Generali is my lifelong sport

Aleš Škulj from Generali Zavarovalnica d.d.
I never thought that Generali would become my way of life, that I would feel so comfortable with it, that it would be imbued with values that are close to my heart, and this for more than 20 years. But not only that. If I had asked myself whether I would take the step of joining Generali again, I would have done it again.

I will always remember the doubts I had before I started. I mean, it's normal, I told myself, to be a bit scared when you go from a familiar environment to an unfamiliar one. Coming as a coach from professional sport, where there is no financial world, no insurance, nothing that I know, it echoed in my head.

But how wrong I was! I had a lot of capital, I knew psychology, I knew how to work with people, I understood what perseverance in training meant, what planning meant and what it meant to keep your eyes on the goal. But I only realised this later, when I was already deep inside Generali.

That's how the then CEO of Generali Slovenia saw me, and his charismatic manner convinced me that I was the right person for his idea of education. I swapped my sports clothes for a business suit, I learned a lot, but most of all I listened with open eyes to the stories of Generali's history, its origins in Trieste (so close to us Slovenians), its long and successful business career, its size and strength. But the most fascinating thing for me was to discover how Generali fought for its existence, how it overcame all the difficult historical obstacles and how it is today one of the largest financial insurance companies in the world. This still gives me great confidence in my work today.

There have been many events during this time and it is difficult to pick just one. I would put the continuous care for each other first. Collegial help. There are no obstacles for us. From a small team that started building Generali Slovenia just two years before I arrived, we have built a strong bond of mutual trust, support and extraordinary enthusiasm as we have grown. What about 9/11 or the financial crisis of 2008? We preferred to work and get recognition from the holding company. It seemed that nothing could stop us.

I remember with nostalgia the old days when we sat in small circles in smoky rooms, our eyes red with smoke, making plans and plans, looking for solutions, banging our heads with questions about how to act guerrilla-like to increase our market share. We celebrated our successes, feeling a sense of inner satisfaction and pride in what we had actually done! It was the realisation that we were empowered on the one hand, and responsible for success on the other, that confirmed to us that a team, where everyone plays their part, is the most important thing. I still remember a trip "into the unknown" on a boat in the Adriatic.

My career is closely linked to sales and agents. And that's a good thing, because as a former sportsman, dynamism is in my blood. Training in public speaking, communication, sales skills and understanding the interrelationship of customer care was a regular part of the working day. Over time, we have developed a number of programmes that have provided variety and motivation to the agent network. And that is what I like about the General. I have always had enough freedom in my work to develop new training approaches, new tools, etc. according to my needs. which is basically the current behaviour of a lifelong partner.

What am I proud of? When I arrive at the office in the morning, I feel good, I'm happy to say hello to my colleagues, I feel at home at my desk and my motivation hasn't left me. The programmes developed by the Group only add to my daily life and give me a strong sense of belonging.

Generali je moj vseživljenjski šport

Nikoli si nisem mislil, da bo Generali postal moj način življenja, da se bom z njim počutil tako dobro kot se, da je prežet z vrednotami, ki so mi blizu in to že več kot 20 let. Ne samo to. Če bi se vprašal, ali bi ponovno naredil ta korak, pridružiti se Generaliju še enkrat, bi to spet storil.

Vedno se bom spominjal pomislekov, ki sem jih imel pred začetkom. Saj to je nekaj normalnega, sem si govoril, da te je malo strah, ko greš iz znanega okolja v neznano. Prihajal sem kot trener iz profesionalnega športa, kjer ni finančnega sveta, kjer ni zavarovanj, kjer ni nič, kar bi znal, mi je odmevalo v glavi.

Le kako sem se motil! S seboj sem nosil ogromen  kapital, poznal sem psihologijo, znal sem delati z ljudmi, razumel sem, kaj pomeni vztrajnost v treningu, kaj pomeni planiranje in strmenje k cilju. Ampak tega sem se zavedel šele kasneje, ko sem bil že globoko v Generaliju.

In tako me je videl takratni CEO Generali Slovenije, ki me je s svojim karizmatičnim načinom prepričal, da sem jaz prava oseba za njegovo zamisel o izobraževanju. Zamenjal sem športna oblačila za poslovno obleko, veliko sem se učil, predvsem pa sem z odprtimi očmi poslušal zgodbe o zgodovini Generalija, o nastanku v Trstu (ki nam je Slovencem tako blizu), o dolgi uspešni  poslovni poti, o velikosti in moči. Najbolj fascinantno pa mi je bilo odkrivati, kako se je Generali boril za svoj obstoj, kako je  premagoval vse težke zgodovinske ovire in kako je danes ena največjih finančno zavarovalnih družb na svetu. To me pri delu še dandanes navdihuje z veliko mere samozavesti.

Dogodkov se je v tem času nabralo res veliko in težko je izpostaviti le enega. Na prvo mesto bi postavil kontinuirano skrb en za drugega. Kolegialna pomoč. Za nas ni ovir.  Iz majhne ekipe, ki je le dve leti pred mojim prihodom zažela postavljati Generali Slovenija na svoje noge, smo z rastjo gradili močno vez  medsebojnega zaupanja, pomoči in izjemne zagnanosti. Kakšen 11. september ali pa finančna kriza 2008? Raje smo delali in dobili priznanja Holdinga. Zdelo se nam je, da nas nič ne more ustaviti.

Z nostalgijo se spominjam nekih starih časov, ko smo v majhnem krogu sedeli v zakajenih sobah, z od dima rdečimi očmi pripravljali načrte in plane, iskali rešitve, si razbijali glavo z vprašanji, kako delovati gverilsko, da si povečamo tržni delež. Proslavljali smo uspehe, čutili notranje zadovoljstvo in ponos, kaj smo pravzaprav naredili prav mi! Prav zavedanje, da smo na eni strani opolnomočeni in na drugi, da imamo odgovornost za uspeh, nam je dalo potrditev, da je ekipa, kjer vsak naredi svoj del, najbolj pomembna. Še kako se spominjam izleta »v neznano« z barko po Jadranskem morju.

Moja karierna pot je tesno povezana s prodajo in zastopniki. In še dobro, da je tako, saj mi je kot bivšemu športniku, dinamika zapisana v krvi. Treningi nastopanja, komunikacije, prodajnih veščin, razumevanje povezanosti skrbi za stranko so bili redni  delavnik. Skozi čas smo razvijali  različne programe, ki so v posameznih časovnih obdobjih poskrbeli za razgibanost in novo motivacijo v zastopniški mreži. In prav to je tisto, kar v Generaliju cenim. Vedno sem imel dovolj proste roke pri svojem delu, tako da sem glede na potrebe lahko razvijal nove prijeme pri treningu, nove pripomočke, ... kar v bistvu sovpada s trenutnimi vedenji vseživljenjskega partnerja.

Na kaj sem ponosen? Ko zjutraj prihajam v firmo, mi je prijetno, z veseljem se pozdravim s kolegi, za svojo mizo se počutim kot doma in motivacija me ni zapustila. Programi, ki jih razvija Skupina samo še dopolnjujejo moj vsakdan ter mi dajejo občutek močne povezanosti.