Ten years of the Work Group, members from nine countries, countless impulses: the ICV International Work Group can look back on a decade of successful collaboration. Since its foundation in 2015, the team has helped companies from all over Europe to develop new perspectives, rethink strategies and put modern controlling into practice. We spoke to management team and founding member Herwig Friedag (center, slightly crouched). Read here about the beginnings, successes and future plans of the International Work Group.

Ten years is a long time – especially in an international team

Question: Ten years – that’s quite a long time. What makes your Work Group so special that it has remained interesting for members and companies for so long?
Answer: Ten years is indeed a long time – especially for a Work Group that brings together members from nine European countries. During this time, we have achieved impressive stability and continuity. This is anything but a matter of course in such an international environment. We have grown together and grown closer, real friendships have developed because we work very closely and sometimes hard together, but we also celebrate our successes in a fitting manner. It’s a good mix that also welds us together.

“In the beginning, we had to do some convincing”

Question: How did the Work Group come about in the first place?
Answer: Our Work Group was founded in 2015 with the idea of providing companies from different European countries with suggestions and ideas for greater success on the European markets. Before we could get started, however, we had to convince the ICV Board – and that wasn’t easy. Initially, there were fears that we would sell consulting services. Thanks to the support of then Board Member Dr. Walter Schmidt, we were able to dispel these concerns and were finally given the green light.

The very first project was a great success

Question: What was your first practical job like?
Answer: Our members – all controllers with at least ten years of professional experience, initially from six countries – worked with a company from Lower Silesia for six months as their first project. The result was convincing: we were able to show the company that the German market offered hardly any opportunities, but that the Ukrainian market did. Shortly afterwards, the company became the market leader for “ham nets” in Ukraine.

Luminaires became light – ideas became strategies

Question: Was the follow-up project able to keep up?
Answer: The next target company came from Zielona Góra in Poland. We recommended not just selling “luminaires” but also “light” – a small but decisive strategic change that proved to be very successful. Over the last ten years, we have supported a total of eight companies from all over Europe, identified opportunities, helped develop strategies, devised controlling concepts and provided many other impulses for better results.

“Working, celebrating, cultivating friendships – that goes hand in hand here”

Question: Did you celebrate your tenth anniversary in style?
Answer: Of course! As part of our annual meeting, which takes place in a different European metropolis every year, this time we came together in Castelldefels near Barcelona. During the day, the focus was on work – we discussed our results for a Polish manufacturer of precast concrete elements – and in the evening we enjoyed tapas and time together. Even members who were unable to actively participate this year were there. There are now so many of us that sometimes it’s not easy to fit everyone in!

“Good collaboration is the key to great results”

Question: What is the secret of your success?
Answer: We have all experienced that great work results are achieved when you get along well as people. We cultivate this good cooperation every year anew – with openness, mutual respect and genuine friendship. This is important: We also take time for personal encounters, so we always meet the evening before to exchange ideas and discuss private matters. And the members always visit each other in their respective home regions.

Learning from and with each other helps in volatile times

Question: In the 10 years since the company was founded, an incredible amount has happened in the areas of business, finance, controlling and geopolitics. Given this volatility, how do you manage to keep up with the constant innovations and changes as an external, heterogeneous and international team?
Answer: We learn in our own companies, of course, but also in the “target companies” and from each other. During the coronavirus period and also in the first year of the war of aggression between Russia and Ukraine – when we had to take a break – we carried out projects together via digital management and presented them to everyone – a great experience.

Corporate management from the gut requires the development of initial standards

Question: Have the tasks and issues faced by your target companies changed in recent years or are there standards for which your support is required?
Answer: No, the changes are gradual. But in our target companies, the first step is often to work out standards that form the basis for more complex solutions. It is sometimes unbelievable how companies are managed more or less from the gut; controlling sometimes at a low level.

Free advice causes skepticism among potential companies

Question: What criteria do you use to decide on a target company?
Answer: First of all, we have to find people interested in working with us, which is difficult enough. Very few entrepreneurs understand that 12 to 20 people, experienced controllers or consultants with usually more than ten years of professional experience, would work for their company free of charge. Sacrificing their free time… And then taking on various costs themselves. That can’t be true! And then there’s another exclusion criterion: the employees of the target company (between 8 and 16) should be able to speak English quite well…
But once we have a few applicants for the coming year, the members of the Work Group vote.
We then usually have four areas of responsibility in the “target company”, which we work on together with the employees of the target company – starting in April of each year. Quite a lot of work – and commitment from everyone involved! At the end of October, beginning of November, we then present the results of our work. And experience a lot of “Wow, we wouldn’t have thought that”.

More than half of the ideas were implemented

Question: What has been the best experience for you personally in these 10 years?
Answer: As we come from different European countries (Poland, Russia, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Romania, the Netherlands, Spain), we also bring together very different cultures. This means learning and understanding – but also a wealth of experience for professional projects in Europe. The best thing about it: we get on incredibly well, friendships have grown and we enjoy being part of a circle of like-minded Europeans.
A very nice experience: we made a proposal for a new product at a company; the CEO was immediately impressed and a few weeks later this product was on the market: very successful and with a terrific contribution margin. Across all projects, certainly 50%, if not more, of the ideas and suggestions were implemented in the company.

“We don’t know any unwillingness to get involved”

Question: You were already an experienced consultant, author and volunteer in the ICV before you founded the International Work Group. Was there anything that surprised you while working with the International Work Group – did you learn anything new?
Answer: Not new, but a confirmation: If there is an interesting task, everyone gets involved. The reluctance described by many Work Group leaders to get involved in the Work Group is not something we have experienced at all. On the contrary: the number of applicants for our Work Group is high, but we can only accept one or two new members every year.

Walter Schmidt is missing by the Work Group on many levels

Question: Walter Schmidt was not only a close partner of this project as a Board Member, he was your friend and professional partner and was also heavily involved in the International Work Group. He died in 2023. How much do you miss him?
Answer: Walter was not only an experienced colleague, but also someone who was able to familiarize himself excellently with the problems of the target customers and develop solutions together with the colleagues in his respective team. We all miss him – and I especially miss him as a friend and professional partner.

AI cannot shape the future with and for people and companies

Question: What will the International Work Group be doing in 10 years’ time – will it still be needed at all or will AI have taken over consulting?
Answer: AI is insufficient for developing new things, as AI is based on known knowledge that is available on the Internet. Of course, our work in the target companies is also based on experience – but this is combined with different cultural experiences and is geared towards the future with people, the partners from the target companies. AI is very helpful for repetitive activities, but for us it’s about more: shaping the future with and for people, for companies in Europe. That is why:
we come together, we work together, we learn together, we develop together!

Conclusion: Ten years of living together

What began as an idea in 2015 is now a vibrant network of experienced controllers from all over Europe.
The ICV International Work Group shows how successful teamwork can be across borders – professionally, personally and with a clear goal: to make companies in Europe a little more successful.