Thread by @william_r_kerr

Our @HarvardHBS MBA course on #ManagingTheFutureOfWork is underway!

I share a few key ideas from each class that sparked conversation.

Class 19 was our second discussion of students' plans to manage the future of work! We discussed mini-cases based on their companies.

@rex_change uses AI to match home buyers to sellers & offer a lower fee. It's working to allocate tasks - eg use agents or gig workers to show homes? Class also wondered: is lower cost REX's selling point or is its matching tech what brings the real value?
rexhomes.com

One student aims to build skills pipelines in Indonesia (youth unemployment >15%). When designing her pilot, what KPIs should she focus on: raw skills dev? post-program employment? Class thought successful employment transitions showed ROI best & would ensure sustainability.

We were also joined by Covalent Networks' co-founders, Matthew Delaney & Andrew Knez, who were students in last year's class! Covalent makes on-the-job training software for industrial companies that makes knowledge transfer to new employees more efficient
covalentnetworks.com

They're now assessing channel partners to expand their reach. Class identified industry associations as the best option: they offer scale and standardization within sectors, & present the most potential for the close client relationships that have made Covalent successful so far.

They also highlighted the scale of the middle skills training challenge: "middle skills" may sound like a single unit, but it's incredibly diverse. Healthcare & auto repair both have middle skills jobs but require different skillsets - there is no one-size-fits-all solution.