As part of our "5 Questions to..." series, we talked to Joël Cuccarède about his values, professional and private interests, and the most important lessons he has learned along his career path so far.
Would you say that you have chosen a job that suits your character and talents? Or has your job influenced, even changed, your personality over time? According to studies, both phenomena can be observed. The former is unsurprising, but the fact that we eventually become our job - highly abbreviated, of course - can make one wonder. Apparently, the job is similar to human relationships: The longer you are together, the more similar you become.
A career in harmony with one's personality as a goal makes sense because, after all, we spend a significant part of our lives at work. In addition to professional qualifications, the most important thing is one's very own motives. What drives me? What are my personal motives in life? That's why the consultants at Batterman Consulting not only evaluate an applicant's professional skills, but also conduct in-depth personal interviews and assessments. Experience shows: Even if the future employee has the required competencies on paper: The collaboration can only work in the long term if his or her motives match those of the company.
Our interview partner of the month had a very specific career aspiration when he was young: Joël Cuccarède wanted to become a policeman. Things turned out differently afterwards, but his precise, team-oriented and goal-oriented personality brought him on his career path to where he is now. A graduate in accounting and controlling, he now works as Vice President Finance & Support at Daetwyler Graphics. Here, he can live out his flair for numbers and his penchant for precision. The company, headquartered in Oftringen in the canton of Aargau, is a competence center for high-precision forming and surface finishing of printing cylinders using lathes, milling machines and grinding machines. Since 1965, Daetwyler Graphics has stood for innovative process solutions and has since been the world's leading competence in mechanical engineering for the printing industry.
Find out in our "5 Questions" series why Joël Cuccarède took a different path shortly before leaving police aspirant school, what success means to him personally and what volunteer projects he is interested in. After all, in addition to a job that suits our own personality, we are fulfilled above all by meaningful activities that have a positive influence on our fellow human beings.
Mr. Cuccarède, if you had taken a different path when you were younger, what would you have become?
"Policeman. For my career aspirations, I had specially chosen an officer's career with the mountain grenadiers and had later also passed all the entrance exams for the police aspirant school. Four weeks before entering the aspirant school, I had asked for a day off in the third week of training, because this would have allowed me to take part in the exam day and thus successfully complete my first semester in Business Administration FH. I don't need to quote the answer of the Aspiranten-Schule to you."
What is your favorite way to start your day?
"I have a very clear ritual: a glass of hot water in the morning, breakfast, read the news, shave (as I learned in the military), shower and then I'm ready for the day. As a non-coffee drinker, I'm spared a trip to the coffee machine in the office in the morning, and I can get right to work operationally."
What does success mean to you personally?
"Success is like a wheel. One time you're at the top, the other time you're at the bottom. The important thing is never to give up when you fail, just like Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb. For me, success also means when I have been able to achieve my private or business goals. Finally, I'd like to say that success is much more emotional when you can achieve and share it as a team."
What would you work for free for a week?
"It depends on the time of year. In summer, I would support Swiss Mountain Aid. Our mountain farmers care for our precious landscape under the toughest conditions and thus preserve our beautiful mountain world. I could give something back to them.
In winter: As a snow sports instructor with a federal certificate, teaching a group of kids on the snow who don't have it easy in life, allowing them to forget their worries for a week."
What was the best professional advice you ever received?
" 'Don't be a horse'; at the latest when the steam locomotive came along, the horse became superfluous as a means of transport. As a leader, I think it's important that I don't sit on my successes, but that I constantly develop myself and also motivate those around me to look ahead. Even my late grandmother used to say, 'Modern must destroy the world'."
We would like to thank Mr. Cuccarède 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
