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Growing without adding managers
"As CEO, I'm no longer indispensable day-to-day. Decisions get made without me. I can be away for two months and the company still runs." — Matthieu Brunet, CEO of Arcadie
Growing without adding managers
A family business turned organic reference
Founded in 1990 in the Gard department, at the foot of the Cévennes, Arcadie produces medicinal plants and spices, exclusively organic, distributed through specialty retail under the Cook and L'Herbier de France brands. About 100 employees, €20M in revenue, present in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
The second generation, led by Matthieu Brunet, inherited a distinctive culture: highly horizontal, committed to fair trade and strong working conditions, down to how decisions are made. This DNA is what led the company toward shared governance — not to follow a trend, but to solve a real growth problem without betraying what made it strong.
Structuring without hierarchy
Past fifty employees, the classic reflex would have been to add managers. Arcadie didn't want that.
Growth outpaces informal management
Hiring managers and supervisors would have been the classic answer — against the company culture, and something no one wanted.
Growth outpaces informal management
Hiring managers and supervisors would have been the classic answer — against the company culture, and something no one wanted.
Growth outpaces informal management
Hiring managers and supervisors would have been the classic answer — against the company culture, and something no one wanted.
From 2017 to today
Arcadie's path to grounded governance, step by step.
The move to Holacracy
Supported by Bernard-Marie Chiquet, Arcadie adopts shared governance to bring structure without falling into control.
The internal social network
After Slack and turning down Workplace by Facebook, the choice lands on Talkspirit: a French company, and a decisive feature — sub-discussions inside groups.
The triggering incident
A data loss at the previous governance tool, with no up-to-date backup, pushes Arcadie to Holaspirit. Data security becomes a trust criterion.
Governance, now second nature
Managing by intention has become a habit: decisions are announced publicly rather than escalated. The platform is part of the culture, not just a tool.
Structural indicators, not financial ones
Arcadie doesn't measure its gains in euros, and owns that. What speaks is the real scale of decentralisation.
mapped roles
Every responsibility is explicit, attached to a role rather than a person — the company-wide memory of who does what.
Every responsibility is explicit, attached to a role rather than a person — the company-wide memory of who does what.
autonomous circles
Decisions are made as close to the ground as possible, in circles that decide without escalating.
Decisions are made as close to the ground as possible, in circles that decide without escalating.
of employees on the platform
Even on the shop floor, with dedicated consultation stations: no one is left outside the system.
Even on the shop floor, with dedicated consultation stations: no one is left outside the system.
a week is enough for the CEO
To stay informed on everything — and no more decision-making meetings. "I can be away for two months and the company still runs."
To stay informed on everything — and no more decision-making meetings. "I can be away for two months and the company still runs."
We showed the auditors what we were already doing every day in Talkspirit. Living governance wasn't a side project: it was built into the way we work.
Thanks to the organisational map built in Talkspirit, everyone knows who does what and what their responsibilities are. This transparency helps each person better understand the direction the company is taking, and lets us align our efforts to fulfil our purpose.
Talkspirit played a key role in clarifying roles, responsibilities and cross-team collaboration within our hierarchical organisation. [...] The tool has also transformed the way we run our meetings. In the past, our meetings were often unproductive. Today, they are better structured, roles are clearly defined and decision-making is far more efficient.
Having a strong intention to change wasn't enough. We needed a tool capable of supporting the practical workings of this new organisational approach.
Organisational clarity and agility allow everyone to fully apply their skills and reach their full potential. It gives people wings. And every organisation needs that.
Adopting Holacracy has helped us gain autonomy and clarity. Employees know what's expected of them, so they can make decisions without constantly seeking everyone's approval. [...] The result: our trust index now stands at 89 out of 100!
In the past, we would have managed with emails, but the documents would have ended up scattered all over the place. With Talkspirit, we share files directly in an organised, structured and centralised way. The latest updates are gathered in a single place, so we can discuss them in real time and act as quickly as possible.
Talkspirit brings us closer to our teams, fuels collective intelligence and makes day-to-day information sharing far smoother.
Pooling our strengths makes each of us stronger. Within our network of SMEs, Talkspirit is an essential driver of transformation and agility.
Talkspirit allows every employee to fully unlock their talents. If someone has skills in several areas, they can take on different roles without being boxed into a single job description. This flexibility in roles also strengthens our agility — an essential asset in today's VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous).
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