Frank Dopheide is the founder and managing director of the management consultancy human unlimited, which specializes in the topic of “Purpose”. Previously, he was, among other things, spokesman for the management of the Handelsblatt Media Group and chairman of GRAY Worldwide.
(Photo: Klawe Rzezcy, Getty Images)
Plato was the first to come up with the funnel. He sorted our thoughts and brought the ratio into the world. Things that were invisible and incomprehensible suddenly became explainable. Thanks to Greek thinking aids, reason came into our lives. The world picked up speed and produced the most incredible things. Thanks be to reason.
Strengthened by its worldwide successes, however, logic rose to become the sole ruler, the ultima ratio. She declared herself the supreme decision-maker, a despot who would not tolerate anyone beside her. The illogical was summarily chased from the farm. Today it ekes out its niche existence in acting schools, dance theaters and pottery courses. In the business world, the irrational has been banned for years.
Understandable. At the top of the company, no one has ever been fired for making logical decisions. These instructions were like brainwashing for the managerial ranks and homo rationalis made a career. In day-to-day business management, we subject everything and everyone to the cold gaze of logicians. This leads to acute poverty of thoughts. A side effect that can now break our necks in times of great upheaval.
A look in the rear-view mirror shows that we Germans haven’t invented anything earth-shattering for a long time. The nation of optimizers emerged from the land of inventors and entrepreneurs. Our entrepreneurial rationale no longer allows for large mental leaps. All companies only think in one direction. Like a navigation system that only has one route on the screen.
But what do we do when the old ways and the old business models no longer work? Now. Bertelsmann and RTL boss Rabe gave his answer: job cuts, cost savings and the sale of company shares at a bargain price. Same procedure as every year. But no austerity program can help against a lack of ideas.
Frank Dopheide: The economy needs new ways and ways of thinking
When it comes to all or nothing, logic and predictability become a real danger. In the notorious military and corporate war games, we recognize that the illogical and unexpected element brings a strategic advantage.
>> Read also: Corporate management: Emotional intelligence was yesterday
We shouldn’t let that go unnoticed. Let’s reckon with the illogical and free our thoughts from the logic trap. If we use both hemispheres of the brain, the mathematical possibilities are twice as great.
The economy needs new ways and ways of thinking, at least for everything outside of the occupational field of nuclear power plants, air traffic control and bomb disposal. Sometimes the sensible thing to do is not to try to be too sensible.
Humans are unpredictable, but Excel has not taken that into account so far. Even if this seems improbable to some, one hundred percent of all employees, customers, shareholders and supervisory boards are people.
Bernard Arnault: The richest person in the world sells handbags
Businesses have been talking about price and discount for decades, losing sight of value altogether. This arises individually in the human mind. And it’s worth it. Ask Bernard Arnault, family entrepreneur, richest person on the planet at $215 billion. Twice as rich as Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates.
The Frenchman built his fortune with LVMH over decades.
(Photo: Reuters)
Mr. Arnault lives in Paris, pays taxes and sells handbags on a large scale. Pure luxury. No sane manager would shell out twenty thousand euros for it. The value of the bags has skyrocketed in recent years, in contrast to technology stocks or cryptocurrencies. Let’s think about it.
The illogical leads our brain into corners where nobody has been before.
It stretches our imagination. Who would have ever thought that the world was waiting for a Dyson design vacuum cleaner with a Star Wars look or for colorful coffee capsules that put the good old pot in the closet and overshadowed it? Just because something seems nonsensical doesn’t mean it is nonsensical. Precisely where the playful overtakes the serious, the unseen and the unexpected arise. Then you are on the trail of the future. Let your thoughts run free. You will be delighted with it. Incidentally, so do your customers, your employees and your accountants.
More: Does artificial intelligence make you irresponsible?