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Org Design Podcast

Org Design Podcast

By: Amy Springer Tim Brewer Damian Bramanis
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Leaders share real stories from organizational (org) design, workforce transformation, and managing structure change. We highlight the challenges and breakthroughs seen first hand helping organizations become places people love. This is for any leader who is creating organizations of the future. Join host Amy Springer and the co-founders of Functionly, Tim Brewer and Damian Bramanis, on their quest to make work work better.© 2025 Org Design Podcast Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • A Stock Market for Talent: Rethinking How We Value People with Jacob Chase

    A Stock Market for Talent: Rethinking How We Value People with Jacob Chase
    Jun 18 2026
    In this episode of the Org Design Podcast, Amy Springer talks with Jacob Chase, founder of The Infin, about one of the hardest questions in org design: how do you fairly value what a person actually contributes? Drawing on his background as an investment banker and hedge fund investor — and his experience scaling a 150-person, $30M real estate business — Jacob shares how a single underpaid 'rock star' employee sparked his search for a better way to measure impact. The answer came from an unexpected place: the stock market. Jacob explains how he built an internal 'market' for attributing credit, where every team member's peer feedback aggregates into a live, dynamic picture of contribution. The result is a more credible, less political, and more transparent approach to performance — one that decentralizes accountability, surfaces hidden leadership (and hidden problems), and ultimately connects each person's contribution to fair compensation. 00:00 Welcome & introducing Jacob Chase (The Infin) 00:19 From Wall Street to org design 01:34 Investor vs. operator: why people drive returns 04:10 Transferable skills from Wall Street: thoroughness & rigor 05:29 The underpaid 'rock star' and the problem of measuring contribution 07:07 How a broader impact became visible 08:37 Why the classic HR review model falls short 09:30 Borrowing from stock markets: a market for value 11:26 Decentralizing accountability & removing politics 12:47 Surfacing hidden leadership and underperformance 15:22 Smoothing performance anxiety in an uncertain world 19:42 Connecting contribution to the 'pie' and compensation 21:54 Who brings this to their org (CEO-led) 22:43 Final thoughts: get people the right inputs The Org Design Podcast https://www.functionly.com/org-design-podcasthttps://www.linkedin.com/company/orgdesignpodcast/ Functionly https://www.functionly.com /https://www.linkedin.com/company/functionly/
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    24 mins
  • Influence Without Authority: Org Design Lessons from Higher Ed Marketing with Rob Zinkan

    Influence Without Authority: Org Design Lessons from Higher Ed Marketing with Rob Zinkan
    Jun 4 2026
    Rob Zinkan shares how specializing in higher-ed marketing and communications led them into organization design, why “centralize vs decentralize” and “bust silos” are often unhelpful binaries, and how leaders can improve effectiveness by clarifying purpose, strategy, and ways of working. Key themes include influence without authority, integrating across silos, making trade-offs explicit, engaging people through co-creation (not just buy-in), and treating org design as an ongoing leadership discipline—especially amid hybrid work and AI. 00:00 Intro + Rob’s path into org design via higher education 03:54 Why specialize (industry + function) and where it creates value 06:34 Marketing as an enterprise capability aligned to strategy 10:27 Universities, repeatable org units, and strategy tensions (research vs teaching) 11:59 Centralize vs decentralize; silos and horizontal integration mechanisms 15:30 Business model + operating model realities in universities 18:11 Moving from diagnosis to future-state operating reality; engaging people 20:49 When to apply org design principles (any size team; ongoing discipline) 23:11 One leadership skill: ask better questions (and listen) 24:25 Hybrid/AI shifts focus from org charts to operating models 26:17 Accountability, org charts, and codifying ways of working 30:21 Wrap-up The Org Design Podcast https://www.functionly.com/org-design-podcast https://www.linkedin.com/company/orgdesignpodcast/ Functionly https://www.functionly.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/functionly/
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    31 mins
  • Why You’re Undervaluing Your Skills—and What to Do About It with Lorena Balestrieri

    Why You’re Undervaluing Your Skills—and What to Do About It with Lorena Balestrieri
    May 14 2026
    In this episode of the Org Design Podcast, host Tim Brewer welcomes Lorena Balestrieri, future chair of the European Organizational Design Forum, to discuss her unconventional career path—from hospitality in Argentina to tech leadership at Booking.com, and her pivot to helping mid‑career professionals reinvent themselves. Lorena shares how she identified gaps in HR and org design, built a niche helping middle managers and women navigate career transitions, and emphasizes the importance of networking, strengths assessment (SWOT), and practical tools like resume building and LinkedIn. She explains org design in simple terms, outlines her mentoring approach, and invites listeners to connect with her on LinkedIn for personalized support. The conversation highlights the evolving org‑design community, the need for mid‑level talent development, and actionable steps for professionals seeking career reinvention. www.functionly.com
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    22 mins
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