Josh Bersin

This week I discuss the latest BBC study on AI answer quality from public data sources. As I discuss, the BBC and EBU found that 45% of news queries produce erroneous answers, so the reality has set in: public domain AI engines are neither “superintelligent” nor are they perfect. Yet they are very self-confident. So we, as users, need to be careful. As you’ll hear, there are three things to consider here, and you can read more about this in my latest article on the topic. For those of us in corporate roles, the message is clear: data quality must be our #1 priority, and this is a whole new domain for HR and other service functions. Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube. Additional Information BBC Research Findings Interpretation of the Findings and the “polluted corpus” problem Claude’s admission of the “polluted corpus” problem AI Thinking Skills You Need To Stay Safe (podcast) Galileo: The World’s Trusted Agent for Everything HR

In this podcast I discuss the risky business models AI labs are considering for their products and why accuracy, trust, and information quality is so so important (and difficult to ascertain). And that leads to a question we’re all asking: what are the real skills you need to flourish from AI and how does AI possibly change our mode of thinking? After all, they’re enormously “self-confident” about the answers they generate. New News: A research study by the BBC just found that 45% of all inquiries of AI agents produce incorrect results. This podcast explains why. My hypothesis, as I explain and discuss with clients, is that you’re going to have to become a “debater” to use AI really well, and that’s good for all of us. Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube. Additional Information Is AI About To Bite Us? Debunking The Three Fears About AI (podcast) What Happened To Our Sense Of Trust? (podcast) The Rise of the Supermanager: People Management in the Age of AI (research) Galileo: The World’s AI Assistant for Leaders at all Levels  

This week I met with dozens of HR leaders in Europe and there were many discussions about the risks of AI. AI is going to take all our jobs away. AI is going to get out of control and ruin our lives. AI is going to become smarter than humans and overtake us. AI is going to make us all more stupid because we won’t have to think. In this podcast I debunk these fears and try to explain what you can do to calm your fears. Yes AI is new and somewhat unpredictable, but if we treat it well (as a society, as users, and as builders) none of these fears will come to bite us. Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube. Additional Information Wakeup Call for HR: Employees Trust AI More Than They Trust You What Happened To Our Sense Of Trust? (podcast) The Rise of the Supermanager: People Management in the Age of AI (research) Galileo for Managers: The World’s AI Assistant for Leaders at all Levels  

In this week’s podcast I describe the new role of manager in the age of AI. No, managers are not going away and managers are not going to be managing agents as people. Rather a new Supermanager role has emerged: the leader who can drive transformation, lead AI innovation, and learn the details of AI to create change. AI transformation is very much a people problem: redesigning jobs, roles, skills, and activities. Supermanagers are the fuel and the glue that make AI transformation happen. Listen to my discussion and you’ll understand why, what, and how to create Supermanagers in your business. Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube. Additional Information The Rise of the Supermanager: People Management in the Age of AI (research) Galileo for Managers: The World’s AI Agent for Leaders at all Levels Introducing Galileo for Managers, The Leadership Guru At Your Fingertips (article)

This week I discuss this ongoing trend of layoff announcements, typically coupled to “AI.” And as you’ll hear, this is quite a complex topic which gets into company culture, labor relations, and ultimately long term business strategy. A new article in The Economist claims that “Europe Crushes Innovation” because of its old-fashioned labor rules. The point they make, which I discuss, is that forcing companies to “hold on” to workers stunts growth and innovation. While I can’t argue with the data, I believe it’s not that simple. So listen to this podcast and see if our “Dynamic Organization” model makes more sense. You can explore all the dynamics in this podcast by getting Galileo®, the world’s AI assistant for HR and Leadership. Galileo can assess your company in this area of maturity and give you essential action-items to help with your own team or company’s AI transformation. (Prompt: “my company is xyz, we’re in industry abc, our business issues are xxx, would you benchmark me against the dynamic organization research and help me identify the leadership, management, and HR practices I need to accelerate my AI transformation?”) Anyway listen in, I’d love your comments. Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube. Additional Information The Definitive Guide to Building a Dynamic Organization How Europe Crushes Innovation (Economist) How Japan’s Culture Of Business Teaches Us About AI Transformation Be Careful With The Layoffs What Is the One Trait That Makes for a Great Manager? You Might Be Surprised (WSJ)

Patricia Frost, EVP and CHRO of Seagate, is one of the most fascinating and highest-performing CHROs we’ve met. Patricia has decades of experience as a US Army military leader, most recently as Director of Cyber, Electronic Warfare and Information Operations. How does her extensive military, warfare, and leadership experience pay off? As you’ll hear, Patricia is a hands-on leader, ready to make decisions and challenge dogma in dozens of important ways. In many ways she exemplifies the future leadership model for all C-level leaders, especially the CHRO. Patricia shares how she is navigating the opportunities presented by AI, reshaping talent strategies, and fostering a culture of innovation. Her background as a senior military leader prepared her to build on the team available today, supporting employee mobility, agility, and HR capabilities. Notable Quotes “You go to combat with the team you have, not necessarily the team you want. You can’t just hire in someone and say I want to bring you in my team and put you in close combat. Your team is your team. And you build that team. You build on their skill sets. We do a lot of upskilling in the military. It’s your team. You know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.” “Middle managers are really the powerhouse of any company. And I don’t know that we spend enough time on our managers, probably our frontline managers, and then the middle management. How well do they understand their teams and the skills within their teams and understand also what people are passionate about? Where would they like to go? What opportunities can be open to them?” “I am front and center. I think every CHRO needs to be front and center in the AI conversation. They need to be leading. They need to be talking about, will AI take away certain functions within HR? First, we had to take the anxiety down from our workforce. So my approach this year is leave no one behind. I am going to give everyone the opportunity. We’re going to give everyone the same set of tools and training, and I will help you get there. Everyone has a choice.” Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube. Additional Information Secrets Of The High Performing CHRO CHRO Insights Research Report CHRO Insights Video (Youtube) Introducing Galileo for Managers, The Leadership Guru At Your Fingertips

This week I discuss SAP’s massive launch of AI agents throughout the suite, and the growing importance of Joule, SAP’s business agent for all employees. The architecture is now well built out and I explain how AI is permeating the ERP and HCM space. I also discuss our new Galileo – Joule agent-to-agent integration and how MCP and a2a protocols are changing the AI space from a single “agent platform” to a network or AI agents which can now talk to each other and cascade and embed functions in workflows. Listen to my recent podcast on OpenAi’s developer platform and how they also use MCP to bring applications together. Two big messages here: First, SAP really has its AI act together, making it possible for companies to get the best of SAP and other AI agents throughout their companies. Second, the new world of business agents is not “one platform” winning: it’s a network of specialized agents communicating with each other. While none of us wants hundreds of vendor solutions in our tech stack, this interoperability approach is really positive because it lets specialized agents (ie. Galileo) work with others (Joule, Microsoft Copilot, etc.) to help you craft the perfect solutions for your company. Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube. Additional Information SAP Jumps Ahead In AI Agents With Joule, HCM Features, And More The Financial Impact of AI on HR: New Research Series AI Pacesetters: The Six Secrets of AI Transformation Success Galileo: The World’s AI Agent for HR and Management Galileo Learn: The World’s HR Academy For Teams

This week OpenAI unleashed a new set of developer tools that let’s learning platforms (and content) embed itself into the ChatGPT platform. And they also explain how you can build agents and other learning tools within the ChatGPT interface. I’m not saying this is an enterprise-class platform (it’s not), but the paradigm is so simple it shows everyone how AI-native learning will work. Watch Sam Altman’s Dev Day 2025 Conference Speech (>see the learning demo at this link), OpenAI’s 800 million users can now “learn” on demand from courses developed anywhere, ask questions, and follow their curiosity wherever it leads. As I discuss, this simple demo brings the AI native experience in Galileo Learn to almost a billion consumers. Listen up and you’ll see how corporate learning, knowledge management, and enablement is now coming together in The Revolution of Corporate Learning. You can get your hands on this entire environment for $695 a year, which includes more than 750 courses on HR, management, leadership, and technology. The new world of learning has arrived. Additional Information Experience AI-Native Learning at Work: Get Galileo! The Revolution In Corporate Learning: Our Research Study New Research: The Talent Acquisition Revolution Workday Acquires Sana To Transform Its Learning Platform And Much More Join our AI Excellence Study! We’ll share world-class findings in AI transformation.  

Listen, I’m very positive on the potential for AI to reinvent our jobs, careers, and companies. But making us all Superworkers is much trickier than we think. This week I discuss the far-reaching implications of AI on jobs and careers, and explain why and how the new world of “no job growth” with “massive job reinvention” gives us a mandate and clear agenda as HR and business leaders. Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube. Additional Information L.A.’s Entertainment Economy Is Looking Like a Disaster Movie (WSJ) The Rise Of The Supermanager: A New Role In The World of AI How Japan’s Culture Of Business Teaches Us About AI Transformation The Rise Of The Supermanager: A New Role In The World of AI The AI Revolution in Corporate Learning (new research) The AI Revolution in Talent Acquisition (new research) Get Galileo: The World’s AI Assistant for HR and Leaders

This week I’ve been in Asia and in this podcast I describe how Japan’s economic history teaches us about AI transformation in our careers and our companies. I also describe my experience using Galileo on my 7 hour flight from Japan to Singapore. Takeaways Why has Japan’s economy has stagnated since the mid-80s. The aging population poses significant workforce challenges. Cultural beliefs in lifelong employment hold us back Wages in Japan are tied to tenure rather than performance. Companies must encourage experimentation to leverage AI. The integration of AI is a continuous process, not a one-time event. Access to information is revolutionizing decision-making in business. Language barriers are diminishing with technology. Embracing AI is essential for future career success. Additional Information Get Galileo: The World’s AI Assistant for HR and Leaders The Rise Of The Supermanager: A New Role In The World of AI The AI Revolution in Corporate Learning (new research) The AI Revolution in Talent Acquisition (new research) Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube.  

This week I discuss the broad topic of “how do we manage individual performance” while employees become superpowered by AI? Do we need a different or new process? Should we push deliver metrics higher? Or do we change the model? As I explain in this discussion, the big change in work is how everyone is “super-charged,” enabling all of us to get more done (or higher quality) for a given cost. So one would guess we “raise the expectation bar.” However, as I discuss in this podcast, this really doesn’t address the issue. In the world of AI transformation we’re asking people to do different things, not just “more of the same.” So we need to refocus our performance management on the company’s core values and behaviors, not only output metrics. I also discuss this flawed idea of “beating the competition” to measure performance. Great companies are not evaluated by their ability steal customers or market share from competitors (nor are great countries, btw). Rather they are evaluated based on their growth and return to shareholders. In a time of rapid transformation this means focusing people on “value creation” not just “market share.” There are lots of philosophical issues to debate here, stay tuned for more to come on this topic. Additional Information The Rise Of The Supermanager: A New Role In The World of AI The AI Revolution in Corporate Learning (new research) The AI Revolution in Talent Acquisition (new research) Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube.

Today, broadcasting from Asia, I discuss the wide range of disrupting change hitting our companies, employees, and leaders and the implications on management. As you’ll hear, AI is only one of many things changing our landscape, and we, as leaders, have to rethink our role. I introduce the idea of a Supermanager, and I explain how in today’s environment change comes from the front-line workforce, not only from the top. This democratizing change in work forces us to redefine what managers do. Despite the blogosphere, managers are not going away but many will be replaced, and you’ll see why this makes sense. I also discuss what I call “The Wisdom of Galileo,” and how our AI agent Galileo has become smarter and wiser than ever. I hope you enjoy this episode, there’s a lot to think about in here. Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube. Additional Information The Rise Of The Supermanager: A New Role In The World of AI The Wisdom of Galileo: 100 Use Cases and More The AI Revolution in Corporate Learning (new research) The AI Revolution in Talent Acquisition (new research)  

I have had the pleasure of knowing Julia Stiglitz, one of the founders of Coursera, for years. Her latest venture, Uplimit, is an AI-native corporate learning platform and it is one of the revolutionary systems in the market (complimentary to Galileo Learn, by the way). Julia and I had the opportunity to talk about how online learning has changed, the future of the corporate content market, and how Uplimit is using AI to create cohort-based learning that trains thousands of people at a time. Julia’s background gives her a fascinating perspective on the L&D revolution, one which all business and HR people should hear. (It’s about much more than content!) Additional Information The Revolution in L&D: AI Native Learning Arrives (research study) Workday Acquires Sana To Transform Its Learning Platform And Much More Experience AI Learning in HR and Management: Get Galileo Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube.  

Here’s my quick recap of HR Technology 2025, which was jam-packed with vendors like never before. The HR traffic was down but the vendor traffic was higher than I’ve seen in years. Why? Well $800 billion has been invested in AI infrastructure this year and many of these software companies are taking advantage of it. There are probably too many tools in the market again, but for you HR tech buyers, it’s kind of like a candy store of options. As I discussed in my keynote, it’s a tricky time to pick vendors, but as always it’s important to focus on the problem, not on the product or platform. We also announced the open web feature of Galileo, so now Galileo competes directly with ChatGPT. Read more about it here. And please read our new research on The Revolution in Talent Acquisition, launched this week. Additional Information Get Galileo®, the world’s AI agent for HR and Leadership. Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube.

Today, only a few weeks after acquiring Paradox and Flowise, Workday announced the acquisition of another AI company: Sana Labs. Sana, the company that we partner with for Galileo and Galileo Learn, is a pioneering AI-native platform designed for learning, knowledge management, and agentic applications. The Sana Agent and Sana Learning platforms give Workday a badly-needed upgrade to its learning solution, and also bring deep AI experience into the company. In this podcast I explain the acquisition in some detail, and also describe what we call “The Revolution in Corporate Learning.” Everyone in HR and business should read this research study because it explains one of the biggest business and career disruptions coming out of AI. Read my article about this and you’ll get a sense of how important this space is. Can Workday make Sana into something bigger and even more transformational? Let’s hope so – I describe the opportunity and the huge upside for businesses. And if you want to experience Sana yourself, just get Galileo! Additional Information Understanding Workday’s Acquisition of Sana in Detail The Revolution in Corporate Learning (Research explains how L&D is transforming.) See AI-Native Learning In Action: Get Galileo  

Preview of my big HR Tech keynote! This week I give you in-depth perspectives on the massive AI tech bubble, the massive revolution in talent acquisition systems, and what to expect from M&A in the future. We’re in a whole new world of HR Technology and vendors are scrambling to buy, build, or invest to keep up. I’ll be keynoting many events this Fall to discuss all these issues. Key Discussion Topics Tech and AI investment in 2025 is almost 2.5% of US GDP: is it sustainable? Talent acquisition and recruiting are bigger than ever, and it’s not just an HR function. Candidate volumes (driven by AI) are forcing everyone to buy more tech. AI is transforming every step of the hiring process, from job descriptions to assessments. Companies need to be cautious about AI with the big Workday Mobley lawsuit to be settled. Mergers and acquisitions in HR tech can lead to operational challenges and integration issues. Additional Information The Revolution in Talent Acquisition: New Research Join our AI Excellence Study Get Galileo: The World’s AI Assistant and Skills Academy for HR  

This week I summarize some massive news about the job market, job creation, and OpenAI’s move to enter the world of AI skills development and talent matching. Please read the detailed article for more details. In addition to diving into these topics, I also tell you my story of “learning agents” and why self-development and AI-powered learning is going to revolutionize your job, your HR team, and your company. It’s all connected: AI, job creation, self-development, and your career. I really want to encourage to you to get Galileo so you can experience this transformation in your career. Galileo is now the premier self-development and AI agent for HR, consultants, and L&D professionals, and we can show you how to propel your company forward into this new world of reinvented jobs, work, and companies. I hope to see many of you in the coming conferences around the world this Fall. Additional Information OpenAI Gets Into Job Placement While The Job Market Crashes Get Galileo, The AI Agent for Professional Development And Growth in All Areas of HR      

This week I’m excited to share my interview with Taylor Stockton, Chief Innovation Officer for the US Department of Labor. You will learn about the American AI Action Plan and the detailed America’s Talent Strategy: Building the Workforce for the Golden Age, two strategy documents which describe how the Federal Government is investing in AI technology, workforce readiness, apprenticeships, and new models for education and accreditation. While we used to think of the DOL as the agency that advocates for labor. Today they’re taking a forward-leaning role to reshape the economy through workforce education, development, and research in our new AI-powered business environment. Taylor is keenly aware of the issues employers and workers face, so I know you’ll find this conversation educational and inspiring. There’s a lot to do, but as you’ll hear the DOL is quite focused on the right issues. Additional Information Understanding America’s AI Action Plan Why AI Harm To Jobs and Humanity are Vastly Over-Hyped Read “America’s Talent Strategy” (pdf)

US Labor Day is always a time to celebrate workers. Well this year, unlike years before, the entire labor market is changed. Not only are many front-line workers in high demand, white-collar workers are experiencing a hiring slowdown and automation is impacting everyone. And for the first time in my career, the BLS expects very little job growth in the coming decade. As I discuss in this week’s podcast, it’s time to take a step back and understand that everything we thought we knew about the labor market has changed, and this change is going to accelerate. Listen in and you’ll see the big picture: how shortages will continue, how productivity will grow, and how new ideas like talent density and the Superworker and Supermanager will redefine our companies. And I also describe your new keys to career success. I hope everyone has a relaxing weekend, we’re in for exciting times ahead. Additional Reading US Job Market To Growth Rate To Drop By 75% In Next Decade (BLS) UK Birth Rate Falls to Record Low The Rise of The Superworker: AI Makes Employees are More Important Than Ever    

In this podcast Kathi Enderes interviews Joe Freed, Chief Product officer at Perceptyx, explains the company’s strategy to extend its employee engagement platform to provide nudges, manager tools, and in-depth analysis of employee needs. While the employee survey is not dead yet, you’ll see where things are going. Perceptyx is a well-known survey and analytics company, known for its highly customizable employee engagement tools. Joe explains how Perceptyx’s acquisition of Humu, Waggl, and Cultivate brought advanced AI and nudge technology to the company, and explains a vision of high-powered employee engagement tools for the future. Additional Information Employee Engagement and Happiness Crisis. What Should We Do? Perceptyx Acquires Cultivate Workday Throws Down The Gauntlet On Employee Engagement: Acquisition of Peakon  

The AI market boom took a pause last week when GPT-5 and some new research from MIT appeared. As you’ll hear, the expectations for AI are extraordinarily high and that causes a lot of bubble effects. Today I explain this bubble and where it’s going. I also discuss our latest experiences with AI transformation in business, and why “task automation” is not really the big opportunity ahead. You’ll see that the Superworker effect changes organization design, jobs, and reward systems. Lots of opportunities for productivity ahead. Galileo, the world’s AI agent for HR, is now the Power Tool you need to stay head. Global research, professional development, data, vendor analysis, and hundreds of HR and management tools, all in one AI platform. Get Galileo now. Additional Information The MIT Report And Why It’s Misleading: AI Definitely Pays Off From 2017: Why Superintelligence Is A Myth Workday to Acquire Paradox. A Bigger Deal Than You Think. Get Galileo, The World’s AI Assistant for HR    

This week I discuss Workday’s acquisition of Paradox, the pioneer in AI-powered conversational recruiting. As I describe in detail, this is a big deal – and it goes beyond Workday’s ability to now offer high-volume, conversational recruitment. Talent Acquisition itself is about to radically change with AI, and this moves Workday into a leading position in what we call “The Revolution in Talent Acquisition.” (Report coming out in October.) I also discuss the latest trends in AI transformation in general, and what we’ve now learned about HR job redesign and how AI really is changing the fundamentals of HR operating models (automating Systemic HR) and job design. For access to all our research, analysis, professional development, and tools, get Galileo, the world’s AI assistant for HR. Additional Information Will Chatbots Take Over HR Tech? Paradox Sets The Pace. The Systemic HR Operating Model: How AI Transforms The Function Learn about AI in HR: Join The Josh Bersin Academy (Galileo Learn)  

The new battle for AI supremacy is now moving to the application development space, or IDE (Integrated Development Environments). These companies, like Cursor, Windsurf, Github Copilot, Replit, Google AI Studio, and Microsoft Power tools, are exploding with growth. Why? Because in the world of AI, we’re all application developers! (Listen to “We’re All Software Engineers Now” for more.) Well, as I explain in this market, the big players like Workday now want to be your development environment. In this podcast I explain this space and some history of IDE’s in the client/server era. (It more or less predicts where this is going.) Listen in and you’ll understand why billions of VC dollars are suddenly going into dev tools for AI, why you’ll be using one of these soon, and how Workday and others will respond. I also briefly explain how Galileo plays in this space. We’re coming up on HR Tech season so come see us at HR Technology Conference in Vegas (September), Unleash (October), and SAP Connect. More to Read Workday Flowise Acquisition Windsurf vs Copilot vs Cursor (a little geeky) Galileo Venus Release (Video: Galileo for Managers, Task Library Tools, Learning Integration) What Is Vibe Coding Anyway? 1994: Sybase Acquires Powersoft (how history repeats itself!) (NYT Download)      

In this podcast I interview Eric Mosley, the Founder and CEO of Workhuman, a $Billion dollar company that pioneered the market for employee recognition. Today Workhuman has more than 7.7 million users and is widely used by many of the largest companies in the world. What does Workhuman do? Well they help you build a corporate wide program for employee recognition and feedback that creates one of the most important positive engagement drivers one can find. Employees who feel appreciated and recognized are 4X more likely to be highly engaged and 4X more likely to see a growth path in their companies. Our research found that companies with a high recognition culture have a 70% lower voluntary turnover rate. And there’s much more: the information from recognition (Workhuman calls it “Human Intelligence”) gives you valuable information on skills, strengths, culture, and organizational health you can find. This is a story about entrepreneurship, culture, and the importance of human centered leadership, something that’s refreshing in a world where everyone always wants to talk about AI! Additional Information Our Recognition Research, explaining the power of appreciation and thanks. U.S. Employee Engagement Sinks to 10-Year Low (Gallup) Why Are Managers So Miserable at Work?  

This week I have an update on the “real world” of AI transformation, based on some important conversations I’ve had (and these folks will join the podcast soon.) First, I talked with the Department of Labor and also reviewed new research from Goldman Sachs and we do find that “AI is not wiping out jobs.” As you’ll hear, there is a slowdown in hiring, but actually AI is “creating new work,” despite Dario Amodei’s predictions that white collar jobs are going away. (I don’t know about you, but I rarely wear my white collar shirts any more, so he may be correct on the shirt front.) Second, listen to the discussion about software automation, Thomas Dohmke, who was interviewed on The Verge. That convo was fascinating: despite AI’s ability to write code, engineers will just write more code. Listen to my explanation in the podcast. Third, I had a wonderful conversation with Jacqui Canney, the CHRO and AI Enablement Officer at ServiceNow. As you’ll hear, Jacqui’s team at ServiceNow has published their AI Playbook and AI Maturity Model which I encourage you to read. She described their governance model, use case approach, and more – and further convinced me that AI transformation is a people problem, not a tech problem. And one more thing: for those of you who think AI “destroys” or “disrupts” your company, I put together a ten minute video on our own AI journey and how AI amplifies and scales what we do, essentially creating a company of Superworkers. We are proving the Superworker company model right here. Additional Resources Get Galileo: Agent and Learn Bundle Goldman Exchange podcast on labor market The Verge interview with Thomas Dohmke from GitHub The Rise of the Superworker: Four Stages of AI in the Workforce The Josh Bersin Company’s AI Transformation  

This week we introduce Galileo for Managers, an exciting new part of the Galileo Platform – designed to help business professionals with day-to-day management. As you’ll hear in this podcast, Galileo for Managers brings together the best of AI with 25+ years of research into management, leadership, business, and HR. As I discuss in today’s announcement, Galileo for Managers revolutionizes the market for leadership development, coaching, and organizational change. And as HR budgets get tight, Galileo for Managers also helps HR teams scale and extend their leadership development to every manager and every leader. Listen to the details, you can license Galileo for Managers and learn more here. Additional Information Get Galileo for Managers (learn more) The Galileo Platform Strategy Explained (Video)    

This week SAP SuccessFactors announced the acquisition of SmartRecruiters, one of the fastest-growing talent acquisition platforms. This is much more than a technology deal: it demonstrates the value of talent and the massive redefinition of “applicant tracking systems” taking place today. While the deal is not final and details are yet to come, I highlight the real implications of this acquisition and why SAP will see a lot of value out of this deal. Stay tuned for more from us about SAP coming this Fall, and our new “Revolution in Talent Acquisition” research will be launched in September. Additional Information Research Shows It’s Time To Reinvent Talent Acquisition Why Do Companies Hire Too Many People? The Dynamic Organization: How To Design For Growth  

This week the WSJ highlighted the latest trends. CEOs proudly announcing layoffs and hiring freezes, only to see their stock price go up in celebration. The AI Superworker era has arrived, and companies are now plowing ahead with automation-induced workforce reductions. All this is not as simple as it sounds. AI budgets are skyrocketing (EY survey shows that 21% of large companies are spending more than $10M already on AI agents), well before the productivity benefits have occurred. So while many great AI use-cases exist, a lot of the headcount cuts are just budget-reallocation from labor to capital, with hopes for productivity to come. I have no concerns that massive Superworker productivity is coming, but the process is spotty, messy, and uneven. So in this podcast I discuss our newest research on AI transformation and give you some perspectives on all these announcements. A few nuggets to think about: The economy is slowing, so most headcount freezes are not only AI automation bets, they’re also insurance against a slowdown Employees and mid-level managers are fearful, causing friction and complexity in automation AI strategies that ask “employees to figure out how to become more productive” have some but limited impact, while strategic projects are working better The HR focus on “task analysis” is interesting and useful, but not the optimum approach Companies are starting to get real about AI spending, so the “blank checkbook” to buy enterprise AI is slowing Companies that lay people off have plenty of other issues to consider, including brand, culture, and long term growth. Additional Information The Rise of The Superworker: AI Empowers Workers The Four “New SoftSkills” We Need To Thrive In The Age of AI A Revolution in Corporate Learning: Save Millions with AI-Native Learning Get Galileo®, The AI Agent Exclusively Designed for Everything HR  

After many dozens of conversations with companies and AI vendors about AI transforming work, I’m left with one burning question. If we actually succeed in automating all our work tasks, data analysis, coding, and content generation, are these systems truly able to replace humans? I”m left with a very simple answer: NO. And the reason for this is not that AI won’t keep getting “smarter,” it’s the fact that we, as human organic animals, possess a magical power of intuition, largely fueled by our emotions. And emotions are built on millions of years of adaptation, genetics, and personal experiences – attributes that AI simply does not have. My argument, as you’ll hear in this podcast, is that these emotions make up our intuitive decision-making power. And this very human part of our intelligence is what makes companies, teams, and individuals succeed. No matter how “superintelligent” the AI becomes, I advocate that human emotions and strong intuition is still the most powerful form of “intelligence” we have. I look forward to talking with each of you about this idea, because it’s an important part of the AI transformations in our lives, careers, and companies. Additional Ideas The Six Major Theories Of Emotion The Rise of The Superworker My Fav Website about Happiness, GGSC The Gene: An Intimate History, by Siddartha Mukhergee ChatGPT’s Answer to “How Does Human Emotion and Intuition Compare to AI?”      

Yesterday the White House released The American AI Action Plan, a 28-page policy document which covers many of the most important national (and global issues) we face in the new world of AI. As I briefly discuss today, there are many fantastic policy positions in here (a few odd ones, but they’ll be worked out over time) and the bottom line is that the US Federal Government now has a deep understanding of AI technology, markets, businesses, and the impact on jobs and the workforce. We will be talking more with the Department of Labor and sharing some of the more important initiatives in workforce skilling, career enablement, and support soon. Lots more to discuss here, so I’ll make sure we keep you up to speed as more policy and important regulatory changes take place. For those of you most interested in AI’s impact on jobs, careers, and your workforce, please read “The Rise of the Superworker” to get a good perspective on the future of work in this new AI era. Additional Information Why AI Harm To Jobs and Humanity are Vastly Over-Hyped Prompting is Programming: We’re All Software Engineers Now! No, Entry Level Jobs Are Not Going Away. The Four “New SoftSkills” We Need To Thrive In The Age of AI CNBC Interview with David Sacks re: US AI Strategy Get Galileo®, The AI Agent Exclusively Designed for Everything HR

One of the most fundamental issues in business is “how we make decisions.” Should top management make all the decisions? Or should we let front-line staff collaborate and weigh in on company strategies. Well in the political sphere, we’re testing these two models out in real time. And as I discuss, the “democratic” model leads to economies with higher levels of growth and energy, under most conditions. In this podcast I explain the pros and cons of both approaches, explain what “employee activation” is all about, and challenge you to think about this topic in your daily work. Are you one to decide and tell other what to do? Or are you one to wait, listen, and consolidate ideas before making the call? As we prepare to launch Galileo for Managers, I wanted to help you think through this important lesson in empowerment and decision-making, one which we all face frequently in our work lives, political lives, and even family. Additional Information Citizenship At Work: Dealing With Politics Inside and Outside The Company Irresistible Leadership: Explained Work in the AI Age: “The Rise Of The Superworker” Get Galileo®! The AI Agent Exclusively Designed for Everything HR! Galileo Learn: More than 700 Courses in all areas of HR, AI, HR Tech, and Leadership  

Now that everyone is deep into AI transformation and flooded with personal productivity tools, it’s time to take a step back and consider “what new capabilities (not skills) do we need to thrive here?” Well after 60+ interviews and discussions with hundreds of companies so far, I want to share the four “big things” that drive success. These are the essential new skills we need as a Superworker, and also lead to our new roles as Supermanagers. They essentially boil down to: Become a builder or creator, not just a doer Challenge the dogma, rethink work from first principles, fall in love with the problem Be curious about why and how things work, and why they don’t Take on the role of Supermanager, encouraging others to invent, not just do. In the podcast I explain them in more detail, and give you many examples you can learn from. Additional Information Read “The Rise Of The Superworker” for more detail. Download the Rise of the Superworker report. Get Galileo®! The Only AI Agent Exclusively Designed for Everything HR! Galileo Learn: More than 700 Courses in all areas of HR, AI, HR Tech, and Leadership

This week Lightcast, one of the largest providers of people, jobs, and labor market data, acquired Rhetorik, a leading data collection company. Since this space has become highly strategic and ever-more essential to HR leaders (and it’s just getting more important with AI), I decided to try to explain the space. In this podcast I explain the difference between data collection companies, data enrichment companies, and talent intelligence companies. As you’ll see this is a massive multi-billion dollar space, and the quality of this data is now vitally important to your company’s recruiting, hiring, internal development, and planning strategies. The market for job and skills data is also collapsing with the salary data market, which is disrupting salary surveys. And now these companies are combining this data with real-time business information, economic data, and highly proprietary company intelligence. So there’s a lot going on, and it’s important for all HR, marketing, and business leaders to understand it. More to come on this topic, listen up and read our new research on this space, as well as our industry by industry Global Workforce Intelligence studies, all available in Galileo. Additional Information People Data For Sale: How The Talent Intelligence Market Works

This week I had a variety of meetings with companies and looked at some new research on the impact of AI in the workplace. Despite all the positive things going on in the economy, a strong signal came back about fear. A large percentage of workers are fearful for their jobs and the impact of AI, so I unpacked the topic this week. (Note: this podcast was recorded on a long walk so it’s slightly warbly but I cleaned it up pretty well.) I know you’re all going through change and AI transformation work right now, so let us know if we can help – the issues in this podcast are important ones to deal with as you reorganize, push, and encourage people to move faster in the direction of AI. Some Interesting Reading Why AI Harm To Jobs and Humanity are Vastly Over-Hyped Meta AI Engineer Cites Culture of Fear From “The Information” this week, discussing Meta’s AI team. “In his essay, Blankevoort wrote that “Meta has a culture of fear,” created in part by its performance review system and rolling layoffs. Meta in February laid off 5% of its staff, or about 3,600 people, and said those cuts were based on performance. The company also said at the time that it might use future performance reviews to cut low performers as well.” “Instead of being motivated by our mission, or an aspiration to build something great, many people I’ve talked to are motivated by the fear of getting fired,” Blankevoort wrote. “This attitude runs through the company like a metastatic cancer.” It has led to a culture of “every person for themselves,” as well as “land-grabbing, project-sniping, stealing work,” he added. Important to Your Career Prompting is Programming: We’re All Software Engineers Now!  

One of the most explosive changes in our new world of AI is this: every one of us can now “program” our AI assistants as if we were engineers. In other words, the “prompts” we conceive and use as queries are actually instructions, so we, as non-engineers (I am an engineer, but long ago), can now “program” and direct our AI friends to do what we want. Not only is this an enormous shift in empowerment (yes, you’re a Superworker), it also lets us create, innovate, and share our “creations” with others. It’s not unlike the amazing birth of spreadsheets and macros that started in 1981 with spreadsheets. You, as a business person, can “create things” that solve problems, improve productivity, and ultimately become complex systems for your team. For AI vendors, this shift means you’re no longer just building applications, you’re also building tools – tools for your customers to “fall in love with the problem” and extend your product to meet their personal needs. Galileo®, our AI platform for HR, is fueled with 300+ “prompts” which are essentially mini apps. You can use these prompts to build and extend Galileo to do more and more for your job and your company. The opportunities are endless, and this is just beginning! Additional Information Galileo®, the AI Platform for HR (visit the Success Center for videos) OpenAI’s Prompt Engineering guidelines Google’s Prompt Engineering guidelines  

Max Legardez Coquin is one of the most fascinating entrepreneurs I’ve met. His new company, Maki People, is likely to revolutionize talent acquisition, and then revolutionize much of talent management. In this interview I ask Max to explain his fascinating background and how he sees AI Agents revolutionizing the entire process of screening, assessment, and talent management. Maki People uses a whole new science, which I’d call “conversational skills assessment,” to screen and assess candidates at a scale and accuracy I’ve never seen before. His clients include H&M, Foundever, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Cap Gemini, Nestle (Nespresso), and many more. In this conversation I ask Max to explain the vision and secrets to his pioneering success, and his view of the new AI Architecture I discussed last week. You should NOT miss this episode. Additional Information How WPP, The World’s Leading Ad Agency, Is Transforming Itself With AI (pod) AI Harm To Jobs and Humanity are Vastly Over-Hyped AI Pacesetters: Six Secrets of The Superworker Company Get Galileo, The AI Agent Designed Exclusively for HR and Leadership  

In this episode I discuss our findings on AI systems architectures, and how they are going to completely change our HR Technology stack. As you’ll hear, I’m not predicting a quick disruption of $50+ billion in corporate software, but over the next decade we will see a quantum shift. (Quantum meaning “from A to B” not a gradual transformation.) Listen in and you’ll see how relevant this is to your own HR Tech and systems decisions, your AI adoption and transformation strategy, and your vendor analysis as you look for tools and platforms. And for those of you driving AI transformation in HR, you’ll hear about how to think of AI as a “creator platform” not just a new set of apps and agents. I also discuss the upcoming Venus release of Galileo (and Galileo for Managers) and how it supports this architecture and extends our AI leadership into management development and leadership support. Takeaways AI is fundamentally changing how we interact with technology. The cloud has enabled rapid application deployment and integration. AI eliminates the need for traditional user interfaces. New AI architectures allow for decentralized processing. Professionals are now empowered to build their own applications. AI tools will become ubiquitous in the workplace, driving an internal creator economy. Learning management will evolve with AI integration. The next generation of AI companies will emerge from current disruptions. Additional Information The L&D Revolution: Docebo Goes AI-Native, Sana Expands, What Do You Do? The Workday Economy – As AI Disrupts, A New Strategy Emerges Yes, HR Organizations Will (Partially) Be Replaced by AI, And That’s Good

This week we finished a series of events in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai and met with more than 100 company HR leaders. In today’s podcast I discuss the business and HR issues these companies face and more significantly give perspectives on the management culture in these fast-growing companies. We discuss AI transformation in detail and I also explain why the “mass layoffs” idea around AI is misleading and incorrect, and give you my perspective on why Human Intelligence is and will always be far more sophisticated and advanced than AI. This was a continuous point of discussion and you’ll hear my explanation. I think it’s important to understand the richness and purposeful nature of business and economic growth in these countries, so listen this to get a perspective on the exciting positive things going on in the region. Two important research studies to read: The Revolution in L&D, and our new Pacesetters in the AI Era: Secrets of Superworker Companies. Note: the US attack on Iran actually took place just as I was flying home, so these perspectives focus on the peaceful economic activities of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, not the political issues between US, Israel, and Iran. Chapters: 00:00 Exploring the Middle East’s Economic Growth 06:28 Cultural Insights and Relationship Dynamics 09:16 AI’s Role in Workforce Transformation 12:47 The Future of Learning and Development 15:40 AI’s Impact on HR and Organizational Structure 21:23 The Evolution of Technology in HR 22:44 The Resilience of the Human Spirit Additional Resources No, Entry Level Jobs Are Not Going Away. Yes, HR Organizations Will (Partially) Be Replaced by AI, And That’s Good Galileo Learn – A Revolutionary Approach To Corporate Learning It’s Time for an L&D Revolution: The AI Era Arrives (Essential research)  

New research shows a level of pessimism we haven’t seen in a long time. While there are many reasons for this (politics, climate, economy, AI fears), we all need to do something about it. In this podcast I share the research and give you five important steps you can take to avoid, reduce, and eliminate pessimism at work. (Optimism, certainty, growth, citizenship, and empathy.) This framework will give you sound information for your own life at work, your role as a leader, and your investments in leadership development and management coaching. I also talk about our research on Trust, and the role trust plays in employee optimism. I also discuss “The Unquenchable Power of The Human Spirit,” an idea I discuss in Irresistible, which will help you move into an optimistic view of life, work, and business. Takeaways The rise of pessimism is a significant trend in the workforce. (64% on average) Realistic optimism is possible in any situation. We can reduce uncertainty through sound leadership. It’s ok to accept things that you cannot change. Citizenship as a company and individual creates positive energy. Growth and development is fuel for positive thinking and engagement. Health, sleep, exercise, nature, and relationships are your personal fuel. Why optimism is central to HR’s role and our job. Research on Pessimism and Employee Engagement MeQuilibrium State of Workforce, Summer 2025 U.S. Employee Engagement Sinks to 10-Year Low (Gallup) Citizenship At Work: Dealing With Politics Inside and Outside The Company (podcast) Corporate Citizenship Redefined: Trust, Inclusion, and Responsibility  

Suzanne McGovern, CHRO of Ipsy, has many years of experience in consulting, HR, DEI, and business growth (PwC, IBM, Splunk) and now leads HR for a billion dollar beauty company. In this thought-proving interview, Suzanne explains how the CHRO role has now become an “outside-in” C-level role and how complex and “mission-centric” the CHRO role can be. Suzanne also believes and explains how consulting experience is so important in the CHRO position, the importance of recruitment, hybrid work, and her perspectives on the role of AI. Additional Information The CHRO Insights Initiative Why Is It So Hard To Be A Chief HR Officer (CHRO)? Learn about Galileo, the World’s AI Expert Assistant for HR Special Josh Bersin Academy Course: AI in HR (highly acclaimed)  

This week I summarize my Irresistible Keynote and explain the five keys to building an AI-powered Superworker company. And as you’ll hear, they revolve around the value of people, not the value of technology. It’s funny how we think AI is “different” and we personify it. It’s basically a tech platform, and if you think about it that way you’ll be much better off. Additional Information No, Entry Level Jobs Are Not Going Away Why AI Is A Job Creator, Not A Job Destroyer Reinvent your Career: Galileo Learn, the AI Learning Academy for HR The Revolution in L&D    

Anshul Sheopuri, Executive Vice President, People Operations & Insights, Mastercard, talks with Kathi Enderes about the company’s method for using AI in HR. From Build vs Buy decisions and approaches to govern the roll-out of AI to specific examples of use cases, he explains how to use AI strategically across a fast-growing, tech-first company at the forefront of AI innovation—and he gives tips on how to get started. Additional Information Artificial Intelligence in HR: Certificate Course in Galileo Learn The End of HR As We Know It? AI Is Starting To Change Everything. The Rise of the Superworker: Understanding The Deep Impact of AI on Business At the inflection of AI and HR: How we’re equipping employees for the AI era (by Mastercard)

This is a fascinating conversation with Josh Newman, the Global Head of People Strategy & Experience, at WPP. WPP, the world’s leading advertising agency, has around 110,000 employees and a fascinating agency-specific organization around the world. Josh explains the business and operating model for WPP, and how it became an $8.1 Billion market cap business. Over the last year WPP’s board wanted to look at the workforce and find ways to improve productivity (“the Workforce Intelligence Project”). Josh explains how WPP took this sprawling, high-performance company and developed an enterprise-wide “work-design”, using its own AI and help from a new vendor Reejig, to understand what everyone was doing. This effort enabled WPP to radically simplify its job families and prepare the jobs and roles for the company’s new AI platform, WPP Open. (As you’ll hear, WPP went from 60,000 job titles to fewer than 600 as the company streamlines operations for its new AI platform WPP Open.) This is work simplification at massive scale. This kind of work is now essential to every company as we look for ways to embrace AI. And as you’ll hear, the WPP Workforce Intelligence project has helped people find new jobs, advance their careers, and better pinpoint HR investments in the right place. The end result will be a company with higher growth, profitability, innovation, and client service. If you’re a business leader, HR professional, consultant, or CEO you should listen to this discussion. Josh describes precisely how they accomplished this transformation and explains how AI is “preparing WPP for AI.” Chapters 00:00 Introduction to WPP and Its Role in the Future of Work 05:36 Workforce Intelligence and Job Redesign Project 10:23 Leveraging AI for Job Architecture and Efficiency 15:05 Mapping Roles and Tasks for Enhanced Productivity 20:18 The Concept of M-Shaped Workers 25:11 Validating New Job Structures and Roles 30:19 Business-Driven Workforce Intelligence and Its Impact 35:06 Future-Proofing Organizations Through Continuous Learning Additional Information The Rise of the Superworker: Designing You Company for AI The End of HR As We Know It? AI Is Starting To Change Everything. Galileo Learn: The AI Professional Development Academy for Leaders  

Recent comments from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei claims that we’ll have a “white collar bloodbath” in jobs and 50% of jobs are going away, leading to 20% unemployment. I believe this is completely incorrect, and in this podcast I explain why. Tech leaders may have a distorted perspective because so much of their energies go into pure software development – there’s a much bigger positive effect happening. (The Superworker effect.) Background Why Entry Level Jobs Are Not Going Away The Rise Of The Superworker Axios story

This week I discuss Cornerstone Galaxy, the new, integrated version of Cornerstone, which includes Skyhive, Edcast, Grovo, Tailspin, and other technologies built in. As you’ll hear, Cornerstone is the largest enterprise learning platform company in the world and they’re getting very aggressive with bundling, pricing, and features. At the same time I discuss the role of other competitors such as Docebo, Oracle, Workday, SAP, and the role of Sana and Galileo Learn (our new offering). There’s lots more to discuss, please call us if you’d like help with your LMS | enterprise learning strategy and I urge to read our Revolution in Corporate Learning comprehensive study on how AI can totally reinvent your corporate learning, enablement, and skills strategy. Additional Information The Revolution in Corporate Learning (research report) Galileo Learn – A Revolutionary Approach To Corporate Learning

This is a fascinating and essential podcast about leadership, AI, HR, and business transformation, featuring Tanuj Kapilashrami, the CHRO and Chief Strategy Officer of Standard Chartered. In this conversation, Tanuj talks about the strategic direction of Standard Chartered Bank, her role as Chief Strategy and Talent Officer, and the importance of aligning organizational capabilities with business strategy. She discusses the transformation of work processes, the integration of AI, and the evolving role of HR in the banking sector. Tanuj explains the role of job architecture and the importance of skills in driving organizational success, and she also clearly explains the future role of the CHRO. The CHRO role has risen tremendously in the last two decades. Tanuj is an inspirational example of a CHRO who has taken her experience in all areas of human capital management to become a powerful chief strategy officer, a career transition which will become much more common in the future. You will also hear how Tanuj views the AI transformation and how she puts a clear business focus on the AI strategy, moving far beyond AI as a tool to streamline HR. (Listen to her discussion about AI in performance management and how the “AI Sandpit” works at Standard Chartered.) Listen also to Tanuj’s focus on “plumbing,” as the foundation for business growth and transformation. Takeaways Standard Chartered is a cross-border bank focused on emerging markets. The role of Chief Strategy and Talent Officer is crucial for aligning strategy with capabilities. Transformation should be a core part of the organizational DNA. Skills development must be integrated into work redesign. AI can enhance productivity across various job types. Job architecture needs to evolve with changing business needs. A centralized approach to AI strategy is essential for scalability. HR must embrace technology to remain relevant. Understanding the operational aspects of HR is critical for strategic success. Curiosity and continuous learning are vital for HR leaders. Sound Bites “Transformation is such an abused word.” “Skills come in at a work redesign level.” “Humans will lose out to other humans who use machines.” “AI cannot be empathetic as humans can be.” “Get comfortable as a team playing in the sand pit.” “It’s the plumbing that matters.” Chapters 00:00 Overview of Standard Chartered Bank 02:49 The Role of Chief Strategy and Talent Officer 05:52 Aligning Strategy with Organizational Capabilities 08:46 Transforming Work Processes and Skills 12:07 Navigating Job Architecture and AI Integration 14:56 AI Strategy and Implementation in Banking 17:54 The Future of HR in the Age of AI 21:13 Advice for Aspiring CHROs Additional Information Our New CHRO Insights Research Yes, HR Organizations Will (Partially) Be Replaced by AI, And That’s Good The White Collar Recession Is Real: What Should We Do About It? The Rise of the Superworker: Reinventing Jobs, Careers, and Organizations

Welcome to Galileo Learn, the world’s first AI-native platform for all areas of corporate learning and professional development. And yes, Galileo Learn is also the new, dynamic version of The Josh Bersin Academy, and also your personal professional development coach. As the world’s first AI native platform for learning, Galileo Learn delivers an exciting new learning experience and the most dynamic, productive way to build content in the market. And in an exciting new innovation, Galileo Learn connects directly to Galileo, the world’s AI Assistant for HR and Managers. Read more here: Buy Galileo Learn. Learn more about The Revolution in L&D.

This week I dig into digital twins and AI and why I believe the “pedagogical” approach to corporate learning is going away. While we will always have educational programs in business, the L&D world is going in a wild new, positive direction. This podcast explains the forgetting curve, spaced learning, and what I call “the curiosity cycle” in business. Does this mean “the death of courseware?” In some ways the answer is yes, so listen in. Additional Information Galileo Now Embedded Into ServiceNow and HiBob The Mercury Release of Galileo Signals a New Era for Intelligent Agents The White Collar Recession Is Real: What Should We Do About It? A Revolution In Corporate Learning Begins, Join The Journey

In this episode we hear from Irena Flego Maric, Global Talent Acquisition Leader and HR Technology Strategist at Foundever, one of the largest customer service companies in the world. She describes how the company is transforming its highly demanding recruitment process with next-gen AI. The company uses Maki People’s AI-powered solution to manage massive scale of hiring, sometimes recruiting 2,000 customer service reps over a weekend while handling millions of applications each month. And every candidate is assessed against the job. Foundever uses Maki’s AI to create personalized, skills-based assessments that provide candidates realistic job previews, engaging candidates in the process. As you’ll hear, this kind of “skills-based assessment” creates a highly positive candidate experience, enabling Foundever to find the best candidates at enormous scale. Additional Information Maximizing the Impact of AI in the Age of the Superworker Talent Acquisition at a Crossroads (Academy course) Emerging Trends in Talent Acquisition: Factbook

This week I discuss the total re-engineering of HR and business software and why the “functional application” approach is going to be destroyed by workflow-oriented systems. I apologize for the slightly awkward voice, I recorded this on a long walk this morning! I discuss ServiceNow, Maki People, Galileo, Hubspot, Salesforce, HiBob, Workday, SAP, Paradox, and many other innovative systems. Come to Irresistible 2025 in a few weeks to hear and see more! Additional Information Galileo Now Embedded Into ServiceNow and HiBob The Mercury Release of Galileo Signals a New Era for Intelligent Agents Podcast: The Galileo Inside Strategy Q&A: Get Galileo for ServiceNow Q&A: Get Galileo for HiBob