A unique international keynote maestro, a dynamo of energy and inspiration, esteemed London Business School lecturer, shaping the future of business with visionary leadership and unprecedented strategic insights.
I’m standing at the B gates of Brussels Airport, and, of all things, the carpet under my feet makes me smile. Carpet? Really? Who in their right mind gets emotional about carpet? Me, apparently. Because this isn’t just any carpet. This is my carpet. And it my story. Almost 20 years ago, my company -I was the CEO- sold this exact carpet to the airport. We promised it would last at least ten years, and here it is, holding up like a champion—almost brand new despite millions of footsteps. That alone makes me proud. But it’s the story behind it that gives me this ridiculous grin. Let’s rewind to the beginning. It all started 25 years ago when Brussels Airport unveiled its brand-new A gates. My company supplied the carpet for that project, and the airport loved it. So much so that when they decided to renovate the B gates a few years later, we were invited to pitch. This was big. Huge. And I knew we had something special to offer. At the time, we had just developed a prototype for a new type of carpet. None of our competitors had anything remotely like it. Not even close. I called my sales rep. “We’re going to Brussels,” I said. “Now?” “Now.” It was late at night when we jumped into the car. Somewhere on the highway, I pulled out the first samples and handed them to him. “What’s it called?” he asked, inspecting the sleek black-and-something design. We didn’t have a name. Not yet. I stared at the sample for a moment, then said, “Black &.” “Black & what?” “Black and anything,” I replied. “We can combine black with any color. For the B gates, we’ll propose brown—it’s great for hiding dirt.” He nodded, intrigued. “And the price?” Good question. We hadn’t done the math yet. I gave him a ballpark figure—safe, very very safe , so we’d not regret it later. We arrived at the airport office, samples in hand. The airport representative was waiting, and I launched into what was, quite frankly, one of the most impressive sales talks of my career. I explained the carpet’s unique features: its durability, its dirt-concealing magic, its fresh, modern look. I could see the man was hooked. “I need 30,000 square meters,” he said. “Can you deliver in three weeks?” Three weeks? Impossible. But I knew construction projects like this always ran late. So I took a gamble. “Absolutely,” I said with all the confidence in the world. “Okay,” he said. “What’s the price for that quantity?” My sales rep, a bit shell-shocked by how fast this was moving, quoted the figure I’d given him in the car. The man didn’t blink. “Deal.” He grabbed a piece of paper. We wrote down the quantity, the price, the product name (Black &, of course, that was decided), and the delivery date. We shook hands and walked out of that office with the best deal in the history of carpets. Ever. We drove back, barely able to believe what had just happened.
Wow, the carpet was so good that they swept the procurement process under it. But seriously, your quick thinking and that Black & magic is how walking on the red-carpet to success looks like.
Feeling a bit robbed... want to make it up Rik? 😉
I think they still sell it 🤪.
modulyss
2w
The rock & roll spirit you brought is still very much in our DNA, though we're a bit more cautious now when it comes to confirming deadlines! 😎
Bart Saverwyns Yannick Vanroelen one more person who got passioned by the BAC interior ☺️
Jun Song
2w
Oh wow. I remember way back when, I interviewed you for an article (when I worked at StoryChief) and you told me about your previous life in carpets 🤓 Such a good story!
Geweldig verhaal. Op zo'n momenten voel je dat je Leeft!
Koen Vosters
1w
The second I saw the picture I knew where it was :) 100s of flights ;)
In the meantime the same company launched its CtoC carpet line, flooring the BNP Paribas HQ in Brussels. Which we are proud of😎👍 let us have a look in 20 years. The story continues Rik…
Innovation Consultant | Principal Scientist, Director, R&D Management
2wwhy are so many Sales Rep. afraid to take such positive risks requiring the boss to be present ? Why do they start with lowering price instead of presenting all the strong performances ? Those are what the customer really needs .. it is called Value. Super story Rik