 |
Great explorers study the horizon, identify opportunities, chart a course, make preparations, and then roll with the punches when they come. Descended from a family of adventurers who sailed the world via trade winds, Johannes Heinlein has been well steeped in this ethos. Johannes developed an early thirst for new languages and cultures while playing competitive soccer as a teenager in international tournaments. After he went to the U.S. as a high school exchange student his wanderlust became insatiable. Recognizing the value in both formal education and the school of life, Johannes made a pact with his best friend to take time off from university in Germany and travel across a southern hemisphere country by bicycle. A throw of the dart determined the destination. New Zealand it was. They didn't just save up and backpack around until the money ran out, though. Instead, they got a sponsorship to make a documentary about their trip. At the conclusion of the journey, Johannes was scheduled to appear on a television show to present the documentary and was told it was a national live program only moments before filming. The experience taught him a valuable lesson in the importance of preparation. Every adventure offers up its pearls of wisdom. Johannes has lived, worked and attained advanced degrees in Germany, Scotland, Belgium, New Zealand and the U.S. and visited more than 40 additional countries both for work and pleasure. That's a lot of pearls. And it shows up in how he does business. Johannes cut his teeth working for the European Union in Brussels, where he used his international savvy analyzing multinational aspects of future technology trends. He consulted for Deloitte for more than 12 years as a Strategy and Operations senior manager and worked as a strategy director for a national economic development agency. Johannes has evaluated, planned and led multinational performance improvement, restructuring and merger projects for global leviathans such as Bayer and Mercedes Benz enabling multi-million in cost savings. How did he pull it off? The same way his forefathers found their way around the globe - by remembering to look beyond immediate boundaries, make an assessment, set an objective, commit, build the right team, and hold it steady when the winds start blowing. When not helping organizations achieve their strategies, Johannes spends time with his two children and wife charting new adventures - skiing new tracks, cycling through the countryside or simply enjoying a moment of solitude. |
|||
|
|||
