“It’s always been this way.” My grandparents would say this, and every time, it would send a shiver down my spine. Not because it’s a bad thing, but because it feels like a phrase designed to stop us from asking the most important question: “What if we look at it from another perspective?”

We are wired to perceive the world based on our own experiences and what we've learned. This is why some see a glass as half-full while others see it as half-empty. The objective reality is the same, but the subjective situation is completely different. This is the power of perspective.

This is the foundation of progress, innovation, and change. A different perspective will change how you act, how your environment reacts, and ultimately, the outcome.

Recently, I came across an example that made this crystal clear.

The EV Paradox

The one thought experiment that will finally close the 'what's better' conversation once and for all.

I was listening to a great video podcast from the Consumer Behavior Lab with the brilliant Rory Sutherland, author of Alchemy. The discussion was about why irrational ideas often work, and he used a fascinating thought experiment about electric vehicles (EVs).

And this isn't about whether electric cars are objectively "better," or if we're subjectively attached to the smell of petrol and the sound of a V8 engine, preference we could also consider to be conditioned to have.

He started with the usual facts we all know: EV engines are way more efficient, and he even added a fun, contrarian detail—electric engines were a British invention by Michael Faraday. But even with these facts, I found myself thinking, "Yeah, I know all this. Blah…"

Then, Rory flipped the script. Instead of talking about the benefits of EVs, he provoked to imagine a world where EVs were the norm and gasoline cars were the new, radical idea. The logic is simple, but the effect is powerful:

All cars are electric. Everyone zips around in these simple, quiet, zero-emission vehicles with seemingly endless power. Then, Nicolaus Otto from Germany bursts into a meeting and says, “I’ve got a better idea.”

“Okay, it’s massively complicated. You have to put a huge tank of a flammable liquid in the car. It feeds into these heavy, engine with cylinders where we engineer a series of explosions. But, because it only produces torque in a limited range of revolutionary cycles, we'll need a thing called a gearbox, which needs extra oil. And then we'll need an air filter, and a water filter, and all this other stuff.”

“Is it quieter? No, it’s loud as hell. Is it cleaner? No, it farts stuff out of the back. Is it simpler to make? Hell no, there are hundreds of moving parts in the drivetrain, while our electric cars only have a few.”

“So, what's the upside?”

“Well, you can refuel it really quickly.”

“Can you do it at home?”

“No, you can't. You have to go to a special place, which, by the way, won't just be a little rapid charger on the side of the road. It's a massive place that sells junk food and other stuff.”

“Basically, that guy's career is over,” Rory concludes. "The only people who benefit are the 0.05% of the population who drive 350km a day and have bladders so enormous they never need to stop."

The Takeaway

Without a doubt, our perception of gasoline cars versus EVs would be completely different if we adopted this simple, contrarian perspective.

And that's the point. It applies to everything in life. We need to actively challenge our assumptions and push past the "it's always been this way" mentality. Don't push boundaries just for the sake of it, but to truly discover if the grass is greener on the other side. If it's not, great, you've confirmed your position. But if it is, you'll uncover a wealth of opportunities that will enrich your life, your business, and your thinking.

It all starts by simply asking yourself: "Can we we look at this differently and if so, what will it change?"

As always: Gemma Gemma Gemma! Let’s go Let’s go Let’s go! Yalla Yalla Yalla!

PS: Let me know if you’ve been on a similar path or if you’ve found this useful to now share your own story of taking a different perspective, either below via the comments, above via the chat, or simply send me an email.

For years, I’ve seen the belief that “bureaucracy is the enemy” grow stronger and stronger. Not that I ever fully subscribed to it, but I wouldn’t have called myself a pro-bureaucrat either. Until now.

The general narrative goes: bureaucracy slows things down, buries innovation under paperwork, and makes simple processes unbearable. But wait—bureaucracy mostly goes unnoticed until something is perceived as going wrong or moving too slowly. It’s a reflection of today’s society, where we amplify negative experiences but rarely acknowledge when things work as expected.

That got me thinking. So I started

approaching the topic from different angles. These days, the “F*** Bureaucracy” attitude is gaining momentum worldwide. But something about this movement doesn’t quite add up.

We Don’t Need More Bureaucracy—But We Can’t Afford to Lose It

Do institutions need to evolve? Absolutely. We should be using technology to empower people, making things work better—not just faster, but more reliably. Sure, we have bloated systems and outdated processes. There’s plenty to improve. But the goal shouldn’t be mindless efficiency; it should be effectiveness—a system that serves people without failing them. The idea of eliminating bureaucracy altogether? That’s a dangerous fantasy.

I’m not here to defend paperwork for the sake of paperwork. I’m here to say that strong institutions provide the foundation for taking risks. As an entrepreneur, I rely on certain rules being in place. I need to trust that my contracts will be honored, that my employees’ rights are protected, and that my business can operate within a stable system. Without that, innovation turns into chaos.

The Unsung Heroes of Stability

It’s easy to forget that behind the forms and regulations are real people who make these processes function smoothly. The ones processing my passport, handling my company permits, ensuring that I, as an individual and as a business owner, don’t fall through the cracks. We’re not talking about faceless machines—we’re talking about people who keep everything running so the rest of us can build, create, and challenge the status quo.

As an entrepreneur and investor for most of my professional career, I’ve taken more risks than the average person. People like me are often seen as the ones pushing the world forward, shaping the future, and doing the exciting work. But let’s be honest—entrepreneurship isn’t always fun, and it’s rarely as heroic or impactful as we’d like to think. What drives me is the desire to create something new, to explore uncharted territory. But without stability, that’s impossible.

As Richard David Precht put it: “The functioning of the state and the harmonious coexistence of people.” I talk about breaking rules, but the truth is, we need people who uphold them—otherwise, we wouldn’t have the freedom to innovate at all.

Innovation Thrives on Stability, Not Chaos

It’s no coincidence that the world’s most innovative economies—Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden, and the U.S., to name a few—also have strong institutions (at least for now). That’s not a coincidence. When rules are clear and institutions are predictable, businesses feel safer taking long-term risks. Entrepreneurs dedicate years to uncertainty because they operate in environments that work for them, not against them.

An enabling bureaucracy does exactly that. It doesn’t just minimize uncertainty; it actively supports progress. Stable funding for research that takes decades, structured governance that gives investors the confidence to back high-risk moonshots—these things don’t stifle innovation, they make it possible.

The Fix: Let’s Be Smart

No system is perfect, and institutions aren’t immune to stagnation. Progress is necessary. But take the recent EU initiative (

https://www.eu-inc.org/

) to create a simplified legal entity structure for European entrepreneurs. It’s not about tearing down institutions or eliminating LTDs, GmbHs, BVs, and other corporate structures—it’s about making them more effective. We don’t need less structure; we need structure that actually works for people. Technology can help, but not at the expense of reliability. Cutting red tape shouldn’t mean removing the safety nets that keep things predictable.

Because when functioning institutions disappear, history shows us what happens next. Weak bureaucracy doesn’t lead to an entrepreneurial paradise—it leads to patrimonialism, where power depends on personal connections instead of fairness. Or it paves the way for techno-fascism, where a handful of unaccountable algorithms dictate our lives. Neither of these outcomes fosters real innovation or human progress.

As Cliché as It Sounds: Let’s Build, Together

Paul Ambroise Valéry once said, “The world acquires value only through its extremes and endures only through moderation.” We need rule-breakers and risk-takers, but we also need the people who provide stability. Without them, everything falls apart.

Institutions, businesses, and organizations—whether for-profit or nonprofit—create a flywheel effect. Effective bureaucracy enables companies and individuals to thrive. In turn, those companies generate value and knowledge, helping institutions evolve into something even more effective. This cycle feeds itself, reinforcing a system where progress and stability work together.

So let’s stop fighting each other. Let’s stop blaming each other. If we want a prosperous future, we all need to step up. As a proud European, nowhere is this more urgent than in Europe, where decades of comfort have made us quite complacent.

On that note:

Gemma Gemma Gemma! Let’s go Let’s go Let’s go! Yalla Yalla Yalla!

P.S. If you truly want to escape bureaucracy, be my guest. That’s your choice. But don’t expect to come back and use the very systems and institutions you refused to contribute to—because, morally, that’s not your right.

In autumn 2022, I had an accident.  Not the type of accident you might imagine, such as a car accident – or a bicycle accident (I’m an Amsterdam’er!).  No, I broke my leg (while running!) – maybe you’re thinking the same as I did back then – WTF, who breaks their leg while running!

Back then, I was running fairly regularly – approximately twice a week for around 8-10 km, enough for me to stay physically fit, but mostly to stay mentally sane!  Running, as scientifically proven, has strong positive effects, such as better memory and focus, as well as reduced anxiety and stress, therefore leading to a more open mind.  Anyway, on that fateful day, I over-exerted myself, according to my doctor. Running over 12km was 20% more than my “max” average, and I was going harder than usual because my mind was busy dealing with a long-lasting personal and professional challenge.

Literally Letting My Emotions Run Away With Me                                           

That day I ran how I felt, edgy, with anger and under pressure, not getting into the flow. Suddenly, I felt a stinging pain in my right leg.  As I later discovered, I’d broken my inner leg’s bone, vertically, which meant I was still able to move it but I was in constant pain.  My doctor explained that this had come from running in the wrong way – and going at it harder than usual, leading to the nasty end result.

I Found Out I Didn’t Know How to Run!

So, he got me a running coach. During my initial session, the first thing he told me was that I “can’t run”!  In fact, I did almost everything wrong that’s possible, and there was a lot I needed to rethink; my step length, how I put my feet on the ground, how fast I was going, my back posture, and my viewpoint.

This crushed my mind.  For years I’ve been doing something I enjoy completely wrong and the only way I realised was by having my body physically tell me to stop and regroup.  Even worse to me, I’d believed that my running had been perfectly fine for most of my life, yet those small changes I’d been making over many years led to a huge change – and one that had massive negative effects!   So, external influences and my own adaptations led to a worse outcome over time, without me noticing.   I saw this as synonymous with everything in life, how we, our minds and behaviours change over time without us being aware of those changes – and some of those changes cause trouble.  To me, this meant a dire need for active reflection, and constant re-steering.

What Else Had I Been Doing Wrong?

I began to wonder what else I’d been doing for a long while because I’d been trained that way – or because I’d been taught it incorrectly?  What else did I need to revisit and change?  This is a difficult question as we tend to narrow our view constantly. 

So, instead of keeping hold of that narrow view and watching the ground, looking at what is directly in front of me, I look straight up – to where I’m going.  Not only does this change my perspective but it corrects my head’s posture, which in turn corrects my back’s posture.  It also reduces my step length so it’s shorter, keeping me stable no matter what’s immediately happening underneath my feet.  Lastly, doing this adjusts how I step with my feet onto the ground.

Widen the View…

This was mind-blowing!  Literally by using a different viewpoint for a certain activity in life (one that I regard as very important, as it pushes my creativity and encourages new thoughts), I can change my perspective.  Looking up has a secondary meaning too, it relates to being more open, and engaging in conversations with others rather than hiding away and only looking at something with a narrow mind.

Since then (and it might sound a bit cheesy but it’s true), if I notice something that I’ve done a certain way for years, I “look up“ to reflect on it and proactively change perspective to become more open minded and open to change.  Still, it amazes me how literally life can create a blind spot because you look at things placed directly in front of you rather than all around you.

PS: Let me know if you’ve been on a similar path or if you’ve found this useful to now share your own story of taking a different perspective, either below via the comments, above via the chat, or simply send me an email.

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with my children about the school’s grading system. They are unhappy with it, as it mostly focuses on their mistakes, without giving them enough room for trial and error.  Of course, this is a critique that I’ve been voicing for ages, which has rubbed off on them.

Even today in 2024, the European schooling system seems to be the same as it was 25 years ago.  To a certain extent, the European education system has proved to build high standards and is well-regarded worldwide.  However, on the other hand, it fails to enable the younger generation to identify what they’re really good at.  Instead, from as early as our first days at school, we’re taught to note errors and even more so to try not to make them.  

Ignore the Penalizing and Stand Up Once More

Nowadays though, it’s believed that by teaching us to avoid making mistakes, we impact our individual creativity and ability to build our skillset.  This is achieved best by providing children at school a safe space for trial and error until they figure out what and how something works!  Hence we encourage them at home to ignore being penalised for errors and try again, to stand up once more and overcome that negative feeling.  The reason for this is simple and best shared with this quote:

Over the weekend, I had one of those aha momenta, a somewhat weird one though.  While mowing the lawn, I caught myself spotting errors much the same way as I was taught at school quite some years back.  The mistakes I was noticing consisted of…. dog poop.  Yes, you heard right, dog poop!  Our dog is quite old and started doing his business in our backyard recently.  So, I did as we all do I guess, to watch out for dog poop and avoid stepping in it.

At first, that thought seemed quite normal, my second thought told me I was being stupid and wasteful!  I realised we focus on the negative and even more important to note is that negative events are usually very much a minority occurrence that simply drain one’s energy.  While my mind was wandering performing this somewhat mindless task, I concluded that rather than trying to focus on the few, rare dog poops I needed to avoid stepping in, instead, I’d be better off putting all that mental energy towards using all the 99% of empty space and be more creative with how to use it best.

We Learn from the Act of Making Mistakes

It's likely my poo-pondering sounds gross to you (and finding a better way to mow the lawn isn’t life-changing), but the analogy helped me to wake up and re-steer my brain away from what I’d always been taught.  That was to focus on the negative, rare occurring events and move onto the positive, the wide space I had to get creative.  It showed me that I can actually steer and influence to get a different result.  So I used that thought to encourage my children to push and try one more time, the same way I do for myself.  

This will, irrationally, lead me to try different approaches even more, to acquire new skills, and create different experiences.  Furthermore, when dealing with situations where people have different positions, it makes us more compassionate and solution-oriented as we come to realise that we have more in common than what sets us apart.  Surely, therefore, this approach increases not only my odds of succeeding in any task, but also strengthens my mind, my self-confidence, and in the end it should lead to greater happiness, too.

Years back, during my university days, I learned about the psychological concept of projection.  In layman’s terms, it means attributing your own undesirable traits, emotions or behaviours onto other people.  It’s quite fascinating (you can read more here). Even though it’s well-understood, there’s not much around relating to how to reverse its impact. It’s challenging to detect (I include for myself), until I recently encountered a situation that made me rethink.

“I Learned It From You”

It was my two children who drew my attention to it all. As parents, we are effectively their peer group during their formative years. It’s commonly known that children consciously learn from us adults, for example, things we actively teach them such as playing tennis, or the things we passively teach them, like becoming book lovers, because we read with them.

However, they also learn unconsciously. I’m referring to traits and behaviours forming their characters, through how we adults treat our environment, behave in certain situations, and deal with ourselves. As kids grow older, they design their own life-lessons, applying what they’ve learned both consciously and unconsciously.

Not long ago,  I sat with my teenagers discussing a recent situation. While talking to them, I noticed them display a specific behaviour that I didn’t recognise as something I’d taught them - and even less so as a behaviour I would use myself! I felt it was my duty to call it out, sharing my point of view and stating that I wouldn’t have reacted the same way.

As often from teenagers, I got a terse response, “Who do you think I got that from? I learned it from you!”

Breaking My Self-Mirror

At first, I was shocked as surely, they were clearly mistaken. There then followed an argument. After some time, I asked myself if they could have been right. Have I reacted the same way in the past and if so, why on earth didn’t I notice?

I realised this was an aha moment. A moment where I saw how I projected my own negative behaviour onto my kids. Even worse, I unconsciously taught them as such!  This reminded me of a saying I once heard, “You can teach your kids whatever you want, in the end, they still mirror you.”

There followed a sleepless night. I went on to identify similar situations in the past and quickly noticed a pattern. I think I also identified the root cause of the behaviour, that definitely influenced many of my traits – and obviously was influencing my own kids’ traits too,  although in the end, I also realised it didn’t really matter – what mattered was making the decision to change my behaviour!

The big aha was that I’d been calling out my own children’s behaviour that I unconsciously put upon them.  I also realised that every time someone irritated me, I reacted with a knee-jerk reaction (on a subconscious level), like so many of us do.

Time to Take Different Perspectives

Moving on, I tried to be more conscious about my reactions. This revealed completely new perspectives on life. Suddenly, I didn’t rule people, conflicts, or other situations out right away, but started to actively question them. Not only has doing this helped me to understand why a person reacted the way they did, and improve myself, but this new behaviour has helped to open up the minds of others, who subsequently also reacted differently.

The result is a clearer perception of reality, reduced conflict and the promotion of inclusivity and understanding. I’ve realised greater open-mindedness has improved my relationships, on a personal level as well as professionally, and brought so much more fun, engagement and wisdom into my life.

Most importantly to me, I’ve noticed that this behaviour is spreading! Every interaction I now have where I put myself into the shoes of others, helps them to take a different perspective too, broadening our mindsets while creating healthier interpersonal dynamics.

A Real Eye-Opener!

It’s been an eye-opener for myself and those I’ve interacted with so far. I can therefore only encourage you to acknowledge and embrace different perspectives yourself. It’s not easy, it never will be either. But in a world that feels more narrow day after day, I truly believe it will improve your life as it has mine, enabling us all to build a more progressive future.

PS: Let me know if you’ve been on a similar path or if you’ve found this useful to now share your own story of taking a different perspective, either below via the comments, above via the chat, or simply send me an email.