

Human Cloud
WRKdefined Podcast Network
Welcome to the autonomous age - a world where AI, borderless networks, and flexible talent replace the drudgery of corporate drones. NASA, Microsoft, and yes, beloved beer brand Carlsberg get it. So will you. Each week, Tony Buffum and Matthew Mottola, leading executives and entrepreneurs behind Human Cloud, will introduce you to the exact technology, tools, and talent solutions you need to navigate this new age. Skip the fluff. Get straight to work transforming your talent strategy through today’s leading technology.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 3, 2022 • 52min
Ep. 69: Vinod Kartha, VP of Strategic Initiatives at UST, Talent Acquisition to Workforce Ecosystem
Why would a global digital transformation firm that provides services and solutions to global 1000 firms care about freelancers in the cloud? Let's learn from Vinod Kartha, VP of Strategic Initiatives.
1:20 - Why Open Talent? Hint...existing talent pools dried up
6:47 - What can we expect in the next 5 years?
7:10 - How globalization has brought us shared learnings and shifted boundaries
8:30 - The start of sharing individuals IP...if CEO's can sit on multiple boards why can't we?
11:00 - Existing archaic talent barriers
16:00 - Elasticity, the crucial resource for leaders
16:40 - Shifting from talent acquisition to workforce ecosystem
17:47 - What is Open Talent? Elastic talent you can access ASAP.
21:44 - Why do large companies care about freelancers?
22:30 - What are the barriers to hiring freelancers and how to cut through the tape.
36:00 - Culture tips to lead virtual teams
40:11 Vinod's biggest role model...his own mother
Connect with Vinod: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinodkartha/
Praise for Vinod's work:
Forbes, A New Global Star in the Freelance Revolution: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyounger/2022/08/17/a-new-global-star-in-the-freelance-revolution-ust-shows-the-way/?sh=1d14d79266a2
UST Wins GSA’s Prestigious ‘Changemaker of the Year’ Award for its Open Talent Strategy

Aug 31, 2022 • 52min
Ep. 68: 75% Prefer Freelancers, Google CEO Rhetoric, Spotify Fully Remote
What does the recession mean for the freelance economy? Will more freelancers be hired? Will leaders stop hiring freelancers and stick with full time?
Also hear:
Why Google CEO Sundar Pachai telling employees their unproductive is a win for the freelance economy
How Spotify dropped churn through their RTO strategy (return to office…hint they put autonomy in their employees hands)
Which industries are best adopting work from home or returning to the office
And our usual banter :)

7 snips
Aug 13, 2022 • 54min
Ep. 67: Dr. David Küpper, Embedding Experts Into Your Teams Through The Freelance Economy
How do leading companies close the knowledge gap when diving into new technologies, industries, and opportunities? They embed freelance subject matter experts into their teams. Consultants and subject matter experts are nothing new, but engaging experts throughout the lifecycle of important milestones are, which is where Dr. David Kupper comes in, Founder and Managing Director of expertpowerhouse.
5:00 - David's background
8:00 - Why the freelance economy is a win-win for companies and individuals
13:00 - How David went from PhD to Boston Consulting Group to the freelance economy
16:53 - Expert network analysis and how the freelance economy is an innovation to expert networks
23:12 - Detailed of why the freelance economy
26:32 - Full time employment will never be replaced
33:13 - Why isn't LinkedIn enough? Because it's too much to manage the freelance economy
35:41 - Big win, how automotive company embraced freelancers to build their autonomous driving strategy
40:43 - How to navigate the recession
42:00 - What we can expect in the next 5 years, hint...doubling of the freelance economy
David's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkuepper/

Aug 8, 2022 • 38min
Ep. 66: 40% of Workers Still Want to Quit, Gas Coming Down, Revenge of the 99%
The Matthew's are back to discuss the shifting successes of knowledge workers, gas prices returning to normal-ish, and good practices for hiring staff in tech spaces.
Follow along with the newsletter: humancloud.substack.com/

Aug 2, 2022 • 56min
Ep. 65: Morten Bruun, VP Global Operations at Worksome, Forbes 30 under 30, Ex-McKinsey, Ex-Google
Description: Leaders, Morten has an extremely rare background in driving change at both a global technology leader (Google) and global business management leader (McKinsey). In his leader portal Morten really stressed how technology can solve real business problems, how the enterprise is unique, and how to drive change across these large beasts.
2:35: How Google and Mckinsey taught Morten how technology can solve real business problems
5:39: How to be ready for the recession
9:53: Market landscape and where Worksome fits
15:30: Why we can’t have a truly independent world
19:45: How do you balance the entrepreneurial spirit with corporate
24:34: What hasn’t changed since Covid when we talk about the ‘future’ of work?
38:40: What’s different about the enterprise?
43:11: How should leaders drive their freelance program?
46:44: How do you balance long term bets with short term validation?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mortenbruun/

Jul 28, 2022 • 53min
Ep. 64: Akhil Seth of UST, How Enterprises Can Tap Into This Abundant Pool of Open T
While every board is talking about a contradictory great resignation, hiring freezes, and talent shortage, Akhil Seth and UST are leading Enterprises to an abundant talent pool of freelancers. Some crazy learnings:
- Shortening proof of concepts from 2 months to 2 days
- Fractionalizing Unicorns into multiple freelancers
- Hiring and onboarding freelancers in a secure and compliant way without compromising speed and quality
2:00 - Why he's so passionate about Open Talent
12:52 - What he's working on at UST
15:55 - Industry leading solutions in virtual desktopping and change management
18:27 - Big wins for Open Talent
22:13 - Best projects to start hiring freelancers for
27:55 - The biggest challenges of hiring freelancers
37:00 - Why classification is such a big problem in hiring freelancers
41:00 - Akhil's leadership journey
45:49 - How to acquire and keep top young talent like Akhil
Connect with Akhil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akhilvseth/

Jul 16, 2022 • 48min
Ep 63: Human Cloud Makes You Recession Proof, Google Joins Hiring Freeze, Point of Management?
The Matthew's are back in action to discuss 9.1% inflation CPI, hiring freezes at Google and layoffs at many other tech companies, the vulnerability of managers in this period, and how leaders can navigate these turbulent times.
Follow along with the newsletter: https://humancloud.substack.com/

Jul 6, 2022 • 54min
Ep. 62: Rebekah Panepinto, Managing a Day Job and Side Hustles
Rebekah Panepinto is your future leader. She's a technology leader with 10+ years experience driving technology solutions as a full time employee AND embracing side hustles. In the next 5 years over half the workforce will prioritize working with multiple employers rather than just 1 full time job. While most discussions center on the research, our discussion centers on how to do this, how NOT to do this, and what managing a full time job with side hustles means for the future of leadership.
1:30: Her background
2:50: Defining AI
5:30: How has technology changed - the cloud & AWS changed everything
11:10: How do we balance leaving vs staying and how your role effects this
18:30: How do employers react to side hustlers...(hint, they love it IF it's aligned)
24:50: How to make sure you don't get fired
28:00: How to create Rebekah Inc. and how Rebekah Inc is an example of talent acquisition shifting from 'ownership to access'
33:46: Every company needs to align individual autonomy with corporate goals to have long term success
44:10: How to build your team in the Human Cloud and work with them through personal projects, professional projects, and everything in between
48:00: How to find the right people - REFERRALS

Jun 17, 2022 • 1h 1min
The Future of Freelance Talent Marketplaces
This is a recording of a very special event from the Human Cloud titled, "The Future of Freelance Talent Marketplaces".
We had an all star roster of participants which included:
Tony Buffum (Upwork)
Abby Forman (Fiverr)
Niklas Lieb (Vicoland)
Jon Younger (Forbes)
The event included a debrief of the Forrester report as well as a round table discussion on many freelance focused topics. Thank you to everyone who participated and you for listening! Enjoy.

5 snips
Jun 7, 2022 • 48min
Ep. 61: Jim Young on Burnout and Expansive Intimacy
Jim Young (thecenteredcoach.com) is a men's burnout coach and author of the upcoming book Expansive Intimacy: How Tough Guys Defeat Burnout. Jim and Matt C discuss Jim's own path from burned-out executive to someone helping others escape their own dark places. They talk about strategies for building friend networks in middle age (Matt C asks for "a friend"), being vulnerable in a society that can view it as weakness, and how men can redefine what it means to be a "tough guy".


