As automation and AI continue to reshape our work, one question becomes more urgent than ever: how do we build organizations designed not just for speed, but for meaning?
Our Executive Director, Marcel van Oosterhout 🟥, and our Academic Director, Ting Li, recently attended the launch of ‘The Joy of Total Action’, a book by Peter Vervest. The event took place at Castle De Vanenburg in Putten and brought together a diverse group of industry and academia leaders for a day of meaningful dialogue and connection.
Peter Vervest — one of ECDA’s founders — is a seasoned strategist and academic known for bridging technology, business, and human insight. His thought leadership has helped shape our vision from the start.
His new book ‘The Joy of Total Action’ introduces a forward-looking framework for organizing in an AI-driven, hyper-connected world. At its heart lies a powerful shift: from fragmented business to focused, purposeful effort. It calls for designing work that prioritizes human depth over digital distraction, removing what’s unnecessary, and ensuring every action is both purposeful and complete.
📌 Highlights from the event:
- Engaging discussions moderated by Conny Dorrestijn Prins on how Total Action can be applied in practice.
- Insights from Jan Baan, the Netherlands’ longest-serving IT entrepreneur, and trendwatcher Vincent Everts 🙏 on AI and software as drivers of transformation.
- A festive dinner, where Eric van Heck presented awards to Jan Baan, followed by a performance by Greg Shapiro of BOOM Chicago.
🙏 Thank you to others for sharing their valuable perspectives: Astrid and René van Hattem, Joost Zuurbier, Diederik van Liere, and Li Zheng of Tsinghua University.
