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Dear reader,
Many people ask me about the background of IM-BOOT. That's the reason I want to explain its history for you today.
I worked for a Munich/Germany based subsidiary of an international IT
company as an Engagement Manager than as Lab Director until 2002 before
I gave birth to IM-BOOT. As a team of highly skilled professionals
working in a dynamic new economy environment, we were dedicated to provide
innovative services at the cutting edge of IP-based technology. We called
it the customer centred approach to indicate that we were focused
to listen and to "hire the customer" as Stephen Shapiro says
in his book 24/7 Innovation.
I -- It is the same listening, an orchestra demands from its conductor
and the audience. It requires the ability to listen to a single voice
as much as to the whole, which forms the essence of what we call the harmony
of the masterpiece of e.g. Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and many more. This
is also the essence of how to lead a team. What makes a successfull teamleader?
- He or she is a perfect conductor and excellent in listening and leading
of an orchestra of solists.
II -- But the story isn't at its end. As the music varies from country
to country, I got aware that cultural diversity and individual backgrounds
can add tremendously to the overall wealth at different places. What works
in one cultural setting might be transferable to another. Cultural diversity
is a never ending source of inspiration. That's what IM-BOOT is
all about. To listen to people and to understand their uniqueness which
can help us to solve our problem in our context today. In a globalized
world we are even more linked with each other than in the past and we
need to rely much more on others than we were used to in our history.
IM-BOOT means "come on board". It is an invitation
to become a stakeholder in a global knowledge sharing activity. It is
an invitation to freely share experience and to explore ways to sail the
same ship. It's the name for the very best place to initiate collaboration.
III -- We can't foresee, if collaboration will succeed or not. It is
and it will still remain an adventure trip. But there's no alternative
route, not even an alternative single small path, if we would like to
stop waisting invaluable resources of knowledge and experience worldwide.
This is true especially in a world of growing complexity, as we face today.
This journey requires to be open-minded, the will to listen
to others, the readiness to take on risks and to share more
freely as its most important prerequisites.
IV -- As a consequence of globalization, I strongly believe that we need
to improve our interpersonal communication today. We need to discover
new ways how to utilize the problem solving knowledge, which is existent
and available all around the world. In a chaotic world where nano-sized
causes can trigger effects on macro-level, everything is highly connected.
We will all win if we start to share, but the knowledge will be lost,
if it will stay tacit. Let's start the knowledge exchange process
and learn from other people in other cultural settings and how they solved
the problems we might face today.
IM-BOOT provides with stories about people and their extraordinary work in their specific context in education, society, economy or on the individual level. You're invited to join the boat either as a reader or as active contributor! Let's evolve it as a unique and inspiring resource with focus on people and methods.
Change the Game!
Yours,
Steffen Konrath
IM-BOOT
Creative People Make a Difference.
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