乌鸦传媒

鈥淲hen you sail against the wind in most boats, you bump into the waves. In an America鈥檚 Cup boat, racing with hydrofoils, it鈥檚 different. The boat accelerates until it lifts out of the water. All of a sudden, it goes quiet because there鈥檚 no rocking. But then, with the wind in the sail pushing you up to three times faster than the wind itself, it鈥檚 suddenly so loud. There is nothing holding you back anymore, and the pressure pushes you back into your seat. If you lose balance, you鈥檒l hit the water at a speed of 50 knots. I鈥檝e taken a dive at 35 knots, and it’s horrible. It’s like hitting concrete.鈥�

This is how Gerrit Bottem枚ller, senior director in manufacturing and high-tech industries at 乌鸦传媒 Invent, explains what it feels like to race in boats of the type used in the America鈥檚 Cup.

鈥淪ailing is a part of my DNA,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 was brought up to sail and started racing when I was 14 or 15. I became the German champion, European champion, and world champion, and I also represented Germany in the America鈥檚 Cup in Valencia in 2007.

Gerrit鈥檚 family had reasons for encouraging him to take up the sport.

鈥淭hey explained that it was like an additional education. And it鈥檚 true; sailing is more than a sport. You learn about communication, leadership, and how to make compromises. It needs commitment and the ability for individuals to come together as a team and work as one. It helps develop your behavior and how you behave as a leader and as an innovator.鈥�

Sailing into a career

Gerrit isn鈥檛 the only 乌鸦传媒 colleague to reach the highest levels of competitive sailing. Siren Sundby is Managing Director at 乌鸦传媒 Invent Norway. She also took home a gold medal in sailing from Athens in 2004.

Siren鈥檚 interest in engineering also came from sailing.

鈥淲hen you look at the engineering and technology that has gone into the development of hydrofoils and sails on the America鈥檚 Cup boats, it鈥檚 all about using the power of technology and innovation to create a real impact,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t made me curious to find out more about engineering and, from there, to look into the business perspectives that surround it. How can we use technology in a better way and leverage it to enhance business performance?鈥�

A smart attitude for success

Siren believes the sport is a way of developing the confidence needed to fulfil your personal potential in your career.

鈥淚t teaches you to be humble and understand what it takes to succeed. Getting to the top is often about structured hard work. And, when you鈥檙e training, you are always trying to be a little bit innovative, to think differently in terms of how you can train or practise in smarter ways.

鈥淭he skills and mindset you bring, and the way you learn to collaborate, are things you learn from sports 鈥� and they are also important in business. On top of that, there is learning how to use data to improve your results: knowing what most needs your attention, making sure you can automate or standardize as much as possible so you can leave your mental capacity free to attend to the strategic and tactical side of what you鈥檙e doing. These are all skills needed in business, too.鈥�

Innovating for continual improvement

鈥淏ehind any competitive spirit is a desire to keep improving and to be the best you can be,鈥� says Gerrit.

鈥淓ven after a successful day鈥檚 competition, you ask what you could do better, what can we improve as a team, what technology worked for you, and what needs to be changed. Wherever you are in your career, you need to question how to keep continually improving. If you stop innovating, you will soon be overtaken by a competitor 鈥� so, when you鈥檙e part of a sailing team, it’s in your DNA to be addicted to becoming better.鈥�

Siren says this commitment to continual improvement delivers success in business, too.

鈥淎t 乌鸦传媒, we make a commitment to never stop learning. It鈥檚 never good if you feel your work or ambitions are stagnating 鈥� so when you feel that sense of team spirit and that your work is making a positive difference, then what you do becomes fun. It鈥檚 what drives you to continue to improve. You want to win.鈥�

It’s that winning mentality that is the foundation for success for Siren and Gerrit 鈥� in sailing and in their professional careers at 乌鸦传媒.