Category: Business Trends

Business trends discusses the implications of economics, employment, mergers, acquisitions, and regulatory changes on talent, leadership, recruitment, and human resources issues.

Yes, HR Organizations Will (Partially) Be Replaced by AI, And That’s Good

I adore the human resources profession. These folks are responsible for hiring, development, leadership development, and some of the most important issues in business. And despite the history of HR being considered a compliance function, the role is more important than ever. CHRO salaries, for example, have increased at 5-times the rate of CEO pay ... Read more»

The White Collar Recession Is Real: What Should We Do About It?

Over the last six months we’ve seen much evidence of a white-collar recession. Employees have stopped changing jobs, wage growth is slowing, and research shows that workers with college degrees are the least “in-demand” in the market.

Note this new research by ADP which shows that jobs requiring advanced degrees (“extensive preparation”) are ... Read more»

Elon Musk Chainsaw

Busting Bureaucracy: Are Layoffs The Only Way To Go?

As we discuss in The Rise of the Superworker, we’ve entered a period of productivity-led growth in business. The economy is slowing (US consumer sentiment plummeted and GDP growth in the EU and China has slowed), expectations for AI are high, and CEOs are looking to redesign operating models.

Core to this ... Read more»

A Tumultuous Year Behind: A Challenging, Important 2025

2024 has been a rough and tumble year. We watched two major wars (Ukraine and Gaza), the breakdown of the Syrian regime, and a record-breaking year of floods and hurricanes. Crypto emerged as a viable, highly valued asset class and the world wrestled with inflation. And right-wing politicians won major elections, including in the United ... Read more»

The Road To AI-Driven Productivity: Four Stages of Transformation

We’ve been doing a lot of advisory work on skills and job design and now that AI tools have arrived, we’re reinventing work faster than ever. So let me give you some thoughts on this process, and you can also learn more from my recent podcast.

As you know, there are many types of ... Read more»

Hyper-Growth Through Efficiency: Theme For The New Era

With all the mixed messages in the latest election, one rings loudly for leaders: the US Government must become more efficient. US voters did not seem impressed with the billions spent on the Chips and Infrastructure acts: they want lower taxes and more accountable government.

As Elon Musk explains, reducing costs is an exercise ... Read more»

Guild Jumps Headfirst Into The Corporate Learning Market

Guild has been a fascinating company to watch. Founded by Rachel Romer, Guild was founded in 2015 with a mission to help companies connect their employees to high-value education programs, leveraging investments in tuition reimbursement. Today, through the acquisition of Nomadic Learning, Guild moves into the corporate L&D market directly.

Let me explain. US companies ... Read more»

Digital Twins, Digital Employees, And Agents Everywhere

I recently heard Elon Musk predict that every citizen would have multiple Optimus robots in their homes within five years. And while I often ignore his predictions because they’re exaggerated, I think he’s on to something. We are about to witness an explosion of Digital Employees in our companies, and these may be the “robots” ... Read more»

Workday plus Galileo

Galileo™ Selected As Workday Innovation Partner

This week at Workday Rising we’re announcing our new partnership with Workday. As one of the selected Workday Innovation Partners, we are developing a deep integration between Galileo and Workday.

Galileo, as many of you know, is “Your Essential AI Assistant for Everything HR.” Filled with 25+ years of research, benchmarks, ... Read more»

Agentic AI - New AI Employees

AI Agents, The New Workforce We’re Not Quite Ready For (Agentic AI)

The Agents are coming, the Agents are coming.

If you follow the AI tech market you know there’s a lot of talk about “Agentic AI.” In other words, our friendly AI assistants are starting to feel more empowered. Instead of just answering questions and composing poetry, they’re now able to “do things” on ... Read more»

With Thoughtful Design And Culture, Dropbox Proves Remote Work Is A Winner

One of the most interesting tech companies we’ve studied is Dropbox, a $7 billion market cap rocket ship generating more than $2.5 billion in revenue. This kind of company, which sells a platform that competes with Microsoft, Google, and other major players, lives in a world of brutal competition: competition for product leadership, sales deals, ... Read more»

As The Economy Slows, Focus On The Skills Of The Future: Ability To Change.

This week we saw US unemployment “tick up” to 4.3% and economists started begging for lower interest rates. For those of us who talk with companies and leaders all day, I would say we’re experiencing what I’d call a normal economic cycle.

The last major recession (not including the Pandemic, which was not a demand ... Read more»