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Christian Legat, COO Competence Call Center, in discussion with Howard Dean and Martin Eberhard
Panel “Shape the Future” during the Vienna congress com.sult 2010 on 26 January
COO Christian Legat discussed the topic of economic and political trends of the future during the panel discussion “Shape the Future” at the 7th Vienna congress com.sult with top international guests.
Taking part in the discussion moderated by Andreas Lampl, M.A., editor-in-chief of Trend/Format were: Christian Legat, COO Competence Call Center, chairman of the US democratic party (2005-2009) Howard Dean, Martin Eberhard, founder of Tesla Motors, Harald Himmer, Managing Director, Alcatel-Lucent Austria, Gernot Schieszler, co-initiator of com.sult and Ralph Ulmer, Managing Director, Deutsche Telekom Value Added Services Austria GmbH.
The panel discussion covered everything from the global economy and international politics to the effects of future trends on companies in various industries.
Moderator Andreas Lampl, M.A., opened the discussion with a brief introduction: “We are currently in a post-shock period and continue to struggle with the consequences of the economic crisis such as unemployment and the shifting of business to new markets such as Asia. Now we have to think about how to stabilise the situation and how to successfully manage our own business.”
One of the topics covered during the subsequent discussion was the role of the new social media in this context, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Christian Legat emphasised that companies can benefit from these new forms of communication and should use them efficiently. However, companies should take a very specific approach to social media networks: “It’s not the arbitrary posting of comments that’s important, but rather listening to, monitoring and learning from the people in social networks.”
The Call Center expert warned however about only looking in that direction and neglecting a second target group that is becoming more important: “In 15-20 years, 20-30 % of the population will be over the age of 65, a group that does not use the social media networks to the same extent. The challenge for the future is to fulfilling the needs of these two target groups.”
Howard Dean, who is well-known in Europe as the mastermind of the party of US-president Barack Obama, talked about the important role of Europe in the global economy, but also pointed out the advantage the US has in the area of communication technology. When it comes to US election campaigns in particular, the Internet and the new social media networks play a decisive role. As soon as users, especially those under the age of 35, are able to be active on the Internet and play a part in shaping it, it takes on a dynamics of its own that can no longer be stopped and should therefore not be ignored, says Dean.
Ralph Ulmer also confirmed that the development of communication and the way the media are used is extremely fast and emphasised the importance of good customer service in this context.
Martin Eberhard believes the future of the economy to be mostly in the areas of energy production and transport technology.
Tesla Motors, which he founded, produces electronic cars – a new technology that people were very sceptical of even a few years ago. According to him, this attitude has changed a lot, and e-cars are today seen as the cars of the future. The development and adaption of this technology will of course take some time, and a development that is too fast could in fact be dangerous. Eberhard also believes that it takes people some time to change their perspectives on cars and on accepting this new technology.
Gernot Schieszler praised Austria as a country and economic location: “Austria has agriculture and many different production options. And the best thing is its competence in the area of customer service.”
Since customers are increasingly given a voice and the opportunity to influence business, bad or no customer service can harm a company a lot, Schieszler believes.
Harald Himmer, when asked about the conditions with regard to education and innovation in Austria, confirms that the country has some catching up to do in some areas: “When it comes to education, we are lagging behind such countries as Sweden and Norway, and in the areas of research and production, the US and China are up-and-coming. It is now up to the creativity of the people in industry and up to politicians to follow up with new innovative ideas.”
Himmer believes that it is much more about culture, the right goals and one’s own mindset than about financial resources.
About com.sult 2010:
At the 7th Vienna congress com.sult on 26 January in the Haus der Industrie, around 1 500 visitors took part in and experienced workshops, panel discussions and individual discussions with international guests Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Pilot, Howard Dean, chairman of the US democratic party USA (2005-2009) and Martin Eberhard, founder of Tesla Motors Inc.
Impressions of the 7th Com.sult >>
| Marianne Rutrecht |
