What kind of corporate culture do technology companies need?

When I founded asphericon 20 years ago, famous German founders were still called Siemens, Bosch and Porsche. In many companies, these personalities still shape the corporate culture today: technology must inspire, and everything is subordinated to technological advancement. In this context, the extension of the well-known statement "Culture eats strategy for breakfast" – credited to Peter Drucker - by two meals is proving true today: "...technology for lunch and everything else for dinner.".

Particularly against the backdrop of the corona crisis, it is clear how differently companies are doing under the new conditions. While companies in this country rely on government support, Tesla's share price rose 695 percent in 2020, and in Norway more electric cars were sold than combustion vehicles in 2020.

On the surface, this difference in performance is due to faster adaptation of market trends and new technologies. But wouldn't industrial companies also be able to do this with their strong financial background? After all, it is usually startups that disrupt and then overtake them. In my view, the corporate culture is therefore more decisive for innovative strength. I don't endorse everything that Amazon, Tesla and Alphabet are doing. However, they undoubtedly succeed in motivating employees to perform at their best.

asphericon is, of course, much smaller than these tech giants. But we are also thinking about how we can influence our corporate culture in an innovation-friendly way:

1. We want employees to be able and willing to develop their potential.
2. We want our managers with positive leadership.
3. We want to enable and reward continuous learning.

1. We want employees to be able and willing to develop their potential.

Despite all time restrictions, we want to create freedom and open up spaces for discussion. My team and I are currently conducting annual reviews with our employees. In my everyday professional life, I am often an impatient person. I then deliberately put that on hold to allow for open dialog and feedback from both sides - especially about questions like: What drives you? What holds you back? And what can I do as a manager to help you perform at your best as an employee? This feedback culture should not only take place once a year but must be an integral part of regular team meetings. Especially when working from home, joint reflection is essential, promotes team play and thus strengthens the entire team.

I'm convinced that we need to distance ourselves even more from hierarchical organizations. At asphericon we have flat and direct structures. Instead of individual warriors, I demand and promote team thinking. That's why we are currently working on a new approach to compensation that will move us away from solely rewarding individual goals to compensating team performance.

2. We want our managers to lead positively.

Of course, we have made a few mistakes in the 20 years asphericon has been in business. But mistakes are part of our development, and that's the only way we can grow. Therefore, let's allow mistakes and put them at the center of any constructive discussion. For me, the motto is "be soft on the people and hard on the problem". Even in critical situations, always question the things that have worked well! This creates new impulses and strengthens interpersonal relationships with your counterpart. Ultimately, it is never a matter of pointing the finger at someone, but of providing food for thoughts and boosting potentials.

I expect my managers to reward achievements and by no means take them for granted. Celebrating success - a central element of my leadership philosophy. With these moments of happiness, we manage to create motivation and drive for upcoming tasks. Analyze what the success is due to! Reflecting together creates awareness of the path taken and strengthens successful processes.

Finally, when it comes to leadership, the space for development is important to me. "Hire the right people and get out of their way" is an old HR saying. Top talents in particular should not be hindered but encouraged - that's when employers and employees get the most out of each other.

3. We want to enable and reward continuous learning.

As a computer scientist who develops and manufactures optical systems, I know all too well how winding career paths can be. And I had to learn very early that the boss doesn't always know everything better than his own people.

Professional expertise is the basis for further career development, but then we have to create the conditions for individual progress. This involves both personal and professional development and the resulting adjustment of one's own actions. Close the circle by enabling a process of reflection, for example, through regular team meetings. With this meta-perspective, you shed light on the overall process and show what it takes to adapt actions and what challenges need to be overcome.

My conclusion

In his book "10xDNA" Frank Thelen notes that now the age of exponential progress begins, which brings incredible opportunities. We at asphericon want to take advantage of these opportunities and help to shape this future with our products. Only if employees develop their full potential, they can keep pace with these developments. By acting as positive role models, managers should encourage them to break new grounds and think big. In doing so, they must keep pace with technological developments and permanently adapt their learning processes to changing conditions.

These are the adjusting screws that we can change as a company. But at the same time, it is important to me that my employees' lives do not revolve around aspherical optics. I think it's great if their private interests are as varied as the applications of our products - whether it‘s art or music or, as in my case, sports and nutrition.

With these approaches, we as leaders are hopefully doing our part to ensure that asphericon stays in great form and continues to shape the market. But we are not at the end of the road. I therefore look forward to sharing further ideas with you and I‘m grateful for your suggestions.

Your Sven Kiontke