Hi Reader,

One of my highlights every year? The 6-week masterclasses we run a few times annually.

In each masterclass, we guide a cohort of about 30 practitioners through how to move their organizations beyond hierarchy.

It’s a deep dive into progressive organizational design—topped off with hands-on work transforming their own organizations. No more layers of bureaucracy, no more sluggish decision-making, no more command-and-control nonsense. Just real tools for building better ways of working.

We’ve just passed the halfway point of our March/April masterclass. And once again, it’s been a blast.

This cohort is a diverse mix:

• Some are scaling family businesses without losing their unique culture
• Some want to upgrade dynamics in already-progressive teams
• Others are change agents inside big, traditional corporates
• And some are consultants who’ll bring the tools to their own clients

Last week, we wrapped up week four. So far, we’ve laid the foundation for understanding something essential: the different flavors of progressive organizations.

Yes, you read that right—flavors.

A lot of future-of-work gurus and academics still treat progressive organizations like there’s just one way to do it. Like there’s a black-and-white divide between hierarchical and non-hierarchical.

But real-world progressive organizations aren’t cookie-cutter.

There are at least three distinct flavors we’ve explored in the masterclass—each with its own logic, culture, and vibe. We call them:

1. The big family

We started with Buurtzorg, the Dutch healthcare company with 10,000+ nurses organized into 1,000+ self-managing teams. I’ve actually developed a teaching case on them for Harvard Business School.

Buurtzorg doesn’t run on hierarchy—it runs on solidarity and mutual care. They’re like one big family.

Our cohort interviewed Thijs de Blok from Buurtzorg to understand how they work with collective team responsibility, a strong online community, and consensus-based decision-making.

2. The group of friends

Next up: Viisi, a Dutch mortgage advice company with around 50 employees. They run on Holacracy, but more than that—they feel like a group of friends.

The vibe is peer-based, rooted in equality and reciprocity.

Our cohort spoke with Marc-Peter Pijper from Viisi and explored how they use circles, roles, elected representatives, and consent-based decision-making.

3. The marketplace

This week we explored something radically different: Haier, the Chinese whitegoods giant.

They’re not a family. Not a group of friends. They’re a marketplace—a company made up of internal entrepreneurs competing and collaborating within a decentralized ecosystem.

(I also wrote a teaching case on this one for INSEAD.)

The cohort interviewed Antonio Boadas to hear how Haier’s U.S. subsidiary GEA brought market-based dynamics into a traditional legacy business.

What have we learned?

All three of these organizations have moved beyond hierarchy—but in completely different ways.

Each has its own interpretation of what it means to be human at work. And they’re just as different from each other as they are from the traditional corporate world.

Understanding these differences is critical before even thinking about transforming your own organization.

And that’s exactly what’s next.

Now that we’ve explored the core designs of progressive organizations, we’re ready to move into transformation mode.

Each cohort needs to pick a flavor to focus on—and this time, we’re diving into the “group of friends” model: the equality-driven organization.

We’ll apply the four steps of our NER transformation model, using Indaero as a case study—a company we bought and transformed through our impact fund, Krisos.

It’s a powerful real-world example of how this works in practice.

I can’t wait to explore the transformations with this group in the final weeks.

And if you want to join the next cohort—it kicks off June 24.

This one’s perfect for practitioners in the Asia-Pacific region (and early risers in Europe)—sessions run from 08:00 to 10:00 CET.

Click here to learn more, or forward this to someone you think would love it.
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Updates from Corporate Rebels HQ

Here's a quick overview of everything happening at Corporate Rebels:

• Panel discussion: Last month we hosted an exclusive panel chat for members all about how to grow in your career without climbing the traditional ladder. Rocio Maronna Diaz (Full Circle), Koen Ermgodts (Projective Group), and Luis Simoes (Mindera) shared how their progressive companies tackle personal development when there’s no clear path laid out. Missed it? No worries – the recording’s available in the membership area.
• Rebel Speed Dating: Yes, we did it again. Last week was our monthly Rebel Speed Dating – our no-fluff online networking event for members. It’s fast, it’s fun, and it’s all about real conversations. Think speed dating, but for bold ideas and meeting like-minded rebels who are all about shaking things up.
• LinkedIn Live event: On April 24 at 16:00 CET, we’re going live on LinkedIn to talk about something juicy: What tech do you actually need to ditch hierarchy? We’re teaming up with Talkspirit (part of our French Rebel Cell) to explore how the right tools can support a flatter, more dynamic way of working. Wanna join? Register here.
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New article

A new article has been published on our blog earlier this week:

• The Tech Stack That Makes Hierarchy Obsolete​
  Hierarchy is the rotary phone of organizational design: outdated, clunky, and killing your team's momentum. This piece lays out how self-managed teams, armed with the right tech stack, don’t just survive without bosses, they thrive. Think tools that make roles crystal clear, decisions transparent, and communication frictionless. Check it out here.
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What inspired us

Here's something noteworthy we discovered this past week that you’re going to love:

• Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
  ​This recently published book is less memoir, more organizational autopsy. In it, Sarah Wynn-Williams peels back the curtain on her time at Facebook—now Meta—and what she reveals is staggering: a culture where hierarchy and ego trump ethics, where decision-making is centralized, opaque, and disturbingly disconnected from real-world consequences. It’s a front-row seat to what happens when ambition scales faster than accountability. This isn’t just a cautionary tale—it’s a masterclass in how not to build a company. You can order it here.
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Cheers,

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