{"id":273,"date":"2023-10-06T17:33:11","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T15:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/?p=273"},"modified":"2023-11-15T16:02:37","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T15:02:37","slug":"die-gefahr-bei-technologien-den-anschluss-zu-verlieren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/en\/die-gefahr-bei-technologien-den-anschluss-zu-verlieren\/","title":{"rendered":"The danger of losing\nout on technologies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maximilian Scherr, strategy consultant and partner at Arthur D. Little, does not\nsee the future of Austria as a business location through rose-tinted glasses.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science scepticism, oversleeping dramatic changes in the\nworld, an energy supply that is no longer up to date \u2013 these\nare just a few of the points where Maximilian Scherr, partner\nat Arthur D. Little, the world\u2019s oldest strategy consulting agency,\nsees need for action. A native of Graz, he leads ADL\u2019s cross-sector\nStrategy, Organisation & Innovation Practice Group in Austria and\nis co-author of the global ADL CEO Insights. He sees a prosperous\nfuture for Austria as a business location at risk if fundamental\nchanges are not introduced quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Maximilian Scherr at one of his numerous lectures to experts.

\u00a9 Arthur D. Little<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you believe the experts, Austria\u2019s economic situation is not\nworrying. Do you agree with that?<\/em>
Maximilian Scherr:<\/strong> Maximilian Scherr: No, I don\u2019t. However, you have to differentiate.\nFirstly, measured by purchasing power and especially the purchasing\npower of the top 80%, we are doing very, very well in Austria.\nThis is probably also the case with the purchasing power of the\nbottom twenty percent because we as a country, including the\nsocial institutions, have done many things right. Secondly, we are\nprivileged: Our favourable geographic location, pleasant climate\nand rich culture allow us to be a successful tourism nation and bring\nmoney into the country; we have done this smartly. In addition, we\nhave many companies, especially successful small and medium-\nsized enterprises, and overall, we have achieved a level of\nprosperity that allows us to have good universities and a very good\napprenticeship system. We thus have many of the ingredients that\nhelp us to be successful. At the same time, I see the danger that\nAustria is losing out on key technologies, both in research and in\napplication. Austria is one of the most science-sceptical countries\nand we need to find out why. There are good researchers, and they\nalso stay in the country, but we should not rely on that. One example\nis the computer scientist Sepp Hochreiter, a German-born AI\nluminary who conducts research at the University of Linz, and who\nis convinced that he has a better language model than Open AI\/\nChat GPT but is not funded accordingly. Other European countries\nprovide much more funding, and we should not underestimate the\nMiddle East. I was recently in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai and Saudi\nArabia, among other places. In these countries, completely different\namounts of money are invested in technology. We are lagging\nbehind significantly.\nConsequently, there are fewer opportunities to study and grow\nin such fields. Science and applied technology need an eco-system\naround them. Like in Silicon Valley. There was nothing there for a\nlong time until investments, especially by pension funds, in venture capital were made possible. We don\u2019t have this venture capital to\nthe same extent. Besides the scepticism about technology and research,\nthis is also an issue of the pension system.
As a result, there are fewer opportunities to study such subjects and grow from them. Science and applied technology need an ecosystem around them, like in Silicon Valley. There was nothing there for a long time until investments in venture capital became possible, especially through pension funds. We don't have this kind of venture capital to the same extent here. In addition to the scepticism towards technology and research, this is also a pension system issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where do you see the greatest threat to the future of Austria\nas a business location?<\/em>
Scherr:<\/strong> Scherr: I rather wonder where the greatest leverage lies. I see the\nbiggest threat in the fact that we are still sufficiently aware of how\ndrastically the world is changing \u2013 precisely because we are still\ndoing so well. But if we don\u2019t sufficiently try to stay on the ball and\nget things going, we run the risk of no longer keeping up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has Austria not yet arrived in the 21st century? And is the\nAustrian mentality of being rather laid back and \u201clet\u2019s see\u201d also\nan obstacle?<\/em>
Scherr:<\/strong> Scherr: I don\u2019t want to engage in Austria bashing, but there are\ntoo many people for whom the preservation of the status quo, of\ntheir old networks, their existing political environment and so on is\nmuch more important than understanding what is really happening\nin the field of AI and new energy systems. When I look at how many\nAustrians complain about energy prices on the one hand, and on\nthe other hand they vote against a wind turbine being erected in\ntheir community, it won\u2019t work. I am not in favour of expropriation\nand coercion. But I dare to predict that if we take the issue of the\nenergy transition in Austria seriously, we will reach the point where\nthe question of whether we want it or not will no longer arise. Instead,\na wind turbine will simply be erected where the right location\nis. Then the distribution grid of the energy suppliers will be\nbuilt where it is necessary. We can\u2019t demand to be more \u201cgreen\u201c\non the one hand, but on the other hand not want any grid expansion\nor wind parks and photovoltaic projects<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Maximilian Scherr (far right) with Alexander Schallenberg and former Mossad boss Efraim Halevy (2nd from right), among others.

\u00a9 APA-Fotoservice \/ Pichler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Do we need a stronger hand of government and more regulations\nagain?<\/em>
Scherr:<\/strong> Scherr: In my view, it is not a question of more or less government,\nbut where do you need the government? It is a question of \u201cintelligent\ngoverning\u201d. Thesis one is that there needs to be more assertiveness\non large infrastructure projects that the country needs.\nThese include the transmission grid for the energy transition, more\nwind farms and the like. There also needs to be less regional and\nlocal peculiarities. Whether another University of Technology in Linz\nis important, although you already have a very good university in\nLinz, I don\u2019t know. Especially a small country like Austria should\nprobably have a manageable number of excellent centres for certain\nsubjects instead of distributing funds as much\nas possible. The public sector needs to acknowledge\nthat the energy transition also costs the\nowners of the energy grids money and that they\nhave to pay for it. These are often the provinces\nor indirectly the federal republic when it comes\nto Verbund and APG (Austrian Power Grid).\nThesis two: There have to be regulations so\nthat the energy suppliers can capitalise differently\non and charge for the necessary grid expansion.\nAustrians cannot expect everything to\nbe as cheap as possible and countless billions\nof euros to be poured into grid expansion out of thin air in the\nyears to come. The calculation is relatively simple. Investing more\nin both generation and transmission results in a lower electricity\nprice. However, investments take a long time to pay off.
Thesis two: There have to be regulations so\nthat the energy suppliers can capitalise differently\non and charge for the necessary grid expansion.\nAustrians cannot expect everything to\nbe as cheap as possible and countless billions\nof euros to be poured into grid expansion out of thin air in the\nyears to come. The calculation is relatively simple. Investing more\nin both generation and transmission results in a lower electricity\nprice. However, investments take a long time to pay off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does the transformation of the energy sector need to look\nlike?<\/em>
Scherr:<\/strong> We need more decentralised production and thus more\ndecentralised feed-in with much more decentralised grid management.\nThat only works digitally. This includes solutions such as\nensuring that car batteries from electric vehicles are not only\ncharged when the user wants them and discharged when they are\ndriving. This decentralised energy storage can be used. Solutions\nare needed to limit the peaks of the feed-in from photovoltaic systems\nbecause otherwise a transformer station can overheat and the\npower then fails completely. This control must also be digital. That\nis why digitisation is a very essential core for the transformation of\nenergy suppliers and energy networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does Europe need to become an isolated island \u2013 de-risked, so\nto say? Is it even possible to reverse globalisation?<\/em>
Scherr:<\/strong> Scherr: You have to differentiate. A nation like the United States,\nwhich is large in terms of population, companies and surface area,\ncan more easily afford to be self-sufficient because, among other\nthings, it has a lot of technology in its country. A nation like China\ncan also afford it more easily. The leadership of Russia had the idea\nthat it could afford to be self-sufficient, which doesn\u2019t work. Together,\nEurope would have a lot, even if not everything, like energy, rare\nearths and more. But Europe is still fragmented into many nation\nstates and Euroscepticism has even increased in some countries.\nAs much as I would like Europe to have this common language and\npower, this is rather wishful thinking and a\ndream that cannot be fulfilled in the foreseeable\nfuture. In Austria, too, I miss the general consensus\nthat existed before EU accession, that the\ncountry must be part of a larger whole. Here I\nam even pessimistic, because many are crying\nout for more self-sufficiency without knowing\nwhat it costs and what sacrifices it entails to be\nself-sufficient. The best cautionary example has\nbeen set by Great Britain. The majority of voters\nhave fallen for the narrative of some politicians\nthat de-risking through separation is the strategy\nof choice. They are now learning that separation is not de-risking,\nbut rather the road to disaster. If even an economically important\ncountry like Britain can\u2019t do that, how can we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, federalism kills?<\/em>
Scherr: <\/strong>Federalism can also go too far. I believe that Austrians, with\ntheir mentality, need a bit of federalism. But when it comes to big\nchallenges like the energy transition, investments in future technologies,\nthe reorganisation of the pension and health system, we\nneed more national cohesion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Maximilian Scherr in the control room of the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant,\nwhich was never put into operation \u2013 where is the focus in the energy transition?

\u00a9 Arthur D. Little<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Has Austria already missed the boat in terms of AI?<\/em>
Scherr:<\/strong> Scherr: I believe that we still have top researchers in Austria. The\nsocial environment also attracts people who like to stay here. In the\nfield of cyber security there are some luminaries in Graz around\nProf. Stefan Mangard, in the fundamental questions of AI Sepp\nHochreiter is leading the way, in AI in dermatology Harald Kittler\nfrom the Medical University Vienna is a trailblazer... so there are\nsome \u2013 and these are only three examples. Therefore, it would be\nunfair to say that we have missed the boat, but we are not promoting\nenough focus. In addition, I believe that there is a considerable\nneed to catch up, especially in\nschools, in the primary school\nand the grammar schools. If we\nhave more hours of religious\neducation than IT in some\nyears, that is not particularly\nforward-looking. Unless you\nthink foremost about life after\ndeath<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t pay good wages\nbecause I have a lot of money,\nbut I have a lot of money because\nI pay good wages,\u201d said\nRobert Bosch. Does that still\napply or where does the focus\nlie in future recruitment?<\/em>
Scherr:<\/strong> Scherr: I would modify this quote from Robert Bosch. I would say\nthat I have work and life because I also enable others to have a\nwork-life balance and thus manage to keep the good employees. At\nthe end of the day, we are successful because we enable these\nthings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the paradigm shift, that money alone isn\u2019t everything has\nlong since taken place?<\/em>
Scherr:<\/strong> Scherr: It is already a reality for many. But not everyone who\nwould like to have a better work-life balance performs enough that\nit would be justified to simply give it to them. In sports, the history\nbooks are full of people who were born with talent but squandered\nit because they wanted too much life, and an imbalance\noccured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the most common issues that clients ask Arthur D.\nLittle for advice on?<\/em>
Scherr:<\/strong> Scherr: There are three main issues. Firstly, what does AI mean\nfor them and their company? This is not a question to which there\nis a single answer. With many things that represent a paradigm\nshift \u2013 and the publication of such language models represents\nsuch a paradigm shift \u2013 many people experience a gold rush. Not\neveryone will survive it, but in this gold rush there will be developments\nthat are not even foreseeable today. This is exactly what\ncompanies have to prepare for. At the end of the day, this will also\nstrongly influence the activities within each job and some activities\nwill be eliminated. Everywhere\nwhere data is stored relatively\nconsistently anyway, where research\ntakes place that is documented,\nin journalism and\nmany other areas, it won\u2019t be\nlong before models have selective\naccess to this data and\nemployees can use it all. Much\nof today\u2019s knowledge will be\ndistributed more democratically.\nDrawing the right conclusions\nfrom this and not just\nusing statistical probabilities\nwill still be a great art. Getting\nto the heart of what this means\nfor companies is a question that concerns many CEOs and that we\ndiscuss with them.
The second topic is still, how do you create growth? Many are\ncurrently asking themselves how they can deal with increased\ncosts and reduce them. But they don\u2019t always discuss that with us\nbecause we know primarily about how to deal with growth in value\nchains. Responsible companies take care of cost reduction in\ngood times to be able to invest in growth in bad times. Especially\nthose who have already done their homework, we can help them\nto grow.
The third topic is cyber security. This is still a topic that many\nCEOs are a little bit concerned about every now and then and it is\nso omnipresent that they are worried from time to time. But being\nworried is not enough. Many companies have good people in their\nsecurity departments, such as their Chief Information Security\nOfficer. But not all of them have the power and the strength to be\nable to discuss with the board at eye level. If nothing has happened\nfor a while, nothing has been updated and not much money has\nbeen spent on training and technology, there is also an expectation\nthat things don\u2019t have to change dramatically. Of course, many\nCISOs know that they are not safe just because the company has\nnot yet been successfully hacked \u2013 but they often do not have the\nbusiness transparency, i.e. quantified risks, to be able to successfully\nlead board discussions. That\u2019s where we help to gather courage\nand facts and get the CEOs to listen. And in other cases, we\nhelp boards get an independent second opinion on how their security\nis really doing.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maximilian Scherr, strategy consultant and partner at Arthur D. Little, doesn't see the future of Austria as a business location quite so rosy. Scientific skepticism, the failure to anticipate dramatic global changes, and an outdated energy supply \u2013 these are just a few of the issues where Maximilian Scherr, partner at Arthur D. Little, the world's oldest strategy consulting agency, sees a need for action. [...]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"business":[{"ID":274,"post_title":"Arthur D. Little","post_content":"","post_excerpt":"","post_author":"3","post_date":"2023-10-06 16:42:45","post_date_gmt":"2023-10-06 14:42:45","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"arthur-d-little","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-11-14 18:35:38","post_modified_gmt":"2023-11-14 17:35:38","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/?post_type=business&p=274","menu_order":0,"post_type":"business","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","comments":false,"_thumbnail_id":["836","3","2023-11-14 18:35:31","2023-11-14 17:35:31","","Arthur_D._Little_Logo_2021","","inherit","closed","closed","","arthur_d-_little_logo_2021","","","2023-11-14 18:35:31","2023-11-14 17:35:31","","274","http:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Arthur_D._Little_Logo_2021.jpg","0","attachment","image\/jpeg","0","836"],"industry":false,"region":[{"term_id":"4","name":"Vienna","slug":"wien","term_group":"0","term_taxonomy_id":"4","taxonomy":"region","description":"","parent":"0","count":"23","object_id":"970","term_order":"0","pod_item_id":"4"}],"business_type":[{"term_id":"17","name":"Businesses","slug":"unternehmen","term_group":"0","term_taxonomy_id":"17","taxonomy":"business_type","description":"","parent":"0","count":"36","object_id":"997","term_order":"0","pod_item_id":"17"}],"directory":false,"id":274}],"advertorial":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":901,"href":"https:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273\/revisions\/901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weltmeister.cc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}