Purposeful Paths

Harvard Business School professor Joe Fuller joins James Cryan, Donnell Butler, and Elissa Salas to talk about what AI is doing to the labor market, and why he thinks we're only in the bottom of the second inning. He explains why entry-level jobs need to be redesigned rather than cut, why social skills and work-based learning matter more than ever, and what his research on hidden workers and career pivots shows about how people actually find their way to good jobs.Guest: Joseph Fuller, Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School; Co-Director, Managing the Future of Work; Faculty Co-Director, Harvard Project on WorkforceHosts: James Cryan (Founder & CEO, Willow Education), Dr. Donnell Butler (Founder & President, Prelude), Elissa Salas (Chief Strategy Officer, SkillUp)RESOURCES MENTIONEDHidden Workers: Untapped Talent (Harvard Business School and Accenture, 2021)https://pw.hks.harvard.edu/post/hidden-workers-untapped-talentDismissed by Degrees (Harvard Business School, Accenture, and Grads of Life, 2017) https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/dismissed-by-degrees_707b3f0e-a772-40b7-8f77-aed4a16016cc.pdfBuilding From the Bottom Up (Harvard Business School, 2022) https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/research/building-from-the-bottom-up"The Strength of Weak Ties" by Mark Granovetter (American Journal of Sociology, 1973)https://www.jstor.org/stable/2776392GDPval: measuring AI on real-world, economically valuable tasks (OpenAI, 2025)https://openai.com/index/gdpvalTexas House Bill 8: outcomes-based funding for community colleges (2023)https://www.highered.texas.gov/thecb-approves-rules-implementing-community-college-funding-systemA Dutiful Boy by Mohsin Zaidi (2020)https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/647719/a-dutiful-boy-by-mohsin-zaidi/9781529112207MORE FROM JOEHarvard Project on Workforce: https://pw.hks.harvard.eduLISTEN AND SUBSCRIBENew episodes on ThursdaysYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PurposefulPathsWillow/videosSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nBqbNYNhxoXuKIU4rK3beApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/purposeful-paths/id6828858249

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

In our first episode, hosts James Cryan, Donnell Butler, and Elissa Salas share why they started Purposeful Paths, what their first jobs taught them, and the paths that led them to their work today. They also take a first pass at the question this season keeps coming back to: what does it mean for young people to flourish?

In this episode:• Why we started this podcast• First jobs: a burger drive-thru, a McDonald’s, and a dishwashing gig with a cash payday• The internship that changed Donnell’s trajectory• Why only 9% of first-gen students at Metro State graduate on time• What flourishing means to each of us

Hosts:James Cryan, Founder & CEO, Willow EducationDonnell Butler, Founder & President, PreludeElissa Salas, Chief Strategy Officer, SkillUp Coalition

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

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