Neudenken – the Art of Reimagination

As I was reflecting on my article, I read a great commentary in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung with the title “Richtig digitalisieren heisst neu denken”. The conclusions of the two authors from Avenir Suisse, the Swiss think thank for economic and social issues, are so spot on, I'm happy to build my thoughts on their article.

Coincidently, I’ve decided to devote the next chapter of my articles to #neudenken. It’s German and stands for “to think something in a new way” if you translate it quite literally. Or: It’s the simple act of reimagining something. And I think this aspect is very important for businesses – and Switzerland – in order to innovate.

I guess I have already emphasized repeatedly that for me, the goal of transformation is not simply to digitize what already exists, but to re-imagine the experiences that employees, customers, partners, suppliers, and other stakeholders may have with the company or organization. To do this, you need to challenge the status quo, expand horizons, explore new business models, develop new markets and experiment with new products and services for the benefit of customers – and your bottom line.

There are three statements in the article that I would like to highlight:

“As is so often the case, simplification through technology first requires additional work.” This statement is absolutely true, and I think it is important that we are all aware of the fact that there is no shortcut to success. The responsibility and work cannot simply be delegated or outsourced to a partner. In today's world, every company must become a technology company.

“Proper digitization is always an innovation process.” A bad process digitized is still a bad process. It is a waste of time and resources not to re-imagine the things you digitize – to the benefit of your employees, customers, and society. Therefore, it is important that the transformation is not pushed by IT but driven by the business. This requires that the people who deal with customers, partners and suppliers on a daily basis can assess both the potential and the risks of modern technologies. And it also requires that the people are encouraged to questioning things, empowered by a culture of openness, courage, curiosity, and lifelong learning when it comes to digital transformation.

“Successful digitization often means eliminating old processes without replacement.” This is a very important one, in which the ability to be courageous plays a decisive role. Let's be honest: Aren't we all holding on to processes and practices that we could have scrapped a long time ago? We believe that now is the time to be bold and cut out those old habits. This will certainly not only be appreciated by your customers, but also by your employees, whose work will be simplified and made more efficient.

While the past 24 months have brought us tremendous progress, I am firmly convinced that we are only at the beginning of our journey and have by no means tapped the full potential. There is always work to be done when it comes to improving the stakeholder experience of a company or organization. This is why I think it’s great to be inspired by all the innovation presented at Ignite this week – like further powering the metaverse, using AI for breakthroughs, or hyperconnectivity in a hybrid world. One of the most important raw materials to build the future is data. And one of the most crucial competences in the future is being able to ask the right questions.

The answers to those questions can then be found in the data that has been collected in a responsible and meaningful way – be it from employees or from interactions with customers, partners, employees, and suppliers.

So, my most compelling question to you on this Sunday is: What is your first thing that you do on Monday morning to start your journey of "neudenken"?