Dr. Murray Sabrin is many things, including being a university professor of finance, a student of and writer about economics, geography, and history, and a candidate for public office as well as a regular commentator on all manner of poliitcal and social issues. His appearance on the IFOW is focused mainly on his research on the options for employers to optimize the healthcare benefit for their people. We talk about his new book, “The Finance of Health Care: Wellness and Innovative Approaches to Employee Medical Insurance,” delving into the strategies you can leverage to do better for your people and your business.

Thriving – not merely surviving – in a data world requires learning the foundational elements of data analytics instead of learning the next fancy tool. That’s the conclusion of business intelligence and analytics leader, Sangeeta Krishnan, in her book, Thriving in a Data World: A Guide for Leaders and Managers. While there is a bit of “math on the test,” you’ll benefit from Sangeeta’s straightforward, value-based counsel about topics ranging from big data versus small, the data function as a cost center or a positive ROI generator, and whether data resources are better centralized or embedded locally. That is, of course, if you’re in the 100% of organizations seeking to become more data driven.

Digitalization of professional advice makes all the sense in the world to consultant-turned-technology platform entrepreneur, Stefan Debois, CEO and Co-founder of Pointerpro. Stefan’s experience and expertise haven’t just led to the development of a tool through which to economize and accelerate the process of determining good client fit and the best ways to service their needs; the approach he recommends begins with and relies on fundamental knowledge capture and process mapping. Put the two together and you’re on your way to tech-enabled consulting. Drop in for a quick boost to the efforts you are or should be making to streamline how you engage prospects and deliver value.

Ashik Ahmed is Co-founder and CEO of Deputy – a platform in use in over 330,000 workplaces to level the playing field for shift workers and support employers’ ability to be in compliance with the full range of pay and scheduling requirements. The value of this conversation starts with how you can better engage, manage, and retain the workforce that accounts for nearly two-thirds of employees and the broadens beautifully to reveal the universal place for the deep empathy that Ashik has chenneled into being a wildly successful business leader and solutions provider.

Ever crave an outside perspective to work through a complex hurdle or just blow off some steam? Ravi Swaminathan co-founded TaskHuman to help you! As CEO, Ravi has overseen the growth of the external network of expert coaches in areas ranging from leadership to spiritual; from sales to physical fitness – all with the same goal: help your people do what they do even better. And it’s working.

Positive psychology expert and best selling author, Jackie Insinger, is on a mission to help us recognize and pursue the upside of what’s possible. Much more than positive thinking, positive psychology – among other things – helps us understand the influence we can and do have over others…and, how to channel how we choose to feel into impact through setting off emotional contagion. After you learn from Jackie’s approach, you’ll trly be ready to go viral!

Shane Kovalsky is Co-founder of Mystery – a facilitator of incredible experiences for organizations investing in opportunities for their teams to forge and sustain the bonds that continue to be a key ingredient of high performance even – or perhaps especially – in the hybrid workplaces of today. The Zoom Happy Hour may still be on life support; but for those truly looking for an edge, this is a must listen conversation.

Bjorn Reynolds is known as Chief Guardian at Safeguard Global. Formally, he’s the Founder and CEO. Regardless of title, his commitment is to help Safeguard’s clients hire and manage the best, highly-skilled workers they can from around the globe without screwing it up. In fact, the phrase “don’t try this at home” comes up in our conversation. More importantly, Bjorn helps debunk a lot of the conventional “wisdom” that continues to limit how people locate and position talent. In a moment of both low unemployment and looming recession, leaders may well find “permission” to finally make a Goldilocks commitment (of the “just right” variety) by hiring to and for their specific needs through expanding a flexible, just-in-time workforce segment. Check it out.

Bailey Showalter is the VP Product | Ecosystem Partnerships & Solutions for Pearson where she advocates for and advances efforts to reimagine opportunity in the workplace – especially for women. Critical elements of her approach include a shift from a mentor to a champion mindset to ensure getting woment into the spotlight. Recognizing potential not just history is key – building on transferable skills – is part of the key to unlocking an under-tapped talent pool. Our straightforward discussion of overcoming significant bias in the workplace is sure to inform and inspire adjustments to your approach that will make a positive difference.

Sarah Fern, Chief People Officer for Velocity Global, is a champion of strong connections across space and time. Her leadership at Velocity Global serves as an active illustration of what’s possible when you stop wishing for yesterday and invest in the present and the future of how people can and need to engage to excel. Tune in to benefit from any number of nuggets Sarah shares in our conversation.