An interview with Thomas Böckle

Company: imPlus Unternehmensentwicklung GmbH
Location: Vienna, Austria
Position: CEO


Where did you learn the basics of running a business?
For me sport was a good teacher: During my youth I played soccer and that means that I played a role within a team. Running a business means to run a team of different employees, different suppliers, different customers. The rest I learned at the Vienna University of Business Administration, in a medium-sized textil company I founded together with my brother and in wonderful 7 years as founder and CEO of imPlus.

Whom did you work with, before becoming a consultant?
For 2 years I worked in Bank and was assistant controller, 4 years I worked as assistant professor at the Vienna University of Business Administration and for 2 years I was responsible for Finance & Administration within a production company.

What will you do in ten years?
In ten years I am 46 and will have a remarkable midlife crisis that will change my life dramatically. If this really happens the years before should be stable and that means much work and less private life. Maybe I should change: less work within the next years more private life, no midlife crisis in ten years and live just a normal life as a consultant if something like "normal" really exists.

What kind of people do you like to work with?
I prefer people who are looking for opportunities instead of people who fear the risk!
I prefer people who are the opposite of "ass-kissers"!
I like people who enjoy things like "rafting", "heliskiing", "growing wine"

And some bad characterstics?
I don´t look at bad characteristics of other people. If you ask about my bad characteristics: I like doing new things, I like doing a lot of new things and very often there are too many new things.

Is there someone whom you would describe as intelligent?
Yes sure! For example my uncle who runs a small farm. Whenever he asks me a question about economy and things like this I realise that he knows the essential things in life, just because of the way he asks!

After working many years as a consultant you managed many projects. Are there any really special among them?
Every project is special in a certain way. Sometimes it is fascinating because of the topics that must be dealt with and sometimes it is very special because of the people you get to know.

Why is your company a member of IMCN?
Because the network philosophy becomes more and more evident in consulting. The advantages of working together with colleagues from other countries are numerous. By the way: I became a member in 1998, a time where IMCN already was organised as a powerful consulting-network, which attracted and attracts me very much.