A sporty CEO challenge — Freeletics CEO Daniel Sobhani called for this. Which CEO can endure four weeks of training? Who participated? What motivated Sobhani to make the call, and what were the results? We asked around.
At the end of 2018, Freeletics CEO Daniel Sobhani launched the CEO Challenge. CEOs, regardless of whether they were of small or large companies, were encouraged to exercise daily for at least four weeks.
'Hello, dear New Year's resolutions,' you could say! But there was a little more to it than that. At the same time, it was about setting a kind of athletic role model for employees. Sobhani explained in a blog post what had led him to make the call:
"I have personally experienced how much leading a healthy, active lifestyle can improve your life, mindset and leadership skills. As a strong leader, you drive your company's culture, inspire your employees and empower them to be the best they can be."
Over 50 CEOs took on the CEO Challenge
Sobhani's call was answered by over 50 CEOs worldwide. Among them were a handful of Munich-based health and tech startups. We asked them what motivated them. And Adrian Kapsalis, CEO of Loewi, Sebastian Schaal, CEO of Luminovo as well as Nikolas Noetzel and Julian von Fischer, the managing directors of Karlsson, answered our questions. First, we wanted to know why the founders wanted to participate in the CEO Challenge.
So Sebastian Bowl Just a little nudge, and he signed up. The Luminovo CEO explains:
“I started with Freeletics in February 2014 when I was in CDTM I met Joshua and Mehmet, the founders of Freeletics. I was immediately hooked and passionate about it! Unfortunately, a few injuries slowed me down. And so the CEO Challenge was a good incentive to get back into it."
The CEO Challenge was also a good incentive for the Karlsson managing directors to get back into physical activity. After all, they had put sports on the back burner when they founded the company. Both, however, felt this was counterproductive to their long-term performance as entrepreneurs. Therefore, the call came at just the right time. It's also important to the Karlsson founders that employees have the opportunity to be physically active. Nikolas Noetzel explained:
"The startup environment is very dynamic, so the right balance is important. Fitness and an active lifestyle are the best way to prevent burnout and keep everyone happy and motivated!"
This aspect is also important for the other CEOs. Luminovo founder Sebastian believes that such things should not be enforced, but encouraged. He personally finds exercise helps him be more effective at work.
Health issues are part of everyday work
For the health startup Loewi, health topics are part of everyday work. We wanted to know how health-oriented and athletically motivated the company's employees are. Adrian, who offers personalized health and nutrition services with Loewi, it's easy:
"Everyone on our team actively participates in improving Loewi products by actually using them. This way, we ensure that everyone is healthy and identifies with our company and our products."
And also Sebastian has a healthy attitude towards employee motivation in this area:
"Leading by example is always the most honest and effective way to motivate employees. Only then can you truly make a difference."
Unfortunately, the winner of the CEO Challenge was not revealed for data protection reasons.
