Corporate Strategy
Corporate Strategy
154. Politics at Work
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Severance delves into the blurred lines between work and personal identity, engaging with the idea of separating these worlds. Through lively discussions, we explore the implications of current political climates at work, navigating conversations with openness and curiosity.
• Dissecting the premise of Severance and its critique of corporate culture
• Personal reflections on the potential decision to sever from work
• Sharing recent personal updates about organizational successes
• Engaging in Discord community discussions on controversial topics
• Navigating political discourse in professional environments
• Encouraging civil conversations without conflicts
• The importance of remaining curious and open-minded in discussions
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Discussion on Apple TV's Severance
Speaker 1for you . Excuse me , craig , joined you completely , froze and I feel like I went into another dimension .
Speaker 2You did , you did Pod me is very different from real me . I feel like almost entirely different . Have you watched Severance ? Did you just ask me if I have watched Severance ? If , mr , I haven't seen anything over here in my entire life as someone unlocked the secret of good television .
Speaker 1I've been watching are you the reason I think ? Yes , I am , and also I had no idea what happened last episode until oh my god yeah but the reason I referenced that is the second , craig joins the room . I feel like we go down in the elevator and you hear that noise and like we're just dial it a little bit . Yeah , yeah , what was it called the glasgow initiative ? Uh ?
Speaker 2oh no the block .
Speaker 1Remove the the Glasgow block .
Speaker 2Now Don't spoil it . I don't think that's going to spoil anything . That's a huge spoiler . If you're keeping up , they don't know that . Everyone knows .
Speaker 1Every .
Speaker 2Severance fan knows the protocols . Every Severance fan knows what the elevator dings mean . Come on , aren't you keeping up with the dings ? Don't you know what the dings mean I like it . Yeah , just you wait , just you wait , yes I am all caught up .
Speaker 1Last episode blew my mind . It's a great show . I'm really enjoying it . Great show , love it . Love it it feels like the modern Lost .
Speaker 2Yes , but Lost fell apart in season two . Severance just got stronger . So far True .
Speaker 1As long as they don't end it like they ended Lost , that was the worst ending ever , I'm quite certain I mean .
Speaker 2So here's the thing about Severance . Ben Stiller doesn't suck Like in general . I think everyone thinks Ben Stiller's really funny , and he is . But if you watch the movies he's made , like the ones he's directed or and or written , he's a really good filmmaker . He's a good storyteller . He knows what he's doing . I don't think he's going to start to suck with severance , especially given how strong it's been . He's got a full arc planned . Like I know he didn't write the show , but like he can , he conceptualized it with some other folks . They have a whole thing planned . This whole thing is going to lead up to something good .
Speaker 1I'm convinced it is just wild , because every single episode is like something new , weird and wacky and it's like how ? The heck , does this all fit in ? So I'm super excited for them to bring it all together .
Speaker 2I mean , if you're a listener of Corporate Strategy , this is not an endorsement to go get Apple anything , but it is definitely a show that if you live corporate , it is a critique on corporate in every single way , shape , form . Highly recommend , highly recommend . Oh my gosh , the music is so good one of the best orchestrated , or it's mostly piano , but oh I agree , it's really good .
Speaker 1Like that soundtrack you could just like listen to all day I bought it for music I bought the um .
Speaker 2There's a vinyl collection I knew uh I got it for my wife but it comes in a folder and it's blue and it has all these little severance secrets inside of it . It's . It's a really cool album yeah , it's super cool .
Speaker 1So now , now we gotta ask the question would you do it would ? I sever yeah , would you sever ? Okay , quick , 30 seconds aside , while you're thinking , that over severance is a show where essentially you , your brain , gets severed , where you go into a work mode and you know nothing about your outside life . It's still you , still you on the inside inner workings , still you and your personality , but it knows nothing about the outside world and when you leave work you know nothing about what happened at work .
Speaker 2No .
Speaker 1I wouldn't .
Speaker 2No , you know , I would not like the idea of my body being somewhere , that I was not in control of it . Well , you're any , you know you're in control of it . Yes , and I think the any me would be very similar to the Audi me , very similar to how some of the other characters are , but some of them aren't . So , like question mark . But also , I think in my case it wouldn't be that I'm not trustful of my any . I'm totally trustful of my any . You can make a thousand Bruce's and they'd all be weird little dudes , but I would be worried about what they were doing to any Bruce , so that I it wouldn't , it wouldn't stand right with me . I have to know .
Speaker 1I have to know you know an alternative timeline . If we both severed this podcast wouldn't be a thing . Yeah , it's true what are we talking about ?
Speaker 2oh , I don't know what goes on in the corporate world yeah , I have no idea .
Speaker 1I don't even know how I know you what ?
Speaker 2what is an email ?
Speaker 1yeah , what do we do ? Well , I'm sorry to make this whole entire podcast about severance , but it is a really good show if you want a good show apple tv did a really nice job with this . Ben stiller is doing awesome . I'm really enjoying it . It is a little weird and freaky , so if you want a happy show , this is not a happy show , but it's funny though it is pretty funny , like I laugh my butt off a lot , but it is weird and freaky it's weird and freaky .
Speaker 1For sure my wife was watching a littleaky . For sure my wife was watching a little bit with me , yeah my wife was watching a little bit with me yesterday because I was watching the episode that came out last week and she was just like you watch weird stuff .
Speaker 2Yeah , well , I mean , the last episode is a factor of weird . Season two , episode four , is a factor of weirdness greater than they have ever gone , so I feel like that's an acceptable take . But the than they have ever gone . So I feel like that's an acceptable take , but the rest of the show is not like that . I mean it is but it isn't .
Speaker 1Yeah , or both Well , episode three of Paws was kind of weird , anyways .
Speaker 2Yes , vibe , check . No , no , no , no . Welcome to Corporate Strategy a podcast . That could have been an email . I'm Bruce and I'm Clark . Hey , clark Five , check how you doing .
Speaker 1Hey , I'm doing good , doing good .
Speaker 2Good to hear .
Organizing Tasks and Pepsi Display Origins
Speaker 1I have been extremely organized lately and I've been realistically , because I've been bad about this . I've talked about it on this podcast .
Speaker 1I've been awful about allocating the right amount of time to do things on this podcast I've been awful about allocating the right amount of time to do things , but lately , lately , bruce , been really , really good at planning realistically , setting aside time to do tasks that need that set of focus , and it feels so good every day . I love this for you . Check the final thing off my checklist . I'm just like . I know I'm on track . I know what I needed to do today and I got it done and everything's on track . Fires still come in , but for the most part , figuring it out , so I'm doing good .
Speaker 1Doing good it's gonna be really weak , though , which is why we're recording today .
Speaker 2I like the energy you're . This is . We're recording on a monday , which we never do . It's a monday after work . I like your energy . I like your attitude . Yeah , this is how it starts . I just want everyone to notice this is how the week begins Optimistic , bright-eyed , bushy-tailed . Clark's ready . Clark feels like he's got the organization under control . It can only go down from here . Truly , this is the top of your week . Enjoy it , savor this moment . Tomorrow's gonna suck and if there's one thing I know , wednesday's gonna suck even worse .
Speaker 1Yep , and then Friday's gonna be mush . But guess what we're not recording on Friday . Or maybe we will Bonus episode , ooh , bonus pod . We're getting a little wild .
Speaker 2Dangerous , dangerous . On Valentine's Day , oh my goodness , I'm just going to tell you how much I love you the whole time . Let's do a .
Speaker 1I want a two second podcast where you just say we love you , that's it , bye .
Speaker 2Bye , bye . Um , I'm glad to hear that , clark .
Speaker 1Yeah , I want to hear about you . You , you need to give us an injury update . Are you us an injury update ? Are you on injured reserve still , or are you coming off of it and ready to go back to your starting position ?
Speaker 2I am on injured . You know that I healed quickly from the fall . It was basically that pod , uh . The next day I had a little bruise . I'm good to go . I'm ready to rock . I'm ready to fall down four steps now , like last time it was two , I'm ready for four . I think I take a four-step fall okay I'm gonna work my way up to 24 though , yeah go ahead , please don't .
Speaker 1You're gonna die at 24 . That's an aggressive 6x increase . Are you wearing socks right now ?
Speaker 2oh , great question . Let me answer your question with an answer .
Speaker 1Oh , I'm wearing socks right now he's wearing socks .
Speaker 2Okay , there's a really good chance he's gonna fall down the stairs right after this episode a really good chance well , I'm Well , I'm wearing my orthotics because we're not going to call , we're not going to say what you said two episodes ago . I will never repeat those words , ever again , but I am optimizing the way I stand right now . Clark , I'm optimizing all the way . If you want to know how to optimize the way you stand , go check out two episodes ago , where I tell you how to optimize your standing ability at work .
Speaker 1Ooh , buddy Trigger . Warning though If you don't like hearing about how we have to name everything in the world , then just prepare yourself , because we're going to name things that don't need to be named necessarily .
Speaker 2You triggered one of my favorite people in the Discord that entire episode and I'm offended on their behalf for how many things you said to trigger them with Unacceptable .
Speaker 1I felt terrible . I'll be honest , I felt terrible . I got news . Oh , do you ?
Speaker 2I got news man , we're so organized . This is weird . Basically , on the last episode everyone went in the Discord and was asking like I don't know if you saw today there was like 18 messages in the Discord saying y'all , I need to know more about Pepsi man , not like the PlayStation game , but like in the store . Everyone asked that . Did you see all those messages , clark ? In the Discord there's like 18 of them . Did you see them all ? Yeah , they're all over . So many Like where did this start ?
Speaker 2Who was it ? Why did they ? Well , I did the research because I needed to know . I'm happy you did so . Here's what I found . Uh , firstly , I cannot find an original source of the pepsi product display man used for Super Bowl or football event . I cannot find it , but what I did find is that you ready for this , I'm ready . Pop displays go all the way back to the 1940s . Wow , and the earliest sort of understanding of them it did come from distributors . So , like Big Coke , big Pepsi , they're like hey , like hey , we're gonna help you display our product in the store better to get more attraction to prospective buyers , because I don't want people buying big pepsi . They gotta be buying big coke . We put cocaine in our soda . They need to be buying that . So it did at least at least as far as we know . It did start the display with the originator of the sodas themselves , their marketing teams . Now I stumbled across an article titled redditor reveals how walmart creates its artistic soda can displays whoa I don't know why we had to go to the article .
Speaker 2We could go straight to the source on reddit . So , uh , this is what they say . The original post the soda reps . That's right , the soda reps come in with diagrams and they build these . I was a store director at a super target and we had one of these done every few months . They're always full cases and they use directions , just like a Lego set . Even if they're full cases , they're done almost every season . I remember seeing them as far back as 20 years ago . Username by the name of Hidden Jim explained that , being a former Budweiser vendor . They also claimed that being , despite , made from soda boxes , the displays are actually remarkably stable . Should the display ever collapse , a Pepsi representative is usually on call to help reassemble On call .
Speaker 1On call . That is insane .
Speaker 2Username Hidden . Jim also reported that the displays are so popular with management since they help sell more soda . This would mean that those colorful displays are just one of the many ways Walmart gets you to spend more money . Wow , the many ways walmart gets you to spend more money . Wow . Are you shocked ? I am just shocked . I feel like we unlocked part of it . I still want to believe my story , though , that there is a little dude out there , I think probably dead now that like was like . I think I could put these together in a way that's really fun and humorous . Like I don't want to believe that Coke and or Pepsi thought of the football man display , but as far as the data shows , this has been going on since the 40s . That is insane .
Speaker 1I agree with what you're saying , though I do think this started as a passion project and it just became a corporatism to sell more big coke , big pepsi , like maybe , maybe this research .
Speaker 2You're welcome . I I know all 18 of those requests on the discord and if you , by the way , if you want to see those 18 requests , you have to join our discord . Go to the show notes , go to the link tree , join the discord , then you can see all 18 of those posts . You'll see them with your own eyes . I know this matters to them as much as it does to me , so I'm glad that I could serve the community . See all 18 of those posts . You'll see them with your own eyes . I know this matters to them as much as it does to me , so I'm glad that I could serve the community with this information .
Speaker 1Well , I love that you did an action shot . You actually see . What I love about it is you actually went into the field and you did your own research .
Speaker 2You looked up an article .
Speaker 1You went outside of your home and you went and toured a local supermarket To try to get a picture of this plane and you posted a picture . I'm looking at it , right now , and I was very disappointed by it . I was disappointed . I mean , how do you make the helmet 3D and everything 3D and then you make the football 2D ? It's so stupid .
Speaker 2They've gotten so lazy . They've gotten so lazy . Dude Pepsi man is rolling in his grave right now . He is , he absolutely is poor pepsi man . Poor , you know , like I . I don't want to , I don't want to say case closed on this , because I think I might still have to scratch . I . I actually thought about I kid you not sending an email to coke and pepsi marketing to see if they have any archive footage anecdotes that prove they're the originator , because I want to see which of them actually originated . This right , like , let's get to the bottom of this story . But I'll save that for later . Uh , maybe I'll do a spin-off pod , because you know we're doing star wars strategy . Uh , we probably need a soda wars as well as star wars . So we have corporate strategy , soda Wars as well as Star Wars . So we have Corporate Strategy , star Wars Strategy , soda Strategy , and that would be the three-pod trifecta .
Speaker 2Chaos Strategy $60 a month . Chaos Strategy , yeah , chaos Strategy . Oh , it's so much , there's so much work to do .
Speaker 1I'm just imagining the email you would send them . Hi , this is Bruce from CorporateStrategybiz . I'm inquiring on behalf of my deep research on pepsi man and I really need to know how did this all originate ? Also , by the way , this email could have been what is it ? A podcast ? Podcast could have been an email . In the end , I just can't .
Speaker 2I can't glad I was . I'm glad I was able to to help out with that information . Yeah , I mean I'll be honest we should just add the podcast .
Speaker 1That's so much value you just added to everyone's lives that we should just call it I'm glad .
Speaker 2I'm glad I can bring some value today . Uh , probably waste much time looking into this . I have actual work to do and I was like I have to find out .
Speaker 1I'll be honest , I'm actually kind of just . I felt some sadness when I saw your picture . You know why ? Why I didn't go out and see a display this year , and now I feel like this is going to be an annual tradition Anytime we see it , maybe not even annual , maybe whatever we see a display post a picture . That's gotta be a thing we we do .
Speaker 2Next Super Bowl . Don't let us forget this . All 18 of you who posted Don't let us forget this . Next Super Bowl , we're going to have a contest . Who can find the best Pepsi man in the world ? And go to your local supermarket , take a pic . We're going to post it in the CorpStrat channel of the Discord . And whoever has the most thumbs up emojis before the Super Bowl , on Super Bowl Sunday , we will send you a baby onesie with our logo on it .
Speaker 2Yeah , that's it . Just put in the line in the sand . Contest start right now . Get yourself ready .
Speaker 1Listen , you don't need to be with child in order to get this onesie . We have agreed .
Speaker 2Why did you say it that way ?
Speaker 1specifically , we have agreed on this podcast we will send you a baby onesie , whether you like it or not , because we want to see the panic that ensues .
Speaker 2I need you to stop saying . I need you to never utter the words with child again .
Speaker 1Okay , just don't , just don't we built a specific product for people with child no stop this is giving me so much energy . I'm loving it . The energy is good .
Speaker 2I , oh , this is giving me so much energy . I'm loving it . I'm loving it . The energy's good . The energy's good . I think we need the energy for what we're about to talk about . Do you know what our topic is for today , clark ?
Speaker 1No , because I had one and you didn't mention to me what yours was . So now I'm kind of worried that we're going to clash . Which one should we ?
Speaker 2do you want to do yours ? Oh , we're . We're going to definitely clash . There was a post I don't know if you saw it in general of the Discord . I'm sticking with the Discord today . There was a post by the individual contributor who you like to trigger and it was specifically talking about in our community . How much discussion do you want to see in our community about the America situation ? And it's an interesting time in our country and this is why I sprung this on you . It didn't tell you that we're going to talk about it .
Speaker 1I want to scare you .
Speaker 2Appreciate that . I think it's actually appropriate to talk about what is going on in our country , in the world right now in regards to how we talk about it at work , I like that . Here's my thought . Right , Like cause , we don't have to get into the deep . Deep , we don't need to offend it . Firstly , opinion should never offend people unless they're like , full of hate . Right , Like an opinion . I think we should spend money on X . That should never offend you unless it's based in hatred . Right , you can disagree . Say no . I think we should spend money on X . That should never offend you unless it's based in hatred . Right , you can disagree . Say no . I think we should spend money on Y .
Speaker 2We're at a point in our country now where political discourse like that means I want to ram your head througha wood chipper if you say something as simple as that . Like , we can't have simple disagreements anymore . But because of how our country currently is and I do want to date this podcast this is taking place in February of 2025 . Just give you a snapshot in time here . We have a new president , very different administration than the previous one , and lots of stuff is happening , A lot of stuff that's actually going to impact people's lives yours , mine , in our jobs , right , Like if you have a government job , if you have a job that depends on government contracts , this is going to upend your world .
Speaker 2So how do you talk about these things in the office , around your peers , to your family , your friends ? Because you talk about politics at all . And suddenly it's either I don't want to hear it , I don't talk about it , or you're talking to people of like mind who are just going to agree with you , regardless of whether or not it makes sense , because we're either in an echo chamber or we're in a WWE wrestling match . I wish there was an in-between , but here we are .
Navigating Political and Financial Conversations
Speaker 2So how do you feel about that , Clark ?
Speaker 1I'm going to give you an easy answer .
Speaker 2You ready ? I'm ready .
Speaker 1I don't talk about money , politics , religion .
Speaker 2I feel you , I hear you , but I almost borderline agree with you . But I think , given the state of our politics , it's hard not to talk about it , especially when it impacts our jobs .
Speaker 1Yeah , no , I'm with you , and that's why I gave the butt super late after I said that because agree with the second two though money and religion .
Speaker 1Yeah , absolutely yeah , just stay away Like and not that you shouldn't share your salary and stuff with people , but also like , think about it really hard before you do , because it will take things to a different level of jealousy of you . Know other people about it . It's like is it worth it ? If you really love the people you work with and the place you work , maybe , but if you're like , eh , these are just coworkers , don't do it , that's just a waste of your time . But anyway , unless you have a revolution , don't talk about money .
Speaker 1Yeah , exactly , you better have thought this through if you're going to start sharing that out . So , yeah , it's sometimes easier just to stay away from those topics , but I think in the state of things now , it's things are just so different in this new regime where everything that is happening is so loudly stated and it's very passionate , like like what you said , and it's unfortunately gotten to the point of like finger pointing and accusing and it's no longer just like a civil discussion on I think we should do this , and you might disagree , you might say , well , no , I think we should do this . Okay , well , let's like sit down and have some pros and cons , and I don't remember who said it , but I've had a lot of leaders repeat it back of you know , saying the common corporatism of strong opinion loosely held . And I like that for this situation , because I do have strong opinions about things . I feel strongly about things for either the way I was raised or what I believe in or whatever it might be . But I'm willing to have a conversation about it and if someone convinces me otherwise , that's okay . Like I'm okay and I'm there to try and learn , and I think what it always comes always comes down to me as , like , you want to get different perspectives , you want to understand how does Bruce feel about this ? And you want to be inquisitive and be asking those questions so you can understand why someone else might see the world differently than you .
Speaker 1And I think , unfortunately , most people , as they're talking about these things , are just looking for something to respond to and go after the other person or prove them wrong or whatever it is , and like that's just the wrong mindset . It's like , don't go into . If you're starting any conversation , I'm going to try and prove my point to this person . I'm going to try to switch their belief . It's like , if your heart's in the right place , you just want to understand their perspective so you can validate if your perspective needs to be shifted accordingly , then start the conversation . If your heart isn't there and you're just wanting to spew what you believe on other people and not really listen to them , like just don't do it , don't waste your time .
Speaker 2I think a good word you just said is believe , right , there is what you believe , and then there is what affects you and those around you . What you believe and then there's what affects you and those around you , and that's where I draw the line , because I don't really people know I consider myself an anarchist but , like people know around me my general beliefs , mostly in joke . I make jokes all the time about my deep held communist affiliations and I'll be stupid radical Cause I think it's funny , right , I think it's funny and it's never offended anybody on either side , cause they know I'm just I'm being a goof . An example I actually talked about I had a political discussion with someone who I know is on the other side of the fence than me last week because it was so .
Speaker 2We work in a world I work specifically in the world of data and in cybersecurity and with what is happening right now , we see a lot of information being just publicly exposed , right , social Security numbers in the hands of individuals like Elon Musk , that I'm not entirely comfortable him having access to all of my data . In the European Union they have GDPR and you know the right to be forgotten . There's PII , there's a lot of things that really sort of shelter and protect an individual's data . And I was actually working with an individual . I know we have different beliefs not radically different , but different and I said , hey , what do you think about ? Like the social security situation , like , should our data be in the hand of , like a non-contracted government employee , especially when it was in a service Like we were in ? We were in solid agreement and I said we need to make sure that , no matter what happens , like , we don't let this happen at our company , right , Like we , despite , what example is being set by you know ? Uh , not , he's not an official government employee , but like someone who's working with the government there needs to be protections put in place so that our private information isn't just exposed or given to the wrong hands . And that's why I talked about it . It's because it affects us , it affects our customers , it affects individuals around me .
Perspective, Facts, and Civil Discourse
Speaker 2And it was a .
Speaker 2It was a positive conversation because I started with what do you think about this ? Uh , I didn't come out saying can you believe what Elon's doing ? That's what I'm thinking in my back of my mind , but it's actually more of like hey , what do you think about ? Like the social security situation and Elon Musk , and that led to a conversation . I wanted to hear what he said . He wanted to hear what I said . I think we came to a very quick and easy agreement . It's like , yeah , we need to not deal with this . I think that's the line , though right , like you can't go much further than that because the second you get into belief territory , like you said , it no longer holds water . Like , oh , I believe that only certain individuals should be government officials , or I believe you know anyone can be hired by the president to do government work . Like well , those are beliefs . There might be constitution , or you know amendments that say otherwise . I don't know , I'm not that smart , but that's the territory you got to be careful of .
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah , I think you said it perfectly . Is you started with that ? You know you're , you're asking questions , your heart's in the right place . Like you truly want to understand their perspective on this so you can understand , like , do you want to change your perspective ? For are you missing something that , because of your unique experiences and situation , that you wouldn't even think about and what else ?
Speaker 1comes . When it comes to like diversity , it's like , yeah , person of a different race , religion , whatever it might be , is like they are going to see the world differently than I see it because I'm an average white male and so , like you have to acknowledge your perspective is only your perspective , and how you get other information is you need to ask and discuss and be civil and try to understand more so you can ultimately pick the best thing for the world , whatever that really means . But I think you started with your heart in the right place , which is the perfect way to do it , cause I totally agree with you Everything is so reactionary . Did the tweets that happen even like to your point ?
Speaker 1Elon Musk is like the tweets that are happening that he's saying is like this person's doing this and it's like all pointing fingers and it's like is that really what we want to do ? Or you know , is it ? Hey , you might be , he might be doing some good things . I don't know enough about all the situations to understand what he is and isn't doing , but it's like he probably is doing some good things and why can't we just be civil about those things to say like there's reasons why we're shifting it , and here are the reasons . Rather than memeing out everybody and like making fun of people online , it's like is that really the kind of culture we want to create for our country ? Not really , so . Why don't we just be like civil human beings and just do the right thing and make it factual , say these are the facts , this is what we've uncovered . We're moving forward with this plan because of it .
Speaker 2I think . I think that's the hard part , though , is I do want to go back and double down on what you said on perspective . Listening to other people's perspectives is so important and I think we don't get enough of that , just in general . Go to a website you don't normally go . Go to a news website you don't normally go to go watch a YouTuber of a type you don't normally watch . Just experience the way other people see things , whether you agree or disagree . Just get an experience right , because it's wild , it can change the way you think .
Speaker 2I'm not saying you're going to immediately agree with them , but you'll just say , huh , this doesn't matter to me , but it clearly matters a lot to them . Like , why Go through that exercise ? But to your point , I think facts are everything , right . Like if Alex Restrepo , capitalist Correspondent , was on this pod , he'd be telling us you know , facts and data are everything , because it's true , right , like there is what we react to , and I think , unfortunately , as a society , we've become very reactionary . There's an entire category of YouTube videos that get the most views out of everything else . I react to opening a bottle of Cheetos . I react to Elon Musk's latest thing , like it's a genre .
Speaker 2People want to see how people react , because they don't know how to react themselves , which is a problem . It's not the problem of this pod pod , but it is a problem in general . No one knows how to formulate an opinion , but going off and finding the truth , the facts , the data , what's going on ? Why is it going on ? Why is it happening like ? You have to be able to ask these questions , you have to be able to do your own research and you know . It's sad , because I feel like we can say that till we're blue in the face , but it's never going to happen no , we're so far off the path , I think , to your point .
Speaker 1It's like you can only you can only deal with or control what you're in control of , like what's in your sphere , and I think that's why we created this podcast . It it's like try to set the example for how you want everyone around you to be , and I think that's the only thing we can do is just set the example of you know . If you don't know something , don't speak like you know intelligently about it or act like you do . It's like just be honest and be like oh no , I haven't heard about this . Like what's going on ? And like try to understand it and ask for those facts . Be like cool , could you send an article so I could like research this a little bit more on my own and try to get an understanding so I can formulate my own opinion on it . We can have a better conversation and say you make fun of this podcast all the time .
Speaker 1But joe rogan , I actually sometimes really enjoy depending on who the guest is his podcast , because all he does is just ask questions , try to understand them , try to understand their perspective , and he will be like what I do need more facts on that and here's my research . And like . I do appreciate the way that he mediates the conversations because it does feel like he's not just forcing his opinion on other people . He's trying to gain an understanding , create a human connection and then share his facts and get those facts . And so some of them are really good because I love the way he goes about it . But do I agree with ?
Speaker 2everything he says . No , I'm not saying that , but I think that's the good way to go about it . I think the amazing thing about Joe Rogan if you look at his career history , the man used to be like the number one podcast in the world . He got millions of downloads and , like I remember my brother loved him at one point in time and it was because he had good guests and he asked good questions . And I don't listen to Joe Rogan's podcast , I'm just not interested . I don't have the time to , like you know , see what it's all about .
Speaker 2But if you ever look at the drama with Joe Rogan either , he's brought on a problematic guest , which I don't actually see a problem with . Like , let people , if people want to be problematic and be stupid , let them do that and let them do it in public spaces and then you know if you don't want to work with them anymore . That's on you . Like , let your dollar represent how you engage with these people . But he always seems to get in trouble when he says something that is not based on fact but feeling right . Like every time I see Joe Rogan's headline on something he said this cause he didn't know the truth and , like his , his cohost had to correct him on air . It's like well , you know , that's the problem , as , as podcast hosts , we are guilty of this too right , we react , we feel , we say things . The difference is we don't have millions of listeners who can correct us on a dime he does , and I think this is the challenge of anything these days is it's so easy to have a voice and to be listened to and to be taken at 100% face value all the time .
Speaker 2I think you and I are pretty good at this . We admit that we don't know everything and that we are figuring things out just as much as we are sharing our experience . It's not . It's not . I'm not giving you a factual play by play of what I know . It's this is what I've learned , and I was working on the book today and I was writing about things that I've experienced , my anecdotes , my stories , and I try to make that very clear . It's like this is what works for me , but if it doesn't work for you , read clark's section instead , because maybe he has something different in there . It's such a slippery slope , though , like we're in . We're at a very weird point in our society when feelings overpower facts in many ways yeah , absolutely .
Speaker 1and a good , like real example in the discord that's happening too is , yeah , I think an individual contributor posted about like how do you guys feel about you know there are Elon Musk is bringing in young people to do things that require , like , national security clearance , and like some of the things they're tweeting about are like just crazy questions it's like okay about . Are like just crazy questions . It's like okay . Yeah , it feels like that person is probably inexperienced and should they be dealing with or have this much responsibility in front of them ? Like maybe that's not the right decision , but at the same time , like the undertone of it is I do feel like they're getting things done , or maybe they're just being more vocal about it , which I think is a good thing . Like I do want to know what's happening and I appreciate that everything is now brought to everyone's attention , like everyone's sharing everything , which the transparency to me is good . It's not like everybody's hiding away for three years and I'll hear about a project then , because then it just doesn't really affect me . Now I'm seeing them actually like do these things in real time and actually making real changes on things . So like I go 50-50 . It's like do you want them to take the most experience in the world and work on this for 10 years and maybe come out with an outcome ? Or do you want them to be transparent and like moving really quickly through things and just being honest about where they are and like what questions they have and the situation ?
Speaker 1It's so hard to know and I don't and I have a perfect example of what you just said . I haven't done enough research to actually understand and form a strong opinion , so I'm just saying the undertones of it are like what I see the pros and cons of . But if I were to actually do the research , then I could speak probably more intentionally of like is this good or is it bad , and then we could have a good conversation about it . But I have not done that , so I'm not going to say it's good or bad , but I think you do need to make sure that those things are considered . It's like what's the amount of data that they have ? Who is responsible and not responsible with that type of information , as they're doing these really impactful things , and let's make sure we have a good understanding of that before we go into collaboration .
Speaker 2Have you ever seen the cinematic classic by Rob Reiner , a Few Good Men ? Yes , then you know it's a . Have you ever seen the cinematic classic by Rob Reiner , a Few Good Men ? Yes , then you know . Yes , okay .
Speaker 2So then you know the importance of like what Jack Nicholson saying at the end the villain of the movie making sense , saying you can't handle the truth and like yes , that is like a hugely repeated phrase , but like the moral dilemma of that statement . We have to wrestle with that every day , right , like ? And the larger problem here is nothing is binary . Elon and his young intern crew who's going off and doing all this stuff . They're exposing a lot of information , things that probably do need to be addressed . Like . Let's be real , america is not the most efficient country when it comes to all of our services , how we hire , how we spend . China doesn't own half of this country's debt because we are great at finances , right , like objective truth . So like we have to , something has to happen because we can't keep spending money and , at the same time , maybe this isn't the right way we go about doing it .
Speaker 2It's not red , blue , black , white . It is more of a . There's a lot of bureaucracy . There's a lot of people with good intent and there's a lot of people that don't know what they're doing and talking about .
Avoid Blindly Defending Colors in Politics
Speaker 2You don't always have to fall into a camp right like I think . That's .
Speaker 2My big thing is if you find yourself blindly defending a color like it's a wrestling match . You're not . You're not being a human being , you're just being a fan and like fans . Politics is not fandom . Running a country , a government , is not a fandom . It's a responsibility in all of us , whether you're an American or wherever you reside I'm assuming if you're listening to this podcast in some part of the world you have some say or vote or ability to talk to your local whatevers to have representation . Don't fall into a color . Fall into truth , facts and try your best to make the situation better than it was before and look for ways that you can improve and have those conversations with others to get them on the same page , because I think the second you become a color , you've ruined everything .
Speaker 1Yep , I mean , it's really well said . Yeah , I think these are the ways to approach it . Unfortunately , it's like once people start steering in those directions where , to your point , it's crossing facts and going into belief and emotion and feeling , you probably want to , in the most polite way ever , exit the conversation before it turns into that emotional battle that could get you in trouble with HR , and I think that's that's all you can do , right ? It's like if it starts going that direction and if someone's saying something that you don't believe in , just don't engage . You know , because that's what they probably want . They want you to engage and that's why they're asking those types of questions , so they can respond .
Speaker 1And I think in that way , if you do talk about those things in the workplace , you just say , hey , you know , really appreciate your insight , I'm going to go do more research on my own and you know I'll basically reside with whatever my opinion is after I do that research . And you just got to think of , like , ways that you can exit that conversation , but don't engage if you don't feel like it's going to be positive and they're actually going to listen to your side or you're going to be willing to listen to their side . But I think if your heart's in the right place and you do want to have those discussions , especially with a diverse audience that may be outside your demographic , then definitely do it . I don't think it's a bad thing to do , but start with questions and asking if they want to engage at all and , if they do , making sure you're actually asking questions to listen and not just to respond .
Speaker 2Yeah , I love that . I love the ask questions . It's so important . That can get you to the root cause of a lot of this too . Right , like , I don't want to go down this path as part of the pod , but you will find out that some people just have a lot of hate in their hearts and that's what leads them to their views , right , they're scared of other people , they're scared of what they don't understand and what they can't comprehend and fear . To quote Star Wars Strategies episode on Empire Strikes Back , fear leads to hatred , hatred leads to anger , anger leads to the dark side . And you know , I remember on that episode , clark , where you were specifically talking about Master Yoda and the wisdom he was saying in that . That's true for real life , right , like ? People fear what they don't understand and that fear quickly spirals into hatred and reactivity . You ask those questions , you find out . That's where you're going . Try and exit the conversation . If you're a master at awareness and perception and helping and understanding , maybe you can help them see .
Speaker 2But it's difficult . It's difficult and unfortunately , politics has become a bit of a personality type too , which I don't agree with , like , unless your job is politician or government official and you draw a salary based on politics . That should not be who you are . You should not spend your nights and weekends and family gatherings talking about politics . You should be able to talk about other things . So if you find yourself in that situation at work and it's inappropriate , try and like steer it back towards . Oh yeah , thanks for letting me know about that . Hey , by the way , did you see that email from Janice ? Oh my gosh , what are they doing with the vending machines ? Like they're they're lining up the pepsi differently . What's going on ? They're like transition out because they're . We have to quit making this the be all end , all of everything .
Speaker 1Yes , it impacts our lives , but time and place , time and place did you hear that we're getting a pepsi man in the break room this year ?
Speaker 2can't wait gosh sponsored by the pepsi , the pepsi co rival of coca-cola .
Speaker 1That's how you change the subject . Did you see the pepsi display of the pepsi man for the super bowl in the supermarket ?
Speaker 2truly pepsi man solves all challenges , heals all .
Speaker 1Honestly , to go full circle with this podcast . That's how we got to end it .
Speaker 2Remember Petsy man will save you , he will right you from your wrongs , he will and he will deliver sweet , delicious Pepsi from the 1980s , before it started to suck and they put all that crap in , hey , real quick , while we're transitioning . I don't know , did you see the commercial on the Super Bowl for Poppy ? I did the soda so I didn't know this was a whole thing . But I actually bought one of those a few days ago just because I was like , oh , five grams of sugar , that sounds too good to be true . I looked at the can . I'm like , oh , you know , this is mostly like actual , you know food , not chemical . Like stevia is on there and stevia is a plant , so I don't really see it as a chemical . But my gosh , it was delicious . It was delicious , it tasted like the old days of Coca-Cola . And yeah , I do too , you know , I do too .
Speaker 1Soda strategy this is where we can have soda strategy . Pepsi man strategy the Pepsi that could have been a man . Yeah , I heard . I heard . I have no research . This is this is a good debate conversation that those olipops like the actual gut support that they claim it would take like drinking like 10 of them a day for like the next 10 years to actually see any meaningful impact to your biome .
Speaker 2I don't know if that's true .
Speaker 2I didn't drink it for the health reasons . I was just like it's been so long . When I went to Europe I actually drank the soda there , because their soda doesn't suck . It tastes delicious , but like I can't drink a regular Coke , mountain Dew , fanta , I can't do it . They're so gross to me and I used to love it . It I can't do it . They're so gross to me and I used to love it and now I can't . So anytime I can chase that dragon a little bit and be like perhaps a taste of the olden days , let me sip and savor .
Speaker 1Yeah , poppy did it for me . It's great . Oh , I said Ollie , I meant Poppy . Yes , that's the one , poppy . Yeah .
Speaker 2Ollie Pop , I think is what you do Would be like an Ollie pop , shove it . That's a move in Tony Hawk Pro Skater .
Speaker 1Oh gotcha Yep , Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 .
Speaker 2Yeah , I remember that Absolutely . You got to for the pop . Shove it . You have to hit . What is it ? Rb ? I think that puts you in your forward stance , or maybe that's an Ollie , I can't remember . I can just do it . If you could put the controller in my hands , I could show you by .
Speaker 1Feel no you know what you need a vinyl for . You need a vinyl for that game , the soundtrack all of them .
Speaker 2The soundtrack for tony hawk , one through four , yeah , and I would even say like underground also good yeah , but that's when it starts to after that . I mean that's the down , that's the downfall of Tony Hawk . It's just like everything after Underground just becomes less sad . I agree , yeah , yeah . But to the individual contributors request talk about it . Let's talk about it in the Discord . This is a family here . We are a family and this is not Thanksgiving , but I think we follow the rules and we'll we'll all be real with each other .
Speaker 1Let's do it .
Speaker 2I love it .
Speaker 1Sneak , sneak preview . I've got a hard topic for our next episode , so tune in . Oh , tune in . I'm struggling , can you give us a hint ? Give us a hint ? Struggling with it and I honestly didn't even know I was going to bring it in today and I'm just on the edge of like should we ? Do it or should we not ? It goes back to the Pareto principle and I've had people on my team that I'm like do I have them in the right place to be successful ? And it's hard , I'm struggling .
Speaker 2Are you telling me a pod made you think about your life , makes you think about another pod ? Yep , this is corporate strategy . The podcast , that could have been an email . Wow , wow , crazy , my mind's blown hey .
Speaker 1Tune in next time .
Speaker 2I got a question for you Inside of the channel , what do you meme ? We play a game often where individuals post memes and we describe them in their mouth parts . Clark , you mind describing what is posted in ? What do you mean channel ? You mean the one that I posted for this . I think you need to describe what you posted because it would be too easy for me to do it our lord , our savior , is running down the street .
Speaker 1It looks like a modern . You know , maybe suburban town . You know , maybe suburban town . You know , he's got some shops on the right , the left , maybe a corporation , and I think it just encompasses .
Speaker 2I'm about to say he's running .
Speaker 1I mean , I don't know , I don't know this as well . He is going super fast . Is there like an actual word ? Is there ?
Speaker 2a term that I should be . He's definitely running as if there is something to get away from .
Speaker 1You know , it kind of doesn't make sense . What's happening in this ? Like thinking about it more as I'm reading out loud but , yes , our Lord or Savior running down the street furiously going off the caffeine that is within his veins , and he's running away from what else A giant Pepsi can rolling down after him . Does that make any sense , though ? Because shouldn't Pepsi man be like getting the Pepsi ? Why is it chasing him ?
Speaker 2He's our Lord and Savior . It's a great question , clark . I think you're the first human being in existence to actually question the why of Pepsi man , the video game for the PlayStation 1 . I have no answers for you , but I'm glad you posted it , everyone thought it was .
Speaker 1you know , just you know , one of the best things of all time . It was the best thing of that decade , and nobody ever questioned why is Pepsi chasing the man who created Pepsi ?
Speaker 2Yeah , he delivered delicious Pepsi to so many people in Japan .
Speaker 1And meanwhile his product chases him . Yeah , maybe that's the underlying meaning is he is just torn between is he actually the one delivering Pepsi to the world or is Pepsi at this point just forcing him into it every ?
Speaker 2step of the way . Oh my gosh , does Superman choose to be Superman , or is he forced to be Cause he is ? Is it a privilege or a ?
Speaker 1punishment . Oh yeah , punishment is better .
Speaker 2Thanks , yeah , I got you . I'm always on with the P alliteration . You need a P alliteration . I got you In it , a letter Not so much , but P's . I got you bud .
Speaker 1I think we did it . I think so too , Like share , subscribe , comment .
Speaker 2Ring the bell . Ring the bell , sign up for our Patreon .
Speaker 1Hey , we really do . You go ahead .
Speaker 2I want to end it . Oh , okay , if you want to support the pod , you can do so by checking out those show notes . Same place where you join the Discord , you click on the buy us a coffee , which I do think we are going to change the picture on eventually . I do believe that's probably the way to go , but for now it's buy us a coffee , give us a dollar . Podcast costs $20 a month . We do it for free Actually , it's not for free , I pay for it but you can help keep it afloat .
Speaker 1What were you going to say Clark , Dollar , dollar bills , y'all ? That's not what I was going to say . I was going to say don't be one of those people that we talked about avoiding all this podcast and get egg on your face .
Speaker 2No .
Speaker 1Thanks for listening .
Speaker 2You can't . You can't do this . Listen y'all , I'm not doing it . As much as I'd like to end the podcast right now . Clark doesn't know what egg on your face means .
Speaker 1I don't . How do you say that ? I mean , I swear we've talked about this before on the podcast , I can't remember . What does it mean , like why egg on your face ?
Speaker 2I mean it's not like it's an actual physical threat , you know like , oh , don't go outside Eggs falling from the sky . I mean if we had that problem I don't think we'd be in the political situation we're in . But I I digress , fair point
Egg on Your Face Origins
Speaker 2. Egg on your face just means like you know it's the goop , oh , there's egg on my face . Why egg ? Oh , anything else slime , why soup to ?
Speaker 1nuts one dip on my face . Why ? Why did egg on your pie in your face ? Why did egg on your face ? Egg on my think about the visual of it right , like I do , but like why , no , you can't do this now . We got to leave them hanging . One because I gotta go , but two , I want to go into the etymology of egg on my face we used to have a segment .
Speaker 2We can't do this , we'll bring it back .
Speaker 1We can't do this .
Speaker 2We'll bring it back . We'll bring it back and it will bring it back . Just like on our Star Wars Strategies episode , the Empire Strikes Back . The origin of words will come back to Corvus Strategy next time on the episode , but until then , keep that egg off your face . I'm Bruce and I'm Clark and you're on mute . We'll see you next week .
