On the first day of first grade, our teacher asked us to color a picture of a buffalo with a brown crayon. Feeling creative, I used black and brown crayons, earning a severe reprimand. Ever since, I’ve been fascinated with the tension between freedom and accountability.I was privileged to serve as the first financial controller for a feisty startup called Morning Star, now a billion dollar, vertically-integrated food processor and the largest player in its industry. Our founder introduced our startup team to the core principles of self-management, which we quickly adopted . At Morning Star, I learned that organizational self-management is real, it works and it creates space for extraordinary performance.In 2008, I co-founded the Morning Star Self-Management Institute, with the mission of promoting organizational self-management principles through education, tools and practices. As a co-founder of organizational transformation collective Vibrancy and founder of D'Artagnan Advisors, I now work with leaders around the world to create better workplaces. As a TEDx and ForbesSpeaker, I also share the message of organizational innovation through my blog at dougkirkpatrick.com and Amazon bestsellers BEYOND EMPOWERMENT, FROM HIERARCHY TO HIGH PERFORMANCE, and THE NO-LIMITS ENTERPRISE (ForbesBooks). Gartner Research Director Mark McGregor wrote that “Doug is a leading expert in the field of organizational design.”I also work with Open Leadership Network, Semco Style Institute, Great Work Cultures, People-Centric Organizations, Responsive, Business Agility Institute, Radicals and other vibrant communities and leadership incubators to co-create the organizations of the future.I'm always happy to connect with anyone who wants to learn how to make organizations thrive with engaged, innovative leaders.Specialties: Organizational Design, Talent Development, Culture, Leadership, Speaking, Consulting