Imagine this: It’s May 1, 2028, and across the country, industries grind to a halt. Not just one union, not just one company, but hundreds of thousands of workers across sectors and industries standing together in one of the largest coordinated labor movements the...
As Amazon and Starbucks begin enforcing return-to-office policies, CEOs everywhere are asking if bringing employees back will save their company culture. I recently sat down with NBC’s Christine Romans for a segment on Nightly News with Lester Holt, tackling this very...
I’m working on a report that should be released by the end of the year on “CEO Chatter” (working title – if you have a better suggestion, send it to me). Our senior partners and I travel the world chatting with CEOs about their challenges, vision, and transformation...
Let’s talk about a common complaint I hear across companies: “You’re not visible enough.” Someone can be a top performer, hitting all their goals, but somehow, if they’re not front and center with leadership, it feels like they’re not making the mark. Why is there...
The port strike isn’t over; it’s on pause for the next few months. And the biggest sticking point which puts your business in danger has yet to be agreed upon. This has been a battle about two issues: wages and automation. The wages part has been settled thanks to...
As the mother of a seven-year-old, I will remember today. Today is the day that the most powerful woman in AI, Mira Murati, left her post as CTO of OpenAI, and the company announced its plans to transition to a for-profit entity. This is a critical moment for humanity...
As we near the end of the calendar year, the question on everyone's mind is: will we see salary increases in 2025? With economic uncertainty lingering, it’s tough to gauge what’s ahead for compensation budgets. To help us cut through the noise, I spoke with Tom...
I recently had the opportunity to interview Joshua Rhett Miller, Chief Investigative Reporter at Newsweek, about his cover story, "Resilient Economy 'Feels Very Untrue' to Many Americans." While the economic indicators suggest a soft landing for the U.S. economy, many...
Bosses Are Finding Ways to Pay Workers Less There's a major shift happening in the job market, and it’s turning everything we thought we knew about wages upside down. For years, we've believed that wages only go one way—up. That belief has been shattered. We are...
Bosses Are Finding Ways to Pay Workers Less There's a major shift happening in the job market, and it’s turning everything we thought we knew about wages upside down. For years, we've believed that wages only go one way—up. That belief has been shattered. We are...
For years, I have been crusading to rid corporate America of the false narrative that the concepts of people and profit are at odds. Too many business leaders feel they have to choose one over the other. But great organizations know that smart business means people...
If you've ever worked closely with a CEO, you might have heard of something called "CEO patience." It's that incredibly short fuse many CEOs have when it comes to how much time they're willing to spend listening to someone. And let's be honest, it can be tough when...
I have a new workplace pet peeve. It’s when people send me a note asking me to give them a call. Call me petty, but hear me out. That is a way of passing off accountability. Now, their “talk to Jessica” item is off their to do list and I’ve just added “call that...
Change management continues to perplex leaders despite years and years of frameworks and models being thrown at it. It’s time for an upgrade. First, why is change so hard? Change management is often a nightmare because it is treated as episodic in nature. The typical...
In the latest corporate showdown, a new hiring philosophy known as MEI—Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence—is taking center stage. Backed by influential figures like Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI and Elon Musk, MEI is being promoted as the solution to the perceived...
Wait – before you experience too much rage, keep reading. Accountability, the way Culture Partners defines it, is a personal choice to focus on what you can control to drive results. When it comes to layoffs, it's time to face the music: layoffs aren't a last...
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, CEO of SHRM, just dropped a bombshell: SHRM is removing 'Equity' from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Announced on Black Women's Equity Payday, no less. The HR world is buzzing with reactions—people on LinkedIn are outraged,...
There’s a growing number of Gen Zers who are deciding that traditional paths to adulthood aren’t for them. Instead of pursuing higher education or joining the workforce, they’re choosing to become NEETs—Not in Employment, Education, or Training. This trend is creating...
Blaming remote work for financial woes is the corporate equivalent of saying, “The dog ate my homework.” It’s a tired excuse that sidesteps the real issues plaguing organizational performance. Here’s the thing: it’s not remote work that’s the problem. It is the...
It's a buzzword that's been popping up more and more, especially for those of us navigating the hybrid work maze. Originally used to describe the logistical headaches of expanding businesses, "coordination tax" now hits close to home for many, describing the daily...
Sometimes tough love is what you need to break free from mediocrity. Just ask Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks, who got a face-full of it from none other than Steve Jobs. Back in 2008, during a critical time for Starbucks, Schultz sought advice from Jobs...
Loyalty at work no longer pays - and it's employers are who to blame Old-school loyalty at work is dead and I say good riddance. I don’t want loyal employees on my team and neither should you. Just as misguided leaders say work is like “family,” employers looking for...
Meta’s new AI council is composed entirely of white men I have terrible news, world. The most innovative minds in the most innovative field about the most innovative technology in the history of man are stuck in the past. Meta formed an all-white, all-male AI advisory...
I ran into a friend of mine at a conference a couple of months ago and we grabbed dinner to catch up. This colleague was always one of the highest performers if not the highest at our company when we worked together. When I heard how he’s frustrated and always has...
From The Wall Street Journal this week, "The New Most Dreaded Word at Work: ‘Hey’" dives into how simple, context-free messages like "hey" are stirring up quite the emotional storm in the workplace. You can check out the full piece here. The article does a great job...
How Traditional Enterprises Risk Becoming Mere Inputs to Big Tech The transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in shaping the future of traditional enterprises cannot be overstated. Dr. Lisa Palmer's poignant analysis in this article unveils something...
A good friend of mine, Greg Satell, recently wrote an invaluable article on the often-misunderstood facets of change management. In his piece, "Here’s Why 'Creating Awareness' Is Usually A Waste Of Time", Satell challenges the traditional approaches to organizational...
Well folks, spring has officially sprung and while I’m focusing on the warmer weather and the flowers blooming, Major League Baseball is catching my attention and not for good reason. On Monday, just 5 pitches into the A’s - Yankees game, the Yankees’ manager Aaron...
Resenteeism is the latest workplace term our media has latched onto to decode the mystery of the modern workplace. Funnily enough it was invented by a tech company’s marketing department. It describes the resentment of the modern worker who hates their job but doesn’t...
Copperteams.ai is revolutionizing the traditional corporate culture with an unexpected addition to their executive team: a Chief Spiritual Officer (CSO). This groundbreaking move isn’t about adding religious practices into the workday but rather about nurturing the...
When it comes to DEI, no one is having fun anymore. The advocates are tired of dealing with the people who think it is a “distraction”. And those who think it’s a distraction are tired of the people who won’t stop talking about it. So here we are. We’re stuck. The...
My Tedx talk, “How to Get People to Give a Sh*t,” came out a couple days ago!!! The goal? To slice through the corporate fluff and get real about what lights the fire of engagement and accountability. We’re bypassing the usual band-aids of incentives and...
Back in my early days of consulting, I ran into a CEO who thought attending a culture workshop was beneath them. My response? I fired the client. It was a no-holds-barred lesson in commitment or the glaring lack thereof. Let's not sugarcoat it: The backbone of any...
I never thought I’d read an article in the New York Times about “Economic Vibes,” but here we are. We are currently experiencing a disconnect between the data and the vibes when it comes to the economy. Wage growth outpaced inflation in 2023, but that means...
Performance reviews have long been a hot topic in HR, often criticized and feared, transformed into a source of anxiety by mainstream media narratives. I've been on the fence about them myself, given that at a personal level, I struggle with receiving feedback. When...
For too long, buzzwords like "culture fit" have become the holy grail of hiring and organizational harmony. Yet, as we peel back the layers of what makes companies truly successful, we find that the pursuit of culture fit is not just outdated; it's a dangerously...
The latest scoop from Heidrick & Struggles' "CEO and Board Confidence Monitor: A Worried Start to 2024" is more than just corporate gossip; it's a reality check with the power to transform how CEOs see their roles in today's ever-changing world. It zeroes in on a...
Welcome to the corporate twilight zone, where hitting $10 billion in sales is celebrated with... stale cookies. Yes, you read that right. Sephora, in its infinite wisdom, decided that the best way to commemorate an epic sales milestone was by dispatching...
In the high-octane world of tech, giants like Amazon and Meta are not just moving the goalposts; they're playing a completely different game. Amazon, under the no-nonsense leadership of Andy Jassy, has been breaking its own financial records, turning the last quarter...
A male friend of mine was deep in conversation with a female colleague about a project that was going well but needed to take a different approach for the second portion of it. In a moment of candor, he says, "For this next phase we are going to need to be...
Let's explore a subject that's igniting discussions everywhere, from boardrooms to casual coffee breaks and virtual Zoom sessions: the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on our work life. While AI is undeniably reshaping our work methods and...
In a bold reinterpretation of corporate metrics, First United Bank has introduced 'Key Purpose Indicators', a play on the traditional Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This program takes an innovative look at what gets measured. At the heart of First United Bank's...
A consultant has gone viral on TikTok promoting a networking trick she calls 'corporate flirting' to get ahead at work The concept of "corporate flirting," a viral term popularized on platforms like TikTok, is often misunderstood. Contrary to its seemingly flirtatious...
The open door policy poses a complex challenge in the world of corporate leadership, especially for CEOs. Although the intention is to foster an environment of transparency and accessibility, it frequently unintentionally allows for a steady stream of complaints and...
The gap between various employee categories has shown to be an ongoing issue in workplaces across the board. The distinctions between hourly and salaried workers, blue collar and white collar, knowledge workers and non-knowledge workers, front line and office,...
The gap between various employee categories has shown to be an ongoing issue in workplaces across the board. The distinctions between hourly and salaried workers, blue collar and white collar, knowledge workers and non-knowledge workers, front line and office,...
The changing makeup of the American workforce is highlighted in yesterday’s Pew Research Center report, which focuses in particular on older workers (those 65 and older). Today, we’re diving into the report’s main conclusions and talking about how they affect...
When new employees are onboarded at Toptal, a hypergrowth company with a staggering 40% annual growth rate and a workforce of 1200 employees, they’re told: email isn’t our thing. This company is redefining the rules of communication. Toptal has chosen to abandon email...
I want to dive into an inspiring initiative that caught my attention in the ever-evolving world of company culture. It concerns a Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at a significant electronic company based in Japan, responsible for a 70,000-person workforce with a...
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the UKG Aspire event in Las Vegas, where I had the honor of delivering a keynote on the spotlight stage. It was a packed house, standing room only for 500 people in person and over 400 more tuning in online. The title of my...