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.comWe want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@theready.comLooking 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.comWe want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@theready.comLooking 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.comWe want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@theready.comLooking 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.comWe want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@theready.comLooking 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 podcast@theready.comLooking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.comOur 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 podcast@theready.comLooking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.comOur 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 GlazebrookWe want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@theready.comLooking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.comOur 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 podcast@theready.comLooking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.comOur 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 podcast@theready.comLooking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.comOur book is available now at bravenewwork.com

Aaron Dignan, co-founder of a consulting firm that transforms organizations, and Rodney Evans, an innovative workplace strategist, tackle the pitfalls of annual performance reviews. They argue that these outdated practices fail to benefit both managers and employees. Instead, they advocate for a shift towards tailored feedback systems that prioritize personal growth and team outcomes over rigid metrics. The duo explores how open communication and subjective feedback can empower employees, fostering a healthier and more productive work culture.