It’s February 6, 2020, time to dive into Think Tank No. 5! A Liscia Consulting GbR brainchild, the Think Tank came to life in 2015. An annual event in Paderborn, Germany, Liscia’s Think Tank offers three stimulating presentations and the opportunity for lively networking. And this year, too, more than 30 invited guests followed the Think Tank call.
“…an annual feast of food for thought.” (Andreas Thiem, Siemens Finance & Leasing GmbH)
Ragip Aydin, Raynet GmbH CEO, opened Think Tank No 5 with his talk Shape Your Future Today. He began by guiding his listeners through the streets of his hometown Istanbul where, as a young man selling bottled water and chocolate, he garnered his first business experience. With vivid anecdotes describing his journey to the present day, he clearly brought home the importance of having and holding a vision of your future, motivating yourself as you forge ahead and gather your employees along the way to collective success. Today, Raynet GmbH offers software solutions and services in application lifecycle management, counting Adobe and Bertelsmann among their clients. The company, under Ragip Aydin’s leadership, also provides each and every one of the 100 employees a professional homeland where they can develop their potential, making a personal contribution to their own and the business’s success.
“…it feels like coming home here, and, as a business holder, it is always exciting to get in touch with the personalities behind the speakers and the information they share.” Jonas Vorbohle (Dean & David Paderborn
Following a delightful lunch break, during which guests enjoyed lively conversation, establishing new contacts and expanding existing ones, the second presentation began. Drawing on multiple practical examples, Gianni Liscia illustrated how values are shaped and how they influence our everyday actions and behavior. He went on to elucidate how long-term success depends on employees sharing their employer’s values. Only when both value sets are a snug fit, do employees act conscientiously in their company’s name – an insight that many organizations fail to exploit. At the get-go, values-compatibility should be a recruiting issue. Hire attitude, train skills! This is an excellent strategy, as it’s much more effective to train skills in employees who already share your company values than to take a costly gamble on those who do not.
“… it’s as good as my first Think Tank (…) I find that the presentations always awaken new impulses.” (Michael S. Schmidt, Elkamet Kunststofftechnik GmbH)
Sandra Hunke provided the final Think Tank presentation, addressing the question: What makes a person successful? Born in East Westphalia, Sandra Hunke is a model on catwalks in Berlin and Barcelona as well as a part-time plumber. She finds both professions highly gratifying. She builds her success on hard work, positive thinking and the courage to make split-second decisions. Relating everyday stories from her life in both worlds, she repeatedly held up a mirror, charmingly inviting her audience to take a look, inspiring self-reflection and new thoughts. Concluding her presentation, two guests were given the opportunity to attempt installing a water faucet within a very limited timeframe – a clear and simple demonstration of just how important rapid-fire decisions can be.
Ragip Aydin
Sandra Hunke
Gianni Liscia
