Free Daily Podcast Summary
DesuckifyWork: Daily Summaries Delivered
by TJ Bennett - Executive Coach, Chief Desuckifier
We spend about half our waking lives working. Let’s make that time a bit better, shall we? And let’s chat with desuckifiers who are out there making it happen, every day.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 1 weeks ago44 min
Ep 153 | What monitoring over 100,000 customer service calls can teach us about running an agency with Tom Vander Well
“This place is nuts. I’m outta here.”That was the note from a freelancer at an agency I worked at a while back. We’d brought him in for a few weeks.He lasted a few days.The note stung. Because he was right.We’d gotten used to the crazy because that’s what we do in this business. But man, it was refreshing to hear those unsullied words.I’m not sure we ever fully fixed the crazy. But we did make the freelance onboarding process a bit less insane. And I don’t remember anyone else running away screaming after that.So, a win overall.Tom Vander Well has been hearing this kind of truth for more than 30 years.He’s the guy listening when the recording says, “This call may be monitored.” That’s also the title of his book, btw. After more than 100,000 customer calls, he’s seen what happens when the story leaders tell themselves smashes into what employees and customers are actually experiencing.Sometimes they use that truth to learn and get better.Sometimes they threaten to fire anyone who shares even one pixel from the damning report.Messed up, right? That’s the tension we dig into during this episode: most leaders say they want the truth. But what if the truth makes you look bad?Tom and I talk about why the real story is usually the best story, how hiding from it hurts both your culture and your brand—and what it takes to create an organization capable of hearing what it needs to hear.Yeah, the truth can sting.But the b******t version is almost always more expensive.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work less chaotic, 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 learn more about his book and his speaking work at tomvanderwell.com.If you’d like to make your agency 20% less crazy, let’s talk. Schedule a free half-hour Demuckify Session and we’ll identify one thing that will move the needle right now.Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt.Question to you from Tom:What company comes to mind when you think of a great customer experience? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe
- 2 weeks ago50 min
Ep 152 | How to put your money where your culture is with Josh Lane
Years ago, I worked at Hill Holliday in NYC. Not the most glamorous work, but the people were fantastic.At some point, our team grew to include folks from an agency in Greenville, SC called Erwin Penland (EP). As typical NYC-ers, we didn’t know anything about them. Or Greenville for that matter. Was South Carolina the good Carolina?Over time, those SC-ers simply became part of the team.We had this amazing trip down to Greenville to bond with them and get a taste of the city. It’s honestly one of my favorite places in the US to this day. I can still taste the (spiked) sweet tea.EP has grown a lot since those days. And Greenville has cultivated quite the ad community. Josh Lane is a big part of that. He cut his teeth at EP and went on to co-found FerebeeLane in 2005.It sure looks like they’ve built a similar culture —with great people at the core.Culture is easy when it doesn’t cost anything.The hard part comes when the a-hole is incredibly talented. Or the client making your team miserable is incredibly profitable.So Josh and his partner Matt built an agency where protecting the people is built into the operation.They carry no debt. They maintain a solid reserve. And that gives them the freedom to walk away from business that threatens the health of the team.Like when a difficult client began wearing down one of their most experienced—and normally super chipper—account leaders. Josh and Matt confronted the behavior directly, knowing they could afford to lose the account.The client changed. But the conversation only happened because they could afford to have it.In agency-land, that kind of behavior is rare. But I’m starting to wonder if it’s less so in Greenville.You can follow Josh on LinkedIn and learn more about his agency at ferebeelane.comIf you’d like to make your agency 20% less crazy, let’s talk. Schedule a free half-hour Demuckify Session and we’ll identify one thing that will move the needle right now.Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt.Bye, everyone! Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe
- 2 weeks ago52 min
Ep 151 | How to improve your team's work by fixing your nervous system with Mandy Balak
You know how almost every agency feels under-resourced?What if that’s a you problem? Yeah, you. The one leading the work. Are you dumping your under-resourced nervous system on your team?Look around. How is everyone? Is that normal agency “buzz” or is that abject terror? Be honest.You’re running on fumes and poisoning your team in the process. Everyone’s in reactive mode. And you’re wondering why the work is meh instead of marvelous.Wanna fix it? Find a mirror, fast. It’s time to do some self-reflection and figure out why you’re so frazzled.Mandy Balak boils this down to a few words: we’re chasing instead of choosing. Chasing recognition, accomplishment, perfection—anything that will finally let us know we’re enough.You’re already enough. And Mandy’s new book, “Chasing Enough” can you help you actually believe it. Because she went through it, in a big way, and came out the other side healthier and more useful as a leader.Our constant need to chase is a capacity crisis. When our personal resources exceed our demands, we’re creative, generous. When our demands exceed our resources, we chase, scramble and go on a 7-hour Slack spree. Suddenly, the whole team has our capacity problem.We can do better.In this episode, Mandy and I talk about how you can reclaim your nervous system and why setting limits isn’t the same as settling.That feels like enough for one episode.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work less chaotic, 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 Mandy on LinkedIn and learn more about her work and her book at mandybalak.com. If you’re up for a quick trip to Canada, you can join her at The Gathering brand festival in Banff, running now through the 24th.If you’d like to make your agency 20% less crazy, let’s talk. Schedule a free half-hour Demuckify Session and we’ll identify one thing that will move the needle right now.Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt.Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Mandy:If there were no applause, would you still do it? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe
- 3 weeks ago1h 0m
Ep 150 | How to run your agency more like an Alaskan fishing boat with Dave Maricich
Can working on an Alaskan fishing boat make you a better agency leader?Assuming you survive, it certainly can’t hurt.Dave Maricich and his brother Mark had this experience as teenagers. While other SoCal kids were cleaning beach club cabanas, the Maricich brothers were swabbing decks, hauling massive nets and trying to avoid becoming Orca food.This high-stress, everyone-better-pitch-in-or-get-off-the-boat crew mentality really stuck with Dave.It also helped train his nervous system for agency life.Now, he and Mark bring the same all-hands approach to Maricich Health. They co-lead the agency their mother founded 40 years ago, but they are in the work every day.Owners are often told to build a business that doesn’t depend on you.But that’s not the Maricich way. You do your part. You support the team. And you get your hands dirty.Is this the best way to run every agency? Maybe not. But it’s the best way to run their agency.And that’s what it’s all a-boat.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work less chaotic, 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. Here’s Dave.You can follow Dave on LinkedIn and learn more about Maricich Health at maricich.com.If you’d like to make your agency 20% less crazy, let’s talk. Schedule a free half-hour Demuckify Session and we’ll identify one thing that will move the needle right now.Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt.Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Dave:What problem do you have right now? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe
- 4 weeks ago48 min
Ep 149 | How to get creative without going crazy with Justin Bajan
Your agency doesn’t have to be insane to produce great work.We’ve romanticized chaos in this business for years.🙀 The weekly (daily?) fire drill🙀 The wall-to-wall meetings🙀 The indecisiveness masquerading as nicenessJustin Bajan and his partner Dustin Artz wanted something different. After years riding the big-agency roller coaster, they created Familiar Creatures with an explicit goal to prioritize stability.Okay, maybe they were a little insane to think they could pull that off.But here they are 8 years later inventing stuff like Protein Vapes for Crunch Fitness—a completely fictional product delivering 35 grams of protein per puff. All while keeping the culture 93.7% chaos-free.Steadiness hasn’t made the agency less creative. It’s helped create the conditions for creativity:😺 People feel safe enough to experiment😺 Curious enough to follow strange ideas😺 Grounded enough not to chase every new trendIn this episode, Justin and I talk about how to create enough stability for people to do brave work, how to protect your agency’s culture from bad hires, bad clients and bad decisions—and how to remain curious enough to keep stability from turning into complacency.As Justin says, mystery is where the juice is. (Vape juice?)—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work less chaotic, 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.—Follow Justin on LinkedIn and visit familiarcreatures.com to see what he and the team are creating.If your agency would like to try this whole stability and creativity thing, let’s talk. Schedule a free half-hour Chaos to Clarity session and we’ll identify one thing that could make your agency 2% less crazy—without making the work any percent more blah.Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt.Bye, everyone!—Bonus question from Justin:Why did you choose this business? And what’s keeping you in it? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe
- Oct 6, 202653 min
Ep 148 | How networking can be less painful and more useful with Greg Roche
Networking doesn’t have to involve a room full of strangers.Or shotguns.After Greg Roche was laid off, someone invited him to a networking event built around sporting clays—which is apparently like golf, but with guns.Greg sat in his car thinking:“There has to be a better way to do this.”There is.Networking can be one conversation with someone you already know. No name tags. No elevator pitch. Just two people talking like actual people.Greg writes a Substack called The Introverted Networker. He helps people build genuine professional relationships without forcing themselves into situations that make them want to fake their own deaths.And those relationships matter.The first time Greg lost his job, it took him three months to find another. After intentionally building his network, his next job search took three weeks.But networking isn’t useful only when you need something.Knowing the people around us builds trust. It reduces conflict. It makes asking for (and offering) help easier—and work a hell of a lot more enjoyable.In this episode, we talk about:😼 How introverts can network without “networking.”😼 Why your best starting point is someone you already know.😼 How one good conversation can create opportunities you never saw coming.—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work less chaotic, 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.—Follow Greg on LinkedIn and subscribe to The Introverted Networker for practical tips that won’t require you to “work the room.”And if you’d like your agency to be 20% less crazy, let’s talk. Schedule a free half-hour “Chaos to Clarity” session and we’ll identify one place to start making the work less painful.Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt.Bye, everyone!—Bonus question from Greg:When has a relationship helped you be at your best at work? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe
- Sep 29, 20261h 0m
Ep 147 | Helping agencies relearn the art of communication with Django Weisz Blanchetta
Work sucks less when we talk to each other like human beings.Especially creative work.People need to feel safe asking dumb questions, challenging assumptions, and saying, “I have no idea what you mean,” before everyone wastes three days heading in the wrong direction.We try to solve this with process.😼 We add another Slack channel.😼 Schedule another (ten) meeting(s).😼 Try our 17th project management software in the past 3 yearsAnd no one ever thinks to just pick up the damn phone.Communication isn’t a soft skill. It’s part of the agency’s creative infrastructure. And I can help you build it.When people understand one another, they collaborate. They challenge each other. They spend less time decoding half-thoughts and more time doing cool s**t.Django Weisz Blanchetta gets it. And he’s living it every day as co-founder of Superheroes. Their mission is to save the world from boring advertising. A-freakin’ men.Django knows the way to do that is to get people talking. You know, that thing we used to do before we started hiding behind tools and screens?Sometimes that means reminding folks we’re actually capable of it.At their daily lunch around the big table in the agency, there are two rules:🐱 No phones.🐱 No talking about work.I can feel your panic through the screen. But you get used to it, and even enjoy it. Django swears.This is the work.Meanwhile, we’ve set up systems in most of our agencies that set fire to our collective EQ. The one thing that will actually keep us distinct from the robots.We should stop doing that.—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work less chaotic, 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 Django on LinkedIn and visit hellosuperheroes.com to see how the agency is saving the world from boring advertising.If communication breakdowns keep producing confusion, rework and unnecessary chaos at your agency, let’s talk. Schedule a free half-hour “Chaos to Clarity” session and we’ll identify where communication is breaking down—and one place to start creating the conditions for better work.Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt.Bye, everyone!—Bonus question from Django:What’s one thing your agency does—outside the work itself—that helps people connect and create better work together? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe
- Sep 22, 20261h 14m
Ep 146 | Let's make work less soul sucking with Greg Harrod
Work sucks less when it doesn’t suck the life out of us.Obvious, right?And yet, agency leaders spend a lot of time thinking about utilization, capacity, deadlines and deliverables—and very little time thinking about what kind of work actually gives their people energy.So the brilliant strategist spends half her week building decks.The creative director becomes a project manager.The agency founder approves every decision down to the brand of sparkling water in the fridge.Everyone is busy. Nobody is working at their best. And the whole place feels more chaotic than it needs to.This is one of the reasons I believe agency chaos isn’t simply a workload problem. It’s often a clarity problem.This is one of the reasons I believe agency chaos isn’t simply a workload problem. It’s often an alignment problem.Are the right people doing the right work? Does everyone know what they own? Are people spending enough time using their strengths—or is too much of their energy being drained by work that belongs somewhere else?That’s why I loved this week’s conversation with Greg Harrod.Greg uses the Six Types of Working Genius to help leaders understand how work moves from an idea to a finished product—and where the wrong people, unclear ownership or missing capabilities can cause it to fall apart.It gives teams a shared language for something we often feel but can’t articulate:“I can do this work. But if I have to do it every day, I will cut a fool.”In this episode, we talk about:🐱 Why being capable of doing something doesn’t mean you should own it.🐱 Why agencies create rework when they leap from ideas directly into execution.🐱 How understanding what energizes your people can reduce friction, confusion and burnout.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work less chaotic, 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 Greg on LinkedIn and take his free Leadership Clarity Scorecard to see where a lack of clarity may be making leadership harder than it needs to be.And if you’re leading an agency where everyone is working their asses off—but the place still feels stuck in permanent fire-drill mode—let’s talk.Schedule a free half-hour “Chaos to Clarity” session and we’ll look at what’s creating the chaos and identify one place to start making work feel calmer, clearer and less life-sucking.Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt.Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Greg:Do you know your working genius pairing? If so, how has that impacted what you do at work? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe
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About DesuckifyWork
We spend about half our waking lives working. Let’s make that time a bit better, shall we? And let’s chat with desuckifiers who are out there making it happen, every day.
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