At Work with The Ready

Small doesn't mean simple. In fact, smaller organizations are often more complex in the ways that are hardest to manage — personalities loom larger, every conversation carries more weight, and the line between "business problem" and interpersonal drama gets uncomfortably thin.

In this mini AUA, Rodney and Sam break down why smaller orgs typically need to install minimum viable structure to tame the chaos — while larger orgs are usually trying to remove it. Same toolkit, opposite motion. They also explore the quiet inflection point that hits somewhere under 50 people, when "everyone knows everything" suddenly stops being true and no one quite knows what to do about it.

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Mentioned references:

"strategy": AWWTR Ep. 2

"principles-based budgeting"

Dunbar's number

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Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Compensation is one of the messiest parts of any organization. Pay becomes a proxy for belonging, validation, performance, identity, and status… which means it’s almost guaranteed to feel unfair, confusing, and emotionally loaded. Layer on a capitalist “more is always better” mindset, and you get the hedonic treadmill of work: every raise increases expectations, which creates the next round of dissatisfaction.

In Part 1 of this two-part series on compensation, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin dig into why comp is so psychologically charged, why most systems are overly complex, and why the “objective” company lens will never fully match the lived human experience of money.

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Mentioned references:

baby hyenas

hedonic treadmill

performance management episode: AWWTR Ep. 39

"authority field": The Ready's OS Canvas

FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) aka "Big Tech"

EOT (Employee-Owned Trust)

00:00 Intro + Check-In: What’s the best animal you’ve seen recently?

04:07 The pattern: No level of compensation ever feels like enough.

10:17 Comp becomes a proxy for self-worth

14:16 Setting individual comp levels

23:23 Importance of real pay transparency, not “bands”

27:24 Comp “up and to the right” ignores market value

31:25 Setting team-level comp and rewards

36:04 Shared rewards vs Hunger Games for sales teams

38:29 Is equity a good thing…or a trap?

46:09 Wrap Up: Continued next time in part 2

Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

AI pressure is landing squarely on Learning & Development teams. Execs want “future skills”…yesterday. The tension? How do you stop churning out more courses and start building real capabilities in the age of AI?

In this AUA mini episode, Rodney and Sam share the first moves they’d make if they were leading L&D right now. From getting hands-on with workflow automation tools to shifting from tool training toward systems thinking and experimentation, they outline how L&D can move from reactive skill provider to strategic capability builder.

Want to build skills like this to help your team succeed in 2026? Learn about our Capability Catalyst program: https://hubs.la/Q040ccYF0

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Mentioned references:

recent change skills episode: AWWTR Ep. 42

Relay

n8n

Ethan Mollick

Greg Shove: AWWTR Ep. 41

Scott Galloway

Chase Adams

EvolvingAI

Morning Brew

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Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Most org design conversations get forced through a narrow funnel: prove the ROI, justify the spend, make the numbers work. But if work is something most people can’t opt out of—and where we spend a huge chunk of our attention and waking lives—then “it pays off” feels like a painfully small standard.

This week, Rodney and Sam explore the ethical case for organizational design. They move beyond spreadsheets and profit metrics to ask bigger questions about leadership, power, transparency, compensation, and the human impact of broken systems. What do organizations owe the people who work inside them? Is better workplace design a moral responsibility — not just a financial strategy?

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Ready to change your organization? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let's talk.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Mentioned references:

r/antiwork


Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi and Flow

Target CEO comp package (note: New CEO’s comp package is roughly $16m, vs over $70m for the prior CEO in 2020)

triple bottom line

John Rawls and A Theory of Justice

00:00 Check-In: What’s your energy like right now?
04:04 Divorcing doing what’s “good work” from ROI

08:16 A “good” experience is the exception rather than the rule

10:06 Protecting yourself isn’t “selling out”

15:41 Spending our attention on worthy things

21:35 Leadership vs. worker power disparity is broken

27:31 Ethically designed companies never are publicly traded

31:07 Principles and values of ethical orgs

40:35 Joy at work shouldn’t be nickled and dimed

44:35 Idea 1: Don’t accept performative change initiatives

47:17 Idea 2: Audit your existing principles and values

48:35 Idea 3: Don’t let leadership gaslight you into conforming

50:33 Wrap up: Leave us a review and share the show with a friend

Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

When the people at the center of power feel well-served by the current system, how do you create change? This week’s listener question gets at a frustrating reality: sometimes the OS is optimized for the very people you’d need to convince. The business is growing, shareholders are happy, and the executives at the top don’t feel the friction you’re experiencing. Add geography, hierarchy, and distance from decision-makers, and it can feel impossible to generate momentum from the edges.

In this mini AUA episode, Rodney and Sam get honest about what’s actually within your control, and when it’s worth accepting that you won’t move the center—and when it’s smarter to redirect your energy toward the surface area you can influence.

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Ready to change your organization? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let's talk!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.