How your leaders behave is your culture.
Twenty-five years writing the stories companies tell. These days I work on the ones they live.
Hello. I’m Ben.
British by birth, Dutch by twenty-odd years, home in Utrecht.
My company
Single Session Coaching
One session that finds the reflex keeping a leader stuck, and clears it.
Creative Portfolio
Films, campaigns and stories I’ve conceived, written and directed, for brands from Heineken to Denham. See the portfolio →
Substack series
ENCODED
The patterns organisations repeat without seeing them.
Read on Substack →Substack series · complete
Signal
Seven chapters on the intelligence that arrives before words.
Essay · how patterns form
The Limp
Sprain an ankle and the limp outlives the injury. Organisations do the same.
ING
What’s next?
Purpose · Event · Story · Film
Watch →
Akzo Nobel
How can we bring our Code of Conduct to life?
Internal campaign · Design · Film
Watch →Nutreco · the narrative
The story was written about a baby girl.
One narrative for everyone from board members to Peruvian fishermen.
Rooms I’ve been in
ABN AMRO / ACTION / Aegon / Akzo Nobel / ASML / Cognizant / Denham / dsm-firmenich / Dura Vermeer / Edwards Lifesciences / Flow Traders / Heineken / ING / JLL / KPMG / Landal / Mammoet / Nestlé / NS / Nutreco / OLX / Philips / PostNL / Randstad / Recordati / Signify / SITA / Smart Photonics / Tata Steel / TomTom / VodafoneZiggo / Wageningen University & Research
Cognizant · a merger
On paper, everything was going smoothly.
But something wasn’t clicking under the surface.
ASML
A new team language.
Essay · living systems
The ants don’t get wiser. The colony does.
dsm-firmenich
Making good endings.
Off-boarding · Employer brand
See it →Heineken
Can you help us see employee engagement in a new way, and work with our people as content creators?
Internal branding · Online · Film · Design
Watch →Nutreco
Why do we exist?
Purpose · EVP · Employer brand
See it →Signify
With the Leadership Circle CLA
What is leadership doing to our culture?
Reading the culture first, then the impact leadership was having on it.
He can hold the room in the palm of his hand.
EACD, European Association of Communication Directors
Workshops
Serious Play
Trained LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator. We build the problem in bricks, then everyone can see it.
Essay · hidden structure
The org chart on the wall isn’t the one that runs the company.
A short story
What Mr Smith Saw.
The decision everyone in the boardroom wanted and no one would make.
Wageningen University & Research
A new purpose and story.
Mammoet
A team identity and strategy.
Essay · founders
The founder who can’t stop doing the work.
Denham the Jeanmaker
What does the truth is in the detail look like as a brand film?
Brand film · Directed by Gijs Veerhoek
Watch →
ACTION
What is the essence and purpose of our business?
Purpose · EVP · Film
Watch →KPMG
What is our new strategy, and how do we connect people with it?
Internal campaign · Film
Watch →Essay · the Nokia story
Built you.Breaks you.
Why the thing that built your company is now breaking it.
He has authentic empathy in all he does and is a joy to work with. Simply one of the very best.
Rene Carayol MBE
Global Leadership Advisor & CEO
Ben has helped us capture the essence of who we are…
Rob Koremans, CEO, Recordati
Recordati
A new purpose for a global healthcare leader.
SMART Photonics · scale-up
A scale-up’s purpose and strategy, made simple.
Aegon
Bringing a future-fit strategy to life.
Purpose · Internal campaign · Film
Watch →NS · with Fæbric
Thirty teams. Commerce and IT. One organisation.
JLL
How can we help our people connect to the new strategy?
Purpose · Internal campaign · Film
Watch →Dura Vermeer & OLX
How do we attract and retain top talent?
Two clients. Same question.
Watch →
PostNL
What is our story, and how do we bring it to life?
Purpose · Script · Film
Watch →Essay · how behaviour spreads
Nobody learned to speak from a book.
SSC case story · one session
How Kath Clarke unstuck her agency, her leadership and her home life.
ABN AMRO CIB · with the CEO
A vision for banking and sustainability.
Listen
Art and Science of Influence
Guest on Gerald’s podcast, on how a creative director ended up in behaviour change.
HEINEKEN
The Green Room
An online hub that equips employees to talk confidently about the business.
Aegon & Transamerica
What does the world need from a brand like Aegon?
Purpose · Story · Responsible business
Read →One story · five countries
Opening up space.
One narrative for a business being rebuilt around a new centre.
Behind the Scenes
Get on the list.
One short story every couple of weeks about patterns, leadership and what lies beneath the surface.