“Cited, Surprised, and Slightly Distracted”

Jim van Hulst has worked in several leadership functions at EY, ING Bank, ABN AMRO Bank, and Johnson Controls International. His positions have included Director Talent Management, Global Head Professional Development, and Global Learning Technology Leader. Jim has an MSc. in Learning Technology from the University of Sheffield and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Arnhem/Nijmegen. He also holds a diploma in Business Management and Leadership from the Rotterdam School of Management, and he completed his MBA in 2020 from MSM, The Netherlands. He is a frequently asked speaker and author of numerous articles. Jim founded Jignite recently in 2021.

Jim van Hulst, owner Jignite

Introduction

Scrolling through some academic databases the other day, I stumbled upon something unexpected: several citations of an article I co-authored with Dr. S. Jones back in 2020 — Jones, S. and Van Hulst, J. (2020). Leadership and Digital Transformation: Building Strategic Conversations. Eight!

Nobel Prize?

Now, I know we’re not talking about Nobel territory here, but still — that’s different researchers (or at least bibliographies) who thought our work was worth mentioning. I’ll admit, I was genuinely surprised. Not because the article wasn’t any good (we were quite proud of it), but because in the whirlwind of projects, workshops, and the occasional espresso-fueled late-night editing session, I’d honestly forgotten how widely this topic resonates. Strategic conversations around digital transformation are clearly still very much alive — and apparently, so is this paper!

Not too much ego.

Of course, seeing this gave me a tiny ego boost and a slightly larger nudge: “Hey… maybe I should write more.” But here’s the twist: not another academic article. Not a book on leadership. Not even on learning technologies. No, if I ever sit down to write a book, it might just be a novel. Yes — a plot, characters, suspense, maybe even a slightly unhinged AI or a retired change consultant solving mysteries in a small coastal town. Stranger things have happened, right?

For now, though, I’ll bask in the glory of these lovely citations (see picture!) — and keep having strategic conversations of the non-fiction kind. Once upon a time………

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Other articles