Janez, your colleagues Alumni choose you for the FELU MBA Annual award for Best Alumnus. What does this mean to you?
FELU MBA award for best alumni is above all valuable recognition from my peers. We spent many hours together during team work on different case studies. During this kind of work in teams, I was learning about myself in interaction with different people, because every individual is unique. This was most valuable takeaway from my peers. Being recognised by my friends means a lot to me and makes me proud. Finally it gives me motivation to further train and improve myself in the future.
What are the most important decisions/challenges that you face daily as a leader in your organization?
Most important decisions and challenges which leader faces today are several. It is difficult to name just one that is most important. This is especially true for entrepreneurial environment. One of the most important is certainly finding and leading a team. Finding the right people who share same vision and passion to make any endeavour possible is most probably the biggest challenge today. New generations are coming in the work environment, and business landscape is changing due to new technologies. All this makes daily life of a leader very dynamic and some challenges are unseen before, so one must find new creative and innovative solutions. I may say that new technologies are replacing some routine tasks, but there is more demand for innovation and creativity. There is another hidden challenge in daily business life, which is how to really understand where the problem is. Very often, what is visible on the surface is only a consequence of underlying a problem, thus addressing the consequence will not solve the problem.
As an individual and professional, how do you operate today (after your MBA degree)? What’s different from before, during the MBA course?
Nothing drastically changed at my workplace after getting an MBA degree. I came back to my daily work and had similar issues to solve. The big difference is the managerial toolbox I carry now along. The programme was extensive and covered many areas and aspects of business. I still keep all my MBA materials close to my work desk and use it for my business. Besides direct learning there is another component, which is less obvious. Interaction with other people from other cultures is giving you an opportunity to learn about yourself and helps you find a room for improvement. Teamwork with Indian colleagues was one of the best experiences. I may say life is not easier because of MBA, but we have more tools and knowledge to face daily challenges at our work.