In the run up to our soon-to-launch digital masterclass New Work in Action, we wanted to gather and share some of the thoughts and wise words of our extensive network of coaches, and we would also like to introduce you to them. So meet our first coach – Darius Moeini, founder and CEO of Berlin Innovation Agency. 

So tell me something more about you Darius, what do you do and what’s your superpower?

I am the founder of BIA and architect of this masterclass New Work in Action. My superpower is putting anything into action, an idea, a change ambition, a theory –  anything into action. This works especially well in workflow environments that are stuck in legacy ways of working – by focusing on instant action and quick-wins.

What does New Work mean to you? 

New Work is the transformation of organizational structures and human behaviors to boost purpose and performance for both company and people at work. It is an attempt for knowledge workers to make a radical shift from alignment to value creation culture. It is a response to both the increasingly unpredictable economy, and the increased desire for social change. It encompasses all areas and functions of the organization in both mindset and practices: Culture, Organization Model, Leadership, and Workflow.

What is a common misconception about New Work?

To a lot of people, New Work is a soft topic because it’s all about purpose and values, but to others it’s a very hard topic because it encompasses agile organizations and reinventing existing team structures. But New Work is actually very process-driven to me. It’s a lot about workflow and how we optimize our personal, team and leadership productivity. New HR and New Organizations are certainly the anchors, but the biggest performamce boost ist actually hidden in the workflow culture and technique.

As you know, at BIA we want to create better organizations, so how does a future-proof organization look to you? 

Future-proof organizations are hybrid in their culture, processes and organization, meaning they are a patchwork of different styles of organization. It allows for startup-like, squad-like, agile units as well as very corporate bureaucratic stable units that are more known in the traditional world. One cannot live without the other and a future-proof organization manages to keep the flow between all styles of an organization. 

What’s a New Work buzzword you love and what’s a buzzword you really hate? 

I love the words flow and rhythm a lot, because creating rhythms into organizational processes takes out the constant micro-decision making for scheduling or the need to ask “should we do something or not.” Ritualizing through rhythms is a huge asset. A buzzword I really hate is the term VUCA. Every keynote starts with “what is VUCA?”, we already know the term by now, we’ve learned it all, get over it.

Which tool, technique, or framework has had the biggest impact on you?

I love Kanban, not only because of the “limiting work in progress” which is in itself a super powerful thing, but because of a culture of backlogging which supports your prioritization process and your everyday workflow. Also the ritual of backlogging or idea clouding helps you to do a cognitive download, and using a very simple tool like Kanban and empowering yourself to do a cognitive download just frees your mind to think about the thing that is on your priority list for the day. Cognitive downloads are very important to me. And the best thing: This works for any business function or team, KANBAN is not exclusive to tech, it’s a great productivity habit for all!

What is your daily work routine – or which workflow apps do you use?

I organize my days in 3 different ways: I either have a day full of meetings, or I have a day full of microtasks (emails, support tasks, etc.) – or a combination of those two – OR: I have a day with a priority task (value creation). Jumping between value creation / deep-work and alignment work (work about work) bothers me, I like to keep it seperated.

Which key topics did you lecture in our masterclass and why does it matter for leaders? 

I’m obviously in all modules, but If I had to choose my favorite topic it’d be: workflow innovation. Because you can implement it instantly, it starts with reinventing meetings, but it goes all the way to digital communication, remote work culture, prioritisation principles and decision-making techniques. Project management and decision-making all comes down to workflow management in the end. The masterclass matters for leaders because these things can usually simply be implemented instantly without top-down buy-in and you can just start by yourself and your smaller team. The masterclass is focused on implementing change instantly and getting immediate results and by doing so, you can increase the performance for yourself and your team within one day. 

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If you’re interested in becoming a New Work expert just like Darius Moeini and inspired to embrace change, and become a change maker in your organization, sign up for our masterclass New Work in Action. Coming to soon here: www.newwork-masterclass.com