For years, the conversation around remote work has been stuck in binary debates. Home vs. office? Productivity vs. flexibility? Control vs. chaos? But what if we zoomed out and asked a better question: What kind of future is possible if people could actually work from anywhere?
This week, Rodney and Sam sit down with Raj Choudhury (Harvard Business School professor and author of The World Is Your Office) to explore what happens when companies stop fixating on location and start designing for freedom, trust, and real human needs. From engineering serendipity to reimagining hybrid models, they unpack how truly distributed work changes everything: how we meet, how we lead, how we grow talent, and how we build a more equitable future.
Learn more about Raj and his work by following him on LinkedIn and reading his new book: The World Is Your Office: How Work from Anywhere Boosts Talent, Productivity and Innovation.
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Let's work together: https://www.theready.com/working-together
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Mentioned References:
US Patent Office study
TEAPP (Telework Enhancement Act Pilot Program)
Sid Sijbrandij and GitHub episode: BNW Ep. 35
Darren Murph
The Allen curve
homophily
Tulsa Remote
Zapier and "Wade Bot"
algorithm aversion
00:00 Intro + Check-In: What’s your favorite aspect of being able to work from anywhere?
03:49 Central focus: How do organizations access distant talent?
08:20 How work from anywhere is different from work from home
11:08 Rethinking in-person days
19:23 The data doesn’t support RTO mandates
24:13 Dispelling productivity concerns
27:15 Unlocking digital twins in the workplace
34:05 Small towns being competitive for talent
38:04 AI’s role in work from anywhere
45:09 Where to look ahead for the next 5 years
47:10 Wrap up: Leave us a review and share this show with a coworker!
Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of Coupe Studios.
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28. DIY or DOA? Why Org Change Needs Outside Help
In a year marked by tighter budgets, leaner teams, and growing uncertainty, more organizations than ever are choosing to go it alone. DIY transformation feels safer, cheaper, more in control. But that instinct to do more with less is often the very thing that stalls progress. Because without the right structure, support, and space, most internal change efforts don’t just slow down… they spin out.
This week, Rodney and Sam pull apart the decision to “DIY” major organizational change. They explore why so many teams default to doing it themselves, what makes internal transformation efforts so hard to sustain, and the subtle power dynamics that turn strategic remits into order-taking. Along the way, they dig into what it really takes to get change moving—from alone on the inside or with a partner.
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Let's work together: https://www.theready.com/working-together
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Follow us:
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Mentioned references:
Ayurvedic eating
RACI episode: AWWTR Ep. 10
Bill Anderson episode: Brave New Work 68
The Ready's Tension and Practice Cards
The Ready's OS Canvas
Future of HR model
Rodney's problem solution fit article
00:00 Intro + Check-In: What is a DIY victory or failure you’ve had recently?
03:51 The Pattern: DIY Transformation tends to be “try, fail, repeat”
05:27 Why people decide to DIY change work
11:40 Orgs are designed to fight change
15:32 The deck is stacked against internal OD/OE/transformation teams
19:43 You don’t know what you don’t know
23:43 Challenges of trying to change your coworkers
27:00 Lack of authority and power kneecap real progress
32:10 Hidden financial and org costs of DIY change
37:44 Idea 1: Contract for a CLEAR remit, REAL customer discovery, and actual solution design
42:35 Idea 2: Don’t start with the whole project, start with a smaller leverage point
44:59 Wrap up: Leave us a review and share the show with your coworkers!
Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of Coupe Studios.
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27. Everything Can't Be Priority One
We talk a lot about doing less to get more—but in practice, most organizations end up doing the opposite. When priorities pile up, and nothing gets removed or finished, the result is a familiar kind of chaos: too many projects, too little focus, and an endless loop of adding more in hopes of getting unstuck.
This week, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin unpack one of the most common organizational dynamics they see: the “more-is-more” trap of priority overload. They dig into why deprioritizing anything at work feels so psychologically and politically fraught, how identity and sunk costs keep teams clinging to low-impact efforts, and ways for leadership teams to prioritize at a org wide level, not just assemble a laundry list of everyone’s pet projects.
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Ready to start changing your organization? Let's talk! https://www.theready.com/working-together
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:
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Mentioned references:
"60% of Americans"
Depthfinding
John Cutler's prioritization article
WSJF (weighted-shortest-job-first)
GTD: Brave New Work Ep. 39 with David Allen
00:00 Intro + Check-In: What’s a molehill you’re willing to defend until the end?
03:52 The Pattern: We prioritize everything and nothing gets done
06:01 John Cutler’s 4 Jobs of Prioritization
10:08 Why it’s so hard to stop doing lower value things
18:35 Difference altitudes of priorities
22:23 Where leaders mess up prioritization
25:11 Continuous steering version of priorities
33:05 Idea 1: Use a variant of WSJF for your own variables
37:21 Idea 2: Shift from saying “no” to “not right now”
39:27 Idea 3: Visualize your work to “see” deprioritization
41:26 Idea 4: Openly talk about conflicting priorities
44:00 Wrap up: Share the show with your coworkers!
Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of Coupe Studios.
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26. Unweirding Change with Michael Bungay Stanier
Despite an explosion of frameworks, toolkits, and “best practices,” the success rate of organizational change hasn’t improved in over a decade. For all the decks, comms plans, and transformation initiatives being sold, most companies still find themselves stuck, repeating the same plays and hoping for different results.
This week, Rodney Evans welcomes back Michael Bungay Stanier—best-selling author, host of the new podcast Change Signal, and longtime friend of the show—who’s on a mission to cut through the noise and find what actually works. They explore why change still feels so weird, the real leverage points for shifting individual and organizational behavior, and whether it’s finally time to retire “change management” as we know it.
Get a copy of Michael's change quadrants he talks about in this episode here: Michael's quadrants.
Learn more about Michael:
Follow him on LinkedIn
Listen to his podcast, Change Signal.
Subscribe to his newsletter, The Change Signal.
Check out his website, MBS.works
See his two prior appearances on our show, BNW Ep. 19 and BNW Ep. 75.
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Ready to start changing your organization? Let's talk! https://www.theready.com/working-together
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
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Mentioned references:
Jason Fox's episode: AWWTR Ep. 17
John Kotter and the 8 Steps
Depthfinding and the "Zones"
Ron Heifetz
Immunity to Change, book by Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey
Peter Block
Winston Churchill "We Shape Our Buildings"
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Larissa Conte: BNW Ep. 151
Katie Milkman: Change Signal Ep. 2
Caroline Webb: Change Signal Ep. 5
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro + Check-In: Do you have a non-work related goal that you’re working towards right now?
9:59 Michael’s journey to un-weird change
14:49 Michael’s individual and organizational unlocks for change
21:24 Importance of strong foundational habits to succeed in change work
25:37 Understanding of power dynamics in change work
33:27 Outdated change mindsets to let go of
38:38 Rodney and Michael’s takeaways
40:28 Wrap up: Leave us a review and share the show with your coworkers!
Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of Coupe Studios.
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Depthfinding: Putting It All Into Practice
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 reflect on what they’ve learned over the course of this eight-part miniseries—about the framework, their own Midnight Zones, and what it means to navigate complexity amidst uncertainty. They share how their thinking has evolved since launching the series, when Depthfinding is most useful (and when it’s not), and why every organization eventually has to ask: Who are we designing for?
The end of the miniseries isn’t the end of Depthfinding. Now it’s time for you to dive in.
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
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Mentioned references:
Bob Vila
The Ready's OS Canvas
"strategy pancakes": AWWTR Ep. 2
"even/overs": BNW Ep. 44
"op rhythm": BNW Ep. 118
Yaggadang by BG & Coyote Radio
00:00 Intro + Check-In: What is the warning label on the back of your box?
04:26 Depthfinding’s impact on our work
08:19 New discoveries from the miniseries
13:50 Limitations of Depthfinding
16:34 Troubleshooting consultants stuck in one zone
22:14 What’s next for Depthfinding
25:14 What’s next for the podcast
27:11 Wrap up: Leave us a review and share the show with your colleagues
This episode's theme music is Yaggadang by BG & Coyote Radio.
Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of Coupe Studios.
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)
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