When I joined ARGO as a Junior Consultant in 2012, I was told that my initial responsibilities would focus primarily on project management and concept development, and that facilitating workshops would come later. However, it soon became clear that this carefully planned, cautious approach did not quite fit the reality of ARGO.

After the first training programme I was given the opportunity to deliver, a well-prepared Management Academy in the industrial sector with a rather demanding group of participants, Dieter Bernold revealed that, in consultation with the long-standing client, he had been prepared to refund the full cost of the training if the feedback had been critical. It was not, and so I was allowed to continue delivering training programmes 😊

The next challenge arose when a colleague fell ill during a major change project we were running in Slovakia. I stepped in. The journey there in my colleague’s car — as I did not yet have a company car of my own — was already quite an adventure. I would rather not say any more about that here ;-). Facilitating the workshop was even more adventurous for me as a relatively inexperienced consultant at the time.

Dieter Bernold helped me prepare carefully and even offered some unexpected advice: “If nothing else works, use the stumbling-block analysis — it always gets them moving forward!” Fortunately, that did not prove necessary either, although the workshop certainly tested my nerves.

What I want to illustrate with these stories is that ARGO has an informal motto that is genuinely lived and reflected in many different ways: Courage earns respect. Although these two examples relate to Dieter Bernold, I experienced the same attitude from Bernhard Gattermeyer, Barbara Thoma and Ron Thoma. The trust they placed in me, the support they provided and their willingness to share responsibility if things went wrong impressed me deeply. It shaped me, made development possible and actively encouraged my growth.

By living its motto “Courage earns respect,” ARGO has created a culture in which mistakes are seen as opportunities – fostering growth and innovation from the very beginning.