Your Next Assignment: From Distraction to Restoration
The HX Podcast with Stacie Baird
Release Date: 08/26/2025
From Tool to Coworker: The Rise of Agentic AI in Hiring
The HX Podcast with Stacie Baird
It’s not science fiction anymore; it’s Agentic AI. We’re moving past the era where AI just assists us. Now, we’re talking about a coworker that can run entire recruiting workflows from start to finish. Think of it like a Tesla: you set the destination, and it drives the car. But I don't want you to be left in the dust regarding what this looks like. We are talking about autonomous scoring, outreach, and screening that operates without human intervention so you can save your intervention for where it matters most. However, with great automation comes great responsibility. I know...
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Why Interviewee Scheduling is Your Secret Weapon, Not Your Achilles Heel
The HX Podcast with Stacie Baird
Hey humans, let's talk about that hidden bottleneck that’s absolutely killing your time to hire: scheduling. We’re still playing calendar Tetris, sending those dreaded email chains back and forth. By the time you get everyone in the same virtual room, your perfect candidate has three other offers. This is the administrivia that’s costing you top talent. But what if I told you that scheduling isn't your Achilles heel—it's your secret weapon? We're in a new world where a six-day scheduling standard is gold, and companies using automation are slashing their time to hire by 50%. This isn't...
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Intel Episode 1: Where to Start
The HX Podcast with Stacie Baird
Hey humans. So, 67% of organizations are prioritizing AI for talent acquisition, but here's the HX twist: they're also terrified of its inaccuracies. In this first episode of our HX Intel series, I'm cutting through the noise to figure out what's really working and what's just hype. We've all moved past the honeymoon phase, but are we stuck in basic automation instead of using advanced AI smartly? It's the "meat and potatoes" of the AI toolkit—from the easy wins that reduce that awful "administrivia" to the major "watch-outs" and red flags. It's all about finding that balance between AI's...
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Talent Series: First Principles with Allison Coward (Rebroadcast)
The HX Podcast with Stacie Baird
In launching this series on talent, it had me thinking…where do we start? With that, we are re-broadcasting an episode with Allison Coward, an expert on #firstprinciples with the thought, why don’t we start with what is, well, first. First principles are the most fundamental, foundational truths or assumptions of a concept that cannot be deduced from anything more basic. First principles thinking (https://www.firstprinciples.ventures/insights/first-principles-the-foundations-of-innovation-and-growth) is a problem-solving method of breaking down a complex problem or idea into these...
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Talent Series Kick-Off: Why Are We Still Hiring Like It's 1998?
The HX Podcast with Stacie Baird
In this episode, I'm kicking off a new series that’s very near and dear to my heart: talent. I was struck by a McKinsey study called "The War for Talent," published back in 1998, which happened to be the first year I was in recruiting. Reading it again, I was shocked to realize that the core challenges it identified; a shortage of leadership talent, a lack of manager accountability for developing people, and the need for a compelling employee value proposition - are issues we are still grappling with today, perhaps more acutely than ever. It really made me ask, why are we still hiring like...
info_outline![[ANNIVERSARY REBROADCAST] My Daughter's Story of Struggle and Strength: One Year After Diagnosis show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/item/38398005?height=50&width=50)
[ANNIVERSARY REBROADCAST] My Daughter's Story of Struggle and Strength: One Year After Diagnosis
The HX Podcast with Stacie Baird
On this now two year anniversary, I felt that this deserved a replay! This is an episode that is an enormous part of why I've changed the brand of the podcast to encompass the broader human experience. My daughter, Jocelyn, is my very special guest today. She talks about her leukemia diagnosis over two years ago, and the battle that would take up all of 2023, and change the way she has to look at her health for the rest of her life. Hearing this story from her provides so much joy for who she is as a woman, how she's grown, and my hope is that you'll hear the same message. She shares...
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Know Yourself to Lead Yourself: A Story of Sobriety and Self-Awareness with Justin Long
The HX Podcast with Stacie Baird
In this episode of the HX podcast, as part of our "Well at Work" series, I had the privilege of speaking with Justin Long, an author who shared his incredible story of resilience. I was so impacted by his journey, which he says truly began when he got sober at age 32 after years as a "raging alcoholic filled with self-loathing". Justin recounts growing up in an emotionally dysfunctional household, shaped by generational trauma, where he was made to feel he had no value. This led him to a life of searching for external validation through alcohol and other harmful behaviors. Justin's path to...
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Goonies Never Say Die! How a Micro-Generation Fits in Today
The HX Podcast with Stacie Baird
If you remember making mixtapes off the radio and your parents' only rule was to be home when the streetlights came on, this episode is for you. Jenn and I are zeroing in on our specific slice of Gen X, a micro-generation we're calling the 'Goonies Generation'. We're the kids born in the late 70s who had one foot in an analog childhood of latchkey independence and another in a fully digital adulthood, making us the ultimate translators between the old and new school. We'll take a fun trip down memory lane talking about MTV, arcade games at Pizza Hut, and the terror of Cold War drills,...
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Redefining Midlife
The HX Podcast with Stacie Baird
In this episode, Jenn and I are diving deep into something we know a lot about: being Gen X and hitting that phase of life that people used to call a 'midlife crisis.' We're calling BS on that and reframing it as what it really is... a reboot. With our kids getting older, we finally have the space to ask what we want, not just what our families need. We get real about everything from navigating hormonal shifts and prioritizing sleep over everything else, to why I'm taking a whole pharmacy of supplements and have fully embraced my comfy, underwire-free wardrobe. It's about feeling our...
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Reality Bites: The Gen X Leadership Load
The HX Podcast with Stacie Baird
Hey humans, in this episode of the HX podcast, we're diving into the "Gen X Leadership Load". If you're a Gen Xer, you probably feel like the forgotten middle child, and I found some pretty jarring data that shows just how much we're dealing with. We're the first leaders in history to be sandwiched between four generations at work and two at home, acting as translators between old-school structures and new expectations. I'll share some specific stats from places like Pew Research and AARP on what this dual caregiving really costs us, both financially and emotionally. We were taught to just...
info_outlineIn this week's episode of our #WorkWell series, I'm building on last week's assignment with a new one that is both simple and challenging. After taking time to reset, I started asking myself a critical question every time I felt the urge for a distraction: "What would actually restore me right now, not just distract me?" It's so easy to fall into mindless scrolling or shopping, but I've found those are just temporary fixes that don't address the root cause. True restoration takes intention, and the only real short-term answer to exhaustion is rest and recovery.
My assignment for you is to try what I did this week. Every time you feel that pull toward a distraction, pause. I would get up, change my scenery, take two deep breaths, and grab my journal. This practice helped me offload my mental clutter and understand what was really going on. I found my needs usually fell into one of three categories: depletion, which I answered with a power nap or meditation; restlessness, which I solved with movement like a walk; or disconnection, which I eased by texting a friend or hugging my husband.
It all comes down to asking: What does my body need? What does my mind need? And what does my heart need? I encourage you to try replacing distraction with true restoration this week; it was incredibly insightful for me.
Stacie
More episodes at StacieBaird.com.