Why can't we build organizations that are as resilient, inventive, inspiring, and accountable--as human--as the people who work within them? That's the driving question behind and the dream fueling the MIX. Of course, it's not just our dream--it's the shared dream of countless workers and leaders in every kind of organization around the world. Hundreds of you have already stood up for that dream with your contributions--your inspiring stories, pioneering ideas, experimental designs, passion, energy and time--here on the MIX. We are so energized by and grateful for those contributions--and we need more! We also know--and you've told us--that this is not enough. If we want to create what amounts to the open source code for Management 2.0, we can't just rely on the individual contributions of management innovators everywhere--we need those energetic and inspired contributors to work together to make real progress on a set of make-or-break challenges . That's why we're rolling out a set of power tools and new platforms for collaboration among MIXers. I'm thrilled to announce the launch of the first of those: the Hackathon Pilot --an experiment designed to coordinate efforts around tackling the Communities of Passion moonshot...

As we close out the semifinal round of the HCI Human Capital M-Prize , we wanted to offer up a quick take on each of the entries in the running—and encourage all of you to rate the entries, add your ideas and questions in the comments field.

These contributions are rich with ideas and insights around unleashing passion, inspiring extraordinary contribution, promoting freedom, inviting participation (even from the most unlikely sources), and subverting hierarchal power and control. Dig into these and offer up your own. This is just the beginning of our collective journey in creating organizations that are truly fit for human beings. We want to hear your voice!

The semifinal round ends on February 20th—winners will be announced at the HCI Human Capital Summit in Atlanta on March 8th and here on the MIX.

How to Start a Movement in Your Company
Story by David Choe
An inspiring 3-part narrative of real-world transformation led by an in-the-trenches innovator who unleashed a “swarm of initiative” around an urgent business challenge. Choe, a director of strategy at the $1 billion-firm Tyco Electronics, tells the story of taking...

We’re delighted to announce the semifinalists for the HCI Human Capital M-Prize —a rich set of bold and original Hacks and inspiring and instructive Stories.

We asked MIXers to tackle one of the toughest—and most important questions in the realm of management innovation: How do you mobilize and unleash the best gifts of every single person in the organization? And how do you create an environment and system for work that ignite extraordinary passion, imagination, and initiative?

And they answered! We received some 85 entries—so many of which surprised us, stretched us, and inspired us. Together they begin to map a future in which organizations are as human as the human beings inside them. Needless to say, it was no easy feat to whittle so many superb contributions down to just ten semifinalists.

A hearty thanks to everyone who entered this M-Prize. This is by no means the end of the road. We plan to keep the conversation going and to continue to cultivate a community of passion around the topic of communities of passion and unleashing capability. We hope you’ll continue to engage around these and other management moonshots. Stay tuned here on the...

Bob Sutton is one of the most provocative, practical, and profoundly human thinkers and writers in the realm of management today. He’s written five important books over the last decade about closing the gap between knowledge and organizational action, evidence-based (rather than faith- or fear-based) management), and how the best organizations develop and implement creative ideas. My personal favorite is Weird Ideas That Work . Bob has more recently trained his relentless curiosity on workplaces polluted by jerks and bad bosses. His latest books, The No Asshole Rule and Good Boss, Bad Boss , offer up fresh thinking and engagingly practical pathways forward when it comes to revitalizing the most important relationship at work: the one between you and your boss (and between bosses and the people they manage).


Bob is also a good friend. And I’m delighted to introduce him as our latest MIX Maverick. We’re kicking things off with what’s bound to be a bracing, fun, and wisdom-packed conversation about what it means to be a great boss. And you’re all invited . Sign up for the one-hour “Building a Better Boss” webinar (Thursday, December...

My conversation with our newest MIX Maverick Andrew McAfee yielded all kinds of bracing insight when it comes to how we set strategy, structure work, unleash talent, and measure success. But I haven’t been able to shake one idea in particular he threw out at the end of our conversation as a provocation.

First, we spent a lot of time on how the job of a leader changes in a world that is increasingly open, powered by social technologies, and morphing at warp speed. Andrew calls this world Enterprise 2.0 . In this world, says Andrew, “If you want good things to happen, get out of the way. Let people interact and collaborate and communicate in the ways that are most natural to them. Then your job as the leader of the organization is to simply put in place the environment that lets them do that, encourage them to do that, and then harvest the good stuff that comes from all of their interactions.”

In other words, the job description of the leader has officially changed from “smartest guy in the room” to chief promoter of the idea that...

Take the Tweet a Hack challenge: Help us "Take the Work out of Work" and win a $100 Amazon gift certificate!

Is your work as engaging, inspiring, and fulfilling as it could be? Do you (and the people you know) get enough meaning, freedom, energizing challenge, and fun from your job? Does your organization have a smart design for unleashing the best gifts of every individual inside it?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, we could use your help. If you answered no to any of the above, you're not alone—and the good news is, we've designed a new contest to accelerate the process of making all organizations as adaptable, innovative, and inspiring as the people who work inside them. It's called Tweet a Hack , and It’s one of the quickest, easiest (not to mention rewarding) ways to participate on the MIX.

For the inaugural contest, we want your ideas for “ taking the work out of work .” That’s one of the MIX’s 25 “ management moonshots ”—make-or-break challenges we must tackle if we’re going to build organizations that are truly fit...

Here at the MIX we believe that great ideas can come from anybody and anywhere in the world—as long as you're open and clever enough to ask for them. We're not sure how clever we are, but we're asking. We want YOUR great ideas when it comes to reinventing management. That's what the MIX is designed for—and that's why we've created the world's first Management Innovation Prize: the M-Prize .

Do you want to play a role in improving the technology of human accomplishment? If you have a real-world case of management innovation (a STORY) or a bold idea (a HACK) for overturning management-as-usual, here's your chance to make a difference and get recognized for it. The rules of the M-Prize are simple:

Any registered MIXer can participate The inagural M-Prize is focused on 3 critical Management Moonshots: Reinventing Leadership , Increasing Trust , and Taking the Work out of Work All you need to do is submit a STORY or HACK (or multiple stories and hacks) and tag it to one of the 3 M-Prize Moonshots.

Who wins? Well, we all do. Every success...