Are Contingent Workers More Engaged Than You Think?

Is the gig economy exploitative or empowering?

The Best Strategy to Achieve True Innovation

In your organization, does innovation mean finding new ways to exploit what you already do well, or exploring arenas where you're unfamiliar and will make mistakes? Or both?

Consider the Meander: How Attention to Timing Can Enhance Employee Engagement

Patterns in nature are remarkable, from the smallest to the largest scale: The symmetrical pointed star shows up in starfish and segments of fruit. The same fractal patterns are seen in leaf veins, wood grains and branches of trees. Fibonacci spirals are present in the nautilus shell, cabbage tissues and in the way droplets of water fly off a wet spinning ball. Another common pattern in nature is called a "meander." It's the pattern of up and down bends in a crawling snake, the folks of a coral plant and the path of a river.

Organizational Leaders Can't Avoid Conversations About Automation Forever

This post was prepared in collaboration with Theresa Welbourne, president and CEO of eePulse.

Why Having HR Measurements is No Longer Enough to Grow HR's Strategic Role

When Google Analytics debuted in 2005, the ability to look under the hood, and see who was viewing your website (and for how long), was all at once foreign and exciting. In fact, it was so exciting there was a waitlist to access it—for nearly a year. Over a decade later, our collective obsession with metrics and analytics remains: data reigns supreme across industries with promises to improve strategic decisions.

Leaders, You Can't Achieve Agility in the Workplace Without Transparency

In my July ReWork column, I described agile work as perpetually upgraded work, constantly "becoming" something new. Every day, work becomes a little more automated, the source of talent becomes a little more boundless, the rewards become a little more immediate and non-monetary and learning becomes a little more virtual and community-led.

Don't Fear the Machines—Even Supercomputers Need a Human Touch

Amidst the frantic warnings that automation may take the jobs of human workers, it is vital for talent management leaders to be a voice for a more nuanced approach. The advance of technology is inevitable, but rather than an "either-or" choice between humans and machines, innovative talent leaders are finding creative and optimal combinations of human and machine interaction.

Beyond Agile HR: Your Company Must Embrace Agile Work

In The Inevitable, author and co-founder of Wired magazine Kevin Kelly describes twelve disruptive technological forces. One is "becoming," in which products, services and relationships are perpetually both obsolete and upgraded. Take, for example, the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone—as soon as a new one emerges, it's the hottest thing on the market, and the old version dramatically decreases in value.

The Work Platform Is the New "Job" for Displaced Workers

Government leaders often frame labor policies or future of work solutions in terms of preserving, repatriating or creating the "good jobs" of the past. But this fixation on "jobs" actually limits the potential of their solutions.

Should You Outsource Unique Talent?

What is the most pivotal work your company does? Breakthrough innovation? High-profile clients? Big-picture strategy? Patent protection? Typically, such work requires skills that are both unique and valuable.

It's Time to Blow Up Job Descriptions

Here's a brainteaser: You are given a candle, a box of tacks and a book of matches. How do you attach the candle to a wall so that it can be lit without dripping wax onto the floor below?

Is the Best Career Erratic or Predictable? Data from Freelance Platforms Offers Clues

If you were hiring an actor for a romantic comedy, would you prefer Hugh Grant, whose roles are consistently the leading love interest? Or Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose resume jumps from The Terminator to Kindergarten Cop to Governor of California? Or Tom Hanks, who has had a systematic progression from television to romantic comedies to more serious dramatic roles?