The CEO of De Samvirkende Købmænd, John Wagner, signed up for the education courses at Board Education, as he wanted knowledge of which valuable tools and methods could benefit him in his board work.
"For me, the crucial thing in this educational process has been to both be inspired but also to strengthen what I would call; the balance between what we have to do on a board, i.e. the controlling and basic tasks, and then developing. In other words, we on the board take on the task of ensuring that his company or organization develops. Finding the right balance, between the two things - basis and development - I have become much more aware of how important it is to find that balance, because we have also had the theoretical discussion about it," says John Wagner, CEO of De Samvirkende Købmænd.
Since De Samvirkende Købmænd is a business political organization, John Wagner also sits as a lobbyist. He will thus try to influence Danish legislation as much as possible to give you the best opportunities to run independent grocery stores. As he finds himself in the political game, it is therefore also crucial for him to expand his network and gain expert knowledge from the outside - this was especially something that he experienced at Board Education:
"I think it has been really good to have people from outside who has come with their experience and expertise, because you can learn a lot from that. But in reality, it is that Peter has opened up some discussions, and not said in advance that there is something that is either forbidden or right to discuss - that is really the most important thing," says John Wagner.
At the same time, he is convinced that he has acquired tools, methods, and processes that he can use in his daily work:
"I've got some things on the shelves that mean that when I'm faced with a situation where I'm not sure how to deal with it, I now have some models and systematics that allow me to say; okay, I'll grab it down and how can I adapt it to my situation. This is hugely important - no companies are the same. Everything we work with must be adapted to the specific situation, and now there is something on the shelves to choose from," says John Wagner.
Read more about Boardplace helps with the board right here.
