Boundless: The Human Side Of Work

Tash Walker is the founder of a firm and spends her Fridays making marmalade.Before instituting a four-day workweek at her firm, The Mix, she barely had time for her relationships. She decided to start doing research about different ways of working. There had to be a better way than the default options of "Summer Fridays" and "flexible work," that never seem to make less anxiety or stress-ridden.In her research, she discovered many examples of Swedish companies embracing 4-day workweeks and also found that when they instituted it, they often helped improve productivity. After bringing the option to her team at The Mix, they decided to do a three-month trial. They didn't even tell their clients.The funny thing? The clients didn't even notice. Even better, when they shared it with their clients - they weren't offended. They were curious to learn more and impressed that they had prioritized their people. While many quickly reflex to "well that can't work here," Tash and her team went forward anyway and have show

Amid all the buzzwords and reports on the future of work, I find Sarah Kessler's stories about the gig economy to be the most insightful and the most human. Her stories and her book, Gigged, give an accurate picture of some of the upsides of the gig economy, but also some of the downsides.  She shares stories of people that are sleeping in their office making five cents per task on Amazon's Mechanical Turk to creative freelancers who can make six-figure salaries working from anywhere.  She also shares the story of companies that see limits to the gig economy, like Dan Teran's company Managed by Q who is following Zeynep Ton's Good Jobs Strategy and looking at people as valuable and investing in them as full-time employees and partners in the businesses success.Our conversation dives deeper into some of the stories she shares as well as some of the current challenges with platforms, the PR machine (all the firms say people want flexibility, but fail to mention they are happy to give it up for more pay!). One o

Lydia Lee was a self-described "multi-potentialite" growing up and loves to experiment and play games growing up. You can probably draw a straight line from her hosting television shows for the stuffed animals in her room to her current YouTube channel Screw The Cubicle TV. However, life is never that simple.Lydia is based in Bali where she is the Founder and Corporate Escape Coach of Screw The Cubicle, a movement to inspire people to break free from the shackles of conventional work.From building businesses to forging freelance careers, she’s helped hundreds of talented professionals repurpose their skills to create better versions of their careers and become better versions of themselves.Topics Covered:How she balanced her interests with the default pathBurnout in RussiaHow she started her business Screw The CubicleA cool approach to start your coaching businessWhat you need to be self-employedThe beliefs you should questionCoaching & continuous learningWhy so many pineapples in Lydia's branding?Connect

Wade Foster was graduating during the worst recession in the past 100 years and traditional employers were simply not hiring anyone. He reached out to a local software company in Missouri and talked them into hiring him to work on marketing. The experience "opened his eyes" to the digital world and the enormous opportunities that were beginning to emerge. He also tapped into a "thirst for developing new skills" that pushed him to learn how to code.The idea for Zapier emerged from some work Wade was doing with his friend Brian to connect different apps on the internet. They brought the idea to Startup Weekend in Missouri and ended up building a prototype of what would later form the foundation of Zapier. By Monday morning, they were committed to spending time on it and seeing where it would go.Seven years later, Wade is the CEO of that company and he is leading it as a remote company. Wade shares reflections on building a remote company and the fact that you have to default to trust and be very intentional abo

Nemo Ashong's bold vision is "a truly inclusive and empowered world" He helps people to be fully expressed and to be more authentic, be more unique and be more powerful.This conversation brought out some vulnerability in both of us and we barely scratched the surface around some tough topics like diversity, & inclusion. I live for this type of tough conversation and appreciate that podcasts give the kind of space to explore topics with nuance. I'm not sure we ended up with any clear answers, but I think had the type of conversation filled with respect and curiosity that can enable us to go deeper with each other and with other people.Connect With Nemo:Empjoyment1-On-1 Coaching With NemoWorld Joy Movement------BoundlessConsider supporting the podcast on PatreonJoin 110+ People Carving Their Own Paths In The Slack CommunitySet Up A Curiosity Conversation With PaulJoin The Free 3-Week Self-Employment ChallengeSign up For The Strategy Toolkit - Learn The Secrets Of Strategy Consulting

Ervin Ling followed the default path as an actuary, passing test after test. After passing all the tests, he found himself working harder than he was ever working. As he stared at the television and saw his friends on TV during a weekend trip to the Final Four, he realized he didn't want to keep doing this. He declared (after a few drinks, nonetheless) to his friends, "If UConn wins the national championship, I'm going to quit my job."As any good number-driven actuary would, he didn't quit his job immediately. He took about 18 months to plot his escape from the corporate world. During this time, he re-thought his relationship with money, his possessions and his relationships with friends and family. He ended up traveling around the world for 12 months. Here are some stats from his trip:Total USD spent: $24,740Total days on the road: 338Total countries visited: 38 (including the USA)Most days in a single country: 30 (Vietnam)Total number of miles traveled: 68,307 (109,925 km) – equivalent to circling the earth

Ted Bauer is a freelance writer and content strategist who writes prolifically about the future of work. In this episode, he talks about some of his experiences in the corporate world. He shares a story of how he broke the record for the number of story ideas when he first joined ESPN which both captures his frustrations with the corporate world and also illuminates his process of how he generates new ideas for his writing.  We talk a bit about technology and his view is that people are using technology not to engage with people but to hide from them. His view of the future of work is simple - it's about moving back to in-person, human to human engagement and questioning a lot of the things we take for granted in modern organizations.Twitter: @tedbauer2003Ted's Writing & Blog: The Context Of ThingsJoin The ConversationJoin the exclusive Slack Boundless Community & engage with other people carving their own pathSignup for the newsletter

While Shayne has built a successful marketing consulting firm, there was no "plan" to do this. His first exposure to marketing was out of necessity - his professor let students boost their low economics grades by joining the marketing group he ran. Shayne quickly applied the lessons to his DJ gigs on the side in college and became more interested in how to build real relationships with people through incredible experiences. He brings this same passion to his work today.Shayne has had many "dumb" ideas, but he would argue that most ideas (good and bad) start out as dumb ideas. The difference is the people with the courage to keep moving and respond to feedback. He has called the entrepreneurship journey "one of the most humbling things he has done in his life." From this humility and willingness to stay vulnerable, Shayne has been able to build a successful digital marketing firm. So what's his secret? He shares four key steps to turn your own "dumb idea" into something that might work:Write down the ideas, ma

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Jacqueline Jensen has been a digital nomad for 3.5 years, living and working globally. It might surprise you to find out then, that she's written a book called "Travel Isn't The Answer." While counter-intuitive, she argues for a return to awe and wonder with what is already around us. She talks about different moments of wonder she has experienced (including a breathtaking view in Montenegro) and different techniques for how people can "Live With a Sense of Curiosity, Passion, and Awe Anywhere and Everywhere" (the subtitle of the book).Last year, in a planned sabbatical she came face-to-face with the fact that work was the center of her world. While she almost "quit" the sabbatical, she pushed herself to redefine her day and time to claim back some of herself from a sole focus on work.  She provides many actionable tips and perspectives that can help people question the role of work in their lives, take steps to increase the amount of awe in their lives and connect with people that matter to them.More About J

Dr. Laura Gallaher joins me from Serbia, where she is part of Remote Year, a community that travels to twelve locations within a year with a cohort of people working remotely. Laura is an organizational psychologist who studied humor and communication in the workplace and notably completed a dissertation with "that's what she said" in the title (office fans, anyone?). With a title like that it was probably clear that Academia would be too limiting for her. We talk a bit about humor and how it can be helpful or destructive in an organization. She first points out that "aggressive" humor - even if you mean well is rarely a way to strengthen bonds. We then talk about how leaders can embrace humor, especially to show their vulnerability, and give their teams more freedom to make mistakes, be open and be themselves. After getting her Ph.D., she worked with NASA after the Columbia explosion and worked on some of the toughest "they fell victim to the same thing that could happen in any organization." She notes that

Andrew is a Practical Philosopher who believes that "there may be no greater vexation in our time than the question of how to make a living in a manner that accords with leading a good life." We dive deep into the questions of "what is the good life?" and what he means by "sustaining life." He also shares his perspective on the concept of "Total Work," a phrase first put forth in 1947 by the German Philosopher Josef Pieper and shares how that phrase became central to his current writing on the topic and conversations he has with business leaders and executives.We also dive into his dichotomy of the three modes people could think about to make a living:Use what you've gotExchange what's in handOffer what you canHe reflects on our modern cultures over-reliance on exchanging our time for money while ignoring how we can live off the land and operate within the gift economy. Next, we talk about some of the different modes of living (whether it be a "settler", nomad or somewhere in between) and the implications for

Paul provides a summer update:Shifting the podcast from making sense of the future of work => "The Human Side Of The Future Of Work"Early lessons from the digital course experiment, Solopreneur ShiftI'm moving to Asia...Boundless LinksMy article on beanie babies and doing things that don't make sense = > yes, pleaseCheck out the latest tools, including the Freelance Target Income CalculatorWant an e-mail of 5 good reads every Sunday? Subscribe to #boundlessreads**This podcast is supported via micro-donations. Consider supporting the 10+ other patrons on Patreon**

Tony grew up around entrepreneurs but did not use the label at the time. At age 19, he was going to college in Maryland and felt the pull to something bigger.  He decided to move to New York City with $300 to his name and started modeling to pay the bills.  He got a lot of pushback from the people in his life about the move but knew he had to take the leap. Despite many setbacks and almost running out of many several times, he kept his head down and stayed in the city, saying to himself "you cannot leave."His path only makes sense looking backward. He has had a wide range of jobs and gigs over the last ten years in New York and is now starting to see all the pieces come together into something that makes sense with who he is and what he has to offer to the world. We talk a lot about how he thinks about building relationships and connections and how some surprising relationships have come back around (including a job he was fired from!) to help him in his current entrepreneurial adventures.Find Tony Here =>

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In this short "reflection" episode, I check in on where my head is at one year into my freelance journey and share some of the opportunities I have had, how I have changed my mindset over the last year and how people have reacted to me carving a different path in the world. Some things mentioned in the show:Links:Awakening - Quitting The Default PathQuestioning Work

Luke grew up on a commune and then ended up as a co-founder and CEO of a startup that raised $87 million. He talks about his unique path and how that shaped his thoughts about building an organization. He raises the central tension of organizations in a free market economy - the fact that our corporations are run more like authoritarian states with centrally planned economies than free-markets. We talk about lessons he learned as he built his company and his perspective that he shares in his article: "Why People Hate Working For Big Companies" on Medium.Lukes long-term interests are software that helps people, making better founders, the intersection of organizations and economics, and improving inclusion in the information economy. You can find his work at http://lukekanies.com/.---------------------------------------------------------------------Podcast Information: #BoundlessPodBecome a Supporter Of The Podcast for $1 a month: Patreon

Candace was first inspired by her mother who always looked for solutions to problems rather than admitting defeat so always had an entrepreneurial spirit. She had also been practicing yoga for several years (also with her mother) before deciding to invest more time and signing up for a Yoga workshop in Thailand while recovering from a challenging case of lyme disease. This leap of faith led to her thinking about yoga more seriously and starting to experiment with different projects such as a DVD and online videos. Over the past few years, this has taken off and YogaByCandace has evolved into a community, a company with a team and has enabled her to teach workshops all over the world (including to 1,000+ people in the middle east), write a book called Namaslay and have a chance to personally impact many people. Check out this episode to hear lessons learned, challenges and her perspective on gratitude, setting intentions and generosity.Connect With Candace:Instagram: YogaByCandaceYoutube: YBC ChannelBuy The Bo

Stephen has been self-employed for more than 18 years. At first, it was by accident. He referred to himself as a “reluctant freelancer.” We talk about how that mindset evolved into one where he now sees self-employment as THE option for today’s world. He is the founder of Life Skills That Matter, a platform, and community to help people to build the real skills they need to build a life they are proud of.There are many future of work “thought leaders” but that title would sell Stephen too short. He has been in the weeds experimenting in his own life and has helped hundreds of people carve their own paths in the world that I would instead call him the wise elder statesman of the freelance economy. If you have ever thought about working for yourself, I recommend Stephen’s work over my own.Stephen puts the emerging trends bluntly: “The only work left is managing yourself. If your going to manage yourself, you mine as well work for yourself.”To get started, he pushes people to “work on creating…you’re not just go

Nita Baum is a rock star self-employed freelancer. She has been working on her own for over a decade and now splits her time across many domains, describing herself as an "entrepreneur, co-creator, facilitator, mentor-coach, and community-builder." A lot of her current work focuses on supporting and working with people who are carving their own paths as freelancers, which evolved from her helping hundreds of people informally over the year. In 2013, she turned this into a business, launching b*free in 2013 as a platform "by freelancers for freelancers" to help people with the transition to self-employment as the future of work evolves.One of her core beliefs is that you can "design the contribution you want to give from the inside out." We discuss this and more including her perspective coaching freelancers, working as an independent consultant, some of the blocks people face when taking a leap and much more about the evolving future of work.--------------------------------------------------------------------