Pink Coat needed a breath of fresh air

2017 was quite the year… First of all, for me personally as I became a mum. Because of my leave I have had something I never had in my life. 3 weeks of doing nothing, and being unable to do anything. And then 3 months of not working. That gives you time to reflect.

After my leave I decided to not make any major life changing decisions for the next 9 months to come. I mean, I was still grasping the consequences of 1 major life changing event 😉 It gave me additional time to reflect specifically on Pink Coat. For those of you that know me, know that 9 months without a drastic change is very unlike me, and especially not having shared the process in blogs is even more unlike me. So let me make up for that right here, right now.

In the last 9 months I have gained a lot of insights, on the strategy of Pink Coat, on my work within the company, where I want us to grow into and where we are now. It has been amazing. Not easy, but amazing. After having build Pink Coat for the last 3 years by being literally “on the go” non-stop, it was good to stand still for a bit. Who says you need a sabbatical for that, just make a baby 😉 In the beginning of January things became clearer and we are now in the process of making some solid decisions and making them happen. I am happy to share them here.

Pink Coat will still be: The independent L&D consultancy organization of the Netherlands, that operates globally. We do strategic consultancy for corporate academies as well as providers on Learning and Development and mostly innovation in Learning and Development. Performance Consulting has become our second nature, so that is always what we deliver. We feel at home in the world of L&D and will stay put. We also like to get our hands dirty in instructional design, webinar and training delivery and building performance support. But we only do that when we have figured out together with the client that this is the best solution to enhance the performance of the individual, team and organization.

 Why do I keep talking about “we”? Because besides my PA Mariëlle and didactical hero Ineke Cremers, we have made some friends along the way. I call them ”the friends of Pink Coat”. For example, “Het Trainingsbureau” that for years now has helped us deliver training on a bigger scale. Or ICM who help us get massive programs in place and rolled out. Those friends have been there al along, but haven’t been as visible and we will make them more visible in the future.

We also made a very important new friend. SeaSalt Learning, their methodology on social learning is well known in the L&D Industry and they are also constantly looking for ways to challenge the status quo. On change, culture, innovation, and informal structures within organizations. As we like to challenge too, that is where our paths crossed and I am happy announce there is more to come in the future.

We truly believe our “friends of Pink Coat” network does not make us less of an independent partner. For two reasons: we only use the methodology or technology that we see fit for the solution and we never ask any kick back fee for referrals. Never. It is one of our core values and very important to us.

When you start exploring new friends and partnerships and reflect on the focus and strategy of the organization you also have to make decisions to change partnerships. Which is why we have decided to stop being the formal partner of the LPI in the Benelux. We have spend the last 2,5 years together with the LPI to build a steady network and build the brand locally. Now it is time for Pink Coat to move on. We will continue to work with the LPI as they remain our Pink Coat friend. We will keep executing accreditations and any other support we can give to keep raising the quality in L&D, globally.

There is more to come, but this is what I wanted to update you on for now. If you want to know more, give me a call!

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