Bo Bergstrom 🌎

Game Plan Tech

Driving Innovation
I specialize in driving the successful implementation and integration of cutting-edge artificial intelligence solutions to fuel business growth and innovation. At Game Plan Tech I work at the intersection of strategy, technology, and collaboration, ensuring AI technologies deliver measurable impact for large institutions such as government. If this sounds like something your organization could use, then feel free to reach out.

Key Areas of Focus:
	•	AI Strategy & Deployment: Crafting and executing strategies for integrating artificial intelligence solutions that align with organizational goals, optimize processes, and deliver measurable ROI.
	•	Cross-Functional Leadership: Partnering with stakeholders across all levels to ensure seamless integration of AI technologies into existing systems while fostering innovation and collaboration.
	•	Business Growth through Innovation: Identifying opportunities to leverage AI that solve complex business challenges, drive new efficiency, create new revenue streams, enhance customer experiences, and drive meaningful impact.

Why I’m Passionate About This Role:
The potential of AI to transform industries is already massive and the technology is moving fast.  I thrive on turning that potential into actionable solutions. As an entrepreneur I gained firsthand experience with the challenges leaders face when integrating emerging technologies into their operations. Using that experience in combination with the team’s expertise in AI technologies, I aim to create meaningful change that drives innovation where it’s needed most - in large organizations.

Even more important than the technology is the team of people deploying and supporting it.  Game Plan Tech is a mission-driven consulting and services firm with expertise helping government teams access the technologies that drive innovation. We’re committed to creating impactful solutions that push the boundaries of what’s possible.  In short, it’s a great team.

AI Deployment Strategist

Grenadier Consulting

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing industries, and Grenadier is at the forefront of this transformation. Our team of experienced AI consultants combines deep technical knowledge with a keen understanding of business strategy to deliver tailored solutions that drive innovation and growth.

Our Services:

AI Strategy and Roadmap: We help clients develop a comprehensive AI strategy aligned with their business goals. We identify key use cases, evaluate investments, and create a roadmap for implementation.

AI Product Development: We assist clients in conceiving, developing, and launching AI-powered products and services. From ideation to market launch, we provide end-to-end support for successful outcomes.

AI Integration and Implementation: We guide clients in seamlessly integrating AI technologies into their existing systems and processes, ensuring maximum value from their AI investments.

Principal

Protocol Labs

At Protocol Labs, I had the unique opportunity to serve as an Entrepreneur in Residence, where I led the creation of Mosaia, a platform transforming enterprise services through AI and Web3 technologies. My role was to identify challenges in the digital business landscape and develop innovative solutions, aligning with Protocol Labs’ mission to enhance human existence through technology.

Mosaia: Redefining Enterprise Services
Mosaia was created to streamline enterprise service procurement, historically a complex and time-consuming process. By leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs), Mosaia simplifies and automates the process, building decentralized micro-marketplaces that connect Web3 builders with verified service providers, all within a trusted environment.

Key Achievements:

	•	AI-Powered Marketplace: Developed Mosaia’s AI-driven platform, enhancing connections between service providers and Web3 innovators.
	•	Decentralized Trust: Created a marketplace emphasizing trust and efficiency.
	•	Mosaia AI Assistant: Introduced an AI tool for streamlined project management, from briefs to vendor selection.

Advancing Decentralized Marketplaces at Protocol Labs
In addition to Mosaia, I contributed to Protocol Labs’ Web3 marketplace initiative. This platform empowers users with control over their data and interactions, fostering a decentralized ecosystem where builders, innovators, and service providers thrive.

Key Contributions:

	•	User-Centric Ownership: Designed a platform ensuring user ownership and control.
	•	Bilateral Reputation System: Architected a review system promoting accountability for both service seekers and providers.
	•	Data Portability: Enabled users to control their data, ensuring flexibility within the platform.

At Protocol Labs, I focused on creating innovative solutions that intersect AI and Web3, paving the way for a future where enterprise service procurement is efficient, trustworthy, and decentralized.

Entrepreneur in Residence / Marketplace Startup Operator

Bo Insights

Helping companies launch and grow new software products by consulting on go to market strategy (GTM), product-market fit (PMF), post-sale software implementation, and user adoption.

Healthtech Startup | 2021 – 2022
I led research, ideation, user interviews, website design, contracting, and onboarding for the creation of a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). Due to the non-technical nature of the user base I abstracted away the complexity to convey the importance of incentive alignment in an effort to disrupt and democratize behavioral healthcare services. This successfully drove community engagement and resulted in over 200 member applications in the first 30 days of soft-launch with no budget.

Freelance Consultant

Internal Revenue Service

I managed a portfolio of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products that were integral to a large-scale digital transformation program to enhance the taxpayer experience. My responsibilities included overseeing new implementations, ensuring that each deployment was on time, within scope, and fully aligned with the business objectives outlined in the project charter.

As a trusted advisor to the Wage and Investment division, which consists of over 37,000 employees, I was deeply involved in executive stakeholder management, developing detailed project plans, scheduling and coordinating multiple workstreams, tracking milestones, and providing status reports to senior leadership. My role required leading complex, multi-disciplinary projects that involved assessing organizational readiness, creating efficient workflows, and drafting solution design documents that clearly defined the project scope and goals.

One of the most significant projects under my leadership was the congressionally mandated launch of the Central Authorization File (CAF) cloud transformation. This project was a high-stakes initiative that went live in under three months, ultimately resulting in 500,000 submissions within the first year. Building on this success, I then led the expansion of the CAF system from 3 to 10 campuses nationwide, greatly enhancing its reach and operational effectiveness.

Another critical assignment involved taking over the Error Resolution System (ERS) installation, which had fallen three months behind schedule. Through proactive stakeholder engagement, identifying key decision-makers, and removing project blockers, I was able to establish a new schedule that brought the project back on track.

These experiences provided a deep understanding of senior stakeholder management, large-scale software implementations, chatbot design, cloud computing, and the broader challenges associated with digital transformation at a massive scale within a highly regulated environment.

Product Implementation Manager

Humanly

Mental health and wellness startup offering real estate as a service.

I spearheaded a dramatic turnaround for the company, moving it from the brink of insolvency and missed payroll to the verge of profitability within just 18 months. This transformation was achieved through a combination of strategic leadership, rigorous operational improvements, and a relentless focus on growth and efficiency.

One of my key initiatives was overseeing all aspects of employee and contractor hiring, personally scaling the organization’s headcount from a lean team of 2 to a robust and dynamic workforce of 19. This expansion was critical to supporting our growing customer base and ensuring the quality and consistency of our services across all locations.

During this period, we placed a strong emphasis on optimizing our existing locations, standardizing procedures, and refining our opening processes, which resulted in a 10x increase in top-line revenue. Our focus on improving the customer experience was paramount; we developed an automated marketing funnel that not only enhanced customer satisfaction but also created a powerful, scalable word-of-mouth sales engine. This strategy led to a remarkable 400% growth in sold but unopened locations, setting the stage for continued expansion.

All of this progress occurred in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, which presented significant challenges to our business model. Despite these hurdles, we successfully renegotiated vendor contracts to reduce costs, raised a crucial bridge round to maintain liquidity, and continued closing new sales, even in a climate of economic uncertainty. Fundraising during this period required proactive and transparent communication with investors, as well as the ability to make difficult, yet necessary, decisions to steer the company through turbulent times. Our ability to adapt, innovate, and persevere during these challenges laid the foundation for sustained success and positioned the company for future growth.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

SonderMind

SonderMind: Transforming Mental Healthcare Through a Digital Marketplace

In the competitive healthtech arena, SonderMind emerged as a trailblazer, reshaping mental healthcare from the heart of the Greater Denver Area. Our goal? Address the systemic inefficiencies that plague mental health services.

Revolutionizing Mental Healthcare Delivery
SonderMind's vision was clear: leverage the marketplace startup model to connect therapists and patients seamlessly. By building a two-sided marketplace, we aimed to break down traditional barriers, making mental healthcare access as streamlined as e-commerce.

The Growth Trajectory
From its inception, I was entrusted with guiding SonderMind from a nascent idea to a robust platform boasting a 5 MM run rate. Our growth strategy was multifaceted: meticulous product development, an agile operational roadmap, and fostering collaboration across diverse internal teams.

Operational Mastery in Healthtech
As SonderMind's footprint expanded, my focus shifted towards operational nuances. This involved spearheading key processes, cultivating teams, and mentoring leads. From product innovation to customer support and billing (Revenue Cycle Management or RCM), we grew exponentially. Our dedicated teams, totaling over 25 professionals, served a community of 500+ therapists and catered to the diverse needs of 20,000 clients.

Guided by Data and Goals
In the fast-paced world of marketplace startups, metrics are pivotal. Through rigorous OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), we ensured each team was goal-oriented and adaptive, enabling SonderMind to stay at the forefront of mental healthcare innovation.

SonderMind's Legacy
Marrying healthtech innovation with the crucial domain of mental healthcare, SonderMind stands as a testament to what's achievable when technology meets compassion.

Head of Product and Operations to Chief Experience Officer (CXO)

Uvize

A SaaS Startup's Evolution: From Innovation to Enterprise Success

SaaS startups often lie at the intersection of innovation and enterprise demand. Backed by renowned investors like Techstars and the Foundry Group Angel Syndicate, our company embarked on a journey to carve out a unique space in this competitive sector.

Guiding a Diverse Team
At our core was a team of engineers, designers, SDRs, and account executives. As the lead for sales operations, product, and support, I wore multiple hats, ensuring that our software solution resonated with clients while also overseeing the team's daily operations.

Meeting Real-World Scalability
Our engagement with over 30 universities, notably a 10K student SUNY campus, showcased our platform's adaptability. These implementations were more than just software rollouts; they required understanding each institution's specific needs and ensuring our solutions aligned.

Refining Sales and Market Strategy
Enterprise sales in the SaaS realm go beyond pitching software features. Our Go-to-Market strategies were tailored to address institutional needs, ensuring our pitches and demos resonated. Furthermore, pinpointing the right product-market-fit was crucial. My role often involved delving into various business areas, leading to strategic shifts in our target market and pricing, which subsequently fueled our year-over-year revenue growth.

Valuable Experience
Our startup's growth journey underscores the importance of agility in the SaaS sector. For SaaS companies looking to succeed, it's vital to balance software innovation with strategic market positioning while also realizing that early-stage SaaS sales is one of the truest implementations of Boyd’s OODA loop.  The goal is to iterate as fast as possible to find product-market-fit in a vertical you can scale into.  That is no small task, especially while fighting against very limited runway.

VP of Product and Operations

Northwood Investment Partners LLC

Regional sales representative for a registered investment advisor managing accounts with a value oriented strategy.  We use our financial and operational expertise to identify undervalued companies and special situations to invest in utilizing equities, options and above average cash balances in a concentrated portfolio that offers an asymmetric risk/reward profile.

I developed marketing strategy, sales operations and branding/messaging.

Regional Associate

Occipital

Pioneering the Future of Computer Vision: A Business Development Odyssey

In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology startups, it's the blend of cutting-edge innovation and astute business acumen that sets industry leaders apart. Our venture, backed by the formidable Foundry Group during its Series A funding round, is an embodiment of this synergy. Positioned at the vanguard of computer vision, our company sought to bridge the realms of mobile software and hardware, crafting products that would redefine user interactions in the digital age.

The 0 to 1 Leap
Rooted in extensive market research, our vision materialized into a tangible physical product, evidenced by our successful Kickstarter campaign that garnered $1.3 MM in a month. This wasn't just about a product but a testament to a well-executed business development strategy that resonated with our target audience.  Credit to Adam for his media connections and Jeff for extremely high production standards.

Operational Excellence & Team Growth
Transitioning from Series A to Series B brought operational challenges and opportunities. As our revenue surged 10x and the team expanded 4x, a meticulous hiring process was crucial. Every interview was an exercise in ensuring a match with our startup culture, emphasizing adaptability and passion for computer vision.

Streamlining Hardware Operations
Our journey also involved mastering the supply chain and distribution logistics for our B2C hardware offering. This operational challenge meant optimizing everything from production lines to support systems, ensuring our product reached users seamlessly.

Forging Sales Pathways
Despite being a newcomer without strong brand recognition, our strategic approach to channel partner sales paid off, yielding contracts exceeding $5 MM. This was my primary focus and showed the undeniable innovation and value our product brought to the table.

Director Of Business Operations

I help companies identify, launch, and scale new products.  While the technology itself plays a big role in any new product, I focus on the human factors as much as the technology.

In my previous and current roles, I've taken products and even whole companies from nothing to 2 to 5 million in ARR four separate times now.  In some ways I guess you could say my specialty is 0 to 1, go to market (GTM), greenfield opportunities, or new ventures.  Whether it's an early-stage company that needs that kind of growth, a later stage company looking to launch new products, or an incubator/studio, then I am interested in having a conversation.  

I love quotes - in case you haven't noticed - and equate them to concentrated shots of wisdom.  I also write about life lessons, startups, and whatever it is I'm learning about.  I enjoy learning, especially the early part where the learning curve is steep. So I often write a series of 3, 5, or 10 posts about the same topic.  Then, I move on to the next one so if you subscribe, you better love to learn about new topics!

If you remember one thing, know that I believe no matter what obstacle we may face we can overcome it.  That if we work together, then we can make the world a better place.  It may sound trite, but it's a necessary belief when the media around you is yelling that the world is continually ending!

Lever Talent, Inc.

As founder & CEO of Lever Talent, Inc. - the talent strategy agency - I get to lead our efforts to help leaders implement strategies to bring their best selves to work and take control of the biggest lever in business.

Our mission is to help leaders realize they are capable of more than they could ever imagine. We believe individuals make a business, not the other way around, and all business is personal.

The employee-employer relationship is broken. Thankfully, employees are gaining leverage. Innovations in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and Web3 are shifting the power dynamic. We’re flipping the script by helping businesses lean into this shift - bringing humanity back to business in the future of work.

At Lever Talent, we help businesses deploy technology-enabled talent strategies that empower leaders to find leverage in themselves and their teams to spur growth in any market. Maximizing team performance while ensuring they maximize their greatest asset - their career.

We help with:

- Talent Strategy: We help leaders align their people strategy to their business strategy and accelerate growth with talent optimization.

- Career Development: We give people the training and coaching they need crush their current job and achieve their goals.

- Leadership Communities: We bring growth-minded leaders together to share ideas, learn from each other, and grow.

Detailed Services Overview:
- Leadership & Strategy Alignment Consulting
- Mission, Vision, Values & Culture Transformation
- Hiring Process and Strategy Consulting
- Management Training
- Leadership Coaching 
- Team Building Workshops
- Career Development Communities
- Employee Engagement / Performance 
- The Predictive Index Software sales and client service - we are a PI Certified Partner.

Founder & CEO

The Lever with Drew Fortin Show

With a goal to redefine your understanding of the future of work, "The Lever with Drew Fortin" launched on YouTube and your favorite podcast streaming app starting on August 7, 2023.

Over the first half of 2023, Connor Lewis, Executive Producer and founder of Studio Lewis, and I set out to find experts to dive deep, not just into the technology but its implications on our world of work, investment, academia, economics, and businesses.

There is a lot of fear-mongering out there on the rise of AI and robots are coming to take jobs. It's important to remember that every major platform shift before AI has led to more prosperity and further innovation. The Lever is designed to challenge current thinking and highlight the transformative effects of AI, robotics, and Web3 on the traditional employee-employer relationship. It emphasizes the good things these advancements mean for workers.

Each of the six episodes in Season 1 of The Lever is about 10-20 minutes long and is a carefully crafted composition of news, research, and expert commentary on future of work trends. With pre-drafted episode summaries in hand, we set out to interview leaders, innovators, and trailblazers across work tech, investing, academia, economics, and business. We then carefully analyzed 25 hours of footage and transcripts from 23 interviews and dozens of news and research articles to finalize the show scripts for Season 1.

Learn more 👉 Levershow.com

Co-creator, Host, and Future of Work Researcher

The Predictive Index

The Predictive Index (PI) is a private-equity-backed talent optimization software and services company.

I was promoted three times in my tenure:
- Chief Growth Officer 7/2021 - Present (1 yr)
- Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing 11/2018 – 7/2021 (2 yrs 9 mos)
- Vice President, Sales & Marketing 9/2017 - 11/2018 (1 yr 3 mos)
- Vice President, Marketing 5/2015 - 9/2017 (2 yrs 5 mos)

As Chief Growth Officer, I reported directly to the CEO and was responsible for maintaining their unified vision and go-to-market plans by keeping tight collaboration and cross-functional alignment - breaking down silos and challenging the status quo.

I was part of the senior leadership team since my start. We achieved over 550% revenue growth since 2015 (28% CAGR - breaking $100M ARR in 2022!), 100% growth in the paying subscriber base (achieving 11.5K), and 2,000% growth of the PI certified partner network (achieving 1.1K partner firms).

I led the development of our strategy to create the talent optimization (TO) category and evangelize the TO discipline, which led to the $50M growth equity investment from General Catalyst in 2019.

My charter was to navigate the transition from sales-led to product-led growth (PLG). We successfully launched our first PLG product in 2021 called PI Design - which quickly grew to 2K paying business subscribers and grew our client expansion billings over 50%. Followed by PI Hire and PI Diagnose in 2022.

I spent most of my time focused on PI’s long-term growth plan and goals to develop the TO category and remain the industry-leading SaaS platform. Healthy growth was the name of the game, so there was constant, necessary conflict to manage between long-term/short-term goals and results. (👈 That was the fun part. I love that stuff!)

I was extremely fortunate to work with a dream team of direct reports who led our sales, partner recruitment & activation, demand generation, product marketing, brand, and content marketing functions (of 100 PIoneers).

Chief Growth Officer

In Confidence Podcast

Difficult co-worker? Meddling micromanager? Tough team? Sabotaging self-talk? No doubt, work perpetually challenges everyone’s confidence causing us to feel uncomfortable, unworthy, and unengaged. Get science-backed confidence coaching from two of the best in the biz.

I co-hosted this leadership and personal growth show with Alyssa Dver of the American Confidence Institute. We take calls from real callers and help them work through workplace issues that are getting in the way of them being their best.

Podcast Host

PennySaver USA

The California PennySaver was a local advertising and classified media icon from 1962-2015. I joined at a time of great risk and change - we had the strategy to introduce digital products to fill the ever-growing void created by declining print ad revenues. It was my first executive leadership position reporting directly to the CEO. We were generating $175M in annual sales revenues from 12K business clients and millions of consumer classified ads. 

While there, I led a strategic revamp of our full-service local digital marketing and SaaS website service to a monthly subscription model, integrated 3rd party applications, and kicked off a 3rd Party Reseller Program that increased our growth rate 90%. We also introduced new digital ad products on our classifieds website, which grew revenue from our online listings & classified product by 100%.

I managed many different teams of many shapes and sizes - including a field sales team, product management, engineering, development, and design teams in Poland, India, and Arkansas. I also set up and managed our strategic partnerships with companies like Google, Bing, and Yext.

In 2013, I was tasked with downsizing efforts, restructuring, and assisted the company through a pitch and spin-off of ownership from Harte-hanks, our parent company, to any acquiring private equity firm. Although it was an amazing learning opportunity, I was exposed to the dark side of business when our owners shut the company down in 2015 with little notice - they were subsequently sued for not providing proper notice before firing hundreds of employees.

Vice President, Marketing & Digital

HubSpot

The growth and success we were achieving at Compete caught the eyeballs of HubSpot's CMO and I and jumped at the opportunity to join this growth-stage SaaS start-up on their marketing team. Although brief (the team dynamic was admittedly not for me!), I learned so much and made long-lasting relationships.

We were able to grow our already gargantuan monthly lead flow by 20% while I was there to 45K leads. I managed all of our advertising and search marketing. I implemented mobile marketing, affiliate marketing, and ad retargeting programs. I also wrote a lot of content and held presentations to educate our users on topics that were near and dear to me like SEO, search engine marketing, and content generation. 

Check out this top-ranking article I wrote when I was there (which was accompanied by a 20+ page guide I also wrote) been since been updated several times and generated thousands of views and leads.

Inbound Marketing Manager - Advertising Programs Lead

Compete, Inc.

Compete was a competitive web analytics start-up co-founded by David Cancel (current CEO and co-founder of Drift). I joined as their first dedicated marketing manager responsible for running demand gen programs for their SaaS start-up product called Compete PRO (competitive intelligence and market research tool). This was product-led growth before product-led growth was cool! I reported directly to the GM of Compete PRO. 

The freemium client firehose was on and the problem of the day was figuring out how to convert this free client base into paid subscriptions and monetize our products. 

I created a multi-channel marketing and go-to-market strategy that leveraged our brand strength in the marketing technology space (we had an AdAge Top 25 ranked marketing blog) across all digital channels.

In less than a year, we grew our freemium base 83% to 220K accounts and increased free to paid conversions by 30%+! The result was 50% growth to $6M ARR while maintaining 85% retention rate - this was in 2010! 

Compete was acquired by WPP's Millward Brown Digital, formerly Kantar, formerly TNS just as I started there. The Compete PRO product was eventually folded into other products and assets were sold off as M&A activity evolved.

See the attached presentation I prepared and presented at a Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (aka MassTLC) meeting in 2010.

Senior Manager, Internet Marketing (SaaS)

Staples

I developed and executed growth strategies to drive e-commerce sales and revenue on Staples.com. This was a very exciting time in retail and e-commerce. Staples.com generated about $500M in annual revenues from over 30K+ products - it was one of the world's largest online retailers at the time. Amazon was starting to gain traction and disrupt, but no one had a clue just how significant and transformational the rise of e-commerce would be.

This was also the beginning of the SEO movement. I had the unique opportunity to spearhead Staples.com's first SEO task force. We met regularly to talk about how to implement site-wide optimizations and execute a transformational strategy to democratizing our product data. 

I also managed our affiliate marketing and comparison shopping engine programs which generated over $60M in annual revenues. We had over 1,000 affiliate publisher websites. 
 
I quickly fell in love with web analytics and learned about website architecture, programming, and merchandising products online. I became obsessed with digital marketing, analysis, and growth modeling and projections.

Online Marketing Manager - Staples.com

Online Marketing Specialist - Staples.com

Corporate Communications Coordinator - Staples Copy & Print Center

Picture this… I had just graduated with my music degree, I landed an interim choir director gig at my old high school. I was in a band and we played many times a week. I needed health insurance, so picked up a shift at my local Staples store in Acton, MA (Store #1219) in their copy and print center. 

I’ve always been infatuated with business (I set up our band as a general partnership, ran our books, and admin stuff). I quickly became passionate about running this copy and print center too.

When my choir gig was up I became manager of the copy and print center. I had my own $650K P&L. I managed a small team. I ran the business, kept the engine humming, went knocking on doors to increase business, managed the books, ordered supplies, covered gaps in shifts, etc.

This was truly an amazing experience that led me to becoming an assistant store manager and attracted the eyeballs of our corporate offices.

Assistant Store Manager

Founder & CEO @ Lever Talent | Host of The Lever Show | Helping leaders develop talent strategies that leverage a tech-empowered future.

You're capable of more than you could ever imagine.

I started my career impatient, driven, and naive - pushing hard to climb the corporate ladder and eventually found myself fired from a highly coveted growth-stage start-up in my mid-20s. 

That moment sent me on a journey of self-discovery. I realized I'm a fixer, visionary leader, relationship builder, and goal setter. I’m fascinated by the human condition and the impact that technology is having on humans at work.  

Innovations in AI, robotics, and web3 stand to scale our potential, strengthen our superpowers, and free us up to focus on the more human elements of work. Over the last 20 years, I've learned that if you paint an inspiring vision, surround yourself with people you admire and trust, and embrace technology, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can grow.  

In 2022, I decided to follow my passion and became the Founder & CEO of Lever Talent, Inc. - the talent strategy agency. I spend my time helping business leaders deploy talent strategies and tools to find leverage in themselves and their teams to spur growth in any market. Join the movement at levertalent.com. 

I use my LinkedIn to network, learn from others, and share any wisdom I've gained along the way.  

With technology, our leverage is limitless. Let's embrace and change the world. ⚡️🌎 

Specialties: Talent Strategy, Growth Leadership, Cultural Transformation, Mission Vision Values, Team Building, Talent Optimization, Go-to-Market Strategy, Digital Transformation, Consulting, The Predictive Index, Engagedly

Drew Fortin

I’ve seen a lot of posts from leaders talking about how hard layoffs are for them.

They’re right, it is brutal to sit across from someone and tell them their job is gone. 

I’ve done it more than once. It never gets easier.

But here’s what I don’t see enough of: 

Acknowledgment that the person being let go has it far, far harder.

They’re the ones facing an insurance crisis, mortgage payments, daycare costs, food bills, and the emotional gut-punch of losing purpose overnight.

As leaders, we talk a lot about empathy and “doing it the right way.” 

But if we’re being honest, most layoff comms are designed to protect the company’s emotions, not the individual’s livelihood.

We’ll say things like “this was the hardest decision I’ve ever made” while the person we’re letting go is quietly wondering how to tell their family.

Layoffs are sometimes necessary. But if you have to do them, don’t center your pain.

Center their reality.

If you’ve ever had to do layoffs, reflect on this:

Who carried the real weight of that moment, you or them?

Founder & CEO @ Lever Talent | SHRM-SCP | Helping leaders develop talent strategies that leverage a tech-empowered future.

Amazon doesn’t pretend to have a great culture.

That’s exactly why their strategy works.

Andy Jassy has been blunt: automation is driving results, and they’re doubling down on it.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Amazon’s culture has never been warm and fuzzy; it’s designed for efficiency, precision, and relentless execution.

And for them, that alignment works.

Where leaders go wrong is pretending their company can act like Amazon but feel like Patagonia.

You can’t build a cutthroat, hyper-optimized operating model and then talk about “psychological safety” and “belonging” like it’s in your blood.

If your business is tightening up, getting lean, and optimizing for efficiency, own it.

If you’re trying to grow through experimentation and empowerment, build the space for that.

But don’t sell one and live the other.

No, your coworkers are not your family. 

And the “workplace family” is one of the biggest lies we keep telling ourselves.

Sociologist Sarah Mosseri’s new book, Trust Fall, takes that myth head-on, and I’m here for it.

For decades, leaders have used “we’re a family” as shorthand for belonging, loyalty, and trust. 

But as Mosseri’s research shows, it’s often a cover for imbalance: companies say “family,” but act like corporations.

Her work reminded me of how often I see teams confuse trust with comfort.

True trust is risky and vulnerable. It means giving people the freedom to question the system without being punished for it.
 
Most workplace "families" rally during a crisis, “bond in the trenches,” and call it teamwork, but never stop to ask why they're always in crisis. 

That’s a leadership problem, not a culture win.

The best workplaces are communities built on shared accountability and mutual respect.

If you have to call it a family to keep people around, you’ve already lost their trust.

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Talks about #culture, #leadership, #futureofwork, #humanresources, and #transformation

Starbucks just cut 900 jobs, and it’s not “capitalism gone wrong.”

This is what happens when culture drifts too far from business reality.

Since the new CEO took over, Starbucks has been in reset mode:

- Stores are inefficient. 
- The menu is bloated. 
- Margins are thin. 

And now, they’re doing what most leaders dread, reducing labor to realign with strategy.

The internet will call it cold. 

But this is what happens when companies over-index on care and lose sight of performance.

Over the past few years, we’ve watched corporate cultures get soft.

Everyone’s walking on eggshells, afraid to say or do the hard things, all in the name of “well-being.”

But business isn’t built on comfort.

The role of leadership isn’t to shield employees from capitalism.

It’s to communicate reality early, align culture to strategy, and make sure people understand the why behind every move before it hits the headlines.

Starbucks isn’t wrong to streamline.

They’re just paying the price for losing sight of strategic vision and mistaking comfort for culture.

No one cares more about your career than you do.

It is the single greatest asset you own.

Yet most people treat it like a group project, waiting for someone else to tell them what’s next.

Promotions, stretch projects, mentorship, even recognition, none of it just happens because you deserve it. 

It happens because you’ve made it clear what you want and you’ve done the work to prove it.

If you haven’t taken the time to define your next move, no one’s coming to do it for you.

And if you haven’t told anyone what you actually want, don’t be shocked when the world stays quiet.

When you do speak it out loud, when you say “this is what I want, this is who I’m becoming,” the universe starts to rearrange itself around you.

So stop waiting for permission.

Own your path.

Your next chapter starts when you decide what you want.

I wish someone had told me that in my 20s.

So I’ll tell you:

Don’t outsource your trajectory. You own the asset, so start managing it that way.

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Every leader should be able to say:

"Here’s what I’m great at, and here's where I need help.”

Imagine if every team normalized that kind of honesty. 

No need to guess, just strengths out in the open and gaps named for what they are.

Success doesn’t come from trying to be great at everything. 

It comes from doubling down on what makes you exceptional and building systems that let others do the same.

It's common knowledge that the best athletes don’t play every sport. They find the one that amplifies their strengths, and they go all in.

The same goes for leaders. 

As technology evolves and AI expands, being more human is becoming a leadership advantage.

The future belongs to teams that know themselves deeply, celebrate their natural talents, and build around them.

Let’s start with transparency and build well-aligned teams.

AI layoffs are a cop-out.

Let’s stop pretending otherwise.

The economy’s rough right now.

So when I see companies announcing “AI-driven layoffs,” I can’t help but roll my eyes.

No one’s getting a commensurate productivity lift from AI in 2025 or 2026 for that matter. 

At least not yet.

What we are seeing is leaders using AI as the scapegoat to justify tough calls they don’t want to own.

“I’m sorry, it’s just automation.” No, it’s economics.

AI will absolutely reshape jobs and displace workers. It’s already changing how we work and what value humans bring.

But most of these cuts have nothing to do with true AI efficiency. They’re about maintaining needed profitability in a weak market.

And when leaders hide behind “AI transformation” instead of admitting that, they erode trust even faster.

Let’s be honest with our people.

Let’s say, “The market sucks right now, and we have to make hard choices to survive.”

Because the story of AI shouldn’t be about fear and headcount cuts.

It should be about how we redesign work to make humans more valuable than ever.

Everyone says the hardest part of layoffs is losing people.

No one talks about what it’s like to be the one who stays.

Some folks in my network shared what it’s like to “survive” multiple rounds. There’s the obvious: survivor’s guilt.

But then there’s the post-anxiety layoff that no one really talks about.

Because the truth is, no matter how loyal you are to the mission, surviving multiple RIFs changes you.

You might still want to help the company rebound, but once people start scanning for exits, the culture’s already cracked.

Culture doesn’t survive that kind of fear intact. In many cases, you have to rebuild from scratch.

And this is where most companies overcorrect.

They double down on wellness, celebrate using PTO, and hang posters that say “It’s okay to not be okay.”

The intention is good, but it becomes the new avoidance strategy. If everyone’s recovering, no one’s building.

Healthy organizations don’t glorify burnout, but they also don’t treat ambition like a bad habit.

Real balance means creating an environment where people want to give their best because they believe the effort still matters.

If you want your people to stop running scared, give them something they can't help but run toward.

I believe in meritocracy.

I just don’t believe most companies have one.

What most companies call “meritocracy” is really proximity bias. 

There is no system in place and no consistency. Managers often reward those whom they see and befriend, and often those who remind them of their less-experienced self. 

Real meritocracy means clearly defining what “great” looks like, and measuring everyone against it. 

You can’t have true meritocracy until you fix inequity. 

Until opportunity and access are more balanced, we’ll keep rewarding visibility over value.

And for the record: I’m not anti-capitalist.

Quite the opposite.

Capitalism is the best tool we have to increase the livelihood of the world. It should objectively reward performance.

But when the system for measuring it is broken, everyone loses. The overlooked performer, the biased leader, and ultimately, the business itself.

Meritocracy is worth fighting for.

But let’s stop confusing comfort for fairness and proximity for performance.

If we can design systems that measure what matters, and make space for everyone to win on merit, that’s good business.

A lot of companies are only adding AI to their title because it makes for a better headline.

And honestly, that’s not a bad thing. AI holds massive promise. 

And if you’re not actively adopting AI tools and building your company’s AI fluency, you’re falling behind. 

AI is a huge opportunity. The issue is that most companies are chasing “AI strategy decks” instead of asking better questions like:

- How can we use AI to optimize what already works?

- Where can it automate the repetitive stuff so our people can focus on higher-value work?

- How do we teach our teams to experiment and adapt as AI tech evolves?

That last one is key.

HR has a huge role to play here.

AI is an organizational change problem, and right now, HR is being asked to lead that charge, often without the tools, confidence, or seat at the table they deserve.

Now’s the time to use AI as the catalyst to build a culture of learning, agility, and human adaptability.

It’s the basic, day-to-day work of evolving how we work with AI that actually paves the way for the kind of strategic, differentiated applications everyone’s chasing.

Because the future of leadership is about using technology to help humans become more capable, creative, and resilient than ever.

Empathy became the new performance metric.

And now no one knows how to say the hard stuff.

Since COVID, we’ve seen a cultural overcorrection. And somewhere along the way, performance and clarity got left behind.

Caring for people doesn’t mean cushioning them from reality. 

We still operate in a capitalist system. Companies exist to grow, compete, and win. 

When your culture forgets that, it starts to drift.

You can feel it when a company faces tough calls, layoffs, restructures, and missed targets. 

Suddenly, people are shocked. Disillusioned. “Wait, how could this happen?”

Because no one said the hard stuff when it mattered.

Strong cultures don’t hide from reality. They help people understand the business, the risks, and the road ahead.

And it falls on leaders to do two things at once:

1) Build a humane culture that treats people like adults.
2) Stay ruthlessly focused on the strategic imperatives of the business.

Empathy matters. But empathy without clarity only creates confusion.

Specialization is killing innovation in HR Tech.

For 15 years, HR leaders have been told to “find their niche.”

Hyper-specification was the smart move. Now, they’re paying for it.

Last week, a digital marketing partner told me,

“You call yourselves a full-service talent strategy agency, but no one else does that.”

Exactly.

Because the industry has spent a decade unbundling itself into a thousand micro-experts.

Now we’re entering the great rebundling.

Just like streaming: first came Netflix, then the flood, now everyone’s craving cable again.

HR is no different.

Leaders don’t want 10 vendors solving 10% of the problem.

What they really want is one partner who can help them with the whole system, not just a piece of it.

That’s why we built Lever Talent, Inc. as a full-service talent strategy agency.

Whether you need cultural transformation, org design, leadership training, fractional HR support, or HR software management, you can start small and scale with us.

Everyone loves to say HR is “slow to adopt AI.”

HR is the only team smart enough to ask what happens after the adoption.

This is the function responsible for compliance, documentation, process, and most importantly, people. 

Of course, they’re going to measure twice and cut once. That’s our responsibility.

AI is moving so fast that “measured” can start to look like “left behind” if leaders don’t stay curious.

Every HR leader I talk to should be getting fluent in the language of AI right now.

The HR leaders who figure out how to make AI work for people are the ones every CEO will want on their team.

We’re already seeing it in logistics, where people collaborate with software and robots every day. 

That’s just the beginning.

HR’s role in the AI era isn’t to keep up.

It’s to lead the integration responsibly, strategically, and humanely.

If your company vanished overnight and you had to rebuild it tomorrow…

Would your org chart look the same?

Now imagine applying that to your workforce strategy.

If you were starting your company today, in a world of AI agents, async collaboration, and 10x productivity per person, how would you design your org?

Would you still define “manager” the same way?

Most wouldn’t.

And that’s the point. 

We’ve built orgs layer by layer for decades,  adding roles, tools, and policies like barnacles on a ship, without ever scraping them off to see if the structure still floats.

A “zero-based” approach to human capital would force us to rethink how work actually gets done now.

If you’re not familiar, it’s when companies start their budgets from scratch every year.

No “last year plus 10%.”

It’s a thought experiment worth doing, especially for HR and people leaders trying to design the next era of work.

If you were rebuilding your org from zero today, what would you keep… and what would you leave behind?

Stop saying “AI won’t replace you; someone who knows AI will.”

That’s not true.

If 15% of your workforce gets cut overnight, it’s not because every manager suddenly became a prompt engineer. 

It’s because the CFO did the math.

Tenure, pay bands, performance stack ranking… that’s the calculus, not who’s best at ChatGPT.

Yes, AI is replacing people. But not in the way LinkedIn gurus want to sell it.

It’s commoditizing everything except distinctly human ability.

So yes, AI will force displacement.

But what it’s really forcing is a reckoning with what makes us valuable in the first place.

You don’t survive this shift by becoming “AI fluent.”

You survive by becoming more human than ever.

You didn’t hire more people to slow things down...

But that’s exactly what happened.

Scaling should make things smoother, but it rarely does. The habits that helped you win early on don’t serve you later.

When companies start, they’re agile, experimental, and fueled by belief.

Then, they hit product-market fit. Now they’re in growth mode. 

That’s when process, discipline, and focus take over. Meetings multiply, and decisions slow.

The business becomes about precision: tightening systems, reducing errors, building consistency.

But when you over-optimize for process, you lose the agility that made you successful in the first place.

At a certain point, you need to redesign how your organization works.

At Lever Talent, Inc., we use the Competing Values Framework to help companies do exactly that.

If your team feels stuck in “slow motion growth,” this is your signal to recalibrate.

Because every stage requires a different kind of leadership, culture, and operating model.

If a candidate’s first touch is a faceless agent, you just told them exactly how much you value people: not much. 

Automation is efficient. But hiring isn’t a spreadsheet exercise.

Candidates want speed and someone accountable for decisions that shape their careers.

Tech is not strategy. People still are.

As someone obsessed with what AI and robotics mean for the employer–employee relationship, I’ll die on this hill: 

The more tech we adopt, the more our differentiator becomes distinctly human judgment, trust, context, and dignity.

If you’re racing toward “AI-run hiring by 2026,” start here:

1) Human decides, AI informs. 

Use models to structure, summarize, and surface signals. Final calls belong to accountable humans.

2) Radical transparency. 

Tell candidates where/when AI is used and how it influences outcomes. No black boxes. (Trust is the currency.)

3) Bias isn’t “fixed,” it’s governed. 

Treat bias as a system problem: data audits, adverse-impact monitoring, and escalation paths that real people own.

4) And most importantly: Train the humans. 

Most teams don’t know what “AI skills” even means. Make fluency part of manager enablement and recruiter craft.

I’m not anti-AI. I’m anti-abdication.

CEO turnover is spiking in 2025, and it’s not because CEOs are failing. 

It’s because the job changed faster than they did.

New data shows high-performing companies are now almost just as likely to replace their CEO as underperformers. 

In the S&P 500, 2025 turnover in the top three performance quartiles hit 12%, nearly matching the bottom quartile at 14%.

Boards aren’t waiting for a downturn or a misstep. They’re finally acknowledging what many of us inside organizations have felt for years:

AI transformation is reshaping every role, and yesterday’s leadership profile doesn’t map to tomorrow’s demands.

The leadership equation has shifted: agility, digital fluency, and stakeholder orchestration now matter more than tenure.

That's why external CEO appointments nearly doubled this year. 

If the last few years taught us anything, it’s that strategy fails when leadership, structure, and decision-making can’t keep pace. 

The companies built for the future are the ones redesigning leadership for it, before the market forces them to.

And if your org isn’t building future-ready leaders, your board will go shopping for one.

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