Boss? Imagine if we were all volunteering at a sports club or with the THW!

In many companies, an obsession with numbers, a culture of blame, fear of mistakes, and conflicts between groups reign supreme. There, the big-picture perspective is lost, and the results of the work are not “swarm-intelligent” but rather “swarm-stupid”—a phenomenon that grows in proportion to the size of the company. The work of each individual could actually be of high quality—but constraints and friction turn it into a half-hearted “just-good-enough” product, and employees wither away.
People cannot be mindfully deployed—beyond a fixation on numbers—in a way that allows them to make a significant impact. Rather, managers must gain comprehensive hands-on experience themselves by being allowed—as young talent—to rotate through all departments for a few weeks or months. And a change of perspective helps: Managers should imagine all employees as volunteers, like in the fire department or in clubs. Only then can they motivate them to achieve high standards—but coercion doesn’t work here; rather, it’s personal conviction…