Board Impulse Thoughts (BIT) – A little BIT for everybody

38th Board Impulse Thoughts with Astrid Blechschmidt and her views and assessments of the upcoming and last 12 months.

1. Which were your biggest learnings over the past 12 months?

The last 1-2 years have shown me that virtually nothing is certain. Each of us has deep convictions and imagination about what could happen in business or the world - but reality has surprised us all several times. I have learned from this to strongly reflect on my beliefs and expectations and have opened up many areas of expectation as a result. On the other hand, I found it fascinating to see how quickly almost all people and organizations have adapted to the so-called "new normal." Hardly anyone would have dared to hope for that beforehand. Adaptability and resilience are much more pronounced than most of us thought.  

Another learning relates to the immense importance of face-to-face exchanges. In 2020, you could read how great the purely digital exchange works and how many positive effects this has for all of us. In late 2021 and 2022, I experienced a pronounced disillusionment in this respect among most people. I dare say that in the long run nothing can replace personal contact between people - neither in business nor in the societal and personal sphere. 

Finally, the last 12 months have shown that managing crises is unfortunately part of managers' everyday business. I expect that this will not change in the foreseeable future.

 2. Are you observing transformative changes in business and society?

There are several transformations underway. For me, the area of "Smart Mobility" is particularly exciting, because this is where business, society and the environment come together in a future-critical context. The efforts to get freight and passenger traffic onto the rails, for example, are highly important in terms of sustainability. Mobility as a service, detached from assets will be the future, and enormous opportunities are arising for many market participants and industries.

 Not least the strained situation of our infrastructure - road and rail - and the capacity bottlenecks certified there, make a rethink urgently necessary. I very much hope that we in Germany seize this opportunity and do not get bogged down in bureaucratic hurdles, for example, or that necessary investments are diverted.

3. What are your observations on executives over the last 12 months, did they change their habits and attitudes?

Many executives have learned how important the human factor is despite digitalization and automation. This may sound a bit strange, but before Corona, in my observation, employees and in some cases also customers were virtually a given for some executives. Today, I see much more human appreciation at the executive level and significantly less hierarchy in dealing with others. That certainly also has something to do with the race for talent, which has become much tougher and at the same time more critical to success. Simply put, the value of “being personal” has gained enormous importance. 

A second observation was that the many challenges and pressures of recent times have not left executives unscathed. For some, this has led to health problems and for others to a critical but, in my opinion, healthy reflection on their role. Executives are now more transparent about their own performance limits and are more open in asking for support - from other executives and their teams. I think that part is a good development.

4. What do you expect from 2022?

For me, 2022 is in a sense a year to take a deep breath with the first real vacation since 2019 - but also a year to prepare for what will probably be the next crisis in 2023. In this context, I see a strong social responsibility for companies. For example, the current cost inflation is putting a lot of pressure on many employees and others, and the looming energy crisis will increase this further - and all of this is now on top of the burdens of the last two COVID-19 years. I therefore believe that the business community must do everything in its power to ensure that there are no major waves of redundancies or insolvencies. However, I am optimistic here, because our economy has mastered the last major crises quite competently.

 Astrid Blechschmidt is a partner at Q_PERIOR, an internationally active management and IT consultancy. As a sector lead she is responsible for the development of the customer segment: Travel, Transport & Logistics. She worked in various consultancies before joining the management of T-Systems Switzerland in 2010, where she held various positions. in 2016, she then moved to Q_PERIOR.

Since 2000, Astrid has also been a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich at the Chair of Tourism.