Aad der Vort
SPS Solutions
Destination: The Maldives
“I took my productivity to a new level, making the best project calculations ever!”
During our Workation in the Maldives, my wife and I had an experience we still regularly look back on. My name is Aad der Vort, I’m 51 years old and an entrepreneur in the piping industry with SPS Solutions. I have to say, the trip was prepared exceptionally well by theWorkationers. Everything had clearly been thought through, while we still had plenty of freedom to organise our days in a way that suited us.
We weren’t there just for the beautiful surroundings. There was a very clear business purpose behind this Workation as well. My wife and I wanted to explore whether, and in what way, she could take on a bigger role within SPS Solutions as Head of Administration and HR. At the same time, I needed to work on several important project calculations for American prospects operating in the European biogas industry.
Looking back, deciding to combine those two goals in a luxury Workation turned out to be a very good choice.
Being away from my normal working environment helped me focus in a completely different way. Without the usual phone calls, meetings and daily distractions, I was able to concentrate properly on the calculations. I ended up producing some of my best project calculations to date, with very positive results from the clients as well.
The Workation also brought us closer together, both as a couple and as entrepreneurs. theWorkationers had arranged two workshops with a specialist in family businesses. Those sessions turned out to be particularly valuable. They helped us understand how we could work together effectively, where our individual strengths were and, just as importantly, how to keep enough separation between our relationship and the business.
That process ultimately helped my wife make a well-considered decision to join what has now really become our family business for 32 hours a week as Head of HR and Administration. We still work together very successfully today, so those conversations definitely had a lasting impact. 😉
Of course, it wasn’t all perfect. In such an incredible environment, I sometimes found it surprisingly difficult to draw the line between work and relaxation. As an entrepreneur, once you are properly focused, it is very easy to keep going. There were definitely a few days when I worked longer than planned.
A typical day started in our luxury beach villa. We would have breakfast outside overlooking the turquoise ocean, and afterwards we went swimming or snorkelling almost every day. Banana Reef was one of the highlights for us. The tropical marine life, colourful fish and coral were genuinely impressive and made it very easy to forget about work for a while.
In the afternoons, we would usually spend a few focused hours working. On other days, we went out on a boat or diving around Ari Atoll, sometimes down to depths of around 18 metres. For me, that combination worked extremely well: complete focus when it was time to work, followed by something that allowed you to switch off completely.
The evenings had a completely different rhythm again. We enjoyed beautifully organised romantic dinners at sunset and spent time around a campfire on the beach, listening to local music and meeting other entrepreneurial couples. We actually still have very good contact with one of the couples we met there, which was something we certainly hadn’t expected beforehand.
Perhaps the biggest thing I took away from the Workation was discovering just how much my working environment affects the quality of my work.
Since then, whenever I have an important project calculation to make, I tend to retreat to what I now jokingly call my own “Workation chalet” at home. I recreate that same sense of focus: away from the everyday distractions, with proper time to think. And since I started working that way, I honestly hardly ever lose those kinds of special projects to competitors anymore.
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“We spent the evenings with wonderfully prepared romantic dinners at sunset and meetings with other entrepreneurial couples around campfires.”
So for us, this Workation was much more than a beautiful trip to the Maldives. It helped us make an important decision about the future of our company, strengthened both our professional and personal relationship and permanently changed the way I approach important work.
We definitely intend to organise Workations like this more often in the future.
And yes, absolutely with theWorkationers.
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