Original ideas, solutions and approaches are more in demand than ever. But where are they supposed to come from if we shimmy from one accepted thought to the next in uncertain times, with little daring? Charles Baudelaire already had an answer to this almost 200 years ago: “Complete sincerity is the path to originality”. Those…
The Chinese word for crisis contains two characters: One stands for danger and the other for opportunity, i.e. “to meet the opportunity”. But our focus on danger dominates our view in the crisis. While we focus all our energy on getting ourselves out of the supposed danger zone, opportunities remain unused and valuable potential lies…
The most wonderful thing often is due to simplicity. Like the comforting anticipation you may experience when you turn a sausage skewered on a stick over a campfire, while feeling slightly chilly. Anyone planning a project, be it a meeting, an event or a business project, will experience how difficult it is to make it…
… allows you to perceive what the ear does not hear and the eye does not see. Whoever senses, recognizes correlations, unconsciously knows how things work without being able to explain it. Our senses help us taking decisions, interacting with others and with learning. In times of data, facts and piles of information, those who…
… is an inexhaustible investment”. This quotation from the Swiss pedagogue Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi brilliantly describes a basic principle of successful cooperation, learning and development. Potentials may only fully unfold in an atmosphere of mutual trust and appreciation. What seems impossible without trust in each other becomes possible when we trust each other. In this…
And that’s a good thing as only in the unexpected lies the chance to develop new ideas and solutions. The familiar experience that things often turn out quite differently to what was expected is therefore no reason for resignation and discouragement. On the contrary, it gives way to hope and the prospect of new paths…
In challenging times we tend to rave about the past and dream of a better future. We long for the “after” with all its illusions. But whoever sinks into these dreams, misses the best: Today! “There are only two days in your life you can never change. One is yesterday and the other is tomorrow.”…
Speed of thought and action often is seen as an unmistakable sign of good progress. Slowness, on the other side, seems to be a sign of inadequacy, inertia and weakness. Often, however, it is only slowness that opens up a panoramic view, allows us to immerse ourselves deeply and let our thoughts run free. Instead…
And that requires courage – courage to leave the old, familiar path and courage to go abroad, to take a new direction, to meet other people and gain new experiences. But even an unknown path leads us back to familiar normality, and the more often we walk it – the sooner. Those who go their…
“Basically, it is the connections with people that give life its value” says Wilhelm von Humboldt. In solidarity with each other, we develop our strengths, grow beyond ourselves, learn and feel true joy. Pure physical distance cannot cut this connection to each other. Those who think about each other, make virtual contact with each other,…
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