the best culture advice i ever got came from a rugby coach (my dad)
When the world is burning, bring marshmallows.
It's 2025, and we're living through what feels like the prologue to a dystopian novel. Nuclear tensions, AI replacing jobs faster than we can create new ones, and a political environment that is basically a reality TV show with worse production value.
But as Marcus Aurelius shrugged 1,900 years ago:
"You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."
Translation: when everything's on fire, you might as well make s'mores.
Another way to combat the apocalypse vibes? Humor. Not the forced corporate kind where you're expected to laugh at your CEO's dad jokes, but genuine, tension-breaking levity that helps us perform better even when things get serious.
And nobody taught me this better than my dad.
The Rugby Coach Who Changed My Perspective on Work
My dad, Doug Tate—the former head coach of the UVic rugby team—built the best rugby program in the country for decades. His teams routinely beat national powerhouses, and yet the culture was never grim or overly serious. Somehow, he made it fun.
He’d open practices with jokes, games, or random comedy bits. But once training began, it was time to work. The last 15-20 minutes of practice would end with a brutal workout that would make even Machiavelli blush.
Year after year, somehow, over 100 players would try out for the team and everyone kept showing up. The secret? My dad built a culture of genuine respect between player and coach.
Though I didn't follow his path into coaching, I now lead several businesses where I apply his principles. While I haven't (yet) implemented fitness tests at the end of meetings, I've incorporated three critical insights about culture-building that I learned from watching him in action.
Here are those 4 techniques that consistently made his teams successful—and that you can steal for your own business:
1) The Art of the On/Off Switch
My dad is the absolute master of flipping between play and performance.
He'd open serious training sessions with something absurdly silly—usually some self-deprecating story or comedic bit. The mood would lighten, shoulders would relax, and even the most stressed-out University student athlete would crack a smile.
But when it was time to train, everyone knew the switch had flipped. The standard was excellence.
Most business leaders never develop this rhythm. They're either:
Too serious all the time (burnout machines who wonder why their team turnover is higher than the local fast food joint)
Or their version of "fun" is just awkward forced team-building exercises that causes everyone to start searching for job postings on LinkedIn under the table.
The secret is building a cadence: lightness at the start, seriousness when it counts. People can push themselves to their limits when they know it won't feel like that forever.
In my own companies, I start meetings with a few minutes of genuine banter. We laugh, share weekend stories, or debate whether a hot dog is a sandwich (it's not, fight me). But when we dive into the work, everyone knows it's time to bring their A-game.
This isn't about being unprofessional—it's about being human first, then professional.
2) The Power of Getting into the Trenches
Remember those brutal workouts I mentioned? The ones that would leave 20-year-old elite athletes gasping for air?
My dad would occasionally do them with the team—even into his 60s.
Imagine how hard it is to complain about burpees when your geriatric coach is beside you, grinding through them with a smile on his face.
When leaders are willing to get in the trenches, it builds a different kind of respect. It also collapses hierarchy in a healthy way. Not everyone needs to be peers, but when the boss is willing to sweat too, the "us vs. them" dynamic disappears.
In my businesses, this translates to rolling up my sleeves when things get tough. During our last product launch, I was answering customer service emails at 11 PM alongside our support team. Not because I had to, but because shared struggle builds unbreakable bonds.
Is that "scalable"? No. Is it "efficient time management for a CEO"? Probably not.
But it's how you build a team that would run through walls for each other.
3) Silent Participants Still Feel the Culture
Here's something that took me years to understand: not everyone on my dad's teams was a joke-cracking extrovert. Plenty of guys were quiet, reserved, or introverted—but they still loved the environment.
In fact, some of the most reserved players have told me years later that they were the biggest fans of my dad's coaching style.
Why? Because a positive culture benefits everyone, not just those who actively contribute to it.
You don't need a team full of stand-up comics. You just need to create an atmosphere where people feel safe enough to show up as themselves. Humor, warmth, and play don't just help the extroverts—they calm the nervous systems of everyone else too.
In my businesses, I've noticed that for every person cracking jokes in our Slack channels, there are three others reacting with emojis and appreciating the vibe without actively contributing to it. And that's perfectly fine.
4) But Don't Force the Funny
A word of caution: trying too hard to be funny is a quick way to become the Michael Scott of your office. Humor only works when it feels authentic.
If you're naturally more reserved, don't suddenly try to become a comedian. Instead:
Create space for lightness (a dedicated Slack channel for memes and jokes)
Appreciate others' humor (laughing goes a long way)
Share small personal stories (they don't have to be hilarious to be humanizing)
And whatever you do, please don't hire a "workplace culture consultant" who makes everyone do trust falls or—god forbid—improv exercises. Nothing kills genuine connection faster than forced fun.
When the World is Burning, Build Better Teams
Look, I don't have a solution for preventing nuclear war (yet) or stopping AI from eventually viewing us as cockroaches. But I do know that whatever happens, we'll face it better together—in teams that know how to balance performance with humanity.
My dad's rugby teams didn't win championships because we were the most talented, handsome, and funny (that helped too 😉). We won because they worked harder than everyone else while still enjoying the process.
As the world gets more uncertain, the ability to build teams that are both high-performing and genuinely enjoyable to be part of isn't just a nice-to-have—it's a competitive advantage.
So this week, try flipping that on/off switch. Start your next meeting with something light. Do the tough stuff alongside your team. And remember that not everyone needs to be the life of the party to benefit from a culture that balances seriousness with joy.
Because at the end of the day, we're all just trying to make s'mores while the world burns.
Looking for more free resources? 👀
Join my weekly newsletter and gain access to subscriber only resources and events.