Okay, Actually

Okay, Actually is a show about what’s really going on at work — and what we can do about it. New episodes come out every other Thursday and are always under 30 minutes.In this episode, I’m joined by Tristen Stawicki to talk about what founders bring into their businesses and what happens when their insecurities, habits, and struggles with trust become part of everyone else’s working day.Tristen brings corporate product leadership experience and an MBA to her work as a coach, astrologer, and certified shaman. Our conversation makes room for all of that. We talk about astrology, what she calls energetic blocks, and the discomfort that can come with getting something you thought you wanted. We also get very practical, discussing: hiring talented people without giving them authority, telling different stories to employees and investors, retreating into familiar work as a business grows, and rebuilding trust through changes people can actually see.Whether you’re a founder, a leader, or someone working closely with one, we dig into the questions everyone should be asking to bring their best energy to work. 00:00 A Process Map and a Birth Chart02:14 When a Process Fix Isn’t Enough04:41 Founder Culture, Vulnerability, and Bravado06:30 What Soul Work Looks Like08:40 Exploring Energetic Blocks11:51 Hiring Great People — and Getting in Their Way15:31 Retreating Into the Work You Know18:56 Taking Accountability Without Losing Credibility21:13 What Are You Still Saying Yes To?Questions to take with youWhat am I asking to change?What am I still doing that makes that change harder?What am I willing to do about it?About TristenTristen Stawicki guides women at a crossroads, bringing together practical strategy and intuitive insight. She has an MBA, a background in corporate product leadership, and is a certified shaman in the Q’ero tradition and a trained astrologer.She is the creator of the Musings and Modalities™ framework and host of the podcast Musings & Modalities. Her work supports leaders and entrepreneurs navigating transformation, burnout, and questions about what they want to build next. She also works as a fractional chief product officer.Connect with TristenBook a discovery callWebsiteInstagramYouTubeFind [email protected]

Okay, Actually is a show about what’s really going on at work — and what we can do about it. New episodes come out every other Thursday and are always under 30 minutes.A weekly review can sound like another administrative task or homework: one more obligation to fit into an already busy week, or an appointment with guilt and failure.For me, it is the opposite. I’ve done some version of a weekly review every Sunday for more than 20 years. The exact form can change, but the ritual itself does not. It gives me a reliable place to look at what happened, decide what matters now, and figure out what to do next.In this episode, I share the weekly ritual that has built more self-trust than any other practice in my life. I talk about the difference between consistency and rigidity, why a review should not become an exercise in judgment, what Sunday Karen can learn from the Karen who actually lived the week, and why planning can be valuable even when it doesn’t make us feel more motivated.I also break down the simple three-part process I use to look backward, look forward, reflect, and commit (and explain why deleting something from your list may be even more satisfying than completing it).00:00 The One Ritual I Never Skip02:23 Inside My Sunday Weekly Review03:48 Consistent Rituals vs. Rigid Routines05:29 Why Weekly Reviews Feel Like Homework08:35 Sunday Karen Meets Wednesday Karen11:08 How Returning Builds Self-Trust12:18 Planning Without Manufacturing Motivation14:11 Unfinished vs. Unattended15:36 A Three-Part Weekly Review19:06 Celebrate Wins21:52 Never More Than Seven Days From a ResetA simple weekly reviewSet aside approximately 30 minutes. If that feels like too much, begin with 15.1. Look backwardGo through the previous seven days on your calendar.What happened?What decisions were made?Did you promise to send, schedule, or do something?Did someone promise to send, schedule, or do something for you?What moved forward, even if it wasn’t completed?Is there anything that remains open?What did you learn?2. Look forwardReview the next seven days and your active projects.What is already committed?What requires preparation?Where are the pressure points?Does anything need to move?Does every active project have a clear next action?Are you waiting for someone?Is there anything you can remove?3. Reflect and commitWhat went well?What are you proud of?What happened in your life — not just your work — that you want to remember?What didn’t work?What do you want to change?What three commitments would make the coming week feel successful?4. Celebrate with an actual ode (Optional)You completed your weekly review. This clearly calls for Beethoven: Listen to “Ode to Joy,” performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.Remember: the purpose of the review is not to do all the work you uncover. It is to see, decide, and orient.Research mentioned in this episodeUhlig, L., Baumgartner, V., Prem, R., Siestrup, K., Korunka, C., & Kubicek, B. (2023). “A field experiment on the effects of weekly planning behaviour on work engagement, unfinished tasks, rumination, and cognitive flexibility.” Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 96(3), 575–598.Read the open-access studyFind [email protected]

Okay, Actually is a show about what’s really going on at work — and what we can do about it. New episodes come out every other Thursday and are always under 30 minutes.AI can help us research, organize, generate, compare, and execute faster than ever. But it can also produce something polished enough that we don’t immediately notice it has solved a completely different problem from the one we actually had.In Part Two of my conversation with my dear friend and former colleague Maury Postal, we talk about what happens when AI makes execution faster and cheaper without necessarily making the direction any better. We get into why “move fast and break things” is a questionable operating philosophy, how AI makes ideas more abundant but not necessarily more valuable, and why augmented intelligence may be a more useful framing than artificial intelligence.This is a conversation about AI, but it’s also about judgment, accountability, creative distinctiveness, and the human conversations we can’t delegate.This episode stands on its own, but you can also listen to Part One: Episode 10: The Brief Is the Work. 00:00 AI Editing Gone Wrong02:19 Part Two Setup03:10 Rigor Versus Speed05:41 AI Makes Bad Direction Cheaper09:11 Accountability Swim Lanes11:50 Ideas Are Cheap; Judgment Isn’t13:27 Algorithms, Sameness, and Slop17:38 Process And Stepping Away20:01 Three Four Questions Before You Begin22:56 What Humans Still Need to OwnFour questions to ask before a project beginsWho will determine whether this work succeeds?What does the work actually need to prove to that person?How are we going to separate signal from noise?What does a human being still need to own here?About MauryMaury Postal is EVP of Creative Strategy and Innovation Services for Grayling North America. He has more than 18 years of experience across creative strategy, storytelling, and digital innovation, helping organizations turn complex ideas into work that people can understand — and that can actually accomplish something.He has worked with global brands including American Express, Audi, Ford, Genesis, P&G, Synchrony, and Japan Airlines. His work also includes AUTONOMY, a feature documentary made with Malcolm Gladwell that premiered at SXSW.Connect with MauryInstagramLinkedInFind [email protected]

Okay, Actually is a show about what’s really going on at work — and what we can do about it. New episodes come out every other Thursday and are always under 30 minutes.A creative brief is supposed to tell a team what problem it’s solving, who it needs to reach, and what the work needs to accomplish. But somewhere along the way, it often becomes a meeting summary, a record of every stakeholder’s opinion, or a form everyone completes on autopilot before moving on to the “real” work.In this episode, I’m joined by my dear friend and former colleague Maury Postal, a creative strategist who has spent his career on both sides of the brief. We talk about the difference between a document that describes a project and one that actually gives it direction; why a brief needs a steward; how shared language becomes essential as teams change; and why process is often what makes speed possible.This is a conversation about creative briefs, but it’s also about how groups decide what they’re trying to do, get aligned around a direction, and create the confidence to move forward together.00:00 First Brief Lesson02:09 Meet Maury Postal03:26 A Brief Is Not a Summary05:05 Defining Success Today07:06 The Consumer and the Decision-Maker09:27 The Brief Is the Project11:12 Shared Language and Bad Briefs17:21 Creative Leadership and Confident Organizations22:16 Wrap Up And Part TwoAbout MauryMaury Postal is EVP of Creative Strategy and Innovation Services for Grayling North America. He has more than 18 years of experience across creative strategy, storytelling, and digital innovation, helping organizations turn complex ideas into work that people can understand — and that can actually accomplish something.He has worked with global brands including American Express, Audi, Ford, Genesis, P&G, Synchrony, and Japan Airlines. His work also includes AUTONOMY, a feature documentary made with Malcolm Gladwell that premiered at SXSW.Connect with MauryInstagramLinkedInFind [email protected]

Okay, Actually is a podcast for people who are working hard and starting to wonder if the problem is them. It's not. In under 30 minutes, we dig into what's truly broken and figure out how to build a solution that can actually work.In this episode, I'm talking about direction — and specifically why it's not the same thing as having a plan — and then offer some ways to think about direction at this point in the year. We may think we need beautifully structured goal systems, Q1 metrics, and a formal review process, but really 30 minutes of reflection will help you move in the right direction for the rest of the year.If you've ever had a genuinely productive week and still gotten to Friday feeling vaguely flat, this episode is for you.00:00 The Book I Can't Stop Recommending02:17 Direction Is Not Goal Setting03:25 Show Premise Setup04:07 Busy But Off Track06:41 When Goals Break08:36 Midyear Reality Shift11:17 Plant The Flag14:30 Two Step Direction Check16:23 Five Direction Filters18:52 Why July MattersThe two checkpoints I mentionPart 1: Direction Check (10 minutes)Find an environment where you can actually think. Ask yourself one question: where do I actually want to go right now? (Not where did I plan to go in January or where should I want to go). Where do I want to go from where I actually am?If you can answer it, you have your compass. If you can't, that's the work. And if you don't know where to plant the flag, plant the flag in "figure out where to plant the flag."Part 2: Autopilot Audit (five questions)What are you still working on just because you started it earlier in the year — not because it's still the right thing?What meetings, commitments, or obligations came into your life without a conscious yes?What are you still measuring that no longer tells you anything useful?What would you stop doing tomorrow if you gave yourself permission?What are you not doing that your direction is actually asking for?Your direction is the filter. Run everything through it.The whole thing should take about thirty minutes.Book mentioned: Candice Millard, The River of DoubtFind me here:[email protected]