Cheers to a brand new year! Let’s make it a good one.

As we dive into the new year, we continue our focus on health and happiness and business as a force for good.

Did you know that despite life's ups and downs, the Netherlands is still one of the happiest countries globally? The happiness index remains high, reflecting a positive trend in our well-being. According to the World Happiness Report 2023, the Netherlands ranked fifth. The high quality of life and a strong emphasis on healthy work-life balance contributed to this.

It’s not all rainbows and sunshine

However, at the start of 2024, it is hard to ignore the challenges we faced in 2023. From climate change, the rising cost of living, the lack of available housing, and concerns about immigration, to energy supply and healthcare, the concerns are rising fast. The fight for democracy around the world is ongoing, with conflicts, coups, and autocratic leaders attacking democratic institutions. Media freedom and freedom of expression are under threat in many countries, including the Netherlands, where Geert Wilders, in our opinion an anti-democratic leader, won the recent political elections.

As progressive leaders, social democrats and change-makers, it is our responsibility to stay positive and work together to create a better and more regenerative system for all. This is no easy task, and it is all too tempting to lose hope. Yet we must remain committed and resilient. Let’s be aware that we have a lot to be thankful for. So here’s my positive, happy, cheerful, merry, joyous review of 2023,  with some hopeful, bright, promising outlooks for 2024.

A big shoutout to our team

First and foremost, I want to thank our amazing team for everything they are, everything they do, and everything they stand for. Especially since the last year - in which I had to deal with a personal loss, with surgery (twice!), and with (dare I say it?) becoming a 50-year-old woman, oh lord! - wasn’t always easy for me. I know that not every worker is surrounded by people who care, who work hard for their beliefs, and who are so much fun to have around you. 

Thank you Alice, Anne, Ayu, Alexander, Carmen, Elles, Frederik, Daniel, Ivo, Jessica, Kiki, and Michael!

Helping organizations bloom in harmony with humans and the planet

It’s our clients that make our mission a reality. Together, we work towards our mutual ambition to make the world a better, happier, and more exciting place. In 2023, we engaged leaders and co-workers from different NGOs, B Corps, corporates, and startups, who were all working on their strategies, their cultures, and their brands. We are thankful to have been involved in their journeys towards a sustainable future. And, lucky us, we will continue to support some of them into 2024! I’m very happy that we have returned to the old love for health, with our work on happiness at work, the mental health and resilience of children, skincare and wellbeing, nuclear medicine, and system change in hospital care. 

Thanks Arbomaatschap, Care Cosmetics, Carte d’Or, Kinderpostzegels, Kyden (formerly known as Kirkman, Yse , and Dialogue), mProve, NRG Pallas, Publyon (formerly known as Dröge & van Drimmelen and Dr2 Consultants), and Santeon for your trust and for having fun with us.

Radical collaboration is the way

Next to our clients who gave us inspiration and motivation, we have also had the privilege of collaborating with our friends at Misteli Creative Agency, Blyde, Greenjobs.nl, and B Lab Benelux on a joint initiative to promote JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) through serious gaming. During the B for Good Leaders Summit 2023, we launched Let’s Play Equal, the most unfair game in the world, a business game to boost awareness and understanding of these sensitive topics in the workplace. I can honestly say that it is because of the focus and determination of the youngsters in our teams, that this board game saw the light as a real tangible product. In its short existence, it has already proven to be a valuable conversation starter and eye-opening tool for teams to become aware and start understanding how different people have different starting points, perspectives, and chances in life.

Thank you, Veronique, Nynke, Lorette, Annemieke, Tessa, Daan, and many others!

Growing the B movement

Being part of the B Corp community is always a highlight. We’ve been very much engaged in its activities, promoting the message about using business as a force for good. We contributed to the campaigns for B Corp Month and continued our involvement in the Interdependence Coalition to lobby for broad sustainability matters in the heart of every EU company, in the B Corp Way Consultants network, and in the B for Good Leaders community. Although we are a small player, we believe it all adds up to the growth of the movement. Especially because we have again been able to inspire other companies to become a B Corp, and we have a lineup of soon-to-Bs about to be supported with their sustainability journey and certification. 

To be continued…

In 2023, we made bold decisions that will unfold in 2024. After 17 years of building, improving, and sharing the 23plusone method Alexander and I invented, we decided that it was time to change the ownership structure of the business. The 23plusone Collective is on the horizon, a cooperative association with the method’s users as members. We are excited to make it happen! Plus, get ready for a strategic collaboration with like-minded agencies to become better skilled in serving our clients and making a bigger impact. Coming soon!

We are excited to embrace all the newness the coming year will bring, and look forward to engaging in all the meaningful and fun stuff coming our way. We will recertify as a B Corp and help others become B Corps too. We are committed to continuing our work to accelerate the impact of our clients by aligning transformative strategies with a positive culture and appealing branding.

In short: let’s go!

Kim Cramer
Alexander Koene

Co-founders BR-ND People