Joost and Pim, known as The Corporate Rebels, are on a mission to make work more fun. They quit their frustrating, corporate jobs and set out to travel the world to visit the world’s most inspiring organizations. While checking off their Bucket List they share everything they learn.
Their blog is read in 100+ countries and they've been featured in NY Times, Forbes, HuffPost, Guardian, BBC. Listed as "Top 30 Emergent Management Thinkers" and nominated for Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award.
Over the years we’ve have written about how progressive organizations organize into networks of teams. We’ve also written about how they radically distribute decision-making authority to these teams.
With so much authority now vested in these teams it’s no surprise to find they enjoy the right to make many more decisions based on financial data.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one most adaptable to change.”
This is arguably Charles Darwin’s most famous misquotation. He never said this. It is from a 1963 speech by American professor, Leon Megginson. It is his interpretation of Darwin’s central thesis.
No matter who said it, after visiting 100+ progressive companies we say “Amen!” to this quote.
The email detox experiment we are running generated a very positive response. So, here we share more on our experiments. The focus this time is on working rhythm and the tools we use.
I can tell you: for a bunch of people who don’t like structure, this is as structured as it gets!
Hell yes! More Rebel Events are coming. We’ve added more cool cities to the list.
Check out the entire list in this blog post.
We wrote this article for THINK:ACT Magazine. You can find it here.
In our search for the most pioneering workplaces in the world, we’ve come across some extraordinary organizations. And this is an understatement. We’ve seen those where employees select their own leaders, others where any employee can make a decision on anything, and even those where staff set their own salaries.
But sometimes we are asked: “Which is the most radical?” This is a tough question. One candidate has to be Buurtzorg. Maybe you’ve never heard of them. Not surprising. But they are well known in the Netherlands, where we live, and worldwide in the healthcare industry.
We have a huge problem in our businesses. Women are disappearing from the workplace. Over the years we have created a corporate world in which women fall behind early and …
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As explorers of radically engaging workplaces, we try to read all notable articles published on the topic. We read them, we rank them and we share them. We share the …
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Email is a persistent disease plaguing contemporary workplaces. It’s the default way of communicating in companies around the globe. But it’s also draining productivity and engagement. On one count, a …
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We recently wrote a blog post about the betting exchange, Smarkets. London based, with 120 employees, they made self-management work in their fast-growing company. We followed up with three employees to learn …
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In a previous post we featured an old CIA manual on how to sabotage the workplace. It showed how to reduce organizational productivity. Some of these ideas are now clearly out-dated; but …
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There is a species too familiar for comfort—team leaders, supervisors, managers, vice-presidents and bosses who ‘direct’ their subordinates. This directive style is based on fear, control and status. These leaders …
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Our recent post, “The Way We Work Is Broken” revealed the engagement sinkhole, and the associated burnout rate. We highlighted the impotence of leaders in solving this problem. We highlighted …
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Regular visitors to our blog will notice a change at the top of the screen. The header, which used to include a picture of the whole team, is not there …
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A new gimmick has entered the management world. It’s an old (1944) CIA manual on how to sabotage an organization’s productivity. This secret pamphlet was called “The Simple Sabotage Field …
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This post is written by Lennard Toma. Check out his bio below the article. It was August 2018 on a Tuesday morning. The weather was cheerful. So were the colleagues …
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As explorers of radically engaging workplaces, we try to read all notable articles published on the topic. We read them, we rank them and we share them. We share the …
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We have preached this mantra before: Companies should not focus on profit. They should focus on purpose. Now, after visiting 100+ progressive companies we have seen the evidence with our own eyes. Progressive organizations …
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This post is written by Nele van Hooste. Check out her bio below the article. We recently started working with self-governing teams. We call them circles. They operate as entrepreneurial mini-companies within …
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Almost three decades ago Peter Drucker wrote an article called ‘The New Productivity Challenge‘. In it he foresaw the biggest challenge for organizations in the 21st century—how to keep employee …
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A few days ago we launched ‘Revolt by Corporate Rebels‘ – a brand new company. Revolt supports companies who want to unleash employee engagement. With Revolt, we turn the inspiration we gained from the …
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We have an ambitious vision: a global workplace revolution to make work more fun. We want to end large-scale suffering and widespread disengagement. We want to replace dysfunctional structures in organizations. We …
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We’ve been working on exciting new stuff behind the scenes. In a few days we will reveal the news. Stay subscribed to our newsletter and be the first to know. Stay tuned. …
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At Corporate Rebels we like to talk about ‘building a movement—and ‘radical transparency’. Perhaps now is a good time to be radically transparent about our performance—and about the movement we …
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A big part of our job is to increase awareness: awareness of global workplace pioneers (through our Bucket List), and how they’re changing organizations for the better. To show where …
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As explorers of radically engaging workplaces, we try to read all notable articles published on the topic. We read them, we rank them and we share them. We share the …
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This post is written by Alison Robins. Check out her bio below the article. Despite the annual review occurring only once a year, its looming presence affects employees’ day-to-day mentality, …
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A few weeks ago we announced a new series of Rebel Events. These one-day events are a perfect way to share what we learn from the world’s most pioneering workplaces. …
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Many workplaces suffer from inertia, risk-avoidance, and an utter lack of entrepreneurship. Paralyzed employees are unable to experiment and innovate. A big research study of ours showed only 34% have …
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You probably attended one, maybe more, this week. Was it a department meeting, a one-on-one meeting, an update meeting, an alignment meeting or a meeting in another disguise? Whatever, it’s …
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We believe the world of work needs to change. Many of its structures and processes are old-fashioned, outdated and downright toxic. These include cumbersome decision-making, low freedom and trust, inexplicable …
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In 2018 we had the chance to research in depth one of the world’s truly progressive organizations, Haier. It is a huge source of inspiration on how to unleash employee …
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As explorers of radically engaging workplaces, we try to read all notable articles published on the topic. We read them, we rank them and we share them. We share the …
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If you have heard of Andy Warhol, you might know he once famously said: “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art, working is …
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In April 2017 we signed a contract for a book. Since then, we’ve traveled the world, seen more amazing workplaces and continued writing. Although the writing suffered a bit, publishing date …
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Herb Kelleher, the founder of Southwest Airlines, passed away recently. He was 87. Harvard Business Review called him “a true business original” and “one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time”. …
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If you were asked to nominate where in the world you might find progressive workplaces, where would you choose? Silicon Valley? Sweden? Holland? Well, we’ve travelled the world for over …
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The time for revolution is upon us. It has been needed for a very long time. We can no longer ignore the pain, frustration and wasted potential in today’s workplaces. …
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“Start a revolution, not a business” is the big take-away from the inspiring book ‘Business for Punks’, by Brewdog founder James Watt. The core of his book is the power …
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The way decisions are made reflects an organization’s culture. However, few push decision processes to reflect the culture they aspire to. So, let’s take a dive into decision making in …
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2018 has been an inspiring year for “The Future of Work”. While employee engagement numbers continue to be painfully low, there appears to be a growing interest in creating better workplaces. Executives, …
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This post is written by Bjarte Bogsnes. Check out his bio below the article. There once was a Finance manager who met a fisherman. “Could you please tell me about …
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“How did we become so inured to the inhumanity of our organizations?” “How is it OK that a scant 13% of employees around the world are emotionally engaged in their …
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In 2018 we shared 100+ articles on all things Corporate Rebels, progressive work practices and on our adventures. You read them. We ranked them. Here are the 10 most-read articles …
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As our team grows, our practices evolve. What worked in the past can be an obstacle in the present. We work in a highly dynamic environment. Not a single week …
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We are excited! After announcing the new series of Rebel Events, we’ve been overwhelmed with offers from co-organizers. We now aim for one Rebel Event every month, at least. The …
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Brighton is arguably Britain’s most progressive city. There seems to be a place for everyone. It is almost impossible to be a misfit here. And it’s a vibrant hotspot for …
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Many traditional workplaces are threatened by HiPPOs. We’re not talking about big animals here. We are talking about HiPPO as the acronym for Highest Paid Person’s Opinion. What does this …
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In an article for Forbes Magazine, we busted the persistent myth that different generations have different needs and desires at work. Back then we were talking about popular-press articles claiming that, for …
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Last night we travelled from Amsterdam to Vienna—to attend the 10th edition of the Global Peter Drucker Forum. This is the world’s leading management conference, and we have been invited by …
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A stroll through sunny London brings us to St. Katharine Docks—a beautiful location next to Tower Bridge—and HQ of Smarkets. We have come to learn about an unusual company. And …
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