Jiří Koleňák: My name is Jiří Koleňák, and welcome to another episode of the Úspěšní (Successful) podcast, where my guests and I uncover the principles and habits that make them successful leaders. Today, I have a guest who leads one of the most prominent facility management companies in the Czech Republic. His name is tied to the transformation of Atalian, which under his leadership evolved into a modern enterprise with a clear vision, strong culture, and highly motivated team. Daniel Digoň, CEO of Atalian—a leader who believes in authenticity, discipline, and the power of human-centric leadership. His "Human to Human" approach demonstrates that running a corporation can stand on core values, trust, and honesty without sacrificing business performance. Outside of work, you’ll find him near the water: he is an avid freediver, kiteboarder, and fisherman. He says the water teaches him humility and balance, making him a better executive. Today, we’ll talk about corporate transformation, modern leadership, core values, and bridging business with humanity. Hi Daniel, welcome to the podcast.
Daniel Digoň: Hi Jirka, thank you for the wonderful introduction, and warm greetings to our listeners.
Jiří Koleňák: Daniel, what brought you the greatest joy in recent days?
Daniel Digoň: Last weekend, my young son scored his very first hat-trick in football. He’s just starting out and has been struggling with motivation, so seeing that score gave him an incredible boost to keep playing. That brought me immense joy.
Jiří Koleňák: Take us back to the beginning: how did your story at Atalian start?
Daniel Digoň: I joined during the pandemic, around 2020–2021. My former boss approached me to help, saying the company possessed strong potential but was in a precarious state. I was looking for a career change, and it sounded like a compelling challenge, so I joined as CFO. The reality proved even tougher than expected. Starting during COVID-19 meant seeing an average of two people in the office; I didn't meet some of my colleagues face-to-face for six months. It was an exceptionally demanding start.
Jiří Koleňák: Do you recall the exact moment you decided to step up and lead the entire company as CEO?
Daniel Digoň: It wasn't a choice I initiated. About a year after I joined, an organizational restructuring occurred, and senior executive leadership offered me the CEO mandate.
Jiří Koleňák: What was your single greatest challenge at that moment?
Daniel Digoň: The company had lost its hope. Employees no longer believed the enterprise had a future. Atalian had a storied history and great past results, but frequent executive turnover eroded confidence—I was the fifth CEO appointed in three years! Employees assumed I was just another short-term director who would leave after six months without finishing anything. My primary mandate was restoring trust and convincing the workforce that the company could succeed again.
Jiří Koleňák: Did you believe from day one that you could pull off such a complete organizational turnaround, or did that confidence build gradually?
Daniel Digoň: It built step by step. I believed a turnaround was possible because the underlying fundamentals were solid. Our client portfolio was among the most reputable nationwide, spanning major financial institutions and retail leaders. We had exceptional technical talent and strong managers, but we lacked collective alignment, shared culture, and a unifying vision. Those core assets gave me hope, though I couldn't guarantee early on whether we would succeed.
Jiří Koleňák: Where did you begin your transformation plan?
Daniel Digoň: I spent a long time reflecting on it because the internal workplace culture was toxic. People avoided eye contact in the hallways and barely greeted each other. My very first executive meeting ended in a heated argument where two members physically grabbed each other by the neck!
I realized that to rebuild employee trust, I had to solidify my own conviction first. Years ago, I read in an executive coaching book that you must write down your explicit vision. I sat down and wrote a simple vision statement: To make Atalian the first choice on the Czech facility management market. Then I outlined the precise operational steps needed to get there. When I presented that vision at our next management meeting, people were skeptical. But over the next year and a half, as they saw my consistent personal commitment, the tide slowly turned.
Jiří Koleňák: A recurring theme in our interviews is the power of committing a vision to paper—first for yourself, then for your organization. As the transformation unfolded, what took priority: corporate culture or operational efficiency?
Daniel Digoň: Corporate culture, absolutely. Operational efficiency was a direct byproduct of a healthier culture.
Granted, stepping into a crisis requires temporary crisis management and a degree of micromanagement—unpopular words, but necessary during a turnaround. We established clear operational directions and narrowed our commercial focus. Facility management is a vast field covering dozens of building services. Previously, we tried doing everything, but excelled at nothing. We asked ourselves: "What can we be the absolute best at in the Czech Republic?" We shed non-core services—for instance, we stopped cleaning municipal sewage systems because specialized firms do it better. Narrowing our scope allowed us to focus capital and energy on what truly mattered.
Jiří Koleňák: You advocate placing employees first while maintaining strict organizational discipline. How do you balance those two elements?
Daniel Digoň: They go hand in hand—a successful team requires discipline. As a former competitive athlete, sport taught me that discipline is the cornerstone of achievement. In sports, diverse personalities must collaborate under clear operational rules.
I use this analogy when discussing remote work policies: "Imagine two sports teams. In the first, players train individually at different times and locations. In the second, everyone trains together at the same time on the same pitch. Which team wins?" Leadership is about valuing people while maintaining a clear framework of accountability within which everyone operates.
Jiří Koleňák: How do you guide teams through major operational shifts so they view change as an opportunity rather than a threat?
Daniel Digoň: That is a lifelong leadership challenge because human nature naturally resists change out of fear. My approach is leading by personal experience. When we introduced Microsoft Copilot AI tools across the organization, I tested the technology myself first. Once I mastered its practical workflows, I demonstrated its value to my team, accelerating adoption.
Jiří Koleňák: How do you know when a cultural or process shift is taking hold?
Daniel Digoň: When measurable results emerge and colleagues approach me saying: "You were right, this made our work better." Seeing positive real-world impact validates the transition.
Jiří Koleňák: Atalian utilizes advanced technology like drones and cleaning robotics. Did you have to reassure staff that automation wouldn't replace their jobs?
Daniel Digoň: Yes, and I was surprised by the depth of initial anxiety. When we introduced autonomous cleaning robots three years ago, employees feared losing their jobs. We experienced everything from workers parking supply carts in front of robots to block their paths, to an incident where an employee intentionally left a manhole cover open, causing a early-generation robot to fall in and suffer 300,000 CZK in damage!
Every technological leap experiences growing pains—people feared steam engines and vaccines in their day, just as they fear AI today. Our job as leaders is to guide teams to embrace technology as an enabler.
Jiří Koleňák: What practical method do you use to overcome tech resistance?
Daniel Digoň: Beyond leading by example, we demonstrate tangible personal benefits. Autonomous cleaning robots handle massive, monotonous floor areas. Instead of an employee spending eight hours riding a floor-scrubber back and forth, the robot handles the repetitive routine, freeing the employee to execute engaging, higher-value technical tasks.
Jiří Koleňák: Are clients eager to see robotics deployed on their properties?
Daniel Digoň: We see strong client demand for robotics, driven by innovation goals and ESG compliance. However, automated robotics aren't suitable for every floor layout or architectural geometry. We deploy a specialized team to audit client facilities, testing whether robotic automation makes operational and economic sense before deployment.
Jiří Koleňák: Do you also educate clients proactively?
Daniel Digoň: Yes. We contribute to professional facility management publications, share industry handbooks with client leadership, and host specialized workshops.
Furthermore, when clients plan new headquarters, we consult with them three to four years before construction to optimize spatial ergonomics. Architectural decisions dramatically impact long-term operational costs. For example, cleaning complex, highly fragmented glass facades requires expensive industrial climbers or specialized drones. Designing a streamlined facade upfront cuts lifetime cleaning costs by half compared to overly complex architectural layouts.
Jiří Koleňák: Consulting clients years in advance requires deep trust and long-term relationships.
Daniel Digoň: Facility management is fundamentally a relationship business. Labor represents 80% of our cost structure—our business stands and falls on people. The stronger the trust between our frontline teams and the client, the higher the service quality and client retention.
Jiří Koleňák: Your leadership philosophy stands on four core pillars: Discipline, Authenticity, Consistency, and Courage. Have these values evolved over time?
Daniel Digoň: They evolved significantly:
- Discipline: Taught early on through competitive sports and a strict father. Discipline is the foundational key to long-term success in business and executive life.
- Authenticity: To inspire others, you must genuinely believe in your mission. Every executive role requires wearing a professional "costume," but you must maintain core authenticity. As the saying goes: To ignite others, you must first burn yourself.
- Consistency: Inspired by author Simon Sinek, consistency means realizing leadership isn't demonstrated through rare, dramatic gestures, but through small, daily actions—greeting colleagues every morning, holding regular town halls, and maintaining transparent communication.
- Courage: The willingness to make hard, principled choices under intense pressure. Executive leadership often forces choices between short-term financial targets and long-term human values; courage ensures you make the right call.
Early in my tenure, we had to replace a aggressive supplier who looked like a hardened enforcer in a leather jacket. On the evening before a negotiation meeting, a colleague warned me: "Careful with them—I heard they locked another CEO in a car trunk for two days until he changed his mind." Fear paints dark scenarios, and I spent the night imagining being locked in a trunk! Five minutes before the meeting, my colleague burst into my office grinning: "Good news—they arrived in a yellow Lamborghini. It has no trunk!"
The meeting went smoothly, we severed the contract respectfully, and I never saw them again. I still don't know if the trunk story was real, but it taught me a valuable lesson: fear breeds poor decisions, whereas courage drives necessary transformation.
Jiří Koleňák: What happens to a team when they are guided by an authentic leader?
Daniel Digoň: Authenticity is contagious. During our company’s worst crisis—losing business and facing deep financial losses—several key managers refused to leave. When I asked them later why they stayed, they replied: "We stayed because we saw you were genuinely committed to saving this company." Authenticity rallies people together.
Jiří Koleňák: You often state that leading means "being with people, not above them." How is that practiced daily?
Daniel Digoň: Through small daily habits. Every morning, I grab a cup of coffee and walk through the office floors to chat informally with colleagues, resolving small issues on the spot. We maintain an open-door policy, hold monthly company-wide Town Halls, and take our executive management team offsite twice a year for three-day strategic retreats in different locations.
Jiří Koleňák: What has this human-centric approach taught you about yourself?
Daniel Digoň: I am naturally an introvert, meaning social interaction drains my battery and solitude recharges it. For years, I avoided large gatherings. Over time, I discovered that while managing people consumes energy, authentic human connection also inspires and energizes me. If I isolate myself, I stagnate.
Jiří Koleňák: I resonate with that completely. My personal assessments categorize me as an introvert, yet I act as a "professional extrovert." Choosing to find joy and energy in human connection makes all the difference.
Daniel Digoň: Exactly.
Jiří Koleňák: Moving from CFO to CEO is often described as stepping into greater decision-making freedom. What was that transition like for you?
Daniel Digoň: Having a finance background, I was drawn to business growth. But the transition to CEO was tougher than expected. As CFO, you look up at the CEO thinking: "I could easily make those calls—the financial models are right in front of me."
Once you step into the CEO chair, you face unexpected pressures—most notably, executive loneliness. As CFO, you have a peer network to confide in. As CEO, you stand alone. Group owners or regional boards care about performance metrics, not how exhausted or uncertain you feel on a given Tuesday. Navigating that isolation was a major adjustment.
Jiří Koleňák: How does a former CFO develop a deeply human-centric "Human to Human" operational philosophy?
Daniel Digoň: We formalized "Human to Human" two years ago after realizing all our initiatives shared a common thread: service businesses run on human relationships.
It operates on two levels:
- Operational Level: Facility management isn't about maintaining physical concrete; it's about caring for the human beings inside those buildings. Our staff ensure your office environment is comfortable, safe, and productive.
- Management Level: As CEO of a 2,000-person organization, I don't interact with all 300+ corporate clients daily. But I interact with my executive team every day. If I care for my leadership team, they care for middle management, and middle management cares for our frontline staff—who then deliver exceptional service to the end client.
Jiří Koleňák: How does that philosophy shape conflict resolution?
Daniel Digoň: Conflict is inevitable in workplace relationships. The key is addressing conflict constructively, stripping away destructive emotions, and refusing to sweep problems under the rug. Healthy, respectful disagreement drives organizations forward.
Jiří Koleňák: How do you preserve authenticity in a corporate environment without compromising professional standards?
Daniel Digoň: It requires continuous self-discipline to avoid the "authenticity trap"—assuming that holding an executive title excuses poor behavior or disrespect toward staff.
Professionalism means adhering to high operational standards. I ask our teams: "What pitch are we playing on?" In lower amateur leagues, players show up late to practice after drinking beers. But Atalian is a top-ten facility management enterprise nationwide—we play in the top league at Eden Stadium. Playing in the premier league requires clean uniforms, punctual training, and relentless professional execution under pressure.
Jiří Koleňák: You mention that water sports—freediving, kiteboarding, fishing—keep you centered amidst corporate chaos. How does that translate into work?
Daniel Digoň: High-stakes executive stress requires intentional physical and mental reset routines. In my office, I keep subtle visual cues—like fishing lures and freediving photographs—to remind me of nature and tranquility. I encourage my team to maintain strong hobbies and personal downtime. Sustained high performance requires balancing intense work with deep, restorative rest.
Years ago, I spoke with Usain Bolt’s coach at a conference and asked when Bolt performed at his peak. He replied: "When his sleep, training, and relaxation are in total 8-8-8 balance." Bolt achieved world records by sleeping 8 hours, training 8 hours, and relaxing mentally for 8 hours (playing video games and disconnecting). I encourage my management team to strive for that same operational equilibrium.
Jiří Koleňák: What does a typical week look like for you as CEO?
Daniel Digoň: Mondays and Tuesdays are dedicated to internal administration, strategy, and office check-ins. From Wednesday through Friday, I am out in the field visiting client sites and facilities. My daily goal is wrapping up office duties by 5:00 PM to spend quality time with my family.
Jiří Koleňák: How do you handle extreme pressure when stress peaks?
Daniel Digoň: I lean on water sports, fishing, and my family. My executive performance directly mirrors my home life stability. If my family foundation is grounded and peaceful, I navigate corporate pressures effortlessly.
A useful metaphor I share with managers: "Executives juggle many balls simultaneously—family, health, career, finances. Some balls are made of rubber, like work—if you drop a rubber ball, it bounces back and you can pick up another job. But some balls are made of glass, like your family, health, or core integrity—if you drop a glass ball, it shatters permanently." Leaders must know which balls are rubber and which are glass.
Jiří Koleňák: Is there a career mistake you look back on with gratitude?
Daniel Digoň: Early in my career, driven by raw ambition to become a CFO before age 30, I undermined my female boss to capture her role—despite her having hired and mentored me. I aggressively maneuvered to secure her position.
When I won the promotion, the expected euphoria never arrived. Instead, I felt a hollow emptiness. It taught me a permanent lesson: career titles mean nothing if you destroy human trust along the way. Recently, when group owners approached me directly regarding an issue involving my current boss, I went straight to my boss and disclosed the conversation immediately. Preserving integrity and relationships matters far more than corporate politics.
Jiří Koleňák: How do you cultivate a growth mindset around failure within your team?
Daniel Digoň: We instill a winning mindset: winning and losing are normal, but every loss must yield an objective debrief. When we lose a commercial tender or client account, we conduct a structured post-mortem to analyze the root causes and refine our approach.
I remind our team of elite sports figures: Michael Jordan holds record scoring titles, but also missed the most game-winning shots; Barry Bonds holds home run records alongside major strikeout records. Success is built on a willingness to iterate, learn from failures, and keep stepping up to the plate.
Jiří Koleňák: How do you define personal success today?
Daniel Digoň: Leaving things better than you found them—a principle articulated by Apple CEO Tim Cook. If I take over a fragmented organization, rebuild its culture, and leave it in a thriving state, that is success. Personal growth and continuous learning define success for me.
Jiří Koleňák: What advice would you offer your younger self?
Daniel Digoň: Slow down. Early on, my aggressive hurry created unnecessary friction and damaged relationships. Consistent, disciplined endurance will get you to your destination without burning out your surroundings along the way.
Jiří Koleňák: What role does humility play in leadership?
Daniel Digoň: An immense role. Executive power can easily breed arrogance. Early in my telecommunications career, the company flew me to Switzerland in a luxury limousine and put me up in a five-star hotel—and my ego inflated overnight. Shortly after, I changed roles, took a junior position elsewhere, and attended the exact same Swiss training event—this time traveling by overnight bus and staying in a budget hostel!
That experience delivered a profound truth: status belongs to the temporary job title, not to you as an individual. Roles change instantly, but character remains. Remembering that keeps me humble regardless of corporate standing.
Jiří Koleňák: What final message would you like to share with our audience and student community?
Daniel Digoň: Believe in people. At their core, people are fundamentally good, though many carry hidden wounds from past experiences that manifest as anxiety, defensiveness, or hostility. Leadership is about searching for the good in others, practicing empathy, and building environments where people can thrive.
Jiří Koleňák: Spoken by Daniel Digoň. Daniel, thank you very much for joining us and sharing your inspiring journey and leadership principles.
Daniel Digoň: Thank you very much for the invitation, Jirka. It was a true pleasure.
Jiří Koleňák: To our viewers, thank you for watching. Please like, comment, and share, and see you next time with more inspiring guests!
