Steve Cadigan. Workquake: Embracing the Aftershocks of COVID-19 to Create a Better Model of Working. Amplify Publishing Group. Virginia. 2021.

Interview

• Remarkable Leadership July 29,2025 - 1 hour

Table of Contents follows below my list.

Cadigan's book is small and rich with fascinating ideas, here are the ones for me:

• Skills half-life is 5 years - emerging skill needs
• "Employability is the new job security."
• Entrepreneur mindset - tolerance of uncertainty
  • ambiguity is a chance to distinguish yourself
  • see opportunities in problems
  • new ways of creating value or income arise where technology eliminates jobs
• Book: Startup of You
• Book: Expertise Economy (learning-agile people)
• Abhishek Jha on Learning Agility
• Strong human relations are key
• Assessing when to leave a company:
  • Am I learning, growing, and developing and becoming more valuable?
  • Am I being fairly rewarded and recognized for my efforts?
  • Is my network growing, and am I meeting and working with people who can help me in my career growth in the future?
• Personal Boardroom
  • 4 information roles for new knowledge, insights, ideas
  • 4 power roles for access to people and resources
  • 4 development roles for feedback, challenge, courage, balance
• Philippe Duranton's PhD Talent Accelerator
• Tenth "Man" doctrine and culture - structural dissent: if majority (9) agree, then choose dissent (tenth person)
• Trium Group: Leading through volatility
• Wavelength UK, Panopto, YouGov, Waggl feedback system (changed since publication)
• Emtrain, circular management. [Personal] Board methods
• Siemens' ShareNet. ISDI ecosystem model
• Book: Bruce Feiler'sLife is in the Transitions

Contents with key sections bold

FOREWORD

by Alan Webber, co-founder, Fast Company magazine

• Workquake: Why You Need To Read This Book

INTRODUCTION

• My Awakening
• A Landscape of Fear
• Fear of Irrelevance
• Less Fear, More Solutions

PART ONE: EMPLOYEES

• Time to Be More Human
  • Embracing Ambiguity
  • We Don't Like Ambiguity
  • Mental Health Worries
  • Reframing Entrepreneur
  • Creating Value Makes You More Valuable
  • We Are All Entrepreneurs
  • Humanity Is More Important Than Ever
• Toward a Learning Mindset
  • Don't Be Homer Simpson
  • Diminishing Returns
  • Mimi Gigoux and the Power of No College Degree
  • Capacity to Learn Trumps Where You Went to School
  • Chipotle's Enlightened Development
  • Learning Agility and Growth Mindset
  • Building Skills and Career Paths Outside of Work
• Managing Your Career In a Dynamic Way
  • Get A Life: The Power of What You Do After Work
  • Looking For a Job When You Don't Have One Is Too Late
  • Yaiza's Story: Life Challenge Presents a Career Opportunity
  • Building an Indispensable Network
  • How Networking Surprisingly Changed My Life
  • The Personal Boardroom Idea
  • Network Stagnation Versus Explosion
  • The Art of the Hustle
  • Collaborate or Die
  • Taking Career Control

PART TWO: EMPLOYERS - The Case For New Talent Strategies

• New Talent Strategies For Today
  • How College Basketball Changed Its Talent Strategy
  • Taking the Long View
  • Seven Talent Models For Today
    • Consulting World Talent Strategy: Join Us, Then Please Leave
    • The Spin In and Spin Out Model
    • The Inside Gig Model
    • Internal Mobility Model
    • Employees On Loan
    • Building Entrepreneurs - Adobe
    • Hackdays to Innovation Days - LinkedIn
  • From Golden Handcuffs to Exponential Uncertainty
  • Rethinking Employee Departures
  • The Power of Alumni
  • From Job Security to Career Security
• Learning Velocity
  • Armen's Story
  • It's Not What Your Know; It's What You Can Know
  • Using the Right Language
  • Soft Skills Are Really Power Skills
  • Evaluating Job Candidates: A New Approach
  • In Search of Adaptability: AQ, The New In-Demand Skill
  • From Career Paths to Employee Journeys
• The New Organization
  • Learning to Fight Zombies
  • The Need For Scenario Planning
  • Accumulating Diverse Sources of Information
  • Growing Your Employee Networks
  • Sharing the Right Information With the Right People
  • The Case For Hyper Awareness
  • Leveraging Your Board of Directors
  • Iteration and Experimentation: The LinkedIn Executive Staff Meeting
  • Building the Tenth-Man Culture
  • The Ecosystem Model

CONCLUSION

• No Time Like the Present
• Witness the Ultimate Leadership Test
• Our Leadership Moment
• Disruption Creates Opportunities

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deeper Notes

Need for Scenario Planning - design an organization that can

• accumulate diverse information sources
• share that information with the right people
• create a culture that embraces ambiguity and gives equal weight to both consensual and contrarian information

Dealing with transitions - step back, slow down, focus on what is happening:

• What can I do at this particular moment to prepare myself for the opportunities that will emerge?
• What actions can I take today and tomorrow that will increase my options for next week?
• Whom can I add to my board of directors to help [my organization]?
• Am I bringing a growth mindset to my learning and development so I know I can learn new skills?
• Are there opportunities in my volunteer work or in my hobbies to build new skills or see new career possibilities?