Audi 2009 Annual Report Download - page 132

More time
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great cars knows very well that its cars are the embodi-
ment of its real value added. It assumes responsibility
for that product and establishes a brand value. That
takes decades to accomplish – and decades more to
consolidate. In such a context, any short-term focus on
market capitalization or returns …
S: … is pointless. I think such considerations are part
of our responsibilities in the running of an automotive
manufacturer. I personally have to ask myself every
day whether the decisions we are making – e.g. on de-
velopment projects and new products – can be recon-
ciled with the goals and values we have set ourselves,
such as the requirement of sustainability. After all, we
don’t just want to be a success today and tomorrow,
but in the longer term, too. That is why I repeatedly
have to scrutinize how sustainable our decisions are.
R: I was recently asked whether I could imagine ever
taking up a post like yours, and what I would tackle in
my first week.
S: And what did you reply?
R: I said I didn’t think I would manage to accomplish
very much of use or that would make much difference
in one week. It would be presumptuous of me to be
able to, want to, or have to make significant changes
in such a short time, in a field of which I only have a
limited understanding. If I were ever to take on such a
role, I would first need plenty of time to learn about it
and understand it. Looking back over the financial cri-
sis, many managers remark today that they were con-
tinually deciding on matters and dealing with products
that they didn’t understand. That is truly frightening.
You can only account for something that you under-
stand, and therefore you cannot make a responsible
decision for something that you do not understand.
What you must do instead is admit when you don’t
understand something, and keep on asking questions
until you fully understand it. I think that this is a key
aspect of exercising responsibility.
Economics graduate and business journalist Andreas Molitor
works for DIE ZEIT, Berliner Zeitung and GEO, among others.
“LET’S TALK ABOUT CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY.”
You can find a video recording
of the discussion at:
w
wwwww..aauuddii..ccoomm//aarr22000099//ssttrroottbbeekk
Winning streak: Audi is
increasing its long-term
brand value with exam-
ples of innovation such
as the new A8.*
* Fuel consumption and emission figures at the end of the Annual Report