Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan

January 6, 2026: Is AI actually increasing productivity — or just shifting responsibility without reward? In this episode of Future Ready Today, I unpack seven of the most important future-of-work stories shaping leadership decisions right now. From why Gen Z is entering the workforce anxious about AI, to new evidence that AI can slow work down instead of speeding it up, to the rise of empowered employees quietly ignoring return-to-office mandates, this episode explores what's really changing beneath the surface. I look at why the U.S. government is reviving apprenticeships, how AI is enabling four-day workweeks only when leaders redesign work intentionally, why flexibility debates have shifted from where work happens to when it happens, and how expanding responsibility without expanding pay is setting the stage for the next trust crisis at work.

When a longtime CEO steps down, it's not just a change in leadership—it's a shift in the organization's heartbeat. After 40 years of service, Williams faced exactly that moment: a legacy to honor, a culture to protect, and a future to build. But how do you preserve stability while ushering in transformation? In this episode, Debbie Pickle, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer at Williams, talks about orchestrating a seamless CEO succession  after long tenures and the CHRO's pivotal role in managing the culture, priorities, and structure during these executive transitions. She walks through creating a CEO Resource Guide, using tools like Hogan Assessments, 360 feedback, and development plans to prepare candidates, and crafting a thoughtful 30–60–90-day plan for the incoming CEO. Debbie also shares how Williams redefined its core values and replaced its mission and vision with a purpose statement, all while aligning the board of directors through strong governance principles like "noses in, fingers out." CHROs will learn all tips into managing leadership transitions through feedback loop, the importance of continuous learning during change, and how to become a true strategic partner and CEO whisperer in the organization. You'll learn how to guide your company through its next defining leadership chapter and balance what's changing vs. what's staying the same.   ---------- Start your day with the world's top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/ Future-ready organizations are built, not hoped for. My latest book, -The 8 Laws of Employee Experience shows how. Preorder here: 8EXlaws.com

The world of work didn't just change, it fundamentally broke the old rules. Forget just 'adapting'—this episode is your essential guide to understanding the radical shifts currently squeezing CHROs and how to build a team that can truly withstand them. In this special episode, we revisit three of our most important conversations from the past year. Entrepreneur and author Mark Matson reframes the American Dream for the modern workplace, revealing how distorted mindsets—entitlement, resentment, and "juicy victimhood"—are limiting performance more than circumstances ever could, and what leaders can do to revive accountability and ownership. Endurance expert and best-selling author Alex Hutchinson shows how the science of athletic training applies directly to leadership today, from managing chronic stress to sustaining creativity and peak performance. And Stephen Schmidt, Chief Security Officer at Amazon, breaks down why the biggest AI threats aren't technical at all, but human—rooted in behavior, trust, and a lack of guardrails. Together, these segments surface a simple truth: the future belongs to leaders who can build personal responsibility, manage stress like an athlete, and create a culture strong enough to withstand the risks of an AI-powered world.   ________________ Start your day with the world's top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/ Quick heads-up: my new book, The 8 Laws of Employee Experience, is a practical playbook for building an environment where people do their best work—preorder a copy here: 8EXlaws.com  

December 24, 2025:  The systems we've relied on to organize work are starting to crack. In this episode of Future Ready Today, we unpack four stories that reveal how deeply work is being reshaped — often in ways leaders aren't prepared for. AI was supposed to make hiring fairer and faster, but instead it's flooding employers with indistinguishable candidates and eroding trust in the hiring process. Workers are debating whether flexibility is worth a massive pay cut, exposing a deeper shift in how people value time, money, and quality of life. LinkedIn's CEO argues that five-year career plans are now outdated as skills evolve faster than organizations can plan for. And inside offices, introverts are pushing back on collaboration models designed for visibility rather than outcomes — raising hard questions about accommodation, performance, and accountability. Together, these stories point to a larger truth: work is moving away from rigid structures and toward adaptability, learning velocity, and human judgment. The future of work won't be defined by perks, policies, or platforms — it will be shaped by how well organizations redesign hiring, careers, and culture for a world of constant change.   ---------- Future-ready organizations are built, not hoped for. My latest book, -The 8 Laws of Employee Experience shows how. Preorder here: 8EXlaws.com

December 23, 2025:  AI is moving from experiment to expectation at record speed, but employees say leadership hasn't built the systems needed to support it. Remote work is quietly becoming a privilege instead of a right. And a growing number of professionals are reclaiming Sundays as deep-work days because weekdays have become fragmented and unproductive. In this episode, we examine four stories that reveal a powerful shift underway: the future of work is no longer about where or when people work — it's about who has leverage, who controls their time, and which organizations can redesign work fast enough to keep up. If you want to understand what's really changing beneath the headlines, this episode connects the dots.   ---------- Quick heads-up: my new book, The 8 Laws of Employee Experience, is a practical playbook for building an environment where people do their best work—preorder a copy here: 8EXlaws.com