In this episode of Work’s Not Working… Let’s Fix It! Siân Harrington sits down with Harvard Business Review editor Kevin Evers, author of There’s Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift, to explore what Taylor Swift can teach us about leadership, reinvention and making work actually work.

At first glance it might seem unlikely but Kevin argues that Swift is one of the most strategic thinkers in modern business. She’s mastered brand control, long-term trust and antifragile thinking in a way most organisations only talk about.

In an era where people feel disempowered, stuck in rigid systems and burnt out by constant change Swift’s playbook offers something rare: clarity, conviction and control.

From re-recording her music catalogue to turning setbacks into strategy, Swift’s approach holds powerful lessons for leaders navigating transformation, employee experience and brand loyalty.

Whether you’re a CEO, a people leader or someone questioning how to take back agency in your own career, this conversation will shift how you think about power, trust and the long game in work.

Key Takeaways:

• Reinvention only works if you protect the trust. Swift has changed her genre, aesthetic and tone – without losing her audience. Leaders should take note.
• Owning your story is the new power move. Swift didn’t fight for control – she built her own. That mindset shift applies far beyond the music industry.
• Employee experience needs obsession, not just intention. Swift’s fan loyalty is built through care, consistency and surprise. Most organisations are still stuck at comms plans and pulse surveys.
• Data can’t replace instinct. Swift’s biggest decisions weren’t based on algorithms – they were grounded in clear values and audience understanding.
• Resilience is overrated. Try antifragility. Swift doesn’t just survive hits – she grows stronger from them. That’s a model more leaders need to adopt.
• You can’t build long-term loyalty if you panic every quarter. Swift plays the long game. Business should too.

This episode is about more than Taylor Swift. It’s about taking bold, strategic ownership in a world of broken work models – and reminding ourselves that reinvention is a skill, not a risk.

Interested in insights about people leadership, HR and the future of work?
Seize and shape the future of work with The People Space, a leading digital HR magazine for forward-thinking leaders. We empower you to put people at the heart of work, navigating the evolving intersection of technology, business and human insight. Join us in building a future where people and machines collaborate for a more human-centric workplace

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In this episode of Work’s Not Working… Let’s Fix It! Siân Harrington sits down with Lord Mark Price – former managing director of Waitrose, deputy chair of the John Lewis Partnership, and now author of Happy Economics – to ask a surprisingly radical question: What if the biggest untapped performance lever in business... is happiness?

In a world obsessed with efficiency, dashboards and productivity hacks, Mark argues that we’ve forgotten a simple truth: people do their best work when they feel good. And yet, too many companies still treat happiness like a perk, not a performance metric.

Drawing on over 40 years in business and a global dataset of over one million employees, Mark shares why the smartest organisations are putting happiness on the balance sheet – and what happens when they do.

Whether you’re a numbers-driven CEO, a disillusioned manager or an HR leader trying to make the case for culture, this episode offers sharp insights, real-world proof and a powerful reminder that everything in your P&L starts with your people.

Key Takeaways:

• Workplace happiness isn’t fluffy. It’s measurable, scalable and commercially essential. Mark explains how companies can use data to drive both wellbeing and performance.
• The UK is bottom of the G20 for both productivity and workplace happiness. That’s not a coincidence but a warning.
• “The answer’s not in the spreadsheet, it’s in your people.” Why obsessing over numbers while ignoring morale is costing companies more than they realise.
• Recognition, information, empowerment. The six science-backed drivers of workplace happiness and why most leaders are focusing on the wrong one.
• Middle management isn't the enemy. Why ripping out human connection in the name of tech is a fast track to disengagement.
• Gen Z isn’t entitled but reacting to a system that no longer serves them. And their refusal to tolerate bad management might just be a wake-up call for the rest of us.

Mark reminds us that building a happy workforce isn’t soft. It’s smart. It’s strategic. And it might just be the future of business.

Interested in insights about people leadership, HR and the future of work?
Seize and shape the future of work with The People Space, a leading digital HR magazine for forward-thinking leaders. We empower you to put people at the heart of work, navigating the evolving intersection of technology, business and human insight. Join us in building a future where people and machines collaborate for a more human-centric workplace

• Sign up for our free fortnightly newsletter on the future of work, human-centric organisations people-first leadership
• Follow Siân on LinkedIn
• Are you an HR professional seeking to raise your profile or become an independent consultant? I can help!
• HR vendor or consultant? Check out how I can help you reach senior HR leaders
• Follow The People Space on Facebook

In this episode of Work’s Not Working… Let’s Fix It! Siân Harrington sits down with Josh Drean, workplace futurist and co-author of Employment is Dead, to explore why the traditional employment contract may soon be a relic of the past – and what’s rising to take its place.

In a world shaped by AI, blockchain, Web3 and an emerging generation of workers questioning everything about how we work, Josh argues that the real disruptor isn’t remote work or the return-to-office debate. It’s that employment itself – rigid, outdated and increasingly ineffective – is being replaced by something entirely new: a fluid, tech-enabled ecosystem of contributors.

From smart contracts to billion-dollar one-person businesses, Josh paints a radical but compelling picture of work’s future and why HR, business leaders and everyday workers need to be paying attention now.

Whether you’re a burned-out employee, a forward-thinking HR leader or a curious CEO wondering how to retain talent in this next era, this episode is packed with insight, foresight, and a dash of provocation.

💡 Key takeaways:

• “Employment is dead.” That’s not a metaphor, Josh believes our existing model of full-time work-for-pay is collapsing. And with Gallup data showing employee engagement at its lowest ever, it’s hard to argue.
• Goodbye jobs, hello contributors. The future of work isn’t about roles and hierarchies but about ecosystems of talent. People won’t want to be controlled. They’ll want to own, contribute and collaborate on their terms.
• The next workforce revolution is powered by AI, blockchain and smart contracts. Think DAOs, not departments. Think output, not hours. Think talent clouds, not talent pipelines.
• Gen Z is not lazy, they’re rejecting broken systems. 79% of leaders say they won’t hire Gen Z. But maybe it’s the system that needs to evolve, not the generation that sees its flaws.
• Hope is the new trust. In a surprise insight from Gallup, it’s not trust employees want most right now, it’s hope. That the future can be different. That their work can matter again.

Josh reminds us that the future of work is coming fast – and the only way to prepare is to start reimagining now.

Interested in insights about people leadership, HR and the future of work?
Seize and shape the future of work with The People Space, a leading digital HR magazine for forward-thinking leaders. We empower you to put people at the heart of work, navigating the evolving intersection of technology, business and human insight. Join us in building a future where people and machines collaborate for a more human-centric workplace

• Sign up for our free fortnightly newsletter on the future of work, human-centric organisations people-first leadership
• Follow Siân on LinkedIn
• Are you an HR professional seeking to raise your profile or become an independent consultant? I can help!
• HR vendor or consultant? Check out how I can help you reach senior HR leaders
• Follow The People Space on Facebook