Chemist | Organisational theorist | Ethicist | Philosopher
He is a thinker who is constantly looking towards taking his thoughts into action! He is an experienced driving force who knows how to translate complex problems into practical solutions.
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Maarten Verkerk is a chemist, an organisational theorist, an ethicist and philosopher. He has a broad experience in industry, healthcare and education. A thinker who always searches for the combination with doing and vice versa. He promoted in Technology and in Organisational Theory/Philosophy. He managed (big) organisations and complex networks. A competent plant manager with the guts to implement groundbreaking social innovations. An experienced manager who knows how to translate complex problems into practical solutions. A lover of Marx, Nietzsche and the Bible.
Innovation is a leitmotiv in Maarten Verkerk’s long career. Within the industry, he developed new products and processes. He built a completely new plant. He had a leadership role in social innovations within manufacturing, care innovations in a psychiatric hospital and in an innovation network within health care. He is also involved in innovation within education. Time and again, he knows how to enrich on the job situations with ethical insights and philosophical reflections. As always, this leads to more insight and better solutions. Among others, he worked for Philips, Vijverdal Psychiatric Hospital, Vita Valley and the universities of Eindhoven and Maastricht.
From the boardroom to the shop floor, Maarten Verkerk challenges people to break new ground. He is capable to kindle enthusiasm to solve difficult problems. He loves to work in a context in which, on one hand, the road goes deep, and on the other hand, practical solutions are being materialised.
Verkerk dares to raise questions about meaning and ethics within the organisation. As a professor of Christian Philosophy, he loved to challenge his students to think further. He has applied this ‘further thinking’ as a director within different organisations and networks. In 2014, Verkerk was a member of the Schnabel committee, which was established to give advice on ‘completed life’. He has strongly contributed to laying the ethical basis for the decision-making.
Maarten Verkerk has many publications on his name. He was chief editor of the book ‘Iedereen beter. Een toolbox voor zorginnovatie’(BSL, 2019). With Jan Hoogland he published ‘Ecclesiastes for Managers. Worldly Wisdom for Executives and Professionals’ (Dordt College Press, 2018). He was one of the editors of ‘Breakthrough: From Innovation to Impact’ (The Owls Foundation, 2014). He also wrote a chapter for the book ‘Another State of Mind: Perspectives From Wisdom Traditions on Management and Business’ (eds. R.J. Blomme and B. van Hoof, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). Moreover, he has published a lot in international scientific journals. With some colleagues, he recently wrote about durable power systems of the future in Philosophia Reformata, and in the Journal of Enabling Technologies about designing houses for people with dementia.
Innovation is a process. To make innovation happen successfully, one needs to connect board, professionals, patients and stakeholders into one process. This is about both a strategic vision in innovation, as well as practical tools to execute this innovation process.
Innovation is a process. To make innovation happen successfully, one needs to connect board, teachers, parents, pupils and stakeholders into one process. This is about both a strategic vision in innovation, as well as practical tools to execute this innovation process.
It is about leaving the world in a healthy state to our children and grandchildren. It is about preventing the polar caps from melting and nature from being damaged irreparably. Sustainability demands innovative solutions. But most of all, it is about motivation and effort. This is why a connection needs to be made with values and meaning giving.
Why do I work so hard? Why do I find it so important to be successful? At times, we are all beset by this kind of questions. And they come back, time and again. The Jewish book of Ecclesiastes challenges you to raise these questions. It offers a refreshing common sense, inspires to act and stimulates to enjoy life.
How does one realise high performance teams? In my second dissertation, Trust and Power on the Shop Floor, I showed that there is a remarkable dynamic between leadership, power and trust. This dynamic leads to decreasing efficiency and quality in strict hierarchical organisations, whereas in participative organisations in which people trust each other, the efficiency and quality increase.
‘Ethics’ often have a negative ring. The thought is that ethics restrict entrepreneurs in their actions. At first sight, this is true, of course. But (s)he who takes a sharper look, sees that ethics work as an invisible hand that leads the organisation. A pleasant by-effect often is the
How does one design new installations and plants? What role is there for ethics? There are several approaches to raise the ethics. A fruitful way starts with the so-called Triple 1 Model in cohesion with value-driven development.
I was a member of the Schnabel committee that advised our government on the issue of ‘completed life’. In this issue, it is not only about the question of the individual citizen’s opinion, but much more about the question of what responsibility belongs to the government. The Schnabel committee has given a clear answer.
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