At Work with The Ready

Hey, how ya feeling? Exhausted? Stressed? Like a rubber band that’s finally snapped? Same. These days, the burnout paradigm seems to have shifted from the micro to the macro: Individual burnout has ballooned into collective burnout—into an overwhelming sense of being out of control and out of moves to help make things right. So, what can we do with those feelings? In today’s episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk about: What the underlying drivers of collective burnout are How it’s showing up inside workplaces and teams (including at The Ready) How we can start to tackle burnout as a society-wide challenge What org design can do to address the root of the problem How we’re taking care of ourselves and each other during a time of non-stop tumult 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

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the American legal landscape instantly changed. So did the business landscape, since more than half of Americans rely on their employers for healthcare—and that includes reproductive healthcare. Abortion as a critical workplace issue is now top-of-mind for organizations coming to grips with how they can and should respond to a post-Roe world. Emma Goldberg covers the future of work for The New York Times and has been asking big questions about abortion since the Supreme Court’s decision came down: “How will this decision reshape workplace policies? What influence will it have on the job market? How do employees want their employers to respond? How do consumers want businesses to respond? Why does this issue in particular feel so fraught?” This week on Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans ask Emma about the answers she’s been hearing.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’re coming at you with part two of the intimate conversation Rodney and Aaron cracked open last week. (Haven’t listened to part one yet? Go back and check out that episode now!) Today on Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans continue exploring the ups and downs of their professional partnership; why they chose to start working with a coach; the big lessons and lingering worries they both sit with; and why seeking out help isn’t necessarily a sign that something’s broken, but rather that you’re actually ready to dig deeper.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

In part one of a very special two-part episode from Brave New Work, Rodney Evans and Aaron Dignan talk about…themselves. Specifically, their partnership and why they decided to start working with a coach. Together, they dig into: The tensions, dynamics, and patterns that prompted them to seek outside help How they picked a coach and the skills and capabilities they wanted to level up on Why org designing their way through conflict wasn’t working Why self-work is a critical part of self-management What’s scared them, surprised them, and pushed them after a few months of coaching 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

Helping big systems learn how to evolve and sustain themselves; designing for long-term endurance rather than long-term liability; disrupting the idea that unchecked growth is always a good thing; asking “What are we designing for?” to clarify tradeoffs from the jump. Those activities not only describe the organizational design work we do at The Ready, it also describes the work of Chuck Marohn at Strong Towns, a nonprofit advocating for cities of all sizes to be safe, livable, and inviting.In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans chat with Chuck, author of Confessions of a Recovering Engineer: Transportation for a Strong Town, about the similarities between our work, how we can make our cities more resilient and complexity-conscious, and how expecting more from work can translate into expecting more from our neighborhoods.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

You keep having dope questions, so we keep offering our best answers.In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans offer their two cents on some of our most recent—and most excellent—listener queries, including: What distinguishes our work from Agile and digital transformation The organizational symptoms that prompt leaders to give new ways of working a try How to stick with experimentation and avoid snapping back to old patterns when the going gets tough And how to approach at-work complexity when at-home complexity (like becoming a parent or caring for a sick loved one)—dramatically changes 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 does it always feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get work done? How did we come to see time as a resource we could manipulate and exploit? Why does achieving “inbox zero” come with bragging rights? And how has the belief that we can command and control time totally warped not only our personal lives, but also our working lives? In today's episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans start to tease apart a few of the brain-expanding questions with guest Oliver Burkeman, the best-selling author of Four Thousand Weeks. Together, they explore what we don’t talk about when we talk about modern time management.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

Team dynamics can be tricky, especially with larger groups. Discover the magic of smaller, interdependent teams that foster trust and collaboration. Learn how to avoid pitfalls like groupthink while embracing a flexible structure in a hybrid work world. Funny stories about singing in cars add humor to the serious art of team design. Plus, insights from sports and tarot reveal the sweet spot for team size, helping you create an impactful, purpose-driven environment. Get ready to rethink how you size up your team!

The Covid-19 pandemic marked a sea change in how most people think about work. The mind-numbing norms and deeply-rooted inequities that defined our day-to-day working lives were upended, exposed, and called out for being (let’s face it) what they’ve been all along: rigid, harmful, unacceptable, and unproductive. The good news: Many companies are acknowledging that how we work needs major upgrades—ones that enable real autonomy and flexibility.Of course, wanting a flexible work strategy and designing one that works for your organization are two different things. That’s why Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans teamed up with Brian Elliott and Sheela Subramanian—the Executive Leader and Vice President, respectively, of Slack’s Future Forum think tank—for this very special episode of Brave New Work. Together with Helen Kupp, Brian and Sheela co-wrote the new book How the Future Works, a step-by-step guide on building a flexible, inclusive, and digital-first workplace. We jam with them on the fundamental bedrock elements teams need to transform and weave future-of-work practices into their present-day lives.Link to Sheela, Brian, and Helen Kupp's book, "How The Future Works": https://futureforum.com/how-the-future-works/Slack's Future Forum: https://futureforum.com/Sheela Subramanian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheelasubramanian/Brian Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/belliott/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

Dive into the intriguing parallels between creativity in music, gaming, and organizational design. Learn how improvisation fuels adaptability in unpredictable environments. The hosts share personal stories that reveal instincts in high-pressure situations and the importance of teamwork. Discover how past experiences shape current performance, and why embracing complexity with playfulness fosters innovation. Ultimately, trust and communication are the keys to thriving both in collaborative gaming and dynamic workplaces.