Brave New Work audiobook cover - Are You Ready to Reinvent Your Organization?

Brave New Work

Are You Ready to Reinvent Your Organization?

Aaron Dignan

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EntrepreneurshipManagement & Leadership

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Brave New Work
The Crisis of Traditional Organizations+
Systems Thinking+
The Evolutionary Organization+
Rethinking Organizational Domains+
The Nature of Change+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 10
What surprising realization do many leaders have when reading the WWII CIA manual on 'simple sabotage'?
  • A. It outlines the exact management strategies they were taught in business school.
  • B. Its instructions for destabilizing organizations closely resemble everyday corporate bureaucracy.
  • C. It proves that modern workers are intentionally trying to ruin their companies.
  • D. Its tactics for increasing production were actually highly effective in modern contexts.
Question 2 of 10
How does the author define 'organizational debt'?
  • A. The financial deficit a company incurs when investing in new technology.
  • B. The loss of institutional knowledge when veteran employees retire.
  • C. The accumulation of outdated policies, procedures, and structures that no longer serve the organization.
  • D. The unspoken social obligations employees feel toward their managers.
Question 3 of 10
What foundational assumption of the 'Legacy OS' was established by Frederick Winslow Taylor's methods?
  • A. Workers are most productive when given complete autonomy.
  • B. Organizations function best when they mimic natural ecosystems.
  • C. Piece-rate pay encourages workers to limit their productivity.
  • D. Managers should do the thinking and workers should do the working.
Question 4 of 10
According to systems theory, why is it a mistake to treat an organization like a complicated system (such as a watch)?
  • A. Because organizations are actually complex systems, which are dispositional and unpredictable.
  • B. Because complicated systems require constant maintenance, whereas organizations manage themselves.
  • C. Because complicated systems have a cause-and-effect relationship, which is too simplistic for modern software.
  • D. Because humans are complicated, but organizations as a whole are merely complicated.
Question 5 of 10
Why does the author use the roundabout as a metaphor for Evolutionary Organizations?
  • A. It forces everyone to move at the same slow, deliberate pace to avoid mistakes.
  • B. It relies on a centralized system of control to dictate when people can move.
  • C. It replaces categorical rules with simple guidelines that require people to use their own judgment.
  • D. It requires extensive training and specialized knowledge to navigate successfully.
Question 6 of 10
How did David Marquet transform the underperforming USS Santa Fe submarine into an Evolutionary Organization?
  • A. By implementing a strict, top-down hierarchy to ensure absolute compliance.
  • B. By decentralizing control and asking his crew, 'What do you intend to do?'
  • C. By firing the lowest-performing crew members and hiring for culture fit.
  • D. By creating an extensive manual detailing every possible scenario the crew might face.
Question 7 of 10
How does the tomato processor Morning Star handle the domain of structure?
  • A. By using a sophisticated AI algorithm to assign daily tasks to each worker.
  • B. By eliminating all managers and having the CEO make all operational decisions.
  • C. By having employees write their own job descriptions and set their own salaries subject to peer review.
  • D. By dividing the company into competing factions that bid for internal projects.
Question 8 of 10
What radical technique does the author suggest for fixing a company's meeting culture?
  • A. A meeting moratorium where all meetings are canceled for two weeks to see which ones are actually missed.
  • B. A strict rule that no meeting can last longer than 15 minutes.
  • C. Fining employees for every meeting they schedule that doesn't result in a concrete decision.
  • D. Forcing all meetings to be held standing up to ensure they end quickly.
Question 9 of 10
What warning does the author give regarding the practice of hiring for 'culture fit'?
  • A. It often leads to hiring people who are overqualified for their roles.
  • B. It makes the onboarding process too expensive and time-consuming.
  • C. It is illegal in many countries due to strict labor laws.
  • D. It can cause underperformance later on, so it is better to hire people who will 'contribute' to the culture instead.
Question 10 of 10
In the context of creating continuous change, what are the three stages of 'looping'?
  • A. Assessing debt, firing saboteurs, and hiring contributors.
  • B. Identifying tensions, proposing practices, and conducting experiments.
  • C. Setting a 30-year goal, creating a 6-month plan, and executing tasks.
  • D. Canceling meetings, writing job descriptions, and setting salaries.

Brave New Work — Full Chapter Overview

Brave New Work Summary & Overview

Brave New Work (2019) is an unusual guide to organizational change. Rather than prescribing techniques for corporate change, it offers suggestions and case studies. The real work of transformation is left up to you.

Who Should Listen to Brave New Work?

  • Start-up leaders looking to transform their organizations
  • Managers and human resources professionals
  • Those interested in the workplaces of the future

About the Author: Aaron Dignan

Aaron Dignan is the founder of The Ready, a coaching and organization-design company with clients such as Microsoft, Airbnb, and Johnson & Johnson. He is also an angel investor and has sat on advisory boards for PepsiCo, American Express and GE. 

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