How important is passion in a job? Not everyone is passionate about their job, and not everyone can - or wants to - turn their hobby into a profession. Incidentally, this is not recommended for everyone either. You devote yourself to your hobbies in your free time, if you have a free head for it. If, for example, you have to be creative at the push of a button or are dependent on earning money with your art, at some point you will no longer have the same fun doing it as if you were just doing it as a hobby.
Today, however, passion is often seen as the key to success. One thing is certain: passion, fun and motivation are closely related and are essential for a fulfilled, satisfied life. And since you spend a lot of your life at work and invest energy in it, you also want to do something that motivates you, makes you happy, is meaningful and gives you satisfaction. That's why you should regularly ask yourself what you expect from your job and what drives you. Mr. Giuseppe Carusone, our interview partner this month, knew very early on that passion, emotion and heart and soul cannot be missing in his profession.
The enthusiasm to inform people about great and qualitative products that convince not only himself but most importantly the buyers and users has driven him in his career so far from the car industry to the logistics industry to his current station at the international manufacturer and distributor of health nutrition dog and cat Royal Canin, Mars Petcare. As a passionate dog owner, he combined his love for four-legged friends with his sales and marketing expertise 11 years ago. He is convinced that only those who bring a passion for the product they are selling can inspire others about it.
As Director Sales & Marketing VET, he now leads a small but very dynamic and specialized team. Together they train Swiss small animal practices on health nutrition so that veterinarians can prescribe the right diet. As part of our "5 Questions to..." series, we talked to Mr. Giuseppe Carusone about his motivation, beliefs and inspiration.
Mr. Carusone, you can look back on a successful career in sales, distribution and marketing. If you had taken a different path when you were younger, what would you have become?
"Sales and marketing have fascinated me since my school days. So I quickly decided to complete a sales apprenticeship and had no other career aspirations in that sense. In retrospect, I would also have found a focus on marketing instead of sales interesting. If I had taken a different path at school, I would have been very interested in studying medicine. But all in all, I am more than satisfied with my career so far. Managing people is something wonderful, especially in sales and marketing, where you have to deal with very different types of creative people. In my challenging professional life, emotions, recognition and success are always an important part."
What would you work for free for a week?
"In my opinion, animals make a better world for us humans. I would want to give something back to them and get involved where animals are. Whether on a farm, in an animal shelter or in an animal hospital - the main thing is that I can help and make a difference. Animals and nature are closely linked. I would also want to do something for nature and, for example, help out in a forest, actively support a mountain forest project."
What was the best professional advice you ever received?
"Everyone knows the saying "the journey is the destination." I was given the advice to believe in ambitious goals and to pursue them to the end. I pass this on to my team as well. Ambitious goals lead to increased performance and ultimately success - no matter how you look at it. It's usually the successes that motivate us to stay committed to a task. But failures or setbacks can also have a motivating effect. When there is pressure to pay and the risk of losing customers, without goals you would want to bury your head in the sand. If you don't have an ambitious goal, you can't achieve one."
What event in your career do you remember most fondly?
"To my promotion 4.5 years ago to Director Sales & Marketing VET. To do this, I first had to complete an assessment in Cologne and then present myself to the European management two months later. During this half-hour interview, the language was changed four times. It was one of my toughest and at the same time most successful interviews of my career and I fondly remember the relief and emotions afterwards."
Who or what inspires and excites you?
"Actors, musicians, and athletes who manage to bring emotions across and touch and move many people. I find the way they are able to tackle challenges again and again and inspire people very motivating. I am also fascinated by medicine. People often talk about what a huge leap forward humans have made in technology, but medicine has also made incredible achievements. I am always fascinated by both human and veterinary medicine.
The performance of my employees also inspires me. The world today is facing an oversupply: transporting the right products to the right people has more to do with quality than with classic sales skills. My employees are research-oriented and at the same time business-oriented. This balancing act is only possible with a lot of passion, and that pleases me greatly."
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Mr. Somers for his contribution to this article. This interview was conducted in writing.
Editor: Neslihan Steiner
Batterman Consulting Basel AG
Executive Search,
Byfangweg 1a, CH-4051 Basel
T +41 58 680 55 55
basel@batterman.ch
