Jos de Blok

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Jos de Blok on Buurtzorg and the virtues of humanising, not protocolising
Jos de Blok is the founder of Buurtzorg, a home care organisation in the Netherlands with 15,000 nurses and no managers. We talk about how their decentralised, human approach has helped them during the pandemic, why he believes ‘protocolising things’ in organisations does damage, and his advice for
Ep. 69
Dec 5, 2021
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Buurtzorg and the power of self-managed teams of nurses
...urtzorg in Houten, just outside of Amsterdam. Buurtzorg is an organisation in the Netherlands that delivers care in patients homes. It was founded by Jos de Blok, who was himself, formerly a nurse. And he was really frustrated with how mechanistic the healthcare system had become and turning patients into numb...more
...tionship and the quality of care is much better. And employees feel like they can do meaningful work again, and they can be human again. So I've seen Jos speak a few times at conferences, and he's very charismatic and he talks about making things really simple and explains the business model. But it's ...more
...and Yolanda. And they are three nurses from Buurtzorg. So I hope you enjoy. Here's our conversation. So Marian, you came across Buurtzorg and invited Jos de Blok here, to your house. How did you how did you find Buurtzorg? Marian: I was working in another organisation and heard some people had started [a Buurt...more
... We know what we have to do. In a bigger organisation, THEY say what you must do but WE know what we CAN do. Chila: And that's also the philosophy of Jos: as professionals, if you let them do their thing, it will be okay. That's what he does. And that's true. Marian: And you speak a lot with each other...more
...Lisa Gill: So say some more about that because I've heard a lot about how Buurtzorg evolves in a very collaborative way. It's not like Jos has a grand idea and then everything follows. It's very transparent and sharing ideas... Chila: Anyone with a good idea can post the idea on the web....more
...landa: And Radio 'Steunkousen'. 'Steunkousen' are the supporting stockings. So they have a radio programme in Amsterdam for Buurtzorg. Chila: No, but Jos is also there. If Jos also has an idea, he puts it on the web and then he asked for comments. And everybody comments "I think this, I think that" and...more
...nkousen'. 'Steunkousen' are the supporting stockings. So they have a radio programme in Amsterdam for Buurtzorg. Chila: No, but Jos is also there. If Jos also has an idea, he puts it on the web and then he asked for comments. And everybody comments "I think this, I think that" and then he takes everyth...more
...dictator. No. Absolutely not. He is very democratic. Everybody's equal. And everybody gets a share. Jolanda: Everyone is on the same salary... Chila: Jos has a slightly larger salary, but he works about 300 hours in a week so, that's good for him! [Laughter] Jolanda: That's also the danger for us. In t...more
...Lisa Gill: So nine years, then. How have things changed? Have you noticed big changes? How are things different now? Chila: It's bigger. And Jos has a lot of extra things like Buurtzorg in foreign countries, so he's busy with all sorts of things, all sorts of groups, and Jolanda: Jos isn't com...more
...gger. And Jos has a lot of extra things like Buurtzorg in foreign countries, so he's busy with all sorts of things, all sorts of groups, and Jolanda: Jos isn't coming to our homes now anymore! Chila: No it's not possible now, but the concept is still the same. Jolanda: We're working with iPads now. Tha...more
...ng who are owners of a company or founders or CEOs? What advice would you give to Chila: Let go! [Laughter] Marian: Trust. Chila: Trust. That's what Jos does. Jolanda: He gives trust, "You can do it." And you do what you have to do. Chila: And goodbye. Jolanda: And what you think you have to do. Mar...more
... As an organisation, are you finding ways to address that and support people who are burning out? Jolanda: Yeah, well the coaches do that. Chila: And Jos has all sorts of ideas about sports, and keeping an eye on each other. And all sorts of tips he gives about what you can do to prevent to prevent ill...more
.... I've never head of someone, somewhere being fired. I don't think that's possible. Marian: Maybe if you start making the same, many mistakes? Chila: Jos always tries to solve things. He doesn't want to [dictate]. Fire? I never heard of it happening. Marian: It couldn't be worse in other organisations....more

Margaret Heffernan on how to act our way out of the status quo trap

...s on the problem that you're trying to solve. So if you take the Buurtzorg example - which I've written about - that was very much the brainchild of Jos de Blok. He also had a very great advantage in that he had two forms of training, one as a nurse and one as an economist, and that's a really unusual combina...more
...'m curious to ask you this question as well. Because I get asked this a lot. People always say - well Buurtzorg is an example of an organisation that Jos de Blok started from scratch. He had experience of traditional, very hierarchical bureaucratic healthcare organisations. And he created Buurtzorg from scratc...more