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:

1. “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.
2. “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.
3. “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.
4. “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.
5. “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:

1. “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.
2. “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.
3. “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?
4. “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.
5. “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.
6. “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.
7. “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.
8. “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

The post The Future of Work Is Human—And Happier Than You Think appeared first on Wendbaar Groeien.

How to look the Dragon in the Eyes?

Imagine fear as a dragon guarding a treasure chest of potential and growth. By confronting this dragon, you can unlock new opportunities. Mario Andretti, a legendary race car driver, once said, “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” This means that true progress typically lies beyond comfort zones. Moving beyond your comfort zone is daring, and armor helps. But not all armor works well. Read on to discover how to suit up!

What is good Armor to deal with Product Owner fears?

Some weeks ago, I was at an interview with Brené Brown. She spoke of dealing with fear and the kind of armor you put on. Some armor isolates us, while others empower us to take risks together. Here are some pieces of armor I recognized from my practice as a Product Owner coach.

Knower vs. Learner armor

The armored knower prioritizes being right over learning. But this can lead to rigidity and missed opportunities. I met Product Owners who were so convinced they had to know everything that it totally stressed them out. They were unable to ask for help, for fear they might be unmasked as a not all-knowing. With coaching, we could transition into a ‘daring learner’ armor. We worked on embracing curiosity, and daring to ask for help. The new armor worked well in their Agile team. It engages the intellect and helpfulness of the whole team. One of these Product Owners remarked: “I discovered that the right questions are more important than the right answers.”

Us-Them armor vs. multi-truth armor

An ‘us-them’ armor creates safety by putting people with difficult opinions in an inferior group. This divides teams. I encountered people who would avoid colleagues that were too different. They focused on personal tasks to avoid difficult conversations. For instance, one person I coached, avoided her team by claiming all layout work. She armored up by staking her domain. She hoped to prove to ‘the hard-working people’ that she was delivering great work, and she was not one of the ‘slackers.’ The growing resentment, however, was driving the team into High Conflict. It stressed out everyone. Here, too, I worked with the team on an armor change. We built new armor by disconnecting truth and opinion from identity. The new room for complexity allowed different truths to coexist harmoniously.

Shame and Blame vs. Shared Responsibility

Relying on shame and blame armor is an effective way to ensure mistakes are not yours. However, it stifles creativity and innovation within teams. In my LEGO Scrum Simulations, for instance, teams tend to make mistakes the first time. Often someone looks at me and asks me, as their teacher, to point out who was to blame for the mistake. They intend well, and they are eager to learn new accountabilities. The blame question allows me to show the ‘shared responsibility’ armor in practice: I point out that we were all there when the thing went wrong. Shaming and blaming is pointless. What matters is correcting the mistake and ensuring it does not happen again. I hope Product Owners in my course learn from this experience. I wish all team leaders would cultivate compassion and accountability, creating an environment where risk-taking is encouraged without fear of blame.

How to be a fearless Product Owner?

To thrive as a Product Owner means choosing your armor wisely—embrace learning, lean into conflict with openness, and shared responsibility within your team. It’s OK to feel fear because your new armor protects you. It allows you to face the dragon of fear as a team.

If you’re ready to transform your approach as a Product Owner into one filled with confidence and daring leadership, consider a few coaching sessions with Anton.

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