Adapt to overcome

The beginning of the 20th century has marked a before and after in the history of mankind; this is due to various events of different kinds that led to a huge conflict, the first world war. One of the greatest advantages that an army could have at this time was the performance power of its vehicles for the most extreme situations. An engineer named Max Friz was primarily responsible for the successful water-cooled 4-cylinder engine that powered German aircraft during combat. The company behind Max’s work was dedicated to the manufacture of aircraft engines and was founded during the war in March 1916.

Various feats that German pilots achieved during combat were mainly due to the great performance of this product. Once the war was over, the Treaty of Versailles prohibited the manufacture of aircraft engines in Germany, so the company we know today as BMW (BATS EU: BMW) was forced to reinvent itself and start producing something new. They applied their aeronautical expertise to produce motorbikes that proved to be a success in two-wheeled racing, providing the ideal marketing to generate a significant increase in sales.

Years later, the brand’s first automobile was produced, which achieved great performance for the time with a top speed of 74 km/h (74 mph). Aircraft remained a focus for BMW (BATS EU: BMW), and the company’s reputation in the aviation sector was a great help in gaining the trust of those who bought its motorbikes and automobiles, so they increasingly sought to emphasize the relationship between wheeled vehicles and aircraft in their designs and commercials. In fact, for this reason, the logo depicting the blades of an aeroplane is still used today. Like any company in its beginnings, not everything could be rosy. In 1939, with the outbreak of the Second World War, the company was forced to suspend the production of cars in order to use all its resources in the confrontation, its motorbikes transported the armies, and the planes flew with their engines. 

As a result, its factories became a target for German enemies, suffering fierce bombing that left its production plant in ruins. After the war, BMW (BATS EU: BMW) had to rebuild its facilities from scratch and without capital, and motorbikes seemed to be the best way to resume business. Some six years after the end of the world conflict, precisely in 1951, the company was back in full operation, launching its first post-war car. Since then, BMW (BATS EU: BMW) has become a very successful company over time thanks to its flexibility to adapt to the context, a key for any entrepreneur who wants to move forward with a personal project.

I dare say that any change, challenge or problem that arises without having foreseen it before will make us move towards our goals with greater speed and maturity; even if we do not see it this way at the time, we will later understand that this situation was necessary to be able to grow. If we avoid blaming the context and overcome the obstacle, we will become more capable people. The next time you think of undertaking something, don’t torture yourself by trying to have everything perfectly calculated before taking action, because it could happen to you like BMW (BATS EU: BMW), which in less than a decade had to reinvent itself several times, and as far as we know, they have been successful at it.

None of us can overlook a vehicle of this brand today; even my mother, who knows absolutely nothing about cars, can spot one of them on the street and would be scared just by imagining a drive on the motorway at 250 km/h, which, by the way, is the speed that some of the models with sports packages can exceed without the slightest difficulty. For engine lovers like me, whenever we think of speed and performance, to a greater or lesser extent, we will always have a BMW in mind.