At Work with The Ready

We're opening up the mailbag. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans tackle the topics of some of your most fascinating questions, from gossip to peer feedback to all-hands meetings. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans dive into our mailbag and answer some of the top questions we're hearing from our listeners. Questions featured in this episode: Is back channeling good or bad in the workplace? How to get colleagues comfortable giving each other peer-to-peer feedback? What's a more participatory way to prioritize and commit to work? What's an all hands meeting actually good for? Talk more about self-set pay and what The Ready is experimenting with around money Mentioned references: "gossip and group dynamics" Alastair's episode: BNW Ep. 65 with Alastair Steward performance management episode: BNW Ep. 56 Kim Scott's episode: BNW Ep. 13 with Kim Scott "Shape up method" from Basecamp Theory Y Loom retreats episode: BNW Ep. 64 "essential intent" Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

Kevin Kelly, the founding editor of WIRED Magazine, has spent years documenting and photographing life in the furthest corners of the Asian continent—and in the process, he's recorded a way of living that is quickly disappearing in the face of the continent's bracing visions for the future. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk to Kevin about what we, in our work, can learn from the varied and disparate cultures he's spent much of his life experiencing. Learn more about "Vanishing Asia" on Kickstarter. Learn more about Kevin: On his website On his Instagram By reading The Technium Blog By subscribing to the Recomendo newsletter. Mentioned references: Kevin's previous appearance: BNW Ep. 34 with Kevin Kelly H-Mart David Hockney Asia Grace, Kevin's earlier photography book Kodak Brownie Shenzhen Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Haier "org debt" Single's Day Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com

Changing the way we work is a difficult task at a company with 150 employees. But what about one with. say, 100,000? In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk to Bill Anderson, CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals, about his recent work in reshaping the company's structure and processes, change at such a large scale, and the surprising challenges that come along with such a massive undertaking. Learn more about Bill and his work on LinkedIn. Mentioned references: Roche Pharmaceuticals Foundation Medicine Flatiron Health Genentech "org debt" Beyond Budgeting "reinventing organizations and Frederic Laloux": BNW Ep. 18 with Frederick Laloux SAFe VITAL Framework (see slide 8) Haier Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

Work is all about agreements—policies, processes, principles, goals, workflows, etc. So if you're starting a company from the ground up, how do you give teams the power to align on all of these things in a clear and inclusive way? What if there's already a company out there that's documented the exact policy you're looking for? And when, inevitably, that agreement needs some tweaking, how do you iterate and grow? In today's episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk about the new software startup, Murmur, which aims to do for working practices what GitHub did for code. They talk about why Aaron started the company, what the initial product will deliver, and how every new startup can agree to work better together. Learn more about Murmur at https://www.murmur.com/ Mentioned references: murmuration of starlings GitHub sociocracy holacracy participatory change async work: At Work With The Ready Ep. 7 Clippy, the Microsoft Office assistant Five whys regret minimization framework Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

One of the most important aspects of organizational change and complexity is embracing fluidity. Rather than be mired in rigid lines and forced structure, we want to be dynamic, adaptive and—in a certain sense—poetic. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk to Gayle Karen Young, an organizational development consultant and former Chief Cultural and Talent Officer at Wikimedia, about how she brings poetry into the workplace, the role of spirituality in her work, and what she calls the mythic and the mundane. Learn more about Gayle on LinkedIn and on her website. Mentioned references: Guanyin kōan The Wikimedia Foundation sangha David Whyte, poet Cynefin Susanne Cook-Greuter Viktor Frankl and Man’s Searching for Meeting Balcony perspective “tyranny of the quantifiable” Barry Johnson “polarity management” ”Let American Be America Again”, poem by Langston Hughes: ”Pushing Through”, poem by Rainer Maria Rilke ”Kindness”, poem by Naomi Shihab Nye "Working Together”, poem by David Whyte Ranier Maria Rilke Mary Oliver [Traveler, your footprints], poem by Antonio Machado Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

What's it like to onboard at a company where you don't have a boss? In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk to The Ready member Alastair Steward about his experience onboarding at the company, the concept of a "prologue," and how to situate yourself effectively in a self-managed organization. You can find Alastair here on LinkedIn. Mentioned references: "Oculus boxing game" imposter syndrome "adjacent possibles" "safe to try" "participatory governance": BNW Ep. 43 "authority": BNW Ep. 22 Shu Ha Ri "mastery": BNW Ep. 31 "OS Coffee": BNW Ep. 144 Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

It's a time-honored tradition: the company retreat. But when that conjures the specter of Ramada Inn basements and conference rooms and three-hour presentation blocks, it's clear that an update is in order. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans strategize the most efficient and effective ways to reconnect and recharge with your organizations, as well as ways we might go about planning company retreats in the new age of remote work. Mentioned references: "IDM-ing": BNW Ep. 43 Loom Tony Robbins "escape room in Charleston" Oculus Quest (now the Meta Quest) Spacial Beat Saber Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

The workplace is a wealth of knowledge. Each member of an organization is a master in their own specialized field, and in the 21st-century workplace, we're often exchanging knowledge, teaching and learning by equal measure. But in a future where self-management is key, how do we ensure this is done in a healthy way? In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans discuss how to cultivate mastery in a world of knowledge workers. Mentioned references: Second Empire/Mansard roof Baroque revival "Yehudi's episode": BNW Ep. 42 with Yehudi Meshchaninov "Mastery episode of Ready for Anything": BNW Ep. 31 Dr. Akilah Cadet Chapter or community of practice / The Spotify model The Dunning-Kruger Effect Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

Leaders in the workplace often talk about experimenting within the existing structures. But in the excitement and flurry of change, we often forget the goal of experimentation: to make it a real learning practice. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans discuss how to plan, structure, and assess change experiments with the right intentions, and for the best outcomes. Read the article based on this episode here. Mentioned references: Supernatural Foreshadowing Rodney's 4-day work week episode: BNW Ep. 81 Doug Kirkpatrick and Morning Star: BNW Ep. 54 with Doug Kirkpatrick Action Meeting episode: BNW Ep. 80 with Sam Spurlin Retrospectives episode: BNW Ep. 10 with Jordan Husney IDM (integrated decision making) episode: BNW Ep. 43 Fitness landscape from evolutionary biology "emotional experience of change": AWWTR Ep. 6 Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

It's one thing to talk about what we'd like the future of work to look like—but what about the people who'll actually make up that workforce? Wha do they want out of their work, and how do they want to shape their organizations? In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk to lecturer Todd Jick at the Columbia Business School about his class on Advanced Organizational Change, and what his students want to see for the future of work. Learn more about Todd on LinkedIn and his Columbia staff profile. Learn more about the Columbia Business School on their website. Mentioned references: "Mr. Rodgers documentary" Selma Montgomery march Novartis Nucor Steel Morning Star: BNW Ep. 54 with Doug Kirkpatrick Frederick Winslow Taylor No Rules Rules by Erin Meyer and Reed Hastings "Humanocracy": BNW Ep. 47 with Michele Zanini Haier David Marquet: BNW Ep. 8 with David Marquet "systemic justice": BNW Ep. 50 with Xavier Ramey Jennifer Hirsch, Sparkworks at Janssen We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com

There's a thing that often happens when we try to add complexity our systems: in an effort to implement procedure and reduce "risk," we often massively overcomplicate the system at its core. It seems the more we try to distance ourselves from the humans working in our systems, the more we ruin what made the systems work well in the first place. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans discuss how to solve our systems problems at the root, and how reducing inefficiency can't be entirely divorced from people. Mentioned references: "Toyota and the big red button" "Customer service at Bonobos" "the $2,000 Ritz-Carlton rule" We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com

If there's one structure in the modern workplace that feels particularly resistant to change, it's the hiring process. For years, we've followed the same basic structure: whittle down vast pools of potential, qualified candidates down to one lucky winner. But as we consider adapting our workplaces for the future, we might consider tools to reinvent the way we hire, and thus, the way we fill out our organizations for the future. In this episode, we talk to Kelsa Summer Roidt, Chief Operating and Impact Officer at Habitus, Inc., about her particularly inspiring hiring practices. Learn more about Kelsa on LinkedIn. Learn more about Habitus and what they're up to at their website. Mentioned references: IDM process: BNW Ep. 43 Turtles All the Way Down Conway’s law Other BNW episodes about hiring practices: BNW Ep. 14 with Kate Glazebrook We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com

You’ll often hear us talking about collectivism, balance, and sustainability on this show—to the point that you may well wonder, do these socialists even care about growth and profit? We do. But not in the unchecked way that has become normal in the last half century. In this episode, we let our entrepreneurial ambition out to discuss the moral case for sustainable, humane growth, and explore why the discussion around this topic gets so politically charged. Mentioned references: "the Webflow guy" - McGuire Brannon, one of the instructors from the Webflow 101 series "Patagonia" - BNW Ep. 87 with Vincent Stanley We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com

It's been quite a week for the United States of America. And as Americans, we tried to do what we always do: keep working. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans discuss the volatile, unprecedented political situation we now find ourselves in, as well as ways to take a step back and recognize that some things might just be more important than business as usual. Mentioned References: Mouse Trap the 1963 Hasbro game J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist “working agreements” - BNW Ep. 103 We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com

It's the end of the year! And for many of us, that also means the return of the dreaded performance review. As we strive to make our workplaces and organizations more human, how can we reinvent this outdated tradition into something... actually useful? In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans discuss how the standard performance management cycle fails both managers and employees, and how we can work toward a better future for feedback. Mentioned references: "radical candor" and "feedback" episode: BNW Ep. 13 with Kim Scott "profit sharing episode": BNW Ep. 36 with Nathan Barry Aikido "Little grain of truth in feedback, and discard everything else": from 15 Commitments of Conscious Leaders by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman and Kaley Warner Klemp Luchador Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Interesting in working at The Ready? View open positions here. Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com

When we begin to reckon with inequality in the workplace, a useful place to start is the concept of "epistemic injustice"—what we know, how we know, and who gets to decide and influence our reality. This concept goes deeper than simply who is in the room. This is about the stories we bring with us, the ones we build together, and how bias and representation shape the possibility of what can be. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak with Cat Swetel, a consultant specializing in data-informed coaching and increasing equity in organizations, about epistemic injustice—in the workplace and beyond. Learn more about Cat on her website, on LinkedIn, and on Twitter. Mentioned references: gaslighting Angel Street / Gas Light, 1938 play by Patrick Hamilton Judith N. Shklar, Latvian philosopher and political theorist "fishing stories" "sock puppet accounts" Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" speech Douglas Rushkoff episode: BNW Ep. 33 Bridgewater #oscarssowhite Research Your Own Practice, by John Mason Our book is available at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

While we often throw around terms like "the future of work" and "new ways of working," the reality is that much of the wisdom about how to self-organize and self-manage has been around for a long, long time. What we can learn from this is that there's really nothing new about this moment—except for the fact that more and more people are waking up to the fact that the status quo just isn't good enough. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak with Doug Kirkpatrick, author of The No-Limits Enterprise (and many others), about his origin story at The Morning Star Company and what he's learned about self-management in the decades since. Learn more about Doug on LinkedIn, Twitter, and from reading his book: The No-Limit's Enterprise. Learn more about The Morning Star Company on their website. Mentioned references: "Everything there is a season. Turn, turn": Turn! Turn! Turn! by The Byrds Chris Rufer, founder of The Morning Star Company Gary Hamel's famous "First, Let's Fire All the Managers" article from the Harvard Business Review The Winner Effect, by Ian Robertson Dr. Dacher Keltner, psychology processor at UC Berkeley Dr. Fernando Flores, author of "Conversations For Action and Collected Essays" Peter Koestenbaum, German-American philosopher We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com

It's been almost a year of working remotely due to the pandemic. And we haven't exactly been doing it right. We've just been hanging in there with too much Zoom and not enough coffee. As a result, we're a little toasty. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk about what they're seeing and feeling, and what it's going to take to make remote work... work. With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up this week in the USA, it seems like the perfect time to talk about how to recuperate, refresh, and return to work with more intention. Interesting in working at The Ready? Check current openings and apply here. Mentioned references: Seinfeld episode "The Opposite" "participatory governance episode": BNW Ep. 43 Marcus Buckingham on resiliency Steve Wozniak Google Glass Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

If you've been listening to Brave New Work for a while you might be wondering, "Is a self-managing workplace right for me?" Or, if you're already in one, you're probably curious, "How can I better recruit (and screen for) those that are a 'fit' for new ways of working?" In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans are joined by their colleague Ali Randel to talk about what it takes to survive and thrive in self-managing and self-organizing environments, and what we can do to test for those traits and skills before we jump in. Learn more about Ali on LinkedIn and by reading articles she's written on Medium. Apply to work at The Ready: https://www.theready.com/apply Mentioned references: Jerry Seinfeld's "What's the deal with...?" A "Goldilocks problem" Connect Four Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

We often wait to talk about the hard stuff until the shit has hit the fan. But what if we made space for difficult conversations before they become difficult? That's the insight at the heart of Radical Alignment, a new book that introduces a four part conversation technique designed to get couples, teams, and groups on the same page. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak with Alex Jamieson and Bob Gower about how game-changing conversations—spanning our intentions, concerns, boundaries, and dreams—can transform our lives at work and at home. Learn more about Radical Alignment and get a copy from your local bookseller. Learn more about Alex on LinkedIn and Bob on LinkedIn. Mentioned references: "I Love Lucy" theme song ICBD instructions EasyRetro (formerly FunRetro) Mural Miro "blue Hondas everywhere" - frequency illusion Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

Three months ago, we started a conversation about diversity here on the show. And within our own company, that work has continued in earnest. Yet, we've only scratched the surface on what it means to realize true equity at work. We want to go deeper. We need to do more. And we need to make sure that the momentum of the summer continues into the fall. That's why we're back to talk about JEDI once again. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak with Xavier Ramey, CEO of Justice Informed, about where we stand in the fight for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, both at work and in society at large. This is an expansive conversation that touches on the past, present, and future—and invites each of us to continue taking action. Learn more about Xavier on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and his website. Learn more about Justice Informed and their work on LinkedIn, Instagram, and their website. Mentioned references: George Floyd Breonna Taylor MeToo movement Slave patrols Michael Brown and the Ferguson uprisings 13th, a film by Ava DuVernay (Michelle Alexander makes an appearance in an interview) The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson White Fragility, by Dr. Robin DiAngelo "Central park incident" Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe Dashiki Berné Brown Ben & Jerry's equity statement Patagonia's equity stance Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

Complexity calls for a new way of working—and in particular a new way of meeting. What matters isn't the individuals in the room, but the relationships between them. Indeed, we need new interactions that change the dynamics and outcomes of our gatherings. No more limiting structures, it's time for liberating structures. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak with Keith McCandless, co-author and co-developer of Liberating Structures, about the power of microstructures in meetings and moments of collaboration. The structures Keith and the LS community have developed have shaped The Ready's work since inception. Don't miss the lessons within. Learn more about Keith on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Medium. Learn more about Liberating Structures at http://www.liberatingstructures.com. Mentioned references: "The Zen center" Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith's co-author Complexity science "1-2-4-All" "Critical Uncertainties" "Impromptu Networking" Tingsha Kaospilot New liberating structures in development: "Grief Walking" and "Talking with Pixies" "Troika Consulting" ----------------- Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

One of the most common tensions we hear from teams is "our tools and technology are not maximizing our potential." Let me translate: our company uses crap software. We experience this for many reasons—status quo bias, frugality, security, and one-stop-shop pipe dreams. But the problem is that software is not a blank canvas. It's not neutral. It has opinions. And those opinions shape what we can do (and how we do it) at work. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans share how they think about software, and why you should advocate hard for the right tools on the job. Mentioned references: Basecamp and Hey.com Slack Notion Roam Research BlueJeans Mural "Canvas": The Ready's OS Canvas "episode about information": BNW Ep. 29 Zencastr -------------- Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

We talk about bureaucracy (and its downsides) on this show all the time. But what about a humanocracy? What would that look like? Luckily, Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini have written a wonderful book to explore that question. And their answer is simple: we have to abandon the ways of the past and allow organizations to be as amazing as the people inside them. Easier said than done, but more necessary than ever. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak with Michele Zanini, co-founder of the Management Lab and co-author of Humanocracy, about the overlap between Brave New Work and Humanocracy, how urgent and vital the work of change is, and how he's learned to approach it. There are few in our space that have written as poignantly and knowingly about the perils and promise of work in the 21st century, so listen and learn along with us. Learn more about Michele on his website, on LinkedIn, or on Twitter. Learn more about Humanocracy and get the book or take the Bureaucracy Mass Index (BMI) to see where your company sits. Mentioned references: Enneagram RAND Corporation McChrystal Group JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) Abraham Maslow Douglas McGregor Rensis Likert Edgar Schein "Topeka Plant and General Foods" W.L. Gore Nucor Handelsbanken Mikhail Gorbachev's role in Perestroika and nomenklatura Zhang Ruimin, Founder and Chairman of Haier "like Taylor would" Morning Star Sun Hydraulics Martin Heidegger Immanuel Kant Oliver Hart and "incomplete contracts theory" Michelin ------------------ Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

At a sufficiently large scale, any organization that has maximum "diversity" across all variables will become average. Why? Because taking a stand—any stand—is the basis for the boundary of the firm. It's what separates what's inside from what's outside. We must answer the question: "What makes us... us?" In order to succeed, we need generative difference—members of different races, backgrounds, and experiences. But, we also need clarity and coherence. We need to be explicit about the lines that matter to us, and have enough alignment and connection that a whole emerges from the parts. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk about what it takes to achieve that level of coherence, and how easy it is to tip the scales too far in either direction. Mentioned references: "Brave New Work bookshelf": See references mentioned throughout the series, but the show notes for Ep. 12 are a great place to start. "the canvas": The Ready's OS Canvas Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

We recorded this episode in April, and to be honest, it kinda feels like April never left. All the themes that were present then are simply louder now. What has become clear in the meantime is that strategy (e.g. what is happening, what matters, and what are we doing about it) is more important than ever. But how should we think about strategy in an emergent and participatory system? Is it intuitive and built in to the very structure of the org? Is it something we have to do? How should we weigh reflection against action? In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak with Lorin Thomas-Tavel, an executive at Kaplan, about the intersection between strategy and digital transformation, and how their strategy is changing and accelerating on the ground in the midst of the pandemic. Learn more about Lorin on LinkedIn and Twitter. Learn more about Kaplan at their website. Mentioned references: Graham Holding Company Berkshire Hathaway ---------------- Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

Prior to the 1940's, the word priorities (plural) was rarely used. Because the word priority means that which comes before anything else. It's one thing! But these days, it's not uncommon for leaders and boards to demand multiple, often contradictory outcomes at the same time. We want faster output AND higher quality. We want to grow market share in our core category AND open three new categories. We want to hit the impossible target AND have work life balance. But as the saying goes, if everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority. What we need is a way to make tradeoffs explicit and strategic. And that's exactly what "over" statements and "even/over" statements do. They ask us to put one good thing even over another good thing. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans discuss how to create and leverage even over statements, and how they can help any team at any level focus on what truly matters now. As promised, we've also included three of our even/over statements for the Brave New Work podcast here in the show notes: Authenticity e/o Polish (We keep it real, including the occasional curse word) Depth e/o Breadth (We'll do a whole episode—or five—on prioritization) Brevity e/o Freedom to Roam (We try to keep it snappy and we ask guests to do the same) Read our article on even/overs on Medium. Mentioned references: Tom Thomison: BNW Ep. 16 HolacracyOne The Cheesecake Factory menu Patagonia's "Don't Buy This Jacket" ad "Essential Intent" "Governance episode": BNW Ep. 43 "Teal context" - Teal organizations "Episode about hiring": BNW Ep. 14 ---------- Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com ---------- 00:00 Intro + Check-in: What’s a difficult trade off that you’ve made and did it pan out for you? 04:49 What are even/overs and where did they come from? 09:33 More is not always better 11:14 Examples of good even/over statements 19:25 Even/overs don’t necessarily mean you won’t get the second thing 21:13 Using even/overs around Brave New Work principles 29:30 Facilitating a team to get good even/overs 35:00 Using even/overs when all decisions look like the right one 39:20 Good even/overs can be counter-intuitive 42:45 Wrap up: Leave us a review and send us your favorite even/overs!

Making decisions at work can be perilous. It's not always clear who has the authority to make them. And even when it is, it's usually just a chosen few that benefit. So, it's no surprise that making decisions about how we govern the organization—designing the rules and roles that underpin everything, is so hard that it's often avoided altogether. That's why one of our favorite things to share is a form of governance that has its roots in the Quakerism, Sociocracy, and more recently, Holacracy. But the best part is you don't have to completely reinvent your way of working to get started. If you believe in iterative progress AND the notion that everyone should have a voice in steering the organization, you're ready to play. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans introduce the concept of participatory governance, and talk about its many benefits (and occasional challenges). Check out our article about participatory governance. Mentioned references: "JEDI episode" - BNW Ep. 40 with Sharan Bal Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun Dr. Akilah Cadet Quaker decision making Consent decision making Gerard Endenburg "Future Tension" - BNW Ep. 16 Thomas Thomison "Leading through transformation" - BNW Ep. 8 with David Marquet "Liberating structures" - BNW Ep. 49 with Keith McCandless McChrystal Group The Ready's Decision Proposal Template (no need to email us!) "Action meetings" "Retrospectives" - BNW Ep. 10 with Jordan Husney -------------- Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com -------------- 00:00 Intro + Check-In: What have you done lately to contribute to a more just society or confront your own privilege? 05:12 History of governance 09:24 How tensions lead to proposals 12:55 Understanding “safe to try” 18:25 Judgement without experiencing is not the move 21:03 Participatory governance process step by step 29:13 How it’s a game changer to objections and getting things done 33:31 How rounds disrupts power structures and dynamics in organizations 40:56 When to start with participatory governance in your team 48:53 Wrap up: Leave us a review!

The stories of self-management and decentralization from evolutionary organizations like Buurtzorg, Morning Star, FAVI, Haier, and others are often told breathlessly, as if it was "happily ever after." But, the truth has to be more... nuanced, right? Indeed it is. More adaptive and human ways of working are not without their own frustrations and tradeoffs. The question is: are they worth it? In this episode of Brave New Work, (technically the first "colleague-as-guest" episode though BNW is releasing it late), Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans are joined by Yehudi Meshchaninov to talk about what it's really like to work in a system like The Ready. Learn more about Yehudi on LinkedIn. Mentioned references: self-management holacracy sociocracy "the circles" [see "circle structure" in the holacracy link above] Roundabouts from the Brave New Work talk Dungeons & Dragons meritocracy Ali Randel, partner at The Ready Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com ----------------------- 00:00 Intro + Check-In: What is one way your work self is different than the way you are at home with your family and friends? 03:11 What inspired this discussion? 06:44 The hard parts of a self-managing system 16:02 Ways to replenish yourself and maintain discipline about how you show up 21:07 Patterns and persistent dynamics in self-managing systems 29:29 Role of fear in self-managing systems 36:58 Where the broader culture sits on the future of work and its shadow sides 41:54 Wrap up: Leave us a review!

Any podcast that promotes busting bureaucracy and hobbling hierarchy is bound to stir up some questions. That's why this week we're going to let our listeners Ask Us Anything. For this episode, we took to Twitter and LinkedIn to find out what you're wondering about. And you came through big time. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans hear questions about check-in rounds, leadership, and the post-pandemic move back to work. If you ever feel a question percolating as you're listening, just drop us a line at [email protected] and we'll include you in a future episode. Mentioned references: Arnold Palmer Maker's Mark Miranda Priestly, from The Devil Wears Prada Gordon Gekko saying "Greed is good" from Wall Street (1987) with Michael Douglas A Hitchhiker's Guide to a Permanently Flipped Workplace by Allison Baum Gates Starbucks store design Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com ------------------- 00:00 Intro + Check-In: If you were a beverage of any kind, what would you be? 03:00 Question 1 - Do check in rounds always need to be fun? Should I be making them more serious? 06:26 Question 2 - Why is the type of leader who only takes and is mostly interested in themselves typically over-represented in a company’s leadership, vs those who give and focus on collaboration? 14:07 Question 3 - What should leaders and teams be thinking about as they transition towards “return to office” discussions? 21:58 Wrap Up: Send us your questions!

It's been six weeks since George Floyd was murdered, and activism around the Black Lives Matter movement has reached new heights. For many of us, it's triggered incredibly challenging conversations and reflections about who we are and who we want to be. It feels like now is the time for real change—but what kind? How can each of us play our part without blame or shame? And where do we begin? In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans are joined by their colleague and resident JEDI knight, Sharan Bal to talk about the peril and promise of this moment, and what change agents like us ought to do about it. We don't have all the answers, but we're starting anyway. Learn more about Sharan on LinkedIn. Mentioned references: US Climate Action Network Cornel West Tiye Sherrod-Robinson Black Lives Matter The Ready's OS Canvas "implicit bias" Frederick Winslow Taylor ("Taylorism") scientific management The Ready's hiring process: BNW Ep. 14 "the Boston Review article": How Slavery Inspired Modern Business Management (2018) Henry Gantt, creator of the Gantt chart Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun, authors of the Dismantling Racism Workbook ----------- Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com ----------- 00:00 Intro + Check-In: What should our listeners know about us and our social identities? 04:02 What is JEDI 10:04 The Ready’s position in this moment 12:16 Thinking about change using the OS Canvas 20:51 Is it the people or the system or both? 25:29 The real learning doesn’t happen in the training. It happens in the work 31:35 All “modern” work practices predate the civil Rights movement 36:24 What might “different” actually look like 49:29 What’s next for The Ready’s JEDI journey 55:41 Wrap Up: Leave us a review!

We recorded this episode almost two months ago, and while so much has changed since then (look for an upcoming episode on DEI and BLM), the challenges we face sitting down at our computers every morning have not. They've only intensified. How are we supposed to move our work forward with everything that's going on out there in the world? And what is productivity when it's not defined by economists but by us? In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak with David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, about how to define and achieve progress in a period of chaos and distraction. Learn more about David Allen on LinkedIn and Twitter, or by reading his book Getting Things Done (2015 rev.). Learn more about the Getting Things Done at the website. Mentioned references: Brian Robertson, co-founder of HolacracyOne The law of requisite variety holacracy Ready for Anything (2004) by David Allen Marie Kondo The Organized Mind (2014) by Daniel Levitin Successful Aging (2020) by Daniel Levitin Getting Things Done Workbook -------------- Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

With much of the working world collaborating remotely these days, one thing is abundantly clear: facilitation matters, especially when we're not in the same room. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans commiserate about the difficulty of keeping everybody focused from afar, as well as the top tips and tricks for producing a great remote meeting. Mentioned references: -Parabol -Basecamp -------------------- Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com --------------------- 00:00 Intro + Check-in: What is your current setup for a marathon video meeting? 03:43 Purpose of a facilitator and types of meetings 06:37 Remote facilitation quirks we’re seeing out in the wild early in the pandemic 13:50 Pace of meetings 15:39 Role of meeting chat/discussion spaces 22:30 Video vs no video - a time for both 24:00 Remote facilitator’s responsibility for vibes 28:26 Wrap-up: Leave us a review and tell your friends!

Without bureaucracy and compliance, how can we ensure that we remain aligned and coherent while also leaving room for judgment? The answer: principles. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans explore how to craft a useful principle—and how to make use of them day-to-day. Read The Ready's article for more information on principles here. Mentioned references: hangboards Principles (2017) by Ray Dalio 'Beyond Budgeting" "Even Overs" - BNW Ep. 44 "canvas areas" - The Ready's OS Canvas "safe to try" ------------------ Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com ------------------ 00:00 Intro + Check-In: What are you doing for fitness these days? 03:46 Defining principles 12:42 Considering first principles for a team 16:40 Using principles to guide away from shenanigans 23:18 Nervous system response to strong principles 26:34 Picking your principles 35:51 Aaron and Rodney’s principles hit list 41:03 Wrap up. Leave us a review!

Not that long ago, we were living in a grow-grow-grow economy where stock options in a hot venture-backed startup were what most employees coveted. Today, a profitable bootstrapped company that shares its profit with its own employees feels like a revelation. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak with Nathan Barry, founder and CEO of ConvertKit, about how his bootstrapped software company shares profit with its employees, and while we're at it, how they think about compensation more generally. Hopefully, some of our listeners will follow in their footsteps. Learn more about Nathan on LinkedIn and Twitter. You can read the thread that sparked this episode here: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry/status/1231227172238422016 Learn more about ConvertKit at their website. Mentioned references: ConvertKit's publicly available financial metrics Coinbase's decision making framework (PPS and RAPIDs) Radford Global Compensation Database "Joel and the transparency episode": BNW Ep. 6 nathanbarry.com/uncertainty ----------- Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com ----------- 00:00 Intro + Check-In: Share one way in which you are difficult to work with, and one way in which you are easy to work with. 04:21 Nathan’s ConvertKit story 05:56 ConvertKit’s profit sharing approach 13:16 Walking away from tying performance intro profit sharing 17:03 Calculating what profit is available to share 20:20 Shadow of profit sharing 24:09 ConvertKit’s transparency principles 27:07 The other components of compensation 33:06 Trade-offs to reach philosophical outcomes 36:37 Nathan’s advice for leaders navigating this moment 39:44 Wrap Up: Leave us a review!

Most of us are working remotely. But we're just treading water, we haven't really mastered it. That's why it's important to talk about remote work after the novelty wears off—when the home office is just... the office. In this episode, we speak with Sid Sijbrandij, Cofounder and CEO of GitLab, about how their 1,290 team members work remotely in support of a $2.75B business. For Sid's team, remote work is a way of life. What can we learn from them? In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans explore what happens when a company isn't forced to be remote, but actually wants to be. Learn more about Sid on LinkedIn and Twitter. Learn More about GitLab at their website or on Twitter. Learn more about GitLab’s remote work policies. Mentioned references: Y Combinator GitLab Handbook GitLab Unfiltered Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

It's the question that's on everyone's mind these days: "What does the future hold?" In moments like these when uncertainty is especially high, having the right lenses and mental models is the difference between being ready and being overwhelmed. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak with Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick at WIRED and author of The Inevitable, about how he thinks (about how he thinks) about predicting the future. And we make some guesses of our own. Learn more about Kevin at his website and find him on Twitter. Mentioned references: The Jetsons Brian Eno Lateral thinking The Inevitable, by Kevin Kelly (2016) Scenario thinking Contagion (2011 film) Star Trek communicator 1984, by George Orwell (1949) ------------------------------------------ Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

With the Ready For Anything series behind us, we're jumping right in to Season Three of the podcast! For this season, we're going to play with the format—making it shorter, sweeter, and (hopefully) even more helpful. Before the pandemic, many of our technologies, markets, and institutions had what Douglas Rushkoff calls an "antihuman agenda." Today, the limitations of that agenda are showing. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak with Douglas about how our economic and social operating systems need to change (and are changing) to meet this moment. Learn more about Douglas at his website and on LinkedIn. Learn more about Team Human at the website or by listening to the Team Human podcast. Mentioned references: Team Human - Douglas Rushkoff Get Back In The Box - Douglas Rushkoff Jack Welch, Chairman and CEO of GE Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus - Douglas Rushkoff Bullshit Jobs - David Graeber “The Bilderberg Group” Ricardo Semler's quote "mandala" Skunk Works Norman Vincent Peale and The Power of Positive Thinking --------------------------- Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

This is the thirteenth and final episode in a series devoted to teams in transition due to the Novel Coronavirus. It's about more than simply adapting to remote work—it's about adopting (in the midst of this chaos) a way of working that will make you ready for anything. Today's episode explores the area of compensation and the role that will play in navigating this uncertainty. This Brave New Work miniseries with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans is based on The Ready's OS Canvas which is featured in Brave New Work. Mentioned references: George Michael - Freedom! -Ready For Anything - Strategy: BNW Ep. 24 Send the questions you'd like to see answered in this series to [email protected] Does your team need help navigating this moment? Email us at [email protected]

This is the twelfth episode in a series devoted to teams in transition due to the Novel Coronavirus. It's about more than simply adapting to remote work—it's about adopting (in the midst of this chaos) a way of working that will make you ready for anything. Today's episode explores the area of mastery and the role that will play in navigating this uncertainty. This Brave New Work miniseries with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans is based on The Ready's OS Canvas which is featured in Brave New Work. References mentioned The OS Canvas “Never memorize something that you can look up.” Albert Einstein (spurious) Shuhari (shu-ha-ri) Even-over statements: BNW Ep. 44 Retrospectives: BNW Ep. 10 Shane Parrish at Farnam Street Tim Ferriss Kim Scott’s feedback episode: BNW Ep. 13 Send the questions you'd like to see answered in this series to [email protected] Does your team need help navigating this moment? Email us at [email protected]

This is the eleventh episode in a series devoted to teams in transition due to the Novel Coronavirus. It's about more than simply adapting to remote work—it's about adopting (in the midst of this chaos) a way of working that will make you ready for anything. Today's episode explores the area of membership and the role that will play in navigating this uncertainty. This Brave New Work miniseries with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans is based on The Ready's OS Canvas which is featured in Brave New Work. Resources mentioned: The OS Canvas Seth Godin "people like us do things like this: longform article or Youtube video User Manual to Me: BNW Ep. 159 Working Agreements: BNW Ep. 2 Team Chartering: BNW Ep. 149 Retros: BNW Ep. 10 Elinor Ostrom's "rules": design principles for Common Pool Resource management Send the questions you'd like to see answered in this series to [email protected] Does your team need help navigating this moment? Email us at [email protected]

This is the tenth episode in a series devoted to teams in transition due to the Novel Coronavirus. It's about more than simply adapting to remote work—it's about adopting (in the midst of this chaos) a way of working that will make you ready for anything. Today's episode explores the area of information and the role that will play in navigating this uncertainty. This Brave New Work miniseries with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans is based on The Ready's OS Canvas which is featured in Brave New Work. Resources mentioned: The OS Canvas "Parabol and Jordan": Brave New Work, Episode 10 "Emojis with Mike from Slack": Brave New Work, Episode 2 ------------------------------------ The book that started this podcast is available now! We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit our website to get started!

This is the ninth episode in a series devoted to teams in transition due to the Novel Coronavirus. It's about more than simply adapting to remote work—it's about adopting (in the midst of this chaos) a way of working that will make you ready for anything. Today's episode explores the area of meetings and the role that will play in navigating this uncertainty. This Brave New Work miniseries with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans is based on The Ready's OS Canvas which is featured in Brave New Work. Resources mentioned: The Ready's OS Canvas Cynefin framework Dan Kim's episode: Ep. 4 with Dan Kim The retros episode: Ep. 10 with Jordan Husney Spotify daily health check Send the questions you'd like to see answered in this series to [email protected] Does your team need help navigating this moment? Email us at [email protected]

This is the eighth episode in a series devoted to teams in transition due to the Novel Coronavirus. It's about more than simply adapting to remote work—it's about adopting (in the midst of this chaos) a way of working that will make you ready for anything. Today's episode explores the area of workflow and the role that will play in navigating this uncertainty. This Brave New Work miniseries with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans is based on The Ready's OS Canvas which is featured in Brave New Work. Resources mentioned: The OS Canvas Structure on the canvas - BNW Ep. 23 Favi (autopart manufacturer) The Ready's Tension and Practice Deck WIP (“work in progress”) Basecamp episode - BNW Ep. 4 Send the questions you'd like to see answered in this series to [email protected] Does your team need help navigating this moment? Email us at [email protected]

This is the seventh episode in a series devoted to teams in transition due to the Novel Coronavirus. It's about more than simply adapting to remote work—it's about adopting (in the midst of this chaos) a way of working that will make you ready for anything. Today's episode explores the area of innovation and the role that will play in navigating this uncertainty. This Brave New Work miniseries with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans is based on The Ready's OS Canvas which is featured in Brave New Work. Resources mentioned: The OS Canvas BNW Ep 25: Resources Astro Teller BNW Ep. 34: Kevin Kelly Send the questions you'd like to see answered in this series to [email protected] Does your team need help navigating this moment? Email us at [email protected]

This is the sixth episode in a series devoted to teams in transition due to the Novel Coronavirus. It's about more than simply adapting to remote work—it's about adopting (in the midst of this chaos) a way of working that will make you ready for anything. Today's episode explores the area of resources and the role that will play in navigating this uncertainty. This Brave New Work miniseries with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans is based on The Ready's OS Canvas which is featured in Brave New Work. References Mentioned: The Ready's The OS Canvas James O. McKinsey, founder of McKinsey & Company “extrapolating trends with Douglas” - Ep. 33 with Douglass Rushkoff Beyond Budgeting Handelsbanken Our book is available now at https://www.bravenewwork.com/ We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected] Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit https://theready.com/

This is the fifth episode in a series devoted to teams in transition due to the Novel Coronavirus. It's about more than simply adapting to remote work—it's about adopting (in the midst of this chaos) a way of working that will make you ready for anything. Today's episode explores the area of strategy and the role that will play in navigating this uncertainty. This Brave New Work miniseries with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans is based on The Ready's OS Canvas which is featured in Brave New Work. References mentioned: The Ready's OS Canvas Beyond Budgeting book Even/Over statements: Brave New Work Ep. 44 Future tensions: Brave New Work Ep. 16 Essentialism by Greg McKeown Barbell strategy Three Horizons Red teaming Howard Hughes, American business magnate Ben Kaufman and CAMP: Brave New Work Ep. 9 Send the questions you'd like to see answered in this series to [email protected] Does your team need help navigating this moment? Email us at [email protected]

This is the fourth episode in a series devoted to teams in transition due to the Novel Coronavirus. It's about more than simply adapting to remote work—it's about adopting (in the midst of this chaos) a way of working that will make you ready for anything. Today's episode explores the area of structure and the role that will play in navigating this uncertainty. This Brave New Work miniseries with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans is based on The Ready's OS Canvas which is featured in Brave New Work. References mentioned: The Ready's OS Canvas Send the questions you'd like to see answered in this series to [email protected] Does your team need help navigating this moment? Email us at [email protected]

This is the third episode in a series devoted to teams in transition due to the Novel Coronavirus. It's about more than simply adapting to remote work—it's about adopting (in the midst of this chaos) a way of working that will make you ready for anything. Today's episode digs deep into the area of authority and the role that will play in navigating this uncertainty. This Brave New Work miniseries with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans is based on The Ready's OS Canvas which is featured in Brave New Work. References mentioned: The Ready's OS Canvas Cynefin framework “The waterline” and W.L. Gore Send the questions you'd like to see answered in this series to [email protected] Does your team need help navigating this moment? Email us at [email protected]

This is the second episode in a series devoted to teams in transition due to the Novel Coronavirus. It's about more than simply adapting to remote work—it's about adopting (in the midst of this chaos) a way of working that will make you ready for anything. Today's episode digs deep into the area of purpose and the role that will play in navigating this uncertainty. This Brave New Work miniseries with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans is based on The Ready's OS Canvas which is featured in Brave New Work. References mentioned: The Ready's OS Canvas Mira Shani, Rodney's yoga teacher Send the questions you'd like to see answered in this series to [email protected] Does your team need help navigating this moment? Email us at [email protected]