Humanity Working

Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees. You can learn more about them on LinkedIn or by visiting billionminds.com.

Changes are coming to Humanity Working. In this episode, Paul and Matt share what’s next: a new format designed for the way we all actually listen and learn. Every Tuesday, we will be dropping "Quick Fixes"—short, focused episodes that tackle one idea at a time, from mentoring and networking to resilience and adaptability.Continue to look out for interviews as bonus episodes from time to time, but Quick Fixes will keep you learning in a fast, practical, and built-for-real-life format.Five Key Learnings:So-called soft skills—adaptability, resilience, empathy, communication—are anything but soft; they’re the core of effective, modern work.People use many labels for them: human skills, durable skills, power skills—each reflecting their long-term value.These skills are hard to categorize because they cross boundaries between personality, behavior, and capability.Unlike technical skills, they aren’t learned once; they develop through reflection, feedback, and deliberate daily practice.Quick Fix will explore these skills in short, actionable episodes to make building them a daily habit.Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees. You can learn more about them on LinkedIn or by visiting billionminds.com.

Mentoring is everywhere—but not all of it works. In this episode, Paul and Matt separate hype from reality, covering what actually drives value for mentees, mentors, and organizations. They also place mentoring in a broader context.Five Key Learnings:Mentoring demand is surging, but impact varies widely.Programs often fizzle when urgent tasks crowd out the important.Mentees can accelerate value by finding fit, keeping momentum, and using the relationship.Great mentors balance challenge with support—and know when to open their networks.Mentoring works best alongside other elements, not as a stand-alone fix.Resources mentioned in this episode:Does Mentoring Still Work? - https://www.humanityworking.net/p/does-mentoring-still-work?r=ourxzHumanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees. You can learn more about them on LinkedIn or by visiting billionminds.com.

Networking doesn’t have to mean awkward small talk or transactional card-swapping. Paul and Matt reframe networking as relationship-first, exploring how to create authentic connections, design better event formats, and balance depth with breadth in your network.Five Key Learnings:Intentional, authentic connections beat performative mingling.Even 30 minutes at an event can yield real relationships with the right design.Depth builds fastest through shared tasks, co-creation, or thoughtful questions.Formats like curated groups or co-making sessions outperform open-ended mixers.The best networks balance a few deep ties with many light ones—expansive, not transactional.Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees. You can learn more about them on LinkedIn or by visiting billionminds.com.

Go Slow to Go FastWe live in a culture that prizes speed—but sometimes moving slower is what actually accelerates results. In this episode, Paul and Matt explore when deliberate pauses pay off, how to test “slow-downs” safely, and how leaders can set the right cadence without losing urgency when it matters most.Five Key Learnings:Slowing down can reduce rework, surface hidden costs, and sharpen decisions.Smart slow-downs (like reflection or structured breaks) often boost creativity and clarity.Speed frequently degrades our decision making and causes us to miss opportunities to build on others workTeams can run tiny experiments—like slowing a sprint kickoff—to test the benefits.Mature leaders can help team members see how to balance slowing down and speeding upResources mentioned in this episode:Slow Down to Speed Up Newsletter - https://www.humanityworking.net/p/slow-down-to-speed-up?r=ourxz&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseHumanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees. You can learn more about them on LinkedIn or by visiting billionminds.com.

In this episode, Paul and Matt dig into the history—and the myths—around the Eisenhower Matrix. Was it really invented by Eisenhower? Did he even talk about this stuff? And how can a tool this simple be both game-changing and misleading at the same time? They explore how to apply it without over-engineering, how to spot when your team is maturing from reactive to proactive, and why “schedule” is the most powerful word in the framework.Five Key Learnings:Eisenhower never drew the Matrix—Stephen Covey popularized it in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.The four quadrants (Do, Schedule, Delegate, Delete) are helpful, but taken too literally, they can cause confusion.The most valuable shift is from treating tasks as a list to treating them as priorities.Teams mature when urgent/important work shrinks over time—fires are preventable.“Schedule” is the magic quadrant: if it’s truly important, it must be time-blocked to actually happen.Resources mentioned in this episode:Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_7_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_PeoplePaul’s article describing the Eisenhower Matrix  - https://www.humanityworking.net/p/slow-down-to-speed-up?utm_source=publication-searchHumanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees. You can learn more about them on LinkedIn or by visiting billionminds.com.

Heavy ChatGPT use may help short-term tasks—but it can quietly weaken your brain. In this episode, Paul and Matt unpack a new MIT Media Lab study and explain how durable skills act like muscles: neglect them, and they atrophy. They close with a blueprint to keep yours sharp with a few minutes a day. Five Key Learnings: MIT study found weaker brain activity and “cognitive debt” after ChatGPT use. Overreliance on AI dulls critical thinking and originality. Durable skills—like communication and problem-solving—need reps. Daily practice (even 5–10 mins) keeps skills from rusting. T-shaped careers rely on both depth and breadth—neglecting either costs you.Resources mentioned in this episode: MIT Media Lab / Tech & Learning article on “Your Brain on ChatGPT”Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees. You can learn more about them on LinkedIn or by visiting billionminds.com.

If health underpins great work, why do so many workplaces treat it like a perk? In this episode, Paul and Matt examine the gap between surface-level wellness offerings and real employee needs—then share how to shift toward readiness and resilience without overhauling everything. Five Key Learnings: Lived experience (burnout, caregiving, fatigue) doesn’t match company messaging. Health is still treated as “individual responsibility,” not a team design issue. Small moves like RMS (Rest, Movement, Socializing) beat flashy programs. Teams can change norms—leaders just have to start modeling them. Expect the shift: from “treat it when it breaks” to “design for health.” Resources mentioned in this episode: Billion Minds Readiness ModelRMS Stack (Rest, Movement, Socializing)Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees. You can learn more about them on LinkedIn or by visiting billionminds.com.

The highly political nature of the new South Park series has been making all the headlines, but it also has something else squarely in it’s sights - Generative AI. This week, Paul and Matt discuss a theme from a recent episode, the sycophantic nature of ChatGPT, and what that might be doing to our productivity…and our brains.Resources mentioned in this episode: Sickofancy South Park Episode Description: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickofancy#Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees. You can learn more about them on LinkedIn or by visiting billionminds.com.

The word “wellbeing” might be fading at work—but not because people are thriving. In this episode, Paul and Matt dig into why the concept is being tuned out (especially by men), and how reframing it as “readiness” helps reclaim its importance without turning it into a lifestyle brand. Five Key Learnings: Wellbeing language can alienate—especially in high-pressure cultures. Framing it as “readiness” keeps the focus on performance, not perfection. 80-hour weeks don’t build grit—they drain capability and retention. You don’t need a full wellness protocol—just start with simple, proven habits. Readiness isn’t soft—it’s sustainable execution. Humanity Working is brought to you by BillionMinds - the company that makes employees ready for the Future of Work.BillionMinds helps companies be ready for the future of work by developing adaptable, resilient employees. You can learn more about them on LinkedIn or by visiting billionminds.com.