At DEVELOR, legendary quality is never accidental. It is the result of preparation, discipline, and continuous development. We believe that sustainable trainer development is the foundation of long-term impact for our clients and partners.
This year, two exceptional professionals were honored with The Growth Ignition Award, recognizing those who embody our standards not only in performance, but in mindset and responsibility. One of the recipients is Dr. Antal Takács, trainer at DEVELOR Hungary, a seasoned executive, university lecturer, and mentor with more than 30 years of international leadership experience across industries such as automotive, manufacturing, and defense.
Before joining DEVELOR, Antal held senior leadership and board-level roles at companies including THALES, Hankook Tire, Continental Tire, and Michelin. He is also a university lecturer and holds a PhD in cross-cultural communication. His professional journey combines strategic leadership, revenue optimization, adaptive leadership, and organizational development with a deep passion for teaching and mentoring.
In this in-depth conversation, Antal shares how discipline shaped his philosophy, what failure taught him about readiness, and why true trainer development is a lifelong commitment.
What does legendary quality in a training experience truly mean to you?
I still remember my very first days as an employee with fondness. My Austrian manager told me that success is based on three key elements: preparation, preparation, and preparation.
My manager’s words set me on a permanent quest for excellence, opened me to challenges, and I am deeply grateful for that.
I am convinced that legendary training quality is also based on three key pillars: preparation, preparation and preparation.
We trainers, we are actors. The better we know our roles, the more we can improvise. And this is going to be great, amazing. The order is very important: first, knowledge; then, improvisation and personalisation. We love this mindset, and it is exactly what enables us to deliver legendary quality.
For me, trainer development starts long before stepping into the room. It begins with preparation.
Looking back, what key moments shaped you into the trainer you are today?
Key moments? I had many. Every moment is important because we only have the present to make decisions. Once NOW is over, it is gone forever.
When I was thirteen, I started doing karate. Or I should say it is Karate that found me. I spent years practising just a few moves. Today, I am a Ni-Dan karate master.
Karate taught me that to become a master takes 1,000 days of practice and 10,000 days of training.
I do not remember the exact day, but I remember waking up in September 2022 and feeling like I had figured something out. I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to teach people and share my experience to make the world a better place.
In 2023, I started lecturing at the university. In 2025, I had the privilege of becoming a DEVELOR trainer.
Looking back, I see that mastery is never sudden. It is built through consistent trainer development over the years.
What was one major professional failure that fundamentally changed how you work? What did this teach you that success never could?
This happened in the spring of 2009. The economy was in bad shape, suffering from the consequences of the Lehman Brothers’ collapse. I was the marketing director of an industrial group.
I was aware that our costs were higher than the market price of our products. However, I was naive enough to believe that I should not prepare for any worst-case scenario. And I lost my job, for the first time in my life.
It was dreadful. I felt like the sky had fallen on me.
Then I realised that the Earth did not stop turning. The next morning, the Sun came up. In a short time, I could see the silver edge of the cloud and found another job.
I have learned forever that to be prepared for any challenge, I must have a BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement) and a WATNA (Worst Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement).
Failure taught me something success never could: preparation is not optional. It is protection. And in trainer development, preparation builds credibility.
How do you work on your own growth today, now that you are seen as a role model?
Learning is a conscious, structured, and humble effort to become slightly better tomorrow than I am today. And this is exactly why learning contributes directly to professional credibility.
People trust trainers who live what they teach, trainers who walk the talk. Not those who claim to know everything, but those who are visibly learning, reflecting, adjusting, and sometimes failing.
Credibility does not come from perfection. It comes from consistency, preparation, and practice.
Let me share one very concrete practice that helps me live this mindset.
Every morning, still in my bed, I ask myself three simple questions:
- What did I learn yesterday?
- Where did I struggle?
- What is one small adjustment I will consciously make today?
Nothing heroic. Nothing spectacular. Just disciplined reflection.
This practice keeps me humble, focused, and prepared. Furthermore, it directly supports DEVELOR’s values.
Because if we want to provide legendary service in a constantly changing business environment, we must first be willing to grow ourselves, continuously and visibly. That is the essence of trainer development.
What are you currently striving for, and where do you still want to grow?
In September 2022, I found the path leading me toward physical, mental, and spiritual harmony. For the rest of my life, my goal is to achieve this harmony.
Based on the framework popularised by Sahil Bloom, the five sources of wealth are Time, Social, Mental, Physical, and Financial wealth. These are the pillars of the harmony I strive for.
- Time Wealth: It is OK. I have it because I have the freedom to control my calendar and prioritise how and with whom I spend my days.
- Social Wealth: It is not yet where I want it to be. I will focus on deepening and widening my relationships, including family, friends, and professional networks. DEVELOR is a thriving learning community, and I would like to leverage its resources more consciously.
- Mental Wealth: It is OK. I have the right mindset, and I clearly see the purpose of my life. At DEVELOR, I can pursue my lifelong dream of learning.
- Physical Wealth: It is OK. I maintain my body and energy through sport, dancing, and healthy nutrition.
- Financial Wealth: It is OK. I have enough to support my desired lifestyle and freedom, without being driven by limitless desire.
For me, trainer development is not only professional. It is holistic.
What message would you share with training professionals who want to deliver legendary quality?
Real learning begins when we stop competing with others and start comparing ourselves with the person we were yesterday.
Learning, for me, has never been about collecting achievements. It has been about discipline, curiosity, and perseverance, even when the result was not spectacular.
We are human beings, meaning our performance is volatile. It can happen that we cannot deliver a legendary training.
If we want to deliver legendary quality, first, we should prepare ourselves for the training. We should do everything to sleep well and to be able to say that, “OK, I have done everything. I am prepared.”
Second, we should learn from our mistakes. We should listen to those who invest their time and energy in giving us feedback. We should also observe masters delivering their training.
Third, we should practice to make tomorrow a little better.
Finally, we should continue learning and never stop.
Mastery as a commitment
Antal’s journey is a powerful example of what trainer development truly means in practice. It is not built on charisma or momentary brilliance. It is built on preparation, discipline, reflection, and the courage to continuously improve.
By honoring professionals who live these principles, the Growth Ignition Award makes visible what often remains behind the scenes: the daily effort required to maintain legendary standards.
We warmly congratulate Dr. Antal Takács, trainer at DEVELOR Hungary, on becoming one of the first recipients of the Growth Ignition Award. His story strengthens not only the Hungarian team but the entire DEVELOR network, reminding us that trainer development is not a phase in a career.
It is a lifelong commitment.
