Molly Whitten

The ground under talent strategy is shifting. For decades, the conversation about managing talent revolved around buying (hiring) and building (upskilling/reskilling) talent, and it worked because humans alone did all the thinking and execution. Talent systems and strategy both need to support the different reality we operate in today, where work and performance standards are being redefined, and agents work alongside humans. A more comprehensive approach to talent strategy includes four connected levers: # BUY # BUILD # BORROW # BOT Each serves a different purpose, though all four must work together for a winning talent strategy. I introduced this approach on my blog and will follow up with more articles in the series, Talent Strategy By Design. Read the full write-up: https://bit.ly/4tkbVe0

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If 2025 was the YEAR OF AI MINDSET, essential for scaling AI within organizational culture. 2026 is the YEAR OF AI EXPERIMENTS, essential to learning as one large community. This was my strongest insight from Laszlo Bock's commentary from May 2025, which, encouraged experiments besides many practical gems. I've linked to his post with the slides in the comments below in case you missed it then.

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We had the privilege of hosting Quentin Clark — our board member and Managing Director at General Catalyst — during our recent leadership offsite at Eightfold’s headquarters in Santa Clara. Every moment of this session was filled with profound insights — the kind that make you pause and rethink assumptions. I tried to capture a few, though I’ll admit that taking notes while being genuinely awestruck is not easy! What are the three ills to ward off as companies grow: 1. Companies can get complacent. Current success can hinder future success. A very counterintuitive point: If you exceed the expectation and beat the plan, still be curious. “It still betrays!”.  2. Lowering the hiring bar. B-players hire C-players.  3. Not protecting the brand. What makes Eightfold such a hot prospect?  1. Eightfold was the first one to figure out how to apply ML for solving enterprise business problems - 9 years ago. A huge head start and a moat.  2. Eightfold is building a System of Agents in a world still stuck with Systems of Record. Traditional enterprise software makes you work — you have to pedal. Agentic AI flips that model: the system works for you. It’s a driverless engine, like Waymo.  3. AI used to be an unproven tech a few yrs ago, almost like selling snake oil. Today the AI tailwind is very real and Eightfold is in a position to build on the success rapidly. With so much money invested in AI, will there be a good ROI?  AI is bigger than the Mobile revolution, the Internet, and even the Mainframe era. It surpasses Integrated Circuits in its reach. Think about it — everyone today carries at least five IC-powered devices: a smartphone, a smartwatch, a health ring, earbuds, and often a laptop or tablet. AI will be an even more integral part of our personal and work lives. It took databases seven years to achieve a 10X leap in performance. Large Language Models did it in just three quarters. The acceleration curve of AI isn’t evolutionary — it’s exponential.   What about humans in an Agentic-AI world? Far from diminishing the value of people, Agentic AI raises it. As agents take on the repetitive, administrative, and mechanical tasks, humans are freed to focus on what only they can do — creating, problem-solving, and innovating. In this world, the regard for talent actually increases, because the leverage of each person is amplified. 

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HR’s Strategic Role: 7 Trends Shaping Work in 2026 Explore seven key trends shaping the future of work and how HR leaders can play a more strategic role in driving business outcomes, based on insights from isolved’s latest HR Trends Report. 

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10 tips from 10 years in Recruiting (part 1) I've spent over a decade recruiting at Franklin Fitch, and in that time I've consulted on contract and permanent roles in tech across the US and the UK. I've seen (and felt) plenty of ups and downs and learned a lot along the way, so I wanted to take the time to reflect on some of that experience. If you're feeling stuck or looking for advice on how to grow, here are five (out of ten) things that have helped me to succeed in recruitment so far: 1. In the beginning, there's no substitute for hard work. When you're starting out, it's really important to build your skill by getting your reps in. You might hear about "working smart" and there is a lot of value in this, because once you've learned how to do the job, you can optimize. At the beginning, though, it's pure work rate that'll help you beat out internal and external competition. 2. Try to keep your emotions steady. This job feels like a rollercoaster when deals fall through or clients change direction. Find your balance early, and don't let yourself get too high on the wins or too low on the losses. 3. Ask for feedback and actively listen. One of the biggest things that helped me was learning to ask, "What can I do better?" And then making sure I did something with the answer. It's not always easy to take stock, process feedback and implement it, but it is a key skill. 4. Experiment with how you work until you find your rhythm. No process fits everyone. I've seen people copy others' processes and get stuck quickly, making no progress. Don't be afraid to try different approaches and settle on workflows and techniques that feel right and deliver results. 5. Find people and places you can trust. Working somewhere that invests in you makes a big difference. If your leaders dedicate time and coaching to you, and show that they value you, that's a good sign of a workplace you can trust. I'll share the final 5 tips later this week! #CareerInRecruitment #RecruitmentJourney #WorkplaceWisdom #RecruitmentStories #LinkedInTips

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The Super Bowl is more than a game—it’s a testament to teamwork, precision, and innovation. NetApp is playing a pivotal role in powering the National Football League (NFL)’s biggest stage. From stadiums to space stations and everywhere in between, true progress comes from harnessing data with purpose. For the NFL, that means ensuring data flows seamlessly to deliver the unforgettable moments that bring millions of people together. 💡 It’s not just about technology—it’s about impact. It's time to Unleash Genius. #NetAppSBLX #SBLX

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