Publication database

Through two studies we observed, that leaders must make a concerted effort to encourage assertiveness and speak-up behavior in their area of responsibility by asking open-ended questions before posing solutions, even (and especially) in high-stakes and urgent situations. When people are under pressure, it’s not uncommon for many to shut down and grow quiet as oppose to proactive. This is why inquiry must be used as a means for getting information — especially during crises. Further, leader’s encouragement will help to create an environment of psychological safety, and the solutions they gather will be much better for it. A business framework that emphasizes leading with questions, and one that trains and retains leaders with this skill set, is capable of achieving operational excellence.

Previously published on HBR.org
December 9, 2019

New regulations and opportunities in the decentralized energy market can be good for the planet and business.

The Commission “‘Competition Law 4.0’” was set up by the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy with the task to draw up recommendations for the further development of EU competition law in the light of the digital economy. The final report with 22 recommendations was handed over in September 2019.
The commission finds that the practical and actual power of consumers to dispose of their own data must be improved, clear rules of conduct for dominant platforms must be introduced, legal certainty for cooperation in the digital sector must be enhanced, and the institutional linkage between competition law and other digital regulation must be strengthened.

Through two studies we observed, that leaders must make a concerted effort to encourage assertiveness and speak-up behavior in their area of responsibility by asking open-ended questions before posing solutions, even (and especially) in high-stakes and urgent situations. When people are under pressure, it’s not uncommon for many to shut down and grow quiet as oppose to proactive. This is why inquiry must be used as a means for getting information — especially during crises. Further, leader’s encouragement will help to create an environment of psychological safety, and the solutions they gather will be much better for it. A business framework that emphasizes leading with questions, and one that trains and retains leaders with this skill set, is capable of achieving operational excellence.

Based on two studies of flight crew members in civil and military aviation, we observed that the best performance was achieved by the crews where the captain actively included other flight crew members in the decision making process by asking open questions. Furthermore, we observed that preferences of commanders for asking open questions differed markedly between the German and the Israeli air forces.

With permission of the German Armed Forces Aviation Office (Luftfahrtamt der Bundeswehr)

In recent years, the German banking sector has overcome major challenges such as the global financial crisis and the European debt crisis. This paper analyses a recent development as a particular determinant of the future outlook for the German banking sector. Interest rates are at historically low levels and may remain at these levels for a considerable period of time. Such levels pose a specific challenge to banks which are heavily dependent on interest income, as is the case for most German banks. We consider different interest rate scenarios and analyse the extent to which they cause a further narrowing of the interest rate margin. Our results indicate that a projected decline in this margin will result in no more than 20% of German banks earning a cost of capital of 8% by the end of this decade. This decline is somewhat alleviated by the fact that German banks can apply a special feature of German accounting standards by using hidden and open reserves.

© 2017 Western Economic Association International