We receive the Innovation Award

Renato Ercolani from Swiss Post called me. He is responsible for all matters concerning the delivery staff within Swiss Post. He says that the DXP has been nominated internally for the Innovation Award. "Aha? What does that mean?" I didn't even know there was an innovation award. He would have the chance to present the vehicle and then the vote would be taken. If the presentation was good, we would have a chance. The event was to be held at the KKL in Lucerne, a very beautiful modern building. We briefly discussed on the phone how best to present the DXP. Live, of course, since it is an electric vehicle. I remembered the successful presentation of the vehicle at the Deutsche Post in the tower in Bonn. Together we thought about who could do this presentation and the choice fell on Carlo Nobel. Carlo was a DXP driver from the very beginning. He had a lot to criticize about our vehicle. He had tested and criticized a lot and his suggestions for improvement and ideas had pushed me and our small development team to the limits. Nevertheless, he had always remained objective and certainly knew our DXP inside out. I delivered the DXP personally and Renato, Carlo and I went through the presentation. Carlo said he was not a born speaker. Together we came up with the idea that he could drive the DXP right up to the stage between the audience, hand out some letters and talk about his day at work in an unfiltered way. That was fine for him and he felt comfortable in his role.

After that, it was time for me to wait. A short time later Renato called again. He said that we had won the prize by far and that this was a great award for our project. Furthermore, we were nominated for the innovation award of the Universal Postal Union. "Aha? What is that and what do we have to do for it?" Nothing! The entry is made by the Post and all we have to do is attend the ceremony and wait to see if we can receive the award. In the postal world, this is something like the Oscar for the film industry. Celebration? That was a job for Francesco Muzio, who had also made a significant contribution to the success of the postal project. At the ceremony in Geneva, he proudly accepted the trophy on our behalf. I had more important things to do that evening: there were a few problems to solve. More about that in the next chapter.

I learned from it:

• If you work well together as a team, you will be successful.
• Celebrating is also important. It helps to recharge your batteries.
• I should keep an eye on my work-life balance.