Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan

Latest Episodes:

How To Be More Successful In Life And Business Nov 25, 2018

Show notes

Have you ever heard of the phrase, "Fake it til you make it"? It is this idea of believing something or telling yourself something even when it's not necessarily reality yet. I am a big believer in this mindset and I have used it to help me throughout my career.

When I went off to work on my own I struggled in the beginning. I didn't have many clients and I didn't have a ton of experience. Instead of looking at myself as a poor, young kid, struggling to find work, I told myself over and over that I was a young entrepreneur building a life for myself--a life that I truly wanted to live. I still repeat that to myself even now, years later.

The way that you think and the things that you believe shape your behaviors, feelings and actions. It's kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believe that you are successful, talented, and that you have something to offer to others you will have a different outcome than if you constantly think negatively about yourself. It's a choice. When you "Fake it til you make it" it allows you to focus on the work. What you say to yourself and what you believe truly matters.

Maynard Webb Shares Business & Leadership Lessons He Learned From Yahoo, eBay, And IBM Nov 19, 2018

Show notes

Maynard Webb is co-founder and board member of Everwise, a talent development startup, and a board member of Visa and Salesforce. Previously, Maynard served as Chairman of the Board of Yahoo!, CEO of LiveOps, COO of eBay, and held executive roles at Gateway, Bay Networks, and Quantum.

Maynard is the founder of the Webb Investment Network (WIN), a seed investment firm dedicated to nurturing entrepreneurs, bringing his experience in developing and leading high-growth companies.

In 2004, he and his wife created the Webb Family Foundation, which provides underprivileged, motivated young individuals access to quality education and supports individuals who are struggling against the odds to make a positive impact on the world through innovation and hard work.

Maynard is the co-author of the critically acclaimed book, Rebooting Work: Transform How You Work in the Age of Entrepreneurship . His second book, Dear Founder: Letters of Advice for Anyone Who Leads, Manages, or Wants to Start a Business, was released in September of 2018.

How do we drive/change corporate culture?

It helps to have a higher purpose –be working on something that matters
Be winning at what you are doing
Inspire and grow your team
Treat everyone with dignity and respect
Tackle diversity and inclusion from the outside
Make sure your teams are fired up about what they are doing.

How do you get people excited about their work? Maynard believes, that first of all it is important to make sure they understand what they are doing and where it fits with the importance of the company. People want to do meaningful work that makes an impact.

Employees also should know what it will do for them if they do their job well.

As an individual employee you should be aware of who is the best in the world at what you do and aspire to that.

For people that want to quit their jobs and want to know what to do first, Maynard says, "...before you just quit and walk out, what are the pieces that you need to own for your situation, and what your situation is, and why you're not happy"

If you are itching to be an entrepreneur then go ahead and start while you still have a full time job. Do both at the same time

Maynard believes it is important to have a personal brand and you should know what you want to be known for. The character of who you are and how you walk in the world and how you treat people is important to pay attention to.

Maynard also talks about his 32 year marriage and he says the secret is knowing the difference between rubber ball moments and crystal ball moments. Rubber ball moments are ones you can bounce back from, but if you mess up a crystal ball moment, like missing a high school graduation, that is a once in a lifetime moment that can't be replaced.

What you will learn in this episode:

How to drive corporate culture
What the early days of IBM looked like
How you know when things are going well as an entrepreneur
Maynard's view of the world of work today
How to get people excited about work
Maynard's advice to anyone who wants to quit their job

Contact:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardwebb

This episode of The Future of Work Podcast was made possible by our friends at ServiceNow. Please show your support by checking out the great work they are doing! Give employees the service experience they deserve because everyone deserves great experiences at work. Eliminate frustration and improve employee satisfaction with a single access point for efficient, personalized HR services. ServiceNow helps you put service at the heart of your business. Start today.

What Happens When We Rely Too Much On Technology Nov 15, 2018

Show notes

Technology is cool and it helps us in daily life. But one thing that is cause for concern is that we tend to over rely on technology. We have this scenario in our heads that in the future we will all have robots that will do things for us at home and at work and that software will do the jobs we don't like to do. We think of all the advancements that are happening in the technology space and what is yet to come and we get this grandiose vision in our minds.

The fact is technology has a lot of issues including the possibility of being hacked and the challenge of glitches and errors that are bound to happen. I fear that we are over relying on technology thinking that in the future we won't have to do anything for ourselves. The question is, will our over reliance on technology come back to bite us in the future?

If we rely solely on technology for things like automating farming or operating autonomous cars, what happens when the technology breaks down or it gets hacked? If we put too much reliance on technology alone I worry that it will make us less human or distort our reality. We don't take things at face value anymore, we are moving away from making judgements and decisions on our own by using our senses and thoughts. Instead we are looking at the world through the eyes of data and algorithms and basing our decisions on what technology tells us.

If we continue this way, will the humanity aspect disappear altogether?

Seth Godin On Marketing Yourself: What Promises Are You Making And Can You Live Up To Them? Nov 12, 2018

Show notes

Seth Godin is a bestselling writer, with 18 books and another one coming out on November 13, 2018. His books address various aspects of marketing, advertising, business venturing and leadership. He is also a successful entrepreneur, marketer and public speaker, who became well-known for public speaking when he uploaded his e-book 'Unleashing the Ideavirus' and made it available for free.

He obtained his MBA degree from Stanford Graduate School of Business and worked as a software brand manager before he started 'Yoyodyne', one of the first Internet-based direct-marketing firms. The publicity of his firm compelled big companies like Volvo, Microsoft, Sony Music, etc. to associate with it and in a few years 'Yahoo!' bought the company, keeping Godin on as a vice president of permission marketing. Since Seth was last here his altMBA program has graduated over 1000 people. He has also written a new book, This is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See, which will be available on November 13.

Whether you realize it or not, you are always marketing yourself. You will be judged by everyone who interacts with you. Based on your appearance, your attitude, how you tackle a project, etc... This is why it is so important to market yourself intentionally.

Historically, people worked at the same location for 40 years and you could get to know people slowly over the years. Now, people are on various social media platforms, they are working virtually with people around the world. This requires people to constantly be aware of how they are perceived.

Seth says it is the wrong approach for organizations to tell their employees to be authentic and transparent, because essentially it is a lie. He says, "We make choices all the time of things we can and cannot do. I don't even know what authentic means. I know what consistent means – you made a promise of how you will behave. But you really can't do whatever you want." For example, you can't just show up to work wearing footie pjs and take a nap from 11am-1:00pm, even if that is authentically you.

What is a better approach rather than saying 'be authentic'? Seth says it is about making promises and keeping them. Remove the 'marketing language' of be authentic because it doesn't work. "It's not a family, it's work." Be clear– words matter because they remind us of other things. One example, people have different interpretations of the term 'family' so it might not be best to use the word family to describe the workplace environment.

How do you start how to market yourself? First you need to answer the question, what promise are you willing to keep? Make a promise to a partner or boss that you are eager to keep and consistently live up to it. This guarantees you a successful career - or relationship.

What you will learn in this episode:

What Seth has been up to in the year since he was last on the show
Why he has 233 Grateful Dead albums
Why telling employees to be authentic is not the right approach for organizations
How we market ourselves
Seth's experience working with science fiction writer, Isaac Asimov

Contact:

sethgodin.com

How Your Mindset Can Impact Your Work Nov 09, 2018

Show notes

There is a story of a man who walks into a construction site and as he walks into the site he passes by a worker and asks, "What are you doing?" and the worker says, "I'm laying bricks". The man continues on his way and runs into a second worker and again asks, "What are you doing?" and this time the worker says, "I'm building a wall".

The man continues on once again and runs into one final worker and again asks the question, "What are you doing?", but this time the worker answers, "I'm building a cathedral".

All three workers were doing the same job, the difference was the way they thought about their work. The moral of the story is that you have the ability to affect the way you think about your job and work in general. It doesn't matter if you are a cashier, a teacher or a CEO, it's all about what you tell yourself and the attitude you choose to have.

So, are you laying bricks or are you creating a cathedral?

The Science Of Attracting, Recruiting, And Performance Management From Alorica's CEO Nov 05, 2018

Show notes

Andy Lee founded Alorica Inc. in 1999 and serves as its Chairman and CEO. Guided by his desire to improve customer experiences and his entrepreneurial talents, he has become one of the leaders in the service and support outsourcing industry. He conceptualized and developed one of the original cloud-based Software-as-a-Service customer contact management applications that integrated contact center operations, returns management, and e-commerce. Andy has also served as an executive at Advanced Membrane Technology, CTX Data Services, and Gateway. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Business and Finance from the University of Southern California.

Alorica is a "BPO - 'Business Process Outsourcing' company or 'a customer experience provider'. Alorica specializes in attracting, developing and performance managing people." Regardless of the work, they can put more effort into these areas on a large scale. With over 100,000 employees, you may find yourself talking with one of them often. For example, if you call a wireless provider to discuss the bill or if you call an online company, then you might be talking with them. Calling a healthcare plan, you are probably speaking with someone from Alorica.

Companies do not provide this service themselves because as they evolve they find that they want to focus on what they do best – so they employ Alorica to handle their companies' clients through multiple modes – staffing, technology and a general provider of skilled labor to solve problems. Alorica has "chosen to be great at the science and the practice of attracting, developing and performance managing people.

What are the skills set needed for the future?

You need to be able to study work flows to be able to apply logic, process and engineering
The part of the workforce that are currently on the phones, in the future will need to be able to answer more complex questions. This will require people to listen carefully and understand the context to the situation and apply logic to the context. They will have to use critical thinking.

How does Alorica teach?

Micro learning – 5 – 10 minute bursts of learning

People retain 20% more information and they eliminate retraining by 80% by using these short burst videos with higher retention and less retraining

Role playing - the ability to talk through scenarios in group settings
Alorica Academy teaches leadership skills
Alorica language institute teaches people English and cultural context

What you will learn in this episode:

How organizations can use Alorica
The impact AI and Automation will have on businesses like Alorica
Why Andy feels the AI hype is not based in reality
Andy's perspective on Glassdoor ratings, along with internal surveys
How Alorica is investing in microlearning
What skillsets are needed for the future

Contact:

Andy Lee on LinkedIn

Website: http://www.alorica.com/

Why Following Your Passion is Terrible Career Advice Nov 01, 2018

Show notes

We have all heard it before, the advice that many people have given when asked for career advice or when talking to college students entering the workforce--"Follow your passion". But there are some challenges with that statement.

First of all, telling people to follow their passion assumes that the passion is something that lives outside of them and they have to chase it. The second issue is that we assume it is a static thing, that there is one passion it is in a certain location and that's where you have to go. The truth is our passions change-- as we get older, as we go through experiences in life and as we expand our horizons.

Thirdly, the problem is that often we are not able to identify a passion before we choose to pursue something. It happens all the time, someone tries something new and that sparks a new passion. So to think that we have to simply follow a passion would take away the possibility of finding a new passion in something we didn't think of before.

The real question is: how can we bring our passion with us to everything that we do. It is better to bring that passion with you instead of trying to chase it.

This episode of The Future of Work Podcast was made possible by our friends at ServiceNow. Please show your support by checking out the great work they are doing!

Give employees the service experience they deserve because everyone deserves great experiences at work. Eliminate frustration and improve employee satisfaction with a single access point for efficient, personalized HR services. ServiceNow helps you put service at the heart of your business. Start today.

Digital Upskilling: How PwC Is Ensuring No Employees Get Left Behind In The Digital Revolution Oct 29, 2018

Show notes

Mike Fenlon is the Chief People Officer at PwC US, a global network of firms with 208,000 people across 158 countries. PwC firms provided services to 429 of the Global Fortune 500 companies and more than 100,000 entrepreneurial and private businesses

Mike has responsibility for employer branding and social media, talent acquisition, analytics and talent management. He has held a variety of senior leadership roles in human capital since joining PwC, including strategy, operations and lead generalist roles. Mike is a psychologist with expertise in strategic and organizational change, talent management and leadership development.

PwC is focusing on an inclusive agenda to assist people to become 'digitally fit'. To that end, they have created an app. The app allows people to take an assessment that gives them personalized feedback on their digital fitness across a number of domains. Based on their assessment they will be provided with a connection to learning assets and an individualized training plan. The plan could include articles to read or other resources that are available.

There is really no option to opt out of this drive for digital fitness because every domain of life and business is being transformed. Therefore, it is critical for everyone to be involved in some manner.

They are also working in areas to 'digitally up-skill' people. One way they are working on this is through their Accelerator Program. This has an inclusive agenda to ensure that all people are involved.

Specifically, the Accelerator Program involves a focus on design thinking, digital storytelling, and leadership skills. It also includes a deep dive on data – how to structure data, clean data, do analytics using tools and how to drive automation. Currently there are about 1,000 people in this first cohort.

Mike's advice for companies to digitally up-skill employees:

This is an agenda for everyone – not just for some people. It needs to be an inclusive agenda for all people, regardless of age, industry, level of employment, etc..
It needs to be a personal agenda. Create a personalized experience
Make it fun and socializing. This accelerates learning and is beneficial for culture
We all have an obligation to not leave anyone behind in the community as a whole

What you will learn in this episode:

What is the PwC Digital Accelerator Program
How PwC is ensuring no employees get left behind
Why the message to become digitally fit is not based on age, level of employment, education, etc.
Mike's view of leadership
Why Mike is not worried about automation taking over jobs

Contact:

Mike Fenlon on LinkedIn

Twitter: @michaelfenlonNY

Why You Should Never Be "Heads Down" Oct 24, 2018

Show notes

In a world where things are ever changing at a fast pace, it is no longer good enough to work "heads down". We have to keep our heads up and be constantly aware of our surroundings.

Have you ever had anyone tell you "I'm so busy at work, I've just been heads down"? It is so common to hear that in conversations in the workplace. I've heard it many times. The problem with being heads down is that the world is changing so quickly these days, it's just not good enough to work heads down if you want your organization to thrive.

Being heads down you miss so much that is happening in the world around you. We have to be heads up, heads side to side and heads back to keep up in today's workplace. Nobody is going to look out for you, except you. And there's no way to do that if your head is buried in the ground like an ostrich.

Keep your head up, pay attention and be aware of all of your surroundings!

This episode of The Future of Work Podcast was made possible by our friends at ServiceNow. Please show your support by checking out the great work they are doing!

A Look Inside Hyland Software: How This Ohio Based Tech Company Is Attracting And Retaining The Best Talent Oct 21, 2018

Show notes

Bill Priemer is the CEO of Hyland Software. Bill joined Hyland in 1997 as Vice President of Marketing. He became Vice President of Sales & Marketing in 2001, Chief Operating Officer in 2005, and CEO in January 2013. Prior to joining Hyland, Bill worked at FedEx Corporation and at AST Research, a personal computer manufacturer.

Hyland Software is the developer of the enterprise content management (ECM) (or content services platform) and process management software suite called OnBase, where they digitize an organization's information. Applications of the suite are used in healthcare, financial institutions, insurance, government, higher education and manufacturing. With 3300 employees, the organization houses about 2000 of them in the headquarters located in Westlake, Ohio. They have other offices located across the U.S. and around the world in Brazil, England, Japan, Australia, and Germany.

Hyland's location in the central U.S has led them to develop their own workforce through relationships with various universities around the state of Ohio. They encourage internships with students in their IT departments. Hyland also runs technology camps with area high schools to encourage young students to develop an interest in software development and consider a career in technology. They will hire about 300 people this calendar year.

Hyland is noted to be a great place to work. Bill states that this is intentional. They have focused to train their young employees, so they want to keep the people. "Retention of workforce is really important to us," Bill says.

How do they get the students to be interested in Hyland rather than working someone where else in the area or moving to bigger tech hubs like the Bay Area or NYC?

They really focus on their company culture. They mix major perks with a culture of care and support where people feel like they matter.

They have an open floor plan, casual dress, slides from the 2nd to the 1st floor, a place to get haircut, music lessons on site, a volleyball court, and wellness classes - perks that make work more comfortable and relieve stress, that help people work on personal health. Bill believes that perks are not everything, but they are an important part of showing your people that you care about their wellbeing.

Bill says, "I think an aspect of our culture that I think people really appreciate, we're a very supportive, caring culture. It sounds soft and squishy, but we've got real friendships that form among our people. They really feel part of a community." The fun activities foster this community feeling, but also team-based projects that are there for people to work on together.

A major goal at Hyland is to have a respectful environment where people feel that they are part of what is happening. People have got to be constantly learning and growing. Overall, Hyland is growing at a nice pace that allows for growth opportunities for internal employees.

What you will learn in this episode:

Innovative programs Hyland has to attract – and keep - the best talent
Bill's thoughts on future of automation
The most valuable business lesson Bill has learned
How Hyland is using employee data and what data they are collecting
How Hyland competes with organizations in their immediate area and big tech companies in the Bay Area and NYC

Contact:

Hyland.com

Twitter: @BillPriemer