Wanted: suggestions for new Bucket list pioneers
We are always curious to discover potential pioneers for our Bucket list. Do you have suggestions for us? If so, please share them with us, and tell us why you think this pioneer should be added to the list.
Replies (85)
I think Helen Bevan (@HelenBevan on Twitter) is an inspirational person working in the NHS in England. Gary Hamel talks about NHS Change Day that was started by her and Jackie Lynton (sadly deceased) here:
Let me tell you a story about two individuals, Helen Bevan and Jackie Lynton, who were in the middle of one of the most bureaucratic, biggest organizations in the world and had a profound impact on that organization. The story starts in early 2013 and the organization is Britain's National Health Service, with more than a million employees. As you might imagine, it's bureaucratic. Healthcare is a very complex industry and if you are in Britain or you follow the British newspapers, just about every week you'll find a story of something that's gone wrong in the NHS. Well, Helen and Jackie had many years of experience at the NHS, but they weren't senior line executives. They were mid-level change people who'd run different sorts of traditional change projects at the NHS. They found themselves talking one afternoon to a group of young trainee doctors who had just joined the National Health Service and who were already frustrated about how difficult it was to get things done and how often doing the right thing for patients came second, third or fourth to doing the right thing for bureaucracy so they thought maybe there's another way to drive change here at the NHS. Now, the unit in which they worked, which was an internal consulting unit, they thought that that unit was going to be disbanded within a matter of months, so starting in January 2013, they launched their little project. They gave it a very ambitions name, the Change Day, but they said, "We only have 90 days to do something significant," and the project worked like this. Using a little social media platform and then everything they could do with viral marketing, they invited colleagues in to fill out a simple pledge form where you could pledge something you were going to do within your job, within your scope of permissions, to improve patient care. 2013 was the 65th anniversary of the National Health Service and they were hoping that by March, when they thought the project would have to end, they were hoping to get 65 thousand pledges. By the end of January, they had a few hundred. By Mid-February, about 5,000 and by the time they ended the Day of Change in Mid-March, they had 189 thousand pledges. A typical pledge might come from a group of paediatricians who said, "We promise to taste every medicine before prescribing it to kids and a helpless parent who's gonna have to try to get it down their throats," or it might be a group of nurses on a ward who said, "Every week, with their permission, we'll video our patients with our camera phones and then we'll come back and talk about what we could do to make their experience in the hospital more pleasant for them." So imagine that times 189 thousand pledges. That became the single biggest change program in the history of the NHS and Helen and Jackie launched it without any permissions, without going up, without putting together any big plans. They just started something. That's how you think if you're an activist, not an anarchist, not a terrorist, but if you're an activist, when you say, "I'm not helpless. I'm not going to ask somebody else to do this. This organization is my organization. I care too much about it to be helpless and I believe we can do something starting where I am right now." That's the secret to making a difference. That's the secret to hacking management.
what about Ken Blanchard with his agility approach ( One Minute Manager ) supported by Servant Leadership concept?
How about Margaret Wheately founder of the Berkana Institute http://www.berkana.org?
I find his connections with networks and the human experience really interesting. Quote:
"Collectively we are smarter than any corporation. Learning through communities of practice and knowledge networks enables us to make collective sense. Over the years I have met many people in their 40’s or 50’s who suddenly find themselves without work. Most of them do not have a professional network beyond their organization where they may have worked for a decade or more. Once outside the company, they are adrift.
Being an active citizen-learner by connecting with others outside our everyday lives can expose us to a diversity of skills, knowledge, and perspectives. In a creative economy we are only as good as our networks. An effective network encourages us to keep learning. A good community of practice changes our practice. The more often we change, the better we get at it… We don’t need heroic leaders to create better ways of working. Anyone can exercise leadership by helping make the network smarter, more resilient, and able to make better decisions."
I am particularly drawn to "We don’t need heroic leaders to create better ways of working. Anyone can exercise leadership by helping make the network smarter, more resilient, and able to make better decisions." I like how he's reframing the emphasis of leadership from we need good leaders to lead us into better ways, to leadership can be working to improve a collective process. I think we probably need both of these.
The link for the second blog article: https://jarche.com/2019/09/citizen-learners/
Elise Shapiro at Qumulo has been one of the primary thought leaders at Qumulo and our distributed management system of structures here. Qumulo engineering would not be the same without her, from our self-organizing & re-organizing teams, to our "community service" programs to share the responsibilities of "management" across everyone in our flat org, to our near tittle-less "member technical staff" titles and more. A couple of blog posts written mostly by MTS folk on what's radical here:
https://qumulo.com/blog/self-organizing-engineering-teams/
https://qumulo.com/blog/why-i-feel-like-my-own-boss-at-qumulo/
So she my personal pioneer, just not known about widely yet.
Hi, Joost & Pim, two pioneers you should be adding:
- Chris Rufer, founder of The Morning Star Company, I believe no additional comment is required here.
- FDSA, a Spanish software company from Palma de Mallorca, in the route towards full Self-Management. I am currently studying it as part of my PhD research project. Its visionary leader and founder is Alejo Ecube, a sort of Spanish "Chris Rufer".
Hi Pim: yes, they are 50 people and growing (maybe as I'm writing, a few more). In this section of their website: https://www.fdsa.es/del-empoderamiento-a-la-autogestion/, you can check FDSA's path towards Self-Management, in the words of his founder Alejo Ecube, only it is written in Spanish (by the way, they guy on the left of the photograph is me, on my first Action Research day with them, in July this year). Here is a recent press release in a leading diary from the Balearic Islands: https://www.ultimahora.es/noticias/economico/2019/10/11/1112649/fdsa-programacion-confia-doip.html, regarding their employment activities. If you wish, I could interview them in English in the name of Corporate Rebels as I'll be flying to Mallorca for another Action Research session with them pretty soon. Best regards. Daniel.
In my opinion, Erik Ringertz (CEO of netlight, a Scandinavian IT consulting company) and netlight itself is worth a visit. He just released the German version of its book "harder better faster stronger" describing their culture, leadership style, environment without hierarchies and why old-fashioned command-and-control environments don't work.
I had the chance to talk to netlight folks a few months ago and also the book was truly inspiring.
https://www.netlight.com/hbfs/
https://twitter.com/Ringertz
An English glimpse behind the scene:
https://soundcloud.com/p-jobbet/erik-ringertz-netlight
Three people immediate comes to mind:
Bob Chapman, CEO of Barry-Wehmiller companies and Chapman & Co consulting, Author of "Everybody Matters - the extraordinary power of caring for your people like family"
Raj Sisodia, co-inventor of Conscious Capitalism and then some!!!
Jane Adshead-Grant, executive coach and associated with Barry-Wehmiller.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Supreme Court Justice said,
"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."
and
"If you want to be a true professional, do something outside yourself."
Laura Winterling is truly a pioneer - she sends people off to space!
As a former trainer for astronauts with ESA, Laura knows very well what it means to give up solid ground below your feet. However, she is even more aware of the potential and encourages people like you and me to experience the same when we lift off. Literally, when we become crazy enough to apply for an adventure in space - and also when we listen to her as a speaker at events.
Douglas Engelbart!
Engelbart occupied himself with ‘boosting mankind's capability for coping with complex, urgent problems’. As one of the early birds in the world of personal computing, he advocated that computer technologies should always have that goal in mind: to increase the intellect of the group, not of the individual. His thorough research on ‘collective IQ’ is a great roadmap if we have to transform our society to a local orientated one.
“Whether developing a new product or service, researching a topic of interest, seeking a cure for cancer, or improving conditions in underserved communities, a group's Collective IQ is a key determinant of how effectively it will respond to the challenges presented. More specifically, regardless of the end goals, it comes down to how quickly and intelligently the group can identify needs and opportunities, develop and deploy solutions, and incorporate lessons learned, while continuously iterating and adapting to changing conditions until the goals are met” - (Douglas Engelbart Institute, about Collective IQ ).
Engelbart believed in the power of the well-connected group instead of the well-connected individual. He thought designing technologies for groups would help us evolve and develop skills to cope with the complex problems our highly advanced civilization presents us.
Check out David Blake and his company Degreed. They pave they way for jailbraking the Degree and taking our valuation of skills into the 21th century. 'The future doesn't care how you became an expert'
Degreed is a EDtech company. They facilitate personalised learning within an eco-learning system. They have three locations I think: Utah, San Fransico and Leiden (they bought Gibbon). Number of employers
+/- 350.
But the best information about their mission and vission you can check out here:
(David Blake - Ted talk - Jailbreaking the Degree)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdA74Iynnr0
And if you have a bit of time you could read his book (written with Kelly palmer)
The Expertise Economy.
Degreed is a EDtech company. They facilitate personalised learning within an eco-learning system. They have three locations I think: Utah, San Fransico and Leiden (they bought Gibbon). Number of employers
+/- 350.
But the best information about their mission and vission you can check out here:
(David Blake - Ted talk - Jailbreaking the Degree)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdA74Iynnr0
And if you have a bit of time you could read his book (written with Kelly palmer)
The Expertise Economy.
Have a look at Hermann Arnold (Co-founder Haufe Umantis, yes, you have them on the list) and his work around "Wir sind Chef" (sorry, German only) and lately FLEAT (www.fleat.com) as an operating system for agility.
Also Tim Leberecht (author of the Business Romantic and Co-Founder of the House of Beautiful Business). Mission is to beautify the world of work!
Oh, and of course: John Seddon, Vanguard Method. His latest book is "Beyond Command and Control". Get a taste of his thinking on this episode of the Bosslevel Podcast, ranting about "agile" as the most dysfunctional management fad ever... (https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9yc3Muc2ltcGxlY2FzdC5jb20vcG9kY2FzdHMvMTM2Ny9yc3M&episode=YjQ3NGU2NjMtOWFlYy00ZjJkLTgxOGYtNzNjNzZhMDRkYmNi&hl=en-CH&ved=2ahUKEwiltLmZ_IzmAhXPeZoKHZAHA4YQieUEegQIARAE&ep=6&at=1574946312040)
What about Maria Pia Thoren from Agile People? With her work, often aligned with Beyond Budgeting, and her book she has been able to give a recipe for transforming HR in an agile way.
Another interesting case is Talent Garden with its founder Davide Dattoli. It’s focus not just on coworking, but on innovation and start- up support through incubation.
At the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, I found Guy Kawasaki's advice in "Rules for Revolutionaries" very inspirational and enlightening. Many of your current posts are picking up ideas from his publications. He continues to inspire me day after day, although he doesn't come across as a guru. "The Art of the Start" was another one of my bedside books.
You should meet Stefan Hildt who runs Universal Express in Poland. Very much a realist, he has an outstanding, progressive business mind. Stefan is a big fan of Jack Stack who spent time with him because of an interest in what the Hildts (father and son) were doing in Poland immediately after the fall of communism. They had a lot to talk about because Stefan had developed a very similar management style before getting to know about Stack's work. Stefan says, "Go see Jack Stack as soon as possible." Maybe these two should be a focus for you in 2020? A family friend, Corporate Rebel Ellen knows Stefan very well.
Brandwatch, a social intelligence company in Brighton, UK might be worth a visit. I wrote my master thesis there and really admired how everything feels like family. I wouldn't name it an innovative workplace but the feeling of togetherness is amazing. I usually travel twice a year to Brighton just to visit my former colleagues 😊
Wrote a tiny post about my time there:
https://daheq.com/blog/besides-burgers-and-beers/
Jurgen Appelo. The creator of Management 3.0 and Managing for Happiness... Including people in the processe. For a world without managers and based on self-organization.
Just added Mastek (India) and 10Pines (Argentina) to the Bucket List based on suggestions from the community.
More info on them from other sources: http://microsite-cultura-stg.surge.sh/?lng=en
Mastek: https://www.enliveningedge.org/features/indian-way-reinventing-organizations-mastek-ltd-sudhakar-ram/
10Pines:
Will be reviewing more suggestions soon. Keep them coming!
I also just included three new cases on our bucket list:
* Nucor, a steel manufacturer in America running with high levels of self-management.
* Mainfreight, a global logistics provider big in warehousing, transport and distribution services. Founded in New Zealand and high levels of decentralization throughout the company.
* JetBrains, a progressive Russian software development company based in St. Petersburg.
Thanks for the suggestions! Keep them coming please...
Have you spoken to Jean-Baptiste Dernoncourt?
He started a wave of change in Carrefour Romania when he was the CEO there. Maybe the only example I know of someone who has succeeded in initiating the liberation of a large enterprise (the process is still ongoing, but he since left, once he made himself irrelevant). He has very inspiring stories and comments to share.
He is the reason why I still believe the large enterprise can and should be liberated from its own internal devils, regardless of how many people are telling me to focus on scale-up's (500 employees at the most).
Have you come across 'Open Minds' by Andy Law, about setting up St Luke's - the London based advertising agency run as a co-operative? It started in the mid 90s, Andy is now retired, but St Luke's is still going.
I imagine it's probably still a pioneering sort of a place - I have no firsthand experience of it.
A couple of playmakers in Australia who are making a difference.
1. Kerwin Rae - Helping people find their purpose and then creating high performance environments for humans to excel by following their passions. He uses social to push his messages and he has helped me personally in my quest to be the best I can be.
https://www.kerwinrae.com/
2. Dara Simpkin - Runs a company called culture hero who inject play based learning into the workplace using acting and improvisation techniques. Dara is an obsessive creative making rap's and launching campaigns like https://www.bringyourselftoworkday.com.au/
https://www.culturehero.co/
I started reflecting on a recent trip pre I had to Japan. Always being on the lookout for better leadership and org. forms, I really sucked in the impressions. I would never have thought, that a country such as Japan, which is known for "karoshi" (overwork deaths), would feature such contrasting experiences. They call these bad companies for "Black companies" by the way.
Although the language barrier was tough, we had a Japanese born Canadian amongst our group. I learnt from some of the corporate visits that we paid, that there are also "white companies", and I actually saw some examples.
In one particular company (Mirai Industry Co. Ltd. - Kumamoto plant) - which was a metal production site, the founder would "threat" employees doing overtime by saying: "Go home, or I'll charge you for the electricity" :-)
The factory manager (Mr. Mizoguchi Kumamon) actually earnt less than the factory workers, because he - according to himself - did less work.
There were signs of wholeness in the building, at least the walls were decorated with children drawings. They had an internal saying which hang from posters all over: "Always think - ask WHY WHY WHY".
Each worker is entitled to 140 vacation days a year.
Generally, they believe "management" causes a lot of frustration. Hence, they try to limit this as much as possible.
Their belief is, that "the fewer rules - the better".
They refuse to put a product to market unless it has some uniqueness to it. That way, everybody is waiting to see, what kind of product they will come up with next.
They disliked the use of KPIs and encourage their employees to think instead.
They all take social responsibility and collect garbage in the vicinity, every now and then.
The factory manager told us, that he liked "underdogs" when he received those people, that HQ did not want (he was appreciative of any type of people).
They had no system of reporting to the upper echelon - "those who know the Gemba the best should decide" was their saying.
They really had Kaizen mind (idea generation). They regularly send their employees on paid holiday abroad (every 5 years).
They believe in use of "the carrot" and less of "the stick".
Generally, for companies in Japan:
- I noticed several places where even the CEO himself is taking his roster when they have to sweep/clean the stairs.
- In the event of a crisis, they might go for pay-cuts, but in the opposite direction than the one typically used in Europe: From the top.
===
I can't say this connects directly to self-organization, evolutionary purpose or wholeness, but overall it was still a positive impression, that made me extremely curious, and I promised myself, that I - one day - would explore this further. But again - the language barrier is tough.
Like Daheq replied, it is quite big. This particular production plant we visited was 89 staff in total, ie. relatively minor, but they all work according to the same principles.
There is a funny history of the name: The company was founded in 1965 by a maverick son, who was kicked out of his father's company for putting in too much time into the thespian activities. As a result, he and his three actor friends formed Mirai, the namesake of their theatrical group. Since its inception in 65, Mirai - which interestingly means "future" in Japanese, has brought them a great future. The founder Yamada has done much to make his workers productive, but like his background, often in count-initiative ways.
The factory manager (Mizoguchi) told us, he considered himself for being "weird". I was proud, that I - that particular day - was selected or handing over our presents to Mizoguchi (saying thanks for the tour), and I told him, that I thought it was because I - like him - also happened to be the weirdest guy in our group, and that I was born in the same year as when they incepted the company. He really liked that statement, and I handed him a special Danish artwork, which by the way, looks pretty weird too ("hoptimist"): See https://tinyurl.com/sncdy4t
The company has gone beyond most people's comfort zone in trusting employees, and really forced you to think twice about what corporate policies are really about, and if they are helpful. They seem to be a treasure trove of ideas on how to increase employee engagement.
I think Patrick Klink, the founder of Onbrdng, could be a good addition to this list. He is on a mission to challenge and disrupt one of the few industries that has never changed itself in its entire history: the consulting industry. I'm a little bias, as I work for him, but I truly believe that his vision is going to win over the outdated way of working from the traditional consultancy firms. Check www.onbrdng.com
I would shamelessly recommend Odd-e, where I work for. We have been working in a bossless manner for over 10 years. Each employee decides his/her own salary. Finance is open in each team. Everyone decide their own work and time.
We have a "Never does" list:
- Never controls ideas
- Never forgets the original hacker culture
- Never does performance evaluation
- Never sells software development tools
- Never optimizes only for profit or growth
- Never has others control your schedule
- Never makes it too busy to spend time with family
- Never forgets to have fun
- Never gives up writing code together
- Never hires people just because we have work
- Never limits our thinking to one perspective
How about Kelly Swingler, Founder of The Chrysalis Crew.
Advocate of #4DayWorking and creator of the first Mental Wellbeing Workshop, specifically designed for HR.
Keynote speaker, author, podcaster, burnout survivor, coach, 🔥 walker and Breathwork trainer to name but a few of her skills and achievements!
I propose Buckminster Fuller (Bucky),
Richard Buckminster Fuller spent his life working across multiple fields, such as architecture, design, geometry, engineering, science, cartography and education, in his pursuit to make the world work for 100% of humanity.
- Dymaxion concepts, -Spaceship Earth, the World Game and the Dymaxion Map
I propose Sudbury Valley School
Sudbury Valley School was founded in 1968 by a community of people including Daniel Greenberg, Mimsy Sadofsky and Hanna Greenberg in Framingham. Greenberg aimed to create a school system that was just, psychologically comfortable, and self-governing with real-life being the primary source of learning.
The Sudbury Valley School was inspired by the Summerhill School. The Summerhill School is an independent (i.e. fee-paying) boarding school in Suffolk, England. It was founded in 1921 by Alexander Sutherland Neill with the belief that the school should be made to fit the child, rather than the other way around.
If you plan a future trip to Japan, you need to know, that it is important to follow "protocol", and you'd need a translator. I might be able to introduce you to a capable guy (I happen to be VERY interested myself - about the Japanese perspective). Just drop me a line if/when the plans materialize (brian.dahl@iblowyourmind.dk)
I would like to propose Prof. Günter Faltin, he founded Teekampagne in 1985. With this first concept he educates a creative culture of entrepreneurship.
He founded in 2001 "Stiftung Entrepreneurship" and for over 20 years he and this foundation organised meet-ups called "Labor für Entrepreneurship". In fact an incubator for a creative culture of entrepreneurship and to practice entrepreneurial design.
He wrote two books „Kopf schlägt Kapital“ and „Wir sind das Kapital“ both with - Unternehmensbeispiele für eine intelligentere Ökonomie.
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You should really talk to David Heinemeier Hansson (creator Ruby on Rails & founder Basecamp). His book "It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work" is a real eye-opener!