Haniel Lecture 09 2010 E.pdf - Haniel Stiftung

8 | Franz M. Haniel
“And this results in a new set of circumstances for social policymakers which
are far removed from the old employment biographies and which require
new and unconventional answers.”
It is hardly surprising how much emphasis is currently being placed
on the topic of work-life balance. How do we juggle our working
and private lives so that the challenges and also the pleasure
derived from work do not come at the expense of our private lives,
family and friends or jeopardise our health? Have things really
gone that far that we now need a “survival guide for leaders” to
quote the title of an article written by Ronald Heifetz in the Harvard
Business Review?
Ladies and gentlemen, the conditions are the way they are and we
simply have to face up to these challenges on an individual level,
but also on an entrepreneurial and socio-political level. Only then
can we grow and ensure that our society maintains and enhances
its standard of living. But how do companies and company management
actually cope with this change? How can policymakers
respond to this change, manage and support it? I am very pleased
to pass these important and challenging questions on to our
renowned guests, who I would like to welcome to the podium.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to Ron Heifetz and Friedrich
Merz, who are here as speakers, panellists and sources of inspiration,
and also Roger de Weck who will act as moderator.
Ron Heifetz is one of the most renowned leadership researchers in
the world. He is the King Hussein bin Talal Senior Lecturer in Public
Leadership and founder of the Center for Public Leadership at the
Harvard Kennedy School of Government. His leadership course has
become an integral part of the McCloy programme sponsored by
the Haniel Foundation, which I am delighted about. Furthermore,
his consulting expertise in issues such as leadership and change in
business, politics and non-profi t organisations is in high demand
around the globe. He has published a number of standard volumes
which have been translated into many languages and written a
number of widely quoted articles and books such as “Leadership
without Easy Answers”, “The Practice of Adaptive Leadership
and Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of
Leading”. The subtitle of the last book is particularly interesting,
because he, as an ex-graduate of the Harvard Medical School, is
also a doctor. He has also learnt to play the cello and is known to
be somewhat of a virtuoso.