Dan Helfrich is the Chairman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting, where he has worked for over 20 years. Although he had always wanted to be a sportscaster, once he graduated from Georgetown University, he had a choice between broadcasting and consulting and he ended up choosing consulting. And that choice has led him to where he is now, which is leading a team of 56,000 people. 

Dan is very passionate about diversity and inclusion, which seems to be at the center of a lot of conversations today inside of organizations. Dan says, “I actually think some are talking about it as a theme, and I think that's wrong. Diversity and inclusion is an imperative, not a management fad, and not something to pay lip service to. And what we're doing is, we are putting diversity and inclusion, and I view those as related concepts, but that have distinct elements to them. We're putting that at the center of everything we do, we're striving for increasing the representation of our teams on a ton of dimensions, in terms of gender, and in terms of race, and in terms of sexual orientation, and in terms of veterans, and in terms of parents.”

So how does he make sure that diversity and inclusion is part of the DNA of an organization with a team of 56,000 people? First of all, Deloitte puts all of their leaders through unconcious bias training. Also, at the end of every meeting Dan personally asks two questions to the group--how can this team be more diverse and how can this team be more inclusive? 

As Dan shares, “No team is ever diverse enough, and no environment is ever inclusive enough. And so, opening the conversation to that set of topics unleashes a whole lot of great thinking and a whole lot of dialogue that creates comfort level in an organization about talking about things like race, and talking about things like different ages in the workplace, and what that means, and what the implications are. And that, I have found to be incredibly powerful.”

His suggestion to leaders or even individuals inside of organizations is to ask questions and be curious. He says we need to be vulnerable and we should always seek to improve ourselves and our cultural awareness. 

As a CEO Dan sees himself as a “captain”. He says, “I've played competitive sports my whole life, and there's many different ways that I see people showing up as the chief executive of an organization. The way I view it is, I've been bestowed a responsibility by a group of peers. And the best captains aren't necessarily the best players. They have leadership characteristics to coalesce and make the team perform at an optimal way, but there are superstars on my team that are way better than me at a bunch of different... A bunch of different dimensions of being a consultant. And I show up as a captain, knowing that I get the privilege to lead a group of peers, but I never forget that I'm serving that group of peers, and that's how I think of the role.”

What you will learn: 

• How Dan leads a team of 56,000
• How to candidly talk about diversity and inclusion inside your organization
• What makes a great leader
• How Dan makes tough choices
• Examples of how Dan has used empathy in his career
• How Dan fosters an environment of inclusion with the large number of individuals on his team

What does a typical day look like for you? 

It’s a question I’ve asked of hundreds of CEOs and top business leaders around the world. They almost always tell me the same thing: they don’t have a typical day. Every day is full of different activities and meetings. If you want to follow in the footsteps of some of the most successful business leaders, avoid having a typical day. These people still have habits and commonalities throughout their days, but they avoid falling into the routine of doing the same mundane things every day. Avoiding a typical day can make you more creative and energized, which is good for your sanity and the success of your business.

So how do you avoid having a typical day? Here are five tips:

1. Get out of the office. It’s easy to fall into the same routine when you’re in the same place all day, every day. Get out of the office and take your work on the road. Work from home or a coffee shop or even a communal workspace in your building. Visit customers and distributors. Take your team for an off-site meeting. Changing your scenery can change your mood and outlook.  
2. Find a hobby. Try to find time every day to pursue a hobby. Having something to look forward to after work can motivate you to try something different at work. The hobby can be anything from cooking to exercising to basket weaving. Hobbies break up the monotonous schedule and get your creative juices flowing.  
3. Avoid screens. One of the quickest ways to get sucked into a mundane routine is to spend all day looking at a screen. In our connected world, it may seem impossible to put your phone, tablet, and computer away, but it can be a good exercise in creative thinking that pushes you outside your regular day. Give your mind a break and spend screen-free time talking with people in person and seeing other parts of the business. 
4. Talk to new people. Open your mind to new ideas and people. Invite a new co-worker out for coffee or just swing by the desk of someone you usually only communicate with via email. Face-to-face communication builds relationships and expands your network beyond just the people you see every day. 
5. Change your schedule. Try mixing up your day by changing your schedule. Even small changes, like waking up 15 minutes earlier to run or read before work, can be a nudge to get out of your routine. If you normally do something after work, try doing it before work. Change your weekly meeting time, stay up late, or take a longer lunch break. These small changes can propel your day to something new.

Avoiding a typical day can get you out of a rut and help you be more connected and creative. These five simple steps can move your typical day to an unexpected and unique, atypical day.

Barri Rafferty is the President and CEO of Ketchum, a leading global public relations firm serving clients in over 70 countries. Ketchum has been named PR Agency of the Year and the winner of an unprecedented three consecutive Campaign of the Year Awards. 

She became the first female CEO of a top-five global public relations firm at the beginning of 2018. In total, she has worked for Ketchum for 24 years. When asked what her leadership style is, Barri says, “My goal is to bring out the best in the people that work for me. So I feel like as a leader, I'm very much of a coach. I go... I move really fast, so I have to trust the people around me. And I really encourage us to all collaborate and work together. We have a lot of debate on... Any leadership team I ever have, I always think if people aren't debating and pushing back on me and there's not a few raised voices, or curse words every now and then, that it's probably not a good thing, right? We've gotta get in it, but we lock arms when we get out. And I also think I am a very nurturing leader too in a lot of ways. I still write birthday and anniversary cards, do personal gifts for the holidays”

As a leader Barri believes that communication is crucial. Having open, honest communication between employees and leaders really makes a difference in the culture of an organization. One of the ways she listens to her employees is through Glint Pulse surveys that take place three times per year at Ketchum. These surveys allow her to see what issues matter to employees and one issue they are focusing on currently is workplace flexibility.

In order to fully embrace this flexibility Barri understands it is important to make employees know it is available and allow them to take advantage of it without feeling bad about it. They have implemented flex February where everyone shares pictures of where they are working remotely on the company’s social media. They also believe in “Leaving Loudly” which means that instead of trying to sneak out or be quiet about leaving early due to a doctor’s appointment, child’s recital, family event, etc...you should tell people and feel good about it. 

Diversity and inclusion is also very important to Barri and her team at Ketchum, especially as they are helping organizations create a message and reach potential clients. So they are working hard to make sure they have diversity in age, race, gender, location, political views, backgrounds, etc…

When asked to give advice to anyone looking to be a better leader, Barri says, “I would say build a style that's authentic to you, right? I think if you have to put on one persona at home, and one persona at work, it's hard to be an authentic leader. So if you can build it from your personality, some of us are introverts, some of us are more introverts some are more expressive, some are more amiable, right, you have to start with that foundation and then build around it the leadership skills, but if you can show up at work as a leader true to your core, I think you're gonna be a better leader, no matter what.”

What you will learn:

• How to build confidence as a leader
• How Barri keeps up with the fast pace of change
• A look at how the company fully embraces workplace flexibility
• How Ketchum is removing bias from the hiring process
• How Barri describes her leadership style
• A look at how Ketchum upskills and trains employees

Employee experience is the next big battleground for organizations. It’s crucial for building a place where people want to come to work because they are engaged and satisfied, not just because they have to be there. Many people think that employee experience is determined by executives, but in reality, it is something employees at all levels can control and shape.

A few decades ago, employees didn’t have any power. If they were frustrated with something at work, their only choice was to go home and complain to family and friends because they could make any real changes. But today’s world is different, and employees now have the power to shape their own work experiences. It doesn’t matter if you’re an entry level employee, mid-level manager, or executive. Here are five things you can do to shape your employee experience:

• Talk to your manager. Have open and honest conversations with your manager about what you like about your experience and what you want to change. Don’t just complain; come with a solution. If you want to have more regular performance reviews, come prepared with a schedule and set time for regular feedback.
• Let your voice be heard. Speak up at work to make real change. Many organizations send out employee surveys to measure engagement and get suggestions. Respond to those surveys with thoughtful comments and share your ideas at focus groups and town hall meetings.

• Volunteer. Get involved in your company by joining employee feedback groups or beta testing groups. Put yourself in a position to learn more about the company and share your ideas with the change-makers. 

• Use social media. Social media has given employees more power than ever before. Websites like Glassdoor allow employees to leave reviews and comments about their companies, and many organizations pay attention to what employees are saying. Use social media to share your experience and include suggestions for improvement. 

• Rally co-workers. If you want to see a change in your experience, chances are your co-workers do as well. If you have a great idea, run it by your co-workers and see who you can get on board. Your voice is more powerful with more people behind it, so use your collaborative thinking to gain traction for change.

Don’t just complain about what you want to change at work; take the steps to make real change. Employee experience isn’t about the organization designing an experience for you, it’s about you designing an experience with your organization. 

Martin Boehm is the Dean of IE Business School, one of the world’s leading higher education institutions. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but most of their programs consist of 80-90% international students. 

The business school was ranked the 3rd European Business School by Financial Times, 1st Worldwide Distance Online MBA by QS, 1st Business School in Europe and 3rd in the world by The Aspen Institute, and 3rd Non-US MBA Business School by Forbes, just to name a few of their awards. 

Education hasn’t changed much over the past 100+ years and it is becoming more apparent that we are in desperate need of change in this area. With all of the technological advances, the evolving workforce, and an incredibly face pace of change in the world today we have to update our way of educating to allow students to prepare for the future of work. And that is just what Martin and his team at IE Business School are doing. 

One thing that has to change is we have to move from simply imparting knowledge and facts to students to helping students develop skills. In order for students to be prepared for the future they need to have skills like learning agility, curiosity, collaboration, problem solving, etc...So that instead of focusing in on one certain career path they have a wide set of skills that allow them to continually adapt and reinvent themselves when needed.

We are no longer living in a world where a person can study a specific field in college, graduate with a degree, and then work for the same company for 25, 30, or 40 years. With AI, automation, and new job creation individuals need to have a different set of skills and mindsets while in school as well as after graduation. 

As Martin shares, “I think we have to reinvent ourselves or we're going to have to reinvent ourselves over our career multiple times. Maybe you might've heard people talk about the so-called T model, right? Where they actually say, well, education is about having a broad foundation.  I mean some basic skills and then the T is essentially about, I have to specialize and become an expert in something. Right? And that's going to serve me for the rest of my life over the next 30-40 years. I'm going to, that's what I'm going to be doing. I think what we're going to have to do is we're going to have to evolve from this T model to more of an M model or W model, which means, I mean there's going to be multiple times and throughout your lifetime, throughout your career where you might have to reinvent yourself and specialize in something.”

So who is responsible for keeping individuals consistently learning and upskilling? Martin says that learning does take some “intrinsic motivation” on the part of the individual. We as individuals need to do our part to find ways to learn new skills. We cannot leave this up to universities and organizations. 

But organizations do not get a free pass either. Martin says, “For instance, if I as a CEO, if I as an organization understand that my company is going or my industry for the matter of fact is undergoing a fundamental transformation that is going to leave many of my employees and their skills as obsolete. I think I have an obligation. I think I have a responsibility as well to push them, to help them to actually transform in line with the industry in order to be able to acquire these skills in order to remain and stay relevant.”

What you will learn:

• What is the IE Business School 
• How education is changing and why it is critical that it changes now
• How types of degrees could change in the future
• How the IE Business School is experimenting with education technology
• Martin’s advice on what to major in or what degree to focus on
• Steps we can take to become lifelong learners
• What today’s organizations are looking for when recruiting new graduates

Believe it or not, there’s more to life than work. When we’re stuck in the repetitive day-to-day where the majority of our time is spent at work, that can be hard to believe. Many people struggle with separating themselves from work and focusing on other things. But the truth is that we don’t live to work; we work so we can live.

Everyone is unique, but everyone has more in their lives than just work. How do you discover your life outside of work? Try these five tips:

1. Set boundaries. Work tends to expand to fit whatever time we have to get it done. Without limits, you may let yourself work all the time and feel like you have enough work that it needs to take all that time. If you set boundaries and decide you’ll leave the office or be done with work at a certain time every day, you’ll have more time for other activities and will likely find you can still get your work done in less time.
2. Build relationships. For many people, one of the biggest parts of their life outside of work is relationships with other people, such as a spouse, kids, friends, or a significant other. Relationships of any kind encourage you to get out of the work mindset and enjoy time with other people. It could be meeting up with friends or making it to your kid’s soccer game. Building those relationships will motivate you to get out of the office. 
3. Find your passion. A hobby is a great way to decompress after work and fill your life with a meaningful pursuit. Hobbies come in all forms, from exercising or baking to reading or knitting. Try something new and step out of your comfort zone. If you’re stuck without a hobby, think about where your thoughts go when you let them wander or the type of websites or magazines you peruse when you have a little free time. 
4. Help others. Philanthropy and charity work is a great way to fill time. There are always ways we can help others in our communities and around the world. Volunteering and getting involved in charity work can provide a sense of purpose that acts as a motivator to step away from work. 
5. Set goals. Where do you want to be in 5 or 10 years? Consider your whole being, not just where you’ll be in your career. Then set goals to get there. It could be learning a new skill, traveling somewhere new, or pushing your body with a new activity. Goals are powerful motivation tools to keep your progress on track.

Even though work is a big part of our lives, ultimately, we’re working so we can live happier, more engaged lives. We’re not working so we can just work more. Find those relationships and activities outside of work to turn you into a balanced and happy person—both at work and at home. 

Nir Eyal is the bestselling author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products (2014) and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life (2019). He started and sold two tech companies and he has taught at Stanford Graduate School of Business and Design. He has been studying and writing about behavior design and habit formation for many years and he became fascinated with how technology persuades people to do things they normally wouldn’t do. This is ultimately what led him to write his bestselling booked Hooked. 

Nir’s newest book came about as a result of his search for a solution to a problem he had with staying focused and getting things done. Nir says, “Hooked is about building good habits, Indistractable is about how do we break bad habits.”

Being distracted is not a new problem. These days we tend to place the blame on technology, social media, smartphones, etc… But as Nir points out, “People have always been finding ways to escape boredom. So it's not a new [being distracted]... I don't think that it's necessarily a technology problem. I think that what's changed is that if you are looking to escape, it's easier than ever, that you can find that escape because it's just sitting here in our pocket.”

Since the beginning of time people have been distracted by the news, by gossip, sports, movies and so on. Technology is something to turn to when we want to be distracted, but it is not the cause of our problem. 

For example, during Nir’s 5 years of research for the book he found that one of the root causes for distraction in the workplace is a toxic corporate culture. When people are unhappy at work, when they feel like they have no say, when they feel like the work they do is meaningless they turn to distractions, and a lot of times they not only distract themselves, but they distract everyone around them. 

Nir says that there are three attributes of companies who have an indistractable workplace culture. They are:

• They give people psychological safety
• They give employees a forum to talk about problems and issues
• The management exemplifies what it means to be indistractable

“When people do work in these type of toxic work environments with high expectations and low controls, the reason they get more distracted and get less done is because of that workplace culture that, in fact, by giving people agency and control over their time, ironically, they become way more productive because what are we doing, we're increasing their agency, that characteristic that's missing, the low control. Now we have high expectation with high control. That's a great work environment...The first step is to lead by example, follow the tactics in the book. There's hundreds of things that you can do, one at a time, you don't have to do everything all at once, but one at a time, you can start instituting these practices to become indistractable yourself to lead by example.”

What you will learn:

• A look at the root cause of distraction in the workplace (hint: it’s not technology)
• The three qualities of a company that has an indistractable workplace culture
• How to balance important things and urgent things
• Four steps to becoming indistractable
• Why Nir hates to-do lists
• Nir’s simple advice for leaders
• How to overcome distractions in the workplace

When was the last time you were noticed at work? Did you get recognized at a meeting or even just receive a compliment from a boss or colleague for a job well done? It can be difficult to get noticed at work, especially in large organizations. With lots of moving parts and ongoing projects, it takes effort to stand out and be recognized. It also comes with risks. There’s always the possibility that a big step to get recognized could backfire or a project could end up not being as successful as anticipated. But those risks are worth taking because being noticed is crucial for your career.

People who get noticed will grow and thrive in the future of work. They’re the people managers turn to when a new opportunity arises and they have a chance to grow and develop. Of course, it’s important to do good work simply to be a good employee, but it also helps to get extra recognition.

How do you get noticed at work? Make yourself visible and stand out. Here are three tips to getting noticed for the right reasons:

• Get talking

Don’t be afraid to speak up. You’re never going to get noticed if you sit in the back and don’t make your voice heard. Ask questions in meetings, start discussions, and ask for feedback. Share ideas on the organization’s internal collaboration system and join existing conversations. Give feedback and compliments to your co-workers, especially after big meetings or deadlines. 

• Volunteer

Nearly every company has some sort of employee group or needs beta testers. Be the first to volunteer, even if the job doesn’t seem glamorous. The jobs no one wants can be the most beneficial because it shows you aren’t above helping. Volunteering introduces you to new people and helps you look like a team player. 

• Take on new projects 

Don’t be scared to take on projects outside your comfort zone. Try to say yes more than you say no. When a new opportunity comes along, take it and hit the ground running. Your enthusiasm and boldness won’t go unnoticed. Pitching your own projects can even take it one step further. 

Getting noticed at work helps build your personal brand. It creates and adds to your professional identity, which will be essential in the future. It takes a strong brand to have a future-proof career. Putting in the effort to step outside your comfort zone and get noticed at work can pay off with great opportunities, a larger network, and better prospects in the unknown future of work. 

Diane Hoskins is the co-CEO at Gensler, the largest global design and architecture firm with over 6,000 professionals across 50 offices. You may have seen some of the structures they have worked on, including the Shanghai Tower, the Facebook Headquarters in Menlo Park, the Microsoft headquarters in Ireland, the Ford Foundation Center in New York, and countless others all over the world.

When speaking about the work that Gensler does, Diane says, “We bring insight-driven and research-driven design solutions to some of the most challenging and most amazing opportunities out there, all around the world. Working with leading companies in the tech industry and governments, and law firms, and organizations all over the world and also projects like airports, and sports stadiums and hospitality and even health and wellness. And really bringing a full 360 understanding of really the transformation of live, work, and play. And our deep research is helping us to bring insight into the design solutions that we offer with a goal of, at the center, really at the center of all of our work is the human experience.”

Traditionally we have thought of workspaces as a place where people just show up to work, but it is really so much more than that now. It’s no longer just a space where we go from 9 to 5, because of the integration of work and life that is happening. As Diane shares the workspace is what allows people to connect, collaborate, share, innovate, and make a difference. A workspace should reflect the culture, the mission, and the purpose of the organization. This is a major shift that is taking place in workspace design.

The old debate between open and closed spaces in the workplace is quickly becoming something of the past. It is becoming more apparent that it is a diverse work environment that is what makes the most sense. It’s important to have a mixture of open spaces that encourage collaboration and interactions as well as some closed spaces for phone calls, meetings, and individual work.

Gensler is utilizing a lot of new technologies to help design workspaces that make sense for the needs of their individual clients. The ability to use data sensors, wearables, and algorithms in the design process is something that couldn’t have been done years ago and it is impacting the future of workspace design.

So with all of these updates and changes, how do you keep your workplace relevant for years to come? Diane says, “There used to be a lot more specific design around the process, almost this idea of taking apart the process and then overlaying that on the floor plan and designing each department in its own way, and really looking at the actual work activity. And with the rate of change of what people do, and how companies are transforming, to your point, you basically can design something that will be obsolete you in a year, six months, or two years. And so the the understanding of what work is and how people work, is less about the process, which is probably a little bit more of a factory mindset, and more about, as we were talking earlier, it's about really supporting individual work, group work, and the organization itself. And ultimately then, there's total flexibility to be able to then support any work process, any new type of offering that that organization is going to bring to the markets, new kinds of people they may be bringing in, different generations and so on and so on.”

What you will learn:

• A look at the new role workspaces play
• How real estate impacts climate change and how Gensler is addressing the problem
• What role technology plays in workspace design
• What it’s like to work at Gensler
• How to keep your organization’s workspace relevant for years to come
• A look at the future of workspace design