Sunday
- 16.30h: Catch a taxi to Zürich Airport to fly out to Düsseldorf for a full-day client workshop on Monday and Tuesday. I wouldn’t normally travel on a Sunday, but a strike in Germany was announced for all-day Monday. Luckily, arriving the night before an engagement saves an early morning wake up.
- 19:00h: Land in Düsseldorf. I grab some snacks on the go as I just want to rest in the hotel and do not favor to eat out. I use the rest of the day to catch up on some internal projects and prepare for the client workshop.
Monday
- 8.30h: After a quick breakfast in the hotel, I meet the client in our fantastic Düsseldorf office – located in the heart of the city. The client is a large automotive and industrial goods supplier, and our team is helping manage their restructuring and transformation.
- 13.00h: Quick lunch with the client at Carlsplatz followed by a quick stroll around town – exchanging ideas and getting some fresh air!
Fun fact: I have been working with my main client counterpart for more than two years now, but we only recently met face-to-face for the first time. Two years ago, the pandemic situation forced us to move every interaction to Teams and my client counterpart spent the last few months in the U.S. Nevertheless, our collaboration has been great – and we have had many achievements so far!
- 18.00h: Attending our internal recruiting status meeting in which we review our recruiting pipeline and discuss the interview progress for selected candidates. Luckily, we continue to receive a lot of strong candidates, especially in the Zurich office. After the meeting ends, I catch up with one of my mentees to discuss goals and objectives for the next months ahead.
- 19.00h: Meet a colleague for some sushi (and sake, of course!) Since the weather is nice, I decide to walk the distance to the restaurant and back to the hotel.
Tuesday
- 8.00h: Start my morning meeting with a “daily” with the wider project team from the client side to align on what needs to be done over the day.
- 8.30h: Meet the client in our office in Düsseldorf for another full-day workshop on a number of topics. We have a deadline and companywide communication coming up - so sitting together and interacting in real time enables a quick turnaround of actions and a “getting things done” mentality.
- 16.30h: Videoconference with the wider project team, updating each other on our progress.
- 19.00h: In-room dining as I have some emails to catch up on and want to go to sleep early.
Wednesday
- 8.00h: Start the morning with another “daily.”
- 12.00h: Meet some colleagues from the Düsseldorf office for lunch – using the opportunity as I’m around. They introduce me to a nice French restaurant where they serve “galette” – a pancake made with buckwheat flour.
- 13.00h: Following two productive workshops with our client, we have a better understanding of what we need to achieve this week. I work on several analyses to start to address our client’s needs.
- 17.00h: Catch a taxi to Düsseldorf Main Train Station to catch a train to Frankfurt where I have internal meetings on Thursday and Friday. I use the opportunity to meet my uncle who is living in Frankfurt and whom I have not seen in a while.
Thursday
- 8.00h: After concluding our daily meeting, I spend the morning focused on project work for our client.
- 12.00h: Drive to Frankfurt Airport to pick up a colleague and to use the time in the car to catch up on a number of topics. We check-in at an offsite hotel for the DACH Aerospace & Defense community team meeting starting in the evening.
- 18.30h: Spend a nice evening with my community team in the restaurant of the hotel.
Friday
- 8.00h: Last daily meeting of the week. Feeling good about the progress we have made this week and next steps for the project.
- 9.00h: Start of the community meeting where we exchange on the latest developments of the aerospace and defense industry and happenings in different projects as well as potential opportunities for business development. I try to spend as much time in the community meeting as possible but also need to deal with client happenings in parallel.
- 16.00h: Conclude the community meeting and drive to the Frankfurt Airport to catch a flight back to Zürich. It was a very productive week with both my client and my colleagues, but I am excited to get back home!