Adam Trybusz and the ''Vision thing'', Construction & Investment Journal
How long have you been working at Von Der Heyden Group?
In October 1996 I had my own consulting company when I met Mr Von der Heyden. I think we realized quickly that our personalities are built in similar ways.
In what ways?
We can make decisions quickly, for example. In the beginning of December, we discussed an idea for a future business, before Christmas, we signed further agreements and at the end of January we'd established our first company: a joint venture between Von der Heyden Group and the city of Poznan to build the Poznan Financial Center. From 1996, I worked with Sven and only with him through 2002. Mostly I was active in Poznan because it was the initial period of the financial center, though I did have some other activities. But from the beginning of 2003, I have been the managing director for the whole group in Poland.
When did you realize you had deeper interests in business? When did you know you wanted to do more than just be an employee in some construction company?
It's like a chemical change in your body. In the early 1990s, when Poland was starting on its way to the new market economy, that was the best time of my life. I'd graduated a few years before, I already had some work experience, and I?d spent some time in the west, too. I had a very good picture, or idea, of what would happen in Poland. How the country would be moving from the communist time to the modern European investment community. I had a sort of vision of this and then looked for my place in this process, what it meant for my career and my family.
Do you think you were always going to be in a leadership position?
I'm a very strong character and sometimes I have a problem with it. In business it's not an issue, but in my private life with my family, sometimes my strong character is too strong. I think it's true that I'm a leader. It's the way I?m made up. I know that I can push people to be more active, efficient and wellorganized but having the right educational background helped a lot as well.
What do you think the best way to inspire people is?
Maybe not everybody, but many, many people have a vision. But the leader sees the future more clearly. However, a leader can't just trust his vision. He needs to know that in the end, real success is the effect of the whole team. He's the one who shows the direction to realize this vision. But many times his team and partners or colleagues can add sometimes more than he can expect if they are free in their work. I'm sure that nobody is absolutely right all the time about which direction to go. So it's always a compromise between a leader and his team. If the team sees that the leader is listening to what they're saying and if he's in tune with what they're thinking, then the team is more active. They'll be eager to work with the leader.
Your first big investment was in Poznan. Are you from there?
I usually say I'm from Poland because I was born in Silesia, I studied in Wroclaw, I met a beautiful girl from Poznan and we established our family there. These days, though, I work in Warsaw, Poznan and Wroclaw.
What's a typical weekend look like for you?
We have a very nice house. We finished the construction a few years ago, it's a lovely location with a beautiful view of a lake and not many people around. It's a great place to go biking, swimming and sailing. If I work through the week in Warsaw then if possible I spend the weekend there. I also enjoy horse riding on the weekends, and I have three of them. Also, my whole family likes to travel and going skiing. I feel satisfied if we're able to go skiing twice a year.
What's the best vacation you ever took with your family?
It was a month-long expedition in British Columbia in Canada. We also took three weeks where we rented a camper and drove around Canada, especially in the Rocky Mountains. That was the best family vacation.
You're not a beach person?
It's just not me. I can spend a couple of days on a beach, but not more.
What sort of music do you like to listen to?
I like classical music, for one thing. But like a lot of guys, I still like the music from my youth, from the time when I was 18. Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones but also Polish music like Breckout, Skaldowie. That was my music then and I still enjoy it.
What's in your CD player right now?
My car's actually in Poznan, right now. I only use it on the weekends. But there's a Sting album in the CD player.
What's your biggest hobby?
Photography.
Digital or film?
I've been taking pictures for many years. I spent the first money I earned at the beginning of the 1970s on a Praktika camera and I still think film is more artistic. I have a 5 megapixel digital camera which is wonderful. But it's a technical piece of equipment you use to make a picture. It's not a camera. It's different.
Do you develop and make prints yourself too?
Yes, of course.
In October 1996 I had my own consulting company when I met Mr Von der Heyden. I think we realized quickly that our personalities are built in similar ways.
In what ways?
We can make decisions quickly, for example. In the beginning of December, we discussed an idea for a future business, before Christmas, we signed further agreements and at the end of January we'd established our first company: a joint venture between Von der Heyden Group and the city of Poznan to build the Poznan Financial Center. From 1996, I worked with Sven and only with him through 2002. Mostly I was active in Poznan because it was the initial period of the financial center, though I did have some other activities. But from the beginning of 2003, I have been the managing director for the whole group in Poland.
When did you realize you had deeper interests in business? When did you know you wanted to do more than just be an employee in some construction company?
It's like a chemical change in your body. In the early 1990s, when Poland was starting on its way to the new market economy, that was the best time of my life. I'd graduated a few years before, I already had some work experience, and I?d spent some time in the west, too. I had a very good picture, or idea, of what would happen in Poland. How the country would be moving from the communist time to the modern European investment community. I had a sort of vision of this and then looked for my place in this process, what it meant for my career and my family.
Do you think you were always going to be in a leadership position?
I'm a very strong character and sometimes I have a problem with it. In business it's not an issue, but in my private life with my family, sometimes my strong character is too strong. I think it's true that I'm a leader. It's the way I?m made up. I know that I can push people to be more active, efficient and wellorganized but having the right educational background helped a lot as well.
What do you think the best way to inspire people is?
Maybe not everybody, but many, many people have a vision. But the leader sees the future more clearly. However, a leader can't just trust his vision. He needs to know that in the end, real success is the effect of the whole team. He's the one who shows the direction to realize this vision. But many times his team and partners or colleagues can add sometimes more than he can expect if they are free in their work. I'm sure that nobody is absolutely right all the time about which direction to go. So it's always a compromise between a leader and his team. If the team sees that the leader is listening to what they're saying and if he's in tune with what they're thinking, then the team is more active. They'll be eager to work with the leader.
Your first big investment was in Poznan. Are you from there?
I usually say I'm from Poland because I was born in Silesia, I studied in Wroclaw, I met a beautiful girl from Poznan and we established our family there. These days, though, I work in Warsaw, Poznan and Wroclaw.
What's a typical weekend look like for you?
We have a very nice house. We finished the construction a few years ago, it's a lovely location with a beautiful view of a lake and not many people around. It's a great place to go biking, swimming and sailing. If I work through the week in Warsaw then if possible I spend the weekend there. I also enjoy horse riding on the weekends, and I have three of them. Also, my whole family likes to travel and going skiing. I feel satisfied if we're able to go skiing twice a year.
What's the best vacation you ever took with your family?
It was a month-long expedition in British Columbia in Canada. We also took three weeks where we rented a camper and drove around Canada, especially in the Rocky Mountains. That was the best family vacation.
You're not a beach person?
It's just not me. I can spend a couple of days on a beach, but not more.
What sort of music do you like to listen to?
I like classical music, for one thing. But like a lot of guys, I still like the music from my youth, from the time when I was 18. Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones but also Polish music like Breckout, Skaldowie. That was my music then and I still enjoy it.
What's in your CD player right now?
My car's actually in Poznan, right now. I only use it on the weekends. But there's a Sting album in the CD player.
What's your biggest hobby?
Photography.
Digital or film?
I've been taking pictures for many years. I spent the first money I earned at the beginning of the 1970s on a Praktika camera and I still think film is more artistic. I have a 5 megapixel digital camera which is wonderful. But it's a technical piece of equipment you use to make a picture. It's not a camera. It's different.
Do you develop and make prints yourself too?
Yes, of course.
