Épisodes

  • Depthfinding: Sunshine Zone - Artifacts, Org Charts, and Metrics

    Depthfinding: Sunshine Zone - Artifacts, Org Charts, and Metrics
    Feb 10 2025
    In this miniseries, we’re exploring Depthfinding—an easy-to-grasp framework designed to help leaders and teams solve their gnarliest cross-functional challenges. This week, Rodney and Sam dive into the Sunshine Zone—the highly visible work of organizations, from strategy decks and OKRs to mission statements and financial targets. While these elements are easy to track and refine, spending too much time in the Sunshine Zone often leads to performative goal setting, misaligned priorities, and a disconnect from the deeper work that actually drives change. Leaders who want real progress—not just a well-polished plan—need to balance the visible with the essential. Cultivating adaptability, feedback loops, and space for creative, cross-functional work is the key to moving beyond surface-level success. Download the Depthfinding guide to get the template and examples of how to use it. Want to learn more about Depthfinding? Head here: theready.com/depthfinding -------------------------------- Want future of work insights and experiments you can try delivered to your inbox? Sign up here. Follow us on your favorite platforms for more org design nerdery: LinkedIn Instagram -------------------------------- Mentioned references: EBITDA ACT Matrix "womperjawed" "90% of executives failing to reach strategic goals" operating rhythm: BNW Ep. 118 Deming quote "Bach suite" SMART goals This episode's theme music is Yaggadang by BG & Coyote Radio. Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of Coupe Studios.
    Voir plus Voir moins
    48 min
  • Depthfinding: Sky - Threats and Opportunities

    Depthfinding: Sky - Threats and Opportunities
    Jan 27 2025
    In this miniseries, we’re exploring Depthfinding—an easy-to-grasp framework designed to help leaders and teams solve their gnarliest cross-functional challenges. This week, Rodney and Sam look at the Sky—the external forces like market shifts, technological disruptions, and political changes that shape your organization. While most companies are comfortable staying heads-down in the day-to-day, failing to look outward creates costly blind spots that lead to org debt, misaligned strategy, and even existential risk. Cultivating a regular practice of looking up and outward is the key to successfully meeting this moment—and all the ones to come. Download the Depthfinding guide to get the template and examples of how to use it. Want to learn more about Depthfinding? Head here: theready.com/depthfinding -------------------------------- Want future of work insights and experiments you can try delivered to your inbox? Sign up here. Follow us on your favorite platforms for more org design nerdery: LinkedIn Instagram -------------------------------- Mentioned references: lido deck Deep River potato chips the giant Snickers "building the bridge to the next thing" - dual transformation Kodak's digital revolution moment the Information age "op rhythm": BNW Ep. 118 "Liberating Structures": BNW Ep. 49 with Keith McCandless Critical Uncertainties red team "essential intent": BNW Ep. 90 with Greg McKeown This episode's theme music is Yaggadang by BG & Coyote Radio. Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of Coupe Studios.
    Voir plus Voir moins
    51 min
  • Depthfinding: Solve Your Cross-Functional Problems…Finally!

    Depthfinding: Solve Your Cross-Functional Problems…Finally!
    Jan 13 2025
    Over the last decade at The Ready, we’ve seen firsthand that the most significant organizational challenges are nearly all cross-functional. But most company structures? Very much not cross-functional. Adding more project managers, looking to external partners for one-and-done silver bullets, or assembling yet another task force just isn’t cutting it as the world changes faster than most organizations can keep up. Enter Depthfinding—an easy-to-grasp framework designed to help leaders and teams solve their gnarliest cross-functional challenges. In our new Depthfinding miniseries, Rodney and Sam will help you see your organization in a new way whether you’re individual contributor or a C-Suite executive. Ready? Let’s dive in. Download the Depthfinding guide to get the template and example Rodney mentioned in this episode. Want to learn more about Depthfinding? Head here: theready.com/depthfinding -------------------------------- Want future of work insights and experiments you can try delivered to your inbox? Sign up here. Follow us on your favorite platforms for more org design nerdery: LinkedIn Instagram -------------------------------- Mentioned references: The Ready's OS Canvas strategy pancakes: AWWTR Ep. 2 even/overs: BNW Ep. 44 essential intent: BNW Ep. 90 with Greg McKeown check-in round This episode's theme music is Yaggadang by BG & Coyote Radio. Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of Coupe Studios.
    Voir plus Voir moins
    36 min
  • 25. 1M Downloads and Counting: Looking Back on 2024

    25. 1M Downloads and Counting: Looking Back on 2024
    Dec 23 2024
    2024 felt like a bit of a rollercoaster—and while we’re ready to close the book on this year, we wouldn’t be first-class org designers if we passed up the chance to hold a retrospective. Add in the fact that this is Rodney’s 200th episode and BNW + AWWTR have crossed the one million download milestone, and a little celebration feels like the right thing. In today’s episode, Rodney and Sam reflect on the show’s 2024 season—including the episodes they loved, the episodes they want a do-over on, and what they hope for the show in 2025. We want to know what you think! Take our 2024 Listener Survey. -------------------------------- Want future of work insights and experiments you can try delivered to your inbox? Sign up here. Follow us on your favorite platforms for more org design nerdery: LinkedIn Instagram -------------------------------- Mentioned references: The Future of HR Miniseries The Ready's OS Canvas RACI episode: AWWTR Ep. 10 Leaders as org designers episode: AWWTR Ep. 13 "McGillicuddy" All the small things episode: AWWTR Ep. 19 "video about the woman who doesn't use a calendar" Jason Fox episode: AWWTR Ep. 17 with Jason Fox Dual Transformation, book from 2017
    Voir plus Voir moins
    35 min
  • The Future of HR: Giving HRBPs the Future-of-Work Makeover They Deserve [Rebroadcast]

    The Future of HR: Giving HRBPs the Future-of-Work Makeover They Deserve [Rebroadcast]
    Dec 9 2024
    Rebroadcast note: We're hard at work recording a brand new miniseries for January, so this week we're resharing one this episode from our Future of HR miniseries. As we've worked with companies over the last year to reimagine their HR departments, we've seen this episode's ideas and lessons about evolving the HRBP even more important in practice. So take a listen with some fresh ears, and we'll see in two weeks with a brand new episode. The role of HR Business Partner is often a tale of two experiences. On the one hand, HRBPs are some of the most empathetic and passionate people you’ll ever meet. On the other hand, they’re stuck on the hamster wheel of busywork, bouncing from crisis to crisis without the authority to prioritize their energy—and without the respect from leadership to make a real difference. Look up “burnout” in the dictionary and odds are you’ll find a picture of an HRBP. In this miniseries, Brave New Work’s Rodney Evans is joined by friend-of-the-pod and Ready OG Sam Spurlin to dive into how HR can become more resilient, efficient, and equitable. Today on episode 5, they explore how this critical role took a hard left turn from it’s intended purpose, what its future-of-work glow-up (hello, HR Business Coach) could look like, and how HR Business Coaches + Mission-Based Teaming = unlimited potential. References mentioned: Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Episode 1481 "Talks about Competition" (1981). "How People Make Crayons" begins at 05:20. American Gladiators Dave Ulrich, of the Ulrich HR model -------------- Learn more about The Future of HR at our website. Curious where your company sits on our 5-stage maturity model? Take our assessment and find out! Have a burning HR question for Rodney and Sam to answer? Email us at fohr@theready.com. Ready to get started moving your HR department into the future? Email us at fohr@theready.com or hello@theready.com.
    Voir plus Voir moins
    39 min
  • 24. Ask Us Anything No. 3

    24. Ask Us Anything No. 3
    Nov 25 2024
    It’s mailbag time! And while we know we said this last time, we really mean it that this was probably the hardest group of questions we’ve dealt with on the show yet! Rodney and Sam get out their thinking caps and answer some questions from listeners like you about non-traditional organizational leadership, workplace dynamics around project capacity planning, and more. Questions tackled: Are great teams and strategies impossible without traditional leadership? Can project capacity planning be done in a people-positive, complexity conscious way? Why do traditional orgs bias towards convergent thinking, especially around annual planning? How do you prioritize cross-functional initiatives between leadership and teams that avoids zombie projects and mutual disappointment? -------------------------------- Interested in learning more about Depthfinding and the ocean framework? Head here. Want future of work insights and experiments you can try delivered to your inbox? Sign up here. Follow us on your favorite platforms for more org design nerdery: LinkedIn Instagram -------------------------------- Mentioned references: the LinkedIn post asked about Rube Goldberg machine "MBT" (mission-based team): FoHR Miniseries Ep. 1 "DAO": BNW Ep. 96 with Chase Chapman "product mindset episode": AWWTR Ep. 23
    Voir plus Voir moins
    48 min
  • 23. Adopting a Product Mindset in Organizations

    23. Adopting a Product Mindset in Organizations
    Nov 11 2024
    There are plenty of organizations that say they want to be “customer-focused”—but in practice? It’s easy to fall back on leader-driven opinions and assumptions about what customers really want. That’s especially true in big companies with entrenched processes and hierarchies that prioritize internal agendas. In those environments, staying aligned with customer needs can be an uphill battle—and organizations instead get stuck building solutions based on what leaders think customers should want, rather than what they need, leaving exciting opportunities on the cutting room floor. In this episode, Rodney and Sam dig into what it actually takes to adopt a product mindset. From navigating a “hammer looking for nails” ethos to designing flexible solutions that adapt to actual user behavior, they unpack how to bring customer-centricity into daily practice—and what to do when you start to veer off course. -------------------------------- Want future of work insights and experiments you can try delivered to your inbox? Sign up here. Follow us on your favorite platforms for more org design nerdery: LinkedIn Instagram -------------------------------- Mentioned references: Depthfinding psych safety ep: AWWTR Ep. 20 experimentation ep: BNW Ep. 62 founder mode ep: AWWTR Ep. 22 Josh Bersin ep: The Future of HR Ep. 12 with Josh Bersin revealed preference
    Voir plus Voir moins
    47 min
  • 22. Founder Mode vs. Manager Mode is the Wrong Question

    22. Founder Mode vs. Manager Mode is the Wrong Question
    Oct 28 2024
    If you’ve been on LinkedIn this past month, you’ve likely seen at least one post (or more than you’d care to) about “founder mode.” Presented as a counter to “manager mode” (meant to represent highly bureaucratic leadership rife with micromanaging and delegation), “founder mode” is all about championing the pioneering, hands-on behaviors of startup founders scaled to organizations of any size. And sure, when these are the only choices, anything that’s not “manager mode” sounds like a good option. But show us a binary, and we’ll respond by asking tough questions. This week Rodney and Sam dig into how “founder mode” actually shows up in practice, whether it causes more organizational harm than good, and what it means when real leadership seems to be left out of the discussion entirely. -------------------------------- Want future of work insights and experiments you can try delivered to your inbox? Sign up here. Follow us on your favorite platforms for more org design nerdery: LinkedIn Instagram -------------------------------- Mentioned references: Diane from Cheers Founder Mode, article by Paul Graham either/or thinking Kim Scott's op-ed about founder mode "people positivity episode": AWWTR Ep. 21 "strategy episode": AWWTR Ep. 2 "futures thinking" BNW Ep. 34 with Kevin Kelly Depthfinding John Cutler Ashby's Law of Requisite Variety Andon cord
    Voir plus Voir moins
    46 min