Finding Joy in Work (It’s Not Impossible)
I bring the business savvy and the burger-level silliness.
I was in my 20s, managing the regional office of a creative staffing agency when we were hit with some HR issues. So, my colleagues and I decided to host a Midwest Team Building Conference.
Our budget? Non-existent.
Google? Not invented yet.
The mission? Make it impactful and fun.
The other regional managers and I each created a session covering essential topics. But we all agreed:
“We didn’t want this to be lectures. We wanted participation and bonding.”
So naturally, I brought in a childhood classic—Hot Potato—as an exercise. The goal? See how many compliments we could throw around before the buzzer.
I don’t remember the exact compliment count, but I do remember a room full of grown adults playing that silly game... and walking away motivated and connected.
Fast forward nearly 30 years... After 15 years in corporate media, I’ve seen all kinds of team-building events. Some good. Some so boring they made me want to poke my eyes out with a dry-erase marker.
One event sticks with me: The facilitator asked for feedback. I gave mine. He spent the next five minutes explaining why I was wrong. Spoiler alert: I was right. MythBusters lasted another 10 seasons. 😎
As I started expanding my career beyond television, I kept thinking about those joyful moments in workshops. Ask my past teams—I was always the “let’s jump in the conference room and plot this out with exercises” girl. Creativity + collaboration? Sign me up.
That passion led me to get certified as a Design Sprint Workshop Facilitator through AJ Smart. Why them? Because they were having fun!
Imagine a workshop with nothing but Post-it notes... and loving every minute of it. (Okay, I get that sounds like creative torture for some—but for me, it was bliss.)
I actually enjoyed the classes. Who'd thunk? 🤓
Since then, I’ve discovered incredible companies bringing the “fun belongs at work” mindset to life:
🎈 Alexandra Suchman & BarometerXP – “The Science of Play At Work”
🎭 Romy Malin – using her theater chops to build collaboration and chaos-taming magic
Here’s the gist:
👉 Work can be fun.
👉 Fun doesn’t kill productivity.
👉 In fact, it might be the missing ingredient.
Productivity for productivity’s sake forgets the obvious:
We’re not machines. We’re humans. And humans need connection, engagement, and meaning.
And for the "data-only" crowd who say,
“You’re not here to be entertained,” I say: Have you seen Moneyball?
Billy Beane brought analytics into baseball scouting. What happened?
“The A’s still have not won a World Series.” ⚾
Because data doesn’t measure the intangibles:
✨ Collaboration
✨ Chemistry
✨ Clutch energy
For every team engineered by stats, there’s a championship squad built on heart—heroes like Kiké Hernández, Howie Kendrick, and Corey Seager.
Bottom line? Work that includes joy, creativity, and connection doesn’t just feel better—it performs better.
I look forward to bringing my unique blend of business savvy and Bob’s Burgers silliness to your company.
I’ll bring the games. 🧩
