Today I had the chance to attend the Amsterdam Business Forum 2025, and I walked away with my notebook full and my heart warmed. Two talks in particular stuck with me: Eliza Filby on generations and work, and Neil Pasricha on happiness. They couldn’t have been more different in focus, but together they painted a powerful picture of where we’re heading—and how we can grow, as people and as organizations. I want to share some highlights with you, because I think you’ll be as inspired as I was.
Eliza Filby: Bringing Generations Together in the Age of AI
Eliza Filby took the stage with a clear message: ageism is the last acceptable prejudice. She walked us through the different generations—Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z—and showed how each carries its own history, strengths, and blind spots. From the Boomers, who hold massive wealth but are redefining retirement, to Gen X as the “last tech optimists,” to Millennials as the bridge generation between analog and digital, to Gen Z rewriting the rules of work, every group has a role.
What really struck me was her insistence that the future of work isn’t about dividing the generations but bringing them together. AI and hybrid work will shape our world, but the essence of thriving workplaces will remain deeply human. As she said, “It won’t serve us in our careers if we don’t return to what humans do best—listen, teach, and talk.”
Five Mind Grenades from Eliza Filby:
- “Ageism is the last acceptable prejudice.”
- This is something I often encounter when transforming teams into autonomous ones. Managers seem to have given up on the experienced lot and tell me not to bother. While I believe their experience is invaluable.
- “Millennials are the translators and the bridges of the analog world and the digital world.”
- I think we need more translators to collaborate and do great things.
- “The passport was to millennials what the car was to baby boomers.”
- I get that. But I’m Gen X. Neither is super important to me.
- “It won’t serve us in our careers if we don’t return to what humans do best—listen, teach, and talk.”
- Amen to that. Especially the teaching and listing could do with a boost.
- “Let’s move away from multigenerational friction to harnessing the power of a multigenerational workforce.”
- That’s what great agile teams are about: diversity and multiple perspectives.
Her talk left me thinking: what if the greatest opportunity of our time is not AI itself, but how we bring wisdom and innovation together across generations?
Neil Pasricha: Happiness First, Not Last
Neil Pasricha stepped on stage with his trademark humor and storytelling, but quickly went deep. He started with a question: if we live in the most abundant society in human history, why are we not happy? Anxiety, depression, loneliness, and suicide rates are all climbing. He argued that the problem lies in the model we’ve been taught all our lives: work hard, succeed, and then be happy. In reality, it’s the other way around.
His words were simple, but they hit home: “We need to train our brains to be happy first.” He showed that happy people aren’t just more joyful—they’re more productive, creative, and resilient. Happiness isn’t the reward at the end of success. It’s the fuel.
What made his talk unforgettable was the vulnerability with which he shared his story—divorce, the sudden loss of his best friend, and how he began blogging about “1000 Awesome Things” to find light in the dark. That project grew into bestsellers and a global movement, but at its heart it was always about choosing joy every single day.
Seven quotes that stayed with me from Neil Pasricha:
- “We live in the most abundant society ever in human civilization. So then how come we’re not happy?”
- It’s a question I’m often asking myself when people complain about the smallest things online and in the media. I’m clueless.
- “Happy people are 50% more likely to get a promotion in the next 12 months.”
- That’s right: happiness makes you likeable, and likeable people get promoted. The traditional logic is do great work > be successful > become happy. However, in reality, it is more like this: be happy > do great work > be successful.
- “Happy people just live longer.”
- Some people eat ‘healthy’ diets to live longer. But I can see their dinner doesn’t make them happy. Would they be shooting themselves in the foot?
- “We’re three times more dangerous to ourselves than anybody else.”
- That was when Neil was comparing suicide numbers to homicide numbers. I suppose they were US statistics.
- “If you can just take 2 minutes to prime your brain for positivity, you change your whole day.”
- I’m not sure whether it’s THAT easy, but I guess it helps.
- “Sometimes in life, when everybody has an addiction, it looks like nobody has an addiction.”
- Back when smoking was OK, nobody noticed. The same way nobody notices anymore that we’re on our phones all the time.
- “Writing down gratitudes is a brain curl—you’re teaching your brain to look for the positive.”
- Added to my list of daily workouts, after push-ups, stretching, and heart math. Pasricha’s challenge is practical: every morning, take two minutes to let go, write down something you’re grateful for, and focus your mind. That tiny ritual can rewire your day.
- “You can’t think yourself into new action; you can only act yourself into new thinking.”
- The fact that you need to do something, sample it, before you can start enjoying it, makes a lot of sense. I believe we are often too cognitive about new behavior. The logic can do > learn to > do is flawed. Doing comes before all.
Why this matters
Sitting there in Amsterdam, I realized these two talks are deeply connected. Eliza reminded me that the future of work must be human, and Neil reminded me that happiness is not a luxury but a foundation. Together, they made me believe that our challenge—whether in business or life—is to build environments where every generation can thrive, and where joy is cultivated, not postponed.
And that’s what I want to pass on to you. What if we measured success not just in profit, but in how much we help each other grow—and how happy we are while doing it?
Featured image credits: Matheus Bertelli
Wow! And i loved sitting next to you and experiencing the event. Thanks for your reflection and being my forum companion today.