Hear Me Out is giving leaders a different point of view

The Wall Street Journal

ChatGPT Can Save You Hours at Work. Why Are Some Companies Banning It?

By Lindsay Ellis, March 22, 2023

Though potentially a timesaver, there are serious risks to using ChatGPT to evaluate workers, said Ben Jackson, founder of Hear Me Out, a culture strategy firm. Employees might be unsettled, he said, if software-generated feedback becomes a factor in who is promoted or pushed out. “It’s easy to see the benefits of using a technology like generative artificial intelligence when you are the person saving time by using it,” he said. “It’s also easier to ignore the potential risks.”

Today in Tabs

I Consider Midterms Loud

By Rusty Foster, November 8, 2022

In Hear Me Out, Ben Jackson did some legit investigative journalism and… Big tech companies? Breaking our laws? It’s more likely than you think.

Morning Brew

To effectively mentor younger employees in remote or hybrid setups, companies need to be intentional and build trust, experts say

By Sam Blum, July 25, 2022

“One thing every employer forgets is that younger employees have a lot less confidence,” Ben Jackson, founder and principal of the workplace-culture consultancy Hear Me Out, told HR Brew. A confidence deficit might lead younger employees to stumble through work without proactively seeking guidance. The lack of a concrete mentorship strategy makes this all the more likely and “creates a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity. And that really impacts younger hires the most.”

Today in Tabs

The Leopard Doesn't Change Its Socks

By Rusty Foster, June 16, 2022

Rather than create a #trolling-999plus channel or bring in a truckload of Pinkertons to crack some skulls, Ben Jackson suggests that companies with a presence on virtual platforms like Slack need to invest in professional community management.

Morning Brew

HR professionals: What are your New Year’s resolutions?

By John Del Signore, December 27, 2021

Ben Jackson: “Read at least one science-fiction book [each] month that offers a more hopeful, imaginative vision of the future, instead of the sci-fi cliché of ‘conquering space.’ Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower makes a prescient case for working together to sustain our communities in the face of widespread suffering. So many of our problems at work are failures of imagination—we literally can’t conceive of a workplace where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.”

The Atlantic

On the Front Lines of the Great Resignation

By Charlie Warzel, November 4, 2021

Warzel: When you do in-depth interviews and have to give people some hard truths about broken elements of their culture, how do they respond? Is it earnest?

Jackson: I don’t think that any CEO goes to bed each night thinking, “I’m making the world a worse place for my employees, even if I’m making it better for everyone else!” What I see that really sticks with me is that when the feedback from employees represents a threat to the identity of the leadership team, there’s often more than a little bit of resistance.

Today in Tabs

Just Take the L

By Rusty Foster, April 28, 2021

Ben Jackson points out that “if my LinkedIn feed is any indication, April will go down in history as The Month Employees Realized They Could Quit Again.”

TechCrunch

Vice’s Director of Mobile Apps Ben Jackson is creating his own startup advisory firm

By Anthony Ha, May 11, 2017

“At VICE, Longform, and The New York Times, I was able to impact the lives of millions of people by helping to shape how they got their news as a developer and engineering leader,” Jackson told me via email. “I’d like to have an even bigger impact on an even larger number of people. Advising executives on strategy and making teams more effective is a natural next step.”