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Economist Maja Göpel on cooperation

2020-12-05T16:46:13.372Z


The corona pandemic can be an opportunity to finally achieve more cooperation between companies and society, says economist Maja Göpel. It calls on managers to take on more responsibility when it comes to sustainability.


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Hermann Bredehorst / DER SPIEGEL

Harvard Business manager: Since November you have been Scientific Director of the Hamburg think tank The New Institute, which brings together scientists from a wide range of disciplines.

Why this alliance now?

Maja Göpel:

On the one hand, in my career as a scientist, I learned how important interdisciplinary cooperation is.

Many of our problems today cannot be solved with simple solutions.

It helps to shed light on them from different perspectives.

Maja Göpel Arrow to the right

is a transformation researcher and author of "Rethinking Our World".

On the other hand, we at the New Institute want to systematically consider how science can have a better effect in society - especially at this time when there is so much discussion.

How can we as a neutral authority clarify, explain connections, build bridges?

Conversely, science can listen to society and learn what innovations are taking place there, and process this into new concepts.

If companies start to work together and rethink problems together - could such collaborations help transform our economy?

Definitely!

At the moment, the distinction between company and business model is coming to the fore.

Companies recognize that their business model is not sustainable and wonder how it can be adapted to changing framework conditions.

Or what kind of cooperation is needed between companies and society and politics so that sustainable business can become a new normal.

For me this is a strong statement about "we", because it brings us out of this eternal loop of blame: It was always said that it was either the market, the consumer, the state or the producer who prevented us from changing.

Instead, we can now jointly consider which structures we should change so that, in our role as consumers, producers or administrators, we can help make a system fit for the future.

I would like us to become structurally creative so that we no longer have to talk about whether environmental protection and economic activity are compatible.

In your book you speak of "denial of responsibility", which means that we have bought our way of life at the expense of others.

Does that mean we are all selfish?

No.

We have indulged ourselves in the egoist story for a long time, it is very much built into our institutions, incentive systems and codes.

I am talking about denial of responsibility in connection with the externalization of the real costs of our consumption and production that other countries, people or future generations bear.

It is again a description of structure that invites systemic thinking before making a judgment.

During the corona lockdown we were able to perceive the difference between individualistic and systemic thinking: Some were pissed off that the supermarket shelves were empty, and the others tried to show solidarity so that others could get something too.

The latter also has to do with trust.

And the egoist story stands in the way of that.

more on the subject

  • Cooperation: On a joint missionBy Christina Kestel

  • Extreme climber "Huberbuam" on cooperation: "Together we are stronger" The interview was conducted by Christina Kestel

  • Tandemploy founders on cooperation: "The smallest possible team" The interview was conducted by Julia Wehmeier

Do crises accelerate such a development?

Crises break through routines and path dependencies.

This creates an opportunity for the system to change into a different configuration after a crisis in order to stabilize again in a new form.

By working together, we can achieve such structural changes faster and better.

If, for example, we ask the actors in a value chain: What are the levers that we should turn so that the fight against the crisis or a new start enables breakthroughs in sustainability issues?

What role do company executives or CEOs play in this?

I would like a group called Futures Eleven!

I really want executives to be radically honest and say: "We have understood. Our current practice is a loss-loss system in many areas. We have to disrupt our business model."

Because honest accounting such as Trucost Accounting or reports such as the "Growing Better" report on the food system show that the social and ecological damage exceeds the sales.

This is the honest moment from which a lot of innovation can be released - innovation in the holistic sense.

This article appeared in the Harvard Business manager's Special 2021.

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2020-12-05

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