Volkmar Völzke's BLOG

Hey, I know what you are thinking:

“Another article about the secrets of success! We don’t need that! We know it all!” OK, got it; you’re probably right. 

However, when I recently met with a fellow from my years at the golden times at SAP in Switzerland, between 1999 and 2001, when sales just went up through the roof, profits, too, and joy of the over 400 staff members , we clearly identified three guiding forces that made all the difference for the business and the people at the same time. 

I’ll explain them in the video. Just one thing upfront: these three forces have nothing to do with good market conditions or the like. They all come from inside. They are generated. 

Your assignment for today: 

1. Identify three forces that will make your team outstanding. These can be the same as in the video, but also different if necessary.
2. For each of the three forces, define three daily routines to amplify their effect. What can you and your...

Sometimes, we talk as if we truly appreciate the forgotten ones, those that stay in the shade and never make it even close to the top. However, whenever it comes to any emotional appeal, we want to see winners. We cheer for those who score and those who make it to the top. 

You think you are different? Well, each championship – like the currently running Euro 2016 in soccer – is proof of what we all truly love: winning! And seeing winners. 

Let me explain in this week’s video why this always works and how this simple fact can be utilized in your business. And I’m not just talking about things like “team spirit”. No, the focus on winning has some other aspects that most people never think of – and wonder why other teams score better, i.e. their competition wins over and over again. 

Your homework for this week is simple:

Just identify three possibilities where you in your business can leverage the people’s hunger for...

One of the thought models I use with leadership teams is the typical business development curve between the two dimensions “Enthusiasm” and “Perfection”. The typical life cycle of any business starts out with high enthusiasm and high imperfection of anything they do. 

Over the coming months and years, enthusiasm will decrease. If the leadership team doesn’t increase the performance of their entire operations, then the company will surely get out of business. Low enthusiasm + low performance = end of the game. 

When leaders implement systems to run a high-performing operation, they might well become profitable and can stay in business for a long time. However, as long as enthusiasm continues dropping, they always will operate only at a fraction of their possibilities. 

So, the key question for any sustainable peak performance is simply this: how can you keep up enthusiasm, even when the business becomes more...