What do you think are the biggest “value declines” we have in our generation? Where you could say, maybe we should go back to being a little more focused on bringing values back to the forefront?

“In general, I have no concern for your generation or the future generations, but there are certain values that are supposed to be maintained. They’re not just conservative or stale.
So punctuality, that you have a little consideration for each other. I mean getting up for grandma or the pregnant woman on the bus sometimes. These are things that are never wrong, and they can definitely be done. And reliability. So that is also very, very important to me with my employees. When I give someone a task, I’m also happy to explain it, and it’s also always important for employees to ask – sometimes I may not be clear – but then I also expect it to be done.

And that’s what I learned in the Bundeswehr, for example: Who does what, when and for what purpose? […] And also as a leadership function, you often have the fact that many people come to you and want something from you, and that’s fine. Then you have to listen to those topics and issues, but you also can’t be afraid to say no to some things. You can’t always just think you have to be nice to people or always give them what they want.

In fact, you should always weigh the easy choice against the right choice. The right decision is often not the easy one, but the one that hurts a bit more. That has served me quite well in my professional existence.”