One of our favorite disruptors is back, and she’s brought a countdown clock. The boys welcome Quincy Valencia, VP of Talent Transformation at Korn Ferry, for a session that’s equal parts biting sarcasm and brutal honesty.

Between the inevitable age jokes and college football analogies, Quincy doubles down on her "2026 Reckoning" prediction—a warning that AI isn’t actually fixing Talent Acquisition, but rather acting as a high-speed spotlight on the fractured silos and organizational dysfunction we've ignored for decades.

While the C-suite chases "pretty dashboards" and faster metrics, the trio explores why accelerating a bad process only leads to mediocre results at record speeds. From the danger of "disposable talent" to the looming leadership shortages of the late 2020s, this episode serves as a sharp wake-up call for any leader hiding behind a tech stack.

It’s time to find out if your talent strategy is a cohesive ecosystem or just a collection of expensive pilots—before the 2026 deadline forces the issue.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction to Quincy Valencia

02:10 - The Big Reckoning: Predictions for 2026

05:35 - AI's Impact on Organizational Structure

10:00 - The Challenge of Talent Management

12:59 - The Future of Talent Acquisition and AI

18:15 - Building a Talent Ecosystem

19:31 - The State of Talent Acquisition in Enterprises

24:36 - Challenges in Implementing Skills-Based Organizations

27:58 - The Role of Automation in Recruitment

31:44 - Balancing Technology and Human Interaction in Hiring

36:40 - The Big Reckoning in Talent Management