Denise Brouder, Founder and Head of Data and Insights at SWAY Workplace. As a flexible work skills expert, researcher, and consultant—with a Wall St background in financial oversight and controls—Denise discusses a risk-adjusted systems approach to implement flexibility and optimize performance. She explains why AI is a key factor driving us from fixed hybrid to flexible models as the only viable long-term solution. Denise explains the critical importance of empathy-based trust to effect flexibility at scale and fuel high-performing teams and that to work differently, we need to start by thinking differently.     KEY TAKEAWAYS   [02:39] From rural Ireland, Denise writes to Wall St. banks asking for an internship and gets one!   [03:55] Denise is systems-oriented, finding banks’ capital, economics, and operations fascinating.   [04:37] Denise compares Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs as organizations and employers.   [05:17] As a young mother, Denise leaves Wall Street to join a tech startup and get more flexibility.   [06:00] Denise finds she loves the process of starting with a problem and building something.   [06:48] Working in a large company becomes transactional while at a startup to see how your everyday effort contributes to progress.   [07:41] At a fast-paced startup, Denise learns to hustle, figuring things out as they build the business.   [08:22] Denise finds building and scaling with limited resources a very interesting challenge.   [09:02] Denise follows a colleague to LugTrack, launching with five people and a patent.   [10:19] Persistence, creativity, and grit are critical for success as a startup—which are emotional skills.   [11:06] Lithium-ion batteries catching fire on planes meant LugTrack’s business runway ran out.   [11:49] After a course on the Future of Work, Denise takes a big leap of faith and founds a company.   [12:30] Denise recognizes the work change ahead and wants to productize how to work flexibly.   [14:29] Denise wants to yell “AI is coming! AI is coming!” from the hilltop!   [14:45] Denise feels strongly about mastering flexible work at scale to propel everyone forward.   [16:10] Denise thinks that flexibility at scale levels the playing field for women. [17:10] The first iteration of SWAY is a technology play using apps to convene the conversation digitally around new ways of working.   [18:15] The advancement of women will happen by changing the system from the inside out, making flexibility a gender neutral issue.   [19:38] Denise discovers she is a systems thinker and we have a systems problem.   [20:32] The Science of Flexibility helps de-risk flexibility as an operational strategy for a large company.   [21:17] If flexibility is demonstrated, measured, and communicated like a risk-adjusted talent model, senior leaders can get people on the same page.   [22:49] In SWAY’s work, EQ and empathy demonstrate the intelligence that is in flexibility that we’re going to need in an AI-influenced world.   [23:42] High-performing flexible teams are fueled by empathy-based trust.   [25:32] Emotions are fundamental to our human design, but we only just starting to understand them.   [27:47] Traditional working norms evolved around visual-based trust.   [28:26] In hybrid models, trust levels feel low and are questioned—these are growing pains.   [29:16] Flexibility at scale requires empathy-based trust.   [32:03] The social contract used to provide stability. Now, what is the system? Do we trust it?   [32:49] Reimagining the social contract may be an even bigger shift to prepare for in the future of work.   [33:40] Denise is concerned that some employees are not fighting RTO mandates anymore.   [36:05] In-office mandates are not long-term models, but the current situation is still malleable.   [36:45] In face of AI disruption, Denise’s goal is to articulate that flexibility is not a fad or a perk but an intelligent model for the modern era   [38:33] Mindset is first—to facilitate adaptability and res