Continuing to challenge yourself, that is the trick. And for Filip Goossens (CEO of On Time Logistics) that means: looking for the right balance between order and chaos. Because those two need each other.
Filip Goossens says he is constantly looking for harmony. As a father of two young children, it is not always easy for him to find the right balance between work and private life. “But I still manage to do it quite well,” he laughs. The 50-year-old CEO of the Antwerp transport company sees merit in the old adage work hard, play hard: “I am, as it were, climbing a mountain, but I am not going to wait until I get to the top to enjoy the view,” he says.
So there must be time and space for fun along the way. “I have broad interests – I have a vintage car and I love gardening… And sports such as sailing, skiing and tennis also help me to clear my head,” says Goossens. As CEO, the man is always available to those who need him, but he does not have to defend his free time with a heavy hand.
Fascinating work
And good organization of his professional life has a lot to do with that. After all, anyone who wants to work hard must also be able to get a lot of energy and satisfaction from their job – and that is certainly the case with Goossens. “I like to create order out of chaos,” he explains.
As a (daily) manager, it is of course his job to maintain an overview, although he says he can also zoom in very closely on specific opportunities or problems if necessary. “I try to be very involved in all aspects of business operations, and I am not averse to some micromanagement in certain cases. That sometimes goes quite far: I even had to learn to program a while ago.”
At the same time, Goossens also claims to quickly become bored with repetitive tasks – which is why he is closely following the AI revolution. According to him, it will also be necessary to look for harmony between people and machines, which will have to work together seamlessly. “That technology will become a tool for our customers, but also for our own people – we will always need them.”
“Too much harmony is just boring!”
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