Moonshots
Summary
What is the RealExperiment? Our response
... In 2 seconds:
The peaceful revolutionary improvement of our working environment.
... In 9.5 seconds:
We want to prove: It is total nonsense and an inhumane dogma that up from a certain company size, it is an irreconcilable contradiction to have fun at work and make good profit at the same time.
... In 41.7 seconds:
- In our company, we‘ll practically test whether a change set of working conditions can overcome the dissatisfaction 30 million workers face in their working context in Germany alone.
- We‘ll stop complaining about working life as it is today - no more drowning in improvemet proposals, but making a difference in our own company.
- We want to challenge the inhumane and seemingly irrefutable beliefs and practices of modern business.
- We want to create a new working environment for our children. Without the repetitive boring tales of heroes, chiefs and indians, winners and losers, master and servants.
- Last but not least we‘re talking about a potential of 125 Billion Euros in Germany alone, which remain unaccessable due to lack of engagement at work!
What is the purpose of the RealExperiment?
The aim is to test a new working environment under the terms of the real market.
What aspects will we test as conditions for a new working environment?
- Management innovation instead of innovation management: Our main focus is the vessel, the entrepreneurial framework. Our products and services will be the means to test a new set up of corporate structure and culture.
- Empower rather than disempower: We will not rid ourselves of managers. Instead, every co-worker will be a managing director from the start. All will be managers at the same formal level with the same rights and obligations. We don‘t want to overcome hierarchy itself. The aim is to go beyond formal fixation of hierarchy. Unrealistic, ridiculous, crazy? That‘s why we want to check this approach with a practical test!
- Equal value rather than performance-linked payment: All co-workers will primarily earn the same basic income. This will be topped up depending on the companies result and profits, calculated in retrospetive and accounting for the profitabiltiy of the projects one is involved in.
See the movie:
Context
Who is involved in the RealExperiment? The co-workers of the „GESELLSCHAFT SINNVOLL WIRTSCHAFTEN mbH“. Currently these are the initiators Gebhard Borck, Markus Stegfellner and Dr. Andreas Zeuch
What is the laboratory for the experiment? Currently, it is the German speaking market (D-A-CH). The perspective is to apply our concept globally.
Participants? Everybody seriously interested. We are publishing our diaries in the net (http://experiment.sinnvoll-wirtschaften.de)
What are opportunities to participate: Financial support, popularize the RealExperiment (e.g. via Internet), face to face meetings at the Walk to Talk events, buy products and services from the company.
What produces or provides the GSWmbH? We are not fixed to a single line of production or service - we want to promote anything that make sense for the common welfare and can compete under market conditions. At the moment we are still focused on consulting services enhancing what we call „meanomize Economy“ („sinnvoll wirtschaften“). There are also various software products in different stages of maturity, which will eventually move into the portfolio of the GSWmbH. The crew is in a constant process to come up with new products and services, bearing in mind the three crucial aspects of sustainabilty, common welfare and competitiveness.
Everything else is in a constant flow - to be observed and redirected in our blog and in personal contact with the team of GSWmbH.
In case of any further questions do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to critical, constructive and productive interaction.
Triggers
The three of us (Andreas, Gebhard & Markus) came together in order to build up a small bunch of business cunsultants focussed on subjects like - lead without being a leader, how to establish a meaning connection instead of a working contract or why idealize and go on with so called rational decision making while it's scientifically proven that humans are not able to decide without their emotions and intuition.
In running the consulting business together we soon came to another conclusion. Why should we talk about and convince people to re-invent their businesses while we can start an own one based on our convictions.
And so we decided on a sunny spring morning to start a firm that will realize some working conditions which are unbelievable for any kind of traditional business. Part of the idea is to make all in Public, the complete development, success or failure of the company. Therefore we started a blog (only in German) at http://experiment.sinnvoll-wirtschaften.de. And we are overwhelmed by its success so far (the blog is running since early september) and the worm welcome of the people to our RealExperiment.
Key Innovations & Timeline
As we are a startup and the startup itself is the innovation there are not so many things to tell at this point.
But some we have!
- Utopia
When we started in early February 2010 to think about an own company and how to design it. We came fast the conclusions that it should be a company:
- without formal hierarchies - with a basic income that is the same for all employees - with processes that will not follow functionality and objects but social independence and human beings.
We wrote down all our ideas into a business model canvas and started to talk about it with friends and well known clients. The reaction was nearly always the same: "Nice try guys - but you will not even find a formal company to get this structure working. So what you want is a total utopia for which you have to change basic laws!"
As you can imagine - this were no nice conversations. And as they where our friends and trusted partners it was hard for us to keep the faith but we did it until we met a tax consultant known by Markus, lets call him Fred, who was able to forget his prejudices and without them help us out to find an existing formal structure for our future company. - Reality
Fred told us: "It's totally crazy and I'm quite sure that nobody in Germany or even the world has tried this. But you can found a limited and make every employee a Managing Director and Partner. Doing it like this, everybody would be at the same hierarchical level and nobody would be able to command anybody else because of his position."
We liked the idea, wrote it down, made a movie out of it and started to show it to all our friends again.
Not all of them but the far majority started to think and a lot of them who started to think suddenly felt attracted by the idea and the formal structure. So we decided not to make a project out of it but an experiment. - Experiment
Why call it an experiment? Because at first: we can't be sure that we will succeed and second: we absolutely don't know how long it will last! Fred our tax consultant told us that this is not a company that we are founding but an expermient that we will start. We liked it and took it as title for our undertaking. All this happened between February 2010 and September 2010. Until know we have found a formal structure for the experiment a financial advisor (Fred of course) and a lawyer (let's call him Chris). Both of them work on their own risk - we don't pay them. If the experiment will be a success they will stay with us - as we hope - and we will pay them! At the moment everybody involved is spending his time, Energy and money but does not receive anything back except shoulder clapping, applause from the internet communities and some harsh criticism. - Reaction
Until now the major reactions were overwhelmingly positive. We already have received money presents and we are the good purpose of Ralf and Stefan. Two guys who are offering consulting services on software development during a trip the are doing in October. And whoever want advice from them during this trip pays a donation to our RealExperiment. Besides this a lot of our contacts and even unknown people have put our links or web banner on their web sides and blogs. Even small companies like Holbau Karl (www.holzbau-karl.de) promote us. Last but not least we have some serious job applications from people who are interested into working in our company as soon as it is founded.
All this happened between September 2010 and now.
Until the end of the year we will have developed all necessary contracts for our supporters to lend us money and for the company to be able to contract new employees.
Our biggest challenge at the moment is to gain popularity and get into contact with more supporters who are disposed to lend us money and accelerate the RealExperiment with their help.
Challenges & Solutions
Challenge I - overcome formal hierarchy
Fixing:
We give everybody in the company the same job and the job is Chief Executive Officer with the right to veto against any decision. That means regarding the inside relationships between employees nobody can overrule anybody and everybody can boycott the whole company. Regarding the outside relationships anybody can buy the Tower of Eiffel and ruin the company that way.
With this fixing of the problem of formal hierarchy we want to get into a status in which it is total nonsense to try to hide any kind of problem, to solve it without the others or to solve it in overruling anybody. We want to force ourself into constructive social interaction and facing challenges together.
Challenge II - overcome inhuman valuation of people
Fixing:
We pay everybody the same basic income. Any other income is related to the profit the company makes as a whole.
We believe that the best way to build up conflicts between people and block intrinsic motivation is to earn different amounts of money.
With our fixing salary is not a question of education, experience or social level any more. Everybody earning the same basic income makes salary only depending on the commercial success of the company. What is not fair but true.
Benefits & Metrics
Due to our startup we don't have a lot of Benefits and Metrics to tell.
What we have is:
- Over 3.000 visitors on our blog since the middle of September
- Won a speaking slot on a big future conference (www.utopia.de) in Germany by the voting of readers of our blog and newsletters.
- Gained support by a financial advisor and a lawyer
- To be the good purpose of another event
- Three donators giving us real money
- More than 650 visits of our German presentation video on YouTube since mid of September
- The commitment to make at least three online discussions and speeches sponsored by companies.
- The proposal for a book about our content at a big and global known publisher.
Lessons
Until now.
If you don't stuck to it - it will not happen.
If you do something - somebody will listen.
The idea can sound crazy - at the moment there is a space for crazy ideas in order to make future better.
Credits
Dr. Andreas Zeuch for his critical mind that does not corrupt his enthusiasm and faith.
Gebhard Borck for his will to make the world more meaningful.
Markus Stegfellner for leaving behind the old way and bring in all his experiences from there.
Fred for the formal structure.
Our lawyer, friends, supporters, new contacts and the online community for helping us spreading our idea faster than we ever thought is possible.
Documents
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