Prachi has known Klaus, who is a senior employee, since 2018 from her former employer Schaeffler AG & Co KG. When Prachi moved from USA to Germany in 2019, she got to know him better. Klaus was kind enough to take time from his busy schedule and answer some questions for us. We thank you Klaus and we're sure our audience will benefit greatly from this interview!
Before COVID-19:
Q: We would love to know you and your journey so far. What is your profession? What do you do for feeding your kitchen and your soul? These two may be different as well. You can give us how you spend your typical day if that’s more suitable to your profession.
K: I am running a division within Schaeffler Automotive. Being responsible for the global business you can imagine that the day sometime starts early talking to my teams in Asia and usually ends with the colleagues in the America’s.
Q: We would love to know how you came to be who you are now. What were the most important turning points in your childhood that made you YOU?
K: I would always go back to my parents who worked hard for us kids to learn and become strong and independent. And I had the luck to meet professionals during my time that showed me new things that attracted me.
Q: Before COVID lockdown what was the first thing on your mind to do in your business/life? What move you wanted to make to grow? This includes short term goals.
K: We are supporting the automotive industry with systems and services that are relevant to meet their CO2 targets. In an ever challenging environment it is utmost important to be close to your customers needs and derive the right development activities. Our latest kid in town is our approach for fuel cells.
Q: What was your 3-5 year plan before COVID? We would like to know your long term goals before this unexpected phenomenon.
K: The typical mid term strategy includes supporting our customers with new development activities to secure their targets. It also includes a transition from less important products to even more important ones. Managing your product portfolio is essential to stay fit.
Q: Among the people you have worked with who do you admire and why? Past and present people included.
K: As mentioned before I had the luxury to work with great people in my career. The first one who really moved me was Walter Reifenroether, who was my boss at Federal Mogul. His successor, Bernd Reifenhäuser was even more a mentor for me and a great modern type of manager. And within my actual company it surely was Peter Pleus who was a strong character as well.
Q: Any experience with best and the worst bosses/employees? Any story? Don't worry! We'll change the names of those individuals! ;)
K: There are so many good stories, but I always liked when we played football during our time in Federal Mogul! Real best times as the entire team was a real team.
A worst example of a boss was at SDF which showed me that a good strategy is real most important. And once you have one ( and make sure you have one!), you should keep going. And not change directions every week. Real worst case experience.
Q: What new culture you wanted to bring to the profession you are working in? (before COVID-19 of course!)
K: A culture of team and trust fighting hard for our goals!
Q: You must be having a list of fun things/soul feeding things you wanted to do before this pandemic changed the world. Your top 5 things on bucketlist? (before COVID-19)
K: I always wanted to run a marathon in my life. Started this journey some 7 years ago and run 6 marathons till now... can’t stop it anymore.
Listening and playing music is such great inspiration. Once you have friends joining it is even a greater inspiration and fun!
Learning new things (such as a language) opens new dimensions.
And enjoying life with my family, during a great dinner with a full bodied Italian red wine.
After COVID-19:
Q: How are you holding up the fort of your home and your profession in these trying times? How are you entertaining yourself if you have more free time on your hand now?
K: The situation is not really reducing my focus on my work. It simply changes the way we work. Much more home office time and trying to stay connected to your team as best as I can.
Q: What changes are you experiencing in your job? What changes you had to make in your working style?
K: Being personally out of reach is my biggest problem as I like and really need a personal contact with my teams. Video it teleconferencing is not replacing a personal meeting. Therefore you need to make sure that you “communicate” as best as you can.
Q: Everyone is talking about how this virus is going to permanently change the way we live now. What do you think will be the biggest change after this Pandemic situation is over?
K: I don’t know exactly but I wish we would appreciate more the things we take as normal. But human beings generally forget about this too fast.
In our business I am sure that traveling will be different in future if at all. More video conferencing will replace it.
Q: Do you think this will affect area/industry you are working in? If yes, why and on what scale? If no, why not?
K: The coming crisis will affect a huge number of industries as well as the automotive industry. Companies and industries that already had a weak position will disappear even faster. A most likely recession will affect our ability to grow in different industries. Shrinking markets and declining turnovers will have to be managed. The political relations will even deteriorate not leading to a more common direction.
Q: Some of us are optimistic that this is just a small bump in our progress story and won't majorly affect how we lived. Do you agree? Do you think we can get back to where we left before this pandemic?
K: As before, the crisis will have a 2-3 year impact on us! No short term healing possible!
Q: If a kid walked up to asking for your advice for starting his/her venture and you only had a few minutes to give them your best tip, what would it be? Considering the pandemic.
K: Independent on the pandemic, the kid needs to find out what he likes most and then focus on where this is. There will be losers (maybe ship building) and winners (maybe medical industries) or simply start to become your own boss and become a plumber. Whatever you do, do it with full passion!
Q: If this situation is going to change the way you work, what change you want to see in your work now? What will be the best way to make that change?
K: Trusting your teams will become even more relevant. So better start today!
Q: Which direction you think that we all - as a world - responsibly need to act and think? You can say in whichever sense you feel is most important.
K: I would like to see that we appreciate some of the things that are real important to us. (Doctors, nurses, elderlies) and not what is in my next car. Balance the payments to their society contributions!
Q: Do you think you need to re-modify the bucketlist? Why and how?
K: I would only add that I will do social work in future more that before!!
Q: We should not ignore the silver linings that you noticed in this scare. After all, hope is what makes the world go round. What positive thing you experienced during this pandemic?
K: Whatever comes, people will be able to manage it! There is a solution and there is a way. Just go!
Q: Do you think you and the world need to set new milestones? Will sustainability and earth-friendly business practices be an important factor now? How will you ensure you fit in this new picture in your respective profession?
K: There is no other way!
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