotely permanently. [19:20] Lifestyle redesign becomes central as people relocate and reassess commuting. [20:23] Return-to-office pressure generates panic for those who had restructured their lives. [21:24] Remote Work Spain and Europe emerges to systematize advice for job seekers. [23:15] Media narratives about productivity often mask commercial real estate interests. [23:50] Personal preference strongly aligns with productivity in distributed settings. [25:09] Remote work increases self-awareness about lifestyle and motivation. [26:21] Decoupling work from location unlocks global life design possibilities. [28:08] Geoarbitrage enables cost-of-living flexibility and portfolio career strategies. [30:16] Distributed teams need intentional leadership to replace passive office-based osmosis. [34:28] Remote work's five C's: Console, Culture, Communication, Connection, and Collaboration. [35:42] Technical self-sufficiency and redundancy are essential remote competencies. [37:45] Everyone needs to contribute with new broader spectrums of knowledge and expertise. [38:41] New remote hires should actively observe onboarding to recognise cadence, styles etc. [42:19] Managers can learn from new remote recruits' views to improve distributed systems. [44:22] AI is embedded everywhere, requiring critical use and human differentiation. [46:25] Job seekers must show AI literacy without communication sounding machine-generated. [47:33] Authenticity and visible individuality help candidates stand out remotely. [48:46] Cultural fit should add diversity and evolution rather than sameness. [50:32] Remote work is harder to secure but delivers significant life rewards. IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Remote work is different to previous traditional working norms making it harder to find a remote job or managing a distributed team. However, the rewards are significant and worth the additional effort. RESOURCES Maya Middlemiss on LinkedIn Remote Resilience Hub Remote Work Europe 'Remote Readiness for Jobseekers' Maya's new book QUOTES "The people who've mastered that intentionality of leading distributed teams actually really celebrate what new people could bring." "To figure out how to lead your team properly in a distributed way, you'll get so much more from them and you'll get so much more from your own life as a leader, as a manager." "Remote work is here. It has been here for a long time." "The sheer spectrum of knowledge and expertise is much broader and so everybody can't know everything…We are so much more atomised now. We need to try to be good synthesists and have a good overview." "T ry to find the best job for you in the whole world where you will have the greatest satisfaction and experience and productivity and flow. Of course, that's going to be harder, but just consider the rewards that that can bring and it's worth doing the work. "
Matt Poepsel, PhD is author of "Expand the Circle: Enlightened Leadership for Our New World of Work", VP of Talent Optimization at The Predictive Index, and part-time faculty at Boston College. Matt discusses how leaders must prioritise human systems to adapt their approaches amid ongoing turbulence and disruption. Drawing from his military background and psychology expertise, Matt breaks down how to shift from control to connection, fostering hope, mutual trust and commitment. He offers clear guidance on managing through volatility, aligning teams in hybrid settings, exploring how to sustain motivation, rethink productivity, and embrace the opportunities. KEY TAKEAWAYS CHAPTER 1: Psychology, Empathy, and the Foundation of Leadership [01:19] During a Marine deployment, Matt is drawn to human behaviour and psychology. [02:49] For high performance and intense situations, military entities have psychology wired in. [03:37] Empathy and cohesion are underappreciated drivers of military agility and effectiveness. [05:15] High stakes work recognise 'softer' factors. Employers often miss the essential social glue. CHAPTER 2: Transitioning to Human-Centred Tech-based Coaching [06:21] Matt leaves the military focused on product but is drawn to team leadership dynamics. [07:27] After a PhD on technology-assisted coaching, Matt starts a company to scale the concept. [08:05] Early coaching efforts centred on behaviour change, connection building and achievement orientation. [08:40] Millennials', and later Gen Zers, arrival highlighted need for new leadership approaches. [09:12] Even early technologies held innovation possibilities to improve human connection. CHAPTER 3: Technology Acceleration and the Human Impact [10:45] Today's technology has increased convenience and productivity as well as disassociation. [13:10] Mandated and mismanaged tech rollouts generate fear and resistance in employees. [13:55] Leaders can push productivity too fast, miss reactions showing people aren't yet on board. [15:37] First Principles are vital to understand actionable and effective priorities. [16:10] Leaders need to counter employees withdrawing and reverting to self-interest. CHAPTER 4: Core Leadership Strategies for Unstable Times [17:05] Hope acts as social gravity for leaders to bring teams back together. [18:58] Mutual understanding and trust between employers and employees needs cultivating. [20:35] Empathising with others reduces people the misjudgement of motives that increase fear. [22:40] Hierarchical org structure and career progression are outdated and block upward mobility. [24:00] Organisations need to be creative, evolve structures and upskill workers for adaptability. [25:03] Commitment to shared goals builds cohesion and counters fragmentation [28:45] Leadership training must emphasize empathy and collaboration skills [30:47] Leaders who aren't supported must proactively learn and adapt. CHAPTER 5: Building Cohesive Teams in a Fragmented World [31:50] Synchrony—aligned workflows—strengthens team connection and performance [32:52] Poor communication and decisions often isolate rather than unify [34:54] Redesigning how work gets done can restore belonging and efficiency [35:56] Leaders must assess cohesion and identity to guide 2026 planning [36:58] Focus on collective progress as the pace of change increases [38:00] Strong teams come from intentional connection, not just output IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP : "To manage successfully through 2026, first take stock of your team, You need to know how things are. Then focus on cohesion because the way you're going to get through it is together." RESOURCES Matt Poepsel on LinkedIn Matt Poepsel's website The Predictive Index website Matt's Book " Expand the Circle: Enlightened Leadership for Our New World of Work " QUOTES "We can't succumb to the transactionalisation, the reductionism that's affecting the modern workplace. Because there are real economic consequences in terms of performance, but also human consequences in terms of our lived experience." "The only way out is through." "We have to take our people with us." "I have to be the magnet rod that kind of draws us all back together through the way that I show up, the way that I diagnose problems, the way that I provide my coaching." "Our human systems evolution is falling woefully behind our technology evolution." "Let's try to get more creative… Let's emphasize those things that AI can't do and let's help our employees remain competitive and more valuable as a result." "We have to check in with our teams and basically do that temperature check."
Antony Slumbers is a global keynote speaker on AI in real estate and pioneering voice behind 'Space as a Service.' He explores how different tiers of office buildings are evolving to meet human- and task-centric work needs. Drawing on deep experience as a Proptech entrepreneur, Antony discusses how AI and digital tools are transforming static real estate assets into dynamic environments supporting workers cognitive capacity, productivity, and wellbeing. He shares how shifting real estate models—from bonds to service-based businesses—is essential to attract people back to the office, enhance productivity, and support hybrid and flexible work strategies. TAKEAWAYS Chapter 1 - From Art to Real Estate Innovation [01:26] Antony studies history and art history which sharpens his eye for aesthetics. [02:01] Antony starts work at an art gallery then enters real estate unexpectedly through an client. [03:27] An epiphany that the internet has great potential for real estate coordination. [03:57] Antony starts coding then build a web agency focused on serving commercial real estate. [04:56] A partnership with British Land to develop digital property management tools. Chapter 2 - Reframing Real Estate: Space as a Service [06:01] Antony coins "Space as a Service" to reframe office thinking and real estate mindsets. [06:56] Real estate starts shifting from bond-based investments to human experience businesses. [08:26] Buildings must support focus, collaboration, and task-based work types. [09:13] Pure Adam Smith - productivity depends on environments that support individual output. [10:30] Office buildings must attract people. They have purpose, but they're no longer needed. [12:30] Hybrid working existed pre-COVID, but the pandemic proved remote work works. [13:20] Most corporations continue to mismanage hybrid work having had years to improve. [13:51] Only top-tier offices and flex space providers now fit workers needs and desires. [14:40] A significant portion of office spaces today are functionally obsolete. [16:23] Flex offices fit needs well but are expensive to operate based on high expectations. Chapter 3 - Technology, AI, and Smart Environments [17:40] Predictive AI can be used at once but needs much data, now possible within building environments. [19:22] Generative AI is a thinking partner to enhance any language, code and audio task. [21:04] Antony's six PropTech pillars include sustainability, wellbeing, technology and flexibility. [24:45] Smart buildings must adjust to maintain cognitive performance levels. [25:40] Top tier offices will start guaranteeing environmental conditions to support performance. [27:16] AI enables mass personalization based on user behaviour patterns. [28:13] Next step: buildings respond to what users plan to do. [29:58] Trust is critical for personalized data-driven space services. [32:19] Personas help anonymise data for tailored building experiences. [32:36] Antony disagrees with surveillance and advocates for trust-based data sharing. Chapter 4 - Connection, Community, and Purposeful Space [34:09] Individual top-tier buildings will draw tenants by enabling industry-specific performance. [34:56] Buildings as a connector, matchmaking tenants for networking and collaboration. [36:19] AI can suggest connections through apps or curated events such as lunch and learns. [40:51] Construction City example shows design drives chance interactions and community. Chapter 5 - Workforce Strategy and AI Readiness [42:49] Many employers aren't honest about why they are using AI and the workforce impact. [43:42] Fewer people may be needed as each person become much more productive with AI. [44:10] Companies must redeploy talent instead of cutting staff. [45:45] Some use AI to grow; others shrink workforce. [48:11] Small firms can become agile with AI-powered super teams. [50:22] AI fluency matters—employees not engaging with AI risk falling behind. [52:01] Everyone must upskill individually to stay competitive. IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Gather data and talent inputs to analyse and discover how your offices can be designed to actively support your teams' office-based work. RESOURCES Antony Slumbers on LinkedIn Antony's website QUOTES "You've got to make a building that people really, really want to go to because they don't need it anymore." "Generative AI is really good for mass personalization because it can understand data and break it down at a very granular level." "Real estate was going to move from being about a bond to a business." "Health and wellbeing doesn't just happen in a building. You are controlling the environmental conditions in which someone works." "You are paying someone a hell of a lot of money to be there, so if their cognitive capabilities are downgraded 10%, you are actually costing yourself money." "We will start to get to that base level—perfect conditions for whatever it is you need to do at the time."
Cali Williams Yost, CEO and Founder of Flex+Strategy Group, has pioneered workplace flexibility since 1995. Cali shares her journey from banking to becoming a flexibility strategist. She explains why flexible work is essential for business growth and attracting and retaining top talent. Cali explains the pitfalls of hybrid and flexible model policy-only approaches and the need for full operational system-wide integration. She urges leaders to rethink outdated work constructs and outlines practical steps for embedding flexibility into organizational culture for sustainable success. TAKEAWAYS Chapter 1: Origins of a Flexibility Strategist [01:19] Cali studies English and Economics appealing to her two contrasting interests. [02:08] Cali's first job at a bank gives her training and allows her to go to New York City! [02:43] Client relationships are key to success, but rigid systems cause Cali's colleagues to quit. [03:35] Cali sees flexible work as logical and proposes it, unsuccessfully to bank leadership. [04:30] A bank client CEO explains he offers flexible working to retain his employees long-term. [05:14] Urged by his business-driven reasoning, Cali leaves to become a flexibility strategist. [05:47] Cali gets an MBA to have credibility with business leaders about workplace innovation. [06:10] Cali joins Families and Work Institute, developing strategies to operationalize flexibility. [07:35] Workplace flexibility becomes an employee benefit part of policy, not operationalised. [08:45] Making policies operational, Cali develops 'work-life fit' and publishes her first book. Chapter 2: Workplace Flexibility Before & During COVID [10:13] Top down approaches are not effective so Cali dives deep into change management. [11:15] Cali starts her own firm to take an operational, integrated approach to flexible working. [12:26] Pre-2020, most companies had flexible work policies but they weren't operationalised. [13:50] Widespread flexibility was organic and inconsistent with more men working remotely. [13:55] When COVID hit, companies with operationalised flexibility policies adapted easily. [14:19] Executives must reassess foundational work constructs and beliefs to adapt effectively. [17:00] The work challenges presented by leaders and younger employees "clash of contexts". [18:55] The upcoming demographic cliff makes flexible work necessary to attract and retain talent. Chapter 3: Leading in the Modern Work Era [19:26] Finding those ready to lead the change, challenge their context and hold space. [19:48] Three change phases—assess, align, activate—are critical for embedding flexibility. [20:10] Leadership alignment is essential; one resistant leader can derail an entire initiative. [22:45] Employers investing in defining new working parameters unlock many benefits. [23:59] Leaders need to be aware of what is and isn't working with employees. [25:31] Critical willingness to hold space for change being messy and looking at work differently. [27:11] Mandating in-office days without data and strategic input erodes employee confidence. [27:52] Executives co-creating with employees to achieve aligned operational flexibility. [29:55] Trust increases when employees participate in experimenting and defining the process. Chapter 4: Intentional Future of Work Transformation [32:11] Senior leaders must be intentional about work transformation. [32:50] The sustainability of 5-day/week RTO policies especially for talent attraction/retention. [34:07] The significant, essential hurdle of stepping back and rethinking the old work model. [35:12] Younger employees successfully create an intern integration program when empowered. [37:45] Talent shortages by 2032 make flexible models essential to business continuity. [38:33] AI will supplement, not replace, human workers—talent attraction remains vital. [39:42] Rigid workspace metrics must evolve to support dynamic, flexible workforce needs. [42:16] Organizational transformation requires change management and relationships with systems thinking. IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Leaders need to assess their talent reality from now through 2030 – aligning the expectations of their workforce and the needs of the business. RESOURCES Cali Williams Yost on LinkedIn flex+strategy group website QUOTES Pre-pandemic "Flexibility was happening organically. It was happening inconsistently, and it was not optimized." "The consistent recognition is - I need to do this differently. So what does that look like?" "You have to be willing to hold the space because change is messy." "This [flexibility] isn't a policy. This is a way of operating." "We're getting ready to hit a historic labour cliff demographic cliff. There aren't gonna be people. The workers who are left? They are going to dictate how they're gonna work. So you should be working right now on being employer of choice."
Andrew Mawson, Founder and Managing Director of Advanced Workplace Associates, explores how organizations can enhance performance, especially by helping employees better manage their brain capacity. Andrew shares six evidence-based factors most impacting knowledge worker productivity. He discusses the neuroscience-researched factors affecting brain function and performance. Andrew offers actionable leadership guidance to reduce mental load, enhance employee well-being and resilience, and achieve sustainable results. TAKEAWAYS Chapter 1: Andrew's Early Career [01:18] Andrew studies applied statistics finding it useful, later describing reality through numbers. [01:59] Working in tech and defence, Andrew then joins Fujitsu and leads a program on intelligent buildings. [02:47] Intelligent building initiatives aim to increase computing adoption and data integration. [04:54] Advanced Workplace Associates is founded to bring a business- and people-focused lens to workplace strategy. Chapter 2: Six Key Factors of Knowledge Worker Productivity [07:31] Analysis of past research identifies top factors impacting knowledge worker productivity. [09:28] Factor 1: Social cohesion emerges as the top factor boosting collaboration and innovation. [10:43] Factor 2: perceived supervisory support with leaders tailoring their approach for each person. [11:41] Factor 3: Information sharing enables a culture of openness, countering knowledge-hoarding. [11:59] Factor 4: vision clarity helps employees connect their work to the team and corporate purpose. [12:45] Factor 5: external communication makes teams challenge their ideas and be open to others' views. [13:29] Factor 6: Trust underpins all factors, fostering belief that leaders and colleagues do the right thing. [15:10] Leaders must create a level of certainty to reduce employee anxiety despite external turmoil. [16:21] Social cohesion usefully creates a buffer during uncertain times, enhancing resilience. Chapter 3: Research into Brain Performance [17:16] Humans are individual brains – research identifies 14 key factors to optimise performance. [18:42] Sleep (7.5 hours) is key for brain performance, with quality and preparation critical enablers. [19:50] Hydration, exercise, and a good diet—with breakfast—are also essential for cognitive health. [21:39] Leaders must recognize that lifestyle habits affect their team's productivity and wellbeing. [23:00] AWA is running a cohort trial to educate leaders on brain health and track performance. [23:57] After baselining, coaching how to integrate new habits and track performance. Chapter 4: Cognitive Capacity & Managing Load [24:56] Recognising finite brain capacity, environments can be designed to reduce mental loads. [25:55] Everyone can better manage their well-being and outcomes using workspace that increases capacity. [28:10] A story of making tea illustrates how cognitive load varies by individual and context. [29:37] Brains are managing humans' entire systems unconsciously, consuming much energy. [30:20] Personal stressors, such as family and finances, compound work demands and brain strain. [31:24] Leaders need to monitor workload and not exceed employees' brains' capacity limits. [32:34] When excessive load get to a point that it blocks capacity for planning and logic. [33:26] Managers and employees can manage load together to restore cognitive function quickly. [34:13] Organizations are communities of connected brains aiming to optimise knowledge flow. [35:05] All six factors are linked and applied together can improve productivity and wellbeing. Chapter 5: How Leaders can Improve Performance [36:26] Leaders need to better understand how the brain works to enable high-performing teams. [37:07] Most managers lack vital training; the six factors offer a useful playbook for leaders. [38:17] How many managers believe social cohesion is their responsibility? [38:58] Competitive pressures between teams create division and undermine collaboration. [39:54] Leaders must promote and model trust and social cohesion to cultivate environments that enable success. RESOURCES Andrew Mawson on LinkedIn Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA) website QUOTES "The name of the game is to get everybody as socially cohesive as possible to allow fluidity of movement, of knowledge and, and collision of knowledge." "[External communication is] the idea that you should expose your knowledge and your brain to other things…. going to other places and have other people challenge your understanding so that your understandings remain fresh." " Humans have got a finite capacity and how that capacity is loaded and eaten into is also another important part of the jigsaw." "Organizations really are communities of connected brains…I think the first thing the leaders need to do is understand more about the brain." "Brains are the unit of production going forward in the world of knowledge work." "We are all actually different…We should be trying to create an environment and giving people knowledge about the status of different spaces and things in the places in the building so they can go and choose." " The duty of a leader is to try to create a level of certainty, create a vision, and create a direction of travel that is almost independent of the turmoil that's going on."
Corinne Murray, Director of Global Workplace Experience Strategy at American Express, and Sara Escobar, Founder of Wielding Workplace, are co-authors of newly-released ' WORK then PLACE '. Corinne and Sara draw on rich backgrounds from Gensler, WeWork, Hulu, and Netflix to share insights on culture, workplace experience, and productivity. They explain the need for intentional work design driven by employee experience—digital, physical, and experiential—and how human-centric, flexible approaches empower performance in the distributed modern work ecosystem. TAKEAWAYS [01:50] Sara starts out in TV production and then moves to Hulu. [03:01] Joining Hulu as a startup, Sara chooses to develop their workplace experiences. [04:10] Corinne's time at CBRE, Amex, and Gensler, inform her strategic research at WeWork. [05:23] Strong cultures at Hulu and Netflix differ but are both developed with intentional design. [06:12] American Express builds its strong culture based on benefits resulting in long-tenure norms. [07:02] Organizations are not prepared for formal hybrid models before 2020. [07:56] Employees pushed experience and flexibility into focus post-COVID. [09:20] Architects' and Real Estate's periodic interventions limit impact on ongoing work design. [10:45] Flexibility jumped to a top employee after their pandemic experiences. [11:36] Empathy influenced leaders to formalize more balanced, hybrid work options. [12:45] Executives reacted emotionally to shifting work models, resisting a major overhaul. [14:30] Mandates fail to justify office returns since workplace experience is not just physical. [15:44] Corinne and Sara connect in 2021 amid return-to-office debates. [17:08] Sara launches a consultancy to inform and facilitate new workplace strategies. [17:54] Sara reaches out to Corinne to co-author a book, sharing practical strategy frameworks. [20:05] Corinne shifts focus from productivity to effectiveness. [22:56] To 'fix' productivity, it must be shared across teams, not owned by workplace. [24:56] Managers must hold accountability and measure output, not observe activity. [26:02] HR, IT, and workplace must partner to enable teams' effective outcomes. [27:21] Physical-first remits clash with flexible work goals. [28:36] Employees now better understand what makes work function well. [30:17] Team agreements are key to performance in modern work environments. [30:48] Trust grows from enablement, not perks or parties. [33:27] Change must be incremental to facilitate adoption and avoid burnout. [37:10] Start with high-impact, low-effort changes for users. [39:40] Strategy must flex for global, regional, and role differences. [41:03] 'Standards' can allow interpretation, like principles, to enable adaptability. [41:50] The "Daisy" model supports incremental workplace changes. [42:59] Corinne highlights knowledge work – its growth, volatility and success factors. [47:01] Sara highlights external research, such as parenting models, that offer workplace insights. [48:30] WORK then PLACE encourages humans to focus on what technology cannot replace. [49:15] Start by auditing what works to incorporate rather than rebuilding from scratch. [51:25] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To shift workplace experiences and outcomes, find an executive sponsor, then clarify why and how the change should happen, and how to measure progress. RESOURCES Sara Escobar on LinkedIn Corinne Murray on LinkedIn WORK then PLACE QUOTES "The companies that I've worked with where the culture has been truly wonderful and truly driven forward the company's mission are where that culture is intentional." — Sara Escobar " We are workplace people. We do believe in the value of the physical place. But it's not the catchall for everything." — Corinne Murray "The workplace environment is truly physical, digital, and experiential." — Sara Escobar "Productivity is the responsibility of everyone from the individual to the executives to workplace to HR to IT." — Sara Escobar "We need to do this in a way that doesn't feel threatening and doesn't feel like an extra burden." — Corinne Murray "If you think about, you know, old factory lines, you watched the widgets being produced. That is what we've still fallen into in knowledge work. But you can't watch knowledge work get done ." — Sara Escobar "We've identified things that are fundamentally harmful to the ability of knowledge work succeeding. And if knowledge work isn't succeeding, that means the humans doing the knowledge work aren't succeeding" — Corinne Murray
Trond Aas is CEO and Co-Founder of Attensi, a leader in AI-powered gamified simulation training. Trond shares his background spanning quantum physics, consulting and gaming. He explains how gamification grounded in behavioral science drives engagement which enhances initial and long-term learning especially for younger employees. Trond describes motivation as a critical success factor for sustainable upskilling. He discusses metrics to demonstrate return on investment in skills development and how to improve skills gap issues starting with cultivating a trust-based culture of learning KEY TAKEAWAYS [01:17] Trond starts studying quantum physics to explore fundamental questions about nature. [02:01] After doing research for his military service, Trond goes into industry seeking practical impact. [02:38] Trond joins McKinsey as a business school type experience before pursuing entrepreneurship. [03:10] Interest in games stems from early programming and creativity cultivated during university. [04:08] In gaming, Trond reveals how behavioral science is used to drive engagement and learning. [06:12] Tribal, team-based successes are key to stimulating successful collaboration online. [06:25] Fascination with learning and awareness of superficial gamification drives Attensi's founding. [07:44] Attensi applies science to drive motivation and behavior change with measurable results. [09:40] Correlating simulated behavior with real-world outcomes to track learning impact. [10:23] Measuring soft skills progress when observable behavior is hard to track. [12:10] As technology evolves rapidly, upskilling must be ongoing across high-competence industries. [12:50] Skill development tailored to specific job challenges is more effective than one-size-fits-all. [13:45] Self-motivated learners thrive, while others need help to develop the motivation that anchors learning. [14:47] Many Gen Zers lack key communication skills and may not recognize this development need. [15:49] Most learning programs fail on motivation, which must be addressed first to succeed. [16:22] Creating mastery experiences significantly increases learner motivation and outcomes. [15:15] Game-based learning builds confidence that translates into better real-world performance. [19:43] Companies underinvest in onboarding due to unclear ROI, hindering workforce readiness. [20:08] Trond emphasizes data, ROI, and clear impact as critical for better training investment decisions. [20:34] Attensi's research shows poor onboarding leads to lower confidence and performance. [23:42] Skill masking arises when employees hide learning gaps, often from lack of psychological safety. [24:18] Cultivating trust-based cultures is essential to reduce skill masking and promote learning. [25:48] Focusing on core skills for each role facilitates the shift to becoming a skills-first organization. [26:44] Skill-based organizations can start small and ensure programs drive skill improvements. [28:33] Maintaining skill use needs continuous feedback, clear expectations, and learning structures. [29:13] Organizations must define competencies to stand out and align training with competitive goals. [30:37] Tailoring programs to learner motivation and challenges supports effective skills development. IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Learning motivation and skills usage are cultivated through mastery. Help employees sense their achievement to encourage their enhanced performance and growth. RESOURCES Trond Aas on LinkedIn Attensi's website QUOTES "We can use these principles of games to drive engagement, drive interest, drive motivation—and then we should be able to impact real behaviors and measure that with data." "Most people experience poor onboarding and most people are convinced that it affects their work afterwards." "Skill masking is that people are actually hiding the challenges that they are having." "Are your people motivated? And if not, address that—that's what you need to address to be able to develop your organization." "When you are able to instill a feeling of mastery in people that has a huge effect on their motivation." "A lot of people think that one [training] system or one approach will fit with all the different employees... and I think it needs to be a lot more nuanced than that."
Will Sentance, Founder at Codesmith and Visiting Fellow at Oxford University, explores why empathy is a foundational skill in engineering. He explains how empathetic interactions are core to building software, teams, and the trust necessary to scale tech-based companies. Will reflects on Codesmith's mission to empower people through thoughtful communication in a non-hierarchical learning environment. He describes how empathy, as a relational tool, expands technologists' critical communication capabilities driving clarity and collaboration, propelling their careers. TAKEAWAYS [00:26] Will is drawn to the intersection of analytical and intuitive disciplines from early education. [01:45] Will feels a deep sense of possibility through his PPE studies and aims to pass that on. [03:05] A mentor at Oxford influences Will's brief foray into international relations at the UN. [04:30] Not suited to be an employee, Will seeks autonomy and creative power in software engineering. [06:00] Will finds software to be materially satisfying and empowering as a pathway to opportunity. [07:20] A surprising response to an early JavaScript workshop reveals his teaching clarity. [08:15] Struggling to understand complex concepts helps Will become a better educator. [09:30] Codesmith is founded to be an alternative path to power by mastering technology. [10:20] Teaching coding is not just technical but an empowerment vehicle for long-term careers. [11:40] Thoughtful communication at CodeSmith recognizes others' knowledge and emotional states. [13:00] Empathy is about adapting communication to another person's experience. [14:30] Coding success requires explaining systems clearly—communication is as vital as code. [16:10] Leaders like Sam Altman show that technical communication drives modern tech leadership. [17:45] CodeSmith uses pair programming to instill empathy through precise verbal technical articulation. [19:00] Empathy begins with self-understanding and is trained through iterative collaboration. [20:20] Breaking down code for others builds resilience and fosters a capacity to learn continuously. [21:45] How different learning speeds and imposter syndrome are combatted by sharing struggles. [23:00] Codesmith instructors are alumni because lived experience cultivates trust and relatability with students. [24:20] Will's Oxford Fellowship explores how certain skills drive opportunity in an AI-transformed job market. [25:50] The real skill is learning how to learn and explain complex ideas using unfamiliar tools. [27:15] Codesmith interviews measure communication, problem-solving, and how applicants handle the unknown. [28:30] The focus is on cultivating capacities, not just teaching frameworks or programming languages. [29:40] Engineers and non-technical people alike must build clear, empathetic communication skills. [30:55] Workshops for non-programmers empower leaders to engage confidently with technical concepts. [32:00] Empathetic leadership respects team members' potential rather than relying on rules-bound oversimplification. [34:20] Scaling AI must be matched with scaling human trust across teams and organizations. [36:00] Will warns against systems that machines understand but humans cannot, which risks alienation. [37:30] Open-source tools preserve accessibility and transparency in a fast-moving tech landscape. [38:45] Many leaders are not engaging with AI tools, missing key learning and leadership opportunities. [40:10] Building the engineering mindset—problem-solving and communication—without coding. [41:30] Struggle is not a problem in learning; it is the engine of understanding and growth. [42:40] Empathetic development depends on trusted relationships and cannot be scaled without sincere human investment. [44:00] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Deep learning happens through struggle which takes place in trust-based environments, so build trusting relationships to facilitate learning. RESOURCES Will Sentence on LinkedIn Codesmith's website QUOTES "The hardest part of coding isn't writing code—it's explaining code to others so that they can also either build it, understand it, or write it themselves." "Struggle is not a bug—it's the engine of growth." "We train empathy like nothing else in the program. We train it through pair programming." "You can't scale trust with AI. You need humans to scale trust." "We've even called it empathetic engineering at times. One of the principles of Codesmith is grow others even before yourselves." "It is not how vibey you are. It is not how chummy you are. It's pure and simply, can you precisely walk through based on the understanding of another person?" "Breaking something down means that I can have clarity about how I'm thinking about it, and therefore I can then build it up for you." "Struggle-based growth depends on someone else saying, 'You're important to me enough that I'm going to invest in you.'"
Ginger Dhaliwal is Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Upflex. A long-time tech entrepreneur and investor, she shares her human-first orientation which drives her passion for solving systemic challenges using technology and data—from micropayments to elder healthcare to flexible workspaces. Ginger discusses how intentional design, empathy, and sustainability are essential for building data-driven ecosystems that support a diverse, distributed workforce. She highlights behavioral indicators for shaping future-ready on-demand and long-term work environments, emphasizing collaboration and relationships. KEY TAKEAWAYS [00:29] Ginger studies social work and first focuses on understanding people and reskilling immigrants. [01:40] Ginger's travel takes her to Malaysia where she joins a tech startup as the Internet takes off. [02:35] At a government-supported R&D lab, Ginger builds a venture studio model. [03:20] They attract international talent to spin off multiple startups solving real-world problems. [04:05] One early product enables micropayments using mobile phone billing instead of credit cards. [05:12] Learning to persuade large corporations to adopt emerging innovations and enter new markets. [06:10] A healthcare venture connects remote patients in S.E. Asia to providers through internet cafés. [06:48] Healthcare tech is adapted for the U.S. to support elders aging in place with sensor systems. [07:50] Adoption fails to take off due to lack of interest from medical professionals in holistic data. [08:40] Ginger gets disheartened, entrenched in the elder care community, and feels burned out. [09:30] Considering identity, AI's impact, and future career direction. [10:45] Personal remote work experience and coworking exposure lead to co-founding Upflex. [11:50] Ginger sees coworking catalysing innovation with people from diverse industries co-located. [13:10] Upflex becomes a platform to aggregate access to coworking spaces globally. [14:40] Early clients like Nokia highlight retention, recruitment, and cost control needs. [15:20] Real estate lacks actionable data, pushing Upflex to build a decision-support layer for companies. [16:25] Ginger champions flexibility as a strategic asset for talent engagement, not a perk. [17:35] COVID causes companies to confront data about remote work and location preferences. [18:40] Upflex helps firms explore questions around hybrid work behavior using their data tools. [19:25] Focus on location can mask deeper control and change adaptation issues in hybrid transitions. [20:45] Data shows employees' behavior is consistent across corporate offices and on-demand coworking spaces. [22:25] The global shift from individual desks to more collaborative meeting spaces. [23:38] Most day passes are booked same day, while meeting rooms are booked days in advance. [25:55] Coworking supports relationship-building and community connection as well as collaboration. [27:30] Companies are repurposing coworking memberships for team days, pods, and local clusters. [29:40] Upflex advises clients to view coworking as workplace strategy infrastructure. [31:25] Businesses experiment with timeshare-type space arrangements to balance cost and access. [33:10] Exploring partnerships with landlords to offer on-demand overflow capacity. [34:50] AI is being integrated to optimize seat allocation and dynamic workplace management. [36:15] Comparing Upflex's model to AWS—scalable space usage tai lored to demand and cost savings. [37:25] Ginger emphasizes redirecting real estate savings to reskilling as rapid tech changes cause workforce disruption. [39:15] Identity loss from desk removals prompt incremental workspace changes. [41:00] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To problem solve right now, there's no playbook, it's iterative. Come up with questions to test. Start small. Figure out a solution. Get buy in. Gather data for feedback to refine and grow. RESOURCES Ginger Dhaliwal on LinkedIn Upflex website QUOTES "I don't need to know the answers to things as long as I'm constantly thinking about solving these problems for people." " Coworking as a model for innovation and ideation is a wonderful thing and it's in your backyard. It's a block away from your, where you live." "How do we create a more sustainable lifestyle for people looking at the data. People losing 15 days of their lives commuting just didn't make any sense to us." "We can create that data layer so that people can actually make decisions based on data and understanding those preferences and how people are using space." "A lot of office space today is designed for productivity and it's shifting to collaboration. Coworking spaces are designed for that too, but also relationships. I think the evolution is we are all going to be craving relationships. It's not the collaboration that you're going for. You're going for the relationships." "We're working with landlords to figure out how you can create those overflow spaces and, from a corporate standpoint, be able to not build for the peak, but build for the average and then have the resources, the unlocking of the network, to handle the overflow."
Noel McNulty, Global Real Estate and Workplace Director at Twilio, brings learnings from hospitality to facilities and workplace experience in the tech and legal sectors. He explains how a "know your customer" mindset drives effective workplace design with personalized experiences. Noel discusses evolving from traditional facilities to values-driven workplace experience. After pandemic-based adaptions, he shares the emerging signals and realizations of the shift to flexible, remote-first work. Noel endorses curated events and environments to foster connection, engagement, and wellbeing to enhance productive, distributed work. KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:30] Noel moves from Ireland to the US, starting in hospitality before moving to facilities management. [3:09] Noel uses hospitality skills in facilities work, focusing customer service and operational efficiency. [4:28] Working on a large office restack, Noel is exposed to design, construction, and project management. [6:04] Getting to know each customer personally is essential to deliver effective workplace solutions. [10:41] Noel adopts Maya Angelou's insight that people remember how you made them feel. [13:14] Tech companies embrace high visibility events and high-touch workplace experiences. [16:23] Conservative sectors, such as law firms, foster very different workplaces to tech companies. [18:15] The pandemic halts a major growth period, forcing an immediate shift to remote working. [19:24] Downtime is used to catch back up, building playbooks and operational structure. [20:41] Phased office returns have strict safety measures, understanding psychological issues. [22:38] Leaders discover remote work productivity, adding asynchronous learning practices. [24:25] Pandemic-based work shifts lead to rethinking space use and global workplace strategy. [25:03] Twilio commits to remote-first for talent and customers, learning from new habits. [26:36] Using regular employee surveys to inform and guide culture and strategy. [27:51] Workplace experience is decisions are grounded by core values and principles. [29:22] "Open Work" is launched as a framework for distributed teams to thrive. [30:36] Effective workplace experience focuses on understanding customers and data, and cultivating curiosity. [31:24] Why empathy, self-awareness, and understanding needs are essential to inform workplace strategies. [31:45] Noel's coaching benefits his leadership, self-awareness, and support of everyone's well-being. [33:39] Noel recommends how reframing questions can unlock new perspectives. [35:11] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To improve workplace experience, first, everyone gets to contribute as all their experiences matter. Secondly, get external inputs—there's a broad community all working on the same issues. Lastly, have fun with it. RESOURCES Noel McNulty on LinkedIn Twilio QUOTES "At the core of all of it, I think it's knowing your customer… that means actually getting to know them as a person, not just about the work they do." "You can curate a more unified experience, but there's still personalization involved. It's about balancing both." "Workplace experience is about how a company's values show up in the environment and how that reflects in how people are treated." "Even as we've moved into this remote-first world, it's really about allowing people to be seen and heard." "It wasn't just because they were a lawyer they got special attention—everybody got that attention, from secretaries to administrative staff." "'Open Work' is our philosophy for how we allow our employees to thrive in a remote-first environment."
Brian Robertson is Founder and CEO of GlassFrog and creator of the decentralized management and organizational governance system, Holacracy. Brian brings a software architect's lens to fixing organizational ambiguity. He outlines why clarity—not control—is the key to scalable leadership and self-managed teams. Brian explains the benefits of an organizational clarifying framework with dynamic role definitions and boundaries that enhance autonomy and results. He discusses how human-centric systems adaptations enable innovation, AI integration, and support business evolution. KEY TAKEAWAYS [01:34] Brian learns to read on software development books and leaves school early. [02:00] Brian loves the structured thinking and clarity of software development. [02:22] Seeing through a software architect's lens, Brain seeks to fix business's unclear operations. [03:19] Brian starts a company as a lab to explore authority structure, work organization, management and more. [03:54] Holacracy emerges: clarity-driven not consensus-based but everyone has a voice. [06:03] Traditional job descriptions are outdated; clarity makes things easier as everything gets faster. [07:06] Clarity evolves with tweaks for dynamic roles, adaptive processes, and efficient meetings. [07:41] Optimizing decision-making to avoid the tyranny of consensus and top-down control. [09:46] Biggest challenge in scaling is unlearning old habits and identity ties to status. [11:03] Leaders should manage work, not people, and build systems others can lead within. [12:10] Good leaders create clarity to prevent recurring crises and enable autonomy. [13:08] Boundaries must be clear so people feel safe to act independently. [14:15] Limits evolve over time; clarity comes from learning together. [15:21] Roles are distinct functions with purpose, authority, and expectations. [17:12] People hold multiple roles; work is modular and easier to shift or automate. [19:05] Clear roles support influence, coordination, and decision-making. [20:06] Governance allows anyone to adjust roles and expectations transparently. [22:00] A new hire adds expectations to the founder's role in two minutes. [23:12] Lack of clarity persists because defining work well is hard and often skipped. [25:02] Everyone—not just leaders—needs to contribute to organizational clarity now. [27:00] Clarity with adaptability helps tech-minded firms respond quickly to change. [28:01] Zappos added market-based dynamics atop Holacracy to treat teams as micro-businesses. [30:19] GlassFrog simplifies adoption by guiding organizations through incremental change. [31:33] AI turns complaints into improvement proposals when structure is clear. [33:30] Without clarity, AI struggles to support internal workflows. [34:17] Holacracy empowers people to move from complaint to constructive action. [35:10] Visionary leaders or incremental adoption paths enable systemic transformation. [37:12] Teams often start with productivity or agile tools, then build structural clarity. [39:00] Clarity must be continuously updated—not a static achievement. [40:04] Empowerment needs limits; without knowing them, people can't lead. [41:01] Self-leadership means owning your role and acting with confidence. [42:00] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Self-leadership—supporting people stepping up to be CEO of their role—requires clarifying limits to allow people freedom to lead within those limits. RESOURCES Brian Robertson on LinkedIn GlassFrog.com HolacracyOne's website QUOTES " Expertise is used to manage hard problems, to manage the work, not the people." "If you need a boss who empowers you, you are in a fundamentally disempowering environment." On leaders: "I've found that the leader's job is to create organizational clarity…They create the clarity that lets people step into their full power, their full freedom and lead… Their job is to obsolete themselves." "They're defining boundaries. They're defining expectations. They're empowering by creating a system, a framework that is so clear that people don't need them to empower them. They can just simply step up into the power they have, because it's all obvious." "Companies are complex adaptive systems in a massively complex environment in that kind of system." "It's hard to use AI internally to companies if you don't have organizational clarity. If the way things work around here is in everyone's head, it's not clear and it's not consistent. It's hard for an AI to work with." "It's training people to step out of just the victim mindset and into a co-creator mindset, into a 'I can actually drive change here'." "We need the kind of environment and the kind of culture that supports people really stepping up and being a CEO of their role." "How do we consistently generate clarity because clarity is subject to entropy? Whatever clarity we have as our business evolves will rapidly become out of date." "Clarity itself is only as good as people can actually harness and use it by leading within it, by having that power."
Fréderic Tshidimba is the Co-founder and Chief Inspiration Officer at Empleyo , an Employer of Record (EOR) that helps businesses navigate international employment, remote staffing, and HR services. Fred shares his experience s growing teams in emerging economies . He discusses global talent flow and the need to make labor markets more liquid. Fred illustrates EOR s ' role in help ing companies grow, access ing skilled workers and staying compliant . He describes how outsourc ing international HR services open s up markets . Fred explains the value of fair employment contracts in supporting workers' financial security and mobility , while enabling employers to scale flexibly. KEY TAKEAWAYS [00:23] Fred studies business engineering with a focus on marketing and consumer psychology . [01:40] Fred joins Coca-Cola in a digital marketing traineeship having no digital experience . [02:25] T hree key lessons at Coke : think big, prioritize execution, and focus on consumer insights . [03:32] T ransition ing to Nestlé, Fred focuses on the product portfolio and bottom-line . [04:50] Fred declines a transfer to Italy and moves for his wife 's new job in the Philippines . [06:20] D iscover ing the Philippines' strength s in digital and outsourcing industries . [07:16] Fred enjoys agency work in young, fast-paced, endorsement-driven S.E. Asian market s . [08:50] A friend suggest s co-founding a business t o bridge digital expertise and outsourcing . [09:45] Fred scales the business supporting global e-commerce and software clients . [10:56] The venture grow s by focusing on c lients' needs as they scale. [12:00] Riding two waves: the e-commerce boom and early globalization of talent . [12:58] Fred gets b ought out and launches Empleyo to enable global employment opportunities. [14:10] Empleyo helps companies hire talent in countries where they don't have local presence. [15:05] Startups often use Employer Of Record services after hiring remote workers independently . [15:42] P re-sales roles, software engineers, and mission-driven or tech specialists are key EOR hires . [17:20] Startups use Employers of Record services for flexibility and growth. [18:10] Fred sees labor becoming more liquid like capital , removing structural employment barriers . [19:25] The workforce becomes a "work net" w ith collaboration transcend ing borders and time zones . [20:40] Workers still want financial stability even as their multiple career paths become more fluid . [21:35] Empleyo focuses on long-term contracts to give workers job security and legal protections . [22:38] Companies need formal employment frameworks to scale responsibly and remain compliant . [23:50] EORs take care of compliance needs, e.g. GDPR and NDAs, manag ing acros s client contexts . [24:55] Empleyo focuses on emerging markets in S .E. Asia and Africa, also expanding in Europe , the US . [26:05] HR becomes more strategic as companies seek talent aligned with purpose and growth goals . [27:28] Fred emphasizes hiring local experts to navigate regional contexts and gain customer relevance . [28:30] Internal mobility offers employees growth and engagement, especially in large organizations . [29:35] Will future employment models continue to have fixed salaries and leave policies . [30:50] Empleyo shar es best practices learned from innovative clients . [32:02] Personal cases, such as relocation during unrest or family planning, underscore Empleyo's human impact . [33:15] Companies are prompted to think beyond borders — hiring a country CEO without a local office . [34:20] Fred sees cross-border employment as a way to support families and keep communities intact . [35:12] Fred is commit ted to keep expanding their horizons and connecting people through work . IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Using an Employer of Record help s companies scale quickly and legally by hir ing skilled remote workers globally . RESOURCES Frederic Tshidimba on LinkedIn Empleyo.com QUOTES "Labor is pretty cranky… it's a factor that's not so liquid." "We believe more and more in the concept of a "work net", not just a "workforce"." "The workforce is getting more and more flexible, but people still need to be bankable." "If you want talent with purpose, you often have to go further than your local market." "Scaling with purpose means balancing speed with intentionality in your recruitment." "Sometimes people just want to live in their community and work for a global employer—that's a beautiful thing." "Our mission is to help labour become more liquid by making employment simpler, fairer, and more accessible." "It's exciting because, in the end, it's about people, their lives, and helping them grow wherever they are."
"JJ" Jessica Reeder, a workplace innovation and culture transformation leader, shares insights from her deep experience designing communications systems, scaling multicultural teams and aligning culture with strategy. Bringing pivotal learnings from early fully-remote companies such as Toptal and GitLab, JJ explains how self-management, thorough documentation, and systematized collaboration underpin successful remote work. She describes the cultural shifts required for hybrid and distributed workforces and advocates for systems thinking and clear communication to empower modern work managers. TAKEAWAYS [01:24] JJ didn't know what studying linguistics would entail when she chose it but she loved it. [02:47] Linguistics gives JJ a framework to understand the history of humanity and migration. [03:10] Living in another culture opens up her global perspective and gives her a different lens. [04:24] JJ's appreciation for engineers stems from their clarity and direct information transfer style. [05:49] JJ transitions early to working remotely focused on content and communication projects. [06:35] Noticing the growth of formal distributed work, JJ joins one of the first all remote companies. [07:14] JJ starts building a distributed community across cultures for a global virtual developer network. [08:15] Nurturing connections among talented remote professionals requires deliberate strategies. [08:56] Remote talent feels more connected when engaged with a peer community. [09:54] JJ moves to GitLab to explore systematized connectivity and is launched into remote work consulting by the pandemic. [13:01] GitLab was designed for remote work with full documentation, tools, and systems. [14:11] Realizations they need to understand other companies' different perspectives. [16:44] Conviction in remote work but recognition that unprepared managers are challenged. [18:30] JJ highlights self-management as a cornerstone of GitLab's decentralized operating model. [19:07] Clear documentation and SOPs reduce managerial load while teaching remote processes. [20:35] Others' embrace of remote work affirms JJ's long-held belief in the global distributed workforce. [22:34] JJ studies industrial organizational psychology and joins Upwork for an applied learning experience. [23:24] JJ helps Upwork transition from an office-based to remote-first workforce. [24:12] Engagement is often relationship based, differing between employee and freelance contributors. [25:00] Emotional connection isn't always needed; the mission can generate engagement. [26:43] JJ finds that many workers thrive as project contributors without deep social integration. [28:08] More varied distributed operational models are needed, especially for larger companies. [30:36] Distributed work effectiveness requires more than dedicated time for human connection. [31:25] Clearly documenting and consistently applying standard operating procedures and behaviors is crucial. [32:05] Standardizing—behaviors, tools, expectations—was a major Upwork project JJ worked on. [32:47] Accessible knowledge and intentional transparency are essential and must be intentional. [34:58] The Forest Ranger book gives JJ great insights about distributed operations. [36:19] The 'manual' shows how philosophy, behavioral standards, transparency and documentation empower independent workers. [37:24] To train distributed workers, companies must clarify expectations—behaviors, work, standards. [39:15] Hybrid work requires embracing a digital-first mindset even when working partially in-office. [40:54] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To become digital first, one, understand time—such as core hours, two, communicate digitally—with documented processes, and three, systematize collaboration—designating how and where work is done. [41:57] Communication processes must be modeled by leadership and enforced by managers. [42:26] Systematized collaboration tools create visibility, drive cohesion, and replace physical context. RESOURCES "JJ" Jessica Reeder on Linkedin JJ's website The Forest Ranger book QUOTES "This decentralization of management. Instead of someone managing your work, there's somebody who is directing your output or directing your outcome. So understanding how to empower people to self-manage their work." "Collaboration is really just about trading work back and forth and doing it in a very effective way." "To be effective at our work, we need to have a source of motivation. We need to have proof that our work is doing something that we believe in. We do need to have some sort of a mission that we're contributing to, but we don't need to necessarily be deeply emotionally engaged." "Having standard operating procedures and behavioral standards is clearly documented and consistently applied throughout the organization is crucial in remote work. It is absolutely a deal breaker if you don't have people understanding how they are supposed to work." "One of those things where you have to decide - how transparent of an organization do we want to be. If we don't buy in on transparency, then we're going to have challenges with distributed work." "Becoming a digital first organization doesn't block your ability to have a functioning hybrid organization. In fact, it enhances it. It really will make your hybrid organization more powerful. It will help people to get the most out of work, whether they're in the office or not." "All of the things that you need to have a highly functioning team can be empowered by really embracing the digital first mentality." "Collaboration needs to be systematized. It needs to happen on as few disparate tools as possible."
Mark Dixon, Founder and CEO of IWG, which he started in 1989 as Regus, discusses workplace evolution and flexible work trends. He shares insights from building IWG's 18-brand network serving 8 million users across 120+ countries. A serial entrepreneur, Mark shares how evolving workforce needs and digital tools shape location-agnostic office strategies. He emphasizes structuring real estate portfolios to empower employees and align with their work , and critiques outdated RTO policies. Mark discusses reshaping onboarding and productivity practices across roles and generations. He debunks in-office apprenticeships in today's tech-facilitated world. TAKEAWAYS [0 1 : 36 ] Mark Dixon find school too slow and leaves to start g etting involved in business. [0 2 : 39 ] After his first—sandwich —venture, Mark travels the world to gain more experience. [ 0 2:59] Mark builds a successful hotdog business, then co-living apartments in Belgium . [03:45] Exploring entrepreneurial opportunities in Europe lay s the foundation for IWG. [0 5 :3 7 ] Mark's s truggles securing office space in reveals a market need for flexible workspaces. [0 6 : 07 ] On a hunch, the first center opens in 1989, based on simplicity, speed, and outsourcing needs. [0 7 : 2 1] Companies want flexibility, speed, and capital-light solutions—not real estate complications. [0 9 : 3 2] IWG's first clients are mostly large enterprises , while half now are SME s and entrepreneurs. [10:31] All clients' reasons are the same: efficiency off the balance sheet with flexibility and speed. [ 11 :1 9 ] IWG 's 18 brands offer diverse options from flexible warehouse space to a private members' club . [ 13: 0 7 ] A h ospitality mindset is key—providing functioning workspaces with good internet and support. [ 14 :0 5 ] Technological advanc es enable management at distance, where employees have support . [ 15 : 32 ] Workers increasingly self- optimize office usage : hourly, daily, or long-term team proj ect space. [1 6 : 5 0] G ood management skills , not location, drives productivity and effective team outcomes. [1 8 : 49 ] More p roject s and fractionalized work are driv ing demand for short-term collaboration spaces. [2 0 :5 8 ] IWG supports distributed workers and teams globally with platform-like flexible access. [ 2 1 :2 3] Businesses shift to convenient offices near where people live to reduce commute strain. [ 23 : 3 0] RTO mandates are based on leaders responding to questions with data support. [24:00] 80% of Fortune 500 companies are becoming more distributed, often providing offices nearer to where people live . [ 2 5: 22 ] Virtual o nboarding and apprenticeships are effective support ed intentionally with technology. [ 28:45 ] Workspace purchasing shifts from real estate to procurement, finance, and HR departments. [29: 30 ] Many companies want offices which are convenient for the people they want to hire. [30:00] Organizations are focused on their balance sheet and being capital light and flexible. [ 3 1: 54 ] IWG spends significant resources studying work design for customers and IWG employees. [ 32 : 48 ] Design investments encompass tech needs and usage and evolving user expectations. [ 33:52 ] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To optimize work and location for outcomes, structure your portfolio, not your policy , and give people the best support for the jobs they are doing. RESOURCES Mark Dixon on LinkedIn IWG's website Some IWG brands' websites: Regus , Spaces , HQ workspaces The Hybrid Working Calculator white paper The Future of Work – A trends forecast for 2024 white paper QUOTES " Business people in general understood the value of capital light - focus capital on core business, not on peripheral activities. The value of service. The value of immediacy. I can just take it--the value of flexibility." "C ompanies are understanding that they're in the job of supporting people to be more productive. That's the job. They're very focused on their balance sheet. They're very focused on capital light. They're very focused on flexibility. " " In a modern tech-facilitated world, you structure your portfolio, not your policy. It's not a question of RTO or not— it's about enabling the best support for the people for the job they're doing." " 80% of Fortune 500 use us, and the majority of them are moving to a more distributed workplace. " "W e used to deal with just property directors . N ow we are talking to procurement, human resources. and to finance people ." "C ompanies are understanding that they're in the job of supporting people to be more productive. "
Steven Puri, Founder and CEO of The Sukha Company and former Academy Award-winning CGI producer and Hollywood executive, shares his insights from movie production and experiences as a tech entrepreneur. Emphasizing applied learning, Steven offers strategic and tactical insights for designing remote and hybrid work, cultivating focus, and supporting fulfilled cohesive teams to reduce churn. Drawing parallels with the Hollywood model, he discusses project-based collaboration, individualized productivity rhythms, and creating environments that support deep, self-directed learning and growth. TAKEAWAYS [01:33] Steven shares how each beneficial life opportunity has come from unexpected "left turns." [01:57] Early on, Steven balances interests in journalism and coding, influenced by his engineer parents. [03:42] At USC, Steven's tech fluency gives him entrée to film during the shift from analog to digital. [04:30] Working on trailers and music videos, Steven connects with aspiring filmmakers and directors. [05:26] Independence Day needs digital effects launching Steven's Hollywood experience producing visual effects for major directors and films. [06:49] Co-founding a company after Academy Award success, the team delivers for investors. [10:43] Returning to technology to have agency, Steven starts and raises money for two tech companies. [12:01] Reviewing failed ventures, Steven's top learning is to listen more to others. [13:30] Recognizing the Hollywood production cycle has always operated in remote, hybrid and in-person phases. [14:50] How remote/hybrid/in-person phases of filmmaking offer insights for modern work design. [15:37] The principle about personal productivity is to find a dedicated place where your mind settles. [18:17] In film projects, separation of visionary and operational leadership roles is critical. [19:18] 'Flow' principles—such as feedback loops and daily metrics—enables continuous improvement. [20:42] End of day progress reviews in film production supports high-intensity teamwork. [23:32] Creative breakthroughs are enabled when the brain is distracted, not singularly focused. [27:07] Steven buys a friend's startup's code base to build upon the to-do list using Hollywood learning. [28:07] The Sukha platform is rooted in work design insights to enable deep focus. [29:55] The app improves focus by limiting overwhelm and breaking major tasks into sub-steps. [31:07] Sukha's assistant adapts to personal styles—momentum-building or starting with difficult tasks. [33:38] Understanding your own work rhythms to optimize for deep productivity. [35:17] Sukha uses curated music and real environmental sounds scientifically tuned for flow states. [37:30] Timers and breaks prevent burnout and encourage brain recovery post-focus. [38:49] Feedbacks help users learn from distractions and track progress with real-time productivity scores. [40:08] Optional co-working "coffee shop" to share energy and foster community accountability. [41:06] Social facilitation theory supports the idea that seeing others work can increase your output. [44:41] A user describes how Sukha helps him be being present with his kids or lose the whole day. [45:46] The goal is not just productivity, but meaningful, self-fulfilling work that leads to happiness. [46:18] Steven renames the company "Sukha" - a Sanskrit word meaning happiness and self-fulfillment – which is his ultimate goal for people to achieve. [46:51] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Cultivating self-fulfilled, cohesive teams reduces churn. If people are enabled to do great work, they want to stay. RESOURCES Steven Puri on LinkedIn The Sukha Company website Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport QUOTES " That pulse has existed for a hundred years in film. It is very well respected. Here's what you do as a leader of these teams that are remote, hybrid, in person, hybrid, remote." "Set your environment up properly—that's one principle of getting into flow." "The principle about productivity, even if you work from your home, have a dedicated place where your mind settles into, 'oh this is where I focus'." "You can only be as good as you want to be. We are just tools to help you be great. To do something that you're capable of. You have inside you something great if we can help you get it out. That's why I'm here. " "We want to evoke that coffee shop—that clubhouse of people all trying to write the next great script." About creativity: "It's always about the other thing."
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