Berthold Glass is a keynote speaker, multiple world record holder in the speaker slam, bestselling author, award-winning entrepreneur, strategy consultant for digitization, interim manager, known from radio and television, and an online pioneer.
What are the core subjects of your keynote speeches?
I’m all about the future of business. Everybody’s talking about digitization right now. But what does that even mean? And how do I concretely implement this in my company? What are the steps to take and how do I start this complex topic? For many, here, at the latest, it starts not being too clear any more. In my keynote I bring 7 concrete updates for entrepreneurs and management to help them prepare their businesses for the digital future. An exciting look into the present and the future that inspires you to get into it and shows what you have to pay attention to.
Which audience or which branch do you reach with your speech?
My audience often includes CEOs, board members and comparable decision-makers. Through my impulses I help them to make their company fit for the demands of a market environment that is constantly changing due to digitalization. I deliberately avoid highly technical terms and buzzwords. I speak in plain language and explain complex things simply and vividly. That’s why people even from industries that haven’t had much to do with digitization in the past like to come to my speeches.
Why are you a Premium Speaker? Where do you get your insights from?
I made my hobby my profession 20 years ago. And my audience feels this authentic passion. With me there is no theory-bla-bla, but content that I experienced and tested with a lot of passion in my two decades as a strategic consultant in the field of digitalization. That’s why top speaker Hermann Scherer says the following about me: “I have seldom seen a speaker who brings the subject of digitization to life as excitingly and vividly as Berthold Glass!”.
What will be in the future? Does 'time' play an important role in your work?
Many people underestimate the speed at which digital technologies are evolving. They cannot yet quite imagine that knowledge jobs, such as in bookkeeping, lawyers, etc., could soon be replaced by artificial intelligence. As a result, many companies start adapting too late and this puts jobs and entire industries at risk. Examples of too-late-starters in the past are Nokia (smartphone) and Kodak (digital photography). I’m working against that: In my keynote I show you the mindset with which companies use digitization to their advantage instead of sleeping trough them.
What is your life motto? What would you like to give your listeners on the way?
Winning comes from beginning. Digitalization is a change that can transform the entire company and change its entire value chain. This is why it is not easy for many companies to tackle this process in its entirety. Often one is stuck in old learned behavior patterns and ways of thinking. Sometimes the last impulse is missing to finally take the first step. I give this impulse.