Imagine that you have two applicants for the same job. One is an Ivy-league graduate who is book-smart and has average soft skills. The second went to a college you’ve never heard of but can read a room, present with confidence, and solve interpersonal team issues. Your choice likely depends on the role, but Jim Carrick-Birtwell believes the second applicant has something every business should want.

Jim is the CEO of Future Talent Learning, a brand that produces virtual learning programs for employers around the world. His work focuses on exploring the skills, mindsets, and behaviors businesses need to navigate the changing world of work. He aims to incorporate both humanness and the humanities to improve business outcomes.

In this episode, Dart and Jim discuss the need for diversity and transferable soft skills in business, especially for students and young adults entering the workforce. They dive into how teams can improve skills like communication and empathy, as well as how managers can measure marginal gains in each area. Jim also talks about the effects of B Corp organizations, the importance of disagreements in the workplace, and how to optimize a business for multiple outcomes.

Topics Include:
-  The key to effective speeches and presentations
-  Why education isn’t preparing young adults for employment
-  How managers can teach soft skills
-  The metric to measure human skill development
-  Why businesses need spaces for thinking and emotional processing
-  The facets of a B Corp
-  Improving your work by being with non-like minded people
-  Creating responsible leadership, businesses, and workplaces
-  And much more…

Jim Carrick-Birtwell has been an advocate of the humanities since he studied English Literature at Oxford University. Over the years, he began to see a divide between what students learn in school and what employment requires of them to succeed.

To support education-to-employment initiatives, Jim became the CEO of Plotr CIC from 2012 to 2016, a platform for students and young adults backed by the Cabinet Office. He also forms part of the Barclays LifeSkills Advisory Council and The Foundation for Education Development Advisory Council.

In 2004, Jim co-founded and became the CEO of Changeboard, now known as Future Talent Learning. This purpose-driven organization offers transformational learning experiences by increasing emotional intelligence, teaching soft skills, and creating more inclusive workplaces for over 50 employers around the world.

Resources Mentioned:
Future Talent Learning: www.futuretalentlearning.com
Jim Carrick-Birtwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimcarrickbirtwell/?originalSubdomain=uk
Seeing Like a State, by James C. Scott: https://www.amazon.com/Seeing-like-State-Certain-Condition/dp/0300078153
Larry Fink’s annual letter to CEOs: https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter
Values: Building a Better World for All, by Mark Carney: https://www.amazon.com/Values-Building-Better-World-All/dp/0771051557
Rebel Ideas, by Mathew Syed:

Work with Dart:
Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what’s most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.