Brave New Workforce

Brave New Workforce

By Larry Cornett, Ph.D.BusinessManagement
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Brave New Workforce episodes

  • Episode 15: The Best Networks Are Often Closed-Door — Here’s How to Get the Mentorship You Want in the Digital Age
    How do we find people to guide us along our careers when we’re now so dispersed all over the world? Should we go for a mentor, a coach, an advisor, or even a sponsor? What’s the difference between these four things? It’s so easy to fall into these “entrepreneurial-get-rich-quick” schemes that just seem spammy and too good to be true. The truth is, the best networks are often closed-doors and heavily guarded. So, how can an outsider break through and level up their network? Trip, Anna, and Larry discuss in this week’s episode!
    Key Takeaways
    Let’s talk about mentorship today!
    The word ‘mentorship’ can get a bit fuzzy. Trip defines what mentorship means to him.
    What’s the difference between mentorship vs. coaching vs. an advisor vs. sponsorship? Anna breaks down each of these key areas.
    Larry has always been seen as a father figure in a lot of the places he’s worked at because he will give advice that might not be in the best interest of the company.
    Do men and women network differently? Anna shares some of her thoughts.
    The women Trip has coached, he has had to help them redefine using “helper” language vs. “leadership” language.
    For women, it’s very easy to join women-only groups, but there are downsides to this. Anna shares why you need to network with everyone.
    The biggest mistake people make is that they tend to form a network that they’re comfortable with.
    A lot of people don’t feel comfortable reaching out to super senior people or people who are very advanced in their careers.
    Anna suggests writing down a list of strengths and achievements that you’ve done in your field so that when you approach these “superstars,” you see them as peers from a different industry.
    How do you find a mentor and how do you do it the right way?
    Want to build a connection that’s “out of your reach”? Put in the work. Read their materials and have something intelligent to say about it.
    Larry hates when people try to use Larry as a middle man to jump into more of his “big fish” networks. Larry isn’t going to recommend a stranger to his trusted networks.
    How can people find these “closed-door” networks of people?
    Uplevel your network. It’s the key to your success and to get that career advancement that you want.
    Anna struggled a lot to find these “closed-door” networks. However, she was proactive in making connections from afar. Things really changed for her a year-and-a-half ago when she read, How to Be a Power Connector.
    Resources
    Thebraveworkforce.com (http://thebraveworkforce.com/)
    Bravenewcompanies.com (http://bravenewcompanies.com/)
    Email Anna: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
    How to Be a Power Connector: The 5+50+100 Rule for Turning Your Business Network Into Profits, by Judy Robinett (https://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Power-Connector-Business-ebook/dp/B00JZZRVD0#:~:text=In%20How%20to%20Be%20a,you%20from%20meeting%20your%20goals.)
    Lunchclub.ai (https://lunchclub.ai/)

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bravenewworkforce.substack.com
    46 min
  • Episode 14: “I Was The Only Person of Color in The Room” — Embracing Diversity Through Mentorship — Christopher Lafayette
    Christopher Lafayette is an Emergent Technologist and a Thought Leader in Ecobiotic Diversity and Inclusion. He is an international speaker and the Founder of Black Technology Mentorship Program, a mentor/mentee program that brings underserved black communities into technology. Why do companies struggle to bring a diverse set of perspectives into their rooms? The truth is, 1. They don’t know where to find these people and 2. People end up leaving because they don’t feel like they fit in. Christopher shares how mentorship can change that.
    Key Takeaways
    How do you create on-ramps for people of color in tech?
    How did Christopher get into this line of work?
    When we think of ecosystems in a tech setting, we think of hardware and software. However, this is false. Ecosystems are people.
    If you ask five diversity and inclusion experts on the definition of diversity, you’re going to get five different answers.
    The conversation about diversity has started off wrong.
    What’s more important? The color of your skin or the culture?
    In the U.S., African American culture has been driving culture for decades in trends.
    A lot of people leave rooms because no one looks like them. However, this ends up being a vicious cycle. What’s the solution?
    Christopher has been in many rooms where he was the only black man in it. That didn’t stop him from being there.
    Trip shares his experience teaching on a Native American reserve and how you qualify as a Native American.
    People leave rooms because they don’t feel comfortable knowing no one has a similar background/values to them. Mentorship programs like Christopher’s show that you can have your differences and still be accepted.
    Based on the color of your skin, there is a certain expectation on what you like, how you should talk, act, and be.
    The feedback Christopher is getting from his mentors in the program is that they’ve wanted to meet more people who have a different background from them, but they have had trouble finding them.
    How do we remove our biases to stick to our own kind?
    The good news, you can teach and train yourself to identify bias and not let that set you back.
    When you’re able to be free from what other people think of you or expect of you because of your skin color, there is a liberty to that.
    Christopher doesn’t want handouts from Silicon Valley; in fact, he’s extending his hand out to help it.
    If we don’t embrace our differences in our culture, on a global scale, we have a real threat on our hands.
    What is the Black Technology Mentorship Program about?
    Interested in being a mentor? The commitment is one hour a YEAR!
    Resources
    Thebraveworkforce.com
    Bravenewcompanies.com
    Email Anna: [email protected]
    Christopherlafayette.com
    Christopher on LinkedIn Special Guest: Christopher Lafayette.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bravenewworkforce.substack.com
    43 min
  • Episode 13: Teacher Confidential: A Veteran Educator's Anonymous Story of How Remote Schooling is Broken
    In this third installment of navigating a remote education, code name “Beth” joins us to discuss what it’s like being a teacher during the pandemic. She is currently teaching virtually and she and her peers are struggling. The U.S. wants teachers to go back to school, but this is a terrible idea. Beth doesn’t want to risk her life, but there is a stigma happening that it’s because she and her peers are ‘lazy.’ That’s far from the truth. Beth shares her thoughts on what’s happening and some of the problems that are occurring.
    Key Takeaways
    * Keeping schools closed is the right call. So, why is no one listening?
    * We have teacher “Beth” on the show to discuss her thoughts about what the school system is doing.
    * Why did Beth become a teacher?
    * When schools tried to do online learning, they were surprised to find many children did not have the internet or even computers to study on.
    * There were security concerns in the beginning for Beth’s school. Schools just did not know how to best manage this stuff.
    * No one brought in an outside consultant to help them set this stuff up securely!
    * It is not required for students to have their cameras and mics on and it made it impossible for Beth to teach and keep children engaged.
    * Anna was schooled in a digital age. How did she manage? The difference here was Anna had one-on-one teaching and she couldn’t slack off.
    * Beth has roughly 34 students in her class.
    * Anna always chose the classes she wanted to learn, so she always wanted to be there and attend.
    * For Larry’s kids, they don’t need to be read to or babysat. One of their teachers said he trusts they’re doing the work, and will also test them every week to verify this.
    * Beth had office hour classes, but it ended up turning into a big joke.
    * What happens if your kid doesn’t learn or doesn’t want chemistry? The key here is it’s important to teach your children how to learn.
    * Teachers are afraid to go back to school because they’re in a high-risk demographic.
    * Israel was at 100 cases a day. They thought they had it under control and opened up the schools. Within a week, everything was shut down again because kids, teachers, and parents all got sick.
    * Beth never thought she’d be afraid for her life, even when she taught inner city. This pandemic has changed that.
    * Regulations have stifled teachers where they are unable to teach outside of schools/classrooms. Larry never thought there would be ‘black market’ teaching.
    * The lightbulb is coming on. You can work from anywhere in the world.
    * The kids will be safe? They still have to come home to their parents.
    * The reality for most parents is they cannot leave their children at home. Both parents are working or even single parents are working. There need to be alternatives.
    * Teachers should not be a replacement for parent, counselor, nurse, etc.
    * Children raised in the ’80s know what it’s like being latchkey kids who had both parents working. They survived.
    * Remote schooling = more child abuse?
    * It takes at least 5-plus years to become a decent teacher.
    Resources
    Thebraveworkforce.com
    Bravenewcompanies.com
    Email Anna: [email protected]
    Quotes
    “It’s really hard to get teenagers to show up for stuff that they don’t have to be at.” — Beth
    “A lot of the education system, in my opinion, is throwing courses at kids that they don’t really need, they don’t want to learn.” — Beth
    “People think we don’t want to go back because we’re lazy. The public is now against the teachers. We’re worried for our safety!” — Beth
    “If you don’t have childcare, you could always know that, if you have a school-aged child, they’d be taken care of.” — Beth
    Special Guest: "Beth".

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bravenewworkforce.substack.com
    48 min
  • Episode 12: Remotely Curating The Best Talent Around the World — Rob Noble of Group of Humans
    Rob Noble is the Founder of Group of Humans, a collective peer network that collaborates on solving complex problems in a variety of different industries. The motto for the Group of Humans is Waste Not, which means using the least amount of human hours and resources to bring the biggest amount of impact. Rob shares how his humans are able to collaborate, brainstorm, and work from all over the world in a wide variety of different time zones in a seamless and pain-free way.
    Key Takeaways
    Anna is sitting on a beach in Costa Rica as she conducts this interview. The perks of remote work!
    Trip introduces today’s guest, Rob!
    Rob’s motto is ‘Waste Not’ and he had a vision for his company about building a distributed community of the world’s best creative talent a little over two years ago.
    What does it really mean to ‘waste not’?
    You can transition into a work model where you can work with people you actually want to work with, instead of who you’re forced to work with because of ‘availability.’
    Group of Humans has no employees; they are a community that picks and chooses how to work on a project and not be wasteful of other people’s time.
    How does Rob select the types of people to join the community and collaborate with?
    How does Rob empower his humans to make decisions and collaborate on a project?
    Rob shares some best practices they use to keep everyone on the same page despite being located all over the world.
    At first, Rob did not enjoy remote work and missed the office, but he soon saw the benefits like being able to see the youngest of his children walk for the first time. He missed that with his older children by not being home.
    Clients are surprised by how fast the humans are able to turn work around in a distributed environment. If you’re having resistance towards remote work from the client, Rob explains why it all comes down to educating the buyer.
    How do you set the expectations that you’re not going to be available 24/7 on these real-time communication tools like Slack?
    Rob shares how his humans manage time zone challenges.
    What resources did Rob lean on to develop this company and build this unique culture?
    Resources
    Thebraveworkforce.com (http://thebraveworkforce.com/)
    Bravenewcompanies.com (http://bravenewcompanies.com/)
    Email Anna: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
    Groupofhumans.com (https://www.groupofhumans.com/)
    Caregiven.co.uk (http://www.caregiven.co.uk/)
    Special Guest: Rob Noble.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bravenewworkforce.substack.com
    43 min
  • Episode 11: How Important is An Advanced Education in Today’s Brave New World?
    Our co-hosts continue their discussion about education in this second installment in the series. If you missed the first episode about education, please check out “School’s Out Forever: How Will Parents Navigate the School Year Ahead?” Today, Trip, Anna, and Larry interview one of their Brave New Apprentices, Brian Doolan, who has been working with them on podcast production, guest scheduling, and more during the summer. Brian is currently pursuing a degree in Digital Media at the University of Maryland and this is his first hands-on experience in his targeted career field.
    Key Takeaways
    Let’s talk about education. The wheels are going to come off.
    Larry’s got the Ph.D., what does he think about all of this?
    In the last four years, the cost of education has gone up 1400%.
    Right now with the pandemic going on, most universities cannot weather this sort of disruption.
    Is it worth going six figures into debt to get an education?
    Brian Doolan is one of our Brave New Apprentices this summer. Who is he?
    Brian had never produced a podcast before. Getting this real hands-on experience has been invaluable.
    What has Brian’s experience been like so far working with Brave New Companies and on the podcast?
    Larry understands the remote model works for some things in education, but not with everything. For example, what are students to do if they don’t have access to a lab to conduct experiments?
    Some teachers are not fully prepared to go remote and this has impacted the students.
    The biggest things missing right now are the social aspects of school.
    Larry and Trip have known each other for years and communicate on a daily basis, but they’ve only met a total of two times.
    Larry’s children are college-age now and he’s really questioning the cost. Larry just got a bill today. He’s being charged for campus services his daughter can’t even use!
    Why is college so expensive?
    Larry was the first person to go to college in his family.
    Why learn a bunch of things (at the high school level) when you know you’re never going to use it in your professional field?
    Do we really need a ‘foundation’ in order for us to function as individuals? Especially when the world moves so rapidly?
    It’s more important now than ever to learn how to learn, to learn how to teach yourself.
    The purpose of education is to inform how you think and how you solve problems.
    It’s incredibly dangerous to open schools right now. University professors are in the high-risk categories.
    Brian shares the takeaways he’s learned so far.
    Changing the traditional education model makes it more accessible to more people.
    Education can be fun. In a remote world, you can pick and choose teachers that you connect with and feel inspired by.
    Resources
    Thebraveworkforce.com (http://thebraveworkforce.com/)
    Bravenewcompanies.com (http://bravenewcompanies.com/)
    Email Anna: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
    SCOTT GALLOWAY: “Top US colleges’ insistence on keeping tuition costs high and offering fall classes in-person shows that they care only about money, not the public good (https://www.businessinsider.com/scott-galloway-colleges-open-fall-care-about-money-not-students-2020-5)”
    Scott Galloway on Anderson Cooper 360.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bravenewworkforce.substack.com
    38 min
  • Episode 10: Tips for Conquering Productivity While at Home With the Kids
    We have a listener question! What can executives do to better support their people while they work from home? Distractions, children at home, house chores; it’s a lot to handle. Anna, Trip, and Larry offer suggestions on how to best navigate this and get your best work done. Do you have a question for your co-hosts? Shoot us an email. We would love to hear from you!
    Key Takeaways
    Thank you so much for your feedback and listening! Please leave a review on iTunes. It helps out the show!
    Trip plays an audio clip from a listener on his fancy-pants audio equipment rig.
    Lance asks: As an executive, how do you help make the remote transition easier on your team?
    There is a very real sense of isolation happening, plus you get a lot of distractions happening as work and life get mixed.
    Apple was the first and very last time Larry had an office.
    What is distraction, really?
    If you’re not a morning person, don’t get up at 6 a.m. You don’t have to do that.
    Figure out when you’re most productive.
    Realistically, people only get in about 20 hours of work in the office. This is why people feel incredibly tired right now because they’re working double their ‘standard’ capacity.
    You can give a task everything that it can possibly take, and it can want more.
    Pomodoro technique has worked wonders for productivity, especially when you know certain tasks are time pits.
    You have to educate your children on what a true emergency is.
    How can parents work with their children at home, but also at the same time not ignore them all day?
    Your co-hosts share tips on how to best manage distractions at home.
    Don’t worry about the timesheet, worry about the quality of work/productivity being done.
    Communicate with your meeting participants that you might have your kids here in the background. People are usually very understanding!
    You can create visible schedules for your entire household so everybody knows who’s going to be on a call or free to chat.
    As an executive or manager, this is not a solo effort. Talk to your teammates. Share these tips with them!
    This remote stuff is cheaper, but it’s not free.
    The money companies are saving from office locations can be reallocated into their remote team. This includes childcare and other creative solutions. These small investments can help a lot for your staff that’s struggling. Find custom ways to support them.
    This pandemic is far from over.
    Culture change requires intentionality.
    What can people do if they’re living in a small space or don’t have a car?
    Send us more audio messages! We’d love to hear your voice. Or keep the reviews coming, we’re excited to talk about important subjects that are on your mind.
    Seriously, reach out. We want to help people succeed with this.
    Lance shares his thoughts about the first Brave New Workforce episode: Viva La Revolution.
    Resources
    Thebraveworkforce.com (http://thebraveworkforce.com/)
    Bravenewcompanies.com (http://bravenewcompanies.com/)
    Email Anna: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
    Connect with Lance: Inkslingers.travel (http://inkslingers.travel/) Special Guest: Lance Harrell M.S..

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bravenewworkforce.substack.com
    40 min
  • Episode 9: School’s Out Forever: How Will Parents Navigate the School Year Ahead?
    In the U.S., they want children under the age of 18 back in schools. Teachers think this is a bad idea. Universities even think this is a bad idea. If more people are remote and these physical school locations close down for good, how will parents go back to work while their kids are at home? How will 40% of school-age children, who depend on school food, get fed? We’re looking at a huge disruption happening with our education system and the impacts are going to be multigenerational.
    Key Takeaways
    Teachers will be coming back in the fall… or will they? Alice Cooper wanted to burn the whole building down.
    Trip is passionate about the subject. Teachers are coming back? It’s going to be a disaster. We’re not prepared for it.
    What’s the ROI on education, really?
    There are predictions happening that due to the remote model, a ton of middle to lower-end schools are going to be out of business.
    On Larry’s end, universities are making a call to not have his kids come back. It’s going to be all virtual for the fall semester.
    Why are people talking about bringing K-12 back when universities are saying it’s not safe?
    School is the worst childcare you can possibly imagine.
    We look at just the weather, hurricanes, snowstorms, etc, they are incredibly disruptive to the economy and to school. Imagine that on a national scale. The impacts of children unable to attend school are generational.
    Anna was homeschooled, Larry homeschooled all three of his children. It’s new territory
    for parents today, but familiar territory for both of them. What are they seeing?
    The most valuable thing Larry did was find a support network that supported homeschool education.
    The biggest problem right now is parents have been thrust in this world and they’re trying to figure out how to homeschool overnight. It’s hard, even when you’ve prepped for it.
    Trip is very fortunate to have a wife that is at home with the kids. All three of his children are dyslexic and his youngest needs extra care. However, growing up, his single mom didn’t have that luxury.
    There are essential workers being asked to go back to work. What happens to the kids if they’re not in school?
    40% of the school-age population is eligible for Title 1, which is free and reduced school lunch, because families are struggling.
    It’s important to note how schools are incentivized. The schools that Larry was familiar with, they were given federal/state funding based on attendance.
    Can we use federal and state funding to better support the parents? Is this possible?
    What’s the solution?
    Teachers are frustrated. Cramping 20-50 kids in a classroom just isn’t the way to good, quality education.
    Teachers have less access to tools to make virtual learning easy.
    Children are plague rats and a perfect breeding ground for viruses.
    Overwhelmed parents with children under the age of 12 — what can they do?
    Keep your kids reading. There’s good screen time and bad screen time. There is such a thing as remote tutoring.
    Don’t wait for the schools to be ready. They’re not going to be.
    Do you have adult figures in your life that can help you?
    Child prodigies are out there. They’re everywhere in fact, but they’ve been stuck in a school learning from a textbook instead of being able to implement what they’re learning in real-time.
    What is school, really? Is it really used for learning or is it used to pass a state exam?
    If you’re a teacher or a school district. Reach out. We can help.
    The knowledge economy starts in a classroom.
    Resources
    Thebraveworkforce.com (http://thebraveworkforce.com/)
    Bravenewcompanies.com (http://bravenewcompanies.com/)
    Scott Galloway (https://www.businessinsider.com/scott-galloway-colleges-must-cut-costs-to-survive-covid-2020-7)

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bravenewworkforce.substack.com
    38 min
  • Episode 8: The Hiring Process is Broken and Biased: How to Remotely Hire A-Players
    Description:
    Candidates with non-traditional backgrounds often get the short-end of the stick when it comes to applying for job positions. How often have we seen a company require 3-plus years of experience for an entry-level position? Does it really need to be that way? The hiring process is broken, and biased, and our co-hosts share why searching for those ‘unicorns’ or someone that checks all the boxes isn’t the best approach. Candidates have a lot more options now that everything is remote, and high-quality talent is slipping through the cracks. Here’s how you can think differently about the hiring process and adapt to this new world.
    Key Takeaways
    The hiring process is badly broken!
    Companies are looking for ‘unicorns’ and aren’t always realistic about their requirements.
    Does someone really need 10 years of experience to be considered quality talent?
    By being too senior-focused with your talent, you end up with a very top-heavy organization that doesn’t want to take on the smaller ‘boring’ tasks.
    You can’t have a team composed fully of senior unicorns if you want your organization to run effectively.
    One of the ways the hiring process is broken is because recruiters are looking for things you’ve already done and are not necessary looking for the right soft skills (curiosity, growth mindset, etc) that actually gets the job done.
    Larry has seen companies that have wanted all of their talent to have innovator mindsets. No, you don’t. Products have different life cycles and you need stability to maintain those.
    Anna has struggled with applying for jobs the ‘traditional’ way because she doesn’t check the right boxes and the automated system rejects her.
    Some of Larry’s best talent didn’t have a formal education. They were self-taught and they took on initiatives by themselves.
    The moment you have to upload a resume or CV onto a website, you are already going to be blocked out.
    A manager is there to be in charge and to help everyone be accountable, but one of the things companies have lost sight of is that a manager is also there to develop talent.
    Some of the dumbest people Trip has ever worked with have gone to Harvard. They were book smart but they couldn’t work well with others.
    Larry told his team to always look for intelligence, adaptability, and attitude. If you have those, a good candidate can do almost anything.
    The hiring process doesn’t stop when the employee starts. You have to court them for the long haul if you want them to stay.
    Why is the hiring system so broken?
    Why did Trip enjoy Amazon’s hiring process? He was on close to 300 interview loops at Amazon.
    How can managers better hire excellent talent, remotely?
    You also need to sell the candidate on why you’re a good company to work for.
    Candidates have more power than they realize! You can be picky now that working digitally has opened up.
    Trip has never regretted a job he didn’t get, but he has regretted a few he has gotten. He ignored the red flags.
    Hiring isn’t easy. It’s one of the riskiest things you can do in the business.
    Resources
    Thebraveworkforce.com
    Bravenewcompanies.com
    Quotes
    “10 years of experience doesn’t get you a 10X better candidate. There's a top out where you don’t get that much better at the core skill set.” — Trip
    “We’re not actually looking at whether a candidate has the right systems, like resilience, growth mindset, and curiosity. That’s who you want to hire. We have a tendency to filter those people out because they don’t check boxes.” — Trip
    “When it comes to the educational piece, if you don’t have it, it’s not a death sentence.” — Anna
    “You can be choosy, you don’t need to be forced through a very toxic environment just because you feel like this is the only place in your area that will hire you. As we open up into remote, there are so many more options you can pick from that will treat you well.” — Anna
    “We need a full spectrum of people. We want entry-level folks coming in fresh out of college, we want people who don’t have college degrees, more diversity of thought, and we want senior people.” — Larry
    “Some of my best talent that I ever hired did not have a formal education. They were self-taught, they bootstrapped themselves.” — Larry

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bravenewworkforce.substack.com
    38 min
  • Episode 7: Remote Company Perks: What You Should Be Asking for Now That You’re Home
    Tech companies spend thousands of dollars on their campuses for fun perks that employees can enjoy, whether that be a surprise trip to the water park or the latest gaming system in the lobby. However, how much of these are actually ‘perks’ to the employee? What should companies be doing to attract top tier talent now that no one is working on-site? Trip, Larry, and Anna dive in and discuss.
    Key Takeaways
    Over-the-top perks at these tech companies are used to attract top talent.
    Now that companies are remote, how can they attract and retain the best talent without all these extra on-site perks?
    Benefits are important, especially to Americans who need healthcare. More than 50% of candidates said they considered the perks and benefits offered when considering a new job.
    Families are making critical decisions between taking on a lesser-paying job for better benefits and health insurance vs. taking on a higher-paying job with fewer benefits. Remote work can even the playing field.
    The perk culture has gotten out of control.
    Now that everyone is at home, perks will have to change.
    What kind of benefits/perks will entice someone when they’re working remotely? Anna shares her thoughts.
    People are valuing more of their time and they want to have the ability to choose what’s important to them.
    Some of these big companies have a sense of ownership on an employee’s entire life, not just their work life. One of the big invisible perks of remote work is that employees can get some of this freedom back into their life.
    There’s been a lot more talk about the minimalist movement — do certain items spark joy for you, etc., in recent years because people are becoming more conscious of what they want in their life. More ‘stuff’ isn’t helping people feel happy.
    If we’re talking about taking all the extra crap out of our personal life, it only makes sense that people are going to start shifting this mindset to their work life, too.
    Larry knows of several people who are afraid to take vacation time. Not because they don’t want to, but because they know there’s no one to back them up or take over their work when they’re gone. Larry didn’t take a vacation for eight years because of this!
    You have these perks, but you don’t even have the ability to exercise them or take advantage of them.
    You’re not really working when you’re home. The data doesn’t support this. People are working from home and they’re working more than ever.
    Larry believes we’ll see a shift in perks that are more deeply meaningful to people.
    What is the most valuable thing we can give people? Their time.
    The point of perks is to make people’s lives easier so that they’re more productive.
    How much do these fancy perks actually cost companies?
    Google is spending ridiculous $$$ on perks. Trip breaks down the numbers.
    Okay, staying at home forever sounds great, but what about the extroverts who love the office?
    What do you do if you simply can’t work at home because there are just too many distractions?
    How can employees talk to management about taking advantage of some of these remote perks? Anna, Larry, and Trip weigh in on their thoughts and how to best approach it.
    Resources
    Thebraveworkforce.com
    Bravenewcompanies.com
    Brilliantforge.com

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bravenewworkforce.substack.com
    32 min
  • Episode 6: A Company Built for Generations: Building Company Culture Remotely with Valerie Liberty
    Valerie Liberty is the Head Chef in the Wow Division at Balsamiq, a remote-first company. As employee #2, Valerie has seen and helped cultivate a fantastic working culture and has done all of this remotely! With nearly 12 years Balsamiq, a bootstrapped startup, she emphasizes that fun in the workplace is the least-valued commodity, but the most critical. In this episode, Valerie shares how leadership thinks differently about work, how to create culture, and how to develop a work environment you truly love to work for.
    Key Takeaways
    Valerie shares a little bit about Balsamiq’s backstory and her background.
    Despite having offices in Bologna, Italy, Balsamiq is a remote-first company.
    When Valerie started at Balsamiq, it was just the three of them. It’s since grown to 30-plus employees. Through the 12 years of working at Balsamiq, Valerie was also able to create a job that she loves. This scale and growth were intentional.
    How do you scale yourself as a leader?
    How does a younger person get to the point of discovering the things they love to do vs. hate to do?
    Balsamiq has a very clearly-defined culture. How did they create this culture?
    Anna has seen a wide variety of company cultures and shares when she knows she’s entered a good one.
    Enthusiasm is the most undervalued emotion on the planet. If you can tap into the enthusiasm of your colleagues, they just light up and it makes the work environment so much better.
    How can an employee, or someone with limited power, change their company culture?
    Valerie has worked terrible jobs in the past. Your attitude is critical in whatever job you’re in. Set goals, set priorities, and focus.
    If you can find the humanity in working with one another, by looking someone in the eye, by knowing their brother, life is just better and more fun too when everyone cares about each other!
    What are the tell-tale signs that the job you’re about to say yes to has good company culture vs. a toxic work environment?
    Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, has said that he wished he started working on company culture since day one.
    Culture permeates everything. How you work with each other, how you communicate to customers, how you hire, etc. People are watching who gets rewarded.
    Trip shares his experience with Amazon’s culture.
    An observation from Balsamiq’s founder, Peldi Guilizzoni, was that American companies measure their success in quarters, but in Italy, they measure their success in generations.
    Good leaders listen more than they dictate.
    Valerie shares what Balsamiq did when COVID-19 hit Italy.
    Valerie offers two takeaways for leadership and for the employee on how they can better take ownership of their company culture. Fun at work is underrated.
    Larry and Anna also offer their advice on how leadership and employees can develop better culture.
    Resources
    Thebraveworkforce.com (http://thebraveworkforce.com/)
    Bravenewcompanies.com (Bravenewcompanies.com)
    Balsamiq.com (https://balsamiq.com/)
    Valerie on Twitter (https://twitter.com/balsamiqval?lang=en)
    Valerie on LinkedIn (Valerie on LinkedIn) Special Guest: Valerie Liberty.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bravenewworkforce.substack.com
    48 min

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