The In-Between A Companion for Uncertain Times

How did we get to this place of feeling so stuck? How might we invest in our own enlightenment and build new structures to support the ways we want to work together? How can we stay motivated, and keep our teams motivated in systems that are failing? What can we do right now to prepare for a future we do not know?

THIS BOOK IS AN INVITATION to transform how we work. This is an invitation to pause and observe what is happening around us in this time of great transition. The space between no longer and not yet. An in-between time. A time to cultivate trust, agility, and patience.

The old world, the one that we still exist within, is one of hyper-doing. Our dominant workplace culture evangelizes a hyper-productive, 24/7 "doing" mentality that has convinced us that we exist to do. We've internalized the template for our action-oriented culture: work is virtuous and anything less is a sin.

But it isn't working. And we know it's not working.

In this remarkable moment between old and new, a shift is happening. We're seeing an emergent, collective desire of people to be more present to the here and now, to co-create new systems of working that are more sustainable and equitable.

The In-Between is here to support you in creating new patterns and thought habits around work and management during this time of transition between the old world and the new one we are all creating. Divided into three parts, the book is part reflection, part team design and filled with personal and team exercises to give you space to examine your relationship with work and reimagine what work could mean going forward. It places an emphasis on practices that build the muscle of presence: the art of noticing, quieting our minds and connecting to our deeper wisdom.

Ann Le is thinker, leader, and finance/operations pro, working on building strong, sustainable, anti-racist systems and organizations. She's leaning into how we can leverage new technologies, finance and community to combat racial and economic injustice. As an entrepreneur and ally, she frequently participates in work and conversations around circular economies, solidarity movements, and innovative, non-extractive financing mechanisms.Prior to consulting, Ann spent a decade as a VP in investment banking, then spent 5 years at a major film studio. After her MBA, Ann has worked and held leadership roles with over 50+ organizations from large corporations to start-ups, non-profit, government, and has served on numerous boards. She's also written a great, but not best-selling cookbook, and produced an award-winning Sundance independent film. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Economics, with a focus on history and labor, and has an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Business. Ann will ask you if any of this matters as we move out of the In-Between, and we enter a new paradigm of work and community: there's a new way to see and value ourselves.Ann has been described as a great teammate, a caring, intuitive human with a strong Slack game who also writes the "opposite of boring" emails. Try her at ann@in-between.com

Meg Buzzi is a change artist helping to build imaginative solutions to systemic challenges, especially at work. She is a PCC-certified coach, writer, and co-founder of the Present of Work (presentofwork.com) consulting group and the Starter Cultures (startercultures.us) change community. She helps teams and leaders level-up and reconnect to what truly matters to them.A former Chief Information Officer, Meg has led multi-million-dollar change efforts in K-12, higher education, government, and tech. But her most valuable learning is about building community and practicing trust when we are faced with complexity and challenge.Meg is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, an Art of Hosting facilitator and a contributor to the books Fieldworking (Bedford St. Martin's), The Rhetoric of Inquiry (Macmillan), and Narrative Generation. Send her a note at meg@presentofwork.com.