The Pilgrim’s Guide to the Workplace
“The most exciting breakthroughs of the 21st century will not occur because of technology but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human.”
- — John Naisbitt, Futurist
Agustin Chevez walked from Melbourne to Sydney.
It took him 42 days.
There is great uncertainty about the future of work. Agustin wanted to think about that. So he hit the road without distraction and set about thinking.
The overarching question being: What are the likely environments that will support our working lives?
Agustin frames his journey as a pilgrimage because the only way to incubate his ideas was to escape the environment of everyday life, endure the torment (boh physical and spiritual) of being alone and to (summarize Descartes) direct our reasoning with a view to discovering truths of which we are ignorant. His pilgrimage delivered 34 signposts that point away from short term solutions and a collection of insights which hold the promise to guide us to a better place to work. A place to work that reclaims the forgotten qualities of solitude, boredom, adversity, and absurdity as mechanisms to deliver innovation and create meaning at work.
Agustin has written a book detailing his pilgrimage.
Hosted by the Folio Collective and the Disruptive Business Network, this mixed format event will commence with a live recording of the On Meaningful Work Podcast, followed by a Folio Conversation with Agustin and the founder of the Disruptive Business Network, Rahul Soans. This event will take place at the new Melbourne Stone & Chalk hub at 121 King St, food and drinks provided.
Agustin Chevez
As an architect and academic, Dr Agustin Chevez has dedicated his career to understanding the notion of work and uncovering environments that best support our working lives.
Agustin’s interest in the relationship between people, space and technology saw him pursue a PhD on the evolution of workplace architecture as a consequence of technology development. His work has been presented at various international forums and publications.
Agustin is a workplace consultant, an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Centre For Design Innovation, Swinburne University, and an Honorary Fellow at the school of Management and Marketing, University of Melbourne
Rahul Soans
Rahul is an Engineer with a Masters in International Business. In another life, he was a project manager in the telecommunications industry.
Over the past decade he has immersed himself in the social enterprise and startup world in Melbourne. He has cut his teeth working for startups, founded a consulting company and now runs The Disruptive Business Network – an event series and consulting service that looks at how new ideas and technology are changing business.
He is currently the manager of the Trust Alliance, a multi-sector collaboration focused on how technology development can be committed to the shared principles of do no harm, humanity first, open ecosystems, equity, and transparency.
Previously, he was the Developing Marketing Manager for IBM Australia for two years and co-founded Balancingact3, a consultancy that equipped purpose-driven businesses and organizations from the human rights and human services sectors with the tools and knowledge to transform, innovate and create services that advance human rights.
About the Disruptive Business Network
At its core, the Disruptive Business Network is an inquiry into how our working lives can be more meaningful.
It started in a basement of a bar in Melbourne in 2013. We would have people come and tell their stories. Stories of companies they had built, methods they were curious about and visions that they were passionate about.
Since then we have facilitated larger events, participated in conferences and festivals, built a consulting practice, run a podcast and launched a newsletter... Always chasing the New Ideas that are challenging business as usual. Investigating the ways Technology is influencing the way we work. And inquiring into how people can find Meaning in the work they do.
