You know there’s a better way to work

Let’s find it.

As a writer, I've always been on a journey to the truth. One of my early jobs was working as an environmental consultant for ExxonMobil, cleaning contamination seeping into soil and groundwater from their gas stations.

I stumbled into a degree in geology and the two most common jobs were helping companies find oil or clean up after themselves. I chose to clean.

Sitting with their lawyers behind closed doors, I saw how they made decisions. I saw how the truth had to be framed, curated and on occasion, ignored.

I also saw how the office worked. A coworker was turned down for a raise, only to be offered a competing 40% increase to stay when he found another job. He left bitter.

I watched my company bill clients four times what I got for my time, which I had to track scrupulously. “To cover overhead,” my bully of a boss told me.

But what was true?

What was true was we were paid to limit oil companies’ liability.

What was true was our salaries were what we'd accept, not what we were worth.

What was true was overhead meant my boss's salary for un-billed time, little of which created any value. Overhead meant his boss, and the boss above that. And profit for the owners. There was no factory, as in the classic capitalist argument. Sure, the company name held weight; the coordinated efforts provided the contracts. But 95% of the work was done by my colleagues on the front line, all of whom were capable of overseeing themselves.

What was true was down deep I hated my boss for his abuse and took no pride in what I was accomplishing.

After a series of 15-hour days that stretched for weeks to complete a key report – without overtime – I felt only relief when I finished. Not satisfaction. Just reprieve. Chore complete.

Sure, I was excellent in my work. But that meant little to me.

Knots in my shoulder turned into twitching in my eye. I felt the truth in my body. It was years before I understood it with my mind, years before I acted on it.

Most of us have this relationship to work. What we do doesn't really matter. So many aspects just don't feel right. We know the pay and processes aren't fair. We want something else.

But what? What keeps those dreams and plans for better work a fantasy?

The truth is that you can't just fire your boss. Not today.

But you can take the first step. And the truth is, you can take that step today.

In How to Fire Your Boss I lay down the roadmap – not just how you can find your way to meaningful prosperity – how together we can partner to provide all the synergies of the workplace with all the freedom of entrepreneurialism. Without bosses.

After working in 40 different roles over decades and as a journalist covering hundreds of workplace and power dynamics, I’ve come to understand the truth.

The root cause here is hierarchy. The top-down org chart. The 4X cost of “overhead” is deeply overpriced for a rigid and limited management structure. Hierarchy is popular because it’s simple enough for dogs and dinosaurs.

But humans are figuring out how to finally evolve past this rudimentary system. A few billion-dollar companies have worked without hierarchy for decades. Now fractional work, AI, creator culture and the gig economy are all part of this bigger change unfolding around us.

Let’s steer that change together. This book lays out the framework to engineer solutions for our future and shows how you can design your part in it.

Now.

Join the experience and find out what’s really true for you.