The founder of Jablotron and patron Dalibor Dědek, who no longer has to devote himself fully to managing the company, is now enjoying more free time. He spends it in a house in the Jizera Mountains and also watches over his grandchildren.
On the way to the Královka lookout tower in Jizera Mountains, people with prams or cyclists pass an inconspicuous wooden house with a slightly overgrown garden. Many of them spontaneously greet its inhabitants Dalibor Dědek. At that time from sawdust from sawn wood and in overalls.
Even though they don't know each other, they call Dalibor Dědek from a distance. They may know that the founder and co-owner of Jablotron could enjoy the millions he earned, but instead he is trying to improve his immediate surroundings and help on various "fronts". For example, seniors with dementia or good teachers.
Thanks to the Jablotron Foundation, visitors to Jizerky now learn, by the way, that there used to be an airport on the nearby Hrabětické louky, perhaps surprisingly for some.
You have already handed over the management of the company, even if you co-own Jablotron. Is that why you cut wood like this in the middle of the week? I introduced a few such conveniences. Ever since I handed over the reins in Jablotron, I've made free Wednesdays. I stopped going to work. You just hit. I'm trying to shut down. It's too good to think about. Before, when a man was soaked in that executive, it was sometimes like a carousel ride. Then I introduced a second luxury about two years ago. And that I'm babysitting my grandchildren on Friday. I take them out on Thursday evening and return them at the weekend. That's a big charger.
Have you ever felt that a company does not work without you? You know I do. The biggest problem was getting rid of him. I'm very impatient and as I didn't think things went fast, I didn't have the patience. I often finished things after someone. A colleague has a far greater ability to delegate things to others.
You can hear a lot about you also because of the Jablotron Foundation, which supports various public benefit matters. Thanks to her, the surrounding meadows we are looking at have not been bought by speculators now. Why did you mind? I'll take it wider. I've always wanted to see Paris, London or New York. But when I stayed there, I realized how terribly beautiful it is with us, how quickly we get to the amazing nature that we have to respect. When I moved to Jizerky, I saw efforts to make those Hrabětické luks a golf course and I don't know what else. The farmer who worked here said, 'Well, I'll probably sell it here.' I thought it would be a shame for deer to stop coming here and there was no classic mountain meadow. So we bought it. Today it is already invested in the foundation. And the meadows will remain meadows.
Recently, you built seven new boards between the Presidential Cottage and the chapel in Hrabětice, where people will learn interesting things related to the place. What did you want to tell people along the way? I, too, gradually learned from the natives or witnesses what was where. I thought, 'Thunder! it would be good if there was a lesson when moms or dads walk here with prams. ' We are aware that there are a lot of people walking between the chapel and Královka or the Presidential Cottage. On weekends, there are crowds. And here it is directly offered. I'd like to give people something.
I was surprised that there used to be an airport. As I learned from the board, construction began in 1947. It was started on a winch and the aircraft could reach a height of 700 meters. And there used to be a brick hangar. None of this is today. Well yes. I learned this from the farmer from whom we bought meadows. He remembered that when he drove there with a lawn mower, there was a winch. Equally interesting is the underground gallery from the Josefodolská dam to the Bedřichov water treatment plant. I am happy when I ride around on a scooter or bicycle that people stop there and say to themselves that they may not have known.
Was it hard to get all the period photographs and information?
We got photos from archives or people brought them to us. But the boards were created for a very long time and painfully. Making such signs is a normal construction. With a building permit, with a zoning decision. Just with everything. And because it's seven signs, it's seven buildings. That's why it was no fun. Getting photos was a complete toy. (laughter)
Do you expect a new branch of the trail to appear?
We didn't even think about it. We'll see. Again, so that the Jizerky are not aligned with various information signs. I consider projects as important as the one we did in the meadow from Kaplička towards the Slovanka lookout tower. People walked there and walked the path and the water eroded. The farmer was very upset, trying to kick out all the tourists and cyclists. But we said that people there needed that way. So we had a gravel paved road made there. We also had to ask permission for it.
More and more people are asking you for money to support various projects? And do you have to reject them too?
Oh yes. The biggest school for me was when I became Entrepreneur of the Year in 1994. And the only truly measurable quantity that followed was the number of requests for sponsorship of everything possible and impossible. At that time, we received about three thousand requests. This gave us a school and we set priorities and areas in which we want to put money. Of course, there are a lot of those requests. But I have clever people there who follow the set rules. We rarely break them. For example, if you see from the office that a car beats a pedestrian at the crossing, you will think that it would be good to illuminate the crossings. So sometimes we also do things that are not in the long-term plan. But that's probably life.
What project has made you happy lately? A lot of them make me happy. But one of such quite challenging nuts was the Home for the Elderly built from the former Jewelery, which we built in Jablonec for 110 clients. There are about 75 employees. It is certified for the care of seniors with dementia or severe disabilities. Doctors are able to prolong human life, but unfortunately not the quality of life. When seniors begin to suffer from dementia and have serious problems, it is a big problem for the family. Those who do not care for a demented parent do not know what they are talking about. It's a terrible order. That's why I'm so happy that the home works. When you come to see it, it smells there, the people are satisfied. It is the greatest satisfaction. Unfortunately, there are still few places.
The election is approaching. Haven't you thought about trying to run again? (Last year, Dalibor Dědek ran for the Mayors and Independents movement as the leader of the candidate in the Ústí Region. He left the candidate after less than a month, editor's note.) After those three weeks of last year's "Camping" . Namely, that the Old Man is not suitable for politics. There must be a special type of politician who has patience, total resilience, is able to make compromises. I'm a person who likes things when things move forward. When I see that the partner I have to make a deal with is a person I don't respect for some reason, I don't want to talk to him. Even in the company, I always chose people to form a working team.
But unless decent people go into politics, their level will never change. I am also convinced that decent people must go into politics. There are many of them. But unfortunately those rude or miserable people still get a lot of media space. That is why we are cooperating with the Via Foundation, where a project to support entry into municipal policy is being launched. Via supports the various drivers in each region. People who remember to fix the chapel or just do something more than just for themselves. The idea is to give those people support to go into communal politics if they have a little bit to do. I realized that politics could be done either from above, which I tried a little bit last year before I found out that this was not the way for me. Or from below. And I think that's much better. When we do specific things useful to others. I say that anyone can do politics. He can either mutter that the world around him is not what he wants or do something about it.
Author: Adam Pluhař
Dalibor Dědek
He was born on June 21, 1957. Czech businessman, patron and co-owner of the Jablotron group of companies. According to Forbes magazine, with assets of over 5 billion crowns, it is the 36th richest Czech . Jablotron is behind the establishment of a winter dormitory for the homeless in Prague, or the extensive reconstruction of the former Jewelery into a modern home for the elderly in Jablonec, supports the Neuron Endowment Fund for Science Support and co-finances the purchase of equipment for the Jablonec Hospital. It plays an extraordinary role in the management and protection of valuable mountain meadows in the Jizera Mountains .