Ineke Botter is an author, consultant and a thought leader on the topic of leadership. In this interview, she shares insights with The Industry Leaders about how to navigate uncertainty as a business leader.

Could you please share a bit about yourself, your background, and the journey that has led you to become an entrepreneur? What makes your perspective unique on the subject of leadership and navigating uncertainty?

Part of it was pure luck; I was in the right place at the right time. The mobile industry had just started in earnest when I entered the telecom space in 1991, as Business Development manager. Our first project was UMC in Ukraine (now Vodafone). Most people in the West were still very hesitant and didn’t believe that people would pay a lot of money for a mobile phone, hence shareholders didn’t put huge amounts of money or big teams in, yet. Our Dutch team consisted of only three people and we had to do everything ourselves. I worked extremely hard under very difficult circumstances, but having said that, it was also a huge learning curve that prepared me for management positions elsewhere. I loved the industry, its enormous impact, and continued working in other countries at CXO level and from 2000 onwards as CEO/MD.

Over the years, more and more people said that I should write about this journey, but I really didn’t have enough time to do that. Still, I had given it a first hesitant try, but lost part of the story when my laptop was stolen. Logically, I was a little demotivated. But when Covid came, I finally sat down to write seriously. I was ‘trapped’ in Amsterdam in an apartment for 10 months, on my own, so plenty of time, and also a good time to touch base with a lot of former colleagues and get their feedback and input, it was fun. To me the book, my memoir, is especially about creating awareness of the huge global impact of the mobile networks in only a few decades. Without these networks we wouldn’t have survived Covid, or found people in the rubble of an earthquake, or kidnapped children etc. Having survived many challenging situations I developed a good understanding of what uncertainty, and danger, does to people. These lessons are really valuable and I have given many examples in my book, ‘Your phone, my life’; examples that might be helpful to people who find themselves in critical circumstances, especially the first time. The best preparation for disaster is to start with taking stock of the situation ‘as is’, next think about the most likely risks that can cross your path and then start working with your team to formulate ‘what if’ scenarios. Not having an emergency plan is not an option. You simply have to, that is the reality of life, even in the Western world now.

In the end, it really all comes down to being prepared as well as you possibly can, and for anything that can hit us. And almost always unexpectedly, like the conflict in Lebanon that developed to a full- fledge war within 24 hours. Luckily we had our plan that we could invoke immediately. Yes, it takes time to put it together, but without that plan it would have been very hard to stay calm and manage through such dangerous situations.

You and your business have presumably faced some interesting challenges and changes over the years. Can you describe a key moment when you felt uncertainty was at its peak?

There have been many moments where I had to manage through uncertainty but I think that July 12, 2006 was the worst day in that respect. I woke up at about 4am with Israeli fighter jets breaking through the sound barrier, people screaming, shouting and fleeing the apartment building I lived in and me thinking about the companies’ employees and my own faith. Would we survive this? My office was on the top floor of the HQ building and when I arrived there – having called an emergency meeting to start implementing our disaster plan – bombs were dropped on areas less than two kilometres away. I could see it all from my window. A mobile company being so strategically important could easily be a main target. I had to understand the strategy, what was at stake and would we be the next target. After about 2 days I understood that only sites with multiple use (mobile telecom, TV, radio transmitters) were the target. The plan turned out to be absolutely crucial, we had proactively identified who had to come to work, when and why. We, the Management Team, had several mobile phones and used different networks, in case part of our network would go down, which happened several times. But the plan was in place and the very resourceful engineers fixed the problems temporarily, with little means, but it worked ! We supplied SIM cards, airtime, answered urgent questions and ran the critical parts of the operation with about 15% of our, very well trained, personnel. My training, experience and character also helped me, I’m organised and I was well prepared. Two points that allowed me to be quick and decisive, which is critical. You have to be able to act immediately, there is absolutely no time to fiddle around.

From your experience, what are the core principles or values that guide a leader during uncertain times?

Be aware that you, as the leader, can’t panic or lose the plot because that means that people get confused and that will cause real chaos. In other words, try to be calm and composed. Get your facts together, as soon as possible. Be decisive and if necessary trigger your plan that should describe all steps to be taken; like the one in Lebanon when we had described five phases of disaster and identified all jobs that were necessary for the operation to run, in each of those phases. Make sure you have a ‘ward system’ in place; this means that you have predefined teams of about seven people. Number one calls number two, who calls three etc. and then the loop is closed when number seven calls number one to inform that all is OK with everyone. Hide your concerns but don’t take unnecessary risks ‘just to be brave’. Protect but also keep faith in your people, always and everywhere.

How do you cultivate a culture of resilience and adaptability within your team? Can you share a practical example where this culture made a significant difference?

It is important in any circumstance that people understand where they stand, and that becomes even more critical during a calamity. That is why detailed plans need to be in place and rehearsed, so that people get a grasp of what can happen and what to do. It helps us to be resilient. If people know what is expected from them and in what phase, they feel better prepared and it allows them to adapt quicker to serious situations. It’s like the Japanese proverb that says ‘Be like bamboo, it bends but never breaks. It’s flexible, yet firmly rooted’. When I arrived in Beirut after a turbulent time in war-ridden Kosovo, Lebanon looked so nice and quiet. But shortly after my arrival, the bird flu was coming our way. We immediately started to work on our emergency plan, which involved analysing every function in the company, who would be needed and in what situation. We never used it for its initial purpose, as the bird flu ‘flew over’, but when the 2006 war arrived we immediately implemented it, with very few changes only.

Many aspiring leaders struggle with the fear of failure, especially when the path ahead is unclear. What strategies or mental frameworks have you developed to overcome this fear and embrace uncertainty as an opportunity?

It was my father who was my coach sometimes, who taught me a great lesson when I wasn’t sure what to do in a particular challenging situation. He said ‘You’re smart and experienced, you have common sense; out of 100 decisions, 95% will be straightforward, 5% you need to consider carefully and 1% might pose a problem, but not taking decisions means that 100% will pose a problem, just keep that in mind.’ This ‘rule’ helped me to always analyse situations, prioritise and make decisions, some of which were creating opportunities in the future. The mere fact that you train yourself to do the analysis is already a positive.

In your opinion, what are the most common mistakes leaders make during uncertain times? Can you offer a real-life example where recognizing and avoiding such a mistake led to success?

Leaders who don’t have their plan in place are not well prepared and logically vulnerable. If they have a plan but have not taken the time to rehearse it with the employees it will be only half effective. If, on top of that, they don’t have an agreed stakeholder communication plan, that’s it. Recipe for failure. ‘The world’ never seriously considered the possibility of an epidemic like Covid and I think many companies suffered more than necessary. Those who did have a fall-back plan, including trained people and the tools – like fast internet connectivity – for personnel to work from home, were in a much better place, their people more resilient and the company more competitive.

Looking towards the future, how do you plan to continue evolving your leadership style to meet new uncertainties and challenges? What advice would you give to others looking to do the same?

As I’m semi-retired now, I think my contribution lies in the fact that we – Wyze2 – support people in challenging situations or when they meet obstacles on the way. We assist them in structuring and restructuring operations. Then I serve on Boards of Directors in East Africa and coach a FinTech start-up there. I’m also a speaker for BookTalks in the Netherlands, which is a boutique agency for seasoned leaders who have a real story to tell and are willing to share their experience in Board meetings, Master classes or lectures. All these activities mean interaction with interesting people, or as the Americans say it is ‘a way of giving back’ and I really enjoy that.

You’ve clearly demonstrated a willingness to learn and grow through experience. Are there any books, mentors, or resources that have particularly influenced your leadership style? How would you recommend others to approach their leadership development journey?

First and foremost my father, who always encouraged me and never said ‘you can’t’. He was my coach when business coaches didn’t exist yet and taught me many important lessons like the one I described earlier. And, then I had a very good boss in Prague, Bessel Kok, a famous telecom CEO. He is very pleasant and friendly, and knows exactly how to motivate his crew. I watched him conducting his business very efficiently, and I used all those lessons in my roles as CEO over the years. I certainly recommend you try and find mentors in the company or your immediate environment, people who you can watch and learn from. Actively participate in courses, attend webinars, like our free monthly webinars (Topics from ‘Your phone, my life’) and consult an experienced business coach when you want to spar about a certain issue. As for books; when I worked in London, the company invited Barbara Minto, a McKinsey partner, to talk to us about her book, the ‘Pyramid Principle’. This was a very long time ago now, but I have used that principle throughout my career. She explained how every situation can be captured into a pyramid: put the most strategic points at the top and those then cascade down into smaller and smaller issues, or actions. For non-business books, I’d love to read ‘War Stories’ by Jeremy Bowens and ‘Alone in Berlin’ by Hans Fallada, again. Both books give another perspective on war situations.

For those who want to learn more about your leadership philosophy or explore the products and services offered by your company, what’s the best way to connect with you or find out more about your work?

Ineke Botter was born in the Netherlands and studied corporate and international law at the University of Amsterdam.

Her recently published book ‘Your Phone, my life’ starts in communist Kiev and tells us how her work in mobile telecoms took her first to other countries in the former Eastern Bloc and then to Western Europe, Kosovo, Lebanon, Azerbaijan and Haiti. As CEO, she was in charge of mobile network operations in all these countries and managed them through periods of political unrest, war, bomb attacks and other serious obstacles.

There are just under 1,000 mobile networks globally and Ms. Botter was one of very few female CEOs in the mobile industry. Semi-retired now, she works alone, or with her business partner Gavin Jeffery, offering Management Services globally mostly to technology-related industries.

You’ve recently written a book ‘Your phone, my life’, what was the inspiration behind writing it?

About 5.5 billion people switch on their mobile device before they even have breakfast, but they have no clue of ‘how that phone landed in their hand’. The mobile phone is the biggest game changer of the past decade. Plenty of technical books have been written, but strangely enough no-one wrote about the adventures of how we built all those networks.

Everyone just takes for granted that the phone – the mirror of your life – is there, but very few people realise what a miracle it is that the world is connected the way it is, and what the people who made that happen went through – the real adventures.

Without these networks we wouldn’t have survived disasters like Covid or been able to find missing persons in the rubble of an earthquake, or kidnapped children. So many people asked me to write a book, but it wasn’t until the Covid-19 pandemic that I finally had the time to sit down and actually do it, with the help of colleagues.

Who does the book help and how?

The book is my account of survival lessons from some of the toughest places on earth. I was leading strategically important telecommunications operations through civil unrest and war, post drastic political changes and the aftermath of natural disasters.

It is my own memoir and I have tried to write it in a way that it can be read by anyone who is interested in international business adventures, and not so much as a woman leading very critical and capital intensive operations in a male world. But I can imagine that women who aspire to have an international career could pick up some useful lessons whilst reading.

Aside from writing the book, how else do you support businesses?

Since I retired as CEO, I help and coach young start-ups, mostly in East Africa. I participate in Boards and offer management services via Wyze2 with my business partner. All these projects are technology related, often in the telecom space itself or industries that use mobile communication as their platform, such as fintech initiatives.

And, of course, I spend a lot of time trying to create more awareness for the ‘mobile history’ via social media, webinars, podcasts etc. also in co-operation with the UK based Mobile Phone Museum, a great initiative that also tries to document and safeguard our mobile history.

We’re constantly bombarded with stories of ‘instant wins’ and ‘unicorns’ but, for most business owners, their journey simply doesn’t work like that. So now, I want to get your real-life perspective of what it’s really like to be an entrepreneur today.

I find that young people often have great ideas that could be very successful but they lack the understanding, or experience of how to actually build a business. As Wyze2 we are there to support companies to build and restructure in a way that they will survive, long term. That means that we assist them in laying what I call ‘the foundation of the company’, i.e. financial, legal and HR functions are in place, the IPR is registered and the business processes are clearly described. Next step is to develop all ‘technical’ aspects of the business and only then start the commercial activities. This means that the marketing, PR, sales and distribution activities have a solid base to work from and to enable growth. Many times I saw great ideas dwindle or a young company go bankrupt as the foundation was not in place. Founders of the big tech companies always had business people next to them and followed their advice. Great ideas need great support !

Can you share with us a time when you failed, and what you learned from that experience?

My failures are mostly caused by my optimistic character. Sometimes I have overestimated other people’s willingness to do the necessary, probably because we are so seasoned that we almost automatically assume that there is no problem and that all problems can be solved. For example my business partner and I joined some people to start a vehicle that would organise finance and support young companies and start-ups in Africa. That went south…. Promises made were never delivered and my business partner and I became more and more frustrated. The lesson for me was that we should have done more ‘due diligence’ or better never start a cooperation like this anymore.

How do you define success, and how do you measure it in your business?

Success in my role today is different from my success in the past. In the past I had to measure my success mostly in monetary terms. The mobile industry is a very capital intensive industry, hundreds of millions of dollars investment that need a defined return to be able to rapidly expand and reinvest in new technology. Still, my personal measure of success in the countries I worked in was more than just money, it was also the investment in the employees and our CSR programs for children in need. Today I measure my success more in how we are able to make other people successful by guiding them through the pitfalls of setting up and restructuring their businesses.

How do you stay motivated and focused on your goals, especially during the tough times?

In the countries I have worked in – and really everywhere – no solution is no option. In other words, I’ve had to juggle the balls endlessly, but as you take the responsibility for people, you have to try to protect them, that’s a given for me. That also means that you have emergency and disaster planning in place and that you’re well prepared when the ‘shit hits the fan’. Concentrate on your goals.

What do you think are the key qualities that every successful entrepreneur should possess?

Work alongside your employees whenever you can, show interest in what they are doing. Offer them help, training and support as loyal and well trained people are your best chance to succeed.

Be open to advice, as life is the best university. Experienced people are very often willing to share their stories that can be very helpful for you as a beginner, or later when you find obstacles on the road.

Walk the talk; never promise more than you can deliver and always practise ‘KISS’ or Keep it Super Simple.

Now I’d like to look at what makes you stand out from the crowd. What role do you think technology and digital innovation play in the success of businesses and how do you stay up-to-date with the latest trends?

As CEO in the mobile industry I have logically been very close to these developments. The investments are so enormous that you need to be fully updated, constantly. The way I used to do that was to chat with my engineers, participate in conferences, visit suppliers’ labs and read mobile telecom news. Nowadays it is no longer crucial for me to be so close to these innovations, but still, I follow it every day and with interest. Very useful as Wyze2 is active in technology related sectors, like FinTech.

The most important organisation in the mobile industry is the GSMA, i.e. the global organisation that unifies the mobile ecosystems to discover, develop and deliver innovation that helps businesses and society thrive. The GSMA publications are very good as they cover the worldwide developments in all areas of business.

You’ll be surprised how much each person is dependent on mobile technology, even those who consider themselves well connected. Fancy finding out for yourself, try this quiz, https://mobileuk.outgrow.us/LiveBetterConnected, from the UK’s MNO trade body, Mobile UK, which is part of a wider awareness campaign, Live Better Connected, built to raise awareness about this crucial technology.

What do you think sets you apart from others in your industry, and how do you plan to continue to differentiate yourself in the future?

What set me apart was the fact that for a long time, I was one of the very few female CEOs in the world who moved from country to country, mostly the most challenging ones. Today I am sharing all lessons learned, together with my business partner who was on a similar journey. And as long as we are able to, we as Wyze 2, will be there to support companies with our knowledge and experience and we are happy to share our ‘management lessons’ and open to Board and advisory roles.

Are you working on anything specific that people should know about?

My team and I are busy creating more awareness of the history of mobile communications, by educating people on how mobile phone networks were built, often under extremely difficult circumstances. It’s a story that was never told. You’ll find plenty of technical books, but no memoirs of ‘how that phone landed in your hand’. It was a huge adventure for many ‘mobile telecom nomads’ and really interesting as the mobile industry changed the world as we knew it, in a very short space of time and with enormous social impact that we experience every day.

We are very active on Linkedin. We organise webinars and appear on podcasts to tell our story, increase awareness and encourage interested people to read ‘Your phone, my life’, which can be ordered on Amazon. And, I’m sure my PR lady would love to speak to streaming service providers too!

What does the next 12 months have in store for you, the book and your business?

We will continue to offer management services, and my ‘book’ team and I will continue to attract attention, via social media, for the mobile history and its impact on today’s life. We were too busy building networks, but the Covid-19 pandemic gave me time to finally write. The feedback is very good I’m happy to say, from: ‘I never realised’ to ‘The story is an eye-opener, exciting and adventurous. A real Netflix story !’

How should people connect with you to find out more?

For the book, you can follow us via the Linkedin page ‘Your phone, my life’ and subscribe to the monthly webinars ‘Topics from Your phone, my life’.

If you have a business challenge or you meet an obstacle on your way then feel free to contact us via www.wyze2.com . We are there to support.

Source: https://www.theindustryleaders.org/post/memoir-of-a-ceo-your-phone-my-life