Squiggly Careers

In a world full of words, the people who communicate with clarity, humanity and story will stand out.

In the fifth and final episode of this special series, Helen and Aneesh Rahman close out Open to Work with the last of the five Cs, communication, and why it might be the skill that ties everything together.

From Martin Luther King to Pixar to the pressure of a TED Talk, this is a conversation about why great communication has never been more human, and what you can do to make yours more so.

🎯 What You'll Learn

– Why AI making generic communication universally available raises (not lowers) the value of human storytelling
– Why the most important story you'll ever tell is the story of yourself
– How clarity fits into communication, and why speaking simply doesn't mean thinking simply
– Two practical things you can do right now to make your next presentation more human: add a story or make an analogy
– Why the future of communication comes down to four words: speak human, be human

📚 Resources Mentioned

Open to Work: Aneesh Rahman and Ryan Roslansky

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected]

Need some more squiggly career support?

1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/
2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/
3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod
4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if compassion isn't just a nice-to-have, but one of the most important skills for the future of work?

In day four of this special five-part series, Helen and Aneesh Rahman explore the fourth C, compassion, and why the new world of work demands something the industrial age actively discouraged.

From quietening your inner critic to really listening to a colleague, this is a conversation about what it means to be more human at work, starting with yourself.

🎯 What You'll Learn

– Why compassion wasn't valued in the industrial age (and why that's changing fast)
– Why compassion for yourself has to come first, and what that looks like in practice
– How to show genuine (not performative) compassion for the people you work with
– Why phone calls and walk-and-talks might be better than video calls for building real connection
– One simple exercise to anchor yourself in your own strengths, without listing a single job title or degree

📚 Resources Mentioned

Open to Work: Aneesh Rahman and Ryan Roslansky

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected]

Need some more squiggly career support?

1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/
2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/
3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod
4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Creativity isn't a talent some people have and others don't, it's a skill. In day three of this special five-part series, Helen and Aneesh Rahman explore the third C, creativity, and why it's becoming one of the highest-value human skills in an age when AI can generate generic content at scale.

From Pixar's science of storytelling to the neuroscience of flow, this is a conversation that will change how you think about your own creativity, and how to bring more of it to your team.

🎯 What You'll Learn

– Why AI making generic creative content widely available actually raises the premium on human creativity
– What the neuroscience of flow tells us about when we're at our creative best (and what gets in the way)
– Why creativity is a team sport, and what that means for how you design your working week
– A simple question to ask in your team: when are you at your creative best and what contributes to it?
– One practical thing anyone can do right now to build their creative muscle, even if they don't feel creative at all

📚 Resources Mentioned

Open to Work: Aneesh Rahman and Ryan Roslansky
Creativity Inc.: Ed Catmull
Peak: Anders Ericsson

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected]

Need some more squiggly career support?

1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/
2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/
3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod
4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Even if you're not changing jobs, your job is changing. In day two of this special five-part series, Helen and Aneesh Rahman explore the second C, courage, and why it's becoming one of the most important skills you can bring to work right now.

From Polynesian wayfarers to Apollo 13 to leaving a high-profile CNN career to become an unpaid intern on a presidential campaign, courage has always been at the heart of how humans do anything worth doing. The good news? You don't have to start with a giant leap.

🎯 What You'll Learn

– Why courage is necessary for curiosity (and why being told to be compliant at work has made courage harder than it should be)
– Why if you aren't failing, you aren't doing enough in this new world of work
– How micro courage compounds over time (and why small, uncomfortable actions build to bigger leaps)
– What companies and leaders need to do to create environments where courage is actually possible
– One thing you could do tomorrow that feels uncomfortable today

📚 Resources Mentioned

Open to Work - Aneesh Rahman and Ryan Roslansky
Email Helen and Sarah to share your moment of courage and get an accountability partner: [email protected]

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected]

Need some more squiggly career support?

1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/
2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/
3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod
4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the future of work isn't less human...but more human? In this special episode, Helen kicks off a brand new five-part series borrowing brilliance from Open to Work, a brilliant new book by Aneesh Rahman, Chief Economic Opportunity Officer at LinkedIn, and former Obama speechwriter.

Over the next five days, Helen and Aneesh will explore the five human skills that matter most in the age of AI: curiosity, courage, creativity, compassion and communication. Today, they start with curiosity - and why it might be the most important career advantage you can build right now.

🎯 What You'll Learn

– Why AI raises the value of human skills rather than replacing them (and what that means for your career)
– What real curiosity looks like at work (hint: it's not just reading more, it's finding a thread and pulling on it)
– Why outsourcing your curiosity to AI creates cognitive debt, and what to do instead
– How to use AI as a starting point for building curiosity, not an ending point
– How to create more curiosity in your team through debate, discussion and the willingness to say "I don't know"

📚 Resources Mentioned

Open to Work - Aneesh Rahman and Ryan Roslansky

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected]
Need some more squiggly career support?

1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/
2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/
3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod
4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices