SPEAKER_04: 0:00

I don't really want to do one. Not really interested in it anymore. Kind of wanted to just delete the entire account. Shut it down. If I was being honest with you. You know, that was my goal for the year was to kill it entirely.

SPEAKER_01: 0:13

The nearly 200 episodes, don't even leave them. I say burn it all. Like, why even let leave it around? Delete every piece of trace of history that's ever existed.

SPEAKER_04: 0:22

You know, that's my tour.

SPEAKER_01: 0:24

I'm thinking. Yeah. Super exclusive. If you know, you know. Corporate strategy had a good five-year run, and that's it. All you get is the memories. Never seen, never seen again. I hope someone scrapes the internet for them.

SPEAKER_04: 0:36

All you get is the memories. I'm going to write a worm that's going to go and purge the actual downloaded episodes from every phone. That's what I'm going to do.

SPEAKER_00: 0:43

That's what we need. That's what we need.

SPEAKER_04: 0:44

Yeah. Yeah, that's my plan. That's my plan.

SPEAKER_01: 0:46

But we unrelease this one before we before we do that, right? So tell everybody what we're about to do.

unknown: 0:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 0:53

And then do it.

SPEAKER_04: 0:54

No, no. We can't let them know. It should have to be a they have to be like, wait, did this ever exist? Like the goal is make everyone think like, wait a second, was corporate strategy ever real or did I dream it? Like we delete the Discord, delete the podcast, we we actually burn all of the swag that was sold. We have to find each piece of swag and remove it from existence. Really like Baronstein Bears, you know, corporate strategy. You know what I'm saying? I'm totally in. I'm in. All right, cool.

SPEAKER_01: 1:22

I'll dedicate the rest of my life to do that if I have to.

SPEAKER_04: 1:24

All right. Well, let's start recording this one and uh we'll figure out a plan on how to. Yeah, we'll make sure nobody hears this. You know? No one's gonna hear this because uh because we're not recording yet. True. Welcome back to corporate strategy, the podcast. It's gonna be an email. I'm Bruce.

SPEAKER_01: 1:40

And I'm Clark. Hey Clark. Hi Jack. How are you doing, buddy? Good. I'm doing well. I'm so happy that people are just tuning in or nothing before this. I'm doing good. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 1:50

No, I've never felt better about the pod. Never felt better about the future of the pod. I think it's it's sunny days ahead for the corporate strategy crew.

SPEAKER_01: 2:00

So close. Yeah. Hit the 200 mark. Once we hit the 200, like we're just cruising. We'll never stop at this rate. I'm ready to do this for the rest of my life. Yeah, it's all uphill from there. You know, smiles and graze. I can't wait till we stop it. And we just leave it out there, our legacy for our children, for everyone else. And we always had that in history forever. You know what? I'm never gonna stop.

SPEAKER_04: 2:21

Not till the day that I have turned to dust in the earth. I will continue to record this podcast, and I'm gonna make sure actually that when that dusty day comes, I have every single episode inscribed on a ceramic disc that is indestructible. And I'm gonna make copies of that disc. I'm gonna bury them all over the planet. So there's no way possible that folks don't have access to the great content we've made here. I love that. You're so dedicated, and that's what I appreciate about you. I really do try, you know. I live for the dedication.

SPEAKER_00: 3:02

Well, you know, yes, but my vibe checked. It's the holiday season. So wait, we did this last time.

SPEAKER_01: 3:12

It's still the holiday season. Yeah, but we can't, I mean, last last time.

SPEAKER_00: 3:18

Yeah, yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_04: 3:19

Or we're recording an album. That yes, that's true. But that song, I mean, like, that's a Christmas song, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00: 3:26

Yeah, yes.

SPEAKER_04: 3:28

Bang up your sock. I mean, that is very like Christmas coded. We've already passed that that mark. You're right. I it's New Year's songs or winter wonderland songs only. Good call.

SPEAKER_01: 3:39

Good call. You're right, but it is the holiday season. I took time off, and I'm feeling jolly. I'm feeling jolly. I took time off. I'm feeling festive, I'm feeling refreshed. It was so nice to not even think about work for like a good, I don't know, 10 days. It was awesome. Nice. It's so that's that's great. That's really I'm I'm really happy for you. I think you needed that. I did need it. My gray hair was coming in. I could feel the sides of my hair burning, and now I'm ready. You know, new year, new me. I'm I've already I worked today, it was very quiet. No one's around, no one's around right now. I'm doing stuff, and I have time to do stuff. You worked in you went to work today, or you worked at home today. Worked at home, got to go into the office next two days. So I do have to go in the office, but I mean it's it's the new year. No one's gonna be around, no one's actually doing anything, you know. Why would you?

SPEAKER_04: 4:29

Yeah, I I work today too, very light day. Um, mostly just admin email, some Jira tickets. I I should really try and get one of these little things that's kind of reliant on me in a better state. But like honestly, that kind of sounds like a problem for Tuesday, and then maybe Wednesday is another just like eh kind of day. And then, you know, Thursday, off. Friday, off, and then everything else is a problem for next week. Next year, next week, I really couldn't care less. That's that's that problem for them.

SPEAKER_01: 5:03

Agreed. Yeah, it's it's a 2026 problem for you. It really is. Really is. You can you can really just punt everything and say, I'll take care of it next year. It's you know what astounds me?

SPEAKER_04: 5:12

What astounds me, Clark. And this is I'm gonna do a little bit of a dig on half of our listener base because I look at the metric. So half of you are about to be real offended, but uh, you know, I could just strangle every European I see because it's so unfair. It is so unfair. Like literally, holiday seasons show up. Goodbye. We're gone for two whole weeks. See ya. And it's like, did you take time off? No, we just get it off because we're European. Oh, Lottie Dah, it must be so nice to be us. Well, you already took like two months off this year. Are you just taking two more weeks? But yeah, yeah, that's the European way. We just get time off. And you Americans have fooled yourselves into thinking that you're in some kind of paradise when actually you're all slaves to your corporations. Hope you're happy and enjoying your lives because we're taking time off and you're not. You know, it's so funny too. Like, I like I could just slap a European. And I'm I'm any one of you, stand up to me, I'll I'll slap you. Uh, it is I I just I'm over it because like if an American tried to do that, you know we would get talked to by our managers. But like 100%, the Europeans on the team of that same manager, they can't say Jack anything. Yeah, can't say nothing. Can't say nothing. See, it's in the culture. Like you don't want to offend somebody in their culture. Right. Well, not only that, I think it's also like very much it coded into their laws and their systems about workplace fairness and time off and the importance of mental health and well-being. So, you know, of course, the Europeans just figure all this out. And meanwhile, us Americans are like, you know, I could die 20 years earlier because of the cortisol in my system. That's that seems worth it. So retire, die three years later. Yeah, that sounds great. Meanwhile, Europeans drinking tea, living to be 127 years old. That is so fair.

SPEAKER_01: 7:07

It's so fair. Well, also to be fair, I mean, we're a much younger nation. So maybe they just had time to figure all this out and they're just pointing at us and laughing. Like those idiots over there, we've been there.

SPEAKER_04: 7:19

I think I've seen Peaky Blinders. We all went through the Industrial Revolution at the same time. Okay. We all entered the the the blue-collar corporate factory workplace right around the same time. And they figured it out, and we didn't.

SPEAKER_01: 7:34

That's that's very true. We just took the opposite, we took the opposite approach. There was a fork in the road, and we both went in opposite directions.

SPEAKER_04: 7:41

They were like, hmm, maybe it's important to treat our employees well and make them feel good, and they'll keep coming back to work. And the Americans, like, oh, maybe we make them feel like absolute crap and make them scared that they'll lose their jobs and they'll come back to work. Which is a healthier dynamic, I can't say, but I have a feeling. I have an ideation on which one it is.

SPEAKER_01: 8:03

I agree. I have an ideation as well. Yeah. I I think, you know, first of all, don't slap them. They're loyal listeners. We can't just go slapping your pants around. I'll protect you, loyal listeners. Don't let them, don't let them scare you off with this screen. Clark is your shield. I will protect you. But you know what? This week really grinded my gears. Something that's never happened before, actually. Usually I usually I end up working a little bit during the holidays, but it's my favorite time of year, so I try to take a few days off. This year, I went into today, I had four meetings. Nothing crazy, kind of a light day, four meetings, like no big deal. Everybody canceled them this morning. I had that happen too. I only had two, but both canceled. Dude, if you're gonna schedule a 9 a.m. meeting right after Christmas week, you stick to the 9 a.m. meeting because I woke up, I got ready, I was prepared for this meeting, and they just they canceled it at 8 45? What are you doing? What are we doing here? I was so dude, I was so mad. I was like, seriously, I was sitting right here, I was ready, I was all prepped in my head, my day was planned, and then everybody just cancels meetings 15 minutes before they start because oh no one's around 15 minutes, 15 minutes, dude. 845 for 9 a.m. And I'm like, what are what are we doing here? Like, you didn't look, you didn't think to look at the holiday schedule and everybody who already declined and decided to cancel. So then everybody who didn't cancel because they're good human beings just was sitting in the wind waiting. It was terrible, dude. I was so mad.

SPEAKER_04: 9:36

That is that is unacceptable. My all my cancellations happened like either yesterday or on Friday. Uh and I just didn't see them until I came in this morning, which is like, oh, you know what? Better to come in and have canceled meetings than to come in and have to go to them. I have four meetings tomorrow. I have a feeling I'm just looking at it right now. First one cancels, second one's a sure thing because it has to get done. Third one's gonna happen, fourth one 50-50. So we'll see.

SPEAKER_05: 10:03

We'll see.

SPEAKER_04: 10:04

We'll see. Yeah. Wednesday, though, I got two. And I feel like those ones are done, deal. Those are canceled, those are canceled meetings. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 10:14

It's just the respect for the calendar, man. The respect for the calendar. I hate it. Why why make people work on New Year's Eve? Be realistic. Like, is anything really gonna happen when 50% of the people in every single meeting are out? Like, what are we why are we tricking ourselves? Who's right?

SPEAKER_04: 10:30

Why are we tricking ourselves? That's what I want to know. Like, does does anyone you know it's funny? Uh, because I I was online today and I was actually responding to some slacks and emails, and like, yeah, I'll respond to things, but I'm not actively going out posting things, right? The people who post in the work slack today, they're the ones I'm like, oh, you're clout chasers, you just want to be seen. Oh, oh yeah, I'm working. I'm working the Monday after Christmas.

SPEAKER_01: 10:57

That's me.

SPEAKER_04: 10:59

Don't do that. Don't do that. Grinding, please don't.

SPEAKER_01: 11:01

You know what? On Wednesday, December 31st, before we rain in the new year, I'm just gonna send a random Slack message at like 6 p.m. to show I was hustling, I was grinding at six o'clock on New Year's Eve.

SPEAKER_04: 11:15

That is, I mean, that that is slapworthy right there. I joke with the Europeans, I would never slap a euro, but if anyone ever tries that in front of me, that is slapworthy for sure.

SPEAKER_01: 11:26

You know what? If someone on my team does that, fire it on the spot. I think so. I think that's the only appropriate measure. And you know what will happen? I'll envision their children in my head. And I'll go through every single part of their family, and it won't stop me. No remorse.

SPEAKER_04: 11:41

Now it it's it's like Scrooge, which this episode is all about the the ghosts of corporate present. You're visited by the ghost of corporate present. It shows you that employees' children, they're like on their crutches and their canes, and like, Papa, can I please have some dinner?

SPEAKER_03: 12:00

No, the clock won't give us our pay raise this year, so we were eating soup, but it's just water with a little bit of salt in it, but we're calling it soup.

SPEAKER_04: 12:11

And you see that image in your head, and you're like, you know what though? He posted it 645 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Fired.

SPEAKER_01: 12:22

I would just pull up the the screenshot of his message at 6 45 p.m. on New Year's Eve and be like, I mean, justified. Justified. I feel no no remorse.

SPEAKER_03: 12:33

I've got I've got 16 kids and salt soup is all they have to eat. What are they gonna do now? I can't afford this salt.

SPEAKER_01: 12:43

I'm not gonna do the voice, but too bad. Enjoy your salt soup. And next time think before you post at 6 45 on New Year's Eve.

SPEAKER_04: 12:55

Love it. I think it's deserved. I think it's absolutely deserved. Those kids should starve.

SPEAKER_01: 12:59

I agree. Okay, so Pinky's up, how are you feeling? After I fired families, friends, children, you know.

SPEAKER_04: 13:08

I I am in a calm before the storm. I see I see clouds on the horizon. I see thunder. No, I see lightning. I hear thunder. I've there's a strong breeze coming across the ship, but it's cool. And right now there's it's blue sky above me, but I do see the clouds, right? And you know, Caton's turning the wheel.

SPEAKER_02: 13:34

Oi, Brucey, we're turning the ship, we're heading right into the storm, belly of the beast, grab onto the mast, we're going in. And that that's next week. That's next week.

SPEAKER_04: 13:48

I can feel it. So I'm doing my absolute darndest to enjoy the downtime, take these days off, and just kind of really veg out, let my brain rot a little bit, because it's gonna be oh hands on deck, like in the 70s.

SPEAKER_00: 14:06

So that's scary. Dude I'm ready to batten down to hatches.

SPEAKER_01: 14:11

You I hope you were just going into mind bush mode, and that just that's just not in your thoughts at all for the next couple of days. It's I'm doing my best. I'm really trying to not think about it. It's so hard though. When you know, when you know in your subconscious, you know it's coming. Oh, I'm sorry, man.

SPEAKER_05: 14:28

That sucks.

SPEAKER_04: 14:29

You know what? We're gonna figure it out together. I'm dragging you into this. You work for me now, Clark. Do I get paid?

SPEAKER_00: 14:36

No.

SPEAKER_01: 14:37

Do I get a taste of that salt water soup?

SPEAKER_00: 14:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_01: 14:43

Will you think of my pets before you fire me?

SPEAKER_04: 14:48

Only if you don't post 645 on New Year's Eve. I'll continue to give you the salt. It's a pretty simple ask, really. You know, I'll think about that. I'll think about them. I'll consider I'll consider them in my mind's eye. I'll see them and I'll say, you know what? I'm not gonna fire him. He's got those pets just gotta take care of and stay employed for a little bit longer.

SPEAKER_01: 15:12

Oh, gracious, Bruce. Thank you. I am so gracious.

SPEAKER_04: 15:15

Thank you for thinking about that. I know, I know we usually say it's for the end, but I do have to. Did you see the fire meme that got dropped in uh wow, which channel? Uh the corporate strategy channel on Discord. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think this is a good lead-in to today's topic, today's episode, because I has literally created my favorite meme, maybe of my entire life, about me. And believe it or not, there are many memes about me. Uh, but this one just so in the previous episode, we were talking about things that we could do better. And one of the things that I said was, or I guess things that didn't go well. I basically said, like, I don't care about culture anymore because I am the culture, right? Like that I am at my company, I am the culture. And I'm not even exaggerating when I say that. I think most people you talk to at my company would agree with that. And Ica has provided a picture. I don't know who this person is. Uh, I could have, I could have Googled, I could have figured it out. But I I'm not going to because it's it's almost better that I don't. Uh, I don't even know if you notice the details in this picture. It's it is next level brill. It's in our Discord. If you've never been on our Discord before, you can you can click the link tree, join our Discord in the Corpus Corpus Strategy channel. Le culture cest mois, le culture, la la culture cest moi. I am the culture. And in this picture is the bourgeoisie, the an absolute lord, duke, some royalty, uh, just wearing his fat tights, his heeled boots. This man is pomp and circumstance. Did you see behind him?

SPEAKER_01: 17:00

Yes, is the corporate strategy logo? That's my favorite part that I feel like people missed. Like, people didn't see it because they're just like, oh, yeah, I didn't, I don't see it. But once you see it, you can't unsee it. Like, I want to make this like a poster. If we ever, Clark, if we ever have an office, we need this poster in our office. Absolutely. This goes up a hundred percent. And in costume parties, we both have to wear it. Yeah, yeah. Agreed.

SPEAKER_04: 17:27

I mean, this is meme of the year. Congratulations, Ika. You win. Uh, like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, you've won. You actually own the podcast now. You are the owner. So congratulations. This is your burden of responsibility now. Uh you've won. You've won, Ika. And it's because you just created the best meme ever. But uh, last episode was all about what we did, what we didn't do well. This episode is all about what, Clark? What we did do well. Woo! Let's get psyched. Can I uh I want to be a little honest before we get started here. Serious, serious moment, real talk. I have been dreading this episode. Really?

SPEAKER_01: 18:10

Do you know why? Do you I'm gonna take a wild guess? Uh-huh. You don't think you did anything well this year? Bingo!

SPEAKER_04: 18:22

Okay, that can't be true.

SPEAKER_00: 18:23

That can't be true.

SPEAKER_04: 18:25

I think it is. I think it is. And I don't think I did anything well by my own standards in terms of what I consider good CAC, good corporate behavior, good citizenship. Like, did I do a lot of work that produced really good results? Absolutely. That's good. Do I feel good about it? No, not at all.

SPEAKER_01: 18:50

I'm dying. I'm dying. You can't you can't think of anything.

SPEAKER_04: 18:54

No, I I literally uh Saturday, Sunday. We're recording this Monday. Saturday, Sunday. I was like in the shower and like, oh my god, I got nothing. I got nothing to bring to this episode. Like, you're really gonna have to bring some charm and some good feelings, otherwise, we're ending this in five minutes. So Clark, what you got?

SPEAKER_00: 19:16

Uh well, exhibit A. I showed up. Yes. I showed up.

SPEAKER_04: 19:22

Is that not is that not good? Is that like writing your name on the SAT? Uh is that the you guys are. I was there. I slept the whole time, but I was there. Can you say you showed up? I was my body created heat.

SPEAKER_01: 19:39

There was no series inserted. Yeah. I did, I did think about some things. I was like, okay, so what did I do? Well, when I look back on this year, I think I empowered my team. And at times it felt weird. Like at times I was like, Yeah, my team just does everything here. I don't really do that much. But like in hindsight, in a big company. That's what you're supposed to do as a manager. Power your team, grow the people, get them to the point that they can basically do your job. So that way when you step away, everything's gonna be fine. Like you're redundant. And like I don't know, I don't know how I still don't know how I feel about this. Like I feel good about it, but also then it makes me think about like, well, what unique value do I provide if my team can then take on most of the things? So I did a lot of like soul searching through that of empowering your team is great. I would love to have a manager that did that, that just kind of stepped out of the way, let me shine bright, figured out how to, you know, get promotions, how to take on new responsibilities, how to get in a limelight so people know who you are. And I honestly think the unique value, and I think you agree with this, it's the experience you bring to the table, whether it's at the company, whether it's in the industry, whatever it is, it's the relationships and trust that you've built with the leadership around you, where they look at you and they say, Clerk, I don't care how you figure this out. We need you to take this on. And then you're like, okay, great, I've got the team. I'm gonna stretch this person this way, we're gonna figure it out together. And if I need to, I'm gonna jump in there and get my hands dirty with them. And to me, that felt really good. Like after I soul searched a little bit, I was like, I feel really good about that, even though I can walk away and my team's gonna be fine without me. I love that. I it honestly, that's a dream of mine.

SPEAKER_04: 21:26

I it's a dream. I dream of a completely self-sufficient team that I don't have to like do any kind of coverage, do any kind of like review, uh full autonomy. My God, like if I could have anything in the workplace, that would be the thing I would love to have. So I mean, honestly, congratulations to you because I'm jealous. I'm jealous you were able to achieve that. If anything, that's not what went well. That's what went perfectly for you because ideals, like you know, it's goals.

SPEAKER_01: 21:59

You did it. Yeah, there was still like a lot of turmoil, like outside just in full transparency for the people listening. There still was a lot of turmoil like outside of our control. So at times, like I know there were times where my team was like, eh, like I'm not pumped to do this thing, and I know we got to work extra, so I'm not thrilled about it. But at the same time, it's like they could do it. Like, and and to me, that's good enough. It's like the fact that I could say, I don't need to be the one doing this because I have someone I can trust on my team that can take care of it. And when a higher up came to me, I could say, no, go to them. Like, they've got it covered. I'm here to help support them however you need. Like that just felt so good. And at first it was it toyed with me, but after that, dude, it was it was glorious. And it's really difficult to get to that point. But like I've built my team over years now, and I've gotten to hire pretty much every single one, which has been awesome. And that made all the difference because I got to build the culture around the team that we wanted to do. I got to, you know, build the work ethic, instill work-life balance, like all the things that you get to do when you build a team. And I've never done that before in my career. It's always been you inherit this team, good luck. And like you inherit all the crap that comes with it the B players, the C players, the culture. Like it's really hard to change that stuff. But when you're starting fresh, it takes a few years, but once it's rolling, it feels really, really good. I am jealous. Good job, Clark. Well done. Yeah, I wouldn't say it's perfect, but it definitely feels better than it's ever been for me. On my personal journey, I've never had this type of team before, so it's it's pretty great.

SPEAKER_00: 23:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 23:31

All right. What what do you got? You got to give me one. You you're not gonna like team. Yeah, you grew your team this year, didn't you? No, I didn't. No, my team shrunk this year. Oh, oh.

SPEAKER_04: 23:44

Ah. As of two weeks ago, my team is 25% smaller and likely going to stay that way. Um, yeah. So no, shrunk my team this year. That was great. Uh failed them in numerous ways. I think I failed each of my team members spectacularly in in at least five different ways individually. So that's like what 25, 25 failures for each for me total as a as a as a leader. I definitely I was not a good manager. It's a terrible leader. Um, I can tell you this much. I did more work this year that amounted to leads than I've ever done before. I think I created more, I created more leads this year. We're getting somewhere than I've I've created before. So uh yeah. I I touched more Jira tickets this year than I've collectively touched in my entire life. So just to put it in perspective, like I probably worked on 2,000 Jira tickets when it has maybe like you know, less than 20 a year. So, you know, numbers. Numbers went up for me this year in a big way. Uh, and I think it's contributing to the the weird feeling I'm having in my heart talking about it. So um, if if I start to look blue, please call an ambulance clerk. What's your what's your next one?

SPEAKER_01: 25:16

Okay, what did you do? Well, productivity is something to be proud of. In this brain rot age, yeah, where there's so much distraction, the world around us is literally falling apart. I I think you earned my salary. Yeah, yeah. I mean that's something to feel great about. You earn your salary my salary. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, that that feels good. I think that's a great thing. That's something you can look back on and say, I feel good about the work I do to have earned my paycheck. Productivity. Oh, yeah. I love that. I think that's a good thing.

SPEAKER_04: 25:53

I earned way more than my salary for my company. So at least I've proven to be worth the cost.

SPEAKER_01: 26:00

Has your okay. Let's let's keep I need to stick on you for a minute. We're gonna find something. You really don't. Can this get really bad? This can go south of the real. We're gonna have to burn this one for the archive.

SPEAKER_04: 26:12

Every time you ask questions about me and my workplace, it just makes both of us depressed. Do you really want to do this? Uh okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01: 26:22

Lead generation, Jira tickets, those things are affect the bottom line. So, like impacting the company. In the broader scheme of things, what does that mean? In a startup, it means that you have extended the runway for your company. As long as somebody closed the deals on those leads. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. As long as that happens. Keeping the lights on. Yeah, yeah. I mean, then think about it. Think about all the good that you're you're bringing to tiny Tim and his poor family that's eating salt soup after I fire them. You're bringing good to them. You're you're extending their life, you're giving them another paycheck week after week after week. That's a great thing.

SPEAKER_04: 27:00

Uh la culture ceste moi, la corporation ceste moi. I am the company. I am the corporation. Uh, it is it is no extreme state. People tell me this all the time. Like, you're the face of the company. Like, what would this company do without you? And many people think that about themselves. I am told this about myself by everybody. Um, the work I do generates the company money substantially. Uh there is, I I thought of one good thing. This will make you so happy. Let's go. And it's it's actually tied to the Jira ticket. Let's go. Hit me. I got so frustrated with how project management was doing things in the past because they were doing it all in Excel. You're not starting strong. You're not starting strong.

SPEAKER_01: 27:44

Keep it going.

SPEAKER_04: 27:44

I'm just gonna do your job for you. And I created an entire Jira project system that I now project manage for everybody, uh, because I didn't want to do it in Excel anymore. And the funny thing is, when I did that, I got like 20 different messages that day when I ran the kickoff. They're like, oh my god, this is great. Thank you so much. Like, yeah, no problem. Always happy to do other people's jobs for them, always happy to do it. And now I am the project manager for the company.

SPEAKER_01: 28:13

I don't think that's a thing, but I'm happy for you. Um we got rid of Excel. It was a huge win.

SPEAKER_04: 28:20

We removed one Microsoft product from my day-to-day life, and it's all in Jira now. Huge.

SPEAKER_01: 28:27

Yeah, I'll be honest, anytime someone sends me a spreadsheet and I have to do something with it, I'm very upset because I'm like, you you could have literally used anything else. You could have used Airtable, you could have used Smartsheet, you could have used uh Atlassian, something like that Atlassian Suite, like literally anything else, and you chose Excel that I have to open an app on my computer for, take forever to load, and then I gotta edit it and upload it again. Like it's just every time it's terrible.

SPEAKER_04: 28:50

I kid you not, I probably made 10 different intake ticketing systems for different people this year.

SPEAKER_02: 28:55

Wow.

SPEAKER_04: 28:56

Lab requests, you know, paper requests, social media requests, you name it. I've created a ticketing system for it because I'm the only one that can. And that also means that I manage all of these systems and have to fix them when they break. So, you know, I I really I I really have excelled this year at being the guy who holds everything together.

SPEAKER_01: 29:19

You can't kill Excel and then use it when you're patting yourself on the back. That's pretty messed up.

SPEAKER_04: 29:24

I mean, I didn't, I mean, I I I didn't, I've removed Excel. I consider this a humongous win. If I could remove Teams, oh my god, I'd be the happiest man alive. I'd let the teams product burn in flames. I heard you were gonna start charging for it, which I thought would be the death knell, but apparently it lingers.

SPEAKER_01: 29:44

It lingers on. Well, see, the problem is once these corporations have these giant 0365 suites, there's no breaking them. There's no breaking them to bundle them millions, hundreds of millions a year in licenses, and like they just bundle you in, they wrap you in, you gotta say yes to whatever, whatever they're shoveling, whatever slop they're shoveling, you gotta you gotta say yes and more, please. It's bad, it's real bad. Yeah, but good. Yeah, my my brain was gonna go to you to say there's gotta be a time where someone said, Bruce, thank you. And like that's something you should have done well.

SPEAKER_04: 30:16

I get thanked at least once a week. I mean, I that's probably an understatement. I get thanked multiple times a week because I'm doing their jobs for them, of course.

SPEAKER_01: 30:25

Well, that is nice. I mean, that's one way to look at it. You could say why wouldn't you thank me? You just do everyone else's job. I mean, I would appreciate you for doing my job if I didn't have to do it and there were no repercussions. You're welcome. Uh oh my gosh, that's so funny. That's so bad. Everything you started out with was bad. But hey, I mean, it sounds like you're gonna be able to do it.

SPEAKER_04: 30:48

At least it started bad and it ended bad, you know? Like, I'm consistent. There's a through line, you know what you're gonna get. What's your next one, Clark?

SPEAKER_00: 30:59

What did you do well? No, I'm just stuck. I love the team one.

SPEAKER_01: 31:02

No, I'm I just keep thinking about you now, and I keep thinking about you probably made people happier this year. Oh yeah. Like probably enjoyably. I'll be honest, if culture is big on someone's list, having somebody that you know you can just talk to like a real person and send gifts and just like be fun with is such a relief. Like the most I forget who told me this, maybe you and I talked about this. The most underrated skill in the corporate world is just being easy to work with. Agreed. And like that, I would say that's you. I don't think you're difficult to work with, I think you're easy to work with, I think you you bring joy to situations, even tough ones. I think those are all things to be grateful for and things that you did well this year.

SPEAKER_04: 31:50

Yeah, I don't think it's an understatement to say, and this will make us lose subscribers, that I am the Jesus Christ of my company. Uh Clark has left the room.

SPEAKER_01: 32:03

I'm trying so hard. I'm trying so hard to find any sliver of positivity that I can get out of you. Oh, I did not expect this episode to be so so difficult. Because I in prior years when we did our perspectives, it went well.

SPEAKER_04: 32:20

I'm I'm being 100% serious with you. I'm 100% serious right now. I was I've been thinking about this for days. Like, what is the positive that I can bring into this episode? I'm thinking about the year, and I've got none for me. I've done a lot of good for everyone else, but I've done no good for me. None. None. I am the sacrificial lamb. I am the one who everyone can depend on. I'm gonna make it happen, I'm gonna fix your problem, I'm gonna make your life better, you're gonna feel great because I'm funny, I'm gonna make jokes, and everyone's gonna be happy, but it all comes at a cost of me because every time I do this, I give a little bit of myself to them, and I don't ever get it back. I just don't get it back. I I'm not the person who gets help. I give help. I need help, but I'm never gonna get any. And I've just come to accept this, and it it's it's almost become a rock. I just know if I harden myself, if I harden my resolve, I can keep everyone happy for the most part, we can get things done, I can get paid, I can make the company successful, and then maybe one day I can break free and I'll feel so happy once I'm free. But I don't think there's anything good for me until that day comes.

SPEAKER_00: 33:36

What a year. I mean 2025 was terrible in so many ways.

SPEAKER_01: 33:41

Oh my god. I'm ready to say Sayonara. Like I was ready at the beginning of the year, I was like, just screw 2025.

SPEAKER_04: 33:50

By like Jan 6th this year, I was just like, you know what? Yeah, 100%. I'm done. I'm ready for this year to be over already. This year has felt like seven years collectively. 100% agree. Uh I feel older. I'm not like a year older. I feel like a decade older, you know? Yeah. Like it's a rough year. I agree. Rough year. Real real rough year. Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_01: 34:17

All right, I'll go next. Please. To round us out. Round us. I think we did pretty well on staying consistent with the podcast. Oh, hell yeah. Like, dude, we crushed, I mean, we didn't, we we had some pretty ambitious goals, and then the year, like we just said, went to crap for a lot of reasons. So, like, we were giving ourselves pass. We did last time, but we have been like every single week, we always find a time, we always have something to talk about. And it's not, I feel like we're hitting like flow state with this podcast where we can literally hop on at any time and talk about literally anything that comes to mind with like zero prep whatsoever. But it's not, it's not painful, like it's fun just to connect, it's fun to put the topics up there, and I feel like everybody that's listening engages more, which makes it even more fun. They're like, Holy cow, I suggested something and you recorded it a day after. Like, how cool is that? What other podcasts can do that? Like, I feel like that's so unique and special. And I feel like this year we've kind of hit that stride where it's like we're still not hockey sticking in the direction that we want, but I feel like you can't be far off if we're feeling this good about it.

SPEAKER_04: 35:20

I am so impressed with your ability to keep us recording, because like in all honesty, I forget the podcast exists 99% of the time. And you you send me a text like pod when I'm like, oh yeah, we we do this thing. And like you keep us on track, you keep us recording. Um, shout outs, Clark, because you I don't know why I'm blurry on this thing. Yeah, you're very blurry.

SPEAKER_00: 35:48

I don't I don't know what happened.

SPEAKER_04: 35:50

You brought not only uh the consistency, but you also brought the appreciation series, which I'm still thinking about. And if you have not, if you have not listened, if you're a new listener, most of our episodes are garbage. But those six were some real solid gold informational podcasts. Um, those six episodes, and then we also had some really great guests. Oh, yeah. And we we managed to lock down some really cool guests this year and get them on, have them be part of the pod. Uh, I'm very happy with the the consistency of the content as well as the quality. I do think you and I can hop on and make anything happen. I think one of the things that's working really well for us is we're very pod-minded. And if we if we see something at work, if we see something on LinkedIn or on the news, like we should talk about that. That's a good topic that's relevant. Uh, I know we're doing good in that regard because when we have shows with good titles and content, our our listeners just jump from natural search and SEO. So just pat yourself on the back, Clark, because I think you are truly the skeleton of corporate strategy, and I am the flesh that hangs onto the limbs, and I'm happy to be the flesh, but but you are the heart and bone.

SPEAKER_01: 37:06

Well, I appreciate that. Thank you. People don't understand that I do nothing other than the things he just said. I don't edit, I don't publish, I don't manage or pay for anything. Bruce does all that. So, yeah, yeah, you know, a lot of props. I'm I'm impressed by you because I have no idea what it looks like. Like if you were to disappear tomorrow, this podcast dies. I'm not keeping it going. I have no idea how to do anything to keep this alive.

SPEAKER_04: 37:29

So don't worry, I have a plan with ceramic discs and storing the data and and putting it in five different continents will have the podcast saved and preserved. Just in case it wasn't clear earlier, this podcast will always be available forever, and it will never not be the case.

SPEAKER_01: 37:44

Thank you. I really appreciate you clarifying that because I'm 110% with you, and I would never disagree with you on that. I I know you wouldn't.

SPEAKER_04: 37:52

I know you wouldn't. I know we're we're lockstep wink on this whole thing.

SPEAKER_01: 37:58

I also 100% agree with you though. Our guests were awesome, and they're so flexible too. Like, literally, we had one that and people may have may not have heard this. We had to record it twice because the the sound quality was just so bad. And so, for our listeners and contributors in the Discord and here, like, thank you for hanging on with us, even though it's sometimes a little messy, not exactly the most organized, and just like rolling with the punches. Because I think that's like, in essence, what corporate is all about, and like having these jobs is like that's life. You just gotta roll with the punches, be cool, help other people, and like that's what the Discord has kind of grown to. And I don't know what's changed really, but I feel like in the last two months, the collaboration in there, like instant responses to everything. Like it's been so much I don't know, more collaborative than it's ever been. Um it's been great. I don't know what changed. I don't know what changed, but I love the community that we're building.

SPEAKER_04: 38:55

I I still would like to be more active, and I I could be. I think one of the things I don't even I don't use Discord all that much anymore just because I don't like I don't think about it because I'm so busy with the work. And I I associate some of Discord with my my work. So I think it it causes me to fall away from it. I would like to be more active and better, but truly shout outs, listeners who are in the Discord, who are posting, who are bringing topics, who are posting memes, uh, who are just telling jokes in there, being there, y'all make me so happy. You have no idea. You bring me joy when whenever I go in there and I even if it's like a negative thing, like, oh, look at this terrible thing happening, it brings me joy because we're in this together. And the whole point of this podcast from its inception was to be a vehicle to help other people learn from our mistakes and learn from our learnings. And when you bring that stuff, you're helping others indirectly, whether you know it or not. So, like, truly, shout out to you, Discorders. Uh specifically, y'all rock, love you every time. See a post every time I see that little thing light up and I get to go in there and and respond to it, it makes my heart happy. So thank you from the bottom of my heart, truly.

SPEAKER_01: 40:07

Yeah, couldn't agree more. Like that's that's the whole point of all this. Just like it's whole point. That's that's why we're doing it for no other reason but that. And if we can help each other out in that community type forum, like that's that's the dream. That's what we want. And so I'm I'm 100% with you. But you should be proud of all those things, and that those went well. That is you, buddy. That's you. So you did something well in life.

SPEAKER_04: 40:30

It's you too, and I'm proud. I'm proud of me and you. You know that I'm I'm proud of us. Proud of us.

SPEAKER_01: 40:38

Me too. Me too. Yeah. Well that I think that was that was that was good. It was different than we've ever done it because it was it was harder. But I hope in our next episode when we wrap up, what can we do better? We can bring some things to the table and do them right in 2026.

SPEAKER_04: 40:51

Oh, I've got so much. I'm ready for that one. I'm ready for that one. I've been thinking about that. Like, okay, here's here's where we can go. There's this one, it's hard, it's a hard year. Yeah, 2025. Burn it to the ground.

SPEAKER_01: 41:03

Burn it to the ground. Burn this year to the ground. Kick it as hard as you possibly can into a different dimension. But that's what's also what I really like about this retro format. People have never done one with a team before, is you kind of get to pick each other up too. Like once you start humming in a room where you're like, okay, what went well? What didn't go so well? What are we gonna do better? Like, once you actually start opening up about these things, it's a little awkward at first. Once you get to that point, it's great because you're encouraging each other. You're getting excited about like what's next. And then you can kind of get that energy that you need to wrap it up with what are we gonna do better? And I think that's the best part about these series, and I love that we do it every year. And if anybody has any other feedback for us, please feel free to share. Because if we can make this thing better, let's do it together.

SPEAKER_04: 41:45

You know, um, because I one love that agree. And I don't want to take away from that with what I'm about to say. So I want to just stop on that moment for a second and let it sit. Now, having done that, uh, you know what's crazy, Clark? What's that? Crazy Clark. You know what's crazy, Clark? A hundred years ago, major events included Benito Mussolini declaring himself dictator of Italy, the start of the Scopes monkey trial in the US over teaching evolution, and Adolf Hitler published Mein Kampf, all happening as the world was settling into the post-World War I era of the roaring twenties, marked by jazz, growing organized crime due to prohibition, and significant significant cultural shifts following the conclusion of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles in the preceding years. Major major events included the rise of fascism, Hitler's Mein Kampf, the Prohibition Impact, Treaty of Versailles, shifting world order, the jazz AIDS age, and early radio and automotive growth. I'm just saying a hundred years ago, things weren't very great. And a hundred years later, things still aren't very great. But at least we have each other. And that really makes my heart sparkle.

SPEAKER_01: 42:59

I agree. Holy cow, that was a hundred years ago, and what 1926? And now we're going to 2026.

SPEAKER_04: 43:07

Oh, yeah, that was 100 years ago. 1925.

SPEAKER_01: 43:11

How times haven't changed? What happened in 2026? There's got to be something good, right? Oh, you want to see? You want to see yeah, yeah. Well, let's take a pause and just look at you're saying certainly. 2026. Come on, give me three minutes. Give every give the people something good.

SPEAKER_04: 43:28

Oh, okay. This seems better. Uh, 1926 was a year of significant events, including the launch of the first liquid-fueled rocket by Robert Goddard, the devastating Great Miami Hurricane, the beginning of Japan's Showa era, which actually lasted a long time uh under Emperor Emperor Hirohito, uh, major political shifts like the Meikoup in Poland and Portugal, and cultural milestones such as Babe Ruth's World Series home runs in Marilyn Monroe's birth. Globally, the UK general strike and the northern expedition in China marked key moments, while the Cristero War began in Mexico. And hey, that's kind of crazy. Uh, specifically the United Kingdom general strike, because that is what was the beginning seed that led to the thing that I was complaining about earlier. Like we were going through our industrial revolution here, and we're like, hey, what if we all worked ourselves to death? And over there, they're like, hey, this ain't gonna work for us. So we're all gonna go on strike. And that started to kind of reverberate and echo into outside of UK, into the European Union, which I don't I don't think there was a European Union at that time, but like it's it that's the seed. That's the seed that got them their vacation. So good, good on you. Maybe in 2026, us Americans will finally learn something. And uh, you know, babe Ruth, Maryland Monroe. We can look forward to that. 2026. We're just gonna repeat ourselves and we're getting a new babe Ruth, we're getting a new Maryland Monroe. Can't wait. Let's go. Might as well. Might as well. Well, thanks for sharing that, Bruce. Appreciate you giving us something to look forward to in 2026. I'm doing my best. Doing my best. You know what I'm looking forward to in 2026 the most, though? What's that? The next episode of Corporate Strategy, the podcast that could have been an email. And you know, uh, the coolest thing you can do in anticipation of that final episode of our retrospective is join our Discord. We've talked a lot about it this episode, and that's because it's a very important part of being a listener. Even if you're a lurker, you are still valued, and we would love to have you in there. And I I'll say this we we really don't care if you lurk. Uh, we would love it if you participate and join the conversation, join the community. If you know us, then you know our community. There, there are people like us and we love them. We'd love for you, the listener, to join if you haven't had the opportunity to do so. It's in your show notes. Click that link, get in our Discord. Uh, you can also buy some swag from our shop. It's completely nonprofit. So everything you buy in there is for cost. Uh, we get no profit off of that at all. If you just want to support the show in that way and wear some swag around, that's great marketing for us. But more importantly than that is the thing you can do for free, which is share the pod with your friends, family, and coworkers. And if you could do that for us, we would be the absolute most grateful. That is the best thing you could do for this pod because it is something we do out of the goodness of our hearts for the betterment of mankind and society, even though sometimes it really feels like it is just Clark or me getting therapy from each other. But I think there is good in here. There is there are nuggets to be shared. So please share if you can. We would love you forever if you did so.

SPEAKER_00: 46:35

We would and will. You got anything, you got anything else, Clark? No, honestly. Excellent closing. Incredible job. Clean, smooth. Just like uh a glass of whiskey with a big old rock in it.

SPEAKER_04: 46:53

I like that idea. Yeah, me too. Yeah, I think I I think I'm gonna need one uh in anticipation for what comes next. Hey, you know what? Happy New Year, Clark. Happy New Year. Happy New Year! And happy new year from all the folks at Corporate Strategy, even though there are only two of us. Happy New Year for the Discord. How dare you? Craig is sitting right here. Three of us. Craig, Craig also wishes you a happy new year before he cancels this recording. We thank you for your listenership as always. As we enter into the new year, please remember you're listening to Corporate Strategy, the podcast that could have been an email. I'm Bruce. And I'm Clark. And you're on mute.

SPEAKER_00: 47:33

We will see you next week.