At Work with The Ready Podcast By Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin cover art

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)© 2024 The Ready Company, All Rights Reserved. Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • 45, Part 2. Why Pay Will Never Feel Fair At Work (And It's Not The Money)

    45, Part 2. Why Pay Will Never Feel Fair At Work (And It's Not The Money)
    Mar 23 2026
    Compensation is where human psychology and organizational systems collide—and in Part 1, Rodney and Sam named why it so often turns into a hedonic treadmill: every lever you pull to reduce dissatisfaction tends to raise expectations and create new dissatisfaction. If you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, start there for the “why this is so messy” foundation. In Part 2, Rodney and Sam move from diagnosis to design: what principles should a compensation system actually be built on—and what do you do next? They walk through practical comp first principles and explore concrete moves teams can experiment with—like simplifying comp, reducing negotiation, and creating healthier feedback loops. -------------------------------- Ready to change your organization? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let's talk.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get our newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------------- Mentioned references: ⁠"previous comp episode": AWWTR Ep. 45, Part 1 "JEDI": BNW Ep. 40 with Sharan Bal "Midnight Zone": Depthfinding Miniseries BNW Ep. 6 with Joel Gascoigne BNW Ep. 36 with Nathan Barry BNW Ep. 84 with David Buckmaster BNW Ep. 89 with Nikki Kaufman 00:00 Intro: What Would You Rename Yourself? 03:26 Comp Principle #1: Pay and Human Dignity 07:21 Comp Principle #2: Pay Equity at Work 10:06 Comp Principle #3: Salary Clarity and Transparency 15:56 Comp Principle #4: Collective Alignment on Pay 19:04 Comp Principle #5: Employee Participation in Pay Decisions 21:47 Comp Principles #6 & #7: Simplicity and Talking About Pay Less 24:12 Redesign Idea #1: Anonymous Team Rewards Ranking 25:48 Redesign Idea #2: Eliminating Salary Negotiation 28:03 Redesign Idea #3: Interview Elsewhere to Reset Pay Expectations 29:38 Redesign Idea #4: Create Transparency for Employees 32:44 Outro: Rate the Podcast + Share At Work With The Ready Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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    34 mins
  • AUA: Why Is My Small Org So Hard To Run?

    AUA: Why Is My Small Org So Hard To Run?
    Mar 16 2026
    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. -------------------------------- Ready to change your organization? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let's talk!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get our newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------------- Mentioned references: "strategy": AWWTR Ep. 2 "principles-based budgeting" Dunbar's number -------------------------------- Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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    6 mins
  • 45, Part 1. Why Pay Will Never Feel Fair At Work (And It's Not The Money)

    45, Part 1. Why Pay Will Never Feel Fair At Work (And It's Not The Money)
    Mar 9 2026
    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. -------------------------------- Ready to change your organization? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let's talk.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get our newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------------- 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.
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    48 mins
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