Tell me, Mr Pukelsheim, how did it work as an entrepreneur on sabbatical?
Very good! When I presented my idea to the employees at a staff meeting a year and a half before the planned launch, they were proud to be part of this dream and to make a contribution with their expertise.
How did the boss stay informed while travelling?
With one one-pager per month. On this one page, three managers noted a traffic light colour, a few key company figures and operational decisions. I didn't receive any other emails.
Why a month and not a week?
That fitted in with the company figures, otherwise I would have been thinking about the company too often. Besides, that would be too blatant reporting for the management team. And I wanted to strengthen the sense of responsibility.
Were there any problems at home while you were away?
There were a few. A major customer closed the business, there was a liquidity bottleneck, but there wasn't much I could have done to help. The management analysed the problems and took bold decisions.
Did you find it difficult to return to the bridge?
No, and everyone was happy. But everyone also realised that the same guy wasn't coming back and the old role was no longer there. Although some people had certainly wished for that.
So should all bosses go sailing occasionally?
That would be good for many companies.
Are there parallels between running a company and running a sailing yacht?
Yes, you should always know the exact destination harbour.
Recently you have also started making scissors for sailmakers and riggers. Because you sail?
We are both sailors, and my wife also likes to splice. I hadn't seen any connection before, and four years ago we went to the Mets manufacturers' fair in Amsterdam on a trial basis. Since then, we have also been involved in the maritime sector. We recently launched a pair of sailmaking scissors that can be used for slicing, which is a special cutting technique, but the hard micro-serration also cuts Dyneema fibres.
On board, your wife had 20 years of sailing experience ahead of you, which of you was the skipper?
We thought we could manage that together, but it didn't work out. There were two incompatible interim solutions, the last one we always changed at midnight on Sundays, which worked.
Which stage was actually the most beautiful?
When we had to move the boat for a stage without a working engine. Not just in windy conditions, but especially in a dead calm. I also had to learn to be relegated to inactivity while sailing.
The ocean-going yacht has now been sold. Can the 20 employees breathe a sigh of relief?
Well, I've found my new role, we also sail the often unused family yachts of friendly owners. We are now ship shoppers.
