Jurgen Appelo

Jurgen Appelo is pioneering management to help creative organizations survive and thrive in the 21st century. He offers concrete games, tools, and practices, so you can introduce better management, with fewer managers. Jurgen is CEO of the business network Happy Melly, and co-founder of the Agile Lean Europe network and the Stoos Network. He is also a speaker who is regularly invited to talk at business seminars and conferences around the world.

Why does the world need a work revolution?
Most people are not happy and engaged in their jobs. This is a sad thing because work is a crucial part of everyone’s lives. I want to help make the world of work a better place to be for everyone.

How are you or your organization reinventing work in some way (big or small)?
My company Happy Melly tries to help people be happier in their jobs through all kinds of activities. Our biggest brand at this time is Management 3.0, which offers concrete, colorful practices for better management with fewer managers.

What’s one tangible and concrete technique other organizations should use if they want to create a more human and/or meaningful place to work?
Our Management 3.0 brand offers dozens of such practices. One of them is the Celebration Grid. It assists teams in evaluating good practices, experiments, and mistakes, and their outcomes in terms of successes and failures. The grid reminds us that we should not only celebrate successes but also learning.

Provide a quote (either yours or someone else’s) that you live by and/or that represents why you do what you do. Also tell us: why did you choose it?

For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. – H.L. Mencken.

I choose this quote because I love complexity science and systems thinking, and I noticed that many solutions that people come up with to complex problem are too simplistic and therefore wrong.

What is one discipline/industry totally different from your own that has inspired you, and how does it impact your work?
Complexity science, because it pervades everything.

What’s one surprising thing we should know about you?
I was born on the day when the first person walked on the moon: July 20, 1969

What does your preferred work environment look like?
Any environment where there is good Wi-Fi and good coffee. Really, I can work from anywhere. That is also something that I hope other people can achieve. Offices are for many jobs a thing of the past.

Where in the world are you?
Mostly in Europe.

How can people connect with you?
http://www.jurgenappelo.com/contact

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