Corporate Rebels | Making work more fun

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.

5 Steps To A Progressive Organizational Structure

May 22, 2019

“The bottom of the pyramid is…the biggest opportunity for innovation in business models.”

When C.K. Prahalad wrote ‘Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid’ in 2004, his focus was on commercial opportunities serving large populations in emerging countries.

After visiting 100+ progressive companies around the world, we argue this concept is also valid in most organizations. Frontline employees at the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ have been neglected, leaving enormous untapped potential in traditional organizations.

A Financial Glossary For Corporate Rebels

May 18, 2019

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.

Ruthless Experimentation: 5 Best Practices

May 15, 2019

“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.

Team Work: The Bare Essentials

May 11, 2019

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!

New Rebel Events In Australia

May 8, 2019

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.

Radical Autonomy At Scale

May 4, 2019

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 …

Women Are Disappearing From The Workplace (And How To Get Them Back)

May 1, 2019

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 …

The Workplace Revolution: Less Work, Assholes And Maslow’s Pyramid

April 27, 2019

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 …

Email Detox: Practical Tips To Cure The Addiction

April 24, 2019

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 …

Radical Transparency: A Vital Ingredient In Self-Management

April 20, 2019

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 …

Why We Need More Rebels Than We Think

April 17, 2019

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 …

5 Ways To Better Leadership

April 13, 2019

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 …

Employee Engagement: The Business Case

April 10, 2019

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 …

Why We Killed Four Rebels

April 7, 2019

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 …

Advice From The CIA: How To Sabotage Your Workplace

April 3, 2019

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 …

Now This Happened: A Self-Managing Firing Round

March 30, 2019

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 …

The Workplace Revolution: Flipped Workplace, Stress-Out Workers And Power Dynamics

March 27, 2019

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 …

Companies Need To Stop Chasing Profit Like It’s Crack Cocaine

March 23, 2019

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 …

Self-Steering Organization: 6 Mistakes We Made

March 20, 2019

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 …

The First Signs Of A Global Human Management Revolution

March 16, 2019

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 …

Revolt: Revolutionizing How Organizations Work

March 13, 2019

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 …

Announcing Revolt: A New Weapon In The Fight For Better Workplaces

March 9, 2019

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 …

Big News Coming Soon…

March 6, 2019

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. …

Let’s Be Transparent About Our Online Activity

March 2, 2019

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 …

The Way We Work Is Broken. Here’s The Evidence.

February 28, 2019

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 …

The Workplace Revolution: Richard Branson, Haier, And A Ball Of Yarn

February 23, 2019

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 …

Why We Got Rid Of The Annual Review, For Good

February 20, 2019

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, …

Extra Events Announced: Learn How To Make Engagement Skyrocket!

February 13, 2019

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. …

Break Free And Create An Experiment-Friendly Workplace

February 9, 2019

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 …

Toxic Meetings = Corporate Torture (Here’s How To Fix Them)

February 6, 2019

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 …

How We Use Blockchain To Share Company Ownership

February 2, 2019

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 …

How To Disrupt A 70,000 Employee Manufacturing Company

January 30, 2019

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 …

The Workplace Revolution: Fat Cats, Pay Equality, And Purpose Washing

January 26, 2019

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 …

The Art Of Business

January 23, 2019

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 …

1 Book, 1 Bucket List, 100+ Workplace Pioneers

January 19, 2019

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 …

Why We Need More Herbs In The World

January 16, 2019

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”. …

The Most Pioneering Workplace In The Middle East

January 12, 2019

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 …

London’s Big Event For Corporate Misfits, Troublemakers, And Rebels

January 10, 2019

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. …

It’s 2019! Start A Revolution, Not A Business

January 5, 2019

“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 …

Bad Decisions Make Good Stories

January 3, 2019

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 …

The Future Of Work: 2018’s Top Articles

December 29, 2018

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, …

Why We Should Change The Rhythm Of Business

December 26, 2018

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 …

Gary Hamel’s Powerful Speech: Highlight Of The Drucker Forum?

December 22, 2018

“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 …

Check Out Our 10 Most Popular Articles Of 2018

December 19, 2018

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 …

#RebelDay: A Powerful Way To Get Things Done

December 16, 2018

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 …

Now On Sale: Rebel Events In London, Berlin, And Zurich

December 12, 2018

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 …

The 4 Secrets Of Superengaged Employees

December 8, 2018

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 …

Beware: This Hippo Kills Your Company!

December 6, 2018

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 …

Generations At Work: Persistent Myths Vs. Actual Science

December 2, 2018

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 …

Management Fireworks At The Drucker Forum?

November 28, 2018

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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