Renewable Energy as My Guiding Star
Once upon a time there was a small river. And a young boy was seen going down to the stream. The boy was me, carrying a water wheel built of wood. Together with a bicycle dynamo connected to a light bulb the river produced power for the light bulb – that was one of my experiments. Maybe renewable energy has been my guiding star as I was interested in it and electricity long before I even knew what they were! All technical things have always fascinated me, and a home laboratory kit was one of my favorite toys as a child. Maybe all that led me to technical school and electrical studies.
My Route to Ensto
Even though I was very interested in electronics, after the first year in the vocational school I decided to continue in the electrical utility direction. I carried out my practical training in a utility and worked there for a period afterwards. At some point I decided to take a step further and studied for the Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering. After graduation I was employed by a wholesaler for 8 years in sales and then there was an opportunity at Ensto, it was time for new challenges. I started in sales with an area responsibility and then, over time, received more responsibilities. This is my 13th anniversary at Ensto in Norway.
One Happy Head with Many Hats
As Sales Director I am responsible for the overall Ensto sales in Norway but I’m in charge of sales of a local area, too. The customer is always number one but after that, my most important area of responsibility is leadership. There are altogether 10 people in our sales team, and my job is to take care of the team’s working conditions, spirit, and the development of our operations. My daily tasks also include dealing with various technical and product development related issues, finding solutions, and negotiating and maintaining customer agreements. There are many hats in my head, and I am happy about it!
Growing as Part of the Team
We all need to develop all the time but in fact changes can be difficult for us. Still, it is exactly the changes and challenges that can teach us the most! I am a learner who learns best from other people: customers, partners, and colleagues. My years in the Ensto sales team have taught me a lot about team dynamics, different skills and expertise, problem solving, and how to interact in a team. Here, I have grown to be the leader I am today. It is inspiring to see how the team can be and achieve so much more together than what the individuals separately ever could! Each learning is valuable for me. I have participated in several leadership trainings and the most important thing is to be open-minded to develop my style of leading and implement it into the daily work.
Strong Focus on Sustainable Development
In Norway there truly is full focus on sustainable development and that can be seen in our everyday lives. We share a common will, be it related to focus on use of renewable energy, products or the whole order delivery chain. It is sustainable to develop products that are superior in terms of simple and safe installation to avoid assembly errors and secure a long lifetime of the product and solutions. There has been a long path from my renewable energy experiments to the work I am doing today for a better and more sustainable future.
Caring for Customer’s Best
One super interesting part of my job is developing products in close cooperation with the customers. Our Ensto Pro installation training offers us a great channel for direct feedback from the field professionals. This helps us to improve the ways we train, develop products, work, and support. Recently, a customer came to us with a “homemade” product asking whether we could develop it further. We said yes and together, we developed and tested a new version that is today a commercial product suitable for use in all countries. The customers were happy as the process went smoothly and they got the product they needed. And when the customer is happy, we are happy.
Ragnar Haugland
The writer of the blog is working at Ensto in Norway as Sales Director responsible for the sales at the Norwegian market.