A culture that accepts mistakes is necessary for success

The team realized that they needed to make substantial changes to the way they worked. “We were under pressure from outside the team to succeed and to meet deadlines, but we also had to evaluate our own processes within the team. We should have been more realistic about some of the challenges at the time, in terms of the amount of time and the way in which a machine could be developed.” A completely new workflow was developed at a retreat with section and project management in 2013. Since then, each project is put to the test every 12 weeks, because “in order to meet deadlines, you need the flexibility to keep reorganizing the team.” On one planning day every quarter, project managers and department heads openly list any problems. “After that, we address the issues or correct our approach,” says Kurt.

The project managers interview their employees before those planning meetings are held. They do this because “when it comes to a realistic assessment of how the work is progressing, the employee is the expert, not the project manager.” It takes a lot of trust and a functioning error culture. “We don’t lose sight of the big picture, and there is no longer any danger of us heading in the wrong direction for a long time.” This is the reason why projects are now generally implemented according to schedule. Since making the change, the rate of goals being achieved in the specified time period has increased to 80%, up from just 50%.

Kurt had already learned how to face challenges while dealing with the high pressure in the early years after he joined GF. A graduate in mechanical and industrial engineering, he joined Step-Tec, a GF subsidiary, as head of mechanical development in 2004. Soon after he started there, 25 different defects were discovered in a spindle that had already been delivered in large quantities. It would take several years of careful fine-tuning under constant high pressure from the customer to eliminate these defects. During this time, Kurt was also coping with an extremely difficult situation in his home life, always trying to balance work and family. “I got to know myself back then,” he says today. In addition to support from those around him, it was always important for him never to give up and to keep believing in the positive. He says he learned that it is important to help each other and to celebrate even small successes. In the meantime, Kurt manages the stress through his fitness training and by riding his mountain bike. “You have to know yourself and not allow work-related things to meddle with your personal life. It helps you to deal with pressure and allows you to continue with self-reflection, so you can admit mistakes and correct them.”