by Sören Stamer April 26, 2007 at 08:19 PM

Germany loves Italian food, soccer, and cars. And Germany loves pets. Some parents complain that Germans might love their pets even more than their children, which sounds like a real tragedy.

But a small group of people seems really unloved in Germany: Entrepreneurs.

Klaus is one of those German entrepreneurs. He is a friend and a former colleague of mine, who first founded his company in Cambridge, UK and recently relocated to Hamburg. (Attention: I had to update the link due to a fault. Klaus founded Sierra Sensors after leaving Akubio.)

I met Klaus on Tuesday and learned something about one of my blind spots: Klaus told me that being an entrepreneur in Germany feels a lot different than in the UK. It was amazingly easy to start his company in the UK. There was only a little bureaucracy, helpful support by the government (even at the weekend!), and – most important – the good feeling to be respected by society.

Klaus does not feel the same since moving his company to Hamburg. He seems to be somewhat frustrated talking about all the jealousy and envy he receives day to day. ‘Entrepreneurs are not welcome in Germany’ is his alarming conclusion.

Well, I love to be an entrepreneur. It is such a great experience to build an enterprise that makes a difference for all the people involved – even in Germany.

It seems that I am so used to Klaus’ experiences that I am hardly aware of them anymore.

However, we have to change this poisoned attitude. I think it is dangerous for our society. It harms our ability as an open society to innovate and create a better life for all.

I vote for ‘Intrapreneurship’ (Thanks Ed for the hint). It looks like a far better model for the future. It works well not just for entrepreneurs.

by Sören Stamer April 22, 2007 at 03:18 PM

"NO ASSHOLES"

Everyone who is interested in a healthy corporate culture should have zero tolerance for assholes. Those who have the guts to stand up against certified assholes make the difference.

So if you want to work in a healthy corporate culture, fight for it!

by Sören Stamer April 19, 2007 at 04:30 PM

Dear CoreMedia

Happy Birthday and all the best for your bright future!

We are celebrating your eleventh birthday today - and that means a lot these days. The Internet was still tiny when Andreas Gawecki, Prof. Dr. Florian Matthes, Prof. Dr. Joachim W. Schmidt, and I founded you. Mobile communication was a niche market in 1996. And imagine this: The world could live without Google those days. Really!

Thanks for being special. And thanks for eleven fantastic years that changed my life. It is great fun being part of you. I adore you for your great personality.

We ain’t seen nothing yet.

All the best

Sören

by Sören Stamer April 02, 2007 at 07:53 PM

Does your company still surprise you - in a positive way - from time to time? Regularly? If so, when was the last time that you were deeply amazed by your colleagues?

Well, I recognized a fundamental change at my own company CoreMedia with regard to positive surprises. Since we started to transform to an Enterprise 2.0 my own perception is full of these and it feels absolutely fantastic.

Fortunately, the latest set of surprises at CoreMedia becoming an Enterprise 2.0 were documented by Axel Wienberg, a highly respected colleague of mine. Please enjoy!

I tend to believe that within a well-functioning self-organized environment positive surprises are ubiquitous - especially for the CEO. And this is good, since he or she won't limit the potential of the company by his or her own personal creativity anymore.

This feels so amazing. You will definitely know that you work for the right company if this happens to you.