Marijke Krist ‘Allowing people to make mistakes is our greatest achievement'

How would you explain what you do to a child?
I always say: I work in IT, and IT is fun. We supply laptops and phones, basically everything people work on and everything behind it. The database, the infrastructure, the network, and security as well. We make sure everything works and is safe. We do that for schools, hospitals and public authorities, among others. So we do not just deliver devices, but also service and support. From a printer that does not work to a complete IT landscape, we take care of it. As an organisation, you cannot be equally good at everything. But because we are part of a large German listed company, Bechtle, with multiple entities and different areas of expertise, we have access to a very broad range of knowledge and skills.

Is there anything you leave out?
The technical details. Children do not gain much from stories about cyberattacks or network failures. That is often harder for them to grasp, even though it is part of what we do. What I really try to emphasise is that IT is fun and important. It is often seen as nerdy or boring, but it is everywhere. Not complicated or distant. It affects everyone, every day. And the moment everything simply works is fantastic.

What is the best piece of leadership advice you have ever received?
Ask for help. You do not have to know or be able to do everything yourself. If you surround yourself with people who bring different perspectives and have other strengths, you will get much further. That is advice I once received myself, and now pass on to others. Of course, as the person ultimately responsible, I make decisions. But I always involve my team. That creates high-performing teams, and those are what really make the difference.

What is your biggest entrepreneurial dilemma?
How do you make sure you always keep up? IT develops faster than anyone can follow. You cannot jump on every innovation or market change. But if you do nothing and fail to move, you are too late. The art lies in continuously finding the balance. Where do we connect with the customer, and where do we place our focus? On one side there is the customer, on the other the market offering. We constantly have to navigate between what the customer needs and what is available. That is the challenge, and it is also what makes the work interesting. Especially when you are able to have good, ongoing conversations about this with your team.

How have you changed over the past ten years?
I have become calmer. I used to jump in more quickly. Now I have a better overview of the whole and recognise patterns faster. Experience helps with that. My energy and passion, by the way, have remained the same. I still do my work with the same drive.

Which achievement are you most proud of?
The culture we have built within our company. You spend so much time at work, so it needs to be a place where you feel comfortable, safe and valued. With us, you can ask for help, make mistakes and still continue to grow. The fact that we succeed in that is, to me, our greatest achievement. I have been named CEO of the Year twice within the IT sector. That only happens if your colleagues genuinely feel this as well. That makes me proud, because culture is something you build together.

What is your big dream?
That there is a place where you feel safe to make mistakes. At work, but also in your personal life. When my children leave the house, I always say: “Do not forget one thing: you are amazing.” So that if they have to give a presentation, or do something else that feels difficult, they always know that I love them no matter what. That is the feeling I want to create in my work as well. Of course, results need to be good. But people only truly perform when they know they are allowed to make mistakes and are still appreciated.

What was your first job?
As a teenager, I burned CDs on a subscription basis. You would automatically receive the latest singles. Later, I worked in a cheese shop. That is where I learned to work efficiently and to think about processes and margins. We sold cartons of milk, for example, which were in high demand but had very small margins. The question then was whether we should order more, or stop selling them altogether. In the end, we decided to stop. We hardly earned anything on them, and we constantly had to tell customers we were out of stock, which created negativity. I remember that very clearly. Even back then, I was already concerned with organising things more intelligently. I still do that today, just at a different level.

In your current role as well?
Exactly. When structures and processes are properly in order, space is created for renewal and innovation. You do not want customers constantly wondering how something could have gone wrong. You want them to experience that everything runs smoothly, and that you can surprise them with innovations. That is where you add value.

Which belief has become a limitation?
I would actually like to turn that question around. I used to think that I mainly relied on data and facts when making decisions, even though intuition always played a role. By now, I dare to trust that intuition much more. Of course, the facts and figures still need to be right. But perhaps because of my experience, I rely far more on my gut feeling. It helps me see more quickly where I need to probe further, who I need to involve, and where opportunities or risks lie. It makes me stronger as a leader.

If you were allowed to give away one million euros, who or what would you give it to?
I would invest it in AI. It is strange. We now have something available, but we do not yet fully understand what we can do with it. Hardly anyone has really connected what AI is capable of with how we can use it positively. Public transport. Staff shortages in education or healthcare. How powerful would it be if AI took administrative tasks off people’s hands, so they could spend their time and energy on where they truly make a difference? There is an enormous opportunity there, and also a responsibility.

Text: Vera Spaans