A Brida conversation recap — with the roles reversed, and Frank thinking out loud in full stereo. Some Brida meetings feel like jazz: a theme, a few riffs, then everyone finds their way back to the melody. This one felt like a spotlight turned gently—but firmly—onto Frank. Ismar didn’t ask “small talk” questions. He asked…
How a grandmother’s courage, a mother’s budgeting skills, and a free math lesson can change the future A Morning Conversation That Lingers It begins, as many meaningful conversations do, without drama. A slightly sick student.A gentle “Good morning.”Christmas hovering in the background like a soft pause button on life. And then — inspiration. Not the…
How empathy, distraction, culture, and honesty quietly shape who we become There is something quietly powerful about a one-on-one conversation when nobody is rushing. No notifications pinging. No audience to impress. Just Sarah and Janita aka Fruitloop, sitting on opposite sides of a screen, doing what most of us forget to do far too often:…
From Puns to Power: What Ordinary People Teach UsThe call opened the way these lunches often do: with the gentle chaos of geography, time zones, and people checking which “island” they’re currently on. Nathalie had just survived a long flight and was slowly re-entering the English-speaking world (a process that deserves its own recovery plan)….
On the call today, the Atlantic Corridor formed its familiar triangle: Cleebourg, Bangalore, Campo Grande—three places, two generations of assumptions, and one shared topic that refuses to stay “small”: how ordinary relationships carry extraordinary weight. Ismar began the hour smiling, which is often how the hardest truths enter the room. Two roles… and a third…
When I think back to the beginning of my sales life, I always smile a little.Not my electric career, not machines and cables — I mean real sales, driving with the car, visiting people, drinking coffee, sometimes too much coffee. I was very young.It was in the 1980s.I worked for a company called Firma Erwin…
At this Lunch with Janita & Frank, inspiration did not arrive quietly. It arrived coughing. Frank, also known as “the Mayor,” opened the meeting by offering everyone his “genuine, high-quality, made-in-Germany cough” as a Christmas present. One careful owner, three months of warranty, no refunds. The group politely – and loudly – refused. Janita (Fruitloop)…
Three men met online on a Monday: Their topic sounded deceptively simple: “Inspiring people – or people who inspire you… That’s the topic for today.” The conversation that followed became a cross-continental exploration of admiration, disappointment, responsibility, corruption, and something unexpected: the meaning of a guru. “I don’t have a model person.” The Mayor starts…
When I think about inspiration, it is not one big moment for me. It is many small moments that stay in my mind. Sometimes it is a person at work, sometimes in my family, sometimes in everyday life. These moments help me grow. They help me understand who I want to be – as a…
When people ask me, “Ralf, who inspired you in your life?”, I always have the same problem.I do not have one big hero from a movie or from history.My heroes are normal people.They stand next to me, drink coffee with me, work with me, make stupid jokes with me.They smell of engine oil, wood dust,…
