BR-ND People wrapped 2025

BR-ND People wrapped 2025

In the final weeks of the year, the world always feels a little louder. More predictions and reflections. More 'new year, new opportunities'. More urgency to wrap everything up neatly according to plan. And then some well-deserved rest. If 2025 taught us anything, it's that real change never arrives as a ready-made package. It comes messy. In shocks. In sketches. In conversations you didn't see coming. In a workshop where one sentence lands and suddenly shifts an entire team. So instead of a standard highlight reel that showcases our successes, this is our BR-ND People wrapped: the insights we saw where strategy, culture and expression meet, and the lessons we're taking into 2026. And yes, at the bottom we give an overview of what we've accomplished and what we're damn proud of.

The theme of 2025: *Inside out, again and again*

Time and again this year, we were reminded of a simple truth: • A brand can never shine brighter than its culture. • A strategy doesn't survive without behaviour. • A story only becomes real when it's embraced by the people inside the organisation.

That's why we keep returning to the inside-out principle. Not because it's fashionable. But because it works.

Wrapped: what we created and what it taught us

1) Co-creation that goes beyond 'input'

Co-creation is sometimes treated as a checklist: ask people for ideas, stick them on Post-its and call it 'participation'. This year we saw it could be different. When done right, co-creation becomes a way to: • make strategy tangible • share ownership • make friction visible early • shape a language people can actually use

And when people help build the future, they stop waiting for it.

2) Culture work that isn't a poster on the wall

We worked on culture in environments where the stakes were real. Culture showed itself there as: • the brief moments of vulnerability or silence • what people do without thinking about it • the 'this is how we do things here' that nobody ever wrote down

Our biggest takeaway: culture isn't what you say. Culture is what repeats.

So our culture work kept circling back to practice: • Which behaviours do we want to reinforce? • Which rituals, tools and environments support that? • What do leaders need to do differently on Tuesday morning?

3) Expression that feels real, not just looks good

We love craft. We love visual design. We love language and storytelling. But the best work of this year was never about 'looking better'. It was about authenticity.

Because when expression rings true: • people inside feel pride instead of performance • people outside feel trust instead of persuasion • the brand becomes more attractive to choose, follow and remember

Wrapped: what we learned about change

Lesson 1: Clarity is an act of care

In a year when everyone is overloaded, clarity isn't an art form. It's a form of care. Clear strategy. Clear choices. Clear language. Clear next steps. Not to flatten reality. But to help people move within that reality.

Lesson 2: Behaviour is the early signal

Most 'measurements' start with reflection: asking people how they feel, having them score something, asking them to explain it. But we're exploring a different starting point: before impact becomes a positive story, it already shows up as behaviour.

That lens has shaped how we work with motivation, engagement and human experience, and it's influencing where we're taking our tools and methods.

Lesson 3: Small is not small

A good workshop moment. A sentence that ties things together. A decision that stops the spiral. Small shifts stack up. And in culture change, that stacking is everything.

Wrapped: a few highlights we're grateful for

While our 2025 annual figures are still being finalised, it's been a year of healthy financial growth, even after accounting for the spin-off of The 23plusone Cooperative. And a strengthening of our reserves, in preparation for investments in people and methods and to build modest safety buffers.

We're deeply grateful for: • A third B Corp certification, with a score of 112.9 points • clients who let us into the real conversations and deeper work, not just the polished or surface-level • teams willing to test, prototype and learn in public • leaders who chose curiosity and trust over control • partners who bring both their craft and their courage • team members who help us innovate with new ways of working and technology

And we're grateful for the reminder that impact work is people work.

Thank you, truly!

2025 was one of those years where we sometimes had to pause and breathe, before moving forward again. Lots of movement and development with clients. Lots of diverse challenges. Lots of questions that weren't clearly defined. And precisely because of that, it felt special to work with so many people who didn't run from complexity, but stepped into it.

We want to say a genuine, out-loud thank you to all the people we worked with in 2025 at Danone, Santeon, Gemeente Tilburg, mProve, Van Vulpen, Amsterdam Impact, BrabantZorg, Provincie Zuid-Holland, Vintura, Edge Workspaces, Culturis and Stichting Milo.

Thank you for your trust. Thank you for your honesty, especially when it got a little uncomfortable. Thank you for the conversations where not just 'the content was on the table', but also the doubts, the ambitions and the parts that weren't finished yet.

We felt it again and again this year: the best work doesn't happen when everything is already clear. It happens when people are willing to create clarity together. When strategy isn't just something to present, but something to live. And when culture and expression aren't the afterthought, but the place where change becomes visible.

If we take one thing from 2025, it's this: we're grateful to be doing this work, with you. And we're getting better at how we contribute. Not by shouting louder, but by turning noise into direction.

What we're taking into 2026

In 2026 we want to go deeper on a few things: • Making strategy usable: fewer slides, more impact in daily work. • Designing for culture: less 'culture talk', more culture systems. • Growing the 23plusone ecosystem: tools that make motivation visible and dialogue easier. • Staying honest in expression: storytelling and design that invites.

And by working within our own company: • Renewing our own expression (website, templates, branding) • Streamlining our internal workflows (automation, new tools) • Preparing the next generation of impact makers (young talent, traineeships)

And above all: • keep working on organisations that serve life, not just the market

In closing

If you were part of our year, as a client, partner, co-creator, team member, friend, or quiet supporter, thank you. You shaped our thinking. You challenged our assumptions. You reminded us why this work matters.

See you in 2026. We can't wait!

PS. Are you working on 2026 and looking for a sharp, human way to connect strategy, culture and expression? We're always up for a good conversation. Call Kim or Alexander!