#16 From Twitter VP to author and podcaster
Bruce Daisley is the author of the Sunday Times best seller The Joy of Work, host of the number 1 business podcast eat sleep work repeat, a workplace culture expert and an award-winning speaker. He used to be the most senior employee at Twitter outside NA. He worked at Google where he ran YouTube in the UK.
I wanted to talk to him because I like the work he does and his takes on workplace culture and also because I was interested in his journey from media and Big Tech to what he does now.
I hope you enjoy my conversation with Bruce where he shares insights into what makes a high-enjoyment and high-performance work culture. You will also hear about his transition, writing a book and launching a podcast while having a high-profile role in a fast-paced organisation like Twitter.
Listen to his story here or on your usual podcast player.
Show notes
Bruce’s LinkedIn profile
[00:03:20] How come big tech companies still don't know how to adapt to a hybrid approach to work
[00:04:48] You can never "nail" the culture in a company
[00:05:14] Leaders embody what's acceptable and what's not acceptable in a business. They create the identity of the team and the critical sense of "us".
[00:06:28] The missteps Uber took in building their culture was may have been the reason they have been so successful
[00:09:00] The myopia of feeling like you have a good culture because it fits you
[00:09:16] How the work hard play hard cultures can be exclusionary
[00:10:56] How he tried to create an environment where people would say this was their favorite job
[00:12:21] How understanding what makes cultures tick became his obsession
[00:12:47] How he became a popular podcast host and came to write a book on culture
[00:13:13] What made him jump from top job in Big Tech to become a podcaster, writer, consultant
[00:15:08] What are the symptoms and causes of burnout?
[00:17:16] Our fear system operates in direct opposition to creativity
[00:19:39] How the tyranny of email and meetings prevents organisations to tap into the creative power of their people
[00:21:10] Why many companies are looking at their middle-management to create differentiation in a world where hybrid is the norm
[00:22:27] Calling out the important part of luck in making his career a success
[00:23:23] What his experiences as a barman and working in fast fod restaurant taught him about the workplace
[00:24:32] How he created a "student union bar" culture within the prevalent "consultant" culture at Google
[00:26:47] How fun became a way for him to make time pass by faster in his low-paid jobs
[00:27:50] How to make playfulness the driver for high-performance
[00:29:47] How laughter can be a powerful coping mechanism to deal with great difficulty
[00:30:40] How your sense of connection to your team and the strength of your support network helps you deal with trauma
[00:32:49] How growth mindset is a charming theory but not backed up by research
[00:34:21] How a sense of togetherness generates resilience, like in Ukraine now
[00:36:55] How companies can promote a sense of connection by creating a diverse set of communities
[00:39:15] What's been most rewarding on his journey? Regular moments of laughter
[00:41:08] What's been most challenging on your journey? Bad and new bosses.