Business Talk: From traffic jams to AI and Gen Z to sustainable maintenance

Six current topics, presented in so-called "speed speeches": this was the central theme of the Business Talk, which took place on the evening of November 7, 2023 at the premises of FELFEL AG in Zurich. The initiator and "inventor" of this innovative event format is Barbara Rüttimann, owner of rb Rüttimann consulting. For the third time, the small but excellent event was held with around 50 participants - all C-level representatives from well-known SMEs. 

True to the motto "You can talk about anything but ten minutes", the speakers briefly presented their theses on the following topics in a kind of "business slam poetry":

• For a better world - shaping a future-oriented working environment & corporate culture, Ladina Schaffhauser, Senior Acquisition Manager at FELFEL Among other things, she emphasized the importance of hospitality not only for guests and customers, but also for employees. Beautiful workspaces, internal events and a business geared towards sustainability are all part of this.
• Net zero: How do banks fulfill their social responsibility? Yvonne Suter, Head Sustainability, Bank Julius Baer & Co. LTD. She regretted that many people are still not sufficiently aware of the consequences of climate change. The economic impact is also undeniable: 44 trillion US dollars depend on an intact environment, according to the speaker. Accordingly, everyone - politicians, businesses, including banks, and consumers - are jointly called upon to make a contribution to ensuring that our planet remains habitable. 
• Lead with the next generation in mind: Karin Mannhart, Responsible for Switzerland, and Sophia Gampp, Head of the International Students' Committee (ISC), from the St.Gallen Symposium chose a dialogical form for their presentation on Generation Z, to which they also belong. They did not hide the fact that this young generation is sometimes polarizing. But this should also be understood as a call for Generation Z to be part of future solutions and not just a "human resource". However, there are currently too few great role models who can be followed with confidence.
• Mobility & Sustainability : Congestion logic at the Gotthard: Logistics expert Peter Acél from Dr. Acél & Partner AG is regularly annoyed when he is stuck in traffic jams. And he is therefore concerned about the causes of the many traffic jams. For him, one of the main reasons is political failure, because where many interest groups sit around the same table, there are too many profiteers. Although experts have scientifically supported solutions at hand, they are not listened to enough, the speaker regretted.
• 55 years of sustainability & innovation with machines for cotton buds and cotton pads, Guy Petignat, President & Managing Director, Falu AG: He took aim at the decreasing product lifespan of appliances and machines. Why is it no longer worth repairing a coffee machine, even if only a small part needs to be replaced? In contrast, Falu AG has set itself the task of guaranteeing the availability of spare parts for all its machines for the rest of their lives - even if they are decades old. 
• The paradox of artificial intelligence (AI): Matthias Zehnder, author and media scientist, owner of MatthiasZehnder.ch AG, pointed out three effects that make life with AI more complicated rather than easier. The "parrot effect" means that ChatGPT, for example, delivers "a lot of nonsense" because it has the linguistic characters under control, but not their meaning. The "black box effect" is demonstrated by the fact that we don't know what the "parrot" ChatGPT needs to babble. And the "assistance effect" lies in the limits of AI: as soon as things get complicated, humans still have to intervene. This ultimately leads to our work becoming increasingly complex.

In the end, the winner of this "Speed Speech" competition was chosen by a public vote. The winner was Guy Petignat, Managing Director of Falu AG, who impressed the audience with his practical approach. He was awarded the winner's prize - donated by Emil Frey AG. He was followed by the representatives of the St.Gallen Symposium. All presentations were a real eye-catcher and live experience without any digital support. The guests were delighted - also with the tasty aperitif riche, naturally from the kitchens of FELFEL...

A new edition of the event is planned for 2024. Further information: Barbara Rüttimann, www.rbconsulting.info