Written by Consultancy.co.uk
After completing his graduation project at The Next Organisation, Bram Zuidervaart knew for sure: the Bussum-based strategic consulting firm offers him an ideal environment for kick-starting his career. This month, he started as a Junior Consultant.
You chose to start your career in consultancy at The Next Organisation. What was the deciding factor?
"I feel very much at home in the consultancy sector. I appreciate the diversity in the work and enjoy solving different problems within various industries. In my opinion, what makes strategic consulting so fascinating is the approach of solving problems from a helicopter perspective."
"The choice of The Next Organisation is mainly based on the work, growth and challenge the agency offers. The Next Organization always takes strategy as the starting point. We start by looking at how an organisation can improve its strategy and then translate it to tactical and operational levels."
"I value the importance of continuous innovation within companies. Innovation is deeply rooted in The Next Organization's culture. This is reflected in The Next Organization's interest and involvement in graduate projects, but also in the innovative solutions we design for our clients."
"I have also been greatly influenced by the atmosphere and culture at The Next Organisation. As a working student and during my graduation period, it felt like coming home when I was back in the office with my colleagues after the weekend. This made the pressure of graduation a lot more bearable. It is also very easy to approach each other for questions, both during and outside office hours, and there is a lot of laughter among colleagues."
What kind of research did you participate in at The Next Organisation?
"I researched the critical success factors for setting up and implementing co-production processes within corporate networks. In the process, I designed a tool to further support these corporate networks and ensure success."
"We are currently seeing a growing trend, with successful companies such as ASML, Amazon and Google recognising the value of effective collaboration within a networked structure. This allows organisations to share a wide range of knowledge and experience with each other, which then leads to new product innovations and/or optimised business processes."
As far as you are concerned, what is the most important takeway from the survey?
"Business networks are capable of achieving much more together than they currently realise. Compared to individual companies, well-organised business networks can more easily ensure higher returns, more efficient business processes and a more sustainable future."
"In addition, business networks can also engage at the societal level, working with national, provincial and regional bodies, to more easily address the major issues within our country."
Bram Zuidervaart holds a master's degree in Operations Management & Logistics from TU Eindhoven. With a focus on network business models, co-creation and co-production processes, he aims to support companies in designing innovative and novel process designs.