Supercharging Erfindergeist

Large companies with international reach form the basis for our prosperity. They owe their success and growth to the establishment of processes and systems. Since industrialization, it has been their groundbreaking innovations that have shaped our world and our everyday lives. But with increasing structures, the power of innovation is dwindling.

Structures create reliability. However, a rigid system makes it difficult to think and act freely. Innovation requires both taking responsibilities and allowing for possible failure. This can be found in young companies in particular. In the first years, new things are introduced to the market and tested vigorously, chaos is navigated, and the lack of structures is celebrated. But if you want to scale and conquer the world, at some point, you have to bring order to chaos and fall back on the very processes that seemed unthinkable at the beginning. So how to do one without leaving the other?

Innovation is caught between structure and freedom. Can it be planned and calculated? Is it the product of a single genius or a joint effort? Does it need a serious framework or a playful environment? Desk, laboratory, or garage? Concentration, chaos, or creativity? Those who want to (discover) innovation ask many questions – and find countless opinions. Our credo: Innovation can't be found; you can't discover it or run after it. Innovation wants to be invited. In the right environment, it happens on its own. Our inventive spirit then ensures that they flourish.

The imperative of digital transformation tells us: We are too slow. We are lagging behind. We need to hurry up. Hectically, we turn to a challenge and try to master it as quickly as possible. But if we stare at a problem as if spellbound, we quickly lose sight of the big picture. The complex issues of the digital world cannot be simplified and reduced to a project. Their context is crucial to the success of a real reboot.

How do you make decisions in a complex world? One takes the first step and thus already gains new insights and perspectives. Setting out is the true goal in a constantly changing world. What is conceived today may already be obsolete tomorrow - that is the fear. The contrasting model is simple: The goal is not to arrive in the digital world but to be on the move in the digital world. Start building and overcome resistance. Because it's fun. Promised.

You put all your courage and inventiveness together and came up with something really new. And now? How does it quickly get out into the world and become a commercial success? What happens if you fail? The answer is surprisingly simple: It is not the idea at the heart of innovation but the person. And she needs freedom: trust and a willingness to take risks and composure and patience when something doesn't work out right from the start. Then she courageously sets out to test ideas and concepts only to bring back what she has learned. This is how a genuine spirit of optimism is created.

Taking responsibility means making far-reaching decisions together. This is only successful if there is an open exchange about expectations, doubts, fears, and wishes. And this already before you set off together. Constant communication about successes, failures, and small and large events creates transparency. This forms the trust needed to go down new paths together.