Daniela Uzunova: „I Want“ and „I Can“ Are My Favourite Words
A company’s top is reached through work and some more work
~ 3 min read
Tatyana Yavasheva Daniela Uzunova has been Director of Danone Bulgaria, as part of Danone Eastern and Central Europe and Scandinavia since 2015. She has more than 15 years of experience in the FMCG business. Her career started in Nestle Bulgaria as a trainee in the marketing department. For 11 years now, she has taken different positions in Danone Bulgaria - she was a Marketing Manager, a National Manager - Key Clients, and a Sales Marketing Manager. She is married and has two children.
A company’s top is reached through work and some more work. I do not believe in luck - nothing happens just like that, and everyone gains their success on their own.
The leader is a person who is first a human, and then everything else. If you don’t have the courage to be yourself, then you are not ready to become a leader.
A major challenge for anyone who is leading a business at the moment is to balance between the drive for profit and the contribution to people and the planet. That is why I choose to work for Danone and be a part of our culture "One planet. One health." We have one planet and we live only once - let us not forget that when we pursue goals and results every day.
I define myself as a dreamer in figures, which means that behind every great success there is a bold idea, and only the one who dreams boldly succeeds.
Career is a cliché. It's not an alternative to having a family or a normal life. When I hear a woman say she is now building a career and she has no time for a family, I get sad. You do not have to choose - work and love go hand in hand.
For me, success does not just happen, but is gained by the one who dreams and knows how to visualize their dream. Then, a lot of work follows. I even draw my ideas in a notebook and I put a number next to each one of them, indicating my ambition. My team often laughs at that, but at the end, what is important is success.
My work has made me open to accepting failures. I now love this word - every failure is an occasion to strive even harder for success.
I'm inspired by real people.
"I Want" is my FAVOURITE word. Right after it comes " I Can" - when I want something very much, I can do it. I love to hear I WANT, and this is what I teach my children, to the dismay of the older generation. Please, do not tell your children that you hate this word, that way you stop their development.
If it was up to me, I would introduce a subject called "Humanity" in Bulgarian schools.
A work principle that I adhere to: I want and can do even more.
My best teacher are my children. They taught me to be better organized and to succeed in everything.
I do not find enough time to listen more. I want to learn to listen.
When I see there is no way out... What does it mean to have no way out?
A wisdom I often quote: "You are rich not if you have money, but if you spend money. Money has value only when it comes out of your pocket, and it equals zero when it is put inside” - a quote by my favourite author Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt.
My best adviser is intuition. Even if it misleads me, I would still trust it.
I cannot give up my biggest vice - impatience. I am impatient when I am chasing results.
I am not waiting for luck, it is for the lazy.
Do not miss hugging your child tonight. For them, you are just a parent, not someone who pursues business goals.
