Jan Berent Heukensfeldt Jansen says goodbye and shares six essential insights: “At De Bestuurskamer, we aim for continuity”
Former insurer and banker Jan Berent Heukensfeldt Jansen (73) will step down as partner of De Bestuurskamer, which he co-founded three years ago, on 1 December. Time to look back on six major insights that the consulting firm gave him.
Insight one: it all starts with chemistry in the team
We already knew each other from a coaching agency that quit. Four colleagues who enjoyed working together decided to set up their own company. With 2 more colleagues, we became a team of 6 with a global idea that we would develop over time. The enthusiasm was there and the will to build something together. And that turned out to be enough.
As partners of De Bestuurskamer, when we started in 2023, we were able to rely on a wealth of experience and six extensive, high-quality networks. We also noticed that people quickly picked up on our name, liked us as a team and as an organization. This soon came about new business. Beautiful and rewarding assignments for which we also worked together. Execution, communication, discipline — that's what it's all about, we knew that. And in addition: quality in the guidance. A good tax specialist, accountant, web builder, a communication strategist. In this area, De Bestuurskamer is therefore nothing different from more established agencies. But it undertakes with the click that allows you to run with and for each other, with a strong chemistry in the team.
Insight two: you learn from doing it yourself
I myself come from a corporate environment, where quite a lot was arranged for me. It was incredibly refreshing, even educational, to take responsibility for all the big and small jobs involved in starting a full-fledged company. For instance? something basics like opening a bank account. Only to discover that you could just spend two months doing something so simple. Even if you've been on the board of ABN Amro Netherlands for five years: a eye opener.
Of course, that's just a small example. Together, each from our own background, we were able to quickly lay pieces of the puzzle, so that we were a strong and actively operating organization within a few months. Clients saw our hands-on mentality, which made us a full-fledged alternative to established consulting firms. Then I think you did a good job.
Insight three: it helps not to whine about money
This question is essential: will it stay fun, even if money is going to be earned? We had all gotten used to working individually. However, an organization like ours requires 100% commitment, even towards each other. We were clear about that from the outset. Orders that arrive do not automatically land with the applicant. It's about linking the specific knowledge within our team to the client in order to solve their issue in an effective, impactful way. This may mean that several partners will work on the issue, from different disciplines.
There is, I think, one important distinction with many established consulting organizations. This distinction has to do with both our current, relatively modest, size and our mentality: we use one budget and one business account, to which the entire realized turnover flows. Partners are equally rewarded, according to work done. So no one has to look at a colleague with a crooked eye: is he doing enough? We never talk about who “contributed” more or less. Everyone is equally valuable, everyone is worth the same — Literally. No nagging and no bickering afterwards, that saves stress and hassle. I think that mentality is quite special.
Insight four: Build a brand that lasts
We also think about what De Bestuurskamer is when we're all gone soon. The brand should survive us, we think, that's really a starting point. At De Bestuurskamer, we aim for continuity. New partners are being added who share our values. Those values are what make the brand, not us as current partners. Our most important value: the client is at the forefront of everything we do.
We offer him or her a wealth of experience, but we only use what fits the question we were asked from our toolbox. In addition, we care about people. We can agree but also be strict at appropriate times — we also get that from client interviews, that we are not “listening autobiographically” but, as fellow partner Pamela Boumeester recently wrote in one of the Executive Board's blogs: “first understand and then be understood”.
Insight five: criticism is the best way to learn
What I found very valuable in previous teams is the ability to treat each other respectfully without sparing each other all the time. From the outset, we also let that quality land in De Bestuurskamer.
Sometimes I thought, I don't like hearing this — but this criticism is so good. An example? The problems of a particular client really got under my skin. I found it difficult to maintain my professional distance when the problem arose — it was about a driver experiencing certain unreasonable behavior in his administrative environment. I may have been too worried — I was politely and warmly reminded of that by my partners. We solved the case very well, with the appropriate professional distance. You can learn from such criticism, even go one step further and ask for cross-thinking. Coaching is an individual profession; it's great to ask colleagues for help from time to time, and you often get gifts in return in the form of insights you didn't have yourself yet. Such collegiality ensures that coaching at the Executive Board and Board levels is improved.
Insight six: staying sharp pays off
Anyone over a certain age, but actually everyone, I recommend that you invigorate yourself with knowledge in your field, and beyond, every day. I still binge read newspapers, magazines, management literature. Now on my desk is 'The Power of the Negative' — a wonderful speech by John Tierney and Roy Baumeister about how negativism affects us and the world, from news and politics to education, education, religion, relationships, and work: because, as humans, we tend to give far too much weight to negative things and not enough weight to positive things. Extremely interesting, and immediately useful in your own behavior.
While I'm reading those kinds of books, I'm always reflecting on my own values and how I can use them for a better life for myself and the people I serve with my knowledge and insights. I know Covey by heart. Not because I learned it by heart, but because I always recognize — and apply — the usefulness of parts of his vision. Of course, that never stops, you keep learning from reading. And a sharp mind keeps you young.
Lastly
It turned out to be incredibly nice to have contributed to the start of a new company at my age with people who chose each other, people no longer had to prove themselves to each other. People who, based on their own professionalism, encourage each other to become better at the profession.
I have served around sixty clients since I started as a coach, and these processes gave me new energy each time. The profession still teaches me something every day — I want to keep doing it. So why stop in this regard? That decision does not have to do with limited time or declining desire to work. But together with Dries, I was also administratively responsible. The company gets into your head: is this true, is that going well, can sister or something be even better? The Board Room deserves another head to camp in. I think I'm leaving my work well behind.
I don't need to say I'm still working, but variety in activities remains my drive, also hereafter. Being a grandpa, exercising, coaching. Embracing my happiness. You know what happiness is, right? Dreaming of the things you have.
