Work 2026: AI Adoption, Curiosity, Continuous Learning | Work 20XX Ep56
Work 2026: AI Adoption, Curiosity, Continuous Learning | Work 20XX Ep56
Frankly, I’m not covering return to office and hybrid work and that whole discussion any more. We’ve done 50 episodes of Work 20XX and I think hopefully we’ve moved the discussion beyond that. - Jeff Frick
Welcome to 2026!
After four years and 50+ episodes of Work 20XX, it’s time to evolve the conversation. The return-to-office debates? We’ve covered them exhaustively. The real action now is in AI adoption, continuous learning, and building the skills that matter for distributed work.
In this welcome message, I’m sharing:
- My commitment to increase episode frequency in 2026
- How curiosity and continuous learning are the real competitive advantages, especially when it comes to AI adoption.
- The AI training that transformed how I work (shoutout to Kyle ‘Kmo’ Moschetto)
- The evergreen topics that never get stale: distributed teams, communication, leadership, team effectiveness
- Why I’m not covering return-to-office topics
The workplace has changed dramatically since 2021. Our conversations need to change too.
What’s next for Work 20XX:
More episodes, more frequently. AI adoption stories and practical training insights. Deep dives on team effectiveness and distributed leadership. Shorter, more focused content (thanks to better tools and workflows)
What I’m NOT covering:
Return to office mandates. Hybrid work debates The research is extensive, or check our library of 50+ prior episodes.
Let me know what YOU want to see in 2026. Drop a comment with topics you’re curious about, challenges you’re facing, or skills you’re trying to build. Thanks for being part of this community. Here’s to a year of growth, curiosity, and meaningful work.
ABOUT WORK 20XX:
Work 20XX explores the future of work through conversations with leaders, practitioners, and innovators who are shaping how we work, lead, and build effective teams in a distributed world.
CONNECT:
Work 20XX Episodes - Full Transcripts and exhaustive show notes, links, and references
https://www.work20xx.com/episodes
Work 20XX on Substack:
https://work20xx.substack.com/
Work 20XX on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZURvMqWbYjmmJlwGj0L0jWbWdCej1Jlt
Work 20XX on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/2U5QqtXT88uoF8Ih48Kde8?si=0b645c45ea304f08
Work 20XX on Apple Podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/work-2026-ai-adoption-curiosity-continuous-learning/id1605790876?i=1000745470877
Or wherever you podcast
Episode Transcript
Work 2026: AI Adoption, Curiosity, Continuous Learning | Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick Ep56
English Transcript
© Copyright 2026 Menlo Creek Media, LLC, All Rights Reserved
[Cold Open]
Fly in well lit textured environments
[buzz of drone launching]
All right, I got that.
Got that. We're good.
Jeff Frick:
Hey! Welcome back everybody. Jeff Frick here. Coming to you from 2026. In a very bright, sunlit park here in Palo Alto.
Excited for the new year. For a whole bunch of reasons, some personal, some professional, some in my control, some not in my control. The frequency ofWork 20XX new episodes iis a little bit less than I would like so I’m trying to make a commitment to make sure that we we get our episode frequency out [up] this year. Still did lots of clips and lots of highlights but try to get more episodes out and it's really it's kind of interesting to note how the world has changed since we started Work 20XX. Really, I guess at the beginning of 2021.Where there was a real need to know things about managing distributed teams and hybrid work flow and all these types of things.
But frankly, I’m not covering return to office and hybrid work and that whole discussion any more. We’ve done 50 episodes of Work 20XX and I think hopefully we’ve moved the discussion beyond that.
I think the hot topic, and we saw in the last couple of episodes that we did release is really about AI, AI Adoption, AI Tools. I took a great AI training class with Kyle Moschetto, 'KMo' as he's affectionately known and I'll be sharing some of the best practices that I learned from him with his permission.I think it's really worth your investment. There's a lot of different opportunities and ways that you can kind of increase your skills. consider myself to try to be pretty on top of it but I learned a ton of things from KMo.
So I'm excited to be sharing some of that. And then like I said, take more advantage of these tools like this cool new drone that I can just put things together quicker probably shorter. Increase the frequency.
Let me know what you want to see. What are you interested in? Just don't tell me ‘return to office’ or ‘office mandates’ or ‘hybrid’?
I think managing distributed teams managing distributed work communication, Leadership team effectiveness all those things are universal and never age out.
Never grow old, never get stale.
So we'll continue to cover those as I try to tuck myself into the shade here. As you know, I usually wear my shades. My eyes are not very suitable to the bright light anyway.
So I'm excited for 2026.
And, like I said, I will try to increase the frequency of our publishing.I try not to, put myself under any false pretenses or artificial deadlines, but I do think it's important that we that we get some more content out because I know on my favorite
YouTubers, what I like is some frequency and consistency, so I know I can check in and get the latest updates.
So thank you for watching. Thanks for being part of the community. Thanks for reaching out. I do really appreciate it.
When you do, and to know that there's people behind the camera not just me talking to myself out in the forest.
So thanks for watching. Thanks for listening on the podcast. Look forward to this year.
Take care.
Bye bye.
--
Cold Close:
Come to me
Come to me
--
Work 2026: AI Adoption, Curiosity, Continuous Learning | Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick Ep56
English Transcript
© Copyright 2026 Menlo Creek Media, LLC, All Rights Reserved
Work 2026: AI Adoption, Curiosity, Continuous Learning | Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick Episode 56
Links & References
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Welcome to 2026! In this episode, Jeff Frick shares his vision for Work 20XX in the new year, including a shift away from return-to-office debates and a renewed focus on AI adoption, continuous learning, and the evergreen fundamentals of distributed work. After four years and 50+ episodes, it's time to evolve the conversation.
Episode: 56
Host: Jeff Frick
Recording Location: Palo Alto, California
Release Date: January 2026
Episode Type: Show Update / Vision Statement
WATCH & LISTEN
- Website: https://www.work20xx.com/
- Substack: https://work20xx.substack.com/p/work-2026-ai-adoption-curiosity-continuous
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiBsq4qVDzE&list=PLZURvMqWbYjmmJlwGj0L0jWbWdCej1Jlt
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2C2NjaLgDHQc1YTGTOETfn?si=7DKarZ6jR1izJIkmrjCglA
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/work-2026-ai-adoption-curiosity-continuous-learning/id1605790876?i=1000745470877
PEOPLE & ORGANIZATIONS MENTIONED
Kyle Moschetto ("KMo")
AI Training Instructor
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-kmo-moschetto/
- Website: https://www.withkmo.com/
- Jeff recently completed AI training with Kyle and will be sharing insights from that course in upcoming episodes
KEY TOPICS COVERED
- AI Adoption in the Workplace - Moving beyond theory to practical implementation
- Continuous Learning - Why ongoing skill development matters more than ever
- Distributed Teams - Evergreen principles for managing remote and hybrid teams
- Team Effectiveness - Communication, leadership, and performance fundamentals
- Future of Work - Evolution of workplace conversations since 2021
- Workplace Technology - Tools and workflows for 2026
RESOURCES & FURTHER READING
AI Tools & Training:
- Anthropic Claude: https://claude.ai
- Google Gemini: https://gemini.google.com
- OpenAI ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com
Future of Work Resources:
- Work 20XX Show Archives: https://www.work20xx.com/episodes
- Jeff Frick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefrick/
ABOUT WORK 20XX
Work 20XX explores the future of work through conversations with leaders, practitioners, and innovators who are shaping how we work, lead, and build effective teams in a distributed world. Hosted by Jeff Frick, the show covers topics including remote work, distributed teams, workplace technology, AI adoption, leadership, and team effectiveness.
Started: 2021
Episodes: 56 (as of January 2026)
Host: Jeff Frick
Format: Interviews, commentary, and industry insights
Focus: Practical approaches to the future of work
CONNECT WITH JEFF FRICK
Work 20XX Podcast:
- Website: https://www.work20xx.com/
- Substack: https://work20xx.substack.com/p/work-2026-ai-adoption-curiosity-continuous
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiBsq4qVDzE&list=PLZURvMqWbYjmmJlwGj0L0jWbWdCej1Jlt
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2C2NjaLgDHQc1YTGTOETfn?si=7DKarZ6jR1izJIkmrjCglA
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/work-2026-ai-adoption-curiosity-continuous-learning/id1605790876?i=1000745470877
Turn the Lens Podcast:
- Website: https://www.turnthelenspodcast.com/
- Substack: https://turnthelens.substack.com/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZURvMqWbYjk4hbmcR46tNDdXQlrVZgEn
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5XbVvLsaPr6GXJhHkUPTLx?si=e697d1d3216843f3
- Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/turn-the-lens-with-jeff-frick/id1564938860
- Broader social commentary with humanistic perspective on technology trends
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Host & Producer: Jeff Frick
Recording Location: Palo Alto, California
TIMESTAMPS (for YouTube & Podcast Chapters)
00:00 - Welcome to 2026
00:40 - Increasing Episode Frequency
01:02 - Moving Beyond Return-to-Office Debates
01:30 - The Shift to AI Adoption
01:52 - AI Training with Kyle Moschetto
02:10 - Using Better Tools & Workflows
02:28 - Evergreen Topics: Teams, Leadership, Communication
02:48 - Commitment to More Content in 2026
03:14 - Thank You to the Community
TAGS & KEYWORDS
#FutureOfWork #AIAdoption #DistributedTeams #RemoteWork #Leadership #TeamEffectiveness #ContinuousLearning #WorkplaceTechnology #ProfessionalDevelopment #Work2026 #Podcast #WorkFromHome #HybridWork #ManagementTips #CareerDevelopment
Jeff Frick has helped literally tens of thousands of executives share their stories. In his latest show, Work 20XX, Jeff is sharpening the focus on the future of work, and all that it entails.
