Courage

For a medium-sized business today, it is quite courageous to face up to the challenges of competition. It requires courage to embark, even if the experience does not make one smarter until after the fact. Courage means having trust in the team or in the employees. Courage also means admitting your mistakes and learning from them.

Above all, however, self-criticism presupposes courage. When the team of the illbruck had won the first two stages of the Volvo Ocean Race, the subsequent team meetings almost led one to believe they had come in last. The team criticised its own performance in such a conscientious and detailed manner. Complacency and arrogance on the other hand would have meant the beginning of the end.