Dr. Babette Sonntag

Is psychological safety the buzzword of the decade? Create an environment where people can speak freely, admit mistakes, and dare to try new ideas... In principle, that's absolutely correct. But what if this promise falls short? What if the core of the problem isn't a lack of safety at all, but rather that we've never learned to navigate the age-old tension between genuine opinion and social role? Honne Tatemae and Wa for clarity in innovation management Today, in part 5 of the Japanese...

The world's most successful automobile manufacturer is sounding the alarm. Despite record sales, Toyota warns: "If nothing changes, we will not survive." How can it be that the very company that has perfected lean management and efficiency is now fighting for survival? The paradox behind this is highly relevant for leaders: it's not a lack of expertise that becomes a problem, but rather too much of it. This is precisely where what I call the expert trap in innovation begins. The more...

How does one start slowly and arrive faster? What do Nemawashi and Gemba actually mean in innovation management? I've witnessed decision-making processes in Japanese teams where small talk took up most of the meeting, but the actual decision was then made rather unspectacularly in just a few minutes. This wasn't because the decision was unimportant, but because all participants had already agreed on what would be decided. This process is called Nemawashi. In Germany, on the other hand, I've...