Owners Session: Organizational Design Principles for EOT Success

For The Ready, transitioning to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) wasn’t just a transaction — it was a chance to formalize how they already operate.

In this Owners Session, The Ready shares how they designed their EOT to reinforce a self-managing culture, setting clear guardrails where they matter and leaving flexibility where they don’t. Rodney Evans and Ashley Reid describe how the team realized their on-paper structure no longer matched day-to-day reality. Rather than force a standard template, they co-designed an EOT governance model that preserves autonomy and leaves room for future leaders.

Watch the full recording for practical insights on sprint-based design, minimum viable governance, and financing that balances the seller buyout with early profit-sharing — so employees feel ownership sooner.

Key takeaways:

• Fit the trust to your culture. Mirror how decisions already get made so the structure supports — rather than reshapes — daily work.
• Codify the essentials, iterate the rest. Lock in purpose, decision rights, and accountabilities; refine non-critical formulas with real-world experience.
• Build employee voice with real authority. An elected trust stewardship committee sits alongside the board, creating healthy checks and balances by design.
• Balance financing with early employee benefit. Start profit-sharing early so ownership is tangible even as the buyout is paid down.

‍

{{cta-short}}