As an early member of the cohort Generation X, I was raised by a Dutch mother and an Indonesian stepfather. My Spanish father, who I’ve never had the chance to meet, died in 1983 in Gijon, Spain.

I grew up in a small village, close to the port of Rotterdam. Despite a troubled childhood, I hold dear memories of the times I spent with my friends. After moving to Almere, at the age of 25, I met with Stella. She’s my love and my dearest friend.

After having survived cancer twice, I became painfully aware of my vulnerability. My books are therefore also intended as my legacy. Hopefully, I’m able to add some value to the common knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of customer relationships.

Since early years I wanted to be an architect and therefore went to the University of Applied Science in Rotterdam. But as soon as I discovered the opportunities offered by computers, I lost my interest in civil engineering and switched to computer sciences.

I learned how to code and manage computer systems, and developed a keen interest in systems analysis. The ability to describe the logic of business processes, identifying its goals and purposes and creating systems and procedures to achieve them in an efficient way, has served me well throughout the course of my career.

In 2015 I studied organizational governance to better understand the command-and-control type of dynamics of middle to large businesses.

Although I did not pursue a career in sales. that’s where it all started. I don’t believe I had a feel for it, but customers trusted me and I wanted to be worthy of their trust.

Twenty years ago I turned my back to the corporate business world after I had to choose between the interest of a customer and that of my employer. The decision wasn’t hard to make, but the consequences were – I was out of a job.

After I started my own company, an internet provider focussing on the SME market, I soon learned that entrepreneurship was mostly about perseverance. It was a rough start, amidst the internet bubble of 2000, but I managed to survive and thrive.

In 2010 I stumbled upon Twitter and immediately understood that social media would change the way we do business. Brands are no longer merely accountable to their shareholders, they now have to perform under continuous public scrutiny.

To understand the dynamics of customer relationships, I began to study how a customer was being created throughout history. I noticed a pattern emerging – very much correlating with waves of technological innovation.

Furthermore, I’ve learned that in many cases the customer lifecycle was not aligned with – or in some cases even counterproductive to – the value strategy or the business model. We needed a new integral perspective, the ROUNDMAP™.