Schlagwort-Archive: Future

Today’s system-relevant addictions

Shortly after the crash of the Wall Street in New York (1929) Bertolt Brecht found the right words in the Three penny Opera: “What is robbing a bank compared to founding one?” Thus, he demonstrated visionary instinct. Because of the government debt, every Germans have a calculated debt with the financial system of more than 29,000 €; every US citizen even more than $ 57,000 – inclusive all babies and retirees. At the same time, some people call the classical financial institutes as system-relevant and support therefore the banks. As a result, their losses are continuously socialized and profits privatized. With it the moment is reached to take a look at today’s grown system-relevant addictions.

Just as a drug dealer makes the junkie slowly addicted to the drug, the banks have built up over a long time the following system. The result is the same as in a casino – the bank always wins.

  • Pay little interest and take lots of interest
    Already the easy-to-understand idea of charging interest rates for lending money required early on the regulation of the money business in order to prevent usury – sometimes better, sometimes worse. At the same time the banks took over the service of securely storing the money that one did not need, paid for it a certain interest rate and lent the money for a higher interest rate to borrowers, who needed money. The differences created the profits of the bank. The management of this exchange is systemically relevant – the neutral broker creates more occasions.
  • Encourage consumption on tick
    Loans served to finance kingdoms, states, and eventually businesses. With the emergence of the consumer society, there discovered also the consumer loans: for housebuilding, car purchasing, and holiday trips and meanwhile for all areas of consumption. By enabling such loans, the banks encouraged the economy that in turn created jobs. This offer of consumer loans has system relevancy- at least in a world of consumption.
  • Fees on everything (account, credit cards, balance, transactions)
    In addition to the interest rates, the banks eventually discovered the approach of getting paid for any service. An overseas transfer has always cost a lot (additionally to the rate of the currency exchange). In the meantime, the banks start charging all areas: for all kinds of money cards as well as account, transfer fees inclusively for personal transfers at a bank counter. Particularly clever is the idea to offer customers a membership card that provides some of the old services for free – of course with some pre-requisites beneficial for the bank. Since regular payments (like the rent, the telephone bill, and loans) are transacted via the own bank account, the bank strengthens as a middleman its system relevancy.
  • Reduce and possibly eliminate cash
    Since banks offer less and less “physical” services, it becomes important to close the back door of an account, the cash. For this purpose it will be abolished successively. Without cash, the values only exist in the banks’ data storages. Thus, after the abandonment of the gold standard, we reach the zenith of the virtualization of the financial values. Our wealth is now subject to fluctuating courses, which are constantly changing. So, if the cash itself has no more material value, you can also get rid of it. As soon as only the data storages of the banks represent our monetary possessions, the last person should be clear about the system relevancy of banks.
  • What is still to come?
    In the future, ALL money actions will be chargeable. The highest fees will be asked by those banks that can not change themselves as fast as the other players. The Internet enables new business models – from Linden Dollars, Bitcoins to microfinancing, crowdfunding or private loans. These transformations mean the end for classical financial institutes, which believe that they can finance themselves through excessive fees and do not adapt to the new circumstances. The last convulsions will demand a lot of the system. This means for the customers to find a way out of the systematically defined dependency from the banks – the account, the saving interests, the standing orders, the transfers, the money investments, etc. The insistence on the apparent system relevancy will shift the system – away from the classical financial institutions.

Bottom line: For millennia’s, the economy worked without system-relevant banks. Today, the banks are in a deadlock. The current efforts to find new income sources will exploit the meanwhile established dependencies, until the customers get broken. The credit system, the consumption, the services, the cash, and all that is called system-relevant, will be replaced by new providers with new business models, like microfinancing, crowdfunding or private loans. The basis of the economy, the money that is only based on faith, will be replaced by new means of payment – no matter how, main thing is getting out of the system-relevant addictions of today.

Actually they want change. Or not?

The way into the future is a daring venture that requires constantly decisions, because it is full of unforeseeable bifurcations. Some decisions are easy. People can also let themselves be drifted. There are also moments, which provide alternatives that are not sufficient for them. As soon as the change pressure cannot be taken any longer, they actively care to get off the predefined path. Financial and personnel resources will be planned and the commitment for change will be announced. Actually it looks like they want change. Or not?

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It is an extreme adventure, if one dares a leap from an outdated state into an uncertain future. The insecurity about the result creates a high risk. In order to make that leap, a defined precondition is the will for change. At the same time such projects offer the opportunity for a large career jump – potentially upward or downward. The consequence is to be torn between the reachable success and the deep abyss that opens up after a failure. Is it surprising that the responsible executives lack a certain continuity and consequence? What do the change leaders need, in order to be successful?

  • A clear conception of the future
    Change without a target is evolutionary shift, which is determined by the context and can only be affected indirectly. To pull off you need a vision that conveys the destination in such a way, as if it is already reached. Packed into a plausible story the way becomes visible that leads towards the goal.
  • The enthusiasm for the future
    Responsible executives must burn for this future in order to ignite the other people. The enthusiasm does not only show up in a positive snapshot of the future, but also in the congruent example that the pioneers show in their role model function.
  • The way into the future
    The responsible people must be ahead of all others on the way into the future, not standing indifferently beside and only propel. They lose their reliability, if they do not create the impression to believe in it. It must be clear to everyone that the way into the future will be stony and full of obstacles. The price for keeping up is the brave new world.
  • Decisiveness for the necessary measures
    In order to make progress with the change, it needs decisiveness and consequence. Particularly in the beginning the momentum is determined that will be needed during the realization to be able to get over larger difficulties. The necessary measures go beyond the content-related solutions. There are special tools available in change management that make the changes possible – convincing and engaging publications as well as the open discourses with the target groups.
  • The willingness to change oneself
    The personal willingness to change of all responsible people them is crucial for the success of the initiatives. They must leave their personal comfort zone and take risks, so that the others develop the confidence that allows them to admit the changes. If the responsible persons do not show this readiness, the project fails rather earlier than later.

So that room is available for innovation, you also have to let go things, which are actually completely pleasing. Change makers, who do not achieve to convey the change, to act respectively and to let those pleasant advantages go cause

  • continuous delay of the change projects,
  • lack of concrete results,
  • confusion through permanent micro management,
  • uncertainty due to repetitive goal changes and
  • demotivation with unjustified accusations.

Change management begins in the mind of all involved and concerned people. Those, who are part of the problem, have difficulties to stick to these changes. For this reason, one needs neutral third views, which are free of personal involvement, who have the look for the substantial aspects and effective tools for change, so that the transition succeeds.

Bottom line: Change processes only work as well, as the responsible people, who perform them. The pre-conditions are the inspiring vision, the predefined way into the future, the decisiveness and the readiness to change of the responsible people. Who is not ready to admit is doomed to failure. They actually want change. Or not?