94. Money is not important

Dear Jan

I think both of us are lucky to have grown up in hard-working families with parents who encouraged us to do the same. This has certainly shaped me and showed me that if  I work hard I can be successful. It has made me realize that if you want something and you want to realize your ambitions you have to take action.My father told me many times, in my memory these were his first words to me, that I should never work for a boss, but for myself. As a result, I never asked what I would do when I grew up. I was, of course, going to have my own company.

You write about your choice to work in small motivated groups. I have never worked in large organizations and our entire company consists of small groups. We have 17 offices in 7 countries with a total of 210 colleagues. I don’t know everybody but the colleagues I know are all highly motivated, which always impresses me. And the feedback I receive from the colleagues I don’t know is exactly the same. The dedication, the passion I see from my colleagues touches me a lot and this encourages and inspires me greatly to give back as much as I can.

This is often in stark contrast to our client companies. These are generally large multinationals, the big banks, telecom giants and large industrial companies. At many of these companies I see a big difference compared to us. The work gets done, usually very well, because the staff level is high. But no more than that. If the going gets tough, if exceptional and abnormal situations occur, most people back off. The moment exceptional actions are required because normal routine is not enough anymore, everything stalls.

I think this is the reason we, as a relatively small agency, can grow and win almost all the big tenders in direct competition with giants such as Manpower and Adecco. We win because our teams are highly motivated and they put their heart and soul into each proposal to the client. We always try to offer more and better and be more creative and more personal. That so often makes the difference in comparison with our colleagues at the other providers.

I notice the same difference in managers at large companies. All are professionals who are good and often great at their job. Until something goes wrong and things get really challenging. Then I see people hedging their bets, avoiding responsibility, pointing fingers at the ‘guilty’ and delegating to others to fix the problem. I think the real leader or true entrepreneur in such a situation, stands up, takes responsibility and does what needs to be done. I encourage my colleagues to be such leaders.

It also makes it clear to me that money and size play a subordinate role in success. We can win almost every tender from competitors who are 400 times larger than us. And this is because our team gives an exceptional performance every time by being totally motivated and being personally involved. Time and time again.

Regards,
Gerard