Sailing to success

“When you sail against the wind in most boats, you bump into the waves. In an America’s Cup boat, racing with hydrofoils, it’s different. The boat accelerates until it lifts out of the water. All of a sudden, it goes quiet because there’s no rocking. But then, with the wind in the sail pushing you up to three times faster than the wind itself, it’s suddenly so loud. There is nothing holding you back anymore, and the pressure pushes you back into your seat. If you lose balance, you’ll hit the water at a speed of 50 knots. I’ve taken a dive at 35 knots, and it’s horrible. It’s like hitting concrete.”

This is how Gerrit Bottemöller, senior director in manufacturing and high-tech industries at Capgemini Invent, explains what it feels like to race in boats of the type used in the America’s Cup.

“Sailing is a part of my DNA,” he says. “I was brought up to sail and started racing when I was 14 or 15. I became the German champion, European champion, and world champion, and I also represented Germany in the America’s Cup in Valencia in 2007.

Gerrit’s family had reasons for encouraging him to take up the sport.

“They explained that it was like an additional education. And it’s true; sailing is more than a sport. You learn about communication, leadership, and how to make compromises. It needs commitment and the ability for individuals to come together as a team and work as one. It helps develop your behavior and how you behave as a leader and as an innovator.”

Sailing into a career

Gerrit isn’t the only Capgemini colleague to reach the highest levels of competitive sailing. Siren Sundby is Managing Director at Capgemini Invent Norway. She also took home a gold medal in sailing from Athens in 2004.

Siren’s interest in engineering also came from sailing.

“When you look at the engineering and technology that has gone into the development of hydrofoils and sails on the America’s Cup boats, it’s all about using the power of technology and innovation to create a real impact,” she says. “It made me curious to find out more about engineering and, from there, to look into the business perspectives that surround it. How can we use technology in a better way and leverage it to enhance business performance?”

A smart attitude for success

Siren believes the sport is a way of developing the confidence needed to fulfil your personal potential in your career.

“It teaches you to be humble and understand what it takes to succeed. Getting to the top is often about structured hard work. And, when you’re training, you are always trying to be a little bit innovative, to think differently in terms of how you can train or practise in smarter ways.

“The skills and mindset you bring, and the way you learn to collaborate, are things you learn from sports – and they are also important in business. On top of that, there is learning how to use data to improve your results: knowing what most needs your attention, making sure you can automate or standardize as much as possible so you can leave your mental capacity free to attend to the strategic and tactical side of what you’re doing. These are all skills needed in business, too.”

Innovating for continual improvement

“Behind any competitive spirit is a desire to keep improving and to be the best you can be,” says Gerrit.

“Even after a successful day’s competition, you ask what you could do better, what can we improve as a team, what technology worked for you, and what needs to be changed. Wherever you are in your career, you need to question how to keep continually improving. If you stop innovating, you will soon be overtaken by a competitor – so, when you’re part of a sailing team, it’s in your DNA to be addicted to becoming better.”

Siren says this commitment to continual improvement delivers success in business, too.

“At Capgemini, we make a commitment to never stop learning. It’s never good if you feel your work or ambitions are stagnating – so when you feel that sense of team spirit and that your work is making a positive difference, then what you do becomes fun. It’s what drives you to continue to improve. You want to win.”

It’s that winning mentality that is the foundation for success for Siren and Gerrit – in sailing and in their professional careers at Capgemini.