A bout, A boat, A boot
TJ Bennett
Coach. Chief Desuckifier. Cat Guy.
I began my coaching career after 25 years as an advertising executive, creative director and writer for agencies big and small., including TBWA\Chiat\Day, Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy and Hill Holliday. I helped Fortune 500 clients like Verizon, Toyota, Time Warner, MetLife, AT&T, Mazda and Panasonic solve big problems and helped my teams do the same. But better.
My mission is to DesuckifyWork®. And I host a popular podcast with the same name. I’ve had some amazing guests on the show including Jason Fried, Co-Founder of Basecamp; Diana Wu David, future of work consultant; Jodi Wellman, author of You Only Die Once and advertising legend George Tannenbaum.
As an ICF-certified executive coach. I help leaders and brands find their pudding—the secret sauce that takes the suck out of work and puts much-needed goodness into the world.
Ready to find yours? Let’s talk.
What the heck is a Pudding Factory, anyway?
(let the people in my head tell the story)
Where we’ve been
What we’ve learned
Things we’ve discovered after 25+ years helping people and brands solve big challenges.
Humility
After about the ten thousandth rejected idea, you start to realize you may not be perfect.
Persistence
Somehow, after all that rejection, you come up with idea number 10,001 and 10,002 and, well, you get it.
Empathy
People show up to work with all of their life inside of them. It’s helpful to remember that, always.
Gut Trustability
A lot of learning happens below the surface, through experience. Some call that wisdom, others like to use goofy made-up words to describe it instead.
Perspective
You put out enough fires, you start to realize which ones have the power to do real damage and which ones are just a distraction (hint: most are just distractions).
Who we’ve collaborated with
Ever have a conversation with a friend, family member or co-worker that was completely free from judgment or bias?
Of course not.
But you can with a coach. Because that’s the job we’re trained for. And it’s the kind of conversation you deserve to have when you’re wanting to make leaps in your life, your career or your business.
Our Values
Curiosity
The more we know, the more we know we don’t know.
Love
The core of everything. A deep love for humanity, connection, life.
Truth
Dig, dig, dig until something real emerges.
Play
Let’s have some fun, let’s laugh, let’s experiment, let’s create joy
Optimism
If we don’t think things can be better, what the heck are we doing here?
Our Expertise
A few of our favorite skills
BS detection
Jargon purging
Making molehills out of mountains
Not overthinking it
Simplifying the complex
Speaking in plain English
Business stuff we’re really good at
Executive Coaching
Career Coaching
Leadership Coaching
Culture Coaching
Team Coaching
Internal Communications Coaching
Internal Brand Strategy
Conceptual Thinking
Copywriting
Non-business stuff we’re really good at
Air Cello
Anti-social media
Cat whispering
Falling asleep while reading
Hair parting
Pretending to use a CB radio
Smirking
Whistling on the inhale
Creds
I’m a coach for people who think coaching might be BS.
No gimmicks, synthetic sunshine or hustle culture nonsense here, just some proven approaches that can help you do more of what you were meant to do during our brief stay on this planet.
Humanity. Autonomy. Creativity.
Our vision for a desuckified future.
Work from Anywhere
Let’s remove the barriers to great talent and great relationships. One of the greatest benefits of technology is the ability to work anywhere. Let’s embrace that and find ways to make remote work more collaborative and fun.
Human Centered Innovation
Let’s figure out how to make the workplace (and the world) a bit more human. Technology offers so much possibility, but only if we never lose sight of its ultimate purpose—to make our lives better.
Non-traditional career paths
You know all that advice you got about sticking to a plan, following the rules and never making a decision that someone, somewhere might possibly find fault with? Fuck that shit. It’s time to do what you actually want.
The 4-day workweek
You ever work a 4-day week? It was pretty awesome, wasn’t it? And somehow, you found a way to get all of your crap done. You may have even been more focused and inspired, leading to some groundbreaking ideas. Let’s do all of that more often, shall we?
Fractional
Fractional work is seeping its way into the corporate consciousness as we speak. But not fast enough, in our opinion. The benefits are clear—less ageism, more inclusivity, access to more high-end talent. All of which will dramatically improve your culture. Because culture is all about creating an environment that shows people you give a shit. And giving people more options to contribute is pretty darn give a shitty if you ask us.
How we compare to America’s favorite flat-tailed rodent.
“One of the most profound experiences of my life.”
— Abraham Lincoln - 16th President of the United States, savior of the union