Forgotten in the Chancellor duel: Human. Future. Innovation.

"Good day, Ms. Digital Minister..." ... or of course also "Mr. Digital Minister" will hopefully be the case after the elections on September 24, 2017 in Berlin. Unfortunately, Germany ranks a completely inadequate 20th within the EU in terms of progress in digitalization. The new ministry must swiftly bring Germany forward. With a fulfillment rate of only 46.2%, Germany is significantly below the average of all 28 EU states (54.9%), as indicated by the latest independent report by the Normenkontrollrat. Estonia and Finland, the digitalization champions, lead the ranking with over 80%, while our neighbor Austria achieves an excellent 70%. Digitalization – what is it actually? I have my doubts whether there is even agreement on what "digitalization" means. For some, it is fast fiber optic cables and widespread internet, for others it is the transformation from process chains to a networked corporate structure. For yet others, the forward-thinking employee should please make innovation proposals. And then someone else has heard the magic word "Customer Centricity" and is planning the complete alignment of the company towards the customer. The most progressive ones then talk about "AI", Artificial Intelligence, against which physicist Stephen Hawking warns that it will destroy humanity. 5 to 12 In any case, the Normenkontrollrat comes to the rather unflattering conclusion that it is "5 to 12 or later..." While currently five ministries are still trying to deal with the usual competency issues related to digitalization in Germany, I wish for a clear commitment from the new federal government on this issue, including clear responsibilities and budgets. A Next-Generation Board would need to awaken skeptics and dawdlers and dissolve the silo thinking in departments, factions, and clubs. Don't be afraid of nerds, we need diversity and individuality here. The increasing hacker attacks threatening our world show that this is vital in the coming years. Is anyone responsible for this? In the meantime, it is worth looking at companies. Here, 84% of TOP executives in a McKinsey study say that innovation is absolutely crucial for success. However, only 6% of executives are satisfied with their company's innovation performance. What a huge gap! Who is actually responsible for innovation? The three most common answers are all dramatic: 1.) "everyone" 2.) "the boss" and 3.) "marketing". Those who neglect the topic of innovation so carelessly should not expect miracles. I am convinced that a department at the executive level should handle the topic of innovation with full competence. Something was missing in the Chancellor duel! Millions were sitting in front of their TVs hoping for an exciting round of chancellors, well, it was rather nice... I waited the whole time for when it would finally be about the future, innovation, start-ups, and digitalization - I waited in vain and am just as disappointed as I am angry. I want to finally see Germany where it belongs: in a good ranking position in the next European Digitalization Report. There is no more time to discuss for another four years, it is time for action, because it is 5 to 12. Stephan Jung is an author, lecturer, innovation expert, CEO of the InoventiQ Group Hamburg/Berlin. He was recently invited by the government of Ukraine for discussions to lecture on Smart Cities and Innovation. He is currently in Los Angeles, where he is speaking at the global H. E. R. Summit on Innovation and Social Responsibility and will also meet with government officials from the USA and other countries.