No Predictions

Crystal Balls No More

I continue to read predictions about what will happen to work in the coming year. As a former editor, occasional columnist, and begrudging content dude, I appreciate the idea because it gets eyeballs and makes for interesting fodder.??

But personally, as an individual reader, I am over it. Take a look at Dan Schawbel 's top 10 workplace trends for 2020, for instance. Dan does great work, is on point, and, perhaps in a normal year, those predictions are closer to right than wrong.??

In November of 2019, the idea of having mental health resources in the office or internal mobility as a point of emphasis made sense. A year later? The workplace looked completely foreign and many of us were not prepared.?

I’m not sure my predictions were ever correct but 2020 broke me. Nobody anticipates natural disasters, global pandemics, and economic instability other than actuaries and insurance companies. Instead, we look at these insular trends that are mostly about our own goals for our organizations.?

Of course, you can’t run a business without a plan and a plan has to include some level of prediction. I’ve spent a lot of time this year talking to organizational heads and people in HR, finance, and risk management. While these conversations have taken place across multiple projects with different purposes and goals, we almost always end up talking about the future. What are they seeing? How are they preparing??

Most of these organizations are building resiliency and flexibility into their plans. Call it an exit or entrance ramp, call it the ability to pivot, or whatever. In the words of the late Donald Rumsfeld, “There are also unknown unknowns,” and organizations are keeping their options more flexible.?

As we look ahead to this coming year, there will be something you don’t anticipate. If you’re so tightly planned that any disruptions will tip over your apple cart, you’ll probably be picking up a few pieces of fruit this year.???

I’m taking an optimistic tone for 2025 but it’s early. Let’s keep our heads up and alert (and take those 2025 predictions with a massive grain of salt).?

$150M For Women And AI

Can AI make the workplace more equitable? Melinda French Gates is betting $150 million that it can. Her investment aims to ensure women and marginalized groups thrive in a future shaped by AI.?

This funding is a wake-up call for companies to rethink how they design and deploy technology. Gates is pushing for systems that don’t just work—but work for everyone.?

The stakes are high. The choices made today will shape who gets to succeed tomorrow.?

Read my full take on Reworked

Quick Hits From Around the Web

• HCM Giant Paychex To Acquire Paycor for $4.1 Billion via Unleash
• ‘Virtual Employees’ Could Join Workforce as Soon as This Year,
• Cracking the Code: Fixing the Retention Problem in the Tech Industry via HR Executive
• The Potential Hires Are Always Right There via ERE
• Generation Beta Is Here—and It Could Transform the Workplace via Inc.
• Efforts to Turn NCAA Student-Athletes Into Employees Takes A
• Major Step Backwards via California Labor & Employment Law Blog
• How Labor Law Changed Under Biden—and What Comes Next via Charter

Boot For Hire

Looking for an interesting hook for your next employee event? Look no further than hiring the L.L. Bean bootmobile (courtesy of Boing Boing).

The size 708 boot can be rolled around at freeway speeds and the fleet has been driven over 350,000 miles (a distance that is past the moon’s orbit).?

Just keep an eye out for any hop-ons.?

That's it for this week!