Building Next Better (ENG)

Brands can accelerate the economy of the 21st century

Kim Cramer PhD Alexander Koene 1

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INTRODUCTION In this article, we describe how brands can accelerate the economy of the 21st century.

The Corona crisis, which has gripped the world for over a year now, makes it clear that changes are desperately needed for a more sustainable future. We also have learned that when the need is great, we can change our behaviour en masse.

Faced with the climate crisis and the social challenges that are becoming increasingly apparent, society will transform from polluting industrial production to an increasingly sustainable, fair and more local economy.

DONUT ECONOMY IN AMSTERDAM In Amsterdam we want everyone to be able to live happily, within the natural limits of the earth. This is possible in a city where we use scarce raw materials more intelligently, by producing and consuming differently.

We provide an overview of how branding can help. Organizations must transform to contribute to the acceleration towards a happy future for people and the planet.

In the coming years, Amsterdam will map out various material flows, from input to processing, in order to preserve valuable raw materials. The goal is to halve the use of new raw materials by 2030 and to be a fully circular city by 2050. It's all in the Amsterdam Circulaire Strategie 2020-2025.

Enjoy reading!

Amsterdam, January 2021 Kim Cramer & Alexander Koene

The strategy uses the Amsterdam City Donut of the British economist Kate Raworth. The model describes how societies and companies can contribute to economic development while respecting the boundaries of the planet and our society.

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BUILDING NEXT BETTER BRANDS CAN ACCELERATE THE ECONOMY OF THE 2!ST CENTURY Corona has rapidly spread around the world by 2020. The one person is terrified of a killer virus, the other dismisses it as minor flu. Most people adhere to the strict measures of the government and the virologists of the OMT. People live with 5 feet limitations, face masks, homeschooling, closure of the arts, culture and non-essential businesses.

The gap between rich and poor has been widening for decades, we are eroding the quality and accessibility of health care and education, and housing for students, starters and middle incomes has become a major problem. 50% of the Dutch population is now overweight and 15% is obese. In the US this is even 40%. And we will not even begin with the many people with a structural burnout, bore out or other psychological problems. More than 1.1 million Dutch people take antidepressant pills every day.

In Western Europe we have been in lockdown at home for months now; plenty of time for reflection in between Netflix binging.

GOOD KNIGHT AS OUR NEW GAME NAME

Cracks in our pre-corona economic system are further being exposed, and even reinforced, in 2020. The challenges have never before come so clear as during this bizarre time.

We are sometimes called crazy, even by friends and family, when we once again share our ideas about a better world. Then we sometimes think, maybe it is easier to just shut up. Because before you know you are jokingly called a hypocrite and belong to the intellectual elite of the Amsterdam canal belts.

But also: we appear to be able to radically change our behaviour together when the need is high.

There is certainly a need to intervene. In 2020 by corona. The immediate health hazard justifies drastic measures to protect us all from the virus. But let's not forget that there are much bigger and more far-reaching dangers, such as the climate crisis and the social crisis. That climate crisis is still a little out of our sight, especially in the countries around the equator, but it is quickly heading our way.

And socially, Western society is in a crisis of unprecedented order.

Some people think that we as entrepreneurs should not pursue sustainable ideals, which are more progressive and social by nature. By expressing ideas like this we could even miss out on assignments for our company from people who are not there yet.

We must be a bit masochistic because we keep going. In the end, we’ll prove our right and until then, we'll do what we can to accelerate the change.

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We also notice that we stand increasingly less often alone in our thinking. There are more and more people we hold high and who also believe what we believe in.

Fortunately, I am now, many experiences wiser, not at all done as branding and culture professional and I can continue for years with my new nickname "good knight".

Namely, we have to get rid of a system based on greed and exploitation of the planet and people. In 2013, a year before his death Wubbo Ockels, a Dutch space traveller taught us that we are all astronauts on little Spaceship Earth. And that, as we treat each other and how we interact with our spaceship, we will not arrive at our destination.

Marketing professionals have bolstered shareholder capitalism over the past few decades by fueling unmet demand and driving people into consumerism; just think of a lifestyle that leads to health problems such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer. And think of a world full of disposable items. A new fashion season four times a year. Several times a year on holiday by plane to faraway places. Corendon even offers beach holidays to Bali, 10 days for Euro 705, including flight, bed and breakfast.

Our unmet and latent needs are insatiable.

We live in a world of desire, buying, consuming and throwing away. And that over and over again. We are not only in a corona crisis, but there are also much bigger ecological and social challenges that we will face in the coming years. The urgency with which we are going to respond to this has everything to do with the scale of the problems we encounter.

Wubbo Ockels and Marleen Zoon from Happy Energy with Kim and Alexander from BR-ND People during a branding workshop in 2013

Alexander himself also participated in the money knockout. “For years I have been richly awarded for the marketing of industrial foods and for a little longer I have, not without merit, created demand for cigarette brands worldwide. With today's knowledge, I probably wouldn't have done that and I would have made other choices.

As a lame excuse, I say that I was still young and a bit naive then. I went for my career and the big money. I wasn’t aware!

IT HITS PEOPLE WITH THE LEAST, THE MOST The climate crisis has been going on for some time, currently mainly in the poorer countries around the equator. At the beginning of 2020, there were major forest fires, dehydration and deforestation, coastal areas are threatened by rising sea levels and warmer oceans are causing more devastating hurricanes.

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Clearly, the people who have contributed the least to global warming are suffering the most. And not just from the climate crisis. Inequality is also great in the areas of nutrition and exercise, access to health care, education, knowledge and culture, social connections and participation.

Between richer and poorer countries, and between wealthy and disadvantaged populations within countries. Is it all due to excessive market forces?

If pollution and toxic air cause an increase in hospital visits due to lung cancer, GDP will rise even further. If the pharmaceutical industry develops very expensive chemotherapies, GDP will rise even further.

But if you grow your own food, make sure you don't throw anything away, and stay healthy and happy for a long time, GDP will fall.

EXTRA ARROWS ON THE GOOD KNIGHT’S BOW

The industrial system of the 20th century has brought us to where we are today. Over the past decades, if not centuries, it has brought many people in the Western part of the world an unimaginably high standard of living and material comfort.

Most families have large color televisions, a car, they go on holiday abroad one or more times. And there is more than enough food for everyone, most people have access to education, work and health care. But this has come at a high price.

Due to the lockdown, many organizations had to close or function with limitations such as the 1.5 meters, masks, digital working from home and social isolation.

The financial assistance that many shutdown companies have received is in itself very nice to give people an income to pay rent, mortgage and food, but would it not be even better if there were targeted incentives for a 'Building Next Better' of the economy?

Scientists in the pharmaceutical industry have achieved a feat by developing multiple vaccines against Corona in unprecedented speed. The people in the rich countries will have this widely available from January 2021, the poorer countries will have to wait a little longer.

Problems have arisen because we have come to see the growth of the Domestic Gross Product (GDP) or gross turnover as a measure of success and happiness.

Managing GDP for countries and turnover for companies does not properly take our moral compass and the destruction of our living environment into consideration.

For example, if you as a company earn money by refining petroleum for the sale of gasoline or plastics, or burning coal for energy, GDP will rise.

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It now looks like in Western Europe, in the course of 2021, the "corona hazard" will hopefully be under control. As far as we are concerned, it is now really time to build something better.

This is a major task for the governments that have to reform our system, but organizations can also give substance to this now. And in the end each of us can stimulate a better society through our own behavior. Just think about what you buy, what you eat, how you live and travel and which political party you vote for.

Graph 1. Division of wealth in the Netherlands. (source: CBS)

We are convinced that a fair and safe economy involves a combination of social and ecological improvements. A society in which everyone has equal opportunities and prosperity is fairly distributed. In which we treat nature with respect, extract our natural resources much less from the earth and reuse much more.

After all, there are limits to material growth through the limits of our planet. Scientific consensus on this is growing rapidly: if countries - especially the rich countries responsible for the vast majority of the climate crisis - do not take immediate and massive action, we will pass the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees, not reach.

The rise in temperature, the rise in seawater and the flight of people from uninhabitable areas around the equator to more temperate areas such as the Netherlands, will cause a catastrophe.

And, if that doesn't create sufficient urgency for corporate leaders, it will make companies less resilient.

Graph 2. Development of raws extraction (Source: European commission)

Graph 3. Global warming indes of the earth (source: globalwarmingindex.org, ECI, Oxford University)

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Human Development Index

At some point, the use of raw materials and other resources will simply come to a halt.

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a measure of performance on the most important aspects of human development: a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living. The HDI was developed to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criterion for assessing a country's development, not just economic growth .HDR Report 2020

The twenty-first century as we imagine it, therefore, requires new principles for prosperity. We will have to strive for well-being, or better yet, why not just call it "happy people"?

ECONOMY FOR HAPPY AND HEALTHY PEOPLE

The World Happiness Report

Many alternatives to GDP are already available to measure the state of the new economy. For example, the United Nations started the Human Development Index (HDI) in the 1990s.

The World Happiness Report is a groundbreaking study conducted since 2012 on the state of global happiness. It ranks 156 countries based on how lucky their citizens consider themselves.

In a socially fair and environmentally safe society, a new economic system works for the happiness of all people. Measuring the size of this new economy provides a measure of the well-being of people and the planet.

The World Happiness Report 2020 ranks countries around the world based on subjective well-being and takes a closer look at how social, urban and natural environments together impact happiness.

Government policy, taxes, investments, and business activities are then aligned with the well-being of people and the environment in a number of areas such as psychological well-being, physical health, exercise & relaxation, education & development, art & culture, good governance, the vitality of the community, flora & fauna and general standard of living. These should be based on the question "what enables us to grow and flourish?" What makes us really happy?

Graph 4. The happiest countries in the world. (source: World Happiness Report)

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A FAIR AND SAFE WORLD

Rather than the linear "take, make, waste" paradigm, a circular economy involves designing products from the outset to avoid waste after use. That raw materials are not extracted from the planet, but flow back from used stuff. And that those items are of better quality, so that they can be used longer and defects can be repaired. That sounds simple when you think about one product. But it means a total change of vision, business models and ecosystems.

In nature, everything grows and blooms according to cycles. Seeds and animals are fertilized, new life arises and grows and blooms. It grows and thrives by taking in raw materials and oxygen and solar energy.

Plants and animals die at a moment and then they return their resources to the earth.

This process of growth, flowering and decay continue, it is an infinitely circular process.

Waste does not exist in nature. Humans developed an industrial economy that is linearly organized about 200 years ago. We extract raw materials from the ground, we turn them into stuff by adding energy and after use, we throw them away.

Although complex, new thinking about economic systems is slowly becoming more mainstream. The circular economy now plays a major role in government policy, from the objectives of the European Green Deal and the EU Circular Economy Action Plan to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The circular society is now also linked to the call for "Building Next Better". It seems to be a prerequisite for achieving a healthier and more social economic system.

It ends up in landfills where it will lie for centuries, or it is burned with all kinds of toxic emissions into the atmosphere. It is estimated that we currently reuse only 8% of all raw materials. In addition, we use fossil energy for the production process, which causes us to poison the atmosphere.

Burning oil and gas increases CO2, plastic waste has created plastic soup in the oceans, and biodiversity loss and deforestation have been linked to virus outbreaks. Products, but also our foodstuffs, are industrially organized through the linear production of chickens, pigs, cows, fruits and vegetables.

A circular economy is an ecosystem of closed cycles in which raw materials, parts and products lose their value as little as possible, non-fossil energy sources are used and systems thinking is central.

Types of economy (source: Suit-case)

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CIRCULAR IS MORE SOCIAL

After the industrial revolution in the 19th century and the digital revolution from the 1960s, globalization has increased enormously. The global economy has developed strongly and with it increasingly complex and larger global supply chains.

Such a system will ensure more equality and well-being for everyone. For example, by stimulating a shift from individual ownership to shared loaning.

A car is parked 96% of the time, yet most private households have one or two. A drill is used on average 3 hours a year, the actual drilling takes a few minutes. The new thinking ensures that the organization of the activity can be done much closer to the people, or better still, by the people themselves. We then move from long, inflexible global production and distribution chains with hyper-specialization to a local system of cooperating organizations.

Organizations made up of ordinary people as we all are.

Globalization has stimulated economic growth through the opening of world markets and economies of scale have resulted in cheap products and a high degree of specialization and innovation.

In many ways, the capitalist system has brought great prosperity and progress.

But the global system has also led to oligopolistic markets with monopolistic traits from large multinationals. These multinationals are relocating production to cheaper countries and avoiding taxes by establishing themselves for tax purposes in tax havens.

For 'Building Next Better' we also need to further develop socio-cultural aspects such as our legal system, culture, values and standards of conduct, and the administrative, fiscal and political context. In this way, a circular approach must also solve the rapidly growing inequalities and strive for greater social justice.

At the moment in the Western world we have become strongly dependent on products that are produced cheaply and linearly in low-wage countries.

Even the supply of masks and medicines comes mostly from China and we no longer have any iron stocks in the hospitals, driven by industrialism.

LOCAL GLOBAL REBALANCING

We should be much less dependent on such long and inflexible flows of goods for our basic necessities of life.

Economies need to be redesigned to give priority to the supportive local systems, such as healthy food, clean water, comfortable living, healthcare, training and mobility.

Between the 15th and 18th centuries, people began to discover the world and thus the Silk Road and the spiceroute from the East. People have been trading goods and services for centuries crossing the national borders.

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If every area, at a metropolitan or regional level, becomes more self-sufficient in the production of circular goods, whereby the material flows are as local as possible, there will be a better spread of activity. In this way, we are building a system that can absorb unwanted shocks much better.

A circular economy must be aimed at establishing a system that does not maintain these flaws, but rather corrects them.

CAN BRANDS CONTRIBUTE? Good. So it requires a total transformation of just about everything we have learned, created and applied over the centuries. Or aborted. It depends on how you look at it. But how can we contribute to this as a community of organizational consultants, marketers, branding professionals, culture developers and communication specialists?

Then we should also stop breeding pigs in the Netherlands and Denmark that we move live to Italy for slaughter and maturation, and then export it abroad as premium ham. Or cows that are bred in Mexico, fed with corn from the US, which is then exported to the US for slaughter, after which the meat is exported back to Mexico.

Can you still follow it? Neither really we.

Can brands, the organizations behind them and the people in them make a difference?

We think so. We cannot change the whole system. But it is brands that have the magic to positively influence the people. More and more brands are making such a sustainable impact. And many more of such brands are needed.

Premium pork from ItaliĂŤ

We should redefine prosperity: growth for the sake of growth cannot be sustained indefinitely, nor does it take people's happiness into account. A socially fair society must combat systematic discrimination and racism, it must on the contrary strengthen equality between people. The current economic and political power structures maintain outdated systems that do not benefit people and the planet.

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WITH BRANDS ACCELERATING THE TRANSFORMATION

In our view, branding is the strategic process to ensure common meaning and mental connection between people. It has a long-term scope and directs all interactions or "touchpoints" between people and products, services or organizations.

Branding is about developing associative networks of meaning in our brain. Not just in your or my brain; it only becomes powerful when a great many people know or think they know about each other that they have the same knowledge of a brand. The latter is an important fact, many people should expect each other to feel the same about it.

Four components and goals play a role in the branding process. They are interrelated and are therefore not necessarily sequential:

BRANDING DRIVES BEHAVIOR

● ● ●

An expression of a brand, such as a logo, a figurative mark, a name or stroke rule, evokes a powerful and rich meaning network with strong brands. As a result, brands unconsciously influence our behaviour. We also adapt our behaviour because we (un) consciously take into account what other people think of it. We do this because we are social animals, we want to belong to a group.

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Develop attractive meaning Connecting people mentally Make credible through behaviour and business activities Creating recognizable symbolism, rituals, expression

Advertising or other forms of marketing communication are also important (in section 4). These are shorter-term activities, campaigns that are fleeting, one-sided in terms of content message due to the physical limitation of medium and contact time, and above all aim to increase brand awareness, create a positive image or stimulate sales.

Just a step back for the non-branding professionals who have managed to read here. Branding is often only seen as logos, corporate identity, advertising or marketing communication. That is understandable because all those terms and concepts are an extension of each other. And the trademark profession does not excel in understandable and unambiguous terminology.

On a more strategic level (parts 1, 2 and parts of 3), branding is all about organizational strategy and culture.

Branding connects people through substantive meaning. It ensures that people take action together to realize the goal and mission of an organization.

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So it goes much further than developing an appealing message to the outside world, the main thing is that employees are proud and are passionate about their work.

The best way to develop attractive and credible impact brands is to tap into the ideas and feelings that are already present in the people concerned.

BRANDING FOR GOOD

THE PEOPLE ARE THE BRAND

Branding is a powerful tool that can be used almost 'manipulatively' for both good and bad.

So you have to develop your branding together with the people in your organization and most often it is recommendable to also involve stakeholders from outside. It is about developing associative networks that will influence behaviour and thinking.

Especially for higher educated professionals, it is a counterproductive idea to tell them what to feel, think and do. This mainly evokes resistance and frustration. Therefore, it is better to take advantage of the common ideas that are already present. To build on that and develop it together into powerful mental constructs that are not imposed, but are reality.

We can use the same psychology that makes most people prefer Coca-Cola, Marlboro and Apple to generate a preference for brands that want to accelerate a sustainable world.

That is already happening more and more often. Tony Chocolonely quickly became the market leader in the Netherlands and showed international giants such as NestlĂŠ, Lindt and Mars its back. But a relative newcomer like Tesla also plays at the top of the car brands such as Volkswagen, BMW and Toyota. Triodos Bank is also showing very positive results across the board, not only in a financial sense. While dinosaurs like ING and ABN AMRO struggle to stay out of the scandals. As a final example, we would like to mention Danone, who is working on a worldwide feat to transform themselves from a linear food giant to a network of circular local operations, based on global R&D, technology and sustainable business processes.

The ideas that things must be done differently in the world are no longer unknown. And although people often find it difficult to adjust their own behaviour, when they are asked to help develop the organizational and brand strategy for the future, they often turn out to have more imagination and movability of their thinking than you would expect.

Such a brand cannot be properly developed by an external consultancy or by the marketing department of an organization.

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PRINCIPLES FOR TRANSFORMATIVE BRANDING

The brand usually already stands for something, the question is how it should develop in the future to accelerate new, sustainable behaviour. So that people act on it, want to belong to it, invest in it or buy it.

DESIGN THINKING It starts with genuine empathy for and understanding of people's needs and desires.

Then follows a trajectory in which solutions are explored by prototyping scenarios and by diverging and converging in each phase.

Those who focus on their goal are busy achieving or acquiring something. Thinking is focused on the future: where do I want to be or have I achieved? Those who focus on their values take a completely different starting point: What is important to me?

How do I want to live? Which choices fit in with this? The gaze is on your moral compass. And with that you focus on how you want to walk the road, and less on your goal. Branding gives substance to purpose and mission for the future, but it is also necessary to determine the moral compass to guide daily decisions.

DEVELOP TOGETHER As many people as possible are enabled to contribute ideas and provide input. You go fast alone, but together you go much further.

So it is better to take people with you in advance than to impose something on them afterwards.

MAKE IT VISUAL Verbal solutions are difficult to judge because words often have different meanings. Words are cognitively rational, while visual triggers more directly affect emotions. Adjust the environmental context as much as possible.

In addition, there are other important building blocks that have a guiding and strengthening effect in bringing a strong attractive brand to life. There are all kinds of verbal, visual and ritual elements that need to be created and activated.

LINK WITH BEHAVIOUR Don't make the mistake of linking the brand mainly to marketing communication. It is much more important to encourage people to adopt new behaviour and activities in business processes. Organize brand-driven innovation of products and services and adjust the contact moments between people, inside and outside your own organization as much as possible. People's behavior doesn't change with reports; ensure adjustments in the work context.

"BUILD NEXT BETTER" The situation in which your organization finds itself and the urgency for transformation determines the structure of an organization-wide plan in which as many employees as possible can participate.

TAKE TIME, HAVE PATIENCE You have to have a good dose of patience and be prepared to deal with resistance.

Ultimately, time does its job and people will attach to a new reality.

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7 STEPS IN A TRANSFORMATIVE BRANDING PATH

5 - CELEBRATE The new story is elaborated into visual and verbal means and is shared and celebrated with the entire organization and external stakeholders.

1 - IGNITE The people of the organization are informed about the importance of the transformation. It is made clear why this is necessary and that everyone can think and act.

6 - EMBRACE Workshops are held with all teams to make mutual agreements about new behaviour and activities to further flesh out the new story. The leadership team actively discusses the importance of transformation and new activities with the operational teams. Internal and external communication gives more and more expression and content to the new story.

2 - SCAN A study is being started in which everyone can give their opinion about how the brand and culture is currently experienced, and how they would like this to be different in the future. In addition to the internal organization, external stakeholders are also included. In this phase we use tools such as the 17 SDGs of the UN and 23plusone to discover the emotional dynamics within the organization.

7 - MONITOR Qualitative sessions and quantitative measurements take place regularly to monitor and adjust progress. An "impact board" to be put together remains in place to discuss progress and initiate new activities in the spirit of the desired future.

3 - DISCOVER Results are interpreted jointly and conclusions are drawn. How the organization can contribute (even) better to society becomes clear.

4 - DEVELOP The contours of a new future are explored and recorded through several sessions with participants from the organization. Interim results and scenarios are shared and tested with employees and possibly also externally. The leadership team makes the final choice for the future scenario.

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BUILDING NEXT BETTER CONTENT BUILDING STONES

VALUES ARE THE BASIS OF HOW THE ORGANIZATION BEHAVES Values determine the way the organization operates and support corporate culture.

They often take the form of a series of words or short sentences that indicate the expected mindset.

Transformative brands have meaning that is grand, attractive and activating to connect people. There are several components that must be content-wise completed and embraced.

IMPACT ASPECTS

Branding connects organizational strategy with culture and expression. Each of these categories can be specifically filled in with aspects that are more and less known in various descriptive brand models.

In addition to these well-known parts, a number of other concepts can help in developing a transformative brand. These are impact aspects that are not yet often indicated in descriptive brand models, such as the choice for Sustainable Development Goals, behaviour and rituals, ethics and norms and proof of your impact.

We will highlight a number of them in particular here.

PURPOSE DESCRIBES WHY THE BRAND IS THERE AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

You will see a schematic overview of this on the next page.

On which problems does the brand try to contribute with a solution? The aim of doing business is to profitably solve the problems of people and the environment, and not to cause problems. This distinguishes purpose in theory from more traditional concepts for organizations: mission, vision and values.

MISSION EXPLAINS WHAT THE ORGANIZATION DOES The mission records the daily activities of the organization. It is directly linked to the strategy of the organization and the values used to realize the mission. It is practical and descriptive in nature.

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BUILDING NEXT BETTER CONTENT BUILDING STONES

Model 1. Cohesive elements to capture, activate, monitor and evolve transformative brands.

Model 2. BR-ND Hearts model. Connecting all building stones..

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BR-ND PEOPLE ACCREDITATIES & PARTNERSHIPS

B CORP CERTIFIED Since the end of 2017 we are a B Corp. We pursue the highest possible guidelines in our social and environmental endeavors.

Read more about our B Corp goals.

UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT Since 2020, we have been an official supporter of The Global Compact of the UN. This is the largest global sustainability initiative for organizations.

Read more about Global Compact.

PLEDGE 1% Since 2020 we have been officially affiliated with Pledge 1%, a global initiative that encourages and enables companies to donate 1% of their time, product, profit and / or equity to charity.

Read more about 1% Pledge

23PLUSONE FRIENDS Since 2013 we have been initiator, founder and participant of 23plusone Friends. An international group of trained and licensed users of the 23plusone method.

Read more about 23plusone Friends.

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Foto: Janiek Dam

Foto: Janiek Dam

Alexander Koene

Kim Cramer PhD

Alexander is a creative optimist who believes in progress of human civilisation. After an international career as a marketer in food, beverages and tobacco, he started his own business in 2000 and has now supported dozens of organizations with branding, innovation and cultural development.

Kim is a social animal with a love for environments in which people can live and work together positively. She wants to let people experience for themselves how things can be improved. After studying communication science and social psychology, she obtained her PhD at the University of Amsterdam on the subject of brand portfolio management. Since 2005 she has worked as a consultant, inspirator and entrepreneur, and has helped many organizations with branding and culture development.

Since 2005 he has been working with Kim, with whom he developed the 23plusone method.

Alexander is a father, adventurer, rebel, activist, idealist, ski instructor, hockey trainer-coach, sailor, handyman and mechanic. He lives with his children in the centre of Amsterdam. If he is not there, he is on a high mountain, sailing yacht or tropical island. In real life or in his dreams.

Kim has two sons and is happily married to her great high school sweetheart. She likes to perfect her skills, but also likes to throw herself in the deep end to learn something new. She has exchanged her career as a show dancer for an attempt to learn to skate on speed skates.

23plusone 23plusone is a scientific method to create connections and stimulate positive action. It affects behaviour, both in business and private, based on positive psychological drives. It bridges individual and collective motives and stimulates organizations to grow based on common values. People intuitively and unconsciously strive for happiness in life by following 24 fundamental drives, activating the broad spectrum of these drives evokes happy feelings and encourages positive behaviour.

BR-ND People BR-ND People is a consultancy that supports organizations with strategic transformations through "emotive branding". We make the world a better place by developing culture-driven brands that contribute to a better world. Such brands drive positive behaviour and lead to innovation and responsible growth.

BR-ND People is a B Corp.

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REFERENCES Circle Economy. (2020). Resilience & the circular economy: Opportunities & risks (pp. 1-16, Rep.).

Amsterdam: Circle Economy. Retrieved from Circle Economy Website Calisto Friant, M., Van Oers, L., Koretskaya, O., & Faez, S. (2020). Towards a circular society: An overview of the Second (Online) Utrecht Degrowth Symposium. Retrieved from Ontgroei Website CitiesWithNature. (2020). CitiesWithNature. Retrieved from CitiesWithNature Website Eaton, D., & Zhou, X. (2019). Inclusive green economy: Policies and practice (pp. 32-61) (D. Eaton, Ed.). Zayed International Foundation for the Environment & Tongji University.

Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (n.d.). Systems and the circular economy. Retrieved from Ellen MacArthur Foundation Website Helliwell, J., Layard, R., Sachs, J., & De Neve, J. (Eds.). (2020). World Happiness Report (pp.

1-202, Rep.). New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Retrieved from World Happiness Report Website Piketty, T. (2019). Towards a circular economy [Editorial]. Le Monde. Retrieved from Le Monde Pinker, S. (2018). Enlightenment now: The case for reason, science, humanism, and progress (1st ed.). Viking.

Raworth, K. (2017). Doughnut economics: Seven ways to think like a 21st-century economist.

Chelsea Green Publishing.

Semple, K. (2017). Mexico ready to play the corn card in trade talks. The New York Times.

Retrieved from New York Times Website Stockholm Resilience Centre. (n.d.). Planetary boundaries research. Retrieved from Stockholm Resilience Website United Nations Development Programme. (n.d.). Human development index (HDI). Retrieved from UNDP Website Vanham, P. (2019). A brief history of globalization. Retrieved from We Forum Website

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2nd edition - 2021

BR-ND People | Emotive Transformers Amsterdam | The Netherlands welcome@br-nd.com www.br-ndpeople.com

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