Würzburg/Germany, 9 May 2007
„Recruit new employees who don’t actually fit in to the company! Reward people’s mistakes! Discard status symbols! Fail quicker! Forget all you’ve learnt!“ These are not invitations to instigate business management anarchy. They are basic prerequisites in creating an environment which will promote innovation, according to Anja Förster, management consultant and guest speaker at this year’s 45th „Würzburger WerbeFachgespräche“ B2B congress.
The theme of the congress this year is „New markets. New paths. New goals.“ Those invited to take part in the event include marketing decision-makers from medium-sized companies, large corporations and agencies. Well-known speakers will be at the event reporting on their practical experiences, describing the marketing world of the future and shedding light on solution approaches for forward-looking marketing.
As a former manager of Accenture, the management consultancy firm, and co-authoress of the German book, „Alles, außer gewöhnlich“ (translated: „Anything but ordinary“), Anja Förster describes her views as follows: „Drivers of innovation are always those who are brave enough to question prevailing dogmas, who think laterally and who are able to see beyond the boundaries of their own sector. They are those whose ideas are thought-provoking and who are dogged and persevering in pursuing their ideas. And consequently they are also people who are not immune to mistakes.“
It is one of Ms. Förster’s core messages that this process of lateral thinking cannot be outsourced to consultants. Instead, for companies and individuals it is a process which constitutes a precondition for succeeding in tearing down the walls of established thought.
Using lots of unusual examples – ranging from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Motor FM right through to the Museum of Modern Art – and presenting a colourful mixture of people who have all been successful in innovative ways, such as Alberto Alessi, Mother Theresa and Jamie Oliver, Anja Förster establishes the fact that the key to success both for organisations and for individuals alike lies in their willingness to always be on the lookout for clever ideas, intelligent strategies and new paths, and in their openness to changes. In other words, even at the pinnacle of their success, they need to be prepared – and to want – to risk trying out new ideas even if they can’t be sure whether these will be as successful as the old ones.
The fact that accomplished lateral thinking in business can even be rewarded with a Nobel Peace Prize is a very important point both to Ms. Förster and her co-author of „Alles, außer gewöhnlich“, Peter Kreutz. This was the case with an Indian professor, Mohammed Yunus, who came up with the idea of issuing loans from his Grameen Bank to penniless women – in other words, the poorest of the poor – despite the fact that the repayment of such was uncertain and not collateralised, and based only on the promise that everything would be repaid once the person had successfully established a modest livelihood.
Anja Förster’s speech at the „Würzburger WerbeFachgespräche 2007“ B2B congress on 25 June 2007 is an appeal to break with established rules in an intelligent way and a guide on how to act to ensure success in turbulent times.
If you have any queries, please feel free to contact:
Thomas Emmerich
Event manager
Vogel Industrial Media
97064 Würzburg
Germany
Tel. +49 (0)931 418-2545
Fax +49 (0)931 418-2640
Email: thomas_emmerich@vogel-medien.de
www.wwf07.de
