The Pudding Factory

Work sucks less when trust is more than just a word on a company website.

Trust is at an all time low—from corporations to government to media—our faith in our foundational institutions is flimsier than ever. Add AI to the mix and it’s a wonder we believe anything, ever.

We expect people to just show up at work and functional normally in the face of all this? It’s
crazy. And if you look around and most workplaces today, “normal” is clearly not happening.

Courage is the way out, according to this week’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast. Maryam Mertash is a marketing exec and author who has demonstrated courage since she was barely able to speak, as a refugee from Iran, along with her family.

Today, she writes about courage every week on her Substack—This is Not a Memo. She views courage as a skill. Something we can build over time with “reps.” Start small with something as simple as saying what you actually want for dinner instead of “whatever is fine.” Tell your friend, “I’d love a second glass of wine” instead of politely declining.

Before you know it, you’ll be the weirdo at work who never flinches when the hard thing needs to be said. You may even inspire other weirdoes to join you.

That’s how we build trust at work, by saying and doing hard things. By living out the values we too casually post on corporate websites. By being reliable even in the face of external madness. Especially then.

So, who’s ready to get weird?

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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.

(Link to podcast in bio)

Work sucks less when talking about mental health becomes as boring as talking about going to the dentist.

When it’s just another thing. Like that show everyone’s watching. The game last night. Or that new laundry detergent that really does make your whites 20 percent whiter.

When it’s fully normalized and casualized.

That’s what Paul MacFarlane wants. A return guest on the DesuckifyWork® Podcast, Paul is a creative soul who believes our work should bring out the best in humanity.

And our humanity is crying out for some help right now. AI, layoffs, wars, polarization. It’s the soup we swim in every day. Why the hell can’t we talk about how we’re coping with all of it without making it weird?

We all have emotions. And we’re all bringing ‘em to work despite 100 plus years of effort to keep them out.

Let’s talk about them. Let’s help each other deal with them. Let’s realize that our capacity to feel things is the greatest gift in the universe and is the thing that will guide us through every possible uncertainly that comes our way.

Let’s be boringly, beautifully, unabashedly, human.

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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.

(Podcast link in bio)

If you’re a CEO and want more from your team, you need to make work better for them. Which is almost impossible if you haven’t made work great for yourself. So start there.

What would bring more joy, meaning, fulfillment, laughter, love to your days?

Quick, picture an org chart. Blocks filled with names and lines drawn from the top execs all the way down to the most junior team members.
 
Now imagine flipping that chart on its head. CEO at the bottom, supporting everyone above them.
 
Feels a lot better, right?

This is the world Joe Palm and Mike Moss would like to create. And they’ve written a book to help make it happen—Practical Servant Leadership: People-First Strategies to Create Value in a Profit-Obsessed World.
 
This is not a feel good book. It’s a do good book, with tips and strategies to help leaders become servant leaders.
 
It’s a direct challenge to the ethos of shareholder primacy, made popular by former GE CEO Jack Welch and normalized by pretty much every damn CEO since.
 
The reason Wall Street goes gaga when companies announce layoffs and why so many of us feel helpless in the face of insane corporate work policies.
 
It doesn’t have to be this way.
 
Servant leadership has been proven to improve profits, productivity and performance. And Joe and Mike have come up with ways to make it work no matter where you sit within an organization.
 
But let’s be clear—big and lasting change will only happen when top leaders commits to it.
 
Who will lead the way? I’ve had a number of guests on this podcast who are already doing it. Mark DiMassimo, Mike Wofsohn, Andrew Goodwin, Taylor Scott, Everett Reiss, Veronique James, Jēnna Reese, Michelle Edelman, Jason Fried, Ryan Berman.
 
Some of the best desuckifiers I know. If you’re ready to join them, let’s talk. I’d love to have you on the show.

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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.

(link in bio)
 
practicalservantleadership