Always staying curious

Babette Herbert

Lenze shareholder and granddaughter of founder Hans Lenze

Lenze celebrated its 75th anniversary with the motto "the courage for change. For me, the word courage is closely related to curiosity. That feeling that pushed you to explore the big world as a child. As we grow older, we sometimes lose that feeling; change begins to frighten us. But we must not give in to that, we must never be too afraid to try new things. Even if that means being wrong now and then. Because it stimulates innovation. 75 years ago, but also the 75 years that will follow.

I was born in the year my grandfather founded the company: 1947. The country was then in despair after the war. He wanted to contribute to rebuilding, but couldn't do it alone. To make his dream a reality, his wife, my grandmother, had to sell her house. That money laid the foundation for the company. Every new employee was always personally welcomed by my mother in the living room of our family home. And if they encountered problems, my mother did everything she could to solve them. I saw her a bit like the Minister of Welfare in the early days of the company. It was HR avant la lettre.

When my grandfather fell ill in 1957, it was my mother who convinced him not to sell the business. She took him for a walk through the beautiful hills surrounding Hamelin and assured him that she and her husband would take good care of his business. And just as well, because it was the beginning of an era of growth. So when they asked me in 1981 to join the board of directors to help ensure the continuity of the company, I basically had it easy. The road had already been paved by two strong female role models before me.

It remains a tremendous privilege to own shares in this company. My job is to support those at the helm of the company in the course they have charted. Steady sailing, but always with one eye on the horizon and the future of our company. Even as a technology company, it will be built on people and their ability to keep innovating. That is why we feel such a strong responsibility for all employees. We need to look beyond gender or skin color and remain interested in each other, to know each other better, our history, our industry. There's that curiosity again.

We must open our minds to all opinions and ideas, especially those of the younger generation. After all, they represent the future and we can learn so much from them. Even if they don't always have it easy. If young women who want to make it in our tech industry want advice on how to get there, they are always welcome to call me. I will tell them everything I know. But let them whisper one piece of good advice to me along these lines: stay true to yourself. Take pleasure in what you do. Trust your own talents. Stay curious. And remember what Frank Sinatra sang: I did it my way.