The past weeks I have been able to experience what the surprising results are if you let some creative minds go ahead in a particular building. The atrium of our Priva Campus was turned into a magnificent theater for one week. During four evenings an impressive opera about our family business was performed for a sold out crowd.
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This afternoon I had a meeting with Gerda Verburg, our Minister of Agriculture. It was her first day after her holiday, and was fully planned from 9 o’clock in the morning until 9 o’clock at night: the budget talks were imminent. I thought I would get straight to the point: “That is convenient, because I also have a few wishes from the horticulture sector.”
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Show political courage and abolish the innovation subsidies. It is not the first time that the subsidy funds are not being used (FD, August 5). If we really want to break through this incredibly complex and inefficient system, we need to abolish the subsidies.
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“Today I feel very honored. An appreciation for my personal motivation to contribute just that little bit to a better world, together with others. This may sound a bit woolly, but if it’s your business, it’s anything but vague.
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The world is changing. Long cherished systems are losing their status: the financial world gets blamed for the economic crisis that, for those who read the newspaper, watch TV and follow conversations, is inevitable. But it is too short-sighted to just put the financial institutions in a bad light.
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This crisis has terrible consequences for many people, but it also has a positive side. The crisis gives impulses to take certain steps. Encourages businesses to look at their processes and to organize themselves differently, so that they need fewer people to do more.
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“It must be wonderful to work here” is what I hear regularly from people who visit the Priva Campus for the first time. For me, this is not primarily about the efficiency of Priva as a company, nor the efficiency of our building, but actually about the efficiency of our employees.
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In December 2009 Manita Koop phoned to ask if I wanted to put myself forward for the title of Businesswoman of the Year 2009. I am not really a person for ‘woman stuff’, but this question came at the right time: for me, for Priva. It would give me the stage to publicize the movement I had initiated, by explaining it to the outside world! What an opportunity!
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I’ve been to China! November 2008. What a wonderful experience. The thing that struck me most is that the people want to learn so much. Whether they’re mopping the floor in the hotel or serving in a restaurant. Priva has had an office in China for five years. Our Maarten went over there. We were already doing business in China, but it seemed a good idea to have an office and a presence there.
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“Why are you leaving actually?” asked Marielle. I don’t have a good answer. “Are you sure you’re not going to miss the creative profession?”. Actually, I’m not sure. We’re sitting together in my office at De Stal, a design and communications agency, of which at that time I am the owner. De Stal means The Stable, because it is literally located in the stable of a beautiful farm.
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