At Work with The Ready

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?

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Interested in learning more about Depthfinding and the ocean framework? Head here.

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Follow us on your favorite platforms for more org design nerdery:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram

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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

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.

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Follow us on your favorite platforms for more org design nerdery:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram

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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

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

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Follow us on your favorite platforms for more org design nerdery:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram

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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.

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.

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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

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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

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.com

We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected]

Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com