Volkmar Völzke's BLOG

You now have about 49 weeks left to write history this year. Seriously: what are you doing to move the world this year, at least in your surroundings and for your fellow human beings?

The direction of our lives is largely determined by the questions we ask ourselves.

And in my experience, most people do not ask themselves questions that will help them move forward, but questions that will leave them in the comfort zone.

"What am I going to do to write history this year?" is a strong, uncomfortable question. Because you may not have the answer. If your reaction is "What nonsense!", you are on the right track. That's because in this case you have the potential for more positive influence on your environment - and for making a real difference.

Here are three concrete ideas on how you can write history this year:

1. Choose exactly one big goal! I know you've heard it a thousand times: what is your one big goal for the next 12 months? And yet, when I ask people in any environment...

Let's be honest, right at the start of the new year: There are always 1000 reasons why one should not change anything - and certainly not yourself.

Those who care relatively little about these reasons are not only more successful on average but also happier, more fulfilled and more positive in the world.

You must have positive intentions, of course, but hopefully, that goes without saying.

Let me ask you a question about 2019: What would it be like if you question something that already exists every day and allow fresh and different ideas?

It's like opening your windows wide and letting fresh air flow through.

Where to start? From my work in 2018, I see the most " need for fresh air" in these areas:

1. Leadership. Get out of your way of thinking through sparring partners and coaching. Cancel useless meetings and apply new findings from leadership research.
2. Self-responsibility. In other words, we all have full responsibility to choose our attitude every minute. I find it downright...

Welcome to the New Year! I hope you have survived the celebrations well and are ready for an extraordinary year in 2019.

Right at the beginning, an important tip so we can get on the right track and pick up speed quickly: Choose the right focus!

What do I mean by that? Well, we all have a consciousness that can only focus on one thing at a time (which is why multi-tasking doesn't work, but that's another story).

"And what is the 'right' focus?" you will ask now. Here are three focus ideas that will make a huge difference in your success, influence and fulfillment during the year:

1. Influence. Focus exclusively on things you can and will influence. One of the biggest (often unnoticed) wastes of time and energy is focusing on things we have no influence on and that don't get us anywhere (Attention: Reading the newspaper is usually part of that, as are pointless meetings).
2. Impact. Focus every day on making the lives (or businesses) of others better. This can be done concretely, and...

Welcome to the New Year! Here's a reminder of how a very simple method can make 2019 an outstanding year for you and the people around you. Watch the video and tell me what you think.

Here is a suggestion for the New Year, inspired by the Picture Gallery in Berlin: how do you leave a positive and lasting impression? What will you be remembered for?

Happy New Year!

For your daily productivity, there is hardly anything as important as your first thoughts and actions in the morning. How you start your morning determines, to a large extent, your performance throughout the day.

And not only that: Your own condition in the morning has an enormous effect on your environment. How you are first perceived by your environment (including your colleagues) sets the tone for the day. Every day sets the tone for the week, the month, and ultimately the whole of life.

So here is my message: Question and change your morning routines and help others to do the same. Below are three steps to doing so: 

1. Decision. Most people are not sufficiently aware of the strong impact the first thoughts and actions have on their success and fulfillment. Therefore, my tip: Make a clear decision to consciously start your morning better tomorrow. Even if you are already good at it, there is always potential.
2. Gratitude. Our brain can only hold one thought at a time. And those...

When was the last time you compressed your time? If you now think I'm talking about science fiction, time travel, and wormholes, then I can reassure you: 

You too have already compressed your time. Whenever you really wanted to achieve something very important in a very short time. (The key words here are "really" and "very".)

You will then have achieved results in 15 minutes for which you would otherwise need two hours. Or perhaps you have done what has been on your desk for 5 weeks in just one hour.

Here is my point: If you use what you have applied in such situations every day and for every task, you will massively increase your productivity.

The problem is that we are not aware of these factors enough. Here are three of them that you should apply every day in order to compress your time:

1. Clarity. If you have generated above-average results in a short period of time, you have always been very clear about the results you wanted to achieve. The conclusion in reverse: if you...

"I can't reach anybody in summer anyway!" 

"People are all on vacation anyway!" 

"In July and August, we can take things a little easier. In September we'll be taking off again!"

Do you sometimes hear such statements from your people (and from yourself)? Well, here comes another uncomfortable truth (you're used to that from me): the most prolific people never say such things. They step on the gas just when the others are relaxing.

"But you can't ignore the facts," I hear you say, "there really aren't many people in the office!"

Attention: You hear me, again and again, warning you about the myths that we constantly tell ourselves. Only this doesn't make them true!

Here are three ideas on how to deal with the so-called "summer slump":

1. Mindset. Many "facts" only emerge in our minds if we say them long enough. If we keep telling ourselves that we can't reach a customer in the summer, for example, that's how it's going to be. Believe it or not, you produce the results you...

You probably know this: the longer you deal with a topic, the clearer the most important drivers for success become. This applies to cooking and programming, coaching and so on: at some point – with experience– you know the decisive moves.

I experience the same with my core subject, the maximization of success. In my various conversations, there is always a reason that prevents people and teams from seizing opportunities and becoming more successful.

And this reason is very simple: most never start. In other words: "On your mark, get set, ... Stop!"

The reasons for this are mostly known and lie in the mindset and there above all in the fears we all have somewhere. This can be excellently addressed through coaching.

Here are three ideas on getting yourself and your team ready to get started:

1. Input. Let yourself be inspired by examples where the start of initiatives and the courageous approach has led to success. Read more and give your team more to read. Audio programs...

It is a remarkable fact that we stick to habits even when the original reason has long since disappeared.

Examples: The keys on your computer are arranged in the way they are ("QWERTY"), so the hammers of the mechanical typewriter get caught as little as possible when writing quickly (which is why frequently used letters are as far apart as possible). The "album" of a musician has about 12 classical pieces of music. This is because vinyl records simply couldn’t fit more than 20-30 minutes per side. 

There are dozens of such examples. How many of these do you have in your own team and company? Often, it doesn't bother any more. However, significant increases in success are almost always only achieved when these old braids are questioned and replaced by something fundamentally new. But first, you must be aware of them. 

Here are three areas in which "gold" typically lies when you question old habits:

1. Meetings, reports and documents. It's a classic recommendation: just...