Reality or friction: will Switzerland still exist in 2030?
At the KMU Swiss Forum on March 21 in Trafo Baden, the focus was on future scenarios and what our working world and Switzerland could look like. How much of this will be reality, fiction or even associated with frictions was discussed by various speakers.
Challenges 2030: Reality or friction? No, that's not a spelling mistake: The KMU Swiss Forum on March 21 at the Trafo Baden was actually about this topic. Because the reality in which SMEs operate today is VUKA, i.e. characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. It goes without saying that friction is almost inevitable. According to organizer Armin Baumann in the conference brochure, the world is open to those who can best deal with it.
Decide and innovate
The conference topic was treated from different aspects by the speakers. The decision architect Reto Blum set a first point: His presentation was about the topic "Decisions". "Those who do not decide, others decide for them", was his introduction. Using vivid examples, he was able to show that we humans still often decide intuitively. "We are too lazy to think," the speaker concluded. He pointed out that humans develop linearly, but technology develops exponentially. This leads to us being paralyzed and preferring to remain in the status quo.
This future: It will be stark, said Jürg Zwahlen, Chairman of the Board of Birchmeier Sprühtechnik. Humans will increasingly struggle with the speed of exponential technology. A paradigm shift away from preservationists to change agents is now necessary. And for change, innovation is imperative. He showed how his company is tackling this with the new development of a sprayer with electronic spray jet control. This innovation was only possible through cooperation with know-how providers outside the company. And this is precisely the concept with which Switzerland must reinvent itself: By networking competencies.
Reality or friction in matters of law and money
In the next presentation, Mascha Santschi Kallay addressed a completely different reality. The new media sometimes lead to things getting into the public domain that no company likes to talk about, e.g. ongoing court cases. Media reports show almost daily how clumsy communication about criminal cases can damage the reputation of individuals or companies. However, the so-called principle of judicial publicity is part of every functioning constitutional state, which is why it is also important to communicate unpleasant things professionally.
Fritz Zurbrügg, Vice Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, is convinced that Switzerland will still be a successful model in 2030. The Swiss economy has repeatedly shown itself to be very resilient despite crises. The independence of the National Bank has made a decisive contribution to this. By enforcing price stability with all means at its disposal - even by entering the new territory of negative interest rates in the meantime - the successful Swiss model will continue to endure.
Disruption on all channels
"Disrupt yourself" - that was the title of the contribution by TV business journalist Patrizia Laeri, who regularly writes about the opportunities of digitization in her blog #aufbruch. She showed the audience how social media can be used as recruitment platforms, for example, and function as simple Big Data analysis tools. She also pointed out the importance of storytelling - "nothing works without content" - but also that it is still necessary to play the offline channel as well.
Andreas Münch, responsible for logistics, IT, buildings/infrastructure/facility management and transport at Migros, spoke about the transformation in retail. A look at the company's history showed that Migros has always been disruptive. He described the first sales carts of 1925 as "Mobile Shopping 1.0." Today, on the other hand, it's about "Everywhere commerce." And that poses major challenges for logistics. Today, algorithms are already able to anticipate consumer needs through predictive analytics and provide goods accordingly. And shopping in stores without staff or even completely virtually from home is no longer just a dream of the future. However, the extent to which such convenience has to be bought at the cost of privacy also needs to be discussed.
Sport and powerful security
The afternoon was initially dominated by skiing. Urs Lehmann, President of Swiss-Ski, explained how the ski association has steadily professionalized itself in recent years. "The athlete is at the center, not the official," Lehmann said. How ski stars today are individual entrepreneurs in their own right was then discussed on the podium with Bruno Kernen and Marco Odermatt. According to Kernen, the beauty of the sport is that you can turn a hobby into a profession. However, he also let it be known that after the end of the sports career, a new life begins where you have to take many things into your own hands again. He hoped that the association would develop new solutions.
Finally, the last speaker was Philipp Rebord, head of the army. He began by thanking all SMEs, because it is they who make a militia army possible in the first place. He also explained the further development of the army and how it intends to prepare itself for new threats - especially in the area of cyber war. Of course, Rebord also touched on the ongoing discussion about the procurement of new combat aircraft, which will then be in service from 2030 if the entire political process runs without friction.
The KMU Swiss Forum was once again moderated by Hugo Bigi. The event was concluded once again this year with a "public part" at the invitation of the Baden City Council in partnership with the Trafo Baden Congress Center and KMU Swiss.
