Adopting new ways of working can come with a lot of excitement and buzz. It’s thrilling to move from having nothing to having something to having something that really sings. Then different questions pop up: How do you sustain the new-ways-of-working spark over time? What ingredients does a system need to avoid slouching toward staleness and mediocrity? What practices might you be propping up past their prime? It’s easy to default to complacency—to accept that what’s working is good enough. But if you want an organization that’s always leveling up, always evolving its work to feel more joyful and energized, and always sensing into the next thing, it starts with asking these questions. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk about how to stay in pursuit of what’s possible, and stay excited along the way.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

Social networks aren’t new. Humans have always gathered together and forged communities. But deliberately organizing those networks around shared principles, shared context, and a shared purpose is a powerful way we can help address some of the world’s most complex problems. A system that brings individuals and organizations together for learning and collaborative action is what David Ehrlichman calls an “impact network,” a scaled-out (rather than scaled-up) approach to creating greater change. In fact, David wrote the book on the subject—Impact Networks: Create Connection, Spark Collaboration, and Catalyze Systemic Change—which is why we invited him onto the podcast to talk about planning for emergence, unlearning command-and-control models, and the five activities all impact networks leverage to successfully co-create at scale.Learn more about David's work and Converge here: https://www.converge.net/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 world faces enormously complex and existential challenges. While specific solutions might feel elusive, it’s safe to say that in order to address the most polarizing issues of our time, we’ll need more and better collaboration—more and better tools to help us work together across deep differences and make progress. According to Adam Kahane, a director at Reos Partners, that means the world requires more and better facilitators. In his most recent book, Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together, Adam proposes a theory and practice of what he calls “transformative facilitation,” which focuses less on getting (or forcing) people to do things and more on removing obstacles to greater contribution, connection, and equity. In this episode of Brave New Work, Adam shares with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans how he’s reimagining this work and who we think of as “facilitators” in the first place.Find out more about Reos Partners and Adam's work here: https://reospartners.com/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

We’ve talked a lot about action meetings on the show. And retrospectives. And governance. And strategy sessions. Maybe you’ve wondered, “What do these meetings have to do with one another? How do they actually interact? Do they?” We’re glad you asked. Because when woven together, they constitute an organization’s operating rhythm—or heartbeat. And sweating the design of that pulse—intentionally building the structural relationship from beat to beat—is what allows teams to unlock their most important work and make progress.In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans break down an OG operating rhythm’s fundamental parts, explore how it enables a system to move work forward, and dish about the fruits (greater clarity, efficiency, and accountability to name a few) of this labor.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

Ask 10 different people to define sustainability and you could get 10 different answers. That’s because while more and more companies are discussing their environmental impact and efforts, there’s still a lot of work to be done to meaningfully address the global climate crisis. But ask Hana Kajimura how she and Allbirds see sustainability and you get the talk and the walk: Allbirds believes climate change is the biggest issue facing humanity and aims to reverse climate change through better business. As the company’s head of sustainability, that lofty goal doesn’t rest only at Hana’s feet; it’s woven throughout the entire org as a first principle. So how does that influence Allbirds’ approach to making tradeoffs over time? How is the company innovating not only its products but its actual ways of working to hit sustainability targets more sustainably? Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans get into all of it with Hana in this episode of Brave New Work.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

Why can it feel tough to get people hype about self-management and the Brave New Work-ness of it all? How can we build buzz and momentum around new ways of working to get folks excited about playing and committing to an entirely different game? How can we meaningfully communicate these ideas to overcome the fatigue and fear that often accompanies big change?In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk about the difficulty of introducing new mental models to those still swimming in the status quo and why it’s important for orgs to align and agree on the problems that need solving before leaping to solutions.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

This is the ninth episode in a crossover mini-series between Brave New Work cohosts Rodney Evans and Aaron Dignan and Chase Chapman, builder of DAOs and host of the On the Other Side podcast. Each episode dives into a specific topic related to organizational design for Web3. Today, they talk about how DAOs are thinking about leadership and why expanding the definition of leadership means expanding the number of tools at our disposal to build better and stronger systems.

This is the eighth episode in a crossover mini-series between Brave New Work cohosts Rodney Evans and Aaron Dignan and Chase Chapman, builder of DAOs and host of the On the Other Side podcast. Each episode dives into a specific topic related to organizational design for Web3.Today, they talk about the different reputational flavors and expressions that show up in Web3 (and all ecosystems for that matter) and the possibility that personal agendas can melt away when a system’s needs are clear.

This is the seventh episode in a crossover mini-series between Brave New Work cohosts Rodney Evans and Aaron Dignan and Chase Chapman, builder of DAOs and host of the On the Other Side podcast. Each episode dives into a specific topic related to organizational design for Web3.Today, they talk about centralization’s downsides (it can create hurdles and sludge), its upsides (it can let people at the edges move quickly), and how a system can be deliberate about its tradeoffs.

[This episode originally aired in June 2021.] With his organization Sociocracy for All, Ted Rau is helping organizations empower their members, and put a spotlight on equity. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk to Ted about his book, Many Voices One Song, consent-based decision-making, and the challenges of getting the ball rolling with large orgs.Check out Ted's book here: https://www.sociocracyforall.org/mvos/Learn more about Ted's work here: https://www.sociocracyforall.org/teams/ted-rau/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