Philips 2006 Annual Report Download - page 17

Philips Annual Report 2006 17
In an interview with CNN.com’s World
Business, Gerard Kleisterlee shared some
insights into leadership, and how it is
practiced at Philips.
“ We’ve tried to develop a vision for Philips that creates the
kind of engagement, enthusiasm and creativity that a successful
organization needs.”
“ Things happen in the front line, they happen with customers,
they happen in our sales organizations where our operations
are, and that’s where we like to spend our time, because it
keeps us connected … customers are always a great source
of inspiration.”
“ Candor is important for any successful organization that
wants to build sustainable success. Challenging people for
their own opinions and in particular getting diversity into your
workforce so that you have people from other walks of life
and different perspectives on how things can and should be
done – that’s important to maintain a certain tension that
drives performance.”
“ What I fi nd most important in leaders is that they have the
humility to know that they don’t know everything and the ability
to continually learn from others, and that they use the skills and
the know-how of others to become better leaders themselves.”
54 The Philips sectors 86 Risk management 100 Report of the Supervisory Board 110 Financial Statements