Rebel Manifesto.

The voice of the people.

Human-centred organisations are the future. We believe in the voice of the people: the consumers, employees, and citizens. The 20 points in our manifesto explain what matters most to them:

  1. Think digital, then forget digital. People are the real power behind the power of technology
  2. We are the data living in your CRM system. You represent us as ‘Buyer Personas’ on your PowerPoint slides. We are the ones you call consumers, targets, users…
  3. We hardly trust brands anymore. You call us ‘Share of Voice’, but what are you doing to get us to talk about you? (Hint: dishing out discounts isn’t enough).
  4. We are good rebels as well – pompously known as high potential employees. We are here to change the status quo. Have you remembered to craft a compelling purpose for us?
  5. Ok. Call us employees, if you insist. We seek to be proud of our work and the company we work for. We want to love and be loved.
  6. We are citizens, entrepreneurs, educators, civil servants, volunteers… Join us, and together we’ll build a better world.
  7. Your investors want ROI, but we put our planet and our people first. Ignore it and we’ll let the whole world know. Go tell your shareholders about it.
  8. Yes, we are part-time consumers, part-time employees, citizens, parents, children, lovers, hackers. We like companies that listen. Listen and we’ll buy your products and even give you some ideas for free.
  9. You say data is everything. But we choose carefully who to give our data to. Serve your short-term shareholders or your long-term loyal customers. It’s up to you.
  10. We are the “crowd” in crowdsourcing. Be kind to us. It’s all we ask for. We’ll become your Net Promoter Scorers ?
  11. We can be your fans on Facebook and your trolls on Twitter. We are the ones who click “Skip Ad” on YouTube so we can watch real videos from real people.
  12. We love advertising: inspiring, engaging, funny, smart advertising. We hate advertising: intrusive, boring, spamming, untrustworthy advertising.
  13. We are not a bunch of eyeballs, GRPs, KPIs…. we are not millennials…. well, some of us may be. No AI can label us. Each of us is unique and unpredictable.
  14. You say experience is everything. Now that you’ve appointed Customer Experience VPs, why don’t you just let them do their work?
  15. Bureaucracy and hierarchies stifle creativity (and fun). Why don’t you trust your co-workers? Treat us like adults so that we can stop filling in questionnaires and start innovating.
  16. Love is the secret force behind people first organisations. We urge companies to spread some love- yes, we said love- as a means to engage.
  17. The Internet gave us access to knowledge. Social media gave us a voice. Today individuals have superpowers. Big corporations and governments may think they will remain in control. Time will tell.
  18. Don’t buy the idea of empowered decentralised action? Consider Wikipedia, Bitcoin, open software and hardware, Kickstarter, blockchain, Kiva. Now, think again.
  19. The world is Powered By People once again. We, alone or collectively, can make a dent in the universe like never before.
  20. If you are still reading this, we reckon you’re one of us. Join the Rebellion. Together, we can give power back to the people. We are Good Rebels!