In Interview with Sascha Lobo!
1. Mr. Lobo, you are probably Germany's most well-known and provocative blogger, one of the first names that come up when talking about the New Economy. According to your own statements, you have already worked for a third of the German DAX companies. How do you generally assess the relationship of domestic companies to the digital world?
- My focus is on digitalization - both of society and the economy. I try to identify recurring patterns so that one can draw conclusions for effective strategies. In the economic context, there is unfortunately a major obstacle to digital transformation in this country. It may be the most beautiful obstacle of all - but it remains problematic. The immense success of so many German companies is the hindrance. This lack of pressure to fundamentally and, above all, without prerequisites, think about changes in their own industry. Therefore, most companies are open to digitalization - but not ready for solutions that do not suit them. And this can become a danger in some industries. Literally overnight. A change in legislation in China that mandates a quota for electric cars could be enough.
2. Do you believe that a shift towards a fully digitalized working world will occur naturally with the upcoming generational changes in leadership, once the "Digital Natives" take the reins, or does it require a significant effort to enforce the change now?
- Little happens automatically with digitalization, and I do not believe that just the right people need to come for all problems to solve themselves. This is by no means meant to criticize Millennials or "Digital Natives". On the contrary, I see motivation and instrumental knowledge there that is very encouraging. But what is crucial are the structures in which the knowledgeable individuals work - by the way, this is not an age but an attitude question. And that means: we need to start immediately so that a future generation even considers working in a company. Why would a smart, perfectly trained car mechanic want to work in a horse-drawn carriage company?
3. How network-ready do you consider Germany compared to international competition?
- Germany has neglected to make itself competitive for many, many years. Politics and politically affiliated businesses have completely misunderstood and wanted to ignore how relevant, for example, digital infrastructure is. Germany has embarrassing fiber optic rates, especially "Fiber to the home," far below the EU average, roughly in second-to-last place. This is coupled with years of digital-unfriendly policies that were more inclined towards a certain clientele than towards the country's digital competitiveness. It is bitter that the federal government seems to have only woken up around 2015. But maybe there is still a chance if they go full throttle now.
4. With your striking hairstyle, you have certainly succeeded in a self-marketing coup, hardly anyone forgets you. Do you believe that the future of German companies could lie in this, in a combination of seriousness and creative provocation?
- Oh, that flatters me, of course. But I see myself as only a limited role model, honestly. What is true, however, is that a combination of a functioning foundation and offensive experimentation is one of the success recipes for the digital economy. Part of innovation works this way. But even there, I am less of a role model and more someone who has long implemented well-known insights on themselves.
5. How much "punk" does the German economy need, how much can it tolerate?
- I have only two elements of classic punk: the hairstyle and the grandiosely naive but self-motivating attitude of "I can do that too!" One of these elements could certainly help the German economy, but I won't reveal which one.
6. If you could lead a large German company for a month, what changes would you initiate?
- I would immediately hand over the management of the surely well-functioning revenue machine to the deputies and radically focus on establishing my own innovation department. All employees who can show sufficient enthusiasm would be part of this department. This department would have zero obligations towards the rest of the company apparatus, quite the opposite. And then there would be various tasks, such as self-cannibalization: Develop a 99-cent app that could replace the company. And: What would a connected platform, a digital ecosystem that could become the standard in our industry and adjacent industries, look like? And: What could we do with the data generated in our company? And so on.
7. What risks does such a working world bring? The NSA and espionage scandals have shown the dangers our privacy rights are exposed to. Do you see the same risk for our economic stability?
- Definitely. These risks are real, and they are not in the future, they are already here. Just recently, a few hackers hacked the electronic locking system of a luxury hotel. In the middle of the night, they remotely locked all the doors of the hotel, which could not be opened. Then they extorted ransom from the hotel management. This is a small but impressive example that often dangers lurk where you least expect them - because the digital sphere is much more vulnerable than most people believe.
8. You must also have had enough of the blue screen at some point. What do you do completely analog when you want to refuel creativity?
- Oh, when the blue screen gets too much, I turn on the "Night Shift" mode and the screen glows in warm yellow-orange. No, no, actually, I am often almost offline, meaning: I go to Brandenburg with my wife into nature and observe animals. We photograph them digitally and later publish them on a blog, but those few hours in nature we are offline. Partly because the mobile reception in Brandenburg is catastrophic.
You may also be interested in:
https://www.speakers-excellence.de/se/blog/wir-sagen-danke/
https://www.speakers-excellence.de/se/blog/4-suedtiroler-wissensforum/
