People Processes Interviews: How to Find the Right Team Members for Your Organization Amid Trying Times with Ira Wolfe

Turbulent times paralyze the majority. The remaining few see strife as an opportunity to claim what many are not able to see just yet. We see this playing out today in the business world, a few months into the world-shaking effects of COVID-19. While countless companies have folded, others have embraced the realities of VUCA and steered their strategy toward rebuilding their teams through strengthening their employment culture and maximizing relevant technology. What exactly are these companies doing to thrive in the New Normal?Today’s guest answers that question. We have interviewed Ira Wolfe, workplace futurist, recruitment marketing strategist, employee selection expert, author, TEDx speaker, and President of Success Performance Solutions since the company’s inception in 1996.1) What is VUCA and how does this idea give us a peek at the future of work?VUCA originated in the early 90s following the fall of the Berlin Wall. The U.S. military realized that the world was changing fast and that our enemies would no longer be countries or sovereign states. Instead, we would be facing terrorism which knows no boundaries. So the war colleges came up with a war strategy for the future which determined that the environment was going to be Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. Over the years, VUCA has become popular with business strategy, mostly at the C-level. The question is, “How do you manage a business in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world?2) What was your worst experience as an HR futurist and how did you overcome it?I’ve been through many tough times, and at the moment, they felt terrible. People always tell me that I’m a skeptic, and I’d add that I’m a realist, but I always see opportunity in the crisis. I’ve been in this business for 25 years. I started out as a dentist. If you watched my TED Talk where I talk about change, very early on I say that I love everything about dentistry but dentistry. I loved running the business. I loved working with people. I loved building my team. I loved helping people become healthier. I loved educating people. I just didn’t love doing the work.I started my practice in 1980 on credit. There was a shortage of silver at a time when dentists used silver fillings and X-rays. I was also in a town of 5000 people with 11 dentists. Finally, the first case of HIV in America is of a person who died in a dental office. So, that was certainly a challenging time, but I adapted to every situation and made things work for my business...