Jamie Dimon's Town Hall And What It Means (And Is Elon Musk Right?)
In this podcast I want to talk about Jamie Dimon’s recent town-hall at JP Morgan Chase. He describes his frustration with remote work, bureaucracy, and lack of productivity in vivid language. As you’ll hear from my comments, I have 100% sympathy for his feelings, but the answer is not as simple as forcing people into the office or laying off 10% of the workforce.
Stay tuned I promise you’ll learn something. This is a problem in job design, culture, middle management roles, and overly complex job architecture. And we’re witnessing this precise situation with layoffs at Salesforce, Workday, Meta, and other fast-growing companies.
Additional Information
New Research: Secrets Of The High Performing CHRO
Understanding Organization Design
AI in HR: Certificate Program in The Josh Bersin Academy
Galileo Professional, The Essential AI Assistant for Everything HR
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20:33
Secrets Of The High-Performing CHRO: It's Harder Than It Looks
In this week’s podcast I introduce our new research on the important and fast-changing role of CHRO, or Chief People Officer.
Over the last decade this role has exploded in scope and importance, leaving many CEOs and CHROs working to keep up. After a year of research studying the career history and performance of more than 20,000 senior HR leaders, I explain how the role has changed and share our new research on the backgrounds, experiences, and capabilities of the world’s leading Chief HR Officers.
If you’re a senior HR leader, please join our benchmarking survey to learn more.
Additional Information
New Research Unlocks Secrets Of The High Performing CHRO (article)
CHRO Insights Research Report
CHRO Insights Benchmarking Survey
CHRO Insights Video (Youtube)
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20:50
Welcome to Enterprise AI: Multi-Functional Agents Change Everything
This week I discuss the rapid evolution of AI Agents in the Enterprise, and how they’re starting to replace billions of dollars of legacy enterprise software. It won’t happen overnight, but using our four-stage model, companies are rapidly looking at ways to use AI platforms to assist, automate, and integrate business workflows in ways that ERP and HCM systems failed.
(PS: this disruption is why Workday and Salesforce just had layoffs.)
The four stages are discussed in The Rise of the Superworker. And you can get all the details in Galileo.
Additional Information
Digital Twins, Digital Employees, And Agents Everywhere
The AI Trailblazers! HR Technology Outlook 2025.
AI in HR: Certificate Program in The Josh Bersin Academy
Galileo Professional, The Essential AI Assistant for Everything HR
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22:38
Lloyds Banking Group Describes Its $3B Business and Talent Transformation
Lloyds Banking Group, the largest bank in the UK, is undergoing a £3 Billion business transformation focused on enhancing customer experiences, integrating products and services, and leveraging technology to improve service delivery.
Holly Quincey, Chief Talent Officer, describes the company’s accompanying talent transformation, particularly its skills-based hiring strategy.
Talent Acquisition: This includes bringing executive hiring and leadership development in-house, saving millions. A program called “Prescient” was developed for the top 340 leaders, incorporating tools like Hogan and Raven assessments, 360 feedback, and external benchmarking to build leadership capabilities and align with future skills needs.
Cultural Transformation: Lloyds is shifting from siloed thinking to a more collaborative, customer-obsessed, and growth-oriented culture. This involves fostering a mindset where the bank sees itself as a tech company that does banking, rather than a traditional bank with good technology.
Recruitment and Workforce Planning: The recruitment function was remodeled in 2024, with a focus on reducing agency dependency and aligning talent acquisition with strategic workforce planning. This included hiring leaders with experience in campaign hiring and demand planning.
Financial and Operational Impact: The transformation has already generated significant financial savings, including £20 million in 2024 alone from in-house initiatives like talent acquisition and leadership development. The organization continues to hire thousands annually while embedding innovation and efficiency across its operations.
This WhatWorks interview will give listeners the inspiration to “think big” in your end-to-end talent transformation strategy.
Additional Information
Leadership Development Insights,
Human-Centered Leadership, Certificate Program in The Josh Bersin Academy
Why Are Some Companies More Dynamic than Others?
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18:43
Can Executive Orders Drive Change? Or Do We Think About Change Differently?
Change and transformation is the theme for 2025. 53% of CEOs believe their company will not exist in ten years, with iconic brands like Starbucks, Boeing, Nike, Intel, Southwest, and Target going through turnarounds. And 93% of CEOs believe AI will totally transform their operating model. (PwC CEO Survey.)
At the same time we’re witnessing a massive “change management” push in the US Federal Government, driven by 200+ executive orders and other communications. The big issue i discuss is “will this form of change even work?” Do “Executive Orders” help people understand and embrace mandates for change?
While political change is not the right model for business, I want to point out how risky this approach may be. Putting aside political issues themselves, I think we’re about to learn a big lesson on “how to create enduring change.” Yes, sometimes things have to happen fast, but in most cases culture is built over years and individuals must be included in the process.
And that goes for AI transformation too, as I discuss in the podcast.
If you want to learn more about the topic of change, I encourage you to check out our Josh Bersin Academy program “Change Agility.”
And please read my book Irresistible, which is now one of the highest rated business books on Amazon.
Additional Information
Despite Political Firestorm, Diversity Investments Are Alive And Well
The Rise Of The Superworker: Delivering On The Promise of AI
Elevating Equity: Certificate Program in The Josh Bersin Academy
Get Galileo®, The Essential AI Assistant For Everything HR