Two thirds of German managers believe that sustainability makes economic sense, according to a Capgemini study. At the same time, according to a study by Ipsos and Bertelsmann Stiftung, only slightly less than half of employees (49%) feel that sustainability is important in their companies. This suggests two things: firstly, that the high importance of … Read more
Values are highly popular among companies around the world. Almost every large enterprise has published a set of corporate values on their website and in glossy brochures. There is a good reason for this, because values can fulfil several important functions: they guide corporate decisions, shape company culture, influence employee behaviour and attract talent. Popular … Read more
Many C-suite and mid-level executives have by now understood and experienced the benefits of business coaching. The range of topics for business coaching is very wide. It includes leadership development, stress management, coping with change, and handling conflicts, to name just a few. One particular branch of business coaching which still requires more explaining is … Read more
The experts have been debating the use of strategic planning for some time. Already in the mid-1990s, Canadian management professor Henry Mintzberg questioned the use of a formal strategic planning process in his book “The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning”. And in view of fast, partly unforeseeable changes, there are good reasons to doubt … Read more
After 12 games of the world chess championship between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin the score was 6-6, and a tiebreak became necessary to get a decision in the match. The tiebreak on Wednesday, 30 November, consisted of four rapid games with 25 minutes plus 10 seconds increment per move for each player. With such … Read more
On Monday, 21 November, the world chess championship match between titleholder Magnus Carlsen and his challenger Sergey Karjakin saw the first decided game after seven draws. Game 8 took a dramatic course and ended in a win for Karjakin with the black pieces after 52 moves. The game perfectly illustrates the fourth success principle from … Read more
We live in uncertain times. Today, leadership may often feel like being the captain of a sailing ship in a heavy thunderstorm. While you are keeping the ship above water, you are struggling to keep your orientation, and you don’t know what will happen next. Just think back 12 months. In August 2015, we didn’t … Read more
On 23 June 2016, 51.9% of the British electorate voted in a referendum for leaving the European Union. The consequences of this vote for Brexit, short for ‘British exit’, are not yet fully clear. Many open questions remain, like, for example: When will the British government invoke article 50 of the EU treaty on withdrawing … Read more
Do you remember Swissair? In the 20th century, this airline used to be as economically solid as a Swiss bank, which is why some people called it the “flying bank”. And yet, it was the first airline to collapse in the crisis of 2001. Researchers Aaron Hermann and Hussain G. Rammal from the University of … Read more
Generally, the assumption still prevails that strategy and strategic thinking are an exclusive domain of a company’s executives. This assumption is historically well founded. And it is wrong in today’s business environment. The Greek word “strategos”, of which the term “strategy” is derived, means “general”. And the general in ancient Athens as well as in … Read more
For many businesses, the year 2015 was challenging. At first glance, the opportunities outweighed the threats. Cheap money and cheap oil stimulated the business of many companies. However, not every company was able to benefit from the opportunities. The year 2015 saw interesting examples of success and failure, which were significantly influenced by the quality … Read more
When the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference ended with the Paris Agreement on 12 December, one of the first to comment was Paul Polman, CEO of multinational consumer goods company Unilever. In a statement published on the same day, Polman praised the agreement as “a clear path to decarbonise the global economy”. He considers … Read more