The way companies are structured is changing. It’s not just about managers managing managers. It’s about a completely new way of working, with happiness at the heart of what you do. And at IU, we’re striving to be at the front of this revolution. This is how we're creating the company of the future.

1. CREATING THE COMPANY OF
THE FUTURE

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THERE’S BEEN A REVOLUTION.
HAVE YOU FELT IT?
The way companies are structured is changing. It’s not just about managers managing
managers. It’s about a completely new way of working, with happiness at the heart of
what you do. And at IU, we’re striving to be at the front of this revolution.

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WHAT MAKES US QUALIFIED TO
TALK ABOUT IT?
We have worked for traditional companies before. 10 years in agencies, 3 years in a
company where there was backstabbing, not a single thank you and not a penny rolled
down from management, outside of salaries, when the company we helped build sold for
£500m. It was pretty depressing stuff.
So we’ve spent the last few years trying to change it.

4. THERE IS ANOTHER WAY TO RUN A
COMPANY. AND IT’S WHAT WE’VE BEEN
DOING AT IU FOR ALMOST A DECADE.

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WE’VE BEEN BEAVERING AWAY AT WHAT THE
COMPANY OF THE FUTURE MIGHT LOOK LIKE
We’ve been driven by an almost spiritual belief that something in the current model
of business and the connection between individuals and companies is broken. That
there simply must be a better way.

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Recently, we’ve seen that new ways of working are now the
focus of hushed conversations at water coolers and the
topic of best-sellers. Buffer blogged about radical
transparency, igniting a conversation which has put a fire
beneath many companies.
With this increase in interest, it seems like the right time to
put down some IU thoughts and learnings.

7. WHY DO WE BELIEVE THE SYSTEM IS
BROKEN?

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THE NORM IS OUTDATED
The generally accepted ways of working were set down, out of necessity, during the
Industrial Revolution. Job titles, working hours, contracts, management systems. All
were created during a completely different time.
Two centuries later, this is, understandably, out of date.

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THE WORLD IS CHANGING FASTER
THAN EVER
We’re now in the middle of a revolution led by massive leap in technology. This is
changing everything we understand about ways of working and structure, which
doesn’t lend itself to the ground works set down previously.
Technology is being re-invented and adopted faster than ever, so it’s time to react to
that in the way we do business and run our business.

10. HOW ARE WE ADAPTING TO THIS
SHIFT AT IU?

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WE PLACE HAPPINESS AT THE
HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO

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WE BELIEVE HAPPINESS IS WHAT
LIFE IS ABOUT
We’re convinced that there is no such thing as work / life balance, so an individual’s
happiness at work is vital. You spend an enormous amount of time at work (if you’re
lucky) and life is short, so the idea that you would willingly allocate much of your
precious time doing something you actively dislike is anathema to us.
We’d rather find the things that we like doing, that we’re good at and which can earn
us the money we want and then spend a sensible amount of our time on these.

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OUR COLLECTIVE PURPOSE IS TO
MAKE REVOLUTIONS HAPPEN

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THIS IS TRUE OF EVERYTHING WE DO
This is true of our products, where we help other organisations to generate disruptive
growth, and through our relentless search to define what the company of the future
looks like when happiness is placed at its heart.
And, because purpose is such a big driver of happiness, we recruit for people who are
motivated by this collective purpose.

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WE RUN A VERY DIFFERENT BUSINESS
MODEL

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WE HAVE NO JOB TITLES OR
FIXED HIERARCHY
WE VALUE AND ACTIVELY
SEEK WELL-STACKED
PEOPLE
WE CONSTANTLY PIVOT,
ADAPT AND CHANGE OVER
TIME
WE INVEST OUR PROFITS IN
VENTURES WHICH LET US
TRY NEW THINGS
WE FOREGO WORK WHICH
WE FEEL WON’T MAKE US
HAPPY
WHAT WE ‘MAKE AND SELL’
CHANGES WITH THE
WORLD’S NEEDS
(EVEN IF THEY’LL MAKE US A
LOT OF MONEY)

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WE PRACTICE COLLECTIVE
OWNERSHIP

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OWNERS SIMPLY CARE MORE
We believe that as an owner, you have genuine purpose and you will always know why
we are doing something. You have the ability to influence how IU does stuff and
therefore the collective pleasure we derive from being at IU.
Unlike an employee, an owner is able to reap the benefits of long-term IU success in
full proportion to their overall contribution to that success.

19. IN THE END, WE BELIEVE THAT A
MODEL OF COLLECTIVE OWNERSHIP IS
MORE LIKELY TO LEAD TO HAPPINESS
THAN THE MORE TRADITIONAL MODEL
OF ‘FEW OWNERS-MANY EMPLOYEES’.

20. WE BELIEVE THAT A HAPPINESS-FIRST
APPROACH IS THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS
We’re striving to build a company full of owners who are passionately “all in” and are re-
imagining what is truly valuable for both the company and the individuals - alongside
money.
We’re doing away with ways of working which were created two centuries ago to
ensure that there’s a win-win for both company and individual in how value is created
and shared.

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ASK YOURSELF - WOULD THIS WORK AT
YOUR ORGANISATION?
IF NOT, WHAT WOULD WORK TO DRIVE MORE HAPPINESS AND
SUCCESS FOR YOU?

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FURTHER READING
Creating the Company of the Future, Pt. 1: https://medium.com/independents-
united/creating-the-company-of-the-future-ded4b820556c
Creating the Company of the Future, Pt. 2: https://medium.com/independents-
united/companies-of-happy-owners-1fea382c8e0
The Entrepreneurial Way: https://medium.com/independents-united

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