Today is March 8th, International Women’s Day.

After taking a look at last year’s blog post on International Women’s Day, I regret to see that the major problems I mentioned a year ago still continue, even in an augmented manner. Although society’s awareness on “violence against women” is increasing, we still have a long way to go. Today, half of our 70-million population are women. Naturally, it is impossible for a society to improve by developing only one half and neglecting the other. Especially if the neglected half is the most important actor in raising the children, i.e. our future, such improvement becomes even harder. Therefore, we need to take steps that truly create value and benefit. And we need to do it not only as individuals, but also as corporations.

Sustainability is a key component that makes Siemens what it is. We attach great importance to benefiting from innovative ideas created through diverse cultures and mindsets in all of our corporate principles and operations. Today, in parallel with the extraordinary increase in the means of communication, we are facing more severe problems that need to be solved. One of the problems to be solved is finding ways to expand and reinforce women representation in the business world. We, as Siemens Turkey, are proud to have an active “Diversity Council” that shares the same goal. We have also been one of the first companies to sign the “Business Against Domestic Violence Policy Development and Implementation Guide” in Turkey. But is that enough? Of course not. We pay attention to every initiative in this regard and we will continue our efforts to create a difference.

On this year’s March 8th we wanted to make an announcement that is really meaningful to us. As a technology and engineering company, we attach great importance to increasing the number of female engineers. Therefore, we are launching a scholarship program with Turkish Education Foundation (TEV), with whom we have cooperated in various projects so far. Within the scope of this program, we make donations to meet year-long educational expenses of young women studying engineering to get a BSc or MSc degree. Success should be supported and we are determined to contribute to increasing the number of successful female engineers.

International Women’s Day is a celebration of women’s labor, freedom, and the value they generate for life itself. We are more than happy to celebrate this day with an announcement that focuses on social contribution. Happy International Women’s Day!

I guess the form of addressing others was not a problem in the past. There were already the usual titles used within the family. In the business world, within the framework of the general courtesy rules adopted at that time, the individuals mostly addressed each other formally regardless of the hierarchical structure. Over time, the rules were bent and informality stepped in.
This caused a dilemma. Executives who are senior in terms of age or hierarchy often address their subordinates informally. However, it is not so common for subordinates to address their superiors in the same way. Of course, especially in global companies, the forms of addressing have increasingly become less rigid, but informal addressing of subordinates to their superiors does not seem to become widespread.

When I ask the professionals around me about this addressing issue that is exercised particularly from superiors to subordinates, I received replies such as “to create a friendly atmosphere”. Is this the real reason or do we actually mean “know your place”? In other words, as executives, do we not consider younger people or our colleagues at different levels in the hierarchy to be at our level?

We all say that we believe in young people and diversity, and we always motivate and support our human resources. But during this process, do we give them another message through our forms of addressing?

What do you think about this issue?

Many of you are living as an expat away from home and each expat life has its own dimensions. Here I am going to share with you an article about my experience in India. Also it was originally printed 10 years ago it is still valid in many of the key aspects of today.

Experience as an Expatriate in India

Despite talented people, and a vibrant corporate sector, India may remain a developing country if the focus of development does not shift from a “political” to an “economic” view point.

Exotic, Unique and Diverse!! That is the image I had of India, prior to my arriving to this colorful country. An image further enhanced by the writing of Hemingway titled” India, the country of thousand Gods, Religions and languages”. And each passing day, the perception I came with has grown stronger. India and its people have the unique ability to carry with them the past, the present and the future. The old India coexists and blends in beautifully with the present modern India. And like the land, every aspect of Indian culture, is an expression of the unending process of assimilation and absorption.

And this is an extremely interesting to experience to witness.

Initially on arrival, the place was a bit overwhelming with the cultural diversity, different accents and even the business terminology was not entirely common to what is used worldwide. But gradually it became easier to understand and relate as people went out of their way to explain and were helpful. Adapting to India initially took around 6 months. After the settling-in period, it’s been a great learning experience, something one wouldn’t want to miss.

The question is not how, but rather why we have to do whatever it takes to retain our energy to stay fit. I learned that a successful work life is challenging. At times the days count double, giving me the feeling that I have been with the company twice the time than on paper. In order to stay focused and fit, we have no choice other than to plan a balanced life style. The only alternative is to neglect, one or the other and pay eventually the price.

Here are some key aspects when changing an organization:

To remain competitive, organizations need to change and adapt to specific daily needs. The key criteria for these are:

The new  organization should be: 

1. Faster:Less bureaucracy, simple processes, leaner hierarchy
2. Better:Quality improvements,  close contact with customers and employees, transparency with all stake holders
3. Cheaper:Productive, competitive, profitable

People who consider making important changes in their life, usually are lost in finding the right questions (hence answers) before taking the right step for a change. With the following  ‘3 Hints Series’  I will publish life and business experiences in a clear-cut format to focus on essential topics. The idea of this series comes from my children who are always challenging me with topics relating to ”the devil is in the detail”.  Naturally growing up with the Social Media, Generation Z like to come to the point quickly without getting into the details.

The first topic ‘Career Change’  is quite important for everyone, but particularly for the young generation. What are the essentials when starting a career or changing jobs?

1) Challenge: A job should provide excitement, recognition, future prospects.
2) Location: It should be acceptable for the entire family and meet one’s standards.
3) Compensation: Although not the key aspect, it should be motivating, fair and provide flexibility.

If all three aspects are met , being successful depends on your individual approach and commitment!

I realize that we are expanding our vocabulary a little further and we carry the word “innovation” into our list of favorites.

Two different meanings are attributed to the word “innovation”:

1) Revolutionary Innovation

2) Evolutionary Innovation

The word “revolutionary” here is favorable, it defines the companies as institutions that shape the future. In the future, there will be companies that can develop evolutionary services and products.
The importance of evolutionary innovation is, of course, undeniable, but the type of innovation we need today as a country is more of a revolutionary nature, because in the process of the development of humanity, if we ever want to put forward our ambitions, we must first implement our revolutionary ideas and strategies to reach to the point of creating evolutionary products and solutions. For example, iPod and the touchscreen technology developed by Apple has gone through an evolutionary development first as a phone (iPhone), then as a tablet (iPad).

But we realize that revolutionary innovation requires patience and right timing. We need to wait for it. A creative environment must be formed. In this process, we must support experimental studies and creative ideas and demonstrate more tolerant management in case of errors and losses. If we can succeed in ensuring these, we will be able to carry out more revolutionary innovations in our country as well.

When I started my career at Siemens, it was a global company with 129 years of history and operating in more than 100 countries. Back then, not everyone had a phone line like they do now. Phones were only given to employees at specific positions. There was no internet or fax yet and the most common communication tool was Siemens’ T1000 Teleprinters. Yet again, this did not change the fact that Siemens was a vast network operating globally. And I was wondering how this network operated in full harmony. That is how my desire to work abroad emerged. I had an endless curiosity for the “new”, which has always fascinated me, and an appetite for knowledge. My personal trait that kept my life “dynamic” has always been the curiosity for the “new”, in other words the “unknown, unfamiliar.” For instance, today, I find it remarkable how social media changes our lives and social system as a new concept and it will probably affect all future generations. This curiosity for the “new” resulted in me moving from Germany to USA and made this decision the most important turning point in my life.

I must confess that as a man raised within the Turkish and German cultures that approach towards almost everything with suspicion, American lifestyle of welcoming every new idea without any prejudice, simply saying “this is amazing” seemed very “superficial” to me at the beginning. However, then I understood that approaching ideas primarily from the “positive side” is just another perspective. Especially what I, myself, experienced at Silicon Valley was that people were enthusiastic about hearing about and, furthermore, investing in new ideas. This was probably my first contact with the “diversity” phenomenon in a different dimension. I realized that when we, humans, can change and shape a lot more while working in different countries and functions. More importantly, we become more open to developing new perspectives. I can say this has been the most important turning point to shape my career. But, not this alone.

When we moved to India with our 3 kids, both my family and I faced substantial changes in our lives. We had never lived in a society where social discriminations were so sharp and visible. I was concerned that my kids would witness a very poor and inflexible society, which is a direct result of their lifestyle. In fact, I must confess that I even thought about covering car windows with dark-colored curtains so that my kids would not be shocked by the real life in India. Of course, we did not do that, and we allowed our kids to face the society they live in and learn what happens around them. They constantly asked questions to us and we explained everything without changing or hiding a single thing. One year later, it was our kids who explained the situation of the Indian people with empathy and tolerance to our guests at home.

And another surprising thing we learned was that the caste system in India created both the privileged group called the “Untouchables” and also the sense of “philanthropy and tolerance” which is the foundation of the Indian society. When I found out that my chauffeur, whose monthly salary was perhaps 100 dollars only, was taking a huge pot of lentil soup to the poorhouse once a week, he was embarrassed, because he thought such deeds had to be done without anyone knowing. What I realized was that the quantity of contribution doesn’t matter. What matters is this: Individuals within the masses, those who keep the system alive continue to contribute even in a modest and small way. My experiences in India has a special place in my life in many different aspects.

Lastly, I would like to say that being “different” in your environment doesn’t mean you should accept the roles given by the society as they are. In my opinion, this is one of the important turning points in many lives, including mine. My experience goes back to my school years. As my grandfather had emigrated as early as 1924, I knew very well what it was like to live in a foreign society. In the school, maybe I was the kid who is not “German”, but for me this was never a problem because there was an impressive example right before me: A school friend who challenged his physical disabilities and established himself as he is. He not only rejected the roles “given” to him by the society because of his physical condition, but also overcame difficulties by establishing himself “different”. Moreover he “shone” with his differences in his social environment. This has been the most striking example to show me that differences can make people unique and bring them to the fore. When you accept your “different” qualities as they are, you also accept the fact that the this is your chance. Having a friend like him has been a turning point, not only in my professional life, but also in my whole life.