Heart-Centered vs Mind-Centered Companies
Nienke van Bezooijen and Mario Haneca on the full spectrum, from mind-centered organisations to heart-driven and soul-led collectives.
In our second LinkedIn Live, Nienke van Bezooijen and Mario Haneca took the full spectrum — from extremely mind-centered organisations to deeply heart-driven ones — and explored what happens in between. Elsbeth Van Lienden joins us next Thursday.
Most organisations sit somewhere on a spectrum. On one end: mind- and ego-driven companies where the numbers come first. On the other end: heart-driven, and beyond that, soul-led collectives where meaning, contribution and true care shape every decision.
The question isn't which end is right. The question is: where does your organisation actually operate — and is that where you want to be?
The heart-driven end of the spectrum
Nienke opens with a living example. The Heart Ambassadors, founded by Sheva Carr, operates from collective heart-centring. Five days a week, the group meets, connects, and works with what Nienke calls brutally loving honesty — genuine care, true love, feeding the field with what the world needs. Not a fluffy thing. A disciplined practice.
We are brutally lovingly honest. We do true care. We do genuine love. And we feed the field what the world needs — everything from the heart.
Even here, Nienke notes, there's a next level: a collectively soul-led organisation, where the founder's soul is not the only voice and the undercurrent is heard from every member. Both are valid. It depends on the desire.
The mind-centered end of the spectrum
Mario shares his own trajectory. Years ago he ran a company called Mind Transformers, deeply influenced by Bob Proctor's teaching that anything you can hold in your mind, you can hold in your hand. It worked. He built success. But something was missing.
From the outside I was successful. From the inside there was an emptiness — which I later understood was my soul aching for meaning.
The pattern repeats across environments. At Showpad, an early-stage scale-up that started with two founders wanting to change the world, the shift came with the funding rounds. Slowly, the question moved from what do our customers need? to what do our investors want?. The soul of the company drifted.
At the Big Four, the ecosystem is impressive — but hierarchy, control, politics and money-first thinking dominate. Great for learning. Not the kind of organisation Mario wants to build.
When meaning is attached to external things, you always need more to stay satisfied. The next goal arrives. The joy does not.
Healthcare — the clearest case study
Nienke brings a sharper example. Healthcare — the sector that should embody care — has been captured by the market system in the Netherlands. Private healthcare owners are often money-driven, not care-driven. They believe care can be bought. It cannot.
Meanwhile, the public system operates on KPIs, fear of mistakes, and punishment. Both drain the field.
Over-care drains. Genuine care gives energy. If you feel it starts draining you, you are drifting away from the heart.
That single distinction — over-care versus true care — is a diagnostic tool anyone can use. In healthcare. In leadership. In your own week. When action fuels you, it is contribution from the soul. When it depletes you, the mind has taken over and inner conflict has started.
What we would build instead
Mario asked Nienke a bold question: if she became the minister of care, what foundational principles would she install? Her answer was simple and unflinching. Replace fear with true care. Restore dignity. Restore integrity. Anchor the value of living — even at the end of life. And flip the system so it serves that, rather than the other way around.
A quick self-check for your organisation
Five questions to sit with. Not to answer quickly — to notice what actually surfaces.
One. Do decisions originate from being, or only from doing?
Two. Does your work fuel you, or is it starting to drain you?
Three. Is meaning attached to money — or to contribution?
Four. Is the founder's soul dominant, or is there a collective undercurrent?
Five. If you removed the KPIs for a week, what would still get done — and why?
Continue the conversation
Frequently Asked
What is a heart-centered organisation?+
An organisation whose actions originate from being, not doing. Where genuine care and contribution shape decisions before numbers do. Not a soft thing — a disciplined practice, as the Heart Ambassadors demonstrate.
What is the difference between mind-centered and heart-centered?+
Mind-centered organisations start with the numbers, the KPIs, and the external goals — meaning arrives (or does not) as a byproduct. Heart-centered organisations start with contribution and being — and the numbers arrive as a result of that alignment, not the driver of it.
What is a soul-led organisation?+
One level beyond heart-centered. In a soul-led collective, the founder's soul is no longer the only voice. The undercurrent is heard from every member. Decisions come from a collective coherence, not from a single point of authority.
How do I know if my organisation is drifting toward mind-centered?+
Watch the question underneath the decisions. When the primary question shifts from what do our people and customers actually need? to what do our investors, board, or KPIs demand?, the soul is drifting. That is often the moment of the first funding round or the first restructure.
What is over-care versus true care?+
True care gives energy — both to the giver and the receiver. Over-care drains, usually because it is disguised responsibility, guilt, or performance. If serving leaves you depleted, the mind has taken over. If it fuels you, the soul is engaged.
How can I stay updated on LinkedIn Live?+
Follow The Indigo Elephant on LinkedIn — episodes go live every Thursday. Recordings are published here after each session, together with a written companion piece like this one.
See you next Thursday for LinkedIn Live #3 — with Elsbeth Van Lienden joining the conversation.
Imagine your business becomes a legacy for humanity.
