Bertus Groenewegen

Half as much email and 30% fewer meetings. Measured at Aegon.

About Bertus

You know your organization: good people, a clear strategy, and yet the output is lower than the output. Your calendar fills up with meetings that are mostly just catching up, your inbox grows faster than you read it, and problems only reach you when they are already burning. Not because someone isn’t doing their job, but because management fails to make it visible.

From strategy to day-to-day management

More ownership, better decisions, and lasting control over results

Bertus guides management teams toward a different way of steering. Your strategy hangs on the wall in an Obeya, and you guide through it weekly: everyone sees what the goal is, where the bottlenecks are, and who is taking on what. Problems are brought to the table when they are still small, and teams solve them themselves before you have to get involved. You get the most out of it and maintain control, even when the environment changes; in English, this is called peak performance and adaptive governance. For you, it primarily means: fewer surprises, better decisions, and teams that take ownership.

He previously guided this transition at Aegon, where he combined Obeya with SAFe and a local portfolio process; a professional article was published about that approach. At Essent IT, the management team was steering independently after just one quarter, after which he trained internal facilitators who rolled out the approach to seven agile release trains. He himself spent five years at the helm as a Release Train Engineer, so he knows the tension between delivering and adjusting from the inside.

What does it yield

  • 50% less email and 30% fewer meetings, measured at Aegon
  • No surprises: you see where the bottlenecks are every week and adjust based on facts, not on retrospective reports
  • Ownership: teams solve problems before they land on your plate
  • An organization that gets a little better every week, without an extra layer of reporting

That is how Bertus works

  • You start with what is already in place. For example, your OGSM, annual plan, or KPIs form the basis; Bertus does not add a new method, he makes yours work.
  • In three days, your management team builds its own Obeya, either physical or digital (iObeya, Miro). Theory and application go hand in hand: learning by doing. After day three, you use it to steer your decisions.
  • For a quarter, he fine-tunes your rhythm until the team can continue without him. If you want to scale up, he trains your own facilitators.

Experiences & certificate

  • Obeyas set up at Aegon, ASR, SVB, Stedin, DICTU, Essent, Police, and Customs
  • Five years Release Train Engineer (SAFe), extensive experience in portfolio management
  • Certified trainer in Leading with Obeya and the Obeya Association Six Panels
  • Author of a trade article on Obeya in combination with SAFe

In conversation with Bertus?

Curious if Bertus is the right coach or interim leader for your challenge? Schedule a no-obligation consultation.

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