Deb and I can’t wait for this one. Every time we get in a room together it feels like magic. A podcast together felt like a gift to ourselves. We would love it if you joined us live. The entire intent of this show is to keep it free-flowing and with minimal editing so doing it live makes sense. We will see how it goes as this is definitely a learn out loud moment for both of us.

The transcript…..sort of:Hey friends -

If you’ve ever looked at corporate life and thought, “This can NOT be the best we’ve got”…here’s your Friday feel-good present.

You’re going to want to come hang out with me and Deb Haas on our podcast, Rails Optional, this coming Monday - January 12 - live on Substack at 1 PM Eastern, 9 AM Pacific.

And just so we’re clear: this isn’t a podcast where we talk at you.

It’s two friends hanging out and exploring the stuff corporate life makes complicated in the strangest way…HR, work, systems, AI implementation, “transformation,” and all the invisible rules we’re apparently supposed to accept without question.

It’s ADHD entrepreneurship, corporate recovery, AI without the hype, and building a life that doesn’t drain you.

Neither one of us is especially good at leaving “taboo” topics alone…so we’ve officially given ourselves permission not to stay on the rails.

Between us, we’ve got over 30 years in HR and HR-adjacent worlds. We’ve seen behind the curtain…and we’re willing to talk about the pile of weird things that are back there.

You will never catch us complimenting the emperor’s lovely new clothes.

We also laugh a lot, go deep fast, and occasionally take a sharp left turn or throw in a random song lyric or movie quote because…ADHD.

Here’s how these lives will work:

Each episode starts with a topic. And because it’s live, it’s going to wander. It’ll be shaped by what shows up in the chat, what stories people bring, what we’ve been seeing on our socials, and where our brains decide the real thread actually is.

Also - we finally nailed down the timing and topic for the first one, which honestly took a minute…because literally every time we get in the same room, our brains light up with ideas and we have the best conversations…

…and then we end the call going, “Wait. We didn’t make any decisions.”

So. Episode 1.

We’re starting with that lovely trope that gets passed around like deep wisdom:

“HR is not your friend.”

Is it true?Why does that phrase get repeated so much?Is it fair to the actual humans in HR?How does system design and history play tug o’ war with individual intention?How could it be different?What gets in the way of making it different?

And because the rails are optional, let me just say: does anyone remember that Arby’s slogan used to be “Different is good”…and then they briefly tried to adult with “Now That Your Tastes Have Grown Up”…and now they’re potentially throwing shade at competitors who may or may not have meat in their food?

See? I told you. Rails optional.

If you want to join live, bring questions - especially the ones you’ve been carrying around like, “Is it me…or is the system just structured like a haunted house?”

Or honestly, come laugh with us when the tech shenanigans inevitably happen…because Substack doesn’t give you a practice run, so who knows what madness we’re in for.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit railsoptional.substack.com