An online survey of 123 SMEs conducted by the Swiss Association for Continuing Education SVEB between December 2020 and January 2021 confirms the high importance of continuing education among small and medium-sized enterprises. Two-thirds of the participating SMEs consider continuing education to be important in order to deal with the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic.

Competence requirements and need for further training increased

For a large proportion of the SMEs surveyed, the Corona situation places high demands on the skills of employees overall. One third state that the workforce requires new or different skills. At around 60% of the companies, the pandemic is having an impact on skills for agile working as well as social and communication skills. 43% also note a strong to very strong effect on digital competencies.

The need for further training has also increased among 33% SMEs in times of Corona. The study defines a company's need for further training as the need for employees to acquire new competencies or expand existing knowledge in order to meet the requirements of the company.

Higher demand only partially covered

However, the increased need for further training is not being met by all SMEs. The study shows that almost one third of SMEs with an increased need for further training have not changed their further training activity or have even reduced it.

Furthermore, a certain caution is evident in the financing of further training. Expenditure on external training courses in particular is being cut back. This is probably due to the fact that many SMEs need support with financing or IT infrastructure as a result of the crisis. The reluctance could also be related to the fact that half of the companies surveyed said they lacked knowledge about the skills of the future.

Source and further information: SVEB

Since its foundation, Ansatz Werbung GmbH has been assisting SMEs in advertising-related matters. Then as now, the company offers effective advertising measures, from targeted marketing and consulting to the delivery of the street sign. The managing director is Hans Jürg Domenig. He has built up over 300 franchises in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This is probably why he is described by Wikipedia as the "franchise pioneer of Switzerland". Today, he employs 10 people in his own business.

On the market for 30 years

This company has now existed for over 30 years. By constantly adapting to the spirit of the times and the political situation, Ansatz Werbung is in the black even in the crisis year 2020. In the beginning, Hans Jürg Domenig only sold advertising concepts for SMEs, which had previously been reserved for medium-sized and large companies. He soon expanded his range to include advertising technology, because the demand for this was particularly high among SMEs. This in turn gave rise to the franchise system, which developed from Switzerland via Germany to Austria.

Even in the crisis triggered by Corona, the approach team quickly opened up a new line of business: printing masks. This new line of business enabled the company to generate 50% of its sales. However, this demand has also already started to decline again.

Always adapt: The chameleon strategy

That is why the next project of the company is called furniture foiling. As the Corona pandemic has been keeping people at home for over a year, the desire for a new environment is growing. However, the idea of sustainability makes a completely new furniture impossible. This is because the climate demonstrations are still stuck in people's minds, and the environmental issue and the climate crisis are also still present in the media. So the furniture has to continue to be used, but it's still boring. So what to do?

It was in this context that Hans Jürg Domenig's team came up with the idea of furniture foiling. If the existing furniture is newly covered with foil, they can be given a second life. The foil is durable, does not peel off or fade like paint, but it can also be changed at any time; an optimal solution, therefore. Once again, one has quickly and flexibly recognized a trend and is forming a new line of business. Always adapting: This is the chameleon strategy of the advertising approach.

More information: www.ansatz.ch

The economic performance of European companies is in danger of declining. This finding is the central result of a new study published today by Ricoh Europe. The survey of a total of 952 employees in European companies with more than 1,000 employees about their current situation revealed that the workforce lacks the time to focus on tasks that pay off in high customer satisfaction. The study thus reveals a tense situation, both for the workforce and for the future viability of the companies.

Excessive workload leads to cutbacks in customer service

For example, nearly one-fifth of respondents (22%) said their employer had suffered lost sales during the pandemic as a direct result of a poor customer experience. Even the greatest efforts by workforces to accept longer working hours than at the start of the pandemic could not prevent a decline in customer satisfaction.

Furthermore, nearly one-third of respondents (31 %) said they do not have enough time to do the tasks that bring the most value to the company. At the same time, the percentage of workers who feel pressure to always be available and online outside of office hours has increased by 38 percent since April 2020. Companies have tried to reduce workloads by introducing new digital platforms. However, these efforts have not always had the desired effect: two out of five respondents (39 %) report that their workload has actually increased as a result of the newly introduced tools.

Too many administrative tasks

Looking at an average working day of the survey participants shows that they spend one third (32 %) of their working time on administrative activities and internal correspondence. In contrast, the workforce has only half as much time (16 %) for their actual tasks, which are focused on customers and thus lead to a positive customer experience. Similarly, nearly half (48 %) of respondents say that administration-intensive workdays inhibit their productivity.

"In a saturated, competitive marketplace, the customer experience can literally make the difference between a company's success and failure. Internal operations and administrative tasks are important, but companies must not forget their real business: Providing the market with a product or service," explains David Mills, CEO of Ricoh Europe.

Automation of administrative tasks reduces workload

According to the respondents, automation could help them optimize the customer experience and achieve better results for their company. One in two (49 %) say customer value could be strengthened if automation of administrative tasks were supported by appropriate tools. In addition, 58 percent of survey respondents believe that new technologies that promote and improve customer interactions could contribute to their company's productivity and profitability.

"Employers need to enable their teams to work smarter so they can focus on their core competencies. Assistive and innovative technologies have a crucial role to play in this," explains David Mills. The exciting thing about the current survey results, he says, is that employees are increasingly open to automation. "This result is in stark contrast to the attitude of recent years, when fear and skepticism about artificial intelligence and automation were prevalent," David Mills reminds us, adding, "It is, of course, essential to approach the investment in an automation solution strategically and to seek extensive and professional advice. Any investment should be tailored to the needs of the specific business and support the workforce where they need it most."

Source: Ricoh

The IT service provider UMB AG is massively expanding its range of services in the field of software development and cloud migration through two company acquisitions, thus further extending its service portfolio in the direction of holistic digital business transformation. One company, ubitec, is a startup that has already developed several innovative software solutions for the digitalization of business processes since its three-year existence. meshTec, the other company, brings in-depth know-how in cloud bridge technologies and cloud native. The 50 employees of the two acquired companies will become part of the UMB team. ubitec founder Patrick Brazzale will take over as head of the Software Solutions team and will also join the UMB Leadership Board.

Strategic milestone for UMB AG

"With the reinforcement of ubitec and meshTec, we are massively expanding our offering beyond the traditional portfolio in the direction of business transformation. The know-how and resources for the agile development of standard software, individual software solutions and modernization, automation, process optimization and migration technologies for the path towards cloud native enable us to offer a comprehensive range of services in all aspects of business transformation with immediate effect," says Matthias Keller, CEO and owner of UMB. The entrepreneur is thus setting another strategic milestone in the company's development, as UMB is now a one-stop partner for companies covering IT infrastructures and services as well as software products and migration technologies in the direction of Cloud Native - with a team of over 500 colleagues at ten Swiss locations and offices in Madrid and Vietnam. We spoke to Matthias Keller about the latest developments and trends, not least accelerated by the Corona pandemic.

Mr. Keller, the much-cited digitization push accelerated by the pandemic: How does this affect current business activities?
Matthias Keller: You say it right: It is a push that accelerates the development that has already begun even without the Corona pandemic. This is reflected in the fact that companies are now investing more in their digital transformation. Cloud and collaboration are big topics - the latter is reflected, for example, in the fact that we are allowed to implement many short-term projects on this - as are cybersecurity, process optimization and automation, and so on. Overall, we are seeing an acceleration in demand across our portfolio. However, it's hard to say if it's all related to the pandemic alone. We recorded a solid 2020; some customers brought projects forward, but others also postponed them due to the difficult economic situation.

In other words, the acquisition of ubitec and meshTec goes hand in hand with the growing demand for digitization solutions in companies?
The acquisitions are not primarily related to the digitization push. They are part of a clear and long-term qualitative growth strategy at UMB. They must make us better and more innovative. Our aim is to use the acquisitions to strengthen strategic core topics.

Which?
Ubitec is particularly strong in software development and application modernization and is strengthening us massively in these areas. It's a similar story with meshTec: Thanks to their know-how, we are taking a big step forward in the area of cloud native (software development approach in which applications are designed from the outset for use in the cloud, editor's note). And there are also synergies with ubitec. Overall, the acquisition of these two companies strengthens our existing competencies and rounds off our portfolio for business and technology transformation.

Was there also a "Plan B", for example in building up your own resources?
We always have a two-pronged approach to development. We are constantly building up our own expertise and, at the same time, looking for qualitative reinforcement in our strategic core areas. In doing so, we are very careful: It has to be right strategically, culturally and commercially in equal measure. We pay particular attention to the corporate culture.

This is no coincidence - after all, UMB AG bears the "Great Place to Work" label.
Yes, the basis for this is a good corporate culture. It is crucial that new teams fit to us in terms of lived values and that we fit to them. With ubitec and meshTec, this is now the sixth and seventh integration, respectively, since the start of today's UMB, all of which have worked out excellently and developed successfully in the long term.

Many companies - even large ones - still seem to have some catching up to do when it comes to using cloud technologies. In your view, what is this need to catch up?
Very many or almost all companies are undergoing a transformation from an old to a new reality in the course of digitization. This transformation is primarily taking place on four levels: The adaptation of their business model, the accompanying change in their organization and culture, the modernization of their application landscape, and the scaling of their data and IT platform. Companies are at different stages of progress in this process; everything from outdated to very agile structures can be found in the market. We at UMB AG can pick up our customers where they are today and competently accompany them in their transformation across all four levels.

So you're effectively becoming a "change manager" for companies?
We see ourselves as a partner for business and technology transformation. In this context, their statement is correct.

Why is cloud technology so central and why should SMEs jump on it now?
In principle, a cloud is flexible, scalable and cost-optimizing. However, it is important not to generalize, but to analyze exactly where the customer is today and where he wants to set his priorities in the future. The cloud is also not a panacea for everything, but must be considered individually. In addition, there are a wide variety of cloud models from private cloud to hybrid cloud to cloud native technologies from the large hyperscalers.

Which cloud solution (hybrid, on-premise; private or public cloud) is recommended for SMEs?
The solution with the best price-performance ratio and adapted to the customer's business strategy and business model.

What are the next steps after the acquisition and when will customers be able to benefit directly?
As of now! Since May 3, 2021, after an intensive preparation phase, we are now 1 team and 1 brand. From the beginning, we can already use synergies in concrete customer cases and are already in the implementation. In addition, it is also important that we get to know each other even better as a team, learn from each other and gradually grow closer together.

More information

How do you create a suitable brand and a successful image, a brand presence that also meets international standards? As part of a qualitative project study conducted with students from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, several Swiss startups and SMEs were interviewed. "We found out that many Swiss companies neglect basic things like the cultural and linguistic review of their future name or visual identity," explains Michal Pastier, co-founder of GoBigname. This company develops verbal and visual corporate, product, service and technology identities for startups and SMEs. Since 2015, the Bratislava-based company has become a national market leader and now counts many international companies among its customers and is now coming to Switzerland.

Why you should leave the naming to the professionals

The results of the aforementioned study also show that time and monetary bottlenecks are decisive factors in companies frequently relying on in-house production or freelancers. In the long run, this entails various risks. As a rule, brands are not flexible enough when their customer base changes or when the application areas of products or services expand. Based on these findings, the onboarding process for customers has been optimized to the essentials, thus minimizing the time required of customers and offering more attractive conditions.

"We believe that every startup and SME should have access to professional branding services. These should not only be reserved for large companies. We are happy that with Andreas we have someone in Switzerland who shares the same mission," adds Michal.

Global success through long-term thinking

GoBigname led the creation of brands with a long-term branding approach. Exponea, a fast-growing software company with market value growth from €2 million to €200+ million, and e-commerce company Berlin Brands Group, with more than 3 million products sold and 2020 revenue of €334 million, are among its clients. The studio is also behind the brand refresh of Slido, the global Q&A platform used by more than 45 million event attendees.

GoBigname wants to activate the "Next Big Thing" brands

GoBigname deliberately positions itself as a specialized studio for naming, branding and trademarks. "We are not a full-service provider that covers all marketing and communications disciplines. We are sometimes referred to as a 'pre-advertising studio' because we create the foundation for consistent and effective communications for our clients." With Michal - the advertising and creative head who has won over 200 awards - we have an owner who still works on every project and offers our customers immense added value with his 15 years of experience" adds Account Manager Andreas Kistler. With a strong partner network, projects can also be carried out that require additional services outside GoBigname's core competence, the company further informs.

Source and further information

The Corona key figures are developing in a positive direction. With one exception: The interruptions in the supply chains are again increasingly causing problems for SME-MEM companies. This is shown by the survey conducted among Swissmechanic member companies in April 2021.

Fewer liquidity problems and less short-time work ...

According to the survey, there has been a significant improvement in the Corona indicators in April 2021. Compared with January, the tight financial situation of the SME-MEM companies surveyed has eased; the companies are facing fewer liquidity problems and a lower risk of bankruptcy. The order situation has also improved, and less short-time work had to be registered.

... but more interruptions in the supply chains

One of the bigger challenges facing SME-MEM at the moment is supply chain interruptions, which have risen sharply again. Whereas in January 2021 the figure was 23%, in April 2021 43% of companies are struggling with interruptions in their supply chains. This is similar in magnitude to a year ago, when 42% of the companies surveyed cited the problem of interrupted supply chains. But the causes have changed. A year ago, closed borders and lockdown measures in many places were responsible for supply chain disruptions. Today, global shifts in consumption patterns and economic catch-up effects are causing capacity bottlenecks in international freight trade, raw materials and microchips. The problem was temporarily exacerbated by the Suez disaster, which has since been resolved.

Outlook

Despite interruptions in supply chains, Swissmechanic Director Jürg Marti sees a silver lining on the horizon: "We have clear signs that the economic situation is picking up and that many companies have bottomed out."

Source: Swissmechanic

The question of how the knowledge and experience of the "aging workforce" can be used profitably in companies was explored by Dr. Pamela Bethke, Matthias Mölleney and Daniela Strohmeier in a recent study at the Center for Human Resources & Leadership at the HWZ. Using the example of the cantonal banks in German-speaking Switzerland, the study examined age management from the perspective of employees. Two thirds are satisfied with it. Just under 80% of those surveyed would like to see a retirement age of 60-65.

Preserve Aging Workforce

It is important for the aging workforce to remain in the workforce longer in order to transfer expertise to future generations as part of knowledge management. Cross-generational expertise and experience in heterogeneous teams are increasingly system-relevant factors for companies in globalized competition. The "aging workforce" - employees over the age of 50 - is thus the focus of attention, whose expertise and experience must be safeguarded even after individual retirement. The looming loss of knowledge due to demographic change and the associated wave of retirements pose major challenges for companies in Western industrialized nations. The demographic asymmetry in conjunction with the decreasing intergenerational knowledge transfer and the declining number of employed persons additionally intensifies the personnel competition, also and especially at the Swiss cantonal banks.

Knowledge and experience assurance 50+

In their HWZ Working Paper on the potentials of the "Aging Workforce", the authors state that their needs are driven less by financial aspects and more by flexibility and appreciation. "The results of the study clearly show the economic and business benefits that can be gained by actively integrating the expertise and practical professional and life experience of employees over the age of 50, including for Swiss cantonal banks," emphasizes Matthias Mölleney, Head of the Center for Human Resources Management & Leadership at the HWZ Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich. Retirements too often destroy valuable practical experience, while the timely and intergenerational transfer of knowledge creates competitive advantages.

Action-oriented recommendations

The global pressure to innovate is a key challenge for companies with a workforce that tends to be older. Generations that have been socialized differently by technological change often bring values and expectations to the work process that could not be more different. Intergenerationally relevant expertise must be secured and sustainably dovetailed. Swiss companies must integrate the "aging workforce" even more strongly into corresponding personnel processes. The study by Dr. Pamela Bethke, Matthias Mölleney and Daniela Strohmeier provides action-oriented recommendations for this.

Source and further information: www.fh-hwz.ch

As No. 1, Swisscom wants to shape the future, which is taking place in an increasingly digitized and connected world. With the acquisition of JLS Digital AG, the Business Customers (B2B) division is further expanding its range of solutions in the area of customer experience. JLS was founded in 2001 and is now the market-leading digital signage, mobile and web agency. JLS' core competencies lie in the design, development and operation of cross-channel digital customer experiences and interactive advertising and information systems. The acquisition adds a team of over 90 digital experts to Swisscom B2B, takes over a customer portfolio of 80 companies in banking, retail and insurance, and gains access to decision-makers in marketing, sales and service.

Expansion of competence in digital signage

The competencies of JLS Digital and Swisscom subsidiary Open Web Technology, which is a recognized market leader in digital transformation consulting and software engineering, and JLS complement each other from a geographic, industry and technical perspective. As a result of the merger, Swisscom B2B now has a pool of more than 300 software engineers, user experience and user interaction experts in all regions of Switzerland.

"Innovate in the digital world"

Commenting on the transaction, Urs Lehner, Head of Swisscom Business Customers, says: "We are now better positioned than ever to inspire and enable medium and large enterprises to innovate in the digital world and operate on an equal footing with market leaders. By strengthening our digital customer experience offering, we are making a clear commitment to Swisscom's promise to empower and accompany customers with an integrative, smart solutions portfolio." And Xavier Paternot, Managing Partner Renaissance, comments, "Renaissance Anlagestiftung sees the acquisition by Swisscom as an excellent opportunity for JLS Digital AG to accelerate its development and market penetration. Also crucial for Renaissance was the fact that the management team of JLS Digital AG also recognizes this opportunity and therefore fully supports the acquisition at hand."

Independent Swisscom Company

JLS Digital AG will become an independent Swisscom Company with its own management and board of directors. The management of JLS will remain unchanged and retain its responsibilities. The Board of Directors will be re-staffed with Swisscom representatives in the coming weeks. In organizational terms, the new Swisscom Company will be attached to the recently created Platforms & Application (PAP) division at Swisscom Business Customers. Patrick Minder, the former CEO of JLS, has been heading Platforms & Application, the business customer unit serving customers with software solutions, since April 2021.

Source and further information: Swisscom

The requirements for current IT infrastructures are clearly defined: they must be fast, agile, scalable and highly available. Legacy systems, such as relational database management systems (RDBMS), are overwhelmed by this due to their structures. They are too rigid and limited to provide the required data and information for modern, distributed applications in hybrid IT and multi-cloud scenarios. The migration to a flexible database platform that masters the advantages of RDBMS, NoSQL and cloud with edge computing therefore seems logical and compelling. However, behind this are sub-aspects that require great attention in order to make such a timely change as cleanly and with as little risk as possible. According to Couchbase, a provider of a modern data management platform, there are five pitfalls that lurk during a database migration:

1. The migration of data. It is fatal to adopt the data model of the old relational database management system 1:1 when switching to a new database (such as NoSQL). To properly exploit the advantages of modern databases and support new use cases and SLAs (Service Level Agreements), a new data model is required - just as a sports car needs adequate tires to develop its full potential.
2. The migration of the app framework. The same applies to the application logic. The programming framework must be adapted to the capabilities of the new database. This concerns, for example, the adaptation of the programming libraries (SDKs) to the new database. If this is not sufficient because the framework in the legacy system is no longer up to date (for example, Cobol), the entire framework must be replaced.
3. The migration of the apps. A common mistake is the big-bang approach. Just as it makes little sense to immediately want to chase times on the Nürburgring with a freshly acquired sports car, the migration risk should also be minimized through a successive approach. A step-by-step migration with a bi-directional Data Connector between the old and new worlds takes away the time pressure and ensures that regular operations can continue undisturbed from the user's point of view.
4. The importance of migration partners. Pure in-house solutions are often regarded as a supposed proof of qualification, but are usually illusory. Involving external consulting with valuable knowledge of best practices and typical sources of errors can protect against missteps, shorten the migration process, and ultimately help keep costs under control. This experience can be contributed by IT system partners or the database manufacturer.
5. The organizational changes. The technical migration of the database system alone is usually not enough to achieve the intended support of the company's goals. This also requires internal operational changes, such as a more DevOps-driven organization. This also changes the classic role of database administrators, who become more involved in app development with microservices and CI/CD automation.

"Database migration is part of a comprehensive modernization process of IT infrastructures," explains Steffen Schneider, Head of Solutions Engineering Central Europe at Couchbase. "Companies should see this as an opportunity to reposition themselves technically and organizationally, but also in terms of mindset, and thus secure their competitiveness."

Source and further information: Couchbase

With today's publication of the spring issue of the follow-up magazine 2021, the joint initiative of ORGANISATOR and the Initiative Nachfolgebus.ch special publication is now in its second round. The successor magazine was launched for the first time last year. The trade publication appears each spring as a digital edition and in the fall as a printed edition.

Successor magazine 2021 with diverse topics

This year, the focus of a comprehensive information and training offer on business succession tailored to the needs of SMEs is on preservation sales. In this way, the Nachfolgebus.ch initiative accompanies and supports entrepreneurs in particular who are pressed for time with their succession planning. The Nachfolgemagazin 2021 offers for it with detailed check lists both enterprise salesmen and - buyers a systematic overview to the seven-stage follow-up process. Well-founded expert articles and practical examples provide a wide range of tips. In addition, background reports on the importance of diversity in the context of succession and on specific entrepreneurial thinking methods provide further impetus for entrepreneurship. The current issue is available online at the price of CHF 25 at: www.companymarket.ch/nachfolgeshop

Preservation sale - when you need it fast

Currently, more than 87,000 companies are facing an unregulated succession. A company handover does not always go smoothly, and sometimes time is simply pressing. Whether due to a crisis situation or because the succession within the family fails at the last moment - the reasons why a succession arrangement suddenly comes under time pressure are manifold and usually unexpected. For such situations and all other succession scenarios, the initiative Nachfolgebus offers a wide range of expertise, some of which is free of charge. In addition to the aforementioned succession magazine 2021:

• The successor bus digital for digital free 1:1 expert* discussions
• The Succession practice workshops online as a permanently available continuing education platform. With videos, podcasts and dossiers available for download.

Dedicated to succession - the Phoenix Award

Consistent commitment to business succession also means preserving and strengthening long-term entrepreneurship in Switzerland, which is largely made up of a large number of SMEs that are several decades to centuries old. That is why the Nachfolgebus.ch 2020 initiative has for the first time launched the Phoenix Award for long-term Swiss entrepreneurship is awarded. Every year, Swiss companies that have successfully mastered business succession for at least a century are honored with this award. They usually had to overcome some crises and rise like the "Phoenix from the ashes".

Potential award winners are, on the one hand, all Swiss SMEs that have been entered in the commercial register for 100 years in the respective year. On the other hand, they are the SMEs founded 100 years ago in the respective year. A jury of experts with representatives from entrepreneurship, science and the media will select the winners in the categories Innovation/Disruption/Erneurship, Impact and Performance as a Team and Social/Economic Contribution. The members of the jury in 2021 are Dr. Corinne Mühlebach, lecturer for Strategic Marketing, Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship at the FHNW Hochschule für Wirtschaft and co-owner and managing director of Mühlebach AG, Barbara Schär, entrepreneur and succession expert, owner and managing director of La Progressia GmbH as well as René Spielmann, owner and managing director of H. Rüetschi AG, winner company of the Phoenix Award 2020. Members of the three-member jury advisory board are Corin Ballhaus, positioning expert for SMEs, owner of Ballhaus Profiling, Giacomo Garaventa, Succession expert, owner and managing director of nachfolger.ch as well as Thomas Berner, Editor-in-Chief ORGANISATOR.

Even one year after its outbreak, the Corona crisis is omnipresent for Swiss SMEs. The study by Prof. Dr. Sebastian Gurtner of the Institute Innovation & Strategic Entrepreneurship of BFH Wirtschaft shows that 92 percent of the 254 companies surveyed are affected by the crisis; 5 percent even to an extent that threatens their existence. In the first survey in March and April 2020, the level of concern was estimated to be slightly higher at 99 percent (in some form) and 12 percent (threatening the existence of the company).

Decline in sales and staff reductions as consequences of the crisis

Just under half of the SMEs surveyed said they had suffered a drop in sales in 2020. 9 percent of the companies even lost more than 50 percent of their sales last year. As a result, 18 percent of the companies had to lay off employees. The reserves saved in previous years also shrank in the "Corona year" 2020: on average, the companies affected had to use up 40 percent of their operating reserves. The personal resources of the entrepreneurs were also tapped at around one in five companies. Not all companies had to accept losses, however: As many as 33 percent of those surveyed were even able to increase their sales in 2020.

Sustainable innovations play a subordinate role in the crisis

As a result of the Corona crisis, changes in the business model were necessary at one in five SMEs. In many cases, this required innovations that were primarily related to the companies' main business activity: 18 percent of investments in 2020 went to technology-oriented innovations. Process optimization accounted for 13 percent of investment funds. Sustainable innovations, on the other hand, were less heavily promoted: Only 5 percent of the available innovation budget flowed into development projects with a focus on sustainability.

If companies have implemented innovations in 2020, these have primarily addressed changing customer needs. Due to the Corona crisis, for example, new digital sales channels had to be developed. The second most important reason was to maintain or improve their own competitive position.

What particularly inhibits sustainable innovations at present

Thus, although the Corona crisis triggered innovation efforts among the companies surveyed, hardly any projects were implemented that promoted social or environmental sustainability. The results of the studies provide three possible explanations:

• Lack of resources: During the Corona crisis, SMEs lacked both money and time to devote more attention to sustainable innovation. The main focus was on continuing operational business activities.
• Short-term planning horizon: 2020 was characterized by uncertainty: long-term planning was hardly possible; general conditions (e.g., restrictions on the number of people, store closures) often changed at short notice, and customer needs also changed. In this situation, it was difficult for the entrepreneurs to plan and implement innovations in the longer term.
• Low relevance of sustainable innovations: Awareness of the contribution that one's own company can make to ensure the sustainable development of society is still too low among many companies. In a pandemic, relevance is also often assessed in the short term and with an internal view. A large proportion of the companies surveyed were busy in 2020 with maintaining operations under the new conditions. Sustainable innovations that do not have a direct impact on business operations were thus pushed into the background.

The results come from the second survey of a progress study of the Institute Innovation & Strategic Entrepreneurship of BFH Wirtschaft. The survey took place in March and April 2021.

Source: Bern University of Applied Sciences

You are probably familiar with the "Theory of Constraints", which is all about uncovering and eliminating the biggest bottlenecks. The effects of this can be manifold, but always lead to more success in the end. This theory also works in our personal behaviors as leaders.

Find the real bottlenecks

The reason for this is the unproductive habit that we often improve those things that have little significant impact on results. Conversely, we care too little about what is really the bottleneck to our success.

Why is that? Here are two reasons:

• Lack of awareness. Many people are not even aware of their biggest bottlenecks in life and work. A coach helps with the clarification.
• Eliminating our biggest bottlenecks is often unpleasant. Namely, it is our dear habits that stand in our way. Here, too, a coach helps.

What stands in the way of your success

To make it a little more concrete, here are three typical bottlenecks for you as a leader that stand in the way of your success:

1. Letting go of fear. After all, it's good if we reinforce what makes us successful. The only thing is: over time, the parameters change so that the very thing that made us successful now gets in the way. It could be managers in certain positions, habitual meetings, cumbersome processes, or too much hedging. I see again and again that the targeted letting go of old things releases real energy leaps in the team.
2. Poor communication. Yes, it's simply important that you can clearly convey messages in an emotionally convincing way, regardless of the platform. If you're a leader these days who struggles to express yourself in front of a video camera, for example, you need to practice it. Otherwise, your communication will be a bottleneck.
3. Too little learning. It's an ongoing issue, but most managers do far too little for their own personal development. One rule of thumb is to read a book or do something similar for your development at least 30 minutes a day. If you keep that up, you'll manage the equivalent of about 20 books per year. That would certainly take you a lot further and help eliminate your bottlenecks.

As mentioned earlier, the first step to eliminating personal bottlenecks is to realize that you have them in the first place and that they are relevant to your success. This is where someone who holds up a mirror to you can help.

To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch