Building Something Better

I didn't set out to be a consultant. I set out to survive workplaces that were breaking me - and I watched them break others around me.

Twenty-three jobs taught me the pattern: fragile systems built by people who climbed to the top by cheating, cutting corners, and stepping on others. They didn't earn their positions by doing what was right, ethical, or sustainable. Then they convinced themselves their title proved their superiority.

They believe money is the answer to everything. That employees just want more because they're greedy. But here's the thing: money matters - it's essential for living a content life. But beyond that threshold, most people aren't motivated by money alone. If they were, they would have quit long ago.

What people actually want is to believe they're building something. They want to look back on their lives and realize they helped build a sustainable entity that will leave a legacy - a business that consumers rely on and employees want to work for.

Not these empty, heartless organizations that use the fear model to induce productivity. Not jobs that force employees to work 60-hour weeks into their retirement years just to support themselves financially. Empty, structureless organizations build empty, structureless careers. Spending our professional lives working for one of these soul-sucking entities is the epitome of a wasted life. People don't want to look back one day to that realization.

I brought HR into the mix when I was being mistreated at the insurance brokerage. My situation intensified. That's when I learned what every employee eventually learns: never trust HR. They're not there for you - they're glorified company reps protecting the business, not the humans in it.

When nobody in the business has the employees' interests in mind they take their stories to the internet instead. Viral takedowns. Glassdoor rants. And businesses respond with fake positive reviews - the same unconvincing lines: "Great place to work." "So many growth opportunities." "Awesome culture."

They miss the nuance. Real reviews rant or rave with specifics. If someone loves the leadership, they'll tell you why. Nobody takes time out of their busy life to write "great place to work" and leave it at that.

That's the system we've built. HR that doesn't listen. Employees who've learned not to trust. And businesses wondering why nobody wants to work anymore.

I got my MBA so I could transition into HR and fix the system from the inside. But I realized I couldn't fix it - I had to build something entirely new instead.

I founded Insightful Human because I've lived both sides. I've seen what happens when you treat people like the enemy (the insurance brokerage: lawsuits, sabotage, collapse). And I've seen what happens when you treat them like partners (the pub: protection, guardianship, loyalty).

Antifragile workplaces aren't built by the CEOs at the top. They're built by the people who actually care - the HR leaders fighting for their teams, the managers who refuse to rule by fear, the employees demanding better, the rare executives who haven't lost their humanity.

If you're one of those people, you're not alone. And you're not wrong.

The system is broken. But we can build something better. With the hard philosophical work of understanding your unique weaknesses, your people's real needs, and what your organization can actually sustain.

Not a template. Not a quick fix. A transformation.