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Management at a Glance A service provided by

www.kraus-partner.eu

Issue XXIII, February 2016

Table of Contents

Topic of the Month The power of the “One” 2

Trends & FactsAgile Column – transparent salaries 4Not without my smartphone 6The top online tutorial topics 6

Section 42 7

Book Recommendation 7

On our own Behalf New X-Lab Change Safari 8

Quote of the Month 8

Imprint 8

Editor̀ s letter

Dear business partners,friends and colleagues,

Meanwhile the business year is

once again in full flow. We are

delighted to be working on a

whole host of interesting chan-

ge projects. I would like to take

the opportunity to sincerely

thank you for your trust and the

partnership that we have been

able to enjoy over the past year.

This is what makes work fun!

We are full of enthusiasm for

the year ahead.

Alongside our current client projects, our X-Lab team are

fervently working on our new “Change Safari” X-Lab. The

“Change Safari” X-Lab will take place on 14 April and 16

June at the zoo, Tierpark Hagenbeck, in Hamburg. The loca-

tion is so special that we will have to work really hard to

keep you on topic. ;-) But we will manage! This much I can

reveal to you about our amazing location – we will end the

day with dinner in the shark atoll. Have a look at our web-

site for more information and book your place as soon as

you can. Registration is already open and places are of

course limited.

In our leading article of this issue we look at “the power of

the One”. In my work with businesses of all kinds across a

range of industries, I notice time and again how there are

many, many good managers and doers, but one species

is very rare. I call them “the One”. By this I mean people

who are really good leaders and visionaries in one. I al-

ways love coming across one of these people because I am

convinced that every groundbreaking change or renewal

needs “the One”. Let us talk about it!

I hope you enjoy reading our newsletter and we wish you

all the very best, personally and professionally, for the

New Year,

Georg Kraus

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Management at a Glance

Topic of the Month

The power of the “One”

Many businesses have plenty of good managers and doers,

but sadly far too few leaders who use their vision to moti-

vate others to think and do things in a genuinely new way.

“People who have visions should go and see a doctor.” The

former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, who sadly pas-

sed away in November 2015, is rumoured to have uttered

this phrase during his 1980 election campaign. Pragmatic.

Practical. Down-to-earth.

This may be true in some fields. In politics, for example,

down-to-earth pragmatism – instead of party political waffle

– is often refreshing. That was what made “Schmidt the Lip”

so popular. But in my work with managers and senior lea-

ders I encounter too much down-to-earth pragmatism. Most

of the people I come across here are solid doers trying to

achieve change with more of the same. It is a rare thing that I

come across people who jettison the old for the new and are

passionate about these new solutions and ideas, and drive

them forward energetically.

– people who have caught the bug – to create something

new, something special. But the ignition spark generally

comes from one person, “the One”. This person has an un-

tameable urge to make something happen, and they have

the courage to break with custom, because they have a vi-

sion. This person is also carried by the conviction that “I (or

we) can do it”, and this also enables them to inspire other

people and pass on the bug to them.

It is my belief that every groundbreaking change or rene-

wal needs “the One”. We see this in art. Here, creative po-

wer is individual. Take Leonardo da Vinci, for example, one

of the most famous polymaths of all time. Could his oeuvre

have come to be through teamwork? Probably not! But all

the same, would he not have been able to inspire at least a

few individuals with his persona and his ideas, he would not

have found any patrons. And many of his works would >>>

What is more, the men and women I meet in my Ma-

nagement training and coaching are, almost exclusively

highly-qualified and highly-engaged managers. But many

of them are first and foremost managers – maintainers

and administrators. Only a tiny percentage has or demon-

strates the potential not only to manage the area assigned

to them, but to actively shape it. And only very few have

the courage to break the pattern and create something re-

ally new. These individuals instantly stand out with their

analytical intelligence, their boundless energy for changing

things and getting them moving, and the self-assurance

with which they hold their convictions.

The ignition spark needed for change

These are the potential leaders who drive organisations

forward in their development, provided they have an addi-

tional ability – they want and are able to infect other people

with their thinking and ideas. Secretly, I call these people

“the One”, even though there are usually several of the-

se characters in larger organisations. And I am delighted

every time I meet one of these characters. Because they

fascinate and infect me as well.

But why do I call these men and women “the One”? I real-

ly believe that it is usually individuals who make the diffe-

rence, whether it is on a business, unit or team level. And

of course this One always needs people joining the cause

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Management at a Glance

>>> never have been created. Or would we have Michelan-

gelo’s David if the sculptor had been part of a group? Pro-

bably not! But Michelangelo, too, needed (financial) suppor-

ters who believed in him. Otherwise neither the sculpture

David nor the ceiling frescoes of the Sistine Chapel would

have been created. Nevertheless, the groundbreaking inno-

vations in art are primarily the result of individual creation.

Not all visionaries are leaders

But what about when it comes to groundbreaking change

in societies and in social systems such as companies? Does

the individual always signpost change here too? Would

Christianity have been created without Jesus for example?

Surely not! But if the visionary – Jesus – had not also been

a leader capable of enthusing other people to follow him

and his ideas, he would not have found any disciples. And

without the 12 apostles, his ideas would not have spread.

Then Christianity would not exist as a world religion, and

no one would remember the person of Jesus today.

This leads us to two questions:

1. How do visions come about? And…

2. How do visionaries find enough “disciples” – people who

have caught the bug of their ideas – so their visions beco-

me viable plans?

I believe lots of people have visions every now and then –

in the sense that Schmidt spoke of. Because every person

has the ability to think up something new and combine the

familiar into a new form. But visions only become infectious

when they take possession of a restless spirit, hungry to set

things into motion, to change things, and that are prepared

to take certain risks and make efforts to make them a reality;

and when these people also have the necessary leadership

qualities to infect other people with their ideas. Only then do

visions come to life in social systems such as companies.

The goal – facilitating quantum leaps

I have been observing this in companies for more than 25

years. If there are no leaders with the vision living inside of

them and who want to make something happen, then any

movement towards innovation stagnates. There will be opti-

misations of the existing business or changes within the exis-

ting framework for sure, but groundbreaking renewal that

facilitates quantum leaps? That will never get off the ground!

You know this from your own experience:

• How creative and innovative is a team when none of its

members has leadership qualities?

• How quickly does the energy for change wane in a depart-

ment or unit when no one carries the vision alive inside of

them and no one is driving things forward?

• Does the culture of a business change if there are no

leaders at the top who are leading and setting a good

example? >>>

What does a good manager (know how to) do?

• plan and budget

• organise, and manage staff

• monitor and appraise

• solve problems

• safeguard the quality and the process

A good manager has the ability to reduce complexity

and master it. They guide the organisation’s efficiency,

constantly improving it. Completing the day’s work is

their focus.

What does a good leader (know how to) do?

• They have a vision and provide a long-term

perspective.

• They “mobilise the troops” and inspire their staff.

• They motivate staff, involve them in their way of

thinking and stir up energy.

• They get things moving in the company.

A good leader makes change happen. They are a visi-

onary; they think about the future and take the staff

with them on the journey. They see themselves as the

motor for (quantitative and qualitative) growth in the

company.

Skills of a good manager vs. a good leader

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Management at a Glance

these leaders? Because the wrong people have been de-

veloped or promoted, or because the people with this po-

tential have had their wings clipped? And how do you view

yourself? As a manager or as a leader? Or as a lone voice

in the wilderness – with a vision living inside of, but without

the collective support necessary for it to become a reality?

These are fascinating questions that I would love to discuss

with you in 2016!

Dr. Georg Kraus

Trends & Facts

Agile column – transparent salaries

In the previous issue of Management at a glance we intro-

duced our “agile” column. The first article dealt with me-

thods of “consultative individual decision-making”:

In this issue, we continue our agile column with the topic of

transparent salaries. “Unthinkable!” you say. But why? At

least transparency could be a first easy step. In the 90s, it

was already completely normal in England to hang a price

tag on vacancy notices. If a job was advertised there, every-

one expected the salary to be stated, too. >>>

“Leading” here does not just mean managing staff. I mean

what we call leadership – developing visions, igniting the

flame of excitement in other people, setting direction and

being both the motor and the pilot. Leaders are people

who go ahead and who inspire others as well as being bu-

siness-minded, keeping the top-level goal in sight. They are

able to communicate their ideas, to convince and to enthu-

se. It is this charismatic creative power that is necessary to

be” the One”.

Without “the One”, no fundamental change happens in so-

cial systems such as companies . “The One” provides the

impetus and starts the movement. Everything else follows.

Yes, there is such a thing as collective intelligence. But this

normally only develops when the direction has been provi-

ded by the vision, and it is time to come up with and imple-

ment the plans necessary to reach the goal. Without clear

direction, the collective is clueless.

Infecting people with ideas

But there is no getting round it: There are visionaries who

do not manage to communicate their ideas, and they fail.

Their energy dissipates and they are viewed as eccentrics

in the organisation and not taken seriously. There is a fine

line between workable, forward-looking vision, and fanta-

sy. If a visionary lacks the necessary leadership qualities to

keep at it and take others with them, then their visions are

worthless. It is a different matter if a visionary manages to

communicate their ideas. Then they normally find “discip-

les” too – people willing to join their cause. And the energy

for change that is needed to make something magnificent

happen will be released in the organisation.

But first you need “the One” – someone who sees and

appraises things differently and takes action. How are

things in your company in this regard? Do you have the-

se driving personnel – at the top of the business, at the

unit level, in your departments? If not, why do you not have

Leader

Vision / Purpose

Strategy

Communication

Energy

Initiatives

Talents

Change

Innovation

Opportunities

Manager

Planning

Structure

Organisation

Tasks

Processes

Resources

Improvement

Quality

Rules

Where does the focus of

a manager’s / leader’s attention lie?

vs

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Management at a Glance

>>> Personally, I think that is completely reasonable – how

am I supposed to decide otherwise whether it is worth to

apply? Of course pay is one of my search criteria. If annual

salaries can be published in vacancy notices, then making

the move to providing transparency around all salaries is

not such a big deal after all.

I have spoken to various people at various levels in organi-

sations which have transparent salaries. None of them told

me that they feel disadvantaged by this. Quite the oppo-

site, most staff thinks that there is more fairness due to

the transparency around money. And in many cases, staff

ranks themselves lower than other people do anyway.

Salary transparency requires absolute fairness

The best way is to involve your staff in the decision about

what they view as fair, asking them what everyone should

be earning, and what they feel they should be earning re-

lative to others. Clearly the right salary formula for each

individual firm has to be developed from scratch, but the

parameters are always made up of the following criteria:

Keeping these criteria in view will avoid the “pick a number,

any number” scenario. Excessively high or low assessments

can quickly and easily be identified and corrected. This kind

of employee engagement does of course presume that em-

ployees are familiar with the company figures.

Did you know?

Money makes you happy, but only up to a certain yearly

income. This is what researchers in America found in a

survey conducted there. If the income is above $75,000

(approx. €58,000) per annum, a sort of margin is reached.

Even more money indeed makes people more content,

but not necessarily happier, according to the experts’

report in the “Proceedings” of the National Academy of

Sciences in the US.

It may even be that a downward adjustment of top salari-

es would be palatable against this backdrop, who knows?

A daring proposition… Let us talk about it – send me your

thoughts or opinions: katjavonbergen@krauspartner.de

Katja von Bergen

Criteria for setting salaries

Equality: one vote per person

Need / solidarity: social background,

illness, family size …

Achievement: experience, education, productivity

Proportionality: full-time / part-time

Benefits

• Fair pay structures

• No negotiations or performance appraisals

• Higher motivation

• More trust

• Agile organisational culture becomes possible

Fears• Shame / anger / denial• Salaries will need to be corrected upwards – we cannot afford that• We cannot pay the market rate and will become unattractive as an employer

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Management at a Glance

7%

13%

16%

17%

19%

9%

13%

7%

13%

14%

15%

14%

12%

14%

sofort innerhalb 5 Min. innerhalb 15 Min. innerhalb 30 Min. innerhalb 1 Std. innerhalb 2-3 Std. länger als 3 Std.

Trends & Facts

Not without my smartphone

Around a third of German mobile phone users look at their

smartphone within 15 minutes of waking and 15 minutes

before falling asleep. For 7 per cent, looking at their mobile

is the first and last thing they do every day. And 56 per cent

of respondents check for instant messages, text messages

and emails as the first thing after waking up. Turning on

and off phone alarms was not counted for these purposes.

2,000 adult German mobile phone users were surveyed for

this study in the second half of 2015.

The top online tutorial topics

Manuals and user guides are superseded by Internet tu-

torials according to the BITKOM Future of Consumer Elec-

tronics 2015 survey. In Germany, some 20 million Internet

users have sought advice online from videos. At the top of

the list of online tutorial topics (with 63%) are household

tips on topics such as cooking, baking and stain removal,

closely followed by instructional videos for using technolo-

gy such as computers or smartphones. One in two people

have also viewed a video tutorial on factual or educational

topics.

Quelle: Statista.com, Studie: Deloitte

Erster Blick nach dem Aufwachen

Letzter Blick vor dem Zubettgehen

Sour

ce: S

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2015

Household

Computers & tech

nolo

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63% 57%

Education & le

arni

ng

57%

DIY Spor

t

51% 29%

Mode & make-

up

14%

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immediately within 5 mins within 15 mins within 30 mins within 1 h within 2-3 hs more than 3 hs

First look after waking up

Last look before going to bed

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Management at a Glance

Book Recommendation

Our book recommendation for this issue comes from our

change management consultant Christian Berthold. His

verdict is straightforward – “my absolute favourite book

on change!” But what is it about? 70% of all company

change projects fail because they are not supported and

may even be boycotted. But who or what is responsible for

change? This is the mystery the authors solve bit-by-bit

in this entertaining and informative crime thriller. Agent

McNally is given the task of solving the murder of Mr Ch-

ange in the company. During his investigations, he exami-

nes the alibis of 13 prime suspects, among them Carolina

Culture (discrete, always present, seldom noticed), Clair

Communication (hoarse and hard-of-hearing), Victoria Vi-

Who killed Change of Ken Blanchard, John Britt

and others

ASIN: B019L5BGL6:

Section 42

42 – Answers from our think tank

Speaking of online factual tutorials… In our column 42 we

are searching for answers to questions on the topic of ma-

nagement. Georg Kraus and Kevin Pfander explain Robert

Kaplan and David Norton’s Balanced Scorecard. How do

you translate a business strategy into the day-to-day fun-

ctioning of a company? And which 4 perspectives are im-

portant for success in this field? You will find the answers in

this video. Enjoy! Watch and become smart. Lights, camera,

action!

sion (wears pink glasses), Bailey Budget (super tough), Pe-

ter Performance Management (chronically overworked) and

Aiden Accountability (no sense of responsibility), to name

just a few. The suspect interviews make for a humorous rea-

ding, but their substance perfectly reflects the issues that

make many change projects fail. The last 20 pages of the

book provide a summary of the key questions that readers

ask themselves in regards to their own organisations, and

of what each individual can do better so changes can be

completed successfully.

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Management at a Glance

On our own Behalf

The X-labs (expert laboratories), our event format for im-

proving change competencies that has been successful for

many years, is entering the next round:

X-Lab Change Safari at the zoo, Tierpark Hagenbeck Hamburg, 14 April & 16 June

Together we will be opening up the Wilderness of Change

so it loses its frightening unpredictability and becomes ma-

nageable:

Expedition 1 – Kevin Pfander keynote presentation

An initial journey into the world of barriers to change and

common cultural phenomena such as isolation, strategy

vacuums, lack of leadership, detachment and bureaucracy

fixation.

Expedition 2 – Workshops

Identifying solutions via transfer of experience and best

practice Sharing – survival training in practice

Expedition 3 – Dinner with sharks

Dinner and a final round of discussions in front of the

imposing backdrop of the shark atoll

Armed with rousing ideas, practical tools and a few new

aha moments, you will be ready to get started after our

X-Lab Safari and tackle the next changes with newfound

courage and a spirit of adventure. Join us on the Change

Safari!

We look forward to two days of fantastic expeditions

with you!

Kevin Pfander Ami Prössl Bastian Billerbeck Katja von Bergen Max Leichner Katharina Klink Georg Kraus

powered by Dr. Kraus & Partner

Imprint

DR. KRAUS & PARTNER

The Change Management Consultants

Werner-von-Siemens-Str. 2-6, D-76646 Bruchsal

Tel: +49 (0) 7251-98 90 34, Fax: +49 (0) 7251-98 90 35

Email: info@krauspartner.de

www.krauspartner.eu

Editor: V.i.S.d.P.: Dr. Georg Kraus

Layout: Friederike von Bistram

Issue XXIII, February 2016

Your expedition leaders for the X-Lab Change Safari:

Info: www.kraus-und-partner.de/x-lab/change-safari

Registration: www.kraus-und-partner.de/anmeldung/x-labs

Or by email: annika.huth@krauspartner.de

Questions? Give us a call! Tel: +49 (0) 176 – 327 683 76

Please notice that the X-Lab language is German.

When the wind blows, some build walls, others build windmills.

Chinese proverb

Quote of the Month