My first year of being self-employed is almost over. Time for a quick glance over the shoulder to review 2019 and then focus on the road ahead for 2020.

In January of 2019 I started my own company with a clear mission and vision to foster a lifelong learning for everyone at their own level. I want to thank my early on supporters and customers for the faith they showed in me by giving me the opportunity to work on this. In 2019 I also was lucky to encounter Management Drives, about which I wrote a few blogs already. Next to the amazing toolset they deliver to the world, the team of people working there have been amazing in supporting me. All is set in order to hit the ground running using Management Drives effectively in 2020 to help individuals, groups, teams and organizations with the great insights that can be derived from the survey.

My most valuable insight I take away from 2019 into the future, came on the evening of the 29^th of December, reading my son a bedtime story. I was reading him from a Dutch book that was titled “Waarom Achtbanen Te Gek Zijn” (Why Rollercoaster are amazing). This book is filled with fun facts and stories about our brain and our behavior. The story that caught my attention was called; “Why you want the latest smartphone”. The moral of the story was that everyone wanted to fit in, and therefore had to adapt, and find something that connects us. Not so we can all be the same person, but so we can feel a sense of belonging, safety and utilize our talents to help the group forward.

This story connected my insights of the year and is exactly what I feel is needed in this day and age. We have become more and more individualistic and focused on what differentiates people. It’s more important so it seems to call out the differences then to find out what is connecting us. And in my opinion that connection is exactly what we need to maximize the use of our individual talents. But to do so we need to create understanding and respect for the differences we have. Understanding what drives people and appreciate and seek the value in these different views at the world. Only when these views are recognized and give them a place in the cooperation with others, we can start excelling with the variety of talents we hold.

This will be my 2020 ambition. To help people finding the way to start recognizing and appreciating each other’s drives, so they can truly start working more effectively, efficiently together and start to use their talents. Of course, the Management Drives survey and tools will be a great start of this conversation. If you feel inspired to make 2020 a year of connection and talent, contact us!

For now, enjoy the holidays and I wish you a great start of 2020!

Happy New Year!