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< back How to Stay Human in the Age of AI Where will be the value of humans in the workplace of the future? More detailed information As AI increasingly replaces humans due to cost efficiency, and the lack of meaning at work impacts well-being and productivity, striking a balance between technology and humanity becomes crucial for organizational prosperity. The shift away from Cartesian-Newtonian paradigms necessitates a reevaluation of how we integrate technology while preserving our humanity. With AI capable of reprogramming genes and rising rates of burnout and depression, it's imperative to reintroduce human elements into enterprises and organizations. How do we retain our humanity while embracing living systems AI? How can we align leadership, business, and innovation with sustainable practices that benefit our lives, planet, and future generations? Visionary, compassionate leadership is essential, recognizing both the evolution of technology and our intrinsic human capabilities. Designing systems prioritizing sustainability and embracing principles of symbiosis, diversity, and regeneration is paramount. The entire organizational ecosystem, including shareholders, leaders, and employees, plays a crucial role in shaping a prosperous future of work. Rudy offers a unique perspective, blending expertise and real-world examples to guide audiences in transforming their thinking and actions. Tailored presentations and executive workshops can be booked including tools such as Socratic Dialogue and Energy Balance Workshops to co-create the future of organizations. Book Rudy now for an engaging session that ignites your team's potential, fostering creativity and trust as you navigate the complexities of the future with insight and innovation. Request a quote Submit About Rudy’s mission is to create talks, workshops, learning programs and experiences, to facilitate innovation and transformation in the fields of leadership and company culture, ethical technology, and regenerative economics. His work puts the focus on responsible, compassionate, and courageous leadership to address today’s complex societal and business challenges, based on personal development, purposeful action, and the community / collective, in service to life, and for all generations to come. He uses art, technology, music, meditation, ancient cultural wisdom, and personal transformation techniques to raise consciousness and guide people to become the best version of themselves leaving centuries-old patriarchal and ego-centred thinking behind. Rudy graduated from Singularity University in 2011, the Socratic Design Academy in 2016, and the Bio-Leadership Project in 2023. Through these diverse learning programs and keeping an endless curiosity in human development, he has gathered rare and unique sentience to understand the future from the past and mould a unique essential vision to lead today. His unparalleled experience, knowledge, and insight propels you to stay ahead of the curve. His book “Shift 2020 – How Technology Will Impact Our Future”, released early in 2014, includes visionary and impactful predictions from some of the world’s leading technology experts and presents still today a rare prescience in a notoriously unpredictable landscape. He has helped diverse global brands such as ABN AMRO, Adobe, Baloise, Bayer, Boston Consulting Group, BMW, Cap Gemini, Coca-Cola, FedEx, Fujitsu, Google, IBM, Intel, Intesa Sanpaolo, Investcorp, KPMG, Louis Vuitton, Mastercard, Microsoft, NEC, Orange, PayPal, Pfizer, Royal Bank of Canada, Samsung, Telefonica, Vodafone and World Bank. Rudy de Waele Keynote speaker inspiring leaders with innovative and collaborative learning methods and tools to transform your leadership and teams.

Our Female Speakers Welcome to our inspiring webpage dedicated to the powerful voices taking center stage! Explore the impressive lineup of female speakers, moderators and hosts, curated by a dynamic duo of visionary women who lead our speakers bureau. Discover the diversity and expertise these women's keynotes, sharing their stories, knowledge, and insights. Immerse yourself in a world of empowerment, innovation, and inspiration crafted by two female entrepreneurs who understand the impact of speaking. Join us in celebrating extraordinary women making a difference in the world of speaking and on stage! Ann De Bisschop Speaker, Consultant The first Wellbeing Director in Belgium :-), Author of 3 books, Keynote speaker & Wellbeing consultant Dutch, French, English Wellbeing, Happy and Healthy Employees, Work-life, Human Capital Read More Tamara Makoni Speaker, Trainer, Workshops, Consultant Inclusion & culture expert who helps leaders use diversity to catalyse innovation and growth English inclusion, diversity, inclusive leadership, innovation, culture, talent, communication 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 HQ-motivation, Engagement, Trust, Psychological Safety 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 Hybrid Working, Future of Work 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 Positivism, Stress, Burn-out Read More Isabel Verstraete Speaker, Workshops, Consultant Speaker, workshops, brand strategy expert, and author Dutch, French, English Future Brand Strategy, Repositioning, Collaboration, agility, Care for the Planet, The Care Prinicples, CSR, ESG strategy 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 leadership in balance, human-centric transformation, resilient teams 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 Food, textile, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, sustainability, link between corporate sustainability and diversity, equity & inclusion, sustainable leadership, green innovation, pollution, cultural fit, D&I, corporate social responsibility 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, Leadership, Self-Surpassing, Crisis Management Read More Inge van Belle Speaker, Trainer, Consultant Restless entrepreneur with corporate background in communication & sales. Dubai based Employee Engagement aficionada. Dutch, French, English Employee Engagement, Employee Experience 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 authentic voice, true vocal nature, harmony Read More Anja Cappelle Trainer, Speaker, Workshops, Coach, Consultant Digital pioneer with a passion for leadership, sales and intrapreneurship Dutch, English ​ 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 Intrapreneurship, company culture, future skills 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 philosophy, leadership, art of questioning Read More Charlotte De Metsenaere Trainer, Moderator, Speaker, Workshops, Host Communication expert, international improvisational theater teacher and public speaking coach Dutch, French, English Theater, Humor, Teambuilding, Feedback, Communication, Improvisation, Fun 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 Diversity & Inclusion, Inclusive marketing, Inclusive workplace, Diversity, New generation 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 AI, Innovation, Transformation, Engagement, Communication, Community Building, Hybrid Working, Leadership 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 Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Machine Learning, Human Computation, Ethics, Diversity, Neuroscience, Cognitive Marketing, Business Development, Lifelong Learning 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 Artificial Intelligence, Metaverse, Learning, Employee Engagement, Human - Machine Symbiosis Read More Florence Pérès Speaker, Workshops Author, enthusiastic speaker and expert in coping with change, adaptive resilience, digital balance and focus. Dutch, French, English Digital Balance, Digital Detox, Focus, Mental Resilience, Change, Coping with change, Adaptive Resilience 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 Breathing, Meditation, Presentation Skills, Team Coaching 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 Diversity & Inclusion, Inclusive leadership 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 Offline and online networking, Impact, Self-mastery, Leadership, Gender Equality Read More Kathleen Van den Berghe Speaker, Trainer, Consultant, Workshops Passionate entrepreneur in the wine and tourism industry Dutch, French, English Wine industry, Sustainability, Wine tasting, Values and Leadership, Wine education Read More load more speakers

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.

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/