#114—John Winsor: Unveiling the Potential of Open Talent

Apr 5, 2024

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John Winsor is a prominent figure in strategic marketing and product innovation, known for his deep understanding of future work trends and open talent strategies. His
expertise in collaboration, co-creation, and open innovation has made him a key
influencer in innovation, disruption, and storytelling. He founded and chairs Open
Assembly, an organization pioneering the adoption of open talent and freelancing.

At Harvard Business School's Laboratory for Innovation Science (LISH), as an
executive-in-residence, Winsor significantly promotes innovation. He co-authored the
national best-selling book Open Talent: Leveraging a Global Workforce to Solve Your
Biggest Challenges with Laboratory for Innovation Sciences at Harvard co-founders Jin Paik, published by Harvard Business Press in January 2024. Additionally, Winsor leads the Open Assembly Community, a global network of 4000 members focused on
transforming workplaces worldwide.

In this conversation, we dive deep into concepts from Open Talent: Leveraging a Global Workforce to Solve Your Biggest Challenges, John’s most recent co-authored and national best-selling book with Jin Paik, published by Harvard Business Press in January 2024.

We discuss the intricate layers of the modern workforce, including:

The rapid shift of the workforce culture, with the rise of micro-entrepreneurs and freelancers at the core, transforming industries
The democratization of talent through digital platforms that provides companies a more varied, diverse workforce while providing individuals more opportunities for work
A growing shift away from traditional roles and jobs, towards a focus on tasks and skills to achieve desired outcomes, with an emphasis on speed and momentum given today’s fast-paced momentum
How to break through the mental and organizational barriers that impede them from embracing new workforce paradigms to fully take advantage of the modern workforce reality

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Episode Timeline:

00:00—Highlight from today's episode
1:04—Introducing John Winsor + the topic of today’s episode
3:18—If you really know me, you know that...
4:24—What's your definition of strategy?
6:56—Using strategy to move things in your favor?
11:35—How Open Talent differs from gig work
15:44—Is the talent power shift permanent?
18:24— How is technology transforming talent acquisition?
21:52—Overcoming mental barriers to embrace Open Talent
26:14—The economic benefits of variable workforce costs
28:01—Why innovation is vital for survival
30:08—How can people follow you and continue learning from you?
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Additional Resources:
Personal site: https://johnwinsor.com
Book site: Open Talent: Leveraging a Global Workforce to Solve Your
Biggest Challenges
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johntwinsor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jtwinsor

Thank you to our guests, thank you to our executive producer, Karina Reyes, our editor, Zach Ness, and the rest of the team. If you like what you heard, please follow, download, and subscribe. I'm your host, Kaihan Krippendorff. Thank you for listening.

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