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On course for innovation – smart and digitally organized team develops first hydrogen yacht

The successful development of the AQUON One catamaran has only been possible by embracing a new way of working. Our goal was to create a lean and efficient project organisation that included key partners as team members. These were people we wanted for our project due to their excellence in their areas of expertise but they would remain independent, managing their own businesses while working with us.

This meant they continued to work on other projects, which were taking place all over the world – Mallorca, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Latvia.

Several essential elements needed to be in place for this approach to be successful. It required a mix of hard and soft factors, incorporating technology as well as team-building.

These include:

Christine Funck – CEO

  • A digital platform to share and save information in a secure environment that all team members can easily access.
  • Digital video conferencing for team meetings and individual virtual meetings.
  • A motivating shared objective and passion for the project.
  • A specific routine of communication and information sharing for element such as news updates and meetings.
  • A team of individuals who are excellent in their area of expertise and share the same values. They must be open to learn from others, to co-operate and have mutual appreciation for other team members, even when their areas of expertise overlap. Needless to say, they are also perfectly self-organised.
  • Sharing experiences that are separate from the project, such as virtual wine tasting during a COVID-19 wave.
  • A combination of virtual project management combined with face-to-face meetings for the key team members at different locations.

The project was therefore set-up in a way that meant it was unaffected by COVID-19 other than those occasions when face-to-face meeting were not possible or only feasible in a minimal way due to existing COVID-19 travel restrictions.

My role as project director has been to facilitate and support the team in their work. This includes protecting the team from any negative energy and to foster the fun factor. Every project has challenging moments, but our shared objectives and the strong mutual appreciation of the team members have always helped us to overcome any frustration as we focus on our overall goal.

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