Finding Your Value Proposition with Oliver Gerstberger

You sort of brought in various different specialists to help you, you know, become successful in that. So SAP specialists and different people, you're relatively young in that role, if you like. So how did you manage or sort of coach those around you when in some ways you're a lot younger than them? Like, well, who's this guy who knows all this stuff and knows his treasury stuff? What was that sort of like for you?

So, initially, I had to convince Myth, with my knowledge, with my treasury expertise, not to talk from the top, but one equal within the team. And what really convinced them and what made me successful in this role was that I could easily understand the blocking points in the processes, try to map out new ideas, but in the end also to agree with them and make their life better, easier, and also bring value for the company, because we had to introduce new systems, which initially were complicated payment systems, but then in the medium term really simplified their life. So showing the added value of what we do, showing the value for the company and showing how they can contribute as part of the bigger team, made me successful of leading teams with people who were significantly more experienced than I have been in terms of years of professional experience.

Again, if someone is a Treasury manager, they're listening today and they think that's what I need to be doing. What would you sort of give them as a tip? What should they be trying to do to help the other parts of the business? What's worked and been successful for you, would you say?

And what really helps is you sit next to those people you want to relate with, you ask them for coffee, you ask them what they do, you maybe spend a day with them and see what their challenges are, and then you think how you can help them with your area of expertise to do a better job, to do something more efficiently than they have done before. And it's reaching out to people, it's being close to them. It's not sending the email, it's picking up the phone if you want to discuss something or just going over if it's the next building you go over, or you go to the offices, you visit them, and you really try to be humble and understand what bothers them and what needs to be changed with yourself.

What would you say? You know, what are the tips that you would give to somebody else listening Today, they're thinking, right, actually, I like Oliver's background. That's what I'd like to do. What would you tell those guys, you know, listening from today's show?

So my advice to people here would be, first, ask yourself, what do you really like? What is fun for you? So that a Monday morning is a good day and not just another Monday. So you must like your job. But then you also should ask yourself, okay, where do I add value? I mean, the world changes. We have more automation, we have new systems. So what do you want to be? Do you want to be the guy who is the business partner, the fronting partner who gets thrown new challenges every week, every month, to find a better solution, to grow the business, to fund the business? Or do you want to be the specialist? Do you want to work on specific areas, what is really interesting for you? But then think about your future employees or your clients. They will hire you as a team member or as a team lead if you add value. And you add significantly more value than what you cost. And if you know what is your value proposition, you cost one, you will bring three or four, then you can make your case, you can make your business case why they should hire you. And you're confident, and you will like your job because you've thought about it, you know where you're good at, and you know what you really don't want to do. And I think that's quite important for you as a human being, because in the end, for me, it's more than 30 years to my potential retirement, so I must have fun along the way.