Deniz Aytekin: Super referee, successful entrepreneur, top speaker … and DJ!
Deniz Aytekin is a talented man. Not only is he one of Germany’s best soccer referees, no, he is also one of the most popular speakers, a full-blooded entrepreneur and a DJ. The latter is one of his hobbies. Boredom? Not for the 42-year-old Deniz Aytekin.
Born in Nuremberg, Germany, he has been refereeing matches in the Bundesliga since 2008 and has been a FIFA referee since 2011, officiating in the Champions League, Europa League and international matches. The business economist and online entrepreneur co-founded the legal advice platform anwalt.de services AG, where he sits on the supervisory board. He is also co-founder and CEO of the portal fitnessmarkt.de and co-founder of the “life advice platform” viversum.
He describes himself as someone in whom the “inner fire” just burns constantly. Even though he notes that for his refereeing job he now “has to train more and more to stay at top level physically.” He says,
“Sometimes I have to smile when people ask if you really have to train for the job. Yes, you have to! Even a referee is a competitive athlete.”
In an interview with the Westfälische Nachrichten, Deniz Aytekin reported on how he deals with the pressure that weighs particularly heavily on referees. He believes that it would take a certain personality structure to be a referee at the highest level. He says,
“Anyone who is publicly criticized, like we are, must have a tough shell. There are stadiums where you can feel the antipathy, sometimes even hatred, as soon as you walk in. That’s not funny. And yet you learn to deal with the pressure. You don’t whistle overnight in front of 50,000 spectators, but grow into it bit by bit. Over the years, I’ve learned to keep a healthy distance and not to let myself be influenced by such hostility. By the way, the interaction between players and referees on the pitch is better than its reputation: even if it is sometimes transported differently, insults are absolutely not standard.”
Deniz Aytekin is not only a referee, however, but also a successful entrepreneur.
“In private or in the company I cannot act like a referee” he says laughing.
Nevertheless, he has learned a few things from his job on the soccer field. For example, he believes in “the strategies of seeing, perceiving and deciding.” In plain language: When decisions have to be made in a company and, as is often the case, not all the facts are available, it helps, in his experience, to observe things, to let them pass in review. In one of his lectures, he talks about decision-making and which successful strategies he uses for this at the corporate level.
Likewise, Deniz Aytekin talks about difficult decisions contrary to popular belief. Often managers fear a lack of acceptance, so is his experience, but even supposedly bad news wants and needs to be delivered. This communication process must be well thought out and implemented, because, as studies show: a single piece of bad news has more negative potential than many pieces of good news have positive potential. Just like praise has less impact than criticism. In his talks, Deniz Aytekin gives valuable tips and advises to leaders to be able to manage this balancing act on accepting difficult decisions.
Deniz Aytekin’s lectures are characterized by his humorous and energetic manner. He effortlessly sweeps us along. Another gift of the talented Deniz Aytekin.