MindShift: From Office-Centric to Remote-First with Mark Rickmeier

How do you know that it’s time to update your views on what’s best for your team and your business? Our guest, Mark Rickmeier, the CEO of  TXI, believes that the best time to rethink comes when you first sense that the way you work no longer serves your team.

In this interview, Mark shares his personal journey of challenging his personal beliefs evolving the culture at TXI  and of the three major shifts that tested his open mindedness and ultimately helped his company to thrive in this brave new world of remote and hybrid work. 

Episode Highlights

In this interview, Mark and I discuss:

• How Covid forced TXI to ditch its fancy office with an in-house chef and  shift to a remote-first model. 
• The unexpected benefits of the remote-first model.
• The mistakes Mark and his team have made  when shifting to the remote model – and what they learned in the process. 
• The format of in-person meetings and the role they play for TXI today.
• How TXI solved one of the biggest challenges remote-first companies face – library problem. 
• The relationship Mark and his team have with failure and how it has helped the team succeed. 
• Why progress is better than perfection and the impact it has on employee engagement and morale. 
• Listening tools – what are better alternatives to traditional surveys when it comes to getting insight into what’s important for our teams?
• The reasons why TXI shifted from a very flat org  to a hierarchical structure. 
• How to find a way for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging efforts to be core to a company’s strategy instead of one-of initiatives.

Listen to the interview in the player below or on iTunes. If you like what you hear, please leave a review, and it may be featured on a future episode.

More About Mark Rickmeier

Mark Rickmeier is the Chief Executive Officer at TXI, a remote-first product innovation firm with HQs in Chicago. Over the past 20 years, it has created more than 100 mobile apps, custom-built web applications, and intuitive user experiences.

In 2014, Mark founded the Kermit Collective to bring together a global community of software companies to share insights and swap ideas on how to effectively run a consulting organization. 

In 2017, he Co-Founded Walkshop – a leadership retreat to bring senior executives on a 5 day hike through places like the Highlands of Scotland to generate new ideas and foster industry connections. He is the author of the Sticky Note Game,  the designer of Inclusion Meeting Cards and the Chicago chair for the Forbes Business Council.

​​Books Mentioned in this Episode

Cultures of Belonging by Alida Miranda Wolfe

People Mentioned in this Episode

Brené Brown

Pia Lauritzen founder of Qvest

Additional resources

Thoughtexchange

Notion

CultureBrained® Community – a one-of-a-kind virtual community for Heads of Culture, founders, and leaders who want to up their culture game.

The Culture Playbook Guide

Discover Your Personal Values