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Author: michael.merz

Newly established community platform enables flexible creation

The community platform provides information about how great the potential is through a VillageOffice coworking space in your community. It talks about commuters, kilometers and costs. But where do these numbers actually come from?

David Brühlmeier - July 23, 2019
Workers take a long way to get to work every day. Coordinated offerings of co-working places could also remedy the situation in communities. (Symbol image: Unsplash)

On the community platform, we show for each community the savings potential that a community can achieve by opening and actively using a VillageOffice coworking space. Without detailed on-site analysis, this potential is of course only a rough statistical approximation. We quantify the statistical savings potential as 20% based on the following assumptions:

  • According to the study The workplace of the future of Deloitte, half of all employees were already able to work from anywhere in 2016. The trend is rising.
  • We assume that in the medium term these people will work 2 out of 5 days at their place of residence, provided that a suitable workplace is available for this purpose(a VillageOffice coworking space). This makes a theoretical reduction of 40% possible (40% = 2 out of 5 days).

Based on these two figures, the savings potential is 20%: 50% of employees* work location-independently, of which 40% are degree of utilization.

Mergers

The commuter matrix dates back to 2014. Since then, there have been changes in the Swiss municipal landscape. The basic data for the VillageOffice community platform comes from the Official Municipal Directory of the FSO. We update the data on the basis of this directory once a year. In the case of mergers of municipalities, we add the data of the merged municipalities from the commuter matrix and show them under the new (merged) municipality.

Further development

According to information from the FSO, the commuter matrix will be updated with the data as of the reporting date 31.12.2018. Publication is planned for the second half of 2020. As soon as this data is available, we will update the VillageOffice community platform accordingly.

We also plan to make the data more precise with regard to the modal split. With the modal split, commuter kilometers can be broken down into the main mode of transport used. The FSO shows the following modes of transport for commuter mobility:

  • On foot
  • Velo
  • Car
  • Motorized two-wheelers
  • Railroad
  • Public road traffic
  • Other means of transport

Currently, our calculation of the distance and time required is based on the "car" mode of transport. In the future, we want to make the calculation based on the known means of transport.

 

Switzerland has arguably one of the best statistical offices in the world. The Swiss Federal Statistical Office (SFSO) has over the Commuter Mobility has compiled a comprehensive dossier of figures. At irregular intervals, the FSO also surveys the Commuter Matrix, most recently in 2014. These statistics are a linkage of three different data sources:

  1. Statistics of the population and households (STATPOP): Contains reports from the municipal population registers
  2. Register of old-age and survivors' insurance (AHV register): Contains reports from the AHV compensation funds. Provides the companies in which the employed persons work.
  3. Business statistics (STATENT): Provides information on the location of the companies' various workplaces (branches, subsidiaries, etc.) and the number of people working there

The FSO describes the procedure for the survey as follows:

  • First, the employed persons were defined on the basis of the AHV register: Persons are considered to be employed if they have one or more jobs with a salary subject to AHV contributions (i.e. at least CHF 2,300 per job and year). The commuter matrix takes into account all persons who were employed in December 2014.
  • STATPOP was then used to identify the municipalities of residence of the employed persons and STATENT to identify the companies for which they worked. If a person worked for more than one company, the employer was defined as the company from which the employed person received the highest salary.
  • STATENT was then used to determine the municipalities of work of all employed persons who worked in single-firm companies and whose place of work could therefore be clearly identified. In the reference year 2014, this was the case for around half of the approximately 4 million employed persons. If the employees had a secondary residence and this was closer to the place of work than the actual municipality of residence, the secondary residence was used as the "municipality of residence.
  • The employees of the multi-firm companies (2 million persons in 2014) were assigned to a specific workplace of the company they worked for by means of an optimization algorithm. For each company, the total travel time of its employees was minimized, taking into account the number of employees per workplace (known from STATENT). Since the gender of the employees was known - also at the level of workplaces - the algorithm worked gender-separated, which increased the accuracy of the allocation.

These figures are the basis for further calculations on the VillageOffice community platform.

Number of commuters

The number of commuters per municipality comes from the commuter matrix and indicates the sum of all commuters. This means people who live in the municipality but work outside it. This is the sheet "View residential municipality" in the commuter matrix. So-called "internal commuters" (municipality of residence = municipality of work) are excluded.

Number of kilometers

Based on the number of commuters, VillageOffice has approximated the distance traveled. For this purpose, we have calculated the distance traveled by the means of transport "car" via the Google Distance API calculated for each combination of place of residence and place of work and multiplied by the respective number of commuters. We plan to improve this calculation in the future by using the average modal split.

Due to data protection, the FSO only reports commuter flows with more than 5 persons. Therefore, the FSO summarizes certain commuter flows under the fictitious municipality number 7777 (Other municipalities). If the FSO specifies the canton, we evaluate these commuter flows assuming the cantonal capital. If the canton is also missing (canton abbreviation = ZZ), then we ignore these commuter flows in our calculation. This also results in a small difference between the sum of all municipality figures and the national commuter statistics.

Costs

The calculation of the costs is based on the same procedure as the calculation of the number of kilometers. The via Google Distance API we have multiplied the calculated average duration by the "value of a statistical life year VSLY".

There are several methods for calculating the value of a statistical year of life. And hopefully we all agree that a human life should never be reduced to an economic value. So this is just about calculating a ratio.

We have opted for the calculation method of the German Cancer Research Center DKFZ decided. The Center evaluated 120 economic studies worldwide published from 1995 to 2015, reporting on an estimated value determined using empirical methods. From these studies, an international mean value (median) of EUR 164,409 can be derived for a year of life.

This results in a statistical value of CHF 20.08 per hour with the following calculations:

 

More information about community projects on the community platform can be found at here

 

 

Flexible workplaces are higher on the agenda

A new study by Regus shows a high tendency toward flexible workplaces to better scale in a dynamic economy.

Editorial - July 22, 2019
According to a new Regus study, more and more companies prefer flexible workplaces because co-working workplaces offer new business and project opportunities. (Symbol image: Unsplash)

More and more companies, including many SMEs, are using flexible workplaces such as co-working offices. The main reason: uncertainty is one of the biggest challenges for small businesses. From the global economic outlook and political landscape to deciding whether to expand through more employees, a larger customer base or global expansion:

Companies need to make the right decisions to ensure their survival and growth. Many find it difficult to predict whether they will need twice as much office space in 12 months, or perhaps only half as much.

Choosing a flexible office is proving to be a rapidly growing solution for keeping the reigns on the cost of strategies. Many entrepreneurs are now opting for either flexible office space leases or working in shared co-working environments. A study by Regus reveals that 79 % of entrepreneurs consider co-working spaces to be more cost-effective than fixed leases.

  • 79 % of respondents shared that co-working office spaces are more cost effective than permanent leases.
  • 81 % of business owners said the money saved by flexible work practices instead of fixed leases should be reinvested in growth initiatives.
  • Offices near the target market increased visibility (74 %) and help to better understand customers and markets (63 %).
  • 66 % of respondents said their co-working spaces offered new business and project opportunities.
  • 73 % of entrepreneurs believe that scaling up and down quickly, without incurring additional costs, is the main benefit of co-working environments.

You can find the full study download here.

Lego survey on dream jobs: Prefer Youtuber to Astronaut

As a recent Lego survey shows, dream jobs such as becoming a space pilot are fading in the minds of children. The first step of a man on the moon on July 21, 1969, created a true space fascination. In 2019, such professions seem less interesting.

Editorial - July 18, 2019

 

The Lego survey1 shows that children are still interested in space: 3,000 children from three countries generally show great interest (86 percent); however, young people from the USA and the UK in particular would rather become YouTubers (29 percent) than astronauts (11 percent). In China, however, 55 percent of the children surveyed dream of flying into space as astronauts.

Space research generally important

The LEGO Group's survey also shows that only a quarter of all children questioned know which results of space research flow into inventions in everyday life. Whether weather forecasts via satellite, sports shoes or the development of 3D printers - a quarter of the children surveyed (25 percent) are hardly aware today of how much they benefit from space technologies in everyday life. Eight- to twelve-year-olds are looking less and less up at the stars, and more and more down at the display of their smartphones.

Regardless of the fact that the development of the smartphone was also only made possible by space research.

Life on another planet
In general, space continues to hold a great fascination for children. 86 percent of those surveyed are interested in space travel, according to the LEGO Group's survey results. Three quarters of children believe that humans will one day live in space or on Mars, and dream of flying into space themselves. And interest in space travel continues to grow: almost all children (90 percent) would like to learn more about space and space research; 71 percent already find out about it on their own, for example on the Internet.

Novel career as a space botanist?

Former NASA astronaut Michael Massimino from the USA reported that many space greats have already discovered their passion for space by playing with LEGO bricks. However, not all children know that not only the profession of astronaut is relevant for space travel. While slightly more than half of the respondents (54 percent) can assign engineers and programmers to space research, just 7 percent of the children correctly estimate that this also includes gardeners or farmers, for example.

So whether green thumb or digital thumb, a career in space exploration is as diverse as the world of YouTube stars.

By the way ...

  • In 2003, photos of two LEGO space minifigures (Sandy Moondust and Biff Starling) were aboard NASA Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
  • In 2011, three specially designed aluminum LEGO minifigures were passengers on "Juno," a NASA spacecraft exploring Jupiter from a polar orbit.

1In April 2019, 3,000 children aged eight to twelve took part in the international Harris Poll online survey commissioned by the LEGO Group. The aim of the survey was to find out how much importance children attach to space travel and how they imagine it developing in the future. The survey participants consisted of 1,000 children each from China, the USA and the UK.

www.LEGO.com

Checklist: Five Secrets of High-Performing Teams

If you know the secrets of team leadership, you can specifically influence the group dynamic processes of a team and, as a team leader, build your employees into a high-performance team. A preliminary checklist for the seminar "Building and leading high-performance teams".

Editorial - July 17, 2019
A team becomes stronger when it is made up of different personalities. Diversity strengthens innovative power. (Symbol image: Unsplash)

If you know the secrets of team leadership, you can specifically influence the group dynamic processes of a team and, as a team leader, build your employees into a high-performance team. Claude Heini, an organizational and social psychologist, is not only the author of the Beobachter book "Plötzlich Chef" (Suddenly the Boss), he will soon be holding a seminar on the topic of "Building and Leading High-Performance Teams" in his versatility as a consultant, lecturer and coach.

In advance, five secrets of the seminar leader, who would like to encourage participants in a sympathetic way to change perspectives at the management level:

 

Secret No. 1: Taking risks together

Team members behave passively and do not bring any new ideas? Everyone is working in "safety" mode? This may be because you, as the team leader, are not taking any risks either. And the team members are not sure of your backing. ➜ Tip: Create an atmosphere in which mistakes are allowed and your team members feel safe. Avoid reproaches in the event of a flop and give free rein to the joy of experimentation.

 

Secret No. 2: Clear and distinct communication

In successful teams, there is no such thing as a lone wolf. Going it alone is perceived as ignorant or arrogant and disrupts the atmosphere of a team.

➜ Tip: Regularly ask yourself the following questions: "Are we communicating too much - or too little?" "Do we know who can help whom with what?" "Does everyone have all the information they need to do their job to the maximum?"

Give all team members the opportunity to express themselves and take them seriously.

A study conducted by the Google People Operations group on team effectiveness found that when team members had an equal opportunity to express themselves, then:

 

  •    they were less likely to change their job
  •    were more likely to integrate different ideas into their work
  •    they achieved more sales
  •    they were twice as likely to be rated as effective by their supervisors.

 

Secret No. 3: Making sense

At the top of successful and effective teams is this phrase, as found by Standford University: "Goals are considered significant and important by every team member."

➜ Tip: It is your task as a manager to ensure that everyone is working toward the same goal with which they can also identify. This is the only way to create a sense of togetherness and camaraderie - an enormously important factor.

 

Secret No. 4: Clearly define expectations

Among the reasons teams fail and members are frustrated, these two items are cited most often:

- unrealistic project goals

- unclear distribution of tasks

➜ Tip: Give feedback regularly and proactively. Be clear in your expectations and communicate them. In this way, you help keep teams on the right course. This allows each team member to continuously improve.

 

Secret No. 5: Looking beyond the end of your nose

A team becomes stronger when it is composed of different personalities. Diversity strengthens the power of innovation. Different perspectives provide new solutions.

➜ Tip: Allow existing processes and structures to be questioned. Take new paths sometimes to promote creativity.

 

Notice:

You can also book the seminar "Building and Leading High-Performance Teams" as a Inhouse seminar - book tailor-made for your company. You can find more information here.

 

Immerse yourself in colorful freshwater worlds

Only freshwater worlds? Turtles, bears and crocodiles. Tropical forests, abyssal caves and angular ice masses. All this appears in the light-flooded water worlds of Michel Roggo. The result is an exhibition with over 900 photographs, which is now on display at the Zoological Museum of the University of Zurich.

Editorial - July 17, 2019
A rare shot, a rare perspective of a West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) diving into the fresh waters of Florida Springs.
(Copyright: Michel Roggo, March 2011, for The Freshwater Project
Captive)

In the special exhibition on Michel Roggo's Freshwater Worlds, rare marine animals breathe a sigh of relief in crystal-clear water, the beauty of the Sense River competes with that of Lake Baikal, the Iguazú Waterfalls, the Ross Ice Shelf, and numerous other places with strange-sounding names. What unites the photographs shown is the water theme:

To get to the bottom of this, Michel Roggo spent seven years traveling the world and taking a close-up look at streams, rivers and lakes from around 40 different locations in his "Freshwater Project. His goal: to document as many of the world's major freshwater types as possible, including underwater. To do this, the now 69-year-old jumped into the water with a diving mask and snorkel. "We know what coral reefs look like," he says, "but what about the waters on our doorstep? I'm always looking for interesting scenes with dramatic light - in the algae of a pond or under the ice of a mountain stream. These habitats are incredibly beautiful, but hardly ever seen."

Working under adventurous conditions

The Natural History Museum in Fribourg (Switzerland) created an exhibition from Roggo's photographs, which is now on display at the Zoological Museum of the University of Zurich. It lets visitors immerse themselves in magical water landscapes and marvel at exotic animal and plant worlds, ice and rock formations. Various making-of films illustrate the photographer's often long journeys and the extreme working conditions he and his assistants encountered. For his Freshwater Project, Roggo almost always works with local guides, including indigenous people, biologists, dive guides, boatmen and pilots. "Michel Roggo impressively captures the planet's most important freshwater biotopes," says Isabel Klusman, director of the Zoological Museum, "an important step in making these sensitive and often endangered habitats visible and known."

Animals, plants, ice, rocks and springs

The exhibition follows five main themes, including water as a dynamic habitat for animals that are required to perform great adaptive feats. Difficult conditions such as turbid, low-light conditions, icy, acidic or oxygen-poor water are also encountered by plants, which nevertheless grow into veritable aquatic paradise gardens. Glaciers and ice caps in the polar regions, where two-thirds of all fresh water is stored frozen, are included in the exhibition, as are rock formations that are created by water and shaped and destroyed by erosion. Finally, Roggo's paintings are also devoted to springs, where groundwater rises to the surface within the water cycle. Pure water is essential to life, and so almost all springs in the industrialized world are tapped. In Roggo's photographs, the underwater worlds of those springs that are still completely untouched present themselves all the more magnificently.

About Michel Roggo:

Michel Roggo from Fribourg is an internationally recognized specialist in freshwater photography. His images, produced on over 130 expeditions, have been exhibited, awarded and published worldwide. With AQUA, Michel Roggo's images are presented in Zurich for the first time.

Temporary exhibition "AQUA

Photographs by Michel Roggo

July 23 2019 - January 5 2020
Tue - Sun, 10 am - 5 pm, free admission

www.zm.uzh.ch/de/sonderausstellungen/2019aqua.html

 

Decoding Global Talents: Switzerland is one of the world's most attractive countries for digital talent

In a study called "Decoding Global Talent - the world's workforce study" by the Boston Consulting Group, Switzerland ranks among the most attractive countries for digital talent. The reasons? Will it stay that way in the future?

Editorial - July 16, 2019
Today's digital experts are decidedly mobile, says Boston Consulting Group study. (Symbol image: Unsplash)

Nearly 27,000 digital experts from 180 countries gave their opinion in the study "Decoding Global Talent - the world's employee study": over two-thirds (67%) are willing to work abroad. Among the most popular destinations is also Switzerland (rank 6). Switzerland seems to score here thanks to the high level of innovation, the reputation of cutting-edge research and universities, the numerous tech company centers located here, and the high quality of life.

Of the more than 365,000 employees surveyed as part of the "Decoding Global Talent" study by the Boston Consulting Group, The Network and JobCloud, almost 27,000 are so-called digital talents. Their skills include big data, programming and development, digital marketing and design, artificial intelligence, robotics and automation.

 

(Source: JobCloud)

Digital experts of today?

Digital experts are decidedly mobile, even more so than the general public: 67% of them are willing to work abroad (across all respondents: 58%). Where are they drawn? The top 5 is identical for digital and non-digital talent: they would be most likely to work in the US, Germany, Canada, Australia and the UK. For digital experts, however, Switzerland is even more attractive: Switzerland already ranks 6th (overall: 8th).

Digital talents are pragmatically motivated
But above all, mobility must go hand in hand with a good work-life balance: It is the greatest motivation for digital experts to work abroad. Other motivations are opportunities for personal development, learning and career advancement. Financial incentives are also important to the "digital experts.

This paints a far more pragmatic picture than is evident across all respondents. Behind the mobility of the non-digital talents are more "soft" factors such as good relationships with colleagues and superiors. These factors rank 4th and 6th among the digital experts.

"Many companies lack digital talent, while others struggle to retain it. It's clear that organizations need a new way of dealing with digital experts, and that they need strategic training programs and opportunities to develop skills. In addition, it is certainly worthwhile to expand recruitment efforts to nearby countries, for example, countries that speak the same languages," comments Davide Villa, CEO of JobCloud, on the results.

www.jobcloud.ch

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lego survey: children prefer being a Youtuber to being an astronaut or explorer

As an international survey by the LEGO Group shows, the astronaut profession is fading in the minds of children. The first step of a man on the moon on July 21, 1969, provided a true space fascination. In 2019, such dream jobs seem to have had their day.

Editorial - July 16, 2019

 

An international survey by the LEGO Group shows that many kids today would rather become YouTubers than space pilots. (Graphic: Lego Group)


The Lego survey1 shows that children are still very interested in space: 3,000 children from three countries generally show great interest (86 percent); however, young people from the USA and the UK in particular would rather become YouTubers (29 percent) than astronauts (11 percent). In China, however, 55 percent of the children surveyed dream of flying into space as astronauts.

Space research generally important

The LEGO Group's survey also shows that only a quarter of all children questioned know which results of space research flow into inventions in everyday life. Whether weather forecasts via satellite, sports shoes or the development of 3D printers - a quarter of the children surveyed (25 percent) are hardly aware today of how much they benefit from space technologies in everyday life. Eight- to twelve-year-olds are looking less and less up at the stars, and more and more down at the display of their smartphones.

Regardless of the fact that the development of the smartphone was also only made possible by space research.

Life on another planet
In general, space continues to hold a great fascination for children. 86 percent of those surveyed are interested in space travel, according to the LEGO Group's survey results. Three quarters of children believe that humans will one day live in space or on Mars, and dream of flying into space themselves. And interest in space travel continues to grow: almost all children (90 percent) would like to learn more about space and space research; 71 percent already find out about it on their own, for example on the Internet.

Novel career as a space botanist?

Former NASA astronaut Michael Massimino from the USA reported that many space greats have already discovered their passion for space by playing with LEGO bricks. However, not all children know that not only the profession of astronaut is relevant for space travel. While slightly more than half of the respondents (54 percent) can assign engineers and programmers to space research, just 7 percent of the children correctly estimate that this also includes gardeners or farmers, for example.

So whether green thumb or digital thumb, a career in space exploration is as diverse as the world of YouTube stars.

By the way ...

  • In 2003, photos of two LEGO space minifigures (Sandy Moondust and Biff Starling) were aboard NASA Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
  • In 2011, three specially designed aluminum LEGO minifigures were passengers on "Juno," a NASA spacecraft exploring Jupiter from a polar orbit.

1In April 2019, 3,000 children aged eight to twelve took part in the international Harris Poll online survey commissioned by the LEGO Group. The aim of the survey was to find out how much importance children attach to space travel and how they imagine it developing in the future. The survey participants consisted of 1,000 children each from China, the USA and the UK.

www.LEGO.com

 

Mistakes are good for innovation after all

Mistakes are bad, we learned as children. They usually result in immediate "punishment", but above all in negative feelings - or even consequences. At school in the form of bad grades and at home as a telling off from parents.

Stefan Dudas, suxess ag - July 16, 2019
Stefan Dudas, speaker, coach, author. (Image: zVg)

 

We take these experiences on the subject of mistakes with us into our lives - with momentous consequences: We believe we should be able to do everything and know everything. Should we not know something or, even worse, make a mistake, this is "embarrassing".

Failure can only happen to those who dare to do something.

In fact, there are many people who like to point the finger at others who have once failed professionally or generally in life. Often, these are the very people who have never dared to do anything themselves. Because it's easy and harmless to make fun of other people while sitting at home on the safe sofa (there are enough formats on TV that allude to exactly this). And now, all of a sudden, you should recognize mistakes as an opportunity for learning? Changing these deep thought patterns is anything but easy, as the following example also shows.

Error culture once, please!

"We need a culture of error," says the HR manager at a management meeting. "We can't demand on the one hand that our employees become more creative and innovative, but on the other hand go screaming through the departments every time they make a mistake!"
"So you want more errors in our company?" the controller asks sarcastically. "No! But I would like to see a more sensible and, above all, more human way of dealing with errors," replies the HR manager.
The controller's jugular vein is slowly swelling: "Every mistake costs money. Our money. And huge mistakes cost us huge amounts of money! This newfangled management stuff doesn't get us anywhere! Even if we make the same number of mistakes as we do today by launching an error culture, it won't have been worth it. Does your error culture bring the error rate down? Can you guarantee that?" Silence in the room.

The HR manager smiles at the controller and counters: "The error rate today is already massively higher than in your pretty Excel charts. Yes! Despite ISO standards and total quality management, your evaluations are simply not correct. Because employees are afraid to report errors, errors are covered up and swept under the table, if possible. And if you don't know and name the error, no one can learn from it. And the mistakes are repeated over and over again. And thus also cost massive amounts of money over and over again!" Silence again in the room.

Learn from mistakes (have to)

Are there companies in the business world that have successfully mastered this? Mostly, this question is answered with the showcase solution of the "Toyota Production System". Here, they have turned the approach around: Of course, Toyota also wants as few errors as possible in production, because they cost money here, too. But they communicate to employees that if mistakes happen, the company must learn from them - as a small trade-off for the amount the mistake costs. So here, covering up a mistake is worse than making a mistake. But even this solution is only as good as it is supported by managers and implemented by employees. That's why transparency and communication are crucial here, too. If no one knows why it's important to learn from mistakes, people will continue to cover up. If the internal culture is characterized by resentment and an elbow mentality, no error culture has a chance.

So it's worth thinking in general about what types of errors can occur. The "pointless" errors must be avoided, of course. Checklists can eliminate these routine errors as far as possible. The "meaningful" errors take the company further because important insights can be gained from them.

A question of culture

The solution: implement what is written in the mission statements of most companies.

  • Really put the employee in the center! This means that you are allowed to talk to him. Not just once a year for 20 minutes in an annual meeting, but again and again.
  • Communicate the values that are in the mission statement! By exemplifying them every day as a manager. If there are values such as openness, transparency, passion, optimism, courage, respect or trust, this should be an obligation.

By the way: You don't build an internal "culture" during a 2-day workshop. You build it between two workshops, months or even years apart. Then trust develops. And out of this trust, your own thought patterns regarding errors also change. And this is more than necessary.

The all-rounder is extinct

The mindset of being able to do everything brings many in the working world to the brink of burnout - and beyond. Our own delusion that we have to function "perfectly" is not only extremely exhausting, it is also frustrating. Because no human being is "perfect." We continue to dazzle ourselves with cool titles and job titles that no one understands anymore - and fewer and fewer people dare to ask. Perhaps we need to establish a culture where courageous employees who make a mistake in an ambitious project are praised. And in return, employees who are stuck in mediocrity and routine - and prefer to do nothing at all for fear of making mistakes - are more likely to be "punished."

Without crazy ideas, which logically always have a high error rate, important achievements and inventions would never have been possible. But in the end, many are dazzled by the perfect end result. Few can imagine the rocky road to get there. The road to a good error culture is also rocky - but it is definitely worth tackling.

Practical guide: Define errors!

When a culture of error is discussed for the first time in management meetings, the uncertainty is palpable. After all, there is actually a clear attitude: mistakes cost money. We don't want to lose money, so we don't make mistakes. But what if the company wants to be innovative? Does it want to tackle new ideas, new products or new target groups? Doesn't it then need the "crazies," the dreamers and creative people whose ideas can perhaps produce that one sparkling idea?

Every innovative company makes an incredible number of mistakes. The advantage: These companies learn extremely much. So have a discussion in your company about what you want your company to be like. And if there is even a semblance of innovation seeping through, you should talk about your error culture. Or ask all employees what innovation might be next in your industry - and what dangers lurk. If you get little feedback from a hundred employees, be sure to reflect on the error culture and the sense of purpose conveyed. After all, thinking along is not a freestyle in innovative companies, but a duty. However, you have to allow this culture. Otherwise, you will make a serious mistake.

www.suxess.ch

 

Cluster reception: Climate protection is the new moon landing

The Green Tech Cluster reception on July 8 at the aiola in the castle was all about green pioneering achievements. The environmental technology sector is pursuing the clear vision of 100: 1 Earth. 0 Carbon. 0 Waste. To protect our earth and our climate for a future worth living.

Editorial - July 16, 2019
The Green Tech Cluster reception on July 8 was all about green pioneering. (Image: Green Tech Cluster)

A pioneering achievement 50 years ago was also very present at the Cluster reception: the manned landing on the moon in 1969. At the beginning of the 20th century, space travel was still unimaginable - and so was the fact that humans would eventually fly to the moon. Despite setbacks, the pioneers did not allow themselves to be deterred. Now we need precisely this pioneering spirit to save the good old Earth.

This power of vision also unites the companies in the Green Tech Cluster. The green innovations represent the many small steps with which we can create the great leap forward together for achieving the climate goals. By means of an interactive survey, the approximately 230 guests revealed their personal "Vision 100" and which product or service innovation the companies will offer by 2025. The topics of digitalization, photovoltaics, hydrogen, blockchain and micro mobility stood out in particular.

CO2 can also taste good
50 years after the moon landing, in terms of the 2030 climate targets, we have around 10 years to prove our social performance in terms of climate protection and the use of renewable energy - only this time it's not about our honor, but about the entire planet. Things also went high with the Science Busters, who demonstrated how we can fly to the moon with our brains but keep the earth. Did you know that CO2 can also taste good? A "champagne ice cream" prepared live on stage proved this impressively.

Children build green future
Climate protection is also particularly important so that we also enable future generations to have a future worth living. Under the motto "Children build the future", the young guests were also invited to build their vision of a sustainable earth. In doing so, they built a bridge to the future, following the example of a 500-year-old pioneer, the most famous polymath of all time: Leonardo da Vinci.

There was plenty of room for inspiring conversations and idea generation at the end of the evening. Over culinary delicacies and cool drinks, the guests exchanged ideas with start-ups, colleagues on new solutions in climate protection. We are already looking forward to the next cluster reception in summer 2020 and are excited to hear about their new green innovations.

The Green Tech Cluster would like to thank the exhibitors:

www.greentech.at

Whitepaper Digital ethics: When digitization guides our society

The newly published whitepaper on digital ethics by Cornelia Diethelm and Peter Sennhauser provides examples and explanations for the new questions on digitality. The debate has long been opened in our society as well.

Editorial - July 15, 2019
Do robots with an artificial intelligence show something like morality? (Symbol image: Unsplash)

What a teddy bear might have in common with a sex robot explains the "Whitepaper Digital Ethics. Both are things that people attach subjective attributes to. This means that our behavior toward them says a lot about us, our values and our self-image. But this behavior is not natural. It is based on decency, on customs, in short: on morality. Morality is subject to constant change.

Adjustment of certain values necessary 

With every new technology - from the taming of fire to the cloning of Dolly the sheep - society must ask itself what opportunities, what risks, but also what changes in human values accompany its application.

To answer such questions is a task of ethics. This discipline of philosophy is devoted to morality, questioning and analyzing our sense of decency and defining where we should go from here. Until now, ethics was blessed with the luxury of time and limited space: Morality changed slowly and could be well observed and influenced with social discourse. Moreover, it was usually limited to an area of similar culture, language, and legal system.

The freedom of choice of the individual limited

This is changing with digitization. The world is increasingly becoming a single metropolis and life in it is becoming an express ride: Progress is being put into turbo mode by the triumvirate of increasing computing power, exploding data volumes and global networking. Technology is creating new opportunities and breaking through barriers. Many opportunities and risks are opening up. Keeping them apart and weighing them ethically is not always easy; some advantages cost society a few disadvantages. For example, when moral principles such as privacy are
stand in the way, namely defeating cancer through widespread data collection. Or if connected autonomous vehicles could increase traffic efficiency by 30 percent, limiting individual choice.

Digital ethics" must address the questions of:

  1. Opportunities and side effects of technologies,
  2. their risks and
  3. their influence on the human self-image

in a digital world in which everything leaves data traces and can thus be recorded, analyzed and influenced. Digital technology creates such extensive new possibilities that we have to decide which of them we want to use and which we want to consciously do without because they conflict with existing values.

The "Digital Ethics Whitepaper" provides examples and explanations. It was written by Cornelia Diethelm (Seminar leader Digital Ethics & Founder Centre for Digital Responsibility) as well as Peter Sennhauser (Author, bookandnet.com). This is not just about definable opportunities and risks.

This whitepaper is a collaboration of the Institute for Digital Business & the HWZ Academy.

Research on the origin of lightning

Lightning is caused by the collision of very fine water droplets, which cluster together to form larger raindrops - according to a new theory.

Editorial - July 12, 2019
Thunderstorms occur regularly on hot and humid summer days. But scholars have puzzled over the origin of lightning for millennia. (Symbol image: Unsplash)

In the so-called drop coalescence theory, it is assumed that lightning charges are formed by the dissociation of water under heat and solar radiation. The lighter hydrogen ions rise, the heavier hydroxide ions tend to sink down.

As has recently been demonstrated, hydrogen ions do not react immediately with water molecules, but can travel much longer distances than in water by colliding with nitrogen and oxygen. Other ion pairs could theoretically also be considered, but could not be demonstrated in practice.

Different theories

The three so far prevailing theories of lightning formation do not only contradict themselves, but also fundamental physical laws.

Thus, the theory of friction of ice grains as well as the theory of freezing water drops contradict the fact that thunderstorms occur more frequently on warm days than on cold ones. The theory of charge distribution in water droplets cannot explain greater charge separation without immediate discharge.

A new theory for the formation of lightning in the atmosphere is presented. Water is preferentially dissociated at higher temperature.

Due to their small mass, hydrogen ions rise into the upper troposphere. There they attach themselves to fine water droplets. The fine water droplets combine to form larger ones, which compresses the attached electrical charge.

Finally, the charge density on the droplet surface is too large, so that the breakdown field strength
is exceeded in air. The lightning propagates by acceleration of the electrically charged particles in the electric field.

Drop coalescence theory ventured
Even if the drop coalescence theory is daring, it stands up to closer scrutiny at least as well as the currently prevailing explanations. For it is certain that, for physical reasons, some things cannot be right with the theories that have been common up to now.

Nothing is said about the romance of a refreshing summer thunderstorm. Enjoy lightning and thunder just like that or ponder the forces of nature!

Information: Dr. Daniel S. Christen (Health-Safety-Environmental Protection)  daniel.christen@eco-swiss.ch

Relaunch of the greenproperty seal of approval

With the development and introduction of the greenproperty seal of approval, Credit Suisse Asset Management Global Real Estate set an example for more sustainability in real estate back in 2009. As the first comprehensive seal of approval for sustainable buildings in Switzerland, greenproperty has already been providing sustainable guidance for investment decisions for ten years - and now the revised version has been completed.

Editorial - July 11, 2019
greenproperty seal of approval
greenproperty focuses on all new residential, office and retail buildings in Switzerland. (Symbol image: Unsplash)

At that time, Global Real Estate launched its own standard for the first time with the greenproperty seal of approval, which made new buildings in the real estate portfolios assessable under sustainability aspects. As one of Switzerland's leading developers and real estate investment managers, the company wants to live up to its responsibility for future generations; even then, CO2-reduction is one of the most urgent challenges. Convinced of the significance of the seal of approval and the importance of sustainable construction, Global Real Estate launched the first Swiss real estate fund in the same year, which invests primarily in certified properties.

Relaunch with adapted requirements

Global Real Estate developed the greenproperty seal of approval together with Amstein + Walthert AG. To ensure that greenproperty can continue to set new standards in the future, the criteria for certification have been adapted. Social and digital changes are now also included in the assessment. The revised seal of approval has been completed, and since July 4, 2019, the requirements for meeting the criteria have been publicly released on credit-suisse.com/greenproperty.

More than 120 properties have been awarded the definitive greenproperty seal of approval to date.

In order to define the holistic requirements of a property in detail, five dimensions of sustainability are put to the test when the certificate is awarded:

  • Use
  • Infrastructure
  • CO2/Energy
  • Materials
  • Life cycle

A total of 25 criteria are subordinated to these five dimensions, such as room comfort, connection to public transport, self-sufficiency with renewable energy or environmental impact of materials. In the evaluation, the results are subsumed and illustrated as a degree of fulfillment in a clear spider diagram. The greenproperty seal of approval is thus based on a differentiated and objective evaluation method.

Amstein + Walthert and Wüest Partner were entrusted with the external review and certification of these criteria.

To the website

 

More about greenproperty:

 

 

The five dimensions of sustainability according to greenproperty:

 

 

The degrees of fulfillment are illustrated in a spider diagram:

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