Bernd Preuschoff is the expert for business leadership. With 20 years of experience as a leader in the digital industry, he has been recognized several times on the stages of Germany for the successful work of his teams. In his talks he speaks from the eyes of a dancer and about what dancing has to do with leadership in times of change & transformation.
Bernd Preuschoff in interview:
1. What are the core subjects of your keynote speeches?
As leaders in the Digital space, we permanently face new challenges – in a rapidly changing world, that challenges us as creatives, builders & direction givers. Before I became a digital leader, who together with his teams received many awards on the stages of Germany, in my time as athlete & coach in competition dancing I learned a lot about how the smallest team in the world works, what it means to do art as competition sport and about how to move people. Exactly these learnings are the foundation of my work today. In my speech, I let the audience look into sport almost everyone in his/her private life has already been in touch with, but normally just a few people know about what happens behind the curtain. “The congress is dancing” has become a winged word: Everyone will join in when the music starts – and at the end it becomes clear what it’s all about: Authenticity, humanity and the magic of joint experiences #togetherness.
2. Which audience or which branch do you reach with your speech?
My speech is written for everybody in a leadership position, owning a leadership task or aiming for a leadership future. Thus, it goes out to all age groups. Of course, it talks to all Digital leaders, a group I am happy to share my experience from 22 years with, using the sports analogy.
3. Are you a PREMIUM SPEAKER? Where do you get your insights from?
As Dancers, we have a saying: “People will, in the long run, not remember all of your actions. But they will never forget how you made them feel.” Exactly this is my goal when holding my keynote: That the people in the audience will go home afterwards with a feeling of lightness, a smile on their face and full of warm thoughts – but ready to start directly the day after to change their way of leading. If that makes a premium speaker, I am happy to be one. The combined experience of over 30 years as an athlete & coach and more than 20 years in Digital is a wonderful mixture of bridges for thoughts, heart-warming anecdotes and real-life experiences. To tell about all of this in my keynote, every time is a wonderful experience.
4. What will be in the future? Does «time» play an important role in your work?
The saying is not new – but I really do believe that trying to predict the future is wasted time. We need to create it. And this will only be possible if we are brave and ready to take risks, if we don’t forget how to remain a true and good human and if we think beyond our own life and that of our generation. «Time» is crucial: Thinking long-term, but at the same time acting, testing & advancing extremely fast, is an art.
5. Tell us your life motto? What do you want to give your listeners to take with them?
My life motto is «Why not?» – thinking differently to those, whose first question always is «why» they should do this if faced with a new idea. Being curious, trying out new thing and to think about how they could actually work, is not only how dancers think – in my experience it’s the way to great achievements which become wonderful memories. In addition, I am convinced that to succeed in the future, we should not focus on learning one complex method after another – but rather should remember & focus on what we are as a person and as humans: Our emotions & thoughts, our ideas & goals, our community & togetherness – and these should also be the guiding lights for how we lead our people & how we guide companies into the future.