The Human Capitalist

There are two kinds of coaches. The kind that makes everyone feel supported. And the kind that makes the team win. Most organizations hire the first kind and pray they never need the second. In Episode 7 of The Five Mindsets of the Modern CHRO, we close out the framework with The Coach. Not the warm developmental coach. The hard coach. The CHRO who walks into the room, looks at everything the orga...

The media and companies keep AI layoffs on the wrong thing. But what if that's not the real story? Dario Amodei — the CEO of Anthropic — spent 2025 warning the world that AI would eliminate 50% of white-collar jobs. Then in May, both he and Sam Altman publicly walked back their predictions. So if the people who *built* the technology are backing off the apocalypse narrative... what's actually driv...

Candidates are gaming the hiring process. And honestly? Good. In this episode I sit down with Charlotte Melkert, CEO of Equalture, a game-based hiring intelligence platform out of the Netherlands, to unpack something SHRM just put a name to: skill phishing. Skill phishing is the act of presenting credentials and capabilities that never translate into real execution. We've always experienced it. AI...

What if the career ladder you've been climbing is disappearing? In this conversation, futurist and portfolio career strategist Jules challenges one of the biggest assumptions in modern work: Your title was rented. Your skills are yours. We dive into the future of work, why traditional career paths are breaking down, and how professionals can create more security, flexibility, and opportunity in an...

Last week, Bolt's CEO Ryan Breslow defended firing his entire HR team. He said the problems disappeared the day they left. He is not the only CEO who has thought it. He is just the only one who said it out loud. If you are a CHRO doing the same job you did five years ago, your seat is already obsolete. Unless you adopt one of these five mindsets, you are next. In this episode I break down what Bre...

You have more HR data than ever. They're still not answering your hardest questions. In Episode 4 of The Five Personas of the Modern CHRO, we're breaking down Persona 3 — The Scientist. This isn't about hiring a data analyst or buying a new people analytics platform. It's about a fundamental shift in how your CHRO engages with workforce data — and the difference between an HR leader who reports nu...

In this episode, I sat down with Sarika Lamont (Chief People Officer at Vidyard) to break down one of the most critical shifts happening in HR leadership right now. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: 97% of AI transformations are failing. It’s not the technology that’s broken. It’s because we—HR leaders—aren't leading them. AI transformation is fundamentally about behavior change, not tooling. And th...

HR isn't broken because it lacks data. It's broken because the data isn't connected to anything that drives decisions. 63% of HR professionals describe their function as the company's crisis hotline. 41% of their time goes to admin work. And 98% of CHROs are unhappy with how performance management works — despite sitting on more workforce data than ever. That's not a data problem. That's a gap pro...

HR isn't broken because it lacks data. It's broken because the data isn't connected to anything that drives decisions. 63% of HR professionals describe their function as the company's crisis hotline. 41% of their time goes to admin work. And 98% of CHROs are unhappy with how performance management works — despite sitting on more workforce data than ever. That's not a data problem. That's a gap pro...

The traditional CHRO role is being quietly eliminated. Not by AI. Not by the economy. By CHROs themselves. Average CHRO tenure has dropped from 6 years to 4.8. Only 3 in 10 have a business background. 60% see themselves as C-suite equals — but only 12% are paid like it. The gap between how CHROs see themselves and how boards value them is the whole problem in one number. In this episode — the foun...

Is reverse recruiting a real career service — or a clever racket preying on job seekers? And what happens to recruiting when AI takes over the top of the funnel? In this episode, I’m joined by Brian Fink, one of LinkedIn’s most respected recruiting voices, to unpack two disruptive trends reshaping the talent industry. We dive into the reverse recruiting craze — where candidates pay recruiters to a...

Reverse recruiting is blowing up right now — and I have thoughts. In a tight labor market where there are more unemployed Americans than open roles, candidates are flipping the script and paying recruiters to land them jobs. It's like having a Hollywood agent for your career. And honestly? Part of me thinks it's genius. But there's a huge red flag that nobody is talking about. In this video, I bre...

Most AI conversations in leadership focus on tools, skills, and headcount — but that's not where AI is breaking companies. The technology mostly works. What's failing is how organizations are being redesigned around it. Leaders are restructuring before they understand where value has moved — and it's making companies brittle, not leaner. In this video (Part 1 of 3), I break down the first critical...

AI is exposing the productivity problem leaders have ignored for years. Most organizations optimized for activity — not outcomes — and HR now owns the reset. As AI automates more work, it’s exposing a hard truth inside organizations: Much of what we’ve rewarded for years was never real productivity. Slide decks no one reads. Meetings that solve nothing. Reports created for optics, not outcomes. In...

Two veteran recruiters break down why relationship-driven recruiting, skills-based hiring, and boomerang talent are about to matter more than ever in an AI-driven world. In this episode of The Human Capitalist podcast, I sit down with Top Source Talent founder and Talking TA host, Denise Chaffin, to talk about what’s next for AI in HR, the rise of skilled trades, and how smart companies are quietl...

Almost every time layoffs are announced, we hear the same explanation: “AI-related restructuring.” The problem? There’s been no reliable way to verify it — until now. In this video, I break down the AI-Related Job Impacts Clarity Act, a new bill in Congress that could require companies to publicly report how AI is impacting their workforce. We cover: Why this bill exists What companies may soon be...

In this episode of the Human Capitalist, host Trent Cotton sits down with Cynthia Abbott Kerr, founder of WellPay, to break down the biggest headlines shaking up the consulting and HR worlds. We start by dissecting the recent news that McKinsey is freezing entry-level salaries and potentially abandoning their famous “pyramid” hiring model due to AI. Is artificial intelligence really the culprit, o...

For board members, the biggest risk isn't moving too fast with "artificial intelligence"; it's failing to ask the right questions before it's too late. This video emphasizes that AI is not a passing trend, highlighting the importance of strategic thinking and "ai leadership" for executives in 2025. It's crucial for "c suite leadership development" to understand this shift, as "ai for business" wil...

I'm thrilled to have talent strategy expert Rachel Bourne on the show. I've been tracking some alarming headlines about layoffs in 2025, and I knew Rachel was the perfect person to help me unpack what's really happening. We dive deep into the data (because we both geek out on this stuff!) and what it means for YOUR career. 🔍 **What We Cover:** **The Workforce Reality:** - 1.1 Million layoffs in 2...

I've been in the human capital space for over 20 years, and I'm ready to discuss how OpenAI could shake up the world of recruiting. This video explores the potential for an "openai jobs platform" to disrupt LinkedIn, focusing on real skills and better job matching. It's a look at the future of work, specifically how AI could impact "jobs" and "talent acquisition" as we know it. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00...

AI was supposed to be the hero of the future of work. Instead? 2025 is shaping up to be a workforce disaster. Over **1.1 million** U.S. jobs have been cut this year alone, and yet, companies are doubling down on automation. But here’s the catch: **42% of firms have already abandoned most of their AI projects** due to poor results and lack of internal capability. So what happens when you’ve cut you...

Here's what I've learned after 20+ years in HR: AI isn't just a tech play anymore. I's a complete workforce revolution, and most boards are still underestimating what's coming. I just watched Accenture's CEO lay out how the world's most powerful companies are thinking about AI, and let me tell you—it's not what most people think. It's not about scaling models. It's about scaling PEOPLE, changing h...

We are all chasing AI adoption in HR like it's a golden ticket, but let's be honest, we're failing. It isn't a tech problem; it's a people problem. HR's hesitation to adopt AI is a leadership failure, with many teams stuck in the past relying on outdated methods. But what if I told you the problem isn't AI, but the people behind AI adoption in HR? I'm Trent Cotton, a 20-year HR veteran and self-pr...

Are you struggling to navigate the world of recruiting operations? You're not alone! In this episode of the Human Capitalist Podcast, we dive deep into the secrets of RecOps with industry expert Jeremy Lyons. Discover why your victories might be quiet, but your failures are loud—and why understanding the "why" behind Recruiting Operations can transform your career! 🎯 Video Summary: Join me as I i...

The gap between recruiters is widening, and what you do next could be pivotal for your career. In this eye-opening recap, we're diving into how AI is transforming recruiting and what side of the divide you truly belong to. Check out this virtual panel program discussing hiring strategies and AI's impact on the process. Hear from various speakers as they share tips and reactions on ai job interview...