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Warum wir neue Mobilitätskonzepte brauchen

admin — Sat, 07 May 2011 18:52:14 +0000

Der zukünftige Ministerpräsident von Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, hat vollkommen Recht: Ohne neue Mobilitätskonzepte geht es nicht!

Das Automobil, mit welchem Antrieb auch immer, ist nicht der Stein der Weisen. Dafür gibt es viele, bereits oft diskutierte, Gründe. Den Folgenden kommt eine besondere Bedeutung zu:

Das Straßennetz, welches auch von Elektrofahrzeugen genutzt wird, zerstört wichtigen Lebensraum.
Die Fertigung, auch von Elektrofahrzeugen, ist rohstoff-, wasser- und energie-intensiv.
Durch Staus, in denen auch Elektrofahrzeuge stehen, entstehen hohe volkswirtschaftliche Schäden.
Der Erwerb eines Fahrzeugs ist für viele Verbraucher aufgrund der relativ geringen Nutzung finanziell ineffizient.
In immer mehr Ländern verliert das Automobil seine Rolle als Statussymbol.

Ein weiteres Detail am Rande: Wenn sich die heutigen Kritiker von Herrn Kretschmann Ende des 19ten Jahrhunderts durchgesetzt hätten, gäbe es die Automobilindustrie, die sie heute vorgeben zu verteidigen, nicht. Das von Carl Benz erstmals patentierte und kommerzialisierte Automobil – übrigens ohne Subventionen – hätte sich gegenüber anderen Verkehrsmitteln nie durchsetzen können. Als Beispiel mag folgendes Zitat von Wilhelm II dienen: "Das Auto ist eine vorübergehende Erscheinung. Ich glaube an das Pferd."

Wir erinnern uns auch an Henry Ford, Pionier im Automobilbau – sein Konzept der Fließbandtechnik revolutionierte die industrielle Produktion – und Gründer der Ford Motor Company. Er sagte einmal "Wenn ich die Menschen gefragt hätte, was sie wollen, hätten sie gesagt schnellere Pferde". Was würde Henry Ford heute sagen und, vor allen Dingen, was würde Henry Ford heute tun bzw. 'unternehmen'? Ich empfehle allen vehementen und populistischen Verteidigern des automobilen Status quo, sich diese Frage einmal zu stellen.

Mut zum Wandel war damals wie heute der Schlüssel zum langfristigen Erfolg. Und es ist volkswirtschaftlich und gesellschaftlich allemal sinnvoller, in die Geschäftsmodelle, Produkte und damit Arbeitsplätze von morgen zu investieren, statt die gestrigen zu subventionieren.

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Warum neu geladen

admin — Sat, 07 May 2011 12:07:33 +0000

Nach einer längeren Pause geht es ab heute auf diesem Blog weiter mit dem Fokus auf Wandel.

Heute erschien in der Financial Times Deutschland ein bemerkenswerter Essay: Aufruf an die Generation Digital ( http://goo.gl/Yj1ji ) Sehr anschaulich wird die Notwendigkeit, unser Gesellschaftssystem neu zu erfinden und gleichzeitig ein neues Menschenbild zu schaffen, beschrieben. Ein 'weiter so wie bisher' ist keine zukunftssichere Option.

Wir müssen in morgen investieren, statt gestern zu subventionieren.

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Friendship and the value of time

admin — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 12:06:23 +0000

A while ago, I wrote a post on leadership and the value of time ( http://achimmuellers.posterous.com/leadership-and-the-value-of-time ). In it, I explained that valuating their own time and that of their employees highly is an important characteristic of great leaders.

Surely this applies even more for friendships, as it takes a lot of time to develop and cultivate a true friendship. As Aristotle said a long time ago 'Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit'. That is one important reason, why we don't have tons of real friends.

Time being a very scarce resource and nobody's day having more than 24 hours, makes time an important cost factor in business. Spending too much time producing goods and services is simply not efficient. One way to solve this problem is to produce more in less time and this is exactly where technology comes in. Just look at the continuously rising levels of automation in manufacturing.

What does this have to do with friendships?

Social networks, one in particular, try to talk us into believing that friendship is a process, which can be made more efficient. Why waste time and effort getting to know people and developing new friendships in the real world, if you can do so with a click online? Why waste time and effort meeting friends in the real world, if you can do so online? Why waste time and effort writing a personal letter, if you can write on his or her wall online? By saving time, their solution is presumably more efficient and good for you, because it gives you more time to do something else. At the same time, they try to convince us that it is cheaper. But that is a different story.

Is this really true? Do we really want our friendships to be determined by rules of efficiency? Are friendships a part of our lives, where we need to save time? I don't think so and prefer not to subject my friendships to a permanent cost-benefit analysis. Time spent with friends is time well spent! Social networks are not redundant, but they can't replace our individual and 'time-consuming' way of cultivating true friendships.

What do you think?

How much of your time are you spending personally with your friends? Are you willing to go out of your way just to be there? And for those friends not living around the corner, when is the last time you made a personal phone call?

Posted via email from Gnothi Seauton

Rethinking capitalism

admin — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 11:33:59 +0000

Valuable insights from Michael E. Porter regarding the future of capitalism. He argues that the old profit maximization rule propagated by Milton Friedman 'The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits' is no more valid and calls for a new perspective in order to create what he calls 'shared value': What's good for society is good for business.

Porter does not propose to redistribute the pie, but believes that the concept of shared value will lead to a bigger pie, from which all parties will profit. Creating societal benefits will create economic value.

Notwithstanding that he obviously has been inspired by the work of Peter F. Drucker, I hope that business will listen, rethink their value chain and focus more on the human needs relating to their products. There are obviously important implications for CSR as well.

I look forward to further developments of this worthy initiative.

Posted via email from Gnothi Seauton

Fairy tale or valuable advice?

admin — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 11:34:40 +0000

They say that fairy tales are just for children. Is this really true? Can't a closer look reveal valuable insights for everybody?

Yesterday, I was suddenly thinking about 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin' by the brothers Grimm. For those of you not familiar with the fairy tale, here's a short summary:

In the Middle Ages, the German town of Hamelin had a problem with too many rats. Desperate for a solution, the citizens of Hamelin believed in the promise of a piper in pied clothing to solve the problem. They agreed to pay him for that service. The man proceeded to play on a magic pipe and the rates followed him to a nearby river, where they drowned. In the meantime the thrifty citizens had changed their minds and refused to pay him. The piper left Hamelin and vowed revenge. A while later he returned in a different outfit and played his magic pipe again. This time he was followed by the children of Hamelin, who were never seen again. However there were 3 exceptions: One child was lame and couldn't follow quickly enough, one was deaf and couldn't hear the pipe, one was blind and couldn't see where the other children were going. Hence they were the only ones to survive.

Numerous interpretations have been proposed, but none focused on the three surviving children. So, here is my free interpretation:

Pied Pipers are obviously still among us. They don't wear funny, pied costumes anymore. Nowadays they wear suits or hoodies. They don't play magical pipes, but promise us magical, at times incredible, things and many of us choose to follow instantly. The fairy tale teaches us that it is not wise to instantly and unconditionally follow and believe everything we hear and see. In the fairy tale, the children had no choice, as only those with a disability were spared. In real life, we do have the choice if we use our common sense. A sarcastic pied piper would probably add that common sense is a disability. Understandable from his perspective, because it's much easier to lure the unwary.

Just for children? I don't think so!

Posted via email from Gnothi Seauton

Leadership and the Golden Rule

admin — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 12:10:45 +0000

A very long time ago, Confucius said 'What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others'. He called it the Golden Maxim, in the meantime it's better known as the Golden Rule or the ethic of reciprocity. It figures prominently in many religions and is the central foundation for human rights. As a matter of fact, it is a very social rule.

True leaders will observe the Golden Rule and treat all of their employees with esteem. Great brands will observe the Golden Rule as well and treat all consumers with esteem. In short, it is a good guideline for social entrepreneurship: empathetic, compassionate and attentive. After all, there can be no reciprocity, if we don't listen to others.

Immanuel Kant pointed out that the Golden Rule has its limitations in terms of universal applicability when compared to the categorical imperative. But in my opinion, the Golden Rule is an important first step and it is a shame that so few choose to take it.

Leadership is about listening

admin — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:48:58 +0000

Great leaders are also great listeners. Just like Epictetus over 2.000 years ago, they know that we have two ears and one mouth, so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.

Having realized that nobody has a monopoly on good ideas, leaders listen to markets, customers and employees. Humans never cease to learn, but that requires careful listening. The more we learn and know, the better we become at what we do.

An intelligent dialogue brings out the best in the participants of a conversation, which makes the dialogue more fertile than the monologue. Only dictators would disagree. The reason being that they believe in an absolute, oppressive and at times abusive exertion of power. Unfortunately the concept of managerial dictatorship is still alive and well in many companies and institutions. More subtle than in the past, but still popular.

Managerial dictators think that they know-it-all and that they therefore don't need listen to their subordinates. They consider them to be literally inferior, their only function being to obey and follow orders. Interestingly that arrogance is often coupled with fear, because deep down they know that they are not geniuses, that 'command and control' is an anachronism and that they could learn from others. But they lack the wisdom or the greatness to admit that.

More and more, employees are not willing to put up with this behavior. An old proverb says 'Never tell your story to a deaf man'. Employees won't accept being controlled by managers talking in monologue. Instead they will look for and follow listening leaders.

Increasing car recalls and increasing car sales – A contradiction?

admin — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 14:42:37 +0000

In 2010 I have seen more car recalls than I care to remember, but not just from the mass producers. Premium manufacturers like BMW, Rolls Royce, Ferrari and others were also busy recalling. There are many reasons for this: complex technology, increased outsourcing combined with cost pressure on the suppliers, just to name a few. Plus, 'built to last' seems to be a strategy of the past.

Not only that, I am certain that the number of unreported cases is much higher, because in many countries the car recall legislation is not as tough as in the US. In these markets, manufacturers often choose not to do an official recall. Instead they fix the problem without informing the consumer when the car is in the workshop.

But those are topics for another post, today I want to draw your attention to a seeming contradiction:

Despite the huge number of recalls, US as well as global car sales in 2010 are rising! In other words, we buy more and more of a product, that is being recalled more frequently due to quality problems.

It is the same old story, we are not exerting our influence sufficiently and seem to be content with less than we have to. We forgive and forget, which effectively boils down to turning the other cheek. Unfortunately many brands, not just car brands, will only act once decreasing profits indicate a need for action. As long as it is cheaper to say sorry and recall a product than to get it right from the start, many will continue to excuse themselves. In those cases, boycotts are the only answer.

Posted via email from Gnothi Seauton

Like a bleating sheep

admin — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:16:29 +0000

Humans behave like sheep more often than they want to believe. Why is that?

A major reason is that many feel safe in the anonymity of the masses, i.e. herd, and are sheepish when on their own. They voluntarily follow and do as they're told. But that subservience always comes at a price. Somebody will perceive it as an offer to be taken advantage of: politicians do it, companies do it, bosses do it, colleagues do it, media do it, networks do it. Subservience leads to exploitation.

The message is "We know what's good for you, you don't have to worry. Save yourself the time and trouble to think about it. Just eat, i.e. consume, what we serve you. In return we get your wool, i.e. trust, vote, money, time, personal data – whatever is applicable – and take care of the rest". The sheep are fed, sheared and their wool sold. It goes without saying that the profits don't go to them.

Sheep sell themselves short!

Bleating in the anonymity of the herd isn't going to change that. We have to step out of the illusion of heteronomous happiness driven by consumption. As opposed to sheep, we can think and we can take control of our lives. That obviously comes at a price, as there are no rights without duties.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free". And you?

Posted via email from Gnothi Seauton

Mohandas Gandhi’s take

admin — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 13:25:51 +0000

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

Posted via email from Gnothi Seauton