Our Newborn Business: Happy Melly

Does your employer have a Constitution?

Is your management bound to rules?

Can you vote who will be your CEO?

Are all your stakeholders treated equally?

A Business Network

I have been running Management 3.0 courses for two years, and I proved that it is a successful business. Now it’s time to scale the business and involve more people. But I don’t want a traditional corporate structure (*shiver*). I believe we should practice what we preach. (Unlike some “agile” institutes out there. No finger pointing, of course.)

The new organization should scale out, not scale up. It should be a business network, not a business hierarchy. That’s why I asked Vasco Duarte and Maarten Volders to join me and play the role of midwives of this new business. After 2 months of intense discussions, long Skype calls, and verbal abuse (guess who?), we now have a name, a website, a story, and a very vague plan…

Our business is called Melly. Happy Melly.

Will You Join Us?

The presentation describes our vague plan. (I won’t repeat it here. It’s much better with pictures.) And the ideas will probably change, but that’s OK. Right now we’re looking for people who want to join and become part of this new business.

Can you design illustrations and games?

Can you create apps and websites?

Can you make videos or podcasts?

Do you write or translate books?

Are you good at logistics and administration?

Do you have an entrepreneurial mind?

If you can answer some of these questions with “yes”, then maybe you are the person we’re looking for! Right now we are collecting names and email addresses of people who want to chat with us. (Sign up on the website!)

The Constitution

Happy Melly will not only be managing the successful Management 3.0 courses and license program. More brands will surely be added later. And because multiple entrepreneurs, stakeholders, and brands need a little bit of governance, we’ve decided that the first thing we need will be a Constitution, created by the people involved.

We already have the first draft. The next step will be to finish that draft in collaboration with those who sign up, and release it as a Minimum Viable Constitution (MVC).

And then we get started doing business…

Note that Happy Melly will be managed as a networked company. It will not be a community of volunteers. It will be a business consisting of creative workers and entrepreneurs.

It will have a Constitution.

It will have rules for management.

It will have an elected CEO.

It will have equality among stakeholders.

It will have me as a contributor.

The question is, will it have you?