Pieter Hemels (ftrprf): 'Strategy Should Always be Future-Proof'

Hemels is satisfied. This morning, they ‘wrapped up the new strategy for Greenpeace’ after ‘an incredibly beautiful period of deep inside-out and outside-in analyses and perspectives.’ His standpoint: A strategy must always be ftrprf. He playfully exaggerates the name of his consultancy. ‘Future-proof, sustainable, doing good for the world: that is the core,’ he explains.
‘If you are responsible for an organization, you also have a responsibility to society. This should be reflected in your policies. What will you – as a leader – contribute? With this mindset, focus cannot remain on profit maximization exclusively. Of course, we understand the need to make a profit, because profit generates continuity, but profit is merely a means to achieve an end. The important question is: what is that end? Put your money where your future is.’

How is the Netherlands doing? Are we on the right track?
‘What I really do like is that several large pension funds said: ‘Of course we need to ensure a good pension, but what is the point of a good pension in an unlivable world?’ They realize they have a dual responsibility. On the one hand, they need to deliver financial returns. But on the other hand, they need to have a positive impact on society. ABP decided to divest from fossil fuels because they recognized that the energy transition is moving too slowly. Rightly so. This of course led to the question: where should they invest? With focus on the future? We helped them to answer this question. This resulted, for example, in the Noordzeker project which will utilize wind energy from the sea to provide energy to millions of households in the Netherlands. That is futureproof.’

The point you made is interesting. It also makes sense when you have a seat at the board table of a pension fund. But consider being at the table with Shell… What are their thoughts?
(Sighs). ‘Shell tried its best to become a client with us. That did not happen. They approached us with a request to help them realize their sustainability ambitions. We were hugely interested. Shell is our dream client. We aim to make an impact, and Shell absolutely affords such a possibility. It seemed like a fantastic assignment. But when we started talking about it, it became clear that they did not want us to help them accelerate their sustainability efforts, instead, they wanted us to explain to the world that they were already doing an excellent job. This fitted better to my previous career as an advertiser. But the problem is: this is not the case. The narrative does not hold up, they are not doing an excellent job. So, we declined the assignment.’

How would you describe your experience with leaders of organizations and large companies?
‘I have learned that there are three types of leaders. The first category are leaders who realize they have grandchildren, who will one day ask them what they did to make the world a better place. The second group sees it as their duty to ensure their company is as profitable as possible for their shareholders. This group prioritizes profit maximization. They tend to be more commonly found in the United States than in Europe. The third category is leaders who are busy running their own organizations, who have good intentions but hardly get around to a vision for the future. They are completely absorbed with day-to-day concerns.’

Is this third group mainly your target audience?
‘The third category is the most interesting. These are benevolent people. Beating the status quo means competing at the highest level. We are happy to help them with that. Of course, the first type of executive director is the easiest to work with. Those are our natural friends. They also generally know where to find us. But personally, I find the second type the most enjoyable to engage with. Honestly, I would give my left kneecap to change Shell from the inside. The problem is, we will never, ever, get that assignment. Not under the current board of directors.’

What trends do you observe, particularly in the Netherlands?
‘There are a couple of large companies I am concerned about, but thankfully I also see plenty of positive examples. Governments, energy companies, network firms, pension funds, NGOs, and charity organizations are making significant steps. I notice that large companies often tend to have a ‘wait and see’ approach. We once had a situation where we had worked out a thorough strategy for a large company, and the CEO said, ´Yes, I totally get it, it looks great, but I still have 26 months to go and I am not going to burn my fingers on this.’

I recently saw an Outside World Monitor produced by ftrprf, which outlined the current societal issues companies in the Netherlands need to contend with . At the top of the list were ‘pro-Palestinian actions at universities.’ It seems a complicated challenge for a company to navigate …
‘Not at all. What companies need to do is think abstractly and on a higher level about the question: how do we relate to the outside world?’

But when you are making an omelet…
‘Especially in that case. Every executive director, every entrepreneur has a societal role. All executive directors must ask themselves: how will I make a difference? Where do I source the eggs for my omelet? How do I pay manufacturers? What am I doing for the children of those producers? This all forms a whole. You do not want to run a company that violates human rights, exploits children, and destroys the climate. If you want to sell your omelet at a rock-bottom price, and you do not care if child labor is involved, well, then we cannot help you. I do not see it as an obligation for leaders, but rather as an opportunity to reflect on their role in society.’

It is often said that to prevent a race to the bottom, strong regulation is needed. Do you agree with this?
‘I feel incredibly fortunate to live in the Netherlands and in Europe, where we have extensive regulations in place. And I believe we should have even more. This is as it should be. The import of raw materials from countries where human rights are trampled on should be heavily taxed. Make it unaffordable. At the same time, I am frustrated with companies that sit back like Statler & Waldorf from The Muppet Show, commenting from the sidelines and expecting the government to solve everything. Take responsibility, I think.’

In my experience, executives are generally willing to take on this responsibility. In fact, when I speak to them, they all, without exception, say that they want to leave the world a better place. They all want to ‘take responsibility.’ Just like you…
‘Then could you please ask better follow-up questions? A sustainable paragraph in an annual report does not say much. The fact that the management board started driving electric cars last year – well, what does that really mean? It should be about the real, significant adjustments. Not CSR policies, but the core of the corporate strategy – the backbone. Are leaders and companies truly committed to the proverbial BHAG, the Big Hairy Audacious Goal? I often wonder. Let me put it differently: the Netherlands is not exactly overflowing with Patagonia-like multinationals. And neither is the U.S.’

You are a co-founder of ftrprf. Can you explain what the company is ‘on earth’ for?
‘Our BHAG is: we are here to change the world for the better. In everything we do, we wish to make a positive contribution for tomorrow. That is our perspective. That is how we work with our clients. The name of the company says it all. We take that very seriously. We do not want to sell bullshit.’

You mentioned that you have a background in advertising and marketing. This might also make you a bit suspicious. You probably know about window dressing, greenwashing, selling pretty stories....
‘Oh, absolutely! Fifteen years ago, I would have jumped at that Shell assignment without hesitation. I would not have blinked. I worked on million-dollar campaigns for the tobacco company Philip Morris to promote the Marlboro brand. We sent sales promotion teams with hundreds of people into the streets to offer free Marlboro cigarettes to Pall Mall smokers. Not just a pack, but a month of free smoking. Why? Because we knew: if you smoke a different brand for 30 consecutive days, you are hooked. I was fully responsible for that. Of course, I would not do that now. I have also worked extensively on campaigns for Aegon and Spaarbeleg for products that are now classified as ‘usury policies.’ What receives too little attention now is that at the time, we were absolutely unaware. We were convinced that those were perfectly fine products. And because we as society now fail to reflect on it, we also fail to learn from it.’

So where did your moral compass come from? What has changed? Was there a tipping point?
´I do not think there has been any tipping point in our moral compass. We have always done what we believed was right. However, there has been a turning point in moral awareness. With the knowledge we have now, it is impossible to deny that we are facing an immense climate crisis. If you have ultra-cheap fast fashion produced in miserable conditions, it is impossible to argue that you are unaware of it. Or that you do not bear responsibility for it. A tipping point in our level of awareness was when we were developing a forward-looking strategy for a telecoms company. We had several ambitious plans and the company wanted to work with us on their future strategy and foster connections between people. However, when we wanted to start the implementation, they first wanted to increase the market share in Germany by two-tenths of a percentage point. I found that awkward, two-tenths of a percentage point!? I am not at all saying that market share is not important but please could it have substance. I was increasingly getting that feeling. The second tipping point was more basic, which of course was when Fay came into my life.’

Fay?
‘I became a grandfather quite young. My son became a father at the age of 16, which was not exactly the plan. But Fay’s birth, my granddaughter, was a tremendous gift. It changed everything for me. Fay is fantastic. She is seven now, or ‘almost eight,’ as she likes to say. She has become our leitmotif. She makes it crystal clear that we need to do something for the world. If she ever asks me what I have done to make the world a better place, I want to be able to tell her that we did what we could with all the energy we had. In 2018, we founded ftrprf. Since then, we have been using analysis, technology, and concept development to create perspectives and show how things can be done differently. With a deal-breaker criterion: in everything we do, the only question is: how does this contribute to a better world tomorrow? If a company is not interested in testing all actions against this together with us, I will not be interested in that business.‘

You run a relatively small consultancy with around 60 employees. What do you bring in comparison to the larger players like McKinsey or KPMG?
‘McKinsey does many things better than we do. I think their financial and organizational analyses are by far better, for instance - fair is fair. The thing we are better at, however, is creating perspective and turning it into a tangible, concrete part of an organization. One of the quotes we love is ‘Martin Luther King did not get up 60 years ago and say, ‘I have a budget and a plan.’
In a process, we often take 12 weeks to create perspectives on what a strategy could look like. For instance, we define five strategies and then a board member needs to select four that he or she will not implement. That is an incredibly interesting exercise. Based on qualitative analyses and goals, we write five stories about how to achieve those goals. And then we search for the story the customer would want to invest his or her time in. We then develop five scenarios of which the board member chooses the four he or she will not implement. Again, an extremely interesting exercise. Finally, we develop that into a plan, in which we give concrete details of what we would do step by step over the next 12, 24 or 36 months if we were in the position of the board member. This is, of course, a little presumptuous, but above all it expresses commitment. We make it so tangible that it has a high degree of inevitability.’ (Hemels gets up:) ‘And now I am going to take those silly little dogs for a walk.’ (He hesitates:) ‘Or do you want to eat something first?’

This interview was published in Management Scope 09 2024.