Future Of Work Podcast

Office owners and employers have spent heavily to turn the beige office into something closer to a five-star hotel. Paul Fairhead, CEO of Infuse Hospitality and former CEO of Guckenheimer, argues that the design work is largely done and the hospitality work is not. In this episode of the Future of Work podcast, host Frank Cottle asks Paul what landlords, employers and flexible workspace operators get right and wrong about food, and why so many corporate cafeterias still sit empty. 

Paul, a chef by training with more than 25 years in hotels, restaurants and corporate dining across Europe, Latin America and the U.S., lays out what he calls the food truck approach: small menus, executed well, available only here and only today. He explains why variety now matters more than consistency, how a coworking center with 20 members can borrow the same playbook as a 3,000-person building, and why direct relationships with neighborhood restaurants can beat delivery apps. The two also dig into the harder business questions, including how landlords price amenities into rent, why employees often don't see what their employer spends on a $1 cup of coffee, and how property owners can keep food programs flexible as tenant mixes change. Paul closes with the simplest place to start: coffee. 

Frank Cottle sits down with Dave Wright, Chief Innovation Officer at ServiceNow and co-author of Infinite: How Visionary Leaders Transform Today's Businesses into AI-Forward Companies, to dig into why so many companies are pouring money into AI and getting almost nothing back. Dave's argument: most companies aren't failing at AI because of the technology — they're failing because they're using it to automate the same broken workflows they already had, instead of rethinking the workflow itself. Frank pushes back with his own company's playbook: rewriting 130 job descriptions from scratch, doubling productivity with the same headcount, and giving guardrails to the people instead of the AI. The two also get into revenue-per-employee at AI-native companies, Ford's very public AI-quality-control stumble, why five generations of workers are adopting AI so differently, and whether "human-in-the-loop" is already outdated thinking.   

In this episode, Frank Cottle talks with Charlene Li — one of the most established voices in business transformation and disruptive leadership. A New York Times bestselling author of seven books, Li founded the disruptive analyst firm Altimeter Group, served as Chief Research Officer at PA Consulting, and now runs her own firm, Quantum Networks Group. She has advised 49 of the Fortune 100, spoken at the World Economic Forum, TED, and SXSW, and was named one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company. Her latest book, Winning with AI: The 90-Day Blueprint for Success, co-authored with Dr. Katia Walsh, is — in her words — not a technology book, but a leadership and strategy book.   

The conversation starts where most AI conversations refuse to: identity. If the machine can do it, who are we? From there, Li dismantles the "AI-first" label, names the scarcity trap behind headcount-cutting AI strategies, and lays out the unglamorous groundwork — mindset, skill set, toolset, decision set — that lets companies move fast because they can move safely.   

In this episode, host Frank Cottle sits down with Jessica Knapp, VP of Growth at WorkSpace Geek and one of the flexible workspace industry's most data-informed voices. Knapp brings a rare dual perspective — she has worked on both the operator and software sides of coworking, including as employee number one at OfficeRnD and across multiple CEO roles in SaaS, with experience spanning New Zealand to the United States. She spoke at GCUC 2025 on AI and coworking. 

The conversation ranges across why institutional customers are moving into flex, the "amenities gone wild" trap, the lost service era of the industry, the untapped network effect of coworking, secondary-market growth, what AI frees operators to do, and her Monday-morning advice for every operator: look at your data, and amplify what's working. 

The debate over remote work versus office work continues, but many organizations are asking the wrong question. Instead of focusing on where employees work, leaders should be asking how work creates value and what conditions help people perform at their best. 

In this episode of the Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle speaks with HR strategist and leadership expert Ranya Nehmeh about why hybrid work remains one of the most misunderstood topics in business. Drawing from her research and her book In Praise of the Office, Ranya explains why flexibility alone is no longer enough. Organizations must intentionally design hybrid work around collaboration, mentoring, innovation, and business outcomes rather than arbitrary attendance policies. 

Together, they explore leadership, change management, talent attraction, AI adoption, workplace flexibility, organizational culture, and why good managers ultimately determine whether any workplace strategy succeeds. Whether your organization is fully remote, hybrid, or office-based, this conversation offers practical guidance for building workplaces that balance employee expectations with organizational needs.  

What makes employees want to come into the office? How should leaders approach conversations about mental health? Why do workplace debates repeat across generations? This Future of Work® Expert Compilation brings together three respected voices to examine the human side of work and what organizations can do to create environments where people and businesses thrive. 

Wesley Edmonds explains why today's workplace must earn employees' commute through thoughtful, human-centered design. Melissa Doman discusses how leaders can approach mental health conversations with greater clarity, preparation, and purpose. Angela R. Howard explores why many workplace assumptions have existed for generations and why organizations should return to the fundamentals of dignity, fairness, and respect. 

Together, these conversations highlight a common theme: successful organizations place people at the center of workplace design, leadership decisions, and organizational culture. For leaders navigating changing employee expectations, this episode offers practical ideas for creating workplaces that strengthen collaboration, communication, and long-term performance.   

Remote work has matured far beyond simply allowing employees to work from home. As organizations embrace distributed teams and artificial intelligence, the conversation is no longer about location—it's about designing systems that enable people to work effectively from anywhere. 

In this episode of the Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle welcomes Darren Murph, recognized by CNBC as an "oracle of remote work" and former workplace strategy leader at GitLab. Together, they examine why successful distributed organizations don't happen by accident. They discuss the importance of intentional workplace design, operational discipline, documentation, knowledge management, AI readiness, asynchronous collaboration, and the rise of small, globally connected companies. 

The conversation also explores the future of entrepreneurship, the "manager of one" philosophy, coworking as an extension of remote work, operational fit, and why AI makes organizational knowledge more valuable than ever. Whether you're building a startup, leading a distributed team, or preparing your organization for AI, this episode offers practical insights into creating resilient, scalable organizations.