Does the world need another podcast?
I launched a podcast and I wrote about that time I got fired from my job
What is with some people and their need to respond with criticism and negativity when they’re presented with a new idea?
I should be used to it by now. It’s been the response I’ve often received from people whenever I’ve had to explain the concept for a new startup I’ve been working on.
A few years down the line, once said startup has proven itself and I have moved on to a new thing, I then have to start all over again and painfully explain something new to people, who, once again, say - this isn’t going to work.
I’m an entrepreneur. I like to create new things. It’s not the end of the world to me if they fail.
And yet, here I was again, a couple of months ago, explaining to someone that I was working on a new podcast with one of my favourite people in the whole wide world. And she’s a hell of a lot smarter than this person who simply said, “But does the world need another podcast?”
What annoys me the most about such interactions is that I’m terrible at dealing with them. I listen to their stale perspective and lazy arguments for why I shouldn’t be doing the thing instead of fighting my corner. And this happened again. I thought of what I wanted to say long after the meeting was over. I should have pointed out that he was asking the wrong questions. I also should have told him that when I was the first employee at a startup, which was like a high-end Airbnb, people would say, “but rich people would never rent out their homes.” That startup sold for $170m.
The questions the critic should have asked are these; Do we need to completely overhaul our attitudes to work? Does the way we work need to catch up to modern times? Is work broken?
But thankfully, my friend Anna Codrea-Rado was asking these questions and I’m proud to say that we’ve now launched our podcast and we’ve called it - Is This Working?
And we’ve got a lot of brilliant feedback. We’ve been told the first two episodes really helped people think differently about their relationship with their work. One reviewer on Apple Podcasts said, “This is Working.”
The idea for Is This Working? was born out the endless WhatsApp voice messages Anna and I send to each other. Anna would be walking her dog, Dolly, or one of us would be on our way to the gym in the middle of the day. We’d go back and forth analysing and thinking about our own work patterns and what it’s taught us about how modern work needs to catch up to modern times. We’d listen back to each other’s messages as we’d give each other advice and our thoughts on things like; time, money, freelancing and anything else that was on our minds about work throughout the day. “People will want to hear this,” Anna said, as I admitted I’d been fast-forwarding through productivity videos as I was getting so stressed about my own lack of time. People can learn from our experiences, she said.
And so, the idea for Is This Working? began. We ignored our critics, we marched on and we created the show. We recruited Anna’s partner, Chris, who became our producer and designer and he gave us the incredible sound quality and the professional artwork we needed. We learnt a lot along the way. Podcasting certainly ain’t easy; it’s a hell of a lot of fun, though.
Anna Bonet at Red Magazine in Culture Fix: Why you should listen to ‘Is This Working’, said this;
Is This Working? is filled with intelligent conversation and practical advice on how to make your career, whatever that is, work for you… Use your time wisely by making space in your schedule for this podcast. It’ll be one of the most valuable things you do.
If you haven’t listened yet, then please do, and if you’re an Apple person, then pretty please leave us a review - it makes a huge difference.
Is This Working? team having a jolly time. Massive love and thank you to my co-host Anna Codrea-Rado & our producer and designer Chris Banister.
Listen to Is This Working?
The podcast that explores how we can make work better.
Apple Podcasts | Acast | Spotify
& the other poddy places.
Writing news
I wrote for Refinery 29 about how Getting Fired At 29 Was The Best Thing To Happen To Me. It starts like this:
On a Thursday morning, I went into work, expecting it to be a day like every other. But I was back home by 11am. That morning, I didn’t think anything of it as the team sat in silence during my presentation. I was unaware of my colleague shuffling uncomfortably next to me.
Do read the rest and let me know what you think. I’ve received messages from people who’ve said it spoke to their own experiences and they’ve told me they found it helpful. It’s what I do it all for people.
Listener feedback
You can read all the podcast reviews here. But here’s a couple of my favourites:
Is this working? is like the chats you have with your very close work colleagues, over a coffee, as you set the world to rights.
Tiffany, I love your style — I also wake up when my body is ready. Something that has changed my life drastically. Sleep ftw!
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading this far down the email and I’ll be back soon. Please do share this with anyone who you think might find it interesting and pretty please leave that Apple review. Thank you ;).
Have a great week!
Lots of love,
Tiffany