Identity as a success factor for businesses and regional networks

Regional identity

I have personally experienced how important having a clear identity is. In the USA, communication is never without purpose. It serves as a demonstration of politeness and respect. Thus, people are always asked during elevator conversations where they come from. This happened to me during my stay. At the time, I would proudly respond: “From Silicon Valley.” I could see their surprise. The person opposite me was expecting me to tell them about my home country. When I was back in Germany, I found the question difficult to answer. Main-Tauber-Kreis, the area where I live and work, is in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. However, culturally it is Franconian, bordering the state of Bavaria. Many people refer to where I’m from as a rural area. A term I am unhappy with when used to refer to our region, which is full of potential and world market leaders.

As an international businessman, I literally long for a clear identity for my home region. An attractive corporate environment, a dynamic community, and the state of Baden-Württemberg, which is placed at the top, or at least in second place, when it comes to all key criteria, all play important roles in achieving long-term success. The economically very successful European Metropolitan Region of Stuttgart, a concept which many are still unaware of, and which I would like to discuss here, has existed since 1995. From my point of view, this is a fantastic concept, which should be developed further.

Implementation within businesses

How does my company, LAUDA, tackle the subject of identity? For seven years now, LAUDA has been renowned as a world market leader in temperature control equipment and systems. In order to maintain this distinction in the future, we have implemented three key premises, which I would like to share with you.

Firstly, complexity means that doing business today is no walk in the park. The world is difficult to understand. However, the world is also our marketplace, and many industries require exact temperatures. In order to enable us to make intelligent decisions, a small team of experts must process an endless amount of sometimes contradictory information over a short period. Yet, not every intelligent individual works for our company. Therefore, we aim to cross boundaries within business and work with other companies (sometimes even competitors), institutions, and start-ups. We carry out what may appear to be contradictory activities simultaneously so that we can both ensure the security of our core business and test new areas. It is only through open innovation that we are able to accurately organize information and pick up momentum. The first interim conclusion is therefore: in order to make the right decisions, we need to make room for honest collaboration.

Secondly, when asked who the most important competitors are, I often say that our most important competitors are first and foremost ourselves. Long-lasting success can cause us to become complacent, tired, or passive, when actually change is what is needed. This was the case at my company. My team and I started to focus on a company's critical mass. My argument is that in order to have a worldwide presence, every company requires a minimum turnover, number of employees, and profit in order to overcome all the challenges it faces. We set our critical mass at 250 million euros and 1,000 employees and explained this to our staff at many events. Together, we set out on our path to reach this ambitious goal by means of a five-year strategy. The second interim conclusion is therefore: effective change requires a shared sense of urgency and a clear strategy.

Thirdly, four years ago, when I returned home from Silicon Valley, I enthusiastically talked about the methods I learned there. I expected my employees to implement these methods too. Although some of them tried, they did not run with the idea. Bursting with energy I crossed the bridge first and with a head start ran into the jungle. But when I looked back no one else was following.

Why was this? There was no clear image of what the goal was or exact description of where we wanted to be in three, five, or even ten years’ time. We had failed to implement a system that would monitor, on a monthly, yearly, and continuous basis, the initiatives put in place to achieve this goal. No one knew why we were doing this or what we wanted to achieve with it. The wider concepts were unclear. I worked with my team on defining why our activity is important and why we have a social significance. We established that all the industries we were working with were making the world a better place, whether this be through vaccine production, battery powered electric mobility or hydrogen powered mobility, or cooling during heart surgery. So, what was our goal? “Together we improve the world with precise temperatures.” Accordingly, the third interim conclusion is: in order to meaningfully develop our strengths, all those involved need to be acting towards a single common goal.

Instructions for regional networks

What does this mean for the European Metropolitan Region of Stuttgart? This is the same question that those in charge are also facing. What they need is honest collaboration, a sense of urgency, and a single common goal. I would like to call for three things:

Practice honest collaboration. Working together is worth it. Problems will not be solved from within our own bubble. Efficiently connect with productive partners. Receive honest feedback from other businesspeople. Get to know what it is that Gen-Z wants, because they are the ones shaping the future and their perspectives differ from those of their parents.

Collaboration within geographical areas should enable small regional units and larger interregional groups to grow at the same time. In concrete terms, this includes towns, counties, German states, nations and associations of states simultaneously. Within these, networks such as metropolitan regions are also implicated. Collaboration means being both a village and a metropolitan region. It’s a matter of this and that. Combine your own strengths with the power of the community. This is why regions that have potential such as the Main-Tauber-Kreis region are needed. Since they connect metropolises like Stuttgart with other regions.

Secondly, maintain a sense of urgency. Initial successes are double-edged as they often encourage you to take your foot off the gas pedal. Beware of euphoria. Instead, because solutions need to be developed together within the company, you need to be increasing the pace. Businesspeople have long been aware of this. They do not wait for help to arrive but rather take action themselves.

Finally, we come to the all-important goal. Please take note of the following: you start working on your initiatives before you have completely set out your goal. Thus, develop a common goal, a vision.

Your goal should be “a conceivable image of the future,” an ambitious description of, for example, what the European Metropolitan Region of Stuttgart will ideally be known for in five years’ time for example.

Is it the classic automobile? Surely not. Is it going to be exclusively known for artificial intelligence? If so, something will have been lost. Will it be start-ups? Unfortunately, others are already stronger in this department. Or is the European Metropolitan Region of Stuttgart going to be known as a wonderful diverse region in the heart of Europe with excellent infrastructure? That sounds better and is definitely part of it. But this is also the case for Bavaria. The culture of Bavaria is recognized throughout the world for its unique character. Ask yourself how this goal is relevant to young people and how it clearly distinguishes the area from other regions.

And a final word on the term of the “European Metropolitan Region of Stuttgart” or of EMRS for short. Be honest! It is not easy to say. Names need to be clear and relate back to the overall goal. Logos need to have a concrete link to the name. Please be aware that, for example, the Main-Tauber-Kreis region belongs to the Metropolitan Region of Stuttgart. A good idea would be to use a term that highlights what makes the region special as well as its unique strength. Semiconductors are made from silicon. In 1971, the Journalist Don. C. Hoefler, referred in passing to the area of California as Silicon Valley. The name has stuck.

In my opinion, the questions we need to ask are: what is special about the European Metropolitan Region of Stuttgart? What connects the individual regions and will make the area distinctive and successful in the future?

Over the last few years, stakeholders in the European Metropolitan Region of Stuttgart have already made important steps. My wish is: keep going. Agree upon a striking and distinctive profile for the European Metropolitan Region of Stuttgart and give it a catchy name.