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.
A Stock Market for Talent: Rethinking How We Value People with Jacob Chase
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/
4 Jun 2026
Influence Without Authority: Org Design Lessons from Higher Ed Marketing with Rob Zinkan
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/
14 May 2026
Why You’re Undervaluing Your Skills—and What to Do About It with Lorena Balestrieri
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
Who has been a guest on Org Design Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Bianca Hill
Stelio Verzera
Shannon Horne
Liz Jamieson
Adrian Clarke
Reach and audience
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YouTube views
26,372
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Spotify
4.2 / 5
6 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 45 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
33
Social presence
0
YouTube
72
Engagement
68
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