It was hot, loud, and late in São Paulo.

We had just arrived, jet-lagged and buzzing with questions, about to meet one of the most iconic figures in the world of radical work design.

The restaurant was sharp—white tablecloths, waiters with straight backs, and Ricardo Semler at the center of it all.

He spoke with fire.

Ideas about trust, freedom, decentralization, democracy at work.

His vision was bold, clean, and intoxicating.

But it wasn’t until later—hours later, in a quiet living room across town—that we really got it.

We were sitting with Clóvis Bojikian, Semco’s former HR director.

No flair.
No performance.

Just a soft-spoken man who had lived the reality of making Semler’s vision work.

He told us about the messy middle.

The confusion. The pushback. The slow unraveling of old habits.

How they experimented.

Failed.
Learned.
And kept going.

That contrast hit us hard.

Inspiration is powerful. But transformation? That’s where it gets real.

That day shaped how we built the Corporate Rebels community.

We carried that lesson for years—into blog posts, meet‑ups, even a scrappy online forum held together with duct tape and goodwill.

But even revolutions outgrow their first headquarters.

Our current platform has been a fierce little hub—1,500 rebels swapping wins, failures, and “oh‑wow” tactics—but the walls are closing in.

Search feels like a maze.

Recordings play hide‑and‑seek.

The best ideas get lost in the scroll.

So, true to the Semco spirit, we’re tearing down what no longer serves and moving the whole movement next door—into a space built for the next wave of experiments.

Here’s what will be waiting on day one:

Upgraded:

• Live Sessions & Events – monthly conversations with the pioneers who’ve lived the mess and kept going. No slides, no scripts—just sunlight, candor, and the odd grin that says 'wait till you see what we’ve done'.
• Discussion Area – a living lab where ideas get stress‑tested at 3 a.m. or 3 p.m. Ask for feedback on transparent pay, or share the policy you hacked yesterday. Someone will jump in.

New:

• AI Agent – think of it as the Clóvis to your Semler: always on, giving practical advice, sorting research, surfacing case‑study nuggets, asking the uncomfortable questions you forgot to ask.
• Deep‑dive Case Studies – unfiltered breakdowns of companies that flattened hierarchy, killed the manager roles, and came out stronger. Filter by industry, size, or topic. The database expands rapidly.

And the best news of it all?

Kim Aiyeju joins Corporate Rebels!

As our new community lead, he’ll be the face of the space—the one sparking conversations, making connections, and helping rebels find their people.

What's next?

We’ll migrate existing members first to make sure everything works.

Then—within days—we’ll swing the doors open for a limited group of 100 changemakers from this newsletter.

They'll get a 20% discount.

Want in on that first wave?

Join the waitlist here.

Updates from Corporate Rebels HQ

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

• Graduation day ​
  Last week another 30 rebels graduated from our Masterclass on progressive organization design. After 6 inspiring weeks, they go out into the wild to reinvent how companies around the world work. Want to join the next cohort? It starts in June. More info here.
• Free webinar​
  Today at 16.00 CEST, we're running a webinar on the importance of tech for self-managed organizations. Five pioneers. Practical insights only. Register here.
• Next acquisition​
  Nervous times. We're very close to the next acquisition of our impact fund Krisos. A new company to buy and transform into a flourishing, self-managed organization. Hopefully, in 3 weeks' time, we'll have some very exciting news to share. Stay tuned.

New article

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

• How One Annoying IT Crisis Sparked a Company-Wide Revolution​
  At Dectris, transformation began with two colleagues who couldn't stand each other being forced to fix a database. From this unlikely start emerged an impressive shift to self-management, proving that radical change doesn't require chaos—just courage. Full story here.

What inspired us

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

• The counterintuitive power of slow communication
  ​Mind-bending research challenges our assumptions about teamwork: Fast communication makes teams dumber, not smarter. Network theory shows that slow, decentralized teams consistently solve complex problems better than efficient ones. Why? Quick communication kills diversity of thought. So if you want real innovation, create friction, not constant syncs. Full study here.

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That's it for this newsletter. Let me know what you think by replying to this email.

Cheers,

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