‘PLACE THE

Cees Torré, World Wide Resilience:

INDIVIDUAL
BACK IN HIS
STRENGTH’
With a background in the health care industry Cees J.A. Torré moved fifteen
years ago into business life. After a period in consultancy Cees Torré founded
World Wide Resilience and has developed the Everizone Business Capability
platform. As a consultant he has supported large outsourcing strategies.

text: Charles Muetstege / photos: Hermien Lam

Cees Torré
is founder and CEO of World Wide Resilience.
As an internationally in demand boardroom
consultant he knows as few others how change
processes must be carried out. His vision
is that organisations develop themselves
by making an optimal commitment of the
present skills of employees. That demands
an ongoing insight into all present human
capital, whether permanently or temporarily
employed, and goes much further than the
present activity of the employees. Torré
starts from the idea of an employee “as a
whole” with capacities, ambitions, social
and professional networks, as well as a
private situation to consider. By creating a
community, employees and organisations
are able to develop themselves optimally,
together.
This can go never well, thought Torré. Leaders are
not able to keep themselves in hand as they become
more and more powerful. This touches irrevocably
the destructive sides in people and eventually leads to
alienation of self. If this happens, the story develops
by itself – a team is formed around the leader of
so-called “loyalists”. Being loyal to the leader and
representing what he preaches is the team’s starting
point. And everyone becomes a head-nodder around
him.
“This way, a second level of alienation of
the individual arises,” says Torré. “The individual
facilitates himself, developing power, instead of
putting his own development as a central focus point.
Take as an example the credit crisis which we are going
through now. One thing is for certain: to come out
of this crisis it is necessary that we develop a future,
where at the same time we are learning from the crisis.
We are dealing with a deeply damaged trust in one of
the most basic fundamentals of our personal
existence, that being: the certainty to be able to do our As far as money is concerned Cees Torré calculates
own thing. that today there is more virtual money going around
than real money.
Torré emphasizes that we were doing (and still “More credit is being given to allow more
are doing) much more than what we need to do, as basic people to share in the ‘new happiness’ and that is to
conditions for our lives. It is a rat race. Being even become bigger and more important.
bigger, being even more important. It emanates from
the leader to the individual. Everything that happens
from that moment on dominates over the origin of the
‘‘The value of money becomes a
individual, and his intrinsic motivation. At the same substitude for self-esteem.’’
time there was little attention for the individual in the
organization. People were – and are in many cases The value of money becomes in this way a substitute
still – seen as a cost. for self-worth.” Torré suspects that this is possibly
“We are used to the fact that somebody who the real essence of the present credit crisis. “Micro-
performs well in his specialty automatically deserves motivation gives macro-behavior. It has grown
a leading or management function. We know now that completely out of proportion. Maybe this is the
it is better to look first to see if there are leadership reason for every crisis: we cannot handle the growing
skills, but the real problem is even one step further. complexity. With complexity I specifically mean that
We are insufficently capable to express what we need the vulnerability of individuals is mainly defined by
in that other person. Our vision is that there is a need an overload of dependencies and risks. Within that,
to meet four basic demands to come to an optimal all relational alliances that they start up become very
structure of an organisation. The first one is that an vulnerable. So eventually the chance that you will lose
individual knows something, is able to do something these alliances again is very big.” Torré emphasizes
and shows a certain behavior. The second is that that this complexity becomes bigger all the time. The
there is a place and a role in the organization for this advice: Use technology in a strategic way and use this
individual. The third is the question – does he or she technology to put the individual in his power. Let
fit at that place and in that role - but we can only judge the technology help you as an organisation to grow
that if we look at the development of the organization to responsible proportions. Organization, go back to
in relation to the potential that this individual has. smaller and therefore better!
The fourth is that we enable this person to take his or
her development in his or her own hands.” In that light you talk about an automation
society, a society in which technology and
You have stated that we had much more time technologically steered processes are at the service of
15 years ago. And more money, while the complexity the individual. What does this society look like?
was less big. Can you explain this a bit more? If you want to have a look in the future, then
“There is something going on with the factor look at a child of 5 years of age. Have you ever looked
of time. That time has become less. A couple of at a 5-year-old child as a future CEO? He manages
examples: the world becomes smaller, an enormous amount of information, a mountain that
becomes bigger and bigger. And think that during
‘‘Individuals should be free to choose his leadership period the amount of data will grow
by at least tenfold. What is the intrinsic value and
how and with whom they’d like to motivation of this CEO? What kind of belief systems
continue their path of development.’’ does he have? I see this CEO as a treasury of that
data. I see him as someone who is capable of getting
but we are less and less capable to come home within that information, of enriching that information, and
the agreed time. If I want to discuss personal business as someone who is capable to, without thinking first
with my friends, I have to go to them. At the same of his own interests, to put that information where it
time my 12 year old son talks to his friends, kilometers belongs. The CEO of the future knows exactly where
away, via equipment with a camera at home on the there is a need to have this information, and what kind
sofa. Already for a while it has been the case that of information that should be. In other words, he is a
you are already too late if you have to change. You loyal leader, a leader that monitors the process as those
have to develop yourself to be able to bend with the in his organization develop themselves. A leader that
changes while they are happening.” believes in the continuous process of development.
 These future features are what Cees Torré sees
in his 12-year-old son, who uses his PSP as a kind of
digital coordinator within his world. The thing is his
route planner, communication medium to talk with
his friends, a hub on which he exchanges homework
problems, plays games, listens to his favorite music…
“and probably another dozen things of which I do not
even know. His development and my relative staying
behind is a big contradiction and also his dilemma, do
you understand? These kids grow much faster with
technology than we who are older can keep up with.
There are developments going on that we do not even
realize are there. My son is capable of doing many
more things at this moment than 12-year-old kids
fifteen years ago. Then most kids were still looking
up in admiration to their parents. Today my son of 12
years can help me in my further development. But if
we don’t know what he can do, or what he wants, or
where his further possibilities are, we cannot guide
him and he will not arrive at where he wants to be.”
You speak about engagement communities.
What is that?
WWR has worked for a number of years on
Business Capability Platforms. These platforms
show the capabilities of people and are expressed in
a universally understandable language and meaning.
People are enabled to understand who they are, what
they can do now and what is potentially available to
them. Organizations are enabled to have an insight
into their own needs, the career paths that they offer,
‘‘Life is a rat race. Being even bigger,
being even more important.’’
and other development possibilities in the same way.
Because of this, individuals can choose in freedom
with whom and how they want to proceed on their path
of development. The Everizone capability platform
takes over the role of mediator. Everizone facilitates
individuals to market themselves. The individual
is visible, as well as his professional potential, and
therefore he enlarges his chance to find a suitable job
and further development worldwide. Participating
organizations who use this platform will therefore
always have the right person in the right place. We
are already working now with a platform where
schoolchildren and companies communicate and get
to know each other, an engagement community. Our
society stands now at a crossroads: to continue as it
goes now, or to find a way back to our basic values.
The latter means that we have to go to a redefinition of
everyone’s identity, and that we have to return to more
social cohesion. But that will definitely happen.”
WWR
World Wide Resilience is a leader in providing capability
logistics solutions. It designs and builds processes
and instruments that enlarge the capabilities and
development of the individual, are cost efficent, and
contribute to providing continuously actualized, true
and secure information.