Scaling With People
Tired of spinning your startup wheels but never gaining traction? Buckle up, founders and CEOs, because this podcast is your rocket fuel to profitability! Every week, we ignite explosive conversations with bold-faced founders, brainy experts, and even a few out-of-this-world vendors. Get ready to crack the code on growth, master employee engagement, and blast through your scaling goals. We’re talking real-world strategies, actionable tips, and perspectives that’ll make your business do a cosmic dance. So, strap in and prepare for lift-off!
Scaling With People
Joy As A Business Advantage with Ricardo Viso
What if growth didn’t feel like a grind? We sit down with founder Ricardo Viso to explore how joy can be designed into your day, your team, and your culture so creativity, focus, and results compound. Ricardo’s path—from retail and e‑commerce to beating a severe cancer diagnosis—reshaped how he thinks about work and life. He breaks down why happiness often depends on outcomes, while joy is a repeatable practice you can build with small, reliable inputs.
We get tactical fast. You’ll learn how to reset mornings without the blaring alarm, choose an informed media diet that avoids anxiety spirals, and use simple breath and music cues to shift state. Inside the workplace, we map a step-by-step approach to dissect recurring tasks, reduce friction, and add elements that lift energy. Managers get a modern playbook: learn each person, rebalance work based on strengths, shorten meetings, and design formats that protect attention. We also explore how AI can analyze calendars and project boards to reveal hidden drains and help teams swap or batch work more intelligently.
Ricardo introduces the “joy file,” a personal list of small, dependable mood lifters—songs, short calls, quick reads—that you access daily to stabilize your baseline. The payoff is practical: when people are more joyful, they think more clearly, generate more options, and collaborate with less friction. That translates into higher productivity, lower turnover, and a culture that actually supports bold goals. If you’re leading a fast-growing team or rebuilding momentum after burnout, these tools help you move from intention to implementation.
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Welcome to Scaling with People, your weekly playbook for turning chaos into compounding growth. Each week we go under the hood with battle test experts in all areas of business, from marketing to sales, operation finance, and people, plus product and leadership, to unpack the plays, numbers, and systems that turn chaos into compounding growth. Learn straight from founders and experts who've done it and continue to do it successfully. There's zero fluff, just moves that you can still immediately. This podcast is brought to you by Guide to HR, human expertise, AI-powered impact. Welcome everyone to today's Skilling with People podcast. I'm Guinevere Curry, your host and founder and CEO of Guide to HR. So, what if scaling your startup didn't just mean bigger revenue, but better vibes? On this episode of Skilling with People, we're flipping the script with Ricardo Viso, founder of Joyful Living Land, which is a space built for real people to unwind, laugh, and soak up all the good vibes. There's no pressure and there's no perfection. So today we're going to be talking about from inbox meltdowns to boardroom burnout. VCO shows us how to shift perspective, find humor in that chaos, build workplace cultures where joy isn't a bonus. It's actually part of your strategy. So get ready for some of the top things you can do right now to enjoy your days a whole lot more. Welcome, Viso. I'm so excited to have you on the call. I'm excited. I'm I love happiness. So I want to dive into this really quick. But before we do, tell the audience a little bit about yourself.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you very much for having me here. Delighted to be here. I I was born in Denver, Colorado, uh, raised in Mexico, Mexico City. And then I came back to the US uh 18 years ago, almost. Yeah, 18 years ago. And I started my professional life with uh being in retail. I was in retail for many, many years in all everything, uh uh operations, purchasing, procurement, sales, everything that you can imagine. I I spent doing that. Then I started, I shifted into e-commerce or everything related to e-commerce. And I founded uh so I've been an executive, I founded three, four, five different businesses, failed on two or three of them, sold one. Oh, I've been all over. And then uh once COVID hit in 2021, actually, to be precise, I was diagnosed with cancer, a very severe uh advanced tumor in the sophagus and the stomach, in the joints. And I while I was getting healed or getting better, I started talking to moms with kids with cancer. And that shifted completely the way or many things that I believed in. I it reinforced them to me, and I started talking to these women, which uh compared to what they are going through, your situation becomes like very light, let's put it that way. And I started talking to patients with cancer and in pharmaceuticals and everything related to cancer, and then I realized that uh I one way or the other, uh that's not what I was trying to put the message out. There was not only for cancer patients at all. It was actually much more important for people that are not facing that kind of situations. And I my life has been tons of different my mom was died, uh was uh was uh died when I was 10 years old. I got cancer, I got divorced, I bankrupt, everything that you can think of. And I've always find a way to see the good things about what's happening to me, but I didn't have the science behind it. And so the last year, two years, I created the Joyful Living Lounge, which I'm launching at fully these weeks, and I decided to do that to help people enjoy what they do. I realized that no matter how successful they are, no matter what amount of money they make, and I mentioned those two because those are the two that people focus on.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:And no matter what they do, they they are not happy, they're they're not enjoying what they do, and it's it's a waste of time. I mean, so I decided to focus on that and help people enjoy what they do. That that's it, that's basically what I'm doing now, and through joyful living lounge.
SPEAKER_01:I love that. I always say you only get so many turns around the sun, you should be doing what you love and and enjoy doing it. Like if uh you know, I enjoy what I do on the HR front, especially on the technology side. And if it means I'm working 10, 15, well, hopefully, not 15, but 10, 12 hour days sometimes. Like if I'm having fun doing it, it doesn't even feel like work, it feels like play, right? And you're enjoying it. Like uh, so yeah, if you're not doing what you love, then that that that 10, 12 hour days could be gruciating for you.
SPEAKER_00:You know, and actually, many times, I mean, I I do understand life is hard in many ways, and and sometimes they might say, Well, yeah, but you cannot always do what you love. I understand, and I partially agree, but you can enjoy more what you're doing. Yeah, that's a fact, yeah. You cannot tell me, yeah, well, you can tell me, yeah, you there are many people that cannot do what they love. Okay, I I get you with that, but everybody can enjoy a little bit more what they do, and you see it. The what's the worst job you can imagine for you? Tell me, and I can give you two people, one of them enjoying it a little bit more, and the other one suffering that job tremendously. So you can always choose to enjoy a little bit more what you're doing. That's a fact.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's so true. So, how did you start converting this into um helping business owners, uh, incorporating this into the culture and their not just their life and their work, but into the culture of their business?
SPEAKER_00:Well, it happened that I was helping people directly, like let's call it every single person. And I started thinking, how can I reach more people? How can I reach and get the message to more people? And through friends that had companies or were executives in company, I told them, no, let me give this speech or let me give this workshop. And I started doing that because also, if you see the last eight, seven years, six years, this uh new position called chief happiness officer started to become something, and that's not creating uh spaces where that clown goes in and everybody no, it it means again, how can you get employees to be happier? And I shifted from happy to joy because happiness is more complicated in terms of how can you define happiness. Yeah, and many times people tend to, and that's other things that people tend to do is like I'm gonna be happy when something happens.
SPEAKER_01:When I get this title, when I get this money, when I get this accolade, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:When I get married, when I get divorced, when I whatever. And it happens that that moment of happiness lasts like that. It comes and it goes. So if you didn't enjoy what you were doing while obtaining that goal, then it doesn't make much sense. And joy is very or it's easier to define. There are many things behind it, but at least you can begin by saying, What do you enjoy? I enjoy having this conversation, I enjoy having a cup of ice cream, I enjoy reading a book, I enjoy the company of a friend. I it's easier. I enjoy this song. I you know, so it's easier to define or to understand joy. So that's why I shifted from happiness to joy.
SPEAKER_01:I love that. So for our listeners, what is something that they could start to do right away to help kind of maybe reset their own mind and maybe even incorporate it into their business?
SPEAKER_00:There are many things, and and it starts with the simple things. And I always tell these, and many people say, Oh, come on, but how do you wake up? If you wake up, put an alarm, and the alarm goes, honestly, that begins your day with uh not so subtle it's an alarm, it's like, yeah. And then what people normally do, they start doing that. Then if they have a routine, they do a routine, and a routine by itself, it you need discipline, and it it becomes something difficult to keep. And then if you don't keep it, you get stressed. Then you get into a car, and then you start listening to news, which the news are horrible no matter what you want to listen to, and no matter which side of the equation you're in.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So by the time and then you commute and you stay in traffic, and people are pissed in traffic. So by the time you get to your office and you start working, you've already filled your mind with so bad things that it's hard to start your day on a good in a good mood. So wake up with an alarm that plays a song, whatever song you like, but it's different. And then I would say don't listen to the news. Get there are tons of different things where you can get and be informed about what's happening in the world, just informed, not listening to your chats, your uh whatever, because people are scared all the time, and they send you all these things.
SPEAKER_01:If you can just get more informed, I like that. Informed, get the facts, understand what's going on. Don't bury your head in the seaon, but don't also fill your head with all the sensationalism that is.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's not about denial that I don't want to. No, you you need to be informed what's going on, of course. But the way you get those that information is also important if you get it with like COVID. I can put that a perfect example. How did they tell us about COVID? Every single day they gave us the amount of people that are dead. Yeah, well, what's the purpose on that? Scare you. Well, why do I need to start my day listening to 4,200 1022 people? Come on, I don't need that. Why don't they tell you okay, but 10 million are alive? They got COVID and they survived per no, they give you the bad news with cancer. I can give you the in my situation. Cancer, they never tell you the good news, they give you the bad news. Yeah, they give you the probability to die. What's the probability of you to get the side effects?
SPEAKER_01:Come on, there's more people than that live through it than they die, but you get the bad news, and you the mind is such a positive or negative force, right? Like you can actually flip the script on on your own physical being if you're in a positive mindset, but you need to practice on that, it you need to make it a habit.
SPEAKER_00:And people, people when they exercise, they make it a habit. Nutrition-wise, it may but in in terms of enjoying and being at peace, let's call it, you don't. You you expect life around you to bring you that joy or bring you that inner, it doesn't happen, and it's not gonna happen. You need to focus on it consciously. Created these methodologies called REC RIC, and it's to recognize that you actually are not a joint, identify what brings you joy, and consciously looking after those things that bring you joy. And in terms of the companies, I realize also that if I just went out to the companies and say, hey, I want your employees to be happier, most of the employer employers would say, Yeah, well, uh I it's not that important. It happens that it is because productive-wise and turnover-wise, and there are many different data that I can give you, and I can give you when people enjoy more what they do and they're happier where they work, the culture is a better culture for that. The companies are better off. Whatever they yeah, and it's a fact, also, it's not something that I'm creating and I'm saying no, you it is.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, and I'd even add to that, you know, not only are they more productive, but if they're in a happier mindset or more joyful, let me correct myself there, more joyful mindset, right? Then they're probably thinking in a different capacity than if they're not, which is that's also scientifically proven, yes, yeah. And they could come up with more innovative ways of doing things, or maybe even something like maybe it's a product that your company should start doing, or maybe it's a different way of branding and selling your product or your business, right? So having somebody in that joyful mindset gives them that uh innovative creativity space that they probably wouldn't be in.
SPEAKER_00:The being positive doesn't solve the problem. It's not that being positive you're gonna leave if you can't cancel, you're gonna solve a problem. No, no, it doesn't, but it gives you the option or it gives you it gives your mind more options to solve a problem. That's a fact as well. So you'd rather have people enjoying more their day-to-day work than just not that that again, it's it's a fact, and what you you perfectly say it. It's you it gives you more options, it gives you more it your mind becomes more creative, it gives you so it's it it's it's better in every way you can see it, it's better.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, absolutely. So we've given one tip as an individual. Wake up and and how you wake up will impact your mood and your thoughts for the day. So let's get into okay, now I'm at now I'm at work. How can I positively impact and bring joy, maybe bring joy or help my coworkers, my peers, my direct reports um get more joy in their life? What's a step or tool that you could share with us on that?
SPEAKER_00:I think one of them that's very important in many ways is that when you let's call dissect all the tasks that you do daily, whatever they are, meetings, these, that, and you try to find the ones that you like or dislike the most, what can you do about those to increase that joy? Whatever it is, and increasing that joy or in decreasing the amount of uh stress or the amount of uh dislike that you have for that task, when you focus on that, it immediately starts to get better. And I can tell you again, they can tell me, well, but it's a neurosurgeon, it's stressful, of course. But you have neurosurgeons playing music while they operate. Music and hard rock or whatever, because that brings a different vibe to what they're doing. Yeah, and it creates a different atmosphere in the people that are helping him with the surgery. So you can ask a neurosurgeon and they will say, Yeah, well, my team is much more relaxed. They have, I mean, they make a mistake and you die. It's stressful, as well. Yeah, but again, you can create a different atmosphere while doing that. They play music, some of them would be uh much more again, whatever they do to make that team feel better or feel more relaxed, that helps. When you dissect those tasks in in let's get out of the surgery room, and when you're doing whatever they're doing, a factory, uh factory line or uh production line or a job at your office, what can take away that dislike you have about that particular task? And when you dissect that and you move it to a place where you enjoy it a little bit more, you include a song in between, you include breathwork, you can get out of that uh meeting for a second. There are many things that you can start doing. And when you see it from above and basically dissecting all that it's creating a stress or a problem in your company, that helps the attitude and the moral from of the company for sure.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's uh such an interesting thought of just bringing that joy in. And as a manager, it's also your responsibility to learn about your people, right? Like it be I would say pre-COVID, employees were having to learn their about their manager and managing to the manager. Now the managers post-COVID, you need to know each individual and you need to have that connection. And and what might bring joy to one person may not be the same for your other person, and how do you most of the times it might not?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and yeah, in my mind, to be honest, it's again it's not about creating a space where you because many people make the mistake of or confusing about irresponsible with fun or with joy, and it has nothing to do with it. Yeah, you can you you become an adult, and people expect you not to have fun. What's life without fun? I mean, you're here to have fun. Yeah, there are many situations that are not funny, of course, and they're serious, and yeah, but bringing humor and bringing joy to whatever that situation is, again, it changes the mindset and it helps you solve much more easier or less complicated problems. That's for sure.
SPEAKER_01:And I love what you talked about earlier. I was gonna add in um, you know, when you're looking at your calendar and what you're spending your time on and what activities, tasks, and things you're working on, what are the some of the things that are not bringing you that joy? What are things that like you just like internally groan, oh god, I gotta do this today, right? Or I gotta meet with this person, or I gotta do XYZ. Um, you know, take that as an opportunity of like, okay, I don't enjoy doing this, but maybe Bob or Stacy, my peer, my directory port, maybe even my boss enjoys doing that. How can I then share that load? And even to the point where maybe, like, for example, if Stacy's never done it, maybe there's an opportunity to give this to her as a way of helping her explore her professional growth and grow and take it off your plate. And something I just learned recently with AI is if you're you and or your business allows, you can connect your calendar to the chat GPTs of the world and it will assess your calendar and how you're using your day, what you're working on. And there's also other ways to use AI to incorporate other tools that you have, like maybe if you're doing project management Mondays or Nation or Jira. So there's ways to actually do that. I would actually really love to ask the listeners, go and do that for yourself, go and do that with your team. How would that be a team exercise? And maybe make it like, hey, tell me what is your what is the thing that you enjoy the most and why? And what's the thing you enjoy the least and why? And there might be some correlation with like, you know, Bob and Stacey, they might hate something that the other person loves. Maybe there's a way to flip the script and and and have them work on the things they love.
SPEAKER_00:That's one of the the exercises we do on the workshops, basically. Again, it's when you when you identify what brings you joy. There's a uh uh I I I haven't discovered anything. I I've been using what people are using, but there's uh a guy named uh Mike Rocker, and he's a he's an expert in happiness. So he's I I love his books, I love what he does, and he has this called a fun file, and I've made it a joy file. But you create this joy file where you if I ask you 10 things that you don't like, you name them like that.
SPEAKER_01:Sure.
SPEAKER_00:I hate traffic, I hate guns, I hate whatever you want to tell me. Yeah, uh, but if I tell you, give me 10 things that you really enjoy, and people it takes time because you're not used to it. But if you create that joy file and you access some of that of those things that you enjoy every day, you start having better days. And there's no some of them are very, very, very simple things calling a friend that you make you laugh, listening to uh uh a song that makes you feel better, listening to a stand-up comedian, listening to a joke, reading something, listen, whatever that joy file is yours, and everybody has a different joy file. And if you access consciously those things that bring you joy on a regular basis, and you start creating a habit out of it, it it it becomes a different life, yeah, and a different way to approach your work and your daily activities.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. Well, I love that. I feel like there's probably more tips and tricks and tools that you can share with us. But as we wrap up with the audience today, is there one last thought or tip or trick you want to share?
SPEAKER_00:One last one. I believe that the first the first part of it is to recognize that you're not enjoying your life. And I I don't it's it's not about being it's true when you go through life just living and doing things, doing things, the way that they put it in there, the human doing instead of human being, you human doing, you do and do and do and do, and you cannot have the even the time to realize that you're not enjoying what you're doing, uh it's uh it's sad. So the first thing I would recommend everybody is step down, slow down for a little, and uh find out if you like what you're doing. And again, it doesn't mean necessarily that okay, then I'm gonna divorce, I'm gonna run away, I'm gonna quit my job. No, that that's that's not what this means. It means where I'm standing at, what's happening? Do I enjoy my marriage? Do I enjoy being a parent? Do I enjoy you start dissecting all of those and trying to find out what you really like and what you don't?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And the things that you don't, what can I do to start enjoying them a little bit more? And that's a conscious decision. You cannot just say, well, tomorrow I'm gonna start enjoying everything. It doesn't work that way.
SPEAKER_01:Right. Yeah, exactly. Well, VCO, thank you so much for today. I enjoyed our conversation. And for the listeners, I hope you did as well. And we will see you on the next one. Thanks so much for joining us.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you very much for having me. Take care.
SPEAKER_01:Bye. That's a wrap for today's episode of Scaling with People. If you got value from this conversation, do me a favor, share it with someone building something big. And hey, I'd love to hear your take. Drop a comment, shoot me a message, or start a conversation. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss the bold, unfiltered strategies we drop every week. I'm Gwendar Cuerry, founder and CEO of Guide2HR, where we help high growth companies scale smart with people for strategies and AI powered systems that don't just keep up, they lead. If you're building fast and want your HR to move faster, head to guide2hr.com and let's talk. And remember, scale isn't just about speed, it's about people. Until next time, have a great one.
