Enterprise AI adoption is still stuck in the teens and the gap between the hype and the reality is getting harder to ignore. People are finding pockets of productivity, but they’re often keeping the gains to themselves, worried that “using AI well” is just speed-running their way into a layoff. Meanwhile, many leaders treat it like another piece of software without touching the messier truth: AI changes how work actually happens, and it doesn’t care about your org chart, your approval chains, or your performance theater.

In this episode, Rodney sits down with Section CEO Greg Shove to name what’s really blocking adoption and what it takes to break through. They talk about AI as “co-intelligence”, why most “AI layoffs” are PR cover, and the non-negotiables for real transformation. They also get into how to build a robust AI strategy for 2026, Section’s own AI disruption, and why the next era may be dominated by super companies built around small human teams + a fleet of agents.

Learn more about Greg:

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Mentioned references:

00:00 Intro + Check-In: What’s something happening in the AI hype cycle that drives you nuts right now?

03:21 Enterprise AI adoption stall out

08:58 AI as truth serum for lies in your company

11:49 Required ingredients for real AI transformation

19:04 Balancing risk with AI usage in startups and large enterprise

24:10 “Head of AI” roles are an uphill battle

27:48 First principles for an AI-lead organization

30:10 Disrupting your business model with AI and dual transformation

35:29 Greg and Section disrupting themselves with AI

37:44 Role of leadership in an AI future

44:40 Future of companies and careers

47:54 Role of companies in future of society

52:07 Wrap up: Leave us a review and share the show with a coworker!

Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Leaders often ask for a clear, immediate ROI on org design and transformation work—but that question can derail the conversation before it even starts. When ROI is framed purely as short-term financial return, it misses how organizations actually change and improve over time.

In this mini Ask Us Anything episode, Rodney and Sam unpack how to approach ROI conversations in org design more productively. They explore why separate “transformation metrics” usually miss the point, how to anchor ROI to what leaders already care about, and why leading indicators like decision speed, cycle time, and meeting effectiveness matter more than tidy quarterly savings.

Mentioned references:

Got a work question like this one you'd like us to answer? Email us at [email protected]

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Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

As 2025 comes to a close, AI hype is still everywhere, workers are feeling the strain of constant change, and organizations are quietly reorganizing who (or what) does the work. We’re ending the year with some big questions: What happens to the “middle” of organizations? How do humans fit into increasingly AI-driven systems? And where does real value—human and otherwise—get created?

With only a few days left until the new year, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin look ahead to how AI, jobs, and organizational life will shift in 2026—from real white-collar displacement and the rise of internal org-design teams to employees quietly choosing AI over difficult human teammates.

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Mentioned references:

00:00 Intro + Check-In: What’s a reflection you have on 2025?

03:44 Prediction 1: Hype cycle around AGI will break

05:03 Prediction 2: 2026 is tipping point for white collar AI job disruption

09:53 Prediction 3: Demand for internal OD teams increases

12:11 Prediction 4: People will start choosing AI over their coworkers for collab

15:04 Prediction 5: Divide between legacy orgs and AI-native micro orgs will grow

17:48 Prediction 6: New premium on human-crafted products and experience

21:57 Wrap up: Leave us a review, and see you in 2026

Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Many people who want to work in organizational change hit the same question: is it better to do this work from inside an organization, or from the outside as a consultant?

Hear the episode this question was in response to: AWWTR Ep. 28

Got a work question like this one you'd like us to answer? Email us at [email protected]

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Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Everyone knows performance management is broken—but we keep doing it anyway. Why?

For decades, organizations have poured time, money, and emotional energy into performance management—even though almost everyone agrees it’s broken. Annual reviews take hundreds of hours, distort real feedback, collapse development into compensation, and leave both managers and employees frustrated. Worse, they often lower performance rather than improve it. And yet most companies keep doubling down on a system that was never designed for how people actually grow, learn, or work today.

In this episode, Rodney and Sam rethink performance management from the ground up. They unpack why traditional systems fail, which psychological dynamics make feedback so fraught, and what a truly useful approach would look like if we started from scratch. From separating the four conflated “jobs” of performance management and designing for real development, to using AI as a feedback partner rather than a faster paperwork generator—they explore practical ways to build a process that actually helps people get better at their work.

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Mentioned references:

00:00 Intro + Check-In: Why is Sam still on the podcast when he left The Ready?

03:01 The Pattern: Performance management SUCKS, but we keep doing it

06:10 It’s trying to do too many jobs

07:54 We’re lied to about the purpose

11:19 It’s time consuming

14:10 The charade causes psychological harm and stunts growth

17:00 Rethinking PM from the ground up

18:14 Center the user

20:30 Easier process more frequently

23:15 Vary the size and type of feedback

26:09 Actually define what good ACTUALLY looks like by outcomes

29:21 Feedback in the context of an individual’s journey

32:59 AI’s role in future of performance management

46:02 AI’s role in the performance management of teams

50:30 Wrap up: Leave us a review and share the show with a coworker!

Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Every organization eventually hits the same wall: central teams aren’t responsive enough, federated teams reinvent everything, and the result is a messy tug-of-war between alignment and autonomy. IT organizations feel this pain especially acutely.

In this mini Ask Us Anything episode, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin unpack why centralized vs. decentralized is a false binary, why organizations swing endlessly between the two, and what it actually takes to design a federated model that works in the real world.

Got a work question like this one you'd like us to answer? Email us at [email protected]

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Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Get the Experiment Proposal Template mentioned in this episode.

Everyone says they want to “experiment” at work—especially now that AI is reshaping how teams operate—but most organizations still treat change like a project plan: analyze, design, roll out, hope for the best. The result? Fake experiments that are over-controlled and over-planned, or chaotic side projects that burn people out and quietly die. In systems this complex, you can’t think your way to the right answer, but you can test and learn your way there.

In this episode of At Work with The Ready, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin dig into what real experimentation looks like inside organizations. They unpack why complexity demands an iterative approach, why so many “tests” are doomed from the start, and what it takes to scaffold experiments with the right authority, resourcing, and constraints.

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Mentioned references:

00:00 Intro + Check-In: What’s a personal experiment you’ve done recently or are thinking about doing?

03:42 The Pattern: Desire for control and lack of structure stifles real experimentation

06:37 Parallels to R&D for pharmaceuticals

09:37 What’s missing in most company experiments

11:35 Example of The Ready’s experimentation

17:01 If everything succeeds, they aren’t experiments

22:21 Learning and scaling successful experiments is really hard

28:23 Ripple effects of experiments are just as important

30:00 Unstructured experimentation is deeply costly

34:57 Navigating the discomfort during experiments

37:28 Idea #1 - Create intentional space for learning

38:51 Idea #2 - The Ready’s Experiment Template

44:35 Idea #3 - No experiments for other people

46:10 Idea #4 - Prepare yourself for disappointment

48:48 Wrap up: leave us a review and share the show with your coworkers!

Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

How do you bring people along when you’re already living in the future?

In this mini episode of At Work with The Ready, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin tackle a listener question about how to lead from the future without alienating your coworkers in the present. They explore what happens when you see change coming before others do—and how to turn that foresight into small, credible experiments that earn trust and build momentum.

They discuss:

Got a work question like this one you'd like us to answer? Email us at [email protected]

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Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

It’s easy to blame “kids these days” when generational tension flares up at work. But beneath the eye rolls and stereotypes are deeper forces (economic shifts, social movements, and broken workplace systems) that shape how each generation sees loyalty, ambition, and success. From Boomers to Gen Z, we’ve all inherited stories about what work should look like and they don’t always fit the world we’re in now.

In this episode, Rodney Evans sits down with Raven Solomon—author, keynote speaker, and CEO of the Future-Ready Institute—to explore what it really takes to lead across generations. They unpack what leaders need to unlearn in this moment, how Gen Z’s relationship to work is reshaping culture, and why inclusion and empathy—not authority—are the future of leadership.

Learn more about Raven and her work:

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Mentioned references:

00:00 Intro + Check-In: What’s something about your profession you can’t say on stage but wish people knew?

04:07 What power holders have to unlearn about younger generations

10:29 Gen Z’s changing relationship to work and capitalism

15:33 Opting out of taking leadership roles for better quality of life

20:25 The business and financial stakes behind real inclusion

29:15 Authenticity should be the cornerstone to all your strategies and messaging

32:38 The difficulties and business trade offs behind inclusion

39:54 Importance of human centered skills in this decade

44:50 Raven’s top skills to develop for the future of work

48:17 AI’s impact on the upcoming generations in the workplace

54:26 Wrap up: Leave us a review and share the show with your colleagues!

Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

What happens when your small European company gets acquired by a massive American one?

In this mini Ask Us Anything episode of At Work with The Ready, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin dig into what really happens when mergers cross not just company lines—but cultures. They unpack the hidden dynamics behind clashing values, communication styles, and leadership expectations that make cross-border integrations so difficult.

They discuss:

— Why culture work is always the hardest (and most ignored) part of a merger

— What to do when your smaller team has limited influence

— How to bring your company’s best practices into a much bigger system

— The difference between American and European work norms

— How to protect your culture—and your energy—during integration

Looking for more advice about mergers and acquisitions? Check out this episode: AWWTR Ep. 32

Got a work question like this one you'd like us to answer? Email us at [email protected]

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Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.