[00:00:00] Welcome to SpeakUP! International with Rita Burke and Elton Brown!

[00:00:13] Rita Burke: As we usually do, we interview people from all over the globe! Our next guest is no exception, his name is Kason Morris, and he is passionate about transforming careers and workplaces, so that ultimately they could thrive. As the leader of the Future of Work Skills Strategy, he works at the intersection of innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship and talent development. Kason is dedicated to helping individuals and organizations reach their long term success and goals. He's also the author of Life Work Revolutionary. To our, listeners on SpeakUP! International, help us to welcome Kason Morris!

[00:01:06] Kason Morris: Hey everyone, thank you for having me.

[00:01:09] Ellington Brown: Hey, our pleasure. I'm going to start by saying I'm a little envious. Uh, you got to spend Christmas on the other side of the globe, which I'm sure was a wonderful experience, and I'm sure your children will remember it forever. I just want to make sure I have, I'm pronouncing your name right. Is it Kason or Kay son?

It's Kason. 

Kason. Okay. 

[00:01:37] Kason Morris: Yep. All right. So Jason, Jason. 

[00:01:39] Ellington Brown: Yes. Okay. I just want to make sure I say that right. I don't want to get in the middle of the interview. And then you're saying you're saying my name. You're saying my name wrong. So I just want to get right to, Your book, which is  Life Work Revolutionary.

What is the, the key message that you're hoping people who read it walk away with? 

[00:02:08] Kason Morris: I would say the key message of that book, even when you think about the subtitle. It's about how to unplug from the system, how to find your purpose and how to thrive in and beyond the nine to five. We are in a very interesting time in history and in the way that work works in the way that that life works.

And the whole premise is encouraging people to understand that we are part of a revolution and that we have the power to start our own revolution and to drive our lives, in the direction that we want it to go. So, the underpinning of the book is about three types of revolutions that we have as individuals.

It's our internal revolution and in shifting our mindsets. It's our external revolution in how we start to look at our careers and our skill sets to create leverage for ourselves. And then it's about community in relation to how we give back and how we set a legacy for others. And all of this has come from my journey, uh, as a corporate executive for almost the last.

Two decades, just navigating, uh, a very interesting environment while trying to keep my identity.

[00:03:22] Rita Burke: Talked about giving back to your community. Share with our listeners, please. How and what do you give back to your community? 

[00:03:32] Kason Morris: Well, it's a great question. And for one, as I mentioned, I've, I've been in the corporate world for almost 20 years. And along the way, I've, I've developed a number of of skills and relationships.

And one of the ways I, I look toward giving back is, is how can I help, you know, provide knowledge to those that have less access to, to opportunities. So my wife and I have started a nonprofit, which works at the intersection of, uh, building financial literacy and affordable housing, along with Equitable life skills that will will help people attain opportunities so that they can make earning and living wages that will help them thrive.

So a part of my, a part of my work outside of my executive role is giving back to that, that nonprofit and finding communities to to work with to share this information at scale. 

[00:04:33] Ellington Brown: That is absolutely amazing! That is one of the most important skills that I think our people lack, and that is, you know, , what do you do with money?

Use it as a tool, not, you know, going out and buying the latest clothes on biggest car and those types of things. But what, how do you create wealth so that you can pass it to the next generation so that they can live well and be well, uh, educated? I think what you and your wife are doing, I think is absolutely excellent.

You are a speaker and you're an advisor. So what do you believe makes your approach to, uh, the workforce strategy, unique and impactful? 

[00:05:31] Kason Morris: I would say it part of it is is lived experience and this idea that changes are are only constant and I try to really lead with a human first approach. So, at the center of all the work, and the way I think about it is, I think about the impacts of what's happening in our world of work and our world of life, which is why I even when I talk about the life work revolution, I put life in capital letters in front of it.

So it's really a paradigm shift of thinking about how you live and the ways you want to live. And then how is work a tool, a utility in that versus previously, you know, pre COVID, a lot of people were driven by their work, their work defined how they lived. So, it's a very unique perspective that I think is touching on a key topic around how do you as an individual take ownership.

And, and navigate this new normal and it's very possible and the beauty of it is that it's all about using the skills and the talents you already have. It's just about looking at it in a different way and telling a different story so that you can thrive in our current environment. 

[00:06:49] Rita Burke: You are a sought after speaker. I would like for you to tell us, what are some of your topics?

[00:07:00] Kason Morris: It's a great question. Um, a number of my topics really center around around the concept that I mentioned, particularly around professional development. Well, being. Uh, building resilience, building skills for for the future, uh, improving communication.

So all of these things tend to fall on the lines of. Uh, both personal development, uh, and professional development, and most recently, I've emphasized a lot of topics around around life coaching. So part of the concepts in my book are really around this idea of of life design, uh, life work design. So, how do you start to use?

Uh, existing tools like from design thinking and systems thinking to apply them to actually managing your life. Uh, that's a, that's an, uh, underpinning of all the work that I, I currently do. And I, and I talk about, because I think it's really, really important no matter where you are, uh, in your educational journey, in your career journey, in your personal journey, there's something for everyone. 

[00:08:15] Ellington Brown: There definitely is something for everyone. It's just a matter of knowing where to look for it. And it sounds like your organization is the sign that it's pointing in the direction for people to become empowered. And I think that is intriguing.

Talk to us a little bit about the future of work and skills, uh, strategy at Merck. 

[00:08:45] Kason Morris: Yep. So I will take it a level up. Um, my current role is is the head of future of work and skill strategy. Now, this is me, you know, drinking my own champagne is I've worked in talent and organizational performance and leadership development in corporate America, as I said, for almost 20 years and in the last 10 years or so.

I've used a lot of the principles that I talk about to, to way find, to, to navigate, to create jobs and opportunities for myself instead of looking for them. And, and when I, when you think about the future of work as a concept, there's a huge problem and opportunity in the world. When you think about AI and emerging technologies and the pace of change.

Is that we're going faster than most people can actually handle or understand in relation to what's next So a lot of leading organizations are hiring folks like myself, a very limited audience of people to start to think about, like, well, based on how we work today and how we do things today, what are the implications on, on the future, on the future of how we find talent, how we retain talent, how we grow it on the future of our products, like how we go to market.

And for me, tying back to everything I said previously, the whole idea is that the person is now at the center of things and really it's thinking about your skills and your knowledge and experiences as currency in that. So now, you know, the old days of, I have all these years of experience. I have these fancy titles.

People don't care about that as much anymore.

They want to know what can you do in our current state world and and the whole premise of of my of my role in the last few years around that is thinking about what's next for people in the workplace and then also thinking about the idea of how do you use your skills to as that leverage to write your own story and to keep yourself competitive and forever employable in this ever changing world of work.

[00:11:05] Rita Burke: Indeed, uh, in this ever changing world of work, it has changed. As a matter of fact, I think it has torpedoed itself, the workforce, the workplace. And so, yes, we've got to do the dance, we've got to do the jive, so we would be ahead of things. Isn't that Isn't that how things are? So am I hearing then that credentials and titles aren't that important anymore in this new work world?

[00:11:37] Kason Morris: I think there's, there's diminishing returns on that credential and title, meaning that it's, we're leading, we're stepping into a world where it's more about the evidence. Can you do it? Show me. So when you think of, of the traditional resume, I believe in the next handful of years, we're going to move to a world of, of a portfolio.

Because everything is digital, you could show people and that democratizes access to opportunity. So when I even talk about how people keep themselves forever employable and they find new opportunities, it isn't about waiting for the job to be posted. It's about building relationships. It's about showing your work.

It's about having those conversations. And when you think about that mix of your your capabilities and your story and your networks. You pretty much can unlock just about anything for yourself.

[00:12:35] Ellington Brown: Interesting concept, if I may say so myself. You have a unique understanding of the evolving, I can't even say the word now, evolving, uh, demands in the workspace. How do you work with Individuals at these Fortune 500 organizations and all of these people that you're working with, all of them have different personalities.

So how do you effectively, I don't want to, I can't think of a better word, but to shape yourself in order to connect one on one with these individuals? 

[00:13:21] Kason Morris: Yeah, no, it's a it's a very good question. And the way the way I think about it going back to the topic of of change. It's all about what I would call having dexterity.

Um, it's being able to tell your story and identify with the pain points of the people that you're working with. And then, you know, in proposing what I do as an advisor and as a strategist. It's like, well, what's the critical path for helping solve some of these pain points? A big part of that is educating people on these changes, these opportunities.

It's building that trust in relation to, you know, how my work can add value. And then it's also aligning really strategically to business outcomes. I say anyone doing this kind of work or any kind of work, the more you can speak the language of the business. And you can translate your value into driving outcomes.

The more people will listen to you, build, build trust in you and be willing to collaborate with you. And if you noticed everything I've said in relation to these, these skills that I'm, I'm leveraging, like stakeholder management, relationship management, collaboration, analytical thinking, these are all very human centered skills.

And even though we are in a world that's proliferated by technology, the things that will be your competitive differentiators are your unique human capabilities and your ability to leverage technology to drive outcomes faster. And these are the kinds of things that I talk about in my book. These are the things that I talk about in my newsletter, um, and also in my, in my private, uh, Coaching to help people reframe the fact that they're human centered capabilities are the things that will keep them future ready and future proof.

It's just about how do you sharpen them to navigate the world or the environment that you're in? And I've done it, uh, strategically 10 times across 6 industries. All with the narrative of how can I help people do more at work? And how can I continue to grow my career? Uh, and do work that energizes me and I remain as best as possible in the driver's seat While I'm giving value to those that I work with, 

[00:15:53] Rita Burke: we are talking with Kason Morris and on SpeakUP! International, we seek to inspire to inform and to educate.

And I know that the story you're telling us about your contribution to your world certainly will help us meet those goals. And so I'm wondering now, what would you say was the best piece of advice you've ever been been given? 

[00:16:22] Kason Morris: The best piece of advice that I've ever been given. I would like to reframe that question just slightly.

Um, two things, one, I had mentors, uh, both formal and, and informal. And one of the best conversations I had very early in my consulting career is this idea that, you know, where you are today. Is not where you'll be in a few years from now. You have to, you have to fail forward and fail fast. And in those failures, you often gain your biggest lessons.

And I acknowledge that because at the time. You know, I had a mindset of that relentless climb that it always had to be. I always had to be successful in order to show my worth. And it wasn't about just being successful. It was about the try. It was about the opportunity and it was about how quickly can I bounce back and learn lessons to build forward.

And because of that, I think it's, it's build a sense of resilience, uh, and integrity in me that pays me back to this day.

[00:17:41] Ellington Brown: I, I agree with everything that you just said. You know, you emphasize the power of work, um, and at the source of fulfillment. Yep. And,

uh, can you share a transformative example? from your career that reflects this belief. 

[00:18:09] Kason Morris: Yep. Um, I have a really, really good one, which I like, again, I'll characterize it as the relentless climb. It was kind of like my favorite mistake because I believe that a point that success was defined by how fast I could climb the ladder.

You know, I thought that promotions, more money, more recognition, that these were the ultimate goals. And at the end of the day, I was, I was dead wrong because. That climb almost broke me and I had a lot of a lot on the line at the time you mentioned earlier about, you know, me being able to take my family on vacation, uh, over the holidays abroad.

But around that time, you know, I had, I had my second daughter on the way. And I had a lot of weight of responsibilities because I've come from humble beginnings. I didn't have a backup plan is just about, you know, hustle and how you push through and that pressure I put on myself, you know, given I have had my child in the way and the mindset I had.

It, it put me in a mode of over delivering and constantly striving for the next thing. But that came at an expense that came at the expense of my health and some of my relationships. And that's when burnout crept in and I realized I was missing moments that mattered to me with my family. My health wasn't as good as, as it should have been.

But even though on paper, if someone looked at looked at me from the outside looking in, they would say, Hey, you're, you're a successful. And the turning point for me at that point was I really realized that like my talents were not tied to my job title and that success shouldn't mean sacrificing my health or family and that my growth wasn't about climbing higher.

It was about designing better and designing my work. And that's when I started thinking about work in a different way. I started thinking about it as leverage. I started thinking about what was important to my life, which was my family, my daughter on the way, being present, having energy, having my health.

And then how does my work become a tool in that? So it wound up becoming my greatest gift and my greatest form of transformation that helped me design my entire life over. And I stopped chasing titles and I started building a system for work, what I call work life synergy, which I, I talk about more in the book.

And it's really all about, you know, how do you do things to support growth? That supports the life you want to live. 

[00:20:59] Rita Burke: I'm hearing you say that you reinvented, you curated a new life for you, that is in meeting with the person you are and the person you want to be ultimately. You also talked about climbing the ladder.

And I don't know about your generation, but I know in my generation, we were socialized to climb the ladder. And sometimes it's rewarding and sometimes it's not so rewarding. And then we get to the point where we say enough. 

[00:21:35] Kason Morris: I'm 

[00:21:35] Rita Burke: not going another round up. Have you ever had that time in your life? Then you said enough, talk to us about that.

Talk to us about that. 

[00:21:45] Kason Morris: I mean, absolutely. I mean, per, per the previous story, and this is what I recommend for people. And this is me putting on my future of work hat. The idea of the ladder being a very like sort of hierarchical journey upward is dying quickly. And it's more about what I would call a lattice.

It's about the idea of. Where are the opportunities that help you grow the most? And there's a lot of research that supports that nowadays where people don't really care about the title as much, especially younger generations. They care about the opportunities to develop themselves. And then, as a result of that, they will be willing.

To go somewhere else if they find greater opportunities for development. So that puts a lot of stress on the idea of the traditional corporate rise, because before the title used to be the goal. It was the assumption that I have this title, therefore I have achieved. But what's happening now is you can get the title and you're not growing as, as an individual, you're not growing as a professional.

And therefore people become stagnant. And to the themes of this conversation where I talk about change being the only constant, this new wave of professional is going to constantly look to develop and sharpen their sword. So, so the idea of. Keeping keep to keep growing in in the corporate ladder sense may have a diminishing return on a person that can still be rewarding to some.

So I'm not saying that there's no reward in it, but I'm saying most and those that I work with when they're trying to make the shift, it's about thinking about how do these opportunities serve me and and what's most important. Which is my, which more often than not is this idea of growth. And for my own personal story, this is actually why I stopped taking on VP level and C suite types of positions.

Because I recognize that, you know, at the level that I'm at, I get to experiment with the way, the ways that I want to, I get to work with the technologies that I want to, I get to team and partner in ways that keeps me curious and keeps me evolving and therefore keeps me viable. Uh, and, and so that was my reason to stop, stop the climb because I noticed that.

At a certain level, the nature of the work changed and that work didn't fit the system of the life I've designed for myself today. 

[00:24:23] Ellington Brown: But you know, when you first arrive at a company, you find yourself doing a lot of the, I'm just going to call it grunt work. But as you move up, you, whatever the reason you're distant from that learning aspect, things that are truly Allow you to move from one company to another, you know, having management skills.

I think that's great, but let's face it. It's about, I think you mentioned it earlier about, you know, what can you do? It's about what can you do? Being a good manager is is nice, but If we sit you in front of the terminal, in front of your computer, what can you do? So I do think that that is really, really important.

And I'm just wondering, how do you help, uh oh, how do you help individuals align their careers with purpose, innovation, and sustainable success? 

[00:25:34] Kason Morris: Yeah, it's a great question. And I think it's really about starting where you are. And one of the first things that I do is I when I work with clients, whether it's individuals or small groups, it's about doing a bit of an audit.

And I call that like vision casting, it's trying to get a sense of thinking about, like, what is your optimal way of working and living? And what are some of the patterns? What are some of the behaviors? Like, take away everything you kind of understand today. Okay. And let's have that conversation. And then from there, we're able to extract some themes and then those themes.

We then start to to to say, okay, is this in your work today? You know, if it is, do we want to keep it? Is it not in your work today? How do we sort of navigate? Because when you think about most people, especially those from, you know, underrepresented communities, it's always about the grind. It's always about pushing forward.

We don't really. Take the time or opportunity to, like, be present and reflect. And I think that's a critical part of the model that that I offer, but it's in the context of unlocking some of those preferences. And then what I allow allow my clients to do is to then start to run small, low risk experiments in the context of how they work today.

So, so you can test and learn because experience is your greatest teacher. And then overall that ultimately shapes what would be your blueprint, your initial design. And then it's a matter of taking ownership and then strategically executing that design. And then that's how my life work coaching essentially essentially runs.

And it's a, it's a big unlock for, for a lot of people. I I've worked with people who are, uh, Early in career and just trying to make sense of what they want. I've worked with people who are very seasoned in what they do and they define themselves by what they do. And that in a way becomes a trap as well, versus the things that they actually care about and, and they actually want to try, 

[00:27:46] Rita Burke: you know, earlier in our conversation, you talked about, um, you talked about well being and I noticed nowadays.

For people who want to live holistic lives, it's one of the things they need to pay attention to. So, so talk to us about what you do for joy, to bring joy into your own life. 

[00:28:09] Kason Morris: I love this question. Um, I, I think the, the concept of wellbeing in the, in the context of, of work and just on a personal level is so understated.

Um, part of my practice and the idea of life design is, is thinking, especially as an adult is. Thinking about play, the idea of, of play. And what are the things that bring you energy, uh, that, that aren't tied to you making an income. So for some people that might be a certain hobby that may be a certain kind of experience, like, you know, like the travel, uh, for myself and my daughters.

You know, I, growing up, I was an avid comic book fan. So it's something I share with my children, where we talk about comic books and Japanese animation and, and these kinds of things. And, and these are things that are mainstays in my day and in my relationships that allow me to, you know, for all the many hats that I wear.

I can just take it off and be playful. Um, it's, it's a underutilized, I think, skill as an, as an adult, because we get so overwhelmed with priorities and expectations and deliverables that, uh, my, my being a father is a big tenant, uh, and, and a big value for me. And it allows me to tap into that inner child and create that relatedness with my kids.

Through those kinds of of experiences, So that's the way I try to find it is is like, where can I have shared experiences with them and then also just, you know, being able to expose them to different things and seeing their growth and development. Uh, it really brings brings me a lot of joy to provide them with opportunities that, you know, I wasn't privy to at this age and stage of their lives.

I think we're on, we got, we're on mute again.

[00:30:28] Ellington Brown: So I do, I agree with what you were saying and it's, it's so important that environments allow us to grow. And I think in some levels, That whole concept is destroyed. And it's a lot because of the fact that people are not, no, people are no longer following that corporate ladder thing. They've learned now through COVID that they don't need that part of it.

If that's what you want, then you, you, you go ahead. I can stay home and I can still be accomplished and I can still make a difference. And I don't need the, I don't need the corporate intensity to make that, uh, for me. So, speaking of environments, how do you create workplace environments that will empower employees and organizational growth?

[00:31:32] Kason Morris: Yeah, um, I think that is one of the, the toughest questions. Um, because I would capture it like employee experience is top of mind for many companies right now where you have issues and challenges with the idea of return to office. You have remote work, you have all these different intersections, which makes it really hard.

To build a deep sense of culture and community for for better or for worse. So when in my work, you know, I'm a strategic partner with with leaders that have to manage that that have to drive workplace culture, and we're thinking about employee experience. So it's it's really starting to think about. You know, what are the points that matter for the way that the company operates and also for the way that people want to work?

So when you think about like the idea of, of return to office and some of those challenges and some of the resistance, it's not about returning to the office. It's about trust. People are, people are taking it like, Hey, you're forcing me to come to the office. Because you don't trust me, but as you know, what happened with COVID is when everyone was geographically dispersed, work still commenced.

And people did even better work and they didn't have to spend as much time commuting and thinking about all these other things. So I'm not saying it's 1 way or the other. There is some value in being an office for teaming for collaborating for relationship building. But I would, I would close this point with saying, working with my leaders and partners in corporate and executive roles, thinking about, like, intentionality.

Like, how are we thinking about the culture, employee experience, the intentionality of either being remote, being in office, and what are the tools that are allowing people to feel connected and productive. So those are the kinds of things that I do. A bit of a informal audit, if you will, to have conversations with those partners, because a lot of my work Around future of work around skills is about employee engagement, employee development, people feeling like they're supported by the organization.

Like they have access to opportunities and resources that will help them. So it's, it's very near and dear to me. that those things align because my work is successful when the culture is strong. 

[00:34:11] Rita Burke: How does one go about creating powerful, positive workplace culture when you look at the number of generations that are working together?

Older people, younger people, middle aged people, do you see a difference at all in the work environment based on that? 

[00:34:34] Kason Morris: Yes. Um, I, I, like I said, I, I believe it's like a work. In progress, meaning different companies have variability in, in how well they're, they're able to, to manage a multi generational workforce.

You have some legacy organizations that have been around for a long time. And then they have all those generations in place with different ways of working different preferences. But again, the, the right communications, the right change strategies, the right. Anchors around the ways of working, I think, creates that common language that helps everyone.

Then there are some other companies that are maybe a little newer, and they may be digital first, for example, like they may not have an office, but they still create a culture based on that. And so long as long as a company and its leaders, they kind of know what their values are, and it's very clear, and they're very transparent about it.

I find that that the different companies I've worked with is that you attract the people that best align to, you know, those cultural norms. Uh, so I can't say there's an exact prescriptive way, but I think it's really important to be clear about, like, you know, what your mission vision is. Some of your cultural norms, and it's also very important to be transparent, whether it's through surveying employees.

Um, and by transparency, I also mean, like, if there are certain markers of success and you're not hitting them, be vulnerable about them. Like when you think about like diversity and equity goals and different things like that, some of the best companies I've worked, worked for have been like, Hey, we're not doing as well as we want to.

And here are the numbers and here's the transparency because it's not just about the leaders making the change. It's about the whole organization. And people really appreciate that, that, that, Hey, they're part of an organization that cares about them and that is being transparent and vulnerable. And therefore they build more loyalty.

They're more productive. There's lots of upsides in that regard. It's, it's progress over perfection.

[00:36:52] Ellington Brown: Progress over perfection. I guess that's gonna be the, the go, the go to, uh, phrase for, for 2025. Okay, so you, you, you have a family. 

[00:37:06] Kason Morris: I do. 

[00:37:06] Ellington Brown: You have a loving wife, four, four beautiful daughters. You just come back from Asia. I keep saying that because I want you to know that I'm envious. Because I certainly would have loved going going anywhere outside of North America would have Worked for me.

So how do you balance your you know, your personal life and professional life and the things that you want to do that Maybe don't fit in either category, but how do you juggle all of that and still be able to keep your family happy? 

[00:37:52] Kason Morris: Yeah. Um, I mean, it's, it's truly an embodiment of, of what I do and why I do it.

Um, you know, I spoke about this in my, in my story earlier, it's That idea is like I changed the concept of work life balance because I feel that when you try to achieve balance, it's a false dichotomy. And what I mean by that is balance assumes that things will be equal. And once you let that go, and you start to think about things a little bit differently, I feel like it becomes more attainable and achievable.

So when, so going back to the point of. Work life balance in my book. I talk about the concept of taking that narrative away and flipping that to life work synergy. So I flip work life because I'm like, work doesn't drive your life. Life should drive work and work should be a tool in that. And then from balance to synergy is this idea that like seasons in the year, like quarters in a game, there's an ebb and flow to how, how life works.

And the more you start to think about that. Like, Hey, you know what? This is my busy work season. I can now partner with my family. I can now create leverage in other ways. So, so I'm setting the right expectation when, when the next season is about, Hey, I'm spending time with my family. I'm setting up for that.

So my, for example, my excursion to Asia, you know, we spent just about a month out there and that was all because. Of how I planned and organized my time and the expectations I set with my teams that I work for the with my businesses that I work with, uh, that my family is the priority in this season. And then I just designed work and other opportunities to make sure that they wouldn't encroach on that.

Uh, it's again, going back to progress over perfection. This isn't a one and done exercise. It's building muscles is building skill sets, building a mindset that you have to continue to design and audit based on your preferences and also being okay that sometimes things have to change. New factors come into play and you make those adjustments, but you're doing it from a point of view.

I'm controlling it and I'm thinking about it and I'm driving it versus reacting to it. And that's a very different world. A lot of times we have things thrown on our plates and we just deal and we have to like shift and adjust. And I'm saying once you start to build into these principles of life design and life work design that you always have a toolkit to go to.

And you can reframe and take advantage and shift a lot more quickly. And that allows you to feel better about the outcomes and also allows you to communicate better with those that may be impacted by some of those changes. 

[00:41:05] Rita Burke: If you have the opportunity to reframe, that is truly wonderful. Of course. It depends on people's circumstances, but reframing helps you to reinvent.

And again, what I think I'm hearing here is that you've had that opportunity to reinvent and you like where you're going in your life. Now, you talked about coming from humble beginnings. Who or what would you say is responsible for the person that you are today? 

[00:41:37] Kason Morris: I think it's a number of things I think is definitely God.

Um, in that regard, uh, I grew up in the poorest congressional district in New York City during the 80s. Um, just to kind of. Paint paint that that picture for you where, you know, for every intensive purpose, I was supposed to be a statistic. Um, and luckily, I was able to navigate and and and make some choices that allowed me to get into different opportunities.

Um, you know, getting a scholarship to college, getting a scholarship through my master's, et cetera. But one of the big influences is actually my, my late grandmother. Um, she actually recently passed, just. in November, just before Thanksgiving. Uh, she was 94 years old and, you know, she was the matriarch of, of our, our family.

And even from an early age, she lived her life on, on her terms, uh, meaning she traveled, she was very well traveled, uh, retired early. Uh, set a precedent for a lot of behaviors that that someone based on when she was was coming up, shouldn't have have been able to to do and I didn't realize it until recently and doing some heavy reflection of around how much of an influence that was on on me.

Um, she was also a published poet, so she did a lot. She tried a lot of stuff. Uh, and led with with thinking about, like, her life and and setting that example. Um, for, for the rest of the family. So that was a, a huge underlying inspiration that I think. Gave me permission to continually better myself.

[00:43:36] Ellington Brown: I think that's the goal for most people, or at least I'd like to believe that, that they're continuing to, uh, better themselves or at least expose themselves to, uh, different things that maybe they, they would not. And you know, what do you lose? Basically you can find everything on the internet anyway.

Facebook and just type in some keywords and you'll find exactly what you're looking for. How do you define meaningful career and what steps can individuals take to create one?

[00:44:22] Kason Morris: I think meaningful career ties into, um, a lot of what I spoke about thematically. Earlier, it's the idea of, you know, what are your intentions? Like a career is a tool. And when you look at a lot of the research coming out now, careers are shifting, careers are changing, you know, within the next 5 years, you know, there are 92 million job roles that will disappear, but then 170 million will be created.

So, this idea that like, Your career and what you do for work is not your security blanket. It's, it's, it's a means to an end, but really having a good, a deep think about what is your end. For some people, it's like, Hey, I want to retire in a certain amount of time. Or it's like, Hey, I want to make Have enough savings so that I don't have to work full time.

So it's really about thinking about what it, what is that bigger, why, and then how is your work helping you facilitate that? And when you, when you make that kind of mindset shift, there's no such thing as a bad opportunity because no matter where you are, if you reframe and you use a lot of the themes that I talked about, you can figure out ways to run experiments that will give you either knowledge, experiences.

Or a story to tell that you can use as leverage toward your next thing. Uh, but I think, I think having the mindset of knowing what your next thing is. is the, the differentiator for what is a meaningful career because it'll allow you to make decisions based on your own narrative and North star. Um, and some things, and I'll be really candid.

Some things are handed to us. We have circumstances. We may have a sick, a sick loved one. We may have a job that we got hired for that we thought was one thing and turns into another. Um, but all that being said, it's like if you take the mindset of a designer, you can always find good enough and you can always find some meaning in it.

You just have to do that work. And then once you capture that, meaning now becomes leverage and that leverage is up to up to you to use in the ways that you see fit.

[00:46:45] Ellington Brown: So can you elaborate on your vision for adaptive workplaces and how does that. Uh, promote long term success. For individuals and organizations. 

[00:47:02] Kason Morris: Yep. Um, now we are, I'll make this caveat. We are a long way at scale from, like, every industry having that kind of model. But the way I would think about it is, uh, think about professional services industries, like consulting, right?

Where you work in an area of consulting and you may not have a, like, a formal job. But what they're looking at is they're looking at your skills and your talent and depending on what the work is, they'll then put you on a project. And I think more and more as we start to use technology, as we start to think about how work is changing, I do believe that the, the adaptive workplace and that concept is a very powerful one because it moves away from what I said earlier about like legacy and, and pedigree and credentials.

And it's more about what are the skills, knowledge, and experience that each employee has. That allows them to do the work. And if you as an employee have that at your fingertips. And if me as a, as an organization leader, I have that insight as well. That means that the employee can be put in the right place at the right time with the right work.

And then what that results in is a more engaged employee, a more productive employee, a happier employee. And then the reverse is true, is if an employee knows they want to grow in new areas, Because of the transparency and data and that adaptive model, they can now see where those areas exist. And then they can start to either upskill or write skill and try stuff so that they can get into that area or they can make a decision to say, Hey, there isn't anything here for me.

And now I can move on with confidence and knowing that I need to go somewhere else to, to develop, um, these, these skill sets. So that I foresee is where at a macro level, I think the world of work will go. It just will mean that some industries will go faster than others. And, and it's a lot of building the plane while flying it.

So, so I can't like, you know, say this is exactly when, but when you look at the, a lot of the patterns, um, because companies need to be very agile and, and, and they need to, to be able to pivot quickly, the more that they invest in adaptive ideas and thinking about skills, knowledge, and experiences less about what job title you had.

Then it's going to lead to that kind of environment. 

[00:49:46] Rita Burke: We are speaking with Mr. Kason Morris, who is a coach. And to some degree, an educator. And so I'm going to ask you to imagine with me some boys, let's say about ten boys, who are, who are at a position right now where they're coming from humble beginnings as well.

And you're asked, because this is Black History Month in February, to speak to them. To speak to them about career choices, 

[00:50:25] Kason Morris: About 

[00:50:25] Rita Burke: where they should be going, about what they should be thinking about. What three gems would you offer to that group of boys who are as well coming from humble beginnings? 

[00:50:39] Kason Morris: Yeah, uh, it's, it's a really powerful and, and thoughtful question.

I think the first thing that I would lead them with is, is saying that you have the power to design the life that you want to live. Uh, and then I would. Explain and double click on on what that means the, the idea that, you know, we think about the college degree, we think about certain things as, um, sort of gates toward our success and what I would encourage people to do the, these young boys to do is.

Think about the things that they're curious about and go try stuff. So it's like, when you think about college and the opportunity of college, and I'll also offer this kind of point is that right now, there's a lot of research that supports the idea that the half life of skills, critical skills that most people use for work is roughly 3 to 5 years.

So what that means. Is that if you're in school and you're just stuck in books and you're not trying stuff and you're not experimenting, that means that by the time you go through a 4 year degree, half of the ideas that you may have learned may not be relevant toward what you want to do in the workforce.

So, I would encourage them to take an entrepreneurial mindset. In relation to their education and think about like, what are the things I want to study experiment with the have the most ROI and also the most durability. So, if I really want to study this thing, do I want to spend seventy five thousand dollars a year?

On this thing, knowing that in three to five years, I may not use it. Or should I study this other thing that I know has a longer shelf life, maybe five to 10 years, who, who knows? So it's really telling them that they have the power and here's how you have the power by thinking about your opportunities differently.

So the way you educate, the way you try things, the way you show up, it's not about people asking you to do stuff. It's about how you choose. to step forward and what you choose to learn. So then that way you can make those decisions and you can build those kinds of skills that pay you back forever. So I didn't exactly break it down in the three, but it all kind of like ties together in, in the why.

And then the how, 

[00:53:18] Ellington Brown: uh, I think it was probably best to do it the way that you construct it, because this way it, you get to see how all the pieces fit. And it becomes a part of reality as opposed to just being something that's, um, you can't touch or feel. So I just have one more question, and I just want to know, how do you envision the future?

And what should professionals, organizations, You know, how do they prepare for what's coming? And let's face it with the, with AI, uh, it is just that whole sector is just booming. I mean, and every day there are new applications, new interfaces that are coming out. So that just goes right back to what you were saying earlier about, okay, today you're learning.

Um, this skill by the time you, you know, you graduate from college, all of that stuff that you learned is basically, yeah, it's I 

[00:54:32] Kason Morris: would say that there is a, um, there's a need and it'll happen one way or another. There's a fundamental reengineering of how work actually works. And when you think about that, what I mean is that with AI, with other emerging technologies.

It's now your sustainability as an employee and having a career. It's not about technology replacing you. It's about people who know how to use the technology are going to replace you. So in relation to the skills that you invest in, it's a combination of what I mentioned earlier. What are the durable, rare and valuable skills that are very human because then they're harder to replace.

And then it's also how do you start to build your technology literacy? And what I mean by that is not knowing how to build technology, but it's more about how do you work with the technology in what you do? So anyone right now from this conversation today can start to do research on how technology is changing their industry, their space, and you can get ahead of that.

And that allows you to become a trusted partner for those you work with, and who you work with and rather bring in that technology as a collaborator versus fearing the technology is going to replace. And I encourage institutions. To start to really be transparent and thoughtful about how they're bringing in technology to take over critical tasks to take over critical areas of work.

So, instead of having the. Rifts and reductions of employees. We can have the redistribution of employees and we can start to use our learning systems and our learning functions to help people navigate and prepare for what's next because it's not only is a good people sense. It's good business sense.

When, when, when an organization says, hey, I'm investing in you, and I'm being transparent about where we're going and here are the opportunities for you. Yeah. Um, and with that being said, the other side of the coin is for all individuals listening is you can't wait for that magical organization to be transparent with you.

You have to start taking agency and ownership today, and you have to start from where you are. And a lot of the concepts we covered in this call, a lot of the concepts I talk about in my book, a lot of the concepts I talk about in my newsletter and in my upcoming coaching programs is all about that.

It's all about, like, what are the proven methods that you can use to start to reclaim that narrative. Uh, and essentially do what my book says. Unplug from what you thought about the system. Find your purpose and thrive in and beyond the 9 to 5. Um, and any company that that helps people do that will will be better for it.

And they'll, they'll attract the top talent and any person that does that for themselves will be future ready and future proof and we'll have a life that they're living on their terms. Thank you very much. 

[00:57:54] Ellington Brown: Well, I want to thank you so much, uh, Mr. Morris for joining us today on SpeakUP! International. We got an opportunity to, I thought, I thought that the conversation first of all was enriching and we talked about your personal Background, we got to talk up a little bit about your core beliefs and professional psychology and the career transformative and innovation topics that basically put drives.

Uh, what's, what's happening in the industry today and where we're going tomorrow. So thank you so much for joining us today on SpeakUP! International. And please, you know, when you write that next book, please let us know, cause we would love to have a conversation with you then. Rita, do you have something you want to add to that?

[00:58:53] Rita Burke: I just want to say thank you so very much, Cason Morris for joining us on SpeakUP! International. I can't help but think about the durable skills that you talked about. And to me, they're obvious people skills that we never run out of and would help us to advance in our lives. It doesn't matter where we are in the world.

And it doesn't matter what profession we're involved with. So thank you so very much. I certainly appreciate what you shared with us today. And as Elton said, come back and talk with us whenever you are available. 

[00:59:33] Kason Morris: I'm happy to do so. Thank you for the opportunity and the platform to share these ideas.

These are very real conversations and important conversations for, for your audience and for the world at large.

[00:59:45] Ellington Brown: Thank you for listening to SpeakUP! International! If you wish to connect to Mr. Kason Morris. Please be prepared to submit your name, your email address and the reason why you wish to contact Mr. Morris. At https://www.linkedin.com/in/kason-morris/. Mr. Morris has other social media accounts you can use to connect to him that will be listed in the description section on Spotify and other social media platforms. 

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