Hello again, it’s been a while! 👋
Hello again!
It’s been a while.
Because what a few months it has been. What felt like a big sprint – or rather, a marathon – towards the end of the year, left me both mentally and emotionally drained. But after a few weeks of some well needed rest, I’m back.
From now on, you can expect newsletters again, about putting humanity back at the center of teams and organizations. I’ve got a few editions lined up already, so stay tuned.
But first, here’s a quick recap of everything that happened over the past months. In case you don’t talk Dutch. 😉
After three years, what started as an idea turned into a publishing deal with Business Contact, from the first scattered paragraphs in Google Docs to a nearly 200-page manuscript. Zo werkt de mens—or How Humans Work in English—was finally released in early November. Seeing my book on bookstore shelves in different cities was an incredible moment.
Then came the book presentation, hosted by Merlijn Mazairac. The event featured moving presentations: Mo Allach (Technical Director of Dutch football club RKC Waalwijk) spoke about the importance of understanding each football player’s history to make them feel good and thrive. Marlies de Vries (Professor Accountancy at Nyenrode Business University) shared insights on why rules in organizations often fail (spoiler: because of people doing something else than asked). And Splinter Dijkstra (Way of Working Coach at bol, the Netherlands’ largest online retailer) explained how they operate through self-organization, inspired by Holacracy principles.
I wrapped up the evening by reading the first paragraphs of the introduction—stay tuned for an upcoming newsletter where I’ll share them with you. Then, I had the honor of giving the first copy to my parents, to thank them for always supporting me in whatever I do.
It felt amazing to finally share what I’ve been working on for the past three years. And also to explain why I’ve been a little less present and slower to reply to WhatsApp messages these past months. 🫠
The book launch got great media coverage for a first-time author. I was interviewed on Dutch National Radio, The Financial Daily Newspaper published multiple reviews, it was featured in a national newspaper’s newsletter, together with some online reviews here and there. And more podcasts and articles are on their way. I’ll Keep you posted.
As I mentioned earlier, from now on, you can expect a weekly newsletter about putting humanity back at the center of teams and organizations. In the meantime, feel free to browse the archive of 10+ past newsletters.
Stay tuned,
Marc
Enjoy the newsletter?
👍 Like and subscribe to this newsletter.
📕 Order Zo werkt de mens (in Dutch).
💬 Tell your colleague at the coffee machine or forward it to your manager.
🗄️ Dive into my newsletter archive of 10+ newsletters.
👀 Explore how AVEC helps organizations create human-centred cultures.
🇳🇱 Wil je de Nederlandse nieuwsbrief lezen? Abonneer je hier!