At Contract Management Day 2025, keynote speaker Olivier van Duüren captivated the audience with a powerful and deeply resonant message: in a world of change, we must learn how to transform while performing. For the hundreds of professionals gathered (contract managers, legal tech innovators, operational leaders..), his talk was more than inspiration; it was a strategic call to action.
Let’s unpack the key takeaways and their vital link to the future of contract management below the image ⬇️
"If you want to transform others, start by transforming yourself." – Olivier van Duüren
The Triple Lens: See, Sense, and Respond
Olivier’s transformation model starts with awareness, what he calls “seeing and sensing.” He urged attendees to look in to their own environments: macro trends (AI, ESG regulation, geopolitical instability), but also micro-signals, such as a procurement manager consistently bypassing the contract workflow because it’s too slow, or a sales director improvising terms to close a deal. Those signals aren’t noise. They’re calls for transformation.
1. See and Sense Trends – From geopolitical shifts to generative AI and climate disruption, change is relentless. For contract professionals, that means understanding how regulations evolve, how AI tools disrupt workflows, and how multi-generational expectations shape the workplace.
2. Energize and Respond – Spotting trends is not enough. The winners are those who move from fear to curiosity, embracing uncertainty as a spark for innovation.
3. Transform While Performing – Here lies the central paradox. How do you continue delivering KPIs while rethinking your entire process landscape? According to Van Duüren, balance is the necessary answer.
AI, Legal Ops, and The New Strategic Role of Legal
One of the most impactful parts of the keynote was Van Duüren’s take on how AI is redrawing the boundaries of legal work.
“AI reviews contracts ten times faster than junior lawyers,” he noted. “Writing them? That’s next.”
Imagine a future where first drafts of NDAs or MSAs are generated by AI, reviewed in minutes, and version-controlled automatically. That future isn’t distant, it’s already here in tools like Contractify, where smart workflows and AI capabilities reduce manual review of contract follow-up and accelerate compliance.
The challenge? This shifts the role of legal from “drafter” to “system intelligence leader”, someone who curates processes, oversees ethical AI use, and ensures alignment across business, legal, and tech. Traditionally, legal was the last stop—the "risk police" holding things up. But Van Duüren painted a different future: one where contract professionals are at the heart of value creation.
He spoke of a client who integrated legal, procurement, and finance into a shared contracting platform. Suddenly, contracts became not just about compliance, but about enabling faster revenue recognition and smarter sourcing.
It wasn’t just a process change. It was a culture change.
The Inner Work: Personal Transformation
He didn’t talk about new tools or org charts. He talked about you.
- Are you a "yes, but" person who drains energy, or a "yes, we can" person who sparks change?
- Are you leading with a fixed mindset or an open one?
- Are you spending your time trying to convert die-hards who resist every change, or are you empowering the coalition of the willing?
He reminded us that change starts not with new contracts but new behaviors. These aren't just self-help aphorisms; they’re operational truths. Emotional intelligence and openness to feedback are strategic assets, especially in contract management, where cross-departmental collaboration is essential.
Small shifts, big change: a practical challenge to become a transformation booster
→ Start with just 1 mindset shift, 1 contract workflow you'll improve, and 1 behavioral change.
For example:
- Rethink your standard approval process. Can AI pre-screen low-risk contracts and auto-approve them within limits?
- Shift from emailing static contract drafts to collaborating in a shared contract workspace.
- Change how you frame legal in cross-team meetings, from “we have to” to “here’s how we enable.”
Get to work
In a world where AI can generate NDAs in seconds and regulations update by the quarter, standing still is not an option.
Here’s how you can apply Van Duüren’s model yourself:
| Principle | Application |
| Find your North Star | Define your contract vision. Is it compliance? Speed? Strategic value? |
| Power Innovation Strategy | Automate repetitive reviews, implement clause libraries, test generative AI. |
| Value People | Involve stakeholders from finance, sales, and legal early. Build a coalition. |
| Balance performance & transformation | Set quarterly performance goals, but dedicate 20% of your time to forward-looking process improvement. |
Your North Star: Transform and Perform
Ultimately, the keynote wasn’t about choosing between innovation and execution. It was about balancing both. As contract managers track deadlines and renewal dates, we must also ask: What’s our strategic horizon? What role will we play in shaping our company’s agility, growth, and trustworthiness? Van Duüren’s final call to action lingered in the room: “Find your North Star. Build the bridge. Transform the system, while performing in it.”
Relive Contract Management Day 2025!
Watch the full session of Olivier van Duüren here ⬇️
💬 Want to dive deeper? Read the book Transforming While Performing by Olivier van Duüren and explore how platforms like Contractify are operationalizing these ideas in real-time.
