the_blog

Goodbye VUCA, Hello PUMO: What You Need to Do Now

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 16:40:52 GMT

Are you ‘PUMO ready’? Management tools for VUCA are insufficient in a PUMO world, which is Polarized, Unthinkable, Metamorphic, and Overheated.

Since the initial blog post about my PUMO framework, the response has been overwhelming. Clearly, the concept has struck a nerve, and I have used it in multiple keynotes and workshops. PUMO goes beyond VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) and describes the world as increasingly: Polarized, Unthinkable, Metamorphic, Overheated. The interest in PUMO shows how urgently we need new frameworks to understand and lead in a hyper-dynamic business environment.

If we accept the general relevance of the PUMO dimensions, how should companies and individuals proceed? This is the key question that I have addressed in a longer article in the International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management . This academic article shows that PUMO is not just another acronym requiring similar answers to VUCA. Instead, fundamentally new management approaches are necessary, and they are also a key part of my PUMO Management Workshop . If leaders and companies want to thrive in such an environment, they need proactive management and leadership, particularly the 4 Ps of PUMO Management: Positive, Predictive, Progressive, Purposeful.

Positive positioning in response to 'Polarized'
In a polarized world, staying positive is a strategic necessity because leaders and employees cannot afford to slip into negativity about the tendency to extremes with limited middle ground. Instead of trying to weigh in on every debate, smart companies and persons pick their battles and speak up only where it truly matters for them. The winning move today: keep the mindset upbeat, stay focused, and position your team and company selectively where you think it really matters and where your voice actually moves the needle.

Predictive anticipation in response to 'Unthinkable'
When the unthinkable becomes the new normal, which is never normal, leaders cannot just flexibly react. They need to think ahead and actively scan the horizon. Most ‘surprises’ are not actually that surprising, so anticipation, extreme scenario thinking, and investing in strategic options are essential. The strongest teams today combine anticipatory strategizing with real-time sensing, preparing not only for likely events but also for the extreme ones that could redefine their business overnight.

The 4 Ps of PUMO Management
(www.ulrichlichtenthaler.com)

Progressive transformation in response to 'Metamorphic'
In a metamorphic world where constant change is the norm rather than the exception, leaders must adopt a progressive, always-evolving mindset. Fixed plans and stable reference points are fading. Instead, companies need a nomadic approach that allows them to regularly reposition, reinvent, transform, and investigate alternatives without a permanent home, but with a clear understanding of key skills and core competencies. Winning teams explore multiple future pathways, innovate continuously, and even reinvent their own innovation systems to stay ahead in nonstop transformation.

Purposeful focus in response to 'Overheated'
When the environment overheats, it is easy to get swept up in chaos. To avoid drama, leaders need to stay grounded in purpose, values, and long-term direction. Instead of chasing the perfect solution, the answer is to deliver solid actions and performance while keeping a cool head and a clear sense of what truly matters. Purposeful leadership helps firms and teams avoid organizational burnout, cut through noise, and stay focused on the strategic goals that define long-term success despite constant short-term pressure.

What you need to do now
The 4 Ps of PUMO Management differ fundamentally from the classic remedies for a VUCA world. Often, agility and resilience are considered as antidotes to VUCA. Unfortunately, however, they are frequently misunderstood in practice. Agility often leads to a passive ‘wait and see’ approach until an external shock calls for a flexible reaction. Resilience often encourages limited commitment and negative attitudes with employees persevering without seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. While not originally intended, resilience and agility therefore often lead to a negative and passive climate, which strongly contrasts with the positive and proactive mindset that would allow firms to thrive in a PUMO world.

Thus, PUMO highlights anticipatory strategizing, and it underscores the limitations of how agility and resilience are often implemented. While strategic flexibility and perseverance continue to be important, they need to be balanced with predictive preparation and a positive mindset. Beyond merely increasing awareness, the framework helps to systematically identify situation-specific measures and next steps for exploiting opportunities while avoiding threats. As such, PUMO has proven to be an effective tool in many workshops across industries and hierarchical levels. For a free initial discussion about the implications of the PUMO world for your organization, about the PUMO Management Workshop , or about my PUMO keynote (in English or German), please contact me here .

VUCA war gestern, PUMO ist heute: Was jetzt zu tun ist

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 16:40:36 GMT

Sind Sie bereit für PUMO? Maßnahmen für VUCA reichen in einer PUMO Welt (Polarized, Unthinkable, Metamorphic, Overheated) nicht mehr aus.

Seit meinem ersten Blogbeitrag zum PUMO Framework war die Resonanz überwältigend. Offensichtlich trifft das Konzept einen Nerv. Inzwischen habe ich PUMO in zahlreichen Vorträgen und Workshops eingesetzt. Der Ansatz geht bewusst über VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) hinaus und beschreibt die Welt als zunehmend: Polarized, Unthinkable, Metamorphic und Overheated. Das große Interesse an PUMO zeigt, wie dringend neue Ansätze benötigt werden, um in einem turbulenten Unternehmensumfeld Orientierung zu finden und wirksam zu führen.

Vor dem Hintergrund der PUMO Welt stellt sich eine entscheidende Frage: Wie sollten Unternehmen und Führungskräfte jetzt handeln? Genau dieser Frage bin ich in einem ausführlicheren Artikel im International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management nachgegangen. Die zentrale Erkenntnis: PUMO ist nicht einfach nur ein neues Akronym. Vielmehr erfordert die PUMO Welt grundlegend andere Managementansätze als VUCA und diese bilden auch einen wesentlichen Bestandteil meines PUMO Management Workshops . Wer unter den aktuellen Bedingungen weiterhin erfolgreich bleiben möchte, benötigt proaktives Management und Leadership, insbesondere die 4 Ps für PUMO Management: Positive, Predictive, Progressive, Purposeful.

‚Positive Positioning‘ als Antwort auf ‚Polarized‘
In einer polarisierten Welt ist eine positive Grundeinstellung eine strategische Notwendigkeit. Führungskräfte und Mitarbeitende können es sich nicht leisten, aufgrund zunehmend extremer Meinungen und wenig Raum für Kompromisse in eine negative Grundhaltung zu verfallen. Statt sich in jeder Debatte zu positionieren, wählen erfolgreiche Unternehmen und Führungskräfte ihre Themen bewusst aus. Sie beziehen dort Stellung, wo es für sie wirklich relevant ist und wo ihre Stimme Wirkung entfalten kann. Der entscheidende Erfolgsfaktor: ein positives Mindset, klare Fokussierung und eine selektive, bewusste Positionierung von Team und Organisation.

‚Predictive Anticipation‘ als Antwort auf ‚Unthinkable‘
Wenn das Undenkbare zur neuen Normalität wird, reicht reaktives Management nicht mehr aus. Führung erfordert vorausschauendes Denken und systematische Umfeldbeobachtung. Viele vermeintliche Überraschungen sind bei genauerem Hinsehen vorhersehbar. Deshalb sind Antizipation, extreme Szenarien und das Investieren in verschiedene strategische Optionen so wichtig. Erfolgreiche Unternehmen verbinden antizipative strategische Planung mit kontinuierlichem Monitoring in Echtzeit. Sie bereiten sich nicht nur auf wahrscheinliche Entwicklungen vor, sondern auch auf extreme Ereignisse, die ihr gesamtes Geschäftsmodell plötzlich verändern können.

Die 4 Ps für PUMO Management
(www.ulrichlichtenthaler.com)

‚Progressive Transformation‘ als Antwort auf ‚Metamorphic‘
In turbulenten Zeiten ist permanenter Wandel üblich. Feste Pläne und Referenzpunkte verlieren an Bedeutung. Vielmehr kommt es auf ein progressives und sich kontinuierlich weiterentwickelndes Mindset an. Erfolgreiche Unternehmen positionieren und erfinden sich regelmäßig neu. Dort werden laufend neue Chancen verfolgt, ohne dabei die eigenen Schlüsselfähigkeiten und Kernkompetenzen aus den Augen zu verlieren. Kontinuierlicher Wandel erfordert eine fortwährende Suche nach ganz neuen Lösungen und Innovationen ebenso wie das Hinterfragen der eigenen Methoden für Transformation und Change.

‚Purposeful Focus‘ als Antwort auf ‚Overheated‘
In einem überhitzten Umfeld drohen Überforderung, Aktionismus und organisationaler Burnout. Um dem zu entgehen, brauchen Führungskräfte einen klaren inneren Kompass. Zielgerichtete Führung bedeutet, sich an Purpose, Werten und langfristiger Ausrichtung zu orientieren – auch unter massivem kurzfristigem Druck. Statt nach der perfekten Lösung zu suchen, geht es darum, solide Entscheidungen zu treffen, konsequent umzusetzen und dabei einen kühlen Kopf zu bewahren. Der Fokus auf einen klaren Purpose hilft Teams und Organisationen, sich nicht zu verzetteln, sondern Energien zu bündeln, um die langfristigen strategischen Ziele zu erreichen.

Was jetzt zu tun ist
Die 4 Ps für PUMO Management unterscheiden sich grundlegend von den typischen Antworten auf die VUCA Welt. Dort wurden häufig Agilität und Resilienz als zentrale Ansätze genannt, die in der Praxis beide jedoch oft missverstanden werden. Agilität führt nicht selten zu passivem Abwarten, bis ein externer Schock eine Reaktion erzwingt. Resilienz wiederum führt häufig zu reinem Durchhalten verbunden mit geringer Gestaltungskraft und sinkender Zuversicht. So entstehen ungewollt defensive, negative Einstellungen, die genau im Widerspruch stehen zu einem positiven und proaktiven Mindset, das in einer PUMO Welt benötigt wird.

PUMO Management setzt deshalb bewusst auf antizipatives strategisches Denken und verdeutlicht damit die Schwächen, mit denen Agilität und Resilienz oftmals gelebt werden. Strategische Flexibilität und Durchhaltevermögen bleiben natürlich wichtig, müssen jedoch um proaktives Handeln und ein positives Mindset ergänzt werden. Der PUMO Ansatz hilft dabei, ein gemeinsames Verständnis zu entwickeln sowie systematisch Maßnahmen und nächste Schritte abzuleiten. In zahlreichen Workshops über Branchen und Hierarchieebenen hinweg hat sich PUMO als wirkungsvolles Führungs- und Strategietool bewährt, um Chancen gezielt zu nutzen und Risiken frühzeitig zu adressieren. Wenn Sie mehr über die Auswirkungen der PUMO Welt auf Ihre Organisation, über den PUMO Management Workshop oder meine PUMO Keynote (auf Deutsch oder Englisch) erfahren möchten, kontaktieren Sie mich gerne hier für ein unverbindliches Erstgespräch.

PUMO Management Workshop: Turn pressure into performance

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 16:40:13 GMT

A one-day workshop will help you succeed with a PUMO Pressure Map and a firm-specific action plan based on the 4 Ps of PUMO Management.

The PUMO world (Polarized, Unthinkable, Metamorphic, Overheated) is the new normal, which is never normal. The question is: how will you, your team, and your company respond? Besides my keynote about the PUMO world, a one-day PUMO Management Workshop gives executives and managers practical tools to map pressures, make confident decisions, and lead teams that thrive under these extreme conditions. Learn to see opportunities positively, anticipate predictively, transform progressively, and act purposefully, thus turning disruption into your competitive advantage.

PUMO Management Workshop
A one-day workshop that helps companies and teams sharpen strategic thinking, identify new opportunities, boost a mindset shift, and inspire engagement in order to thrive, not just survive in a PUMO world. Using the PUMO framework, you map key disruptions and team pressures. On this basis, you define the right strategic directions and design actionable leadership responses. What you get:

Impulse: Understand how the PUMO world affects your team and company
PUMO Pressure Map: Detail your firm’s exposure and strategic pressure points
Tailored responses with the 4 Ps of PUMO Management: Positive, Predictive, Progressive, Purposeful
3-month action plan: Focused moves your leadership team can execute immediately

Example with emphasis on strategy
A machinery company faced shrinking revenues and margins as well as rising global tensions and technological disruption. With PUMO:

See the future positively: Differentiate in polarized markets
Anticipate predictively: Prepare for unthinkable risks early
Transform progressively: Rethink products and business models
Focus purposefully: Prioritize long-term goals despite pressure

Example with emphasis on leadership
A marketing agency faces a discouraged team worried about AI-based automation and a limited number of new clients. With PUMO:

Stay positive: See the opportunities from AI-based augmentation
Act predictively: Shift the mindset to explore new customers
Transform progressively: Embrace AI and storytelling services
Focus purposefully: Align with long-term vision and confidence

The time is now
Do not let PUMO define your future. Instead, take control, set the direction, and act with confidence. The world will not slow down, and your leadership should not either. Whether you want to sharpen strategy or strengthen your team’s mindset, the PUMO Management Workshop (available in English or German) delivers clarity and sustainable results. Take the first step today. Contact me here for a free initial discussion and start turning PUMO pressures into real opportunities.

PUMO Management Workshop: Erfolgreich bleiben in turbulenten Zeiten

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:39:14 GMT

Ein eintägiger firmenspezifischer Workshop legt die Grundlagen für künftigen Erfolg mit der PUMO Pressure Map und den 4 Ps für PUMO Management.

Die PUMO Welt (Polarized, Unthinkable, Metamorphic, Overheated) ist zur neuen Realität geworden. Stabilität ist die Ausnahme, Undenkbares wird zum Normalzustand. Die entscheidende Frage lautet daher nicht, ob sich Ihr Umfeld verändert, sondern wie Sie, Ihr Team und Ihre Organisation darauf reagieren. Als weiteres Format neben meiner PUMO Keynote verbindet der PUMO Management Workshop strategische Einordnung mit praktischer Anwendung. Führungskräfte erhalten Tools, um relevante Herausforderungen sichtbar zu machen, fundierte Entscheidungen zu treffen und Teams sicher durch extreme Rahmenbedingungen zu führen. Ziel ist es, Disruption nicht nur zu bewältigen, sondern gezielt in einen Wettbewerbsvorteil zu verwandeln.

PUMO Management Workshop
Der PUMO Management Workshop ist ein eintägiges Format für Unternehmen und Teams, die ihr strategisches Denken schärfen, neue Chancen erkennen und einen echten Wandel im Mindset anstoßen wollen. Auf Basis des PUMO Frameworks werden zentrale Herausforderungen und Schwierigkeiten identifiziert. Darauf aufbauend werden klare strategische Prioritäten definiert und konkrete Maßnahmen entwickelt, die im Alltag wirksam sind. Was Sie erwarten können:

Impuls: Klares Verständnis, wie die PUMO Welt Ihr Unternehmen und Ihr Team beeinflusst
PUMO Pressure Map: Strukturierte Übersicht der Herausforderungen, Risiken, aber auch Chancen
Firmenspezifische Maßnahmen auf Basis der 4 Ps für PUMO Management: Positive, Predictive, Progressive, Purposeful
3-Monats-Plan: Konkrete, umsetzbare Maßnahmen für Ihr Team und Unternehmen

Praxisbeispiel mit Fokus auf Strategie
Ein Maschinenbauer steht unter Druck durch sinkende Umsätze, schrumpfende Margen, geopolitische Spannungen und technologischen Wandel. Mit dem PUMO Ansatz:

Positiv denken: Klare Differenzierung in polarisierten Märkten
Vorausschauend handeln: Frühzeitige Vorbereitung auf bislang undenkbare Risiken
Progressiv transformieren: Produkte und Geschäftsmodelle richtig neu denken
Zielgerichtet fokussieren: Konsequente Priorisierung langfristiger Ziele

Praxisbeispiel mit Fokus auf Führung
Eine Werbeagentur spürt Verunsicherung und sinkende Motivation im Team aufgrund von Automatisierung durch KI und nur wenig neuen Kunden. Mit PUMO:

Positiv führen: KI als Chance zur Erweiterung von Kompetenzen wahrnehmen
Vorausschauend handeln: Veränderung im Mindset zur Gewinnung neuer Kunden
Progressiv transformieren: KI mit Mehrwert nutzen und Storytelling stärken
Auf Purpose ausrichten: Orientierung an einer klaren langfristigen Vision

Jetzt handeln
Überlassen Sie Ihre Zukunft nicht der PUMO Welt. Gestalten Sie aktiv, setzen Sie klare Handlungsfelder und gehen Sie mit Zuversicht voran. Die Welt wird nicht wieder berechenbarer – umso wichtiger sind Klarheit, Entscheidungsstärke und proaktives Handeln der Führungskräfte. Der PUMO Management Workshop (verfügbar auf Deutsch und Englisch) kann schwerpunktmäßig auf Strategie oder Führung ausgerichtet werden und bietet Orientierung sowie langfristige Wirkung. Vereinbaren Sie hier ein unverbindliches Erstgespräch, um die PUMO Welt in eine Chance zu verwandeln.

Smart Innovation: How to boost the impact of your innovation budget with generative AI and agentic AI

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 09:20:30 GMT

In light of the AI evolution, there is a growing need for systematically addressing AI-based automation, augmentation, and integrated intelligence.

What is happening?
Currently, innovation management is changing faster than ever. In the past years and decades, we have witnessed already several big shifts:

2000s: Open innovation – bringing in ideas and knowledge from outside and use your own knowledge to collaborate with external partners.
2010s: Agile innovation – using speed and iteration with tools, such as lean startup and scrum, in order to deliver better results.
Now: Smart innovation – using generative AI and agentic AI to make innovation processes smoother, faster, and more successful.

Why does it matter?
When adapting AI for enhancing innovation management, many firms currently focus on automation, thus using AI to take over repetitive tasks. While this is helpful, it overlooks the bigger prize: augmentation. AI should not just replace work, but also empower teams to think bigger, test faster, and achieve more with the same budget. This usually involves integrated intelligence , i.e. the combination of human and artificial intelligence.

What are common pitfalls?
Many companies quickly buy a particular AI tool without a clear strategy. Often, IT service providers push a single solution (their own solution), which may have some cool features, but which is not necessarily what the companies really need. Consequently, many of these (quite expensive) tools have limited impact, and this is true for adoption in small and large companies. What works for one company may not work for another.

What is a smarter approach?
Before investing in AI tools, you should ask yourself and your team several questions, for example:

Where are our current pain points in the innovation process, e.g. where are resources being wasted or processes slowing down?
Where are major gain points from using AI for enhancing innovation, e.g. where could it unlock the most opportunity in terms of faster prototyping, better customer insights etc.?

Once you know these answers, you may choose the right AI tools and integrated them with your existing tools. Therefore, I give keynotes and run workshops with leadership and innovation teams to map out firm-specific gain points and pain points, to explore use cases for generative AI and agentic AI, and to build a roadmap for smart innovation which boosts the impact of your innovation budget. Smart innovation is not about chasing the latest shiny tool. Instead, it is about aligning AI with your strategy so every dollar spent works harder. For a free initial discussion about unlocking smart innovation opportunities, please contact me here .

The PUMO world: Understanding the new business environment

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 09:22:29 GMT

A new business landscape calls for a whole new way of strategizing: Companies need to prepare for the PUMO world – Polarized, Unthinkable, Metamorphic, and Overheated.

The February 2025 showdown between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House led to considerable shock and surprise across the globe, yet it is just another example of how fundamentally the world has changed in recent years. In this context, existing frameworks for understanding the broader business landscape are insufficient, for example VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) and BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible). Firms constantly operate in contexts where these characteristics are nearly default settings. Consequently, these frameworks may still be helpful, but their marginal benefit is limited. They are not enough to successfully maneuver the global business landscape, where new challenges demand a novel approach with fresh business logic. Enter the PUMO framework (Polarized, Unthinkable, Metamorphic, Overheated), which enables a more relevant and actionable approach to succeeding in a shifting and turbulent environment. This is also addressed in detail in my new blog post about PUMO Management and in my PUMO Management Workshop .

Polarized: Coping with major divides
For several years, there has been a growing polarization about political, economic, social, and environmental topics. Rather than capturing multiple facets across a continuum, there is a tendency towards extremes with limited relevance of the middle ground. Stakeholders may expect firms to take clear positions, and just having a neutral spot regarding some topics becomes increasingly difficult. Multinational companies have the additional challenge of coping with contrasting demands based on different regional contexts worldwide. Beyond political, ESG , and AI topics, there may be specific business decisions that require a clear yes/no. Will a company decide in favor of supporting one major digital platform or another – and what implications will this have for its business in different regions across the globe? Such decisions may boost business and loyalty in some areas while leading to major challenges and problems in others. Thus, leaders need to understand the variety of divides and navigate them with strategic clarity.

Unthinkable: Anticipating the unimaginable
If companies try to prepare for the unexpected based on contingency plans, this may be a start, but it certainly is not enough. In recent years, we have witnessed a growing number of events, crises, and disruptions that traditionally would have been considered beyond the realm of possibility. Situations that are hard to predict or completely unpredictable may send shockwaves through the system of markets, industries, and business ecosystems. As difficult as it may be, companies need to prepare by trying to anticipate the unimaginable. Supposedly unthinkable news cannot be regarded as extremely rare exceptions, but they are an integral part of doing business. Firms need to react by strengthening their flexibility, nurturing their resilience, and broadening their strategic options. In addition, leaders need to be able and willing to fundamentally pivot and rethink their strategies at short notice while tactically adapting to specific situations in real time, and they may strategically prepare for this.

The PUMO world: Understanding the new business environment
(www.ulrichlichtenthaler.com; the conceptual work leading to the PUMO framework took place in 2024 – 2025,

including insights from numerous meetings, discussions, and projects with executives and managers across sectors)

Metamorphic: Embracing constant change
The business environment is always in motion, and business relationships as well as business models are in a constant state of flux. Metamorphic indicates this ever-changing nature of shifting partnerships, alliances, sectors, and entire markets. Based on a metamorphic paradigm, companies are in continuous movement, and they may actively influence and shape the business environment. What may have been true some time ago may no longer be true today. Thus, executives and managers need to constantly reevaluate and realign their companies’ positioning, relationships, processes, and structures. To thrive in this state of impermanence, companies must further hone their agility, innovation as well as progressive and pragmatic thinking. Grounded in a clear vision and purpose, they need to embrace change like a nomadic lifestyle without a permanent home or fixed location.

Overheated: Performing under pressure
In light of growing nervousness, excitement, and agitation, companies are under constant pressure to meet stakeholder expectations by delivering more results faster. There is increasing competition from new players worldwide, and these evolutions continually call for speed, efficiency, and strong results. Beyond this ever more challenging business context, overheating also indicates the importance of societal and cultural trends that lead to nervous and radical reactions in many parts of society and the world. From shitstorms on social media to other public scandals and excitement, this aggressive and high-pressure environment seems to be close to overboiling in many ways. In such a context, companies need to be at peace with themselves to avoid organizational burnout while enabling a culture that promotes sustainable growth in the long run rather than overemphasizing quick wins at short notice despite the constant pressure.

Preparing for the PUMO world
Companies have faced the challenges of the PUMO environment for some time already, but the characteristics and consequences of this new business landscape are becoming more and more evident now. Therefore, it is crucial to start preparing for the implications of the PUMO world immediately, in the business context and beyond. Preparing for the variety of implications is not just a matter of avoiding threats to survive in the long run. Instead, the PUMO environment also brings multiple new opportunities, especially for innovation and strategy renewal. The capability to maneuver in a polarized landscape, to anticipate unthinkable scenarios, to embrace metamorphic change, and to perform in an overheated environment requires forward-thinking strategic leadership – at individual, team, unit, organizational, and interorganizational levels.

Most probably, fortune will favor the prepared executive and organization. However, successfully positioning and regularly repositioning a company in the PUMO era brings strategic challenges to a whole new level. At the same time, there may be unprecedented opportunities. To thrive in PUMO settings, companies must ensure that they do not lose sight of the forest for the trees. Paradoxically, this requires regularly returning to the basics of corporate and business strategy. In fact, there are systematic ways and tools for strategy development and execution which have proven effective and efficient in many projects. For a free initial discussion about the implications of the PUMO world for your organization or about my PUMO Management Workshop or my PUMO keynote (in English or German), please contact me here .

Mehr als Reporting: Der positive Business Case für Sustainability

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:11 GMT

Nachhaltigkeit geht weit über regulatorische Berichtspflichten hinaus – sie bietet große Chancen für New Business, Innovation und vieles mehr!

Nachhaltigkeit und ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) stellen für Unternehmen große Herausforderungen dar, bieten aber auch neue Chancen. Im Kontext eines schwierigen ökonomischen Umfelds sowie neuer regulatorischer Anforderungen sehen sowohl das Sustainability Management in Organisationen einerseits als auch die Unternehmensführung anderseits zunehmend die Notwendigkeit, den Mehrwert und Nutzen durch Nachhaltigkeit zu verdeutlichen – im Sinne eines überzeugenden Business Case für Sustainability und ESG.

Business Case für Nachhaltigkeit

Selten habe ich so viele Anfragen von Experten und Expertinnen aus Unternehmen zu einem ganz konkreten Thema erhalten wie in den letzten Monaten. Sowohl spezialisierte Sustainability Manager und Managerinnen als auch Top Führungskräfte aus Geschäftsführung oder Vorstand interessieren sich aktuell mit Blick auf Nachhaltigkeit ganz besonders für ein Thema, das noch vor einem Jahr viel weniger Aufmerksamkeit bekommen hat: welcher Mehrwert ergibt sich durch ESG für Unternehmen jenseits der neuen Berichtspflichten, die oft großen administrativen Aufwand erfordern, z.B. die Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive?

Ein von mir entwickelter praxisnaher und wissenschaftlich fundierter Bezugsrahmen zum Business Case für Sustainability bietet eine systematische Übersicht wesentlicher inhaltlicher Dimensionen, wie Nachhaltigkeit und ESG einen Mehrwert für Unternehmen liefern. Dabei wird insbesondere unterschieden zwischen regulatorisch getriebenen Aspekten, z.B. der Steigerung der Ressourceneffizienz und Erfüllung von Berichtspflichten (BLUE SKY STRATEGY), sowie chancenorientierten Aspekten, z.B. Kundenbindung, New Business, Innovation, Employer Branding usw. ( GREEN GRASS STRATEGY ). Der Fokus der meisten Firmen liegt bisher auf den regulatorisch getriebenen Handlungsfeldern, der Mehrwert durch Nachhaltigkeit geht jedoch weit darüber hinaus.

Keynote und unternehmensspezifische Workshops

Auf dieser Grundlage habe ich meine Angebote mit Bezug zu Nachhaltigkeit um einen neuen Keynote Vortrag ergänzt mit dem Titel ‚Beyond reporting – The positive business case for sustainability and ESG‘. Zusätzlich zu diesem generellen Vortrag habe ich ein firmenspezifisches Konzept entworfen und verfeinert. Nach einem Impuls mit Best Practices durch mich wird in einem Workshop mit Mitarbeitenden des jeweiligen Unternehmens erarbeitet, wie die Nachhaltigkeits-Aktivitäten einen Mehrwert und Nutzen für die Organisation liefern. Dabei werden einzelne quantitative KPIs mit qualitativen Erkenntnissen kombiniert, wodurch ein systematischer Überblick über den Mehrwert von Nachhaltigkeit und ESG gewonnen wird, insbesondere jenseits von Berichtspflichten.

Die Ergebnisse helfen einerseits Sustainability Managern und Managerinnen, ihre bedeutende Rolle zu verdeutlichen, gerade im Kontext der herausfordernden wirtschaftlichen Lage und teilweise geplanten Budgetkürzungen. Zusätzlich verdeutlichen die Ergebnisse besonders den Top Führungskräften aus Geschäftsführung oder Vorstand, welche zentrale strategische Bedeutung ESG spielt und welche neuen Chancen für das Kerngeschäft sich dadurch ergeben können. Für ein kostenloses Erstgespräch über einen Vortrag oder Workshop (auf Englisch oder Deutsch) zu diesem oder einem anderen Thema für Ihr Unternehmen kontaktieren Sie mich bitte hier .

Sustainability and ESG: Keynotes, Trainings, and Workshops

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 14:16:01 GMT

As sustainability and ESG are on top of many firms’ strategic agendas, there is a growing need for specialized trainings, workshops, and keynotes.

Many companies speed up their sustainability and ESG initiatives. Often, these initiatives lead to substantial transformation processes. In turn, this need for change often increases the need for impulses from external experts, and I am regularly invited to give keynotes, trainings, and workshops about ESG and sustainability.

A key learning from these activities is the need to tailor the content to the company setting. In fact, this need for targeted content seems to be more pronounced for sustainability and ESG than for other topics, such as strategy, leadership, innovation, and AI. Of course, some challenges like carbon emission reduction are shared by many firms. In a similar vein, the same keynote to increase awareness may work perfectly in many different companies. Beyond these common challenges, however, the specific context is essential for enabling the audience to transfer some of the new knowledge to their own job context based on frameworks, such as the SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP .

In this regard, it really matters to have a solid understanding of the target group (e.g., sustainability or corporate responsibility experts vs. managers from other functional areas, like supply chain management or marketing), the firms’ maturity level in terms of sustainability management, and the organizational context. On this basis, I have reviewed and systematized my sustainability-related services in three categories with some example topics of keynotes and workshops for each category:

Relevance, basics, and management

ESG and sustainability: Relevance and basics
Sustainability: Carbon emission reduction and what else?
Sustainability management: Evolution and maturity model
The importance of sustainability for supply chain management

Strategy, innovation, and business models

Beyond reporting: The positive business case for sustainability and ESG
SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP : Why resource efficiency is not enough
The GREEN GRASS STRATEGY for sustainability and innovation
In 10 steps towards sustainable business models

HR management, leadership, and change

Gen Z as SUSTAINABLE NATIVES : Challenges for HR and employer branding
Why do companies need a sustainable purpose?
Sustainability skills and key competencies for the future
Sustainability and I: Exciting new career opportunities

Moreover, my recent collaborations with firms across industries have underscored the need for advancing most firms’ sustainability management. In this regard, my trainings and workshops often combine the interactive communication of new content, intensive discussions, small group exercises, and initial ideas for applying the new knowledge to the participants’ job context. For a free initial discussion about a specialized sustainability and ESG training, workshop, or keynote (in English or German) for your organization, please contact me here .

Nachhaltigkeit und ESG: Keynotes, Schulungen und Workshops

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 13:52:47 GMT

Nachhaltigkeit und ESG stehen bei vielen Unternehmen ganz oben auf der Tagesordnung, daher wächst der Bedarf an spezialisierten Schulungen, Workshops und Vorträgen.

Viele Unternehmen beschleunigen aktuell ihre Nachhaltigkeits- und ESG-Initiativen, die oft nennenswerte Transformationsprozesse in Gang setzen. Diese Veränderungen wiederum erhöhen den Bedarf an Impulsen von externen ExpertInnen. Daher werde ich regelmäßig eingeladen, Vorträge, Schulungen und Workshops zu ESG und Nachhaltigkeit zu halten.

Eine wichtige Erkenntnis daraus ist die Notwendigkeit, die Inhalte auf das Unternehmensumfeld zuzuschneiden. Tatsächlich scheint diese Notwendigkeit bei Nachhaltigkeit und ESG stärker ausgeprägt zu sein als bei anderen Themen wie Strategie, Führung, Innovation und KI. Natürlich gibt es in vielen Firmen einige ähnliche Herausforderungen, wie z.B. die Reduzierung von CO2 Emissionen. Auch kann dieselbe Keynote zur Steigerung der Awareness in vielen verschiedenen Unternehmen perfekt funktionieren. Abgesehen von diesen gemeinsamen Herausforderungen ist jedoch der spezifische Kontext von entscheidender Bedeutung, um die Teilnehmenden in die Lage zu versetzen, auf Grundlage von Tools wie der SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP das neue Wissen zumindest teilweise auf ihren eigenen beruflichen Kontext zu übertragen.

Daher ist es sehr wichtig, ein gutes Verständnis der Zielgruppe (z.B. Nachhaltigkeits- oder Corporate-Responsibility-ExpertInnen im Vergleich zu ManagerInnen aus anderen Funktionsbereichen wie Supply Chain Management oder Marketing), des Reifegrads der Unternehmen im Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement und des organisatorischen Kontexts zu haben. Auf dieser Grundlage habe ich meine Angebote an Keynotes und Workshops mit Bezug zu Nachhaltigkeit in drei Kategorien systematisiert, jeweils mit einigen Beispielthemen:

Relevanz, Grundlagen und Management

ESG und Nachhaltigkeit: Relevanz und Grundlagen
Nachhaltigkeit: Reduzierung der CO2 Emissionen und was sonst noch?
Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement: Aktuelle Trends und Reifegradmodell
Die Bedeutung von Nachhaltigkeit für das Supply Chain Management

Strategie, Innovation und Geschäftsmodelle

Mehr als Reporting: Der positive Business Case für Nachhaltigkeit und ESG
SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP : Warum Ressourceneffizienz nicht genug ist
Die GREEN GRASS STRATEGY für Nachhaltigkeit und Innovation
In 10 Schritten zu nachhaltigen Geschäftsmodellen

Personalmanagement, Führung und Wandel

Die Gen Z als SUSTAINABLE NATIVES : Herausforderungen für HR und Employer Branding
Warum brauchen Unternehmen einen Sustainable Purpose?
Sustainability Skills und Schlüsselkompetenzen für die Zukunft
NachhaltICHkeit: Spannende neue Chancen für meine Karriere

Meine Zusammenarbeit mit Unternehmen aus verschiedenen Branchen in den letzten Monaten hat außerdem verdeutlicht, dass viele Firmen ihr Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement kontinuierlich weiterentwickeln müssen. Meine Schulungen und Workshops kombinieren dazu meist die interaktive Vermittlung neuer Inhalte, intensive Diskussionen, Kleingruppenübungen und erste Ideen zur Anwendung des neuen Wissens im beruflichen Kontext der Teilnehmenden. Für ein kostenloses Erstgespräch über eine spezialisierte Schulung, einen Workshop oder einen Impulsvortrag (auf Englisch oder Deutsch) für Ihr Unternehmen kontaktieren Sie mich bitte hier .

ChatGPT und generative KI: 63% unserer Jobs werden verändert und 7% ersetzt

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 17:18:52 GMT

ChatGPT und generative KI werden uns nicht überflüssig machen – auch wenn die aktuelle Berichterstattung genau diesen Eindruck erweckt.

ChatGPT hat uns allen verdeutlicht, wie schnell sich manche Felder künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) aktuell weiterentwickeln. Auch wenn einige dieser Entwicklungen schon seit Jahren erwartet wurden, ist die Geschwindigkeit vieler Verbesserungen selbst für manche ExpertInnen erstaunlich. Der aktuelle offene Brief des Future of Life Institute, der von über 1.000 Personen unterzeichnet wurde, ist daher grundsätzlich nachvollziehbar. Darin wird insbesondere auf die Risiken von KI hingewiesen und eine sechsmonatige Pause für das Trainieren leistungsfähiger KI-Lösungen gefordert.

Eine ausreichende Beachtung der Risiken von KI ist unbedingt erforderlich, auch wenn die aktuelle Berichterstattung dazu oft zu kurz greift. Noch erstaunlicher ist aus betriebswirtschaftlicher Sicht jedoch das Medienecho der letzten Wochen und Monate zu den Auswirkungen von KI auf die Arbeitswelt, das sowohl in klassischen Medien als auch bei Social Media zu beobachten war. Dort wird häufig gefragt, ob wir als Menschen noch schlau genug sind im Vergleich zur KI. Auch wird diskutiert, ob KI künftig die meisten Führungskräfte ersetzen wird.

Besonders oft steht also wieder einmal die Frage im Mittelpunkt, wie viele Personen durch KI ihren Job verlieren werden. Diese Frage ist auf den auf den ersten Blick vielleicht nachvollziehbar, weil durch KI-basierte Automatisierung in den nächsten Jahren tatsächlich in nennenswertem Umfang Jobs verloren gehen werden. Insbesondere werden auch solche Büro-Jobs betroffen sein, die bisher noch nicht automatisiert werden konnten. Dadurch sind mit offensiven Schlagzeilen sicherlich hohe Klickzahlen zu erreichen. Außerdem werden auch Arbeitsplätze in der Medienbranche automatisiert werden, wodurch sich die Berichterstattung zusätzlich erklären lässt.

Integrierte Intelligenz strategisch oft wichtiger als eigenständige KI
Dennoch wird viel zu oft ein einseitiger Schwerpunkt gelegt und damit auch ein falscher Eindruck vermittelt. Der wirklich entscheidende Teil der Entwicklung für die meisten Unternehmen und ebenso für die meisten Arbeitskräfte liegt in der Kombination von KI mit menschlicher Arbeit – und eben gerade nicht in der vollständigen Automatisierung von Jobs durch KI. In den letzten Jahren kamen verschiedenen Studien immer wieder zu ähnlichen Ergebnissen. Der Grundtenor ist dahingehend identisch, dass sich deutlich mehr Jobs verändern werden als komplett wegzufallen (vor allem, wenn die Zahl der Arbeitsplätze berücksichtigt wird, die durch KI zusätzlich entstehen). Diese Kombination von menschlicher mit künstlicher Intelligenz wird auch als integrierte Intelligenz bezeichnet.

Integrierte Intelligenz als Kombination von menschlicher und künstlicher Intelligenz

Eine aktuelle Studie von Goldman Sachs widmet sich konkret den Auswirkungen generativer KI, die Daten erzeugen und bearbeiten kann, z.B. Text oder Bilder. Ein bekanntes Beispiel hierfür ist ChatGPT. Die Auswirkungen anderer Formen von KI und Automatisierung wie Robotik werden in der Studie nicht berücksichtigt. Dennoch wird laut der Studie allein durch generative KI bei 7% der Arbeitsplätze in den USA mindestens die Hälfte der Aufgaben künftig automatisiert, sodass diese Jobs durchaus ersetzt werden können. Ungefähr 30% der Arbeitsplätze sind laut der Studie hingegen nicht von möglicher Automatisierung durch generative KI betroffen. Für den mit 63% weitaus größten Teil der Arbeitsplätze wird voraussichtlich weniger als die Hälfte der Tätigkeiten automatisiert. Für diese Personen wird sich die Arbeit teilweise nennenswert ändern, da KI bisherige repetitive Tätigkeiten ersetzt. Allerdings werden sie ihre Arbeit ergänzt durch KI weiterführen mit insgesamt produktiverer Wertschöpfung.

Neue Kernkompetenzen in Kombination von menschlicher Expertise mit KI
Für Firmen bedeutet diese (teilweise) Automatisierung schlicht die nächste Stufe des schon seit Jahrzehnten beobachtbaren technologischen Wandels. Gerade in Ländern mit hohen Lohnkosten wird diese Automatisierung zügig erfolgen. Gleichzeitig sollten sich Unternehmen verstärkt auf die Schnittstellen von menschlicher Intelligenz mit KI und Datenanalytik konzentrieren, um Wettbewerbsvorteile zu erzielen. Wenn alle Firmen einer Branche ähnliche eigenständige KI-Tools nutzen, deren Anwendung sich künftig deutlich standardisieren wird, ergeben sich Wettbewerbsvorteile verstärkt an den Schnittstellen sowie bei einzigartiger menschlicher Expertise. Die verbleibende menschliche Arbeitskraft und Führungskraft werden durch die KI-Revolution somit wichtiger und nicht unwichtiger.

Die Diskussionen in den Medien und Unternehmen sollten sich also deutlich weniger auf eigenständige KI und die sich daraus ergebenden Folgen durch Automatisierung konzentrieren. Vielmehr sollten sich Firmen im Rahmen ihrer Strategie zusätzlich fragen, wie sie neue Kernkompetenzen durch integrierte Intelligenz aufbauen, also durch die Kombination einzigartiger menschlicher Fähigkeiten mit aktueller KI. Außerdem sollten sich Fach- und Führungskräfte fragen, welche besonderen Fähigkeiten und Skills sie besitzen, gerade an den Schnittstellen zu KI und Datenanalytik. Auch sollten die meisten Firmen ihre Angebote für Trainings und Coachings in diesem Bereich massiv ausbauen.

Die Welt steht erst am Anfang der KI-Revolution und wir sollten uns nicht von den bisherigen Schwerpunkten der Berichterstattung irritieren lassen. Die Transformation durch integrierte Intelligenz im Sinne der Kombination von menschlicher und künstlicher Intelligenz wird aller Voraussicht nach deutlich tiefgreifender sein als die vollständige Automatisierung menschlicher Arbeit, auch wenn die Auswirkungen durch den Wegfall von Arbeitsplätzen im Einzelfall natürlich gravierend sind. Menschliche Expertise ist aber weiterhin gefragt und vielfach wird ihre Bedeutung noch größer sein als bisher.

Mehr Details zu integrierter Intelligenz gibt es in folgendem Video. Bei Fragen oder Interesse an einem Austausch zu diesen Themen kontaktieren Sie mich bitte hier .

Sustainability and ESG trainings: Present focus and future needs

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 17:17:48 GMT

Despite the massive attention to sustainability and ESG, many firms still underestimate the opportunities for innovation beyond reducing CO2 emissions.

Over the past months, I have given multiple trainings and facilitated several workshops about ESG and sustainability. The target groups included sustainability and corporate responsibility experts as well as managers and executives from different functional areas, such as supply chain management, marketing, digitalization, innovation, and change management. The firms included large multinationals as well as small and medium-sized companies. Here are some key insights that I have gained from the trainings and workshops . These insights reflect the present role of sustainability, but they also highlight the need for further adapting most firms’ sustainability management.

1. High general awareness – but often limited to reporting needs
The general awareness for the relevance of sustainability and ESG has dramatically increased over the past years – not only among sustainability experts, but among most managers and executives across business functions. At the same time, many persons primarily consider ESG and sustainability management as a duty and mandatory task with respect to reporting requirements. In contrast, the opportunities that may be associated with the sustainability transformation for the specific jobs and tasks of persons across different functions and units within companies are often neglected.

2. Focus on resource efficiency – but innovation largely neglected
The sustainability initiatives of most companies focus strongly on resource efficiency in terms of optimizing existing processes and procedures. On the one hand, this strategic approach is important because it usually leads to efficiency gains quite quickly, usually within months rather than years. On the other hand, this efficiency focus often limits a more substantial sustainability transformation which would consider positive sustainability and which would result from major innovations and change in terms of completely new products, services, processes, and business models. Thus, most firms focus on a BLUE SKY STRATEGY at the expense of a GREEN GRASS STRATEGY .

3. Climate change and circularity – but social dimension only partly addressed
The key sustainability topic for most firms at present is the reduction of CO2 emissions in the context of climate change. In addition, the transformation towards a circular economy receives much more attention today relative to its relevance a few years ago. While this present focus on environmental sustainability is quite a natural strategic move, it partly comes along with relatively limited attention to several social sustainability topics, which are expected to gain further importance over the next years.

To offer a comprehensive and balanced perspective, my trainings and workshops usually involve at least the following topics: relevance of sustainability, fundamental knowledge about ESG and sustainability, transformation and sustainability management, and opportunities for innovation and new business. In terms of methods, the trainings combine the interactive communication of new content, intensive discussions, case studies, small group exercises, and initial steps for transferring the new knowledge to the participants’ own job context based on useful frameworks, such as the SUSTAINAIBLITY INNOVATION MAP . Ideally, the end of my training session is the start of implementation. For a free initial discussion about a specific sustainability and ESG training, workshop, or keynote (in English or German) for your organization, please contact me here .

The GREEN GRASS STRATEGY: Profiting from Sustainability Innovation

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 09:20:16 GMT

The GREEN GRASS STRATEGY goes beyond traditional sustainability, and it refers to developing innovative solutions for a ‘net positive impact’.

What is the GREEN GRASS STRATEGY?
The GREEN GRASS STRATEGY is a sustainability strategy that focuses on innovation and new business opportunities rather than limiting sustainability programs to resource efficiency and the optimization of established processes. As such, the GREEN GRASS STRATEGY goes beyond traditional sustainability concepts that often focus on avoiding harm (no net loss) to consider positive sustainability and to embrace doing good (net positive impact). The GREEN GRASS STRATEGY enables you to leverage sustainability for innovation and value generation, and it can be systematically developed with the SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP , which helps firms to achieve a competitive advantage by systematically pursuing sustainability innovations in all ESG dimensions – environment, social, and governance.

The SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP, BLUE SKY STRATEGY and GREEN GRASS STRATEGY

How does it differ from traditional sustainability strategies?
Many firms have launched sustainability initiatives, which often concentrate on efficiency gains, for example by reducing power consumption to lower CO2 emissions in light of climate change and to save costs at the same time. Thus, these initiatives avoid negative effects of business activities, and they focus on the upper blue part of the figure. They are called BLUE SKY STRATEGIES because resource efficiency in the environment domain contributes to less emissions and hence to blue skies. These important efficiency gains are partly ‘quick wins’, but they often limit a fundamental sustainability transformation. In addition, BLUE SKY STRATEGIES neglect innovation opportunities in the strategy space in the lower green part of the figure.

Younger generations expect firms to actively contribute to solving today’s environmental and social challenges. This requires executives to take a positive perspective by doing good in the core business and not only in separate social responsibility programs. This understanding of positive sustainability or positainability is at the core of the new approach, which complements traditional BLUE SKY STRATEGIES. The new strategy is called GREEN GRASS STRATEGY because it enables sustainability innovation and new business to grow and flourish like green grass. The two sustainability strategies can be distinguished according to the following key points.

GREEN GRASS STRATEGY vs. BLUE SKY STRATEGY
(adapted from Ulrich Lichtenthaler, 2022, Why being sustainable is not enough: Embracing a net positive impact, Journal of Business Strategy)

What is the background of the GREEN GRASS STRATEGY?
The GREEN GRASS STRATEGY draws on insights from multiple company projects and extant research in different fields, including SDGs, shared value creation, CSR, and positive psychology. For a conceptual background, please see: Ulrich Lichtenthaler (2022), Why being sustainable is not enough: Embracing a net positive impact, Journal of Business Strategy. The table above has been adapted from this article. For a free initial discussion and a free pdf template of the SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License), please contact me here .

Why should you use the GREEN GRASS STRATEGY?
The GREEN GRASS STRATEGY is a proven approach to achieve the next level of sustainability management. Even those companies that consider themselves as sustainability pioneers usually do not fully realize the opportunities from sustainability innovation and new business development. With innovative solutions, firms may profit from sustainability and positively contribute to society and the environment. In the medium to long term, the positive effects of GREEN GRASS STRATEGIES will often exceed the short-term efficiency gains of BLUE SKY STRATEGIES. Thus, many companies and executives will have no choice but to embrace the positive sustainability perspective of GREEN GRASS STRATEGY.

To master GREEN GRASS and BLUE SKY STRATEGIES, the SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP systematically integrates these 2 complementary strategic directions with the 3 ESG dimensions and 6 supply chain stages. The GREEN GRASS STRATEGY is adaptable to small and large organizations and units from diverse sectors. A step-wise strategy development and implementation process eases its application and the subsequent implementation of important measures. For a free initial discussion about examples of the GREEN GRASS STRATEGY or for a keynote about the topic, please contact me here .

Generation PI: Positive Impact and Sustainable Natives

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 09:04:42 GMT

Generation Z – and what is next? Many of today’s students are ‘sustainable natives’ and expect companies to make a positive contribution to solving ecological and social problems.

In an international survey of more than 27,000 people, GlobeScan found in 2020 that for 60% of younger participants, climate change and social inequality are top priorities, combined with the expectation that companies should contribute to solving these challenges. Very importantly, the young generation expects positainability , i.e. making a positive contribution and not just reducing negative effects of doing business, for example by reducing CO2 emissions. To implement this positive sustainability approach, companies would need to pursue a GREEN GRASS STRATEGY .

So far, however, many companies are hardly prepared for the future changes due to the ideas of those persons that will be starting their careers in the next few years. In fact, this new generation of ‘sustainable natives’ presents new challenges and opportunities for companies (as I have explained in more detail in a recent article in the Haufe Personalmagazin ). In particular, the following typical perspectives of this ‘Generation PI’ – Positive Impact – have to be considered.

1. Sustainable natives
Many current students are ‘sustainable natives’ because they perceive sustainability as a core topic since their early youth. In contrast to the extensive public discussions about ‘digital natives’, the role of ‘sustainable natives’ has been mostly ignored so far.

2. Doubtful prospects
Typical for ‘Generation PI’ are doubts whether their future standard of living will remain as good as their current situation and as the life of their parents, especially due to climate change.

3. Expected limitations
Many current students expect restrictions on possible behaviors to enable a more sustainable economy and society in the future, for instance bans or massively increasing prices for air travel or the consumption of less sustainable food.

4. Positive contribution
Beyond the goal of no-net-loss, ‘Generation PI’ is ready to make a positive contribution in terms of a net-positive-impact. Here, companies need to focus on major innovations rather than limiting themselves to reducing CO2 emissions in established processes.

5. Problem solving
There is a widespread expectation among ‘Generation PI’ that firms should play an active role in solving environmental and social problems – ideally in their core business, whereas greenwashing will be perceived much more negatively in the future.

6. Triple bottom line
For the ‘Generation PI’, the elements of the triple bottom line, i.e. economic, environmental and social goals, are perceived as having much more equal weight than for many firms’ current executives, who often focus on the economic dimension.

7. Employer branding
The views of ‘Generation PI’ will have a massive impact on HR management. In particular, firms need to consider the impact on employer branding as soon as possible. Positive sustainability is crucial, whereas communicating a few selected initiatives to reduce negative environmental effects is far from sufficient.

Many firms are not yet aware of the impact of the changes that will result from these perspectives. If executives start to interact with the ‘Generation PI’, they will quickly notice their focus on positive sustainability. The new opportunities that arise can be systematically addressed with suitable managerial tools, such as the SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP and the GREEN GRASS STRATEGY .

Positainability: Innovation for doing good and avoiding bad

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 10:13:38 GMT

Positainability – or positive sustainability – is defined in a recent article as the combination of doing good and avoiding bad to arrive at innovative solutions.

The distinction of doing good and avoiding bad is well accepted in the literature about sustainability and corporate social responsibility. This is also described in detail in my recent Journal of Business Strategy article entitled ‘Why being sustainable Is not enough: Embracing a net positive impact’. In this article, I have tried to broaden the typical understanding of sustainability among many executives and managers towards a more positive perspective beyond avoiding harm.

Doing good and avoiding bad
Specifically, the article abstract includes the following definition of positainability or positive sustainability as “the combination of doing good and avoiding bad to arrive at innovative solutions for achieving a ‘net positive impact’ in the core business rather than merely targeting ‘no net loss’ by reducing harm for the environment and society.” Thus, the concept of positainability highlights innovation opportunities that may result from combining the creation of new value with avoiding harm for the environment and society.

In the article, this perspective is explicated in more detail: “If one particular activity is considered, doing good may be regarded as the positive section of a single dimension from avoiding bad to doing good. If a firm with many different activities is considered, however, doing good and avoiding bad may be regarded as two different dimensions. These two dimensions are not necessarily fully independent, but firms generally may score high in doing good in one activity, while only trying to reduce substantial harm in other activities.”

Positainability opportunities

Unrealized positainability opportunities
As such, the article describes four different types of business activities. These four ideal types are illustrated in the figure above (which is not part of the article).

Established business activities refer to business activities without a particular focus on doing good or avoiding bad with respect to environment and social aspects.
Corporate social responsibility programs have sometimes focused on strategic topics in firms’ core business, but they often have concentrated on doing good in relatively isolated ways.
Traditional sustainability initiatives, in contrast, have often focused on reducing unsustainability in the firms’ core business by avoiding harm to the environment and society.
Unrealized positainability opportunities can often be found even in companies that are considered as sustainability leaders, and they refer to achieving a ‘net positive impact’ beyond aiming at ‘no net loss’ in the core business.

To exploit these opportunities from positive sustainability, innovation and transformation are essential because they enable companies to develop new products, services, solutions, and managerial procedures. This is explained in more detail in the article : “In comparison with the dominating focus on efficiency gains, there will usually be less ‘quick wins’ in these transformation and innovation processes. In the medium to long term, however, the benefits of doing good and simultaneously avoiding bad in the core business will often exceed the short-term benefits of efficiency-centered initiatives.” In light of changing customer expectations, it is time for most companies to address positive sustainability in order to profit from a GREEN GRASS STRATEGY now. The SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP is a proven tool that may help to identify promising starting points.

Liverpool FC: Extending data analytics and AI with neuroscience

Mon, 23 May 2022 11:51:43 GMT

On May 28, 2022, Liverpool FC with the manager Juergen Klopp have the chance to win another Champions League title after beating Chelsea to win the FA Cup 2022.

On May 14, 2022, Liverpool FC with the German manager Juergen Klopp repeated their Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea Football Club from February this year (when they successfully converted all 11 penalties!), once again in penalty shootout. Afterwards, Klopp praised the important impact made by neuro11, a German neuroscience company, in preparing for penalties and other set-pieces in the game. Liverpool FC started to collaborate with the company in 2021, and this neuroscience twist is just the most recent extension of the club’s continuous focus on data analytics and artificial intelligence.

The power of data analytics, AI and neuroscience

In my recent article in the Journal of Business Strategy, I have examined Liverpool FC as a somewhat surprising example for achieving a competitive advantage from combining data analytics and AI with human expertise. In recent years, Liverpool FC has experienced a major revival in terms of sporting success and financial performance. Concerning sporting success, for example, the club won the Champions League title in 2019 and the Premier League title in 2020. This year, Liverpool finished the Premier League again as a very close second. Regarding financial performance, the brand value of the club and the market value of the players have substantially grown.

However, the club’s emphasis on data analytics and AI only contributed to this impressive evolution when it was complemented with the emotional intelligence and people skills of its manager Juergen Klopp. Definitely, Klopp is one of the best football managers, but the revival of the club is a more complex story. The recent success strongly builds on the combination of Klopp’s emotional intelligence and people skills with the club’s data analytics and AI capabilities – now extended by neuroscience. Without the Head of Research at Liverpool FC, Ian Graham, and his team, Klopp would not even have been hired by Liverpool FC back in 2015. After a partly disastrous last season at Borussia Dortmund, Klopp was heavily criticized in the press, but Ian Graham’s AI-based data analytics showed that Dortmund simply had been very, very unlucky in that season and that Klopp still was one of the best managers.

On May 28, 2022, Liverpool FC will once again be in the Champions League final, for the third time since Klopp took over. The particular way of using the power of data analytics, AI and neuroscience has a strong impact on these achievements. Liverpool and other major football clubs use AI and data analytics to determine which players should be signed or to analyze the opposing team’s tactics. While performance data, such as shots, ball possession or the speed of players, are considered in the analyses, Klopp’s personal assessment of team dynamics also remains essential at Liverpool. Thus, looking at algorithms, data analyses and neuroscience is not enough for success. The insights gained with the help of these technologies have to be combined with individual human skills. At Liverpool FC, this is particularly Klopp’s emotional intelligence and empathetic leadership style. Artificial and human intelligence thus complement each other productively. Of course, this is only possible because both sides, i.e. Klopp as well as the data analytics and neuroscience teams, are open to working together.

Integrated Intelligence beyond sports management

This combination of human intelligence and skills with artificial intelligence, data analytics and neuroscience is what Integrated Intelligence is all about. This hybrid intelligence can be used not only in football, but in just about any industry. Although AI is being used in more and more companies, often only incremental innovations are implemented that make existing processes somewhat cheaper and more efficient. The competitive advantage that results is then only short-lived, as these incremental improvements become standard after a short while.

To stand out from the competition in the long run, companies have to open up completely new fields and solutions. Here, human intelligence can be the critical factor. Precisely because humans will be superior to AI in certain fields, such as emotions or empathy, for the foreseeable future, entirely new solutions can be developed in this way. Even if not all insights may be transferred to other industries, Liverpool’s Integrated Intelligence approach may indeed serve as a best-practice example for managers and executives far beyond sports management. For further details, please feel free to contact me for a keynote or talk about ’Integrated Intelligence – What managers may learn from Juergen Klopp and Liverpool FC’.

The SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP: Mastering the Megatrend

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 08:26:47 GMT

How to use the proven tool that helps firms across industries to achieve a competitive advantage by systematically pursuing sustainability innovations.

What is the SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP?
This framework helps organizations to master sustainability by offering an integrative overview of:

6 supply chain stages : Go beyond your own organization to consider all supply chain activities, i.e. upstream (materials & components, complements & ecosystems), internal (design & support, manufacturing & services), and downstream (logistics & distribution, use & disposal)
3 sustainability dimensions : Go beyond isolated analyses to consider all key ESG dimensions, i.e. environment, social, and governance
2 strategic directions : Go beyond traditional sustainability strategies with a focus on avoiding harm (no-net-loss) to consider positive sustainability and to embrace doing good (net-positive-impact)

The SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP

Why should you use the SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP?
This proven tool can be applied in small and large organizations from diverse sectors, and it helps you to:

Map your organization’s present sustainability focus and identify white spots
Assess the relevance of key topics, e.g. CO2 emissions, across supply chain stages
Identify opportunities and threats for the two strategic directions systematically
Pursue net-positive-impact activities to successfully implement a GREEN GRASS STRATEGY
Examine innovations’ interdependencies across multiple sustainability dimensions
Prioritize the most promising innovation projects in your sustainability ecosystem

What is the background of the SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP?
The SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP builds on insights from multiple company projects and prior research. For a conceptual background, please see: Ulrich Lichtenthaler (2022), Explicating a sustainability-based view of sustainable competitive advantage, Journal of Strategy and Management. The distinction of the 2 strategic directions has often been discussed in the sustainability literature, the 3 ESG dimensions are common since the triple bottom line, and at least some of the 6 supply chain stages have also been addressed in prior research.

What is unique about the SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP?
The integration of strategic directions, sustainability dimensions, and supply chain stages in a single managerial tool with proven project insights is a distinctive feature of the SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP. It helps you to leverage sustainability for innovation and value generation beyond optimization and efficiency. Thus, it is also an important basis for developing a GREEN GRASS STRATEGY for sustainability innovation. To this end, it is adaptable to the particular conditions of specific organizations and units. A step-wise execution process further eases application and subsequent implementation of important measures. For a free initial discussion and a free pdf template of the SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION MAP (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License), please contact me here .

Three sustainability trends to watch in 2022 and beyond

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 13:44:29 GMT

There is more to sustainability management than enhancing the efficiency of established processes to reduce emissions – much more!

You may argue that sustainability has been a relevant megatrend for many years, and this is true, of course. You may further argue that sustainability has become a key item on many firms’ strategic agendas for several years, and this is also true. So why should you bother about sustainability trends for 2022? Well, because sustainability is a global human imperative – and because most firms have so far only addressed a small portion of the opportunities that are associated with sustainability in their business activities. The relevance of trends is industry-specific and forecasts are often somewhat subjective. However, the following three topics emerged as major sustainability trends for 2022 in many recent discussions that I had with innovation, sustainability, and digitalization experts.

1. Sustainability innovation
Over the past years, many companies have started strategic sustainability initiatives, or they have at least redirected ongoing sustainability programs. While this has been an important step towards a stronger business focus on sustainability, the strategic emphasis is usually on reducing emissions by optimizing processes and enhancing efficiency. This is indeed an important part of the sustainability opportunities in many companies. Nonetheless, this efficiency focus ignores major other opportunities for sustainability innovation. Beyond process improvements, firms may revamp their products, services, business models, and management procedures to fully embrace the business opportunities of sustainability management. Thus, more focus on sustainability innovation is needed in 2022!

2. Digital sustainability
Besides sustainability, digitalization continues to be the other megatrend on top of many firms’ strategic agendas. Most surprisingly, however, there has been very limited attention to the interplay of digitalization and sustainability in most firms so far. But only so far because this will substantially change in 2022 with many firms increasingly targeting sustainability in the digital realm beyond their present focus on sustainability in the analog context. This topic is called digital sustainability or ‘ digitainability ’, and I have recently addressed the variety of positive and negative synergies in my Journal of Innovation Management article about ‘Digitainability: The Combined Effects of the Megatrends Digitalization and Sustainability’. You may access the article’s full text for free, and it underscores the need for more attention to digital sustainability in 2022!

3. Positive sustainability
There is more to sustainability management than reducing emissions. While a focus on ‘no net loss’ is an essential direction of many firms’ sustainability programs, this strategy of avoiding bad may often not be enough in the future. Instead, companies will increasingly have to consider positive sustainability to realize a ‘net positive impact’ besides concentrating on avoiding harm from their business activities. The integration of avoiding harm and simultaneously doing good is at the core of the positive sustainability concept, which I have termed ‘positainability’ in a recent article. From my perspective, a higher awareness of positive sustainability is a third major sustainability trend for 2022!

Sustainability as the opportunity
Sustainability is increasingly considered an opportunity rather than a threat by many companies, including startups as well as established businesses in many industries. In the post-pandemic period, sustainability will not only be one of the megatrends and a major opportunity. Rather, it will dominate many firms’ business activities, and it will be the top opportunity. In this regard, it is essential to consider the multiple facets of sustainability beyond optimizing established processes to reduce emissions. Sustainability innovation, digital sustainability, and positive sustainability will play central roles over the next months and years, and they are not only trends to watch, but rather trends to act on in 2022 and beyond.

Digitainability: Profiting from the combination of digitalization and sustainability

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 14:23:57 GMT

Many firms have started digital transformation and sustainability initiatives – but they neglect to profit from the combination of these two megatrends.

The term ‘digitainability’ has recently been coined in the academic literature to highlight relevant interdependencies between digitalization on the one hand and sustainability on the other. Actually, it does not really matter whether this specific term is used or whether companies refer to digital sustainability or sustainable digitalization instead. Much more important is the general awareness of interdependencies between these two megatrends. The variety of potential positive and negative interactions is addressed in my article entitled ‘Digitainability: The Combined Effects of the Megatrends Digitalization and Sustainability’, which has recently been published in the Journal of Innovation Management. The full text of the article is available for free.

Digitalization and sustainability

The following abstract of the article gives a brief overview of its content: “The concept of digitainability has recently been suggested to underscore potential cross-fertilization effects between digitalization and sustainability, which have often been neglected. This conceptual article draws on an innovation-based view to develop a framework for combining digitalization and sustainability in firms’ strategic initiatives. It distinguishes four settings depending on whether firms pursue either digitalization or sustainability – or both or none of them to a strong degree. Beyond the individual importance of the two megatrends, their positive and negative interdependencies will gain further importance, and this article underscores the need for overcoming a potential dark side of digital solutions in terms of their carbon footprint and energy consumption to enable a sustainable digital transformation. In addition, digitainability offers the opportunity to move beyond optimization and cost savings due to digitalization and sustainability initiatives in order to capture the cross-fertilization potential of these two megatrends for innovation, business development, and sustainable design.” ( Source )

Figure 1: Combining digitalization and sustainability ( Source ).

Innovation and business development

When discussing this topic with executives and with experts from other fields, many people can immediately highlight some positive or negative synergies of digitalization and sustainability in their work environment. Nonetheless, many large companies as well as startups often ignore these interfaces and continue to focus on relatively isolated digital transformation initiatives and sustainability programs. To some degree, it is understandable to manage digitalization and sustainability in a relatively separate way based on different responsibilities in an organization.

At the same time, however, companies tend to leave major opportunities for innovation and new business development unconsidered if they do not address the cross-fertilization effects of their digitalization and sustainability programs. In the full text of my article , several examples for such effects are presented for companies from different sectors. If executives and managers have any touchpoints with digitalization and sustainability in their organizations, they should therefore have a close look at potential positive and negative interdependencies when planning activities, budgets, and goals for the next months and years.

Innovationsmanagement: Top Priorität für Fußballclubs und Unternehmen

Wed, 09 Jun 2021 15:06:10 GMT

Warum ein systematisches Portfoliomanagement bei Innovationen gerade je tzt für Fußballvereine – und andere Firmen – so wichtig ist.

Bei der 2021 stattfindenden Fußball-Europameisterschaft zählt die deutsche Fußball-Nationalmannschaft laut zahlreichen Experten nicht zum engen Favoritenkreis. Natürlich drücken die Experten ebenso wie viele von uns allen der Nationalmannschaft die Daumen. Gleichzeitig hat sich jedoch oft das Gefühl eingestellt, dass sich spätestens nach der Europameisterschaft einiges ändern muss. Einige Projekte sind bereits auf den Weg gebracht, unter anderem die künftige Akademie des Deutschen Fußball-Bundes, zu deren Hauptaufgaben Innovation gehört. Noch handelt es sich dabei aber weitgehend um Zukunftsmusik und auch zahlreiche Vereine in der Bundesliga sind von einem professionellen Innovationsmanagement noch weit entfernt.

Hohe Relevanz und akuter Handlungsdruck
Dabei ist Innovation aktuell so wichtig wie selten zuvor – und das gilt sowohl für Fußballclubs und Verbände wie auch für Unternehmen in anderen Branchen. Verschiedene Megatrends sorgen gegenwärtig für die Notwendigkeit, sich umfassend neu zu erfinden. Die digitale Transformation beispielsweise geht weit über Datenanalytik beim Scouting und bei der Wettbewerbsanalyse hinaus. Auch neue Möglichkeiten im digitalen Marketing sind nur ein kleiner Bestandteil von Digitalisierung, Künstlicher Intelligenz und Integrierter Intelligenz . Ebenso geht die zunehmende Bedeutung von Nachhaltigkeit im Fußball zum Beispiel weit über den Verzicht auf ausgedruckte Tickets hinaus. Zwar zeigen solche Einzelfälle, dass manche Fußballvereine sich durchaus transformieren. Allerdings bleibt vieles davon Stückwerk und mögliche Neuerungen kommen nur langsam voran, gerade neue Geschäftsmodelle.

Der Handlungsdruck steigt jedoch weiter, unter anderem aufgrund der Corona-bedingten Umsatzausfälle und höheren Einnahmen zahlreicher Vereine in anderen Ländern. Bei vergleichsweise kurzen Verweildauern von Trainerteams kann auch dadurch oft nicht auf fundamentale Innovationsimpulse gehofft werden. Als eher strukturelle Gründe für den Abstieg des FC Schalke 04 und SV Werder Bremen aus der Bundesliga nennen Experten unter anderem einen fehlenden Fokus auf Innovation und Digitalisierung. Gleichzeitig wird das Revival des Liverpool FC in den letzten Jahren zwar oft an der Person von Jürgen Klopp festgemacht. Allerdings stellt innovative Datenanalytik eines professionellen Teams im Hintergrund zumindest eine entscheidende Ergänzung zu Jürgen Klopps Emotionalität und Empathie dar – womit Wettbewerbsvorteile durch Integrierte Intelligenz erreicht werden.

Zentrale Ansprechpersonen und die richtigen Projekte
In vielen anderen Fußballvereinen fehlt jedoch eine übergreifende Perspektive auf Innovation und Digitalisierung, einzelne Projekte werden oft pragmatisch und eher unsystematisch durchgeführt. Dies erstaunt umso mehr, weil Firmen ähnlicher Größe in anderen Branchen häufig in ein systematisches Innovationsmanagement investieren und sich dort zumindest einige wenige Personen in Vollzeit mit Innovationen beschäftigen. Dabei geht es weder um die Frage, ob diese Personen Innovationsmanager, Chief Innovation Officer o.ä. heißen, noch darum, dass diese Personen alle relevanten Aufgaben selbst übernehmen. Vielmehr sind sie die zentralen Ansprechpersonen für Innovation – sowohl innerhalb der Organisation als auch für externe Partner in Ökosystemen, die gerade im Kontext von Digitalisierung und Nachhaltigkeit an Bedeutung gewinnen.

Diese Innovationsverantwortlichen kümmern sich neben der Generierung, Sammlung und Auswahl von Ideen ganz zu Beginn des Innovationsprozesses sowie der Ausarbeitung von Konzepten insbesondere auch um eine systematische Auswahl von Projekten zur Implementierung. Diese Projektauswahl erfolgt auch bei vielen Firmen in anderen Branchen noch wenig strategisch. Mit einem professionellen Projektportfoliomanagement für Innovationen könnten jedoch sowohl Fußballvereine als auch andere Unternehmen sicherstellen, dass sie eine geeignete Anzahl möglichst vielversprechender Innovationsprojekte im Vergleich zu ihrem Budget durchführen, die außerdem einen guten Mix aus völlig neuartigen Themen und inkrementellen Verbesserungen umfassen sowie die Unternehmensstrategie widerspiegeln. So werden die richtigen Innovationsprojekte implementiert – und nicht nur die laufenden Projekte richtig umgesetzt.

Three major trends for innovation management in 2021 and beyond

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 15:05:21 GMT

Beyond COVID-19 crisis management: market development, portfolio management, and AI-based innovation are among the key innovation trends for the next twelve months.

Over the past weeks, I had multiple discussions with executives and managers in the fields of innovation, R&D, marketing, digital transformation, and AI. Among many other things, we talked about the key innovation management trends for 2021. Of course, there are many other lists that try to identify the top technology trends, such as the Gartner Hype Cycle analyses. Many key trends further are industry-specific, and some are also strongly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. In addition, these lists will always be subjective, and my top three trends are strongly driven by my focus on innovation and strategic management in the context of digitalization and AI. Nonetheless, the following topics emerged in many discussions with experts from multiple sectors and are therefore highlighted as three major trends for innovation management in 2021.

1. Market development
In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, many companies are reluctant to enter completely new business fields. Rather, they explore opportunities for innovation and growth based on their existing competencies. In fact, the following question was highlighted in many discussions: “How can we leverage our existing resources in additional markets in order to achieve new revenue streams?” In fact, this topic has long been a classic innovation management challenge, and there are several tools for addressing it. For example, a systematic analysis of the ‘jobs’ and functions that a technology, solution, or competence may fulfill can be an important starting point for targeting new markets with relatively limited additional investments.

2. Portfolio management
Although there are many stories about successful innovation in the context of the pandemic, many innovation executives and managers face tighter budgets for the next twelve months. As a consequence, many firms have to refocus their remaining innovation activities, resulting in the following question. “How can we select the most promising innovation projects in the context of limited budgets for R&D and innovation?” Thus, the pandemic leads to a renewed interest in innovation portfolio management in terms of optimizing the variety of ongoing innovation projects. Increasingly, this project portfolio management includes innovation and digital transformation projects to achieve synergies between innovation and digitalization initiatives.

3. AI-based innovation
Another key point that was underscored in many discussions is the opportunity to extend a firm’s current AI initiatives beyond optimization and efficiency. In fact, many executives and managers currently ask the following question: “How can we profit from AI and data analytics beyond enhancing the efficiency of our existing processes?” After an initial optimization focus of many AI programs, companies now increasingly try to leverage their AI activities for more innovative solutions and growth. These innovation-related opportunities of AI and data analytics are addressed in more detail in my recent book ‘ Integrated Intelligence : Combining Human and Artificial Intelligence for Competitive Advantage’.

Towards sustainability innovation
These three topics are key challenges for many innovation executives and managers in 2021, and they go beyond COVID-19 crisis management. Even beyond these three topics, many experts consider sustainability the ‘next big thing’ for their firms’ innovation activities after the coronavirus crisis. While many firms do not yet undertake specific initiatives, they currently start strategic planning for the post-pandemic period by addressing the following and related questions: “How can we align our post-pandemic innovation activities with essential megatrends, especially sustainability?” Thus, neo-ecology and sustainability already emerge as future key trends for innovation beyond 2021.

How Resource Constraints may Stimulate Rather than Impede Innovation in a Crisis

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 08:59:36 GMT

Many firms need to innovate with relatively limited resources in response to the coronavirus crisis – and some specific conditions favor innovative solutions.

During the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, the story about an innovative hack, which saved lives by turning scuba masks into ventilators, received a lot of public attention. In light of shortages of ventilators, the head physician of an Italian hospital came up with the scuba mask idea and got in touch with 3D printing experts at the Italian company Isinnova. The idea was to make a 3D printed adapter that enabled the hospital to turn a snorkeling mask into a mask for oxygen therapy in case of severe COVID-19. In this regard, the hospital could use snorkeling masks that were already available at the sports chain Decathlon.

The inventors emphasize that this solution should only be used under emergency conditions because it is an uncertified medical product. Of course, it is not a perfect long-term solution, but it fulfilled the intended function in extraordinary times. Beyond this specific example, this story underscores the need for innovation in order to cope with the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Currently, many firms could benefit from innovation , for example to simplify processes, to offer new digital solutions to their customers etc. However, many companies now have only very limited budget and time for these innovation activities. Accordingly, this situation puts the topic of innovating with scarce resources on top of the agenda.

Excess resources
Overall, there is a long history of innovation research with regard to the relationship between resources, such as budget and time, with innovation outcomes. Basically, prior research suggests that companies may successfully innovate because and not despite different levels of resources. With regard to excess resources, there is the concept of slack resources, i.e. resources that are in excess of the minimum necessary for achieving a certain output. A classic example for an innovation that was developed with such slack resources are 3M's Post-It notes. In a similar vein, selected technical employees at Google spend some 80 percent of their available time on the main business and some 20 percent on other initiatives that they select on their own. These '20 percent projects' led to various new products, including Gmail and Adsense.

Limited resources
With regard to limited resources, there is research and anecdotal evidence about the positive effects of resource constraints in innovation. In this regard, fewer resources may stimulate rather than impede innovation. A well-known example here is GE Healthcare’s electrocardiograph MAC 400, which democratized access to medical care. The engineers had only 18 months and a relatively limited budget in order to come up with a high-tech portable device that enabled very low-cost scans. This challenging situation strengthened the team’s focus and creativity, which led to a successful outcome. However, these positive effects of resource constraints do not always materialize, but only under certain conditions.

Target
One key condition for positive effects of resource constraints on innovation is that the limited resources actually lead the development team to direct all activities to a very clear target. Usually, a strong vision and purpose for this type of development project helps companies to profit from limited resources in innovation. Under such conditions, it is impossible to pursue additional options or side activities. Rather, the constrained resources may help to focus all attention and activities on the core target of the project.

Thinking
Another major condition for positive consequences of limited resources is the innovative thinking of individuals and the entire development team. In fact, resource constraints may spur the creativity of key inventors and of all other team members. In the context of a growing importance of artificial intelligence, resource constraints may also lead to a more effective combination of human intelligence and artificial intelligence in order to achieve completely novel solutions and competitive advantages based on an integrated intelligence architecture.

Team
Finally, resource constraints may enhance innovation outcomes if they positively influence team dynamics. For example, a team may choose to leverage complementary skills and knowledge of its members more thoroughly when resources are very limited. In addition, scarce resources may increase the commitment of the team members to accomplish highly challenging innovation tasks. Thus, limited resources may actually strengthen the results of innovation projects if they positively affect team behavior.

Post-pandemic period
Several of these favorable conditions most likely affected the successful innovation of turning snorkeling masks into emergency medical equipment in the Italian hospital. Beyond this specific example, executives should continue to invest in innovation if they can somehow afford it with regard to their company’s financial situation. Even in these cases, however, inventors and innovators will usually face limited resources in terms of development time and budget. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the conditions under which resource constraints stimulate rather than impede innovative solutions is essential in 2021 and beyond. If executives manage to continue their firm’s innovation activities and effectively handle limited resources, they may well enjoy a sustainable competitive advantage in the aftermath of the Coronavirus crisis – the post-pandemic period .

Innovation to fight economic crises: Best practice example of German machine tool manufacturer Trumpf

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 08:45:08 GMT

How to fight the economic Coronavirus crisis by means of innovation – A best practice example from the German machine tool manufacturer Trumpf in the financial crisis in 2008/09.

Executives should focus on innovation not only despite the recession due to the Coronavirus, but precisely because of it. In a recent blog post , I have explained a number of arguments in favor of innovation in these challenging times. While I received very positive feedback on that post, several persons also asked me for an example that such a strategic focus on innovation may actually pay off in the time after the Coronavirus crisis – what I call the post-pandemic period. There are many examples, but I really think that the German machine tool manufacturer Trumpf with its headquarters in Ditzingen near Stuttgart offers a suitable best practice example.

The example of machine tool manufacturer Trumpf
The company Trumpf was founded in 1923 and is by now among the leading firms for machine tools, laser technology, and related applications worldwide. In the 2018/19 fiscal year, it achieved revenues of EUR 3.784 billion with 14,490 employees. According to the Trumpf website, the company’s mission “is to further develop and digitally connect production technology, to make it even more efficient, precise, and future-proof. In doing so, we want to make manufacturing and its upstream and downstream processes more efficient. This is how we build the industrial world of tomorrow.”

In the current economic downturn due to the Coronavirus, the company has announced to leverage the flexibility of its employees’ working time accounts and potentially rely on short-time work in order to preserve as many jobs as possible. Thus, the company’s reaction to this year’s economic crisis is similar to its initial strategic moves in the financial crisis in 2008/09. Even if it is still too early to judge the suitability of any strategic initiatives, it appears to be an appropriate reaction because Trumpf’s management of the financial crisis some ten years ago may serve as a best practice example for many companies in the manufacturing sector and beyond.

Emphasizing innovation during the financial crisis 2008/09
In the financial crisis, the executives at Trumpf expected a major economic downturn relatively early – already in mid 2008. On this basis, they reacted quite early and massively. They immediately stopped hiring any new employees. At the same time, they tried to keep as many jobs as possible based on short-time work regulations that exist in Germany. Thus, the number of employees was nearly constant during the financial crisis. These decisions were strongly facilitated by the fact that Trumpf is a family business, and family members are and were in key executive positions with Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller as CEO, her brother Peter Leibinger as CTO, and her husband Mathias Kammüller as CDO.

Because of its rapid and clear managerial response, Trumpf managed to reduce its costs by EUR 60 million within one year. Besides cutting costs, the management strongly pushed for winning new orders. Nonetheless, the company experienced a dramatically decreasing demand, leading to a reduction of its revenues by 38% from fiscal year 2007/08 to fiscal year 2009/10 (please see the figure below for details). However, the company made a loss only in a single fiscal year during this period, i.e. 2009/10. Despite this challenging context, Trumpf started an innovation initiative at the height of the financial crisis. This innovation initiative complemented a variety of short-term measures, and it turned out to be essential for successfully mastering the crisis and enhancing the firm’s competitive position in the aftermath of the crisis.

Due to the innovation initiative, the number of R&D employees even slowly increased in those years during and after the financial crisis. In fiscal year 2009/10, the volume of R&D expenditures in absolute terms was slightly reduced, but in relative terms it remained at a high level of 9.3% of revenues. On this basis, the company managed to nearly compensate for the loss of revenues between 2007/08 and 2009/10 in the following year. There was an impressive increase in revenues by 51% from fiscal year 2009/10 to 2010/11. This extraordinary growth was strongly, but not exclusively driven by the innovation initiative. In the following years, Trumpf continued to maintain a substantial growth up to revenues of EUR 3.784 billion in fiscal year 2018/19. This is an increase by 182% (not inflation-adjusted) relative to the revenues of 1.340 billion in 2009/10, which was Trumpf’s worst fiscal year during the financial crisis.

Profiting from innovation after the financial crisis
In the years after the crisis, Trumpf could substantially profit from its continued strategic focus on innovation. Since that time, the company has also strengthened its activities in different fields of 3D printing. It had already been active as a pioneer in additive manufacturing since the 1990s and launched its first machine in that field, TrumaForm, in 2003 – still ahead of its time. After partly deemphasizing these activities for some years, the company successfully reentered the market in 2015 with its TruPrint machine. Beyond machinery, the company has strongly invested in smart factory software to enable and benefit from connectivity and intelligent manufacturing solutions in the future.

Whether Trumpf will be similarly successful in managing the current economic crisis is still an open question, of course. In conclusion, however, there seem to be some ‘lessons learned’ from Trumpf’s success story in the years after the 2008/2009 financial crisis, and they may well be successfully applied by executives in different sectors in response to the present Coronavirus crisis. Many of the managerial implications focus on balancing diverging interests. While unsystematic actionism is the wrong approach, quick strategic moves are needed. Managers have to substantially reduce expenditures, but they should try everything to avoid laying off people if their companies can somehow afford it from a financial perspective. In fact, committed and experienced employees may be an important basis for competitive advantage after the crisis.

In this regard, innovation is key for turning the current crisis into an opportunity. If companies can afford to start or to maintain an innovation initiative, it is the perfect moment to do so. Balancing the innovation portfolio with efficiency-driven projects and growth-oriented projects will help to ensure the top executives’ commitment to innovation. As the current crisis partly accelerates digital transformation, the topics of data analytics and artificial intelligence will continue to be on top of the strategic agenda during economic recovery. Focusing on digital innovation and Integrated Intelligence now will therefore be a key driver of firms’ growth and profitability in the post-pandemic period.

Please note: This blog post is not a scientific article, and it is not based on direct interaction with Trumpf GmbH + Co. KG. Relevant information has been collected from publicly available sources, such as articles in newspapers and magazines. The financial information has been taken from the annual reports that are available at www.unternehmensregister.de and www.trumpf.com.

Integrated Intelligence: My New Book about Managing AI

Tue, 25 Feb 2020 13:00:03 GMT

The topic of integrating human and artificial intelligence for competitive advantage seems to resonate with many people all across the globe.

My new book about managing AI

Some two weeks ago, my new book ‘ Integrated Intelligence : Combining Human and Artificial Intelligence for Competitive Advantage’ was published. Please read the first 20 pages of the book for free at the website of the publisher 'Campus'.

I am happy that the book has received a very positive first review (in German), which was written by Stephan Lamprecht (who I do not know personally). I was even more pleased about the positive feedback that I received from many people across the world in emails, LinkedIn messages, and through my website www.ulrichlichtenthaler.com . For example, one message came from an IT consultant in New Zealand, which is in fact at the other end of the world from Germany, where I am based. Thus, I am pleased to see that the topic of integrating human and artificial intelligence seems to resonate with so many people.

Three key motivational factors

When I started writing the book, three key factors actually motivated me to expand upon my previous articles about AI and digital transformation:

1. Too many companies are still reluctant to openly embrace AI – and they may have difficulties in catching up with their competitors in the future.

2. Many businesses are relatively unsuccessful in their AI initiatives – and the outcomes of these activities fail to live up to the initial expectations.

3. Most companies still focus on selected AI solutions, which will become standard tools in the next years – with limited opportunities to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.

Unrealized opportunities

Consequently, there are unrealized opportunities for profiting from AI in the vast majority of companies. This is true for firms that are quite passive in terms of AI, but also for companies that are often considered as AI leaders. Even in those ‘leading’ companies, the competitive potential of AI only begins to unfold – and there are ample opportunities for leveraging AI in terms of innovation and new business models beyond automating jobs. Do you agree?

Three Important and Exciting AI Trends for 2020

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 13:26:47 GMT

Beyond mere technology trends: Integrated intelligence, emotion analytics, and data efficiency are some key AI topics for the next 12 months.

Emerging AI Topics

In December 2019, I published a short LinkedIn post about three AI trends for 2020, which was well received. Therefore, I now briefly expand upon it here. Towards the end of 2019, I was asked in several meetings and discussions about the key AI trends for 2020. There are some important lists that try to identify the top trends for AI, especially the Gartner Hype Cycle analyses.

To some degree, these lists will always be subjective, and my top three trends are strongly driven by my focus on business model innovation and strategic management in the context of AI – rather than focusing on particular technological opportunities and challenges in the different fields of AI. Beyond particular technology topics, I therefore highlight the following three exciting AI trends for 2020:

1. Integrated Intelligence

In light of the limited competitive impact of many corporate AI initiatives so far, executives increasingly focus on the combination of human and artificial intelligence to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. On this basis, they attempt to develop an integrated intelligence architecture, which goes substantially beyond the isolated application of selected AI tools and which may enable a sustainable competitive advantage. These opportunities are addressed in more detail in my new book ‘ Integrated Intelligence : Combining Human and Artificial Intelligence for Competitive Advantage’.

2. Emotion Analytics
Technology experts increasingly address the field of AI-enabled emotion analytics. For example, the startup company TAWNY.AI offers customized algorithms based on its underlying core solution for emotion analytics to ease human-machine-interaction. As the functionalities of AI solutions continue to advance, the seamless interaction with the user becomes increasingly important, and it calls for taking into account the emotions of the user. A good example here are the different levels of autonomous driving and the variety of human-machine-interactions, which may need to consider the drivers’ emotions at a particular moment.

3. Data Efficiency
Sustainable and green AI is a huge topic, and it covers many different aspects. One topic that increasingly becomes a core issue in this regard is data efficiency - as recently pointed out by EU commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who highlighted the energy consumption of streaming and other web-enabled services. The topic of data efficiency is explained in more detail in an excellent LinkedIn post by Elmar Schüller. To fully profit from AI in the long run, companies need data strategies that put sufficient emphasis on efficient data management.

The Human Side of AI
When selecting these three topics, I did not specifically focus on the human side of AI. However, this overarching theme emerged when choosing the three trends. While this result may derive from my personal focus on business models and strategies for AI, there seems to be more to this focus on the human side of AI. For example, the topic of augmented intelligence is still at the beginning of the Gartner Hype Cycle for AI, and it describes the role of AI in strengthening human skills, which is a major component of integrated intelligence architectures. Thus, the human side of AI may very well become an overarching key theme for profiting from AI over the next years beyond 2020.