the spark trilogy

Three business novels about one AI transformation, told through three pairs of eyes: the innovator, the HR director and the board member. You experience the concepts instead of studying them, in the tradition of The Goal by Goldratt.

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written by Jan Krans

from the books
technological maturity is not automatically organisational maturity.
Sarah Jansen, the sentence that called for a trilogy
you can build the best car in the world, but without a skilled driver…
Sarah Jansen, where HR Spark begins
every complex system has at least one bottleneck that limits its performance.
the Theory of Constraints, the compass of AI Spark
the question is not what disappears. the question is what becomes possible.
Fatima, on the future of work in HR Spark
without hr, ai dies of resistance, fear and inertia.
Karl Huizen, HR Spark
the technology is no longer the problem. it is our move, and nobody taught us how.
what HR professionals kept telling the author, each in their own words
hr becomes the strategic architect of the future of work.
the fifth stage of maturity, HR Spark
a scenario is not a weather forecast; you are part of the weather.
the distinction that carries BoD Spark
trust: deposits are made in pennies, withdrawals in ten‑pound notes.
an observation from the fieldwork, BoD Spark
courage without an escalation ladder is an invitation.
on drawing red lines, BoD Spark
literacy is the only form of trust that is not naive.
on ai literacy as public provision, BoD Spark
direction is not a project but a responsibility.
why the boardroom is up next, BoD Spark

Twelve sentences, three books, one story. Discover where they come from and what you can do with them.

the trilogy

one transformation,
three perspectives

Each book stands entirely on its own and reads like a novel. Together they tell the full story of an organisation letting the spark catch: from the first pilot all the way to the boardroom table.

ai sparksarah builds the car

Head of Innovation Sarah Jansen cracks the technological bottleneck with the Theory of Constraints as her compass.

hr sparkkarl teaches the organisation to drive

CHRO Karl Huizen discovers that the human side, fear, resistance and skills, is the real bottleneck.

bod sparkannelies chooses the road

Board member Annelies van der Velden sees the playing field itself shift: AI becomes a boardroom matter.

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books that each stand on their own, together one continuous story from three complementary perspectives

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frameworks and instruments, available in the management summaries and ready to apply

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years of hands‑on experience at the interface of technology, innovation and organisation as the foundation

the books

where the spark catches

For each book: what it is about, what you gain and what you can do with it. Each book closes with a management summary that bundles all practical, directly applicable frameworks.

Book cover AI Spark

book one · the innovator

ai spark

Sarah Jansen, Head of Innovation. For managers, innovation and project leads.

what is it about?

Sarah gets 104 days to give a stalled organisation a new future. With the Theory of Constraints as her compass she discovers why AI initiatives run aground: vague questions, data silos, chaotic IT and a culture of fear. And how to move from scattered pilots to measurable value.

what do you gain?

You learn to approach AI transformation as bottleneck management. Not everything at once, but systematically finding, exploiting and breaking the biggest constraint. From experimenting to delivering.

what can you do with it?

Ready to use for selecting use cases, substantiating them and taking them from pilot to production:

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Book cover HR Spark

book two · the hr director

hr spark

Karl Huizen, CHRO. For HR professionals, leaders and organisational consultants.

what is it about?

The technology works, and that is exactly when the real problem begins. Karl, a CHRO who on page one does not know what a Large Language Model is, gets the human bottleneck on his plate: fear, shadow use, resistance and the question of who is responsible for what a machine writes.

what do you gain?

You see why technological maturity is not automatically organisational maturity, and how HR moves from follower to architect of the transformation. From AI literacy and role redesign to governance and trust.

what can you do with it?

Practical frameworks to bring people along, redesign roles and assign responsibility:

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Book cover BoD Spark

book three · the board member

bod spark

Annelies van der Velden, board member. For executives, supervisory boards and directors.

what is it about?

The assumption that the playing field stays the same collapses. Annelies travels from The Hague to Brussels, from a police station to a factory floor, and discovers that AI is reordering the relations between countries, governments, companies and citizens. Nearly every event touches the reality of 2025 and 2026.

what do you gain?

You learn the difference between robust decisions, wise in every future, and shifting decisions, which influence the future itself. And why direction is not a project but a responsibility in a quarterly rhythm.

what can you do with it?

Scenario and decision‑making instruments for the boardroom table, ready for the next strategy day:

free e‑booksend me this book paperback on amazonprefer paper
spark services

from spark to flame

The books are the foundation; the Spark services bring the shared knowledge into your organisation. All frameworks from the trilogy form the basis of every programme, tailored to your context.

spark keynotes

An inspiring keynote about the journey of Sarah, Karl and Annelies: why AI transformation stalls and where the spark catches. For management events, kick‑offs and strategy days, from 45 minutes to half a day.

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spark workshops

Hands‑on with the instruments from the books: identifying bottlenecks with the prompt formula and the Use Case Canvas, redesigning roles with HATS, or a scenario session with the Quadrant of 2035.

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spark training

Multi‑day programmes that build AI literacy structurally, from employees to executives. Practical, people‑centred and aligned with the AI literacy obligation in the EU AI Act.

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spark coaching

Personal guidance for innovation leaders, HR directors and board members who are the Sarah, Karl or Annelies of their own organisation. A sparring partner with three decades of hands‑on experience.

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free e‑books

choose your spark

Download one, two or all three books for free as e‑books. Enter your business email address; you will receive the download links straight in your inbox.

We use your address to send the download links and, if you tick the box, for the Spark newsletter with new insights and developments within the playing field of the trilogy (innovation, HR and governance). You can unsubscribe at any time.

prefer paper?

All three books can also be ordered as paperbacks: