Man versus machine - the most important success factor in change management

As Keynote Speaker I have the great pleasure of regularly being invited to exciting conferences and congresses. As I often speak at the end of such events, I occasionally have the opportunity to listen to the previous speakers. This is pure trend scouting for me, and I fill entire notebooks with my thoughts, ideas and plans on these occasions. In the last six months alone, I have fascinating lectures on artificial intelligence, augmented reality, electromobility, the use of drones, drone defense, cybercrime, cybersecurity, voice control and the future of robotics. 

 

Although opinions vary widely, a common thread runs through the forecasts of all the experts: We are only just at the beginning of technological developments that will dramatically change our lives. There has long been an app for everything, everyday life is controlled via our smartphones and more and more processes are being taken over by artificial intelligence. I am fascinated by what is already possible today, and I think of all the opportunities and possibilities that will present themselves in the near future with an almost childlike joy.

 

But where there is light, there is always shadow, and for many people I have the well-founded suspicion that technology no longer makes their lives easier, but that they have become slaves to their various machines. They are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year and check their emails every ten minutes, even on family vacations. And haven't you already experienced a scene in which two people sit together in a café for over an hour and don't speak a word to each other, but constantly send each other WhatsApps, text messages or messages via smartphone (okay, text messages less so, because nobody uses this medium anymore, right?)? 

 

This raises a crucial question for the future: who will win the battle between man and machine? Or, to put it in slightly more differentiated terms: will humans be replaced by machines in terms of importance? My prediction is as follows: Absolutely not. We will live in a world that is facilitated, but not dominated, by technology and machines. What do I mean by that? By no means that digital progress will not continue at the same rapid pace as before. On the contrary, I even expect the pace to increase. However, the decisive factor that many future experts tend to forget is people with their unique potential and skills. 

 

Despite all the digitalization, disruption and technological progress, I maintain that people will be the most important factor in the future. Of course, robots, artificial intelligence and technical innovations will shake up the way we live, love and work in the coming years. But for all the importance of this development, we are all human beings and long for closeness, exchange and personal communication. So let me repeat this sentence once again:

 

 

This has several effects. The quality of your inner circle will have a decisive impact on your general happiness and satisfaction. And in a professional context, your employees, colleagues and team members are not only the guarantee for excellent quality and outstanding results, but above all the biggest differentiating factor in an increasingly competitive environment. So things are finally getting human again. And I think that's really good. Because the team is sacred, and only together will we succeed in mastering the challenges of the future. 

 

So let's change our perspective. Away from personal motives and towards joint successes. Away from hard efforts as lone fighters and towards successful teamwork. Away from the ego and towards the we. Do you feel like it? Then let's get started. Together, because as the Brazilian soccer star Pele said: „The only way to win is as a team!“

 

Lapland. Minus twelve degrees. The glaring sun is blinding and I can feel an unforgettable cocktail of happy hormones flowing through my body. In front of me, eight beautiful huskies pull my sled, which glides seemingly weightlessly through the majestic tundra. What fascinates me even more than the breathtaking landscape is the way the sled dogs work together. Because although there is a very clear hierarchy in the pack, every single husky knows that they can only be successful together as a team. Each animal contributes its individual strengths, learns from its teammates and unconditionally jumps into the breach if one of the others has a brief phase of weakness. 

 

We humans can learn a lot from them, especially the powerful energy that is created when individual personalities take responsibility at their place, but at the same time work together, support each other and work together. If there's one thing I've learned over the last few years, it's the power of a motivated, competent and reliable team. As much as I believe in the importance of the individual, without the right people around us, we are all only half as successful. It doesn't matter how good you or I are, there's one sentence you should never forget, and it's best to hang it up on your desk where it's clearly visible: Nobody wins alone!

 

No one, and really no one, is capable of lasting success as a lone fighter. Okay, maybe Clint Eastwood, who rides through the Italian westerns as a lone avenger, but that's only possible in the movies. If, on the other hand, we have the right people in our team, we learn from each other, grow together and support each other. And just so we understand each other correctly, you are not a team just because you share an office, work on a joint project or work for the same company (you may also be familiar with the typical translation of team: Great. One. Another. Does it.). No, a team is something completely different. It is more than the sum of its parts. 

 

In a real team, everyone is unconditionally there for the other team members because you are committed to a common goal. Vision and at the same time everyone takes responsibility in their own individual place. I would even go so far as to make the following assertion: Only a team gives ordinary people the opportunity to achieve extraordinary results. Feel free to put it to the test. 

 

Even the supposed superstars are at a complete loss without their team. Sebastian Vettel needs his team of mechanics like the air he breathes. Christiano Ronaldo was only able to shine at Real Madrid because Sergio Ramos and his defensive colleagues had his back. And even the great Richard Branson, with his more than 260 companies, is only so successful because he puts his employees at the heart of his efforts. And they pay him back twice and three times over with commitment, performance and passion.

 

In a nutshell: the people you surround yourself with every day are your greatest asset and at the same time your greatest success factor on the way to a world characterized by Shift future characterized by uncertainty. The team is sacred. Both in business and in life. They are your friends, colleagues, business partners and family members. Because you can only grow as an individual personality, be successful and be a self-determined life if you operate in an environment that is characterized by mutual learning, appreciation and trust. Incidentally, exactly the same applies to companies.

 

I cannot emphasize this often enough. In the age of digitalization and the global networking that comes with it, the number one success factor by far is the quality of your inner circle, i.e. the people with whom you have regular and intensive contact. And this is precisely why the good old quote from speaker legend Jim Rohn still holds true today: „You become like the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.“

This applies on a large scale, but also on a small scale, because we adapt the strategies, attitudes and thought patterns of our most important caregivers, as well as their favorite words and habits. In concrete terms, this means that it simply makes a huge difference which people you surround yourself with. Whether your best friends are frustrated cynics who spend all day watching RTL 2 programs on the couch at home, dragging each other down in a spiral of negativity, indifference and mediocrity. Or whether you surround yourself with successful people who create productive value for society and, in doing so, support their fellow human beings with Positivity, passion and visionary thinking.

 

No matter what your specific goals are, surround yourself with people who are already where you want to be. I like to take my cue from the old motto „If you're the smartest person in the room, find a new room“. And I go even further, because I have found that there are always two categories of people. There are those who slow you down, try to talk you out of your dreams and whom you can never please. 

 

From whom you hear sentences like the following: „You'd better take your make-up off“, „You'd better leave it alone“ or „That may work for others, but not for you“. The reason is usually given at the same time and is usually as follows: „You're too old, too young, too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, too poor, too inexperienced, too loud, too colorful, too different or too whatever.“ I would therefore hope that you never forget the following sentence: They are always doing something for someone.

 

The sooner you understand that you can never please everyone anyway, and that there will always be people looking for a dark cloud even in the sunniest of skies, the more beneficial it will be for your personal well-being. So it's best to ignore the naysayers, complainers and know-it-alls and focus on the second category instead. These are the people who support you in your personal uniqueness. Who accept you for who you are. With all your strengths and weaknesses. 

 

Who will also give you critical feedback, but who will always support you in all your projects and encourage you unconditionally. People you can rub shoulders with and with whom you can grow together. Or to put it in a nutshell: people who are simply good for you. I myself have applied this concept very consistently, almost radically, in recent years. Because I know how precious our time in life is, I only want to spend it with positive, life-affirming and appreciative people. My Inner Circle is therefore hand-picked, and I am extremely grateful to have such great friends, colleagues and partners by my side.

 

Wie ist es um ihren Inner Circle bestellt? Was, darüber haben Sie sich noch niemals bewusst Gedanken gemacht? Dann wird es aber Zeit, sich ein Team aufzubauen, mit dem Sie gemeinsam die Zukunft bei den Hörnern packen können. Starten Sie am besten mit einer sorgfältigen Bestandsaufnahme. Umgeben Sie sich hauptsächlich mit positiven Menschen, die Sie so akzeptieren wie Sie sind und Sie auf dem Weg zu Ihren Zielen, Träumen und Visionen unterstützen? 

 

Wenn ihre Antwort ja lautet, dann ist dies mehr als großartig. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit ist jedoch recht hoch, dass Sie in ihrem direkten Umfeld auch so einige Exemplare der bereits beschriebenen Energievampire finden werden. Menschen, die sich akribisch auf die Suche nach dem einzelnen Haar in der schmackhaften Suppe machen, ihnen vorschreiben wollen, wie Sie zu leben haben und ihnen Kraft, Mut und Energie absaugen, wie es ein ganzer Schwarm hungriger Moskitos nicht besser könnte.

 

Wie es für jeden Fußballtrainer eine Selbstverständlichkeit ist, seine Elf vor der Saison so perfekt zusammenzustellen, dass die Saisonziele bestmöglich erreicht werden können, so sollten auch Sie Ihr Team, die Menschen in ihrem Umfeld und ihren inneren Zirkel ganz bewusst auswählen. Ihre Motivation, Leidenschaft und Denkweise wird es ihnen danken. Feuern Sie die Zyniker, Besserwisser und Energievampire möglichst noch heute. Umgeben Sie sich stattdessen mit positiven Menschen, Weltenbewegern und Möglichkeitsdenkern, die Sie so nehmen wie Sie sind und Sie beim Erreichen ihrer Ziele unterstützen. 

 

Und nur, dass wir nichts schönreden, dieser psychische Hygieneprozess kann durchaus schmerzhaft sein, denn viele der besonders toxischen Zeitgenossen tummeln sich schon lange in unseren Leben. Aber erstens ist dieser Schritt unbedingt notwendig, wenn Sie ein glückliches und zufriedenes Leben führen wollen, und zweitens gibt es so viele tolle Menschen da draußen, die nichts lieber tun würden, als den Platz an ihrer Seite einzunehmen.

 

Aber wie gelingt es nun am besten, die Menschen in ihr Leben zu ziehen, die perfekt in ihren Inner Circle passen würden. Grundsätzlich geschieht dies auf zwei verschiedene Arten. Zum einen können Sie diese Auswahl sehr bewusst treffen. Wer inspiriert Sie, ist ein Vorbild oder ist bereits dort, wo Sie noch hinmöchten? Suchen Sie nach Wegen, mit diesen Menschen in Kontakt zu kommen, aber tun Sie das bitte niemals mit einer Anspruchshaltung. Erfolgreiche Menschen geben zwar in der Regel sehr gerne, haben aber meist wenig Zeit und noch weniger Lust, dass ihre Gehirne und Herzen von Unbekannten angezapft werden. Entscheidend ist dabei die Reihenfolge. Erst einmal geben, ohne etwas dafür zu erwarten. So entsteht eine Beziehung, die dann wachsen und sich sogar zu tiefen Freundschaften entwickeln kann. Doch dazu gleich noch mehr.

 

Der zweite Weg, eine Vielzahl von positiven, lebensbejahenden und wertschätzenden Menschen in ihren inneren Zirkel zu ziehen ist das stete persönliche Wachstum. In jeder einzelnen Entwicklungsstufe wird sich ihr Umfeld entsprechend anpassen. Sie werden neue Freunde, Kollegen und Geschäftspartner anziehen, während alte sich verabschieden (Und ganz wenige werden Sie ihr gesamtes Leben begleiten. Seien Sie für diese Menschen besonders dankbar). Das ist der Lauf der Dinge, und ich bin immer wieder fasziniert, wie stark das innere Wachstum und das äußere Umfeld korrelieren. 

 

Doch ob Sie sich nun aktiv auf die Suche nach einem Inner Circle machen, der Sie in ihrer Einzigartigkeit und ihrem ganz individuellen Weg unterstützt, oder ob dies als Resultat ihrer Persönlichkeitsentwicklung geschieht, ich empfehle ihnen, den Blick nicht nur in der Einbahnstraße von innen nach außen zu richten und sich nur mit Menschen zu umgeben, die ihnen vermeintlich nutzen können. Machen Sie einen Unterschied. Behandeln Sie ihr Umfeld wertschätzend und achtsam. Seien Sie für Ihre Freunde, Kollegen und Geschäftspartner da. Und vor allem: Machen Sie die Menschen groß. Fungieren Sie als Mutmacher und seien Sie das Licht in einem häufig doch eher dunklen Alltag. Menschen, die andere klein machen, runterziehen und entmutigen, gibt es leider viel zu viele.

 

 

Nicht nur werden Sie durch diese Haltung viele spannende Persönlichkeiten in ihren Inner Circle ziehen, sondern zusätzlich auch noch einen dramatischen Anstieg an Glück, Erfüllung und Zufriedenheit erfahren. Beenden möchte ich den Abschnitt daher mit den Worten des amerikanischen Schriftstellers William Arthur Ward: „Wenn wir uns auf den Weg machen das Beste in anderen zu entdecken, werden wir unweigerlich das Beste in uns selbst hervorbringen.“ Wie wahr, denn niemand gewinnt alleine, und Erfolg ist immer das Ergebnis eines Teams, das voller Leidenschaft einer gemeinsamen Vision folgt.