Know-how & solutions for specialists and managers

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• Marketing & Sales: How to increase your turnover
  • Marketing: This is why it’s so important
    • Market research: Definition, implementation & benefits
      • Methods for needs assessment
    • Reach and Target Customer Focus
      • Inbound marketing: definition, measures & literature
        • Traditional Advertising and Search Engine Advertising (SEA)
          • What is Pull Marketing?
          • Print Marketing or Online Marketing
          • What is affiliate marketing?
        • Classic public relations work
        • Website and SEO: Organic reach via search engines
      • Outbound marketing simply explained
        • What is direct marketing?
          • Obtain contact addresses of your target customers in a legally secure way
          • Marketing Messages by Mail
          • Marketing Messages by E-Mail
          • Double opt-in procedure for legally secure lead generation
          • Benefit and Frequency of Marketing Messages
    • Formulate marketing messages properly
      • This is why target customer orientation is so important
        • Create buyer personas sensibly
      • Benefit: What does your product bring to the customer?
        • What target benefit does your company offer?
        • Create benefits for your target group
      • Branding: What is your brand promise?
      • Designing content creation sensibly
      • Implement successful media planning
  • Distribution: Create sales and turnover
    • Sales strategy as a success factor for companies
      • Strategic positioning of your company
      • Implement a sensible pricing policy
      • Growth: How to build your business
        • Market Penetration with Existing Products in Existing Markets
        • Expansion with Existing Products into New Regional Markets and/or New Applications
        • International Expansion with Existing Products
        • Selling New Products to Existing Customers
        • Expansion with New Products into New Markets
        • Growth by Acquiring Companies
    • Sales organisation: How to build the right structure
      • Structure of the Sales Organization
      • Key Account Management: Definition & meaning
    • Sales management: How to lead successfully
      • Strategic Sales Management
      • Operational Sales Management
      • Presentation items and products correctly
      • Personnel Management in Sales
        • Staffing in Sales
        • Personnel Management in Sales
        • Remuneration in sales: Performance-related payment
  • Throughput: The right structure for orders
    • Process optimisation for a better information infrastructure
      • Process Interfaces
      • Feedback Loops in Processes
      • Linking processes in a meaningful way
      • Define Coordination and Development Possibilities in the Processes
      • IT Process Support
    • Production planning: How to optimise processes
    • Sales forecast: Record future sales correctly
    • Procurement: Definition & Benefits
  • Develop products & services
    • Build up a product range in a targeted manner
    • Aligning service offerings with the target group
    • Product quality through standards and control
  • Acquisition of Businesses
• Increasing Earnings
  • Influence of Sales and Revenue on Earnings
    • Increase sales volume in a targeted manner
    • Pricing: How to set selling prices
  • Cost Optimization to Increase Earnings
    • Cost Reduction by Coordinated Collaboration – CyberPractice
    • Cost Reduction in Procurement
      • Organization of Procurement
      • Procurement Methods
    • Cost reduction in production
      • Selection of manufacturing processes
      • Investments: Definition, necessity, examples
      • Manufacturing management: organising manufacturing
        • Optimization of the Manufacturing Process
        • Lean management: Waste-free value creation processes
        • Value stream mapping and Kanban as part of lean management
        • 5-S method in lean management
      • Key figures for production and quality assurance
      • Material flow: definition & explanation
      • Location strategy: When does it make sense to have several business locations?
        • Arguments for Site Consolidation
        • Arguments against Site Consolidation
        • Risks and Costs of a Move
        • Personnel-Related Legal Aspects of Site Consolidation
        • Conclusion on Site Consolidation
    • Logistics as a service and cost driver
    • Cost reduction through quality assurance (QA)
    • What are structural costs?
      • Personnel costs in the overhead of an organization
      • Material structural costs simply explained
• Stabilisation: Secure the existence of your company
  • Holistic, networked approach to stabilisation
    • Managing complexity in business
      • Simple facts: A brief definition
      • What are complicated issues?
      • Assessing complex issues correctly
      • What are chaotic circumstances
      • Acceptance of Non-Knowledge
    • System-Oriented Management as the Key to Sustainable Success
  • Innovation: Is your business innovative?
    • Implement innovation processes in a targeted manner
      • Generating Ideas for Innovation
      • Creativity for Innovations
        • Create the Conditions for Creativity
        • Use creativity techniques purposefully
          • Intuitive methods for more creativity
            • Brainstorming as a creativity technique
            • Brain writing as a creativity technique
            • Method 635 as a creativity technique
            • KJ method as a creativity technique
            • Mind mapping as a creativity technique
            • Cluster process as a creativity technique
            • Provocation as a creativity technique
            • Reversal as a creativity technique
            • Synectics as a creativity technique
            • Bisociation as a creativity technique
          • Discursive methods for more creativity
            • Morphological analysis as a creativity technique
            • Osborn checklist as a creativity technique
            • SCAMPER as a creativity technique
            • System Dynamics as a creativity technique
            • Relevance tree analysis as a creativity technique
            • Progressive abstraction as a creativity technique
          • Combination of Intuitive and Discursive Methods
            • Lateral thinking as a creativity technique
            • De Bonos’ thinking hats method
            • Walt Disney method for more creativity
            • Value analysis as a creativity technique
            • TRIZ: The theory of inventive problem solving
      • Decision-Making Process for Innovations
      • Implementation of Innovations
    • Needs assessment: Why it’s important
    • Product management: Keep your product attractive
    • Product development for your target group
      • Holistic Product Development
      • Procedures for Product Development
        • Scrum as a project management method
        • Initiative portfolio: Safeguarding for your business
        • Morphological box: Capture product features
        • Quality Function Deployment: Purpose, function & task of product
        • Utility analysis: Making decisions between alternatives
  • Flexibilisation to stabilise your business
    • Contract management: End-to-end design of contracts & deadlines
      • End-to-End Design of Contracts
      • Management of Contract Deadlines
      • Contractual flexibility: Why it can be important
      • Organization of Centralised Services
      • Management of Intellectual Property Rights
    • Agilisation to adapt your business on an ongoing basis
    • Regulation: Build control systems
      • What Influence do Control Systems have on Stability?
      • How do Control Systems Function?
      • Control Loops with a Reinforcing Effect
      • Control Loops with a Stabilizing Effect
      • How do you Manage to Shift the Focus to Relationships?
      • How to tap into swarm intelligence
  • Influence of decisions on stability
• Sustainability as a success factor for companies
  • Calculating Your Ecological Footprint
    • What is the ecological footprint?
    • What is the Sustainable Process Index (SPI)?
    • What’s the Ecological Debt Day?
  • Sustainable Operations
    • What are the limits to growth?
    • What are the consequences of economic growth?
    • Provisions for Compensatory Measures
    • Necessity of Sustainable Operations
    • Responsibility for Sustainable Operations
    • How to implement sustainable management
    • Environmental Management System in Accordance with EN DIN ISO 14001
    • The Balanced Scorecard Concept
• Organization and Personnel
  • Cooperation within companies
    • Optimise processes and process steps
    • Knowledge management for companies
  • Leadership: Successful corporate management
    • Relevance of leadership: Why leadership is essential
    • Classification of leadership: What does leadership mean?
      • Leading a Business
      • Human resource management: Definition, tasks, methods
    • Inner guidance: Guide yourself
      • What is leadership attitude?
      • Self-Awareness and Self-Control
      • ZEN Practice as a Path to Self-Awareness and Self-Control
      • Time management: manage limited time well
        • The Pareto principle: Focus on required delivery
        • The Eisenhower principle: Urgent and important tasks
        • Delegating tasks for more freedom
    • Field leadership: How to lead staff
      • Performance climate and togetherness
      • Appreciative and truthful business culture
        • Develop a culture of trust
        • Appreciation culture as a motivating factor
      • Identifying High Potentials and High Performers
      • Professional and personal characteristics of your employees
      • Myers Briggs Type Indicator
      • Situational leadership: Adapt
      • Willingness to Lead, Ability to Leadership, and Opportunity to Lead.
        • Leadership readiness: Are your ready to lead?
        • Leadership skills: Not everyone can lead
        • Leadership opportunity: The necessary powers
        • Living the Leadership Role
      • Business goals via agreements, implementation, tracking
        • Setting Goals Using the SMART Principle.
        • Goal pursuit: The consistent implementation
        • Aligning Short- and Long-Term Goals with Hoshin Kanri
      • Making successful decisions
        • Issues Requiring Decision Making
        • An appropriate decision-making process
          • Sources of Information as the Basis for Decisions
          • Understanding the Interaction of Forces
          • Physiological Aspects in the Decision-Making Process
          • Establish a good communication culture
          • Formal Decision-Making Process
        • Game Theory Models
          • Benefits of Game Theory in Decision Making
          • Nash Equilibrium
          • Pareto Optimality
          • Dominating Strategy
          • Mixed Strategy
          • Decision-making principles at a glance
            • Maximin Principle According to John von Neumann
            • Laplace Principle
            • Regret Principle
            • Subjective-Expected-Utility Principle (SEU)
            • Self-Commitment According to Thomas C. Schelling
      • Motivation as a means of management
        • Motives: What drives people
        • Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Factors
        • Overview of useful motivational theories
          • The incentive-contribution theory for more motivation
          • The theory of compared incentives in the company
          • Motivating employees with the Rubicon model
          • Maslow’s pyramid of needs in a business context
      • Conducting employee appraisals correctly
        • Preparing for the interview: This is what matters
        • Structuring conversations for a smooth process
        • Interview principles: Rules for staff appraisals
        • Causes for the Failure of Employee Appraisals
        • Critical discussions: Addressing misconduct
      • Change of Role to Manager
        • From skilled worker to manager in 3 steps
        • Dealing with former colleagues as a manager
      • Conflict management as problem-solving
        • Causes of conflict in companies
        • Conflict prevention: Avoiding conflicts in advance
        • Methods of conflict resolution
          • Communication competence as a prerequisite for conflict resolution
          • Mediation: Mediating between parties
    • Agile working for fast response options
      • Prerequisites for Agile Working
      • Agile Working Methods
        • Working with Scrum in a targeted and variable way
        • With design thinking to new models, strategies & services
    • Change management: Definition, procedure, implementation
    • Project management explained simply
      • Project Management Methods
        • Conventional Project Management
        • Agile Project Management with Scrum
        • Hybrid Project Management
      • Qualifications for Project Management
    • Occupational safety and health: Definition, regulations, importance
    • Leadership and Morality
  • Controlling and Risk Management
    • This is how holistic controlling succeeds
    • Business Plan
    • Agile Planning with the Beyond Budgeting Method
    • Risk management: Dealing with risks properly
      • Strategic Risk Self-Assessment (SRSA)
      • Operational Risk Self-Assessment (ORSA)
  • IT Transformation and Digitalization
    • ERP Systems
      • Expectations of ERP Systems
      • ERP system change: Does it make sense?
        • Arguments for an ERP System Change
        • Implementation of an ERP System Change
    • Using Artificial Intelligence
      • How can companies adapt to artificial intelligence?
      • Technical Steps for an AI Transformation
        • Digitisation as the basis for artificial intelligence
        • Robotic Process Automation (RPA): Automating defined processes
        • Analysis with Business Intelligence (BI)
        • Artificial Intelligence (AI) as problem solver
      • Training for Digitalization
    • Criteria for data and system security
      • Availability, Integrity and Confidentiality of Information Systems
      • Protection of Personal Data
  • Organisational structures for companies
    • Potential of line organisation
    • Bundling competences through matrix organisation
    • Implementing process-oriented organisation
    • Project organisation: How to implement it?
    • Implementation of a fractal organisation
  • Recruitment: Attracting skilled workers
    • Search Profile for Candidates
    • Search Channels for Candidates
      • Internal candidate search: Promote employees
      • External candidate search: Attracting employees
    • Candidate Interviews and Selection Criteria
    • Optimal onboarding processes
  • Corporate social responsibility & employer branding
    • CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility
    • Employer branding as a success factor
  • Cooperation & networking with other companies
    • New opportunities through cooperative skills
    • Strategic & fair negotiation
  • Successful collaboration with works councils
• Financing: How to secure your business
  • Internal financing: Opportunities for optimisation
    • Working Capital optimisation – but how?
      • Perform inventory optimisation
        • Reduction of Finished Goods Inventories
        • Reduction of Semi-Finished Goods Inventories
        • Reduction of Primary Materials Inventories
      • Tight receivables management for better liquidity
      • Shorter Payment Terms for Customers
      • Reduction of Non-Essential Assets
      • Financing via Creditors
      • Sale and lease-back as a model for more liquidity
      • Hire purchase: Assed-based finance for business growth
      • Assed-based loans for more liquidity
  • External financing: Loans, deferral & debt waiver
    • More liquidity through interim financing
      • Current account line: Temporary extension
      • Deferral of Accounts Payable
      • Restructuring/reorganisation loans as financial support
      • Conventional Interim Financing
    • Basic security through long-term financing
      • Long-term bank loan: The classic loan
      • What is mezzanine financing?
      • Participation: Surrendering rights for liquidity
        • Financial Investment by Private Equity Firms
        • The strategic corporate investment simply explained
      • Waiver of creditors’ claims as a rescue
  • Determinants and Effects of Credit Ratings
    • Determining Credit Ratings
    • Effects of Credit Ratings
• Crisis & rehabilitation: Master every economic challenge
  • Increasing Earnings in a Crisis
    • Holistic Increase of Earnings in a Crisis
    • Sensible Cost Reduction in a Crisis
      • Take Care When Reducing Commercial Jobs
      • Be Brave When Reducing Structural Costs
  • Turnaround management to overcome crisis
    • Tailor-Made Restructuring Concepts
      • Restructuring Concept with Going Concern Forecast
        • Need for remediation: Is there a case for redevelopment?
        • Restructurability: Can the company be restructured?
        • Redevelopment eligibility: Is the company ready for it?
      • Going Concern Forecast in Accordance with IDW S9
      • Proof of Existence of Reasons for Opening Insolvency Proceedings in Accordance with IDW S11
    • Coporate restructuring with the turnaround procedure model
      • Restructuring with a Restructuring Consultant
      • Requirements for Restructuring Consultants
    • Respectful and trusting staff reduction
      • Individual agreements for staff reductions
      • Dismissals to reduce the workforce
      • Reconciliation of Interests and Social Plan
        • This is how the balance of interests works
        • Social plan: Protection for employees
  • Acute crisis: What needs to be done?
    • Danger of insolvency demands swift action
    • Insolvency: Keep your cool!
      • When an insolvency event occurs
      • Obligation to File for Insolvency and Liability of Managing Directors
      • Regular insolvency: The exact procedure
      • Insolvency Proceedings in Self-Administration (ESUG) in Accordance with § 270a InsO
      • Protective Shield Proceedings in Accordance with § 270b InsO
• Selling/Acquiring a Company, Setting up a Company
  • Company valuation as a basis for purchase/sale
    • Earned value – what does it mean?
      • Calculating the Discount Rate
        • Set the base interest rate
        • Assess the market risk
        • Assess the business risk
      • Discounting Future Earnings
      • Calculating Perpetual Annuity
      • Calculating the Capitalized Earnings Value
    • What is the discounted cash flow method?
    • Multiplication method – simple and plausible
    • Substance value method – useful as a supplementary component
    • Sale or decommissioning? The liquidation value is key measurement
    • The value of intellectual property and IP rights
      • Valuation of Intellectual Property
      • Brand Valuation
  • Selling a business: How to make it work
    • Company sale: Preparation & tasks
      • Succession planning: How to successfully transfer the business
      • Sale of a Company or Business Unit from the Portfolio of a Group
    • Data room: Advantages and possibilities
    • Share deal or Asset deal?
    • Sales Exposé
    • Sales exposé – how to create enthusiasm
    • Candidate Search and Selection
      • Candidate Search
      • Candidate Selection
  • Buying a company as an entrepreneur or manager
    • Buying motives – what do companies look for?
    • When the manager searches: Buying motives
    • The perfect candidate for purchase
  • Due Diligence: Security for prospective buyers
    • What is Financial Due Diligence?
    • Commercial Due Diligence & the Role of Markets
    • Technical Due Diligence: Technical standards of the assets
    • Personnel Due Diligence: Personnel quality of companies
    • Law & Licences: Legal Due Diligence
    • Tax Due Diligence: Focus on task risks
    • Focus on the environment: Site Due Diligence
    • Due Diligence process: What you need to know
  • Sales Negotiations and Transaction
    • Purchase Price Negotiations and Signing
    • Warranties – important part of the contract
    • Closing – an important step
  • Starting a business: How to make it work
    • Starting a business – 5 important basic questions
    • Business Plan for a startup
    • Start-up financing: Capital for the launch
• Visions, Business Models and Strategies
  • Your company’s vision
  • Overview of different business models
    • Shaper versus Adaptor Strategy
      • Shaper strategy: Shaping the environment
      • Adaptor strategy: Adapting to the environment
    • Focus on your strategy
      • Sales leadership as a strategic characteristic
      • Infrastructure leadership as a competitive advantage
      • Innovation leadership as a structural core competence
      • Design leadership as a strategic competence
      • Relationship leadership as a strategic competence
      • Service leadership as a strategic orientation
      • Cost leadership as a competitive advantage
    • Help through generic strategy models
      • Resource-Based Strategy Models
      • Environment-Oriented Strategy Models
      • Success-Factor-Based Strategy Models
      • Dynamics-Oriented Strategy Models
      • Process-Oriented Strategy Models
      • Knowledge-Based Strategy Models
    • What is a corporate foresight process?
      • Need for a Foresight Process
      • Implementation and benefits of a foresight process
      • Implementation and Benefits of a Foresight Process
  • Strategies for companies
    • What are the benefits of the Business Model Canvas?
    • Free thinking – the St. Gallen Business Model Navigator
      • Pricing Models
      • Models for Increasing Liquidity
      • Models for Increasing Sales
      • Models for Product Design
      • Marketing Models
      • Sales Models
• Tax and legal structuring of companies
• Mentalities in Different Cultures
  • The German mentality
  • British Mentality
  • Swiss Mentality
  • Austrian Mentality
  • Spanish Mentality
  • Dutch Mentality, specially in comparison to the German one
  • Scandinavian Mentality
  • French Mentality, specially compared to the German one
  • Turkish Mentality
  • US-American Mentality
  • Italian Mentality
  • Latin American Mentality
  • Indian Mentality
  • Chinese Mentality
  • Japanese Mentality
  • Russian Mentality
  • Arab Mentality
• System certification as a benefit for your management system
  • Certify management systems correctly
  • Benefit of Systems Certification for Management Systems
    • What is the purpose of system certifications?
    • Commercial Benefit of Systems Certification
    • Practical Benefit of Systems Certification
  • Certification Centers and Accreditation of Certifying Bodies
  • Certification Processes
• Different corporate forms of companies
  • Sole proprietorship as a form of business
  • Association of persons: Law & Form
  • What is a business partnership?
    • Partnership
  • Corporation as a form of business
    • Private limited – a form of company
    • Public limited company – advantages & disadvantages