Episodes

Darren Murph works to unleash the remote workforce. As GitLab's Director of Remote Work, Darren is "the voice in the room" that evangelizes the trailblazing company's remote work operating model. What is more, he authored The GitLab Remote Work Playbook, which over 80,000 people around the globe have downloaded. As 2021 unfolds, positive forces of change will unleash the remote workforce. Those forces will enable millions of people to live and work wherever they please. And in doing so, they...

The new year and the pandemic inform how we use space to live and work. It turns out that one good thing happened in 2020. Because we sheltered in place for weeks and months, we discovered that we could work successfully from home or in a hybrid combination of traditional and untraditional work spaces. In 2021, how we use space to live and work will be entirely up to us. During the early pandemic months, millions of people left big cities for anywhere else. They bought homes in suburbs, exurb...

Comedy empowers veterans careers: see how ASAP's novel stand-up comedy training program helps the people who served enjoy meaningful lives and work. The Armed Services Arts Partnership or ASAP is a nonprofit organization that uses stand-up comedy training to empower people to connect with beautiful dreams and meaningful work. ASAP cultivates community and growth among veterans, service members, military families, and caregivers through the arts. But their real impact is in liberating people fr...

In the Spring of 2017, we interviewed noted labor historian and academic David Jacobs, and we asked him: what does it mean to work? Nearly four years have passed since we interviewed Professor Jacobs, and yet very little in the workforce has changed. People who work still have to place their financial concerns above all other considerations. And yet, in this interview, Professor Jacobs describes the ways that our work can become meaningful and fulfilling. In this episode, we discuss: * What ...

When you discover your personality type, you can benefit in the future of work doing meaningful work. Globally recognized Myers-Briggs expert Edythe Richards returns to The Dan Smolen Podcast. By administering Myers-Briggs assessments, she helps people enjoy better life and work experiences. In this episode, Edythe takes us through the utility and benefits of a Myers-Briggs assessment by reviewing Dan Smolen's personality type results. To that end, knowing your Myers-Briggs type can help you e...

As the pandemic rages on and unemployment spikes, one online platform engages former employees. Forward thinking brands that must furlough large numbers of people use online alumni community platforms. They help former headcount develop new skill, find jobs at other companies, or return to the company in new full-time employment roles or contracting assignments. To that end, alumni communities engage former employees, because of tech innovators like James Sinclair. He is the co-founder of Ente...

In this episode, two headhunters discuss recruiting. During 1998, Victoria James and Dan Smolen both entered the executive recruiting field. After 20 years, Dan moved on to future of work thought-leadership and podcasting, However, Victoria still enjoys a great run in placing executive-level candidates. Victoria is the founder and president of Victoria James Executive Search. Her company is a nationally recognized recruitment firm that places top marketing and sales executives across the U.S....

One thing is clear: localism shapes the future of work. This week, we re-visit our 2018 interview with Doug Ross and Morley Winograd. They are, with Mike Hais, the co-authors of the book Healing American Democracy: Going Local. When Joe Biden becomes President on January 20, 2021, he will engage with a deeply divided government. Meantime, real governing power is "going local" by moving to our nation's city councils and county boards. And besides, local lawmakers, not the president nor Congres...

Let's ditch the monthly unemployment report. On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden assumes the U.S. Presidency. But, right now, Mr. Biden focuses time and energy on forming task forces to mitigate the spread of COVID. He will also put in place the supply chain necessary to deliver a vaccine to some 330 million Americans. COVID will consume the new president's early days and months in office. But, the economic pain of American workers also factors. Already, President-elect Biden's transition team is t...

Subject-matter expert Edythe Richards explains the connection between Emotional Intelligence and Hybrid Work. Emotional intelligence or EQ helps people to be aware of, control, and express their emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. As the pandemic continues into a tenth month, nearly 8 out of every 10 full-time workers have shifted to remote or hybrid work settings. EQ helps them to seek a clear understanding of others who also work in separate lo...

Workforce expert Adrienne Shoch joins the podcast to encourage us to create hybrid workplace presence. "[We are] constantly helping people get comfortable with certainty. It likes the same thing. It likes routines and all kinds of things. And, we don't live like that, anymore." Adrienne Shoch of five to one in Washington, D.C. is a brilliant thought-leader in workforce and the future of work. A frequent guest, she returns to The Dan Smolen Podcast to help us make the hybrid workplace model, t...

One key outcome in how we work and where we work is fast emerging: a workforce revolution supports hybrid work. The radical shift in our podcast's branding inspired us to explore deeply the suddenly changing nature of work. Not surprisingly, we found that hybrid work has emerged as the way many of us will operate, splitting time each week between home and office. "[The revolutionary forces] unleashed by the pandemic are numerous. But the-most notable paradigm shift is that people who work full...

Workforce thought-leader Dan Smolen believes that the future of work is in hybrid work. This week, we dig into fresh workforce market research sponsored by Owl Labs and Global Workplace Analytics. Their study provides a snapshot of a post-COVID workforce that splits its time between home and office. "Now, as millions of people return to the office, they recognize that the office-only workplace has become a relic of the past. With more offices resuming operation, four out of every five [of thei...

Under any circumstance, a pivot for a future of work podcast is jarring. But for Dan Smolen, making a sudden pivot for his podcast, to a new identity, was absolutely necessary. "Now, everything seemed fine until early September 2020 when we discovered that something was amiss. The Tightrope Podcast had inexplicably disappeared from the web and social media. What happened?" The sudden pivot for a future of work podcast is now complete. Today, we debut The Dan Smolen Podcast. Some back-story: ...

Public relations executive Aimee Stern believes that bravery and meaningful work are purposely intertwined. “When you heard the process that they went through to get there, it was painful and it was my process, too. It’s like putting aside everything you’ve ever been taught and saying: I’m really good at this. And, it all came down really to the biggest problem people have which is self-doubt.” By all measures, Aimee Stern was a successful executive. Her business portfolio was profitable and s...

Anne Holton is a nationally recognized expert on career and technical education. Furthermore, she believes that we must invest in the future of work's talent pipeline. Anne built a formidable résumé in workforce empowerment. Now, Virginia's former Secretary of Education; George Mason University's former interim president, and; current professor at GMU's Schar School drives thought-leadership for career empowerment and the future of work. "I want to research how students choose careers. [My hyp...

Dr. Dan Hill is employing learning pods, working groups of six people, to help organizations deliver content, develop critical skills, facilitate teamwork, and foster leadership. We believe that Dr. Hill’s learning pods will positively influence the future of work. "So, I was already leaning towards this idea of six people. A [work team] should be no larger than can be fed with two large pizzas." The term learning pods trends high in social media, because many parents across the country are us...

Teaching in the pandemic age will certainly change how students learn and the future of work for teachers. "I think that [the pandemic] has built a conversation of what public school will look like going forward." - Maggie Hansford, Prince William Education Association President Maggie Hansford represents public school teachers, students, parents, and guardians in Virginia's second-largest municipality. Many schools are starting the year with remote or virtual instruction. Maggie thinks that...

Will Sarni sees the future of work in water. “When I started my career, I worked for a gentleman, David Miller. The name of the company was Geraghty & Miller, and, he said ‘[If] you want a career in water, it will last forever, it will last a lifetime, because it is a public health issue.’” -Will Sarni, Founder and CEO Water Foundry, LLC There is a future of work in water, because our planet is covered mostly in water. And scarcity of clean, potable water remains the planet's biggest problem ...

Maurice Small supports food justice and the future of work. "We have to begin to plant orchards in our cities. We have to begin to train each other on how to graft and cross-pollinate plants so we can have food. We have to do these things, because [if we don't] we're going to end up extinct." Maurice is a nationally recognized regenerative farmer and social entrepreneur who helps people to find and do meaningful work in regenerative farming. Inspired by his leadership, people learn how to fee...

Moses Small has embarked on a new career doing the meaningful work of TV news. Growing up as an adopted African-American child of white parents, Moses often felt "otherness." "I remember being a really little kid. My parents would give me $20 for the convenience store. And then, in a couple of instances, a person working [at the store] had to check the [$20 bill], hold it up to the light. He said 'how do you have this money? Is this even real?'" - Moses Small, TV News Reporter Moses believes...

Is Never Normal the future of work? Author and business futurist Greg Verdino believes that the answer is YES. "Leaders need to become more comfortable with how to manage [people] remotely, and, I think, [have always had] this problem in that they hire adults and treat them like children." - Author and Business Futurist Greg Verdino In his new book Never Normal: Uncommon Ideas for Leaders Who Don’t Settle for the Status Quo, Greg Verdino describes how the answer to constant disruption at work...

New York Times best-selling author Daniel Pink writes that autonomy, mastery, and purpose drive our pursuit of meaningful work. About this episode: "[The idea] that if you simply dangle money in front of people and they will perform better is a fundamentally erroneous proposition." - Daniel Pink Daniel Pink inspires our future of work and meaningful work thought-leadership. The author of DRIVE: The Surprising Truth of What Motivates Us demonstrates how autonomy, mastery, and purpose lead pe...

Typical entrepreneurs focus on winning funding rounds and scaling revenue. However, one woman is now guiding the Resilient Entrepreneur to make the world a better place. About this episode: "[You] can have a business plan on paper, but then the first day that you start your business, everything changes. So, the skills of how: * flexible are you? * do you adapt? * you take things as not going your way? are learning opportunities." - Regina Bernal, Entrepreneurship Manager for the Universit...