The global financial and economic systems currently mark the end of the fifth Kondratieff cycle, very high volatilities and thus massive uncertainties. What are the drivers of future prosperity and growth? The basic innovation that will generate global economic growth in the upcoming sixth Kondratieff cycle has apparently not yet been found or is not publicly known. The Asian world’s emergence into prosperity brings with it massive demand, but is driven by the dynamics of “catching up”, but not by the dynamics of content renewal through a global leap in innovation.

The question of where global future economic growth based on innovation will come from remains unanswered. The current general uncertainty is so great because, on the one hand, the existing systems of the past are increasingly failing and, on the other, there are no suitable prospects for the future. Such a situation of transition from something familiar and formerly well-functioning old to something completely unknown new is experienced by many as a shock. Dealing with these transitions (not yet change!) processes require special skills and abilities. It comes to destabilizations. Previously proven solutions, e.g. strategy development and implementation, employee retention and development, organizational development, leadership, etc., no longer work as usual. Old-fashioned mechanisms and techniques have had their day, new things want to be born, but nobody knows when and where childbirth will take place and who or what will be the decisive triggers. Large change processes are always connected with changes in thinking and acting. Erwin Laszlo presented in his theory of macro-shift that in such situations whole paradigms of thinking, i.e. (mental) attitudes, experience profound change, through which the world has seen, judged and treated its problems.

It requires a transformation of attitude/attitude/attitude towards the action partner, the goal and oneself (task, oneself, others). Instead of being trapped in individual or organizational narcissism, focusing only on one’s own needs, goals and missions, and in doing so violating the boundaries of others, the path to excellence requires consideration and appreciation of the person, his or her limits and also his or her development. Only then is there the basis for a lasting bond. Every imbalance on the one hand has a destructive effect on the relationship and on the other hand robs the connection and unity which is necessary to be able to solve really progressive and excellent problems.

The stronger the solidarity, the stronger the unity, the ability to act together, in which the secret of genuine excellence lies hidden. Everyone gives their best – together for the customer. When all parties are in open dialogue and learners with each other, they are on the common path to excellence together.

A person and also organizations that want to be successful in the long run should therefore strive for a transformation in the thinking and acting of their members, away from narcissism towards solidarity by preserving the boundaries of their employees, suppliers, customers, partners of all kinds. Integrity can actually be trained. However, it must be firmly and bindingly anchored in the basic values of the organization. First-level managers in the company in particular must want, live and specifically promote integrity. This is the only way to internalize integrity at all levels and lead to sustainable relationships – inside and outside the company.

Many business relationships suffer from a lack of sustainability. What is the reason for this? In short, our observation and research show that this phenomenon can be traced back to one cause: business relationships ultimately break down because one person wants to exploit the other or even exploit him one-sidedly – in other words, still seeks his personal profit even when the other person is already on the ground. Being made a loser involves a loss of face.

In some contexts, it can be experienced how the limits are maintained for a certain period of time, for example, to study the system or the other person. After the system or counterpart has been recorded and access to its system has been created, border observation is abandoned and only one’s own advantage is sought. The partner is therefore used as a stirrup for the personal success that is sought. After initially possibly good and successful cooperation, a perceived or actual imbalance arises. The relationship is doomed to failure from the moment the imbalance occurs.

It lacks a solid foundation: integrity. To be integer means to be connected in the relationship and not isolated. Many problems of our time can be traced back to individualization. This affects individuals as well as organizations. Connectedness arises from the fact that the boundary of the other is preserved. If this happens, then the feeling of appreciation is preserved. If the border of the other is (repeatedly) violated, then the person whose border is violated feels a lack of appreciation and distances himself from this intruder.

Only if both sides are permanent winners and also feel this way, will the basis of a lasting bond remain. The foundation is laid for real excellence to have a chance. Excellence only develops when everyone gives their best and this requires a positive motivation. Both parties give their utmost to the task since they are winners.

A good TEAM is unbeatable – this is true and applies everywhere: Whether in sports, politics or in the company – good teams perform and strive for more! So it’s no wonder that the ability to work in a team is advertised, desired and coveted in any job advertisement. But often the desire is the father of the thought. The reality in many companies is quite different: Everyone thinks (only) of himself, a common goal is not pursued or only very insufficiently pursued. What needs to be done together in today’s world?

High-performance teams are good role models because they have special characteristics:

• The team members are aligned to the goals to be achieved together.
• The distribution of roles and tasks is based on skills and strengths
• The relationships of the team members are characterized by respect, esteem, and trust.
• The team members have developed accepted rules of conduct and adhere to them.

The question for any responsible leader is: How do I turn a group into a team with the above characteristics? Team development is one of the greatest challenges for companies because the overall clout is determined by the quality of the cooperation between the people involved. Exaggerated individualism and blind individualism do immense damage. The performance and the will to perform of most employees depend to a large extent on the conditions of the respective working environment and on the nature and quality of the relationships with the immediate colleagues.

In healthy companies, success is not based on the harm done to others. Healthy companies do not make losers. Neither the supplier nor the customer nor the employee is exploited and made a loser. Exactly this is, however, the today prevailing model in particular of many large companies. The fact that this exploitation model is not systemically balanced and thus cannot lead to entrepreneurial success in the long term is as certain as our knowledge that balancing justice is sought in every system. The fewer losers there are, the more stable a system is. This fact leads to healthy companies using all the levers to avoid that there are losers in the company’s system.

Excellence at all levels always emerges by itself where there are no losers.

If everyone is a winner, everyone gives their best, because the condition is optimal. If someone feels like a loser, he will make his bet dependent on how much a winning position can be expected. It is therefore almost logical that healthy companies do everything they can to ensure that not only does nobody feel like a loser, but also that nobody is a loser, neither the supplier, nor the customer, nor the employee.

The opposite can be observed at the moment. Many companies are pursuing the declared strategy of improving their profits on the basis of better strategic exploitation of suppliers, employees, and customers. Such an approach inevitably leads to the loss of stability and resilience as well as sustainability and uncertainty of the continued existence of the company. Even if the aforementioned effects do not occur immediately, the effect after the dam has broken is all the more devastating for the company.

In the practice of management consulting, it can be observed again and again that companies claim pure profit maximization as their highest goal. Stilblüten are driven there, where a bare turnover or profit goal is spent as a vision of the enterprise, possibly still with missing or inappropriate coworker and/or high-level personnel participation in economic success. It is hard to believe how intellectually underdeveloped a company’s employees will be, assuming that such a mission and vision could have even a trace of motivating effect.

Healthy companies are on a morally “good” and desirable mission with the entire corporate community (investors, employees, suppliers, customers). The mission describes why it is good that the company’s products/services exist and why or how they help. Whether mobility, flexibility, recreation, comfort, workability, information, assistance, nutrition… and a thousand other meaningful things – without a world-changing and problem-solving mission, the organization loses its basic right to exist. So it can never be the mission of the company to make as much profit as possible and at the same time to develop a meaningful effect with this mission. Healthy companies ALWAYS see their mission, the beneficial mission in the foreground and regard the operating result as the effect of their sense creation. In particular, this promotes integrity (wholeness/connectedness) of all those involved with the company.

The vision is always nourished by the mission, by the mission that needs to be visionarily expanded. An unhealthy understanding of vision and mission in the company abolishes identification and integrity with the organization and reduces people to a purely extrinsic, motivated being. A paradigm shift is again necessary because even in this approach an old school of the economy is visible that has long been regarded as outdated and rather serves a human image of scientific management than a systemic approach.

Healthy organizations do almost everything they can to keep employees and even suppliers and customers informed about the usefulness and social contribution of their products and services.

In healthy organizations, the vision never describes a size goal, but always a social impact.