Hi my friends, followers and other folks,
it`s a quite long while ago that I adressed to you here in my blog. Sorry for that, but I had good reasons for excusing myself. Since I took over actively my new function and responsability as General Manager of the shortly before founded brandnew company RINGSPANN do Brasil, I have been restlessly creating this company, its processes and initiating its business since October 2024.
A coffee break in Florence…before my visit to Michelango (`s museum) and to the fantastic Galeria Uffizi museum.
Those of you who are already familiar with what doing business in Brazil in the daily practice means, for sure know what I am referring to.
Brazil is a huge country, almost an own continent, blessed with all good things humans can imagine. A wonderfully diverse landscape, 8.000 km of superb beaches, a very pleasant climate, abundance of drinking water, all kinds of tasty food, an energy matrix of 90% renewables and a practically unlimited quantity of all kinds of natural and mineral resources.
I saw this beautiful painting today at an arts shop in the street in Monterosso del Mare
All this sounds like a description of heaven. Isn`t it? But then there are the Brazilians. Wonderful, lovely, friendly, open-minded, optimistic, creative and helpful people, at least most of the 200 millions of them.
But good people – as Brazil and, by the way, most of the surrounding South American countries show us – are unfortunately not necessarily a synonym for good politics and administration.
At least since the 50`s of the last century it has come clear, that for many sad political and social reasons, Brazil has not become yet Stefan Zweig`s “Land of the Future”.
But – thanks God – Brazilians, unlike Stefan Zweig, (normally) don`t commit suicide and believe firmly, that if we haven`t gotten there yet, this is just a proof that we need to continue more until we get there.
Don`t worry – I will not be boring you now with a detailed description of all the beaurocracy, obstacles and setbacks which I faced during the first 4 months as employee number one and the only employee of our newborn company.
But he Brazilians are very creative people. They have cultivated over the last centuries a capability called “jogo de cintura” (“waist game”), which allows them to evade adverse situations in a very intelligent way without losing faith and motivation.
After 30 years of experience in living and working in Brazil – although my passport continues still German – I have no doubts, that I can with full rights consider myself a firmly adapted immigrant of German origins, like so many others of my fellow countrymen, who settled in this country since the 18th century or even earlier.
For this reason – and for sure because of my large business and management experience in Brazil – I never ever, since I landed for the first at Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo during April 12th, 1996, thought about throwing my towel.
April 11th, 1996 actually was a memorable date for the Germans. It was the day when a large fire broke out at Düsseldorf Airport, from where I had flown to Frankfurt during the same day for catching my connection flight to São Paulo.
Those were (also) good days – freshly arrived in Brazil during April 1996…
Evil voices said then, that I had put the fire there when leaving Germany, which in a literal sence could even have been the case, because I had been truly bored by Germany, when I followed the invitation to take over a new position a project manager in Brazil for my employer HENKEL.
May I tell you a secret ? Since April 12th, 1996 my life never has become boring again !!!
As I am writing this, I am lying on my Airbnb bed in Monterosso al Mare in the incredibly beautiful Cinque Terre region in northern Italy, where my amazing wife Selma, my great son Gabriel and I will be finishing our European holidays 2025 in 3 days only.
We`re having fun… Selma is the most wonderful complement of my life.
But I consider my holiday mission completed with excellence. My batteries – like the newest chinese generation of fast-loading long-reach sodium batteries – are full again
The Richest Man in Babylon – Thievery Corporation
I love the music of the American band Thievery Corporation, a duo which plays a style that mixes elements of dub, acid jazz, raggae, Indian classical, Middle Eastern music, hip hop, electronica and bossa nova.
And I actually feel like “The Richest Man in Babylon”…
Next monday I`ll be up and running again – in my home gym on the threatmill early in the mornings and on the job at RINGSPANN do Brasil together again with my colleague Celso – and – from next monday on – together with our new wonderful colleague Maura.
Please do not consider this as a binding commitment, but I plan to write my next post here in my blog at the beginning of june, when I`ll be travelling home again to São Paulo from my next business trip to Germany.
By until then. Take care.
