PEOPLE & ORGANIZATION
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Transformation of the Army: Why Learning Speed Is Ultimately Decisive
“Zeitenwende” remains just another buzzword if, in addition to weapons systems, armed forces do not adapt their learning speed. A team of authors from Subdivision G7 of the German Army Command (responsible for training, exercises, and the “Lessons Learned” process) sums up this challenge in a recent article for Defence Network: Modern battlefield is virtually…
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When Leadership Decisions Stall: How Executive Coaching Creates Clarity
Following a reorganization, several teams—which had previously operated largely independently—are supposed to work more closely together. But even after several months, this isn’t working. On the contrary! Decisions are taking longer and longer, conflicts are on the rise, and the team leaders are blaming each other for the difficulties. The division manager in charge has…
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Leadership in uncertainty and in times of poly crisis
The German leadership debate thrives on contrasts. For years, organizations considered the empathetic, approachable, and coaching-oriented leader the ideal. Now the pendulum seems to be swinging back: In the face of economic stagnation, geopolitical uncertainty, technological disruption, and painful restructuring, there is suddenly talk of a “new toughness.” So do Germany’s companies now need tougher…
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Multi-project management as DefTech key competence
The German security and defense industry is experiencing a historic turning point. In many companies, the operational question is no longer “if,” but “how quickly and how reliably” capabilities can be scaled up. At the same time, it is becoming clear that the bottleneck is rarely just manufacturing. It lies in supply chains, governance, decision-making…
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The Human Side of the “Software-on-Wheels” Revolution
The mood is tense, and expectations are high: when Friedrich Merz invites guests to the automotive summit at the Chancellery this Thursday. Federal ministers, the prime ministers of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and Lower Saxony, OEMs, suppliers (who are facing a tough change process since 2019), and employee representatives will be sitting at the table. In the…
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Company Growth Without Breakdown
What works in a 10-person startup often fails in a 50-person company. Leadership becomes the art of enabling others to lead, communicate, and stay connected through change. The Growth Model by Larry E. Greiner describes six phases that organizations typically go through. Each separated by a crisis which are make-or-break moments. They require transformation leadership.…
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AI in Change Management Gets a Human Face
Starnberg, March 29, 2025 – With the launch of two custom-developed AI personas – “Content Carla” and “Research Randy” – Starnberg-based viadoo GmbH is turning a new page in the story of digital transformation and of AI in change management. In a market often unsettled by opaque AI applications, viadoo has taken a bold step…
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»Adapt culture & organization to digital transformation«
The digital transformation challenges companies on many levels – but it is manageable if executives directly involve their employees from the very beginning. We at viadoo Change Guides are convinced of this and act accordingly for our customers. Our founder Dr Dominik Faust gave an interview to the editors of the Würzburg-Schweinfurt Chamber of Commerce and…
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Overcoming Change Overload
According to Gartner Research, the average employee is faced with as many as ten enterprise-wide change initiatives per year. They can span from restructuring to achieve efficiencies, from a culture change to new work or a new IT system. Yet, even positive, well-intentioned changes can overwhelm employees when the volume or pace of projects is…
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Top 3 Change Leadership Trends 2025
At the end of 2023, we had predicted in our Top 5 Change Leadership Trends that in 2024 (1) the polycrisis would continue, (2) mental health would become more important, (3) the need for self-reflection among young leaders would increase, (4) internal communication will be better understood as a success factor for successful change at…
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Empathy and Gender Mental Health Gap
In our experience, leaders are still primarily selected based on their technical expertise. However, to attract diverse, interdisciplinary and equally skilled teams to change initiatives, social skills are more important. One of the most important skills for effective change leadership is empathy. And it is more than just being nice. It’s about deeply understanding the…
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How to make change work in large organizations
In large organizations, an average of 70 to 85 per cent of all change initiatives fail. According to our many years of experience, this is particularly due to a lack of social and emotional aspects like insufficient empathy and motivation skills of executives (in addition to other reasons why transformations fail). We recently had the…