At Work with The Ready

This might sound ominous but…we’re drowning in choices. The internet and its forever-multiplying avenues of information bombards everyone around the world with an abundance (or an avalanche) of choice all of the time. So how do we boil down distractions into key essentials that give our lives meaning? That actually align with what we want? How do we get more of that? In this episode of Brave New W...

Retailers around the country—and around the world—are facing complex challenges. One of the industry’s main reckonings: Many job openings; very few applicants. Recruitment has also been top-of-mind for CAMP, a toy and family experience store that looks to hire artists, actors, musicians, magicians, singers, and camp counselors rather than those with traditional retail experience. So…how do you rei...

[Rebroadcast note: This episode originally aired in March 2020.] Our job is to keep the organization safe, right? And in order to do that we need to predict the future, see around corners, and avoid unnecessary risk. We need to be able to list all the ways the idea we're considering can go wrong. Or... do we? In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk about a concept The...

Think “union” and what comes to mind? Collective agreements and community building? Power struggles and strikes? Sepia-toned photographs of early-20th century factory floors? If you’ve never been in or around a union, they can carry a whiff of mystique—even old-fashionedness. That’s why we asked Ready member Tanisi Pooran, who’s worked in the field of labor organizing and workers’ rights, to help...

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you an exciting announcement. The Ready is hiring a first-rate Market Maker, someone who can orchestrate explosive growth in service of our purpose and steward The Ready’s approach to sales and growth. If creating a diverse pipeline of leads, building relationships with target clients, and reinventing the traditional craft of sales (among o...

Patagonia’s purpose is clear: It’s in business to save our home planet. And that clarity’s been present almost since day one of the iconic outdoor clothing and gear company. But how and why was that anchoring mission adopted from the jump? And how has the nearly 50-year-old organization evolved its practices to support its resolute pledge to sustainability? Luckily, there’s someone with answers to...

What exactly does joy have to do with software development? If you ask Rich Sheridan, CEO and Chief Storyteller of Menlo Innovations, the answer is pretty simple: Everything. According to Rich, joy is central to inspiring, sustaining, and steering the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based software company, which has been experimenting with new ways of working for more than two decades. In this episode of Brav...

Today’s episode of Brave New Work is a foundational survey class; we’re mapping the territory of the work we do, why we do it, what we’re all about—and why we’d love to talk to your boss. Whether you’re a systems design nerd like us or a newcomer who knows in their bones that work sucks but doesn’t have to, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans have got answers to your big questions—about implementing sel...

Talking about compensation at a job (a.k.a. the total pay and benefits you get in exchange for your labor) can be excruciating. But why? It’s not because compensation designers are inherently evil, argues David Buckmaster, Nike’s Director of Global Retail Compensation. Rather, it’s because our system of pay is broken and neglected. When it comes to pay, Buckmaster believes the greater sin is inert...

[This episode originally aired in May 2020] 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 of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak with Sid Sijbrandij, Cofounder and CEO of GitLab, about how their...

Throughout the past year, many organizations have taken long-overdue looks in the mirror and started the hard but necessary work of examining how they perpetuate systemic injustice. (That includes us.) The Ready works in systems design, which means that in a world wracked—and in some ways defined—by inequity, it’s our job to look at how the systems we build contribute to supremacist thinking and b...

The sit-down-and-slowly-zone-out-while-Joe-describes-50-slides type of meeting isn’t at all fun…but it is extremely common. Most work gatherings happen because someone wants us to absorb, consume, or comply with information. But if you’re actually hoping to change behavior or get a team stoked about a new initiative, this push-style of gathering just won’t cut it (and no, it’s not Zoom’s fault). I...

Odds are you’ve seen an article (or 20) about some company somewhere testing out a four-day workweek. And if you’ve scrolled past the story to the comments, you’ve probably spied a few cheers…and plenty of jeers. Punching in five days a week might seem like the natural working order—but it’s less a fixed and unchallengeable fact and more a human-shaped choice we can, you know, shape differently. I...

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times: Meetings are the worst. Instead of being a meaningful work tool to help teams strategize efficiently, meetings more often block things—anything—from actually getting done. At The Ready, we’ve got a different method: action meetings. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans invite longtime member Sam Spurlin on the show...

It’s a major question on many minds these days: When will the office reopen? Or rather: Will the office reopen? Different countries are in very different stages of heading back to physical workspaces (or not); in the United States, the prospect of on-premise work is inching closer as companies struggle to decide between three main models: fully in-office; fully remote; or…maybe some mix of both? I...

It’s no surprise that we’re fans of self-management, and we talk a lot about its benefits and transformative potential. But sometimes we forget just how much traditional hierarchy is baked into the operating system of our work cultures—and of our personal lives. So when self-management and hierarchy smash into each other, there can be a steep, sometimes uncomfortable learning curve. In this episod...

Say (or sigh) it with us now: burnout. As a physic state, it can be hard to precisely diagnose but you know it when you see it—and when you feel it. As remote work becomes a larger presence in our lives, it’s more important than ever to recognize why and when we need meaningful breaks. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk to Anne Helen Petersen, author of Can’t Eve...

Instead of talking about Unicorn companies, we should be spending more of our energy on Zebras—companies that are black and white, that pursue both purpose and profit. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk to Mara Zepeda of Zebras Unite, a founder-led co-op, about how to build a community with your company, collective ownership, and what the future of capital invest...

Let's talk about succession. No, not the show, but the concept. How do progressive, human-centric organizations deal with succession, and role changes, and new management, all while maintaining a high level of success? In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk to Michael Bungay Stanier and Shannon Minifie of Box of Crayons—about Michael stepping down and handing the rei...

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. Learn more about Ted and his work: On LinkedIn Sociocracy For...

There are elephants in the room, and then there are "Moose Heads on the Table." This book, by Lisa Gill and Karen Tenelius, describes the concept as workplace taboos that are simultaneously ingrained and incredibly toxic for getting things done. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk to Lisa about how to embrace this discomfort at work, and what self-managing organiz...

It's not a question, but a fact: the conventional legal doctrine governing the 21st century workplace is woefully far behind. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk to attorney Jason Wiener about the incredible disconnect between current legal norms and modern business, and how he works to ensure equitable business ownership to the forefront of the conversation. Lear...

In the past two weeks, Basecamp—a software company with a general track record of outspoken, progressive values—has lost a sizable chunk of its workforce. The reason? A memo from the company's CEO that banned "societal and political discussions" in workplace channels. In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans break down what this all means—the (impossible) concept of "separa...

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 episod...

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, c...