Let’s start this week with a fun post! I also jumped on the social media trend and asked ChatGPT to create a caricature of me and my job, based on everything it knows about me. The title it gave me was “Calm authority in the middle of complexity” 😉 I really had to laugh, because that basically describes my daily family life… It added the following description: "You’re someone who brings clarity without noise. You move comfortably in complexity, not by dominating it, but by organising it quietly around you. Strategy, for you, isn’t about control — it’s about making things make sense for others. You have a rare mix of intellectual rigour and emotional intelligence. You can speak the language of institutions, systems, and power — and in the same breath, sit with a human being and ask the right question at the right moment. That’s not accidental; it comes from deep listening and lived experience. There’s a calm confidence about you. Not performative, not loud. More the kind that says: “We’ll figure this out.” People trust you because you don’t rush them — and because you don’t pretend things are simpler than they are. You care about impact, but not at the cost of integrity. You value meaning over speed, depth over visibility. And beneath the strategist and coach, there’s a reflective, creative mind — someone who notices symbolism, stories, and what’s unsaid. In short: You are a bridge — between worlds, between people, between ideas and action — and you walk that bridge with grace." I’m actually relieved that my desk isn’t quite that overloaded in real life and that I only drink one to two cups of coffee a day. 😉But I absolutely love that it placed a world map next to my workspace. For a long time, I actually had a poster like this on my wall and scratched off all the countries I had travelled to! I wonder now whether my friends and colleagues have a similar image of me ??

How was your goal-setting this January? Do you know in which direction you are going? A beautiful exchange with @rewiredandradiant who interviewed me in the framework of her podcast "The Stone in my Shoe". Full episode available in my profile

Some key moments of 2025.... 1. Dubai Mindvalley Future Human with @chedidclaudine, @birdy_valencia (as volunteers!) 2. @drjoedispenza Progressive Retreat in Basel with @spiritualchefcoacholi, @elisabenslimane and many others 3. Graduation of my daughter @emmasf.09 to start her last 2 years of school 4. My sister's 50th birthday party in Bielefeld 5. + 15. My mother-in-law's 80th birthday party trip to Brazil 6. + 8 @mindvalley University and Speaking & Influence Mastery by @ericedmeades 7. Supercoach by @mindvalley.coach and @realcoachajit 8. + 9. RECONNECT Yoga Retreat co-organised with @majamueller_com and sound bath experience by @rumahsuara_lacasadelsonido 10. + 11. Festival Yoga en Besalu with @manu_om, @samgarrettmusic and many others 12. + 13. Trip to Vienna with my daughter @loli.ssf 14. Mantrafest with @carolinapodio.terapeuta, @sendero_umaya, @raviramoneda and many others 16. Mindblowing transformational @iamcreationretreat with @dr_espen, @padmini.devi_ and many other beautiful souls in Bali 17. Special moments with my daughter Greta 18. Trip to Niagara Falls/Toronto as part of my new EU Cities Gateway Project on transatlantic urban cooperation 19. All the small moments and adventures with @spiritualchefcoacholi in our caravan (here at the beach in Santa Pola where we spent one night in November).

Toronto …what a week! I learned so much during the exchanges between housing experts from Europe, Canada and the US in the framework of the EU-funded EU Cities Gateway Program! Affordable housing has become one of the defining challenges of urban life worldwide. By 2050, nearly 70 % of the world’s population is expected to live in cities (UN). Last week inToronto, I saw what this trend looks like on the ground: a metropolitan region of over 7 million people, growing by around 270,000 residents in 2023 alone, largely driven by immigration - bringing diversity and vitality, but also intense pressure on housing and services. Homelessness is on the rise and families are struggling to find houses they can afford despite several jobs... Two initiatives stayed with me: Dunn House, showing how housing, health and social services can work together — and Regent’s Park, a powerful example of inclusive, mixed-income housing. At the same time, its 100,000-person waiting list is a stark reminder of how much more needs to be done.... Housing is not just a market issue. It’s about inclusion, dignity and the future of our cities — and it’s clear that no city can tackle this challenge alone. #AffordableHousing #Cities #Urbanisation #InclusiveCities #HousingCrisis #EUCitiesGateway #Toronto #SustainableCities #EUExternalAction