Doing Things Yourself Again as CEO (And Why You Might Want to, Too)

by Ineke Kooistra 

April 16, 2025


Gratefulness. What a beautiful word. I use it often because I feel it every day, both when I look back and, especially, when I look ahead.

After years serving as CEO of international organizations, I took a new step earlier this year: I became an entrepreneur. I founded two companies—and I’m running them with energy, vision, and joy.

On one hand, I continue as CEO at InterManage‑TheAgency, where I take on strategic and transformation assignments as an (interim) CEO for international companies. On the other, together with my business partner Elbrich Batstra, I launched EliN Partners, an executive search firm with an innovative approach, where our complementary backgrounds are a tremendous asset in identifying leaders who can truly drive change.

And yes, you can do both. You can shape your roles differently, as long as you keep working with joy, energy, commitment and above all: smarter and faster.


Critical Self‑Reflection

That’s what I want to talk about: productivity. The one thing leaders are endlessly measured on. Sharper KPIs. Lower costs. Higher output. More efficiency. More speed.

But who tells the CEO that he or she also needs to work smarter? Hardly anyone. So I started telling myself.

Over the past year, I made it a personal challenge to try out every AI tool and productivity app I came across really everything. My Apple subscription groaned under the weight, but I wanted to know what was possible if you dare to organize your work completely differently.

I walked through every task I have. What do I do myself? What do I outsource? And more importantly why? Not: “Who can do this?” but: “How can I do this differently?”


Creative Control

The classic advice is: “Your time is precious that’s what you hire others for.” But maybe it’s time to rethink that balance. When you consider how many people are busy keeping you, the CEO, running—assistants, agencies, spin doctors, presentation gurus you might ask yourself: does this really sharpen my agility? My creativity?

I wanted to get back to being a maker. But this time, with today’s tools.

Here are a few things I now do myself faster, smarter, and better:


  • Presentations? Beautiful.ai, Canva, Gamma.app, or Tome let me create slick decks in my own style—with AI support.
  • Scheduling meetings? Calendly, Reclaim.ai, and Motion remove endless email threads and bring peace to my calendar.
  • Taking notes or summarizing? Read.ai, Fireflies.ai, or Otter.ai listen in and deliver an actionable summary—accurate, fast, ready to go.
  • Updating my website or content? With Webflow, Framer, or even Mijndomein.nl, I tweak my site in minutes—no developer, no stress.
  • Email management? Superhuman, Shortwave, or AI plugins like Flowrite and Gmail Smart Compose help me filter, prioritize, and reply with focus.
  • Writing and structuring? ChatGPT, Notion AI, or Gork inspire me, structure my thoughts, summarize, and speed up my process.


All these tools give me more autonomy as CEO. Not because I want to do everything myself, but because I want to be a maker again not just a decision‑maker.


Genuine Connection

At the same time, there are things I will always do myself. Simply because they are personal—and should stay that way.

My columns, for example. I write them from start to finish myself. Only once I’m truly satisfied with the content—and hear my own voice—do I allow an AI tool to check for style and typos. Not before. Because it’s my voice. My story.

Likewise, my LinkedIn messages or emails are always personal. You won’t catch me sending automated reminders (super annoying)—I simply won’t do it. In fact, I never respond to those either. To me, human contact must always be genuine and heartfelt. Otherwise, you don’t get taken seriously.


Reinventing Yourself

It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing things differently. And, above all, about seeing what happens when you reinvent yourself with today’s possibilities. Because how can you expect your team to be more efficient, more creative, and more innovative if you yourself are still using structures and tools from 2012?

Of course, I know that despite AI, I can’t match the true specialists in every domain. You must know your limits. If it’s true design work, there are people born for that—ten times better than I am, and maybe even better than any AI.

I’m grateful that I gave myself permission to experiment. Grateful for the technology, but most of all for the insight that real productivity starts with yourself—at the top of your organization.


So, dear CEO: who’s holding you accountable for your productivity? Maybe it’s time you ask yourself that question.