Jonathan Berger

Job Satisfaction Across Generations: What Can We Learn? A recent article in EHS highlights a compelling insight: Older workers are reporting higher levels of job satisfaction than their younger peers. This isn’t about one generation being “better” than another—it’s about understanding the evolving needs, motivations, and values across the workforce. I am not agreeing or disagreeing with the article, however here are my thoughts: For younger professionals, it’s a reminder that satisfaction often grows with time, experience, and alignment with purpose. For seasoned team members, it’s a testament to the value of perspective, resilience, and long-term engagement. As leaders, the real opportunity lies in bridging generational strengths—creating environments where mentorship, collaboration, and mutual respect thrive. When we design workplaces that honor both fresh ambition and seasoned insight, everyone wins. What are your thoughts? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section! #Leadership #EmployeeEngagement #IntergenerationalWorkforce #FutureOfWork #TalentDevelopment #Culture

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💥 Fall Forward, Not Backward | Marlene O’Neill on Embracing Failure in Transformation “You’ve got to fall forward - and often. Let go of the pride, learn what you need to, and take the next step. Failure is not shameful. It’s how you grow.” - Marlene O’Neill, Discover Financial Services In this bold and empowering clip from Silicon Heartland Sessions, Marlene O'Neil shares why embracing failure is essential to leading transformation - both culturally and technologically. She dives into: 💡 Why failure is only wasted if you carry shame instead of insight 💡 How letting go of pride creates space for growth 💡 What it means to “fall forward” with purpose and resilience This is a must-watch for any leader, builder, or change-maker navigating uncertainty. 🎧 Full episode drops this Friday! #SiliconHeartlandSessions #SiliconHeartland #Podcast #CloudNirvana #TechLeadership #Innovation #IdeaToAction #Inspiration #ProfessionalDevelopment #AI #CloudComputing #TechCommunity Ben Blanquera Steve Gruetter Aaron Littlejohn Trent Taylor Nathan Case Jonathan Erikson James Gehring 🌥 Joseph Emison Matthew Randle Barton Murphy Robert Zwink Cindy Leavitt Bryan Mundy John Bishop Murali Sundararajan Warner Moore Srini K. Rehgan Bleile (Avon) Dan Manges 🗝Connie Matthews Reynolds 🗝 Chris Berry Todd Kaufman Angelo Mazzocco Doug McCollough Tonjia Coverdale, PhD Michael Farrar, MBA Disha Patel Swathi Jillella Cam Avent Michael Chorey Michael Farrar, MBA Disha Patel Hope Yanling Yin, PCC Mick Miller Marlene O'Neil Scott Lesinski Cloud Nirvana

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Following on from last week’s post about leaving an old role well, here are five tips for landing well in a new role. 1️⃣ Do some research beforehand. You will have looked at the company or role during the interview process, but that might have been a while ago. Get up to speed before you start — and if you know anyone inside the company, take them out for a coffee and get their perspective. 2️⃣ Have a plan. Before Day 1, write a short list or plan of things to get started with. It might be quite simple — like meeting the team, meeting peers, getting a list of current technologies, or similar. That way, you won’t land without a clue as to what to do, and you can look professional by asking well-thought-through questions rather than simply reacting and ‘absorbing’ whatever is thrown at you. 3️⃣ Pace yourself. My Dad had a good rule of thumb for breaking down the transition into manageable steps: 🔹 First 6 hours (Day 1). Get yourself sorted — find your desk, get your laptop, locate the coffee machine — all the onboarding essentials. 🔹 First 6 days (Week 1). Meet your team and key stakeholders. Complete your induction and mandatory training, because once you get busier in the role, you’ll have less time for it! 🔹 First 6 weeks. Form a plan of what you need to achieve. Discuss with your boss three things you can do to move forward and contribute to the function and/or company. 🔹 First 6 months. Realistically, this is when you’ll start to feel like you know most things about the role and truly feel part of the team, rather than just being the ‘new starter’. 4️⃣ Keep your promises. No one knows you very well, either in this company or this role. So do what you say you will do. If in doubt, under-promise and over-deliver. This early period in your role will set a big marker for who you are and whether people can trust you. 5️⃣ Enjoy it! This is what you wanted — so make sure you take time to reflect on why you chose the role. There will be tough moments during the transition, so appreciating the good parts can help you get through the harder days. Good luck to everyone out there who is starting a new role, either in a new company or within their existing firm! Do you have any good advice for creating a positive impact in a new job? Let everyone know down in the comments below and smash that ‘Like’ button if this helped you. See you next week! #NewJob, #StartingANewRole, #CareerMoves, #First90Days, #OnboardingSuccess, #CareerAdvice

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Just released... MetLife's 2025 Enduring Retirement Model Study captures views of employers and other industry experts on the effectiveness of the U.S. retirement system and their continuing commitment to retirement benefits. From delayed retirement to the role of artificial intelligence on workplace retirement benefits, including pensions, defined contribution plans and other post-retirement benefits, MetLife's study captures invaluable insights about the retirement landscape. View more insights from the study: http://spr.ly/60454fg5S

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Watching 9,000 talented people lose their jobs at Microsoft (unfortunately not only) this week hit hard. Similar layoffs are happening across our industry, and my heart goes out to everyone navigating this uncertainty. But I'm seeing some advice circulating that I need to address directly: people suggesting those affected should "turn to AI for emotional support" during this transition. I'm going to be blunt here - this is terrible advice. I work with AI systems daily. I understand how they function. They're sophisticated pattern recognition engines, not empathetic beings. They can simulate conversation, but they cannot truly understand your fear, your frustration, or the weight of supporting your family. When you're hurting, you need humans, not algorithms. Reach out to your network. Talk to friends who've been through similar transitions. Connect with former colleagues. Consider professional counseling if you need deeper support. The people in your life can offer something AI never will: genuine understanding, real empathy, and the kind of presence that actually helps you heal and move forward. You're stronger than this moment, and better opportunities are coming. #TechLayoffs #Microsoft #HumanConnection #CareerAdvice #Leadership

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Check out our Guidewire Developer blog post by Guidewire's Amanda McAteer, "New On-Demand Webinar & Data Sheet: Monitor and Resolve Performance Issues with Application Performance Monitoring (APM)," to learn about better ways to help customers monitor their Guidewire Cloud Platform applications and resolve performance issues quickly. Read it here: https://bit.ly/4nZTMz0 #GuidewireCloud #GuidewireDeveloper #developer #engineer #software

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Every insurer says they’re modernizing. Few can tell you when it will actually feel modern. Because somewhere between replacing legacy systems and onboarding new tools, the finish line keeps moving. The integrations don’t talk. The workflows don’t scale. The “quick wins” take another quarter. That’s the trap we see too often, speed without structure. The Fulcrum Digital Inc + Duck Creek Technologies partnership exists to fix exactly that. Not with another blueprint, but with an AI-powered, low-code foundation that helps insurers modernize without breaking what already works. If your roadmap has started to feel like a maze, maybe it’s time to take a different route. 👉 https://lnkd.in/dmfGx3Py #InsuranceTransformation #DuckCreek #FulcrumDigital #AgenticAI #InsuranceModernization

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There is one simple principle that guides our approach to AI in the enterprise: buy for commodity, build for advantage. When a partner can accelerate time to value or bring differentiated capability, we integrate. When a capability is core to long-term advantage, such as how we leverage proprietary data or embed AI directly into workflows, we build. Today, we announced a strategic partnership between Travelers and Anthropic that allows us to do both. We’re putting personalized Claude and Claude Code assistants into the hands of nearly 10,000 Travelers engineers, data scientists, analysts, and product owners. Each assistant is tailored to the individual, understanding their role and the tools and systems they use, while leveraging Travelers data and institutional knowledge in real time. This partnership reflects our long-standing commitment to innovation and to enabling our people to do their very best work. https://lnkd.in/g4hyub7X

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🚀 Closing the Gap: Women of Color & the Fight for Executive Leadership 🚀 We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational, and so disciplined they can be free.~ Kavita Ramdas 🌍✨ While women of color bring unmatched resilience, innovation, and leadership to the table, **only 4% of Fortune 500 C-suite leaders are women of color. Let that sink in. 💡 Intersectionality isn’t just a lens—it’s a roadmap. Women of color navigate dual barriers of race and gender bias, yet their excellence continues to redefine industries. From Rosalind Brewer to Thasunda Brown Duckett, their breakthroughs prove: representation isn’t just symbolic—it’s transformational. 🚧 So why the gap? Systemic biases, limited sponsorship, and cultural stereotypes still hold too many back. But here’s the truth: diverse leadership drives better decisions, higher profits, and more inclusive cultures. 🔥 How we rise: ✅ Demand accountability - track & publish diversity metrics at every level. ✅ Sponsor, don’t just mentor- advocate for WoC in succession planning. ✅ Challenge the double bind - amplify their leadership without boxing them into stereotypes. 🌱 The future of leadership isn’t just about breaking glass ceilings—it’s about **rebuilding the floor** so the next generation doesn’t face the same cracks. #ErlinKakkanad #DSMUSA #KeynoteSpeaker #WomenofColor #ResilientWomen #Inclusion #Humanity

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