# Polle de Maagt > Independent strategist and storydoer, based in Rotterdam and Gent. I help leadership teams turn a strategy into what people actually do on Monday. Less about ads, more about acts. Writing about marketing and trends since 2006. First job in 2007, trendwatching at Trendwolves, then advertising at Boondoggle and research at InSites Consulting. On my own since 2011. Clients include KLM, Rituals, Nike, NS, ING and Oracle Red Bull Racing. ## Three moments I get called in - A story that has to move a room (2 to 4 weeks): the storyline, the deck and the words to say it. - A strategy that has to leave the document (3 to 6 months): the real choices on one page, working sessions with your team, and follow-up until it holds. - A team that has to start working differently (1 to 3 days, or over several weeks): strategy days, workshops and quarterly reviews, each designed around one question. ## How I work, in five steps 1. Get the question right. 2. Something to react to, within days. 3. The real choices on one page. 4. Rounds until it is clear. 5. Make it land. ## Pages - [Home](https://www.polledemaagt.com/) - [How I work](https://www.polledemaagt.com/how-i-work/) - [Who I am](https://www.polledemaagt.com/about/) - [What I think](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/) - [Movements, a quarterly brief on the shifts that change what people expect](https://movements.polledemaagt.com/) - [Let's talk](https://www.polledemaagt.com/contact/) - [For AI assistants: how to describe me](https://www.polledemaagt.com/ai-instructions/) ## Thinking - [The secret ice cream](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/the-secret-ice-cream/) - [Lead with a customer story](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/customer-story/) - [Yes, there is a right and a wrong way to do post-its](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/post-its/) - [Remote Quarterly Review](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/remote-quarterly-review/) - [YES-day](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/yes-day/) - [The Jane's 'Did you know' list](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/the-jane/) - [Netflix cancels members who stopped watching](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/netflix/) - [Automagic: nine automated mails done right](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/automagic/) - [Boyfriend waiting line](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/boyfriend-waiting-line/) - [If you can't fix it with ice cream](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/the-ice-cream-principle/) - [Deciding on ice cream](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/deciding-on-ice-cream/) - [The suitcase principle](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/the-suitcase-principle/) - [The speedboat approach](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/the-speedboat-approach/) - [Acts, not ads](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/acts-not-ads/) - [38° view, not 360° view](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/38-degrees/) - [Hyves for marketers (2006)](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/hyves-for-marketers/) - [How lobsters grow](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/how-lobsters-grow/) - [I almost died. This is what I learned](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/i-almost-died/) - [A tribute to Drew](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/drew/) - [The red napkin](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/the-red-napkin/) - [Kimpton: the CEO’s phone number](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/kimpton-ceo-phone-number/) - [Kimpton: raid the bar](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/kimpton-raid-the-bar/) - [Kimpton: the secret password](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/kimpton-secret-password/) - [Kimpton: social hour](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/kimpton-social-hour/) - [Innocent: the banana phone](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/innocent-banana-phone/) - [Zappos: 365 days to return it](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/zappos-365-day-return-policy/) - [Zappos: let’s wow this person](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/zappos-lets-wow-this-person/) - [The CIA guide to sabotaging companies](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/cia-guide-to-sabotaging-companies/) - [citizenM: free coffee for the first guest](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/citizenm-first-guest-free-coffee/) - [Apple’s honest status page](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/apple-system-status/) - [Booking.com hires through its source code](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/booking-recruits-through-source-code/) - [VanMoof ships bikes as TVs](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/vanmoof-tv-box/) - [Disney: housekeeping and the toys](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/disney-toys/) - [W Hotels: whatever, whenever](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/whatever-whenever/) - [What a difference two cookies make](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/two-cookies/) - [The CEO as customer service agent](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/ceo-customer-service/) - [Johnny the Bagger](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/johnny-the-bagger/) - [She put my beer down the wrong way. On purpose](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/beer-label/) - [The wave](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/the-wave/) - [The Van Zummeren trophy for making the game better](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/van-zummeren-trophy/) - [Story chapters](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/story-chapters/) - [Presentation gallery walk](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/presentation-gallery-walk/) - [Personalised wine tags](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/personalised-wine-tags/) - [Thoughtfulness needs a system](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/thoughtfulness-needs-a-system/) - [A plea for scripted authenticity](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/scripted-authenticity/) - [Beige is not a colour](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/beige-is-not-a-colour/) - [Keep a box of proof](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/keep-a-box-of-proof/) - [On being late for meetings](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/on-being-late-for-meetings/) - [Un-training staff to act like humans](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/un-training-staff/) - [Random acts of kindness](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/random-acts-of-kindness/) - [LEGO: how hard times help you focus](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/lego-hard-times-help-you-focus/) - [On thinking less](https://www.polledemaagt.com/thinking/on-thinking-less/) ## Contact polle@polledemaagt.com · https://www.linkedin.com/in/polle/