Entries by Karin Maria Schertler

The right way to manage transformation: Why managers should see red more often

There’s one thing we can all agree on – management in a time of VUCA is an arduous task. So, there is a great temptation to be too eager to reach for the latest “hammer” (i.e. the latest management methods) in the naive assumption that every problem is a nail to be hit. And because managers are taking less and less time to think about things, they are morphed into agitated actors, naively hoping they will achieve their goal more quickly. It would be much better, however, to have some practical and user-friendly differentiation tools at hand to avoid falling into these traps. So, if you want to use your time and energy wisely, it is a good idea to know the difference between “blue” and “red”. Curtain up on the colour theory of transformation.

5. June 2019 by

The Disruptions Triad – Your source of power for the digital transformation

You’re probably sick of hearing it again and again. This buzz word that’s always mentioned in the same breath as the digital transformation. Sometimes the disruption takes the form of a threatening scenario, sometimes as a utopia of unlimited possibilities – depending on who takes on the topic or for whom the message is intended. This is almost always accompanied by the urgent plea that we must step things up at the forefront of the digital transformation. The basic tenet is that we require more disruptive technologies. We require more disruptive business models. So let’s get on with it! Come on all you corporations, medium-sized businesses and startups!

15. August 2018 by

New Work – Panacea or hype?

The management theorists have discovered a new wonder weapon: New Work. Pretty much everything to do with agility, the meeting of equals and self-organisation in the widest sense is subsumed under this term. The hope is that this will generate greater innovative energy and enhance companies’ ability to create value, or to put it in a nutshell: New Work is supposed to cure all the painful symptoms of a dysfunctional organisation at a stroke. All the time- and energy-sapping meetings, the corporate policy that devours your creative spark, the never-ending decision-making processes, the silo mentality cemented into people’s heads. The deeper the pain an organisation feels, the more hopeful the New Work promise of being the solution for the digitised, disruption-friendly VUCA age sounds. All the employees are highly motivated to work with each other, focusing on the customer and for the benefit of the enterprise, self-organised, collaborative and in blissfully agile coexistence.

27. April 2018 by
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Three golden rules for digital change

Just to get it out of the way right now: I don’t like buzzwords. They are like annoying mayflies that seize our attention but serve no useful purpose. Their intrusive buzzing makes it more difficult to formulate clear thoughts. And too many mayflies at once block our view of what really matters. That’s why I’m […]

12. April 2017 by