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Today Was Fun, A Book About Work (Seriously), by Bree Groff (2025)
This book is an engaging and easy read that pokes at things that need poking at. And it left me with a bit of unease.
I’m all for being more intentional with good vibes, friendliness, and the occasional harmless lark at work. Like the time I put the baby goats, decked out in jammies, in the library director’s office (just kidding – see I know about larking).
We spend much of our awake hours working and there is an increasing awareness of how close to the edge, or on or over it, too many of us are with work dissatisfaction coupled with stress and overwhelm.
Most of us could benefit from Groff’s call for “do nothing days”, wearing whatever we want, having better boundaries around work hours (I’m predicting boundaries as being a BIG part of coaching in 2026), and being around people who if they aren’t fun, at least aren’t a drag.
But fun is overrated. It’s all fine and good in the moment, but to focus on it is immature and unwise. We would do better to focus on encouraging emotional states such as ease and confidence, which while not an easy sell are waaaay more substantial, enduring, and helpful for better workplaces, better relationships, and you know I’m going there, a better world.
This book is making the rounds and I’m seeing it on social media and in my inbox promoted as the next magical secret for living an always smiling, comfortable, and fulfilling life. I’m seeing coaches, facilitators, consultants, and big-name gurus tout it (just like they did a different title or speaker last week and the week before) as the way forward. Sort of like a “be there or be square” kind of thing.
It, like so many of the best-sellers that promise the key to the kingdom, are what a candy bar is to a nourishing meal; perhaps immediately entertaining, perhaps containing some essence of what we want, perhaps even a nudge in the right direction, but not what we need for growing and strengthening our ethics, compassion, creativity, wisdom, and all-round goodness.
I’m all for the bigger message of this book – we can, and should, make work better. but when we fill up on the candy bar and lean into the sugar rush, we forget to eat our veggies and soon it will all come crashing down.
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Don’t Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead), by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (2025)
The author of this book wants to convince you that if you want to be successful, don’t be yourself. Success is a loaded word and one that I’m keen to unpack, kick around, and put back together, but not here today. Today, I’m looking at this book, not as yet another key-to-the-kingdom do this and have the life and work that you want (it just isn’t that simple), but because it provides a different take on the desire to be oneself and wear whatever we want. This take is a warning that the emphasis on authenticity can lead to the dark side of narcissism.
From the October 21, 2025 Second City interview with the author:
Society in general is constantly telling us that we have to express ourselves. We shouldn’t worry about what other people think of us. I think I tell the true story in the book of one of my employees who came to my office for a performance review wearing this t-shirt with the caption, ‘Just be you, they will adjust.’ And I know he was wearing it with good intentions thinking that this was kind of the epitome or a mantra for a happy culture and workplace. But it did tell me something else. Do you realize how narcissistic that is? First of all, if we all wear that t-shirt, the world doesn’t function, let alone this company.
My big question for all of us is, do we have the ethics and wisdom to navigate knowing ourselves and showing up in a real or genuine way for a better life and workplace for ourselves and for those around us?
And so up next is …
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Information vs. Wisdom: Why meditation is essential for leaders in the age of AI, by Manish Chopra, PhD (McKinsey & Company, December 2, 2025)
For the past while I have been in daily discussions about the wise uses of AI for leadership and organizational development. Every discussion comes around to the idea that sustaining and growing our humanity, individually and together, is of critical importance if we want to leverage any technology (this goes back to the printing press) for the good of all of us, including all the flora and fauna we share the earth with.
While formal meditation may not be on your immediate horizon, we all have available to us practices that increase our wisdom, empathy, and trust such as spending time in nature with awareness of our surroundings, journaling for reflection and growth, feeling and identifying what is happening in our bodies, and learning to take a deep unhurried pause.
This article will ring a bell with those of you who have worked with me as a coach or facilitator. The emphasizes in bold below are mine.
AI can make us smarter in a hurry—but only gradual inner discernment can make us wiser. It can turn reams of information into insights, automate workflows, and challenge how we think. But it is unlikely to replace the essence of human leadership: wisdom, empathy, and trust. Those qualities don’t emerge from code. They come from consciousness and must be cultivated through inner work.
In building smarter machines, the leaders who thrive will be those who also cultivate wiser minds. The most powerful leadership operating system isn’t artificial. It’s inherently internal.
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Winter Renewal Offer
I am offering, just for subscribers, Winter Renewal coaching sessions at a 50% discount. Each 55 minute session is held via Zoom and includes a follow-up homework email.
This is my way of celebrating this community of readers and giving back to you good folks who allow me to pop into your inboxes with my thoughts on life, work, and courageous leadership.
Why work with a coach?
Well, as I say on the website, if you are ready to ignite and expand your skills, wisdom, and energy to be more fully present and engaged with your life, work, those around you, and your unique awesomeness, then you are ready for coaching.
My proven whole-person approach is about discovering and reconnecting with what is important to you and how you want to show up in the world.
Whether you are facing a life change and wanting a different experience or thinking about preparing for your next position, retirement, or big changes at work for yourself or for the team, you deserve someone in your corner, generously and respectfully holding you accountable and wildly cheering you on.
Work with me and I will be that someone – your guide, coach, and trusted friend on your journey of renewal, one step at a time.
Note!
- This offer is for the winter season and ends on March 20th 2026.
- This offer is for subscribers only.
- This offer will be on a first-come first-served basis. My practice has grown and to offer the best I can for the people I work with, space is limited.
- Email me at [email protected] to set up a quick pre-coaching chat and to get my calendar link.
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Food for Winter Thought
- Nordic people know how to beat the winter blues. Here’s how to find light in the darkest months, CTV News, December 7, 2025.
- People in colder countries understand the magic of winter. What’s their secret? NPR, November 24, 2025.
- How to Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days, by Kari Leibowitz, 2024.
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Extras
- Team Intelligence: How Brilliant Leaders Unlock Collective Genius, by John Levy, 2025. Feedback, feedback, and more feedback. It’s the “gift” that everyone talks about, we all need, few give well, and even fewer want, but without it individuals, teams, and organizations flounder.
- The Morning Show. As you know, organizational culture is one of my favourite topics and this show is just full of all the truth about how cultures form and sustain themselves. I’m watching it with my dog-eared copy of Edgar Schein’s Organizational Culture and Leadership by my side, because that’s my idea of a fun night of TV. But this BBC review (spoiler alert) makes me think that I might not get much further than season one.
- The Future Begins with Z: Nine Strategies to Lead Generation Z as They Disrupt the Workplace, Tim Elmore, 2025. While we don’t want to oversimplify or exaggerate generational differences, I’m hearing enough concerns about how to work with Generation Z to have this book on my reading list – how about you?
- Louis Plamondon Honoured as MP with Longest Continuous Service in Canadian History, CBC News, November 26, 2025.The octogenarian concedes that his 41 years in Parliament under seven prime ministers have taken a toll on his personal life.“Politics isolates. You have a lot of acquaintances, but you lose your friends because you no longer have the time to take care of them,” he said. …“There are Saturday nights when I’ll shake 300 hands. When I get home at 10 p.m., I’ll say, ‘Yeah, I’d like to have a coffee with someone.’ I don’t know who to call,” he said.Many of us know about the importance of friendships, but too often we fall short on giving it the intention and attention it deserves. My hope is that this story will be the gentle kick in the pants, whether for you it is about friendships or some other healthy practice, to move from intellectual insight to emotional insight which Donald J. Robertson, a cognitive behaviourist and stoic philosopher, encourages us to do to achieve a deeper and experiential change.
- Thank you for asking about the vegan mincemeat recipe that was mentioned in the previous post as “stewing” but not linked to (now you have it!). For me there is nothing better than a warm mince tart and vanilla ice cream. It comes with sentimental memories of my grandmother and brings a sense of her closer for the holidays. So close I can see the face she’d make (she loved doing a cross-eyed tongue out combo) about a vegan recipe, GF crust and oat-based “ice cream”.
May your crusts be flaky, your fillings scrumptious, and the company you keep generous, kind, and honest, both at your table and in your memories.
The winter holiday season is not always easy, so let’s take care of ourselves and each other.
I’m here for it,
Babs