在荷兰那些年，我从汉斯·贝克教授那学到的……|耘林副总裁雅阁分享

好的故事会引发人们去感受、去思考，会展现出数字、数据、PPT无法展现的内容；好的故事会促进人与人的情感连接，帮助人们真正去理解一家公司，理解它的价值和意义。所以，耘林生命公寓的员工们在日常工作中，收集了与业主、客户之间的点滴美好细节，这些不仅能帮助我们提升服务，也能展现耘林的价值。

我们从荷兰引进了生命公寓模式，学习了很多经验，在这篇专栏中，我将展现荷兰生命公寓发展过程中的故事。

1992年时，荷兰生命公寓的前身和当时其他的养老机构一样，采用传统的养老模式。员工们穿着白大褂，根据固定的规章指引来进行管理，关注的核心是医疗。如果将它比喻成一个金字塔，穿着白大褂的医生处于金字塔顶端，老人和他们的家属处于底端。在当时的护理机构，老人们被分配到病房里，六人一间，他们唯一的个人隐私就是床与床之间的隔帘。生命公寓模式创始人汉斯·贝克这样形容当时的情景，“他们就像一个个孤独的岛屿”。当时普遍认为白色或灰色显得更卫生，所以机构的墙壁一般都是这两个颜色。住在里面的老人就像被关禁闭，只能在走廊里散散步。来探望老人的家属也都盯着钟、看着时间，只想早点离开。

当时的员工基本都是专业的医疗人员，运营成本很高。但其实一些老人还有自主活动的能力，甚至一些老人及其家属还有些才艺，如果合理引导，可以很好践行用进废退的理念。但当时，老人的生活照料完全由医疗人员决定并负责，这也导致机构运营成本过高、老人的花销过大，而且工作人员、老人都有很多不满亟待解决。

最开始，荷兰生命公寓也没有什么企业故事，汉斯·贝克开始慢慢构思、收集。

首先，他想要给老人带来更多欢笑、快乐。生命公寓重新装饰了门厅，墙上挂了壁画，这给老人带来了聊天话题。如果老人行动不便，那么，这些变化可以给他们的生活带来些许新鲜话题。同时，生命公寓也为老人准备了美味的饭菜。汉斯·贝克认为营养师可以提供膳食建议，但不能过度控制、指手画脚。

其次，汉斯·贝克调整了员工着装，取消了白大褂，换上了鲜艳多彩的连衣裙。其实只要做好服装清洗，无论什么颜色的着装都是干净、卫生的，不必拘泥于特定颜色。

再次，汉斯·贝克取消了六人间，为老人搭建起了真正的家。在自己家里，老人有私人空间，可以自由决定家里的布置。同时，随着老人行动能力的下降，公寓也可以进行适老化改造。

1992年时，汉斯·贝克曾问过他的管理团队一个问题，“你觉得我们的核心服务/产品是什么？”当时，管理团队认为医疗和护理是核心服务。但实际上，随着老人入住护理机构，他们的慢性疾病一般都是无法治愈的；如果我们提供过度的护理，身体机能反而会加速退化。比如说，老人一直由护理人员来助浴，很快他们会完全依赖护理人员，忘记如何自己进行洗浴。汉斯·贝克让管理人员仔细思考，什么是快乐。长寿的人通常都有积极的人生态度、生活比较开心、比较有创造性，对待生活的苦难也更有韧性，能为身边的人带来更多正能量。积极的人生态度非常重要，会给自己和周围的人带来快乐。

汉斯·贝克是如何让周围的人也认同、接受这种观念的呢？汉斯·贝克很巧妙地利用外界媒体的报道宣传，反向影响员工。在接受电台采访时，汉斯·贝克说创造快乐是生命公寓的核心业务，观众觉得这个理念非常新颖、非常吸引人。相比于新年员工大会上的发言，这个采访报道给员工带来的影响更大。

在这之后，汉斯·贝克不断在为打造企业故事而努力，不停地分享他的经历。他觉得实实在在的经历和一些简单的话语，能带来很大的改变，比如“背着手的护理服务（避免过度护理）”、“厨师和护士同等重要”。这些话很简单，但直指重点，并且很容易被人们记住。耘林生命公寓的企业故事正是基于我们的三大核心理念：Yes文化、用进废退及泛家庭文化（专栏系列文章已做过详细介绍）。

三大核心理念不是硬性的规定，而是沟通交流中的基础理念。在荷兰生命公寓，有一位阿姨入住时，想把她的五只猫也一起带来，我们会先说“yes”，然后与她细细沟通，了解背后的原因、与她分析目前养猫的实际困难，最终她也完全同意只养其中的一只。因为有些要求确实是不切实际的，所以Yes文化并不意味着“万事都能满足”，而是一种积极面对需求、积极沟通的态度。在刚才那个例子中，通过和阿姨的深入沟通，最终她自己养一只，她的邻居领养了其中三只，另一只留在她的老房子里。先说“yes”能让对方感受到我们努力解决问题的态度，避免“只抱怨、不沟通”的现象，有效推动了双方的深入沟通。

好的服务案例和故事不仅可以搭建起人与人之间的连接，也能带来信任，促进理念和文化的理解，帮助大家以开放的态度进行沟通。

The importance of a good corporate story

What makes Yunlin Elderly Care unique compared to other companies is that our work is based on a clear vision. In these columns I want to explain more about this vision, its main components, its origin, the implementation, and the advantages.

A good story makes us think and feel, and speaks to us in ways that numbers, data, and presentation slides simply can't. The strongest stories tap into people's emotions, genuinely connect with them, and help them believe in a business and what it stands for.

This is the reason why Yunlin Life Apartment works with a corporate story and why we collect the beautiful and touching stories of our owners and clients. We not only use these stories to learn and make our services better, but also to show others what Yunlin stands for.

We learned a lot from the experiences of Dutch Life Apartment. In this column I want to show you the development of the corporate story of Humanitas, the inventors of Life Apartment.

In 1992 Humanitas was just a care organization like so many in that time. Staff walking around in white coats, and everything was managed via fixed protocols and instructions. An organization modelled on medical treatment. If the organization was to be pictured as a pyramid, the doctors in their white coats would be at the top, and the owners and their families would be right at the bottom of the hierarchy. As Hans Becker, the founder of Dutch Life Apartment, described it: ‘They were misery islands’. In the nursing homes, the elderly were packed together in a ward, six at a time. The only privacy they had was a curtain which could be drawn around their beds. And of course, everything was painted in white or grey, because that was considered ‘hygienic’. The trapped elderly were roaming the hallways. Visiting family kept their eyes on their watches to see how fast they could leave.

Humanitas was also a very money-draining organization. A business run by professionals only, is expensive. The expertise of owners and their family had not been considered. There was an atmosphere of: we are the ones taking care of the people. Consequently, there were many complaints. And that too cost a lot of money. Every complaint needed to be addressed.

So, everything was expensive and rather unpleasant.

Make it fun!

In the beginning Hans Becker did not have a corporate story at all. This developed over time. First, he wanted to bring more fun into the elderly care: redecorating the lobby and furnish it with mural paintings and art. He added conversation pieces (something to talk about). If you are limited in your abilities, it is nice to have something to look at, and talk about. And you also want to have a nice meal. Therefore, people can eat what they please. A dietician can be called upon for advice, but this does not mean that he must look over your shoulder, nor raising a pedantic finger.

Secondly, the white coats needed to come off. A flowered dress is just as hygienic as a white coat. As long as it is washed regularly.

Thirdly, Hans Becker demolished the six-persons wards and provided owners with true apartments, where they have privacy and their own belongings around them. The apartments were adaptable to the changing needs of owners, who are increasingly less mobile or require more care.

Human happiness

In 1992 Hans Becker asked his management team: what is our core-business? The response was: cure and care. But how realistic is curing and caring, when the clients who arrive here with their chronic handicaps will never get better? If we give our owners too much care, their deterioration will progress even faster. When you do not cook, or cleanse by yourself anymore, after a while you will lose the ability to do so completely.

Hans Becker forced the managers to have a closer look at human happiness. Positive people appear to live longer, are happier, more creative, have more reserves to withstand the miseries of life, are more of a pillar of strength to their fellow men. A positive attitude resulting in happiness, is therefore a very important factor.

But how did Hans Becker made this thinking more acceptable? He used external means to influence the thinking of his staff. When he mentioned on TV that happiness was the core-business of the organization, people found it fantastic. The result of appearing on TV is much stronger than a speech about human happiness at a New Year’s reception for staff.

Management by storying around

Fact is, Hans Becker is continually occupied with cultural steering. Never stop telling stories. The best way to communicate is by telling stories and using simple one-liners, which everyone will remember. One-liners like: ‘caring with the hands on your back’ or ‘the cook is just as important as any nurse’. One-liners are easy to remember. They are the anchors to pin down a story with.

The basis of the corporate story of Yunlin are our three core values as I explained deeply before: yes culture, use it or lose it, and our extended family approach.

Dialogue

The three core values should not be seen as rigid protocols, but together form the basis for dialogue. That old lady who wanted to bring five cats with her was met with an initial ‘yes’, after which we started negotiating with her and ended up with one cat. A yes-culture does not necessarily imply an unconditional ‘yes’ to everything, as it is not always practical. The yes culture should really be more of an attitude. And in the case of the old lady, it meant that we came up with the solution that she kept one cat to herself, three cats were going to the neighbors next door, and one cat stayed behind in her old home. When you say ‘yes’ initially, and continue to negotiate, people are less inclined to complain at a later stage. Because they realize that we have gone out of our way to grant their wishes.

Good stories do more than create a sense of connection. They build familiarity and trust, and allow the listener to enter the story where they are, making them more open to learning.