“More balls than most.”

Those are the big, bold, embossed words on the black box Tom Hicks received from his grandmother.

This was several years ago, when he was having some challenges in his life. Inside the box was a 3 ball juggling kit, which included a pamphlet titled, “A Short Course in Life Enhancement.”

Okay. You had me at balls. Now I’m really curious. How in the world does juggling enhance one’s life?

Quite substantially, it turns out. Because this kit helped Tom completely reframe failure in his life. Instead of feeling like the end of something, jugging helped him see how failure is usually just the beginning.

You can drop those balls a million times and it’s okay. Low stakes failures like this are exactly how we train our brain to get used to it, welcome it even.

Next thing you know, you’re (well, Tom is) delivering workshops around the country helping folks create a better relationship with messing up. You’re saying “how fascinating” with arms raised high when you blow a big deal. Inviting curiosity about where you might do things differently next time.

Most of our work cultures don’t work like this. Most talk a big game about “failing is how learn” but their actions scream “you suck and better get your act together fast.”

Those folks need more balls. Perhaps Tom has a few he can spare.

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 Tom on LinkedIn. And check out his site at tom-hicks.com to learn more about his work.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to explore what a more human work culture could look like, 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 Tom:How will you integrate or allow yourself to have some low stakes failure and play in your work today?

“Jobs are just a silly phase work is going through.”This is a quote from Rishad Tobaccowala, this week’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast. I love the quote—because it reframes what we’re all experiencing right now in a provocative way. Work and jobs are uncoupling—the stable nine to five is becoming a hodgepodge of freelance, gig work and side hustles. It’s how we work now and the trend is accelerating.

Historically, jobs are a blip on the work timeline. An Industrial Revolution creation to make sure widgets got made reliably and at scale. Before then, we had farmers and craftspeople. So what’s next?

Rishad believes we’re shifting back towards decentralized tasks. And he sees a fractional model as the best way for workers and companies to manage this. Pay folks for 50, 60 or 70% of their time, throw in some benefits and get consistent access to the skills you need. On the flip side, individuals get a stable foundation and room to explore whatever lights them up.

I’m a huge fan of this idea. And I’m genuinely shocked it’s not more prevalent, especially in the ad agency world. Look around on LinkedIn and you’ll see some of the most talented folks the business has ever seen with “open to work” banners on their profile pics. Imagine how much better our work could be if we tapped into that talent.

Rishad is a very smart man. He’s an author, podcast host and advisor to some top agencies. We touched on a bunch of topics related to the future of work. My biggest takeaway? We need strong leadership more than ever. And we need to remember that the best leadership is creative, curious and optimistic.

We can do great things. And we’ve never been in a better position to do so than right now.

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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.

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You can follow Rishad on LinkedIn and check out rishadtobaccowala.com to learn more about his work. Add /100 to that URL to see a curated view of his substack writing. And take a look at rishad.substack.com to see more.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to explore what a more human work culture could look like, 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!

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Bonus question from Rishad:Why should you not think that the future is going to be far better versus far worse? Build the case for optimism. Would you be more better off living today than 20 years ago?

Jamie Gutfreund came on the show a few months back and said she would like to get rid of HR entirely.

I get it. Everyone has had experiences with HR that’ve been less than stellar.

Today, I speak with someone who brings a different POV. Philip Suba has worked in HR for years and believes in it, deeply. But it has to be done right.

What does right look like?

You need to really understand the business you work on. It’s not enough to know the HR stuff… how does your work support the larger goals of the organization?

You need to be ready for the hard conversations. Because you’ll have a ton of them. How you manage yourself and how well you listen to the folks you’re speaking with means everything.

You need to be human. Recognize that people’s livelihoods are at stake when you step into the room… be mindful of that and show empathy. But also, hold it together. You’re not helping anyone if you mirror their tears, anger, frustration or whatever else shows up. Give people space to feel and also, keep the conversation on point.

It’s not an easy balance to strike. But I like how Philip approaches it. He shares some of the “myth-conceptions” around HR as well, which are fun and eye opening.

Bottom line? There’s no easy answer on any of this stuff. I think it’s great some folks are willing to try an HR-less approach—let’s see what they learn. And I like that HR pros like Philip are committed to doing it better each day.

What’s your take? Is HR needed? If so, what does a great HR team look like to you?

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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 Philip on LinkedIn and check him out on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube as well.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to explore what a more human work culture could look like, 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 Philip:If you’ve had an experience with any kind of HR professional that didn’t sit well with you, what would you wish that particular person did differently? If they did do it differently, would that change the way that you interact, not just with HR now, but with other employees?