History will remember how us essential workers kept the wheels of industry moving amidst such an outbreak. With Social Distiancing keeping many offices closed, Self Discipline has become top priority in our homes. Although he is the leader of the world’s most prestigious brand, his daily routine is not unlike many others who are working remotely. If you want to know what it takes to keep sixteen cylinders ahead of the competition, here is how Bugatti President Stephan Winkelmann works from home. The following timeline is an excerpt from their latest press release:
7:00 a.m.
- Get up
- Light breakfast
- Obtain an overview of the day’s news; read national and international press.
8:30 a.m.
- Catch up with e-mails
- Start of my first Skype meeting with the Comité de Direction, the extended Executive Board.
10:00 a.m.
- Further conference calls with various departments such as Development, Sales, Design and Marketing.
“Even though none of our hyper sports cars are able to leave our Molsheim site at the moment, we are continuing to work actively where possible. Apart from production, this relates primarily to development and design. Employees keep me informed of the current status, development success, or problems. This also includes the current status of our global business partners. How are they dealing with the situation and how are they continuing to support our customers? We discuss the next steps together so that our work is not impeded by a lack of decisions. Our motto is always the same: the only way we can continue to build the best cars in the world is by talking to one another. The challenges facing the Sales and Marketing departments are particularly tough and we are only able to solve these together.”
12:00 p.m.
- Lunch
- Watch the news on TV
- Catch up with e-mails
2:00 p.m.
- Further phone conferences with the Comité de Produit, the product committee, regarding the development of current and future products.
- Catch up with e-mails
“Bugatti never stands still. Not at the weekends, not over the Christmas holidays, and definitely not on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are no limits to the creativity of our staff; new ideas for new technical solutions or products appear all the time. Consolidating them all is always a particular challenge. During our Comité de Produit conference calls, we discuss the latest developments and sketch out future projects. For me, these are some of the most exciting meetings as they give you a glimpse of all the power and creativity in our company. Things can get a little heated sometimes. However, in my experience, it precisely this kind of friction that leads to the best results.”
7:00 p.m.
- Endurance sports
“Since I currently cannot train at the gym or in the pool, I go running for an hour in the early evening and break up my run with a few exercises. This improves my endurance and health, I enjoy it and it gives me time to review the day without my smartphone or computer. This period of meditation also recharges my batteries.”
9:00 p.m.
- Private phone calls
10:00 p.m.
- Read
“For me, the only benefit of the lockdown is that I have more time to read in the evenings. I normally read two books in parallel, one fiction and one non-fiction. However, I am reading two non-fiction books at the moment – a biography of Charles de Gaulle and a book about the French paratrooper units during the Indochina war. There is also a book about the ‘Bugatti Queen’ on my shelf, which tells the story of the French female racing driver Hellé Nice, who drove a Bugatti Type 35 C. This book is next on my list.”
We appreciate him sharing his life with us. It offers a shining light in this time of darkness. For me, exercise is the best way to clear my mind. Between covering the news for you, I ride my bike around the block or spar with a punching bag on the porch. Tell us what keeps you going in the comments below and stay with us for all your Bugatti news.
