LifeWise® by Human by Design

Life-serving innovation. Real organisational value.

Life-Serving

Sustainability was never meant to be a checkbox.
Nor a certificate. Nor a marketing layer. It was always an invitation into a deeper question: does what we create truly serve life?

At Human by Design, we translated that question into a framework. LifeWise™ is its expression, A holistic baseline for strategy and innovation that guides how products, services and systems are conceived from the very beginning.

Life-serving innovation is the disciplined design of materials, business models, and systems that endure over time.
Through applied strategy, executive programmes, and innovation practice, we support leaders and future leaders in converting insight into measurable action. Not as abstraction. Not as narrative. But as a design approach that strengthens organisational performance by aligning innovation with what sustains life itself.

Life-serving Innovation emerged in November 2025, following an executive MBA programme I led at Maastricht University’s School of Business & Economics. During the sustainability module, industry leaders shared “sustainable” solutions, but many were built on weak assumptions: materials were labelled sustainable simply because they could circulate, not because they served health or ecological well-being.

That insight became the catalyst for LifeWise™. A baseline that goes beyond optimisation and circularity to ask a more fundamental question:

Does this choice; this material, product or business model - truly serve life?

LifeWise™ now grounds the work to help organisations design products and services that hold across time.

You can explore the reflection article here

— Mikhael Akasha

Signals from the field

“Design determines impact.”

Research by the European Commission Joint Research Centre confirms that up to 80% of environmental impact is locked in during the design phase.

→ Insight: Impact is shaped before products, policies, or technologies exist.

“Purpose-led strategies outperform compliance.”

Findings from McKinsey & Company show that purpose-driven sustainability strategies outperform compliance-driven ones. But only when purpose shapes actual decisions.

→ Insight: Purpose without governance becomes theatre.

“Behaviour and culture matter as much as technology.”

Studies referenced by Gallup and Harvard University show that employee belief and cultural norms are decisive for execution, resilience, and innovation adoption.

→ Insight: Life-serving innovation shows up in everyday behaviour, not policy documents.

“Regenerative models outperform extractive ones over time.”

Longitudinal studies by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation indicate that regenerative business models deliver stronger long-term resilience, reduced risk exposure, and improved stakeholder trust compared to linear extractive models.

→ Insight: regeneration is not idealism, it is risk management.

A black and white photo of a man with long hair and a beard standing outdoors in a field with cloudy sky in the background.

Training Leaders to Build Sustainable Change.

Human by Design underpins LifeWise™ because sustainability begins with the human who decides.

At Maastricht University’s executive branch of the School of Business & Economics, Mikhaël leads and lectures in the Sustainable Business & Future-Proof Business Model tracks, which have been ranked Top 3 in the world and #1 in Europe by Corporate Knights. His work blends academic frameworks with systems-based thinking, guiding MBA participants and senior leaders toward sustainability strategies that are both practical and life-serving.

Through this work, LifeWise™ takes shape as a baseline: sustainability becomes truly Life-Serving when it is shaped by aligned humans who take responsibility for the choices they design into the world.

About Mikhael

Selected Services

  • 2-Day Coherence Lab

    A concentrated immersion where shared direction crystallises.

    When to call it forth:
    When choice feels scattered.
    When the team carries many truths but no unified why.

    What arises:
    • A shared narrative. Not slogans, but felt purpose.
    • A clarified architecture for how decisions land.
    • Rituals and agreements that keep coherence alive.
    • Immediate actions with embodied ownership.

    For leadership and team constellations realigning.

    Explore the Labs

  • Purpose-to-Strategy Design Sprint

    A focused sprint that turns luminous ambition into tangible strategy.

    When to call it forth:
    When there’s a deep why.
    Yet strategic movement feels muffled, hesitant, diffused.

    What arises:
    • Purpose becomes activated, sharpened, potent.
    • Strategic choices and focus themes that carry traction.
    • A portfolio of initiatives: stop, start, scale.
    • A roadmap with clear traction points.

    For organisations ready to translate aspiration into practiced direction.

    Discover More

  • Regenerative Business Model Lab

    A living experiment in redesign: value creation that sustains life rather than extracts from it.

    When to call it forth:
    When sustainability can no longer be brushed over with platitudes.
    And the business model itself seeks regeneration.

    What arises:
    • A regenerative value proposition and stakeholder map.
    • A redesigned model detailing flows, partners, and economics.
    • Impact logic and proof points, how you measure what matters.
    • Prototypes ready for real-world validation.

    For teams & ecosystems that understand business as an ecology, not a machine.

    Explore the Labs

  • Keynote: Designing for a Living Future

    An inspirational keynote bridging strategy, systems and soul.
    Mikhaël Akasha shows how leaders can align organisations with human wellbeing and planetary guardrails.

    You leave with

    ◌ A clear, actionable direction for change

    ◌ New lenses on leadership, value creation, and impact

    ◌ Stronger alignment across strategy, culture, and decision-making

    ◌ A long-term shift from efficiency alone to life-serving innovation

    Contact Us for Details

  • Jochem Visjager

    “Working with Mikhael is refreshing. He has a very solid view on what's right and what's not, of what works and what doesn't. In an environment that exists mostly of doubt that's a nice compass to work with. Furthermore he's just a really nice guy.”

  • Adriaan Wagenaar

    “As a lecturer in business innovation, I came to know Mikhaël as an inspiring and passionate colleague. With visible joy, he brings his knowledge to life, often in original ways, offering real depth and conveying the material to students with clarity and engagement.”

  • Bipasha Mookherjee

    “Mikhael has been one of the best, bravest people I've worked for. He always inspired his teams to go above and beyond the brief. He is a true problem solver. His strategic thinking, out of the box creative solutions as well as his kind, thoughtful personality make him a truly inspirational leader.”

Contact

For keynote engagements, strategic sessions, or sustainability programmes, please contact Mikhaël Akasha directly.

Phone
+31 6 2538 7828

Location
Netherlands | working internationally