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Matching the Mentality

By Benedikt Börner, Partner & Director
Region: International

Top sector: Industry, Production

THIS CASE HAS MANY INTERESTING THINGS, BUT TWO STAND OUT: THE SCANDINAVIAN MENTALITY AND DELICIOUS PASTA. LET ME BACK UP AND EXPLAIN. THIS WAS A GERMAN COMPANY WITH A LOT OF TRADITION, HISTORY AND A LONG TRACK RECORD OF SUCCESS. HOWEVER, THAT SAME HISTORY AND TRADITION EVENTUALLY STARTED TO WEIGH THE COMPANY DOWN.
BY THE TIME THEY ENGAGED US FOR SUPPORT, THIS COMPANY WAS IN SEVERE FINANCIAL TROUBLE. THE ORGANISATION— A COMPANY THAT PRODUCED ELEVATOR ROPES FOR VERY TALL BUILDINGS—NEEDED A COMPLETE LEADERSHIP OVERHAUL. THEY NEEDED AN ENTIRE FINANCE TEAM, A CFO AND MORE PERSONNEL BROUGHT INTO THE OFFICE.
THE BIG PROBLEM? THEY WERE A FAMILY-OWNED COMPANY THAT THOUGHT IN TERMS OF DECADES AND TRADITION. THEY DID NOT HAVE THE NATURAL MINDSET OF “LET’S GO FOR THE PERFORMANCE-ORIENTED FIGURE.” THAT WAS A BIG STUMBLING BLOCK WHEN THE BIG GOAL WAS TO RAISE REVENUE FROM 450 MILLION TO 800 MILLION OVER THE NEXT THREE TO FIVE YEARS.
THE WAY WE GOT THE JOB DONE? WE CHALLENGED THE CUSTOMER’S THINKING. WE PUT THEIR WHOLE MINDSET TO THE TEST AND ASKED IF THERE COULD BE ANOTHER WAY. WE DIDN’T TAKE THE SIMPLEST SOLUTION OR THE MOST OBVIOUS SOLUTION. IT WAS A LONG PROCESS TO FIND THE RIGHT FIGURE. YOU HAD TO BALANCE THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE NEEDED TO MAKE INDEPENDENT DECISIONS; AT THE SAME TIME, THERE WERE PEOPLE IN THE COMPANY THERE FOR OVER FOUR DECADES. THERE WERE PEOPLE WHOSE FATHERS AND GRANDFATHERS HAD ALSO WORKED THERE.
SO, YOU COULDN’T JUST HIRE ANY PERSON. YOU NEEDED TO BRING IN PEOPLE WHO COULD ADAPT TO A FAMILY BUSINESS, AT LEAST ACCEPTING THE CULTURE AROUND THEM. IT WAS ESSENTIAL TO KEEP THE DNA OF THE COMPANY AND THE ESSENCE OF ITS CULTURE, OR THE BUSINESS WOULD SUFFER IN THE LONG TERM.

It took a lot of meetings and talking with the stakeholders throughout the organisation, but in the end, they agreed with our ideas. The big things that made the difference? Well, first, there was a close personal relationship with the leadership of the organisation. One night, they even had me over for a delicious meal of home-cooked pasta. The other thing that set us apart? As a south of Germany based company, we understood the unique traditional, sustainable mindset that the client had. It helped us understand that balance needed: changing a company for the future around performance while maintaining its unique, familypowered DNA that gave the organisation a true edge in the market.

Benedikt Börner, Partner & Director
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