Work, Measured

Hatchproof
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Careers
  • Updated Weekly

Work is changing faster than most companies can understand it. But behind every new technology, performance metric, and management trend is something far more complicated: people. On Work, Measured, Silicon Valley operator and exited CEO Imran Syed sits down with founders, researchers, and unconventional thinkers to explore how work really works. Imran led the turnaround of a technology company through a massive exit. At the heart of that journey were people, and some of the hardest decisions a leader can make about them. Now, as he builds AI for human performance, he digs into the questions most organizations avoid. Why do talented people disengage? What separates exceptional teams from average ones? Where will AI make us better, and where will human judgment matter more than ever? Candid conversations. Unexpected ideas. Practical insights for anyone building a company, leading a team, or trying to understand what comes next. Guests have included Gary A. Bolles, Dr. Daniel Hulme (Chief AI Officer at WPP), Stefano Puntoni of Wharton, Dr. Margie Warrell, and Victoria Tomlinson. New episodes on Fridays.

  1. 16h ago

    Why the Jerk at Work Keeps Winning | NYU's Tessa West on Bad Bosses and Toxic Coworkers

    The kiss-up kick-downer. The credit stealer. The gaslighter. You know exactly who they are, and your company keeps promoting them anyway. NYU psychology professor Tessa West explains why. Tessa is one of the leading researchers on how people actually interact at work and the author of Jerks at Work and Job Therapy. In this episode she breaks down why toxic performers survive so long (they're usually good at their jobs, and the damage they cause doesn't hit the P&L fast enough to get noticed), why startup culture practically worships jerk behavior in founders, and why "I have a bad boss" is the most common and most misleading complaint in the working world. We also get into the mess AI is making of workplace trust, nobody knows who actually did the work anymore, why you can't outsource taste, judgment, or team building to an agent, and what happens to a generation that removed all friction from daily life and stopped learning social norms. Her line that stuck with me: people start weird and they stay weird. And her most useful finding of all: if you want anyone at work to change, appealing to fairness never works. Appeal to their self-interest. It's cynical, it's dark, and it's true. Work, Measured is hosted by Imran Syed, Silicon Valley operator, exited CEO, and founder of Hatchproof, where he's building AI for human performance.

  2. 6d ago

    Half of Employees Don't Know What's Expected of Them | Malvika Jethmalani on People Debt

    Only 49% of employees agree with the statement "I know what is expected of me at work." That's a coin toss. Malvika Jethmalani has built her career fixing that number. Malvika is the founder of Atvis Group, where she works as a fractional Chief People Officer for venture-backed, high-growth companies. She sees more people problems in a quarter than most CHROs see in a year, and in this episode she opens her playbook: the three-part diagnostic she runs on every new company, why technical debt gets all the attention while "people and culture debt" quietly compounds, and the two-by-two framework that separates empowering leaders from enforcers, nurturers, and absent bosses. We get into why every finance decision is a people decision, why founders hire their first people leader too late and then set them up to fail, why CEOs who don't hold their leaders accountable turn HR into the cleaning-up-the-messes department, and why the Chief People Officer role should evolve into Chief People and Performance Officer for the AI era. Plus the number that stunned us both: only 5.5% of US knowledge workers are actually proficient in AI. If you run a company, manage a team, or work inside one that's scaling, this is 30 minutes of operating knowledge you'd normally pay a retainer for. Work, Measured is hosted by Imran Syed, Silicon Valley operator, exited CEO, and founder of Hatchproof, where he's building AI for human performance.

  3. Sep 8

    Performance Reviews Are a Myth | Gary A. Bolles on What to Measure Instead

    Gary A. Bolles has spent his career studying how work actually works. Author of The Next Rules of Work, Global Fellow of Transformation at Singularity University, and an educator whose courses have reached over two million learners. And he thinks "performance" is the wrong word entirely. In this episode, Gary makes the case for effectiveness over performance, and explains why the difference matters. Why efficiency belongs on the factory floor but has zero place in ideation. Why performance reviews are a myth we tell ourselves. And why rewards should work like modern cybersecurity: personalized to one, not averaged across thousands. He also breaks down the real choice every company now faces between people, tech, and assets, from Walmart's 2.2 million employees to two guys running a billion-dollar business on AI agents. And he explains why he thinks young workers aren't a new generation, but a new species, with two thirds already looking for their next job the day they start one. Work, Measured is hosted by Imran Syed, founder and CEO of Hatchproof. 25 minutes on performance, culture, and the future of work. New episodes on Fridays.

  4. Sep 1

    7 Careers by Age 70 | Victoria Tomlinson on Life After Retirement

    At 70, Victoria Tomlinson is planning her next act, not her exit. Former EY leader, BBC commentator, and founder of Next-Up, she has spent years helping senior professionals figure out what comes after the big job. Her answer is not golf. Victoria and Imran get into why we still run careers on a model built 100 years ago. Why 91% of over-50s want to progress, not wind down. Why businesses started by people over 50 outlast those started by younger founders. What happens to your identity when the title disappears, and why Imran's dad, still working at 80, says he wants to die standing up. They also get into AI, and Victoria's case that hallucinating models have made experienced judgment more valuable, not less. Victoria's new book, Expiry Date Never: Age Is the New Superpower, is out now. Work, Measured is hosted by Imran Syed, founder and CEO of Hatchproof, and behavioral scientist Dr. Nick Hobson. 25 minutes on performance, culture, and the future of work.

  5. Aug 21

    What Military Intelligence Taught Us About Finding Great Talent

    What can military intelligence teach us about finding great talent? Oliver Armstrong joins Work, Measured to share how his time in Marine Corps intelligence shaped the way he thinks about people, information, leadership, and decision making. We talk about why more experience does not always mean better talent, how to find the “diamonds in the rough” when you cannot compete on compensation, and why having more data and AI does not automatically lead to better decisions. We also get into the talent opportunity created by today’s tech layoffs, what founders should look for when building 0 to 1 teams, and how to balance experienced leaders with people who simply have the potential to be exceptional. At its core, this is a conversation about finding signal in the noise and recognizing great people before everyone else does.

  6. Aug 9

    We Optimized Away the Human Part of Work

    We’ve spent years using technology to make work faster, easier, and more efficient. But what did we lose along the way? Meg McWilliams joins Work, Measured to explore why people are craving in-person connection again, what happens when we remove the small moments of friction that build trust and belonging, and why AI might actually help us become more human, not less. From film and immersive experiences to gaming communities and now Mixies, Meg has spent her career thinking about what brings people together. We talk about the resurgence of IRL experiences, the social cost of an increasingly digital world, generational shifts in how we connect, and what leaders should be thinking about as AI reshapes work. And yes, we get into why you should never let anyone kill your “fart around” moments.

  7. Jul 22

    The First CRO Hire: Why Most Founders Get It Wrong | Ryan Spillane on Building Elite Revenue Teams

    Ryan Spillane, former Chief Commercial Officer at Techstars and one of the early leaders behind HubSpot's enterprise sales motion, shares why the first CRO hire is one of the most important decisions a founder will make. We explore the commercial archetypes that fit each stage of growth, the common mistakes founders make as they transition from selling themselves to building a sales organization, and how AI is reshaping product feedback loops, forcing startups to balance pattern recognition with the speed of modern product development.

  8. May 15

    We Win by Being Human: Paul Hamilton & Dr. Tatijana Busic on Fear, AI, and the Case for People

    In this episode, Imran sits down with Paul Hamilton — KPMG Canada's Director of National Talent Attraction Strategy who spent over two decades in HR at Microsoft, LCBO, and KPMG — and Dr. Tatijana Busic — a clinical and organizational psychologist who co-created "The Inner Edge" leadership program — for a conversation about why 93% of organizations have adopted AI but are seeing almost no return. Using a treadmill metaphor that runs through the entire episode, they unpack why dropping a powerful new tool into a workplace doesn't mean anyone will use it — and why 31% of employees are actively sabotaging AI strategies from the inside. Paul shares a story from his time with Frank Clegg at Microsoft that reframes what leadership actually looks like at 5:30 in the evening, and introduces his concept of the "automation ceiling" — the point where human judgment, empathy, and relational intelligence become irreplaceable. Dr. Tatijana Busic breaks down why resistance to change isn't a character flaw — it's brain biology. Our fear centers aren't designed for chronic activation, and the speed of AI-era change is pushing people into reactive survival mode. She reveals why she turns down resilience training engagements when the executive team isn't doing the work themselves, and why humans succeed not because we're the smartest species, but because we're the best copycats. Together, they make the case that the organizations who win won't be the ones with the best AI — they'll be the ones who remember that people are still the greatest thing they'll ever build.

    We Win by Being Human: Paul Hamilton & Dr. Tatijana Busic on Fear, AI, and the Case for People
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5
out of 5
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About

Work is changing faster than most companies can understand it. But behind every new technology, performance metric, and management trend is something far more complicated: people. On Work, Measured, Silicon Valley operator and exited CEO Imran Syed sits down with founders, researchers, and unconventional thinkers to explore how work really works. Imran led the turnaround of a technology company through a massive exit. At the heart of that journey were people, and some of the hardest decisions a leader can make about them. Now, as he builds AI for human performance, he digs into the questions most organizations avoid. Why do talented people disengage? What separates exceptional teams from average ones? Where will AI make us better, and where will human judgment matter more than ever? Candid conversations. Unexpected ideas. Practical insights for anyone building a company, leading a team, or trying to understand what comes next. Guests have included Gary A. Bolles, Dr. Daniel Hulme (Chief AI Officer at WPP), Stefano Puntoni of Wharton, Dr. Margie Warrell, and Victoria Tomlinson. New episodes on Fridays.

Information

  • Creator
    Hatchproof
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Hatchproof
  • Show Website
    Work, Measured