About
(Jurgen's little bio)
(Looking for my media kit? Go here)
About
Redesigning the future of work—no hype, no hierarchies, no hegemonies. Aiming for open systems, responsible autonomy, and decentralized power.
Check out this Substack: The Maverick Mapmaker
Jurgen Appelo is a radical synthesist, resolute unfixer, and unabashed rule-breaker. He not only brings together diverse perspectives in organization design and development—he tears them apart and rebuilds them for the Age of AI, without permission.
As an author, speaker, and entrepreneur, Jurgen helps leaders stop managing like it's 2001 and start rewiring their organizations for AI-driven leadership, autonomous digital agents, and algorithmic management. Through stories, games, tools, and practices, he shatters conventional thinking and gets his audience to experiment with human-AI teamwork, anti-fragile structures, and the unpredictable nature of customer and employee experience.
Inc.com recognized him as a Top 50 Leadership Expert and Top 100 Leadership Speaker, but he's most interested in redrawing the boundaries between opposing worldviews: human ingenuity and artificial intelligence, inspiring leadership versus strong governance, organizational stability with relentless innovation, and individual growth fuelling collective success.
His books tackle everything from the role of agile managers (Management 3.0) to change and transformation (How to Change the World), and from employee engagement (Managing for Happiness) to innovation and intrapreneurship (Startup, Scaleup, Screwup). Even his novel Glitches of Gods explores the chaos of human-machine interactions. His latest work, Human Robot Agent, plunges into the AI-powered future of leadership and algorithmic management.
As founder of The unFIX Company (and previously founder of Management 3.0 and co-founder of the Agile Lean Europe network), Jurgen keeps pioneering the future of work.
"A good leader doesn’t create productivity but refrains from destroying it."
For keynotes, presentations, or workshops, contact me.
The Maverick Mapmaker
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Stop Chasing AI Tools
The more 'up-to-date' you are, the more replaceable you become. Tool mastery is the wrong game.
Stop Chasing AI Tools
The more 'up-to-date' you are, the more replaceable you become. Tool mastery is the wrong game.
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The Tragedy of the Agents
The Tragedy of the Agents maps eight stages from human improvisation to machine alienation. Understanding where you are determines whether you keep agency or lose it.
The Tragedy of the Agents
The Tragedy of the Agents maps eight stages from human improvisation to machine alienation. Understanding where you are determines whether you keep agency or lose it.
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Why Viability Overrides Agility
The agility versus viability comparison exposes a critical blind spot: agile methods optimize for short-term value, not long-term survival.
Why Viability Overrides Agility
The agility versus viability comparison exposes a critical blind spot: agile methods optimize for short-term value, not long-term survival.






