DesuckifyWork®

There’s a controversial piece making its way around the interwebs right now, called “The Great Feminization” by Helen Andrews.Despite its edgy title and often-incorrect conclusions (in my opinion), it’s generating some useful conversation.How can men and women work together in a way that is beneficial to all?Rachel Wallis Andreasson brings a POV to this topic informed by 30+ years as a leader. And she collaborated with 3 other authors to create The Sixth Level, a book about leadership that infuses a distinctly female perspective into this conversation.The Sixth Level model is derived from the narratives of 16 women leaders as seen through the lens of Self-in-Relation theory, which defines the psychology of women as oriented to connection and care.🐱 It creates a framework for creating cultures where no one wants to leave🐱 Reframes “soft skills” as leadership strengths🐱 Introduces four core differentiators: intrinsic motivation, mutuality, justness, and ingenuityWe also touched on the frustrating truth that a lot of “feminine” work is not valued very highly. Caretaking, teaching, social work, etc.I think we’d do well to bring the full spectrum of approaches to the table. From the “feminine” to the “masculine” and anything in between. Let’s see what we learn.Personally, I’m grateful that work cultures have evolved to a place where I can be more vulnerable, more caring and more connected in my approach. If you prefer the boiler room world, have at it.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Rachel on LinkedIn. And check out thesixthlevel.com to learn more about her book and the philosophy behind it.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Rachel to our audience:Who could you reach out to today that you have a difference of opinion with, and you just want to have a conversation and start reconnecting?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

How you feel about human nature tells you everything you need to know about leadership.If you think human nature has stayed constant over the years, you’ll find great value in the words of Socrates, Confucius, Jesus, Shakespeare and Sarah Breedlove (the first self-made black woman millionaire in the US).If you think human nature has evolved over time, you’ll see little point in the wisdom of the past and constantly seek out new thinking to guide your approach.Richard Battle falls firmly into the first camp. And he’s written several books—including his latest, AmeriCANS Who Made America!, spotlighting past wisdom for our present and future benefit. And we talked about a bunch of it on this week’s podcast.🐱 How his great-great grandmother’s 100+ year old table showed him that our actions today can influence folks in the next century.🐱 How a four-minute radio interview in the back office of a car dealership helped a man grieving the loss of his daughter.🐱 How an early “dead end job” can teach our future self more about leadership than most modern day “gurus.”In fact, I can’t help but wonder if most gurus take advantage of those who believe in an ever-changing human nature, shellacking ancient wisdom with buzzwords and bullet points for easy consumption.No buzzwords here. Just a fresh look at some old-school truths that can help us lead better right now.—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.——You can follow Richard on LinkedIn. And check out his site at RichardBattle.com where you can learn more about each of his 12 books.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from Richard to our audience:Where do you want to be at the end of your work life? And are you taking steps to get there?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Should we get rid of HR?That’s the bold suggestion put forth by Jamie Gutfreund, this week’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast.Why get rid of it? Because it’s become a fear-based function that stifles creativity, prevents honest conversations and enforces a “referee” culture that treats team members like children vs. adults who are capable of sorting through hard stuff on their own.What would be build in its place? Great question. Jamie and I explore that and more during our conversation. We touch on:🐱 Generational differences at work🐱 What real psychological safety looks like🐱 How to balance different levels of ambition within a team, including how those folks are compensated🐱 The influence of the creator economy on how we work and get our messages out to the world🐱 The role of executive leadership in driving culture and how no HR initiative can overcome the tone set by the C-suiteThe main takeaway? Let’s be adults and let’s get out of own way already.Sounds pretty freakin’ awesome to me. Who’s in?—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.——You can follow Jamie on LinkedIn. And check out her column in Forbes about the creator economy.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from Jamie to our audience:Why do we judge people in the workplace solely on their state of ambition? Are we saying that everyone has to be equally ambitious? What if I just want to go to work till five o’clock and I’m okay being compensated and rewarded based on those expectations?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Here’s what you’re admitting when you don’t develop your talent.🐱 You’re admitting you don’t expect people to hang around very long.🐱 You’re admitting you’re willing to let people just figure crap out on the job no matter how long it takes or how many mistakes get made.🐱 You’re admitting that there’s nothing special about the work you do—any schmo off the street can jump in and deliver on day one.🐱 You’re admitting you’re unaware of the cost of people figuring crap out on the job. Or the cost of high turnover. Or the cost of having an undifferentiated, commoditized work product.🐱 You’re admitting that any messaging you have on your site or internally around building a strong culture is performative BS.Karen Crane knows a thing or fifty about talent development. She is a coach and talent consultant who spent years helping ad agencies build award-winning teams.And she and I share a frustration that so many agencies fall short in this area. F*ck around a find out seems to be the most popular training methodology.And it’s a damn shame because the industry is filled with smart, clever problem solvers who are capable of designing a thousand ways to help people grow in their careers.But… we’re too busy, it’s too expensive, clients are so demanding…. blah, blah, blah.Sure. Yes. Understood.Those are the exact reasons you need to do it. So you’re less busy on nonsense work and focused more on work that matters. So you get paid more, because you work on higher value projects. So your clients are happier, because your teams are delivering work at a level they never even thought was possible.That’s what happens when you develop your talent.Admit it: sounds totally worth it, right?Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Karen on LinkedIn. And check out her site at coachkarencrane.com and her Substack newsletter at karencrane.substack.com. They’re both filled with awesome stuff.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Karen to our audience:What does a desuckified workplace look like? What do you need to be unsuckified at work?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Imagine if we were more civil at work.Not more polite. Politeness is BS. Civil. From the Latin, Civitas. Meaning citizen. A well-functioning member of society.Societies work when we have hard conversations. When we bring a shared respect for our common humanity. When we’re willing to offend. And be offended.This is not where we are right now. As a society or at work.We avoid the hard conversations. We substitute through-our-teeth agreement for respect. We turn offense into passive aggression.Layer that in with a culture that rewards a near-constant state of navel gazing and the results aren’t pretty.Lexi Hudson knows we can do better. And she wrote a book, “The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves” that tells us how.It’s not about following a rigid set of rules. It’s about leaning into time-tested wisdom that has been at the center of great societal advances, from Ancient Greece to the modern civil rights movement.Lexi’s translation for today’s world?Be less like Larry David, angling for every scrap of ego-fuel we can find no matter the cost to others.Be more like her grandmother, Margaret. A magnanimous soul, self-composed, generous, other-oriented and real.—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. Today’s episode is a part of the ProHuman Series, in partnership with the ProHuman Foundation, where Lexi is an advisor.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Lexi on LinkedIn. And check out her Substack newsletter at civic-renaissance.com, an ongoing conversation on the power of civility to help us create the good life.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Lexi to our audience:What are the kinds of incivility that people are experiencing in the workplace right now and to what extent has that to do with being online and not in person in recent years?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Radical Moderation.Sounds like an oxymoron. But it’s actually a way we can save our world and our workplaces from whatever the hell it is we’re all going through right now.We’re in a low trust, high volatility time. And it affects everything. From the most horrific news headlines to the way we relate to the person in the desk across from us. Our armor is up. Which isn’t exactly conducive to conversation or collaboration.Lauren Hall is an author, speaker, professor, university administrator and coiner of the “radical moderation” term. We talked on this week’s podcast about how embracing this mindset can help us connect more deeply with everyone in our lives.It starts with avoiding binary thinking. Life is lived in the gray, no matter what your social media algorithms try to tell you.From there, we need to understand issues in their full complexity.To do that, we need to be curious and humble, especially when we’re confronted with ideas we don’t like.Lauren gives one of the most incredible examples of someone who chose to embrace those ideals—Darryl Davis. A black man who has spoken with dozens of KKK members and influenced many to renounce their white supremacist views. His story is remarkable.I don’t expect most of us to live up to the model of someone like Daryl. But man, wouldn’t the world be a better place if we tried?Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. Today’s episode is a part of the ProHuman Series, in partnership with the Prohuman Foundation where Lauren is an advisor.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Lauren on LinkedIn. And check out her Substack, The Radical Moderate’s Guide to Life (Lauren Hall). It’s the perfect antidote to our click-bait riddled feeds.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Lauren to our audience:Are you happy with the politics that we have now? Do you feel as though what's happening is serving our communities?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a terrible boss.Nice, I see lots of hands. Great.Now raise your hand if you’ve ever been a terrible boss.If your hand isn’t still up, you’re lying to yourself.The moment we start leading others, we start finding ways to be bad at it. Not because we suck. Because we’re human. And this is how we learn.F*ck around a find out, right?Mita Mallick would like all of us to find out more quickly. Yes, we’re going to be crappy at times. But she’s done a lot of work to define our most craptastic tendencies so we can recognize them and stop doing them sooner.I could’ve used Mita’s wisdom many times in my own career. Like that time I told a person on my team I didn’t really care for their design style. Ugh.Her new book, “The Devil Emails at Midnight: What Good Leaders Can Learn from Bad Bosses,” outlines the (lucky) 13 types of bad bosses. So we can stop being most of them and start being who our teams need us to be.Here are a few. Do you recognize any of these in yourself?🙀 "Medusa": Screaming, public humiliation, throwing objects🙀 "The Napper": Disengaged, falling asleep in meetings🙀 "Tony Soprano": Career-threatening, talent-hoarding🙀 "The Cheerleader": Toxic positivity, unrealistic expectationsMita even talks about her own experience as a “terrible” boss and what she’s learned since then. My impression? I think she’d make a great boss. I know she was an amazing guest.Let the desuckifying begin. Here’s Mita.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Mita on LinkedIn. And check out her site, where you can learn about all the cool work she’s doing and find a link to pre-order her book, “The Devil Emails at Midnight”, which launches in September 30th.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Mita to our audience:Are you willing to admit when you've been a bad boss, if you're honest?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Is therapy culture destroying us?Pushing us to analyze every moment as a potential trauma. Turning minor slights into rage and sadness. Making us feel good about feeling bad all the time.Fred Luskin has a different idea. Forgiveness. He’s been studying it for over 30 years and the biggest takeaway? We can deal with 99% of the crap that comes our way. Feel the feeling, sure. Do some self soothing… vent to a friend, go for a run, eat a cookie. But then forgive and move on.Resentment is an addiction. Fred should know. He held onto resentment from a painful experience for years until his wife told him “it ain’t that pleasant living with you.” Fred found a way to forgive what happened and turned that energy into the Stanford Forgiveness Project, doing research on methods to help others forgive.Forgiveness is a gift to yourself. A decision to take ownership of how you feel and refuse to let the behavior of others drag you down.Imagine if we took this advice at work. Letting the petty BS slide and allowing ourselves to truly connect with people. We’re all dicks sometimes. Let’s own that and do cool s**t together.This is what emotional intelligence looks like. And it’s the thing that will keep us human as AI does whatever the hell it’s gonna do.You wanna get mad about it? Feel free. But don’t hold onto that feeling for too long. It’ll ruin you.As Fred says, “take the blinders off and realize what a gift life is.”I couldn’t agree more.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. Today’s episode is a part of the ProHuman Series, in partnership with the ProHuman Foundation, where Fred is an advisor.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Fred on LinkedIn. And check out his site at fredluskin.com where you can learn more about his books, including “The Forgive for Good Recovery Workbook.”If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Fred to our audience:How can you take the blinders off your life so that you stop taking so much of the good in your life for granted?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

The best work I’ve ever done started with laughter.Laughing at the boss’s indecisiveness.Laughing at our friend whooping our butts at Koosh basketball and walking away with a wad of ones that would make a stripper blush.Laughing at the dog farting in our office.Laughter is like creatine for your productivity muscles. I once laughed so hard I threw my back out and went on a months-long script writing binge high on Icy Hot fumes.Laughter is the greatest thing ever. And yet most of our workplaces are sterile, saccharine and stupefying.Or, as my guest Rob Feld says on this week’s podcast episode, “they’re not human environments.” Rob is a filmmaker whose latest project Jesters and Fools brings humor to the often-touchy topic of political polarization. It’s freakin’ fantastic.And Rob’s right about our workplaces—too many are simply not human. How can we possibly laugh in a such an environment? How can we create or connect to the truths that lead to interesting new things? How can we see our co-workers as fellow juicy meat bags filled with interesting (and different!) points of view?The truth is, too often, we don’t. We don’t see each other as people, but as obstacles to getting what we want. We try to steamroll our thoughts through the system instead of coming back to the one human thing that has brought us together since the first caveman drew a stick figure rabbi and priest walking into a bar.Laughter. It’s not just medicine. It’s crack for collaboration. And corporate profits. Yet for some reason, we’ve decided we don’t want that.I do. Rob does. What about you?—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. Today’s episode is a part of the ProHuman Series, in partnership with the ProHuman Foundation, where Rob is an advisor.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.——You can learn more about Rob’s movie at jestersandfools.com. And check out his site at gothamarts.com.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from Rob to our audience:Do you think you could find more humor in life's annoyances than you currently do?To watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

If you want your people to work harder, try helping them feel more welcome.You know, the exact opposite of how most companies feel when you step through the doors. So many offices are sterile, inhuman habitats, designed to crush souls while cranking up productivity.But here’s the rub: crushed souls won’t stay productive for very long. You can squeeze so much blood from a stone until that stone is so tired and pissed off it decides to roll itself right out the door and write a zero star Glassdoor review.What if people at your company felt like someone walking into a Disney Resort? Or The Cosmopolitan in Vegas? Or the Rupp Arena at the University of Kentucky for a game against Louisville?These are the places where Taylor Scott honed his hospitality craft. Working at Disney and Cosmopolitan and growing up in Kentucky as a rabid basketball fan and athlete. Now, he helps others bring that same level of welcome into their own businesses.What changes when you lead with hospitality and people actually feel welcome? Everything.🐱 People will go all in to support your mission🐱 People feel comfortable sharing more of their strengths and passions🐱 People feel inspired to push beyond their self-imposed limits🐱 People start bringing that hospitality to their own teams and to your customersThat’s how you get to real, lasting productivity. And that’s how you create workplaces the light people up like the Magic Kingdom or the chandeliers at Cosmo.You’ll feel lit up after listening to Taylor, I guarantee it.——Welcome to the DesuckifyWork podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.——You can follow Taylor on LinkedIn. And check out his site at leadwithhospitality.com where you can learn more about his awesome work and his eye opening books.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Taylor to our audience:(Actually three questions that help you create your purpose statement)* What are your strengths?* What breaks your heart?* Who do you want to help?Purpose Statement: My personal purpose is to give my (fill-in-the-blank strengths), to help (fill-in-the-blank people) achieve (fill-in-the-blank thing).If you’d like to listen to the episode on YouTube, please click here: Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

“My work should speak for itself.”Yeah, sorry, it doesn’t. Even Jesus had a PR guy. Four of them, actually (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).So what makes you think you’re so special?None of us are. Which means all of us have to put the work in to make ourselves visible. Good thing Sue Barber already did a bunch of the work for us. Her book, The Visibility Factor, outlines the stuff we can do to get others to take notice of our awesomeness.She had to learn the hard way, when a mentor called her out for being “invisible” as an executive with Kraft Heinz.Being invisible may sound like a fun superpower but it sucks at work. You get overlooked for the good assignments and promotions and you get stuck playing short field on the company softball team.Sue and I talked about how you can step up your visibility game without bragging or sucking up to the boss.🐱 Observe others who do it well🐱 Offer to help team members more often🐱 Share ideas in meetings and ask for input🐱 Invite key team members to important meetings to see you in action🐱 Talk about your cats (okay, that one’s from me)We talk about a lot more than cats during our conversation. Sue really knows her stuff.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Sue on LinkedIn. And check out her site at susanmbarber.com—where you can learn more about her book, her podcast and all the awesome work she’s doing, including this free guide to help introverts be more visible at work.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Sue to our audience:What are you doing to be visible? Do people know you? Do they know what you’re doing?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

You can’t fix collaboration issues with software.Some tools actually make things worse, stressing the nervous system and putting us in a perpetual state of fight of flight. Others are so damn confusing we pretend they don’t exist until Stu from HR sends us a stern reminder email.Someone should tell Stu (and the rest of us) to step away from Outlook and have some actual conversations with people.That’s the advice Mark Kenny would give. Mark is a speaker, author and teamwork strategist—and today’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast.Mark believes collaboration gets better when we have the conversations we’ve been avoiding. When we create relationships with folks across the organization, with no agenda. When we treat people like human beings, not obstacles or a means to an end.When we do all that, work sucks a whole lot less.🐱 We get more useful stuff done.🐱 We gain an edge on competitors who are still praying that Slack and Teams will save the day.🐱 And we unlock group intelligence to solve seemingly unsolvable challenges, like the group of eight observatories around the world who came together to create a massive, collective “telescope” to take the first picture ever of a black hole. An image no single telescope could ever capture.You don’t need a telescope to observe Mark’s wisdom during this conversation.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Mark on LinkedIn. And check out his site at markskenny.com.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Mark to our audience:When was the last time your team had a conversation you've never had before, but really needed to? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Hiring sucks.It sucks for the company. It sucks for the candidates. It sucks for ai notetakers who are forced to generate useful bullet points from the inane interviews that take place in almost every corner of corporate America. “Sally and Jethro discussed the importance of the company’s Third-Thursday pizza parties and agreed that pineapple is actually an acceptable topping.”Who you bring into your organization affects everything. From culture to competitiveness to the quality of the jokes on your slack channels. But we often treat hiring like a chore. Or an afterthought. What if we made it a strategic priority and stripped all the suck out of the experience?That’s Everett Reiss’ mission. He co-founded Jane HR to create a more human approach to hiring. Sounds pretty cool to me.🐱 They create detailed "ideal candidate profiles" so you actually know who you’re looking for instead of just relying on vibes.🐱 They design job descriptions that are actually relevant to the person reading it, not just the legal compliance team.🐱 They use technology to improve human connection, not replace it.🐱 They align incentives with actual hiring needs so companies aren’t wasting everyone’s time creating BS “ghost jobs” that fill up around half of most job listing sites.We also talked about ways candidates can make their own experience less tortuous. Like prioritizing applications where you have 1st or 2nd degree connections. And focusing on relationship-building (coffees, lunches, zoom chats) vs. stabbing every apply button you see on LinkedIn or Indeed.There was no stabbing during this conversation. Just a fun chat with a guy who’s putting great work into the world.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.——You can follow Everett on LinkedIn. And check out Jane’s site at Jane.hr.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from Everett to our audience:What is the world that you want to live in and want to be creating? And how are you actually contributing to the creation of that world?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Remember when advertising was fun?It wasn’t that long ago, really. You’d spend your days goofing off, grinding on the work and playfully exploring new possibilities for your clients. It was pretty damn cool.What happened?🐱 Creativity and fun have been squeezed out by business pressures and risk-aversion🐱 Collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas between departments has decreased🐱 Speed is overemphasized at the expense of thoughtful creative development🐱 There is a lack of trust/psychological safety to take creative risks🐱 Many workplaces have become joyless and overly constrained, with fear of lawsuits and HR issues around potentially offensive contentSome of the funniest jokes or stories I’ve heard are the ones that made me uncomfortable. Should I be laughing at this? Yes. Because you don’t have a choice. Laughter is the most pure human reaction. It can’t be restrained. Or if you try you’re likely to piss your pants or let out one of those awkward farts that shuts a room down, fast.Brands that get this are the ones who make lifelong connections with people. They realize the best way to sell stuff to people is to help them see that you are people too. Real, awkward, fumbling. Insightful, hopeful, grateful.The 3 co-founders of Hackett Brooks get this. And they’re building an agency to help brands use comedy as a platform for creating work that makes people laugh, cry or fart their way into brand love and loyalty.Robb Hittner, Jordan Atlas and Steve Mallory are quite funny guys. But their work isn’t just about crafting funny spots. It’s about infusing the whole work experience with comedy thinking. It’s about making work itself fun.How do they do it?By taking everything an agency does and inverting it. It starts with the team itself. It’s not the typical collection of writers and art directors. It’s folks from sketch comedy, scripted TV and improv working alongside traditional brand talent. And it’s all about finding the inherent humor in a brand or product, not stapling jokes on top of an unfunny message.Their mission?🐱 To elevate comedy/humor as a respected business strategy and creative approach🐱 To create workplaces where all employees can contribute creatively, not just "creatives"🐱 To develop brand communications people actively seek out and share🐱 And, here’s my favorite: To bring more joy and laughter into work and advertisingWe need more funny in the world.Life is hard, heavy, confusing, frustrating and unfair. The only way we survive is if we can laugh at all of it.We had more than a few laughs during our conversation. Rob, Jordan and Steve feel like friends you’ve had for ages, as soon as you meet them.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Hackett Brooks on LinkedIn. And check out their site at hackettbrooks.com to learn more about their approach. You can also send an email to hello@hackettbrooks.com if you’d like to connect with the team.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from the guys to our audience:There is a lot of hope around our ability to make work better in the DesuckifyWork® podcast episodes. For people who listen, does that hope feel real? Where does it sit on a scale of 1 to 10?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

🐱 Hollywood has created nearly 500,000 movies.🐱 It has developed over 10,000 TV shows.🐱 It has entertained literally billions of people over the years.🐱 And generated at least $5 trillion in revenue since its inception.And it did all of this using a remote and hybrid workforce. Even before we had machines on every desk and in every pocket, folks were dreaming, writing and strategizing wherever the heck they wanted. And then coming together to collaborate and create TV and movie magic in person.Imagine that.Now imagine someone steeped in Hollywood’s culture creating an app that helps you be more productive and find more fulfillment in your work every day. Meet Steven Puri, an entrepreneur with a background in tech that led him to a career in digital effects that took a left turn into work as a studio exec with DreamWorks and Fox.You know, the typical path.His platform, called Sukha (Sanskrit for “the good place”), is like a breath of fresh air for folks trying to make the remote/hybrid thing work in a distraction filled universe. It helps you focus, find your vibe with the right music and uses AI to offer personalized work recommendations based on your habits and patterns. It does a whole bunch of other cools stuff too.Steven and I also dug into the importance of great leadership as teams navigate this nutty world that literally no one has a firm grasp on, despite all the pontificating we see on LinkedIn and elsewhere.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Steven on LinkedIn. And check out Sukha’s site at thesukha.co. Your blood pressure will drop 10 points just by visiting.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Steven to our audience:What is the thing that you on your deathbed will be very proud that you've done? And if you haven't done it, why not?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

What role does faith play at work?If you’d asked me 15 years ago I’d probably have scolded you for even asking such a crazy question. Keep your faith out of my peanut butter, dammit.Now? I’m not so sure.Mai Moore is certain that keeping faith out of the workplace is keeping the suck firmly in place. Mai is the founder of two social impact companies and previously spent 20 years in the tech space.How can we possibly bring our whole selves to work if we’re ditching this giant piece of ourselves at the door each day? This is personal for Mai, as her faith has helped her through some incredibly tough times, including being homeless.So how do we bring this topic into the workplace without alienating everyone?🐱 We need to create space for honest, respectful conversations around faith and spirituality.🐱 We need to make room for all belief systems, including the lack of belief.🐱 We need to understand our customers better, many of whom place faith or spirituality at the center of their lives.We dig into all the nooks and crannies of this and more during our conversation. We touch on the idea of vulnerability at work, lifting up ideas from everyone (not just leaders) and the importance of doing work that makes an impact on something we actually care about.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.—————You can follow Mai on LinkedIn. And check out her site at maimoore.com, where you can learn more about all the good stuff she’s putting into the world.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!—————Bonus question from Mai to our audience:“As my daughter says, who are you?”If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. #desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #executivecoaching #faithatwork #diversity #authenticityatwork Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

What’s a person worth?If we based the answer on our own self assessments, not much.And then we bring that “not much” feeling everywhere we go, including work. Where we’re expected to influence people, lead people inspire people. And we wonder why we struggle.“Not much” has a scent. So strong it can actually travel through Zoom screens.. It’s also contagious. Infecting everyone who gets a whiff with a bit more “not much” than they already bring to the table.It’s tough to do useful, meaningful things when you’re swimming in the “not much” soup. If only we could add some ingredients to create a delightfully hearty “more than enough” stew.Endre Hoffman (aka The Doctor of Self Worth) is the man with those ingredients. All you have to do is a little time travel to get what you need.That’s what NLP (neurolinguistic programming) is all about, Endre’s primary tool for helping folks see how good they really are. A reframing of our life story that allows us to release the dickhead voice that’s been holding us back and create a new voice that says things like, “you’re alright, man” and “you’re actually kinda smart, lady.”Endre had his own, long, exhaustive journey through dozens of countries and over a hundred thousand dollars before he finally found the ingredients to turn his life around, after years of childhood trauma and a struggling marriage kept him stuck in the “not much” story.Now, he helps people do the same. From high-powered execs to first-time entrepreneurs. His work helps people get out of the victim mindset and see clearly (often for the first time) just how much agency they have.Endre is a cool dude with an inspiring mission to impact over one million lives. I like the moxie.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Endre on LinkedIn. And check out his site at doctorofselfworth.com where you’ll find a bunch of cool free resources. And a cat pic too!If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams find their superpower (aka their pudding) so they can bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session.Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Endre to our audience:How long will you postpone having that conversation where you can finally get to the root of your challenges and the problem that you have created? Will you do it this year, In five years' time?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. #desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #executivecoaching #selfworth #nlp #changeyourstory Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

If you’re waiting for someone to come and save you from a sucky work life, it may be a while.This is the cold, hard and much needed truth from Elizabeth Lotardo, today’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® Podcast.Elizabeth is the author of "Leading Yourself: Find More Joy, Meaning, and Opportunities in the Job You Already Have (Despite Imperfect Bosses, Weird Economies, Lethargic Coworkers, Annoying Systems, and Too Many Deliverables)“, she’s also an employee engagement consultant and a LinkedIn Learning instructor.Her superpower (her pudding, in my lingo) is an optimal blend of straight talk and empathy. So messages get through and you feel inspired to do something about it.Her message to those looking to desuckify work?🐱 Focus on what you can control vs. blaming external factors.🐱 Change your “load-bearing beliefs” about work that are keeping you stuck. Like thinking “work sucks” for instance.🐱 Don’t tolerate abuse, but make the most of typical work challenges, reframing them as opportunities for learning and growth.🐱 Ditch the traditional employee engagement surveys (like Gallup) and try one rooted in a self-leadership perspective.The big takeaway? Take ownership of your career. No one else will. And no one will ever care about it as much as you.Tough love? Maybe. But love nonetheless.I loved this conversation with Elizabeth. And I think you will too.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn. And check out her site at elizabethlotardo.com. Also, be sure to grab a copy of her book, it’s awesome.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams find their superpower (aka their pudding) so they can bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session.Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Elizabeth to our audience:What is really wrong? What really sucks? Because we can sit in this narrative of it sucks and it's unfair and I don't like it. But until you can zoom in on the specific thing and take a self-leadership approach to changing it, it's not going to change. So I think my question would be, zoom in on your gnarly attitude and figure out what's causing it.If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here.#desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #executivecoaching #agency #careerownership #selfleadership Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

If you’re an introvert, you’re going to love Rhonda George-Denniston. You’ll also love her if you’re an extrovert, because she’s awesome. But man, she really sees introverts in a way that the world needs. Rhonda is the Chief Learning & Development Officer at TBWA\Worldwide. She also founded Curiosity Connections, an “un-networking” space that brings people together in a way where everyone feels welcome and seen. With none of the awkward BS of typical networking events. Her own experience as an introvert has created a blueprint for others to follow. She started at TBWA as an executive assistant and created her path at every step since. How’d she do it? 🐱 She showed up. Building a reputation for reliability and getting things done. 🐱 She identified gaps. “Why aren’t we doing this?” And said, “wait, I can do this.”🐱 She perfected her pitch. In deck-crazy industries like advertising, the way forward is through PowerPoint (or Keynote, or Google, or Canva, or whatever the kids are using these days). The programs she and her teams have created invite others to follow her lead. To create opportunities, find their own path and to show up in ways that allow them to shine. Rhonda shines brightly in this conversation. And she introduced me to a term that I absolutely love—“thought life.” Even though mine can be kinda scary at times. (If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin. You can follow Rhonda on LinkedIn. And check out the Curiosity Connections site at curiosityconnections.com.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to dive deep into some of your own challenges at work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session, where we can explore new, desuckified possibilities for your future. Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Rhonda to our audience:What is the loudest voice in your thought life right now? And is it serving you or is it hurting you? (Drop your answers in the comments!)If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here.#desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #findyourpudding #executivecoaching #learninganddevelopment #introverts #ownyourcareer #thoughtlife Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

She wrote about leadership and sales. But it’s really a book about living.Jeanne Sparrow, this week’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast is the author of “Fearless Authenticity: Lead Better, Sell More and Speak Sensationally.” She is a delightful human, a masterful storyteller and has (inadvertently?) mapped out the path to a more joyful life.The key?🐱 Knowing yourself deeply and connecting with others on that level.🐱 Understanding your gifts and using them to serve others.🐱 Aligning your actions with your true self, even when things get hard. Especially then.That’s authenticity. Or as Jeanne likes to say, “remembering who you were before the world got its hands on you.”The world feels particularly handsy these days. Thank God Jeanne is here to help us find our way.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Jeanne on LinkedIn. And check out her site at jeannesparrow.com, where you can learn more about her book, her speaking and consulting work and just spend some time getting to know a wonderful person.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to dive deep into some of your own challenges at work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session, where we can explore new, desuckified possibilities for your future.Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Jeanne to our audience:I have a theory, if work sucks for you, that it's also sucks the life out of you. So, in what ways do you feel that work sucking has compromised you in your own path?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here.#desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #executivecoaching #authenticity #joy #rememberwhoyouare Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe