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Future of Work thought-leader Dan Smolen’s What’s Your Work Fit premieres in October 2022.

Finally, what it means to work is informed by your own personal needs and desires and not someone else’s directives.

How we work, who we work for, when we work, why we work, and the workplace where it all happens has turned upside down and inside out. And, I say that now is the time to own the work that you do and hope to do.

What’s Your Work Fit? is the first-of-its-kind interactive engagement platform bringing today’s business and workplace thought leaders, hiring managers, and career seekers together.

The show premieres live on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 at 10AM Eastern Time US.

We will challenge the traditional notions of work and workplace, to FIT who you are and what you want your lasting work and career contributions to be.

Each week, we will invite you to join our LIVE SHOW—on LinkedIn, Facebook Live, and YouTube—to learn from and engage with amazing people who are leading the work zeitgeist.

The questions that What’s Your Work Fit asks them to answer are likely the ones that keep you up at night. 

Get ready for an amazing experience!

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Dan Smolen is hitting the pause button on The Dan Smolen Podcast.

When the podcast returns in Fall 2022, it will provide a more impactful interactive experience for career professionals.

From the episode:

“Given the success that the podcast has enjoyed during the past four years, I recognize that there is so much more for me to do, to further these discussions and make learning from them truly actionable. 

I will strive to give career professionals—talent and hiring managers—the insight that they need to make sound decisions about their career development and workplace.”

Further:

“The remote workplace technology that we now use to connect to one another—and to the world—has been in place for ten years or longer. But it took the Covid pandemic to allow us to unleash its full potential. And as we adapted to it, and applied its numerous benefits, millions of us began to question what it means to work: for sure, what our work entails, but also when, where, and how we do the work that we do.”

The Dan Smolen Podcast debuted in 2018. During that time, Dan has dropped 159 episodes focused on future of work and workplace topics.

Hitting the pause button is necessary to return this fall with a new podcast experience that talent and hiring managers alike can use to navigate the future of work and workplace.

EPISODE DATE: June 10, 2022

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Dan Smolen recalls how starting a first job of many benefitted his professional career and informed a profound journey in the future of work:

As the last of the graduation ceremonies conclude, America’s latest crop of entry-level workers is stressed out about connecting with work and career.

I remember the experience well. And what I recall most was how I wanted my first assignment out of college to align me perfectly with my career goals of reaching the senior advertising agency management ranks.

It was a fool’s errand.

The Spring of 1983, my graduation season, ushered in one of the-worst job markets since the 1930s.

Unemployment was terribly high. Like me, my peers struggled to connect to entry-level work. With each passing week of no returned phone calls, I fell into a depression.

In this episode, Dan discusses:

• The chance meeting, at a Washington Post advertisers event, that got him to starting a first job of many.
• How that first job taught him how to succeed in a corporate setting.
• Turning a messy, analog magazine circulation file into a money making resource.
• Leveraging first job skill, experience, and accomplishments to find a great ad agency position in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

Starting a first job of many provides young careerists the time and space they need to learn how to work, and make work part of a day doing other things.

EPISODE DATE: June 3, 2022

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Dan Smolen asks: should careers require a college degree?

As the graduating class of 2022 enters the workplace, many of its members will carry forward substantial student loan debt.

And the son of one friend of mine amassed $250,000 in debt to earn his Bachelor’s degree.

That is a nightmare scenario.

So how did we get to a nightmarish place where the college degree no longer ensures the American Dream?

Truth be told, we got here, because of the Vietnam War.

In this episode, Dan:

• Recalls how American men got draft deferments when they earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.
• Describes how a bachelor’s degree became a “must have” for everyone doing career professional work.
• Laments how, in 2022, a college degree has been rendered a economic albatross.

In the future of work, should careers require a college degree? Time will tell if the answer to that question remains “yes.”

EPISODE DATE: May 27, 2022

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Dan Smolen discusses inciting a workplace revolution with guest Vinny Tafuro.

Vinny is the Founder of the Institute for Economic Evolution. He is also the author of two books, including Unlocking the Labor Cage.

For those who study the future of work, this much is clear: we are in the midst of a workplace revolution. And career professionals are inciting it.

After the past 40 years, during which shareholder value reigned supreme, stakeholder value is at last resonating in boardrooms. And people who work are taking their seats at the stakeholder table.

In a wide ranging discussion, Vinny:

• Describes the value proposition for the Institute for Economic Evolution. Starts at 4:30
• Explains the origins of the over 150 year-old 8-hour workday. Starts at 7:22
• Offers insight into how metric-driven managers can become thoughtful and intentional workplace leaders. Starts at 12:06
• Discusses the importance of benefit corporations (B-Corps) in inciting a workplace revolution. Starts at 24:46
• Lays out his future of work vision. Starts at 32:05

What is more, Vinny offers this key driver for inciting a workplace revolution:

“We’re proving what really good leaders have always known: if you treat people well, you build up your organization holistically and create a culture that doesn’t become toxic.”

About our guest:

Vinny Tafuro is a visionary thinker, writer, entrepreneur, communications theorist, and economist. Vinny earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Tampa and is pursuing a Masters of Science in Foresight from the University of Houston. He lives and works in Tampa, Florida.

EPISODE DATE: May 20, 2022

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Dan Smolen explores mastering time for future work with guest Kris Ward.

Kris is the host of the Win the Hour, Win the Day Podcast. She counsels entrepreneurs on how to manage their time resources so that they become successful in work, but also in life.

Time mastery is critical for success in the future of work.

And to that end, Kris and Dan cover a lot of ground around time mastery including:

• The unique value proposition for Win the Hour, Win the Day. Starts at 4:13
• How the notion of working a lot of hours is believed to be good. Starts at 6:43
• A deep dive into her “Super Tool Kit” and what makes it effective. Starts at 11:07
• Why entrepreneurs and career professionals get jammed up with “time sucks.” Starts at 12:01
• Infrastruture in the future of work frame. Starts at 14:00
• The ways quality of work and life improves with time mastery. Starts at 16:50
• The powerful outcome of giving up tasks. Starts at 18:32
• In a future of work frame, getting away from the notion that the amount of time expensed in work is everything. Starts at 24:15

Mastering time for future work allows entrepreneurs and career professionals to thrive in work and life.

About our guest:

Kris Ward is a leading authority on scaling business and maximizing the resource of time. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ryerson University. Kris lives and works in the province of Ontario, Canada.

EPISODE DATE: May 13, 2022

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Dan Smolen meets up with Randye Spina, to discuss fostering benefit for future work.

Randye is the founder of Marketing on a Mission, LLC. And she is a self-described “business as a force for good champion.”

Her consultancy enables B-Corps and other entities to drive positive, purpose-driven brand attributes.

Now, more than ever, career professionals want to work for companies that stand for noble purpose.

Interestingly, as Randye points out, the first driver for benefit corporations is to empower their hired talent.

In a wide ranging interview, Randye:

• Defines the value proposition for Marketing on a Mission. Starts at 4:12
• Describes the allure of becoming a benefit corporation or B-Corp. Starts at 8:00
• Explains why companies and organizations should consider becoming a B-Corp. Starts at 11:42
• Offers insight as to why career professionals are positively predisposed to B-Corps. Starts at 15:30
• Considers how B-Corps create leverage with departing talent. Starts at 25:40

Almost always, when fostering benefit for future work, companies can attract and retain the best people.

About our guest:

Randye Spina received a Bachelor of Business Arts from Pace University and an MBA from the University of Dallas. She lives and works in Southern Connecticut.

EPISODE DATE: May 6, 2022

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Dan Smolen asks the question: are bosses crushing worker dignity?

Answering this question, and many others, is Dr. Betty Johnson. She is the founder of Bridging the Difference LLC; it helps company leaders embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to ensure worker dignity.

As the Covid pandemic ebbs, and more of their talent work remotely, managers are using Zoom sessions in ways that they may believe are effective, but actually rid their people of dignity.

Requiring people to be “on camera” throughout long, heavily attended Zoom sessions, whether or not they participate in discussion, can have a toxic effect.

And people of color and women–especially older women–are often the-most negatively affected by such “on camera” requirements.

Dr. Johnson wants to change that.

In a wide ranging discussion, Dr. Johnson:

• Provides the unique value proposition for her company, Bridging the Difference LLC. Starts at 4:53
• Describes the misuses of Zoom sessions by managers to gather their people. Starts at 6:07
• Illustrates surface acting and its psychological impact on talent. Starts at 9:51
• Explains the positive affects of “being listened to.” Starts at 16:13
• Digs into how bosses crush worker dignity and unintentionally create “drama triangles.” Starts at 20:35
• Offers strategies for making Zoom sessions better. Starts at 27:08
• Defines Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and provides ways to positively frame it for management to embrace. Starts at 40:35

Are bosses crushing worker dignity? Some are. But with intentional leadership from their management, people can find positive meaning in the work that they do.

About our guest:

Dr. Betty Johnson is a keen observer of people in the workplace. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a Ph.D. in Leadership from Antioch University. Dr. Johnson lives and works in Charlotte, North Carolina.