Apr 12An Old Jewish Parable explains the Truth of StorytellingSome time ago, I stumbled over this old Jewish parable, that goes like that: “Once upon a time… TRUTH, naked and cold, had been turned away from every door in the village. Her nakedness frightened the people. Taking pity on her, PARABLE gathered her up and took her home. …Storytelling2 min readStorytelling2 min read
Sep 2, 2022The Nostalgia — Story… or why Brexiters, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump succeeded with the very same story Yes, I do believe, that, if you break the narratives of the Brexiters, Putin and Trump down to their core, they basically tell the very same story. In its most simple form, their story goes…Populism4 min readPopulism4 min read
Feb 9, 2021THE HERO INNOVATOR… or why rule-breaking means progress More recently, I investigated the connection between heroism and innovation… and I found that innovating, not surprisingly, can be a heroic act indeed. Let’s take a look at heroes first. There are some common misconceptions about heroes: Many people intuitively imagine heroes as superhumans…İnnovation7 min readİnnovation7 min read
Jan 27, 2021RIDING THE BLACK SWANThe title might be misleading as, well, technically COVID-19 and the current crisis is not really a black swan event, but more of a grey rhino. The reason being is that black swan events are technically events that are unpredictable and beyond what is normally expected. However, proponents to call…Innovation8 min readInnovation8 min read
Nov 18, 2020The new golden twentiesEvery decade is known for something; and every decade brought us some key innovations they will always be associated with. The 1960s were the decade of civil unrest and fundamental social change that also brought us colour television and the moon landing. …5 min read5 min read
Feb 4, 2019Heroes are social animals — or why Han Solo needs a ChewbaccaIn today’s chapter, I analyze why heroes value social companionships, team-work and friends and what lessons this beholds for the rest of us. “Let the rest of the world beat their brains out for a buck. It’s friends that count. And I got friends”, says the troublesome Bette Davis in…Movies8 min readMovies8 min read
Jan 24, 2019Curiosity– or why nosiness drives stories and livesIn a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit. He enjoyed a calm life somewhere in the Shire on the edges of Middle-earth. All the other hobbits lived equally content and peaceful lives and every day seemed to be only a slightly different variation of the day before. However…Curiosity9 min readCuriosity9 min read
Jan 23, 2019Positivity — or why attitude often defines the outcomeImagine a young businessman who is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the alleged murder of his wife and her lover; a crime he never committed. He has to do time in a horrible jail with inhuman conditions and sadistic prison wards who enjoy torturing the inmates…Self Improvement9 min readSelf Improvement9 min read
Jan 22, 2019Grit — or why only giving up means failingImagine you are a boxer. Imagine in one fight your face is hit so often that it resembles a cauliflower; imagine you see your opponent double and imagine you can’t feel your legs anymore. Every time you get knocked down, the only thing you hear is the faint noise of…Self Improvement8 min readSelf Improvement8 min read
Jan 17, 2019Self determination — or why breaking rules means progressRemember the beautiful movie Dead Poet’s society? It tells the bitter-sweet story of the progressive teacher Keating who stands up against the arch conservative norms in an elitist boarding school in the 1950s. Mr. Keating, wonderfully portrayed by Robin Williams, warns his students against leading lives of “quiet desperation,” and…Entrepreneurship10 min readEntrepreneurship10 min read