There are certainly some bumps in the road ahead for entrepreneurs and pioneering thinkers. Concerns about a looming recession. Storms brewing in foreign affairs. Inflation. Supply shortages and scarcities of raw materials. Markets both physical or virtual are flailing with no clear direction, yet consumer expectations continue to be stellar; and Generation Z still continues to be a mystery. The speakers at the fifth SHIFT conference on hartmann campus painted pictures of the future that were anything but rosy. And yet the prevailing mood at SHIFT was pragmatism, not pessimism. The event embarked on pragmatic deep-dive explorations of many questions: what kind of action can we take, how can we turn these upheavals to our benefit? The answers took various forms. The classic stories of self-made success can still be found, in this case in the fashion, media, and high-tech sectors. And a call went out to employers to address and involve their workforces, to examine their leadership style, and to realize that they themselves were their brands. Finally, there were stories of technological developments that had jaws dropping all over the room––and that may ultimately succeed in making the world a better place.
On a packed first day with eight keynotes, panels, and interviews, the early birds immediately tackled one of the foremost topics of the conference: companies are no longer anonymous assemblies of gray worker drones, regardless of the industry in which they operate. Instead, management boards represent their companies both internally and externally, generating identification while also personally guaranteeing successful sales. Assuming, that is, their public (i.e. their social media) face is the right one… Jochen Eckhold (Hugo Boss), Basma Geigenmüller (previously Zalando), and SHIFT co-host and consultant Simone Hartmann also debated the question of how to attract and retain GenZers in the world of work. Classic methods are unlikely to cut much ice with many GenZers, who prefer to change jobs rather than work a five-day week in the office. Yet here too, the discussion concluded that companies which adapt to the existing situation––in this case, by offering options such as flexible working hours or innovative career incentives––may even improve across the board.
A realization echoed by Michael Schwarz, Executive Director of the Baden-Baden Entrepreneur Talks (BBUG), probably Germany’s foremost think tank. He commented that while many topics had featured regularly on BBUG’s programs over the decades, none had seen further-reaching change than self-reflection in leadership. Even more senior, more established executives had understood that today’s companies need a different kind of management than in the past.
Schwarz also pointed to the motivation inspired by timeless success stories, even in the most turbulent times. Tackling a challenge with verve and conviction can still result in success, despite all the uncertainties of the current climate––and even amid a pandemic. This was the experience of Judith Dommermuth, who worked to establish her company Juvia even during lockdown and, as she said, was “never at home” in all that time. The ex-model portrayed the dynamic atmosphere of the startup and her marketing strategies in detail. Dommermuth’s idea of selling casual yet high-end products under the Juvia loungewear banner was a perfect fit for the times. Clearly success is still achievable, even on a supposedly saturated market.
Tom Junkersdorf takes a positive similar view. Sick of hearing arguments like “But there are already so many podcasts!”, he has defied objectors to create “TOMorrow,” a celebrity podcast that has rapidly collected followers and soared to success. While technology is vital, the main tools of his luxury and lifestyle talks are different: dynamism, good ideas, and regular, reliably consistent appearances.
But there is a further major task facing executives: they need to delve into problems and gain an understanding of their essence, because the most effective players in times of rapid change will be those who can act flexibly and think ahead. And given that so much is currently in turmoil at global level, this applies all the more to issues of domestic and foreign affairs. So what does the implementation of rapidly passed laws––of a kind that is frequent in times of crisis––mean for Germany and, more practically, for individual companies? And in more global terms, what are the consequences of the war in Ukraine or the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan?
When journalist Natalie Amiri took up the microphone on Friday afternoon and began to outline these events, the room went quiet enough to hear the proverbial pin drop. The award-winning ARD reporter admitted that clear statements have become a rarity in politics, and ascribed this lack to an ignorance of the world at large, particularly among European politicians. The clarity of her own statements resonated all the more as she described the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan in the wake of failed US policies, and identified this as the reason why Iran was on the brink of building a nuclear bomb that would trigger an arms race in the Near and Middle East. The beneficiary of the situation there, and of the Ukraine war too, is China; as a new power axis emerges, Amiri warned it was all the more important for Europeans to adopt a more autonomous and assured stance. Experts predict off the record that China will show its true colors in a few years, and may well move to exerting forms of economic pressure combined with military threats.
After this wide-lens take on politics, the focus of the conference shifted back to the tasks awaiting on the markets. Salesforce, a regular sponsor of SHIFT, provided tips on important preparations for the Christmas season which are strategically broad enough to extend well beyond a few public holidays. While Nino Bergfeld, Director Retail Advisory, presented the latest trends from the parallel world of the metaverse, his colleague Matt Marcotte, Global Head für Retail Advisory, joined the event via live stream from the USA to describe why retaining long-term customers must be prioritized, and how to do so. The trend is clear that consumers demand not only good service, but also understanding and empathy. The issue facing companies, then, is no longer merely knowing their customers, but engaging in dialog with them and showing genuine understanding. No easy task for online retailers.
So is the future bleak? Is the road to financial survival a complex and laborious one? Regardless, there were positive prospects. Practically enough, some especially striking insights were delivered on Saturday afternoon, immediately before a joint visit to the Oktoberfest. The latest scientific findings, presented by “digital evangelist” Lukas Pierre Bessis, threw open the gates to undreamed-of possibilities for individuals and companies alike. From the ultimate immersion in virtual reality to new enzymes that can be cultivated to end world hunger, from banishing cancer once and for all to producing human organs on a 3D printer––these scenarios are closer than we think. Life will not only change radically: it will get better, and it will get longer. In one area of business, this picture of the future has already come true for XPAI. The innovative company, presented at SHIFT by founder Karl Sponholz, can predict the likelihood of purchases based on the behavior and emotions of customers––say, in a fashion store––with no risk of falling foul of data privacy laws. The revolutionary new technology will come as a huge shock to conventional market research, enabling any company to pursue its own individual and targeted market research in the future.