50. The Ways of Working Movement Failed. Now What?

Fifteen years ago, the future of work seemed inevitable: bureaucracy was crumbling, adaptive organizations were the next default, and a whole movement of practitioners was going to get us there. That future never arrived. Agile transformation offices are being eliminated, the pendulum has swung hard back to command-and-control, and the companies we held up as proof are still the exceptions, not the rule. This week, Rodney and Sam take an honest look at the failure of the ways of working movement, including their own part in it. They dig into the mismatches that doomed so much of this work and get practical about what still works—because while the movement may have stalled, the moves still matter. -------------------------------- Ready to change your organization? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let's talk.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get our newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------------- Mentioned references: Bradlees Twilight and Sunshine Zone Buurtzorg Morning Star: BNW Ep. 54 with Doug Kirkpatrick Haier "Bayer under Bill": BNW Ep. 68 with Bill Anderson Mary Parker Follett org debt: FOHR Miniseries action meeting: BNW Ep. 80 strategy stack: AWWTR EP. 2 op rhythm: BNW Ep. 118 00:00 Intro + Check-in: Your first music purchase with your own money? 05:18 The failure of the new ways of working movement 07:54 What we mean by "failure" 11:08 ZIRP, COVID, and the swing back to command-and-control 15:27 What people will buy isn’t actually what they need 17:30 Selling Sunshine Zone products for Twilight Zone work 20:12 Bottoms-up to a fault 25:01 Nobody has capacity to learn anymore 28:11 Tennis vs. golf: the new consulting posture 35:23 Is local change worth it? 38:42 Failure of the movement, not the moves 40:34 Change #1 - Go deeper 42:49 Change #2 - Orient to the outcome 44:47 Change #3 - Branching roadmaps and scenario planning 46:15 Change #4 - Build organizations that benefit from change 49:15 The End Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.