ESCP Europe Alumni Magazine - n°153 - Mars/Avril 2014 - 25

FoCus

By Petra KLEINE (EAP 88)

A real adventure
Petra KLEINE has been working for a small company for more than
20 years. She thinks to go there was one of the best decisions she has
ever taken. She explains the reasons.

These small companies are exciting, downto-earth, reliable, build the back bone of the
German society, pay their taxes and have a social
conscience. You have a broader range of tasks
and responsibilities and it is all on a more personal
basis. Okay, you have to work harder and you are
personally in charge of basically everything. You
can't blame it on anyone else. No excuses. But are
all small companies like that? Definitely not. But
surprisingly, many. And that's what makes them
so valuable. There are so much bigger companies
which could learn from them!
Disappointment in a multinational
In 1988, I started to work for a multinational IT
company, afterwards for a multinational food company. It was a good experience, but at the same
time I began to miss a few things. Colleagues
were working harder on their own career than for
the job they were hired for. Decisions were taken
from the view of specific departments, not having
in view the best for the company as a whole. Too
much time was wasted in meetings with too many
people and necessary decisions were postponed
again and again.
Although everyone considered himself important,
there were very few who had the courage to take
decisions. But even if their activities ruined the
entire company, they did not have to bear any
personal risk. Just the opposite, they even got
termination pay.
Decision to work differently
I wanted to work differently. On a broader scope.
Take decisions and be responsible for them. So
I left the comfort of a big company and started
the adventure in a small one. A real adventure and
never boring! It was my parents' company I decided to work for: «VOSS Die Blechprofis», founded in 1967. Meanwhile I am Managing Director

and we have about
50 employees. A
modern machinery
park (laser cutting,
punching, bending,
welding, etc.) and
highly
motivated
and skilled personnel produce a
variety of articles
made of steel, inox,
aluminium and other
materials.
You will never find
our name on the
products, as our
customers sell them under their own brand. But
you can find them all over the world: in the Burj
Khalifa in Dubai, in cruise liners across the oceans
and in the European Court of Justice in The Hague
to name some.
A lot of advantages in a family company
That makes us a little proud. We love our jobs and
we enjoy working together as a family! I especially
enjoy being in charge of basically everything. New
employees? New machines? Price negotiations?
Direct customer contact? Sponsoring social
events? Writing an article for the press? Yes! And
I can decide without having to fear any share holders reactions. My focus is always company-related and long-term. We are highly flexible, as no
rigid concepts exist. But there are also restrictions
that make our life difficult. The German bureaucracy, for example, or the taxes (big companies
hardly pay any taxes) and sometimes the purchase departments of our customers... But that's life.
And when I look out of my office window and see
the beautiful countryside and the down-to-earth
village, I can't tell you how glad I am that I took
this important decision 20 years ago.
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ESCP Europe Magazine N° 153 - Mars/Avril 2014

ESCP Europe Alumni Magazine - n°153 - Mars/Avril 2014

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