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You Should Know

You Should Know

Hosted by WRKdefined

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Episodes

79

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN

About the show

"You Should Know," a podcast delving into pivotal leadership challenges in the workplace. With broad topics, it engages anyone invested in the evolving world of work. Join us as we unravel workplace dynamics. Proudly brought to you by WRKdefined with hosts William Tincup and Ryan Leary. 

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60 recent
August 11, 202626 min

The HR Compliance Risks Companies Keep Missing

HR compliance is harder because employers must navigate overlapping federal, state, city, and county rules while managing risks created by AI and remote work. Exposure often begins with basic processes companies assume are handled. In this episode, Jeremy Mancheski, Founder and CEO of OutSolve, explains how HR compliance has evolved since 1998 and why technology has not eliminated the need for experienced human oversight. The shift from paper records to HR systems changed compliance, but critical processes remain stuck between both worlds. Many employers still rely on paper I-9 forms, inconsistent storage, and outdated retention practices. Remote work adds risk. Each state, city, and county may impose different posting, pay transparency, reporting, and employment requirements. AI may improve efficiency, but employers remain responsible for understanding automated hiring decisions, potential bias, and accountability for unlawful outcomes. Some of the most overlooked problems are also the easiest to fix. Outdated workplace posters, incomplete I-9s, missing documentation, and inconsistent processes can signal broader weaknesses before an audit, claim, or enforcement action occurs. Proactive compliance requires reviewing the fundamentals, tracking every jurisdiction, preserving required data, and assigning clear ownership. Technology supports that work, but specialists interpret changing requirements. Key Takeaways ➡️ HR compliance is now a multijurisdictional challenge. Federal rules are only one layer when states, cities, and counties may impose additional or conflicting requirements. ➡️ I-9 compliance deserves immediate attention. Paper records, retention gaps, incomplete forms, and unclear ownership can create significant exposure across an entire workforce. ➡️ Remote work expands an employer’s compliance footprint. Hiring one employee in another jurisdiction may introduce new posting, reporting, pay transparency, and employment obligations. ➡️ AI does not transfer legal responsibility away from the employer. Organizations must understand how automated decisions are made and monitor systems for bias and flawed outcomes. ➡️ Basic compliance failures can reveal larger problems. Outdated posters and poor documentation may appear minor until they become evidence during an investigation or legal claim. Chapters 00:00 What is OutSolve01:14 Building an HR Compliance Company in 199802:29 How HR Compliance Has Changed03:43 The Compliance Issues Creating Risk05:47 Technology and AI in HR Compliance07:33 Remote Work Across Multiple Jurisdictions11:26 What Compliance Audits Reveal13:13 Workplace Posters and I-9 Violations16:53 The Risk of Outdated Compliance Posters18:20 Federal and State Law Conflicts19:49 How HR Leaders Can Reduce Risk22:56 Compliance Advice for Large Employers23:22 Why the Regulatory Environment Is More Complex24:13 When to Outsource HR Compliance25:47 Documentation as a Compliance Foundation26:56 Why Compliance Requires Specialists Guest Jeremy Mancheski, Founder and CEO, OutSolveLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-mancheski-08176340 Resource OutSolve: https://www.outsolve.com Connect with Us : William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network: Site: http://www.wrkdefined.comTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefinedLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefinedFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefinedSubstack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August 4, 202643 min

Where You Work Matters: What Workforce Data Reveals About Career Mobility with Matt Sigleman, Burning Glass and Rajiv Chandrasekaran, the Emes Project

Where You Work Matters: What Workforce Data Reveals About Career Mobility Where you work shapes how far your career goes. Real workforce data exposes which employer practices create mobility, retention, and real opportunity — and which ones don't. William Tincup explores how workforce analytics reveals where talent systems work, where they fail, and which roles actually drive business performance over time. This episode digs into workforce development, internal mobility, career pathways, and what happens when companies actually invest in their people instead of constantly hiring from outside. Key Takeaways Where you work matters. Employer practices, culture, and access to opportunity shape an employee's entire career trajectory. Workforce data reveals what employee surveys can't — real career movement, retention patterns, regrettable losses, and long-term outcomes. Internal mobility requires clear pathways, leadership support, and a willingness to develop talent instead of constantly hiring externally. Talent strategy should reflect the business. Companies need to understand which roles create the greatest impact and invest accordingly. Greater transparency helps everyone. Objective employer benchmarks improve company practices and give candidates better information about where they can grow. Guest Information Matt Sigelman — President, Burning Glass Institute — LinkedIn Rajiv Chandrasekaran — LinkedIn About the Host William Tincup is a co-host of You Should Know and a longtime voice in the HR and recruitment space. He brings a sharp, unfiltered perspective on the future of work. Chapters 00:00 — Introducing Where You Work Matters03:08 — How Employers Shape Career Success06:49 — Recognizing and Developing Employee Potential10:07 — Building Better Talent Pipelines13:24 — Turnover, Retention, and Workforce Benchmarks17:13 — Identifying Top Employers and Practices20:44 — Why Employee Experience Varies by Role23:36 — Aligning Talent Practices With Business Strategy28:38 — Internal Mobility and Career Ownership32:25 — Where Traditional Skills Models Fall Short36:15 — Using Workforce Data to Guide Better Decisions40:01 — Building a Fairer, More Transparent Labor Market43:13 — Closing Remarks and Resources Resources Where You Work Matters Burning Glass Institute WRKdefined Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network: Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 28, 202633 min

AI Interviews + Skills Validation: Better Together for High-Volume Hiring

AI interviewers can engage every applicant at speed, but they cannot prove job readiness on their own. High-volume hiring works better when automated interviews are paired with job-specific skills assessments. In this episode, Stéphane Rivard, CEO and Co-Founder of HiringBranch, and Prem Kumar, Founder and CEO of Humanly, and explain how AI interviews and skills assessments can work together to improve high-volume hiring. Traditional hiring funnels spend heavily to attract candidates, then fail to engage most of them. AI interviewing changes the comparison from AI versus a recruiter to AI versus silence, delays, or rejection based on resume keywords. Structured AI conversations help employers reach more applicants and collect consistent information. Humanly has found that candidates provide answers averaging 201 words and ask roughly one additional question, creating better information earlier. An interview still cannot replace skills validation. Situational assessments allow candidates to demonstrate how they listen, communicate, solve problems, handle customers, and respond under realistic job conditions. When an interview and assessment disagree, employers should examine the complete body of evidence and connect each signal to the skills and outcomes required for the role. Portable candidate profiles could combine verified skills, assessments, work history, and development data. That could reduce repeated applications and improve skills-based matching. Success should be measured through business outcomes, including candidate conversion, time to hire, onboarding speed, retention, absenteeism, productivity, and quality of hire after 90 days. Key Takeaways ➡️ AI interviewers solve an engagement problem. They give more applicants a structured conversation when the alternative is silence or automatic rejection. ➡️ Skills assessments add proof to the hiring process. Job simulations can reveal communication, judgment, listening, and customer-facing ability that resumes and interviews may miss. ➡️ Interview and assessment data should complement each other. Conflicting signals should trigger a deeper review, not automatic elimination. ➡️ Candidate experience requires a meaningful outcome. Collecting more information only builds trust when employers provide clarity, relevant feedback, or a path toward another opportunity. ➡️ AI hiring success must connect to business performance. Faster screening matters, but retention, productivity, onboarding, and quality of hire determine whether the stack works. Chapters 00:00 AI Interviews and Skills Assessments03:30 What Is Broken in High-Volume Hiring05:22 Engaging Candidates at Scale06:56 Where AI Interviews End and Skills Validation Begins08:11 What AI Interviewers Can Reliably Determine12:22 When Interview and Assessment Results Disagree15:02 Can Hiring Become Fully Automated22:33 Skills Data and Portable Candidate Profiles25:06 What AI Hiring Could Look Like by 203029:38 Risks in AI-Driven Hiring32:37 Measuring Recruitment Success Guests Stéphane Rivard, CEO and Co-Founder, HiringBranch LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephane-rivard-entrepreneur⁠ Prem Kumar, Founder and CEO, HumanlyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/premskumar Resources HiringBranch: ⁠https://hiringbranch.com Humanly: https://humanly.io Connect with Us : William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network: Site: http://www.wrkdefined.comTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefinedLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefinedFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefinedSubstack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 21, 202623 min

How isolved and Remote Are Opening Global Hiring to SMBs with Barry Gauch, isolved and Pim Altena, Remote

Global Hiring Just Got Real for SMBs: How isolved and Remote Are Making It Work Global hiring used to mean local entities, legal headaches, and a stack of disconnected systems. Not anymore. isolved and Remote are partnering to bring enterprise-grade international hiring to small and midsized businesses without the complexity. William Tincup sits down with Barry Gauch (isolved) and Pim Altena (Remote) to break down how the partnership started as a referral relationship, why Remote built its platform to be embedded, and what convinced isolved to bring global hiring capabilities directly into their ecosystem. They also dig into global payroll, compliance, and what happens when you stop hiring by geography and start hiring by skill. Key Takeaways Global hiring is no longer just for big enterprises. SMBs can now access the infrastructure to hire internationally without building it from scratch. Embedded technology eliminates the friction. Remote's EOR, contractor management, and global payroll sit inside isolved so customers don't need another disconnected platform. Geography becomes irrelevant when hiring infrastructure is in place. Companies can finally focus on finding the right skills wherever they live. Compliance is the biggest barrier. Employment laws vary wildly across countries, and they can contradict each other. You need tech and expertise to keep up. Trust is built through proof, not promises. isolved and Remote started with referrals before committing to a full integration, giving both sides time to validate demand, quality, and cost. Guest Information Barry Gauch — Executive Vice President, isolved Pim Altena — General Manager of Remote Embedded and Vice President of Partnerships, Remote About the Host William Tincup is a co-host of You Should Know and a longtime voice in the HR and recruitment space. He brings a sharp, unfiltered perspective on the future of work. Chapters 00:00 — Meet Barry Gauch and Pim Altena01:19 — How the partnership began03:57 — Why Remote was built to be embedded06:06 — Making global hiring simple09:25 — Hiring for skills instead of location12:38 — How COVID accelerated global work15:29 — Testing the partnership before expanding18:40 — Managing international compliance20:11 — The rollout inside isolved23:27 — Measuring the partnership's success Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network: Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 6, 202642 min

Mastering Global Communication: How to Communicate with Clarity, Confidence, and Impact

Strong communication isn't about using bigger words or speaking perfect English. It's about making ideas clear, building trust, and creating connections across cultures. In a world where teams span countries and time zones, the ability to communicate with confidence and clarity has become one of the most valuable professional skills anyone can develop. In this episode, you'll learn why confidence often has a greater impact than flawless grammar, how unconscious bias influences the way we perceive accents and communication styles, practical strategies for simplifying complex ideas without losing meaning, how AI is helping non-native English speakers communicate more effectively, why storytelling remains one of the most powerful business skills, and what leaders can do to create more inclusive communication across global teams. One of the most overlooked challenges in international business isn't language itself. It's the assumptions people make about competence, credibility, and intelligence based on how someone speaks. Those biases affect hiring, leadership, collaboration, and decision-making more often than most people realize. The conversation also explores why simpler communication is often stronger communication. Removing unnecessary jargon, choosing clear language, and focusing on understanding instead of sounding impressive can dramatically improve relationships with colleagues, customers, and clients around the world. Artificial intelligence is changing the way professionals prepare presentations, write emails, and communicate across languages. Used well, AI isn't replacing communication skills. It's helping people express their ideas more clearly and confidently than ever before. Whether you lead global teams, work with international clients, or simply want your message to have greater impact, this episode offers practical insights you can apply immediately. Key Takeaways Why confidence often matters more than perfect English and how it helps reduce unconscious bias. How accents, cultural norms, and communication styles influence trust, credibility, and collaboration. Practical ways to simplify your communication so your message is understood by any audience. How AI can improve writing, speaking, and overall communication for native and non-native speakers alike. Why storytelling and clarity consistently outperform jargon in business conversations. Actionable strategies for creating more inclusive and effective communication across global teams. Guest: Peter Novak, Strictly Speaking Group Connect with Us :  William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ Connect with WRKdefined:  Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 10, 202642 min

Assessments Are Dead. Skills Intelligence Is Taking Their Place

Most employees hear the word “assessment” and immediately think of being judged. Kian Katanforoosh thinks that mindset is outdated. The future isn’t about screening people out. It’s about measuring skills, accelerating learning, and helping people prove what they can actually do. The biggest workforce advantage may not be talent. It may be learning velocity. Skills intelligence, AI readiness, workforce development, learning velocity, talent management, skills-based hiring. This conversation explores how AI is reshaping the way organizations measure and develop human potential. In this episode… Kian explains why traditional assessments have earned a trust problem, how AI is reinventing skills measurement, and why learning velocity could become one of the most important workforce metrics of the future. Sharp discussion on AI readiness, skills verification, talent mobility, workforce development, and the future of hiring. Key Takeaways :  • Kian argues organizations should stop thinking about assessments and start thinking about skills intelligence • Modern AI can evaluate far more than multiple-choice questions, including problem-solving, coding, communication, and real-world tasks • Trust in skills measurement requires transparent design, continuous auditing, and humans remaining in the loop • Kian believes AI is already less biased than humans in many evaluation scenarios because human bias remains deeply inconsistent • Large organizations often have thousands of managers applying different hiring standards, creating inconsistency that AI can help reduce • Candidates and employees should have the ability to challenge AI-generated outcomes and trigger human review when needed • Meta reportedly hired 7 of 11 top AI researchers from OpenAI, highlighting how intense the AI talent war has become • Kian predicts compensation will increasingly be tied to verified skills rather than traditional credentials or tenure • One metric his customers track is “learning velocity,” measuring how quickly a person improves skills over time • Learning velocity may become a stronger predictor of future potential than current skill level alone • Skills adjacency helps organizations identify employees who can successfully transition into new projects or roles • Kian believes employees will eventually carry verified skills passports between employers instead of relying on self-reported resumes and profiles • LinkedIn profiles are largely self-reported, while future skills credentials will likely be independently verified • Organizations rolling out skills measurement should focus on employee empowerment rather than compliance or screening • AI readiness is becoming the first major use case for enterprise-wide skills measurement programs • Leaders who pretend to understand AI create what Kian calls “dangerous amateurs” throughout the organization • Effective AI transformation starts with leadership openly measuring and improving their own capabilities first • Employees engage more when skill development is tied to clear incentives, promotions, recognition, or financial rewards • The future of workforce development is less about completing courses and more about reaching measurable skill outcomes Guest : Kian Katanforoosh CEO and Founder of Workera, AI educator, Stanford lecturer, and workforce innovator helping organizations measure, verify, and develop skills through AI-powered skills intelligence and learning platforms. LinkedIN : https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiankatan Connect with Us :  William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined :  Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 5, 202638 min

You’re More Than Your Job Title. So Why Are You Building Your Career Around One?

Most people spend years trying to find the perfect career fit. Sarabeth Bickerton thinks that’s the wrong goal. The real problem isn’t fit. It’s belonging. People don’t want to be squeezed into someone else’s box. They want to be seen, known, and valued for who they actually are. The workforce is obsessed with skills and titles while people are searching for identity. Career belonging, professional identity, personal branding, workforce development, career growth, leadership. This conversation explores what happens when people stop defining themselves by their job descriptions. In this episode… Sarabeth explains why career belonging matters more than career fit, how professional identity evolves throughout life, and why hybrid professionals are becoming one of the most overlooked talent groups in the workforce. Sharp discussion on personal branding, career transitions, identity, leadership, and the future of work. Key Takeaways :  • Sarabeth argues people want to be “seen, known, and valued,” not simply matched to a job opening • Many employees feel invisible at work because they are viewed only through their job title instead of their broader capabilities • She believes career belonging is becoming more important than traditional notions of career fit • Sarabeth identifies three professional identity types: singularity (experts), multiplicity (generalists), and hybridity (people who combine multiple disciplines) • Hybrid professionals often create value by connecting skills and perspectives that normally exist in separate functions • Many organizations still hire using binary expert-versus-generalist thinking while overlooking hybrid talent • Companies are increasingly hiring for adaptability, agility, and the ability to navigate ambiguity because jobs are changing faster than ever • A highly skilled employee can still fail in the wrong role if their professional identity does not align with the work environment • Professional identity is fluid and evolves throughout a person’s life rather than remaining fixed forever • Losing a job, losing a loved one, and going through a divorce are three of the biggest triggers of identity crises • Many career transition programs focus on resumes and job applications before helping people understand who they are becoming • Sarabeth encourages people to map dozens of professional identities instead of reducing themselves to a single title • One of her most powerful exercises involves asking others how they perceive your impact beyond your job description • She uses “First, Best, and Only” career moments to uncover patterns of unique strengths and identity traits • Personal branding is not about marketing yourself. It starts with understanding your identity first • The biggest career breakthroughs often happen when people finally find language that accurately describes who they have been all along Guest : Sarabeth Bickerton  Founder of More Than My Title, author, researcher, and career strategist helping professionals understand their professional identity, build career belonging, and move beyond the limits of job titles and traditional career paths. LinkedIN : https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarabethberk/ Connect with Us :  William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined :  Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 26, 202636 min

AI Isn’t Coming for HR. Bad HR Is Already Dead.

Only 6% of businesses in Ireland have deployed AI at scale. That’s the wake-up call. This conversation cuts through the AI cosplay and gets real about skills-based hiring, HR transformation, employee trust, governance, automation, and what happens when agents start doing half the work faster than your best ops team. In this episode… Stephanie explains why most companies are stuck in pilot mode, why “jobs” are becoming obsolete, and how AI changes recruiting, onboarding, learning, and leadership. She also shares the five-part framework companies need if they want adoption instead of fear, resistance, and expensive tech nobody uses. Key Takeaways :  Only 6% of businesses in Ireland have deployed AI at scale 90% of leaders say they feel unprepared for AI adoption 67% of Irish businesses using AI still can’t explain the ROI AI can analyze employee engagement data in seconds instead of months Skills-based organizations will outperform job-based structures in the AI era AI agents can handle repetitive L&D coordination work in under 5 minutes Most employee resistance comes from forced change, not the technology itself “Transparency builds trust” became the core theme of the conversation Stephanie’s “GAS SEED” framework focuses on growth mindset, autonomy, creativity, entrepreneurship, empathy, and decision-making Companies rolling out AI without psychological safety are setting themselves up for low adoption Governance is less about restriction and more about data protection and compliance The best AI use cases connect directly to revenue goals, not random admin cleanup Guest :  Stephanie Prenderville Founder SPC Consulting Stephanie has been helping organizations build practical AI adoption strategies that humans will actually use. LinkedIN : https://ie.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-prenderville Connect with Us : William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined : Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 21, 202626 min

Why “Culture Fit” Filters Out Great Talent | Carlton Gates Tells Us Why

Most companies say they hire for skill. Carlton Gates says that’s nonsense. From AI screening tools to culture-fit traps, this episode breaks down why recruiting is still more gut instinct than science.Only 10 candidates get reviewed out of 1,000 applicants. AI is filtering your future before a human ever sees your name. Skills-based hiring, recruiting tech, candidate fraud, soft skills, hiring velocity, and workplace culture all collide here.In this episode…Carlton breaks down what companies still get wrong about hiring. We get into AI recruiting tools, fake candidates, interview fatigue, soft skills, diversity in hiring, and why speed plus precision separates top performers from everyone else. Sharp takes. No HR fluff.Key Takeaways• Most recruiters cannot realistically review 2,000 applicants manually across 10 open reqs• Some job posts now pull 200 applicants within a single hour• “Culture fit” often becomes an unspoken filter around age, gender, geography, or background• Diverse teams consistently produce better business outcomes and decision-making• AI recruiting tools like Humanly help surface stronger candidates faster through keyword analysis• Candidate experience matters more than companies think. Slow scheduling kills momentum fast• Interview fatigue is crushing engineering teams during technical hiring cycles• Tools like CoderPad reduce candidate fraud through live testing and timed assessments• Soft skills dominate roles involving sales, recruiting, HR, and leadership• Self-motivation becomes the deciding factor in independent technical roles like UX and engineering• A resume is still a marketing document. Bad grammar and weak structure eliminate candidates instantly• Top performers move fast, stay accurate, and execute under pressure without losing focusConnect with Us : William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/WRKdefined : Site: http://www.wrkdefined.comTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefinedLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefinedFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefinedSubstack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 19, 202628 min

Most Companies Don’t Have an Innovation Problem | They have a fear problem nobody wants to admit

Most companies say they want innovation. Then they build rooms where people are punished for thinking differently. Creativity isn’t rare. Suppressing it is. Josh Linkner connects innovation, leadership, psychology, and business through one brutal truth: most people stop sharing bold ideas because they’ve been trained to avoid mistakes. The result? Safe thinking, mediocre execution, and teams stuck recycling old answers to new problems. In this episode… you’ll hear why traditional brainstorming is broken, how fear destroys innovation before ideas even surface, and practical ways to create environments where people actually think differently. From “bad idea brainstorms” to role-based creativity exercises, this is about making better ideas usable inside real organizations. Key Takeaways : • Fear kills more creativity than lack of talent ever will • Most brainstorming sessions fail because people self-censor before speaking • Safe ideas survive meetings more often than smart ideas • Every strong creative process starts with messy first drafts, not polished perfection • Critiquing the work improves ideas. Critiquing the person shuts people down • Teams produce better thinking when feedback becomes specific instead of vague • Diversity creates stronger innovation because different lived experiences expand possible solutions • Homogeneous teams often move faster but generate narrower thinking • Psychological safety matters because people won’t risk bold ideas if embarrassment feels expensive • Some of the best innovations come from borrowing ideas outside your industry • A medical breakthrough for severe burns came from studying how graffiti artists use spray paint • Roleplaying during brainstorming removes social pressure and unlocks ideas people normally suppress Connect with Us : William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined : Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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