#ICelebrateYou : Sabine Kluge

I first met Sabine in a beer garden in Munich on a bright summer evening eight years ago. She introduced me to my first kaiserschmarrn. 😊 🍻

We were sitting with her L&D colleagues from Siemens, and we talked about #workingoutloud among many other topics. Little did I know the adventures ahead.

There was excitement! At one particular WOL event at BMW, for example, there were 500 people in a beautiful space. The CEO of Rolls Royce was there. Simultaneous translators helped me understand what was going on (all in German except for my talk). Sabine led the huge crowd through an interactive workshop that had the room buzzing. It was magical.

There were also challenges, maybe an experiment gone wrong or a tough lesson learned. She showed me how to handle these with grace and charm, even teaching me German expressions like “Die Kuh vom Eis holen” (“Pull the cow from the ice”) that I still use.

There was friendship. Sabine and her husband, Alexander, welcomed me into their gorgeous home. They hosted sumptuous home-cooked dinners filled with fascinating friends and conversations. We took long walks and they showed me their favorite places. They made me feel like I belonged.

I admire Sabine for her work, of course. The way she leads and speaks and writes and influences. And for so much more. Her generosity of spirit, her art and sense of design and style, her warmth and kindness and support. She amazes and inspires me.

Dear Sabine, thank you for all you do and have done, and for yet more adventures to come. I am proud to call you my friend.