GRANTED: The future of work, and how to be less wrong

February 2022

It takes curiosity to learn. It takes courage to unlearn.
Learning requires the humility to admit what you don't know today. Unlearning requires the integrity to admit that you were wrong yesterday.
Learning is how you evolve. Unlearning is how you keep up as the world evolves.

As the world of work evolves, there’s a lot we need to unlearn. Much of the discussion is heavy on opinions and light on evidence. We’re hoping to change that on April 7 at the all-virtual Wharton Future of Work Conference.
 
Keynotes include Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in conversation with yours truly and growth mindset pioneer Carol Dweck in dialogue with Angela Duckworth. Topics range from burnout, hybrid work, and the 4-day work week to the great resignation, fair pay, and regret. You can get tickets here.
 
Now, onto our regularly scheduled programming:

1. It’s your friends who break your heart (Jennifer Senior, Atlantic)
A worthwhile long read on what makes a good friendship—and why even great ones sometimes fall apart.
 
2. Skills-based hiring is on the rise (Joseph Fuller, Christina Langer, & Matt Sigelman, HBR)
At long last, companies are starting to eliminate degree requirements in job postings.
 
From my desk

3. These two questions predict your ability to predict the future (Bulletin)
Last year, I invited you to join a forecasting tournament with Good Judgment. You made over 20,000 predictions on topics ranging from Olympic medals to bitcoin prices to the billionaire space race. It turns out that the best forecasters think like Bill Nye.
 
4. How to be less wrong (Bulletin)
The winner of our forecasting tournament is only 24 years old. Congrats, Greg Justice! Here’s what we learned from him and the other finalists about how make fewer errors when you try to anticipate what’s ahead.
 
5. What I rethought last year (Twitter)
A thread on my favorite insights and data points from 2021.

In solidarity,

Adam Grant, Ph.D.
Organizational psychologist at Wharton, author of THINK AGAIN, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife