Alf Rehn is a Finnish professor, author and speaker based in Denmark. He was previously the Chair of Management and Organization at Åbo Akademi University in Finland. Currently, he is a Professor of Innovation, Design, and Management at the University of Southern Denmark. Rehn works as a columnist, and sits on the board of directors for several companies, including Veikkaus. .. more
Business
52%
Philosophy
11%
Sometimes you just write for the joy of it – this was one! I’ve written on pop culture and management before but this piece might be my wildest yet: leadership and management as part of pro wrestling. Includes playacted anilingus, because of course it does.
🌀 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
🌀 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Sep 29
Inside the Tony Blair Institute - New Statesman
Who really benefits from the former PM’s tech evangelism?
www.newstatesman.com
Fascinating read on the Tony Blair Institute and the cozy relationship it seems to have with Oracle. Might be extra interesting for Finns, as this is where the former PM went to work.
www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Sep 26
Mars Petcare and People magazine redefine masculinity with new Sexiest Cat Dad category
Temptations partners with People to spotlight Cat Dads, tapping into shifting values around caregiving, emotional intelligence and masculinity.
www.trendwatching.com
Well, masculinity needs to develop with the times…
(But why is there no Grumpiest Cat Dad-category? Both our cats would vote for me in that category...)
www.trendwatching.com/innovations/...
(But why is there no Grumpiest Cat Dad-category? Both our cats would vote for me in that category...)
www.trendwatching.com/innovations/...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Sep 23
#12 – The 5-Minute Innovator: The Double Diamond
This is part of a series, "The 5-Minute Innovator", which describes concepts and theories in the field of innovation without jargon and in no more than 1200 words, which you can read in five minutes without being a speed-reader.
alfrehn.substack.com
On my Substack – Creative Class Contrarian – I continue with the more educational, and often snarky, explanations and analyses of common innovation terms, models, and tropes.
alfrehn.substack.com/p/12-the-5-m...
alfrehn.substack.com/p/12-the-5-m...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Sep 16
RIP Robert Redford.
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Sep 11
#11 – The New New Newsletter - by Alf Rehn
“Mathematics—this may surprise you or shock you some—is never deductive in its creation.
alfrehn.substack.com
New format for my Substack, yet the snark remains. Now with curious curation and a very angry essay.
alfrehn.substack.com/p/11-the-new...
alfrehn.substack.com/p/11-the-new...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Sep 11
Kiistelty lista Ruotsin kulttuurin merkkiteoksista julkaistiin – ”Suomessa tällaista ei tehtäisi”, sanoo professori | Kulttuuricocktail | Yle
Ruotsissa koottiin hallituksen esityksestä lista sadasta tärkeimmästä kulttuuri-ilmiöstä. Kohuttu projekti kertoo suomalaisprofessorin mukaan poliittisen kentän muutoksesta.
yle.fi
Kommentoin (vähän) Ruotsin ja Tanskan "kulttuurikaanoneja" ja näiden roolia. Ainakin sain hieman suitsuttaa Carl Barksia!
yle.fi/a/74-20181987
yle.fi/a/74-20181987
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Sep 10
KFC Jelly Beans Turn Fried Chicken and Gravy Into ‘Sweet’ Treats | Yardbarker
Like Bruce Wayne putting on his Caped Crusader suit when he sees the Bat-Signal, like Rohan answering the Beacons of Gondor, I have been summoned. I too will rise to the challenge.
www.yardbarker.com
Finally! Jellybeans that taste like gravy, sweet corn, and gravy, for when KFC doesn't give you diabetes quite quickly enough! Thanks, #innovation!
www.yardbarker.com/lifestyle/ar...
www.yardbarker.com/lifestyle/ar...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Sep 5
My Job as a Parent Is to Make My Kids’ Lives a Little Harder | The Walrus
Obstacle parenting is about cultivating focus and endurance, two skills lost in the ChatGPT era
thewalrus.ca
Charming piece on "obstacle parenting", which I suspect will go megaviral. Expect a book deal, parents misinterpreting this in awful ways, and a backlash.
thewalrus.ca/my-job-as-a-...
thewalrus.ca/my-job-as-a-...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Aug 26
Hanna Kuusela, Leena Niemistö and Alf Rehn selected to the Uniarts Helsinki Board | Uniarts Helsinki
The University Collegium has appointed three new members from outside the Uniarts Helsinki community for a four-year term from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2029. The newly selected members are Hanna…
www.uniarts.fi
Happy and proud (with a side-order of humbled) to have been selected to serve on the board of directors of University of the Arts Helsinki, home to the Academy of Fine Arts, the world-renowned Sibelius Academy and the Theatre Academy.
www.uniarts.fi/en/articles/...
www.uniarts.fi/en/articles/...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Aug 22
Stop AI-Shaming Our Precious, Kindly Em Dashes—Please - The Ringer
Human writers have always used the em dash. In fact, it’s the most human punctuation mark there is.
www.theringer.com
A powerful, and needed, defense of the em-dash in writing, as well as an exposé of how people think it's a special sign of AI writing are uncultured buffoons.
www.theringer.com/2025/08/20/p...
www.theringer.com/2025/08/20/p...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jul 31
Elon Musk Is So Unpopular, He May Be Hurting the Entire EV Industry
Liberals are losing interest in all EVs, thanks to Musk.
gizmodo.com
Imaging being so unpleasant a person that you manage to turn people against an entire industry. It's almost impressive.
gizmodo.com/elon-musk-is...
gizmodo.com/elon-musk-is...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jul 24
Is Banksy a woman, and patriarchy just refuses to see it? I'm not sure I buy the argument completely, but there are some pretty solid points made here.
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jul 22
RIP Ozzy.
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jul 22
Observing ChatGPT Agent trying and failing to navigate Microsoft's ridiculous UI and security clusterfuck, and it honestly looks exactly like what I imagine the future's going to be – clumsy IT-systems frustrating other clumsy IT-systems.
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jul 18
So, it seems I'm going to go see Bob Dylan in October. That's nice! Did want to see the man before it get late, too late.
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jul 15
#10 – The 5-Minute Innovator: Social Innovation
This is part of a series, "The 5-Minute Innovator", which describes concepts and theories in the field of innovation without jargon and in no more than 1200 words, which you can read in five minutes without being a speed-reader.
alfrehn.substack.com
Innovation never sleeps, nor does it take any holidays. Here's the latest issue of my #innovation Substack. This time it's social innovation, in five (5!) minutes (or less).
alfrehn.substack.com/p/10-the-5-m...
alfrehn.substack.com/p/10-the-5-m...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jul 11
Just saw Superman with the young son. Sheer. Cinema. Joy. Run, don’t walk, to see this!
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jul 9
Systems are crumbling – but daily life continues. The dissonance is real | Well actually | The Guardian
If everything feels broken but strangely normal, the Soviet-era concept of hypernormalization can help
www.theguardian.com
Hypernomalization. Learn the term, learn about it, learn to use it. It will be one of the defining terms of this era. Hypernormalization.
www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-...
www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jun 16
#8 – The 5-Minute Innovator: Open Innovation - by Alf Rehn
This is part of a series, "The 5-Minute Innovator", which describes concepts and theories in the field of innovation without jargon and in no more than 1200 words, which you can read in five minutes without being a speed-reader.
alfrehn.substack.com
Just shared the latest issue of my Substack.
alfrehn.substack.com/p/8-the-5-mi...
alfrehn.substack.com/p/8-the-5-mi...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jun 12
Off to an ephemera-conference on algorithmic organizing at CBS. Such is my rock'n'roll lifestyle.
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jun 10
On the road again. Tomorrow I will be speaking at the NATO StratCom-conference in Riga, about thinking the impossible and the chaos magic necessary to see ten years into the future. As a warm-up I’m mainlining Grant Morrisson-penned comics.
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jun 10
RIP Sly
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jun 7
Is Jordan Peterson Just Making It Up as He Goes? | The Walrus
The culture war’s favourite prophet can’t finish a straight thought
thewalrus.ca
Interesting take on Jordan Peterson, arguing that he, in the end, is just a sloppier version of the caricatured postmodernism he decries.
"Peterson is someone who believes “a woman is a woman” but will also insist that dragons are every bit as valid as lions."
thewalrus.ca/is-jordan-pe...
"Peterson is someone who believes “a woman is a woman” but will also insist that dragons are every bit as valid as lions."
thewalrus.ca/is-jordan-pe...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jun 6
Let's remember that it's Pride Month, and keep it civil. Two aging queens are having a messy breakup, so what? Unlove is unlove.
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jun 6
Don't know about y'all, but I feel this idea of rebooting the Tupac/Biggie beef with two old white guys might have been a mistake. Still waiting for Elon to drop the opening lines of "Hit 'Em Up", tho.
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jun 5
I guess the fact that stupid and nasty people will eventually start attacking each other should give one some degree of solace, but it's still just the soothing warmth of a dumpsterfire...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jun 4
Immigrant Song (Sung in Cree!)
www.youtube.com
This is a cover of a classic Led Zeppelin song, but sung in Cree. This is the definition of badass.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW_d...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW_d...
Alf Rehn
@alfrehn.bsky.social
· Jun 4
Things I didn't ever think I'd be doing, ever, yet here we are: Preparing a talk for a NATO conference on chaos magic.