Speaking
Current Topics of Research, Executive Education, and Professional Writing
Dr. John Boudreau is an award-winning and globally sought-after speaker, who gets top reviews for stimulating, rigorous, important, mind-stretching and timely topics, delivered with humor, humility and engagement. He speaks to the timely topics listed below, and more generally about the future of work, teams, organizations, society and human resource management.
If you would like to invite John to deliver a keynote or contribute to a writing project, please review his speaking topics below to identify the topic your interest best fits. Then contact John to discuss your request.
Browse Topics
Work Without Jobs
What will work look like in the future? The disruptions of 2020 and 2021 have accelerated the evolution of the very definition of work, and its role in organizations, society and workers’ lives, opportunities and well-being. Work is “melting” and being deconstructed. The work ecosystem is more boundary-less, beyond the traditional organization. Careers are being redefined as more diverse, boundless and reflecting lifelong learning and the 100-year life. Combinations of human and automated work perpetually change. This future holds a paradox in that it can produce a future that is more empowering and inclusive, but it can also be used in ways that are exploitive and less inclusive.
Book
LinkedIn Articles and Posts
CEO Articles
MIT Sloan Articles
Talent Quarterly Posts
Visier Blog Posts
Journal Articles
Podcasts
Interviews
Events
Reinventing Jobs to Optimize Work Automation
AI will significantly disrupt and potentially empower the global workforce. It won’t happen all at once or in every job, but it will happen, and leaders will need an automation strategy that realizes its benefits, avoids needless costs, and rests on a more nuanced understanding of work. Leaders need a clear-eyed way to think about how these technologies will specifically affect their organizations. The right question isn’t which jobs are going to be replaced, but rather, what work will be redefined, and how?
Book
CEO Articles
CFO Articles
Harvard Business Review Articles
Rework Blog Posts
Visier Blog Posts
Podcasts
Interviews
Events
Reviews
Reviews for Reinventing Jobs: A 4-Step Approach for Applying Automation to Work
- Diana McKenzie, Senior Vice President and CIO, Workday: “Reinventing Jobs is a book that CIOs, CHROs, and all C-suite leaders should read together. This four-step framework takes the guesswork out of building your digital strategy and a future-ready, engaged, and agile workforce.”
- Saadia Zahidi, Head of Education, Gender and Work and member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum: “Jesuthasan and Boudreau bring an insightful and practical approach to dealing with one of the most significant challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
- Alan May, Chief People Officer, Hewlett Packard Enterprise: “Jesuthasan and Boudreau offer a comprehensive approach to transforming work while enabling organizations–and individuals–to adapt and thrive.”
- Irish Tech News: “Transcending the endless debate about humans being replaced by machines, Jesuthasan and Boudreau show how smart leaders instead are optimizing human-automation combinations that are not only more efficient but also generate higher returns on improved performance. Based on groundbreaking primary research, Reinventing Jobs provides an original, structured approach …to help leaders reinvent how work gets bundled into jobs and create optimal human-machine combinations.”
- Daniel H. Pink, author, Drive and When: “Reinventing Jobs cuts through the hype and hysteria and shows leaders how to apply automation and artificial intelligence in their organizations. Jesuthasan and Boudreau are the clear-eyed guides every organization needs.”
- Zhang Ruimin, Chairman and CEO, Haier Group–
“In the age of the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI . . . Reinventing Jobs is a book ahead of its time and points the way to the ‘humanization’ of the enterprise.”
- Jim Whitehurst, President and CEO, Red Hat: “Jesuthasan and Boudreau help us ask the right questions when we’re considering where and when to automate. They recognize that automation is not a simple ‘rip and replace’ of certain jobs and tasks, but rather something that requires a layered approach.”
- Ralph W. Brown, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, Research & Development, CableLabs: “This book provides an excellent, much-needed framework to guide the collaboration necessary among CIOs, CHROs, and other functional leaders to optimize work and the application of automation in today’s rapidly changing environment.”
- Anthony G. Petrello, Chairman, President, and CEO, Nabors Industries: “A must-read for every CEO. A most thoughtful approach with examples from numerous industries that illustrate that automation and workflow optimization are critical to competing effectively.”
CHREATE
A groundswell of enthusiasm has emerged, to create a movement that will advance the future of the HR profession faster. Beginning in 2013, with a handful of like-minded HR leaders, the CHREATE initiative has attracted over 30 CHROs and other HR leaders. These HR leaders have devoted hundreds of hours of volunteer effort to map how HR must evolve to meet the future challenges in ten years, to identify pivotal initiatives to accelerate that evolution, and to design the actions needed to make the future a reality.
The CHREATE initiative is unique in its diversity, its open-source approach, and its emphasis on collective action that goes beyond the fine work of any one institution, to tap the synergies that are possible when we work together. Through the power of open-source collaboration, participant diversity, volunteerism and a unique combination of in-kind and financial resources, we aim to continue and extend the community of senior HR leaders who will reimagine a profession equipped to address the challenges of the future.
Website
Book
Latest Development in CHREATE Research
Harvard Business Review Articles
People + Strategy Journal Articles
Rework Blog Posts
RiseSmart Blog Posts
Root Watercooler Blog Post
Talent Management Articles
Visier Blog Posts
Interviews
Webinars
Events
Lead The Work: Navigating New Organizational Forms, Intermediaries, and Alternative Work Arrangements that Lie Beyond Employment
Future leadership will increasingly involve optimizing how you get the work done, not how you manage employees. Estimates are that over 40% of work will soon be done by individuals that are not employed by the organization they work for. Yet virtually all present laws, organizational systems and human resource processes are designed assuming that managing full-time employees is how work gets done. A world beyond employment offers options such as alliances, talent-trading, tours of duty, freelancers, along with familiar options of outsourcing, temporary employment and contractors. What are the fundamental dimensions of this new world, and how can they help leaders make better decisions about work and talent?
Book
CFO Articles
Fortune Articles
Harvard Business Review Articles
Rework Blog Posts
RiseSmart Blog Posts
Root Watercooler Blog Post
Talent Management Articles
Visier Blog Posts
Interviews
Webinars
Events
Reviews for Lead the Work
- Maynard Webb, Founder of the Webb Investment Network and Chairman of the Board at Yahoo!: “The workplace is undergoing a profound transformation. John, Ravin, and David demonstrate how work is evolving, and detail what managers need to do differently to win the war for talent. This book is a practical map for managers and employees.”
- Douglas A. Milroy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, G&K Services, Inc.: “Lead the Work offers a thoughtful framework for understanding and managing the rapidly evolving nature of how work gets done. While forward looking in its approach, it captures important and practical insights for CEOs operating in today’s environment as well.”
- Daniel H. Pink, author of Free Agent Nation and Drive: “Free Agent Nation is fast becoming Free Agent World. And in this smart, compelling book, a trio of sharp minds provides the intellectual GPS you’ll need to find your way. If you’re interested in the future of work, this book is an essential read.”
- Scott Pitasky, Executive Vice President and Chief Partner (Human) Resources Officer, Starbucks: “The world of work is changing in just about every way. There are big obvious shifts like globalization and the impact of technology and emerging trends around value and purpose that make us rethink what we are trying to accomplish. Lead the Work is a wonderful combination of theory and practice that explores these changes. It helps us understand what is happening and the ‘new choices’ we have to innovate and execute. How do we use partners and customers? How can technology source skills from within our own organization? How can work be dissected to be more responsive and fast? John, Ravin, and David help us all be more aware of these fundamental changes and more prepared to make informed and deliberate decisions in this new world of work.”
- Adam Grant, Professor, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, and New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take: “Leadership has become more collective, boundaryless and democratic. A big reason is that work is no longer done only by your employees, but by a vast global community that works in very different ways, and expects very different things. Lead the Work describes a pivotal change in how organizations and workers will engage, a shift as tectonic as past evolutions like online commerce, the sharing economy, and social media. The book draws on engaging stories, scholarly evidence, and best practices from leading organizations, and the decades of experience of its authors. If this evolution in work hasn’t reached your organization yet, it will, and its progress will be exponential. This book will help you get ahead of the curve to navigate this new world.”
- Pat Wadors, Senior Vice President, Global Talent, LinkedIn: “So if you desire more leverage, becoming and staying a ‘best place to work’, and addressing the competitive talent landscape to harness the best talent for the right problem, then Lead the Work is a must read. It will get you thinking about possibilities and push us further into the new way of work.”
- Diane Gherson, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, IBM–
“If you are a corporate officer, investor or manager, read this book to understand how to lead and engage the new workforce. Share the book with your HR leaders, and discuss how you can work with them to optimize the opportunities, and avoid the pitfalls, of the new global workplace.”
- Maynard Webb, Founder of the Webb Investment Network and Chairman of the Board at Yahoo!: “The workplace is undergoing a profound transformation. John, Ravin, and David demonstrate how work is evolving, and detail what managers need to do differently to win the war for talent. This book is a practical map for managers and employees.”
- Douglas A. Milroy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, G&K Services, Inc.: “Lead the Work offers a thoughtful framework for understanding and managing the rapidly evolving nature of how work gets done. While forward looking in its approach, it captures important and practical insights for CEOs operating in today’s environment as well.”
Beyond Analytics: Strategic Decisions in the Age of the Smart Machine and Big Data
Leaders are urged to apply big data and predictive analytics to talent, leadership and organization capability. Is better data and analysis the key to the long-sought strategic impact of human capital decisions? Should you be investing millions in sophisticated data systems and analysis tools applied to your people? Beyond the data and analytics, strategic success will hinge on fundamental questions about storytelling, culture, uncertainty and the connection between artificial and human intelligence.
CFO Articles
Harvard Business Review Articles and Interviews
Rework Blog Posts
Visier Blog Posts
Interviews
Journal Articles
