Tops, Middles, and a Pile of Cats

Why we picked it

In a 40-minute simulation, Elle was handed a company: three managers, eight workers, one absurd mission: draw as many good cat stick figures as possible. She went in wanting a flat, humane, consultative culture. Within minutes, she was issuing orders, following rules she had the power to change, accidentally making her managers invisible, and feeling strangely alone in her "office." None of it was a personal failing. It was the system doing what systems do, and it's been documented for decades. This talk uses the wreckage (and the surprisingly tender moments) of a simulated company to explore why our positions shape us more than our intentions do, why "just have fun" can raise anxiety instead of lowering it, and what it actually takes to hold steady for a team under pressure. You don't need a title for any of this to be true of you. The system was shaping her, and it's probably also shaping you. You will leave with three questions to sit with and test your own experience against. **A