Two young entrepreneurs take over Aerni AG: With the takeover of this traditional company, the buyers pursue long-term, strategic goals. In doing so, great value is placed on continuity, according to the statement. To guarantee this, Hansjörg Müller, as former managing director, will continue to be an integral part of the future. His continued involvement in customer service and his influence on the Board of Directors will ensure that the existing system of success is continued. In addition, the high-level know-how within the company and thus the existing jobs are seen as an important prerequisite for the company's continued sustainable success. The regional roots of the company will be preserved.

The Aerni AG

As a traditional and family-owned company, Aerni AG has been active in eastern Switzerland since 1965 and has built up an excellent reputation in the fields of steam plants and pig feeding systems as well as in mechanical engineering. The three profit centers in industry, CNC technology and agricultural technology have enabled the company to diversify its sales channels. The company's customers include well-known companies in the Swiss industrial sector.

The buyers

The new owners of the company have acquired the company in the form of an MBI (management buy-in). Due to their distinctive expertise and vision, the previous owners are certain that they have found the right succession solution for the company in terms of a sustainable future for the company.

Professional support in the M&A process

During the entire sales process of Aerni AG, Schweizer Nachfolge Experten AG assisted the owners as exclusive M&A advisor. In a challenging succession solution, the desired solution was achieved in one process and through close cooperation. From the preparation of the sales documents, the approach of interested parties, the due diligence and the contract negotiations, the transaction was ultimately completed successfully.

Source: www.schweizernachfolge.ch

Almost half of the companies in German-speaking countries have already been able to improve their market position by integrating digitization into their strategy. This is shown by the current Future IT Report from Campana & Schott. 182 employees of large and medium-sized companies from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other countries participated in the survey across a broad spectrum of industries.

Future IT Report finds improvement in market positions

In the future, almost two-thirds expect an improvement in their market position as a result of digital transformation. The high complexity of the IT infrastructure as well as data protection and data security are among the biggest hurdles to digital transformation for those surveyed. These are the findings of the Future IT Report 2020 by Campana & Schott and the University of Duisburg-Essen. In the context of the study, digital transformation means the use of technological innovations with disruptive consequences for business.

"The results of the study impressively show that the topic of digitization has now reached all companies. But they also show that many companies are not yet close enough to their customers to develop digital solutions that fit them perfectly. In addition, there are still the challenges of culture and competence," says Prof. Dr. Frederik Ahlemann, Chair of Information Systems and Strategic IT Management at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Since digitization influences both the internal and external organization of the company, it forms a strategic task for top management. Four out of five respondents stated that the CEO is the responsible driving force for digital transformation. However, digitization also has a major impact on business models. Where two-thirds of the companies surveyed see their existing model being promoted, one in five is threatened by it.

The biggest obstacles

The biggest hurdles to digital transformation include data protection and IT security, complex IT infrastructure, high investment and operating costs, and neglect of digitization in the education and training system. Among other things, this point in particular leads to a lack of corresponding skilled workers. Almost half of the companies do not have the necessary expertise. To remedy the shortage of skilled workers, they rely primarily on further training for their employees before new hires and service providers. But in practice, only half of the companies provide internal offerings for continuing education.

In addition, employees in more than a third of all companies are skeptical about change. One possible cause is a poor error culture. Only slightly more than half of the companies deal with mistakes constructively and positively. Often, employees can neither act on their own responsibility and initiative nor contribute their own ideas. In almost every third company, there is no open, direct and regular communication. This can be improved through cooperation with other organizations. In particular, collaborations with startups can establish a fresh and innovative corporate culture.

The customer in focus

As a result of the digital transformation, customers are placing ever higher expectations on companies' products, services and processes. This is particularly true with regard to their availability, speed and reliability. "However, less than half of the companies have already been able to successfully increase customer satisfaction in the course of digitization," explains Sven Kreimendahl, Director Business Technology Services. "This is achieved, for example, by involving customers more closely in processes, for example as part of innovation projects."

Accordingly, higher customer satisfaction is one of the most important goals of digitization - along with increased efficiency through the automation of processes and improved quality. Time savings and the development of new or improved digital products and services are also important. However, most of the goals have not yet been achieved.

Source: Campana & Schott

With immediate effect, Sandra Peier takes over the management and thus the overall responsibility of europa3000 AG. She is assisted by the two members of the Executive Board Dominic Achermann (Head of Sales) and Andreas Imboden (Head of Development). The previous management member Roland Schenker left the company at the beginning of February.

Experienced ERP leadership

Sandra Peier has been working for europa3000 for 19 years. In the last few years, under the ownership of Bison Switzerland, she has already worked as Head of Services and most recently as Head of the europa3000 business unit within the group. Prior to that, she worked for europa3000 for a good 10 years as a management assistant and then as Head of Backoffice & Partner Management. Sandra Peier is 42 years old and lives with her family in Lostorf, Solothurn.

Their two colleagues in the management team also have many years of europa3000 and ERP experience. Dominic Achermann has been working in sales for the ERP software in the SME market since June 2011. Andreas Imboden has been developing europa3000 for 2 years; before that he worked as an application developer at Informing AG for over ten years.

"Post Merger Integration" on a good course

"My partner Beat Mathys and I draw a positive conclusion from the first six months of our ownership of europa3000. The organizational separation from Bison has been successfully completed and we were already able to achieve Swissdec certification for our software as our first major goal at the end of the year. In view of the cleanup of some legacy issues, we are also satisfied with the financial figures," Markus Fuchs reports on his first months at europa3000.

Beat Mathys continues: "Markus Fuchs and I have been intensively involved as members of the Board of Directors. Now it is time for us to withdraw somewhat from the operational business. We are convinced that the management of the company is in good hands with Sandra Peier and her two colleagues. They know the ERP vendor business and have a keen sense of the needs in the market and among europa3000's employees. These are the ideal ingredients for a successful future."

Sandra Peier: "Developing ERP software successfully".

The newly appointed managing director says about her new task: "Since the middle of last year, a fresh wind has been blowing through our company. The new owners are intensively and wholeheartedly committed to europa3000 and support us every day with words and deeds. I am pleased to now be able to take on full operational responsibility as Managing Director and to successfully further develop our ERP software, which is deeply anchored in the Swiss SME market, with my two management colleagues."

Source and further information: www.europa3000.ch

Saying thank you for successful and good performance has a positive effect on the atmosphere and motivation in the team. According to the labor market study by Robert Half, all managers surveyed are actively committed to creating a better work culture. In this context, the promotion of communication and collaboration (47 %), the offer of mentoring, training and development programs (44 %) and the dissemination of corporate values and mission (38 %), are mentioned particularly frequently. The aforementioned representative survey was conducted in October 2019 by market research firm Rigour Research among 5165 HR professionals in 13 countries, including Switzerland.

The implementation of these measures requested by the respondents is only possible with the corresponding financial resources. If these are lacking or have already been exhausted, there are also very simple, cost-effective ways in which supervisors can show appreciation to their employees, and not just on Employee Appreciation Day. Zerrin Azeri, Associate Director at Robert Half, offers tips for more open recognition:

1. Give positive feedback. Take the time to offer immediate praise. The effect will fizzle out if you don't show your appreciation until three weeks after a successful project completion.
2. Offer an afternoon off or extra vacation time. More free time is very popular with Swiss people. Allow an afternoon off or extra vacation days after successful projects.
3. Host small celebrations in the office. Successes are best celebrated together! Invite people to lunch together or provide the appropriate catering in meetings.
4. Award your employees. Do you have programs at your company that recognize employees? At Robert Half, for example, bosses can nominate outstanding employees for an internal awards program. The winners receive a financial bonus.
5. Remember birthdays, anniversaries and other holidays. A flower greeting or a small chocolate on the occasion of a birthday or other anniversary does not miss the effect. They show how important the employee is to you as a person.

Source: Robert Half

Chainwork has created a unique meeting place in Zurich's Seefeld for technology-savvy SMEs, startups and investors, whose networking promises innovative solutions for national as well as international ventures (we reported on it). Now the company has managed to convince the ex-CEO of Switzerland Global Enterprise: Daniel Küng invests in Chainwork and joins the board of directors. "Startups and established companies can benefit from each other on a large scale," he says, and continues: "Innovative startups present the market with technology-based solutions that could help them work more efficiently, productively and transparently. However, startups often lack knowledge and experience on how to anchor such solutions in the market and structure the business accordingly in a sustainable way."

Strengthen technology transfer

At the same time, established companies lack the digital know-how they need today, says Daniel Küng: "Companies need to transfer their business models to a digitally designed future. The deep-seated needs of customers must be covered in a targeted manner, and the available data must be used correctly. Agility is in demand."
Switzerland is internationally regarded as a hotspot for technological innovation and is optimally positioned in global competition. With its support programs, event series and coworking offers, Chainwork actively supports the digital transformation of companies and offers the Swiss economy unique access to forward-looking technologies and a cooperative mentality that results from direct exchange with startups and technology companies.

Daniel Küng: "Creating meeting spaces".

For the experienced entrepreneur, one thing is clear: In order to tackle major issues of the future, high-quality meeting spaces need to be created where innovative startups and established companies can meet and exchange ideas at eye level. But such opportunities are rare. With Chainwork, Küng wants to help close this market gap and further strengthen Switzerland as a global hub in the technology world.

With its coworking space, various well-curated event series and a startup support program, Chainwork is an interactive ecosystem of its own, wherein the digital transformation of Swiss companies is to accelerate. Daniel Küng will bring his long experience as a board member and investor to Chainwork as well as activate his national and international network for the company's projects in order to attract the right partners for this new ecosystem.

More information: www.chainwork.com

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is on everyone's lips: countless initiatives have been launched, a number of declarations of intent have been signed, and a multitude of reports have been published. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, corporate responsibility and climate change were the all-dominant topics. According to the swissVR Monitor published by the swissVR association together with the consulting firm Deloitte and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, this public debate on the topic is also reflected in the boards of directors of Swiss companies: 36 percent have fully integrated corporate social responsibility into their corporate strategy, 45 percent at least partially.

Clear goals for social responsibility are often lacking

However, there is still room for improvement in implementation: Only three-fifths (61%) of respondents believe their board of directors has sufficient resources and expertise to implement the topic successfully. It fits in with this picture that for just under half (46%) of the respondents, the topics of social commitment that are important for the company are rather not defined (36%) or not defined at all (10%). And for only one-tenth (9%) has the board of directors set clear and timed objectives for corporate citizenship, with another 27 percent still somewhat agreeing with this statement. And only just over half (54%) of respondents believe they take enough time on the board to address the issue of social responsibility.

"More and more Swiss companies are realizing that people expect more from them than making profits and creating jobs. At the same time, public distrust of business is on the rise - which is currently reflected very concretely in the broad sympathy for the corporate responsibility initiative. It seems that stronger regulation can hardly be prevented any longer," explains Reto Savoia, CEO of Deloitte Switzerland.

However, Savoia also sees great entrepreneurial opportunities: "Companies must convincingly strategically anchor their specific responsibility for the environment and society and systematically identify the material issues that are essential to them. But that alone is not enough to gain a real competitive advantage. Clear goals, impact measurement and transparent communication are needed. Ultimately, it's about a culture change and embedding an integrated mindset across the company."

Employees more important than the environment

For board members, employees are at the top of the list as a target group when it comes to corporate social responsibility: For 89 percent, fair wages and working conditions or health protection are important. Almost as high a priority is given to ethical business practices in general - this involves correct compliance with laws, fair competition and ethically acceptable business practices. Almost two-thirds of respondents (64%) also consider customers to be important, with transparent information on production, the supply chain and consumer protection in mind. Just under half (47%) of the executives surveyed still consider nature and the environment to be an important aspect of corporate social responsibility. Of similar importance to environmental compatibility, climate protection, energy efficiency or resource conservation for Swiss companies is responsibility for the impact of digitization: A good half (51%) of respondents describe data protection, information security or the social impact of digital technologies as an important aspect of their corporate social responsibility.

"The central importance of employees is justified; they are a company's most important asset and have a significant influence on its success. More and more companies are taking responsibility for the development of their employees into their own hands and preparing them for new challenges such as digital transformation. Swiss companies are doing well to embed a culture of lifelong learning in their organizations. However, many still need to pay more attention to what skills their employees need to successfully lead their company into the future. Furthermore, it is a good sign that companies not only see digital technologies as profit drivers and want to use them to increase efficiency, but are also becoming aware of their responsibility for possible negative effects," says Cornelia Ritz Bossicard, President swissVR.

Many SMEs still skeptical

The vast majority of respondents find that the perception of corporate social responsibility promotes employee loyalty, increases attractiveness as an employer, facilitates customer acquisition, and strengthens competitiveness and reputation. However, there are also skeptical voices: For a good third (36%) of respondents, the priority is for companies to focus on their economic tasks. Corporate responsibility causes costs, reduces profits and makes products more expensive, according to 32% of respondents. A quarter (25%) of the board members surveyed support the statement that making profits and increasing corporate value are their only real responsibilities. Another two-fifths (40%) believe that their company already assumes enough social responsibility by creating jobs and paying taxes.

The survey thus also reveals a conflict of objectives between the costs and benefits of measures for the perception of corporate social responsibility. This is more pronounced among SMEs than among large companies: 40 percent of respondents from small and 30 percent from medium-sized companies believe that social commitment primarily generates costs. Only 26 percent of large companies are of this opinion.

Prof. Dr. Christoph Lengwiler, lecturer at the Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and Vice President of swissVR explains: "There is apparently still a certain skepticism among the boards of directors of SMEs about the effective benefits of targeted social commitment. In addition to the scarcity of resources, this may also be due to the fact that many owner-managed companies and family businesses in particular already have a long tradition of corporate responsibility. They are anchored in their social environment and assume corresponding responsibility without anchoring this in written goals and CSR programs. Here, it may well be worthwhile to communicate more actively to stakeholders the social commitment that is taken for granted."

Source: Swiss BoD / Deloitte

The current pension promises can hardly be financed within the valid framework conditions. The main reasons are the still increasing life expectancy and the decreasing investment returns. The result is a gigantic redistribution within the 2nd pillar of several billion francs annually.

No quick political solution in sight

Like the AHV, the occupational pension scheme (BVG) also needs to be reformed. The social partners presented a compromise in summer 2019. The regulations of the 2nd pillar are to be revised as follows:

• Reduction of the minimum conversion rate from 6.8 to 6.0 percent
• Lifelong monthly supplement for all future BVG pensioners, for 15 years after the revision comes into force
• This surcharge is financed on a parity basis via 0.5 wage percentages
• Halving of the coordination deduction
• Only two retirement credits/simplification of payroll deductions (9 percent from age 25-44, 14 percent from age 45).
• The subsidies for pension plans with unfavorable age structures are eliminated
• Introduction of a contribution to finance the pension conversion guarantee

The bill is currently in the consultation phase. However, the resistance of various organizations and parties is so great that a quick political solution cannot be expected. This means that without concrete measures, billions of pension assets will continue to be redistributed from active employees to pensioners.

Skills shortage forces action

The shortage of skilled workers has become more acute in many sectors. This is prompting companies to review their employment conditions, including salary and fringe benefits, in order to make themselves more attractive on the labor market in these areas as well. Pension benefits are becoming increasingly important, as many applicants now view and value them as a direct component of their salary. It is not only the amount of the savings contribution or the definition of the risk benefits that play a role. The expected investment income or tax aspects are also taken into account.

Entrepreneurs become active now

Redistribution is also extremely disruptive from a purely business perspective. Blatant discrimination against current employees has a negative impact on the motivation of the workforce. Knowing that the pension plan in the Swiss Worry Barometer has occupied the top spot for three years, management would do well to take these concerns seriously. Instead of waiting for the lengthy political process, entrepreneurs are now taking action and exploiting the current leeway.

Neutral analysis reveals weaknesses

Funk can show various ways in which entrepreneurs can optimize their pension provision in order to correct current system errors in the long term. The current pension solution is analyzed. Based on the analysis, measures are developed that lead to improvements in costs, benefits and investment income. Tax optimization for the staff can also be a consequence of the measures.

Review of the foundation form

In addition to the full insurance model, semi-autonomous foundations with their options for a pension solution with pooled or individual investments have become very popular in recent years. In the consulting process, entrepreneurs receive transparency on the foundation forms and recognize which pension fund solution is best suited for their company based on the advantages and disadvantages. With the right choice of pension fund provider and foundation form, they can reduce costs and sustainably improve employee benefits.

Election plans offer individual design options for all

The amount of retirement assets at the time of retirement depends largely on the monthly savings contributions made by the employer and the employee. With the introduction of an optional plan, employers (or the pension fund commission) can offer their employees a modern pension plan option in which they can choose from up to three different variants and determine the optimal savings contribution amount. This offers employees a personal design option within the pension scheme, with which they can actively and positively influence the amount of their future retirement assets - and thus their pensions.

An option for cadre employees - the 1e plan

The majority of employed people in Switzerland save most of their assets in their pension fund. For some time now, specialized pension plans have made it possible for insured persons to have a direct say in investment strategies in the extra-mandatory area - provided their annual salary is at least CHF 127,980. The designation "1e plan" is derived from Article 1e in the Ordinance on Occupational Pension Plans (BVV2).

For this group of people, the 1e pension plans offer a number of advantages: The pension assets are completely separated from the remaining retirement assets. Since the majority of the assets are capital insurance (no pension benefits), they no longer have to accept any redistribution effects in this fund. In addition, the insured person is free to choose his or her own investment strategy from up to ten options.

One of the entrepreneurial virtues is the active and solution-oriented approach to problems. In occupational pension provision, there is now an opportunity to demonstrate entrepreneurship for the benefit of the company and its employees.

To the author:
Andreas Jäggi is a member of the management team and has been with Funk since 2010. He has been Head of the Personal Insurance and Occupational Pension Division since 2013. www.funk-gruppe.ch

Agility is one of the key prerequisites for successful change in the course of digital transformation, which challenges SMEs to renew proven structures and functions. With a value contribution of more than 15 percent to success, the participants in the study attribute a high degree of effectiveness to culture and leadership in this context.

First, the agile culture...

Against this background, the study questioned the "maturity level" of agility in the companies in various areas. While 49 percent of the participants describe their corporate culture as agile, only 11 and 12 percent, respectively, of the areas of leadership and human resources (HR) are classified as agile. This shows that there is no holistic approach that aims to anchor agility through the synergies of culture, leadership and HR. This would contribute significantly to a long-term agile mindset. The introduction of "holistic agility" requires an agile culture, followed by leadership development and the introduction of new HR approaches.

The development of an agile culture is the starting point and at the same time the supreme discipline for the transformation to an agile company. Consequently, the motto of the CEOs surveyed is "Culture First". Every second participant describes their corporate culture as "rather agile". Building on a culture of trust, these companies have a suitable learning and error culture, combined with pronounced self-organization and collaboration. Companies with a more agile culture also design their strategic management much more agilely and achieve significantly higher values for agile leadership, agile organization and agile HR. Culture is obviously the starting point for the other fields of action of holistic agility.

Agility is primarily a "mindset shift" 

There is agreement on this view, as well as on the fact that the necessary cultural change toward agility is primarily a "matter for the boss". Customer orientation, entrepreneurship, adaptability, innovation, willingness to learn and teamwork are named as important cultural values in this context.

The CEOs of companies with a more agile culture stated more frequently that they involve all (hierarchical) levels in the change process. Companies without an agile culture follow the traditional path of culture development, i.e., in collaboration with HR and largely without involving employees.

HR remains "outside the box

Although agility requires a change in behavior, HR, as the area responsible for providing and developing employees, is only involved to a limited extent. In particular, strategic HR and its potential as a "change agent" is not utilized in the transformation. Even among the companies classifying themselves as "rather agile," just under half (49%) are of the opinion that HR does not generate any added value for long-term corporate success.

On the one hand, the CEOs emphasize the importance of HR initiatives such as new working time models (43%) or employer branding (43%), but the focus is on activities that are easier to implement, such as personnel changes among managers (60%) and the introduction of innovation and culture initiatives (60% / 54%). Overall, the measures are not focused enough on mindset shift. "Painful interventions" such as demoting or dismissing executives without a digital mindset (21%) or adjusting KPIs and bonus system (33%) are still rather avoided.

Start-ups demonstrate agile culture

Among the measures implemented, the establishment of networks and cooperation with startups stands out positively at 58 percent. Apparently, both sides - Grown Up and Start Up SMEs - recognize the potential in the entrepreneurial and human intergenerational exchange. Promoting dialog between the generations of companies and entrepreneurs was also one of the intentions of this study, which was aimed at Grown Up and Start Up SMEs.

Holistic to Mindset Shift

As the study shows, the participating companies are aware of the high relevance of agility for success in the context of digital transformation. What is missing is a holistic approach for a sustainable shift to an agile mindset and an employee base that collaborates in self-organized, internally and externally networked teams and works together to achieve the company's goals. The following steps are recommended for this:

1. Culture development: embedding a culture based on trust, teamwork, development and learning so that everyone's strengths can be leveraged to best benefit the organization.
2. Leadership transformation: developing a leadership culture that inspires people, imparts meaning, develops competencies, and encourages teams to collaborate independently.
3. New HR approaches: Developing new HR approaches/programs such as introducing flexwork, holistic talent development, ensuring each employee is employable.

Source and further information: Futurum Management

How has the sourcing market developed in the DACH region? Here are the five most important facts and trends of the entire year 2019, especially with a view to the markets in Germany, Austria, Switzerland:

1. Sourcing market in DACH shrinks slightly
   In contrast to the sourcing market in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), which grew by 10 percent, the total annual contract volume in DACH declined by 1 percent to EUR 4.7 billion in 2019. The reasons are economic uncertainties, especially in the manufacturing and energy industries. Despite the slight decline in ACV, DACH recorded its second-best annual performance to date in 2019 as companies align their managed services strategies and digital investments.
2. Above-average growth in cloud and as-a-service solutions in DACH
   In contrast to the slightly shrunken overall market, growth in as-a-service contract volume in DACH was the strongest in 2019 compared with the other major European markets. It rose by 22 percent in 2019 to EUR 1.8 billion. As-as-service now comprises 38 percent of the total market. The growth rates of 22 percent each for both software-as-a-service (SaaS) and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) show that enterprises continue to move toward hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
3. Europe-wide, the outsourcing market grew by 10 percent in 2019
   Across EMEA, the value of outsourcing contracts increased by 10 percent in 2019 as companies focused on cost-cutting and investing in digital solutions in the face of economic uncertainty. Total ACV of as-a-service and managed services contracts in EMEA reached €17.1 billion in 2019 - fueled by a remarkably strong second half of the year. Managed services contract volumes increased 8 percent year-on-year to €10.7 billion. As-a-Service values reached a new record level of 6.4 billion euros, an increase of 13 percent. As-a-Service thus accounted for 37 percent of the market in EMEA last year.
4. Record figures in the UK despite Brexit
   Total market volume in the UK and Ireland increased by 13 percent in 2019 to €5.5 billion. This is the highest annual figure since 2012. Despite the ongoing uncertainty due to the Brexit, companies are currently focusing on greater IT investments and are concentrating on digital transformation and the use of technology to increase their productivity and improve their customers' experience. Managed services market volume increased by 15 percent to €3.3 billion compared to 2018. As-a-service market volume now exceeded €2 billion for the second year in a row and now accounts for 40 percent of the total market in the UK and Ireland. Both software-as-a-service (SaaS) and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) reached new highs.
5. Global sourcing business also grew by 10 percent
   Globally, the contract volume of the entire sourcing market in 2019 increased by 10 percent year-on-year, just as in EMEA, to USD 55.7 billion worldwide. The global market was boosted by record demand for as-a-service solutions, which rose 21 percent last year to $28 billion.

Barbara Florschütz, Managing Director of Information Services Group (ISG) Germany, gives the following market forecast: "The macroeconomic headwinds blowing in Europe have meant that the pace of digital transformation in the region has accelerated rather than slowed. Digital technologies have become a default option for businesses in today's technology-driven world. Companies are looking for ways to cut costs and then investing those gains in technologies that can improve their customers' experience and help them stay competitive against new competitors such as startups."

Source: ISG 

Spend a week in a secluded finca, isolated from day-to-day business, defining product developments and rethinking corporate values? Sounds tempting. The Company Retreat makes it possible. Well-known from the USA and considered good by industry leaders such as Buffer, Swiss companies such as Ofri and Renuo to.

Focus of the Company Retreat depending on company

"In our Company Retreat, we plan product development for the next six months and devote ourselves to topics that don't get the attention they deserve in the hectic day-to-day business," explains Benny Hertach, Managing Director of Ofri. He and his team have been conducting company retreats for three years. A schedule and predefined goals help ensure that the team doesn't lose focus.

Samuel Steiner, Managing Director of Renuo AG, his IT agency's Company Retreat: "I'm focusing on education and inspiration." The goal of the week, he said, is for team members to learn from each other. Each employee prepares a learning block for his or her colleagues.

Increase identification with the company

Two years ago, the Ofri team developed the company values during the Company Retreat in Lisbon. "The fact that we defined them together in a quiet moment is worth its weight in gold," explains Hertach. The values help him with recruiting. Before hiring a new employee, Hertach checks whether the candidate matches the values. Since he has consistently followed them, he says, no new employee has ever left the company. "For me, that is clearly a result of the Company Retreat," Hertach affirms. Steiner adds, "I observed how the Company Retreat boosts motivation and increases company identification."

Company Retreat promotes a sense of togetherness

The managing directors of Ofri and Renuo rent a large Airbnb for their company retreats. "This naturally leads to informal discussions that strengthen the sense of togetherness," explains Steiner. But both companies also deliberately plan leisure activities. "In particular, I recommend remote teams spend enough time together on social activities," says Hertach. He has been leading his team location-independently for six years. Remote work has many advantages, but the lack of social contact is clearly a disadvantage. "You have to be careful that the working relationship doesn't become too sterile," Hertach admits. For every five days of Company Retreat, he therefore schedules a leisure day. The Ofri team hiked together in Malta and Switzerland, paddled in the waves of the Mediterranean, and attended a conference in Zurich.

Source: Ofri Internet Ltd.

A study by Accenture examines how companies are realizing the full value of their technology investments by scaling innovation. It looked at both mature technologies and new ones such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and extended reality. It turns out that a lack of, or the wrong, innovation strategies for scaling technology innovations are not yielding the full benefits of these investments. This results in a gap between the potential and realized value of technology innovations.

Incorrect innovation strategies reduce sales growth

As a result, the sales growth of companies that are at the forefront of technology adoption in Switzerland is twice as high as the growth of companies that lag behind in technology. From 2015 to 2023, these companies will miss out on 42 percent revenue growth due to incorrect innovation strategies. It is not only companies that are in the process of transformation that are struggling. Many already fully digital companies are also struggling to get more out of their technologies and close the gap between the actual potential and the realized value of their technology investments. Although they have relied on technology from the outset, they fail to adapt their systems to the rapid pace of technological change.

Innovation requires strategic planning

"Innovation is not an end in itself. But the real value of a new technology is only released by those companies that think beyond sub-processes," comments Jürgen Pinkl, Head of Technology at Accenture DACH. "Innovation must permeate the entire enterprise. If it does that, if it really scales, then the return on investment is right." Competing in a data-driven and, to a large extent, already digitized economy requires companies to have a carefully coordinated technology adoption strategy, he said. The Accenture study shows: The gap arises because not all companies have adopted a specific approach that sets them apart from the competition.

Five methods to achieve innovation success

The authors of the study identified five methods that can be used to close the innovation success gap in the long term:

• Flexible companies through the use of technology: Companies that are making the most of their investments believe it is important to decouple their data from historically grown systems to provide greater flexibility and IT that reinvents itself faster and more frequently.
• Cloud ComputingThe cloud is a prerequisite for the successful deployment of new technologies - from artificial intelligence to analytics. 78 percent of Swiss pioneering companies have already introduced advanced cloud services - the global average is still 72 percent.
• Data as an asset: Companies with a successful technology strategy attach great importance to the quality of their data. Outdated or incorrectly collected data can lead to incorrect results and thus poorer decisions. Security measures help them to identify sources of error and other risks at an early stage. 95 percent of successful companies take measures to prevent algorithms from being influenced by bias in the first place.
• Technology investment management89 percent of companies that have successfully implemented their technology strategy have transparent visibility into their enterprise-wide investments. The leading companies are also working to bring IT departments and business units closer together in the spirit of business alignment. And generate a steady stream of new ideas in their innovation centers.
• Promotion of their employeesInvestment in employees is essential for the development of new technologies. Without further qualification measures, a large proportion of existing IT skills will become obsolete in the next three years. Successful companies in Switzerland offer three times more training opportunities (75 vs. 29 percent; globally: 73 vs. 24 percent) and focus on consistent talent development (79 vs. 47 percent; globally: 79 vs. 36 percent).

"Executives are establishing a culture of innovation and investing more and earlier in new technologies," summarizes Marc Zollinger, Accenture Technology Lead Switzerland. "They also manage to scale innovation across the enterprise by breaking down organizational barriers between departments and using modern technologies to make their IT architecture more flexible."

Source: Accenture

One of the wonderful things for me as a sparring partner, consultant and executive coach is that I have had the opportunity to look inside well over a hundred companies in all kinds of industries over the past few years. In doing so, I always find one thing fascinating: the different ways of thinking, behaving and working that the people in the companies - and especially the leaders - use to achieve their successes (and failures).

Questioning beliefs

What is an absolute must for some, others have never thought of. Examples (there are countless others):

• For some, weekly alignment briefings are routine, while others struggle to even find such an appointment once a year.
• Some show fun and humor, others make you feel like you have to go down to the basement to laugh.
• Some constantly encourage and challenge themselves with coaching and training, while others almost never do anything of the sort.

Here's my point: There is a clear connection between how a team thinks and acts and its ongoing successes. The problem: Most never look beyond their own beliefs and experiences.

Ideas against the intellectual inbreeding

Here are three ideas for what you can do for yourself and your team to counter the threat of mental inbreeding:

1. Allow the thought that you could be significantly more successful if you thought and behaved differently. This willingness is sometimes very difficult to achieve (after all, you are already successful). But as the saying goes, "The greatest enemy of great is good."
2. Keep challenging yourself and your team with new approaches and thought models. The way you've been doing things is probably never the absolute best solution. Try new things, even at the "risk" that they may not work right away.
3. Perspective: Keep giving yourself and your team new perspectives. Be it visits to other successful companies with new concepts, participation in conferences, external experts with fresh ideas, video trainings or exciting books: there are various possibilities.

The most important thing is to accept that there is always a better way (and usually several). Mental inbreeding is one of the great dangers to sustainable success.

To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch