New Work by Design

Hi-I'm Manuel.
I help companies become fulfilling workplaces full of engaged people.

What I do

I specialize in New Work organizational design, helping companies implement just enough structure and process to ensure smooth operations and scalable growth without becoming bureaucratic.

For whom

I work with companies during critical growth stages. In these phases founders often struggle with maintaining influence as direct oversight becomes impractical.

They seek to implement structure and processes but want to avoid bureaucratic stagnation. I guide them in establishing an organizational operating system that not only supports growth but also enhances their appeal as an employer - making the way they work the decisive reason why people join their company.

How I do it

Over the past decade, I've worked with three companies full-time, transforming them into New Work role models. Through these experiences, I've distilled the nine necessary key practices for a sustainable New Work implementation.

I support companies in prioritizing, designing, implementing, and iterating the nine key practices in a way that serves their specific context while staying true to underlying principles that nourish self-organization and intrinsic motivation.

My role is to guide, facilitate, and advise, providing the tools and frameworks necessary for the organization to continue evolving independently. Going through this transformation will take 1-2 years, depending on the specific context.

Why I do it

My bigger goal is to create more fulfilling workplaces. I want us, as a society, to see and experience work differently. Not just as a job that pays the bills, but as a calling that energizes us and gives us meaning.

When I first experienced a New Work environment in 2011, it turned me, an introvert, into someone who passionately shares the potential of fulfilling work environments. I know that workplaces that create this kind of enthusiasm are possible, because I experienced it myself and helped recreate it in other companies.

I am committed to supporting companies in making the way they work the decisive factor why people join and rave about them.

A little more about me.

Sounds nice, but what does that really mean? I get it. Here are five of my former colleagues, in their own words, sharing what New Work meant and still means for them.

New here?

Start with free stuff to check me out from a distance

• Overview videos
• New Work Visualized
• Open Office Hours

If that created more interest, you may want to continue with

• New Work by Design 101 Workshop
• Orientation Session (1h)
• Orientation Workshop (2d)

If and when you are sure (enough) that I am the right person to help you, here are the 5 ways of support I have on offer: my online course, workshops, my leadership program, design sprints, and bespoke consulting. Find out more on my offer page.

As a founder, you might like what I have to offer, if ...

• All your capacity (time and energy) are tied up in the nighty gritty details of all the different parts of your business
• You don’t have time to spend on
  • higher-level topics like strategy or
  • higher-leverage topics like the current bottleneck of your value chain
• You want people to make decisions on their own, but you are afraid that they are not able to make the right decisions without you
• Keeping tabs on everything worked in the past, but it no longer does. There is just too much going on to keep up and you are working yourself into the ground.
• You also don’t want to become just another “corporate”. That’s not why you founded your own company.
• You want to work with people around you that are motivated like you are.
• You don’t want to be a micro-manager for people who are doing “just” their 9-to-5 job.
• You want the people you work with to care and be engaged.
• You always had a sense of that work ought to be different. That it shouldn’t just be about trading money for time. That it should be about what people really really want to do - their calling.
• You read a couple of books about New Work (maybe Reinventing Organizations, Drive, or Delivering Happiness) and they inspired you, but you don’t know where to start.