{"id":54875,"date":"2026-08-24T11:51:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T09:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turner.nl\/uncategorized\/column-by-peter-de-bruin-dusting-off-the-past\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T11:52:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T09:52:15","slug":"column-by-peter-de-bruin-dusting-off-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turner.nl\/en\/blog-en\/column-by-peter-de-bruin-dusting-off-the-past\/","title":{"rendered":"Column by Peter de Bruin | Dusting Off the Past"},"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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Dusted Off<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Peter de Bruin sees that COVID-19 will soon become a convenient excuse for everything that hasn\u2019t worked out. But there\u2019s also an excuse that no longer holds water precisely because of COVID-19. Read his blog about the \u201cborder room.\u201d <\/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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'Dusted Off'<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Most boardrooms are currently empty. There\u2019s a thin layer of dust on the conference table. After all, all discussions and decision-making take place digitally. In this regard, we are confined to \u201cthe flat screen.\u201d The screen has room for only a few of the many sensory dimensions that make communication so rich in information. You don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know. We\u2019re also currently missing out on those informal encounters in the hallways, which are often an important source of information and a means of influencing others. <\/p>

The weekly stand-up meeting and the \u201coff-the-record\u201d WhatsApp chats make up for a lot, but certainly not everything. It\u2019s like running a business with the brakes on. It\u2019s like a soccer coach who, when managing his top team, has to temporarily settle for playing the FIFA game on PlayStation. <\/p>

It\u2019s still manageable when you have familiar \u201cplayers\u201d as direct reports. You know your team well, and a raised eyebrow on camera still tells you something. With new teams, it\u2019s much harder to \u201cread\u201d their state of mind. How do you build trust digitally? <\/p>

We\u2019ve also noticed that projects that are going well continue to go well. Setting aside personal hygiene and fatigue from intensive days of meetings, it\u2019s fair to say that productivity is higher now that we can fit more meetings into a day and each session runs more efficiently. Seeing the results in sight naturally motivates us and leaves us wanting more. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Appearances can be deceiving<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Projects that hit a snag, on the other hand, tend to falter more rapidly and severely. The problem is, we don\u2019t see that happening. In digital collaboration, you can\u2019t sense when things are starting to go wrong. The \u201ctraffic lights\u201d in the boardroom are green, but appearances can be deceiving. Normally, as a leader, you\u2019d already sense that extra attention or guidance is needed. But in digital meetings, what doesn\u2019t feel right is easily masked by the participants. <\/p>

The consequences will be felt in the (too) long term. I predict many more debacles\u2014such as the youth care crisis, the benefits scandal, the CBR fiasco, healthcare waiting lists, and so on\u2014that could have been prevented with better cooperation and earlier detection. Of course, the excuse has long since been invented: \u201cAnd then there was COVID-19.\u201d No matter what results we achieve this year, non-performers will get away with it thanks to the COVID-19 excuse. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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No more excuses<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\nI sense a consensus among boards when it comes to COVID-19 measures. But that shouldn\u2019t obscure the fact that silos and compartmentalization are still very much present in day-to-day value creation. Customers, citizens, patients, students, and all other recipients of our products and services move through a chain, but an integrated point of contact for that chain is rarely available. Our silos in the boardroom still stand in the way of what is needed for comprehensive solutions. The boardroom as a \u201cborder-room.\u201d \n\nBut that excuse is a thing of the past! A cross-border or cross-functional meeting can be set up quickly online. Distances between departments, locations, and other parties in the chain are essentially a thing of the past. Digital collaboration knows no barriers. So thanks to COVID-19, soon no one will be able to hide behind them anymore. That excuse has been dusted off\u2014just like the conference table will be soon. \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
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