Oldendorff Centenary Book - Flipbook - Page 23
FREEDOM TO ROAM
There is no map to follow. No complicated
policies or rules to restrict you. And no one
to punish you if you go astray.
It sounds good, but not everyone can deal with freedom. Henning wanted to
hire people who would go out and find better ways of doing things. This is
not to say that Henning knew what those better ways were – he didn’t. He
simply believed that people were less likely to find them if he put obstacles,
like rules, policies and guidelines in their way.
Peter acknowledges that when Henning offered him the post of CEO, it came
without instructions: “Will you take the job? Good. Now have a nice day.”
But Peter – and many others who have been part of the last 25 years of the
Oldendorff story – relish this freedom.
This is why Henning doesn’t require Peter to provide constant updates. They
stay in touch as you would expect a chairman and CEO would. But these
are just regular conversations – there is no formality. In Henning’s words:
“I don’t need fancy presentations from Peter to justify what he is doing.
That would be just awful.”
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