Blazing new Trails

Global Real Estate is undergoing a great transformation – into a global unit and an important strategic partner for Bosch. It is also changing the way we work together. Why is it necessary? And how does it affect our work routines at GR? We read about five colleagues and their stories here.

Anytime Tracy Rosol checks her calendar, she often finds appointments from three different time zones. Despite living in the U.S., part of her job requires her to speak to colleagues from India, Germany, and Brazil – all on the same day. Her teams are scattered all over the globe. Tracy Rosol is an Operation Support Analyst, change agent, and coordinator for climate neutrality. What’s more, she is a member of the Global Board of Women at Bosch. “At first glance, my position may seem lonely,” she says. “But it’s not like that; I find it exciting!” Tracy enjoys being able to build up networks and act as a link between different areas.

Tracy Rosol works at the Bosch site in Farmington Hills near Detroit, Michigan, where she is one of around 4,500 associates at Global Real Estate. What brings them all together? The optimal management of all Bosch Group properties. They analyze, plan, and manage the real estate and coordinate facility management activities throughout the entire life cycle of the properties. They also develop concepts for the appearance and functionality of Bosch real estate in the future. As the world and the business field become ever more dynamic and complex and people’s expectations of the ideal workplace continue to shift, these associates remain dedicated to their work.

“This type of culture is a success factor for companies,” says Katrin Willenborg, an expert in culture and cooperation at GR.“ It is a culture of trust and respect in which people can speak openly and assume responsibility for things on their own.” This values-based culture enables associates to develop their potential and be innovative, while helping companies hold their own in today’s world. The essence of this world is described by a trendy acronym: VUCA, which stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.

GR is well positioned for a VUCA world, and Padmanabhan Kannan, general manager in Bengaluru, India, is convinced of this fact. “We have access to networks and expertise all over the world and are able to anticipate changes,” he says. “And last but not least, we harmonize hi-tech with hi-touch – by that I mean human experience and emotional intelligence.” Cooperating with people in different countries has also long been part of everyday life for Padmanabhan Kannan, whom everyone at GR just calls Paddy. “My experience has been that we all share the same Bosch values and the goal of ‘Invented for Life,’ regardless of where a given colleague comes from,” he says.

That sounds great, but it also makes one thing clear: A common corporate culture cannot follow a fixed template in an internationally diversified company with a wide range of competencies, tasks, and mindsets. The following insight is also helpful here: It is highly advisable to remain agile in times of change, while maintaining a focus on learning and continuous adaptation. The GR cultural compass, with its guiding values of communication, innovation, passion, and networking, provides orientation throughout the transformation process. It is particularly important to listen to each other and to want to learn from one another.:

Massimo Lambruschi has also had good experiences with this approach. He is a portfolio manager, in addition to coordinating the facility management for Italy and Greece and other activities. In these roles, he stays in regular contact with colleagues on the other side of the Ionian Sea. “It’s interesting to see how different the approach to planning and implementation can be,” says Massimo Lambruschi. He sees the exchange as an enrichment. “I always try to learn from others and to use my experiences wisely at the same time.”

One cannot overestimate how social interaction is affected by the way in which spaces and infrastructure are designed. Architecture uses atmosphere to set the tone, directly affecting people’s mood by employing lines of sight, ceiling heights, and many other aspects. This also applies to corporate offices, labs, and production halls. It makes a difference whether you walk down long corridors past closed doors every day, or whether you meet colleagues in open, well-lit spaces. In this context, GR has a special role to play within the Bosch Group as a real estate partner.