Our Team Choose gender Choose role For keynote speakers, coaches, consultants, trainers and workshops: Choose topic If you would like to join our team of speakers and moderators, we kindly ask you to fill out this form . Ann De Bisschop Speaker, Consultant The first Wellbeing Director in Belgium :-), Author of 3 books, Keynote speaker & Wellbeing consultant Dutch, French, English HR, company culture & leadership; Resilience & wellbeing Read more Orianne Aymard Speaker Dr. Orianne Aymard, a brain hemorrhage survivor, defied odds by climbing Everest and Lhotse, embodying resilience and determination in her keynotes Spanish, French, English Resilience & wellbeing Read more Tamara Makoni Speaker, Trainer, Workshops, Consultant Inclusion & culture expert who helps leaders use diversity to catalyse innovation and growth English HR, company culture & leadership; Business and strategy, Technology, transformation & innovation Read more Stefaan van Hooydonk Speaker, Trainer, Workshops, Coach I am the 'curiosity guy'. I make leaders curious about the power of curiosity at work and all its wonderful benefits. Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership Read more Lieven Van Linden Speaker, Consultant, Coach, Workshops A long-distance-running-entrepreneur and biohacker, helping people to optimize their health and performance Dutch, English Resilience & wellbeing; HR, company culture & leadership Read more Johan Albrecht Speaker, Trainer When economic analysis meets sustainability and societal challenges Dutch, English The Post-Corona Future; Climate, energy & sustainability Read more Martine Reyners Speaker, Workshops, Coach Internationally acclaimed soprano and passionate liberator of the profound energy of the human voice Dutch, German, English, French Resilience & wellbeing, Teambuilding Read more Jens Heitland Speaker, Host, Coach, Consultant Former global Head of Innovation at IKEA Centres. Leading expert in corporate innovation and known for combining innovation and leadership to drive human innovation in organizations. German, English HR, company culture & leadership; Technology, transformation & innovation Read more Marnick Vandebroek Speaker, Trainer, Moderator, Workshops, Consultant Helping you build trust in the workplace by turning your messages into engaging stories. #standuptostandout Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership Read more Fiona Passantino Speaker, Trainer, Coach, Host, Workshops Speaker, author, podcaster, thought leader. Expert on the Human-AI connection: engagement, communication, culture and AI integration. English, Dutch HR, company culture & leadership; Technology, transformation & innovation Read more Frans van de Ven Speaker, Moderator, Coach Passionate personal leadership promoter, empowering executive - team - coach, trusted talent strategy adviser Dutch, English, French HR, company culture & leadership; Resilience & wellbeing Read more Merijn Tinga Speaker His surfboard is a weapon. His target: politicians and company ceo's. The goal: real change! Dutch, English Climate, energy & sustainability Read more Geertrui Mieke De Ketelaere Speaker, Moderator, Host, Trainer Mieke is an extraverted nerd, the engineer who balances profit, people and planet within all digitalisation efforts. German, Dutch, English, French Business and strategy Read more Cedric Dumont Speaker Adventurer, Performance Psychologist, Speaker and Author. French, Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership Read more Renout van Hove Speaker, Trainer, Workshops, Moderator, Coach, Consultant Multipotentialite, co-Author of #Obsessed - Founder of Growthagent.eu, finds himself comfortable at the intersection of Advertising, Data ecosystems, Privacy and Technology English, french, Dutch Sales, marketing & customer experience; Business and strategy Read more Rudy de Waele Speaker, Moderator, Host, Workshops, Consultant Keynote speaker inspiring leaders with innovative and collaborative learning methods and tools to transform your leadership and teams. Dutch, English, French, Spanish HR, company culture & leadership; Technology, transformation & innovation; Resilience & wellbeing Read more Rik Vera Speaker, Consultant, Workshops International keynote speaker, coach, author and advisor on the impact of all things digital on society and business. Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership; The Post-Corona Future; Business and strategy Read more Richard van Hooijdonk Speaker Renowned trendwatcher and futurist and the man with several chip implants in his body. Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership; The Post-Corona Future; Technology, transformation & innovation Read more Jo Caudron Speaker, Workshops, Host, Moderator, Consultant Digital pioneer with a passion for transformation and strategy. Author, advisor and speaker. Dutch, English The Post-Corona Future Read more Inge van Belle Speaker, Trainer, Consultant Restless entrepreneur with corporate background in communication & sales. Dubai based Employee Engagement aficionada. Dutch, French, English Sales, marketing & customer experience; HR, company culture & leadership Read more Hermina Van Coillie Speaker, Workshops, Trainer, Coach, Consultant Hermina Van Coillie, Dr. in psychology, is a motivation expert, keynote speaker, lecturer in several HRM postgraduate courses, author, senior consultant and business manager at Flourish English, Dutch HR, company culture & leadership; Resilience & wellbeing Read more Johan Terryn Speaker, Moderator, Coach, Workshops, Host Media content creator & Soulpreneur, Speaker & Author on matters of the soul, creativity and positive thinking English, Dutch Resilience & wellbeing Read more Katja Schipperheijn Speaker, Workshops, Consultant Author, learning strategist and keynote speaker with a passion for continuous improvement through human-centred innovations that support learning Dutch, English Technology, transformation & innovation Read more Isabel De Clercq Speaker, Workshops, Host, Moderator, Consultant Author and speaker passionate about the pursuit of good and sustainable work practices French, English, Dutch Resilience & wellbeing; HR, company culture & leadership Read more load more speakers

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Our Keynote Speakers Choose gender Choose topic Ann De Bisschop Speaker, Consultant The first Wellbeing Director in Belgium :-), Author of 3 books, Keynote speaker & Wellbeing consultant Dutch, French, English HR, company culture & leadership; Resilience & wellbeing Read More Orianne Aymard Speaker Dr. Orianne Aymard, a brain hemorrhage survivor, defied odds by climbing Everest and Lhotse, embodying resilience and determination in her keynotes Spanish, French, English Resilience & wellbeing Read More Tamara Makoni Speaker, Trainer, Workshops, Consultant Inclusion & culture expert who helps leaders use diversity to catalyse innovation and growth English HR, company culture & leadership; Business and strategy, Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Stefaan van Hooydonk Speaker, Trainer, Workshops, Coach I am the 'curiosity guy'. I make leaders curious about the power of curiosity at work and all its wonderful benefits. Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership Read More Lieven Van Linden Speaker, Consultant, Coach, Workshops A long-distance-running-entrepreneur and biohacker, helping people to optimize their health and performance Dutch, English Resilience & wellbeing; HR, company culture & leadership Read More Johan Albrecht Speaker, Trainer When economic analysis meets sustainability and societal challenges Dutch, English The Post-Corona Future; Climate, energy & sustainability Read More Martine Reyners Speaker, Workshops, Coach Internationally acclaimed soprano and passionate liberator of the profound energy of the human voice Dutch, German, English, French Resilience & wellbeing, Teambuilding Read More Jens Heitland Speaker, Host, Coach, Consultant Former global Head of Innovation at IKEA Centres. Leading expert in corporate innovation and known for combining innovation and leadership to drive human innovation in organizations. German, English HR, company culture & leadership; Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Anja Cappelle Trainer, Speaker, Workshops, Coach, Consultant Digital pioneer with a passion for leadership, sales and intrapreneurship Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership; Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Florence Pérès Speaker, Workshops Author, enthusiastic speaker and expert in coping with change, adaptive resilience, digital balance and focus. Dutch, French, English HR, company culture & leadership; Resilience & wellbeing Read More Christophe Jauquet Speaker, Moderator, Workshops Health marketeer on a mission to make the world healthy & happy. Dutch, English, French Sales, marketing & customer experience; Business and strategy Read More Saskia Van Uffelen Speaker, Consultant, Workshops, Coach How can we create a new culture in our organisations? Digital Skills Leader Belgium, boosting Future Skills and Jobs for everybody! Dutch, french, English Business and strategy; HR, company culture & Leadership Read More Gerrie Smits Speaker, Host, Moderator, Trainer, Workshops Chief Curiosity Officer. Intrigued by the impact of tech on business, people & society. Author/Facilitator/Speaker. Dutch, English Business and strategy; Sales, marketing & customer experience; Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Alain Thys Speaker, Consultant, Workshops Unlock the secrets to profit and differentiation with one of Europe’s top customer-centricity veterans Dutch, English Sales, marketing & customer experience; HR, company culture & leadership; Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Herre Zonderland Speaker, Trainer, Moderator, Workshops A former athlete (gymnastics). Motivates people to work on conditions for their sustainable business performance. Dutch, English Resilience & wellbeing Read More Martijn Aslander Speaker, Workshops Tech philosopher, professional lifehacker and connector of people, information and ideas. Dutch, English Technology, transformation & innovation; HR, company culture & leadership; Resilience & wellbeing Read More Charlotte De Metsenaere Trainer, Moderator, Speaker, Workshops, Host Communication expert, international improvisational theater teacher and public speaking coach Dutch, French, English HR, company culture & leadership Read More Brecht Buysschaert Speaker, Trainer, Coach, Workshops On a mission to make the world a better place by creating health & wellbeing at work Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership Read More Olivier Van Duüren Speaker, Moderator, Workshops, Consultant An international public speaker, trend sensemaker, executive whisperer, startup builder, transformer, innovator, active investor and author. Olivier is a thought leader on personal and business transformation advising companies to find balance between performing and transforming. Olivier works with global, regional and local organisations from startups, scaleups, medium to large organisations. Dutch, French, English Business and Strategy; Technology, transformation & innovation; Sales, marketing & customer experience Read More Wannes Van Giel Speaker, Consultant Climate activist with marketing as a weapon of change Dutch, French, English Climate, energy & sustainability; Sales, marketing & customer experience Read More Maarten Vanhoof Speaker, Workshops, Consultant Expert in (big data) analytics. Lived in the blackscreen before, now helps people understand. Dutch, English Technology, transformation & innovation; Business and strategy Read More Goedele Leyssen Speaker, Trainer, Workshops, Consultant, Coach 4 x author, speaker, yoga and meditation trainer, holistic nutritionist and self-care expert Dutch, English Resilience & wellbeing Read More Clo Willaerts Speaker, Trainer, Moderator, Host Clo is digital business expert, girl geek, tech optimist, avid keynote speaker, oldskool tech blogger, and published author. Dutch, English Sales, marketing & customer experience Read More Fatima Llouh Speaker, Moderator, Workshops, Host, Consultant Octopus with various tentacles: millennial, single mom, daughter of migration, Moroccan roots, from midwife to communication strategist DE&I (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), storyteller Dutch, English, French Resilience & wellbeing; Business and Strategy Read More Jan Puype Speaker Entrepreneur and not a typical keynote speaker. He takes you on a walk and tells inspiring stories about people and nature. Dutch, French, English HR, company culture & leadership Read More Yoav Nir Speaker, Trainer, Workshops Co-inventor of ClickShare®, Virtual and Augmented Reality pioneer and author of the book Game-changing Innovation Dutch, English, French, Hebrew Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Lenny Benaïcha Speaker, Workshops, Host, Moderator, Consultant Growth officer and lecturer with a background in classical arts, web technology, strategic innovation, and entrepreneurship. Currently on a mission to eliminate mismatches between people and jobs. Dutch, English Business and Strategy; Technology, transformation & innovation; HR, company culture & leadership Read More Najima El Kasmi Speaker, Workshops, Consultant, Coach, Trainer Champion of leadership, flexibility, and forward-thinking within organizations, always with a deep core focus on resilience, connection, inclusivity, and people-centered leadership. french, Dutch Resilience & wellbeing; HR, company culture & leadership Read More Kaat Peeters Speaker, Workshops, Consultant Keynote speaker on a mission to boost changemakers. Inspirational speeches about strategies for impact Dutch, English Business and strategy Read More Jozefien De Feyter Speaker, Trainer, Consultant Sales expert empowering professionals to enhance sales strategies and cultivate meaningful connections in the digital world Dutch, English Sales, marketing & customer experience; Read More Fredo De Smet Speaker, Moderator Ask him anything about technology, change and creativity. But also about culture, both in society and organisations. Dutch, English Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Robin Wauters Moderator, Speaker, Host Founding editor of European tech news and research platform Tech.eu; journalist, analyst, speaker, moderator and event curator. Co-founder of Startup Europe Lens and BeCentral. Dutch, English Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Tanja Verheyen Speaker, Trainer, Coach, Workshops Passionate, driven communication expert, specialised in career twists Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership Read More Tom De Wachter Speaker, Trainer, Moderator, Consultant, Workshops Turning companies into an employer of choice. Dutch, English, French HR, company culture & leadership Read More Marnick Vandebroek Speaker, Trainer, Moderator, Workshops, Consultant Helping you build trust in the workplace by turning your messages into engaging stories. #standuptostandout Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership Read More Fiona Passantino Speaker, Trainer, Coach, Host, Workshops Speaker, author, podcaster, thought leader. Expert on the Human-AI connection: engagement, communication, culture and AI integration. English, Dutch HR, company culture & leadership; Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Frans van de Ven Speaker, Moderator, Coach Passionate personal leadership promoter, empowering executive - team - coach, trusted talent strategy adviser Dutch, English, French HR, company culture & leadership; Resilience & wellbeing Read More Merijn Tinga Speaker His surfboard is a weapon. His target: politicians and company ceo's. The goal: real change! Dutch, English Climate, energy & sustainability Read More Geertrui Mieke De Ketelaere Speaker, Moderator, Host, Trainer Mieke is an extraverted nerd, the engineer who balances profit, people and planet within all digitalisation efforts. German, Dutch, English, French Business and strategy Read More Cedric Dumont Speaker Adventurer, Performance Psychologist, Speaker and Author. French, Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership Read More Renout van Hove Speaker, Trainer, Workshops, Moderator, Coach, Consultant Multipotentialite, co-Author of #Obsessed - Founder of Growthagent.eu, finds himself comfortable at the intersection of Advertising, Data ecosystems, Privacy and Technology English, french, Dutch Sales, marketing & customer experience; Business and strategy Read More Rudy de Waele Speaker, Moderator, Host, Workshops, Consultant Keynote speaker inspiring leaders with innovative and collaborative learning methods and tools to transform your leadership and teams. Dutch, English, French, Spanish HR, company culture & leadership; Technology, transformation & innovation; Resilience & wellbeing Read More Tom Palmaerts Speaker One goal in mind: Giving people an appetite for the future. Dutch, English The Post-Corona Future Read More Isabelle Gonnissen Speaker Sales Director at Solvay and the driving force behind the successful campaigns '30 days without complaining' and 'Complaint-free coffee' Dutch, French, English HR, company culture & leadership; Resilience & wellbeing Read More Tom De Ruyck Speaker, Trainer, Workshops, Consultant Tom’s talks will challenge your thinking and spark your view on the future of business & customer experience in this dynamic and high-tech world. Dutch, English Sales, marketing & customer experience; HR, company culture & leadership; Read More Veerle Dobbelaere Speaker, Trainer, Workshops, Coach Human behaviour and emotions have no secrets for Veerle, since she masters them being an actress. As a professional certified coach she uses this experience to improve collaborators' well-being. Dutch Resilience & wellbeing Read More Isabel Verstraete Speaker, Workshops, Consultant Speaker, workshops, brand strategy expert, and author Dutch, French, English Business and Strategy; Sales, marketing & customer experience; HR, company culture & Leadership, The Post-Corona Future Read More Tom Dijckmans Speaker, Trainer, Coach, Workshops Labour Psychologist - 25yrs experience - passionated about human interactions on the workfloor Dutch HR, company culture & leadership; Resilience & wellbeing Read More Minke Tromp Speaker, Workshops Applied Philosopher, entrepreneur, author and speaker with a passion for connecting wisdom and impact from a philosophical/anthropological perspective to provide added value English, Dutch HR, company culture & leadership; Resilience & wellbeing; The Post-Corona Future; Read More Erwin Van den Brande Speaker, Workshops, Consultant, Moderator, Coach Advocate of paradoxes and oxymorons because they provide new insights Dutch, English Business and Strategy Read More Véronique De Prycker Speaker, Trainer, Coach, Workshops, Moderator, Consultant Helping B2B companies to close the gap between men & women and enhance the performance and impact of women through better leadership, communication, and networking Dutch, English Sales, marketing & customer experience; Resilience & wellbeing; HR, company culture & leadership Read More Dr. Audrey-Flore Ngomsik Speaker, Trainer, Consultant, Workshops TEDx speaker, named “most inspiring women in sustainability”, Audrey-Flore uses science to positively influence businesses to take actions to solve climate change challenges. French, English Climate, energy & sustainability; Business and strategy; Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Eddy Willems Speaker, Consultant Cyber Security Guru | Inspiring Speaker | Author #Cyberdanger | Security Researcher | Director | Security Evangelist at G DATA CyberDefense Dutch, English Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Leo van Woerden Speaker, Trainer, Coach, Consultant, Workshops Son of doctors, misdiagnosed with ADHD. Leo is a neuroscientist, speaker, coach, consultant and trainer. Giving neuroscience crash-courses using his drums. Dutch, English Resilience & wellbeing Read More Gil Nimmegeers Speaker Co-founder of Bothrs, Gil makes it possible for organizations to kick start and ship digital products in a matter of weeks. English, Dutch Technology, Transformation and Innovation Read More Brecht Van Craen & Quinten François Speaker, Trainer, Workshops, Consultancy Crypto and blockchain duo. Individually organizational psychologist & co-founder Digital Currency Accademy and best-selling author 'De Bitcoinrevolutie', crypto investor & influencer. Dutch, English Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Dominique Monami Speaker, Moderator, Host, Workshops World-famous athlete who has become a speaker and share the lesson-learned throughout her career French, Dutch, English Resilience & wellbeing Read More Bert Van Wassenhove Speaker, Moderator, Workshops Venture publisher guiding innovative and transformative concepts to become sustainable companies. Dutch, French, English Sales, marketing & customer experience; Business and strategy; Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Michael Houben Speaker, Trainer, Consultant, Workshops Helping you grow a Benchmark Team with inspiring talks and trainings on Knowledge Management, Time Management and Intercultural Cooperation. English, Dutch HR, company culture & leadership; Resilience & wellbeing Read More Elke Geraerts Speaker Keynote Speaker | Human Capital Expert | #1 Bestselling Author | Building the bridge between science and practice | Ptofessor I Doctor in Psychology Dutch, English Resilience & wellbeing Read More Marc Vael Speaker, Trainer, Consultant Security & Privacy Officer / Mentor / Author using real cases & solutions to simplify information protection Dutch, English, French Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Julie Heyvaert Speaker, Trainer, Consultant, Workshops Employee Engagement Architect. Julie’s mission is to drive for more human energy on the workfloor. Dutch, English, French HR, company culture & leadership Read More Luna Zegers Speaker, Host, Workshops Singer-composer, author and energetic speaker on loss, resilience, zest for life and inspiration Spanish, Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership; Resilience & wellbeing Read More Pieter Baert Speaker, Moderator, Host, Workshops, Consultant I'm always curious to ask the right questions Dutch, French, English Technology, transformation & innovation; Business and strategy; The Post-Corona Future; Sales, marketing & customer experience Read More Geert Martens Speaker, Consultant Consultant & hybrid experience creator. Soccer dad & petrol head. Dutch, French, English The Post-Corona Future; Sales, marketing & customer experience Read More Patrick De Pauw Speaker, Consultant CEO of Social Seeder. Employee advocacy expert. Dutch, French, English Sales, marketing & customer experience Read More Luc Van Imschoot Speaker Certified laughter yoga facilitator, certified laughter teacher and certified creative agog English, Dutch Resilience & wellbeing Read More Rik Vera Speaker, Consultant, Workshops International keynote speaker, coach, author and advisor on the impact of all things digital on society and business. Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership; The Post-Corona Future; Business and strategy Read More Richard van Hooijdonk Speaker Renowned trendwatcher and futurist and the man with several chip implants in his body. Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership; The Post-Corona Future; Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Jo Caudron Speaker, Workshops, Host, Moderator, Consultant Digital pioneer with a passion for transformation and strategy. Author, advisor and speaker. Dutch, English The Post-Corona Future Read More Inge van Belle Speaker, Trainer, Consultant Restless entrepreneur with corporate background in communication & sales. Dubai based Employee Engagement aficionada. Dutch, French, English Sales, marketing & customer experience; HR, company culture & leadership Read More Hermina Van Coillie Speaker, Workshops, Trainer, Coach, Consultant Hermina Van Coillie, Dr. in psychology, is a motivation expert, keynote speaker, lecturer in several HRM postgraduate courses, author, senior consultant and business manager at Flourish English, Dutch HR, company culture & leadership; Resilience & wellbeing Read More Johan Terryn Speaker, Moderator, Coach, Workshops, Host Media content creator & Soulpreneur, Speaker & Author on matters of the soul, creativity and positive thinking English, Dutch Resilience & wellbeing Read More Katja Schipperheijn Speaker, Workshops, Consultant Author, learning strategist and keynote speaker with a passion for continuous improvement through human-centred innovations that support learning Dutch, English Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Isabel De Clercq Speaker, Workshops, Host, Moderator, Consultant Author and speaker passionate about the pursuit of good and sustainable work practices French, English, Dutch Resilience & wellbeing; HR, company culture & leadership Read More Johan De Keyser Speaker, Moderator, Trainer, Coach, Workshops Expert on how to tackle toxic cultures by building dreamteams with powerful people in equivalent relationships. Author of 2 books and the first Humorologist of the BeNeLux. English, Dutch HR, company culture & leadership Read More Pieter Van Leugenhagen Speaker, Moderator, Host Pieter is a VR/AR & Metaverse Strategist - Keynote Speaker successfully venturing in XR for 8 years, working with national and international brands. Dutch, English Sales, marketing & customer experience; Business and strategy; Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Dado Van Peteghem Speaker, Workshops, Consultant Leading expert in the digital sector, frequent speaker, author and entrepreneur. English, Dutch Sales, marketing & customer experience; Business and strategy; Technology, transformation & innovation; HR, company culture & leadership Read More Joachim De Vos Speaker International keynote speaker, author, business owner/executive & professor foresight. Focus on future, technology, foresight, strategy and innovation and how to prepare your organization. English, Dutch The Post-Corona Future; Technology, transformation & innovation; Business and Strategy Read More Cyriel Kortleven Speaker, Workshops, Host, Moderator Boosting the Change Mindset and Simplifier Dutch, English Sales, marketing & customer experience; Business and strategy; Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Wim Smets Speaker, Workshops Digital business transformation executive, record holding mountaineer and adventurer, columnist and author Dutch, French, English HR, company culture & leadership; Business and strategy; Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Elke Jeurissen Speaker, Workshops, Consultant Entrepreneur, Community Builder (Inclusive Leaders Connect, Straffe Madammen, 72Hours Reload), co-author of 2 books, (step)mum of 5. Dutch, French, English HR, company culture & leadership Read More Elke Struys Speaker, Trainer, Consultant, Coach, Workshops Passionate about supporting other in being the best version of themselves, as a leader, intrapreneur,...a person...keeping it simple, yet effective English, Dutch Resilience & wellbeing; HR, company culture & leadership Read More Guido Everaert Speaker, Trainer, Moderator Storyteller, marketeer, writer. Likes to see things differently and comment on it. Dutch, French, English Sales, marketing & customer experience Read More Tony Crabbe Speaker, Workshops, Consultant Business Psychologist, and author of the global best-selling Busy (Nooit Meer te Druk) and Een Nieuw Begin English HR, company culture & leadership Read More Mariam Harutyunyan Speaker, Workshops, Consultant Diversity and inclusion advocate. It's time to start talking about your company's inclusion strategy from marketing to company culture. Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership Read More Kathleen Van den Berghe Speaker, Trainer, Consultant, Workshops Passionate entrepreneur in the wine and tourism industry Dutch, French, English Climate, energy & sustainability; HR, company culture & leadership; Sales, marketing & customer experience; Read More Dirk Schyvinck Speaker, Moderator Successful marketeer, sociologist and expert in longevity and aging. Dutch, French, English Resilience & wellbeing; Sales, marketing & customer experience; HR, company culture & leadership Read More Céline Malyster Moderator, Host, Speaker, Workshops Allow her to give your event a bit of oomph. Sharp-witted multilingual host and speaker. Dutch, English, French HR, company culture & leadership; Technology, transformation & innovation; The Post-Corona Future; Climate, energy & sustainability Read More Rik Moons Speaker, Trainer, Coach, Workshops Expert in communication, leadership and sales, author of 2 books Dutch, French Business and Strategy; HR, company culture & leadership; Sales, marketing & customer experience Read More Katrijn Steenbeke Speaker, Trainer, Coach, Workshops, Consultant Corporate Positivity Activist, addicted to the power of positive psychology. Experienced speaker, trainer, coach, with an international corporate background in a variety of markets. Dutch, English, French HR, company culture & leadership Read More Véronique Bockstal Speaker, Moderator, Trainer, Workshops, Coach Serial entrepreneur, scaling & fundraising coach, author 'De vrouw van 1 miljoen', lecturer marketing & entrepreneurship and researcher female entrepreneurship Dutch, English Sales, marketing & customer experience; Resilience & wellbeing; Business and strategy Read More Julie Brown Speaker Polar expedition coordinator and captivating storyteller, illuminating the parallels between polar expeditions and corporate challenges English, Dutch HR, company culture & leadership Read More Mahdi Brown Speaker, Trainer, Workshops, Coach Founder of the ỌKAN Journey, the Premium Anti-Burnout System designed for High-Performing Professionals to create an exceptional life beyond work English Resilience & wellbeing Read More Hilde Helsen Speaker, Workshops, Coach, Consultant Author, Public Speaker, Entrepreneur, Coach, Engineer, Networker, WHY girl #dreamerswhodo Dutch, French, English Business and Strategy, HE, company culture & leadership Read More Gella Vandecaveye speaker, workshops, coach Gella Vandecaveye, ex-judoka. Successfully combines top-level sport and higher studies in communication management/journalism, a paragon of willpower, perseverance and boundless ambition. Dutch, French, English mental resilience & wellbeing Read More Valérie Deridder Speaker, Moderator, Host Journalist at Knack with a passion for everything to do with technology and digital transformation Dutch, English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Persian Technology, transformation & innovation Read More Jochen Roef Speaker, Workshops, Consultant Firm believer in human machine collaboration and domain expert "AI in HR" Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership Read More Saartje Vandendriessche Speaker, Host, Workshops, Moderator, Coach Saartje makes sure everyone goes home with an energy boost french, English, Dutch Resilience & wellbeing Read More Henri Cnops Speaker, Trainer, Workshops, Coach Executive Mentor. Passionate Keynote Speaker with humor. Combines rational thinking with deep human behaviour knowledge. French, Dutch, English HR, company culture & leadership Read More

Do you want to change a certain habit or ensure that your team remains engaged during a change project in your organization? Several studies claim that about 70% of change projects fail. There are numerous reasons why these projects don't go as planned, including organizational structures and procedures, resistance to change among individuals, poor communication, or lacking the right leadership to facilitate the change. What I've observed is that many of these issues often boil down to three main problems: the projects being too large, too complex, or too vague. This holds true not only for large organizations but also for individuals endeavoring to alter their behavior. Understanding how our Brainflix works. I like to use the metaphor of Brainflix to explain the functioning of our unconscious brain. Much like the app Netflix, which offers a vast selection of movies and series, Brainflix represents a platform of habits, routines, and actions controlled by our unconscious mind, which has been running since birth. Our mind manages multiple programs simultaneously, handling tasks such as regulating heartbeat, processing emotions, and performing cognitive functions without our conscious awareness. The capabilities of our brain are truly astounding. While many of the programs running in our lives operate smoothly, our unconscious brain's efficiency in automating tasks can lead to unhealthy habits when outdated programs are at play. For instance, our evolutionary brain's preference for high-calorie foods no longer serves us well in societies with abundant processed foods, contributing to issues like obesity. Moreover, impulsive behaviors driven by immediate rewards can lead to financial recklessness, risky actions, or addictions. Too vague, too complex or too big. As human beings, we can consciously decide to change aspects of these behaviors, and it's entirely possible to cultivate new, healthier habits. However, if these changes are too vague, complex, or extensive, they often meet resistance. Many of our New Year's resolutions (and organizational change projects) fall into one or more of these categories. For example, stating "I want to live a healthier life" is vague, complex, and significant in scope. When changes are overly vague, complex, or significant, our unconscious brain tends to resist, resulting in a fight, flight, or freeze response, ultimately maintaining the status quo. While we may exert willpower to enforce a new habit temporarily, the automatic pull of old behaviors eventually takes over again. A simple strategy to address many of these challenges is to make changes—both personal habits and organizational changes—more specific, smooth, and small. Make it Specific A straightforward approach to initiating change is by asking yourself: Can I visualise the desired behaviour? If the answer is affirmative, it indicates that the change objective is sufficiently specific. For instance, if your organisation aims to prioritise sustainability, clarity is key in outlining the expected actions from employees. Simply stating a desire for sustainability lacks clarity; specifying actions like "reducing energy consumption" remains ambiguous. However, setting a clear expectation such as "every employee turning off lights & computers in the evening" can be easily depicted with a mental image, enhancing clarity and facilitating implementation. An intriguing perspective is to place trust in locals. Just as we rely on locals for restaurant recommendations while on vacation, we can extend the same trust to our employees. Encouraging them to articulate specific tasks and habits necessary for fostering a more sustainable, agile, or client-oriented organisation can yield valuable insights. For example, individuals in the accounting department may propose different actions compared to those in the sales team. Imagine providing employees with a personalised commitment list, allowing them to select five actions from a pool of fifteen potential ones. Such an approach not only empowers employees but also increases the likelihood of tangible, meaningful change taking root within the organisation. Make it Smooth Our unconscious brain tends to shy away from complexity, struggling to find a starting point and often succumbing to resistance. When it comes to change, there are three psychological resistances: reactance (a need for autonomy), skepticism (a need for security), and inertia (a need for energy). Acknowledging and understanding these resistances allows us to proactively consider how to positively influence these factors. It's essential to recognize that our brains naturally gravitate towards simplicity and autonomy, yet they resist change due to ingrained psychological tendencies such as the need for autonomy, security, and energy. By acknowledging these resistances upfront, we can develop strategies to address them effectively, paving the way for smoother transitions. For instance, to enhance customer and employee satisfaction, empowering frontline employees with a client budget allows them autonomy in addressing client needs. The Ritz Carlton exemplifies this by allocating a "Wow" budget of $2000 per client, enabling employees to decide how to address client challenges independently. This approach not only increases employee satisfaction by giving them autonomy but also enhances customer experiences as employees can respond to individual needs promptly and creatively. While providing employees with increased security may not always be feasible due to rapid changes, embracing humility as a leader and involving employees in decision-making can be an effective strategy. Creating a platform for employees to express concerns and focusing collectively on solutions rather than problems fosters a culture of engagement and empowerment. By acknowledging that leaders don't have all the answers and encouraging open dialogue, organizations can tap into the collective intelligence of their teams to navigate uncertainty and drive positive change. Moreover, when individuals understand their tasks and harbor no concerns yet fail to act, nudging them in the right direction can be beneficial. Nudging involves subtly influencing behavior or decision-making without impeding freedom of choice. For example, altering default options in a meeting reservation system to 45 minutes instead of an hour resulted in 80% of meetings adhering to the shorter timeframe, fostering a more positive organizational atmosphere with time for interpersonal connections. This demonstrates how small changes in default options can lead to significant shifts in behavior, ultimately contributing to a more productive and cohesive work environment. Make it Small When a change project looms large, individuals often feel overwhelmed, resorting to familiar habits to avoid the stress of where to begin. This pattern is mirrored in organisations, where grand ideas lead to extensive planning, meetings, reports, and expanding initiatives. The antidote? Embrace small experiments. Why experiments? Because, in experimenting, the focus is on the process, not the outcome. The goal is to discover which processes best foster lasting habits. Actions should also be small—super small. Conditions for small actions: cost less than one euro, completed within five minutes, and started within 24 hours. If these conditions aren't met, it's likely still too ambitious. While having big dreams is commendable, the key is to take small, manageable steps. The journey toward a goal is composed of numerous small steps, sometimes with ups and downs. Celebrate small successes along the way. Enjoy the process, and acknowledge your achievements, even those from the past, as a source of energy for current endeavours. Consistency in small daily actions trumps sporadic intensity. James Clear's quote, "Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to be," underscores the power of identity in habit formation. Small steps connect you to a desired identity, reinforcing habits. Consistency in small actions aligns with the brain's programming, creating a chain reaction of positive habits. For instance, incorporating a daily five-minute walk may influence healthier lunch choices, illustrating how one small experiment can trigger a cascade of positive changes. Embrace the power of small experiments for lasting transformation. We hope that these three principles can help you to increase the success rate of your change projects - personal behaviour or organisational change projects. If you want to dive deeper into this topic, Cyriel Kortleven - the author of this post - has a very insightful keynote on this topic.

Blogpost by Isabel De Clercq. Last week I came across the following visual on LinkedIn. Visual material always makes the grade on social media. So do decision trees. But I’m going to be honest with you: Decision trees deeply annoy me. They simplify things! The elegantly styled tree is telling us one thing: we are all idiots; just follow the arrows and hocus pocus problem solved. What the drawing of the tree isn’t telling us is the quality of the soil feeding it. That soil often oozes pestilential elements. I see three of them: Toxic element number 1: we confuse being together with value-creating collaboration. Bringing people together does not always guarantee true, productive collaboration. Do the following situations sound familiar? Decisions need to be made in the meeting. The person entitled to take decisions is absent. The meeting is used to push a great deal of information to a large number of people. Participants have put themselves on mute and are happily tapping away on their mobile phones. The meeting was meant to be a brainstorm. It is immediately hijacked by the more extravert and those higher in rank. Well, there is no decision tree that can compete with that. Toxic element number 2: macho-behaviour. Careful, also manifested in people with breasts. Some organisations worship a culture of secrecy: meeting marathons where power is exhibited, preferably around a physical table. To be allowed to attend these meetings = to get information first hand = to be important. Well, there is no decision tree that can compete with that. Toxic element number 3: chaos. What if work processes are not clearly defined in your organisation? What if it is not clear who is allowed to make decisions? What if there is doubt about when to throw a task over the wall for someone else? What if there has been no clear agreement about who can determine when something is good enough? Or, what if the information that people need isn’t clearly structured? Well, there is no decision tree that can compete with that. Being constantly available for one another. Always having to ask other colleagues questions to be able to do your job. In my opinion, this does not portray a sense of togetherness or of a strong culture. It is rather a symptom of badly organised work – of carelessly structured information and knowledge – a small heap insipidly held together by 4 walls. Decision trees are handkerchiefs for the bleeding. They just shush the symptoms. In my workshops and keynote speeches I invite participants to dig deeper. To grab the roots of evil with two firm hands. I then put them to work, together with the team, on the basis of strong statements and assignments. Some examples: Meetings are intrusive moments. They veer us away from the real work. That real work: what is that exactly? Make a list individually and with the team. Which meetings in the past weeks were scheduled because our work processes are not defined clearly enough? What should be done to clarify those work processes? Which meetings were scheduled because the information colleagues needed was nowhere to be found? Do you want to grab the evil in meetings by the roots? Don’t hang around in decision trees. Dare to look down at what lies in the ground. And I will gladly guide you along the way.

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.