Eight take-aways from a year of innovating together with Centraal Beheer

In the future, Centraal Beheer does much more than just insurance. The company from Apeldoorn will also be involved in sustainable mobility, business continuity, and sustainable employability.

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At least, that is the ambition for 2030. It is up to Head of Innovation Erik Petersen to shape this future. And so he knocked on our door a year ago. Together with Roel, he set up an in-house innovation team. We asked them what they have learned in the past year.

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1. Get the right people in the right place

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Erik: "I knew immediately that I could not do this alone. Sure, I have very good people in my team, but they don't necessarily have an innovation mindset. And you really need that for such an ambitious project.

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So I asked Makerlab for help. ' Get the right people on the bus before you start driving, as Jim Collins so eloquently says.'

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2. Apply structure

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Roel: "We are constantly experimenting, gaining insights all the time. Those insights are golden. So we set up an innovation framework.

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With the right tooling, you can preserve all the knowledge, but also measure it. And you're transparent. The rest of the company sees exactly what you are doing. That way you also create immediate support.'

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Erik: 'You do indeed need structure. Things like the lean startup method and design thinking, we were familiar with, of course. Together with Makerlab, we have translated that into the context of Centraal Beheer'

'I feel like a year ago we knew nothing about innovation. Now we have an innovation lab. That goes far beyond resourcing.' - Erik ‍

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3. Be transparent

Erik: "I said pretty early on: the biggest challenge is in managing expectations. We are quite a sales-driven organization. And with such an innovation machine, it takes a long time before you start making money.

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In that case, you need to have a compelling story. Take people step by step through your approach. If you don't do that, you'll be two years ahead of the rest soon. You can come up with wonderful ideas, but if the company isn't ready for them, they won't be of any use.

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Therefore, we always actively involve stakeholders. Makerlab also plays a big role in that.'‍

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4. Make it a real team

Erik: "The chemistry in the team is incredibly important. A close-knit team makes for more fun, for more creativity. I am very aware of that, I often mention it. Fortunately we do a lot together, we really are a team.

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I also don't see any distinction between my colleagues and Makerlab, because we all work on the same things. The only difference is that there is a different company name on the paycheck, that's it.

Roel:"Erik instills a lot of confidence in the team, as he is very good at what he does. He is optimistic, but also sharp. Furthermore, the connection with Centraal Beheer is pleasant, in any case.

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The people here have an entrepreneurial mindset. Naturally, that fits right into our alley. Just go ahead and do it, show it, that's the trend here. Very refreshing.

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Normally, in innovation, you often have buzzkillers: "this is not a good idea," "where does this come from now," "that will never work." In the past year, this has never happened with us. The right questions are always asked. Not whether it can be done, but whether we want it.'

5. Embrace other views

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Erik: "I always thought that we worked in  an agile wayat Centraal Beheer, but what MakerLab is doing is a whole different ballgame. That is truly complementary work.

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Most people are quick to get defensive when confronted with a different view. At MakerLab, on the contrary, those other views are eagerly embraced.

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It's exactly what they want; another pair of eyes, a different kind of questions. It has an impressive level of professionalism. But the constant quest for other opinions also makes the work challenging at times.

6. Stay flexible

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Roel: "The composition of our team changes at lightning speed. One month we need a business developer, the next a front-ender and a week later a copywriter. This way of working is quite extreme, but it gives us exactly the right people for every project.'

Erik:"Certainly, this is how we maintain flexibility. However, there is always a business development manager or a product owner in the team regardless. Because for every project, we need an owner who keeps everything together. Someone who champions our ideas throughout the organization.'

Roel: "Indeed, you must always have someone who feels responsible for an initiative. If you don't have one, chances are you will lose focus. Fortunately, there are people working at Centraal Beheer who are good at this.' 

You're sitting here in a bit of a corporate straitjacket, but because Makerlab is so energetically diving into it, I also think more quickly: let's deviate from the beaten path for once.' - Erik 

7. Make sure you don't fall in love

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Erik:"It's a cliché and it's absolutely true: before you know it, you're in love with your own product. That makes it hard to stay honest. At crucial moments, you really need to bring in independent perspectives. People who look at your product with utmost objectivity.'

Roel: "Before MakerLab came in, we had a whole pile of products on the shelf. We placed them against the innovation bar. Out of the nine ideas, six didn't make it: there was no evidence of a customer problem.'

Erik: "Do you have any idea how much it would have cost us if we had continued with this? If we had continued to invest in this for a few more years? That's also part of innovation: kill your darlings.

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But there are still initiatives that go on too long, often thanks to stakeholders who have too much influence. We need to kill those initiatives faster. I have become better at that. We have really achieved something together, so that gives a lot of self-confidence.

8. Keep challenging yourself

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Roel: "There is now a blueprint for innovation that we can execute a hundred times. But it's important to continually challenge yourself. How can it be shorter? What can be faster? And what do we really need?'

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This is largely to Erik's credit, by the way; he always keeps the big picture in mind. We're working on the next innovation, but he always looks three years ahead.'

Erik: "Look, basically, you can take as long as you want. But if it's 80% right, that's enough. Then you have to keep going. Otherwise we won't reach the quantitative targets. You really have to let things go. And that is quite difficult, because secretly we are all perfectionists.'

Would you like to know how we can  set up such an innovation machine with you? Then take a look at our page on the various forms of collaboration.