It is probably too tempting, in times when the martial is once again getting its place in language, to let go of the cultural shackles oneself and to exert linguistic pressure. Like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, who have transformed from tech masterminds to verbal attackers against their own people. Zuckerberg threatened: anyone who doesn't work hard should leave the company voluntarily.

But provocative language creates the wrong awareness in companies. It is poison for innovative thinking because it closes the emotional paths to positive potential. Because intelligent people don't need harsh language. They need an environment in which they can engage in constructive exchange with like-minded people. They need space - mental and practical - to create even greater spaces on behalf of their employer. Even more added value. With each generation of leaders, a company can grow or shrink.

Feeling good is not enough for new potential

Space does not mean company coffee kitchens, which have expanded into veritable barista paradises. A sense of well-being is not enough for genuine communication of potential. Because before companies hope to reach employees' deeper motivations via a pleasant working atmosphere, they have to lead an elephant out of the room they themselves put in there. For many years they have shown their people that they want to take little or no responsibility for securing their jobs. And the more the "corporate identity" was invoked, the more it diminished. And now one wonders why employee loyalty is gone – gone forever. And every further dismissal for the sake of profit only widens the gap.

But that's how it is. Tomorrow's makers are now building their own "individual business case". This is rarely on paper, but in their heads. There, the inner dialogue with the employer goes something like this: "You want more from me than you pay me for every month? Then give me good reasons so that I don't regret that later."

Good reasons for the Individual Business Case

Such reasons, in turn, only get into these heads through communication. Companies should pay careful attention to the narrative perspective and refrain from any management jargon. Companies still assume that everything that happens under their name is also subject to their sphere of influence. But this is far from being the case.

This is the equivalent value that companies have to invest for the added value delivered. All in all, these are very rational reasons. But this is the only way to get to the heart of managers and employees: through the head. And not with crisis language, but with sovereign, unambiguous and authentic statements that do not create hype, but trust.

Communicate positively

Bright minds are also clear minds that move quickly to where they find more creative freedom, recognition, and money. In that order. Mark Zuckerberg himself has prompted the move of many bright minds to better employers: Most of the people he fired in the "Year of Efficiency" (i.e. the first ten thousand affected) are now under contract with the competition. The second ten thousand, who joined recently, will also find new jobs.

In contrast, the Würth Group shows how to transmit the power of successful corporate management in a positive way. In an interview with the FAZ of 11 January 2023, Robert Friedmann, Chairman of the Group Management Board, shows how identification, success and success factors are put into clear and straightforward language. For example: "Industrial settlements are decided for decades. When we build a new factory, we don't just look at the current situation. We continue to invest in Germany." "I am very optimistic that Germany will continue to be competitive as a location."

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Positive grumble

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And if you want to understand in which league Würth is playing, here's some orientation: "We are of the same order of magnitude as Henkel and Adidas." Like the Würth Group, these two companies make around 20 billion euros in sales. And instead of talking about fear of war and inflation, Friedmann says: "Price pressure will ease." On the fact that Germans like to grumble - the Würth boss also sees that as positive: "I find it easier to be positively surprised."

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By the way, a very interesting detail is that Friedmann manages to describe his own successes without once using the word "efficiency". Astonishing, actually. Because efficiency is basically the fighting term of all fighting terms. It does not sound militant, but it has an enormous, quietly destructive power. It is the word that can trigger disillusionment and frustration like no other (except among investors, and probably only surpassed by "restructuring").

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Garmin, the fitness and outdoor brand, shows how it is possible to dispense almost entirely with management slang. The company has quietly but rapidly risen to become one of the five largest watch manufacturers in the world. Garmin's growth is largely driven by the principle of "servant leadership". The simplest way to translate this is "enabling instead of commanding". Read more in our Mindcase.