Flow States in Remote Teams with Steven Puri

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In this episode of Definitely, Maybe Agile, hosts Peter Maddison and David Sharrock welcome Steven Puri, Founder and CEO of The Sukha Company. Drawing from his unique background spanning Hollywood film production and tech startups, Steven shares fascinating insights about achieving flow states in remote and hybrid work environments.

Steven's journey from IBM software engineer to Hollywood executive (where he helped manage franchises like Die Hard and Wolverine at studios including DreamWorks and 20th Century Fox) provides a refreshing perspective on team productivity and creative collaboration. He explains how the film industry has long mastered the transitions between remote, hybrid, and in-person work—knowledge that proved invaluable when the pandemic forced tech teams into distributed environments.

The conversation explores the neuroscience of creativity, practical leadership approaches to foster flow states, and how Steven's experiences led him to create a platform specifically designed to help remote workers overcome procrastination while maintaining wellbeing. This is one not to miss!

Key Takeaways:

• Leaders can create environments where flow happens - Establishing boundaries like protected focus time (e.g., 9 AM to noon) allows team members to accomplish meaningful work before daily meetings begin.
• The "two-problem" approach to creativity - Having more than one challenge to work on simultaneously can unlock creative solutions, as your subconscious mind works on one problem while you actively engage with another.
• Remote work requires different "colors on your palette" - Different work modes (remote, hybrid, in-office) excel at different tasks, with in-person collaboration being particularly valuable for creative ideation and whiteboarding sessions.

Books Mentioned:

• "Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - https://www.goodreads.com/es/book/show/66354.Flow
• "The Net and the Butterfly" by Olivia Fox - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30024684-the-net-and-the-butterfly
• "Atomic Habits" by James Clear - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40121378-atomic-habits