{"id":54591,"date":"2026-08-22T17:30:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T15:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turner.nl\/uncategorized\/column-by-peter-de-bruin-fifty-fifty\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T17:30:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T15:30:42","slug":"column-by-peter-de-bruin-fifty-fifty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turner.nl\/en\/blog-en\/column-by-peter-de-bruin-fifty-fifty\/","title":{"rendered":"Column by Peter de Bruin | \u201cFifty-Fifty\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Column by Peter de Bruin<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Fifty-fifty\"<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Peter de Bruin makes an urgent plea to replace endless debates over principles\u2014based on apparent contradictions\u2014with an important agreement that serves everyone\u2019s interests. If both extremes are 50% correct, the respectful path forward lies roughly halfway between them\u2014a path that will take us further. We certainly need to set aside our emotions to dare to make such agreements. <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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There are some discussions you just can\u2019t resolve. Should production make what sales sells, or should sales sell what production can make? Does the business take the lead and does staff just have to deliver, or does staff capacity determine how the line divides this up among themselves? Neither extreme is ever true. There\u2019s always a \u201cno, unless\u201d or \u201cyes, provided that.\u201d The truth in these kinds of chicken-and-egg relationships lies somewhere in the gray area, presumably around the middle. So endless debates quickly become a waste of time. <\/p>

One more thing: should the board report only what the regulator wants, or should the regulator give the board complete freedom? Both are true and false. You\u2019re looking for a partnership that builds trust through practical experience\u2014a two-way street. A debate based on principles alone won\u2019t get you very far. <\/p>

We\u2019re familiar with these kinds of paradoxes from other contexts as well. For example, there\u2019s the age-old debate over whether nature or nurture determines an individual\u2019s development. The competition between scientific research supporting both positions is fierce. Does it help us move forward? To ask the question is to answer it. <\/p>

Of course, we must continue to investigate this kind of \u201capparent contradiction,\u201d if only to discover the emergence of a third dimension. But above all, let\u2019s accept that both extremes point to the middle ground. If we simply agree that both are 50% correct(*1)<\/sup>, then we arrive at another very important principle: togetherness. It\u2019s not about who is more right; it\u2019s about what we achieve together. <\/p>

I urgently advocate replacing the often endless \u201cdebate over principles\u201d with a more practical approach based on collaboration, especially in these times when crisis and uncertainty have become the New Normal. Resilience is a Core Competency; adaptability is the norm. Listening carefully with genuine interest and respect for one another offers a better \u201cway forward\u201d in this increasingly complex world\u2014something that does involve some feeling and emotion. <\/p>

However, in keeping with our cultural tradition, we approach many issues rationally first and foremost. Our rationality has brought us a great deal of protection, health, and safety\u2014and with that, continuity, far beyond the principle of \u201csurvival of the fittest.\u201d And yet, when it comes to our successes\u2014such as investments, acquisitions, or hiring candidates\u2014we actually pride ourselves on things like our \u201cfingerspitzengef\u00fchl.\u201d So intuition is there, but it only counts in hindsight. We\u2019ve become a bit like our culture. Even our educational system is primarily knowledge-oriented and focused on avoiding mistakes. Without mistakes, however, you can\u2019t come up with new solutions. And those are exactly what we need right now. <\/p>

So, are we going to solve our crisis rationally or emotionally? Let\u2019s put an end to this so-called dilemma right away and agree on a 50-50 split. Since they are complementary, reason and emotion should go hand in hand. In that case, we can certainly give some weight to emotion\u2014feelings are also valid arguments. But let\u2019s at least set aside the debates over principles more often and settle on fifty-fifty. It forces us to work together in everyone\u2019s best interest. <\/p>

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(*1)<\/sup> As early as 1951, Calvin Hall suggested that the dichotomy between nature and nurture was unhelpful, a view that was tentatively adopted by many anthropologists and other scientists in the decades that followed.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Meet the Author<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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