Mike Spoerri – Success comes down to the employees

Any company’s success today depends on its employees more than ever before

A company fundamentally needs a structure that fosters entrepreneurial thinking. This is the only way to ramp up the likelihood that new things will develop. Innovations can’t be dictated, you have to create a corporate culture that has a flat management structure or even no management at all, with freedom for all those who think for themselves. This allows people to develop their own ideas while working on a project, ideas that may well turn a lot of things on their heads. But it’s precisely those ideas that need to be recognized as opportunities and used to create something new together. At n c ag, this corporate culture is actively practiced.

Interview with Mike Spoerri in 2018, COO and Key Account Manager at n c ag, Urdorf – Thomas Gysin

At n c ag, they work in an unconventional way, they’re used to stepping out of their comfort zone and they have the drive to make what seems impossible, possible.

If you’re not open to change, you risk dragging old mistakes into new processes.

You need to have the ambition to look beyond set targets, to challenge yourself or your preconceived ideas, and to have the courage to break the rules – even if it involves extra work. It’s not true to say that cross-thinking prevents efficient target planning. Cross-thinking may be disruptive during a process, but that’s also a good thing, because it makes you think about whether you’re actually moving in the right direction. The worst thing that can happen to a company is to constantly replicate the status quo. Doing so involves the risk of carrying long-outdated processes unexamined into the future and incorporating old mistakes into new projects.

People are at the heart of everything. They have to feel they’re prospering. Otherwise, nothing will work.

Mike Spoerri's walk to work on the shore of Lake Zurich with sunrise - n c ag — He gets into his car before rush hour has even started. Guiding him on his way to work along the left bank of Lake Zurich to Urdorf is the pleasant warm light of the morning sun. The weather is fine. The Gold Coast on the other side is often still dark at this hour and has to wait until the sun climbs higher. So it’s also often said that the people living on the left bank of the lake are more awake than those on the right. He arrives at the office shortly before seven and is the first to meet the facility manager, who is already doing his rounds at this hour, for a coffee and a brief chat before going through his emails and schedule.

Companies are sociotopes where people gather to work and also live together. This creates group-specific structures with responsibilities and a clear separation of tasks. In a well-functioning sociotope, a certain feel-good atmosphere develops as well as corresponding identification with the company. However, this in itself is not enough to create a corporate culture. That requires mutual respect, trust, enthusiasm and appreciation. These are values that must be promoted and exemplified by top management and embraced and passed on by all employees. Ultimately, this is the cornerstone of a genuine corporate culture.

At the end of the day, everyone must be able to go home feeling they have achieved something.

Today more than ever, the success of a company is perceived through its employees. Times of stiff competition in particular call for an accomplished corporate image – and for highly motivated employees. Companies must create a confident image from within and engage their employees in this process, allowing them to act as ambassadors for the company to the outside world.

This is called employer branding. It is part of the corporate culture. For this purpose, a company’s set of values as well as its visions and goals are set out together with the employees. Of course, the same topic also includes benefits such as employment contract conditions, compensation, social status and job security.

Work can be fun, but it doesn’t have to be. Work has to be fulfilling. And the best incentive to achieving that is identification. Employee motivation can’t just be bought with money, comfort or status. Employees have to be convinced of what they are doing. And companies must instill this conviction in every employee.

Mike Spoerri privately hiking with his dog in the mountains - n c ag — At work he’s pretty hard on himself at times – but it goes with the territory as a COO, given his position as a role model. It’s different in his private life, though. Here, the pressure is off, he enjoys time with his wife, his daughter, who is now 18, and his dog Phoebe. To free up his mind, he does exercise, enjoys a big breather in the great outdoors or looks forward to meeting up with friends.

Mike Spoerri stands on a square in the city and smiles at the camera - n c ag

Mike Spoerri, COO and Key Account Manager

Mike Spoerri is a dual citizen, and holds both an American and a Swiss passport. His parents emigrated to the U.S. Mike grew up in Los Angeles and only came to Switzerland after graduating at the age of 18, where he apprenticed as a photolithographer in his uncle’s company. Actually, Mike wanted to return to L.A. afterwards, but met his wife here – and stayed. A decision he’s never regretted. Mike Spoerri has now been with n c ag since 2001 and, as COO (Chief Operating Officer), he oversees operations, manages all departments with over 30 employees and, as Key Account Manager, looks after some of n c ag’s major customers.