„So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less, Which have solicited. The rest is silence.”

For companies, a common world shared with their environment is vital. There must be an understanding between the company and its stakeholders about what is done by a company, how it is done, why it is done, the effects of the action and how the story of this action is told. Otherwise the company runs the risk of living only in “its own world” – and this inevitably leads to crisis:

  • Outstanding products and services are not developed because customers are no longer understood;
  • Market positions are lost because the major trends are no longer recognized at an early stage and potential competitors are ignored;
  • Talented employees are not won because the incentives offered are no longer effective;
  • Customer loyalty, acceptance and brand strength are eroded because one no longer knows how integration into the living environment, aesthetics and the spirit of the times works for customers;
  • Suppliers and partners leave because it is not recognized that the principles of cooperation have changed;
  • Turnarounds do not work because the language used in the company is no longer able to describe crises;
  • Compliance problems and legal breaches are becoming more and more complex because the subjective experience of the law and legal practice are longer adequate.

The decoupling of company reality from the environment can become a highly toxic poison, which can destroy the work of decades.

On the other hand, a company that is firmly anchored in the reality of its environment and is highly sensitive to the weak signals can hear the grass grow. It finds the right solutions, the right people, the right structure and the right story before others even realize that change is happening.