Is it possible to design projects with open results?

That is not easy.

Especially not if the initial situation was an acute crisis in very recent times. The threatening dynamics made open- ended thinking almost impossible. So you can only move forward from success to success.

This time the project definition was more differentiated. It was not about acute crisis management, but rather about a strategy to consolidate the position, or better, a further expansion using the prevailing crisis scenarios in Brazil. It was clear, however, that no enthusiastic adventures should be undertaken and that any strategic assumption must be robustly backed by operational-tactical measures. The implementation of these tactical measures should then also define the next steps or be used to adapt the strategy.

In 2012, the economic situation in Brazil was still largely unproblematic. The country had the longest phase of an economic and social upswing in democratic times behind it. The financial crisis of 2008-2010 had been overcome extremely well, without really causing major upheavals. A new sociological- economic middle class had emerged in the context of the emerging global economies.

Starting in 2014, Brazil's situation deteriorated rapidly and an economic downturn occurred, which has not really stopped until today.

After one year, growth of over 25% was achieved at the beginning of 2017 and profits increased by 100% compared to the previous year. The installed simple financial control system improved efficiency and cash flow in the small local coffee store chain. All installed coffeeshops were back in the blue zone.

The absence of a strategy has in no way been synonymous with the failure of the organization, as many third parties always assume. It can already be observed very clearly that the deliberate absence of a strategy encourages the organization to be more flexible. Possibly, these companies are the best prepared economic units for constant learning and the necessary adaptation.

A global company specializing in property facades and energy efficient windows and doors executed the most emblematic projects in Brazil, but the company had not returned a profit from its Brazil office since 2001 and had recognized that a strong brand and quality product were not enough to succeed in the current market. The company’s headquarters in Europe was considering closing the Brazil office. However, it also recognized that Brazil is an emerging market with a large social middle class and an average age of 29 years, making this a potentially lucrative location if a successful turnaround could be executed. The business model is not matching to the local requirements. To survive, the model would have to be adapted, which would seem to be contrary to the European standard. Is that feasible?

We have been applying the Design Thinking mindset for many years, evaluating with every project. We see again and again that Design Thinking is probably one of the most important aspects on the path of corporate cultural change in a transformation. Therefore, we come to the project with the evolutionary knowledge of Design Thinking and implement this way of thinking. It should take root and stay in the project and in the client company.

Since around 2016, the requirements for implementing digital and automated solutions for business processes in reorganizations and transformations have been constantly increasing in our projects. This applies equally to B2C, as well as B2B applications.

What we notice again and again is that words like digital transformation, digitalization, blockchain, up to the almost mystical artificial intelligence AI, naturally trigger shining eyes and delight in many customers.

How dangerous can paradigms be in a crisis?

Can an industry-wide paradigm lead to business blindness? Under what conditions has a paradigm developed?

If you think about costs too late, you ruin your company. Those who always think about costs too early kill creativity. Cost-cutting measures must be taken when you are earning a lot of money. Once you're in the red, it's too late. Many years of experience can sometimes narrow the view. There are people who think they know the bird very well because they have seen the egg from which it crawled out.

Sometimes you have to pull out trees to see if the root is still there. After many years of the paradigm of uncompromising outsourcing of all functions, we realize after many projects that this way has to be decided anew in every case and has to be checked at regular intervals for its still existing advantages. Paradigms must not be retained for convenience.

Contextual intelligence - using Brazil as an example. What is Brazil's profiling and thus the implications for your business in the country? Brazil vs. India - a vivid example of how important it is to decipher and interpret cultural and contextual intelligence.

We, our clients' employees, and employees of companies we know tend to spend between 3.5 and 4 days per month in meetings and video conferences (strategy meetings, coordination meetings, conference calls, video calls). This corresponds to about 20% of the effective working time per month. Most meetings are mostly just a rehash of things we all actually already knew. To achieve an efficiency effect we had to change the workflow in the new project missions. So if it should be true that a lot of meetings are just a rehash of long known things, this coordination should be replaced by asynchronous updates and tasks. And this is where collaboration tools come into their own.

The outbreak of the Lava-Jato crisis in Brazil threatened the future of a second generation family business, which manufactures machinery and plant for the oil and gas industry.

When the corruption cases first broke, management took immediate steps to mitigate the impact. As well as taking advantage of new construction projects to maintain production platforms in the Atlantic, the firm sought the help of iManagementBrazil Ltda., to reorganize the business and deliver a transformational change project.