Shows
What WorksEP 485: Broken LinksI'm back! Maybe you noticed or maybe you didn't—but the show (and my newsletter) has been on its longest hiatus since its inception. In the final quarter of 2024, I decided I wanted to (re)consolidate my web presence, abandon most "platforms," and breathe some new life into my work. This episode reflects on both my own challenges with wrangling my online presence and the ways the state of the web has made it extra challenging. While there’s a lot to complain about when it comes to social media platforms and the billionaires wreaking havoc in onli...
2025-02-0641 min
Productive Flourishing PodcastFixing the Plane While We Fly It with Kate TysonNote to the reader: Team Habits, my most recent book, was released one year ago this week. You might also be aware of Productive Flourishing’s sister publication, Better Team Habits, a spin-off of the book. We’ve had incredible moments over on BTH in the past year. For those not subscribed to both publications I’d like to celebrate the book’s anniversary by sharing with you a singular podcast episode I sat down to do with my friend Kate Tyson on “fixing the plane while we fly it.” I think it will prove fruitful for PF readers t...
2024-08-271h 05
Productive Flourishing PodcastFixing the Plane While We Fly It with Kate TysonMany of us would likely agree on the fact that the dominant, central power structures that make up our system need some reform. That goes for institutions large and small, whether we’re talking about a particular startup company or the global economy.But what is change supposed to look like, and how does it come about?If I could offer one of the basic tenets from Team Habits, it’s that we start the change process by first shifting the way we relate to each other — in our teams and at work. This ep...
2024-05-101h 05What WorksEP 471: The Many Hats of Leigh SteinWhat would happen if you archived all of your Instagram content, announced that you had taken a job at a fictional wellness company, and then got fired for disclosing your experience with company-mandated colonic hydrotherapy? Well, Leigh Stein did exactly that.Leigh wears many hats—novelist, poet, cultural critic, book coach, publishing expert. And when she realized that she wasn't wearing the hat she wanted to wear on Instagram, she decided to have some fun with a satirical performance art project.Listen for the whole story and a provocation to embrace your own social media use...
2024-05-0232 minWhat WorksEP 470: Rethinking Creativity—A Cautionary TaleGood luck going anywhere today without running into a message about creativity.I was going to say, "anywhere online," but really, it's just about anywhere. We get creative in the kitchen. Creative in our workouts. Creative in bed. And of course, creative at work. Creativity is somewhat of a "cult object," as Samuel Franklin put it in his cultural history of creativity.Today, I want to get uncomfortably close to that cult object and ask, "What is our fascination with creativity hiding?" So join me as I venture onto the third rail of the 21st-century...
2024-04-2521 min
Whiskey FridaysBONUS - Building Solidarity in the Creator EconomyToday is a bonus episode featuring Kate, Charlie Gilkey, and Tara McMullin discussing the creator economy. It originally aired in the What Works feed—the first part of this conversation is here."How do I want to live?" Philosopher Rahel Jaeggi says this question is bound up in the concept of alienation. Our disconnection and dissatisfaction keep us from answering that question—but they also keep us from asking it in the first place.So in this episode, Kate, Charlie, and I ask that question—and five more. We examine how work in the creator econom...
2024-04-1835 minWhat WorksEP 469: Building Solidarity in the Creator Economy with Kate Tyson & Charlie Gilkey"How do I want to live?" Philosopher Rahel Jaeggi says this question is bound up in the concept of alienation. Our disconnection and dissatisfaction keep us from answering that question—but they also keep us from asking it in the first place.So in this episode, Kate, Charlie, and I ask that question—and five more. We examine how work in the creator economy can reinforce competition and individualism when what we really need is solidarity and collective action. If you're curious what you can do to join with others for your own success and theirs, this epis...
2024-04-1834 minWhiskey FridaysBONUS - 'The Creator Economy Is Eating Creative Acts'Today is a bonus episode featuring Kate, Charlie Gilkey, and Tara McMullin discussing the creator economy. It originally aired in the What Works feed. Part 2 of this conversation will be available on Thursday!***It seems the creator economy is booming. Or is it?And what even is the creator economy??Platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TechTalk are quite happy to advertise the ways they support creators with features and advice. Their aspirational creator hubs give the distinct impression that becoming a creator is akin to getting paid to be yourself.
2024-04-1650 minWhat WorksEP 468: Figuring Out the Creator Economy with Charlie Gilkey & Kate TysonIt seems the creator economy is booming. Or is it?And what even is the creator economy??Platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TechTalk are quite happy to advertise the ways they support creators with features and advice. Their aspirational creator hubs give the distinct impression that becoming a creator is akin to getting paid to be yourself.But that said, when Kate Tyson told me that she doesn’t think the creator economy should exist but that she couldn’t put that in writing, I told her she was wrong—about not be...
2024-04-1150 min
Whiskey FridaysEp 11 - Boss Talks: Fixing the Plane While We Fly It with Charlie Gilkey“I want us to fix the plane while we fly it.”Charlie Gilkey believes that dominant power structures need reforming – that we can change the way we relate to each other in our teams and at work. Kate and Charlie get into how cultural change is a long-term play and why better team habits are a critical component of the process.Charlie is the CEO of Productive Flourishing, a bestselling author, advisor, podcaster, and speaker. His latest book is Team Habits.Learn more about Charlie Gilkey:Produc...
2024-02-061h 05