Germany is lagging behind, especially when it comes to information technology.
(Photo: dpa)
Systematic learning from others, especially from competitors, is widespread in business. One speaks of “benchmarking”. For example, you compare the costs of your own production with those of other companies in order to improve yourself.
Benchmarking should not only be mandatory in companies, but also in states. A wealth of studies regularly examine and compare countries according to various criteria. These studies measure a country’s relative performance and compare it to previous periods. For example, Germany has held one of the top spots in the World Economic Forum’s “Global Competitiveness Report” for years. Ahead of us are Singapore, the US, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Japan.
A closer look at the report reveals indicators that provide important clues about a country’s future performance. According to the World Economic Forum, we rank eighth in terms of infrastructure. If you take a closer look, this is mainly due to previous investments.
With Hamburg and Bremen we have good ports. The airports also offer good international connections, and the railway network is considered to be “dense”. The situation is worse when it comes to the “efficiency” of rail and air travel. Here we only occupy places 16 and 28 with a downward trend. Anyone who has recently traveled by train or plane in Germany knows why.
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According to a recent study by the IMD Business School, when it comes to information technology, we rank 19th, well behind the Scandinavian countries, the USA, Israel and China. Germany does particularly poorly when it comes to spending on education, digital skills, the environment for start-ups and the use of instruments such as big data analytics. In other words, on exactly those points that are crucial for Germany’s future competitiveness.
Companies react pragmatically to benchmarking. Structures are adapted, technologies and skills are taken over from others. The state is more reserved here.
Daniel Stelter is the founder of the discussion forum beyond the obvious, which specializes in strategy and macroeconomics, as well as a management consultant and author. Every Sunday his podcast goes online at www.think-bto.com.
(Photo: Robert Recker/ Berlin)
Instead of buying established technologies and processes from leading countries like Denmark, own developments are initiated. Not only do these take significantly longer, experience has shown that they are also significantly more expensive. In view of the already existing backlog, which is increasing due to the speed of digitization, a rethink is overdue.
The German elites lack a strategy
But why do we as a state find it so difficult to learn from others? Another comparative study that looks at the quality of a country’s elites can provide information. The University’s Elite Quality Index St. Gallen (HSG) uses 107 indicators to examine whether the leading elites in business and politics increase a country’s prosperity.
Germany occupies a good eleventh place here, but this is also mainly due to past performances. Looking to the future, the results should be viewed much more critically. The authors complain that the German elites in politics and business lack ideas and, above all, strategies. An assessment that can only be confirmed in view of the political reaction to the war in Ukraine and the resulting fundamental threat to Germany as a business location.
>> Read here: Ten strategies that will bring Germany back to the top of the world
The challenges our country is facing are enormous, not least because we have not used the good years to invest in our future viability. Against the background of the acute energy crisis and the rapidly accelerating demographic change, we are now running out of time.
>> Read here: Germany’s regions with the greatest future potential
So it’s high time to learn systematically from others and adopt their tools instead of relying on your own developments. Hans-Peter Bartels (SPD), the former Federal Government Commissioner for the Armed Forces, recommended as early as 2020 that the Bundeswehr should “dare more Ikea” instead of complex individual orders. This applies to the whole country.
Daniel Stelter is the founder of the discussion forum beyond the obvious, which specializes in strategy and macroeconomics, as well as a management consultant and author. Every Sunday his podcast goes online at www.think-bto.com.
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