Using the USA and China as an example, Philipp explained the current and future influences of other nations on companies in Europe.

The Americanization of European culture, which is currently still predominant, will in all likelihood soon be replaced by influences from the Far East. China wants to have ousted the USA in all important places by 2049.

Philipp then went on to provide an in depth explanation of the major challenges the world is facing today and how they are all interconnected in complex ways. 

Tackling them requires collaboration, innovation and, most importantly, leadership at all levels, from individuals and communities to governments and international corporations.

Using concrete examples and future scenarios, Philipp showed how the products are increasingly being developed by the customer. An example of this is the increasingly fluid technology and individual software in vehicles in order to anticipate services for the respective customer and to integrate them if necessary. 

The ultimate goal: useful help instead of gimmicks. If desired, the customer can conveniently bring any special equipment into the vehicle, give the body a new coat of paint at the touch of a button, or adapt the passenger compartment to individual needs, or "simply be driven and relax". All of this is anticipated and implemented tailor-made for each customer. 

What do we mean? We've all bought things that we didn't want in a supermarket before. The offer has created a need. It was the same with smartphones, for example: before smartphones were launched, people didn't know they needed one. Today it is difficult for us to imagine everyday life without a smartphone.

In the future, automobile manufacturers and their digital services will also want to anticipate customer needs before the customer even knows about their needs. In addition, one wants to know and solve the specific requirements of the customers and at the same time comply with the conditions and rules of each market. For the customer, this means that the automobile anticipates their wishes and is increasingly becoming a comprehensive refuge between destination and home.

In the future, customers will also be able to use their car journey to learn more, exchange ideas or simply relax. The tiresome search for a parking space is finally a thing of the past. After we get off right in front of our favorite restaurant where we have arranged to meet friends, our car of the future glides away to park “itself” and activate surveillance mode.

While we "chat" with our friends in the restaurant, our car takes over small tasks for us, such as checking tomorrow's appointment calendar or preparing a star ranking for the restaurant we have just visited and anticipating an earlier departure than planned, because the wife suffers from stomach problems and thus the warming up of the passenger compartment. No problem thanks to user transparency. 

In the future, a fully comprehensive data ecosystem car and a holistic customer orientation will be in the focus. The automobile is getting to know its owner and its users better and better and offers individual solutions for everyday use.

The young generation was introduced to the participants on the basis of target group analyses, studies, surveys and behavior analyses. 

Philipp showed the participants secret recipes in the form of corporate structures and start-up models, which can already show excellent work results with the young target groups for both customers and employees. GEN Z and GEN A bring new values and expectations to the world of work, demanding greater diversity, equality and inclusion, and a greater focus on purpose and social impact. 

Collectively, these forces are transforming the economy and challenging businesses to adapt to a new reality of work and leadership.

In order for the participants to be ablle to anchor the impulses or what they have heard, in their own company, it is important to always plan time for self-reflection and working sessions after inspiring lectures - which we have also implemented in this case. 

The first step of a change begins with the assessment of the current situation or with "making yourself aware" of existing potential. 

A working session of the first part of the two-day workshop was the consideration & self-critical evaluation of various aspects of the internal processes as well as the external appearance of the Denzel Group, so that possible potentials can be raised and addressed in the next step after development and discussion.

At the beginning, Philipp gave an introduction into leadership in the 21st century using the “Leadership Cycle” developed by Rabl & Hahn. 

First of all: We are moving away from the leadership style of the past, where there are a few at the top who use authority as an explanation / justification. We now find leadership at all levels of the organization basing their decisions on knowledge. Knowledge and leadership are key qualities of organizations and have always been linked. The future will be dominated by organizations that understand and master the relationship between knowledge and leadership. 

The leadership method was very well received by the group and they quickly agreed that it is the managers themselves who are responsible for creating their own culture: with a uniform, correct mindset, the management team lays the foundation stone together to create role models to create leadership in all other ranks. 

The question for the second day was therefore which aspects are necessary in terms of management in order to attract competent employees and to motivate and retain existing ones in the long term in order to be able to actively shape the future of the Denzel Group as a high-performance team.

An insight into facts / figures on the topic of leadership shows that the gap between the external image and the self-image of managers is widening. For example, 97% of German executives think they lead well, but only 17% of employees feel well led. This underlines the clear need for action in terms of leadership in companies.

The leadership wheel developed by Rabl & Hahn provides a good overview of what is required of an outstanding leader. While ownership is of course the focus, it is also important to analyze the other components and implement them in daily activities. Managers should be familiar with the 3 types of leadership as well as the 5 principles of self-esteem and the 5 behaviors. 

The Leadership Cycle already shows how complex leadership actually is. While the individual elements are considered in detail in the 8-day full version of the workshop, we will cover the most important points in a 1-day introductory workshop.

This session was about the honest self-assessment of managers. On the one hand, it was about them personally, i.e. their degree of maturity as a manager, and on the other hand, the cohesion of their teams. 

Only on the basis of a realistic assessment can there be room for improvement.

Now that the participants have heard a lot and received many impulses, it is time to determine how what they “heard” could be put into practice in the future. 

Practical examples on the subject of leadership that had been collected in advance were now played through using a number of role-playing games. It is important here that the participants really “feel” into the different roles – because how can you reflect on yourself if you can’t take a different perspective and see problems from the other person’s point of view?

In order for the "experienced" to not fizzle out, each participant had the opportunity to create an action plan for themselves - in a follow-up coaching with Philipp, the participants then present their work status and will be given further tips.