Only the dead lie still - thoughts on a living book

Last year I was unlucky. At one event, every participant received a book as a gift. There were about 20 different titles to choose from. I wanted Anything but ordinary by Förster und Kreuz - if only because of the witty title. But I'm well educated and well-behaved. I waited until the gift table was officially open. Too long. A cheeky, fat bloke had already snatched the book away from me.
The result: Anything but ordinary now tops the list of books from which I have learnt the most without ever having read them. My lesson: "Be open about what is important to you and what you want. Don't wait too long. " I have learnt my lesson.

The new book Only the dead remain of the two I have actually read. With profit. Every time I've read a chapter in the last few weeks after finishing my publishing work, I've had a cosy, warm feeling. Firstly, it was because my feet were relaxing on a massager. Secondly, the content of the book.

Förster and Kreuz describe the qualities that a company needs to not only survive but even excel in the face of tough competition. They praise the ability to utilise opportunities creatively and with a willingness to experiment, to forego certainties and to grant customers and employees freedom. They call on us to utilise the intelligence of the many and to act transparently. Just like in the beautiful, wide democratic world of the Internet - which is too rose-tinted in the face of wiki wars - where everyone can contribute.

Innovation, openness, transparency - we live all of this in my company. Admittedly, we at Down to Earth Verlag, with just a handful of employees, are still a long way from being a large corporation. But the virtues praised by the authors, such as giving freedom, taking up my employees' ideas and communicating openly and transparently, are a matter of course for me as the boss. Reading every page gave me that warm and cosy feeling I mentioned earlier: We're doing a good job!

I asked myself with some surprise: is there any other way to run a company today? Obviously yes. The authors repeatedly describe how innovation-inhibiting and controlling many companies are. They counteract these corpse-digging attitudes with wit and fresh perspectives.

You can feel their passion to get things moving on every page. They want to break up encrusted structures and motivate those responsible to give more room for manoeuvre. In concrete terms, of course. They cite many refreshing examples of company bosses who show how things can be done differently. Every manager who wants to develop their company further can take a leaf out of their book and learn from the examples that whet their appetite the most. Highly recommended to all those who want to get ahead.

After this inspiring read, only two questions remained unanswered:

- As bestselling authors, Förster and Kreuz don't need to complain about poor sales figures. But I am interested: Who is actually reading this book? Innovative people like me, who don't really need to. After all, we belong to the generation that doesn't want to and can't work any other way anyway. Or do the bosses of large companies actually read it? If so, what do they do with it? I'd love to follow a CEO around after he's bought it and look over his shoulder and into his brain as he reads it.

- In small companies like mine, a transparent and innovation-promoting corporate culture is often taken for granted. But how do you develop a small company into a large, successful enterprise without losing its vitality, freedom and transparency? This question, which the reading has raised in me, will continue to occupy me. Maybe the two of them will write a book about it one day. And then we'll be in it. Completely alive.

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As a publisher, the beautiful design of the book almost makes me green with envy - matching the cover. In its own way, Campus Verlag does it almost as beautifully as we do. I don't necessarily have to admit that this worries me a little, challenges me and spurs me on to maintain and improve our standard. Or maybe I do?