March 31, 2026

Originally shared in our March 2026 Top of Mind Newsletter. We often inherit cultural scripts that tell us to chase the next achievement or optimize our routines, promising that “meaning” will be waiting for us on the other side. Yet, as the bar continually moves, we can lose touch with what truly brings us alive. In a recent episode of the Rich Roll Podcast, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, co-founders of Stanford’s Life Design Lab,…

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February 27, 2026

Originally shared in our February 2026 Top of Mind Newsletter. This issue of VoxDevLit’s literature review, Training Entrepreneurs, examines the effectiveness of over $1 billion in annual global spending on entrepreneurship training. While policymakers often fund these programs to drive broad job growth, the evidence suggests that the impact is much more personal. For youth and microenterprises, training typically increases an individual’s earnings and self-employment prospects, but it rarely creates immediate “new” jobs for others. Instead,…

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Originally shared in our February 2026 Top of Mind Newsletter. “[The trades] are a ticket to the American dream, and a lot of Americans are locked out of it… It shouldn’t just be your children and my children that have expectations. Every child should have expectations, and we need to invest in those expectations and the support to achieve them.” — Rahm Emanuel In a recent Brookings Institute event, former Chicago Mayor and prior Ambassador…

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January 29, 2026

Originally shared in our January 2026 Top of Mind Newsletter. How can we spark opportunities for action in our teams? As we’ve discussed, Growth & Development Opportunities are a cornerstone of job quality, yet many organizational mentorship efforts fall flat. In this video, organizational psychologist Adam Grant shares a simple, research-backed tool to bridge this gap. He introduces a “19-word phrase” that drastically increases a person’s openness to constructive feedback. By shifting the conversation from…

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Originally shared in our January 2026 Top of Mind Newsletter. A landmark report from Gallup and Jobs for the Future (JFF) identifies five dimensions of job quality: Financial Well-Being, Culture & Safety, Growth, Agency, and Autonomy. With 60% of the U.S. workforce lacking a “quality” job, the study highlights critical opportunities for action: Employers can boost satisfaction through mentorship and training. Policymakers can strengthen local economies by closing structural gaps. Advocates can use data to expand worker…

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