Doru Supeala is the kind of person who asks questions that disturb, annoy, but also motivate and help wise leaders and courageous teams find the path to progress and remarkable performance.
C&B: Where does the perception of “the one who asks uncomfortable questions” come from?
Doru Supeala: It deeply pains me to see how many talented, creative, and well-prepared people we have in our organizations, and how poorly we know how to make use of them. They suffer immensely, become stagnant, emigrate, or simply get lost, isolated in some corner of the company. Too often, we hammer nails with a laptop, meaning we aim too low and achieve nearly nothing, just because some leaders prefer to wallow in a soft and comfortable mediocrity that sustains the power structures they’ve created or serve.
In general, I unsettle organizational leaders who are incompetent and unaware of their own incompetence, overwhelmed by the situation, yet obsessed with preserving their dominant position, even though they no longer have anything attractive or motivating to offer the people they work with. I upset them because I ask the questions that make them, and their colleagues, realize that the reason for the lack of performance and positive prospects in the organizations they lead is the organizational culture they themselves have created and perpetuated.
However, in some increasingly frequent cases, I have the good fortune to irritate people who have the capacity to understand and correct their mistakes, and who begin to develop absolutely delightful habits, teams, and projects. In fact, I just help them gain more confidence in the talent and energy of their people and transition from the damaging and lazy mindset that keeps us in the role of timid and creativity-starved executors, to a bold thinking that generates sustainable and consistent business value.
I am absolutely convinced that we can create wonderful, globally successful products and services from Romania if we combine our self-confidence, our ability to learn and adapt quickly, and critical, positive, and creative thinking. In recent years, I’ve been educating by speaking about more humane organizations and partnership relationships between employees and employers, and now I believe the time has come to prove that we can achieve international success, because we have both the people and the means to do so. We just need a little more courage, ambition, confidence, and a positive thinking system that encourages collaboration and creativity.
C&B: How would you summarize your professional activity?
Doru Supeala: I believe everything I do can be described as: the joy of working with intelligent, serious, honest, and ambitious people and the fascination of creating positive, rapid, and profound change. Whether we’re talking about the eight to ten people who make up the Hacking Work team, whom I am honored and happy to guide through a multitude of educational and multimedia production projects, or the professionals, leaders, and organizations I work with as a consultant or trainer, I am thrilled and immensely joyful to feel that we are doing things that make a lot of sense and have a huge impact on many people’s lives, through the positive evolution we manage to achieve, by applying our minds, education, expertise, and creativity.
I often say that I don’t feel like I’m working, because almost everything I do gives me satisfaction, makes me happy, energizes me, and gives me confidence. I have the joy of meeting more and more exceptional people, highly valuable professionals, creative and courageous entrepreneurs, whose stories we are honored to tell the public and, often, to write together, through the training and strategic development projects we build together.
I play so many roles throughout a week that I don’t have time to get bored or tired. I’m an entrepreneur when I work with my colleagues to create value for our partners, I’m an educator and facilitator when I teach courses, I’m a learner and an absorber of information and ideas when I read, research, or experiment, I’m a trainer and consultant when I work with my clients, and I’ve started paying more attention to the role of a “living being,” striving to enjoy a peaceful life, good health, and the moments when I can spend time with my family, cherishing the memories we are building together.
C&B: What was the secret, success, and turning points of your career? How much luck is in this story?
Doru Supeala: I am definitely a lucky man because I have the best person on earth by my side—my wife. I owe everything I am today and everything I’ve managed to build professionally to her because, in the most discreet and generous way possible, she has given me the energy, time, and support to learn everything I know and to first build a career and then an education and consulting ecosystem that does good work and improves the lives of many people.
At the age of 37, even though I already had a rich professional experience and had achieved many remarkable things, I felt the need to rebuild myself. I embarked on a learning journey that lasted over 12 years, which included a degree and a master’s in Marketing, a prestigious Executive MBA, and a PhD in management. More importantly, I had the chance to discover a universe of modern knowledge that provided me with the tools and methods to now achieve exceptional things.
I worked tremendously hard. The effort was huge because, alongside my studies, I was also working full-time in various management roles. But all this learning journey wouldn’t have materialized without luck again—I was blessed with extraordinary colleagues, both in the companies where I was employed and in recent years, when I built my own team in my entrepreneurial project. I’ll always say without hesitation: in Romania, we have an extraordinary number of good, extraordinary, valuable, hardworking, honest, passionate, curious, and creative people. We just need to know how to give them direction and purpose, create the right framework and conditions for them to perform, and the results will surely come.
C&B: What did you want to be when you were a child? And if you had several professions in mind, do they have common elements? Or with what you have become now?
Doru Supeala: Like any child, sometimes I dreamed of glory and fame, to be a great athlete, a great actor, or a respected leader. I was always fascinated by airplanes, and I would have loved to be a pilot, but I didn’t have access or luck to follow that qualification path. If I look back now, the common thread seems to be the desire to have a significant and broad impact, to positively influence the lives of many people, bringing them joy, whether through sports success, the artistic field, or flying an airplane. I’ve always been interested in, and still am drawn to, this desire to offer joy, to change even a small part of life for the better for those around me.
I grew up in an extremely competitive generation. We were Ceausescu’s “Decree Babies,” very many and with few resources, so we always had to fight for the best spot in school, at university, and for jobs, as well as for access to resources. My mother taught me to always aim to be at the top, first or among the first, and most of the time, I succeeded. Of course, this concern for being first has its ups and downs, with some negative aspects, but I try to extract only the positive part. I notice that from an early age, I was often put in the position of leading, either formally or informally. I remember many times when I was a horrible leader, lacking skill and empathy, but I’m glad I had the chance to learn how to do the job right, and I hope that today I am a good leader for my colleagues and my family.
C&B: What are the fields and activities that are parallel and collateral to your profession but are an integral part of who you are?
Doru Supeala: I really like building, fixing, and working around the house. I’m fascinated by any project, starting with the planning and design phase, which challenges thinking and creativity, and continuing with the execution, where sometimes I discover I’m still a perfectionist, but most of the time pragmatism wins, and I follow the principle of “better done than perfect.” I worked for several years in project management for large construction projects (malls, logistics spaces, residential and office buildings) and learned a great deal about the complexity and performance of modern constructions. Even today, I read extensively on the subject and visit construction sites and technical areas whenever I get the chance, to discover what’s new and what the buildings of the future, designed to best serve people, look like.
I also really enjoy teaching, for students and pupils. I go whenever I have the opportunity to hold seminars or informal courses for students and pupils because I really like challenging their intelligence and creativity and helping them think practically and pragmatically, by discussing concrete situations in which they can apply what they learn in theoretical courses. I am also fascinated by how mature, pragmatic, and bold the members of Generation Z and even the Alpha Generation are. I have great confidence that if we ensure they grow up in a healthy environment, these kids will achieve wonders and build a beautiful world, one we may not even have dreamed of.
C&B: What’s your biggest failure? By the way, I have another question I ask many people and students—maybe it will turn into a book—what do you think is “cringe”?
Doru Supeala: I’ve had many misses but no failures. I’ve “failed” many times, but I’ve never considered it something bad—just a side step on my long journey. Any failure is a lesson and a source of energy and inspiration if you think positively and stick to your mission and purpose. So I’ve never made a list of failures, and whenever I have to search my memory for such an example, nothing significant really comes to mind. That’s a sign that I didn’t remember them as failures but as learning stages, small successes where I discovered something other than what I expected.
The most “cringe” things, I believe, are the inadequacy, imposture, and hypocrisy of people who hold formal power but use it in a stupid way, most often for their petty interests or just to control, maintain the status quo, and punish those courageous enough to seek change. Every time I hear the speeches of those trying to impose themselves through conservative ideas, I get the feeling that these people think the planet can stop spinning just because they don’t like the fact that the world is progressing, and evolution will happen anyway. It’s no wonder many of them think the Earth is flat and that people’s minds can still be controlled and prevented from thinking and discovering the truth.
C&B: What advice would you give to beginners and young people?
Doru Supeala: To be curious and brave, to follow their dreams and believe in their ideas, no matter how strange or misunderstood they may seem at times. To always seek out people who are wiser or more skilled than they are, to learn from them, to have as many mentors and advisors as possible, and as diverse as possible. They should continually explore and have fun on their journey toward becoming who they are meant to be.
They should have ambition and confidence in their abilities and always look for allies to collaborate with because major innovations today require diverse ideas and broad knowledge from various fields. Together with others, they will reach their destination much faster, even though the road might seem quicker alone.
C&B: Where would you like to go—countries, cities, or places (again or for the first time), and why?
Doru Supeala: I love Mediterranean countries because of the people, the landscape, and the climate. I adore the relaxation, smiles, joy, and optimism of the Greeks, Italians, and Spaniards, and I’d love to retire there in the winters, or later, when I’m retired. On the other hand, I love discovering new places, people, and ideas, so I wouldn’t refuse any destination because you always have something to learn from everywhere, if you stop to search and ask. I’d be happy to take a slow tour of the Nordic countries—I think we can learn a lot from the people there, especially regarding the concept of community and care and responsibility towards others.
In Romania, I love Breb, a magical place with a special energy where we organize leadership, marketing, and business camps for the SPOR School. And in the garden of our house in Sălsig, in the shade under the walnut tree, it’s where I’ve read most of the books that have brought me to where I am now.
C&B: What are your favorite websites, apps, platforms, pieces, and music?
Doru Supeala: I enjoy reading a lot about current topics in science, economics, and technology, so I read many newsletters (Civilization, Savantgarde, Recorder, PressOne, Starea Nației). I often listen to/watch podcasts to hear smart people, and I also love stand-up comedy shows because I admire the creativity and courage to produce humor on current issues, breaking down prejudices and fearlessly challenging outdated norms.
I don’t have much of a musical ear, nor do I usually listen to music, but when I relax while driving, I listen to Fără Zahăr, Daniel Iancu, Alexandru Andrieș, Ada Milea, and other artists who have bold lyrics, imagination, and humor. I believe the educational power of well-chosen words is enormous, and music amplifies that power.
C&B: Please ask yourself one last question and give an answer.
Doru Supeala: Doru, what makes you happy? Whenever I work with people—whether it’s my colleagues, students, or those I provide consulting to—I get a tremendous boost of energy when I see that spark in their eyes, marking the moment they have an “AHA” moment, when an idea comes to them or when they understand a concept. This joy of discovering something new and good, of understanding, of an idea that changes perspective and paradigm, makes me happy because I feel like I’ve somehow facilitated this journey into new territories.
The happiness of others makes me happy when I can offer them either a moment of enlightenment or something they ardently desired. The spectacle of fresh ideas is fascinating, and what excites me most right now is showing people that they should have more confidence in their skills, talents, and intelligence—and also in those around them. I’m ambitious to change the way we, as Romanians, see and evaluate ourselves in the coming years. It’s time for us to believe more in our potential, to have more respect for ourselves, and to prove, without complexes, that we are fully capable of achieving incredibly valuable things by working together with the right mindset and tools.
I will be very happy every time an idea born in Romania conquers the world, thanks to our work.
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