A Public Reflection

When I received a call from Daniel Grun in July 2022, I honestly thought it was a joke. I was on vacation and picked up the phone out of curiosity. But it turned out to be a serious request: to run VSM trainings for BOSCH – at a very decent daily rate. I couldn’t believe it. Finally, after more than 10 years, a super huge corporate wanted to actually use the Viable System Model. That call was an inflection point- it changed my life.

Since the mobility sector at BOSCH was about to transform its entire structure (hierarchy, processes, steering), I had the privilege to meet countless people in a very short time – and to get familiar with the endless stream of abbreviations and internal codes. Luckily, my G0 (aka my wife) gave me the energy to survive the very first weeks, which felt like a rollercoaster. Brain Bosched!

There were tremendous highs: developing trainings and enabling sessions, working hands-on with the VSM (especially using the methodology from Martin Pfiffner), and moving forward on my personal learning journey. But there were also setbacks. I had rationally anticipated them, yet experiencing them was still challenging. I often had to remind myself of one of my favorite quotes: “Not dead – can’t quit.” It is, and remains, incredibly tempting to work in this unbelievable organization with its rich history and proven ability to adapt to changing market conditions. And with new technologies like AI, quantum sensors, and the electrification of everything, it’s all the more exciting.

Still, people joke with me when I tell them I’ve reached 1000 days.

“You’re still here? Wow!”

My standard answer: “Why in the world should I give up during one of the biggest transformations in German industry? Yes, it’s hard – but now we have the chance to do new things!”

That’s why I want to stay and continue with:

• Redesigning governance, steering, and collaboration structures for better time-to-market flow and co-created value delivery
• Further developing the BAPPO Org Design Framework (while the VSM is included, it goes much further – it addresses all dimensions of the organization)
• Building GenAI solutions for organizational development and design – especially making Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) tangible and connecting it with our multi-agent ecosystem at BOSCH
• Supporting the organization with smart goal setting and strategy execution methods (data dashboards, OKRs, weak-signal detection)

What I don’t do anymore (and I’m super happy about it):

• Typical facilitation jobs. The “magic” is gone, and I leave that to people who are passionate about it.
• Same for classic “agile coaching.” Even though agile is, in my opinion, not dead, I believe it needs a different approach to truly enable responsiveness in organizations.

What still needs to be tackled:

• The obsession in certain parts of the organization with regulating everything through (too) many rules, which often only slow down the organization. Of course, compliance is necessary, but huge organizations tend to fall into the traps of bureaucracy—sometimes turning it into an art form of its own.

Lastly, a word about Robert Bosch.

BOSCH is a truly special company because of its founder, Robert Bosch. For years I’ve been aware of his famous quotes and the values he stood for—they’ve always resonated with me. On top of that, BOSCH is not stock-listed, which allows the organization to focus on long-term topics. The Bosch Foundation is another unique aspect—dedicated to creating public value and strengthening civil society. And, importantly, we’re not called employees—we’re called associates.

Of course, these are challenging times, with transformations across society, technology, and the environment unfolding all at once. But the opportunities are too tempting to walk away from. And since I’d like to win today’s “butt-kissing award” on LinkedIn, I’ll close this reflection with the words of Kennedy:

“Not because it’s easy—but because it’s hard.”