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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
  • Traditional Consulting Sold You a Great Idea. Now What? [Rebroadcast]

    Traditional Consulting Sold You a Great Idea. Now What? [Rebroadcast]
    Jun 1 2026
    Producer's Note: It’s been two years since this episode first aired, and it’s every bit as relevant today. We’ve got some exciting things on these themes coming really soon, so revisit this one and we'll see in two weeks with a brand new episode. --- For decades, traditional consulting (think “management” or “strategy” varieties now synonymous with the Big Three) has been a go-to move for organizations looking for a shake up. Need a bulletproof vision for the future or a new org restructuring that’ll win over the C-suite and shareholders? You can’t beat their analytical prowess, strategy design, and slick presentation. But too often clients wind up stuck with expensive change plans they can’t execute on their own. Without real coaching, structure, and experienced guidance, these efforts stand a high chance of fizzling out and collecting dust on a shelf. Facing that reality time and time again lead The Ready to study and understand how organizations actually work and evolve. Yes, we’re also consultants—but the processes, outcomes, and experiences we create differ greatly. And that can lead to a whole bunch of confusion. In this episode of At Work With The Ready, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin delve into the stark differences between traditional consulting and how future-of-work firms like The Ready operate. Because not all consulting is created equal. -------------------------------- Ready to change your organization? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let's talk.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get our newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------------- Mentioned references: ⁠VUCA⁠ "participatory change": ⁠BNW Ep. 43⁠ "cross-functional teaming": ⁠Future of HR Ep. 1⁠ "strategy pancakes episode": ⁠AWWTR Ep. 2⁠ 00:00 Intro + Check-In: What’s your best advice for moving? 04:37 Disclaimer: This isn’t a takedown episode of traditional consulting 06:33 The Pattern: Traditional consulting is a band-aid for a broken OS 10:20 The deliverable is often confused with an outcome 13:20 Executives and C-suite buy projects for the visible work, not the invisible work 15:31 Traditional consulting is a hedge for the CEO–Board of Directors relationship 17:52 Traditional consulting works around and outside a broken OS; it doesn’t fix it 25:30 Builds dependency on a third party for expertise or sensemaking the market 28:30 What to do instead: prioritize effectiveness even/over growth and extraction 31:34 Figure out where you’ll always want an outside partner, and where you want to learn to do it internally 34:19 Seek our partners you want to be positively disrupted by, if you want to be disrupted 37:57 Contract for the partnership you want and what your needs are 39:19 Decide for yourself what you need and then ask for it, rather than having a third party tell you what you need 42:42 Be clear about what you’re buying, and what it will require from you 45:50 Closing round: What did we learn? 49:10 Wrap up: share the show with your friends and coworkers! Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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    51 mins
  • AUA: How Honest Should Leaders Be During a Transformation?

    AUA: How Honest Should Leaders Be During a Transformation?
    May 25 2026
    Your company announced a shiny new transformation, set to herald a new era of possibility. But a few weeks in, it's starting to feel a lot more like a top-down cost-cutting exercise with a nicer label—and people are afraid that speaking up will put a target on their back. Sound familiar? In this mini episode, Rodney and Sam respond to a listener caught in the middle of it all: working with the consultants, reporting to senior leaders, and hearing directly from employees who aren't buying the official story. They unpack why "transformation" means different things to different buyers, why RIFs aren't always the villain, and how the gap between stated goals and actual behavior erodes trust faster than any layoff. -------------------------------- Ready to change your organization? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let's talk!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get our newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------------- Mentioned references: traditional consulting: AWWTR Ep. 8 layoffs and restructuring: AWWTR AUA different approaches to layoffs: BNW Ep. 152 Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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    12 mins
  • 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
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