Making Trouble That Matters with Simone van Neerven

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“People don’t resist you—they resist what you shake up.”

In this episode, Michael Dargie connects with Simone van Neerven, founder of ReBella, a Dutch-based consultancy helping organizations harness their internal rebels to spark meaningful innovation.

This episode is sponsored by my new book BRANDJITSU, helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world.

Simone shares how her journey started in corporate aviation, where she pushed boundaries and challenged the status quo—eventually leading a turnaround initiative at KLM that saved €100 million without spending a cent. That project showed her the power of working differently, and the importance of creating space for rebels to thrive.

Simone now helps companies, from Chanel to Dutch social impact organizations, understand and leverage the curious, creative, courageous people often labelled as troublemakers. Through her newsletter, “Ask Dr. Rebel,” and her self-published booklets, she offers insights to rebels, their managers, and anyone who needs help navigating change.

She also shares her love for finding surprising rebel stories (like why the Air Max exists), her rebel childhood origins, her adopted street-cat-turned-roommate, and why slow mornings with coffee and podcasts matter. Her advice to rebels in waiting? It’s not about you. People resist because you shake up what feels safe. But keep going—we need you.

Quotable Quotes

“It’s not rebels who make trouble. It’s trouble that makes rebels.” – Simone van Neerven

“People don’t resist you—they resist what you shake up.” – Simone van Neerven

“I want your boss, not someone from your team.” – Simone van Neerven

“We need people who are wired differently to solve wicked problems.” – Simone van Neerven

“Just like that. 30 minutes on the dot.” – Michael Dargie

Episode Highlights

ReBella Roots | From corporate job to rebel consultant

Spotting Rebels | Curious, creative, courageous, and full of care

Corporate Turnaround | How she saved €100M at KLM

Ask Dr. Rebel | Her bi-weekly newsletter for rebels and their teams

Unexpected Clients | From Chanel to Down syndrome inclusion orgs

Rebel Story Origins | Trading dolls for toy trucks at age four

Solving Wicked Problems | Why we need weird thinkers

Publishing Her Way | Bypassing Amazon to go direct

Comfort Starts | Coffee, podcasts, and slow mornings

The Cat Next Door | Basje moves in—no questions asked

Advice for Rebels | Resistance isn’t personal. Keep rebelling.

LINKS FROM EPISODE

ReBella Website (https://rebella.la)

Simone on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sneerven)

Get Your Copy of Michael's Book: "BrandJitsu™: Move Your Brand From 'Meh' To Memorable" Indigo | Barnes & Noble | MichaelDargie.com

192 episodes

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