About Arthur Valkieser
Arthur started his career in broadcasting and his company focused on digital video and audio, which was in the 1980s brand new technology eventually became one of the biggest independent broadcast facility companies in Europe, employing more than 400 people. Arthur also received a broadcast personality of the year award by broadcast magazine for his outstanding entrepreneurial achievement.
Eventually. Arthur became more of a serial entrepreneur with interest in multiple companies. One of them being a company producing residential water recycling products. In 2016, Arthur decided the time was right for the market introduction of a grey water treatment and recycling system. And Hydraloop was born.
Episode Notes
Lesson 1: Never Lie. Always Be Honest 07m 28s
Lesson 2: Define Your Goals 09m 30s
Lesson 3: Have Trust That Solutions Will Present Themselves 11m 15s
Lesson 4: Always Keep Questioning And Researching 14m 30s
Lesson 5: If You Don’t Believe In What You’re Doing, Don’t Expect Others To Believe In It 15m 49s
Lesson 6: Remember the 80/20 Rule 18m 17s
Lesson 7: Never Give Up. Resistance Belongs To Innovation 20m 22s
Lesson 8: Earning Money Is Never The Goal 25m 59s
Lesson 9: Doing Right For People And The Planet 28m 43s
Lesson 10: Teamwork Is Crucial 30m 53s
Arthur Valkieser – Never Give Up. Resistance Belongs To Innovation
[00:00:05] Siebe Van Der Zee: Hello, and welcome to our podcast, 10 lessons. It took me 50 years to learn where we talk to businesspeople, journalists, ambassadors, artists, sports, heroes, leaders, and luminaries from all over the world. Our goal is to dispense wisdom for life and for business, and to provide you with shortcuts to excellence.
My name is Siebe Van Der Zee And I’m your host. I’m originally from the Netherlands happily residing in the beautiful state of Arizona in the United States. Also known as the Dutchmen into desert. I hope you will enjoy this program. This podcast is sponsored by PDF the professional development forum. You can find out more about PDF at professional development, forum.org.
Our guest today is Arthur Valkieser. Arthur is the founder and CEO of heat, hydro loop. I should say it correctly. Hydraloop, a successful water recycling company based in the Netherlands, but with a global reach. Arthur started a company on the premise that it is absurd, that in the 21st century, people still keep flushing their toilets with precious water, as it is becoming scarcer every day. Worldwide water shortage is becoming a huge problem and an effective solution to save drinking water is to recycle and reuse residential grey water. Hydraloop launched globally at the consumer electronics show CES in 2020 in Las Vegas. And it had an immediate impact. The company was awarded best of innovation into category sustainability, eco design, and smart energy.
And Hydraloop was also recognized for best start-up best sustainable product and overall best of the best award. I like that. Leading more than 4,000 competitors in different categories. In a documentary, and I recommend you watch it, “Brave blue world” the company is featured as one of the key solutions to solve worldwide water crisis.
Arthur started his career in broadcasting and his company focused on digital video and audio, which was in the 1980s brand new technology eventually became one of the biggest independent broadcast facility companies in Europe, employing more than 400 people. Arthur also received a broadcast personality of the year award by broadcast magazine for his outstanding entrepreneurial achievement.
Eventually. Arthur became more of a serial entrepreneur with interest in multiple companies. One of them being a company producing residential water recycling products. In 2016, Arthur decided the time was right for the market introduction of a grey water treatment and recycling system. And Hydraloop was born.
Wow. Use water twice. What a great story. Welcome Arthur. And thanks, you so much for joining us.
[00:03:01] Arthur Valkieser: Thank you. Thank you very much for this introduction. Thank you.
[00:03:05] Siebe Van Der Zee: It’s a, it’s quite a, quite a career, actually, multiple careers that you have had, but I know with Hydraloop, you are extremely successful in multiple countries in a very short timeframe, when it comes to climate change.
And it’s not a simple question that, that let’s say would get a simple answer, but are we still in line? Can we still solve the problems of climate change or are we running out of time?
[00:03:30] Arthur Valkieser: I think we can still solve it and we have to solve it. Isn’t it, you know, we have to solve it and we can, and you know, the good thing is that more and more people all over the globe, they know, they understand that they themselves are part of the solution. They have to act themselves by changing their lifestyle. We have to do it so that the world is ready in the next decades for our children. And there’s this, this idea is landing in a larger, larger group of people. Yeah.
[00:04:01] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah. I was thinking also, in case of the products that you have with Hydraloop, um, adjusting the recycling system in your own home that is of course, something that people can control, they can make decisions on and it will save them some money.
[00:04:17] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah. And decentralized is, is, is everywhere. And again, You know, which is solar panels, which are batteries. Uh, and the same thing, you know, you have in the past, you had this big laundry where you would bring your laundry and then to the laundry machine became also something that you have an appliance that you have in your house, like the fridge and the microwave and your air conditioner, your climate control and the water recycle simply fits very nicely.
In this appliance package. So, collect your own lightly contaminated wastewater from the shower treat it so it meets the standards and use it again to flush the toilet for your washing machine and irrigate your garden. You’re in control of your own water and have your own treated wastewater and use it again.
[00:05:08] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah, it’s, it’s fascinating. Now you and I are going to be talking about the 10 lessons that you have learned and, you have indeed, an extensive, you have had multiple careers and you have been successful at different stages of your career. And, when I think of everything you have done, I’m curious, is there a greatest lesson that you have learned?
[00:05:33] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah, actually. It was not so long ago that it became clear to me that the art of living is to master the skill, to give meaningful circumstances, to opportunity to unfold in your favour. It’s a bit, it’s a bit difficult sentence, but you know, by developing this skill and learn to listen, listen to your intuition, you can let the circumstances have a positive effect on achieving your goals and use time to influence the circumstances.
So, did they support your mission? You know, people say, to some people, they are always lucky to other people, you know, they’re unlucky circumstances are there, but some of these circumstances are meaningful to you and some are not. So, the art of living is to master to recognize what is meaningful for you link with that.
And as soon as the circumstances are not, uh, for you accept it, don’t try to fight it, to change your route and use timing to, to, to, to tackle it and handle it and go on.
[00:06:44] Siebe Van Der Zee: That is wisdom that you’re describing. It comes over time. It’s not something that when you are in your twenties, that you say, okay, this is how I have to approach it.
[00:06:53] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah, well, I think it is, you know, I completely understand that the sentence itself only gets the value when you start to understand, uh, the meaning of it, but actually, uh, more and more and more. I understand that your intuition is very important because it’s telling you a story.
[00:07:12] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah, I like it. And also, Arthur, this is what we’re talking about in this podcast, right?
It’s it’s sharing wisdom with up-and-coming professionals, as we say, at any age, uh, the lessons that you have learned, and you are very kind to share your 10 lessons with us.
[00:07:28] Lesson 1 Never Lie. Always Be Honest
[00:07:28] Siebe Van Der Zee: So, let’s move to lesson number one, never lie. Always be honest.
[00:07:34] Arthur Valkieser: Yes. Telling the truth makes you feel good. Um, makes you trustworthy in the eyes of others and also makes life simple.
You can concentrate on the real subject. I get, don’t have to remember what lie you told to who. So be honest and, uh, and go on, you know, and it’s, if you’ve made a mistake, you know, just tell it, be honest, and then people accept you who you are.
[00:07:59] Siebe Van Der Zee: I like it. And at the same time that perhaps there are situations where, you keep information from someone or you lie to someone in order to quote unquote, protect them.
[00:08:11] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah. So sometimes I know what you mean. Sometimes you have this knowledge that you, maybe you don’t have to share it at the same moment that you have this knowledge, because timing is also important. Also, this respect to the others. Yeah. So, but lying and not telling the truth, you know, this is completely wrong.
[00:08:34] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah, no, and I, I, you would agree.
[00:08:36] Arthur Valkieser: And you will fail. You will fail bottom line. You will fail, you know?
[00:08:42] Siebe Van Der Zee: Is it fair to say that even though most people would agree with you that most people have at some point in their lives lied?
[00:08:51] Arthur Valkieser: I lied too in my life. Yes. Yeah. You know, I learned this, you know, this, I learned that, you know, not to do it and of course these weren’t big lies, but you know, it starts with a small lie. You know, with the person you love, or your work relations, you know, and then it becomes a habit. So, and you should protect yourself, not let this. Habit develops in you, but simply not doing it. And if you recognize this, that you did it, you can change yourself and improve yourself and learn not to do that.
Don’t lie
[00:09:29] Siebe Van Der Zee: makes sense. I like it.
[00:09:30] Lesson 2: Define Your Goals
[00:09:30] Siebe Van Der Zee: Lesson number two, define your goals. How do you mean that in what, in what context do you mean that define your goals? Write them down or,
[00:09:40] Arthur Valkieser: yeah. Yeah. So, keep it abstract, you know, but don’t be shy. Think big, you know when you dream, sometimes you’d have this idea and then.
Don’t make it smaller, make this dream and make this as a goal for you to live. And then what happens is actually your programming, your subconsciousness. And because of that, everything you’re going to do will contribute to realize this goal and this mission. And I did this five years ago when we started, it was Hydraloop, you know, And so after a few years, when we have the technology that we have to bring it to market, and we simply said in 10, 15 years’ time, no house will be built without its own water recycling.
That is the goal, and it will happen. It will happen. And so, and now other companies are selling the same story. So, think big think big.
[00:10:40] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah, I like it. Uh, and indeed, that’s what you’re doing. And at the same time, you have had, as I said earlier, multiple careers, where you set goals, but you continue to, to drive and set new goals.
Uh that’s I think another element that is interesting. It’s not to say, well, I’ve reached a goal, so I’m done, uh, in your case, especially you continue to set new goals.
[00:11:04] Arthur Valkieser: Yes, but not because I want to but it. It happens. It’s happened. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
[00:11:10] Siebe Van Der Zee: yeah. No, it makes sense. You’re wired that way.
[00:11:14] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
[00:11:15] Lesson 3: Have Trust That Solutions Will Present Themselves
[00:11:15] Siebe Van Der Zee: have trust that solutions will present themselves lesson number four.
[00:11:19] Arthur Valkieser: Yes. And this is something I learned. you know, when you do something and you challenge yourself sometimes, or many times you have a problem. And actually, this problem is nice because this, this problem needs a solution.
But I also experienced sometimes that I could be depressed because it didn’t go as I wanted it to go. I have learned that at that moment when you feel depressed, do nothing, do nothing. Wait until that’s over, go on walk, go to bed. Don’t drink too much, you know, because the next day your unconscious worked on solving that problem and it will come.
And actually, I count on it. Most of the time, a solution for a problem will simply. be brought to your consciousness because out of your unconsciousness, because it was working somewhere in the back of my head, I don’t know how this works with have trust. The solutions will present themselves to you and you can even count on it, not a hundred percent, but 75%.
Yes, you can.
[00:12:32] Siebe Van Der Zee: I, I agree, first of all, and you have to allow yourself to go through that difficult moment, and experience that. What you mentioned, and I like to think the same, but it’s not always fair to expect that from people the next day. In other words, you allow yourself to be down and out for a moment that day, that evening, but the next day.
You pick things up again. That’s, that’s what you mentioned. Right. And, and I liked that, but of course there are people that are dealing with a downturn that affects them more than a short term.
[00:13:12] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah. So, what I learned is because if you have this fallback, or you have this depression actually not in the right state to take a decision.
So just pause, don’t take a decision, but maybe you take the wrong decision based on this, uh, situation you’re in. So, wait until it’s over and then look again to it and then take the decision. Feeling and emotion. I see a feeling or emotion is something completely different than intuition and a feeling and an emotion, uh, is a state that you are in affecting what you do, but you have to be very careful because you can take the wrong decisions based on feelings and emotions.
[00:13:57] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah. I deal a lot with people in executive search that apply for a job. They go through the process and then they’re not hired for that job. And that can hit people, especially if they’re already out of a job that can hit people very hard, but I still use the same type of mindset that you explained to say, okay, yes, you didn’t get the job. You can be upset about that, but tomorrow make sure
[00:14:24] Arthur Valkieser: There’s a better one.
[00:14:26] Siebe Van Der Zee: Exactly, exactly. And I’m very much in line with what you, what you set there.
[00:14:30] Lesson 4: Always Keep Questioning And Researching
[00:14:30] Siebe Van Der Zee: The next lesson, Always keep questioning and researching. And my gosh, I think that that seems to fit you very well.
[00:14:38] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah, because you know, the more you learn, the better you understand what you don’t know. And, uh, and it’s also very important that you are open to change your mind or change your opinion about a certain subject, uh, if there is a valid argument to do so. in this process, it’s, it, it is important to question to, and to read and research, and this is how you, your wisdom grows.
I started about 15 years ago to read about Spinoza and, you know, Spinoza. He was born in Amsterdam, you know, one of the biggest philosophers and in the 17th century. And it really helped me to understand much better how, what is all happening on earth on the world, you know? And so, you have to keep on developing yourself and you have at a certain moment, you have an opinion about something and then you’ll learn something, and you have to be ready to change your mind. If the argument is, is valid.
[00:15:39] Siebe Van Der Zee: That’s real wisdom there, Arthur, it’s well said. And I think it’s lessons that you have learned and experienced over time and, I think very helpful, for anyone.
[00:15:49] Lesson 5: If You Don’t Believe In What You’re Doing, Don’t Expect Others To Believe In It.
[00:15:49] Siebe Van Der Zee: Lesson number five, if you don’t believe in what you’re doing, don’t expect others to believe in it.
[00:15:55] Arthur Valkieser: Yes, there’s this. I tell you that the story, you know, this was already back in 1991 or so. And I had a very difficult phase with my company. You know, it was really, it was, uh, we didn’t go bankrupt, but it was close.
And actually, I didn’t know what to do. You know, I was like in this circle of this negative thinking, and then. Two friends of mine one is a lawyer and the other one is a marketing specialist that invited me for dinner. And I came home. It’s a 1.30 at night and they taught me, you know, if you don’t believe in what you’re doing, you will show that to others.
And how can you expect others to believe in it? So either quit. Or modify your goal so that you believe in it and show that you believe in it and your team will believe in it too. And I came back the next morning, on the job, and I put my back, right. I just reprogrammed myself and all went well, you know, and the year after it was the best year ever.
So, if you have to believe in what you’re doing, Program yourself, show it and motivate the people around you. And then together as a team, you can, you can challenge everything.
[00:17:19] Siebe Van Der Zee: Have you been in positions where you were able to serve, as let’s say like a coach, have you mentored people? Have you guided people that were dealing with that where your experience like this one, was helpful to guide them?
[00:17:33] Arthur Valkieser: Well, no, not really as a coach, but of course we, if you have a company, and teams and departments, yes, you, of course we are talking to most people, but not as a, as a coach doing that. No.
[00:17:43] Siebe Van Der Zee: But let’s say when you, when you communicate to people in your company, do you feel that they pick up on that, that they learn from you in that sense that they say, Arthur told me this story and you know, he was completely right.
And it helped me. Elevate my game again.
[00:18:00] Arthur Valkieser: I hope so. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:18:05] Siebe Van Der Zee: Well, we are talking today to Arthur Valkieser founder and CEO of Hydraloop. A very successful global water recycling company. You can learn more about hydraloop at https://www.hydraloop.com/.
[00:18:17] Lesson 6: Remember the 80/20 Rule
[00:18:17] Siebe Van Der Zee: Let’s move on to lesson number six, the 80 20 rule. I’ve heard 80 20 rules, but I’m real curious what you mean with the 80 20 rule.
[00:18:27] Arthur Valkieser: Okay. If you’re doing thumps and especially in the beginning, or was the small team you’re overloaded with things you have to do. Actually, it’s not one project. It’s multiple projects and they have to be done and realized in parallel. Yeah. And the 80 20 rule, it’s not invented by me by the way. No, it is very simple.
And it’s like, who, how a sculpture or a painter works if you have to sculpture and he has this piece of rock, he will just start. To take the beat, the parts of rock off, and then already the figure will start to show itself. And in 20% of the time, 80% of the figure is already there. And the other 80% of the time he will use for the details.
Yeah. Okay. So, what I try to do is. Do things in 20% of the time, then you have 80% of the result and you can handle much more tasks was already an acceptable result and have a better overview of all these projects that are all important. And then when the time is there go to the details.
[00:19:36] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah. it sounds very efficient, right?
It would also require planning or is it, spur of the moment that you sense what needs to be done?
[00:19:45] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah, well, this is also something that actually is not in here, but, uh, I have a tendency not to start too early to do things because circumstances change and then you have to really define what you’re going to do.
So, it is not a bad idea just to let it go, go with the flow. And of course, with your team, sometimes it can be a little bit challenging for the team, but then you are really starting with something when all the circumstances are clear.
[00:20:16] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah. Yeah. I I’m impressed with, with the energy that you are, displaying and, and, uh,
[00:20:22] Lesson 7: Never Give Up. Resistance Belongs To Innovation
[00:20:22] Siebe Van Der Zee: lesson number seven, uh, kind of connects to that.
Never give up resistance, belongs to innovation.
[00:20:29] Arthur Valkieser: If you’re doing something new. That nobody has done before, or, or, or that is new for that organization. There is resistance. It’s normal, it’s normal. So actually, what I say, if there is resistance for your plan or for your project, it proves that it could be a very good idea, but then, you have to not give up.
You have to go on and, Of course, you know, you also have to check, you know, you’re not going to pull on a dead horse. Uh, but if you believe in it, if you think it’s a good idea, never give up, because know it’s like running the marathon, you can have the 41 kilometres. I don’t know how much it is in miles, but you know, you can, you can run a in front for an a 99% of the distance and fail in the last mile, you know, so you have to, you have to never give up.
[00:21:26] Siebe Van Der Zee: I have a, an example, where you were in a situation where you had to really push through because there was resistance.
[00:21:35] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah, well, the resistance doesn’t necessarily have to be that there is a person, the resistance in our case, there was, you know, to recycle water, and with our product, you know, we went to 27 exhibitions worldwide to show two things.
One is the power of decentralized water, recycling. And two our product as an example, how it can be done. And, you know, at the beginning, people were thinking you’re always plus like they, they, they were freezing in their mind. And then of course you have, you have the existing industry. You know, you have water companies, they, they, they sell water.
They think it’s a threat. But it isn’t, it’s an opportunity. And we cannot go on with what we are doing now. There’s simply not enough rain falling on our earth to compensate for the water that we take out of the rivers and out of the lakes and out of the aquifers. So, we have to be much more clever and wise by using the water and use to water twice is simply very wise and what will happen.
The growth of two water uptake by companies and by people will simply reduce. There’s still a problem we have to solve can be solved in 50 years’ time, you know, but we can only reduce the growth of the uptake of water.
[00:23:02] Siebe Van Der Zee: But you’re optimistic that big companies and regulators will be on board with that.
[00:23:09] Arthur Valkieser: Yes, regulators. Yes. Regulators are, you know, there’s this perfect standard from NSF that is applicable, uh, mandatory in many states and counties in the U S it’s called NSF 350 standard. And that was one of my goals to be certified. By NSF. And we did the 26 week test a one year and a half ago. And we are certified, you know, in Australia they made this new accreditation so that our product fits and can be sold and installed.
In Europe there is a new standard, uh, and all, all countries accepted this standard. So, these lands authorized water recycling, will be normal will be normal. You know, we’re now installing systems at football clubs. You know, football clubs, people go there, they play football or do another sport. They go to change, to take a shower, and then it go to the canteen.
So collected shower, water treated, and then use this to flush the toilets. It is, it is simple. Of course, it needs the rethinking. You know, for some people think you are a threat, but we are not, we are partners.
[00:24:21] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah, absolutely. And I think there’s more, more and more understanding of that we needed because we realized the droughts, the consequences, and we literally see it with our own eyes.
Um, so, uh, that, that spirit, I think makes a lot of sense. And interestingly,
[00:24:38] Arthur Valkieser: Siebe, sorry to interrupt you, of course, for us. I, I just said, we went through this 26 exhibitions worldwide. The number 27 was the CES in Las Vegas. And that was, of course the, you know, we were pushing and pushing for two years, you know, traveling, telling the story grey water recycling is, the solution.
And this is an example of how it can be done. It’s our product. Now, we don’t want to do this all ourselves. We are all before partnering with other companies, uh, and maybe all the companies in the future we’ll have a better idea. That doesn’t matter. It has to be solved. Yeah. And then of course see us winning these awards and winning best of the best.
Sony, and BMW and Samsung, this small company then from the Netherlands. Yeah. That really. Bang. We went over the world all over the world. We went on television and of course in the Netherlands, but also in Australia, South Africa, and in this brave new world movie that you mentioned, CBS television, you know, so now we succeeded in telling this story so that people understand it and our product is there.
And uh, other companies are now also thinking about I’m. Absolutely. Sure. Yeah. Actually, I know from some companies.
[00:25:56] Siebe Van Der Zee: Never, never give up. that’s a great story behind that lesson.
[00:25:59] Lesson 8: Earning Money Is Never The Goal
[00:25:59] Siebe Van Der Zee: Now lesson number eight, I find interesting as well because obviously success can lead to making money, but lesson number eight, earning money is never the goal it is the consequence.
[00:26:13] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah. Yeah. That is at least. Yeah, I think so. You know, earning, earning money that does not make you happy, you know, maybe you can have a few cars or whatever, but it will not make you happy, you know, doing something that is meaningful and will make you happy. And, and if you do it in the right way, you know, then, uh, the reward will come automatic.
[00:26:35] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah, it is. Let’s say for some people, as you can understand, sometimes difficult to understand, because if they have not no money or not enough money, uh, to go around and sometimes to put food on the table. Right. But at the same time, we’re talking here, of course, people that are in a business situation, uh, they may have a job.
They may have their own business, uh, entrepreneurs, et cetera. Uh, and it, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that it’s all about the money, I think sometimes. And, you know, perhaps you and I were in the same boat so many years ago, when your young, relatively speaking, then money seems to be the objective because that’s what you need in order to buy that car or perhaps a second car. Now once you have gone through your career and like, in your case, multiple careers, you put things in a broader perspective. And so, I, I like what you’re saying with your lesson, earning money is never the goal. It’s a consequence. Uh, and I understand that there will be people that says, well, that’s, that’s easy to say.
[00:27:50] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah, I can understand that. And I realized that, on the other side, I think governments, you know, should pay much more attention so that people can develop skills and can become proud of themselves, you know, by, by achieving goals, by setting their goals that they want to do, which can be, you know, a local shop or, and, and so that it’s, and this is.
Yeah. Uh, you know, that could be done better by governments, but not giving them money, but giving them things to do so they can, can earn their living and create opportunities. Yeah. For this, of course, education is important, but motivation is also very important.
[00:28:35] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah, no, I, I agree. But I understand of course, the lesson and, uh, well, putting it at a more global level,
[00:28:43] Lesson 9: Doing Right For People And The Planet
[00:28:43] Siebe Van Der Zee: lesson number nine, doing right for people and the planet.
[00:28:47] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah, doing right for the people around you, you know, your family and the people are your neighbours, you know, but also to the world, it brings a purpose and meaning to your life, it will make you, it makes you feel happy. And you know, if you’re, if you are the angry person and you always fight with your neighbour, people don’t like you, but you will want like it yourself too. The world around you is responding how you are as a person and how you behave. I know, and everybody is the centre of his or her world. And if you smile, other people will smile to you. So, you have a direct effect you create your own positive world.
If you smile to a person you’re talking to, they will smile to you.
[00:29:34] Siebe Van Der Zee: It’s universal. It’s universal.
[00:29:35] Arthur Valkieser: Universal. Exactly. It starts with the little baby, you know, you cannot even talk, and he starts already to understand that smiling has an effect. So, and it looks like that many people forgot it.
[00:29:49] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah, I know. And, and perhaps that’s a, that’s a podcast for the next time, as far as, you know, how can we, uh, make sure that the world is not so negative and controversial, et cetera, et cetera.
That’s a big issue, of course, especially right now, but, doing rights for people and the planet, uh, of course, uh, I think the planet, we all realize, I think, especially now how relevant it is. It’s no longer just a, an academic discussion. We see the impact of climate change, uh, and, and some people are suffering tremendously.
You and I obviously we’re both from a country that is situated below sea level, the Netherlands, and Yes. Many years ago, they started paying attention to that. But we’re not there. And we have still additional challenges when it comes to the future. And, I think worldwide people have to recognize that and I think they are, but we have to act accordingly and it’s no longer just a discussion.
We have to act.
[00:30:53] Lesson 10: Teamwork Is Crucial
[00:30:53] Siebe Van Der Zee: So now we get to lesson number 10. Teamwork is crucial. What, what are you thinking of in that regard?
[00:31:01] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah, well, teamwork is crucial in your personal life. You know, you have your partner, or you have your family, you know, and, and, uh, and so be open to them, you know, and, uh, and business it’s the same.
And by being a part of, of a professional team that, and this, this team members can have individual better skills than yourself maybe, but if you form a team, then you can fly, you know, you’re unbeatable. So don’t try to do everything yourself, but do it with a team and where the individual team members have better skills than yourself.
[00:31:41] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah, I think that’s smart. And that’s sort of a, an egalitarian type of view where, you are the CEO of the company and you have people that work on your team, but you want to allow them to contribute in the best way possible. So, you don’t want to put them in a little box and say, well, that’s, that’s not for you.
That’s we don’t want to hear your thoughts or your opinion, but open it up right, allow people to develop and, and give their input.
[00:32:11] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah. Yeah. I know. And I also had, in my previous companies that, you know, many people came in young, and they developed their skills in the team or in the teams and they would leave.
Because they had the better opportunity somewhere else. And they were, you know, and I’m proud that we, as a company could play the role in their life so that they could develop their career. You know, it is simply that made me and makes me proud.
[00:32:40] Siebe Van Der Zee: Isn’t that interesting, how that can impact you, even though that person perhaps felt bad, leaving your company, and starting a new opportunity, maybe felt bad for a short time, but anyway, and you look back and say, I’m glad for that person I’m glad he or she took that opportunity.
[00:32:59] Arthur Valkieser: Well, yeah, no, uh, of course I, sometimes they took the clients with them. So it was, it was not easy, but this is a fact of life it’s normal and you have to be prepared that this is happening, and then you can be proud that you created this also for others to happen.
[00:33:18] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah. Yeah. It’s, very good to hear that. And I understand completely what you’re saying and, I think many people, uh, have had that opportunity to do well in their own careers, but then to be able to give back, and this is a form of giving back to look at your team and making sure they feel well, even if they end up leaving the organization.
Yeah, 40 for the right reasons, right? Yeah. Yeah. Well, 10 lessons, Arthur, very, very interesting to listen to you. And, at the same time, I’m curious, is there anything in your life, in your career that you would have unlearned? Do you decide no more?
[00:34:01] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, in general, I trust people.
Also, at first sight. So, my first, my first view, I trust a person. However, I learned, and I experienced that in many times, organizations, companies, and governments are not trustworthy. And this is because a group of people can do things that the individuals that are in that group would not do if they were not depending on that group.
Follow the money. If things happen, you know, follow the money, be careful, especially when it’s a larger organizations, and follow the money and the truth will come true. And, and a good, good example is food companies, you know, some companies in the food industry and also in the pharmaceutical industry, the food industry they sell pretend food that looks healthy, but it’s empty is no has no nutrition and is full of fats and sugars and they make money with it. And the pharmaceutical industry. On the other hand, they are offering medicine to fight the result of that bad food. So, by the bad food, induced diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease, et cetera, and investors invest in both of these companies.
You know, they are, they are creating this business by giving bad food to the people giving medicine. And this is business, and the people invest in it. This is terrible, you know, and it’s so sad that governments are not acting to improve people’s health. This should change, you know.
[00:35:40] Siebe Van Der Zee: It’s a tough one, right? Because you gave some good examples, but when it comes to trusting people. Yes. You feel you can trust people at whatever level, if it’s just a simple interaction or, or obviously people that you work with or are close to you. but I think many of us have experienced that. unfortunately, you always have to be aware that perhaps there is a different agenda, a different path that that individual, uh, wants to take. And what I hear from you is that don’t be shocked if that happens.
[00:36:17] Arthur Valkieser: But yeah. Yeah. But the individuals, you know, the individual people are most of the time, very trustworthy, but they are in, they are.
Or in a company and they have to act in this group, and they have to do things because they have to pay the mortgage. You know, they have to do things that they don’t feel, you know, that they’re not proud of.
[00:36:38] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yes, I hear what you’re saying. And I’m thinking indeed in a corporate environment, sometimes issues related to business ethics, you know, you experienced sometimes opinions from people that you would say if he or she would be not into in their organization, but just as an individual, perhaps their opinion, their decision would be different than now that they’re working for that organization. They have to stick with the opinion of senior management or whatever it may be.
[00:37:10] Arthur Valkieser: Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
[00:37:12] Siebe Van Der Zee: Yeah. Yeah. Well, interesting. A good, good lessons.
And I want to thank you for participating. It’s a pleasure and I know there’s a lot more and we will follow you and Hydraloop, uh, because there is indeed a lot more to come, all over the world. very exciting. I want to make some closing remarks. You have been listening to the international podcast.
10 Lessons it Took Me 50 Years to Learn produced by Robert Hossary and sponsored by PDF. The professional development forum. PDF provides webinars, social media discussions, podcasts, and parties, and best of all, it’s all for free. For more information, please visit www.professionaldevelopmentforum.org .
Our guest today is the founder and CEO of Hydraloop. Arthur, Valkieser from the Netherlands sharing to 10 lessons it took him 50 years to learn. And to our audience, don’t forget to leave us a review or a comment. You can also email us at podcast@10lessonslearned.com that is podcast and the number ten one zero lessonslearned.com.
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