WorldBlu

The Democracy at Work Weekly Tip: Anonymous Questions and Online Polls

Traci Fenton — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:00:03 +0000

This week we will take a look at the company BzzAgent and their democratic practices of fairness and dignity. Q: What’s a good way to encourage employee suggestions and give feedback on issues? A: BzzAgent holds bi-weekly meetings where CEO Dave Balter provides updates on the business. Prior to the meeting, anyone can submit an anonymous question [...]

South Mountain interviewed by WorkplaceDemocracy.com

WorldBlu — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:08:36 +0000

John Abrams, the co-founder and CEO of South Mountain Company, a WorldBlu List 2007 awardee, recently discussed their democratic workplace with WorkplaceDemocracy.com. South Mountain is an employee-owned company located on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. They provide numerous integrated environmental building services including renewable energy. John Abrams’ interview about South Mountain with WorkplaceDemocracy.com: Can you talk a little [...]

Announcing our New Show, “Democracy at Work”

Traci Fenton — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:22:05 +0000

I recently spoke with Axiom News about the future strategic direction of WorldBlu in an article that was published today entitled, “WorldBlu designs new strategic plan to spread message of workplace democracy: Series of Democracy at Work shows to be filmed in 2010.” WorldBlu designs new strategic plan to spread message of workplace democracy Series of Democracy [...]

The Democracy at Work Weekly Tip: Daily Stand-ups

Traci Fenton — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:04:42 +0000

This week, we will look at the democratic principle of accountability at Toronto based company, Rypple. Q: How can I encourage my employees to be more accountable for their work and their goals? A: At Rypple, the staff uses a number of tools to foster accountability. Teams meet each morning for “Daily Stand-ups” in order to: 1. Share [...]

Happy Ensures Creativity Through “Pre-Approval” Process

WorldBlu — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:04:16 +0000

WorldBlu List 2009 awardee, Happy, shares their company’s democratic “pre-approval process” in an article published by Axiom News about freedom within the workplace. Henry Stewart, chief executive of Happy, believes that managers often refuse proposals and new ideas too quickly – and Stewart admits to being guilty of such practice himself. Managers can often become controlling [...]

The Democracy at Work Weekly Tip: Include “Passion Projects”

Traci Fenton — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:43:21 +0000

This week, we will highlight the democratic principles of individuality and collectivity through the Canadian based company, I Love Rewards. Q: What’s a good way to acknowledge the individual interests of my employees while continuing to move us forward on our collective goals as an organization? A: At I Love Rewards, employees are able to spend 20 [...]

Democratic Governance Structures Recognized with Nobel Prize

WorldBlu — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:26:26 +0000

Elinor Ostrom recently received the Nobel prize in Economic Sciences for her belief in democratic principles of fairness and collectivity. Ostrom has demonstrated that when decision processes are democratic, governance is more effective and successful. Her theory explains that when a resource benefits a group of people and/or is owned by numerous people, these specific [...]

The Democracy at Work Weekly Tip: Let Employees Reconfigure Their Workspace

Traci Fenton — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:52:36 +0000

This week, we will take a look at Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Menlo Innovations and their democratic practice of choice. Q: How can I give my employees greater choice at work regarding the overall workspace environment? A: At Menlo, team members are encouraged to reconfigure the workspace to suit their needs of the moment. This is facilitated by [...]

Fenton interviewed by WorkplaceDemocracy.com

WorldBlu — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:10:05 +0000

WorkplaceDemocracy.com recently interviewed Worldblu Founder Traci Fenton about the meaning and importance of democratic companies. Traci not only discusses the advantages of having a democratic workplace, but also gives advice on how companies can become more democratic. WorldBlu Founder Traci Fenton’s Interview with Workplacedemocracy.com: What makes a company ‘democratic’? A company is democratic when it operates using [...]

The Democracy at Work Weekly Tip: A “No-layoff” Policy

Traci Fenton — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:13:50 +0000

This week, we will look at the democratic practices of fairness and dignity within the company Hypertherm, and their use of a “no-layoff” policy. Q: Is it possible to make my employees feel secure within the company—even during hard economic times? A: Unique to Hypertherm, especially in the cyclical machine tool industry, is the company’s “no-layoff” [...]

The Democracy at Work Weekly Tip: Vote for your leaders?

Traci Fenton — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:13:14 +0000

This week we will take a look at Brainpark, based in San Francisco and how they practice the democratic principle of reflection and evaluation by allowing employees to actually vote their leaders in and out of office. Q: Is there an example of a company who allows employees to vote for their leaders? A: Every six [...]

Axiom News Highlights Glassdoor.com’s Effort to Offer More Transparent Information about Companies

WorldBlu — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:08:57 +0000

A third time WorldBlu List awardee, Axiom News, talks with fellow WorldBlu List 2009 awardee, Glassdoor.com about their website in an article on transparency in workplaces. Rich Barton, founder of Expedia.com, and Robert Hohman a former Expedia.com employee, aspired to create a helpful website that revealed company information that had originally been hidden to the public. [...]

The Weekly Democracy at Work Tip: Chroma

Traci Fenton — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:38:39 +0000

This week we will take a look at the company Chroma and explore their democratic practice of the principle transparency. Q: How can I make my business more transparent to ensure that my employees always know what’s going on within the company? A: Information about Chroma’s compensation system, including pay, benefits, and profit sharing structure, is completely [...]

Video: TED Talk on Social Media, Democracy and History in the Making

WorldBlu — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:45:24 +0000

Best-selling author and New York University professor, Clay Shirky, speaks about newly established collaboration technologies and the transformation of media in today’s society, in this vibrant and fascinating TED video. Shirky believes that there have only been four times in history where media has advanced enough to call itself a “Revolution”. The printing press, two-way communication [...]

The Weekly Democracy at Work Tip: 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

Traci Fenton — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:13:41 +0000

Beginning this week, I’ll be bringing you a ‘Democracy at Work Tip” which will be filled with best practices, fresh ideas and inspired insights from the companies on the WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces 2009. My hope is that their examples will provide you with democratic solutions to some of your most pressing business [...]

Video: TED Talk on the Connection Between Science and Democracy

WorldBlu — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:39:00 +0000

Theoretical physicist, Lee Smolin, explains that the principles of science and democracy share the same foundation of ethics and three “universes” of cosmology, including hierarchal, liberal, and relational, in this dynamic and philosophical TED video. Smolin clarifies that there is no such thing as the scientific method, rather, science consists of a society that collectively [...]

TED talk on the link between autonomy and employee motivation

WorldBlu — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:12:17 +0000

Author Dan Pink argues that the three key components of effective motivation are autonomy, mastery, and purpose in an inspiring TED video. This comes as no surprise to democratically-run WorldBlu List organizations. Their practices foster democratic principles such as choice, decentralization, and purpose & vision, which result in increased creativity and profitability. Pink presents a fascinating case for the psychology behind why this [...]

Nearsoft interviews Glassdoor.com about democracy at work

WorldBlu — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:42:37 +0000

WorldBlu List 2009 awardee Nearsoft interviewed the co-Founder of Glassdoor.com, another WorldBlu List 2009 awardee, about transparency and democracy at Glassdoor. The conversation is captured in this blog post: “Bringing Transparency to the Workplace.” Nearsoft, based in San Jose, California and Hermosillo, Mexico focuses exclusively on software development nearshore outsourcing for product companies. You can read [...]

From Socialism to Shirky to Seventh Generation

Meegan March — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:24:53 +0000

If you haven’t read it yet, you should check out WIRED’s article “The New Socialism: Global Collectivist Society Is Coming Online” by Kevin Kelly. It is a thought provoking look at how sharing, cooperation, collaboration, and collectivism online are re-defining how many of us think about socialism and the role of the market and government [...]

WorldBlu Founder LIVE at the Ross School of Business

WorldBlu — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:50:34 +0000

Check out WorldBlu Founder Traci Fenton in action in this video from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Traci spoke about organizational democracy and WorldBlu to UM students studying with Prof. Gretchen Spreitzer, an expert in employee empowerment and leadership development. The link plays a recording of Traci’s speech and displays the accompanying powerpoint [...]