1. Have you worked with start-ups before Mentessa?
Yes, both as a CEO of Ingentis and during my time at Haufe I have worked a lot with start-ups such as umantis, Semigator or Klaiton. It has always been a pleasure for me to contribute my skills and know-how in order to sharpen innovations and support them in their implementation, including the right organizational setup. I also enjoy supporting entrepreneurs with advice and action and also accompanying them through phases that are sometimes not that easy. Today, next to Mentessa, I support exciting start-ups such as COPETRI or Rippleworx on their path to scaling and internationalisation.
2. What made you decide to join our advisory board?
Right from the start, Tina inspired me with her drive and positive, lively energy. The idea of identifying expertise and connecting companies with the real know-how behind the formal structures and bringing the right people together fascinates me. I have always been deeply convinced that it is people who make companies successful.
3. How can experienced top managers benefit from start-ups and vice versa by sharing their experiences?
Especially from real entrepreneurs in start-ups, I personally keep getting to know ideas that established and mature organizations don’t come up with or that come up in everyday business going under again. As an entrepreneur, I find it incredibly inspiring and energizing to work with people who firmly believe in their idea and live it “day and night”. If I have the feeling that I can make a contribution here with my experience and creativity, then – and only then – am I very happy to do so. In this way, something can emerge and mature that has not existed before. And it can also be fun – what more could you ask for?
4. Besides the increasing role of informal knowledge sharing, what do you think are other important issues in the transformation of work?
It is becoming increasingly clear to me that organizational effectiveness will be an important factor for successful companies. It is about choosing the right organization and the right processes for the respective tasks (be it routine tasks with a view to high efficiency or innovation areas with an agile structure) – as well as ensuring that the right employees are assigned to the tasks that suit them . This is a complex challenge, both from an organizational and a personal perspective. Those who master this challenge well will be more successful and at the same time have happier employees.
5. How can companies support their employees in developing their potential in the new world of work?
By trusting them that they want to develop themselves further (keyword employability) and make a meaningful contribution to the company’s success. In order for employees to be as effective as possible, it is first important to ensure transparency – on the task/project side and on the side of employee skills and development goals. Then intelligent mediation concepts – keyword marketplaces – can result in the best possible and meaningful assignment. If there is still an open corporate culture that enables employees to network with the right peers and learn from each other, you are on the right track to developing the potential of your employees in the best possible way – for your own benefit and for the benefit of the company.s
6. What are the key skills that you benefit from today that you didn’t have at the beginning of your career or that you only learned in the working world?
Experience in digital transformation and in particular the transformation of business models and organizations – with strong involvement of employees. What I always had and what I will hopefully never lose: a very high degree of curiosity and a very high level of positive energy. ????
7. And which skills do you think will become increasingly important in the next few years?
With the half-life of knowledge and know-how constantly decreasing, the willingness to learn and the ability to learn come first for me. Emotional intelligence, resilience and proactive adaptability are other skills that I believe are important in order to keep up with the increasing speed of innovations in a positive sense.
