23plusone in SE Asia
Unleashing purpose through meaningful connections
The last week of June 2019 has been fab for the 23plusone section of BR-ND, with a week long visit to the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Michael Cortino, Alexander Koene and Kim Cramer headed on a mission to train Ideascape leadership team, one of KL’s finest brand strategy consultancies. Together we hosted an Emotive Branding workshop, just like we do every quarterly season in the Netherlands. This time it marked the start of exciting South East Asian adventures. All important enough in it self, but the most heartwarming thing was the amazing welcome that our new Licensed Friends gave us. But let’s start at the beginning.
It starts with love, curiosity and excitement
We’ve had interest from around the world for our proprietary method 23plusone, leading already to licensees in the United Kingdom, Norway, Slovenia and South Africa. But it still always feels like a little miracle when it happens. When suddenly people from all around the world, hearing via-via about our branding methods and then reach out to learn more. So when BR-ND’s Michael and Ideascape’s Maarten got into contact a few months ago, we were again very humbled and happy that someone from the other side of the globe was reaching out for our knowledge and tools. Moreover, we were most excited as KL was calling!
Nothing beats a good homecooked malaysian meal
After we arrived on Monday afternoon we had our first encounter with the Ideascape leadership team at Rome’s place. Rome is something special. Or rather someONE special. She’s the founder of Ideascape, a visionary when it comes down to branding, business and purpose, a strong mom of three beautiful grownups and, last but not least, she’s a wonderful cook. We enjoyed the company, the food, the talks, the free spirits. We were sharing all this with people from different cultural roots and different religious backgrounds, and we felt the togetherness, as it should be. Malaysia is a country with many many different subcultures and it’s known for its harmonious way of living. Such a shame to hear that also recently the political climate is often polarising people’s thoughts and behaviour. Our team in KL is all connected though, with Dutch, Malay, Chinese, Indonesian, Italian and American blood running through our veins. And with Muslims, Catholics, and even an atheist, sharing delicious sateh ;)
Emotive behaviour connects people on what truly matters in life
Tuesday and Wednesday were training days. We worked hard and played hard. Meaning we had nasi goreng for breakfast, banana leaves with curry for lunch, and sushi for dinner. What a feast! Meanwhile we got to know each other better, and discovered what Ideascape was all about. It was not just new to us, BR-ND people, but also for the Ideascape team the talks were at moments eye opening. Sometimes confirming, sometimes confronting, it led to a better understanding of what we actually try to do when we talk about purposeful business and emotive branding.
Alexander Koene, proud founder of BR-ND, in front of Petronas Twin Towers in KL
Alexander Koene, proud founder of BR-ND, in front of Petronas Twin Towers in KL
From hard core capitalism to a humane system with respect for people and planet
On Saturday we caught up with amazing new friends who are leading Malaysia into a next phase of a more sustainable economic system, while we were enjoying a private brunch in the cave of the lion, in the executive club of the Petronas Twin Towers. And to our surprise, exactly the same fresh ideas of a more humane economy are emerging in this part of the world, identical to what we see happening in Europe.
Topics such as social and economical sustainability seem to be of global concern. And whilst the 23plusone method has never been designed specifically to help tackle these issues, the fact that it builds on the emotive commonalities of all humans seems to make it a miracle tool to help align people in a common goal: let’s create businesses as a source for good.