AI Rewards Self‑Automation Over Traditional Team Management
The way people are getting paid is changing. For the last 20 years, comp scaled with scope. You managed more people, owned a bigger team, carried more responsibility, and got paid more. AI changes that. A director who uses AI to get the output of a 10-person team is not going to be valued like a normal director. They’re going to be valued closer to the team. That sounds crazy until you start working this way. Last week, we had a plan to ship a website by the end of April. Good plan. Smart person put it together. I looked at it and thought, why are we waiting? Over the weekend, I got the site up, wired things together, worked on cold email, and got our voice agents sharper. By Sunday night, my eyes hurt. Monday morning, they still hurt. But one person shipped what used to take a team. That’s what I keep telling our team: if you automate yourself, you make more money. AI won’t reward people who only know what to do. It will reward people who can make the work happen.
Europe’s Career Ladder Forces Engineers Into Unwanted Management
A good read and unfortunately rings true for too many EU-HQ'd companies: "the expectation that in Europe the transition from individual contributor to a managerial track is the "natural" career progression" For a standout tech company you want SOME eng > managers...
Hark Hits 70 Staff, Seeks 100 More Hires
Hark just crossed 70 people and we’re hiring another 100. 40 jobs are posted, some of the new ones: → Pretraining → Training Infra → Speech Infra → Finance Lead → Marketing Lead → Hardware (many) → Backend / Fullstack SWE https://t.co/ZLqb3oUBZ9 https://t.co/KhL5DZubft
One Question Can Replace All Peer Reviews
I think we’re ready for every company to replace their peer review system with one question. “Does this person produce AI slop? • Never • Rarely (or Almost Never) • Sometimes (or Occasionally) • Often (or Frequently) • Always (or All the fucking time)”
20‑minute Commute Loss Equals 19% Pay Cut
According to researchers at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), adding 20 minutes to a round-trip daily commute has the same negative impact on job satisfaction as a 19% pay cut. h/t @danielcrosby https://t.co/jUUP2UfRoO
Motherhood Hones Business Skills Recruiters Overlook
Motherhood is basically: Operations management Project management Conflict resolution Budget oversight Logistics Emotional support Crisis response …but somehow recruiters still act confused by resume gaps.
White‑collar Automation Threatens New Rust Belt in Cities
There's a lot of white-collar jobs that can be automated away. That's not about AI, but just about repetitive, automatable stuff. We're on the cusp of another "rust belt" shock in the labor market, only now it'll hit cities like...
Office Value Lies in Trust, Not Nostalgia
𝗦𝗶𝘅 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗙𝗛… 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿. The return-to-office debate often misses the real question. It is not: “Home or office?” It is: “Does this way of working make people better?” If the office creates trust, creativity, faster...
Airbnb Seeks Remote Instagram Lead, $160k‑200k Salary
Airbnb is hiring a Social Lead, Instagram. Fully remote, $160k-$200k, looking for someone who has successfully grown a brand on the platform, even if it’s your own. These are the kinds of opportunities I share on my Substack 💻
Job Ads Expect Moms to Master Chaos and Multitasking
Job postings: “Must thrive in chaos.” “Ability to multitask.” “Comfortable wearing many hats.” “Navigate ambiguity in a fast-paced environment.” “Strong conflict resolution skills.” “Remain calm under pressure.” Moms: ok
Fractional Executives Mask, Not Solve, Structural Gaps
Hot take: The 'fractional executive' trend is sometimes a structural alignment band-aid. Companies are renting clarity they should be building. Sometimes that's the right call. Often it's deferring the harder work of designing roles that don't depend on a hero.
Compensate AI‑enhanced Workers at Higher than Market Rates
Pay above range. Because the job is bigger now. If AI makes already great people 3x, 10x, even 100x more productive, they should be compensated accordingly.
Investing in Employees, Not Efficiency, Boosted Starbucks $20B
Misunderstood Marketing - : Starbucks Spent $500 Million on Employees Instead of Efficiency. The Stock Added $20 Billion. https://t.co/df0XXKkAMi
Careers Evolve when Jobs Match Strengths and Challenge
The evolutionary process is about discovering people's likes and dislikes as well as their strengths and weaknesses; it occurs when people are put into jobs they are likely to succeed at, but in which they have to stretch themselves. Each...
Seeking Experienced Internists for High‑Touch Concierge Care
I’m in the middle of a very tough search for a primary care physician for a low‑panel, high‑touch concierge practice in SF and Miami. Think ~100 patients, 45–90 minute visits, UHNW families, full-time, in-person. I’m looking for clinically serious internists/family physicians...
Demonstrate Skills, Not Credentials, to Prove Value
Skill defines a qualified candidate, not experience. Show proof of mastery - illustrate what you can actually deliver. Credentials and experience is insufficient proof. A degree or certification merely signals that you studied something and job experience says how long you've...
Master Managing Up: Align with Your Manager’s Priorities
Questions you should know the answer to: -What are your manager’s goals at your org? -Exactly what do they need to get promoted? -Outside of revenue, how is your sales leader measured? -Where does your manager think your team’s greatest area of opportunity is? -What’s...
Embrace Relentless Learning to Unlock Your Best Self
Great read. Helpful to think about what people will get out of working with you. For us, it’s stretching our people to become the best versions of themselves. That’s why our number 1 core value is to be a relentless learner. Make sure...
Transparency Demands Everyone’s Active, Uncomfortable Participation
For transparency to be a genuine value of an organization, it cannot simply be something you join and benefit from. It requires active participation and contribution from every person in the company. This should stretch everyone. It should feel a...
Make 1:1s Coaching, Not Data Collection
Great discussion on 1:1s in this thread. To all managers - make them about digging in with your team to help them, not getting you info
Minimum Wage Was Never Intended as a Living Wage
Minimum wage was never supposed to be a living wage. Is the living wage in the room with us now? I didn’t think so.
When Job Apps Demand Bizarre Video Auditions
job application: “please upload your resume and a video of you folding a fitted sheet”
Even Top Performers Can Feel Misplaced in the Wrong Culture
Culture mismatch is real. You can perform well, be competent, hit your goals, and still feel like you are in the wrong room.
Candidate Experience Is Broken—A Critical Business Risk
The Candidate Experience is Broken – Time to Fix It https://t.co/M7fSPvUrih The candidate experience is a mess. Applying for a job is a frustrating dehumanizing exercise that leaves ppl walking away w/worse opinion of brand than when they started. It's...
Tech Hiring Spikes to Three-Year High, 271k New Posts
Tech job postings hit 3-year high https://t.co/NUHjpucj2y < "... more than 271,483 new job postings and more than 575,000 total active job postings." Seems like good news as companies grow their tech investment.
Leaders Chase Metrics, Miss Hidden Cultural Breakthroughs
The Streetlight Effect: Why Leaders Keep Fixing the Wrong Problems https://t.co/XpfWVkTcpi Leaders chase metrics, fixes, initiatives that are easy to measure. The real breakthroughs in culture, EX, and CX are in the shadows, where the real problems and real opportunities,...
Price by ROI: Use Clear Metrics or Benchmark Competitors
Founders: ROI pricing is powerful but requires clear metrics. If you can prove '1 missed recruiting fee per 500 candidates' or '25% higher win rates,' price against that value. If not, index off competitor pricing and iterate up based on market response.
Even Tech Leaders Fear Life Without Their Jobs
Yesterday, I had lunch with a few of the other senior/lead engineers at my job, very skilled and capable people. One of them is convinced that AI/robots will take 90% of the jobs in the next decade or two. (I...
Stop Buzzwords: They Stall Action and Hide Poor Design
18 Things Leaders Need to Stop Saying in 2026... https://t.co/GUYOP1Ullx Certain phrases have become corporate comfort blankets. They sound wise. They feel progressive. They signal “we care.” But in reality, they replace thinking, delay action, and excuse poor design. https://t.co/KREsW8zdQ7
Agentic Systems Redefine Workflows, Merging Talent with Execution
Agentic systems push end-to-end workflow redesign, where roles and decisions stop following fixed paths. Talent and leadership become execution layers, since people and agents now work inside the same process. Source @McKinsey Link https://t.co/9j9AgUCwUt via @antgrasso https://t.co/QilMNzMFO7
Management Isn't the Only Career Path for High Performers
Rethinking Career Progression: Why Management Isn’t the Only Path Forward https://t.co/zUedSc25Su Not every employee is suited to/interested in/effective at management. Yet orgs continue to push high-performing individuals into leadership roles to the detriment of individual & co https://t.co/7VbeJ0Ic1h
10 Questions to Spot Close‑Minded Leadership
RT @JoeContrera How do you know if you have slipped into a close-minded mindset and are in need of a little Windex on your lenses of perception? Here are 10 questions to determine if you are a close-minded leader: https://t.co/LlmLvGIgYC #leadershipdevelopment #perception https://t.co/ofkeORSvYM
AI Talent Shuns Pharma, Feeling Reduced to Code Writers
Astute @endpts article on why rising AI talent not drawn to pharma; $ part, but key reason=“Pharma might just see us as people who write code or run models for them, and not really value for research." Mirror image of...
U.S. Labor Supply Shrinks as Private Jobs Surge
Weirdest U.S. Labor Market I’ve Ever Seen: Supply of Labor Shrinks Further while Private-Sector Jobs Grow. Federal government sheds more jobs, now down to 1968 levels. This labor market isn’t bad, just weird https://t.co/3bGZv7hdHS https://t.co/BBSgSz4W0J
Bootstrapping Empowers Teams to Accelerate Careers Rapidly
Bootstrapping at scale = your team living however they want. My COO reminded me of that. We hired her for $10 an hour to fix a billing issue. 1. She'd been out of the labor force for 8 years. 2. She...
One Woman on Site Boosts Construction Team Productivity
Andrea Janzen, Ambition Theory, says research shows when there is at least one woman on a construction team, everyone on the team is more productive, and explains why this is. Learn more on The Peggy Smedley Show. https://t.co/l5Do5FeQ1G #TPSS #IoT...
French Master the Art of Holiday‑adjacent Leave
No surprise that the French have perfected the art of managing leave around public bank holidays.
True Success Lies Beyond Narrow Corporate Rewards
Something to remember: corporate recognition systems can be extremely narrow. They reward visibility, and short-term outputs. They do not always measure emotional intelligence, resilience, insight, relationships, or the ability to redesign your life. Yet those are the things that shape...
Demanding Upfront Pay: No More Unpaid Justice Workshops
It took me 4 years to get paid from the Department of Veteran Affairs for a workshop I presented. I presented a month ago for an org focused on justice, equity, liberation, and claiming to not want to extract labor...
Male Labor Participation Hits Lowest Since 1948
Young and old men are leaving the labor force at record rates ... The share of American men working or searching for a job recently hit the lowest level since 1948, aside from the pandemic, Labor Department data shows....
6% of Early Retirees (55‑64) Return to Work
JUST IN: 6% of Americans 55-64 who retired in early 2025 are now back in the workforce, study reveals
April Workweek Rises; Private Payrolls up 4% YTD
From the April payroll report: INCOMES: The average workweek ticked up in April after falling in March. The index of aggregate weekly payrolls for private-sector workers (which combines hiring, wages, and hours) was +4% for the year. https://t.co/brQvF8k1Xw
AI and Traditional Operating Partners Remain Distinct, Recruiters Must Adapt
AI Operating Partners and traditional Operating Partners are different roles. They won't converge. "Maybe long-term. But this week's data shows them being recruited under the same headline title at similar comp bands at firms with similar AUM. Berkshire and Tayeh both...
HR Must Lead AI Era with Human‑First Courage
I'm thrilled to be recognized among the Top 25 HR and People Leaders Shaping the Profession for 2026. HR is at a critical inflection point as AI rapidly reshapes the workplace. The balance between technology and humanity has never...
Stop the Toxic Hate and Bullying in LegalTech
amen. obsessive hate and bullying within legaltech needs to stop. as nir points out, it’s toxic
AI Talent Gravitating to Tech and Finance over Pharma
NEW: The next gen of AI talent is overwhelmingly looking to tech & finance, not pharma. It's about money, but it's also about more than pay. Across dozens of conversations with PhDs, postdocs, and industry scientists at #ICLR2026, my latest: https://t.co/horMCZIO9U...
Restaurant Wages Outpace Inflation with 4.4% Rise
average hourly pay up 3.6% YOY, not much above inflation, but low-paid restaurant workers are doing better, 4.4% YOY increase
Best LTC Insurance Strategies Vary by Business Structure
We explore a range of options, from the most favorable (purchasing on behalf of employees, or for employee-owners of a C corporation or who are less-than-2% shareholders of an S corporation), to the slightly less favorable (purchasing for owner-employees of...
2026 Social Media Job Ads: New Strategies Unveiled
Brainfood Live On Air - Ep377 - Job Advertising on Social Media in 2026 https://t.co/RdC3dRlfGy
Dedicated OP Search Practice Will Dominate Next Placement Cycle
The specialized search ecosystem doesn't exist yet and that's the opening. CRO placements have specialized practices: Alvarez & Marsal, AlixPartners, FTI Consulting's restructuring arm. Operating Partner placements still happen mostly inside generalist senior-exec practices, with NU Advisory, Wyatt Partners, and...