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At Work with The Ready

At Work with The Ready

By: Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin
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Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin have helped teams around the world adopt more modern ways of working and on At Work with The Ready they’re sharing the inside scoop with you, too. Whether you’re struggling with a carousel of ineffective meetings, annual strategy sessions that go nowhere, or decision-making churn that never ceases, they’ve seen it all and are here to help. In each episode, they'll break down common workplace challenges and show you the moves—both big and small—to start making real, lasting change. (Formerly “Brave New Work” with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans)© 2026 The Ready Company, All Rights Reserved. Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • 49. How To Make Big Things Happen At Work

    49. How To Make Big Things Happen At Work
    May 18 2026
    You've built the asset. You've done the comms. You even held office hours (that no one came to). And still…nothing changes. Sound familiar? These moves are still everyone’s go-to plays for substantial transitions in the workplace, even when we have decades of experience that they fall flat. In this episode, Rodney and Sam dig into one of the most under-explored problems in organizational life: how you actually get people to do shit. Not just understand it. Not just nod at it in a meeting. Actually do it. They walk through why the classic change playbook (comms, training, socialization, stakeholder management) keeps failing, and what a real system of activation actually looks like. -------------------------------- Ready to change your organization? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let's talk.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get our newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------------- Mentioned references: "change management is broken": AWWTR Ep. 26 with Michael Bungay Stanier "comms and change management": BNW Ep. 3 with Deirdre Latour "complicated vs complex" Ira Glass quote about taste 00:00 Intro + Check-In: What's a tech habit that reveals your true generational age? 03:49 Why "getting shit done" doesn't get enough airtime 05:32 The three-step chain: information → understanding → behavior 06:46 Real example: Rodney's role change at The Ready and what governance actually did 09:16 The asset creator's blind spot 15:34 Living into your authority 18:09 Why clarity (including hard deadlines) is a gift 19:49 Which kinds of change need enrollment vs. just execution 24:07 Why the big reveal keeps happening (and why it keeps failing) 27:09 The big bang is often avoiding user feedback 30:49 Ira Glass on developing taste 32:57 Iterating as you go 34:50 Change management is just marketing inside your own company 38:22 Change 1: Lower activation energy with explicit, clear asks 40:34 Change 2: Run a system of socialization, not just an event 43:55 Change 3: Remove things and make space before asking for more 44:54 Change 4: Keep it ugly to unlock better participation 47:50 Wrap Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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    49 mins
  • AUA: How To Lead When You Don’t Have The Answers?

    AUA: How To Lead When You Don’t Have The Answers?
    May 11 2026
    The higher up you go, the more everyone expects you to have the answers. Your team wants reassurance about AI. Your peers want to know what other companies are doing. Leadership wants confidence you're not sure you have. But what if the honest answer to most of it is, "I don't know?" and what if that's actually a sign you're paying closer attention than the people who seem so sure? In this Ask Us Anything, Rodney and Sam respond to a listener feeling the weight of expectations and offer a reframe: you don't need certainty about the what if you can develop confidence in the how. They also dig into why the leaders who always seem to have answers rarely get their receipts checked, and Rodney shares a personal practice for tuning into the quieter, wiser voice underneath the noise of emotion and intellect. -------------------------------- Ready to change your organization? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let's talk!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get our newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------------- Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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    10 mins
  • 48. Office Politics: The Fun and Frustration of Palace Intrigue

    48. Office Politics: The Fun and Frustration of Palace Intrigue
    May 4 2026
    Office politics doesn't happen because people are scheming. It happens because no one wrote anything down. In the absence of clear ways of working, the preferences of the most powerful people fill the vacuum and suddenly half your attention is spent learning whose attachment format to use rather than doing the actual work. In this episode, Rodney and Sam dig into one of the most universal and underdiagnosed org patterns: the political operating system. They explore why politics can feel more fun than good process, why "influence without authority" is just pandering with better branding, and how to start replacing implicit norms with something more durable than whoever's in the room at that moment. -------------------------------- Ready to change your organization? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let's talk.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get our newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------------- Mentioned references: The Ready’s OS Canvas: https://www.theready.com/os-canvas Essential Intent: BNW Ep. 90 with Greg McKeown Even/Overs: BNW Ep. 44 Dual Transformation: AWWTR Ep. 43 Andrea Robb Action Meeting Episode: BNW Ep. 80 with Sam Spurlin Directly Responsible Individual (DRI) User Manual to Me: BNW Ep. 159 00:00 Intro + Check-In: What’s a skill you rarely get to show off? 03:08 The Pattern: We cater to those in power when there’s no org clarity 05:17 Leveraging relationships to do work feels good in the moment 09:12 Discerning what’s best for a leader vs. best for the work 13:11 Experience navigating CEO preference 17:06 Politics is more fun than building a good OS 20:12 Leaders come and go, and take their preferences with them 22:08 Politicking wastes organizational attention 27:00 Short term politics at odds with long term value 31:32 Andrea Robb’s organizing principles 34:23 Leadership politics keeps you from the truth 37:10 Example navigating a leader during an offsite 41:33 Change #1: Don’t depend on only one person 43:55 Change #2: Get a new set of eyes to challenge assumptions 46:34 Change #3: Write. It. Down. 48:44 Wrap up: Leave us a review! Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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    50 mins
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