‘Our meeting rooms fit a maximum of 8 participants.’ I was being guided through the new headquarters of a major bank. Of course the design of the brand new offices showed the decency and the wealth you may expect from a conservative institution as a bank. But I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot […]
Cyriel Kortleven is a much sough-after speaker at conferences and meetings. Through is enthusiastic and playful attitude to life, he creates an open and informal atmosphere. ‘Less is Beautiful’ is his fourth book in which he invites professionals to look for ways to gain more with less efforts. I met Cyriel several times and every […]
Most meetings are an energy drain. Everyone working for or with a big organisation knows that. So I often get clients that would like to see their meetings improved. – Why do you want to improve your meetings? – Well, says the client, I’d love to see people engaging in the topic instead of […]
Since Zappos decided to turn into a holacracy, we definitely have a hype around boss free companies. Not that ‘boss free’ companies are new, but that a well-known brand and big company is taking up the challenge is definitely worth noticing. ‘Boss free’ is an answer to the problems of bureaucracy, which in the […]
Richard Hames is a corporate philosopher and knowledge designer. He is one of the most influential strategic foresight practitioners currently around. I had the chance to experience Richard’s wit, intelligence and sharpness in projecting the future of our world and its consequences for society, business and government. Richard is an acclaimed writer and speaker and […]
Meetings are all about communication. Without communication, the meeting would cease to exist. The word ‘communication’ has a Latin origin of which the root is mun- (not uni-). The Latin munus has to do with gifts or duties offered publicly. In ancient Rome, the communicatio generally involved tangible goods. The word has then evolved […]
Navi Radjou is co-author of the bestseller Jugaad Innovation, in which he explains how emerging economies are innovating frugally by clever improvisation. Filled with many examples, Navi Radjou and his colleagues show that frugal innovation is flourishing in emerging countries. Think low-cost, high quality and affordable solutions in health care, energy, communications etcetera. Jugaad Innovation […]
In some settings groups are unable to reach consensus and decisions. If the exchange of ideas has stalled and if all point of views are clear, then change settings towards a cosy and warm atmosphere. Location: a normal meeting room ‘I don’t understand why you aren’t giving us the information!’ I had lost count […]
Keith Sawyer is one of the world’s leading scholars on creativity. He is author of the bestseller ‘Group Genius’ that focusses on group creativity. He has just released his new book ‘Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity’ in which he shows that the creative process is not and should not be approached as […]
About you
You're leading a team. And you hold meetings; regular ones, occasional ones.
Meetings consume valuable time so you want to get the most out of them. You want them to energize the participants, develop your team and help you achieve your change or innovation.
About Ruben
I'm Ruben van der Laan and I'm here to make your team flow.
I coach, (re)design and lead your meetings unleashing creativity, building teams and organising expediency.
