Who is Ralf Donell?
Ralf Donell is co-founder and managing director of S&D Blechtechnologie GmbH and co-host of the Schichtwechsel podcast. He looks back on almost 25 years as an entrepreneur. In that time, a small business with seven employees has become a company with more than 100 staff.
The journey was not an easy one. In the very first month of business, the books already showed a loss of €35,000. Later, the company found itself in a situation that threatened its very existence, with more than €500,000 in customer receivables outstanding. On the weekview Podcast, Ralf talks about how he plans today. We have summarised five thoughts from the conversation for you here.
Chapters to jump straight in
- 43:21The vision
- 44:33Why the biggest goals shouldn't be SMART
- 46:31From vision to annual and weekly planning
- 50:27Why quarterly planning matters so much
- 01:05:52Weekly reflection
- 01:10:41What weekly planning has changed for Ralf
1. A vision is allowed to be big
Ralf's vision fits into a single sentence: "Germany's best welding company". That is not a key figure or a quarterly target. A sentence like this gives direction. It describes where a company should develop over the years, and everyday decisions can be aligned with it.
Ralf explains how he understands this vision from minute 43:21.
2. Big goals don't need to be SMART, but the steps do
The SMART rule requires a goal to be specific, measurable and time-bound. For many people, it is the standard tool when it comes to goals. Ralf sees it differently for the really big goals: they don't need to be SMART.
For him, something else is decisive: planning the steps towards them in concrete terms and following through consistently. The vision can stay big and open, as long as it is clear what needs to be done next. The chapter on this starts at 44:33.
Think big, plan concretely
The vision sets the direction. The next concrete step makes it achievable.
3. Year, quarter and week fit together
How does a vision become a plan? For Ralf, annual, quarterly and weekly planning fit together. This creates a chain from the big goal down to the individual week in which the actual work gets done.
From 46:31, Ralf describes the path from vision to annual and weekly planning. From 50:27, he explains why quarterly planning is so important to him. You can read more about this middle level in our article Quarterly planning instead of annual planning.
4. Every week ends with a look back
Planning alone is not enough. Ralf's routine includes a weekly reflection. It rounds off the week and is the starting point for the next round of planning.
Ralf talks about weekly reflection from 01:05:52. From 01:10:41, he describes what weekly planning has changed for him. If you want to start yourself, our article on weekly reflection offers a simple way in.
5. Think about leadership, independence and succession early on
Besides planning, the conversation covers leadership through experience, responsibility and clear decisions. Ralf talks about why a company should be independent of individual customers and industries, and what role digitalisation, shopfloor management and AI play in medium-sized businesses.
Another topic is business succession: it should be planned early. Career goals, family and health are also discussed.
Year, quarter and week on paper
The weekview Business Planner A5+ and the Business Planner Pro A4 combine annual overviews, quarterly planning and weekly pages in one book.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Ralf Donell?
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For viewers and readers of the episode: 10% off at weekview.de with the code BLECH10.
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