That’s enough of the admin programme!

New crises, new problems, new technologies and new customer needs are also new entrepreneurial opportunities that need to be developed. But which company faces the challenges of our time - and contributes something substantial to their solution - once it has lost its entrepreneurial driving forces? When the management is only oriented towards short-term or political goals, practises one-sided optimisation for efficiency, and strategic planning only covers what they can see in their headlights?

Without entrepreneurial ambition, without vision and innovation, and paralysed by the admin programme, nowadays the future soon comes up short - and the company inevitably falls behind in global competition. At the latest when entire value-added steps are shifted to (cheaper) foreign countries, the employees are also left empty-handed. And that's not how it should be! Companies with too much administration and too little action cannot fulfil their social role as catalysts of problem solving, opportunities and social progress. They are then not available to raise new capital and invest in bold development steps with entrepreneurial expertise.

Investors, entrepreneurs and even politicians know this well: money should never lie idle for lack of good ideas, be stuck in small or apparent innovations in too large proportions or have to seek opportunities abroad. The potential of the fruitful cycle of entrepreneurship, investors, innovation, wealth creation and social progress wants and needs to be exploited - and our companies are the lynchpin for this. They must live up to this role and shift the lever from "A" for autopilot to "Z" for future. Now.

More energy for the “Next Generation of Business”

There is only one direction: the future. We shape it by facing the challenges ahead. By going where we are needed - and where things can quickly become "uncomfortable".

Many entrepreneurs have to radically rethink their business and their companies. From the perspective of the future and its possibilities. As the "next generation of business" - and no longer as a linear continuation of well-trodden paths. They have to open up new development paths for their business; on both a small and a large scale. Act courageously together as a team and also individually in their own field. Be entrepreneurially ambitious and strive to solve the challenges of our time, the problems of our customers - and to drive the generational change of their own business. It takes a lot to do this! At the beginning, however, it definitely needs more space for working on the next generation of the business - in addition to the already demanding day-to-day business. More space for committed and systematic work that thinks the business of tomorrow - instead of being eaten up again and again by the daily challenges.

Creating this future space for more productive energy is not a given. Not in any company. Do the self-test once:

• How much time do you spend working on the next generation of your business? Designing and reviewing future business ideas? Understanding and anticipating the needs of your customers? Developing, prioritising and actually delivering new services?

• And how much time do you spend working in today's business? Administering, controlling, solving problems, resolving conflicts, providing guidance to your staff?

If the time for the "Next Generation Business" of top management is below 50%, the future of many companies in our dynamically changing world is at risk. This is true for many industries today. Digitisation sends its regards. The Corona pandemic is also reinforcing the effect - and has "woken up" many of us. Hardly any company today can rest on yesterday's laurels. We would all be well advised to invest a lot of time, energy and resources in the future of our companies. To give ourselves more room to work on the future. For example, by scheduling fixed "NextGen appointments". And by demanding a "commitment" from our colleagues to actively participate in the next generation of our business - and clearly stating this in the target agreements.

Shaping the future together!

We are firmly convinced of this:

• Together we will best master the ecological, social and societal challenges of our time.

• Together we will create a "Next Generation of Business" - and further expand our prosperity as entrepreneurs, as employees and as a society.

• Together we will also leave our children with a really good framework and perspectives so that they, in turn, can shape their future together.

There is still a lot to be done to make this happen. There is still much to be invented, changed and improved. Our current level of development is therefore not the end of the journey - it is rather the perpetual (new) beginning. Even outside our national borders. Whole continents are only at the beginning of developing social prosperity and hope for a better life. Billions of people who are still far away from what has long been normal for us. Who wants to help here? Who can help here? More joint work for the future for a completely new "generation of business" - will be a central part of the solution.

Author: Bastian Schneider