Morning Silence and Prospect
It's early. The city still breathes slowly awake while I drink my first latte of the day at Douwe Egberts in New Babylon. Outside, The Hague shimmers in the morning sun. Inside, I'm preparing for something far more important than just content: people. Today is Nextcloud Enterprise Day, but my real goal is relationship building. With space to listen, share, and breathe new life into old tapes.
“The best conversations don’t start on stage, but at a table with coffee.”
⁇ Recovering Relationships: The Power of Reconnection
Events like this are not just for gaining new insights – they are an opportunity to seek out old contacts that you have lost sight of for too long. Sometimes a handshake or a nod is enough to pick up the thread again. Today I consciously look up those moments, with people I once worked with, talked to or built together.
“A forgotten connection is not a lost connection – it is an invitation to rediscovery.”
⁇ Maintained: Investing in Trust
Relationships require attention. Not only in projects or contracts, but on days like today. A short conversation, a shared smile or a genuine ‘how is your company doing?’ makes all the difference. Nextcloud Enterprise Day not only offers sessions on data and cloud – it offers moments of humanity.
“A network does not live on e-mail, but on real encounters.”
⁇ Building: New Connections with Draught
In between the presentations, I meet people I didn't know before. No superficial 'what do you do' talk, but conversations in which curiosity is central. What drives you? What are you bumping into? What are you looking for anyway? It is precisely in such exchanges that something new emerges: not just a business card, but perhaps a future collaboration.
“A good conversation is the foundation of a strong cooperation.”
⁇ New Babylon: Symbolism in Stone and Glass
That all this is happening in New Babylon is no coincidence. This building is a symbol of transformation and connection. From an old location to a modern hub, just like today is all about revitalising existing networks and forging new ones. And all this in a place where old and new worlds intersect.
“Vision and connection meet in the heart of The Hague.”
English (UK)