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THE COMPANY MAGAZINE
Self-renewal
WE LIVE CHEMICALS!
1/2015
WHAT REMAINS? WHAT IS TO COME? WHAT IS GONE?
WHO HAS THE PLAN?
WHO GIVES US HOPE? WHO DO WE WANT TO BE?
HOW DO WE WANT TO LIVE TOMORROW?
THE DESIGN DUO RAW COLOR MADE PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THE “TEMPORARY TREES” PROJECT
EVMAG_0115_EN_01_Titel [e].indd 1 26.02.15 13:30
www.evonik.com
See Berlin with new ears during the
“intonations” Chamber Music Festival
at the Jewish Museum Berlin.
Berlin isn’t just a city of haute cuisine and haute couture but
also of haute musique. For the fourth time, the Jerusalem
International Chamber Music Festival will be taking the stage
at the Jewish Museum Berlin. Experience “intonations”
from April 18 to 23, 2015 and savor the moment when top
international musicians perform beautiful compositions.
www.jmberlin.de/intonations
We support culture. For the love of it.
1 ⁄ 2015 das magazin von evonik industries
EVMAG_0115_EN_0203_INTRO_Editorial [e].indd 2 26.02.15 13:55
3
editorial
www.evonik.com
“To create something new, you first have to change
yourself. And this change begins in your own head”
Dear readers,
Change requires insight. To create something new, you first
have to change yourself. And this change begins in your own
head. Those who do not renew themselves, who stop learning
and questioning their own basic principles, will at some point
be overrun by changing times. That’s true of people, compa-
nies, and societies.
The big projects of our time are projects of self-renewal.
They include the consolidation of Europe, globalization, the
energy transition, and the integration of diverse cultures.
In many cases these projects have been born of crisis, and
are shaped and driven forward by people who have the force
of will to shape the future and take on responsibility. This
Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board responsibility also includes the realization that self-renewal is
of Evonik Industries AG not an end in itself but the ability to apply sound judgment and
make the right decision at the right time.
The power to renew oneself is a power we must reinforce.
That applies especially to industrial companies, which bear a
Cover: Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kuster/Raw Color; Temporary Trees — Weeping Willow | Photography: Evonik
huge responsibility for people, jobs, products, and technology.
Evonik Industries is a company in the specialty chemicals sec-
tor, an industry whose products have ever shorter lifecycles.
As a result, we face the challenge of continually refining our
business model. It’s the only way we can respond to the re-
quirements of our customers and consumers.
Naturally, change also poses some tough questions. How
can we overcome our fear of the unknown? What do we
need to discard? What is worth keeping? What do we want
to change? How do we want to live in the future? And how
do we get there? None of these questions has a single correct
answer. However, there are right and wrong ways to proceed.
It would be wrong to stick our heads in the sand in the face
of the challenges of the future. The right approach is to face
these challenges and make them projects that require us to
change ourselves. If we succeed in doing that, the world will
also change.
This issue presents people who question themselves and
leave familiar territory—not necessarily to do different things
but to do things differently. Pleasant reading!
Sincerely yours,
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4
definition
Self-re new al
ORIGIN “Self” is an Old English word used
emphatically (“I myself” etc.); “renewal”
= re- (“again”) + the Middle English
masthead
Publisher
newen (“resume, revive, renew”)
TYPICAL ASSOCIATIONS Psychology,
Evonik Industries AG
Rüdiger Oppers
Rellinghauser Straße 1–11
biology, business, medicine, chemistry
45128 Essen, Germany
Publication Manager
Urs Schnabel
SYNONYMS Reform, metamorphosis,
Consulting and Concept
Manfred Bissinger
continuous improvement process
Editor in Chief
Christof Endruweit
(responsible for editorial
content)
ANTONYMS Stagnation, stasis
Editors
Ralf Grauel (Head)
Michael Prellberg (Head
of Text)
Jana Petersen
Michaela Vieser (Associate)
Managing Editor
USAGE
GENERAL: People or organizations that
Inga Borg
Picture Editing and
Layout
regard their development as never
C3 Creative Code and
Content GmbH, Berlin
being finished and actively shape it
Translation
TransForm GmbH,
Cologne
after careful thought
Agency and editorial
address
BISSINGER[+] GmbH
Medien und
Kommunikation
SCIENCE AND RESEARCH:
An der Alster 1
20099 Hamburg
Germany
In complex organisms, this highly
info@bissingerplus.de
Printing
Neef+Stumme
interesting characteristic is possessed
premium printing
Wittingen
only by stem cells
Copyright
© 2015 by Evonik
Industries AG, Essen.
Reprinting only with the
permission of the agency.
BUSINESS: Companies reflect on their
The content does not
necessarily reflect the
opinion of the publisher
Questions about
Evonik Magazine
Tel.: +49 201 177 – 33 47
strengths and reinvent themselves on
the basis of their core expertise
e-mail: evonik-magazin@
evonik.com
Fax: +49 201 177 – 30 13
1 ⁄ 2015 the magazine from evonik industries
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5
contents
people and values
Photography: Gavin Evans/Corbis Outline | Illustration: Mathis Rekowski | Graphics: C3 Visual Lab
8 Portraits
Every major social change begins with only one
person. Then there are two people, then three…
We present five outstanding personalities who
ignore people’s expectations of them—and
reinvent the world
14 Essay
Is radical change the only thing that counts? “Disruption” has
become a buzzword in the business world. Could an element of
hysteria be involved? It’s time to take a closer look at this concept
18 Interview
The unknown always makes us uneasy. Dr. Martin Herrmann helps
companies move forward into unfamiliar territory. He recommends
engaging in dialogue and being open about uncomfortable realities
22 Photo Gallery
Sometimes the new simply breaks through. Sometimes the old stays
as it is—yet never stops changing. Four moments of change
business and
society
32 Case Study: How societies renew themselves
A dynamic head start: In South Korea, Brazil, Rwanda, and
Iceland, people make the difference
36 Case Study: How companies renew themselves
No more slash-and-burn in the What will customers be asking for tomorrow? How do we recognize
the right answers? Evonik is shaping its own future
rainforest. Costa Rica has been
working on reconciling the
economy and the ecology since research and
technology
the 1980s thac
ryla
t (PM
MA)
44 Portrait
e
ylm
eth
Self-renewal for societies: Self-determined reform processes Pol
ym
can also be implemented on an imposing scale. We present some An all-rounder can also be a superhero:
examples of nations on the move. Costa Rica, South Africa, Welcome to the shape-changing
Singapore, and others—every country has its own way. Yet their world of AEROSIL
people also have things in common—patience and the will to change
48 Report
Interesting times for print media, but
the New York Times with its rich
tradition refuses to die. In its
Future Lab, the venerable
daily newspaper is
exploring paths to
the future
52 Series: Milestones
of Chemistry
It fulfills all your
Standards
expectations, can be
shaped and colored,
and defies wind, weather,
03 Editorial
and accidents: PLEXIGLAS
04 Definition / Masthead
makes the world more colorful,
06 Facts + Figures: People and Values
attractive, and robust
28 Facts + Figures: Business and Society
42 Facts + Figures: Research and Technology
54 Point of Contact
AEROSIL® and PLEXIGLAS® are registered trademarks of Evonik Industries AG
or its subsidiaries. They are indicated in capital letters throughout the text
Knowledge
Edition
№3
Poster insert: Natural Change It certainly didn’t look like that two days ago! Nature renews itself
and its creations in a process called metamorphosis
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EVMAG_0115_EN_0405_INTRO_Inhalt [e].indd 5 26.02.15 13:58
people and values
Facts + Figures +
Start
-
1908
08
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84 31 from Google that scans
84 "Self-renewal“ 32 millions of books and
83 (1908 – 2008) 33 links them to their year
34
82
of publication. The
1
81 35
word first appeared in
1980 36
“I can sleep when for example, and can
69 37 the turbulent, ideologi-
78 38 cally charged prewar I’m dead”: Is even help you gain
77 194
39 years. Beginning in the sleep the adversary new insights.
0
76
41 1960s, our level of of an active life?
3
74
42 self-reflection steadily
74
73
43
increased. The word On the contrary! Why are we
44
72 45 became a part of our If you sleep too more confident
71
in the morning than
69 70
everyday vocabulary little or your sleep is
46
1 9
after the Eastern Bloc
47
interrupted, you can on the previous
48
68
19 1
collapsed and a wave
49
67
evening? You can’t
50
suffer from decreased
66
64
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of digitization and
1960
64
52
63
53
62
54
performance and generalize that. It
54
61
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globalization spread
58
57
across the world. well-being as well depends very much
personality development as from a weakened on the kind of person
Why Metamorphosis Can
immune system and we are—whether we
long-term health are more active in the
Be Good for Us problems. In this way,
sleep promotes the
mornings or the eve-
nings, and when and
cyclical self-renewal how we deal with our
Everything changes, even her, wisdom isn’t a matter of more stubborn at 50 “can of our bodies and cares. In addition to
Photography: at digital VG BILD-KUNST, BONN 2014, firo/Augenklick | Illustration: Lyndon Hayes/dutchuncle | Graphics: C3 Visual Lab
one’s personality. Things knowledge, but the ability to still change at 70,” concludes minds. sleep, the body clock
that we thought were “right” understand different points of psychologist Jule Specht plays an important
when we were 20, and
seemed questionable to us
when we reached 40, can
view. “The path to wisdom is
like weaving: Experiences co-
alesce until I think I have un-
from the Free University of
Berlin. Data obtained from
about 23,000 Germans and
2 Is it really advis-
able to “sleep on
it” before making a
role here. Our moods
fluctuate throughout
the day—and they do
appear completely incompre- derstood something—about Australians aged 15 to 82 decision? so in different ways,
hensible to us two decades myself and about life.” People reveal a startling fact: One That’s difficult to depending on wheth-
later. However, the question who question themselves and out of four people adopt prove from a scientific er we are more active
is: Are we are getting any their opinions and attitudes new personality traits when standpoint. However, in the mornings or the
smarter, or are we no longer see the world differently and they get to be about 70 years it certainly helps to evenings.
open-minded about new think about it differently as old. Statistically speaking, gain time so that you
developments? well. It’s like a metamorphosis this means that one of every can closely analyze Sleep researcher Daniel
that leads to self-renewal. person’s four grandparents any decision you are Aeschbach is Head of
Ursula Staudinger is change in this way. Says about to make. More- the Division of Flight
Physiology at the Institute
researching precisely this Age doesn’t matter. Specht, “It seems that people over, sleep is actually
of Aerospace Medicine
topic at New York’s Colum- Someone who is stubborn primarily change when they an active process that (DLR) and lectures at Har-
bia University. According to at the age of 30 and is even reach a ripe old age.” promotes learning, vard Medical School.
Ruhr region. It can be and pre-prepared routes
found online at www. through the Ruhr region.
art in the ruhr region kunstgebiet.ruhr and One of these routes
Gallery Online
contains regularly up- visits various mine heaps,
dated information about where a program titled
the region’s art, artists, “Art and Coal” highlights
and institutions. The several artists and their
Because too much is row. In order to keep project, which receives works (some of them
happening, the things up with this continuous funding from the RAG largely forgotten) who
that are printed in books process of change, a Foundation, also contains were the product of the
today might not be digital art guide has now biographies, art-historical mining industry or whose
correct any more tomor- been created for the analyses of works of art, art focused on mining.
1 ⁄ 2015 the magazine from evonik industries
EVMAG_0115_EN_0607_M+W_FACTS01 [e].indd 6 26.02.15 13:59
7
people and values
facts+figures
Five years before the figures
True
team’s World Cup
victory: Well-known
Values
faces at Germany’s
under-21 team in 2009
60 %
avoid/reduce stress
55 %
more time for family/friends
55 %
more sport
48 %
more time for myself
48 %
eat healthier
34 %
lose weight
New Year’s resolutions
don’t have to be kept for
long to express people’s
wishes and reveal where
problems occur. The
most severe problem is
that time pressures at
work mean that people
have too little time for
their families. Losing
weight is only in sixth
place. Furthermore, half
of the people surveyed
in Germany keep their
resolutions for more
than four months.
CHANGE TAKES TIME
Source: Forsa/DAK
Days of sickness
75 per 1000
insured
50 persons
25
Jürgen Klinsmann once called the
3
ods, management— Marc Verstegen, 0
German Football Association ossi- and everything else. “I introduced new, more 2004 2013
fied. Two weeks later he was head feel like the machinery dynamic exercises. He Ill due to burn-out
has been in place in was supported by team After flaring up, the
coach of the national team—and measures
Germany for the past doctor Hans-Wilhelm flame suddenly goes
for
got to work. He thought it would 20 years,” he said. Müller-Wohlfahrt.
out. Germany is wit-
take ten years—a good guess. relaunching Two weeks later, he The players’ stamina
nessing a dramatic in-
crease in the number of
Germany’s national became the new head increased and they be- sick days due to burn-
June 23, 2004 soccer team coach of the national came less injury-prone. out. People who devote
all of their energies to
Bastian Schwein- team. He immediately
steiger, Philip Lahm, 1 began implementing Ethnic diversity
their jobs often overtax
themselves. Burnout
Miroslav Klose, and Yoga: In addition to his ten-year plan. The team became symptoms tell us that
protecting the players we should shift gears
Lukas Podolski leave more ethnically
against injuries, yoga and take it slow. People
the field in shame helped them be more Inhibitions Klinsmann diverse. In the 2006
who are affected by
after their team drops relaxed amid all the hired yoga trainer World Cup, five play- burnout should sort out
out of the European media frenzy. Patrick Broome and ers had an immigration what’s important and
Cup preliminaries. But made course atten- background. In 2010, what’s not.
everything will soon 2 dance mandatory. it was half the team, Source: Statista
30.7
get better. Training: Although Says Broome, “I was and in 2014 people
the new, dynamic impressed that the stopped counting.
exercises initially met
Ten years with disapproval, they players were already
That’s how long one are now standard. so enthusiastic and July 13, 2014
would need “to take concentrated during Mario Götze scored
percent of the compa-
the joint apart” and put
it back together in a
3 the first training unit.” a goal in the 113th
minute of the game,
ny founders in Germany
Sport psychology: are older than 45. One
new form, said Jürgen Klinsmann adopted Warmup making Germany the tenth of these entre-
Klinsmann about the this from the NBA. Stretching as a warm- World Champion! preneurs have already
“The players encoun- celebrated their 55th
DFB shortly after he ter stressful situations
up exercise? How Klinsmann’s plan was
birthdays.
left the team. He crit- that they’re not pre- old-fashioned. The finally fulfilled after ten Source: RKW
icized its training meth- pared for,” he says. new fitness coach, years and 20 days.
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8
“What do
creativity and
a zest for life
have to do with
growing old?”
Photography: Gavin Evans/Corbis Outline
1 ⁄ 2015 the magazine from evonik industries
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9
people and values
ONLY THOSE
portraits
WHO CHANGE
STAY TRUE TO
THEMSELVES
How should new things enter the world, if not through a change
in our own attitudes? In this issue we present five people who
begin by changing themselves over and over again. And in the
process they regularly push the envelope, sweep aside prejudices,
and ultimately change the world
The chameleon People say he’s a cha- and even today. He was British pop star has al- inspired by him, just as collector. I collect per-
meleon, but in fact it’s the androgynous Ziggy ways worn a suit when Nick Cave was in the sonalities and ideas.”
How David Bowie, the other way around: Stardust, Aladdine he’s not on stage, for a past. Lady Gaga toys He calls himself a
68, has been rein- David Bowie doesn’t Sane with a lightning simple and convincing with his motifs, as Ma- Lego kit—a box full of
venting himself—and adapt himself to the flash on his face, the reason. “When you’re donna did before her. colored blocks that he
pop music—for half a environment—the Thin White Duke in a wearing a suit, you’re Thanks to his subtle has been combining
century. environment adapts white shirt, and Major simply treated differ- perceptions, Bowie has in innovative ways for
itself to him. That’s Tom, the man who ently—better,” he says. always been a catalyst almost 50 years now.
because Bowie sets fell to earth. The only Current bands such as for the spirit of the Colored blocks that can
trends—in the 1960s, constant element is Arcade Fire (as well as times. “I’m not a rock be made into anything.
the 1970s, the 1980s, that for decades this Marylin Manson) are star,” he says. “I’m a
1 ⁄ 2015 the magazine from evonik industries
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10
people and values
portraits
Publicity-shy On a January morning, called Quiet: The Power tured out onto a major book became a best- worked alone. They are
Susan Cain woke up and of Introverts in a World public stage. She held a seller. At least one in pupils who are expected
How Susan Cain, 46, made a decision. She left That Can’t Stop Talking. TED talk that has by now every three people is an to learn through group
is saving silence in a her life as a Wall Street Okay, Cain said to herself been viewed more than introvert. These are peo- work, even though they
world of extroverts lawyer behind her, read that morning, I’m going ten million times. “It was ple who have to work in can learn more effec-
books, thought hard, and to become something a metamorphosis,” Cain open-plan offices, even tively in a quiet room by
wrote. Soon after that new: a public introvert. says. Bill Gates became though they would be themselves. Cain wants
she published a book One year later, she ven- a fan of hers, and Cain’s more productive if they to help them.
“Our schools and
our workplaces
have been
Photography: Aaron Fedor/Random House
developed for
extroverts”
1 ⁄ 2015 the magazine from evonik industries
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Lord of the air
How Jan Boklöv
from Sweden, 48,
revolutionized ski
jumping.
“It simply It’s possible that Jan
Boklöv became a
happened to me. pioneer by accident.
There was a strong
And suddenly updraft when he made
I was flying the training jump
in Falun, Sweden in
90 meters instead September 1987 that
launched a new style
of 70 meters” of ski jumping. Legend
has it that a gust of
wind forced his legs
apart as he was sailing
down the slide. Boklöv
evened out the wind
pressure by making a
wide V with his skis—
and then he jumped.
“I felt immediately that
this style enables you
to lie back more effec-
tively on the cushion
of air,” Boklöv said
later. He followed his
intuition and remained
true to this new tech-
nique, even though
critics mocked him as a
“scissors jumper” and
judges punished him
by giving him lower
scores for posture.
Skiing officials criti-
cized his “break with
tradition.”
But the introverted
redhead Boklöv, who
used to stand and
smoke in the finish
area and trained less
often than his com-
petitors, soared above
his rivals. In 1989 he
won the World Cup
overall in ski jump-
ing. Since 1992 there
has no longer been a
penalty for the V-style
of ski jumping that
put Boklöv back in the
mid-rankings of ski
jumpers. And today
everyone jumps
that way.
Photography: Aaron Fedor/Random House
Photography: Patrick Desbrosses
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people and values
portraits
Philanthropist
How Mo Ibrahim,
68, fights corrup-
tion—in order to help
an entire continent
make progress.
Africa has an image
problem, according
“We Africans to the man who is
trying to solve it: Mo
have to finally Ibrahim, a mobile
start helping communications pio-
neer, billionaire, and
ourselves” philanthropist. The
West is only aware of
the corrupt leaders
in Africa, Ibrahim
says. “Imagine how it
would be if the only
Europeans I knew of
were Hitler, Mussoli-
ni, and Milosevic,” he
says.
Ibrahim says he built
up his company, Cel-
tel, which has brought
mobile telephony to
24 million Africans in
15 countries, “without
paying anyone a single
cent in bribes.” Now
he’s trying to fight
corruption with an
unusual approach.
Since 2007, his Mo
Ibrahim Foundation
has been offering an
annual prize of $5 mil-
lion and a handsome
pension to democrati-
cally elected heads of
state who have been
successful and then
voluntarily retired.
The award has been
presented to an
eligible recipient only
three times in all.
Ibrahim is able to
finance this award
because he sold his
company for $3.4 bil-
lion. He put about half
of this sum into his
foundation and paid
out $500 million to his
employees. “I can only
sleep in one bed and
eat three meals a day,”
Ibrahim says.
Photography: Bruno Amsellem/Signatures/laif
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“People should
try hard to be
less stupid. That
would look best
Photography: ddpimages/interTOPICS/Photoshot
on them”
Queen of Punk It’s evening, and hours with the worn-out “I consider fashion a Malcolm McLaren, asked style, plus lots of other
Vivienne Westwood is heel of a sock. She hates tiresome duty. I judge her to design costumes styles that have caught
How the fashion walking through her handbags and considers myself only according to for the Sex Pistols. Ever her fancy. Christian
designer Vivienne West- studio and collecting possessions a nuisance. what I think,” she says. since then, this lady with Lacroix copied her short
wood, 73, stays young empty plastic bottles for For her, the perfect day In her work, she disman- the fiery red hair has rococo skirts, Gaultier
at heart the recycling bin. She’s consists of lying in bed tles, rethinks, mixes, been regarded as the her underwear fash-
the leading institution and reading. “When you and puts things together Queen of Punk. The title ions, and Lagerfeld her
for fashion “Made in do that, you’re in contact again in new ways. She’s has not kept her from corsets. And nowadays
England” and one of the with the best brains,” been doing that since bringing the Western the superstar Pharrell
inventors of punk, and she says. This may be the 1970s, when her style to the catwalk, Williams wears a gigan-
she can busy herself for Westwood’s secret. boyfriend at the time, followed by the Pirate tic Westwood hat.
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people and values
essay
Which is better?
Radical breaks—or continual change?
Which Way Forward?
Change is a good thing. But how can it be controlled? For example, everyone admires Apple,
Google, Facebook, Uber, and Tesla—but are these bold challengers of their respective industries
effective models for other companies? Over 15 years ago, a Harvard professor published a book
that described the strategies of the Californian startups and made “disruption” a magic word. Many
movers and shakers regard old structures as burdensome ballast that has to be discarded. In this
essay, the economist and author Holm Friebe sorts out and explains these concepts. According to
Friebe, the golden mean between destruction and stagnation is self-renewal
A specter is stalking the economy. It’s called corporate consultant Paul Nunes, claimed that disrup-
Disruption, it travels in the slipstream of dig- tive innovation would be followed by the age of “devas-
itization, and many well-established compa- tating innovation.” In other words, progress would act
nies are afraid of it. Disruption, which literally means as a natural disaster, a perfect tsunami. The motto was
“rupture, demolition, breakdown,” refers to discon- “disrupt or be disrupted,” “eat or be eaten.” This is the
tinuous leaps in technologies, sectors, and business alarmist soundtrack of the present. But does everyone
models—leaps that take captains of industry with their agree? “Most big ideas have loud critics. Not disrup-
traditional business areas by surprise. tion,” wrote Jill Lepore in an attention-getting article
This concept was popularized by Clayton Chris- in the New Yorker in the summer of 2014. She went on
tensen, a professor at Harvard Business School. In his to forcefully develop this critical thesis. Lepore teaches
book The Innovator’s Dilemma, published in 1997, he pre- history at Harvard, so the quarrel became a titillating
sented an outline of his thesis, which has been influ- feud between insiders. Disruption, went Lepore’s cen-
encing the thinking of entrepreneurs large and small tral argument, is a vague and hermetic concept. In ret-
ever since. rospect, many of the things that initially seem to be the
According to Christensen, companies that grew up destructive effects of disruptive innovation turn out to
with innovations, such as those in the semiconductor be simply the results of bad management.
and computer industries, are especially vulnerable to
disruptive upheavals. Their past successes, which cause Spiced with a pinch of paranoia
them to consolidate into large and sluggish structures, Contrary to the disruption thesis, Lepore argued, major
end up being their Achilles heel. companies ranging from steelmakers to chip produc-
The book’s catchy message is that the managers of ers have proved to be extremely innovative and capa-
such companies may do everything right according to ble of survival. She noted that the concept of disruption
Holm Friebe is the the book—they may be innovative within the bounds incidentally fits in very well with the mood of the USA
Managing Director of of what they already know, and they may have a good since 9/11. In line with the rather hysterical metaphor of
the Zentrale Intelligenz sense of what their loyal customers want. Nonetheless, asymmetrical conflicts and culture wars, sneaky start-
Agentur, a professor
of design theory, and a they can still fail spectacularly as agile rivals who are ups such as Uber and Airbnb are “attacking” slow-mov-
nonfiction author. free of historic ballast sweep them out of the market. ing sectors in the same way that terrorists attack nation-
In 2006 he collaborated The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets al states. “The eighteenth century embraced the idea of
with co-author Sascha the cheese. progress; the nineteenth century had evolution; the
Lobo to publish Wir
twentieth century had growth and then innovation. Our
nennen es Arbeit. Die
digitale Bohème oder in- A thesis for the dot-com wave era has disruption, which, despite its futurism, is atavis-
telligentes Leben jenseits The book was wind in the sails of California dot-coms, tic,” Lepore concludes. “It’s a theory of history founded
der Festanstellung (We which regarded themselves at the turn of the millen- on a profound anxiety about financial collapse, an apoc-
call it work: The digital nium as the avant-garde of a completely new economy. alyptic fear of global devastation, and shaky evidence.”
Bohème, or Intelligent
life beyond a steady job). The “new economy” bubble soon burst, but even that Even though Lepore’s criticism goes wide of the
Together with Thomas didn’t slow down the triumphal march of “disruption” mark in many places, she’s right when she points out
Ramge, he published as a buzzword of the era. Since then, countless consult- that the Emperor Disruption’s new clothes are very
Marke Eigenbau. Der ing agencies and management conferences have been flimsy—in other words, that the term “disruption” is
Aufstand der Massen
gegen die Massenpro- blazoning this term on their banners, and US univer- used in an inflationary way and is not sufficient to ex-
duktion (The do-it-your- sities offer degree programs in “disruption studies.” plain the world. Even Clayton Christensen admitted
self brand: The masses’ “Watch out for disruption! Save your business model!” that in an equally energetic rebuttal. Lepore’s most au-
uprising against mass was the title of the German edition of the Harvard Busi- thoritative defender was the Nobel Prize laureate Paul
production), a catchy
commentary on the
ness Manager in February 2013. Krugman, who explicitly praised Lepore’s article in his
transformation of the Another book called Big Bang Disruption went a step blog, using Germany, of all countries, as the best coun-
economy further. Its authors, the journalist Larry Downes and the terexample to the disruption theory.
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people and values
essay
“[Suddenly] everyone
is either disrupting
or being disrupted”
Jill Lepore
Illustrations: Hendrik Abrahams, C3 Visual Lab
Radical disruption?
Some innovations come in
with a bang—for example,
the iPod and the smartphone
via the music industry. But
how do organizations that
don’t want this kind of bang
renew themselves?
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people and values
essay
Or gradual change?
“Crossing the river by feeling
the stones” was China’s motto
for self-renewal. Economists
now also say that companies
can change themselves
according to this principle
How does Germany manage to be a global “export pow- This adaptive strategy has been an economic success, not
erhouse” in spite of its high labor costs? “Not by cons- only for China—the world’s most populous country—but
tantly coming out with revolutionary new products, but also for major “supertankers” in the West that have used
by producing very high-quality goods for which people constant metamorphosis to pull themselves out of the
are willing to pay premium prices,” Krugman wrote. swamp of generic competition by their own bootstraps.
“That which is falling should also be pushed!” wrote For example, IBM has repeatedly been declared dead, yet
Nietzsche in his novel Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and ad- in fact it has been flexibly switching back and forth bet-
herents of the religion of disruption agree. But perhaps ween its supporting leg and its free leg for over a century.
after almost two decades of runaway popularity the It has gone from punchcards to mainframes and on to
concept itself is ripe for some creative destruction. “So PCs, laptops, IT solutions, and cloud services.
here’s a revolutionary thought: maybe we need to do Die Stein-Strategie
less disruption and put more effort into doing whatever (The stone strategy) Cell division rather than destruction
we do well,” Krugman concludes. That certainly isn’t is Holm Friebe’s latest Traditional German companies have been equally flex-
book. Clever, elegant,
news for a German engineer. Maybe the pendulum will and full of many enter- ible. For example, Mannesmann, which originally pro-
now swing back and the frequently ridiculed concept of taining examples from duced steel pipes, has mutated into the mobile commu-
incremental innovation will be publicly rehabilitated. the fields of business, nications group Vodafone. The Hanover-based mixed
Unless a company is swept up in the avalanche of politics, and cultural mining group Preussag has reinvented itself as Tui, the
history, this essay points
digitization, as Kodak was, it’s really true that “slow to the dangers of quick global market leader in the tourism sector. And even
and steady wins the race.” Between paralysis and the solutions and calls for the divested parts have not completely fallen by the
frantic activity born of fear lies a golden path of sub- the contrary strategy of wayside. Instead, they are often successfully contin-
stantial self-renewal. As with compound interest, even “wait and see” ued under a new name, such as IBM’s laptops at Lenovo
small systematic steps can accumulate and increase and Mannesmann’s pipes at Salzgitter AG. It’s a process
their effect exponentially over time. of cell division rather than destruction. The image of
The motto for this process—“Crossing the river by progress we can derive from these observations is not
feeling the stones”—comes from Deng Xiaoping, who a battle scene depicting an asymmetrical cyberwar be-
boldly entered a post-communist future, together with tween an innovative David and a stumbling giant; it’s a
a billion Chinese, in 1980. lively panorama of a diverse ecosystem where evolution
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people and values
essay
“Believing that disruption is a formula that will enable one to magically avoid
the fundamental uncertainty of the future generates a false sense of security.
If we nonetheless want to learn something from Clayton Christensen and his
theory, which he has refined over the years, it is this: It’s much better to can-
nibalize yourself. If you don’t do it, someone else will.” Holm Friebe
and adaptation rule. This panorama corresponds to the have saved Nokia from the crash either. Even Clayton
thesis that Nassim Taleb, the great skeptic among fu- Christensen once admitted in an interview that “the
turologists, presented in his masterwork Antifragile. It’s prediction of the theory would be that Apple won’t
the idea that highly developed monocultures are vul- succeed with the iPhone, [but] history speaks pretty
nerable to external shocks. By contrast, many-faceted loudly on that.” All this is confirmed by the most recent
biotopes can rise to meet the challenge of such shocks report that Nokia’s network segment is thriving now
and thus become indestructible. Diversified industrial that it has dropped the unneeded ballast of the mobile
groups with good capital cushioning even have a poten- phone business, and that the company is once again in
Clayton Christensen
tial advantage over highly tuned startups. the black. It looks as though Nokia, which was already In his book The Inno-
According to Taleb, the future is always a bit more declared dead, is once again shedding its old skin and vator’s Dilemma, which
surprising than we expected, so it needs a broad- entering a new future-oriented incarnation. was published in 1997,
ly based portfolio of future options. Conversely, too The future is an open race. Startups as well as major the Harvard economist
described how young
much planning makes companies vulnerable to “black industrial groups can stumble at any time and skid off entrepreneurs are using
swans”—unpredictable developments and unplanned the road. Even innovative giants like Apple and Google new technologies to
innovation shocks (which are not to be confused with are not immune to that possibility. But believing that overturn entire business
obvious digital disruption). disruption is a formula that will enable one to magically sectors—the retail trade,
Taleb is thus in fundamental opposition to the club avoid the fundamental uncertainty of the future gen- the computer industry,
and the media. Ever
of future and trend researchers, change managers, and erates a false sense of security. If we nonetheless want since then, Google,
strategic advisors. He also doesn’t like strategic plan- to learn something from Clayton Christensen and his eBay, Apple, Amazon,
ning, which “blinds a company to options by tying itself theory, which he has refined over the years, it is this: and Facebook have been
up and deciding on a path that is not opportunistic,” he It’s much better to cannibalize yourself. If you don’t do widely admired examples
of disruptive conquerors
says. Friedrich Dürrenmatt based his theory of drama it, someone else will. of entire sectors
on a similar idea: “The more human beings proceed by The question is how huge organizations can arm
plan, the more effectively they may be hit by accident.” themselves against disruption. The answer that Chris-
tensen has distilled from his academic work and even
Looking for new sources more from his practical consulting work is that a new
That’s why it’s completely rational to play things by ear idea should be implemented in a truly independent
and opportunistically adapt oneself to new develop- spun-off department that functions like a startup and
ments through trial and error. Things that prove to be ideally is physically separate from the company’s head-
useful for the future are expanded. Taleb calls this pro- quarters. This answer is counterintuitive, and it’s not
cess “rational and opportunistic business drift”—the compatible with the system of decision-making coor-
iterative searching movements made by major orga- dinates that CEOs usually use. That’s why it’s so seldom
nizations over several generations as they look for new put into practice.
sources of value creation.
Jill Lepore
Taleb offers a number of examples: “Coca-Cola be- Shaping small revolutions The Harvard history
gan as a pharmaceutical product. Tiffany & Co., the Why should a company invent everything from scratch professor Jill Lepore
luxury jewelry store company, started life as a statio- if it has in-house experts whose deep experience it can published her much-dis-
nery store. The last two examples are close, perhaps, but benefit from? The answer is simple: because it shouldn’t cussed essay “The Dis-
ruption Machine” in the
consider next: Raytheon, which made the first missile contaminate the new business area with the learned US magazine The New
guidance system, was a refrigerator maker (…) Now, experience the company already has. No matter how Yorker in the summer of
more remarkable: Nokia, who used to be the top mobile valuable the expertise collected by companies might 2014. She argued that
phone maker, began as a paper mill (at some stage they be, it sometimes reproduces the blind spots and dead Christensen’s theory
spreads panic, is based on
were into rubber shoes). DuPont, now famous for the ends of the organization, as well as the “truths” it has
flimsy evidence, and is
Teflon coating of nonstick cooking pans, Corian coun- always followed but has never reflected on. too simplistic. According
tertops, and the durable fabric Kevlar, actually start- If we don’t want tomorrow to be just like yesterday, to Lepore, it is blind to
Illustrationen: Hendrik Abrahams, C3 Visual Lab
ed out as an explosives company. Avon, the cosmetics we have to systematically unlearn things and fail fast- important aspects such
company, started out in door-to-door book and mag- er and better. This art consists of ultimately integrating as continuity and security
and is therefore not a
azine sales.” these decentralized hotspots and fast breeders of in- good model
In view of recent developments, Nokia doesn’t seem novation with companies’ core business areas so that
to be a good example of the success of adaptive strate- there are no conflicts between the two cultures.
gies after all. While it was developing a broad range of Shaping many small revolutions in a way that cre-
different models in an effort to serve all mobile phone ates a continuous course of reform and gradual self-re-
trends, it overlooked the actual trend that was estab- newal—that will be the most important management
lished by the iPhone: a smartphone model for everyone. challenge of the future.
On the other hand, the disruption approach would not
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menschen und werte
interview
Martin Herrmann,
photographed here in his
wife’s studio, trained as a
physician but subsequent-
ly left the field of medicine.
His network, Herrmann &
Associates, is a clearing-
house for senior advisers
and coaches who support
change processes
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people and values
interview
Steps into
the Unknown
Those who want something new have to let go of the old. Such a part-
ing often causes pain and sometimes brings fear. Martin Herrmann
shows companies how they can break through their old patterns
and enter new terrain. He knows that perfect control is not possible,
and that the path to success always leads through uncertainty
Mr. Herrmann, when people are in which it’s always possible to talk the company that was responsible for its
afraid they break out in a sweat, about the things that are really critical board catering. It laid off an especially
their hearts race, and their glands and unpleasant. large number of employees at Heathrow
release stress hormones. because the work they were doing was
What’s actually happening in Actually, everyone ought to be not very cost-effective. Nobody had real-
these situations? interested in clarity and the truth. ized that the laid-off employees included
Martin Herrmann: Our fear of change is Why do people make unpleasant topics many women from families with Paki-
very natural, it’s inborn. It has an im- a taboo? stani origins whose husbands, broth-
portant function in evolution: It warns Herrmann: If people talk seriously with ers-in-law, sons, and friends worked as
us of unknown outcomes and possible one another, and don’t just say what the baggage handlers. As a result, a total of
dangers. There are always problems when other person wants to hear, sometimes 1,000 members of the ground staff staged
people try to suppress or deny their fear. things that haven’t been planned come a spontaneous strike. About 70,000 pas-
sengers with hungry stomachs and only
What happens when people a water bottle to quench their thirst were
suppress their fear? “There is no stranded in various places throughout the
Herrmann: The fear paralyzes them. For
example, it stops them from shouldering
security. That’s world without any luggage, and British
Airways had a problem.
responsibility or talking about unpleas- the first step
ant topics. The same thing can happen in
companies. Let me give you an example
toward insight” How could things have been
done differently?
from my own experience. A company Herrmann: If British Airways had looked
spent over 20 years of development work to light. But as long as every employee at the problem in greater depth, instead of
on a major project. Shortly before it was only argues in terms of his or her own simply downsizing for efficiency’s sake, it
to be handed over to the customer, a part department, its internal logic, and its would have at least realized the interde-
was discovered to have been wrongly goals, everything seems to be all right. pendency of its personnel. Then it might
designed—and the company lost millions The problems arise only at the interfac- have found a gentler solution or at least
as a result. Such planning errors are often es—or, to put it differently, at the edge of a prepared itself for confrontations. Today
known in-house long before they become complex process, in the fractal breaks. British Airways pays greater attention to
public, but people only talk about them its processes. In a global world, it’s not
either furtively or not at all. Everyone’s What do you mean only goods that flow back and forth—ser-
Photography: Markus Burke
afraid of being the bearer of bad news by “fractal breaks”? vices do too. This means that people are
who is then beheaded. Herrmann: Decisions that seem sensible still responsible for the success of the
from the standpoint of economic logic company, and it also means that you can’t
But after all, that’s a realistic fear. can lead to failure in unexpected ways. precisely calculate all the consequences of
Herrmann: Of course it is. That’s why we British Airways, for example, found this your decisions. There’s always an element
have to develop organizational structures out when it laid off many employees of of uncertainty.
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Herrmann: First of all, through the insight
that there is no such thing as absolute
security. We’re always surfing on the edge
of chaos, as my American partner Richard
Pascale once put it. This incalculability is
a principle of life. For example, our hearts
beat with a minimal degree of irregulari-
ty, and that enables them to flexibly react
to physical exertion, stress, and other
challenges. Systems that function with
rigid regularity are doomed to failure.
All the same, people need security. How
can we reconcile our need for security
with the integration of insecurity?
Herrmann: You’ve said it already:
through the integration of insecurity.
For example, we found out that too much
security is counterproductive. It can even
lead people to engage in riskier behavior
and ultimately to more accidents.
“Too much security
is dangerous. It can
even lead to more
accidents”
That’s a phenomenon we’ve known
about ever since the introduction of
bike helmets. It’s currently a vexed
question in skiing areas, thanks to
avalanche airbags.
Herrmann: That’s right. We shouldn’t
ignore uncertainty. Instead, we have to
respect it as a circumstance that occurs
alongside order. Complexity research that
focuses on business uses the term “sweet
point.” When a certain number of people,
Martin Herrmann, 57, studied medicine
at the University of Freiburg. After com- a kind of critical mass, talk to one another
pleting his clinical training in psychoso- How do companies learn how to deal about their sense of insecurity, the result
matic medicine and psychotherapy, he with their fear? is security and creativity. Small impulses
switched to working with organizations Herrmann: For example, by creating can generate massive changes.
and established Herrmann & Associates
in 1997. Together with his internation-
spaces where people can meet in small
al network of consultants, he supports groups across hierarchies to talk about Some entrepreneurs would object that
change processes, for example at Novar- problems they are concerned about. There they need business success rather than
tis, Shell, BMW, Airbus, Goldman Sachs, has to be a secure framework and mutual creativity for creativity’s sake.
Zürich Versicherung, and Ludwig Max-
respect. In many cases, the initial issue is Herrmann: You can’t separate the one
imilian University of Munich. Herrmann
has also developed a special leadership not the company itself but personal goals, from the other—at least not in the long
training course that is oriented toward frustrations, and ideals. Fears also have to run. Most companies are dominated by
reorganization and implementation be investigated so that people can under- short-term economic considerations.
processes: “Challenge X,” which is based stand why they’ve occurred and what’s Creativity is often neglected in favor of
on organizational sociology, psychology,
philosophy, and complexity research. behind them. If we look behind the fear, efficiency because creativity is not orga-
in most cases things get exciting—that’s nized according to linear patterns and
where you’ll find the creative potential is therefore expensive. However, in the
How does one live with uncertainty? for change. By talking to one another, medium and long terms it’s the steps into
Herrmann: By accepting it. It’s true that the participants learn that even if they the unknown that are a sure source of the
fear is tremendously important and that it live and work in completely different innovation and renewal we need—exactly
has a productive aspect. It forces us to de- worlds they ask similar questions again the way it happens in biological evolution.
velop, expand our identity, and learn new and again. They learn that our previous
things. I’ve also spent many a sleepless behavior patterns can’t adequately solve Does that mean companies should now
night when I had a task to do and still had some of the problems that crop up. adopt the principle of constant trial
no idea where to look for solutions. This and error? Should they give up any
stage of confusion is part of the process. Every company has to protect attempt at planning?
You have to get through it, but you can itself against genuine risks. Herrmann: Plans are great—but only as
also learn how to deal with it. How can it do that? long as we’re prepared to give up plans
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people and values
interview
“In the confrontation to reorient ourselves. And that makes
with the unknown Thinking it all the more important not to obscure
this fact through the rhetoric of change.
we often lose our belief Together It’s not smart to glorify the path to a new
Martin Herrmann gets people future if everyone realizes that this will
in our abilities” talking to one another. That’s require restructuring. But examples have
always the first step toward shown us that we can find solutions by
sustainable solutions. communicating with one another.
and principles whenever they don’t
work. For example, in medicine there are Is globalization further increasing our
1
lifesaving medicines for certain illness- A transnational aircraft fear of change?
es. But in traditional common illnesses manufacturer produces Herrmann: On the one hand it is, because
such as high blood pressure, diabetes, components in a German it adds the dimension of “foreignness.”
and asthma, up to half of the sufferers plant. The low exchange rate for The confrontation with the unknown
either don’t use these medicines at all or the dollar and the freezing of the chips away at our identity. We lose our
use them the wrong way. These expensive defense budget send the company belief in our abilities and values. We have
medicines land in the garbage and even into a tailspin. The company op- to let some things go, but we also gain
pose risks to the environment there. Who erates with a deficit in 1994, and other things.
is to blame here: the patient, or the doctor in 1996 the management boldly
who chooses the wrong approach? The undertakes a radical transforma- What exactly are we gaining?
situation won’t change as long as patients tion. It decides to decentralize the Herrmann: Variety. Among other things,
and doctors aren’t talking to one another. organization, which was formerly we develop a variety of responses to the
centrally organized. The core challenges of globalization.
Is that why you left the field processes are redesigned, the
of medicine? IT structures changed, and 100 You also work for the GAVI Foundation,
Herrmann: Yes. In the field of medicine, managerial positions are reopened a Geneva-based worldwide alliance
the structures of the healthcare system for hiring to company employees. to promote vaccination. What kinds
strongly influence the quality of patient This concept was developed in of experiences have you had with
care—in other words, the results of medi- three months by an Action Lab, globalization there?
cal care. That’s a huge blind spot. But if we for which nine popular managers Herrmann: The goal of this public-private
only stick to figures and quantification, were released from their other partnership, which includes UNICEF,
we won’t make any progress. work responsibilities. The restruc- the WHO, the Bill and Melinda Gates
turing was a success. The plant Foundation, and others, is to immunize
What do you recommend? was saved and is still producing the children in the poorest regions of the
Herrmann: In healthcare, the domi- components today. world against high-risk illnesses. Inci-
nant concept for all areas of life is that dentally, this is a good example of the fact
2
of “technical” approaches to prob- that global projects like this one can’t be
A German mobile radio
lem-solving. The aim is to influence the implemented according to a universally
company has to either
variables in such a way that the stan- valid pattern. We have to include every
save €200 million or go
dard conditions are restored. But in the recipient nation in a different way, and we
bankrupt. This means that the
case of chronic illnesses, it would make face new issues every time. But awareness
company’s budget has to be cut
more sense to proceed in an “adaptive” of this uncertainty also enables us to find
by at least ten percent. Should
way—in other words, to ask ourselves unconventional solutions.
every department’s budget be
why so many people have backaches and
cut by the same amount? An
whether operations can really bring a Where do you get your confidence that
open dialogue between all the
positive change. Both the causes and the you can find the right solutions?
departments leads the partic-
solutions of chronic illnesses lie outside Herrmann: From philosophy, because it
ipants to give up their “ivory
the medical system, in people’s lifestyles. reflects on the basic aspects of our lives.
tower” attitude—in favor of a
We don’t need only the professional view Hannah Arendt has been an important
structural change that involves
of the situation—we need a variety of influence on me, because she focused very
layoffs but saves the company.
perspectives. strongly on an active life, the vita activa.
She believed in the potential of human
Do companies also need a variety of beings—especially after experiencing
perspectives? two totalitarian systems. She defined
Herrmann: Of course they do. Managers operations. This leads to a kind of “immu- the active life not as the production of
calculate on the basis of hard facts and nization,” and the employees deal with things but as change through the force of
Photography: Markus Burke | Illustration: C3 Visual Lab
cool logic. Business management and any risks that occur in a more relaxed and sharing—change that moves forward into
economics are full of such calculation proactive way. an unknown future. We’ll necessarily
models, even when the issue involves always have a fear of the future, to keep
employees. But it becomes evident again Nonetheless, there’s a huge fear of us from sliding into a false sense
and again that other factors such as val- change in many companies, especially of security.
ues or the capacity for innovation are the among the employees.
keys to success or failure. For example, Herrmann: That’s understandable. For
it’s a positive move if a company allows its example, the third Industrial Revolution,
employees to participate in a description the Internet of Things, and the connec- Petra Thorbrietz loves chaos (as
a concept) and hates predictability.
of the challenges and risks of the year tion of digital technologies with modern She is a science journalist who has
ahead and to use these ideas as the basis energy systems—all of these things will written for publications including
of recommendations for the company’s change our working world. All of us have Geo, Chrismon, and Focus Schule
1 ⁄ 2015 the magazine from evonik industries
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