"... then agile is the wrong approach"

The recent sale of Namics AG was less the focus of the conversation with its COO Michael Pertek. He is much more interested in how digitalization is changing management - or not. Because despite data, automation or deep learning, people must remain the focus.

Mr. Pertek, the topic of "Leadership in the digital transformation" leads one to conclude: Everything is becoming new? Or to put it another way: What does the digital transformation change about the leadership of a company?
Michael Pertek: Since we have had "digital" in our DNA as a company for almost 25 years and are positioned accordingly, this question is not easy for others to answer. We have been digital since our founding. What we are finding, however, is that change has accelerated for us as well. We live in a process of continuous improvement and change. In the past, a lot of things were site-based for us as well: People met for meetings and defined goals and tasks. That has changed, and communication now takes place across all locations. The management relationship has also changed accordingly. Leadership in the digital transformation works well when people know each other well. This is something that not only applies to us at Namics, but probably to all companies.

How can you identify your own need to catch up in terms of "leadership in the digital transformation"?
Through the willingness to change and the will to question the existing. In our case, it is always the new employees who help us to find blind spots. This is a virus in the positive sense of the "digital natives" or Generation Y. People will continue to be led in the future, but they increasingly want to see a sense of purpose behind their work.

What do companies need to do differently?
When working with us, companies don't have to do anything differently at first - after all, we are the service provider that adapts to the needs and circumstances of the customer. But in any case, you have to agree that you want to work together as equals. Because in customer projects we sometimes intervene strongly in processes that involve a lot of change. This involves questions about agility and methodology. And all of this must be clarified at the beginning.

Keyword agility: What role does agile leadership play?
We have made the experience that people often talk about "agile" when they do not yet have a clear idea of a goal. Agile means being in motion. But if customers have a clear idea of what, when and how they want to achieve a goal with us, you don't have to be agile. Many of our customers have a clear idea of what they want to achieve with us. Agility would be the wrong approach.

"Today, you have to differentiate yourself through excellent leadership."

So companies today don't always have to be so "agile"?
An agile method does not mean that you can do without goal setting. Agility, I think, is much more about questioning methods and procedures in order to achieve new, innovative results. That means leaving familiar paths and consciously initiating new, noticeable changes.

We are faced with the situation that, thanks to digitalization, many processes can be automated. What opportunities does this create for management? For example, more quality because you have more time?
Today, managers need even more soft skills. In other words, if I automate and "machines" take over the work, there is a time investment to be made here first and that is not to be underestimated. Making automation efficient and effective requires complex content and processes - and that in turn takes time. Thus, the time advantage from a management perspective is at least to be doubted. It is much more a shift of time: it is now needed to design the automatisms intelligently and to equip the people with the corresponding competencies.

To what extent do employees also need to be the focus for once, not just customers?
In short: If employees are not at the center, we cannot deliver the required quality of a service. The great art today is to make the knowledge of employees usable. And: employees must enjoy their tasks, and this almost automatically results in satisfied customers.

Nice to see that despite digitalization, it's still about people, not just data ...
Nevertheless, data is the new currency. But its value only comes from people's knowledge. Data means power. But this power can only be exploited if people know how to use it. Ultimately, this is the sole responsibility of the individual. That's why our new parent company Merkle, for example, focuses particularly strongly on employee development. Because we don't sell a product; the knowledge of our employees is our most valuable asset. That's why we have to invest primarily in them and in their further training.

And how do you experience the topic of "leadership in the digital transformation" with your customers?
A paradigm shift is taking place. No company can afford to do without central and meaningful leadership principles anymore. Today, you have to differentiate yourself through excellent leadership. Things like salary or security are hygiene factors, but more central is the meaningfulness that leadership must convey today.

"Overall, our aspiration is to always be a step or two ahead."

What role does leadership play in customer projects?
To what extent is the consulting effort increasing? That has indeed changed. In the past, we simply built websites and applications. Our knowledge and skills were very strongly focused on web technologies. Today, it's also about complete domain knowledge, i.e. knowledge of processes, methods, industries and topics such as commerce, CRM or digital product and service design. Many of our employees are now actual consultants because they have to deal with customer problems. They need an understanding of the overall context of a project; "just programming" hardly exists as a task anymore.

So who is more in demand: generalists or specialists?
The knowledge we require from our employees is roughly equivalent to a "T" shape: Lots of broad knowledge coupled with deep specialized knowledge in a particular area. Finding the right mix here is difficult - but it is a management task. The constant lies in the breadth, the depth changes.

This means: Namics must also be able to set a good example here in terms of leadership in the digital transformation?
Sure. We have to be honest and transparent with our customers when we have to learn something ourselves. If we have to completely rethink an unknown issue within the scope of a project, the customer should ultimately decide whether he wants us to do this or not. But all in all, we always aim to be one or two steps ahead of the market and our customers. And under the umbrella of Merkle, this can be done with even more momentum? Yes, at the moment there is a lot of euphoria and many points of contact. Our core business is "full service". However, due to new technologies, customer requirements and business challenges, this will continue to develop over the next few years - especially with Merkle's new capabilities, we will change even more in the direction of "full service". For years, Namics has stood for outstanding user experience across all touchpoints. Thanks to Merkle, we are now bringing this know-how together with personal data and people-based marketing. On the other hand, it is also our ambition to take Merkle further and at the same time benefit from new market access.