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  • keynote speaker Saartje Vandendriessche

    Saartje Vandendriessche Saartje makes sure everyone goes home with an energy boost To be booked as/for Languages Tags Speaker, Host, Workshops, Moderator, Coach french, English, Dutch Energy, Healthy food, Health mindset, Excercise Biography Topics Testimonials Pictures Get a quote Biography Saartje Vandendriessche earned her stripes in the media. For 17 years, she worked for VRT and made several adventurous programmes. Just think of Op de man af, Saar in het bos and Beweeg in uw kot; programmes in which Saartje had to get out of her comfort zone and was confronted with fascinating challenges. Today, her challenge is to inspire as many people as possible to live life with more energy. Through keynotes, teambuildings and energy boost camps ( 2-day mini retreats), she raises participants' energy levels in all areas (via food, exercise , sleep and especially our mindset). And she shows the way to a healthy lifestyle with tons of energy. She does this, as always, in her own stubborn, energetic way, and with the necessary dose of humour. Topics Specials Wild foraging: local power foods Lees verder Teambuilding that nurishes the stomach and soul More Resilience & Well-being Master your energy Lees verder More energy and well-being in the workplace More Resilience & Well-being Cold therapy Lees verder Teambuilding that provides an energy boost More Testimonials Sessions Pictures you can use to promote your event Get a quote Request a Quote Keynote of my preference submit Pictures Quot Anchor 3

  • keynote speaker Fredo De Smet

    Fredo De Smet Ask him anything about technology, change and creativity. But also about culture, both in society and organisations. To be booked as/for Languages Tags Speaker, Moderator Dutch, English Culture, Creativity, Digital Humanism, Finding your voice, Value of attention, Executive whispering, Vulnerability and leadership, Ethics Biography Topics Testimonials Pictures Get a quote Biography Fredo, originally Frédéric De Smet, embarked on his journey after graduating in 2001 with a master's degree in Art Science and History. His academic pursuits centered on a philosophical exploration questioning the intrinsic value of reality, drawing from interdisciplinary studies in art, film, postmodern philosophy, and popular culture. Concurrently, Fredo delved into the professional realm as the head of production at local radio station urgent.fm, marking the inception of his diverse career trajectory. His inherent passion for pop culture steered Fredo towards a vibrant career in the local nightlife scene. Over a decade, he transitioned from a music producer and curator, traversing cities such as Paris, London, Barcelona, New York, and others, all while shaping his understanding of media, audiences, and experiential marketing strategies. This culminated in the development of innovative initiatives spanning virtual reality experiences, audio narratives, art fairs, and conferences, both as a freelance creative and as the entrepreneurial force behind Avenue L, a concept agency. In recent years, Fredo has carved a niche as an independent curator and consultant specializing in human-technology relations. His insights and expertise led him to advisory roles at esteemed institutions such as the public broadcaster VRT and as an advising curator for the acclaimed Hello, Robot exhibition at Design Museum Ghent. Furthermore, Fredo spearheads Gent M, an online publisher and think tank that critically examines the ethical and tangible impacts of technology on society, showcased through platforms like podcasts. Fredo's unique perspective and multidisciplinary background enable him to shed light on the unseen aspects of our evolving relationship with technology, guiding individuals and organizations to navigate the complexities of this rapidly changing landscape. Topics Art & Creativity Roll over Beethoven Lees verder The problem with creativity More “After reading Sapiens and Homo Deus, I was left behind as a young father with a feeling of powerlessness, bitterness and pessimism. Thanks to this book I found a critical yet hopeful view of the future. Fredo's constructive tips for dealing with technology in a healthy way deserve a place in every living room. HyperNova Thomas Joos, Founder & CEO In the grey zone of the future he tries to discern rules for an artificial stupidity, which is nothing but an ethic for times of disruption. De Tijd Roland Legrand, Senior Journalist Testimonials Sessions Pictures you can use to promote your event Get a quote Request a Quote Keynote of my preference submit Pictures Quot Anchor 3

  • keynote speaker Marnick Vandebroek

    Marnick Vandebroek Helping you build trust in the workplace by turning your messages into engaging stories. #standuptostandout To be booked as/for Languages Tags Speaker, Trainer, Moderator, Workshops, Consultant Dutch, English Storytelling, Leadership, Employee communication, Mindset, Personal development Biography Topics Testimonials Pictures Get a quote Biography Marnick Vandebroek is a frequently asked and highly rated Belgian keynote speaker and trainer on the topics of storytelling, leadership communication and mindset linked to driving innovation, digital transformation and change within organizations. He helps, trains and coaches over one hundred business owners, managers and professionals all across Europe to express themselves in the most powerful way. He works with people from multinational brands to promising start-ups and scale-ups that want to inspire both themselves and others to transform their ideas into action. He runs his business, www.standupcompany.com together with his lovely wife and business partner, Natalie Vandergraesen. Marnick has a background in digital marketing, HR, stand-up comedy, is a certified NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) practitioner and just a stand-up guy. On a personal level, he is happily married and has two amazing cats. In addition, he loves writing, drawing, comedy, obstacle runs and pumping iron in the gym like Arnold Schwarzenegger. www.youtube.com/marnickvandebroek Marnick is the author of the book Stand Up to Stand Out: Expressing yourself in the most powerful way. A 5 step guide to stronger and more impactful communication and storytelling. Check www.standupcompany.com/book Topics People Skills Stand Up to Stand Out Lees verder How to build trust in the workplace and inspire people to take action? More Motivation & Ownership The Winning Mindset for leaders Lees verder How to deal with change and prime your team and yourself for success More Testimonials Sessions Pictures you can use to promote your event Get a quote Request a Quote Keynote of my preference submit Pictures Quot Anchor 3

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Blog Posts (44)

  • New Foundations for a Future-Proof Organisation: 4 elements to survive in a changing world

    The world is changing, rapidly and fundamentally. Several economic, ecological, technological and demographic trends are reinforcing each other and have a ginormous impact on our society and on the business world. Technological evolutions are at the heart of those changes. The different innovation waves are following each other in ever quickening succession and force companies to adapt more rapidly than ever. This article describes four characteristics which companies should adopt in order to survive. Time is pressing. A company unable to continuously question and reinvent itself, will not manage to defend its competitive position. This is a trend which is already clearly visible. The average lifespan of an organization has decreased drastically. In the 20s a company would exist for an average of 60 years; these days this average reaches a mere 3-5 years. Today, 25% of the companies seen as market leaders in 2020 lost that position, in most cases to new competitors which did not yet exist 15 years ago. The examples of companies which do excel at reinventing themselves are well-known. Netflix was started up in 1997 as a postal order company renting out videos; these days it is a global player in audio-visual content streaming. Uber also proves that it does not shy away from looking at the future: the company is realizing that self-driving cars are a major threat, which is why they are adapting their strategy by already ordering no less than 500 self-driving Tesla cars for pilot projects. New business models Although digital technologies play an important part in changing business models, companies should not forget that technology is only one of the aspects of change. You can fully test robotics and virtual reality, but the mere embracing of today’s technologies does not prepare you for the waves that will follow. Innovation should not be limited to innovation labs and R&D departments. Rather than thinking about digital transformation, companies should focus on how to transform their entire organization in order to be ready for the future. The main challenge is that companies cannot go through that transformation if they continue to function as before. The bureaucratic business model with a clear hierarchy and sharply defined roles and function profiles forms a barrier for that transformation. Bureaucracy is a concept of the late 19th century which no longer does the trick in a world of continuous change. A different way of working and thinking is required, which needs to penetrate throughout the entire organization. For many companies this will not be an easy task. A recent study in the US has shown that a mere 13% of all collaborators are sufficiently passionate about their work to help build change, a disappointingly low result. The road to 'change' We can define four crucial characteristics for changing the tide and surfing on those waves of change: togetherness, empowerment, collaboration and habit. Togetherness and 'purpose' are very closely related. Companies need to have a clear goal and must be able to prove their relevance, both to clients and collaborators. These days we notice a true Copernican revolution in the brands world. Copernicus was sentenced to death because of his conviction that the world is not at the center of the universe. A continuously increasing number of brand producers are also coming to that conclusion. Consumers care less and less for brands. A recent study by brand specialist Havas reveals that if 93% of the brands ceased to exist tomorrow, the consumer would not care all that much. Furthermore, one of our own studies has shown that consumers only really care about 5 brands, each of those contributing something functional, emotional and societal to them. Relevance pays off A company’s societal contribution is becoming increasingly important. David Jones, former Havas CEO, describes it as follows: "We need to move from marketing to consumers to mattering to people". Unilever is very well aware of this fact. The company has set itself the target to make each of the group’s brands ‘relevant’ within 3 years. The first brand having gone through the transformation is Omo, the detergent. On a functional level, the starting point was a qualitative product. Children’s dirty play clothes need to be clean after a wash. In order to address customers on the emotional level, Omo has started up a program to share parenting tips & tricks with young parents. As for the societal level, new playgrounds were installed in several suburban areas in the UK, giving children access to a better social development. No eye-catching sponsoring, only a small mention that the playground is a part of Omo’s and Unilever’s 'Dirt is Good' program. You may wonder whether this is really a company’s role in life. But it is. Studies show that so-called 'meaningful brands' obtain 33% more profit than their competitors, on average. So doing ‘good’ does indeed pay off. Companies should also prove this relevance to their collaborators. Many changes are taking place in what makes employees happy in their job. The new generation which is now entering the workforce attaches more importance to the difference they can make themselves and the difference a company makes in the world than to how much they are making and what status a job will give them. Besides, this trend is also increasingly entering the world of older generations. Transparent strategy Empowerment is a second important characteristic. There are different ways to empower collaborators. First, by clearly communicating about the strategy and second, by also sharing insights which support the strategy. This will help collaborators to better realize the strategy. And third, by giving the collaborators more autonomy. It is important for companies to properly understand the reason behind certain decisions. At the moment this too often is not the case. Insights into a strategy should go viral, so to speak, in the entire organization, so that everyone can start believing in them and act upon them. A second important element in that respect is collective intelligence. Decisions made by the entire organization are bound to have more impact than decisions pushed forwards by management. The implication that is created is much greater; furthermore managers are informed of so-called blind spots in their decision process. Autonomy is a closely connected aspect. Give collaborators a say in how to fill in the company’s strategy. Hotel chain Ritz-Carlton learned the lesson well: every collaborator who is in direct contact with hotel guests gets a €2,000 budget to turn a complaint into a positive experience, into something which could be an opportunity for improvement. Never underestimate the importance of involving collaborators in the strategy and of giving them more autonomy, because, in the future, human capacities will become an important differentiator. In 2035, 50% of the jobs as we know them today will have disappeared. The majority will have been taken on by robots and artificial intelligence. That is what we need to prepare for now, because when the time comes, we will totally need those typically human capacities to make the difference. There already are some examples today. In Eatsa, a vegetarian restaurant in California, robotics are used for taking orders, serving meals and paying for them. This frees up time for the ‘real’ collaborators to look after the customers on a more relevant level. All these technologies will make craftsmanship and emotional intelligence very importance in the customer relationship. Collaborators running the show The new role of knowledge workers will be very similar to 'intrapreneurship'. A great example is Adobe, the software company; they have reinvented themselves repeatedly and are now trying to reach innovation quicker via Adobe Kickbox. The Kickbox contains a $1,000 credit card, an inspiration booklet and a description of the innovation process. Every collaborator is free to use that $1,000 to develop something new. The only condition set by Adobe is that developments which may be relevant for the company are also shared with the company. So far, 400 collaborator projects have been shared. They will probably not all turn into something successful, but Adobe is convinced that the chance of 'the next big thing' being one of them is larger than that of the two projects R&D is working on. What Adobe is doing, is not just a story of trust and giving autonomy, but also giving a chance of failure. ‘Collaboration’ comes third in the 'survival characteristics' list. A company’s capacity of internal and external collaboration determines its chance of success to a major extent. There are three conditions for reaching successful collaborating. The first is that it needs to be 360°, which implies collaborating with consumers, collaborators and other stakeholders. That is how you reach new insights which will not be obtained in any other way. Second, the collaboration needs to happen all the time, anywhere. You rarely hear people say their best insights came to them in the office or during a brainstorm session. The best ideas occur in the shower or the car. And third: 'fail faster & better'. In other words: invest your time wisely. At Google they have banned the word 'prototyping'. Google refers to 'pretotyping' because even making prototypes takes too much time and is too expensive. KLM-Air France is following suit: e-commerce team collaborators are no longer to make PowerPoint presentations. Those who have a new idea develop it, test it, share it with the target groups and if they are still convinced that it has potential, then they make a 2-slide report which can be presented in 20 minutes max to obtain a budget. The new business as usual The last characteristic, 'habit', is related to the 3 others. Focusing on one of the 3 is not sufficient. Nor is working a little bit towards all 3. These have to evolve into new habits. Changing habits - and most certainly bad ones - is not done in one single speech or with one single manifest. Togetherness, empowerment and collaboration need to be embedded thoroughly in the organization. The four characteristics combined form the acronym TECH; no coincidence as technology will play an important part in how we transform our organizations. We can also learn a great deal from the world of technology; not so much from all the crazy Silicon Valley stories but more from those companies’ habits. Our companies face a major challenge but it isn’t impossible to realize a change and to get collaborators willing to build the company’s future. Tom De Ruyck is the author of this blog post. The topics he addresses can also be booked in the form of a keynote speech.

  • Celebrating Ramadan at Work

    If you work in a large, international organization with a diverse population, chances are a portion of your workforce will be practicing Muslims. This will mean that for an entire month part of your community will refrain from eating or drinking from sunrise to sundown[i]. Oh my God, you’re not eating?? If you walk around the typical office on any day of the week, you will likely see an abundance of food everywhere. Food and drink is pushed at employees actively and passively, from goodbye coffee-and-cake events for leavers, cupcakes for birthdays, Monday Muffins for the early birds, chocolates in a bowl in the lobby, after work drinks on Fridays and coffee-coffee-coffee. Food is an inescapable part of office life. Your Muslim population is necessarily subjected to all this during their working day, too.  They will be there at Monday Muffins and Taco Tuesdays, wishing their colleagues well for their goodbye parties, politely declining the cinnamon buns, since non-attendance isn’t an option. When they don’t actually eat or drink, they will often having to explain themselves over and over again. Generally, the reaction from the non-Muslim is one of shock followed by pity. “Oh my god, you’re not eating?” To which the Muslim colleague may laugh, shake her head and assure the host that they needn’t worry, that they are just fine, are not about to faint, and are actually enjoying this very special time of the year. What’s Ramadan? Ramadan is the most sacred month of the year for practicing Muslims. About 93% of Muslims fast during Ramadan[ii]. That adds up to about 1.6 billion people worldwide[iii]. It’s a time to detach from earthly pleasures, physically and spiritually purify, donate to charities, pray and celebrate with family and friends. Imagine a combination of Christmas by night mixed with Lent by day, on steroids, celebrated every day for 30 days. It’s intense, spiritually cleansing, and full of warmth and food once the sun has gone down. It’s also hard; in Northern Europe those long days mean 19-hour fasts without caffeine or nicotine. Some families wake up at 4am to have a big, very early breakfast to give them the energy they need for the rest of the day. It’s called suhoor. To the typical outsider, this feels like a kind of neat sleepover midnight secret-snack event. The end of Ramadan is celebrated by a three-day holiday called Eid Al-Fitr (or “Eid” for short). This is a time to party, attend services, give gifts and eat during the day. Five ways to make Ramadan cool for everyone 1. Send a greeting The month begins with the greeting of "Ramadan kareem!". If you have control over your company or team social feeds, send out a (digital) card for those who recognize it, and for those who don’t to raise awareness. This message goes out on the first day of Ramadan. Check your calendars since this is different every year. 2. Educate your workforce At the same time, slip in a bit of information to those who are not on the inside. What’s Ramadan? What is it, what does it mean, how is it expressed and why, how long does it last, and, by the way, here’s why not everyone will be wolfing down the slices of pepperoni on Pizza Fridays for this month. Explain why we put away the food temporarily (see point 3), what “to go” options might be available (see point 4) and why it matters. 3. Remove superfluous office food In the spirit of our generosity let’s make a few small changes for a month. We can all do without the excessive amounts of food we have lying around every surface of our offices. As a courtesy, in solidarity, encourage your teams to put their chips and chocolates in a drawer and the baskets of candy bars in a closet just for a little while. And certainly, don’t force food on people who don’t want it. Sort of like a giant Instagram challenge; we’re all the better for it. 4. Easy “to go” bags for events For events that involves food, there’s a great way to have your cake and eat it too (literally). Offer small “to go” bags with a little note, perhaps, that might say something like “Take Me Home, Eat Me after Sunset!”. This way, your faster can politely take a pre-packaged baggie and enjoy it with their families when the time is right. That cinnamon bun will taste great for 4am suhoor. 5. Celebrate the end of Ramadan with snacks Eid is a great opportunity to have a little social event at the office. It can be low-key. You can offer dates and nuts in the pantries for anyone who wants them with a little card that lets people know what just happened and why it matters. There are so many other holidays! Nothing drives engagement at work like being seen. When the dominant culture makes minor adjustments to the normal routine out of respect for the rituals and patterns of the few, the engagement effect ripples into the full community. As we learn about the lives of others, we encourage and even participate. A few small actions make a loud-and-clear statement that your culture is one of curiosity, respect and celebration of rich diversity. Actions speak far louder than the words on the company website. And don’t stop there. Depending on the cultural makeup of your community, you will likely have many other holidays to celebrate; from Chinese New Year, Diwali, Hannukah, Bastille Day and much more. Get to know your workforce – who they are, what they celebrate - and weave in a few of these to spice up the year. Finally, involve your teams. Anyone who wants to the on the Diwali Committee should be invited to plan the event, develop the communications and find the perfect treats. After a while these sub-committees will be inspired to run the events themselves. Viral, organic employer marketing will be a natural result. Fiona Passantino is the author of this article. Contact us if she can be of any help to your organization. [i] Arab News (2016) “A beginner's guide to Ramadan”. Accessed March 19, 2023  https://www.arabnews.com/node/935516/islam-perspective [ii] Ghani (2013) “Most Muslims say they fast during Ramadan” Pew Research Center. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/07/09/global-median-of-93-of-muslims-say-they-fast-during-ramadan/ [iii] Puri-Mirza (2020) "Ramadan - statistics & facts" Statista. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://www.statista.com/topics/3796/ramadan-2017/

  • Why We Don't Need Resilience

    Lees deze blogpost in het Nederlands. Change is the only constant, a saying we often hear but seldom embrace. It takes various forms: sometimes it's adversity, other times it's something positive. It can be planned or entirely unexpected and inconvenient, leading to stress and disruption. Even when change is carefully prepared for, the results can be entirely unforeseen. From minor, everyday changes to profound life events, change affects us on a personal, social, and professional level. If we compare life to the sea, at times it's calm but more often turbulent. Wishing for no waves or trying to control them is futile. You can't tame the waves, but you can learn to surf. Change simply happens, and resisting it is a lost effort that only leads to stress. However, you can choose how to deal with it because your reaction is within your control. But how do you navigate in a world where change occurs at an unprecedented speed? Not with resilience, but more specifically with adaptive resilience. It's a quality that is now more necessary than ever because it goes beyond merely 'bouncing back'. With adaptive resilience, you successfully adapt to the situation ('adjusted bouncing'). Moreover, you typically grow through the difficulties you face ('bouncing forward'). Finally, you can also adjust in real-time, applying situational adaptive strategies based on what the situation requires. So, you are not only resilient but also agile. In short, you are adaptively resilient. To develop adaptive resilience and learn to surf or navigate, you need tools such as a compass – what I call 'CHANGE HACKS.' These are simple principles, insights, concrete approaches, or practical tips to better handle change and adversity. You can't avoid them, but you can ensure they have less impact on you. Flexibility in thinking, feeling, and acting is crucial for developing adaptive resilience. This means breaking free from ingrained thought patterns, changing your interpretation, regulating emotions, and using the right strategy or tool (change hack) based on the situation or type of problem. If you often feel resistance, uncertainty, or pessimism in the face of change – whether work-related or not – or if you risk burnout due to rapid, successive changes, cultivating adaptive resilience is essential. Even those naturally optimistic, open-minded, and good at putting things into perspective will benefit from specific ways to cope with various challenges. For example, if you're confronted with a tangle of problems and can't see the forest for the trees, you can first 'comb the spaghetti,' a methodological change hack that is highly systematic and helps untangle the mess. You can 'upgrade' your thoughts and learn to view change or stress differently. You can focus on what you can control rather than trying to change what's beyond your power. You can proactively work on your self-efficacy or anticipate change. As a team, you can objectively look at change together and escape the negative atmosphere by applying the Z-of-change. In my book, I cover this and much more with 25 tools or 'change hacks' that you can use in various situations. Understanding how our brain works and acting on that knowledge ensures that you're better equipped to handle challenging situations in these rapidly changing times. Consciously applying different change hacks will increase your adaptive resilience because you adopt a new attitude that determines how you approach life. The ultimate goal? Thrive better in a world full of change and be less impacted by it. Do you think your colleagues and organization would benefit from these insights? You can also book a keynote where I elaborate on the key principles.

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