Humanity Working

The word “wellbeing” might be fading at work—but not because people are thriving. 

In this episode, Paul and Matt dig into why the concept is being tuned out (especially by men), and how reframing it as “readiness” helps reclaim its importance without turning it into a lifestyle brand. 

Five Key Learnings: 

• Wellbeing language can alienate—especially in high-pressure cultures. 
• Framing it as “readiness” keeps the focus on performance, not perfection. 
• 80-hour weeks don’t build grit—they drain capability and retention. 
• You don’t need a full wellness protocol—just start with simple, proven habits. 
• Readiness isn’t soft—it’s sustainable execution. 

Humanity Working is a podcast focused on helping individuals, teams and organizations be ready for the future of work by maximizing their human potential.

For more information, and access to our weekly newsletter, visit us at humanityworking.net.

Instead of asking, “What’s your specialty?” ask: “How’s your T?” 

In this episode, Paul and Matt break down the T-shaped career model—depth in one or more areas, breadth across many—and why it's the key to thriving in an AI-shaped world. 

Five Key Learnings: 

• Specialization isn’t dead—but it’s not enough on its own. 
• T-shaped thinking means pairing mastery with adaptability. 
• AI makes breadth even more critical—it connects your deep skills to changing needs. 
• You can build multiple “depths” over time—Ts can evolve. 
• Self-auditing your T reveals blind spots you didn’t know you had.

Humanity Working is a podcast focused on helping individuals, teams and organizations be ready for the future of work by maximizing their human potential.

For more information, and access to our weekly newsletter, visit us at humanityworking.net.

We still talk about “work–life balance,” but let’s be honest—does that phrase even fit reality anymore? 

In this episode, Paul and Matt reframe balance not as fewer hours or rigid boundaries, but as something far more practical: managing attention, being present in the right places, and nurturing your relationships with others, your work, and yourself. 

Five Key Learnings:

• “Balance” isn’t about time—it’s about presence. 
• Work is uniquely sticky; without boundaries, it seeps into everything. 
• Real balance depends on managing three relationships: with others, work, and self. 
• Gen Z may be reacting differently, but they’re facing the same forces. 
• “Work less” isn’t always possible—but changing how you show up is.

Humanity Working is a podcast focused on helping individuals, teams and organizations be ready for the future of work by maximizing their human potential.

For more information, and access to our weekly newsletter, visit us at humanityworking.net.

Bob Johansen is a distinguished fellow with the Institute for the Future in Silicon Valley, and the author or co-author of 15 books, including Get There Early, The New Leadership Literacies, and Full-Spectrum Thinking, Office Shock, and The Reciprocity Advantage.

In this episode, Paul and Bob catch up to discuss his latest book - the 3rd edition of Leaders Make the Future: 10 New Skills to Humanize Leadership with Generative AI (written with Jeremy Kirshbaum and Gabe Cervantes). 

It's a fascinating discussion that dives deep into the leadership traits that are needed,  what is preventing them from being expressed today, and how we can move towards a human-driven approach to leadership.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Leaders Make The Future: 10 New Skills to Humanize Leadership with Generative AI - https://www.amazon.com/Leaders-Make-Future-Third-Leadership/dp/B0D66H9BF1/ (edited) 

Humanity Working is a podcast focused on helping individuals, teams and organizations be ready for the future of work by maximizing their human potential.

For more information, and access to our weekly newsletter, visit us at humanityworking.net.

Garry Ridge is the Chairman Emeritus of WD-40. During his 25-year tenure, he transformed the company's culture and increased its market value from $250 million to $1.6 billion. 

Garry is known for his leadership philosophy that emphasizes learning, psychological safety, and servant leadership.

In this episode, Paul and Garry discuss his new book: Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It and Tribe Culture: How It Shaped WD-40 Company. They get into transforming the culture of any organization can be both simple and not easy, and draw on insights from Garry's long career on how to turn the theory of it into action.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It and Tribe Culture: How It Shaped WD-40 Company - https://www.amazon.com/Any-Dumb-Ass-Can-Do-Multi-Billion-Dollar/dp/1637746296

Humanity Working is a podcast focused on helping individuals, teams and organizations be ready for the future of work by maximizing their human potential.

For more information, and access to our weekly newsletter, visit us at humanityworking.net.

With AI and Robotics on the rise, we risk becoming irrelevant at work, yet many of us barely engaged. Are we entering into a doom loop, or are their ways to get more engaged at work without driving ourselves to burnout? Paul and Matt discuss.

Humanity Working is a podcast focused on helping individuals, teams and organizations be ready for the future of work by maximizing their human potential.

For more information, and access to our weekly newsletter, visit us at humanityworking.net.

Have you heard of BANI? If you haven’t, you probably soon will. 

In today’s episode Paul and Matt discuss why the world of work is so difficult to comprehend and make decisions in, and why sometimes we confuse forward planning with fighting the last war.

Humanity Working is a podcast focused on helping individuals, teams and organizations be ready for the future of work by maximizing their human potential.

For more information, and access to our weekly newsletter, visit us at humanityworking.net.

Paul’s back from speaking at a Digital Nomad conference. In this episode he discusses what he learned - how digital nomadism is evolving, if it’s even viable in an AI dominated world, and what superpowers Digital Nomads have that the rest of us could learn from. 

Resources mentioned in this episode: Can I truly work from anywhere? - https://www.humanityworking.net/p/can-i-truly-work-from-anywhere

Humanity Working is a podcast focused on helping individuals, teams and organizations be ready for the future of work by maximizing their human potential.

For more information, and access to our weekly newsletter, visit us at humanityworking.net.

Headline unemployment numbers are low, yet many of us know people who are struggling to find work. 

In this episode Matt and Paul discuss what’s really going on, if it might be a harbinger of what is to come, and what specific skills are needed to be employable as a knowledge worker.

Humanity Working is a podcast focused on helping individuals, teams and organizations be ready for the future of work by maximizing their human potential.

For more information, and access to our weekly newsletter, visit us at humanityworking.net.

Paul and Matt are back to discuss why so many of the important attributes that make an organization successful are difficult to measure, and what to do about that. 

Resources mentioned in the episode 

Hidden Value by Dr. Keith Keating - https://a.co/d/34FC44r 

Why Human Value is Often Hidden in Organizations - https://www.humanityworking.net/p/why-human-value-is-often-hidden-in?r=ourxz

Humanity Working is a podcast focused on helping individuals, teams and organizations be ready for the future of work by maximizing their human potential.

For more information, and access to our weekly newsletter, visit us at humanityworking.net.