Gert Vermaak
Founder, You Said It
Your strategy sessions shouldn't feel like lectures. I help leadership teams turn strategic planning into genuinely interactive, high-engagement experiences — using 25 years of facilitation technology expertise and the Scaling Up framework.
What Gert's clients achieve
Is Gert right for you?
- Run quarterly planning sessions or strategy offsites and know half your team zones out by hour two
- Need a facilitator who can make Scaling Up sessions genuinely interactive — not just someone reading slides
- Have hybrid or distributed teams where engagement in strategic sessions is a real challenge
- Want real-time feedback, live polling, and anonymous input so every voice shapes the strategy — not just the loudest
- Facilitation technology — 25 years of making meetings actually work, from hardware voting to AI-powered engagement
- Higher education and large corporate sessions where engagement at scale is critical
- Hybrid and virtual formats — built an entire company around making remote participation match in-room
- AI-enhanced strategic discussions — using technology to surface better questions and deeper insights in real time
About Gert
"The best strategy in the world means nothing if the session where it was built only engaged half the room. I make sure every voice shapes the plan — because alignment you didn't earn isn't alignment at all."
I've spent 25 years solving one problem: how do you get a room full of people to genuinely think, contribute, and commit together? I founded You Said It in 1998 — back when audience engagement meant hardware keypads and physical voting systems. Since then, I've navigated the shift to cloud-based tools, mobile interaction, and now AI-powered facilitation.
That journey taught me something that most strategy consultants miss: the quality of your strategic output is limited by the quality of participation in the room. A brilliant framework facilitated poorly produces mediocre results. A good framework facilitated brilliantly produces aligned, committed teams who actually execute.
I bring this lens to Scaling Up. The Four Decisions, the OPSP, the quarterly rhythm — these are powerful tools. But they only work when the sessions are designed for genuine engagement, when every team member has a real voice, and when the process is interactive enough to sustain energy across a full day. That's what I do differently.
Track Record
Every participant contributes in real time via live polling and anonymous input
Using Vevox and custom engagement tools, Gert designs sessions where even the quietest team member has equal weight. Anonymous input surfaces truths that polite conversation never reaches.
Hybrid sessions designed for equal participation regardless of location
15 years of running hybrid and virtual engagement means every format is designed ground-up for distributed teams — not retrofitted with a webcam and a prayer.
Real-time sentiment and feedback woven into the session itself
Instead of waiting to measure satisfaction afterward, Gert captures engagement data live. Course-correct mid-session. Know exactly which strategic priorities have genuine buy-in and which are just polite agreement.
AI-crafted discussion prompts that surface strategic insight
Using AI to generate contextual questions in real time — designed to challenge assumptions, deepen analysis, and spark the conversations that generic prompts never reach.
How Gert Works With You
- Scaling Up Session FacilitationFull facilitation of quarterly planning days, annual strategy sessions, and OPSP workshops — designed for maximum engagement with interactive technology built into every stage.
- Execution Rhythm DesignDesign and setup of weekly huddles, monthly reviews, and quarterly rhythms that sustain engagement over time. Includes the technology stack and facilitation playbook so your team can run them independently.
- Hybrid & Virtual EngagementComplete setup for distributed teams — from technology selection to facilitation training. Built for companies where not everyone is in the same room but everyone needs to contribute equally.
Scaling Up Session Facilitation
Full facilitation of quarterly planning days, annual strategy sessions, and OPSP workshops — designed for maximum engagement with interactive technology built into every stage.
Execution Rhythm Design
Design and setup of weekly huddles, monthly reviews, and quarterly rhythms that sustain engagement over time. Includes the technology stack and facilitation playbook so your team can run them independently.
Hybrid & Virtual Engagement
Complete setup for distributed teams — from technology selection to facilitation training. Built for companies where not everyone is in the same room but everyone needs to contribute equally.