Washington Business Winter 2018 | Washington Business | Page 48

business backgrounder | education & workforce

Speaker Profile

Best-selling author , prominent researcher on workplace issues and advisor to companies around the world , Jacob Morgan has a compelling story to tell . From working a selfdescribed “ terrible job ” to going out on his own to find out for himself what employees value in a workplace , he now shares what companies can do to adapt to today ’ s workforce , build a workplace that fosters a greater purpose and help team members build their personal brand through collaborative work within the office . Morgan gave the lunchtime keynote address at AWB ’ s annual Policy Summit Sept . 19-21 at Suncadia Resort . Prior to the event , he spoke with staff writer Bobbi Cussins about his in-depth research of more than 250 companies , including global giants like Cisco and Microsoft , how it can be applied to improve any workplace and offered a glimpse into the future of workers and the workplace .
Jacob Morgan
After leaving your self-proclaimed “ terrible job ,” what was the motivation to get into the area of foresight to better explain the changing workplace and , by default , the evolving needs of the workforce ?
After that terrible job and after college , my goal in life became “ how to make a living without working for anybody else .” In the meantime , I was writing articles for $ 15 each and just doing whatever I could to not work for anyone else . But , around 10 years ago , I was in the world of online marketing , social media and search engine optimization . That ’ s where it really started for me and has evolved to now . I started having more discussions with people and my search engine optimization work branched off into social media , which branched into collaboration and social business , and from there it became the future of work and the employee experience . It was a natural progression that all started with never wanting to work for anybody else .
How did you initially convince employers , many of which are worldwide companies , to participate in your work and take a deeper look at what they are doing great in regard to the employee and workforce experience and where they could make some improvements ?
I don ’ t convince employers to participate ; I simply highlight the research that I find from executives that I speak with and share my ideas and findings . I am an open book with regard to the conversations I am having , what I ’ m finding and what I think . Ultimately , it ’ s up to organizations to decide if they want to do anything with that information . It ’ s sort of like hiring a trainer at a gym . The trainer can tell you what to do , but they ’ re not going to lift the weights for you . I like to think of myself as that coach , that mentor , that trainer for organizations where I can give them the ideas . I can give them the research and show them what others have done , but ultimately , it ’ s the organizations that need to strap on the gym gloves , get into the gym and start lifting the weights .
One of the top concerns from employers is that they are unable to find workers with “ soft skills .” Can you explain your insights on employees who possess soft skills and how employers can encourage more use of them in the workplace ?
We are very obsessed with soft skills and there are a lot of employers who say , “ we can ’ t find employees with soft skills .” I don ’ t really believe that . We ’ re all human beings . We ’ re not sociopaths or emotionless creatures . We all have soft skills . Some of us are better at using them than others and , of course , I still think it ’ s great to teach us and remind us about these things , but it ’ s not like we don ’ t have soft skills . The bigger problem isn ’ t that we don ’ t possess these soft skills , it ’ s that employers want people to exhibit soft skills in an environment where they don ’ t feel safe to do so . We have built organizations where employees don ’ t feel comfortable showing empathy , embracing vulnerability and exhibiting all these soft skills that
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