Mikhail Belenky: I’ll get ready for the trip in 10 minutes

We continue the “Frankly speaking” section. Its heroes are employees of the Mosmetrostroy group of companies, who share their rules of life with readers. This time we talked with Mikhail Belenky, Deputy General Director of Mosmetrostroy JSC for Marketing and Foreign Economic Affairs. He told how he won the Tunnel Oscar and learned to speak English.

• I was born in the center of Moscow, in a simple family. My father is a highly skilled worker, my mother is an accountant.
• Childhood was bright. As an only child, I was given a lot of attention, and I gave back: I studied well, was obedient, and went in for swimming.
• My grandmother and aunt, who graduated from MIIT, inspired me to become an engineer. My grandmother, a bridge engineer, built many famous objects, including the metro bridge on the Lenin Hills.
• Professional literacy is the main quality of a civil engineer. You need to understand what to do and how to do it.
• Served in the railway troops at BAM. The army taught me independence in work and responsibility for decisions made. In two years he built 11 bridges. The longest one is 264 meters.
• I consider my greatest achievement to be my participation in the construction of the combined road and railway Adler – Alpika-Service. 35 km of tunnels for various purposes were built and put into operation in 4 years for the Olympics in Sochi. In a professional competition held by the International Tunnel Association, the MOST Group of Companies received the “Tunnel Oscar” for this project in the category “Main Project of the Year.”
• I spend a lot of time working with the International Tunnel Association, with which I have been cooperating for more than 25 years. Currently, I am an ITA expert and a member of the jury of the international competition “Main Project of the Year”.
• You need to be able to hear your partner and understand the tasks facing the team. If you deal only with your own issues and do not listen to the problems of your colleagues, solving a common problem is doomed to failure.
• A leader must be demanding. The construction of tunnels is an industry where there can be no concessions or retreats.
• I am against forceful methods, you can always reach an agreement.
• In negotiations I try to make people believe me. Decisions are made by living people. If you managed to win them over, you can count on continued dialogue and development.
• I speak English, although I have no special education. I am self-taught.
• I am a lucky person. I achieve everything I set my mind to. There have been no disappointments or serious failures in my life. There is always a way out of any difficult situation.
• Like any business traveler, I have an “alarm suitcase”. It contains a set of things necessary for travel. I'll get ready for the trip in ten minutes.
• I take books on the plane. I re-read works from the school curriculum that were incomprehensible to me as a child. I love listening to audiobooks. This is mainly modern literature.
• I have four grandchildren and one granddaughter. I dream that they will grow up to be good people.