Resources | Menlo Innovations

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In-Person Menlo Factory Tour

Our tours of Menlo Innovations' factory floor are back! We'll spend 90 minutes together sharing Menlo's history, values, culture and practices. Come visit us and ask us anything!

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Book

Joy, Inc. - Download Free Chapter

Written by our very own Richard Sheridan. This is about how it all got started. Download the first chapter free!

Book

Buy Chief Joy Officer

Written by our very own Richard Sheridan. The follow-up to Joy, Inc.

Slides

Run the Experiment!

Sharing is what we DO. It's not stealing if we fully approve. Take the lessons, share the lessons. Make some joy, pass it on.

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Lead with JOY Postcards!

Want to share Rich's airplane model with more of your team members? Order a pack of 10 to help you Lead with JOY! Use code FREESHIP for complimentary shipping.

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ArticleOctober 28, 2020

Virgin Unite

"Experiments Collection - Shaping the new world of work - Lessons from lockdown" by Anna Gowdridge.

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ArticleOctober 16, 2020

Medium

"#pairing" by Perry Timms. Pair working could be the mental health decompression, the belonging reminder, the efficiency creator and the human contact substitute we all need in a pandemic-afflicted world.

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PodcastOctober 09, 2020

Being an Engineer - A Joyful Approach to Product Development

Join us as we discuss "the Menlo way", paired work, kindergarten skills, storycards and other methods of producing the right product, on budget and on schedule.

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PodcastAugust 14, 2020

Onward Nation - Turning to Joy to Navigate Hard Times, with Rich Sheridan

Rich shares the story of Menlo innovations and how the a powerful culture helped the team make the transition to being a 100% virtual office.

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PodcastAugust 07, 2020

Being Human - Building the Joyful Organization

A conversation with Richard Sheridan, author of "Joy, Inc" and the man who built the famously joyful Menlo Innovations.

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PodcastJune 28, 2020

The Agile Wire - Run The Experiment With Rich Sheridan

How the pandemic has affected a culture that is 100% pairing. The good thing is they have an incredibly adaptive culture. Run the experiment!

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PodcastMay 17, 2020

Autoline This Week - Panel

Traditional automakers work at a much slower clock-speed than Silicon Valley. Automakers want to speed up their clock-speed. Today’s show is about how they’re doing that.

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Recommended Reading

The Motive

A leader’s job is to help everyone else develop the skills and behaviors they need to contribute more effectively to the team’s collective output. It does not matter what the...

PodcastApril 28, 2020

LetGo & Lead - Rich Sheridan

In this episode of Let Go & Lead, Rich and Maril discuss how to create and sustain human energy in the workplace, and share how leading with joy increases fulfillment.

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ArticleApril 01, 2020

Humanage

"Hiring IT experts based on their kindergarten skills" by Sarah Spitz. Menlo Innovations designed a specific recruitment process to make sure newcomers who aren't used to this organization fit in.

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Recommended Reading

A Programmer's Introduction to Mathematics

By Jeremy Kun. Sharpen your pencils and take a dive into a programer's perspective of mathematics.

Recommended Reading

Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter

By Liz Wisman. Crack open this manifesto and how-to manual to realize the full potential of your team.

Recommended Reading

The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer

by Sydney Padua. Pick up this whimsical book and learn the tale of creating the first computer.

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

by Brené Brown. Join the author as shares her research on Vulnerability, which all started from her wildly popular 2010 Ted Talk "The Power of Vulnerability".

The Excellence Dividend

by Tim Peters. Learn to embrace excellence today!

Recommended Reading

The Infinite Game

By Simon Sinek A good book for purpose-driven businesses.

Recommended Reading

The Unicorn Project

By Gene Kim. A book about DevOps from the perspective of a programmer.

Recommended Reading

The Four Disciplines of Execution

by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling. Learn how the most successful companies achieve their wildest goals.

Recommended Reading

Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone

By Mark Goulston. How to de-escalate conflict and ensure you're being heard.

Recommended Reading

Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Life Decisions

by John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney, & Howard Raiffa. Don’t let life just happen to you, take control and make conscious choices.

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Follow us on Instagram!

Keep an eye on what Menlo is doing. Follow us now to make sure you don't miss a thing!

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ArticleMarch 10, 2020

Motivate2B

"The Art and Magic of Making Joy the Driver of Your Business" by Thomas Juli. Inside a Human Business. An interview with Richard Sheridan, Co-Founder and CEO of Menlo Innovations.

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Article

Joy of Heights and Distances Previously Unimaginable

"A company that discovers the relevant principles of organizational flight can also fly to heights and distances that were previously unimaginable." - Richard Sheridan

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ArticleJanuary 24, 2020

Humanage

"Pair programming at Menlo: never work alone" by Sarah Spitz. At Menlo Innovations, everything is about pair working. So how does that work exactly? And how is it profitable?

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ArticleNovember 21, 2019

the Henry Ford

Five Questions with... Rich Sheridan, Entrepreneur in Residence

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PodcastNovember 18, 2019

Future Proof - Rich Sheridan

How to create a joyful place to work (and why you should).

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ArticleOctober 30, 2019

CNBC

"Why not having a succession plan can derail your business—and put your legacy at risk" by Scott Steinberg. Actively thinking ahead is an increasingly important principle.

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ArticleOctober 15, 2019

C&G Newspapers

"CVHS alum presents to students, staff" by Alex Szwarc. "The opposite of courage is not cowardice, but conformity. In 1971, Chippewa Valley was one of the nonconforming schools."

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PodcastOctober 08, 2019

Talk Burnout - Rich Sheridan

What is Rich's definition of burnout? "Burnout is where you're there, but you're not there. You're at work in body but not in mind..."

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ArticleAugust 13, 2019

FORBES Magazine

"Understanding The Agile Mindset" by Steve Denning. As a rule, managers that demonstrate an Agile mindset outperform those that do not.

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ArticleAugust 06, 2019

WardsAuto.com

"Unhappy With Tech Industry's 'Chaos,' He Tried Something New" by Steven Finlay. Fight fear, embrace change and run with the experiment rather than form a committee to study it.

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ArticleAugust 05, 2019

Autonews.com

"The Guru of Joy Looks at Automaking" by Leslie J. Allen. The auto industry has a problem, and it doesn't involve curb weight, horsepower or machine efficiency.

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ArticleJuly 30, 2019

HRExaminer.con

"The Real Reason We Fail at Feedback" by Feedback has become this lightning rod issue the past few years among those working to create a more human experience.

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ArticleJuly 25, 2019

InfoQ.com

"Humanity at Work: Interview with Rich Sheridan, Author of Chief Joy Officer" by Shaaron A. Alvares. "Human energy and purpose are at the heart of...a joyful place to work."

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PodcastJuly 01, 2019

The Art of Grateful Leadership - Joy and Gratitude

Rich tells us about the fact that it's all about people working with people and why Gratitude is necessary at Menlo Innovations.

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ArticleJune 16, 2019

FORBES Magazine

"Reshaping Capitalism" by Steve Denning. The Forth Industrial Revolution is well under way, folks. Be nimble, be adaptable, or be left behind.

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ArticleJune 04, 2019

Intelligent Transport

"Defining The Role of Government in The New Mobility Ecosystem" by Jean Ruestman. Southeast Michigan's public transit is getting a makeover and Menlo is designing the look.

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ArticleMay 28, 2019

InfoQ.com

"Author Q&A: Chief Joy Officer" by Shane Hastie. Palpable human energy is part of being a joyful workplace.

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ArticleMay 11, 2019

OZY.com

A new crop of free-thinking leaders proves there’s far more to a successful business than numbers. They're embracing altruism, promoting personal freedoms and fighting back against a stodgy status quo.

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ArticleMay 09, 2019

FORBES Magazine

"Create An Irresistible Work Culture, Not A 'Best Place To Work'" by Jamie Notter. Winning a best place to work award means you have exceeded a generic standard, but...

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ArticleMay 09, 2019

NBC News Flint

By Sarah Jaeger. For moms and even dads who chose to go back to work after their little one is born, the guilt can sometimes be unbearable.

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ArticleApril 30, 2019

INC. Magazine

"Here's How to Tell Within 5 Minutes If a Leader Is As Good as Advertised" There are leaders, and then there are people who think they are leaders.

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ArticleApril 29, 2019

OZY.com

The Office of Happy: Hiring, Firing, and Promoting by Consensus by Dan Peleschuk. Rich Sheridan is on a mission to promote the single most important factor in any company: joy.

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ArticleApril 07, 2019

OZY.com

Unconventional?... That's an understatement. From our hiring practices to extreme programming. We eschew convention.

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ArticleFebruary 27, 2019

FORBES Magazine

Creating Joy In Your Workplace by Roger Dean Duncan....Genuine joy should be a strategic imperative of any organization seeking high performance.

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ArticleFebruary 25, 2019

FORBES Magazine

Satisfaction? Engagement? Why Not Joy At Work? by Roger Dean Duncan....while both satisfaction and engagement are desirable, joy is an even higher standard for the way people can feel about their work.

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Link

HTA Starter Deck

Writing cards looks simple enough, but it won't come naturally. They should be succinct, yet detailed, and totally unambiguous. This starter kit will hopefully help you avoid the classic mistakes.

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Project Timeline: All Visual Artifacts

We are huge fans of visuals! Here we threw them all into one great, big, awesome, mega-visual...well, it's really just a moderately sized pdf.

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A Taste of HTA

On that long trip home, it's easy to forget some of the lessons you wanted to take back with you. View a bite-sized version of your 3-day workshop here.

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ArticleJanuary 21, 2019

INC. Magazine

"The Traditional Job Interview Is Dead. Here's What Top Companies Are Doing Instead" by Marcel Schwantes. Here we are in 2019, still interviewing like was 1989.

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Entrepreneur, Business Leader, Author

Meet Richard Sheridan, learn more about Joy, Inc. and Chief Joy Officer, and book Rich for speaking engagements.

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ArticleDecember 25, 2018

Quartz at Work

Santa is the world's worst manager by Lila MacLellan. It's a scientific fact. Read on, you'll see.

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ArticleDecember 18, 2018

Harvard Business Review

"How One CEO Creates Joy at Work" interview by Curt Nickisch. As a company leader today, Rich Sheridan works hard to make sure his job—and the jobs of his employees—are joyful.

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ArticleDecember 16, 2018

Investor's Daily Business

Leadership Style: 'Joyful' Approach Seen As Kick-Starting Creativity And Productivity. By Michael Mink Disengaged employees represent $400-$500 billion in lost productivity annually. Menlo has some unique values to combat this.

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ArticleDecember 16, 2018

InGlobal Learning Design

"The Sweet Spot" by Jefft Kupperman. Design stories from Menlo's High-Tech Anthropologists®. There's almost never a solution that works perfectly for both the client and the users, but somewhere there's a...

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VideoDecember 04, 2018

Chief Joy Officer Book Trailer

The founder of Menlo Innovations and author of the business culture cult classic Joy, Inc offers an inspirational guide to leaders seeking joy in the challenge of leading others.

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ArticleDecember 04, 2018

FORBES Magazine

Leadership is something that is constantly evolving and shifting with time.

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ArticleDecember 03, 2018

FORBES Magazine

"Why Menlo Innovations Relies On Employees To Decide Who Gets Promoted," by Susan Adams. It's your peers who know you best.

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PodcastNovember 23, 2018

Agile 2018 - Diana Larsen

Agile Fluency, Organisational Design and Being an Ally By Diana Larsen - speaking with Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods

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PodcastNovember 08, 2018

Steelcase - The Business Value of Joy

Who do you serve and what does delight look like for them? Rich says these questions helped his team create a workplace full of joy. Listen to discover the business value of joy.

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ArticleNovember 04, 2018

INC. Magazine

"Parabricks finds a niche to target its computing power" by Tom Henderson. Parabricks operates out of our garage, but unlike your high school band, they're on their way to becoming famous.

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ArticleOctober 16, 2017

FORBES Magazine

"People Pay Up To $20,000 To See How Menlo Innovations Designs Software" by Susan Adams. A two-day tour at Menlo Innovations digs into the problems that cripple many companies.

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VideoJuly 24, 2017

VitalSmarts Influencer Training

VitalSmarts’ Influencer Model from Influencer Training was named the Change Management Approach of the Year by MIT Sloan Management Review. Here's how Menlo used it.

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VideoJuly 19, 2017

Arbinger Institute

An exploration of how Menlo intentionally created such an effective and inspiring workplace.

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VideoJuly 17, 2017

Ann Arbor SPARK - James Goebel

A2 Tech Trek is a free community event that showcases the innovative companies and careers in downtown Ann Arbor.

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Recommended Reading

The Art of Innovation

by Tom Kelley. Books that inspired the experiment that is Menlo.

ArticleAugust 23, 2016

INC. Magazine

Menlo's story isn't a tech story at all, but rather a lesson in ending corporate suffering.

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ArticleAugust 02, 2016

FORBES Magazine

The Joy of Work: Menlo Innovations by Steve Denning. Read the full article to better understand why and how Menlo actually accomplishes a host of paradoxical practices.

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Recommended Reading

The Ideal Team Player

by Patrick Lencioni. Books that inspired the experiment that is Menlo.

VideoApril 16, 2016

Agile India 2016 - Rich Sheridan

Conference keynote: Just Add Joy.

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VideoOctober 29, 2015

Freedom At Work™ - Rich Sheridan

Freedom At Work™ Talks by WorldBlu. One of the biggest (and most painful!) challenges in running a business is how to hire – and sometimes fire – the right people.

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VideoJune 22, 2015

TedX Traverse City - James Goebel

Joy is a powerful force that can bring about positive change in the world. I challenge you to be mindful about fostering joy.

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Book

Joy, Inc.

Written by our very own Richard Sheridan. This is about how it all got started.

ArticleOctober 12, 2014

Crain's Detroit Business

"A heart for software: Led by its upbeat CEO, Menlo spreads joy of technology" by Tom Henderson. Menlo does this through its "one-man marketing juggernaut."

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VideoAugust 05, 2014

VitalSmarts - Rich Sheridan

VitalSmarts’ recording of Rich Sheridan's keynote at the 2014 REACH Conference.

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VideoJune 10, 2014

Path to Agility Conference - James Goebel

Many teams attempt to adopt agile by focusing on the process, the practices, or the tools. All too often, this results in a new vocabulary but the same old outcomes.

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Video

Joy, Inc. Book Trailer

“A guidebook for how leaders can motivate, engage, and recognize their people all the while growing the business profitably.” —Forbes.com

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Recommended Reading

The Design of Everyday Things

by Dan Norman. Books that inspired the experiment that is Menlo.

ArticleAugust 26, 2013

NPR: All Things Considered

"Inside The 'Bossless' Office, Where The Team Takes Charge" by Elise Hu. No TPS reports, no cubicles, no bosses, and it actually works. How does Menlo make it work?

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Video

Menlo Innovations' High-Tech Anthropology®

What is High-Tech Anthropology®? How does it work? Watch this video to see how "observation" can produce unexpected and dramatic results in design.

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Video

Menlo Innovations & Accuri Cytometers

When is "expensive" design worth the cost? Can "design" save money, improve sales, increase word-of-mouth referrals? Here's the story of the Accuri C6 Flow Cytometer.

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Video

TEDxDetroit - Rich Sheridan

"Ending Human Suffering As It Relates To Technology"®

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Recommended Reading

Influencer: The Power to Change Anything

by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler. Books that inspired the experiment that is Menlo.

Recommended Reading

Agile Java

by Jeff Langer Books that inspired the experiment that is Menlo.

Recommended Reading

Test Driven Development by Example

by Kent Beck. Books that inspired the experiment that is Menlo.

Recommended Reading

Five Dysfunctions of a Team

A realistic fable that follows the travails of a CEO as she faces the ultimate leadership crisis: unite a team in such disarray that it threatens to derail the entire company.

Recommended Reading

Extreme Programming Explained

by Kent Beck with Cynthia Andres. Books that inspired the experiment that is Menlo.

Recommended Reading

Escape Velocity

Velocity is the most commonly used metric in agile software delivery and perhaps the least effective. Learn common issues with metrics and how to avoid them.