Send us a text Here’s the deal—AI promises a lot. Efficiency, productivity, transformation. Every week, something new. But work also runs on things like trust, connection, and human relationships. So the real question isn’t just how fast we adopt AI—it’s how we balance ambition with reality, timelines, people, and humanity. In this episode, we sit down with Wendy Miller, Chief HR Officer for North America at McKinsey & Company, to talk about what balancing AI ambition and reality actually...

Send us a text Here’s the deal—fear isn’t the villain. Left alone, it just drives. In this episode, we sit down with Harvard Business School professor and Thinkers50 honoree Ranjay Gulati, author of How to Be Bold: The Surprising Science of Everyday Courage to talk about acting through fear—at work, in leadership, and in a world that feels permanently uncertain. We get into why uncertainty hijacks the brain, what separates risk from true unknowns, and how everyday people “ha...

Send us a text First: AI is now sliding into your performance reviews. Forbes says it’s here to “remove bias” and “automate feedback.” We say… careful what you outsource. Because when algorithms start coaching humans, you risk losing the part that actually makes feedback work — connection, trust, and care. Then: OpenAI’s Sam Altman claimed that if AI wipes out your job, maybe it wasn’t real work to begin with. Uh, scuzi? We unpack the arrogance behind that take, the history of who decides wh...

Send us a text Ever felt like you’re on your own at work—even in a “great culture”? That’s because culture isn’t the same as community. One happens whether you shape it or not. The other takes intention, safety, and a shared purpose. In this episode of Your Work Friends, we sit down with DeMario Bell—community strategist, speaker, and founder of Gatherful, who’s spent over a decade building communities across higher ed, startups, and global enterprise, including leading Culture Amp’s 100,000+...

Send us a text This week on Your Work Friends, we break down three headlines every professional should know: Career Catfishing: Monster’s 2025 report found 4 in 5 U.S. employees say they were misled about their job. We unpack what’s driving the trust crisis between workers and employers—and what good hiring should look like now.Open Enrollment 2026: Get ready for the biggest jump in healthcare costs in 15 years. We explain why premiums are spiking, how to protect your paycheck, and what to as...

Send us a text Ever felt like your hard work wasn’t enough? That’s because the biggest career breaks don’t always come from effort alone—they come from the people who open doors for you. In this episode of Your Work Friends, we sit down with, Carnegie Mellon Professor, organizational psychologist and author Rosalind Chow to unpack the power of sponsorship. Not mentorship (that’s important too), but sponsorship—the behind-the-scenes advocacy that shapes reputations, gets your name in th...

Send us a text New Week, New Headlines: your fast-track through the now + next of work. This week we’re covering three stories shaping how you work, earn, and lead: 42,000 US manufacturing jobs lost. Since April, durable goods have shed tens of thousands of jobs—what tariffs, automation, and uncertainty really mean for the economy.72-hour work weeks exploding. Silicon Valley is doubling down on extreme hours while Europe, New Zeland (even NVIDIA) tests the 4-day week. What each bet reveals ab...

Send us a text New Week, New Headlines: Burnout turns deadly at Microsoft, the U.S. job market flatlines, “job huggers” cling to stability, and Salesforce cuts while Google opens 20,000 apprenticeships. What it all means for how you work, earn, and lead. This week we’re covering four stories shaping how you work, earn, and lead: Dying at Work. A Microsoft employee died on campus at 35. What it reveals about the way we normalize overwork, and the guardrails leaders should be setting now.The jo...

Send us a text New Week, New Headlines: your fast-track through the now + next of work. This week we’re covering four stories shaping how you work, earn, and lead: Your rights at work just changed. From overtime pay to union protections, the federal floor is gone—and what that means depends on where you live and who you work for.Women are missing from IPOs. 88% of companies going public this summer had one or no women on their boards, and 93% had one or none in the C-suite. What that signals ...

Send us a text The future of HR isn’t just about people, it’s about how business, technology, and strategy come together. In this episode of Your Work Friends, we sit down with JP Elliott, host of The Future of HR Podcast and creator of the Next Gen HR Accelerator, to talk about how HR is evolving inside the world’s biggest companies. JP has partnered with leaders at Amazon, American Express, Verizon, and more, and he brings a clear perspective on what it takes to build HR functions that win....

Send us a text Oxford professor Karthik Ramanna joins us to unpack how to lead with humility and temperance in the age of outrage—so you can build trust, lower the temperature, and keep your team thriving in polarized times. Outrage is everywhere—at work, online, even in our group chats. So how do you lead when everyone’s on edge? In this episode, we sit down with Oxford professor and Age of Outrage author Karthik Ramanna to talk about the leadership trait almost no one is talking about (but ...

Send us a text This week, we’re breaking down three headlines that could reshape the American workplace: 📉 The job market cool-down continues, with new JOLTS data showing longer unemployment durations and more people dropping out of the job hunt altogether.⚖️ The Modern Worker Employment Act could redefine what it means to be an “employee”—and put traditional full-time roles at risk.✝️ A new Trump-era memo gives federal workers the green light to evangelize at work. Is this the start of a new...

Send us a text Is your brain still working even when you're not? You're not alone—and it's probably costing you more than you think. In this episode of Your Work Friends, we sit down with Dr. Malissa Clark—organizational psychologist and author of Never Not Working—to unpack how hustle culture, job insecurity, and digital overload are making it harder than ever to truly disconnect. We talk through the 4 types of workaholism, the science behind why your body never gets to rest, and what recove...

Send us a text What if we stopped designing jobs like checklists—and started designing them like products employees want to buy? In this episode of Your Work Friends, we talk with Dart Lindsley, CEO and co-founder of 11 Fold, the creator of Multi-Sided Management and he's the host of the Work for Humans podcast, Dart breaks down why it’s time to stop treating employees like “inputs” and start treating them like customers—with all the same thoughtfulness, strategy, and design we use in product...

Send us a text This week on Your Work Friends, we’re diving into two hot topics shaking up the future of work. 1️⃣ The surprising new jobs AI is creating and why your taste and creativity might be the most valuable skills you bring to the table. First, we explore 22 new jobs AI is expected to create — and why your taste (yes, your vibe, your style, your point of view) could become your biggest career asset in an AI-driven world. We’re talking about AI auditors, world designers, an...

Send us a text AI isn't replacing leaders. But it is revealing what kind of leader you really are. In this powerful conversation, we sit down with Jacqueline Carter—author, of "More Human" researcher, and senior partner at Potential Project—to unpack what it actually means to be a more human leader in the age of AI. We dive into: ✅ The 3 skills every modern leader needs (and why only 16% are ready) ✅ How AI can amplify—not replace—your awareness, wisdom, and compassion ✅ The surpr...

Send us a text The truth about creating workplace culture that actually drives results (not just good vibes) We sat down with Joan Burke, legendary CHRO and board member and founder of the CPO Forum, who built the iconic "work of your life" culture at DocuSign, Marketo, and Responsys. This conversation reveals exactly how to create cultures where people do their best work - and why it's MORE critical now than ever. Joan doesn't just talk theory. She gives you the actual playbook for building ...

Send us a text Well friends, we're getting REAL today - and we mean REAL. Ever feel like you're grinding away at a job that might not exist in five years? This episode might just save your career (and your sanity). We sat down with Deborah Perry Piscione, Josh Drean, authors of "Employment is Dead:How Disruptive Technologies Are Revolutionizing the Way We Work," and founders of the Work 3 Institute. This conversation kinda blew our minds. They break down why traditional 9-to-5 employment is l...

Send us a text Well friends, we're getting deep today - and we mean DEEP. Ever feel like you're just going through the motions at work? Like you could disappear tomorrow and nobody would really notice? Yeah, we've all been there. This episode might just change how you show up everywhere. We sat down with Zach Mercurio, researcher and author of "The Power of Mattering," and honestly? This conversation hit us right in the feelings. Zach breaks down why 30% of people feel invisible at work (desp...

Send us a text In this episode, we hang out with Lareina Yee, senior partner at McKinsey and absolute powerhouse who's helping crack the code on women's career advancement. As co-founder of the Women in the Workplace Study and co-author of "The Broken Rung," Lareina breaks down the shocking truth about the earliest career barrier holding women back (hint: it starts way earlier than most of us realize). We get REAL about why that first promotion is such a make-or-break moment (would you believ...