Audi 2006 Annual Report Download - page 125

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FINANCE: A RACE AGAINST THE COMPETITION
123AUDI 2006 ANNUAL REPORT
STADLER: We apply a very simple princi-
ple. You spend your mornings develop-
ing your ideas, and your afternoons
calculating the costs. That guarantees
that the issue of costs doesn’t become
the killer argument. If every bright
idea is immediately dismissed on cost
grounds, paralysis will be the conse-
quence. That’s why doing things in the
right order and striking a balance are so
important. Let me give you an example:
we are the first car manufacturer in the
world to be offering main headlights
featuring LED technology. As well as for
the daytime running lights, this innova-
tive lighting technology will in future
be used for the low-beam and high-
beam headlights in our thoroughbred
sports car, the R8. If we had not given
the creative process the space and time
to unfold, we wouldn’t have got so
far so soon. In the final analysis, the
costs of course also have to be within
reason. But particularly in a creative
process, it is possible to accomplish
leaps in quality – every team knows that
very well!
LANG: Inspiration needs space, and our
country offers a good basis thanks to its
well-qualified people. We need to be the
ones providing the impetus in our in-
dustry…
STADLER: … and we need to tackle mat-
ters with the right attitude. Resolutely,
not timidly, and turning any alleged
or actual weaknesses into strengths.
Ample room for manoeuvre is created
when you are prepared to take on chal-
lenges. All that assumes that you are re-
ceptive to change as an inherent attrib-
ute of competition.
The racetrack is a fitting venue at which
to be discussing competition: how
would you say you measure up to the
competition?
LANG: I believe competition to be of the
utmost importance in life. Because I
need competitors in order to generate
progress. And because, by their actions,
they are helping to promote the product
I am making.
I have also helped other brands while
they were being established. >>
* fuel consumption figures at the end of the Annual Report