MindValley co-founder says the time
is right for mainstream workplace democracy
Everyone needed to help advance movement
Tuesday November 18, 2008 -- Jennifer Higgs
Mike Reining, co-founder and CEO of MindValley, says it is time democracy in the workplace becomes a mainstream way to run businesses.

"People spend the majority of their waking hours at their work and it is incredibly important to ensure that those hours are as fulfilling and enjoyable as possible," Reining says.

"It saddens me that even today, the democratic workplace movement is still very much a niche field," he says. "It is time that this becomes mainstream."

MindValley creates personal growth through the power of the Internet. Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the MindValley team consists of less than 30 people from more than 10 countries.

Reining co-founded MindValley with his business partner Vishen Lakhiani. When recruiting they listed the top 10 reasons people would want to work for the company — including speaking what's on your mind and freedom at work, which are new ideas for people in Malaysia. The response was many people asked MindValley if the company was real.

"I just wanted to build a company where I would want to come to work," Reining says. "I wanted to build a company where people basically are respected, listened to, they want to get out of bed in the morning and are really excited to come to the office."

To help foster democracy in the workplace it will require the effort of everyone, Reining says.

"We are facing some huge challenges in this world today that will require the effort from everyone in companies and in the government to conquer these challenges and the only way to get 100 per cent commitment from people is to create a democratic workplace that they truly want to be part of," he says.

Organizations need to continue to push for workplace democracy and raise awareness, says Reining.

MindValley helps raise awareness through talking about workplace democracy whenever they are in conversation with the press, says Reining.

MindValley continues to train its employees about the importance of workplace democracy. Two team members have left to start their own businesses, and Reining says he hopes they establish their companies with the same values.

"(We hope) they will continue to push for what is right in the new companies that they will join in the future," says Reining.

MindValley is a 2008 WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces awardee.

WorldBlu is a Texas-based leadership and business design studio specializing in organizational democracy. The WorldBlu goal is to inspire the creation of 20,000 democratic workplaces by 2020. Reining was one of 29 speakers at WorldBlu LIVE held in New York City Oct. 16-17.

"I truly hope there will be 20,000 (democratic workplaces), not only in the U.S., but all over the world and I hope the number will become much larger than that," Reining said.

To learn more about MindValley, visit www.mindvalley.com.

Related Story:
CEO links company's growth to degree of workplace democracy

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