Polle de Maagt
Thoughts
collected since 2006

Notes on acts,
not ads.

Newest first. What I think and what I notice: reflections, principles, rituals and organisations that act instead of advertise.

2026
7 OctReflection Ingvar Kamprad took the bus. Acts, not ads 7 OctReflection AI clears my head. Technology 7 OctReflection I work in a different time zone. Yourself 6 OctReflection The best speaker gifts I ever got. AnswersHow do I thank a speaker? 6 OctPrinciple Let AI do the chores, not the joy. Technology 30 SepBest practice The red napkin. AnswersHow do I spot the guest who needs a little extra? 30 SepBest practice Innocent: the banana phone. Acts, not ads 30 SepRitual The Van Zummeren trophy for making the game better. AnswersHow do I bring more play into family life? 30 SepBest practice Personalised wine tags. AnswersHow do I make personal attention repeatable? 30 SepPrinciple Thoughtfulness needs a system. AnswersHow do I make personal attention repeatable? 30 SepReflection Beige is not a colour. AnswersHow do I show what we stand for, without saying it? 30 SepRitual Keep a box of proof. AnswersHow do I see what I have already done? 30 SepBest practice Joshie the giraffe. AnswersHow do I give staff room to decide? 27 SepBest practice Boyfriend waiting line. AnswersHow do I spot the guest who needs a little extra? 24 JulReflection Good questions, good invitations. AnswersHow do I ask a question that opens the room? 15 JulReflection The brain fry is real. Technology 15 JunReflection You still have to know things. Technology 19 MayBest practice The $2,000 rule. AnswersHow do I give staff room to decide? 15 MarBest practice Amazon: a mailbox is not enough. Strategy 12 MarReflection 38° view, not 360° view. AnswersHow much should we know about our guests?
2025
6 JanReflection She put my beer down the wrong way. On purpose. AnswersWhat does a small gesture look like?
2024
25 JunBest practice citizenM: the guest experience bingo card. AnswersHow do I give staff room to decide? 7 MayRitual The LEGO week planner. Yourself
2023
15 AprRitual YES-day. AnswersHow do I bring more play into family life?
2022
19 NovReflection The Ukrainian railway leader who stayed with me. Acts, not ads 11 AugReflection The squeak system. Strategy 8 JanBest practice The Jane's 'Did you know' list. AnswersHow do I make personal attention repeatable?
2020
1 JunReflection Yes, there is a right and a wrong way to do post-its. AnswersHow do I design a meeting or a workshop day? 27 MayBest practice Netflix cancels members who stopped watching. AnswersWhat do I fix first: the basics or the surprises? 21 MayRitual Reflecting on meetings. Meetings 20 MayReflection How lobsters grow. AnswersWhat do I do when something no longer fits? 8 MayBest practice Apple’s honest status page. AnswersHow do I repair trust after something went wrong? 8 MayBest practice Four 404 pages done right. Acts, not ads 5 MayReflection My first deliberate act of validation. Yourself 19 AprRitual Remote Quarterly Review. AnswersHow do I make time for my own goals? 18 AprReflection What we can learn from ice and ice harvesters. Strategy 13 AprPrinciple If you can't fix it with ice cream. AnswersHow do I repair trust after something went wrong? 13 AprPrinciple Deciding on ice cream. AnswersHow do we decide without ending on vanilla? 4 AprBest practice W Hotels: whatever, whenever. Hospitality 27 MarReflection On being late for meetings. AnswersHow do I get everyone's head into the meeting? 26 MarReflection What Amazon tribes can teach us about focus. Strategy 24 MarBest practice SaSaZu: your first visit. AnswersHow do I spot the guest who needs a little extra? 20 MarBest practice What a difference two cookies make. AnswersWhat does a small gesture look like? 15 FebReflection Banned insights. Acts, not ads 4 FebReflection The CIA guide to sabotaging companies. AnswersHow do I get a slow change programme moving? 4 FebReflection LEGO: how hard times help you focus. AnswersHow do I focus when everything seems urgent?
2019
28 DecReflection I almost died. This is what I learned. AnswersWhat do I do when something no longer fits? 25 FebBest practice The secret compliment mole. AnswersHow do I keep kindness from turning into a campaign? 7 FebBest practice Booking.com hires through its source code. AnswersHow do I show what we stand for, without saying it? 3 JanBest practice VanMoof ships bikes as TVs. Acts, not ads 3 JanReflection On thinking less. AnswersHow do I think less and do more?
2018
22 DecReflection Why I started blogging (again). Yourself 21 DecBest practice Kimpton: the CEO’s phone number. Hospitality 21 DecBest practice Kimpton: raid the bar. Hospitality 21 DecBest practice Kimpton: the secret password. Hospitality 21 DecBest practice Kimpton: social hour. Hospitality 21 DecBest practice citizenM: free coffee for the first guest. AnswersHow do I spot the guest who needs a little extra? 21 DecBest practice Disney: housekeeping and the toys. Hospitality
2017
5 MarBest practice The CEO as customer service agent. Acts, not ads 16 FebBest practice Your umbrella, not the company umbrella. AnswersHow do I give staff room to decide? 6 FebReflection Un-training staff to act like humans. AnswersHow do I let staff act like humans again? 6 FebBest practice Culture: you don’t just change to be customer centric overnight. Strategy
2016
3 AugReflection Change the default. AnswersHow do I stop the easy option from winning? 4 JulReflection 95% right. 100% wrong. AnswersWhen does personalisation get it wrong? 4 JulReflection Personalisation: it will get worse before it gets better. Technology 17 MarReflection How Amazon Echo made me a worse person. AnswersWhat does this product train people to do?
2015
14 AprBest practice A six-pack for the kitchen. AnswersWhat does a small gesture look like? 29 MarReflection Ripples, not trends. AnswersHow do I spot a change before it is a trend? 2 FebBest practice Better presentations: Janssen Belgium tweeting their quotes. Meetings
2014
16 DecBest practice Best practice: telco Hi rewrites its terms and conditions to be fun. Acts, not ads
2012
13 JunBest practice A tribute to Drew. AnswersWhat does a small gesture look like? 12 JunReflection No web relations? You’re screwed. Web relations is the new normal. Hospitality 11 JunPrinciple The suitcase principle. AnswersWhat do I fix first: the basics or the surprises? 4 JunReflection The magic of failing spectacularly. Hospitality 24 MayBest practice Harvest’s smart ambassador tools. Hospitality 8 MayBest practice Droog lets you try their awesome design stuff in ‘Droog for Rent’. Acts, not ads 8 MayBest practice IKEA-fy your desktop. Technology 1 MayBest practice Add colour to improve people’s lives: Akzo Nobel’s Let’s Colour campaign. Acts, not ads 24 AprReflection Thank you, Hillman Curtis. Yourself 23 AprReflection Being right is not enough: Spa Citron. Acts, not ads 20 AprReflection A plea for scripted authenticity. AnswersHow do I keep kindness from turning into a campaign? 20 AprBest practice Wrong in so many ways, done right: Akzo Nobel CEO Hans Wijers’ goodbye movie. Acts, not ads 2 AprBest practice Colruyt: fewer lines, less paint. Acts, not ads 25 MarReflection Dead tree reading material. Acts, not ads 20 MarBest practice Colruyt: no coin lock on the shopping cart. AnswersHow do I show what we stand for, without saying it? 19 MarReflection Securing your virtual will. Technology 20 JanReflection You are not what you share. Technology
2011
13 DecBest practice Agency THEY helps you avoid the crowd, a true merry Christmas. Acts, not ads 9 DecBest practice Automagic: nine automated mails done right. AnswersHow do I turn an automatic mail into a small act? 8 DecReflection Evernote as a platform. Technology 8 DecBest practice Scribd lets you pay in content. Acts, not ads 23 NovBest practice Zappos: 365 days to return it. Acts, not ads 21 NovBest practice Proving Skittles’ absurdism with a brand book. Acts, not ads 20 NovBest practice Welzijnszorg’s rich stories. Acts, not ads 18 NovBest practice What would you do with a 30,000 euro customer? NMBS, NS and one-sided loyalty. Hospitality 17 NovBest practice McDonald’s house rules (or: be careful what you ask for). Hospitality 14 NovBest practice Aer Lingus managing expectations? Hospitality 10 NovReflection Brands and their social voice (and how this translates into dog food). Acts, not ads 3 OctBest practice The most important 2% of your customers. Hospitality 5 SepBest practice Gamification of your business network: Gist helps you learn that name. Technology 5 SepReflection What application developers and brands can learn from Sergey Bubka. Acts, not ads 20 JulBest practice 37signals gives 10,000 fans the finger. Acts, not ads 20 JulReflection Four dimensions of social sales. Acts, not ads 20 JulReflection How Twitter forces gradual engagement. Technology 7 JulBest practice The rise of social currency: Incubate.org’s personal affiliate program. Acts, not ads 29 JunReflection Random acts of kindness. AnswersHow do I keep kindness from turning into a campaign? 7 JunReflection How Facebook forces gradual engagement. Technology 3 JunReflection Managing rising customer expectations. Acts, not ads 31 MayReflection Proactive versus reactive conversation management. Acts, not ads 27 MayBest practice Customer centricity is in the details: “Sorry, sir, we don’t help reservation numbers, we help people.” Hospitality 24 MayReflection Being conversation-worthy on every brand level. Acts, not ads 24 MayBest practice One of the best advocacy campaigns ever: Il Giglio d’Oro Bed & Breakfast in Firenze. Hospitality 13 MayReflection Once you learn to do something new, you never turn back. Technology 10 MayReflection Change management toolkit: implementing conversations and consumer connect. Strategy 28 AprReflection Never talk like an advertising agency. Acts, not ads 27 AprReflection Pricing for conversations (or: how low prices increase negative feedback). Acts, not ads 22 AprReflection Let’s stop over-hyping gamification. A plea for nudge and choice architecture thinking. Acts, not ads 4 MarReflection Thank you? Let’s open a support ticket for that. Acts, not ads 28 FebReflection The theory of managing expectations and conversations. Acts, not ads 18 FebReflection Acts, not ads. AnswersHow do I show what we stand for, without saying it? 9 FebReflection Why I think Groupon is a brilliant tool (or: how to use sales promotions wisely). Acts, not ads
2010
24 DecReflection What my girlfriend taught me about technology. Technology 18 NovBest practice Zappos: let’s wow this person. Acts, not ads 14 NovBest practice Nike’s Ekins: a brand people live. Acts, not ads 30 AugBest practice A business card that makes you feel like a kid in a candy store. Acts, not ads 25 AugBest practice Remarkable house rules for coffeehouse Bagels & Beans. Hospitality 22 AugBest practice Johnny the Bagger. Hospitality 18 AugBest practice Culture: 25 things about Boondoggle Amsterdam. Acts, not ads 18 AugBest practice “Dans nos prix sont inclus”: no-nonsense service by In ’t Spinnekopke. Hospitality
2009
19 AugReflection Act like an idiot, get treated like an idiot. Acts, not ads 10 AugReflection A brand is a promise. A reputation is what happened to that promise. Acts, not ads
2008
15 AprReflection The craft of the confirmation email. AnswersHow do I turn an automatic mail into a small act?
2006
3 JunReflection Hyves for marketers (2006). Acts, not ads 9 AprReflection Doings instead of meetings. Meetings 15 MarBest practice People are predictable. Hospitality
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