The Josh Bersin Company

Josh Bersin
  • 4.5 (57)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

Insights on Corporate Talent, Learning, AI, and HR Technology. I discuss new research on all areas of management, leadership, economics, and HR, informed by our proprietary research and deep discussions with clients, vendors, and technology providers. We also publish interviews and case studies from some of the most fascinating and innovative leaders in HR and business.

  1. 7h ago

    Perspectives on AI Safety, Rogue Bots, and the Frontier Lab Slowdown

    We are all living in a world of “beta products” from AI vendors, and whether we like it or not we’re stuck with the risks. Today I weigh in with my perspectives about what’s going on and how we, as consumers and builders, need to push back on Frontier Labs and force them to “fix” these issues. Lots to debate and I look forward to meeting many of you this Fall as we travel the world discussing our new book Superpowered and our exciting new announcements around Galileo. (Major launch tomorrow, stay tuned!) References “Superpowered,” our new book that explains the positive future of work “1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World,” the history that’s repeating itself Anthropic’s List of AI Cyber and Swarming Hacks Dario’s “We Must Pace The Frontier” Article Sam Altman Postpones OpenAI’s Public Offering Because of Safety Issue   Chapters (00:00:00) - AI Doomsday Warnings and Corporate Hypocrisy(00:00:50) - AI Values Reflect Society's Flaws(00:02:35) - Comparing AI Risk to Boeing and Product Safety(00:04:05) - Corporate Liability and Legal Risk of AI Vendors(00:05:16) - Who's Responsible When AI Causes Harm(00:06:15) - Design Flaws and the Jupiter Launch Preview(00:06:59) - Defense, Ethics, and the Oppenheimer Parallel(00:09:16) - Commercialism, Greed, and Historical Parallels(00:10:29) - Railroad Era Comparison and Financial Mania(00:11:05) - Political Divide Over AI and Data Centers(00:12:55) - Data Center Politics and Mobility of Capital(00:13:49) - Software Builders' Dependence on Reliable Models(00:14:24) - Everyday AI Mistakes and Acceptable Risk(00:15:50) - We're All Part of a Giant Beta Test(00:16:25) - Closing Thoughts and Jupiter Teaser

    Perspectives on AI Safety, Rogue Bots, and the Frontier Lab Slowdown

  2. 4d ago

    The AI-Fueled Labor Shortage and Why HR Is Now A Growth Function

    Guess what. There is no AI jobs apocalypse, there’s an AI-fueled labor shortage. And this means human capital and leadership strategies will be more important than ever as we transform our companies around AI. It also means that you, as a professsional or frontline worker, are going to see yourself become Superpowered, as we discuss in our new book. And the world of HR is moving quickly away from “HR as policy police” to “HR as a growth function.” Listen in and you’ll see how HR 2030 and AI are reinventing our jobs, careers, and HR operations toward what we call “Dynamic Enablement for Growth.” Additional Information Our New Book “Superpowered,” Launching in October US Workforce In 2035: A Few More Workers, A Lot More Output Despite Massive AI Investments, HR Jobs Are Booming. Why? HR 2030: How AI Superagents Transform HR From Service Delivery to Dynamic Business Enablement   Chapters (00:00:00) - The AI Labor Shortage Thesis(00:01:21) - Jobs Boom Driven by AI Infrastructure(00:02:26) - Shrinking Labor Pool and Retention Challenges(00:03:00) - Introducing HR 2030 Blueprint(00:04:42) - Redesigning Jobs and Functional Silos(00:06:00) - Managing AI Agents as Superworkers(00:07:36) - Redefining HR's Mission as Growth Enablement(00:08:53) - Asking About Business Growth Strategy(00:10:32) - Retail Case Study: Growth-Aligned HR(00:12:25) - HR as a Growth Function, Not a Cost Center(00:13:56) - Closing Thoughts and Upcoming Galileo Release

  3. 6d ago

    AI Pacesetter: Seneca Polytechnic Transforms HR As Frontier Firm

    What do you do when the funding that anchored your HR transformation disappears unexpectedly? For Seneca Polytechnic, a public college with 44,000 students in the greater Toronto area, the answer was redesigning the transformation itself. In this episode, we speak with Diana Mohan, Executive Director of Transformation and Change at Seneca Polytechnic — a 2026 HR Pacesetter Award winner — about how her team chose to continue forward rather than press pause when regulatory changes created a structural deficit across Canada’s higher education sector. Diana shares how Seneca’s HR team embraced AI to totally change how HR operates and scale HR services. Their approach began with listening, building trust and capability across the team, and empowering people at every level to create new AI use cases. The result has not only been more efficient service delivery and a better employee experience—it’s been a strategic shift to an insight-driven, advisory HR function. Diana Mohan is a transformation specialist and trusted advisor specializing in over a decade of organizational strategy, AI adoption, and the future of work. With a career spanning Deloitte, Kearney, and executive leadership roles, she has helped many organizations translate bold ideas into practical transformation programs, enabling leaders to navigate uncertainty, accelerate change, and prepare for what’s next. Additional Information New Research: How AI Transforms $400 Billion Of Corporate Learning US Workforce In 2035: A Few More Workers, A Lot More Output The Great Decoupling: How Workers Became Disconnected From Companies And AI Will Accelerate This Trend Get Galileo: How Seneca Transformed HR Chapters (00:00:00) - What Works: The Future of Work(00:00:41) - HR Pacesetter Award Winners: Diana Mouhand(00:01:52) - In the Know: The HR Team at Seneca Polytechnic(00:02:47) - How HR is on a transformation journey(00:05:13) - How Cognizant Went From Transformation to a Pivot(00:06:59) - How To Build Trust in AI at Seneca(00:12:19) - The HR org chart: AI Agents(00:16:10) - What Makes an HR Team Flexible in the Age of AI(00:18:10) - WSJD Live: The AI Transformation

  4. Sep 4

    Labor Day 2035: Why Workers Will Become More Valuable Than Ever

    The BLS forecasts an almost flat growth in the labor market in the next decade yet US GDP is expected to grow by 22-24% cumulatively. In order for this to work we are all going to be focused on “labor productivity.” In this podcast I explain this new world of Superworkers and discuss why the word “labor” itself may be out of date. I also discuss why HR issues like org design, work design, dynamic enablement, talent density, pay equity, dynamic planning, and AI really change the dynamics of our businesses. And HR is now a growth professsion, growing faster than the GDP and increasing in economic value. Additional Information Our new book Superpowered, launching in October US Workforce In 2035: A Few More Workers, A Lot More Output Galileo will teach you how to drive productivity   Chapters (00:00:00) - Labor Market: The super worker(00:04:17) - Employee mobility and job and org redesign(00:06:44) - Beyond HR: The Role of AI in Business

  5. Sep 2

    Inside Databricks: The Dynamic Learning Operation That Fuels Hypergrowth

    Rochana Golani, VP of Enablement at Databricks, is one of the most innovative and business-focused learning executives I’ve met. In this action-packed conversation Rochana shares the secrets of the company’s AI-powered dynamic training, learning, and enablement system, and how she runs internal and customer learning like a fast-growing business. Databricks is one of the world’s fastest-growing enterprise software companies and a central player in the convergence of data infrastructure, analytics, machine learning, and generative AI. Founded in 2013 by the UC Berkeley researchers who created Apache Spark, Databricks pioneered the “lakehouse”—an architecture designed to combine the scalability of a data lake with the management, reliability, and analytical capabilities of a data warehouse. Its platform now supports data engineering, business intelligence, AI development, governance, databases, and enterprise AI agents across AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Databricks company overview This amazing private company reports: More than 20,000 customers Approximately 70% of the Fortune 500 More than 10,000 employees More than 8,000 cloud, software, and consulting partners. As of August 2026, Databricks says it has exceeded a $7 billion annualized revenue run rate, growing by more than 80% year over year during its second quarter. Additional Information Corporate Learning: From Static Training to Dynamic Enablement Galileo Learn: Experience Dynamic Learning Yourself The Josh Bersin Institute: Masterclass in HR Excellence Chapters (00:00:00) - Interview With Databricks's Roshana Golani(00:00:24) - Databricks CEO on the Disruptive Technology(00:01:36) - How to Get Empowerment at Databricks(00:03:16) - WSJD Live: Data & Machine Learning Lead the Way(00:08:09) - Teaching and Enablement: The New Paradigm(00:11:01) - How to Build a Better Solution with Databricks(00:14:52) - WSJD Live: The Skills Taxonomy(00:15:22) - What do you think happens to course content?(00:17:13) - The source of content in the Learning Infrastructure(00:22:52) - Databricks: The go-to training solution for business users(00:24:25) - In the Era of AI, Who Will Lead the Transformation?(00:26:57) - Subject Matter Experts and the Learning Infrastructure(00:28:20) - A Day in the Life of Leadership Development

  6. Aug 31

    Workday Earnings Call: Company Is Moving Swiftly To An AI Future

    Workday’s Q2 2027 earnings were a pivot point, showing how Workday has shifted to its “AI-Forward Future.” The company reported $600 Million of recurring AI revenue and a clear and confident position in the market. While Workday’s 12.8% YTY revenue growth is nowhere near that of a Frontier Lab, my takeaway is that Workday is here to stay and has a clear position in the agentic business ahead. Listen up and you may agree with me that SaaS software companies are not going away at all: they may form the basis for the enterprise AI wave ahead. Additional Information Introducing HR 2030: A Vision For Agentic Human Resources Workday Reports Higher Profit, Revenue on AI Agent Adoption Galileo: All our Research and Much Much More Chapters (00:00:00) - SaaS vs. AI Software: Will SaaS Replace(00:05:49) - SANA and Workday: The Enterprise Connection

  7. Aug 30

    Security Of Enterprise Agents, Frontier Labs Challenged, Superworker Wages

    Today I review the various jailbreaks by both OpenAI and Anthropic and the challenges which Frontier Labs are having with AI “alignment.” So in keeping with HR 2030, I share some general advice and stay tuned for our detailed technical paper on this in the coming weeks. And as we debate the reliability, training, and alignment of models I also point out how the technology industry is struggling to deal with the politics and economics here, since right now most tech leaders really don’t want any form of regulation. (Unless it’s somehow fair to all.) So we, as buyers, are left dealing with the issue. AI Alignment means making sure an AI system’s goals and behavior match what people actually want—our values, rules, and intentions. It’s about getting the AI to do the “right thing” even in new situations, not just follow instructions literally in ways that cause harm. In practice, it includes preventing unwanted outcomes like deception, unsafe shortcuts, or optimizing a metric that misses the real objective. I also highly recommend Jill Lepore’s book “The Rise of the Artificial State” for a very sound discussion of the political issues around AI, which helps with these issues. And along the line of AI “alignment,” I discuss why Google paid $10M for the emails and data from bankrupt Spirit Airlines, and how AI companies are now buying old slack and emails from many bankrupt companies, training their AI on old, failed business models. (Read below on “reinforcement learning gyms.”) This is a strange series of events, all making it clear that Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic have quite a challenge training and aligning their models in the future. And I conclude with a preview of our AI-driven wage research and our coming book Superpowered, coming in October. Resources You Should Read OpenAI cyber models broke out of training environment to hack Hugging Face Detailed Investigation of OpenAI Jailbreak (good drama) Anthropic’s disclosure of Claude’s jailbreak (good discussion) Google to Buy Spirit Airlines Business Data for $10 Million A.I.’s New Training Data: Your Old Work Slacks and Emails (failed companies training LLMs) The Birth of “Reinforcement Learning Gyms” (wierdness of training data sets) Cisco Gave All 90,000 Employees Their Own AI Agent A Peek Into The Workforce Of 2035: Jobs, Wages, And AI’s Impact  (Bersin analysis) Chapters (00:00:00) - AI in the Political System(00:03:24) - Will AI Eliminate Jobs?(00:08:08) - The role of agents in IT security(00:10:01) - The Personal Agent in HR 2030

  8. Aug 27

    Post-AI Labor Market Appears, How To Prioritize AI Investments, More

    Today I share some research we’re doing on wages in the inflationary “AI-economy.” While many people are studying the labor market (it’s a huge industry), it’s not hard to see that most wages are not keeping up with inflation, yet some are. As you’ll hear we now see the “Superworker” jobs and roles that are “inflation protected” and we also see the jobs that are declining in value. I also discuss a new pragmatic approach to corporate AI investment, as well as the slow end of the “SaaSpocalypse” idea. In other words, many of the existing systems you have are not going to be “destroyed” or “replaced” by agentic disruptors: rather these software companies are becoming AI savvy. This includes Workday, Oracle, ADP, SAP, as well as hypergrowth companies like HiBob. Even Docebo and Cornerstone are now seeing the benefits of their AI pivots. Anyway lots to talk about, and I’ll be publishing more on all this soon. Stay tuned for the big Jupiter release of Galileo, it will blow your mind – coming in a few weeks. PS. This is the last week to sign up for the inaugural cohort of the Josh Bersin Institute GHRE Masterclass, basically a “masters degree” on everthing HR, AI, and how to advance your career. Not only is this the most comprehensive education we’ve ever developed, you’ll meet some amazing faculty at USC and experience real AI-powered learning, meet your peers, and become JBI certified. Sign up here. Additional Information The New World of Work in An Inflationary, AI-Impacted Economy The Great Decoupling: How Workers Became Disconnected From Companies And AI Will Accelerate This Trend The Global HR Excellence Program: Join the Inaugural Cohort Now!   Chapters (00:00:00) - AI and the HR 2030 Workforce(00:04:07) - Wage increases and the labor market(00:06:53) - Employee Experience and Pay(00:08:08) - AI and the Corporate Code(00:10:20) - Will The Outsourcing of Recruitment Be Hurt?(00:13:35) - Will AI Replace the HR Software Companies?(00:17:46) - One more thing. This week is the last week to sign up

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4.5
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About

Insights on Corporate Talent, Learning, AI, and HR Technology. I discuss new research on all areas of management, leadership, economics, and HR, informed by our proprietary research and deep discussions with clients, vendors, and technology providers. We also publish interviews and case studies from some of the most fascinating and innovative leaders in HR and business.

Information

  • Creator
    Josh Bersin
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    400
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 JOSH BERSIN
  • Show Website
    The Josh Bersin Company

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