Future Of Work Podcast

About This Episode 

What makes employees want to come into the office? How should leaders approach conversations about mental health? Why do workplace debates repeat across generations? This Future of Work® Expert Compilation brings together three respected voices to examine the human side of work and what organizations can do to create environments where people and businesses thrive. 

Wesley Edmonds explains why today's workplace must earn employees' commute through thoughtful, human-centered design. Melissa Doman discusses how leaders can approach mental health conversations with greater clarity, preparation, and purpose. Angela R. Howard explores why many workplace assumptions have existed for generations and why organizations should return to the fundamentals of dignity, fairness, and respect. 

Together, these conversations highlight a common theme: successful organizations place people at the center of workplace design, leadership decisions, and organizational culture. For leaders navigating changing employee expectations, this episode offers practical ideas for creating workplaces that strengthen collaboration, communication, and long-term performance.   

About This Episode 

Remote work has matured far beyond simply allowing employees to work from home. As organizations embrace distributed teams and artificial intelligence, the conversation is no longer about location—it's about designing systems that enable people to work effectively from anywhere. 

In this episode of the Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle welcomes Darren Murph, recognized by CNBC as an "oracle of remote work" and former workplace strategy leader at GitLab. Together, they examine why successful distributed organizations don't happen by accident. They discuss the importance of intentional workplace design, operational discipline, documentation, knowledge management, AI readiness, asynchronous collaboration, and the rise of small, globally connected companies. 

The conversation also explores the future of entrepreneurship, the "manager of one" philosophy, coworking as an extension of remote work, operational fit, and why AI makes organizational knowledge more valuable than ever. Whether you're building a startup, leading a distributed team, or preparing your organization for AI, this episode offers practical insights into creating resilient, scalable organizations. 

About This Episode 

Artificial intelligence has quickly become one of the defining forces influencing business, but many organizations are still approaching it as a cost-cutting exercise rather than an opportunity to create new value. In this episode of the Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle welcomes Brian Solis, Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow, to discuss why today's AI moment represents far more than another technology cycle. 

Brian explains why organizations stand at a crossroads. One path focuses on improving yesterday's business through automation and efficiency. The other embraces AI as a catalyst for innovation, new business models, and entirely new forms of value creation. Throughout the conversation, Frank and Brian explore leadership, trust, workforce reinvention, AI augmentation, entrepreneurship, organizational culture, and the growing responsibility leaders have in guiding people through unprecedented technological change. 

The discussion also examines why smaller organizations may be uniquely positioned to compete in the AI era, how AI can expand human capability instead of replacing it, and why curiosity, imagination, and courage will become defining leadership qualities. For executives, entrepreneurs, and workplace leaders preparing for what's next, this episode provides a thoughtful roadmap for building organizations that grow through innovation rather than fear. 

About This Episode 

Artificial intelligence has become one of the defining topics in business, yet much of the public conversation continues to focus on one question: Will AI eliminate jobs? In this episode of the Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle welcomes Sebastian Fixson, Professor of Innovation & Design at Babson College and Founder of the Work Futures Lab, to examine a far more meaningful question: how AI is changing the way work itself is designed. 

Rather than focusing solely on automation, Sebastian explains why organizations should rethink workflows, redesign value streams, and develop innovation capabilities that allow employees and AI to work together. The conversation explores how AI is influencing productivity, organizational structures, decision-making, leadership, entrepreneurship, hybrid work, and the future quality of work. Throughout the discussion, Sebastian emphasizes that technology alone rarely creates lasting value. Organizations realize AI's full potential only when they redesign the systems surrounding it. 

Whether you're leading a large enterprise, building a startup, or preparing your workforce for AI, this episode offers a thoughtful framework for understanding how organizations can embrace innovation while creating work that remains productive, engaging, and meaningful. 

About This Episode 

Artificial intelligence is dominating boardroom conversations, yet many organizations are struggling to move beyond experimentation. In this episode of the Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle sits down with Peter Cappelli, one of the world's leading researchers on management, employment, and workplace strategy, to separate perception from reality. 

Drawing on decades of research, Cappelli explains why AI implementation is less about technology and more about organizational design. The conversation explores workflow analysis, job design, hybrid work, remote collaboration, workplace relationships, onboarding, office strategy, and why many executives are approaching AI implementation the wrong way. 

The discussion also examines return-to-office policies, the purpose of the office, flexible work models, and why relationships remain the foundation of collaboration. Whether you're implementing AI, leading organizational change, or refining your workplace strategy, this episode provides practical guidance rooted in research rather than speculation. 

About This Episode 

Leadership, workplace flexibility, and artificial intelligence are often treated as separate conversations. In reality, they are increasingly interconnected forces influencing how organizations attract talent, engage employees, and prepare for the future. 

In this Future of Work® Podcast Expert Compilation, three leading voices explore the human side of workplace transformation. Matt Bertman shares research revealing growing employee dissatisfaction with management and explains what employees are asking for from today's leaders. Nick Bloom examines why hybrid work continues to outperform rigid return-to-office mandates and what organizations are learning about employee preferences. Ram Srinivasan explores the people side of AI adoption and explains why technology initiatives succeed or fail based on trust, mindset, and change management. 

The speakers collectively explain how employees reject managers, RTO rules, and AI rollouts for the same reason: weak trust, poor communication, and misaligned expectations. Success depends less on policies or tech and more on how well organizations bring people into change. 

Together, these conversations reveal a common theme: organizations that succeed in the future of work will be those that understand human behavior as deeply as they understand technology. Whether addressing leadership, workplace flexibility, or AI, people remain the foundation of every successful transformation. 

About This Episode 

Hybrid work is no longer an experiment and has now become the standard operating model for much of the workforce. In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle spoke with Wesley Edmonds, Director of Workplace at OFS, to explore how organizations can create workplaces that employees genuinely want to use. 

Drawing from workplace research, design expertise, and conversations with architects, designers, and business leaders, Wesley explains why today's workplace must go far beyond furniture, layouts, and amenities. The discussion examines employee autonomy, workplace experience, culture, productivity, and the growing importance of designing environments that support a wide range of work styles and human needs. 

The conversation also explores the role of AI, flexible workspace strategies, coworking environments, and how organizations can prepare for constant change. As companies continue balancing employee expectations with business goals, this episode offers practical insights into creating workplaces that support engagement, performance, and long-term talent retention. 

About This Episode 

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle speaks with Angela R. Howard, Founder of Call for Culture, about the deeper cultural changes influencing today’s workplace. Drawing from her background in organizational psychology, people-centered culture strategy, and workplace change, Angela explores why generational conversations often repeat throughout history and why leaders must focus on dignity, respect, fair pay, belonging, and human-centered leadership. The conversation also examines AI’s role in management, the future of leadership, the connection between education and workforce development, and how organizations can build cultures that support both people and performance. 

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, host Daniel Lamadrid speaks with Melissa Doman, MA, an organizational psychologist, former mental health therapist, author, and founder of The Workplace Mental Health Method™. Melissa brings deep expertise from her work with global companies including Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, Siemens, Dow Jones, Estée Lauder, and more. 

The conversation explores why leaders are often expected to support everyone else’s mental health while their own emotional toll goes unaddressed. Melissa explains how workplace mental health conversations can become more effective, appropriate, and practical, especially as organizations navigate remote work, loneliness, flexibility, communication challenges, and rising pressure on leaders. For listeners, this episode offers a grounded look at how companies can support human functioning, healthier leadership, and stronger workplace cultures in the future of work.

About This Episode 

This episode of The Future of Work® Podcast brings together three leading voices shaping distributed work and global workforce strategy. Nadia Vatalidis, Head of People at Doist, shares how organizations can scale remote-first teams across dozens of countries while maintaining strong culture and operational efficiency. Tony Jamous, founder of Oyster, expands the conversation to the global economy, explaining how distributed hiring can unlock talent at scale and increase economic opportunity worldwide. Sophie Wade, workforce innovator and founder of Flexcel Network, grounds the discussion in the practical reality of work design, emphasizing the need to rethink workflows to effectively integrate AI. 

Together, their insights provide a forward-looking perspective on how organizations can compete globally, design better systems of work, and connect talent, technology, and opportunity across borders.