Everyone agrees that if you want to become healthier, slimmer, fitter or whatever, you have to do something about it every day. It's not enough to eat healthily once a week and otherwise eat junk food. Or to brush your teeth only once a month and trust in the powers of nature. Or to run five kilometers once a month and believe that you can keep going in the next marathon.

Here's the exciting part: When it comes to mental fitness and a strong mindset (i.e., what we need as a foundation in any team to post sustainable successes), most believe an annual workshop is all it takes. Here's the unpleasant truth for many: for a strong mindset and mental fitness - and thus for your success - you need to do something every day(!). As a team leader or CEO, it's your job to work on this with your team on an ongoing basis.

Here are three exemplary topics (from a variety of others) that you should practice daily:

1. Objective. Set daily goals (in writing!) and work consistently to achieve them: Which top goal do you absolutely have to achieve today, no matter what? What are your number 2 and 3 goals? Write them down as your first action in the morning. This takes maybe 3 minutes, and keeps you on track throughout the day. More importantly, it trains your mindset in that it will Targets are what determine your success, but not tasks (many confuse this).
2. Commitments. Yes, integrity (you do what you promise) can and must be trained. Because our instinct is always to go for the short term advantage and don't care about our promises. Therefore, work on keeping EVERY commitment, especially the ones you make to yourself. Most people are extremely careless with their own commitments.
3. Personal Growth. Soak up knowledge, ideas and inspiration from top experts every day. Use all channels like books, articles, audio courses, video courses, mastermind groups, conferences and much more. I'll tell you from my own experience: daily personal growth is a habit.

So go ahead: Create your training plan for your mental fitness and train daily. The best thing to do is to get a coach who will constantly remind you and support you.

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

Personalized digital offerings with high utility value that are already merging with consumers' everyday lives: this is just one of the important technology trends currently under discussion. At the same time, providers of such offerings are transforming themselves into agile "intelligent companies" through the feedback of acquired data. This is underpinned by a study on which the Technology Vision is based, conducted by the consulting firm Accenture among 6,300 business and IT decision-makers worldwide. According to the study, more than four out of five respondents (84 percent) are of the opinion that, thanks to technology, companies now play an important role in people's everyday lives. Among other things, reference is made here to the growing influence of AI-based voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa, which are already integrated into many products and are thus also gaining relevance in more and more situations in daily life.

Providers must assume more responsibility

However, this presents companies with new challenges in the area of tension between future growth opportunities and greater social responsibility resulting from the ubiquity of technology. The more seamlessly technology becomes integrated into our private and professional lives, the more important it becomes for companies to redefine their relationship with customers and business partners and to focus on the responsible use of technology. "Information technology is now an integral part of our lives and is therefore also changing work and society," says Marc Zollinger, Head of Technology at Accenture Switzerland. "The greater the impact of digital innovations on our everyday lives, the more important it becomes for providers of corresponding services and technologies to take responsibility. On the one hand, this means that companies have to solicit more trust from customers and stand up for transparency. On the other hand, customers must become accustomed to sharing personal information if they want to derive maximum benefit from digital services."

The Technology Vision also describes how the relationship between companies and consumers is changing from a one-way street to a highway on which data is exchanged in both directions. Whereas consumers were previously primarily passive users of products and services, they now use their data to contribute to their functioning and continuous further development. This development enables companies to engage in "integrated innovation," but requires a trusting, partnership-based relationship between the players that goes far beyond the purely functional value of products. Shared goals and values will shape the relationship between companies and individual customers much more strongly in the future. This requires the right management in the companies.

The five technology trends for business

To fulfill their social responsibility and build new partnerships in the digital ecosystem, companies should take these five technology trends in particular to heart:

1. AI for all: advancing artificial intelligence (AI) for business and society. The better artificial intelligence works, the greater its influence on people's everyday lives. For companies whose business models are increasingly based on AI, this means fulfilling their social responsibility and defining clear rules about what AI can and cannot do.
2. Augmented reality: the end of distances. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are increasingly blurring the boundaries between the real and virtual worlds. These technologies are thus changing the way people live and work and leveling spatial distances.
3. Data accuracy: the importance of trust. The more companies' business models rely on data, the greater a new form of vulnerability becomes: incorrect, manipulated, and biased data that leads to flawed business insights and biased decisions with a significant impact on society. The best way for companies to meet this challenge is on two tracks, by paying even closer attention to correct data sets while reducing incentives for manipulation.
4. Boundless business: partnership on a grand scale. Companies depend on technology-based partnerships across industries to grow, but their own legacy systems are not built to support such ecosystems of partners. Tomorrow's leading companies will be those that seek and enable partnerships on a large scale today, but design their internal systems and processes early to do so
5. Internet of thought: creating smart environments. Companies have high expectations for intelligent environments created through robotics, AI, and immersive experiences. To bring these intelligent environments to life, companies must not only educate their employees and build new capabilities, but also update their enterprise IT.

"With the rapid spread of new technologies, the role of companies is also changing: They are increasingly transforming themselves from pure suppliers to partners in a comprehensive innovation process, developing new solutions together with customers, employees, research institutions and other companies," continues Marc Zollinger. "Thanks to this networking with a wide range of players and the resulting stronger anchoring in society, trust in companies is also growing. In this way, they are laying the foundation for tomorrow's growth."

More information on this year's study: www.accenture.com/de-de/insight-technology-trends-2018.

How satisfied are employees in their jobs? And how willing are they to change jobs? This is what the online network XING wanted to find out and surveyed around 500 working people in German-speaking Switzerland.

More than half of boys would change jobs in 2018

85 percent of respondents said they were very or somewhat satisfied with their current job. Only 6 percent were really dissatisfied. The survey found that this positive picture was evident across all genders and age groups. But even if the vast majority like their current job, 30 percent of Swiss employees would be open to a change, and another 10 percent have already taken concrete steps. Younger employees are particularly keen to change jobs: at 60 percent, well over half of 18- to 29-year-olds are prepared to change their job this year.

Job search in Switzerland is a local affair

According to the GIM study, an important criterion when choosing a job is the place of work. Four out of ten respondents would like a job at their own place of residence. 51 percent would still be willing to travel a maximum of 50 kilometers to work. Overall, men and full-time employees are willing to travel somewhat further for work than women and part-time employees. Only very few are drawn beyond the country's borders: Just 3 percent would leave Switzerland for a job.

Job search: Swiss use their personal network

When looking for a new job, Swiss people most frequently obtain information from acquaintances, friends or family members: Almost two-thirds use their personal network to look for a job. This is followed by general job exchanges on the Internet (58 percent) and specialized job portals (56 percent). Companies can take advantage of this fact by actively integrating their employees' personal online networks into their e-recruiting strategy. "Taking advantage of such new opportunities is particularly urgent at a time when there is a shortage of skilled workers and full employment," says Yves Schneuwly, Managing Director of XING Switzerland.

Top desired employers among Swiss XING users: Swisscom, Migros and SBB

A recent analysis of the employers of choice entered in XING profiles shows the most frequently mentioned Swiss companies:

1. Swisscom
2. Federation of Migros Cooperatives
3. SBB CFF FFS
4. Roche
5. UBS
6. ABB
7. The Swiss Post
8. Credit Suisse
9. Swiss International Air Lines
10. Federal Administration

As expected, big names with high appeal are found at the top of the list. "The larger Swiss companies in particular, which stand for progressive working conditions, enjoy the status of employer of choice among employees. Despite their size, these companies are well anchored locally," says Yves Schneuwly. To make it easier for smaller Swiss companies to identify who is interested in working at their company, XING has set up a desired employer function. In this way, the search for the "perfect match" can be targeted.

Source: www.xing.com

Searching for content on the Internet has improved significantly in recent years. Not so on the company intranet: here, time seems to have stood still in many places. It is still difficult to distinguish the essential results here from numerous superfluous search results - almost like in the early days of the Internet. These problems are constantly getting worse with the exponentially growing amount of data in companies: Every two years, the amount of data available in the company doubles. For employees, the search thus becomes a search for a needle in a haystack.

Swiss search engine for intranet

Now Swisscom, together with the Swiss software provider Hulbee, is launching a central solution that massively simplifies finding relevant documents - regardless of where they are stored - within the company itself, making it comparable to searching the Internet. "Enterprise Search" is - as it is called - a flexible and scalable solution that can be implemented not only internally, but also on the company's own website or external online store. The advantage for companies: They can tailor the search to their needs and have the guarantee of not finding external advertising in the results. In addition, the customer chooses whether to use "Enterprise Search" hosted in Swisscom data centers or on-premise on the company's own servers.

20 percent more productive

Until now, one of the few solutions for companies was the "Google Search Appliance": a hardware solution for using Google search technology for your own intranet. But this product will be taken off the market this year. The need for new in-house search solutions is therefore great. Not least because poor internal search reduces productivity massively: employees spend up to one fifth of their working time searching for internal information. While many companies have recognized this - with newly introduced document filing systems, however, they have achieved exactly the opposite: ever new filing locations, different file formats and often parallel cloud services only make the search even more confusing. Andreas Wiebe, CEO of Hulbee AG, says: "Although there are approaches to solutions, they often fail to establish themselves due to a lack of user-friendliness. The reason for this is simple: In private life, people are used to querying the search engine even for addresses and domain names. Why should one switch back to directories and filing systems in the professional world? We want to close this gap with our offer".

"Enterprise Search" focuses on intuitive use for the employee, which leads quickly and reliably to the target: Regardless of the storage location and file type, all information is searched and, if desired, automatically summarized. How this works is explained by the CEO of Hulbee in a Video.

More information about the product: www.swisscom.ch/enterprise-search

Coaching is about building a bridge between our current life and our future life. And the coach? He supports his clients in mastering this challenge - among other things, by causing them to self-reflect, which leads to an identification of the causes of the problem and possible solutions.

People can trigger this reflection process in themselves even without professional support. And we increasingly need this competence to master our lives. Because our living environment is changing faster and faster, we have to set a new course in our lives more often.

Key question: What do I want?

A prerequisite for successful self-coaching is that we have the necessary power to do so. This in turn requires that there are "stable zones" in our lives. For example, social relationships that give us support. Or a profession that fulfills us. Such stable zones are extremely important for us as human beings, because they give us the strength to actively shape our lives. If they are missing, we need professional help.

Another prerequisite is that we must not harbor the mistaken belief that there is one right path. And if we find it, we will be happy for the rest of our lives. This path does not exist - also because our needs change in the course of our lives. That's why we have to ask ourselves the questions

• What is important to me?
• What kind of life do I want to lead? And:
• How can I realize it?

over and over again.

Actively shaping life

Self-coaching is based on the assumption: Every healthy person carries the solution to his problems within himself. So, when faced with a challenge, he can find a solution on his own - or with self-organized support.

This assumption is in turn based on the assumption: We construct the world as we experience it to a large extent ourselves - through our way of seeing and evaluating things. This also applies to our problems. Here is an example: Suppose you had changed your job several times in the last few years. Then you might come to the conclusion: I have a problem - namely, going through with a job. But does that have to be the case? Perhaps it is part of your concept of a fulfilled life to regularly try something new professionally? Where is the problem then?

The example shows: We construct many problems ourselves, through our way of evaluating situations and constellations. That is why some problems seem unsolvable to us. It follows from this: If we learn to see and evaluate problems in a new way, they often become solvable.

Have patience

From a neurological point of view, learning is a very tangible process in which new nerve connections are formed in our brain that become stronger and stronger as a result of appropriate impulses. At the beginning, these neural pathways are barely visible trails that gradually become country roads or even highways.

When building up new behavior patterns, we have to expect relapses and phases of apparent standstill - because learning processes often seem to proceed in leaps and bounds. Here's an example. Suppose you were a tennis player and wanted to practice a new stroke. So you practice all afternoon without making much progress. Frustrated, you go home. But a week later, you're back on the court, and suddenly you hit the new shot right away. The reason: While you were apparently doing nothing, your brain continued to work. It established new neuronal connections, replayed the sequences necessary for the shot again and again, and associated them with similar movement patterns. That's why you suddenly succeeded in the stroke.

You will register similar processes during self-coaching. Then, often for weeks, seemingly nothing happens. But then suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, you have the famous flash of inspiration - for example while cooking. That is, you have the solution to the problem in front of your eyes. Because while you were apparently only busy with other things, your brain stayed on the ball. That's why you suddenly know the solution. So, provided you continue to supply your brain with the necessary stimuli, you will also eventually exhibit the desired behavior.

Imagine the future

In order to achieve this goal, it is important to regularly imagine the life you want - in other words, to mentally anticipate the future. Top athletes know the power of imagination. They know it is a very effective tool for approaching a goal step by step.

Henry Ford is credited with the statement, "Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're always right!". It refers to the great influence our expectation has on the outcome - positive and negative. You can test for yourself how much our thoughts influence how we feel.

Imagine biting heartily into a lemon and pay attention to how your body reacts. Your mouth probably puckers just by imagining the sour taste of a lemon. And this only because of a few, imagined words. How great must be the effect when we regularly imagine our future life and take steps in the desired direction?

About the author: Sabine Prohaska is the owner of the consulting company seminar consult prohaska, Vienna (www.seminarconsult.at). Among other things, she is the author of the book "Solution-oriented self-coaching: Getting closer to your goals - step by step".

When it comes to new appointments to the board of directors, increasing overall diversity is a very high priority. This is the result of the semi-annual survey conducted by swissVR in cooperation with the consulting firm Deloitte and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Last November, 448 people from listed companies and SMEs were surveyed. More than three quarters (78%) of the respondents attach high or medium importance to the goal of greater diversity and support the future inclusion of members with new skills and experience or different personality traits on the board of directors. Just under one-fifth of the boards surveyed (19%) already see themselves as well positioned in this respect, and only a very small minority (3%) consider an increase in general diversity when making new appointments to be unimportant.

The second most important priority for new staff appointments cited by 71% of respondents is increasing expertise in digitization and IT. 29% assign a high and 42% a medium importance to this goal. Other target criteria, such as rejuvenating the board of directors or increasing the proportion of women, are considered less important.

Gender distribution vs. diversity

Only a small proportion of respondents sit on boards that already meet the benchmark of 30 percent women for listed companies proposed by the Federal Council and the National Council Commission. According to the survey, the gender distribution is somewhat more balanced in larger boards: on average, 21 percent of board members with six or more members are women, compared with only 10 percent in smaller boards with three to five members. Around two-thirds (64%) of the board members surveyed welcome an increase in the proportion of women on boards in Switzerland, but 91 percent reject a gender quota imposed by law or the articles of association.

Reto Savoia, Deputy CEO of Deloitte Switzerland, interprets the results as follows: "Diversity and gender equity are clearly differentiated by Swiss board members. They have learned that diversity on the steering committee has a positive impact on business success. Equal representation of women on boards, on the other hand, is not a priority. Although the federal government's rather tame quota proposal could probably be implemented without major effort, quotas of any kind continue to meet with fundamental rejection."

HR topics gain in importance

In the third swissVR Monitor, the top issues for boards of directors are once again efficiency enhancement and process optimization (40%). They are also concerned with digitization (38%) and revising corporate strategy (35%). In fourth place, personnel challenges at management level were named. Behind them is the topic of talent management and recruitment, which climbed up from seventh place in August 2017. A year ago, the topic ranked a distant 11th. Also moving up are risk management (25%) and compliance (24%). Participants were able to select the five most important VR topics of the past twelve months from among several dozen.

Time expenditure increased

According to the assessment of many survey participants, the environment for their work has changed relatively significantly within a year. The time required for board activities has increased for more than half of all board members surveyed (56%) in the last twelve months. Even a year ago, a majority of respondents reported an increase in time spent. Exchanges with management have also intensified for more than half of the respondents. Almost one-third also perceive an increase in reputational pressure and shareholder influence over the past year.

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: "The work on the board of directors is becoming more demanding and more time-consuming, as the variety of topics and the formalism are also increasing. The tasks have long since ceased to be limited to defining strategy and appointing management. This is also reflected in the large number of topics named as top issues by respondents to the swissVR Monitor I/2018. Even if the boards of directors respond to this expansion of topics with more diversity on the board, each individual member still has to cope with the broad spectrum of topics if they want to perform their duties seriously."

Boards of Directors assess economic outlook as positive

Most of the board members surveyed (67%) expect the Swiss economy to develop positively over the next twelve months and are more optimistic than they were six months or a year ago. The overall economic outlook is now viewed slightly more positively than the business outlook for their own company (64%). Board members from the information and communications sector are particularly positive about the future of their company (86%). The assessments for manufacturing and life sciences (66%) are also above average.

The members of the Board of Directors further assessed the current and future importance of external factors for their company on a scale of 1 to 5. The highest current importance is assigned to economic development in Switzerland (4.0) and economic development abroad (3.5). Both factors are also forecast to improve in the future (43% and 41% of respondents, respectively).

Using earnings sustainably

Board members also attach relatively high importance (3.4) to the exchange rate of the Swiss franc against the euro and the US dollar. Just under a third of respondents also expect the Swiss franc to strengthen, while just under a third anticipate a weaker Swiss currency. Interest rates (3.2) and inflation (3.0) are considered to be of medium importance. A majority of respondents expect both variables to rise.

Prof. Dr. Dr. Christian Wunderlin, President swissVR, on the outlook and general conditions: "While many companies consider themselves more successful than the industry average, they do not believe that they will grow much faster than the general economy in the process. All in all, the outlook is very positive and the general conditions for companies are better than they have been for a long time. The task now is to use the earnings generated to actively strengthen our sustainable positioning. Investing in people and their education is a key pillar of this."

Source: swissVR Monitor

Small and medium-sized enterprises face greater challenges when it comes to digitization. Day-to-day business suffers due to administrative work. There is a lack of time and knowledge to simplify the administrative work and digitize the business. The newly founded organization Swiss21.org has therefore set itself the goal of providing Swiss startups and small businesses with a free overall solution. It operates a cloud infrastructure in Switzerland and provides users with software for accounting, a CRM solution, an online store, simple time tracking and an online cash register including a solution for invoicing.

Sustainable free of charge for small businesses

For up to 2,100 invoices/year, 2,100 items in the store, 2,100 contacts and 21 users, the offer is free of charge for the entrepreneur. This ensures that no costs are incurred in a start-up phase or in the case of smaller organizations, even in the longer term. The software providers involved have committed themselves to maintaining the free use over the longer term. If a user exceeds these limits, CHF 21/month will be charged for up to 5,000 invoices/year, 5,000 articles or 5,000 contacts. A change to another system is possible at any time and the data can be exported.

Broadly supported by renowned partners

Several well-known companies are involved in Swiss21.org, such as Abacus Research AG, Fasoon AG, Glarotech GmbH and Orphis AG. More companies will be added to expand the offering, especially with industry-specific cloud solutions. The management was transferred to Fasoon AG in Appenzell. Swiss21.org is financed primarily through advertising: partners can use the platform for advertising purposes (banner ads). Data sovereignty always remains with the user. To ensure all requirements are met, those responsible are in contact with the Swiss Federal Data Protection Commissioner.

St. Galler Kantonalbank was the first financial institution to become a partner: "As the 'first bank' for SMEs, we support this innovative platform out of conviction. It promotes digitization among small businesses and stands for lean, efficient and end-to-end processes," says Albert Koller, Head of Private and Business Customers and member of the Executive Board.

Competitive advantage for Swiss companies

The Swiss21.org initiative sees its main task as supporting Swiss companies in digitizing their business processes. It is also widely accepted by business representatives, associations and government officials, according to the statement: "I welcome any initiative that relieves Swiss SMEs and startups of administrative work and supports them in digitization. This is how we strengthen Switzerland as a business location and secure jobs," says Federal Councilor Johann Schneider-Ammann, head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER). The platform for small businesses and startups also receives support from the KMU Schweiz foundation. The president of the foundation's board of trustees, Hans-Ulrich Bigler, describes Swiss21.org as a "valuable contribution to promoting the digitalization of the SME economy. And Bruno Sauter, Head of the Office for Economy and Labor of the Canton of Zurich, sees great advantages for startups in particular with the launch of the free platform: "In the course of digitization, companies of all sizes must ensure their accessibility and efficient administration, but the cost consequences weigh heavier for startups and SMEs. I very much welcome the fact that the Swiss21.org initiative has recognized this fundamental need and wants to proactively meet it."

Start in spring 2018

The Swiss21.org service will be launched in spring 2018 and will then be available to all SMEs in German-speaking Switzerland. In 2019, the offer will be extended to French-speaking Switzerland, followed by Ticino in 2020. Walter Regli, CEO of Swiss21.org, says: "We are convinced that our non-profit offer will quickly gain broad acceptance and that by the end of 2020, around 10% of all Swiss small businesses will be using the free Swiss21.org solution."

www.swiss21.org

When it comes to digitizing customer relationships, much more could be done. The potential for innovation is particularly great in the insurance industry (including health insurers), but banks also have some catching up to do in some areas. These are some of the key findings from a survey conducted in Switzerland and Germany by the market research company GFK on behalf of the digitalization specialist ti&m. For this purpose, around 1,500 German-speaking Swiss and people in Germany aged between 15 and 75 were surveyed online in October 2017.

Online banking at the top

The frontrunner among digitized services in Switzerland is online banking: 91 percent of survey participants use a corresponding service. Online ticketing (75 percent) and online payment (73) also enjoy high acceptance. The positioning of these services, which have been available for some time, shows that processes cannot be transformed overnight. Their implementation takes time and patience. Digital customer contact between citizens and the administration is somewhat less advanced: at least three out of five respondents complete their tax returns online and 54 percent use an online counter for transactions with public offices. Even less use is made of the insurance industry's digital services, such as online processing of claims notifications (42 percent) and benefit statements (39 percent).

Insurers lagging behind in innovation

In addition to the pure use of the services, the study also examined the extent to which the services subjectively simplify customers' everyday lives and how satisfied they are with the current implementation. A comparison of these values clearly shows where the greatest potential for digitization is hidden. According to the study, mobile banking and payment as well as personal finance management offer the best growth opportunities. The insurance sector is lagging far behind in terms of innovation: Here, many customers would like to see additional offerings, which are still largely lacking today.

Further potential for improvement is revealed in cross-industry digital customer service topics such as onboarding (i.e., new customer intake), customer portal, chat, and making appointments. The biggest gap between desire and reality is found in e-voting. Over seventy percent of survey participants would like to vote and elect online, but only four percent are able to do so - this indicates a clear mandate to policymakers.

On the whole, high satisfaction with regard to customer relations

The survey also shows which providers score well with customers. Customers of St.Galler Kantonalbank are the most satisfied with online banking, but this financial institution does not (yet) offer mobile banking. When it comes to mobile banking, Zürcher Kantonalbank and Raiffeisen come out on top ex aequo. When it comes to online claims reporting to insurance companies, customers of Die Mobiliar were the most satisfied, while Visana's solution seems to be the most convincing when it comes to online billing for health insurance benefits. Overall, it can be seen that customers are largely satisfied with the digitized offerings - but there is still room for improvement everywhere in terms of digitized customer relationships.

The study also makes it clear that there is a discrepancy between the sexes in the use of online services: All the services studied are used more by men than by women. "Up to now, digitization seems to be mainly a popular buzzword among strategy consultants," says Thomas Wüst, founder and CEO of ti&m. "The study finally dares to get up close and personal with the users and beneficiaries of the new digital services. And it separates the wheat from the chaff, because it shows what is useful, necessary and desirable - from the customer's point of view."

Source: www.ti8m.com

Improving agility is a top priority for SME leaders in Europe looking to take advantage of a digitally-enabled workplace. According to a recent study commissioned by Ricoh Europe, the majority of SME executives surveyed in Switzerland (87 %) said they are actively focusing on improving business agility in 2018.

Technology for more agility

More than half of survey respondents (57 %) are adopting new technology specifically to respond more quickly to trends and opportunities, while 76 % say they would fail within 5 years without the benefits of updated workplace technology. Decision makers in small and midsize businesses clearly prefer technology that directly addresses key employee needs. They believe automation (63 %), data analytics (51 %), document management (51 %) and video conferencing (59 %) will have the strongest positive impact on their business.

Javier Diez-Aguirre, VP Corporate Marketing, Ricoh Europe comments: "The European SME community is extremely ambitious. Due to challenging market conditions, business leaders are rightly keen to discover new opportunities early and take maximum advantage of them. They know that staying agile is essential to profitably capitalize on changes in the marketplace, and they appreciate the role of technology in doing so. Of course, agility is high on the agenda of small and medium-sized enterprises, and business leaders don't just see it as an issue for larger competitors."

Pragmatism instead of hypes

The benefits of smarter workplace technology in terms of productivity and innovation are seen as a critical factor for business success. 72 % of respondents said their company's ability to succeed is based on technology and showed strong confidence in the value of a digitally-enabled workplace.

Diez-Aguirre adds, "SME leaders are not blinded by the hype around technologies like virtual reality and blockchain. Instead, they are choosing carefully and prioritizing investments in tools that have a real positive impact on the bottom line. Those that haven't already must carefully consider how technology can allow their employees to work faster and smarter, making their businesses more agile. Otherwise, they may soon find they are facing extinction as the market evolves without them."

Source: www.ricoh.ch

The debtor, who ordered equipment for the finishing of roll materials such as paper and metal foils (in the Part 1 of this continuation story), but did not pay the invoice despite a reminder, refuses to make the corresponding payment to the creditor. The creditor transfers the case to the collection agency by way of assignment of the claim, whereupon the collection agency contacts the debtor with the aim of achieving a viable result.

From contact to acknowledgement of debt in six steps

1. The debtor is in arrears. He promises the collection company that he is also interested in a solution and asks it to give him the creditor's phone number. "But such contact is no longer necessary," says Jason Glanzmann, director of serviced portfolios at Intrum. "As the creditor's representative, we are now the point of contact. We mediate between the debtor and the creditor. The procedure is agreed upon in advance."
2. How can I then avert the claim against me, the debtor asks himself. The answer: after the debt has been handed over, the Collection service provider a letter is sent to the debtor. There it is stated that the debtor has not paid for the said goods and the creditor requests him to pay the outstanding amount. All payment options are noted in this letter:
   A) He may pay the amount due either with the payment slip enclosed in the letter.
   B) Or he can use the bank details indicated in the footer via e-banking.
   C) In addition, the debtor has the option in "Intrum Web" to pay the amount with his credit card.
3. The debtor is unable to pay the debt immediately and at once. Therefore, he proposes to make an individual payment agreement. "We offer a hand for solutions. If the financial circumstances do not permit payment of the entire invoice amount, we also consider installment payments," emphasizes Jason Glanzmann.
4. At present, the debtor is actually not in a position to settle the total claim with a single payment - only the Installment he sees as a possible way. To express this wish, the defaulting debtor must contact the collection agency - either by phone or via an online form. He should then state by when he can pay the debt - in full or even partially in installments.
5. The debt collection company agrees, as payment by installments is still a sensible way for the creditor to receive the outstanding amount. But the debtor is puzzled and complains why he now has to pay an installment surcharge. "The reason is clear: An installment payment means payment relief for the debtor, but additional expense for us. We have to charge the debtor for this additional effort. In return, he receives a longer payment period than with a one-time payment, so that payment is also realistic," Jason Glanzmann emphasizes.
6. To ensure that these individual payment arrangements are in writing, the debtor should sign a debt acknowledgement. "A debt acknowledgement serves to confirm our specific agreement. In it, the debtor affirms that he accepts the claim and the renegotiated payment modalities," Jason Glanzmann elaborates.

Who is the polluter and who pays the costs?

You will find out whether the debtor settles the outstanding claims and what course the aggrieved company takes in the further course of this continuation story. The fifth and next part deals with the topic of "costs and polluter pays justice".

Contact for more information: Intrum Inc, sales.ch@intrum.ch, +41 44 806 85 57, www.intrum.ch

Click here for part 1

Click here for part 2

Click here for part 3

Launching an innovation lab specifically for the office sector? This was precisely the vision of Björn Ischi, an industrial designer from Biel. Ischi has been advising the office furniture manufacturer Bigla Office for some time, and when he began to support the Biella company in product innovation, the idea became concrete. Not least because the office world is changing due to digitalization and new forms of work such as co-working. Why not actually network companies from the same industry and use the resources of economic strengths and shared know-how and apply them to new and innovative products? To make this idea of innovation visible and tangible, a space was created for it and the "InnOffice Lab" was born.

The InnOffice Lab

The InnOffice Lab consists of the companies Biella from Brügg and Bigla Office from Biglen. Both are traditional Swiss manufacturers of products in the office sector. Biella is the market leader in the manufacture of office supplies and Bigla Office produces office furniture. Together, the companies bring over 200 years of experience in the industry. These resources are now being put to targeted use for customers in the in-house InnOffice Lab on Biella's premises.

In order to shorten structural and work paths, internal processes are to be redefined and merged. Workshops are used in product management to work specifically on a topic, such as digitization or the office of the future, in which new products are created. "The existing innovation processes are expanded through deliberate methodology such as design thinking and is intended to lead abstract ideas more quickly to market-ready products," says Ischi, explaining the procedure in the new innovation lab and adding, "With product presentations, prototyping and live testing on site, speditive influence can be made in the optimization."

Markus Heinzle, Managing Director of Biella Switzerland, fully supports the idea: "The InnOffice Lab should be a successful and efficient platform that the employees of both companies can use to their advantage. They will be able to intervene in product development and optimization right on the spot, while at the same time incorporating knowledge from their own field." Eduard Bähler, Managing Director of Bigla Office, was also enthusiastic from the start: "With the InnOffice Lab, we can develop and improve products in collaboration with our customers. As a result, we are more focused and customer-oriented on the road."

Meet experts in the innovation lab

Both companies are currently using the Innovation Lab for their internal product and business development purposes. Ideas for external use exist. As soon as the InnOffice Lab is established internally, it is planned to open the doors with events and presentations for SMEs and the public under the motto "Meet the Expert". With targeted topics such as "Future Trends", "Co-Working Space" or "Filing with System", inspiration, discussion and networking should be created. Individual solutions could be developed for companies and tested directly by test persons. These and other interesting topics will then be presented to a broad audience.

www.biella.ch

www.bigla-office.ch

Ivo Muri and his family want to devote themselves entirely to time research in the future and are planning to set up their own institute. After more than 20 years, they are therefore selling Zeit AG to Stefan Hermann, who will integrate the company into his networked corporate structure. Stefan Hermann has been anchored in the IT industry for over 20 years and has founded several software companies during this time. The group includes the Sursee-based companies Base-Net Informatik AG, Base-Net Education AG and Base-Net IT Services AG, as well as PEAX AG, which is domiciled in Lucerne. Together with Zeit AG, the group of companies employs over 180 people.

Still independent company with new management

Zeit AG will continue to operate as an independent company, according to a statement on February 12. The integration into the group of companies results in a large number of synergies at the product level, the company adds. The Base-Net companies develop software for banks, insurance companies and schools, and also offer professional cloud services. PEAX specializes in digital services and networked overall systems. Together with the core competencies of Base-Net and PEAX, Zeit AG's products will be more strongly networked, and a unique combination of technology and expertise will be created, the communiqué continues.

The role of Ivo Muri's successor as CEO will be taken over by Stefan Müller. Stefan Müller has been active in the IT industry for over 20 years. According to the company, he has great entrepreneurial know-how, a wealth of experience as a committed leader and is familiar with the latest technologies. After holding various positions at Homegate, Axon Active, Base-Net and PEAX, he is looking forward to leading Zeit AG into an exciting and sustainable future, according to the statement.

Ivo Muri continues to be active as a time researcher

Ivo Muri founded Zeit AG in 1994. Today, his time recording systems are used extensively and have been able to establish themselves as the Swiss market leader. In addition to his entrepreneurial commitment, Ivo Muri is passionate about researching the meaning of time in our society. In his book publications, among others, he has impressively shown how much our understanding of time is tied to the clock and money - and contrasts this understanding with alternative concepts in his reflections. The recently launched series of impulse events www.zeitzeichen.ch serves him as a vessel for the transfer of insights from time research. Together with his wife and his two daughters, who were already active in Zeit AG, he will found a time research and consulting institute called "NOMOS der ZEIT". This will be domiciled at Geuenseestrasse 5 in Sursee from March 1, 2018.

Group of companies:

• www.zeitag.ch
• www.basenet.ch
• www.peax.ch
• www.peax.business