World in Crisis
The Russian war of aggression in Europe, the energy shortage, inflation, recession, the pandemic and above all the looming climate catastrophe – there is no doubt that we are living in a crisis-ridden world. And these are parallel, global crises in an era of networking. Because even before the war and COVID-19, constant change at an ever-increasing rate marked the times we were living in: since the beginning of the 21st century, digitalisation, globalisation and networking have taken the complexity of our lives to a new dimension. The current multiple crises are accelerating the rate of change still further and intensifying the situation radically. As a publicist, strategic adviser and crisis coach I am an inspiring and solution-orientated sparring partner for businesses and executives who want to emerge from these crises strengthened. My book “Die Kraft liegt in mir - Wie wir Krisen sinnvoll nutzen können” [“The strength is within us: How we can put crises to good use”] is more relevant than ever today …
Crisis is...
Max Frisch once said that “Crises are productive situations once we have removed the aftertaste of disaster.” This is incredibly difficult in view of the coronavirus crisis. But Max Frisch is still right. In order for us to use crises productively and master them powerfully it is important to understand what a crisis actually is. Because it is much more than a problem that seems insurmountable.
A crisis is an exceptional situation, an interruption of continuity. It is a burdensome, temporary process of change
whose course and consequences are unknown. A crisis is marked by the trusted coping strategies we have had for
solving problems and that have always helped us no longer being available. It is always possible for everyone,
every community and every society to develop new coping strategies and discover new resources. Coping strategies
and resources that can make us strong. Of course this is not possible in the first phase of a crisis, which is
characterised by us being in a state of shock and not wanting to acknowledge the crisis. The important thing to
do in this phase is overcome this state of shock and slowly start to accept the crisis. Because it is there whether
we want it to be or not. When we integrate it into our lives the most reasonable course of action is definitely to
make the best of it. Because we are in this world to give meaning to our lives - even in times of crisis, or
perhaps especially at such times.
The claim that life has something to offer us, the claim that we are guaranteed a safe, healthy and happy life - this claim is, in
reality, very skewed indeed. The perspective is exactly the opposite. Insecurity is the normal state of
affairs. Always. Not only during a crisis. But during phases that are (relatively) stable for a longer
period of time, we imagine that we are safe and that our nice lives will continue like this for ever. But
in truth that is an illusion. Viktor Frankl, in accordance with whose Theory of Meaning I completed a further
qualification to be a crisis coach, said: “It is life itself that asks people questions. People do not ask
questions; they are the ones being asked questions by life and who must answer life, and indeed answer to life.”
The deeply satisfying aspect of this form of self-responsibility towards life is the self-determination which goes
along with it and which is of fundamental importance especially during crises. Because it is this self-determination
that makes one free. Frankl also defined the term “freedom” so that it can really help us in times of crisis.
Because: “The freedom of people is not, of course, a freedom from conditions”, says Frankl. “It is not freedom
from anything at all, but a freedom to do something: to take a position regarding all these conditions.”
In this freedom “to do something” lies the key to dealing with crises in a sensible manner. And that includes the
current coronavirus crisis. How do we want to face this crisis - “we” both as individuals and as a community? There
are three ways of emerging from a crisis: firstly, the restoration of the status quo. Secondly, a negative change
that leads to an undesirable development. And thirdly, a positive change characterised by a sensible development.
In all my crises I have always decided on this third possibility: to find the strength within myself that will
help me to grow during the crisis. The attitude required and what emotional and mental tools we need to acquire
to achieve this are what my book is about. In it, I describe what mechanisms we need in order to discover the
chance and the meaning within the crisis: only in this way can we turn it into a productive situation and thereby
remove the aftertaste of disaster.
VUCA is...
…a description of the state of our world that has come about through digitalisation, networking and globalisation and is now being exacerbated considerably by the war in Ukraine, energy shortages, the pandemic and climate catastrophe. VUCA is an acronym for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity und Ambiguity. In order to present a better picture of our VUCA world I have put the contexts in a diagram.
The story of my “VUCA” poster begins on a rainy September day in 2017. To be more precise, it was at a moment in
which I was at my wit's end linguistically. It was after an hours-long consultation meeting with the CEO of a major
company. As in nearly all consultations and coaching sessions of recent years, this was also about “transformation”,
“digitalisation”, “agile management“, “change”, “new work” and all the other latest buzzwords. In short, it was about
“what was going on out there” in our world. And about what that means for my client’s company. We had actually made
pretty good progress at the meeting and he left my office in a fairly cheerful mood. I, however, was cheerless rather
than cheerful; I was not really satisfied with myself. As so often recently. And the reason was that I could not
rid myself of the unmistakable feeling that although he had understood a lot, he was only able to sense rather than
recognise the big picture. And so I had once again failed to communicate it in words. And it was no comfort to me
either to console myself with the thought that it is, of course, difficult to explain something really “new” using
“old language”. This relatively obvious realisation may be interesting for me as an author, but for my client it
was relatively irrelevant. Because as a consultant it is my job, damn it, to help my customers find solutions to
their problems.
When I started my consulting activities ten years ago, problem-solving still
looked (relatively) easy. Because the path from the problem to its solution was still (relatively) linear. When the
customer’s problem was on the table and the analysis was successful, it would be possible to achieve a reasonable
solution with a linear “if-then” solution in the best case. And this is exactly the way in which things have
fundamentally changed in recent years. The greatest challenge of our time for nearly all of my customers is
digitalisation and along with it the question of new, innovative and frequently disruptive business models.
More and more frequently, “Chief Digital Officers” (CDOs) or innovation strategists are being employed to deal
with this. This is definitely right and reasonable, but it also harbours the risk of the theme of digitalisation
being understood, or misunderstood, as a separate unit.
Because the really great challenge is not so much the technology of digitalisation in itself, but rather its consequence
– and that is NETWORKING! The technical possibilities of networking everything with everyone at any time. This endless,
networked exchange of data and information – this is the actual, major challenge of our times. And this is not simply
in terms of technology, but in literally EVERY respect: social, economic, academic, political, cultural, ethical,
legal, philosophical, ecological, demographic, medical and physical, but also social, psychic, emotional and mental…
It is a fundamental, holistic and evolutionary upheaval of existing conditions at high speed and in XXXL format
that is really shaking the ground, which we had previously assumed to be so stable, beneath our feet. It is the
Volatility we sense, the Uncertainty that grows out of it, the Complexity that seems to overwhelm us and the
Ambiguity that shakes our view of the world. It is the VUCA world that we live in. And this is why consulting
has also changed fundamentally. In my view, consulting is no longer a linear path from the problem to the solution.
Indeed, it is now the monitoring of highly dynamic processes of small and large systems in a world whose complexity
is increasing exponentially at a dizzying speed - and above all the discovery that everything is connected to
everything else.
And so on that rainy September day, after my client had gone, I followed an intuitive impulse in order to present
what I had had such difficulty in expressing linguistically in a different way. I covered one of my 2.5 square
metre pin board with a sheet of white paper and started to draw: the big picture at a glance. You can see the
result here. And if you look more closely you will see that it is not so much a picture as the illustration of
a system. Of an open system, because it is, of course, never finished and I will constantly be adding to it.
And of course I could not do it completely free of language. Words and terms used in the right context can,
after all, explain something that is new and above all is more than the sum of its parts.
The sheet is now hanging in my office like a large mind map and anyone who wants to can locate themselves,
their company or their situation on it in a superordinated context. My consulting sessions have not become
less complex because of this, but they have become a little easier. Because, unlike in a text, it is possible
to portray “what is going on out there” visually. One of the few people who recognised this more than 20 years
ago is the management mastermind Professor Fredmund Malik. I worked for him for a long time and one of his
central thoughts has been a leitmotiv of my work ever since. Actually, it has become the leitmotiv of my life:
“The Great Transformation from the Old World to the New World will fundamentally change everything: what we
humans do, how we do it and why we do it. Ultimately it will also change who we are.“
Publications
„Die Kraft liegt in mir – wie wir Krisen sinnvoll nutzen können“
btb-Verlag, November 2015
„A bissel was geht immer – unvollendete Erinnerungen von Helmut Dietl“ (Hrsg.)
Kiepenheuer und Witsch, September 2016
„Mensch sein heißt Sinn finden oder Vom Perspektivenwechsel in Zeiten der digitalen Transformation“ in „CSR und Digitalisierung“ von A. Hildebrandt, W. Landhäußer (Hrsg.) (PDF)
„Handbuch sexueller Missbrauch“
von Katharina Rutschky, Klein-Verlag 1994 (PDF)
„Der Atom-Skandal“
von Klaus Traube, Rowohlt 1988
Interview in Donna 04/22
(PDF)
„Kreativität muss wieder neu gelernt werden“
Interview mit Daniela Braun
in PoV – Point of View 01/2019 (PDF)
„Das nenne ich digitale Wahnsinnseuphorie“
Interview mit Stephan Grünewald
in PoV – Point of View 02/2018 (PDF)
„Ich liebe es, Strukturen und Prozesse für das Neue zu öffnen“
Interview mit Klaus Dittrich
in PoV – Point of View 02/2018 (PDF)
„Es beginnt im Kopf“
Interview mit Marko Prislin
in PoV – Point of View 02/2018 (PDF)
„Jeder will mitspielen, aber keiner kennt die Spielregeln“
Interview mit Karl Wehner
in PoV – Point of View 02/2018 (PDF)
„Wenn der gefühlte Nutzen höher ist, als das gefühlte Risiko“
Interview mit Sven Gabor Janszky
in PoV – Point of View 01/2018 (PDF)
„Alles und jedes wird Bestandteil eines großen Internets“
Interview mit Claudia Linnhoff-Popien
in PoV – Point of View 01/2017 (PDF)
„Die Inhalte sind sofort verfügbar“
Interview mit Nina Ruge
in PoV – Point of View 01/2016 (PDF)
„Zuhören und Antworten“
Interview mit Peter Wippermann
in PoV – Point of View 02/2015 (PDF)
„Freiheit braucht Vielfalt“
Interview mit Dietmar Müller-Elmau
in PoV – Point of View 02/2015 (PDF)
„Ich arbeite nicht, ich lebe!“
Portrait über Fredmund Malik
in PoV - Point of View 01/2015 (PDF)
„Frage an Tamara Dietl“ in DONNA
2022
Kolumne in Donna 07/22 (PDF)Kolumne in Donna 06/22 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 05/22 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 04/22 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 03/22 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 02/22 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 01/22 (PDF)
2021
Kolumne in Donna 12/21 (PDF)Kolumne in Donna 11/21 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 10/21 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 09/21 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 08/21 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 07/21 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 06/21 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 05/21 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 04/21 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 02/21 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 01/21 (PDF)
2020
Kolumne in Donna 12/20 (PDF)Kolumne in Donna 10/20 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 09/20 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 08/20 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 07/20 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 05/20 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 04/20 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 03/20 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 02/20 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 01/20 (PDF)
2019
Kolumne in Donna 12/19 (PDF)Kolumne in Donna 11/19 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 10/19 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 09/19 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 08/19 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 07/19 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 06/19 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 05/19 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 04/19 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 03/19 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 02/19 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 01/19 (PDF)
2018
Kolumne in Donna 12/18 (PDF)Kolumne in Donna 11/18 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 10/18 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 09/18 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 08/18 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 07/18 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 06/18 (PDF)
Kolumne in Donna 05/18 (PDF)
„Wie wollen wir leben?“ in DIGITALE WELT
Kolumne in Digitale Welt 03/2017 (PDF)
Kolumne in Digitale Welt 02/2017 (PDF)
Kolumne in Digitale Welt 01/2017 (PDF)
Lesungen u.a. im Literaturhaus München, Schloss Elmau, Burda-Bar München
Vorträge zu Transformation, VUCA und Krisen, u.a. eine bundesweite Vortragsreihe für die Zeitschrift EMOTION
„Trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen“ Forum Nachhaltig Wirtschaften 02/2021 (PDF)
„Das Experiment sind wir“ Forum Nachhaltig Wirtschaften 04/2020 (PDF)
„Machen statt Jammern - Plädoyer für mehr weibliche Kampfeslust“ MADAME 09/2020 (PDF)
„Die Corona-Krise – Blaupause für die VUCA-Welt“ Forum Nachhaltig Wirtschaften 02/2020 (PDF)
„Digitalisierung? Alles eine Frage der Haltung!“ Münchener Abendzeitung vom 9.7.2019 (PDF)
„Brief an mein Kind – Glück ist die Folge eines sinnvollen Lebens“ Myself 02/2018 (PDF)
„Die Kraft liegt in mir – wie wir Krisen sinnvoll nutzen können“ EMOTION 12/2015 (PDF)
„Optimismus der Frauen“, Wertepraxis, Ausgabe II/2012 (PDF)
„Frauen und Macht“, Wertepraxis, Ausgabe IV/2011 (PDF)
und über 200 Gerichtsreportagen,
u.a. Der Fall Monika Weimar, Der Parteispenden-Prozess,
Der Prozess gegen Klaus Barbie, Der Prozess gegen Rechtsanwältin
Isolde Oechsle-Misfeld erscheinen in der Hamburger Morgenpost
sowie Beiträge für DIE ZEIT, Süddeutsche Zeitung, SPIEGELspezial
Portraits und biographische Dokumentationen
für SPIEGEL TV (SAT.1, RTL)
James Dean, Walter Sedlmayr, Vera Brühne, Sandra Paretti
Romy Schneider, Axel Springer (mit Michael Jürgs)
Willy Brandt, Sepp Herberger (mit Jürgen Leinemann)
Rudolf Augstein (mit Stefan Aust)
Politisch-historische Dokumentationen
für SPIEGEL TV (SAT.1, RTL)
„Im Reaktor von Tschernobyl –
die selbstmörderische Expedition sowjetischer Wissenschaftler“
„Die Romanows –
Geschichte einer russischen Dynastie“
„Die letzten Tage bis zur Einheit –
Protokoll einer deutschen Revolution“ (Co-Autorin)
„Der Herbst der Terroristen“ (Co-Autorin)
Please address all requests regarding publications, readings or lectures to my agent Anoukh Foerg: www.anoukhfoerg.com
Press
„Ich habe die Trauer in mein Leben integriert“
Interview mit Tamara Dietl in BUNTE 32/2021 (PDF)
„Leadership – Wieviel Ponyhof verträgt der Job?“
Interview mit Tamara Dietl in Cosmopolitan 06/2020 (PDF)
„Corona-Detox für die Seele“
Interview mit Tamara Dietl in der Münchener Abendzeitung, 28.3.2020 (PDF)
„Wie Führungskräfte ihre Ängste besiegen können“
Interview mit Tamara Dietl in manager magazin online, 20.3.2020 (PDF)
„Tamara Dietl über Männer“
Interview mit Tamara Dietl in der Süddeutschen Zeitung, 15.2.2020 (PDF)
„Wie wir unsere Welt im Umbruch verstehen und die Transformation meistern können“
Interview mit Tamara Dietl in der Huffington Post, 30.7.2017 (PDF)
„Achterbahn des Lebens“
Interview mit Tamara Dietl im Sonntagsblatt 02/2016 (PDF)
„Das Schreiben hat mich über ein schwarzes Loch getragen“
Interview mit Tamara Dietl im Donaukurier, 23/24.1.2016 (PDF)
„Der Tod hat auch einen Zauber“
Interview mit Tamara Dietl in DIE ZEIT Nr. 45, 5.11.2015 (PDF)
„Krisen"
Business-Talk mit Tamara Dietl in der MADAME 05/2015 (PDF)
„Ängstlich war ich nie!"
Interview mit Tamara Dietl in der Münchener Abendzeitung 21./22.11.2014 (PDF)
„Ich will Mitgefühl, kein Mitleid"
Interview mit Tamara Dietl in GALA 22/2014 (PDF)
„Wir tragen die Krankheit gemeinsam"
Interview mit Tamara Dietl in STERN-VIVA Februar 2014 (PDF)
„Sinn und Vertrauen - Die Große Transformation 21"
Malik-Letter 12/13 zum Interview mit Tamara Dietl (PDF)
„myself stellt vor"
www.myself.de (PDF)
„Die Wahrheit über Frauen –
Wie halten sie es mit der Macht?“
FOCUS Nr: 28/11 vom 11.7.2011 (PDF)
„Business Wisdom – Die Visionärin“
Portrait über Tamara Dietl in MADAME 06/2020 (PDF)
„Zuhause bei Tamara Dietl“
Portrait über Tamara Dietl in ZUHAUSE WOHNEN 08/2017 (PDF)
„Die Krisenmanagerin“
Portrait über Tamara Dietl in der MYSELF 02/2016 (PDF)
„Der Star-Regisseur und die Coaching-Expertin -
Ein Beziehungsportrait über Helmut und Tamara Dietl",
BRIGITTEwoman 06/12 (PDF)
„Gelassen bleiben“
Süddeutsche Zeitung, vom 29. September 2021 (Web)
„Oh Mann – Vom richtigen Umgang mit Kritik“
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 5.12.2020 (PDF)
„Was der Vorstandschef von jungen Kollegen lernen kann“
SPIEGEL ONLINE vom 29.2.2020 (PDF)
„Leben ohne Helmut Dietl“
Augsburger Zeitung vom 9.3.2018 (PDF)
„Ich habe nochmal mit ihm gelebt“
Süddeutschen Zeitung, 4.12.2015 (PDF)
Buchkritik zu „Die Kraft liegt in mir“
B.Z. am Sonntag vom 8.11.2015 (PDF)
„Lebenslinien“
Filmportrait über Tamara Dietl im BR am 18.12.2017
TV-Beiträge in Kulturzeit (3sat) und Capriccio (BR)
TV-Auftritte u.a. in Kölner Treff (WDR), Alpha-Forum (ARD), Nachtcafé (SWR), Unter vier Augen (BR), Ich trage einen großen Namen (SWR), Abendschau (BR), Ringelstetter (BR)
Hörfunk-Interviews u.a. in Mensch Otto! mit Thorsten Otto (BR 3), Live mit Bärbel Schäfer (HR 3), Neugier genügt – Redezeit (WDR 5), Notizbuch (BR 2), Kulturinterview mit Jens Büchsenmann (NDR 90,3)
The Pioneer „Der 8. Tag“ Zum Podcast
Tanja Valérien „Gespräche über Wandlung“ Zum Podcast
Bertram Kasper „Gelassen älter werden“ Zum Podcast
Please address all media requests to my publicist Regine Baschny, Just Publicity GmbH: r.baschny@just-publicity.com
CV
Tamara Dietl, nee Duve
Journalist, author and consultant
Born 1964, one daughter
since 2008
Strategic consultant for transformation processes,
business coach for executives, author and journalist
1998 – 2003
Creative Producer for Constantin Film GmbH,
Ziegler Film GmbH and Diana Film GmbH
1988 – 1998
Editor and author at SPIEGEL TV
1986 – 1988
Court reporter for Hamburger Morgenpost,
consultant for the ARD series “Die Gerichtsreporterin“
1984 – 1986
Diploma in Journalism at the Hamburg Academy of Journalism
including an internship at Hamburger Morgenpost
1983 School leaving certificate in Hamburg
Lecturer and contract teacher for Leadership and Management,
Storytelling, Court Reporting and Documentaries at the following colleges:
Henri Nannen School of Journalism in Hamburg,
Cologne Schreibschule,
Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen München (HFF Munich),
German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB),
Ludwigsburg Film Academy,
Berlin Protestant School of Journalism
„PEN Berlin“
I am a founding member of PEN Berlin, an authors’ association of authors, publicists, writers,
translators and publishers who write in German or live in Germany. PEN Berlin was founded in
June 2022 and has committed itself to the ideals of enlightenment, diversity of opinion,
tolerance and solidarity because the freedom of the word is more under threat across the
world than it has ever been.
Visite website
„Summer of Purpose“
Together with Hans Reitz (CEO of the events agency circ), Prof. Claudia Peus (Vice-President
of the TU and founder of the Institute for Lifelong Learning) and Prof. Dieter Frey (Head of
the Institute for People Management and Leadership at the LMU), I host "Summer of Purpose".
SoP is an innovative learning festival that takes place every year in Munich in June. Former
attendees include Nobel Prize winner Prof. Mohammed Yunus, Eckart von Hirschhausen, Daniel
Hope, welfare economist Christian Felber, the CEO of Messe München GmbH Stefan Rummel and
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Otto Group Dr Michael Otto.
Visite website
„Ehrenamtlicher Personalvorstand“
I was in charge of the Munich kindergarten “Kindergruppe Schwabing e.V.” from 2006-2009
on an honorary basis and was responsible for personnel in the position of director.
Occupying seats on supervisory boards
Association of German Women Entrepreneurs (VdU), PricewaterhouseCoopers (pwc)
Specialist fields: Basic principles of supervisory board work, rights, duties, liabilities, personal preconditions, management selection
Digital Leadership
Brainbirds GmbH
Specialist fields: Development of innovative business models, agile tools in application, team development, the role of an executive in transformation processes
Business-Coach CoachPro®
Perspektivenwechsel GmbH, Augsburg
Specialist fields: Sense Theory according to Viktor Frankl,
Performance Theory according to Prof. Clare Graves,
Theory of “Personal Intelligence” according to Prof. Julius Kuhl,
dealing with conflicts and crises
Business-Trainerin und Coach
TeamConnex AG, Altdorf
Specialist fields: Models of Theme-Centred Interaction (TCI),
Transaction Analysis (TA) and Systemics
Scholarship: “Project Management in Television”
Bertelsmann Foundation in cooperation with the NRW Film Academy, Cologne
Specialist fields: Executive and Communication Competence, Self-management and Teamwork
Potential Analytics:
• Master class in Profiling Values
Profilingvalues GmbH, Munich
Specialist field: Personal Value Analysis according to Prof. Robert S. Hartman
• Masters accreditation / Insights MDI
Scheelen AG, Waldshut-Tingen
Specialist fields: Principles of Personality Theory,
Behavioural Style according to C.G. Jung, DISG Model
• ualified 9 Levels Trainer
9 Levels Institute for Value Systems GmbH, Ravensburg
Specialist fields: The4 Value System according to Prof. Clare Graves
• BrandEx-Award Gold in the category „Best Conference“ for the „Summer of Purpose 2020“
• Silver Medal at the New York Film Festival for the documentary
“Fünf Wochen im Herbst – Protokoll einer Deutschen Revolution” (“Five Weeks in Autumn: A Record of a German Revolution”)
• Finalist Award at the New York Film Festival for the film about Marlene Dietrich
References
Trust is the basis of my work. Confidentiality is therefore my top priority. For this reason I coordinate targeted references in advance and provide them to you at a personal meeting.
