Extra-ordinary art in Madrid

Trip down memory lane

Do you know that feeling that life just passes by and it is hard to remember everything? This is what my life has been like the last couple of years.
I just lived and enjoyed life to the fullest but I never stopped and reflected on what happened. This weekend I was organizing my pictures and came across priceless moments that I had almost forgotten again.

Memory 1: trip to Mexico
Our trip to Mexico might be the best experience I had in years. We had so much fun. Starting in Cancun being shocked by all those crazy americans. Driving on, seeing landscapes change, reaching our destination: the AIESEC conference. Meeting Veronica, who then heard she was elected for AI, awesome experience.

Memory 2: Weekend in Rome
In the middle of our MC-year Andrez and me decided to take a weekend trip to Rome. Since this was in the middle of "oh my god, it is sooo hectic"-period, I forgot about this trip. I remember us standing in a club, sitting in the sun and just enjoying this beautiful city (both monuments and shops :-)).

Memory 3: my graduation
Weird how much your life can change in a short period of time. This is only a couple of years back when I received my degree in communication sciences. Only a couple of people there will be at my next graduation. I guess that is life hee.

It is nice sometimes to just take a trip down memory lane, remembering images, moments and emotions.

AIESEC for life?

(disclaimer: for people that do not know AIESEC, this text might be unreadable, translation possible upon request:-))

Last Saturday: sitting in “de oude haven”, the terrace filled with people, tasty white wine and good company: Andrez(1) and Bram(1).Telling them about the Texel-trip for a WeGrow reunion. Their surprised faces hearing that I spent an entire weekend with the successors of “my VP’s” , the people that I coached.
Yesterday I spent my day working in the MC office on personal finance issues. Pruthvi(2), the first international ever, was doing take-over with Bryan(3). After having lunch, I took Bryan to the AI office to meet up with Maria(7). Since we had 30 min to enjoy ourselves, I decided to take Bryan on a small city tour of Rotterdam to discover the Erasmus bridge and its surroundings. During diner Rosa(3) joined us, a former TN-member of mine.
Sitting in an office at work; my boss is an AIESEC-alumnus and one of my other bosses is as well. I am waiting for a call from Melissa(2). Thinking about my holiday next week: on Tuesday I am flying to Madrid seeing Sophia(4); on Thursday I am flying to Porto meeting Heather(5) and Christina(5).
In October I start my first job at a global partner, ABN-Amro. The recruitment event that triggered me to apply was organized by Scott(5). Thomas(1), a good friend of mine, attended the event as well.
My social media pages, Hyves and Facebook are filled with AIESECers. I have MSN chats with Juliana(6), Amit(7), Manish(8), Sarah(11) and Kreta(12).
My agenda for the next months:
Kama(13) and Pruthvi are visiting me in my home town, Sittard. I am scheduled to visit Brussels to catch up with Makis(10) and Pedro(10). In June I am planning to attend the UK boat party to catch up with Taco(8), Veronica(8), Joost(9), Manish(8), Harman(5) and all the others.
Weird observation: I still do not belong to the 30% group, but heej I am not married yet.

I think I made my point:

you can take the girl out of AIESEC but apparently you cannot take AIESEC out of the girl.

1 Members of my MC team; 2 Current Dutch MC team; 3 Future Dutch MC; 4 MC Portugal; 5 UK MC; 6 Greek MC; 7 AI; 8 Former AI; 9 Dutch BOD; 10 Belgian MC 11 Suisse NST, Future Spanish MC; 12 Danish MC; 13Polish MC

Visual DNA (tip from Amit)

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Sun, marathon, Kralingse Plas and going clubbing

On a more personal note, I wanted to share my very busy and sunny weekend. I enjoyed Rotterdam in all its aspects. Just imagine, sitting outside in a garden enjoying good food in a cafe that has share my name. Then enjoying wine in a crowded terrace in the "oude haven". Waking up to the sun and tagging to the Kralingse Plas enjoying a nap, laying besides the water. A meeting with the board of Atma Mumbai and hitting the town with two of my old MC-mates. Simply lovely!!!!


On Sunday the Rotterdam marathon took place. This I want to share with you more profoundly. It was a bit too hot for running a marathon and the runners were haveing a very hard time. I decided to throw in all my cheer skills (which are not great :-))and try and support them. We (me and other supporters standing on the pavement) were clapping when runners passed by and directing them to the next water refill. It is simply awesome to see athletes perform and seeing the struggle.

One of Amsterdam's VPs was also running the marathon and I decided to wait until she passed by. I was standing at the 32 km point and after 2,5 hours (!!)she finally arrived. I ran alomgside her to support her but she was feeling very good and chatty. Then a devastating announcement came: the marathon was cancelled due to the heath. I walked with the demotivated runner to the finish where they still received a medal.
Small comfort for almost finishing the marathin after so much training, can u imagine that????

It was a special weekend, I guess I need to recover now....

Students do not read newspapers

“Students do not read enough newspapers. They should put more effort in analyzing current affairs and apply what they learn in universities to the news events; “ says my boss.

Here a small exercise to prove his point, using “hot” news issues and relate this to current reality for AIESEC, a global student organization.

· One of AIESEC’s biggest Global Partners is involved in merger talks. The question asked in the AI-ER application just gained a lot more significance. What to do when your partner company merges with another company and your champions lose impact in the organisation? What is to happen with the ABN-Amro partnership?
· Top management renumeration is a controversial topic in numerous countries at the moment, including The Netherlands. A top executive of a Dutch company was heavily criticized for cashing a huge bonus after bad performance in the board. In the end he gave the money back. This man happens to be an AIESEC-alumnus (1985).
· An African business men is donating a huge reward for the best African leader. He is going to develop an index and thus create a benchmark for accountable leaders. Interesting initiative for the GN Africa.
· Political leaders are quarrelling about total liberalization of the job market for Polish workers. New legislation is expected.

These are just a few examples. I think though that my boss has an excellent point.

Rich people, bankers and the environment

Private bank Fortis MeesPierson saw “the inconvenient truth” as a market opportunity.

“Many people are wondering, after seeing the movie, what they can contribute to environmental issues. Clients were founding their own NGO’s and we decided to meet with them and asked for their views,” says a bank advisor. He continues: “we found that many people prefer a high level of ownership on the money they spend on good causes. Furthermore, they were convinced it is cheaper because transaction costs are higher for existing NGO’s. We looked into this issue and feel this is an incorrect assumption. A mutually managed fund has less costs then newly founded NGO’s need for accountants, annual reports etc. “
Thus, the idea for THE CIRCLE OF LIFE was born.

Now you think, the circle of life, wasn’t that a song in the Lion King? Indeed, it was but it is also new concept at Fortis MeesPierson. Investors can invest in projects associated with the World Nature Fund. Clients can choose for a specific country or area.

Interesting example how privileged people can contribute to the environment and a private bank facilitating their needs.

WeGrow Dutchies reunion

Sun, sheep, bikes, Germans, food and parties: that was our weekend in Texel!

Texel

Eastern weekend is upon us! That means eastern eggs, the eastern bunny and .....Texel! We are having a reunion with the Dutchies who went to WeGrow. So the whole group is leaving for the island (yes the Netherlands has some very small islands). To give you an idea, Texel is North of Amsterdam, 25 km long and 9 km long in the other direction. It is fairly impossible to reach, since buses, boats, trains etc take forever. Luckily I am going to see my parents after in the South which means I can travel for 5 hours (furthest distance in the NL).
Besides these logistical issues, I am very excited to go to Texel!!!It will be fun seeing everyone again and relaxing by the beach and enjoying nature. Ofcourse we will also have some parties so am looking forward to it!!!!!!

ABN merger song

In the City, there is a new song circulating around the merger ABN-Amro Barclays. The lyrics are based on Gloria Gaynor's "I will survive".

First we were afraid,
Now we're petrified

Our board knew it was all over
When that damn letter did arrive

They spent far too many days
Pondering what they were doing wrong

They took too long,
Now ABN will soon be gone

And so we'll merge
With Barclays Bank

And all because
Our share price stank

I should have changed my job before,
ABN won't restructure any more

If I'd known for just one second
That we might be heading out the door

As I prepare, to go on my way,
CEO Groenink, surely he can't stay

At least he'll get a lucrative 'goodbye',
We'll just have our P45s, and cry

Oh no, oh me oh my,
We won't survive

Our leaders, they did nothing for far too long,
The strategy proved worthless and went badly wrong

Some say our board didn't know what to do,
Others claim they really didn't have a clue

Oh no, oh me oh my,
We won't survive

With all the plans they had
We still fell apart

Now it's over to Bob Diamond
And his ice-cold heart

I'll spend a few more days feeling sorry for myself,
I'll probably cry, I just can't hold my head up high

I can't see me,
Somewhere new

Over at BarCap,
Feeling blue

I'm just a little person caught up in this merger game,
I did MY job - so I'm really not much to blame

And now I'm saving all my money,
'coz things will never be the same

Oh no, oh me oh my
We won't survive'

The Dutch I presume

What would you call typical Dutch? Thinks of 3 things.... I will give you a minute to think about it.

Done???

Today's newspapers had many stories representing the nature of Dutch people.
A research institute has found employees lose a full working day a month on chats with colleagues, staring out of the window and wandering around the building. This is not efficient and productive.
Retailers in the big cities are afraid for people's reactions on the stores closing next friday. It is eastern weekend and friday is a public holiday which also means the stores are closed. Since people like to shop in their free time, retailers are afraid angry mobs will vandalize stores.

What does this say about the Dutch? Apparently we are materialistic and obsessed with efficiency. Were these things you thought about as "typical Dutch" traits? Many internationals have told me the Dutch are over-efficient. This article underlines that point.

Typical Dutch employees do not work a minute longer than they have too. Managers expect people to work as efficient as possible in these hours. Results are less important. If you do not have anything to do, just pretend you are busy as long as you are present.

This just shows how valuable it is to broaden your horizon and challenge your comfort zones. To notice these kind of articles and their context, you need to be able to think further than the obvious. So what are you waiting for :-)?

What about leaders?

The Dutch financial daily, Het Financieel Dagblad (FD), is hosting discussions on the essence of leadership. Central themes are: our political leadershipmodel, rewards for top management teams, young high potentials, role of executive vs non-executive boards and leadership qualities.

"If you did not make it at 35, you will never make it"
This thesis was discussed by a columnist. His answer: "your career until you are 40 should be regarded as an internship. After that you have all the skills to really implement your ideas and vision. Most important question is to define your vision. A vision comes from deep within, it is your passion."

I could not agree more. During my interviews for ABN-Amro I had this exact same discussion with two managers. We agreed that leadership is defined by a vision. The most interesting people in this country have hobbies and passions. Our prime minister has brought the word "values" back in our liberal society. The CEO of TNT put CSR on the map with his succesfull partnership with the WFP. The CFO of our Stock Exchange (ex-MCP @ The NL) has a vineyard in France where he spends his free time. Taking it more international, Gore put the climate discussion back on the map.

"Top management teams should be formed by people from within the organisation"
Research stated that top managers coming from within the organisation outperformed organisations who attracted managers externally. Interesting thesis but I find it hard to define my response. It seems to me the best people should be at the positions they are qualified for. If the best people are not working at your firm then you can still attract them. However, people that know the organisation inside out, who have been working there for years have more feeling with the organisation than outsiders. I am not sure here.

I must say that reading this financial daily every day gives me lots of input. Many opinion leaders have a voice here and it is super interesting reading how they feel about issues like these. Therefore I recommend you, when you have time, to read a newspaper or magazine, you could stumble on article like these.