Patrick Bouilloud: Think beyond

Patrick Bouilloud, Körber site: Richmond, USA

I’ve learned that decisions are rarely about courage alone.  

They’re about the right mindset, trust, and responsibility towards the customer and the people who deliver. 

I remember a situation early in my career in France. 
A customer wanted the machine, but he wasn’t convinced we could make it happen. 

That was the critical moment. 

You either hide behind caution – or you step forward with a solution you truly believe in. 

We didn’t tackle it alone. 
We brought the right people into the room: engineering, technology, key experts.  
We explained not just what we would do, but why it would work. 

The timeline was tight: we estimated six months. 
The customer wanted it in one.  

For me, the direction was clear: 
Take a calculated risk to deliver for the customer. 

Not blindly. 
Because one thing is equally important: you are responsible for your team. 

Every decision carries consequences. 
For the customer. 
For the people inside the company. 

If you push people beyond what is sustainable, you don’t create success – you create exhaustion. Trusting your team also means protecting them.  

And trust is everything. 

You cannot convince a customer if your own people don’t believe in themselves. 
You cannot move forward if you stand there alone. 

That’s why collaboration matters. 
Across functions. Across business units. Across teams. 

Companies are full of silos. 
Sales, engineering, operations – everyone assumes others understand their reality.  
They don’t. 

Real progress begins when you step out of your own environment and expose yourself to think beyond. Different perspectives don’t contradict each other – they complement the picture. 

We even experimented with something simple: 
Managers spending a day in someone else’s role. 

First, people were critical. 
Then they understood. 

Because once you’ve seen someone else’s challenges firsthand, conversations change. Discussions turn into problem-solving. Talks turn into dialogue. 

For me, that’s the entrepreneurial spirit in practice: 

Not asking “Why won’t this work?” 
But “What if it works?”  

You still assess the risks. 
Financial impact. 
Operational impact. 
Human impact. 

But if the opportunity is real, 
if the value for the customer is clear, 
if the team believes – then you move forward.  

Standing still is also a decision. 

And often the riskiest one.