The starting point in September 2023: Together with Andreas Renner (Head of the Steinbeis Augsburg Business School), I analysed the potential of the Starnberg Lake Talks. The Steinbeis Business School’s new conference format is specifically aimed at family business owners, supervisory board members and executive board members – a target group that not only decides on budgets but also on the long-term viability of companies. The shared goal: to develop a regional conference with 80 participants into a leading business forum in Germany.
The strategy was based on three key levers:
- Sharpening the content and expanding the format: The expansion into a structured full-day event was not an end in itself, but a strategic necessity. This was the only way to ensure the diversity of perspectives that top decision-makers expect today – as exemplified by the 2026 theme: ‘The comeback of the German economy?’
- Infrastructure: The move to a much larger, prestigious venue and the commitment to scaling up.
- Attracting speakers and partners: Relationships are the new capital – particularly in times when trust is lost more quickly than it is built. Targeting sponsors and individuals with in-depth practical experience, as well as public relations work, are key factors for success.
Implementation and key lessons learnt:
The initial phase of securing speakers and sponsors required a great deal of perseverance; unsurprisingly, there were some early rejections. However, this process provided valuable insights:
- Marketing lesson: You cannot build a strong brand in twelve months. The conference’s existing foundation (brand heritage) had to be carefully developed further. This is essential – both to offer sponsors a reliable platform and to attract high-calibre speakers to such a forum.
- Resilience in sales: You should never take rejections personally. They are part of a necessary feedback loop for refining your own concept, staying focused on your goals and pressing on. Every acceptance is a vote of confidence – and every rejection a data point for the next iteration. The parallel for businesses: every crisis, every rejection, every setback is an opportunity for realignment – if you see it as a learning opportunity.
Today’s result:
The event has grown organically and sustainably. Today, the conference brings together around 250 decision-makers from the worlds of business, academia and society. The fact that we will be welcoming business leaders such as Joe Kaeser, Peter Harf, Jean-Remy von Matt, Agnes Heftberger, Achim Berg and Andreas Weißenbacher onto the stage in September 2026 underlines this development and fills the whole team with great joy.
The decisive factor and the personal challenge:
A project of this kind cannot be managed purely rationally. Projects that bring joy are driven forward with genuine passion – this applies to all areas of life.
At the same time, it requires an enormous amount of personal commitment and also a touch of humility. Delivering the closing address at the end of such a conference, entitled ‘One more thing…’, is a challenge that pushes me to my limits every single time. I remember last year well: when figures such as Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, Prof. Dr Julian Nida-Rümelin and Natalie Amiri have spoken on stage before you, it is a challenge to bridge the gap between such excellence in rhetoric and content. It instils a lasting sense of respect for one’s own task.
The management perspective:
This project ran entirely in parallel with day-to-day operations. Juggling advisory board roles, XQI interim and consultancy projects, a teaching post at Steinbeis Business School and voluntary work (including the NextGen Board) ultimately requires far less rigid time management than it does effective energy management based on priorities.
When a personal passion for a subject is the driving force, it always comes down to the intensity and enthusiasm with which one commits – strategic focus combined with genuine enthusiasm ultimately overcomes any shortage of resources.
