Lucie's Blog

Last shout

Once upon a time...
It all started as a game... Me, being bit bored in Germany, as the weather was cold, and the school bit dull as always... then I received an email... the one luring you to take few minutes... "It’s worth it!" ... You get hundreds of those....
	I always put my nose into every pot... I just had to try!
When I was invited for an interview it was no more fun... It became a chance for the future. And as I have not met many chances before, I prepared myself. It turned out to be a good choice. I was selected! Among so many people I became one of the 33 lucky ones.
Then it was very quick... Briefing in Paris... Start blogging... My Alcan day... Weekly contributions...
And now it is time to end. The program is nearly over and I am starting to be sad. I knew from the beginning that it would be something special, but I was still a bit pessimistic. Finally, it turned out to be even more interesting than I would have thought.
Not only THANKS TO a great We All Can team, especially to our "mummy" Sandrine Guyot who for me is not only an opportunity giver, but especially a great person...
Also to my fabulous coach Udo Rothmund who I think is the best "teacher" I have ever had and a very special person, too... And of course thanks to my colleague bloggers... who always inspired me... especially Davide, Aline and Jean Baptiste...
	But it is also about the little things you meet on the way... sun above the clouds when you fly, birds singing waking you up, the pleasure of meeting new people, the church bells ringing, the Eiffel Tower waiting for you to come back....
I would like to keep all these moments in mind. Every little thing builds you and your personality and these few weeks have been so full of experience that I must have grown at least two meters up...
Now, it is time to turn the page. In few weeks I am starting my internship for Alcan Singen. And I hope it is only a new start... not an end of a story...

Challenge, contribution, performance

... in Udo's job

This is a challenge... (Click on the picture)

Challenge

Udo started to do his job in Alcan in 1990. If you think about how many employees just Alcan Singen has (about 2 thousand) you might think the position of marketing and sales director in Alcan Composites (one part of Alcan Singen with around 300 employees) is not so important, but among 5 manager position it looks differently. Obviously there is high responsibility connected with his position. This already is a good motivation to work well! And if you think farther about the other features - so much traveling all around the world, meeting different people who might become even friends - Udo has a great motivation in his job! This also represents a challenge. As the biggest challenge he considers matching the more and more demanding of Alcan's requirements that are necessary in increasing competition! This is why Udo is always trying to do his best!

You will also have to contribute in order to read what a contribution means in my coach's job... (start the puzzle by clicking on it...)

Contribution

It is clear that anybody working in such a big company can work on his own. It is a cooperation that makes the business a success. And if different people should reach a common target there has to be a common mean to achieve that. From my point of view there are corporate values that set a way how to proceed towards the target. By making people believe in the same values is how to make changes for better.

EHS first is the most important of the values and you can find it in all areas of work within Alcan worldwide. The target in that case is a zero number of working accidents. This target is most likely not achievable within short, but getting as close as possible is a social question as well as financial one (losing a worker who gets injured costs a company a lot of money). The competition is tough, you have to work hard.

Concerning the Continuous Improvement you can see it as a tool how to achieve various targets. How to perform better e.g. in EHS, how to work more efficiently, how to maximize value etc. (for more information on CI visit my Innovation post)

And now, time to finish the puzzle... (just click where you want to put each stone, it will not pass on the wrong position, so do not worry :o))

You managed it! This is your performance...

Performance

Performance is to battle the challenges, to do your best, to move forward. To become a world leader in the business!

Humans within Alcan ..

After talking to my coach Udo on the topic "human beings, being human" I decided to summarize it into four parts which I think are the very important ones for being human in a company...

Move your mouse over each topic to read more...

As a manager you cannot do other's jobs, though some people do think so. You have to be a team leader to be able to make the people do their jobs. You have to motivate them for the same target. In order to achieve this you should be in touch with them as much as possible, as was already said in previous topics it is not only about email, you have to go to see them in their office and talk to them, explain things, convince them. Only this way you can achieve good results. Tolerance is a necessity! You have to be tolerant and open; otherwise you would affect demotivating on the people. On the other hand too much tolerance is also a weakness! The problem is finding the dividing line. You have to analyze the situation every moment, every second; you have to consider that it can turn out the other way round every minute as everything can change very quickly. And you should be aware that we are sometimes judging things too quickly and too subjective and try to beware of it.	The key is to analyze. It is much better if you let the employee think to identify the problem himself. Though, afterwards you have to share it with the others to prevent similar problems in the future, but you also should be careful not to put blame on somebody (even if it was his/her fault), but rather take it as a general problem of all of you. Of course there can be people who are for long not doing their job. There are basically two solutions for this - you have to find out the reason - why is he not working well? It can be that he is just not satisfied with his position and then there are different possibilities – job rotation, finding different ways of working etc. In the other case you can put the person under pressure to see if he is willing to work it out - set him weekly or monthly action plans.
One of the important things when you try to manage people is to realize that the times when you could have been the "shouting boss" are gone. Nowadays, a manager is more like a captain of a team. You are part of the team; the success of your team is your success. You have to rely also on the others.	Humanity within Alcan

Race: HUMAN

Have you ever realized how different we are from each other?
But aren’t we the same in fact?
The world is full of people – tall, small, black, white, skinny, fat, blue eyes, brown eyes, green eyes... So colorful it is – our world. How boring it would be without this diversity.
But differences cause also problems. We do not have to think too far, look at all the wars and disputes surrounding us. They are all caused by differences – in ideas, views, opinions. Simply insufficient tolerance. Unwillingness to accept a solution “on the middle line between the two oceans”.
It is becoming more and more topic of nowadays, not discussed only in the political circles anymore. It is to be considered by everybody, so even more by companies. It is time to change things and start from ourselves.
To see how is it within the Alcan company, please come back soon to read more...

Little survey about ideas...

Are you as curious as I am how do people get the best ideas? If they have secrets how to be innovative?

Please take a minute to visit my "vote caster" and answer the questions. You will see if you are different concerning the new ideas finding than the others... Click on "cast your vote" to find out more...

If you have any special tricks how to be innovative feel free to share them...

Here are the results of May 11th (to see more recent ones you have to vote as well...):

Innovation - to be one step ahead

Innovation are new ideas, creativity.

For me a word innovation is not connected only with a company's life. I think innovation is important in everybody's life. You probably also do not appreciate boring homogenous life. Is your life same every day? It needs innovation!!!

Being innovative means to be open to new ideas, to be creative, not to be afraid of doing things that nobody has ever done. It means to be a step ahead.

During my Alcan Day I also visited a meeting concerning Continuous Improvement (find some more information on Andreas’ Blog). This was very interesting - there were different people from different positions taking part. Basically it showed how important is the cooperation of different divisions inside Alcan to make sure Alcan is effective.

Then, it stroked me: how does it actually happen that you as an Alcan's manager find out about an innovative problem that needs to be solved?
Udo: Basically there are two types of innovation: Product innovation and process innovation.
Concerning the product innovation it is the market that tells you what is needed. You can do surveys, but you also have to concern the customers, what they need or want. But you also have to think out of the box. For example in case of Alucobond it is not right to consider only the architecture market, but also other markets. That is what we did in case of spectra color - which is our color innovation. We could have kept on doing only our standard colors, but in car industry new colors were invented - they change color according to which angle you look from. And as Alcan Singen is supposed to be innovative, we have to react!
The process innovation problem appears when you see that things are not running as smoothly as they should. In that case you can try a little benchmarking within the company to find out if somewhere else there is a solution. If there is none, than you have to look for one yourself together with your colleagues.

How do different levels of employees engage in Continuous Improvement?
Udo: All levels are involved. It depends on the certain problem. Basically there are 3 layers: product market unit level (this is my level), business unit level and business group level (in case of Alucobond it is Engineered Products). But they are not completely separated, they cooperate. They also meet on regular meetings when they try to define which problems affect which level and according to this it is then worked on it.

Sometimes it can be difficult to persuade the company when you are an ordinary manager that your innovative idea is the right one for the company. Do you have similar problems in Alcan?
Udo: No, I do not think so. Alcan is very innovative company and if you provide your bosses with a proper planning which shows that it will be worth it they are open to all those ideas. This is Alcan's strength.

I was also wondering how important are relationships and getting information for innovation?
Udo: As I said you have to think outside the box. This means gaining information from different people - customers, suppliers, colleagues. In Alcan we have so called Corporate Management Development Program (CMDP) which organizes also meetings where you can meet new Alcan's people. It helps you to create your own network inside Alcan. So as you can see, both internal and external contacts are very important. With those you can easily get any information you need, to keep a pace with the whole company and to be innovative and effective at the same time. For example our Chinese co-workers has taught us many things - how to redesign and rebuild products effectively.

How is the competition in your area of work? Do you think it is easier than e.g. in fast moving consumer goods area?
Udo: During last years the competition got very demanding in our business, there are many new competitors. We have to innovate our products and ways of working to be able to compete. Without innovation Alcan Singen would not survive the 93 years of its operation.

Well, isn't it great to work for a company that is so innovative and open to any creative ideas?! :-) If Alcan was not innovative it would probably use still those machines...

International myself

I wrote last time about the international meaning for my couch from his "Alcan point of view" I thought it might be interesting to tell you bit more about my feelings about this topic. As I feel this word is very important for me.

So what actually is "international" for me?

My Friends

Mara - Italian Nadege and her lovely children - French/New Zealander Annemarie - German Thomas and his whole family - Irish Kelly - American Vera & Lenka - Czech

And many more people who were important on my way through life..
(flags from www.3Dflags.com)

Freedom

To pack my things and go to...

		Africa
Ireland
		France
Germany
		Austria
Britain
		Greece
Italy
		Spain
Switzerland
		Croatia

In case you would like to see more photos visit my webpage:
Lucie's Home Page

Chances

To study abroad To study at home about foreign things and people To work abroad To work at home for international company To meet Czech people abroad To meet foreigners in Czech To speak foreign languages To teach Czech for foreigners

And also ...

Food		Habits
	Drinks
Holidays		Currency
	Culture
Flowers		Monuments
	Music

I could go on like this for long... but hope you got the idea about my feelings for this word... :o)

The world of no borders

INTERNATIONAL... so much discussed word of nowadays… For someone part of his/her extended self, for some an empty term.

For me this has always meant meeting people from different counties with different thinking at my place and going abroad to see the lifestyles in different countries.

But what does international mean to my coach and how does he feel about ALCAN as international company? Let’s ask him:

What does a term "international" mean to you personally and to your job?

	Udo: For me this is a worldwide cooperation of diverse cultures and communities. It is about overcoming differences and finding ways for cooperation.

Do you see any "borders" in Alcan?

Udo: At a certain management level the organization has a matrix structure. This can bring some problems, because you have to consider not only the interests of the certain plant e.g. in Europe or South America, but also the interests of Alcan as international company. This can place some barriers, but it is one of the tasks of management to overcome them.

There are also some barriers in thinking right now. Because Alcan is led in very North-American way and European people, e.g. people who worked before for Pechiney might at the beginning have difficulties with understanding and accepting that way. But this is a question of time when they get used to it and the tendency of more understanding is to be seen also in our employee’s surveys.

Is there any international experience you will never forget?

Udo: There is a lot. For example there are some stories which happened to me. As when I was in Kenya in the airport on one Thursday afternoon waiting for a flight to Mauritius where I had another meeting on Friday morning and the soldier with an automatic gun telling me that there were no flights where I wanted. Luckily I managed to get on a different flight and also the meeting was rescheduled. But you can imagine how it was...

Sometime when you travel by plane and you have to change it; you do, but your luggage does not. Spending few days without your belongings is also an experience...

What is it that you like about traveling?

Udo: I like getting to know people, their different points of view, sharing information with them not only in business.

I love when I can see "footsteps" behind my work abroad, as in Kenya the Nairobi National Social Security fund building which is cladded with our product. (some examples of work from Alcan - more you can find under www.alucobond.de)

 

Shenzhen Newspaper Building Shenzen, China; Material: ALUCOBOND	Banca di Credito Cooperativo die Fornacette Pisa, Italien; Material: ALUCOBOND

And what about things you do not like about traveling?

Udo: I really hate waiting on the airport; it is a tremendous waste of time. Especially when you are stuck on the runway for four hours because of heavy snow and you are waiting for ten hours flight to another continent.

	And also the food in certain countries can be a problem :-)
This could easily happen, too...

What is better - meeting customers at their local place or inviting them to Alcan?

Udo: I think it is really important to see the customers how their live and work to be able to find the way to cooperate. This emphasazing of closer communication is what makes Alcan different from company that sells through internet. It is still important to build relationships for succesful cooperation.

Can You picture world with specifics of certaint places?
(move your mouse over the picture to see...)

Iceland - Have you ever seen,
when it's raining horizontally?

Europe means diversity...
and my home.

Egypt - The most exciting
holidays I have always
dreamt about: ship,
the Nile, old temples...

South Africa - 1992 just after
voting against Apartheid
the pressure could be
cut into pieces... It was
like sitting on a bomb
which was ready to explode.

Brasil - They know how to
enjoy life and work!

USA - Security everywhere!

Montreal - Tradition and
modernd times combined
in excellent way

Sydney Harbor Bridge

Taj-Mahal

Shanghai - One of the fastest
moving cities in the world...

 

Do not forget that however exciting traveling is you should not forget about a little place which you call home full of people you love...

Because EAST WEST, HOME IS THE BEST!

Clients and suppliers of marketing manager?

And it is here... the first topic from WAC team. Every week from now we should write about one topic as part of the We All Can Program. The first topic is: Clients and suppliers of my couch.

In case you are logistics maniacs you probably think everyday about the clients and suppliers of a company such as Alcan…. Well, I am not and anyway it is not the point here to name all the parts of Alcan's supply chain…

I spent my "Alcan Day" with a Marketing & Sales manager (see About my coach). In general marketing department has a lot of official suppliers: just think of logistics, procurement, book keeping…etc. I could go on for long. But can you imagine how many people a person from marketing works with? And how important they are? People are source of information; it does not matter if he/she is your supplier, colleague, client or boss. You need the people as well as they need you to get and share information. Well, we all are living in the world of information and information technologies.

Communication is the way to get the information. There is a lot of modern ways to communicate (I can not imagine my life without email J), but to use them can be sometimes tricky...

Problems in Communication
How the customer explained it	How the Project Leader understood it	How the Analyst designed it	How the Programmer wrote it	How the Bussines Consultant described it
How the project was documented	What operations installed	How the customer was billed	How it was supported	What the customer really needed

You see? That is why the "old good" face to face communication is irreplaceable! Also my coach rather goes to meet his colleagues next door or at least calls some of his partners abroad than just writing an email.

Communication in business does not mean that you meet this or that guy and start spout all the business trouble at him in the first moment. If you want to have a good and functioning relationship with a person you need to work with, you have to build trust! It means opening yourself a bit for him, so he/she can do the same for you! It is not by mistake that you have courses at the university about "small talk". Maybe you will find out some things you have in common or even become friends.

"I have for example very good relationship with customer manager in Australia." Udo said. "Anytime we meet we go playing bowling - it is a hobby we have in common." I can certainly imagine it is much better than sitting simply in an office.

My coach has only one tiny little problem. You remember his saying: If your brain needs oxygen why should you wear a tie? (see About my coach) Well, obviously you should wear a tie if you meet an important "supplier". Last week when my coach had a meeting in Austria he forgot (only by an accident) to pack a tie! Probably not great feeling when meeting a guy with a tie! But it turned up that that guy had similar feelings about ties - and he was very happy he could have taken it down!

Here you can see that communicating is the headstone of work. You should not only do a good thing, you should also share it! (that is why I am writing these lines J)Imagine the clients of Alcan. They will probably be "happier" if you talk to them more than just saying you will send them this and this amount of the product next week. Why not let them see a bit inside the company? Why not show them how Alcan produces the product. Why not let them ask the quality control or other department straight if they have questions, rather than communicating it over sales department? Maybe you remember from My Alcan Day I visited a meeting in this sense - introducing Alcan to potential clients and opening up the door for future cooperation by letting them understand the Alcan company.

In the end: do not forget that whenever and whomever you communicate in a company you should not forget why you are doing all this. The reason is simple: customer! Whatever you do in a company the main reason for it is you do it for the customer. Especially when you are doing a very specialized job, don't forget the top of the mountain - the customer is what counts!

What is it all about? The WAC programm

Do you actually know what We All Can Program is?

A company called Alcan, operating in the area of aluminium and packaging (for more  detailed information please visit www.alcan.com), has selected about 30 students out of few thousand around Europe to give them chance to "look behind the scenes". Each student is paired for few weeks with a "coach", an Alcan's manager and spends with him/her one and half days (the "Alcan day" to observe his/her job and to learn how the company actually works. Then the students are supposed to share their experience through their blogs, where they also with the help of their coaches answer specific questions given to them by WAC team every week. The author of the best blog will win a trip to Canada!

I have been lucky because I am one of those students. I have had already some nice experience with Alcan by now, so I would like to invite you to learn about it from my blog!

Hope you will send a lot of comments!