'All of our lives are interrelated -
we must act accordingly
talking heads
r 2 What'sNewS Issue 3' March 1999
This is a special Talking Head. The idea behind the series began four years ago
when in a speech Herman Wijffels argued the advantages of reducing the
distance between senior management and staff by emphasizing the person
behind the job title. And because he had inspired the series, we were quick to
put him on the hot seat. As a tribute to our departing chairman, we reprint
the original interview here.
To many international Rabobankers he
is the man who opened their office,
was rushed from top level meeting to
meeting, made a speech, then disappeared
back into a plane. That side of Wijffels is,
of course, part and parcel of being the
chairman of the Rabobank Group. His
strength appears to lie in a quiet
confidence and energy, rather than in the
kind of aggressive power normally
associated with high-flying, successful
business people. Talking to him, he is
unassuming almost to the point of
circumspection. When he says he sees
himself primarily as a colleague, 'as
responsible for creating an environment
which facilitates the work field for our
people,' then you feel that what he says is
what you get.
'On a people level, one of the main
problems for a person in my position in an
organization of this size is that very size,'
he says. 'I meet a lot of our people, not
least through the various meetings and
events throughout the organization that I
attend. But most people tend to know my
face from the newspapers. In that sense, I
had an extraordinary experience last
summer. I'm very fond of cycling and was
allowed to follow the Tour de France in
our own sweep car - it's one of the
privileges of being in my job, you get to
do things like that,' he laughs with
obvious pleasure. 'Another thing I really
enjoy is going to our international offices,
to see how we have evolved over a century
from an essentially domestic bank into an
international organization. When I'm
there, there's not much opportunity to
speak to our own people. But when there
is an opportunity, I try to make the most
of it. You mentioned cycling with Betty
Mills and one of her major clients in
Altanta. I was very curious to know her
background, how she managed to
Herman Wijffels: 'I'm primarily a colleague'
combine all her other activities with a very
time-consuming sports career. We had a
chance to chat - not for long, but I really
enjoyed it.'
Enjoyment for Wijffels comes in a
multitude of guises. As he sits chatting in
his spacious, uncluttered office, it is hard
to image him wielding a chain saw. But
this is what he will be doing as Wbat's
NeivS appears. 'We have a small patch of
woodland and every autumn I take some
holiday to do the preparation work for the
winter.' He also enjoys the theatre - 'the
last performance I saw was with my
daughter. Shakespeare's Measure for
Measure. I loved it. Shakespeare really
understood people. Our three children, a
twin boy and girl of 21 and a 19-year old
son, have all left home now. They are at
different universities in the Netherlands.
Whenever my work takes me anywhere
near them, I try to arrange something so
that we can spend time together outside
the regular family gatherings.'
A Vivaldi concert on the CD player is also
a prefered form of relaxation. His wife
keeps him up to date on modern
literature. 'She teaches Dutch literature
and occasionally she'11 say: You really
should read this.' What was the last book
she recommended? Grinning ruefully, he
quips: 'She recommends a lot more than I
can read.' Wijffels in his garden or
listening to Vivaldi seems a far cry from
the corridors of power that he walks every
day - he is frequently tipped as a future
government minister. Recognized as a
high-flyer very early in his career, he was
director of a department at the Ministry of
Agriculture at 29 having already
completed a stint at the European
Commission in Brussels. 'Perhaps our
family situation was one reason I got into
accelerated career development,' he says,
pausing briefly before adding, 'you see,
I'm a farmer's son and the eldest of eight
children. We lost both our parents when I
was in my early 20s. I can teil you that is a
maturing experience. At the time, 1 was a
student, looking forward to an interesting
job, a family and a good life. The loss of
our parents meant I was suddenly
confronted with real responsibility.'
Now, accepting responsibility has almost
become his trade mark and for him
responsibility doesn't stop with our
organization. In the late 1980s, he began
to be aware of just how serious the
problem of environmental pollution had
become. Today, he is a recognized and
highly respected advocate of sustainable
development. Is he passionate on the
environment? 'You could say that,' he
agrees, 'but perhaps a better description
would be a passionate pragmatist. You
have to understand that we don't live in a
perfect world. You have to take the
existing situation into account, then
carefully design steps to help you move in
the direction you want to go. That's how I
try to work, combining the idealistic with
the pragmatic. We are all responsible for
the world we live in and for the people we
live with - human beings are social
animals. If I look at society, then I see
increasingly more groups of people are
being excluded, people who may not
perhaps have the talents and options to be
successful in this society. That usually
means they cannot command big salaries.
In my view, there are clearly privileges
attached to being in a senior position, but
there are also responsibilities. We must
always be aware that all of our lives are
interrelated and act accordingly. If you ask
what I feel passionate about, then that is
your answer.'
