265 - Darren Murph on Building the Org Brain for Distributed Work

Darren Murph, a leading voice on distributed work and former head of remote at GitLab, returns to share what he’s building now that he’s gone independent. We dig into why every company is effectively distributed, the four-pillar operating model (knowledge, project, self, performance), how to build an “org brain,” and the psychology behind today’s RTO and performance debates.
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(04:42) Darren’s new chapter: going independent and why the timing was right
(08:46) What’s changed since 2–3 years ago in remote/distributed work
(09:13) Identity crisis in companies and the RTO narrative
(11:09) The “operating system” of a company: where communication breaks
(12:45) What ELTs are really discussing now
(14:07) Under-the-radar topic: performance management as “fix the car, not just the driver”
(16:40) AI readiness requires distributed-friendly systems (recording, documentation)
(18:01) Remote-first maturity scale: where firms think they are vs. where they land
(19:44) Knowledge management as the first pillar and the “org brain” concept
(21:50) The four-pillar framework: knowledge → project → self → performance
(24:13) “Gold in, gold out”: documentation and meeting capture fuel AI
(26:00) Exemplars and ownership: Atlassian, GitLab, Doist; treating knowledge like a product
(28:18) Tools and handbooks: Notion, public handbooks, getting started fast
(30:13) MVP of an org brain and how functions build it out
(34:34) Project management done right vs. 47 one-on-ones; insurance/IT ticketing analogies
(37:47) Why this matters: time as compensation; segue to self-management
(39:59) Team agreements and operating with flexibility
(42:16) Measuring performance better: meetings, survey data, retention
(46:19) Legacy reviews vs. modern, continuous performance practices (Juro example)
(47:10) Organizational psychology: complexity theory and the pull back to “coherence”
(50:51) Employee lens: agency, time, and building systems people value
(52:51) Closing stretch setup and rapid-fire intro
(54:03) Rapid-fire: advice for new HR pros
(55:22) Rapid-fire: superpower nickname—“intentional”
(56:19) Rapid-fire: one strategy to steal—Doist’s async decision-making
(57:23) Who should be on next: Chase Warrington (Doist)
(58:43) Where to find Darren and work with him
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Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.