Man plans…

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2025/11.

Guest writer:
Zoltán Gazsi
former managing director
Eisberg Hungary

Then it occurred to me that during the busy planning period of the year not many people would understand or accept what I was writing about… Some multinational company managers don’t have to bother with planning; they receive the sales and cost figures from the foreign headquarters. All they have to do is execute… In the past 30 years I have had only one boss who sat down with me and accepted what the team had put together. We came to an agreement and the game was clear: we don’t hide reserves in the system, we put together the plan to the best of our knowledge – and he doesn’t add 10% to the sales we submit at the end and he doesn’t deduct 10% from the planned costs.

I loved working in such a trusting environment. Everyone else had to play the game, figuring out how much the boss would add to sales at the end and deduct from costs. I have always focused on making sure that my team handles unexpected situations flexibly and makes the best of the actual situation. The psychological stability of the team is entirely in the hands of its leader. I have recently met Indian guru Sri Preetha, who summed up the responsibility of leaders very well: leaders have a vision, a plan for the direction of production, sales and marketing. However, the most important question is whether they have a vision of the mindset with which they wish to lead. Efficient leadership is based on initiating change within ourselves: let’s strive for inner harmony and try to see clearly and impartially in every situation.