Last week I was sitting in the Old Imperial Bar of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, a room still dressed in the warm, geometric style of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture. A cold glass of Asahi beer rested on the table beside me as I leafed through Charles Handy’s latest book titled The View from Ninety: Reflections on How to Live a Long, Contented Life. In the book, the late Handy recalls an African saying he first wrote about years ago: People have two hungers: the hunger for food, and the...
16 days ago • 4 min read
I just returned from a few intense, inspiring days in Tokyo. The reason? To meet with Yuji Yamada (our Rebel Cell Japan coordinator), some of the leaders of our Japanese Rebel Cell companies, and a few other trailblazing organizations shaping the future of work in Asia. Yuji pulled together an extraordinary gathering, a room full of progressive leaders from across the region, including: Zhang Ruimin (Haier) Tomohiro Kimura (Gaiax) Shun Akiyama (Net Protections) Yosuke Katada (PeopleDot) Pande...
23 days ago • 3 min read
Last week, I was in China on a business trip. One of the highlights? A visit to the progressive powerhouse Haier in Qingdao. While there, I spent hours on the road. In electric cars. Surrounded by electric cars. Curious, I looked it up. Turns out: almost half of all new passenger cars sold in China today are electric. It reminded me of something Jeremy Clarkson once said: “I’ve got probably 10 cars, all with V8 engines. I don’t think electric cars solve anything.” Classic Clarkson. But also:...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
In preparing for the summer '25 cohort of our Corporate Rebels Masterclass, I had conversations with two founders of wildly successful self-managing organizations. Both run companies without traditional hierarchies. Because both believe in autonomy, trust, and ditching command-and-control. But when I asked them how decisions are made, I got two completely different answers. One said: "We like to reach consensus. We only move forward when everyone agrees. It's part of our culture to find the...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
We arrived by boat. Forty impact entrepreneurs. Brought together by Forming Impact, from all corners of the world. The sky was burning blue, the water impossibly clear. And there it was: Necker Island. On the dock stood a man in shorts and flip-flops, waving as we pulled up to the shore. Richard Branson, grinning like a kid on holiday, there to welcome us in person. It was surreal. But also, strangely normal. No security guards. No PR team. Just a curious, kind, slightly sunburned man, ready...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
A month ago, white smoke curled from a chimney in Rome. Crowds gathered. News anchors speculated. The world held its breath. A new pope was about to be revealed. But while most waited for the name to be spoken, a small group of researchers from Bocconi University already knew it. Not because of divine prophecy. Because of data. By analyzing the relational structure of the Vatican’s inner circle (who consulted whom, who trusted whom, who spent time with whom) they predicted the outcome before...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Last week, in a warehouse just outside Barcelona, a plain cardboard box sat on a wooden chair. It wasn’t there for shipping. It was a ballot box. Around it, just under fifty workers gathered. Some in overalls, some in steel-toe boots, many with grease still on their hands. One by one, they stepped forward, slipped in their vote, and returned to their seat. What were they voting on? Whether or not to sell their company to us. Let me explain. Not your average acquisition Our other company,...
3 months ago • 2 min read
This morning I read a piece in Harvard Business Review — the apex of thoughtful, measured, data-rich corporate discourse — titled “What’s the Future of Middle Management?” Spoiler: It's not extinction. The authors make a reasonable case: middle managers are still vital because of their unique position in the organizational food chain. But — and it's a big but — to stay relevant, they need to shrink in numbers and evolve in function. Less compliance cop, more talent developer. Less...
4 months ago • 4 min read
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...
4 months ago • 3 min read