If someone would ask me to summarize the last 11 years of Human Facts in one word, I would chose the African humanist philosophy “Ubuntu – I am because we are”.
This company was founded and continues to exist because of YOU – all our fantastic clients, partners, colleagues, friends and supporters – who trusted in this idea of creating prospering human and business values that go hand in hand.
Together, we believed (and still believe) in the power of change, spoke the unspeakable, made the inconspicuous glowing, and gave helpless small ideas a chance.
I was deeply touched by all the memories, stories, and insights that stayed with you, which you kindly shared with me on the occasion of the 11th anniversary of Human Facts. What a wonderful gift!
A heartfelt big thank you to all of you and to allow me to share some of them here with a broader circle of fellows.
What I remember
… Sie habe mal zu mir gesagt: "Jammern bringt bei mir nichts" :-) Ich habe dadurch besser gelernt, eine Führungssituation zu verstehen und damit umzugehen (statt zu jammern).
... Es war immer toll mit Eva zusammen zu arbeiten!
... Deine Neugier und Energie gepaart mit einem scharfen Blick fürs Detail haben Dir den Einstieg in das Team und die Steuerungsstruktur unseres Projektes in Namibia leicht gemacht.
… April 2015 […] Lang ist's her aber noch präsent wie wenn's gestern gewesen wäre. Eva in Aktion bei den letzten Vorbereitungen mit der Technik und den Speakern vor dem grossen Auftritt. 130 geladene Gäste und Eva wird immer nervöser, verliert aber in keiner Sekunde den Überblick. Ein letzter Kontroll Check ob Kleidung und Make-up sitzen, dann strömen die Gäste in den Saal. Nun kann man sie nicht mehr halten. Das Lampenfieber verfliegt wie es gekommen ist. Eva steht vor ihrem Publikum. Strahlend begrüsst sie die Gäste, erläutert kurz das Tagesprogramm und spricht über das Motto dieses events "From transition to performance". Eva kann mit ihrem natürlichen und gewinnenden Auftreten ihr Publikum im Nu in ihren Bann ziehen.
… "Trust is build by listening!“ When I heard you saying this statement for the first time, something for me shifted. It changed e.g. the way I conduct my business meetings. And while I am still a diligent practitioner of the „art of listening“ I can only tell you that it improved the depth in conversations and engagements tremendously. Thank you Eva for sharing this pearl of wisdom with me and above all, for being such an expert listener yourself.
… Let's realize & wir lassen uns nicht stoppen ;-)
… Obwohl am Ende meines offiziellen Arbeitslebens angekommen, hast Du mich für die nächste Phase meines Lebens gecoached. Die Arbeitswerkzeuge haben mich beeindruckt und inspiriert. Der Genius-Fragebogen ist mir geblieben.
… Eva, you are an honest and philanthropic individual, vivacious and colour blind. You are prepared to shed your experiences with anyone who is prepared to do that and I would like to say that I benefitted tremendously from you in all our engagements. Be blessed and keep up the good spirit.
… Ich habe bei Frau Bilhuber mehr Sicherheit und authentisch sein können in allen Führungsfragen erlernt, weil ich immer stark gespürt habe, sie weiss wovon sie redet, aus der eigenen Erfahrung und auch in der Theorie immer up to date.
… Our joint presentation at the Join Forces Conference in 2018 at the Namibia university of Science and Technology. The subject of the presentation was the B360 Career Starter Week, and your request for me to participate in the presentation with you was quite impromptu, but it made for a very rewarding experience.
… Neben vielen Erlebnissen, die ich von unserer Zusammenarbeit in Unternehmen habe, in welchen ich gerade tätig war, sticht das persönliche Coaching von Eva zur Vorbereitung auf eine neue Funktion heraus. Dabei habe ich erfahren, wie wichtig eine gute, professionelle Storyline ist, um den Vorgesetzten bei der Übernahme der neuen Funktion zu überzeugen, dass ich weiss was ich tue, und vor allem, um die Mitarbeitenden zu gewinnen und Vertrauen zwischen ihnen und mir aufzubauen. [What stayed with you?] …Nun, die Storyline war so gut, dass ich diese fast unverändert bei mindestens zwei weiteren Unternehmen anwenden konnte.
… We worked together in three different projects […]. All these assignments were conducted diligently and the ongoing activity is in good progress. I had a memorable journey through our partnership, mentorship, guidance, encouragement with persistence, hard work, and dedication.
… The persistence of Dr Eva asking how far I am with my research […] It helped to shape the research proposal I submitted and approved by my university. The encouragement and motivation you provided in my research is starting to pay off. Secondly, the research fellow talk to our Honours students. These have not only benefited the students, but research supervisor like myself. Very informative and eye-opener. These talks are ever presented in plain format, making it easy for students to understand research and to believe that research is not some sky-rocketing science out there.
… There are days that I think of all the resources that you have invested in our institution through B360. I will forever thank you for your assistance, your caring guidance and for your never ending encouragement for me to complete my PhD. There are times when I feel like giving up, but when your humble smile pops up in my mind, I pull myself together and write some more. Thank you for being who you are, and for making me see the world in a way no one else ever has. You are appreciated.
What has stayed with me…
… Gute Vorbereitung ist alles!
… Wir hatten einen genialen Anlass mit vielen schönen Erlebnissen.
… Eva hat bereits Monate vor dem Event mit unserem Management Gespräche geführt und die sessions "bringing your journey to the next level" erarbeitet. Eva hat das Talent und die Professionalität rasch zu erkennen wo Stärken & Schwächen in einer Company verborgen sind. Sie kann Augen öffnen und Visionen zusammen mit dem Management festigen und realisieren.
… All too often I still feel that we are doing business in an economic system where the rallying cry is: do MORE, achieve MORE and above all, GET MORE out of everything and everyone. And it meant so much to me to meet and work with you because you are an advocate of a NEW way of doing business, a way that builds on togetherness, fairness and trust where people do not anymore compete but collaborate for the benefit of all. And you do not only advocate this new approach of „we“ leadership, you PROVE it through our scientific models and studies. This scientific prove gave me a deep confidence that this is the only way I want to conduct my business in order to create value for everyone involved.
… Ganz viel gemeinsame Freude, Lachen, Lernen, Wachsen und vor allem Dankbarkeit! Danke liebe Eva!
… Die Einsicht, dass ich "Stimme sein" will, soll, muss.
… Your simplicity and willingness to go that extra-mile for someone else on this other side of the world. Your organisational abilities and the energy and intellect that you put in your work I have embraced and learned to try to practice.
… Überzeugend ist man nur, wenn man nichts vorgibt und sich nicht verstellt.
… 360 Optik, Versetzen in andere Personen, Erfolg ist Leistungs- bzw. Einsatzsache, Achtung auf Kommunikation.
… Your approach to taking on new, and often unplanned, assignments/projects […] - in this way it has become clear to me that you are always eager to help, and especially eager to share your knowledge and experience with others, especially where it contributes to their learning and development. This has taught me to be more open to other people and situations/opportunities where I can be of service to others.
… I stayed competent, motivated, happy, believing in myself, and effectively encourage to take on any task without any fear. It provoked me to develop creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, passion, patience, and initiative skills. I learned to use the visualizing technique more for the results I want. I improved on my communication, time management, planning, organizing. I learn how to manage my tasks and time effectively and utilizing a tool and to always to stay in communication with your partners. Summarising points of discussions after every meeting or engagement and share with the partner, follow, and deliver as promised. I learned how to manage and organize an international conference and to think of plans A and B at the same time to make sure the activity doesn't fail.
… Every time I speak to Dr Eva concerning other […] engagements, rather than my research, she will always conclude with "Fiina, how far are you doing with your research”? This has provoked hard work and focus on me. I started to see that she cares, so I cannot disappoint her. I started to be serious, that I must not give the same answer all the time. I must show and demonstrate that I am making progress. This helped and indeed I made progress.
… I will always appreciate the following: Your love for Namibia and its people. Your willingness to assist wherever you could, from staff, students and to the Namibian community at large. Your flexibility, friendliness and ability to adapt to different environments (remember the day we went for a run/walk up Daan Viljoen mountains). Your humble personality.
This collection of voices has been drawn from our “Memories Questionnaire”, which we sent out in June 2020 on the occasion of 11th anniversary of Human Facts. We present them here just as they were submitted: raw, multi-lingual and authentic. Once again, thank you all for sharing and letting us be part of your journey!
