Podcast Summary: “Vitsœ: Building a Company That Lasts by Breaking the Rules”

Work For Humans | Host: Dart Lindsley
Guest: Mark Adams, Senior Director of Vitsœ
Date: October 14, 2025

Brief Overview

In this episode, Dart Lindsley welcomes Mark Adams, Senior Director at Vitsœ, to discuss the company's radical philosophy on long-term business, design, and work culture. Instead of adhering to traditional business models, Vitsœ has, for decades, pursued "allowing people to live better with less that lasts longer." Adams—who rejects the title of CEO—explains how Vitsœ disrupts conventional ideas of leadership, management, product development, customer relationships, and recruitment by building fundamental principles of longevity and sufficiency into every aspect of the company. The discussion also explores how the spirit of Dieter Rams' design philosophy permeates Vitsœ, why customers are so fiercely loyal, and why the company seeks system-level change over incremental improvement.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Challenging Conventional Business Structures (00:04–05:17)

• Vitsœ operates without a CEO, board, boardroom, "change management," or even the typical "HR" terminology.
• Mark Adams holds the legal title of "director" only because it’s required by law; he fundamentally rejects hierarchical titles like "Chief Executive Officer".
• Company's mission, inspired by Jim Collins' "Built to Last", is “allowing more people to live better with less that lasts longer.”

  “That doesn’t mention shelves, it doesn’t mention chairs, it doesn’t even mention furniture. Bingo. And that is why Vitsœ is on the planet.” —Mark Adams, [05:08]

2. Foundational Principles Baked In (07:12–10:29)

• Vitsœ’s guiding values—simplicity, longevity, adaptability—are "baked in" from the company’s origins; not simply stated in mission documents, but embodied in daily practice.
• Connection to Bauhaus and postwar Germany through Dieter Rams and the rebuilding ethos that followed WWII.
• A continuous line of spiritual and philosophical influence, though not always directly causal.

3. Dieter Rams’ Design Principles and Their Manifestation (10:29–14:31)

• The ten principles are deeply understood and internalized rather than recited by employees.
• Adams collaborated with Dieter Rams to refine the English version of these principles.
• Employees are selected based on personal alignment—values must be innately "baked in," not memorized.

4. Operating by Excluding Conventional Practices (14:31–19:03)

• Vitsœ’s “novelty” often lies in what they don’t do:
  • No boardroom, no HR, no “change management”
  • No “manager/employee” dichotomy
  • No commission-based sales or product expansion for its own sake
• Company product line intentionally remains minimal, enabling quality and longevity.

“The system needs changing from the ground upwards. It is not tweaking it from the top downwards.”—Mark Adams, [16:36]

5. Commitment to Direct, Personalized Customer Service (19:06–22:36)

• Every sale is direct-to-customer (D2C)—an approach that predated the D2C trend.
• By moving away from dealers, Vitsœ enhances long-term relationships and service.
• Each customer order is unique and custom, reinforcing a culture of genuine problem-solving and adaptability.

6. Nature-Inspired Business and Sustainability (22:42–24:59)

• Adams’ background in zoology shapes a systemic, interconnected worldview.
• Vitsœ is conceived as a company that sees itself as a "subsidiary of nature"—subject to, not dominant over ecological systems.

7. Redefining ‘Design’ (24:59–29:31)

• Design is not about aesthetics; it’s “a problem-solving thinking process.”
• “At Vitsœ, everyone is designing”—problem-solving is distributed across the organization.
• Emphasizes thoughtful, collaborative, and elegant solutions—mirroring Rams’ approach.

“Design is a problem solving thinking process which achieves a solution that works well, number one, and looks good, number two.” —Mark Adams, [26:19]

8. Customer Loyalty and Co-Investment (32:45–39:25)

• Over 50% of sales are from repeat customers; some customers may place up to 15 orders across their lifespan.
• During fundraising for a new factory, Vitsœ raised nearly £9M via mini-bonds from loyal customers, who valued the company’s existence and role in their lives.

9. Radical People and Culture Practices (39:42–47:10)

• Recruitment: Hires for character, not skills—“baked in” values are essential.
  • Multi-step process: written application, anonymized interview, bring something you’ve made, discovery day involving the whole team.
• Organization: No conventional hierarchy; a dynamic, ever-changing “team of teams.”
  • Leadership emerges organically based on need and context.
  • No org chart; avoids calcification of roles.

10. Compensation and Trust (47:10–49:59)

• No commissions or pay-for-performance; pay is not tied to sales in opposition to industry norms.
• Vitsœ fosters long-term customer relationships and trust is the five-letter word at the center of everything.

“Trust… with our colleagues, customers, suppliers, society at large, and those who have not yet been born.” —Mark Adams, [48:25]

11. The Role of Love in Company-Customer Relationships (49:59–55:10)

• Customers frequently express “love” for the company in communications, highlighting a unique emotional connection to products and the company itself.
• Strong second-hand market exists because customers value and care for the product.

“We sell bent bits of metal... and yet people end up saying the word love. There’s something deeper going on here and I think it is fundamentally important.” —Mark Adams, [51:11]

12. Legacy and Community (60:21–68:19)

• Community contribution is central; company sees itself as a "living organism."
• Employees are “colleagues” and everyone is responsible for upholding the company’s mission and custodianship for future generations.
• Leaders rotate depending on context, and true freedom must be balanced with responsibility.

“Nature is a system. All parts are interdependent… at Vitsœ, self-disciplined people are given freedom to work. But with freedom comes its demanding partner, responsibility.” —Mark Adams, [65:49]

13. Baked-In Culture vs. Change Management (66:41–68:19)

• Adams makes clear: companies like Vitsœ may need to be born, not transformed from existing incumbents. The culture must be intrinsic from the beginning.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “At Vitsœ, everyone is designing, confronting problems to think about carefully, responsibly and intelligently, how to solve them elegantly.” —Mark Adams, [27:19]
• “This all boils down to this one five letter word… trust.” —Mark Adams, [48:25]
• “We sell invisible furniture… but that we provide the blank canvas on which you can paint your life.” —Mark Adams, [58:13]
• “It is necessary for any of us to join this company and contribute to it, that we are natural problem solvers.” —Mark Adams, [27:47]
• “Vitsœ is a living organism, okay? VITSU is its own entity, and we now are the custodians of it... we are listening to vitsu, we are sensing what VITU needs and we are responding.” —Mark Adams, [62:03]
• “System thinking ensures that we consider the consequence of every action.” —Mark Adams, [65:52]

Important Timestamps

• 00:04 – Adams introduces Vitsœ’s radical structure: no CEO, board, or typical management terms.
• 05:17 – Mission statement discussion inspired by Jim Collins.
• 07:59 – Influence of Bauhaus, postwar Germany, and Marshalls Plan.
• 14:43 – What surprises outsiders about Vitsœ.
• 18:03 – Product minimalism and why expansion is resisted.
• 19:08 – Shift to direct-to-customer sales model.
• 22:42 – How zoology and nature shape company thinking.
• 26:19 – Mark Adams’ definition of design: art meets science.
• 32:45 – Customer loyalty: 50–60% repeat sales.
• 34:47 – Customer bonds financing new factory (£8.7 million raised).
• 39:56 – Recruitment process focused on character and value alignment.
• 44:49 – Hierarchy: dynamic, team-based, context-dependent.
• 47:40 – No commission/pay-for-performance; trust is the core principle.
• 49:59 – Customer emails and advertising campaign involving love.
• 62:03 – Company as a living organism and sense of custodianship.
• 66:41 – Why this model is not something easily adopted by existing organizations (“baked in” culture).
• 68:19 – What mutual relationship Mark Adams seeks with Vitsœ.

Takeaways for Listeners

• Vitsœ is proof that companies can thrive by breaking the rules, focusing on quality, longevity, and responsibility.
• The deepest principles must be baked in, not bolted on later.
• Everyone is a designer and a custodian—titles and static roles are actively resisted.
• Trust and love, not profit maximization or growth-at-all-costs, are core to Vitsœ’s business and culture.
• The company’s approach to recruitment, compensation, hierarchy, and even fundraising aligns with a philosophy of sufficiency, systemic thinking, and personal responsibility.

Listeners will walk away with inspiration to rethink embedded business assumptions—especially surrounding leadership, relationships, compensation, and the true meaning of design.

For more, visit vitsoe.com.