# Building culture when money is tight — the 'Yes, And' approach

- **Episode:** [233](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/233.md) (2025-09-18)
- **Type:** interview
- **Tags:** company-culture, budget, yes-and
- **Time:** 16:20–20:49 (start 980s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/233?t=980](https://truthliesandwork.com/233?t=980)

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[16:20] Al Elliott: So let's get down to the businesses where, you know, it's really tough to keep in business. Maybe they've got 25 people. They go, I'd love to give out all these perks like flexible working, work from home, you know, let's make it the best workplace we can be, particularly for the Gen Zs and millennials who demand this. But financially, I'm struggling here. Is there anything they can do?
[16:42] Amy Bouque: Years ago, I took an improv class 'cause I was terrible about speaking in public. And Al, when I tell you that story, it's because I learned in improv training, the first thing they teach you is when you're doing improv, You can't reject anything. You have to yes, and. And so that's become my mantra in life. Yes, and. So when you tell me, yes, we have financial challenges, we can't make payroll, we're struggling to, and also how do we care for people? And so for me, it's not a binary. And this idea that how do you make both things be true? How do you negotiate the messy middle of that? challenge of saying, we have financial challenges, and also I know you are, so let's talk about that and negotiate what that might look like. And each organization's going to have different requirements. It might be the physical office space and how present people have to be to care for clients in person versus what can be done after children go to bed and can get picked up in the evenings. And the ability to negotiate that, what I found If I take it all the way back to the beginning, it's hiring, taking the time to hire and setting expectations and understanding who the person is, right? Because you need somebody who has the ability to flex with you, right? Because sometimes I'm going to need you to pull a late night or yesterday I was working on a project and I saw one of my teammates was online. I'm like, any chance I can call you if I promise to stay off camera? And we worked something out on a Sunday, which I said, I don't try to do this very often, but sometimes we have board meetings today. I needed a little help with something. And so saying the thing, right? I know this is a sacrifice to your family. I know we're in this challenge. I need you to meet me here. And then when that challenge is over, when we're thriving, to take the time to celebrate as a team, to recognize Right? Letting that person know they're part of something bigger than themselves. A lot of people are willing to make that sacrifice, but they wanna know that they're in it with you. One of my favorite taglines I tell my team, we do things with and for people, not to them. And so when you do something to somebody, you're saying, you must be here at this hour, you must be able to do this, you must blah, blah, blah, blah. You're doing something to them. But if you can gather them together and say, this is our mission, this is our purpose, this is what we're working towards, can we work together? to set schedules, to set hours, to set roles, you see the buy-in going up so much more because they see themselves as something bigger than being part of something bigger than themselves. So I don't think it's either or, Al. I think it's a yes and
[19:24] Al Elliott: I don't think in the, what, the 380 interviews I've done, I don't think we've had someone who's admitted that you sometimes you do have to just work work on a Sunday. And sometimes you do just cheekily go, do you mind if I just jump on a call with you? And most people are saying, oh no, we'd never do that. And you're giving us a glimpse into the real life, I think
[19:47] Amy Bouque: Absolutely. Because that same person, I have the privilege of not having to measure hours, right? I measure outcomes. And so I tell my team, I trust you, right? Rachel Botsman's definition of trust is one of my favorite definitions. It's great for parents too, because her definition is a Confident relationship with the unknown. Love it, right? A confident relationship with the unknown. So I don't have to see you, right, in person. That back to my example of like when I came into the workforce where you had to be seen in order to be thought that you were doing your job. I trust you to know where you need to be and when you need to be at and what has to be delivered because we're outcome-focused. But I also know that there's— you also know that at times I'm gonna need you to lean in on something. And I think that reciprocity, that generosity of trust earned, right? Sometimes when people don't keep up the trust, right? If it's broken, then you've got to negotiate a new relationship