Mel Knourek - how SAP's flex time solution helps her to reach her goals

by Angela Schuller, SAP

If you work at SAP, you’re dedicated, meticulous and focused on the helping the company achieve its business objectives. At home, you’re committed to your family, your friends and ultimately, your life goals. All of us demonstrate the passion that makes us successful and hopefully brings us the happiness and sense of accomplishment we all deserve. The North America News team recently spent some time with one SAP employee whose journey brings her that sense of personal gratification and requires her to find the inner strength to accomplish her goal…quite literally. Mel Knourek, Executive Assistant to Jeff Harvey and John Tully, is just weeks away from competing in the 2013 World Masters Games (WMG) in Turin, Italy, hoping to break the world record for Olympic weightlifting for women.

“I’ve been a fighter since the day I was born,” said Mel. “I was born at 27 weeks and weighed less than 3 pounds.” Battling an eating disorder through adolescence and adulthood, Mel’s life has been a series of ups (graduating from the U.S. Marine Corps with a firefighting certificate) and downs (a bad marriage exasperating three auto-immune diseases). One of the ups, Mel remembers, was finding ice hockey. A natural skater, Mel found friends and a new confidence to live a happier life.

“I discovered a passion for being fit and healthy when I started playing ice hockey,” said Mel. Working with a friend to strengthen her tiny 88-lb frame, she soon joined CrossFit, a principal strength and conditioning program used at police academies and with tactical operations teams, military special operations units, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide, and channeled her passion for fitness into an Olympic weightlifting program 2.5 years ago to simply improve her strength and technique. Four months into the program, Mel showed so much promise, she was informed she could compete in the 2013 World Masters Games [NA News Note: The World Masters Games promotes and encourages mature athletes from all over the world to compete at the Olympic level. Mel jokingly refers to the WMG as the “Old People Olympics.”]

Mel credits SAP's Flex Appeal Program in giving her the flexibility in her schedule to work and train for this event. “If I need to work in the evening, I simply bring my laptop to work while I train,” she says. Her managers have supported this arrangement so Mel can excel both in the workplace and in her personal life, as well.

When not working or training for the upcoming competition, Mel still finds time to coach CrossFit classes and mentor other women. Her eating disorder? The auto-immune diseases? They’re in remission. Now weighing 125 pounds, Mel credits the 180 degree turn in her life to finding her passion. “It’s not about a medal…it’s about proving I am a somebody,” she explained.

Moving Into the Arena: A Lesson in Inspirational Leadership

by Carol Mackenzie, SAP

Carol Mackenzie, Industry Advisor Senior Manager, SAP

AtelierSAP is a unique community of senior ex-SAP executives, largely engaged in current entrepreneurial pursuits. As part of my participation in the Leadership Excellence Acceleration Program  (LEAP) at SAP, I attended their third annual leadership event.  I was humbled to be in the company of such an accomplished group. I came away from the event with many pages of notes, two partnership possibilities to investigate supporting my current role, and one viable future mentor to connect with.

Primarily, however, I walked away pondering a singular theme that spoke to me personally and surfaced repeatedly throughout the session: inspirational leadership. What does it look like today? Who has it? How do you attain it and model it? In a world where inspiration comes from pop culture (non)superstars and overpaid, over-drugged sports figures, how does a “steady” life in business inspire the Millennials of today?

Several speakers touched on the topic throughout the two days, but two presenters in particular resonated with me. Each integrated their own points of view to reinforce the call to action: more than ever, every organization needs more of it.



Les Hayman (left)  & Tom Pfister

Les Hayman, ex CEO/Chairman SAP and SAP EMEA and Global Head of HR, presented “Ten Rules of Management”, where inspirational aspects were woven throughout. Starting with the premise that management is more about how you manage yourself, rather than how you manage others, he made the case that understanding yourself (your beliefs, ethics, the environment you create) is the key to inspiring others. Without this baseline, there is no foundation on which to build credibility, passion, results. You need to provide people with the “freedom to fly”; to take their strengths and provide the safe climate to permit running with them, always keeping in mind it is “meant to be fun” along the way.

At the event of the event, Luisa Delgado, ex-member of the Executive Board and Global Managing Board of SAP AG and former Chief Human Resources Officer, also spoke to us. Joining the event via Skype from SAP’s headquarters in Walldorf, she commented that discretionary effort of the individual is the true differentiator today – and having leaders that inspire work effort above and beyond being a new standard as operating practice.  Leaders who create an environment where people truly want to do more, where emotional intelligence is more important than intellectual intelligence, where heart is becoming more of a key attribute in business strategy – these are today’s inspired few.

Who has inspired me personally?  It’s a small number…people with vision, steadfast beliefs, people of action. Steve Jobs, Hillary Clinton, Abe Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower are a few on the list. In my 20+ year career, I can name three individuals that helped shape me into the professional I am today by challenging, guiding, driving my thinking and execution to beyond what I ever thought I could accomplish on my own. 

So this, then, is my own definition of inspirational leadership: Finding the best people, and putting them “ in the arena”.  This statement by Theodore Roosevelt wraps it together nicely:

It is not the critic who counts; nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again …… and at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Pushing people into the arena involves letting their absolute strongest aptitudes have an opportunity to shine, and setting goals into somewhat uncomfortable zones that leverage those aptitudes. I think about what my team (and myself) could do if we felt the freedom to fail/freedom to thrive. 

Inspirational leaders are the people you want to be around to feel their energy, their passion, their devotion. To see their results and the next area they tackle. More often than not, they make conversations less about themselves and more about others. They live in the arena. 

Do you?


all photos permission and credit: www.conradlouischarles.com

FIVE MINUTES WITH JANET WOOD - SAP HEAD OF GLOBAL STRATEGIC SERVICE PARTNERS

by Angela Schuller

What projects are you currently working on that you are excited about?
Janet: Certainly being a part of SAP’s Global Diversity Committee and the work we’re doing under the three pillars of Generational Talent, Women in Leadership and Cultural & Visible Diversity is very exciting and energizing. We have big, big plans within SAP and my role on the Committee as the GCO Representative is to make sure our organization has a plan to move those three needles. What’s exciting is the potential impact we can have regionally and globally.
Diversity is something about which I’ve been passionate throughout my career. The work we’re doing on the Committee is important, critical even, and for two reasons. First, I’ve been given many opportunities [during my career] and want others to have the same, so it is important to me personally. And second because it is critical to SAP if we are going to evolve as an organization. We need to attract the best talent in the market to advise us and be a long-term part of our team to excel on a global business platform.

What are some of your passions and hobbies you enjoy outside of the office?
Janet: I enjoy reading and travel, but most of my passions revolve around sports; like golf, tennis and particularly cycling. My partner, Dave, and I enjoy going out on a Saturday morning in the summer for a full day. About four or five years ago, we took a week-long trip and cycled through Provence, France. When you are on a bike, you’re ‘in it’; hearing the wind, feeling the resistance as you pedal. And when you are in Provence it seems like every beautiful, historic little town is at the top of a hill! 

What's on your Bucket List?
Janet: The first thing that comes to mind when I hear that question is a river cruise through Europe. It looks like such a relaxing way to travel. I’d make sure I returned to places like Tuscany and Rome and took the time to see them in a leisurely, unhurried way. It’s the history of Europe — the 16^th, 17^th, 18^th, even 19^th century history — that I enjoy. I’ve read about Catherine the Great and find the imperial history of Russia dramatic, fascinating and complex. So I’d include cities there as well.
There’s one more item. I’m an 18 handicap golfer, so ‘Become a better golfer’ is on the list too.

Describe your perfect day.
Janet: Well, I’m at home and I’d sleep in until 8am or 9am — not sure if that actually counts as ‘sleeping in’. Then Dave and I [NA News note: Janet has three step daughters and a grandson, 10-month-old Robby] would have a nice breakfast somewhere and spend the day near the water. Maybe stop into Starbucks for a latte. Go for a bike ride or play a round of golf. We would cap it off with dinner on our deck. It would be a wonderfully relaxing day in Vancouver, really. By the way, my phone isn’t getting a lot of attention either!

If you could have dinner with anyone (living or not), who would it be and why?
Janet:  This is such a tough question to answer! I have to say Virginia “Ginni” Rometty, IBM’s current Chair, President and CEO [NA News note: Janet worked at IBM for 16 years]. Because of our partnership with IBM, I had the opportunity attend a meeting with Ginni and Bill McDermott in December last year. My sense is she’s very genuine, outgoing and personable. Consider what she has accomplished as a woman at the head of a company that size and IBM’s leading position on diversity. I think it would be fascinating to hear her perspective on life, careers and lessons learned. 
I’m going to invite someone else to dinner: Cheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook. She is in an incredibly strong position in a company that has made a giant impact on the world of technology and how we relate to one another. Plus, she has made women in leadership a significant, personal focus; I really admire that and would love the opportunity to talk to her about it.

FIVE MINUTES WITH DIANE FANELLI - SVP, GLOBAL PRESALES AND SOLUTIONS

by Kate Dieffenbach

When did you start working at SAP and why did you choose to join SAP?

Diane: I was working as an IT Manager in a clothing manufacturing company and was the lead on an ERP package they were installing—it was there I got the bug for what ERP can do. A friend of mine who worked at SAP recommended if I wanted to stay in IT I should check out the company. At that time, no one really knew what SAP was and ERP looked very different from what it does now.
My 1994 interview was at the humble Lester offices; there were three people and it was done so well. The clear message I walked away with was: “This is where we’re going. Get in early and help create our future.” We were—are—a learning company that thinks about tomorrow. Our team is able to explore and learn. That’s what I wanted.  By the end of the interview I had a job offer, I accepted and the rest is a blur!

What projects are you currently working on that you are excited about?

Diane: Increasing the impact Presales colleagues have working with our customers in the sales cycle. This organization [Presales] has been around a long time and we’re working to increase the opportunity to showcase our innovation, leveraging our entire team and sharing practices globally.
It’s about working with our customers in a way we haven’t before and that means helping them recognize what’s possible with our platforms and moving them away from seeing us only as an applications and technology company. Doing that artfully and elegantly—mapping the way for a company to utilize an entire platform—it’s a huge change for our organization to make, a huge shift. And we’re capable of it too.
Another project I’m excited about is the program we are putting the final touches on to help get U.S. Military Veterans to work, which we’ll launch in Q4. During my previous role as COO in April 2012, I realized we have a real issue with the number of people in the marketplace trained on our HANA, D&T, Mobility and BI products. I remember thinking “We have to do something about this,” and saw an opportunity to train our Veterans and work together with our partners to place them in the market. Not only does it solve a business problem but it reinforces SAP’s commitment to social responsibility and improving the lives of people everywhere.

What’s on your bucket list?

Diane: I want to travel to all the continents and I have two left open: Africa and Antarctica. To me…I like new things, I’m adventurous, inquisitive. Seeing new cultures is fascinating and I bring back mores, customs and cultures that help me be a better leader, whether that’s in business or my life in general.
SAP has given me the opportunity to do two international rotations (I call myself a Professional Gypsy) in Germany from ’95 to ’96 and Asia from ’07 to ‘10. I like the quest to check out new places and learn new habits and rituals. Absolutely that has helped me become a better global leader.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Diane: A teacher. What I do now outside of work is mentor young professionals who are a few years out of college and help them navigate corporate America. It’s not easy, and it’s something I derive a lot of personal satisfaction from. In fact, when I’m not working any longer, I’ll continue to mentor young people, certainly.

What are some of your passions and hobbies that you enjoy outside of the office?

Diane: Bike riding. My husband Ken and I make it a point on weekends to take long rides through the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, logging 40 to 60-mile days, anywhere from late spring to mid-fall. We’ve been doing that for the past 10 years.

If you could have dinner with anyone (living or not), who would it be and why?

Diane: Hilary Clinton. This woman has had quite a career and now she’s Secretary of State. It’s an enormous job with tremendous responsibility. Even being married to Bill—that’s part of the package! I’d love to know how she does what she does.

PATRICK MINNOCK - SAP PRICING EXPERT AND VOLUNTEER

by Jackie Montesinos Suarez, SAP Corporate Social Responsibility

Meet Patrick Minnock, SAP US Pricing Expert and Volunteer. An employee who goes above and beyond the call of duty to enable social impact in his local community. He is a remarkable contributor with longtime SAP non-profit partner Junior Achievement (JA) in Newtown Square. Patrick is being recognized for his exemplary service to the program, where he led a group of seven SAP employee volunteers in coaching and mentoring 18 students from several high schools around the area that participate in the program. 

The JA program is an entrepreneurial opportunity of a lifetime for high school students, giving them the chance to develop, run and liquidate an entire organization in 18 short weeks. Groups meet weekly to build their company by electing leaders, choosing a product, marketing and selling that product and inevitably selling off all assets to close the business. As a crescendo to the 4+ months of hard work, the students compete regionally via trade booths, interviews and presentations to win awards.

Not only did Patrick lead SAP’s group of mentors (Chelsea Crawford, Michael Fraim, Rebecca Hamilton, Brian Jones, Caleb Luther, Alex Pearl, and Abby Shagin) to support the students, he also led the high school students to victory at the Delaware Valley JA Company Program Competition. “It was Patrick’s energetic and humble approach that earned him the respect of the volunteers like me and the student participants, while guiding the SAP JA Company Team to its first ever 1st place finish in this competition,” said Alex Pearl, Director of Operations for Operations for SAP NA Education and volunteer.

This year’s SAP Corporate Social Responsibility Sponsored team, StayHot, sold coffee cozies to combat the billions of pounds of paper waste produced by those you get from most coffee shops. The team was able to sell close to 11,000 cozies and secured revenue of nearly $7,500, with a quarter of proceeds donated the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) in Pennsylvania.

At the Delaware Valley JA Company Program Competition Patrick’s team was awarded multiple awards for StayHot including “Overall Best Company”, “Best Company Stage Presentation” and second place for “Best President” and “Employee of the Year”.

Patrick is proud to speak of the hard work put into this project.

“I want people to realize high level of work and dedication these high school students really put into this. The idea and business plans were 100% conceived by them!” Patrick also emphasized the students’ growth during the 15 week process. Students who were shy became assertive by the end of the program. Five students were chosen to present at the competition and all 18 presented themselves in a professional manner.

Thank you Patrick for your admirable and inspirational work!

"Patrick and this program have taught me that the leaders with the biggest impact are often the ones who inspire leadership in others,” said Abby Shagin, SAP volunteer for the JA program. Volunteer Brian Jones agrees, “Patrick was the driving force behind the success at this year’s JA@SAP program. His energy and commitment enabled the volunteers and students to have a very successful year.”

FIVE MINUTES WITH STEVEN DADDAZIO - OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, US SALES

An interview by Angela Schuller, SAP North America News

Steve Daddazio’s journey through four SAP business areas well-prepared him to hit the ground running when he stepped into the role of Office of the President for U.S. Sales in January this year.

Angela: When did you start working at SAP and why did you choose to join?

Steve: It was seven years ago, in 2006, and it has been an interesting ride ever since! I actually grew up right down the street from the building, and I watched the Newtown Square office being built since I drove past it on my way to school. Plus, my dad used to work on the property, at the old ARCO Chemical, as did many people in the area. [NA News note: Before SAP, the offices were home to ARCO Chemical company. The original building was completed in 1999.]  
I guess you could say SAP has almost always been in my life. Even prior to joining the company, I worked for two SAP customers: QVC and Apple Vacations (which, interestingly, is directly across the street from us in Newtown Square). I kept an eye on the company and always wanted to be a part of it. The biggest driver for me to move over to SAP was the opportunity to grow.

Angela: What projects are you currently working on that you are excited about?

Steve: <laughs> It isn’t a project, frankly, it’s my job! I support Greg McStravick and joke that I have the opportunity and the challenge to manage his office and really help drive the U.S. business forward. It’s an exciting shift because I’ve worked with Greg in a number of regional roles and this is the first broad, national role for both of us, in a sense. 
What’s interesting with being out in the field – interacting with customers, partners and employees – is we can see how it all works together. In seven years, I’ve worked in four different areas: Finance & Accounting, Marketing, Inside Sales, and Operations. This new role is my opportunity to see the full spectrum of how those areas come together and how important each one is to the others.

Angela: Tell us one thing people generally don’t know about you.

Steve:  My wife, Gina, and I are very active in the national Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society. My wife is incredible in so many ways – she’s always happy and smiling. But five years ago, on our one-year wedding anniversary, Gina was diagnosed with MS. She always says, “I have MS but I won’t let it define me.” It’s amazing to see her drive and how she’s using her diagnosis in a positive way.

MS has helped both of us get out into the community and do a lot of things to raise awareness. In fact, the local chapter holds an annual fundraising event just about 100 yards away from the SAP NSQ office. It’s called “The MS Muck-fest” and it is an obstacle course covered in mud. We love being part of it every year!

Angela: Describe your perfect day.

Steve: Flat out: spending time with my family. I have an amazing wife, a three-year-old son, Domenic, who’s absolutely incredible and a one-year-old daughter, Joella, who drives me insane in a good way! I do a lot of traveling for work, so spending time with them is part of any perfect day.

The other part of my perfect day is the rest of my family, who are all from Italy. They own two restaurants, not far from Newtown Square that are local pizzerias and have been in business for almost 40 years. Anytime Gina and I get a chance, we go there with the kids. Pretty much anyone who works there is a family member, so we visit, eat lots of good food that’s not good for us and have a blast.

So, the perfect day? Have a good quarter inside SAP, leave the office, pick up the wife and kids and go to the pizzeria.

Angela: If you could have dinner with anyone (living or not), who would it be and why?

Steve:  This is an easy one, Michael Jordan. Not because I’m a huge basketball fan or a North Carolina fan, but more so because he’s a man who knew exactly what he needed to do to be successful in his career. I can’t remember if it was in a book, or if I was listening to him in a radio interview, but I remember him commenting that his philosophy was: Perfection is expected. Excellence is tolerable.
It would be amazing to know about his daily routine, his work ethic, and what inspired him. I would want to learn how he kept that competitive spirit and stayed committed to the game – his own game – every single day over a long period of time.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT - Jérôme Monteu Nana

A Born Optimist Who's Dedicated to Africa

by Michael Zipf, SAP Global Communications 

A delegation from Africa is visiting SAP; a Cameroonian or other African university wants its students to learn about SAP software; a diversity event featuring African culture is being planned in Walldorf. In cases like these, SAP employees generally turn to Jérôme Monteu Nana for help and advice.

Jérôme is a “go-getter” in the best possible sense of the word, and he’s an expert on francophone Africa too. And it is not just SAP that benefits from his wide network of contacts and tireless commitment to his home country. He is the founder of Europe’s first ever cooperative of Cameroonian “diaspora” (people who have settled far from their ancestral African homelands) and of the German Association of Cameroonian Engineers and Computer Scientists.

He is also an executive member of the Global Cooperation Council (GCC Forum), which promotes dialogue between the northern nations and Africa, Asia, and Latin America. “I have to invest a great deal of time in these official duties on top of doing my regular job. But I don’t see this extra work as a burden,” says Jérôme, who works as a scrum master in Financial Accounting/New Analytics. “I just want to do what I can to work for progress in my home continent.”

Cameroon-born Jérôme came to Germany in 1991 to study electrical engineering – specializing in process information technology – in Wuppertal. Even then, he was active in the service of others – as manager of a club for African students. Ever since leaving Cameroon for Europe, he has always given a great deal of thought to what he and other “diaspora” like him can do to help promote Africa’s development. “It’s all about sharing the knowledge you acquire abroad with the people back home,” he says.

Networker and fundraiser

After graduating, Jérôme worked at a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, where he came face to face with SAP solutions for the first time. The two must have “gotten along well together” because he applied to SAP soon after and began working in Walldorf in September 2001. Not surprisingly, he was quick to make contact with his African colleagues and founded the “African Community at SAP” (AC@SAP), which currently has about 20 active members. AC@SAP is part of the Cultures@SAP employee network and is involved in collecting donations and supporting a wide range of CSR initiatives, such as providing aid for schoolchildren in Rwanda. “We also share our experiences and come up with ideas of what we can do for Africa,” says Jérôme.

The fact that this is by no means easy in a continent that is plagued by extreme poverty, conflicts, and corruption does not deter him.  “I’m an optimist and I tend to focus more on the progress that we manage to make,” he says. And progress is visible. For example, with the help of the SAP University Alliances Program, Jérôme has helped ensure that an increasing number of universities now teach information and communications technology (ICT) – so that Africans can share in the opportunities offered by mobile communications and other innovative technologies.

It sometimes takes years to convince African universities of the benefits of this kind of education for both teaching staff and students and of a collaborative partnership with SAP, says Jérôme. But there is a growing realization that IT can lead to greater prosperity and that business software can help fight corruption and create better-run companies.

All-round Commitment

“There’s obviously still a long, long way to go,” says Jérôme, but the growing interest among African universities in cooperating with SAP is encouragement enough for him to continue visiting a university to present SAP and the University Alliances Program every time he travels to Africa. It’s important for him that both sides benefit from his commitment: the people of Africa and SAP, which is expanding its position on the African market and helping combat the shortage of SAP specialists there.

Together with his wife, who works in Germany as a doctor, Jérôme wants to show his three young children (aged one, three, and five) that dedication to a cause is worthwhile. “If we try hard, we really can achieve something,” he says. Even though his children are growing up in Germany, Jérôme wants them to know that Africa is their second home. “It’s important to do what you can for people wherever they live,” he says, “because – in the end – they’re all equal.”