Steven Puri brings a truly unique perspective to the conversation around hybrid and remote work. Drawing from his extraordinary career spanning visual effects for blockbusters like Independence Day (which won an Academy Award) to executive roles at 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks, Puri reveals how Hollywood has mastered distributed work models long before "remote work" became a buzzword.
The film industry, Puri explains, naturally transitions between individual creation, collaborative planning, intensive on-set work, and dispersed post-production—effectively practicing hybrid work for over a century. This framework offers valuable lessons for today's leaders struggling to balance in-office and remote work schedules. The key insight? Different work requires different environments, and smart leaders recognize when to bring people together versus when to create space for deep focus.
Puri's current venture, The Suka Company (named after the Sanskrit concept for "happiness from self-fulfillment"), applies these insights through productivity tools designed to help people achieve flow states—those magical periods of intense concentration where time disappears and creativity flourishes. His practical approaches include limiting visible tasks to just three achievable items, which increased completion rates by 77%, and incorporating binaural beats and focus music composed by film industry professionals.
What makes this conversation particularly compelling is Puri's personal motivation. Facing cancer treatment and preparing for fatherhood, he's driven to create tools that give people back precious time. As one user told him, "I pay you so I have memories of my kids now"—the difference between playing with his children at 3pm versus wondering where the day went at 6pm.
Whether you're leading a distributed team, managing hybrid schedules, or simply trying to regain focus in a distracted world, Puri's cross-industry perspective offers actionable wisdom for creating environments where both individuals and teams can thrive. His parting advice? Simply "Listen"—the fundamental leadership skill that transcends all working models.
Steven Puri's Company and LinkedIn profile links below.
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