Imagine you are faced with the decision of whether, as the descendant of the company’s founder and owner, you want to take over the management of a successful family-run business. What would you decide?

Assuming you had decided to take on this responsibility, what would you set out to do? What would you do? How would you specifically want to steer the company towards a successful future in the context of serious changes? These questions were the focus of our last thinktalk@new&able. They were presented in a very concrete, vivid and honest manner by the two special guests of the evening: Stephan Heiler and Gebhard Borck.

A few years ago, Stephan Heiler decided to take over the management of Alois Heiler GmbH from his father. So far, this is not an unusual story. However, his response to the subsequent questions was more than unusual. He decided to use his position of responsibility to guide the people in his company, who were accustomed to a hierarchically managed organisation, into a process of increasing self-management.

It was obvious to him at the time that he needed the support of a clever, imaginative and energetic external sparring partner who was also patient and had strong nerves. He found him in Gebhard Borck. What the two have experienced since then and have to tell is a shared story of a very special kind.

Rarely has the cultural transformation of a company been pursued so consistently, resulting in the dissolution of the familiar hierarchical structure and associated behaviours, and recounted so honestly and authentically as it was by Stephan Heiler and Gebhard Borck in our thinktalk@new&able.

The discussion was lively as ever and could have gone on for another hour – such was the interest of our guests in hearing what the special guests would say in response to their curious and varied questions. The questions ranged from the reactions and responses of the people at Alois Heiler GmbH to the unusual approach taken by their company boss to the question of whether there is such a thing as natural leadership ability that does not require a formal, status-driven position.

The answers were occasionally surprising, honest and all inspiring. They were characterised by profound seriousness as well as a great deal of humour and the ability to reflect self-critically on their own actions. So there was not only a lot of thinking and discussion in this thinktalk, but also a lot of laughter.

Heiler&Borck have now published their experiences in a book. We find the book and the story it tells so exceptionally good and so fitting for our own approach to organisational intelligence that we are delighted to recommend it to you here.