SIGHT GEIST ••
ANDREA WIEGMAN Editor in Chief Network Enabler
JUST JOIN
JAN BLETZ Editor in Chief Writer - Journalist
In this issue we present many practical examples of businesses and their trend implementations.
Real life cases dominate this issue of Second Sight. From small, sympathetic cases like One Globe Kids (that gathers and publishes children stories from all over the world) to appealing success stories such as that of Groupon. Groupon is a company that renewed the model of the less successful Letsbuyit.com and within no time became the fastest growing company in the world. From the experimental 3D clothing design of Iris van Herpen to the carefully planned introduction of 'The New World of Work' by Microsoft. From sustainability initiatives (the meat substitutes of the vegetarian butcher, the fight against waste following the method of Goodmorning Technology) to the high tech applications like Layar, Spotify and The Factory of the Future. In other words, in this issue many entrepreneurs will present who took the road from trend to trend implementation. In order to get a full picture of their experiences with implementing trends, bureau Ruigrok | NetPanel has been commissioned by Second Sight to do research on this topic. This shows that the rise of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media is the most important trend. And that the businesses respond to this, mostly by adjusting their services and products, or carrying through with changes to their external communications. To what extent can all trend implementations be placed
under one denominator? Are they different for example than the trend implementations from say five years ago? In other words, do we see a certain 'trend in trend implementations'? These questions are dealt with by Reinier Evers, expert par excellence, who with his company Spingwise.com collects and inventories recent development inplementations. In the interview with Evers various trends in trend implementations come up for discussion. The most important trend: the rise of online-concepts. In short, the rise of social media is the trend of the moment and trend implementation is often an online concept. It is not too bold a statement to say that this will continue for the time being. Because, as shown in the interview with Evers, more and more innovations are coming from emerging economies. Next to that international cooperation between entrepreneurial providers are also growing strongly. And how as a company can you better serve your clients all over the world and work together than through social media? foR companies that have not implemented this tRend yet: just join!
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CONTENTS ••
THE FUTURE OF YOUR BRAND
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FREE YOUR MINDSET
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'MUcH OF MY wORk cAME ABOUT DUE TO BOREDOM' 110 Cover Image: kozumel flickr.com/photos/kozumel/
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SIGHT THINGS
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cOLOPHON
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OPEN! •• SANNY ZUIDERVELD
ONE GLOBE kIDS
TREND IMPLEMENTATION •• TRENDSACTIVE
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INSIGHT •• HILDE ROOTHART (TRENDSLATOR)
THE FUTURE OF YOUR BRAND
TREND IMPLEMENTATION •• SECOND SIGHT
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INTERVIEW •• REINIER EVERS (SPRINGWISE.COM)
'IT'S NOT THAT DIFFIcULT TO IMPLEMENT A TREND' (SIMPLE)
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FUTURE SIGHT•• JORIS HOLTUS /JAMES VEENHOF
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INTERVIEW •• MARJA RUIGROK (RUIGROK | NETPANEL)
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TREND IMPLEMENTATION •• CHRISTINE BOLAND
FREE YOUR MINDSET
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TREND IMPLEMENTATION •• ANDREIA ROCHA
ENGAGE,SYNTHESIZE, REDUcE, SAVE
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INTERVIEW •• FARID TABARKI
cONFUSING cITIZEN/cONSUMERS
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VIEW •• GUIDO VAN DE WIEL AND EDWIN DE BREE
ORGANISATION 3.0: UNMANAGE
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TREND IMPLEMENTATION •• RONALD VAN DEN HOFF
THE FUTURE ORGANISATION NOw
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INTERVIEW •• LARS VEUL (GROUPON)
GROUPON IS NOT JUST A DIScOUNTER
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PARTIcIPATION IS THE FUTURE OF RESEARcH
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TREND IMPLEMENTATION •• ERIK VOS (GOTANIDEA.NL)
FAVOURITE TREND IMPLEMENTATIONS
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FUTURE SIGHT•• MAURITS KREIJVELD (STT)
REDESIGNING GOVERNMENT
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TREND IMPLEMENTATION •• BOB VAN LEEUWEN (INTERPOLIS)
PLATFORM FOR SAFER NEIGHBOURHOOD 106 INTERVIEW •• IRIS VAN HERPEN)
BORED DRESS
110
THE ART OF FAILING BRILLIANTLY
114
GREEN OASIS AT ScHIPHOL
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INTERVIEW •• SASKIA NIJS (MICROSOFT)
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TREND IMPLEMENTATION •• MAARTEN VEERMAN (WITTEVEEN+BOS)
THE FAcTORY OF THE FUTURE
BEYOND THE SwAN
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TREND IMPLEMENTATION •• MARYAN BROUWER (SCHIPHOL
TREND IMPLEMENTATION •• BLOEI
FAVOURITE TREND IMPLEMENTATIONS
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VIEW •• JASPAR ROOS & THOMAS VERHAGEN
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FUTURE SIGHT•• EVERT JAN VAN HASSELT (DOLFIJN ADVIES)
THE NEXT GENERATION BANk (2)
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FUTURE SIGHT•• KWELA SABINE HERMANNS
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KNOWLEDGE BANK •• ERIK JAN BOLSIUS (RABOBANK)
cOOP: IMPLEMENTING TOGETHER
FROM HEDONISM TO He¯DONe¯ PEOPLE OF THE DATA AGE
PORTRAIT •• LARS THOMSEN (GOODMORNING TECHNOLOGY)
BATTLING wASTE BY DESIGN
FAVOURITE TREND IMPLEMENTATIONS VIEW••TRUUS DOKTER
RESEARCH •• SANNE KEMPERS & CECILIA KEUCHENIUS
TREND IMPLEMENTATIONS, ABOVE ALL A MATTER OF FEELING
TRENDS ARE USELESS 76 UNLESS...
wORkING AT A NEw wORLD OF wORk
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TREND IMPLEMENTATION •• MARLIES DE GOOIJER (BVH)
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FAVOURITE TREND IMPLEMENTATIONS
124
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I WOULDN'T EVER WANT TO DO ANYTHING TRADITIONAL
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Photoxpress
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INTERVIEW •• REINIER EVERS (SPRINGWISE.COM)
REINIER EVERS is primarily known as the founder of Trendwatching.com, a site that keeps track of all kinds of consumer trends. But he is also involved in the development of the ‘sister’ site Springwise.
IMPLEMENTING TRENDS CANNOT BE OUTSOURCED If you don’t master it as company you really have a problem.
SIMPLE ‘IT’S NOT THAT DIFFICULT TO IMPLEMENT A TREND’
the idea behind spRingwise is veRy simple. It is a site that keeps track, since 2002, of new products and services just brought to the market. More than three thousand business ideas can currently be found on the site. What they have in common is that they have been actually executed – mostly via starting companies – that they are aimed at consumers and that they could potentially be successful worldwide. The goal is to offer ‘a dose of inspiration to other entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs’ says founder Reinier Evers. “And eventually they can copy an idea that they like in their own country or decide to start working together with the company that initiated the idea.” The daily and weekly news letters from Springwise.com reach 150,000 subscribers, the site itself has 20,000 visitors per day. The income from the free entry site is mainly generated by advertisements, but there are ambitious expansion
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plans. Evers is thinking for example of events, LinkedInstyle network activities, syndication of content of the site (which is not completely new for Springwise as they have organized in the past a section for EasyJet’s inflight magazine), connect investors with new business and maybe even supply private equity to start-up companies via Springwise Ventures. “We would probably take a small interest in those companies. I don t understand why venture capitalists often wants a majority holding. In these days of online entrepreneurship it is hard to justify: as an investor it doesn't take a lot to help an entrepreneur. It is much easier than before – and that is why the percentage can be lowered.” An unconventional view? Perhaps, but not surprising: “I also wouldn’t ever want to do anything traditional”, states Evers. Springwise works worldwide with approximately 10.000 ‘spotters’, acting as the ‘eyes and ears’ of Springwise.
They deliver all kinds of ‘cases’ in exchange for management books, i-Phones and other gadgets. The editors of Springwise draft these cases and classify them by country, market segment and date. The role of spotters has changed in the last years, says Evers. “Eight years ago blogs where nowhere to be found, and not every new business had its own site. We received mainly first hand observations through our spotters. Now everyone tweets and blogs and pretty much every business has a website in English. Our spotters increasingly supply us with cases found directly on internet. A spotter of ours in Uruguay can for example follow a tweet from somebody in Turkey and detect a nice business concept in Istanbul.”
'Scoops' Also the site itself is subject to change. The database has become more important due to the influx of ideas and in the near future the site will be adjusted to allow easier access to the database. Scoops also will get more important, expects Evers. “On the internet it is of course very easy to take over each other’s information. It is difficult to distinguish yourself as a site. But if you’re the first to bring out the information, peoples curiosity will be stimulated and that triggers them hopefully to keep visiting your website.” We might also include interviews with founders of businesses online, perhaps accompanied with videos, and we will create more national editions of the site and newsletters. Whereas everything on Springwise is in English, in the near future we will come out with editions in Chinese and German.” Next to that Springwise is probably going to publish success stories on the site. “Something that we should have had done years ago” , says Evers. “It is of course a perfect free service to provide. We constantly get emails from companies that found an idea on our site and have started their company based on it. I meet people all over the world who are using ideas from our site whether they are in need of them or have to give a presentation. Some companies consider themselves almost as victims of our success: we get mails from businesses with the request to take them off the site, because they can’ t handle the
attraction.” He adds to this: “If your ideas are brilliant, you are being forced by a site such as Springwise to i nternationalize, if you weren’t already doing that.” Springwise encourages the current Schumpeterian ‘creative destruction’ in which new, international oriented companies take the lead over companies that are unable to perform on the international market. I applaud this: the consumer will only benefit from this in the end.”
The Spot Canon Nonetheless the fact that the trend implementations – and that is how you can call the businesses on Springwise – differ strongly from each other, it is very clear that online innovations dominate the last years. “That makes sense, because it is easy to start something online. In the beginning of Springwise we were worried now and again that good business ideas would dry up. Within the year, however, we were afraid that we couldn’t keep track of all the innovations. Now we don’t even strive for completeness: if we wanted, we could, for example, put 30 new apps on the site every day. We are not going to do that, we want to present an attractive and inspiring selection. Our quality standards remain high: the products and services have to be completely unique, have to have real global potential and if possible, be interesting for various sectors.” Beside the rise of online concepts, Evers notices that more and more innovations come from the rising economies. “Take Brazil, many new household articles come from that country. Just recently we added a Brazilian business to the site that offers a ‘spot canon’ for everybody that buys a washing machine. Very often Brazilian products are designed very nice and sustainable.” A third ‘trend in trend implementations’ is international cooperation between suppliers. A 21 year old Korean boy, a 21 year old Chinese boy en a 21 year old Mexican being at a distance from each other were able to produce a very nice utility product: you will see more of that kind of collaboration in the near future.”
BECAUSE OF US THE WORLD IS GETTING SMALLER AND CLEARER 17
Self help Springwise itself is also a trend implementation. Evers – now in his role of founder of Trendwatching.com – sums up a couple of trends on which Springwise is anticipating. “Crowd sourcing”, for starters. We were one of the first who made use of this. The upcoming trend of citizen journalism, of course we anticipate on that. The new way of working - we are using it gratefully: for some of our spotters the work they do is almost like a job, but they have no contract and they are in no way using our office. Giving away free information obviously also fits in a trend that has come about over the last years. Especially in the trend world until not so long ago it was unthinkable that you would give away information. Faith Popcorn didn’t give anything away. Well, maybe a book to those who attended one of their sessions, for which the organizer had paid a 100.000 dollar to them. We are also part of the globalization wave off the last years: our information comes from the furthest corners of the world and are being spread out over globe. Because of us the world is getting smaller and clearer. Differently formulated: Springwise promotes trend implementations by offering information and inspiration, under the banner of ‘lead by good example’. Evers won’t go further. We were once in touch with a company that wanted to hire us to spot all the trends and to set up an internal unit to implement trends. We wouldn’t go there. You cannot outsource everything, certainly not trend implementations. Look at companies that are successfully anticipating on trends, from the big companies like Apple to the small ones like the ones that you find in the Springwise database. They think deeply about how consumers change. It’s an obsession for them to see how they can serve their clients better. We can give the information to them that support that. But for the rest, they really have do it themselves. By the way, it’s not that difficult to implement trends. How did all these businesses get into the database of Springwise? If they can, then other companies should be able too. If your company does not control itself, you really have a problem!”
TExT: Jan Bletz
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“If businesses have difficulty implementing trends – and that is what you do see with many large businesses –then that is mainly because the top does not have an eye for the developments in the world outside the walls of their business.
THAT IS A REAL PITY, BUT
I cANNOT DO ANYTHING MORE THAN TO POINT OUT TO THE TOP PEOPLE THE TRENDS AND INNOVATIONS I HAVE NO IDEA HOw I cAN cHANGE THE MENTALITY OF A RIGID 56 YEAR OLD
ReinieR eveRs
Trend analyst and consultant www.springwise.com
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FAVOURITE TREND IMPLEMENTATIONS FROM SPRINGWISE.COM On request from Second Sight, Springwise present their favourite trend implementations
Selected from: Top 20 business ideas & opportunities for 2011 www.springwise.com/businessideas2011
Vegetarian butcher
3 fluid ounces
De Vegetarische Slager (the vegetarian butcher), a store in The Hague that's dedicated to meat substitutes in the same way a butcher is dedicated to meat. The company's main innovation is its own line of lupin-based, proteinrich products, developed by a Dutch team of scientists and chefs. www.devegetarischeslager.nl
Ever since transportation authorities placed rigorous limits on the amount of liquids allowed on flights, travellers have had to figure out how to both pack their favourite toiletries and comply with those regulations. Helping consumers avoid bag-check charges or confiscation of their non-compliant toiletries and cosmetics, New York-based 3floz is an online boutique that sells beauty and grooming products in TSA-approved sizes only. 3floz offers a range of luxury skin and hair care products for men and women, all in travel-friendly sizes of 3 fluid ounces (100 ml) or less. 3floz is also marketing itself as a sample site, catering to consumers who want to try out high-end beauty products without committing to pricey full-sized versions. www.3oz.com
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Electric bikes as loaner vehicles
Mobile garage makes cars greener
Showing smart thinking from a major brand, and tapping into the desires of eco-conscious consumers, Fiat now offers Spanish owners of its Fiat 500 an electric bike option while their car is in the shop. The service is available in various cities in Spain through a partnership with bicycle maker Trek. There's no charge for borrowing the electric bikes, which have a 70 km range and recharge during braking as well as through plug-in power. www.ďŹ at.es
Colorado-based Green Garage specializes in 'green-tuning' cars to run cleaner, greener and cheaper through sustainable, energy-saving automotive maintenance and repair products. The full-service company begins by bringing the garage to the customer's front door with a valet service whereby it picks up the car, green-tunes it and then drops it off again. Given where the automotive industry began on the sustainability spectrum, it seems safe to say there's plenty of room for improvement, and that's just what we're beginning to see. www.greengarage.com
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TRanSF 34
FFoRmeR flickr.com/photos/kozumel/ by: kozumel
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TREND IMPLEMENTATION •• CHRISTINE BOLAND
Free your mindset It is always interesting to look at how a trend can be translated and then implemented – in fact this is become increasingly more interesting than just determining the exact nature of trend. THe minDSeT moDel is a tool for a proper interpretation and implementation.
'THe TRenD' iS like a PoTaTo These times call for a different approach to trends and a different way of looking their implementation. We live in a complex, multi-dimensional and multi-medial world, which is developing at an unprecedented rate. Humanity as a whole, and thus the consumer, is making big steps, albeit at different speeds. Today's consumer is extremely assertive, knowledgeable, accustomed to transparency and increasingly influential in the creation of the final product. The consumer has become a CO-sumer. All CO-words are currently topical: co-creation, cooperation, connected creativity, collective purchasing (Groupon),
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communities around brands, products or services. There is also an increasing need, in addition to all the connections and connectedness, to be individual and stand out in the crowd. Additionally, at a given moment a consumer can have different profiles, or even different identities. Especially young people switch quite easily between identities, depending on their purpose and time, and whether they are online or offline. In other words, the consumer cannot be caught in concepts, target groups or concept groups or other frames.
THe conSumeR HaS become a co-SumeR Alchemy Another reason why we should look at trends and trend implementation in a different way is the fact that a new design language has been created since the beginning of the 21st century. That design language is best described as modern alchemy. In medieval times, alchemists threw 'everything' together in the hope that the mixture would turn into gold. Nowadays the process is not that different. In their desire for innovation and surprise designers combine different influences, eras and techniques to create new products. Companies work together to create new formulas. It began in the early 2000s with the (then revolutionary development) of the Senseo and the Beertender and it has since become a widespread phenomenon. In the sciences new partnerships have emerged as well; the pharmaceutical industry works together with the food sector in order to anticipate the growing overlap between the two disciplines. Food is acquiring a medical (proactive) function and medication can occasionally almost be seen as food. And why shouldn't Shell work with Greenpeace to create a solution for en vironmental problems, or Albert Heijn with the Dutch Railways to create a format for a mobile supermarket? In fashion and design as well, the real innovation comes from the mixing and / or combining of influences, periods, cultures. Again the language is that of modern alchemy.
Empty concept Another argument in favour of a re-examination of trends is that nowadays many different trends and attitudes can coexist simultaneously, and a trend can even manifest itself in different ways. Simply identifying and defining a trend does not automatically provide enough information to translate to a successful business model. Indeed, the phenomenon 'trend' is becoming an empty concept. It is much more interesting to examine the motives behind the trends and anticipate upon corresponding product developments and designs. If one trend has many different forms, and the consumer fulfils many roles, it becomes much more interesting to see how a trend is translated and implemented than to
merely state what that trend exactly is. What kind of interpretation is necessary? Or, to speak in food terms, what recipe should be followed? Take a potato as a metaphor for 'a trend', and the possible preparations could be: cooking, baking, mashing, au gratin, frying, stewing, chips, potato croquette, French fries and so on.
Four mindsets The Mindset Model shows these various forms of preparation. The Mindset Model is a tool that enables you to clearly define the style of your organization or brand to implement a language that everyone speaks. In the mindsEt modEl, the mindsets are forms of interpretation. It is based on four archetypal forms of interpretation: Still, Nostalgic, Playful and Extreme. • mindsEt still stands for pure, clear, minimalist, balanced and stripped of all unnecessary details, and has a high 'design' feeling. • mindsEt nostalgic represents values as affirmative, recognizable, familiar, obvious, safe, and usually has a classic, traditional feeling. • mindsEt playful is unconventional, touching, funny, happy and is all about playing with proportions in shape, colour and design. Playful appeals to your 'inner smile'. • mindsEt ExtrEmE examines boundaries, is experimental, exaggerated, provocative, confrontational and often deals with new volumes and unusual materials, shapes and patterns. There is something rebellious about it. As a brand or organization, one or more mindsets will agree with you. If you can determine which Mindsets fit best, and in which mutual relation, you will be able to define the style formula of a brand or company. A style is composed of one or more mindsets in a fixed mutual relation that make your brand or company unique. That's your DNA. Having and maintaining a consistent and coherent style is essential in this time frame and an essential precondition for survival.
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Robust and consistent You can determine what the style formula of your brand or company is by using Mind Sets. If there is consensus about the style formula, your organization or brand possesses a well-defined key tool for further decisions and expressions. Well-defined – whether you are dealing with a chosen style, the tone of voice of your advertisements, the products you buy and sell, your stand at an exhibition, the interior design of a store, personnel, the staff outfits or any other corporate identity phenomenon. And so, as a brand or organization, you can convey a strong identity, which is necessary to be found by consumers. A powerful and consistent personality turns customers into friends and fans. Once the style definition into Mindsets has been made, it becomes an absolute, cast iron concept. Mindsets do not change, trends, however, do. Trends come and go and vary in strength, but you should stay with the same style definition in order to be consistent. You will have to stay true to your identity, and represent the Mind Sets in the same proportions you originally chose. In whatever industry you're in – whether it is in fashion or in a gardening centre, a magazine, media, cosmetics or food, consistency is important to survive in these raging times.
Sukha Sukha www.sukha-amsterdam.nl is a concept store where you will find fashion, interiors, accessories, books, workshops and travel all brought together under one roof. All the products are used, vintage or produced in a responsible way with respect for the workforce from the country of origin. In addition to the products under their own label, Sukha also sells well known and lesser known products along with handmade and unique products. The staff come from the community of freelancers, some also making products in the store. In addition to Sukha being a lifestyle store it is also a resting place in the midst of the busy city, you can sit and relax, read a book while drinking a cup of coffee or tea.
THe TRenDS imPlemenTeD HeRe aRe: christinE Boland
Trend analyst and consultant www.christineboland.nl www.mindsets.nu
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• Unique and one of a kind products • Fair trade, honest and authentic products • Connecting and engaging • Relaxation and quietness • Curate consumption • A retail concept where we live with all our senses and sharing together is the main theme.
FavouRiTe TRenD imPlemenTaTionS FRom cHRiSTine bolanD On request from Second Sight, Trend Analyst, Christine Boland, presents her three favourite trend implementations
Bol.com second hand Bol.com www.bol.com provides the consumer with the opportunity to start their own bookstore and it’s so perfect that it is accessible for anyone to join. On top of this, the system makes it possible to donate a part of your revenue to good causes, Rooms to read, that provides children in developing countries with school education and libraries.
THe TRenDS THaT aRe imPlemenTeD HeRe aRe: • Consumer to consumer market • A Growing second hand circuit; unique or cheaper items • Do good: to implement charity.
Seats2meet Seats2meet www.seets2meet.nl. Seats2meet offers a non and offline space for people to meet each other, co-create values, exchange expertise and create ideas, to innovate and inspire, to be inspired and most importantly, a place to work together an empower each other. In offices at strategic locations in the country people can meet each other, make use of the facilities and enjoy unbelievably good lunches. Everything is free on the condition that it is an open source attitude, meaning that everyone can look over your shoulder to listen and watch. If this doesn’t appeal to you then you can rent an office space, this being the way they make their money.
THe TRenDS THaT aRe imPlemenTeD HeRe aRe: • Anticipating the growing trend of independent professionals in the labour market • Free facilities in order to a create a better performance for the individual • The need to meet, network and exchange • Flexiwork
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work inDEPEnDEnt froM tiME anD location 120
http://v16.lscache5.c.bigcache.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/13234386.jpg
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INTERVIEW •• SASKIA NIJS (MICROSOFT)
working at a nEw
world worK of
‘The New World of Work’ is a godsend to me, says SaSkia nijS, responsible for business to business marketing communication in her capacity as Marketing Communications Lead at Microsoft Netherlands. Many other companies see its advantages as well. Still, they struggle with introducing work independent from time and location.
it callS for a nEw tyPE of lEaDErShiP It used to be that you went to an offIce, a company or InstItute because your place of work was there. Often there was no way around it, especially if it concerned physical labour that simply had to be performed in or around the factory. These were the days that hierarchic, rigid and institutionalized systems prevailed with very formal relationships and bureaucratic principles. Today, for a large part, independent networks and partnerships dominate, in which individuals play a prominent and decisive role. Companies and other
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organizations form these flexible co-operations. And within these same companies the 'The New World of Work' is emerging: increasingly, people work where they want and when they want, thereby blurring the dividing lines between work and private life. "To me, ‘The New World of Work’ is a godsend", says Saskia Nijs, responsible for business to business marketing communication in her capacity as Marketing Communications Lead at Microsoft Netherlands. "It enables myself and my colleagues to create a better balance between work and private life. That’s not only
thE officE BEcoMES MorE of a MEEting-PlacE, whErE you likE to BE, rathEr than a PlacE whErE your attEnDancE iS SiMPly EXPEctED good for us, but also for the company: people are more productive and happier. The New World of Work also leads to cutting costs as a rule, because less office space is required. Besides that, in order to attract the best and the brightest, a company has to take pains to become an attractive employer by paying attention to the work-life balance.”
Expert through experience Together with several partners, Microsoft Netherlands, advises companies about their options to adopt The New World of Work. The company is an expert through experience ever since it put The New World of Work into practice for itself in its Schiphol offices in 2007. The principal points of focus according to Microsoft? "We look at three things: the technology required, the physical space aspects and the human factors." Technology speaks for itself; because of the innovations in cellular technology and the internet, working at different times and in different places, is more often possible. The line between physical and virtual presence is gradually disappearing. But it takes more than a high-speed internet hook-up, a smart phone and clever software to be able to, at certain times, work for your company whilst not actually at your company.
the point of view of a manager it is mostly about offering trust and space, be it with a clear understanding of the results expected from the employees. A lot of managers have trouble letting go, accustomed as they are to keeping track of the hours spent by someone on site – under their scrutiny, easily monitored. For employees this clear understanding takes some getting used to as well, being assessed on the grounds of results can be regarded as too task-oriented, especially in the beginning. Even though it's obviously the fairest way of judging, because after all, regardless of where or when someone works –isn't it the quality of the work that really matters?" This relaxed type of management isn't suited for everyone, it turns out; many can't shake off the urge to control things. "A country like the Netherlands is somewhat of a pioneer in The New World of Work; thanks to a less pronounced hierarchy within companies, it comes to us more naturally. For countries used to a more hierarchic management style it is much more difficult to change course. In Italy, for instance, it isn't really coming off the ground yet. And no matter how efficient the technology that companies might acquire and no matter how many state-of-the-art office buildings they might erect; if the boss fails to deal with a nine-to-five mentality, The New World of Work is bound to fail as well. tEXt: Jan Bletz
Ideally the office is geared to The New World of Work as well. Sometimes, the office is smaller than the old one, where all employees were present all day. It has a different character, moreover. The office becomes more of a meeting-place, where you like to be, rather than a place where your attendance is simply expected. It really is like that at our office; an open-spaced, friendly environment where people can meet each other, with secluded spaces for doing work that requires concentration. Much less time is wasted than before; you go to the office when you want to be there and you do what is needed in the space best suited for that specific task." And the human factors? They constitute the principal challenge for companies wishing to implement The New World of Work. "It calls for a new type of leadership. From
Photo: Karlijn Klaver
Letting go
sasKIa nIJs
is responsible for business to business marketing communication in her capacity as Marketing Communications Lead at Microsoft Netherlands
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COLOPHON •• SECONDSIGHT JUNE 2011 Publishers/editors in chief
sales sales@secondsight.nl
andrea wIegman andrea@secondsight.nl
T +31 (0)20 470 74 44
& Jan bletz jan@secondsight.nl
prIntIng
De Swart, The Hague
Project manager
Isbn 978 94 91131 04 2
KrIstel Veerman kristel@secondsight.nl
prIcIng
Single copies of Second Sight are €25 (incl.VAT).
With contributions by chrIstIne boland erIK Jan bolsIus edwIn de bree maryan brouwer truus doKter Kees elands marlIes de gooIJer eVert Jan Van hasselt Kwela sabIne hermanns ronald Van den hoff sanne Kempers cecIlIa KeuchenIus KarlIJn KlaVer pernIlle KoK-Jensen maurIts KreIJVeld bob Van leeuwen andreIa rocha Jaspar roos hIlde roothart geertJe Veenbergen thomas Verhagen erIK Vos guIdo Van de wIel sanny zuIderVeld
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barlocK-serendIpIty Jesse sKolnIK, marc Van boKhoVen, paula eKlund
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