Gerd Kulhavy brings ideas from the Silicon Valley! His conclusion: Digitalization affects us all.

Excited, Gerd Kulhavy returns from his seven-day trip to the Silicon Valley. "Of course, Speakers Excellence cannot be compared to Google, Facebook, or Zappos," says founder and managing director Gerd Kulhavy, "but I experienced great enthusiasm among the employees and took away incredibly many entrepreneurial ideas and suggestions."

It is particularly fascinating to see self-driving vehicles on-site. In total, there are 52 approved manufacturers in California. Not just Tesla and one or two others as one might suspect. Google or its subsidiary Waymo has over 600 vehicles in self-driving mode on the road and is already testing robot taxi fleets. These are already operating in test mode not only in the USA but also in China. Manufacturers with such test licenses must report to the government how often their computer-controlled cars hand over control to a safety driver. Google/Waymo cars hand over control every 9,000 (!!!) kilometers, while Mercedes cars do so every 2.07 (!!!) kilometers.

The organizer of the "Inspirational Journey" was, in addition to Speakers Excellence, the consulting firm tempus. Personal guru and managing director Prof. Dr. Jörg Knoblauch prepared the seven days in the valley near San Francisco. Not only is this where the digital economic transformation begins, but it is also the business strategies and personnel policies that shape these leading companies. The 50 participants visited companies with different people, from managing directors to HR personnel to employees. "They are all excited about the company's vision," says Gerd Kulhavy, and he is surprised that everyone can talk about the respective company goals and way of working. Therefore, he repeatedly exchanged ideas with the other German participants about what their own company stands for, what distinguishes it, and what makes it unique.

In fact, this is the key point for many fellow travelers, Knoblauch knows, who has been offering three trips to the Silicon Valley annually for two years. "This is necessary so that the best applicants even perceive the company and then also consider it attractive," says the tempus managing director. Otherwise, excellent professionals will work for the competition, which presents itself better, he warns.

Jörg Knoblauch is well connected in the Silicon Valley and can arrange visits to companies like Apple or Tesla, but also to startups or coworking spaces where innovative products are being developed.

"The speed in this area is extremely high," Kulhavy observes. Detailed plans are not forged, and sophisticated products are not developed, but ideas are tried out and tested step by step. "If these innovations do not succeed, it is obviously much easier to let them go because the development costs were not so high," says the founder and managing director of Speakers Excellence.

Moreover, North Americans handle mistakes differently. Instead of pondering for a long time on how it could have happened, they focus on how they can do better in the future. Therefore, some companies choose the mistake of the month to encourage their employees to be creative instead of remaining in the daily routine. "That is extremely impressive," says Kulhavy, considering how Speakers Excellence can adopt some of that spirit.