Rubrecht's recipe for success is simple: right people in the right seats on the bus.(visionsaries)

Wolfgang Rubrecht isn't afraid to say teamwork is essential for a company's success. In fact, he would be the first to credit author Jim Collins, whose "Good to Great" is a bestseller, for much of his leadership philosophy.

"Of the success factors that Collins identified in the great companies, No. 1 was picking the right people, making sure you have the right people on your team, and that you also have them in the right jobs," Rubrecht said.

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Collins in his book puts it simply: Get the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus), and know where to drive it.

Rubrecht said he strives to implement these practices, and cited a recent management reshuffling in which he put people in different positions where he thought they would fit better--and it was a tremendous success.

"This includes having the courage to send the wrong people off the bus," he added. "Sometimes you don't need to get rid of them; sometimes it's good if you put them into different jobs."

Another challenge Rubrecht has met revolved on additional responsibilities within Siemens the Machine Tool Business with the General Motion Control the Motion Control Business Unit. This significantly improved performance and customer service.

On when economic conditions will improve, Rubrecht sees more flexibility in the U.S. market than in most European countries.

"I strongly believe that the American economy is still one of the most resilient in the world," he noted. "This recession will be a painful, corrective period, but original American virtues such as entrepreneurial spirit, resourcefulness, and optimism will not go away."

Wolfgang Rubrecht

General Manager

Siemens Energy & Automation, Motion Control Business

Elk Grove, IL

Age: 46

Title:

General Manager, Siemens Energy & Automation, Motion Control Business, Elk Grove, IL.

Education:

Joint master's degree in Business Administration/Electrical Engineering, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, Germany

Hobbies:

Traveling, hiking, skiing, and reading. "I'm currently reading 'Hope is not a Strategy,' by Rick Page. I like to keep honing my sales skills as well as my management skills."

Making an impact:

"Siemens is a diversified company with almost a half-million employees in 190 countries. In the areas that l have been responsible for, I have tried to exemplify our core values: ethical responsibility, operational excellence, and innovation."

Trend to watch:

"Increased efficiency through integration will be key. For example, through our acquisition of UGS two years ago, Siemens now offers a unique, seamless CAD/CAM/CNC process chain that enables companies to manage their complex environments to their advantage. In addition, Industrial Ethernet is becoming the standard on the shop floor and across the factory."

On the growth of Siemens:

"Fifteen years ago, Siemens was a nobody in the U.S. machine tool market. We grew significantly faster than the market by systematically addressing the needs of machine tool end-users in clearly defined segments; first in automotive manufacturing, then in aerospace, and now increasingly in job shops."

Siemens Energy& Automation www.rsleads.com/905tp-150

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