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Wikipedia entry

Martin van Grevenstein is a non-fiction writer about the art of getting to the essence in the way we think, live and work.

Personal life

Martin comes from a Protestant family dating back to the 16th century Reformation in northern Germany and Holland ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾. He grew up, studied, worked in Brussels, Amsterdam, London and Paris and earned a MSc in architecture & engineering (1982) and an MBA (1985) ⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾. He worked as an architect in London ^(4b), and then internationallyas a brand strategy consultant ^{(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)}. He now focuses on non-fiction writing.

Publications

– “Getting to the Essence” in the way we think, live & work
– “keep it Simple, Simple, Simple” at work and in management
Reference articles:
“Lazy thinking, the source of all evil in this world”
”Towards a Universal Declaration of Human Nature”
“The Paradox of Simplicity”

Key ideas:
– a Universal declaration of Human Nature: a descriptive, non-judgemental summary of essential characteristics
“As humans we each are a complex mix of often contradictory thoughts, emotions and personality traits – both strong and weak, fearless and anxious, sensitive and insensitive, compassionate and jealous, loving and hating, logical and irrational … Individually strong in some areas and weak in others.
Our gift of free thinking makes us capable of self reflection, of constructive thought, and gives us an unlimited imagination to freely develop any explanations, theories or visions. This is a challenging combination that leads to a mind filled with questions and doubts, fears, dreams and aspirations …
Fundamentally – psychologically and philosophically – the fact that we are mortal (biological beings) directly or indirectly drives everything we think & do.”
– mental simplifying redefined as a sophisticated way of thinking: “a mental and intellectual process to resolve and reduce complexity“. A process to arrive at a reasoned summary of a complex subject – shorter, clearer, easier to transmit – and define a reduced set of essential priorities. It includes the following base Laws:
“1. Simplifying is an essential human need 
2. Simplifying is a 3-step method of “clarify, structure, prioritize”
3. Simplifying brings effectiveness
4. Simplifying brings peace of mind”.
– the Rule of Three: “1,2 or 3 is the maximum number of objectives, tasks or steps anyone can fully remember, integrate or work with at any one time.”
– the simplifying factor in management: “any unresolved complexity or any lack of clarity leads to a loss of effectiveness, productivity & turnover”
– intra’novation in business: innovating within the existing product range, improving specific aspects and features, often in small subsequent steps.

References

(1) – pastors from 1544 at the St.Marien Kirche and St.Stephani Kirche at the start of the Reformation (1517 onwards), in Bremen, Germany, and from 1628 in Friesland / Netherlands – De Navorscher, Contribution to the genealogy of (van) Grevenstein, 1936, C.Kruys; genealogieonline.nl
(2) – Academy of Franeker, Genealogical Yearbook, 1976, J.A.U.M van Grevenstein 
(3) – moved to Brussels for middle & high school, studied/lived in Delft-Amsterdam, lived/worked in London 1982-1984, studied in Fontainebleau-Paris 1984-1985, lived/worked in London 1985-1991, lives/works in Brussels from 1992
(4) – Insead Alumni Association, named administrator, 2015 
(4b) – project architect from London of the Faculty of Science, Sultan Kaboos University, Oman
(5) – Fortune magazine, “New managers in Europe”, Rik Kirkland, 1985
(6) – “Raymond Loewy, pioneer of american industrial design” Prestel books, 1990, page 169
(7) Trends magazine, “More than a logo”, editorial, 1997 
(8) The Banker, “Brand new world”, Karina Robinson, 2011
(9) worked on consumer brands like Bounty, Mars and corporate brands like Coutts Bank, Banque Société Générale.