DesuckifyWork®

We are human beings. Not political abstractions. 

Sounds obvious, no? 

And yet. 

I think we all know how often we live up to that ideal. 

An ideal that is at the heart of today’s guest’s message. Chloé Valdary is a writer, thinker and entrepreneur—founder of Theory of Enchantment, a diversity and inclusion program that aims to remind us of our shared humanity. To help us create workplaces where we can unite around shared purpose and embrace our differences with love and compassion. 

We explore how love can show up at work and so much more during our conversation. We had some technical issues that affect both sound and video quality, but I hope you can take in enough to appreciate the profound nature of Chloé’s teachings. (We’re including a link to several shorter clips with captions as well).

We talk about how our efforts to discharge deep, personal pain are often at the heart of conflict in the workplace. 

We talk about the vulnerability of nonviolent communication and how it can strengthen trust within a relationship. 

And we talk about how the best conversations at work are like jam sessions, each person truly present and feeding off each other, creating something we could never create on our own. 

These kinds of conversations are my jam. Going deep on important stuff that makes you feel something. 

I hope you feel it too. 

You can follow Chloé and Theory of Enchantment on LinkedIn, on X (cvaldary and enchanttheory) and at theoryofenchantment.com. You should also check out her podcast, The Heart Speaks, where she talks with philosophers, artists, writers and academics about the big issues impacting our culture. 

And if you’d like to know more about the impact my work can have for your or your business, check out thepuddingfactory.net, follow the podcast here on Substack and on YouTube and subscribe to the DesuckifyWork™ newsletter at tjbennett.substack.com. 

Have a wonderful holiday season, everyone. Bye!

DesuckifyWork™ Podcast - Episode 16 - Embracing our humanity with Chloé ValdaryWatch Full Episode: 

Watch Short Clips with Captions: 

#desuckifywork #desuckifyworkpodcast #sharedhumanity #DEI #coaching

We are so much more than our resumes.

If there is one thing you can take away from this week’s DesuckifyWork™ podcast episode with Patrick Riley, it is this simple, beautiful fact. 

Now, Patrick has a pretty impressive resume himself. From film school to co-founding Modern Survey—a human capital measurement company to his current role heading up RADICL, a company that blends art and science to help people create epic work experiences. Oh, and he’s also found time to make a few films along the way. 

But his full story comes to life as you listen to who he is and who he has been through all of those experiences. 

Empathetic, curious, observant, optimistic, incisive, aware.

You’ll feel all of that and more as we dive into our discussion.

We talk about his roots as a filmmaker, including summer sabbaticals at Sundance while he was CEO at Modern Survey.

We discuss his time in the corporate world and how his learnings from Sundance informed his work. And vice versa. 

And we explore his current work with RADICL, helping people and organizations craft their stories… and create more meaningful work experiences.  

You can follow Patrick on LinkedIn, and learn more about RADICL at radiclwork.com. 

And if you’d like to know more about my story, check out thepuddingfactory.net, follow the podcast here on substack and on youtube and subscribe to the DesuckifyWork™ newsletter at tjbennett.substack.com. 

So what’s your story? Take a listen and I think you’ll get some good ideas.

Welcome to the Desuckifer Club, Patrick.

#desuckifywork #desuckifyworkpodcast #storytelling #epicworkexperience #coaching

Hi everyone, Episode 14 of the DescukifyWork™ Podcast is now live!

Today, I’m speaking with Diana Wu David, a future of work expert—based in Hong Kong, so she is literally living in the future. You should really listen to her. 

You should also listen because she’s smart as hell and has done the work. 

Diana is the founder of Future Proof Lab, where she provides community and coursework that helps senior leaders build a future centered on purpose and impact.

She is a coach, consultant, speaker and the author of the book Future Proof—Reinventing Work in an Age of Acceleration. All of this building on her career journey from assistant to the late Henry Kissinger to Head of Faculty at The Financial Times. 

That’s a lot of good stuff to dive into, and dive we did. 

We talk about how and why the world is changing. And how to separate the signal from the noise. 

We talk about taking advantage of the disruption we see right now, making it work for us vs. simply surviving it. 

And we talk about how we can avoid the ick typically associated with personal branding and develop stories that are both authentic and effective. 

If you are feeling uncertain or apprehensive about the future, Diana is exactly who you need to listen to right now. 

You can follow Diana on LinkedIn and Instagram and learn more about the work she does at dianawudavid.com and futureprooflab.com. She’s awesome and you will be more awesome for connecting with her. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the work I do, please check out thepuddingfactory.net. And if you like the podcast, please follow us here on Substack and on YouTube. And tell your friends! Even your enemies!

I hope we didn’t make any enemies today… bye, everyone!

#desuckifywork #desuckifyworkpodcast #futureofwork #disruption #coaching 

Hi everyone, Episode 13 of the DesuckifyWork™ Podcast is now live

Today, I’m speaking with Judy Cirullo, an executive and team coach with a focus on leadership and culture. 

We talk about navigating hybrid work environments and making sure those critical human connections can be formed, nurtured and deepened through conversation. 

Which led us to something called “conversational intelligence” which may be one of my new favorite phrases. Look it up—it’s a delightful rabbit hole that I have not fully emerged from yet. 

From there, we dive into culture and how it must be operationalized every day, not simply talked about on the company website or during quarterly team meetings. 

A great example? Ditch the old-school job descriptions that have been cut and pasted into irrelevance over the years and move towards what Judy calls a “role descriptor,” which puts each role into the context of a company’s values. And provides clear commitments around how to bring those values to life each day. 

Personally, I found a ton of value in what Judy brought to this conversation. And I think you will too.

You can follow Judy on LinkedIn and visit her site at growstrongteams.com. 

I’m looking to grow my own strong team here at The Pudding Factory… so if you’d like to connect, collaborate or create something magical together, let’s talk. Here’s a link to my calendar, if you’d like to set something up. 

https://calendly.com/teejaybee/30min

See you next time everyone. Bye!

#desuckifywork #desuckifyworkpodcast #coaching #culture #conversationalintelligence

Hi everyone, Episode 12 of the DesuckifyWork™ Podcast is now live.

Today, I’m speaking with Josh Weiss, art director, creative director and curious, compassionate soul.

Josh and worked together a while back at Saatchi & Saatchi in LA. In addition to his clever, creative mind, I was always impressed with his desire to learn, grow and shine light on any blind spots he might have.

Josh shines a lot of light in this 90-plus-minute conversation.

During the show, we talk about ad agency culture and how it needs to adapt to meet the needs of current workers who have zero patience for authoritarian leadership.

We talk about mental health in the workplace and why it needs to be acknowledged, understood and supported with kindness and empathy.

And we talk about the importance of getting junior employees more involved in the work at a high level, so they can start learning from day one… not a bad idea since agencies offer little to no training.

Did we mention that those younger employees also have a lot to teach us grizzled vets… if only we stopped for a minute to really listen?

Speaking of listening, I hope you listen to all that Josh has to say during our episode. You’ll be glad you did. I know I am.

You can follow Josh on LinkedIn, view his site at joshdweiss.com and be sure to check out thesideshow.org, a showcase that Josh and others created for some of the best side projects from ad industry folks around the world.

Over here in my little world, I’d like to make this side project more of a front-and-center project… so if you like some of what you heard from me and would like to collaborate, get coaching or make cat sounds together, let’s talk.

Here's a link to my calendar:

https://calendly.com/teejaybee/30min

See you next time everyone. Bye!

#desuckifywork #desuckifyworkpodcast #adagency #agencyculture #coaching

Hi everyone, Episode 11 of the DesuckifyWork™ Podcast is now live. 

Today, I’m speaking with Mike Moss. I’ve known Mike for over 30 years… we were in the same fraternity at Lehigh University and from what we can recall, it was a mostly pleasant experience. 

Since our college days, Mike has built a long career in the world of people analytics. And he’s the first person to convince me that employee surveys aren’t just butt-covering theater. He’s actually found ways to connect the results directly to employee burnout and turnover. 

Now if he could just find someone who will actually pay attention to those results and act on them. 

We talk about that and more during our conversation. 

We compare Mike’s more skeptical style with my optimistic POV and recognize the value of each. 

We chat about the sanity-saving value of “pocket cultures” within large organizations along with their potential downsides. 

And we touch on the importance of clarity in the workplace, especially when it comes to hair-on-fire requests from executives. 

Spoiler alert—no one knows what the hell is expected of them in those situations and the resulting chaos is likely costing businesses millions in lost productivity. 

The good news is, there’s an easy fix. 

Just listen to the show to find out what that is. 

You can connect with Mike on LinkedIn, especially if you’re someone who wants to learn the truth about your organization and turn that truth into positive change. 

Speaking of positive change, if you like some of what you heard from me and would like to hear more, let’s talk. 

https://calendly.com/teejaybee/30min

See you next time everyone. Bye!

#desuckifywork #desuckifyworkpodcast #peopleanalytics #coaching

Hi everyone, Episode 10 of the DesuckifyWork™ Podcast is now live.

(Please note, the video feed in this episode freezes up for about 30 seconds at the 1:06:30 mark. The audio works just fine so we kept the show going.)

Today, I’m speaking with Gary Ware, a strategic play consultant and the founder of Breakthrough Play. 

I gotta say, I have a lot of fun with the work I do, but it’s hard not get a bit envious of what Gary is bringing into the world. Getting paid to play sounds like a pretty good gig. And Gary’s infectious energy and enthusiasm makes it clear he’s the perfect person for that job. 

We talk about the many ways that play can desuckify work during our conversation. 

How it can improve productivity without making you feel like you’re “improving productivity.” 

How it can help us be more creative and collaborative. 

And how it can help us be the absolute best version of ourselves, every day. And isn’t that the whole point of this weird experience we call living?

If you don’t agree, you may change your mind after listening to Gary.

You can follow Gary on LinkedIn and on Instagram @garyware. And learn more about his work at BreakthroughPlay.com. You should also check out his book, “Playful Rebellion,” you can download the first chapter on his site. 

Speaking of sites, if you like some of what you heard from me and would like to know more, you should check out my site thepuddingfactory.net. And if you’d like to chat, you can schedule a call here: https://calendly.com/teejaybee/30min

Keep on playing, everyone. Bye!

#desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #coaching #play #playatwork #whatsyourplaypersonality

Hi everyone, Episode 9 of the DesuckifyWork™ Podcast is now live. 

Today, I’m speaking with Watson Jordan, founder of The Resilience Initiative. His perspective is both powerful and deeply personal, and I’m grateful we had the chance to chat.

During our conversation, we talk about the beautiful simplicity of Watson’s 5-3-1 Resilience plan and how its focus on our inner circle, our community and our core belief can lay the foundation for a life well lived. 

We talk about the unnerving accuracy of the WHY Institute’s discovery tool to find your WHY and how it can deepen our resilience and transform the way teams communicate at work. 

And we talk about the power of resilience to guide us through times of grief, even when that grief shows up in unimaginable ways. 

I love this conversation. And I love how Watson shows up for it, with integrity and enthusiasm. 

I hope you love it as well. 

You can follow Watson on LinkedIn and check out his website at hashtagresilience.com. While you’re there, be sure to take a look at his “speaking” page where you’ll catch a glimpse of Watson’s trademark handstand and learn about the energy he can bring to your next event. 

No handstands for me. I’m more of a hand-with-donut-in-face kind of guy. If you’d like to hear more about that or perhaps something related to my coaching work, let’s talk. You can schedule a call here: https://calendly.com/teejaybee/30min

Bye, everyone!

#desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #coaching #resilience

Hey everyone, Episode 8 of the DesuckifyWork™ Podcast is now live!

Today, I’m speaking with Chris Dyer, a company culture and remote work expert. He’s also a former CEO who has managed thousands of people… his companies frequently showing up on best places to work lists. So he knows of what he speaks. 

Speaking of speaking, Chris is also a renown speaker, sharing inspiring stories about leadership with audiences around the world. 

During our conversation, we really dig into culture. Specifically, we talk about Chris’ seven pillars of company culture—outlined in detail in the 2nd Edition of his book, The Power of Company Culture—which comes out next week, by the way. 

We talk about how companies should focus on what’s working, and do more of it. And how surprisingly rare that behavior actually is. 

We talk about the importance of being transparent about our goals within an organization. And how most of us have no clue what others really want most of the time. 

And we talk about the value of measuring what want to see more of, which made me realize how often I never really knew what my employers were measuring throughout my career. And how that was probably less than ideal. 

You know who is pretty darned ideal? Chris Dyer. And you can follow him on LinkedIn and check out his 31 days of Culture—a conversation each day with some of the best culture desuckifiers out there. 

You can also find Chris on TikTok, Instagram, and at ChrisDyer.com. 

And you should absolutely pre-order his book right now. 

I’ll stop rambling now so you can go do that. 

Bye, everyone!

#desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #workculture #coaching #leadership

Hey everyone, Episode Seven of The DesuckifyWork™ Podcast is now live!

Today, I’m speaking with Jason Fried, co-founder of 37signals, best known for Basecamp, the only project management software that ever made sense to me. They also created HEY email and are getting ready to launch a new calendar app in 2024.

If you prefer video, you can watch the episode here:

Jason is one of the primary inspirations for this whole desuckify thing. He and co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson’s book, It Doesn’t Have to be Crazy at Work, opened my eyes to the gaslighting reality so many of us have endured in the workplace. 

Endless meetings, non-sensical communication. A million cooks with zero accountability. None of it is necessary. Who knew?

In this episode, Jason and I get into all that and more. 

We talk about the freedom that comes with time constraints.

We talk about the fruitless pursuit of estimating and how humans are simply not capable of doing it well. 

And we touch on this crazy idea that I vaguely remember reading about in my economics textbooks years ago, tell me if you’ve heard of it, it’s called profitability. And apparently, it’s something businesses should strive for if they want to create a workplace that isn’t insane. 

Not insane sounds pretty delightful to me. 

You can follow Jason on LinkedIn and subscribe to his blog at world.hey.com/jason. Visit 37signals.com to learn more about the company and their counter-intuitive (but oh-so sensible) approach to work. I also highly recommend checking out their books at 37signals.com/books.

Try not to get overwhelmed by all of that desuckification. 

#desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #coaching #workculture #adagencyculture