Matthias Jackel gained business experience in various industries and markets by working as a software manager, IT manager, consultant and, finally, the European people development manager of a US consulting firm. Despite success in the business world, he felt that he was falling short as a person.
He jokes that he had literally turned from a human being to a “human doing.” He returned to music at the age of 35 and ended up making music with over 800,000 people in his own seven-figure business by 2017.
What are the core subjects of your keynote speeches?
My keynote speeches are telling the story of connectedness. They create a situation of music interaction to the audience where dealing with each other and achieving unexpected results happens naturally and perfectly without thinking. The speech helps getting the heads around that experience. What does connectedness mean to businesses and the people working in it? How should our leadership look like as facilitators of togetherness in human workplaces? How does our brain connect and how do you connect mindfully with other human beings? And, finally, how can you connect to yourself in order to deal smoothly with the challenges in a VUCA world. In a nutshell those are the main topics addressed: Understanding the human desire for fields of togetherness and personal development. Understanding the impact of these desires and the way we should shape workplaces and communities. Understanding how mindfulness, contemplative arts and a reasonable understanding of “spirituality” is vital to keep the spirit of our teams and companies high.
Which audience or which branch do you reach with your speech?
Since it is fundamentally about connectedness and how it is elementary for our human coexistence, my talk reaches companies of every kind as well as associations and global organizations of our society. A complete program of 45 minutes of musical interaction and subsequent reflection on the events makes even hardliners curious. Because what is going on so well in the room is both challenging the way we lead this world and showing ways to change.
Why are you a Premium Speaker? Where do you get your insights from?
There are two worlds combined in me. The experience of an engineer and successful manager in various industries and that of a musician prior and after my business career. But it’s not about the experience of a musician in performing arts. The core of all my insights comes from personally having led close to a million people in drumming events. That became the university of my life. It became a massive empirical study about togetherness while knowing what business usually demands.
The audiences have ranged from kids to adults, from people working in the factory belt to clerks, from administrative staff to mid-level and top-level managers, from CEOs to country leaders, from people in jail to celebrities and from joyful people to those hit by massive disasters. I have worked with people across all industries and across many cultures, ethnicities and countries.
There was no difference between any of them because they were all seeking the same thing. Those people were looking to get into contact with each other; they were seeking kindness and love.
This is what I do. From entertainment events and keynotes to workshops and trainings, I facilitate a development process by applying an interactive music concept, sharing my experience and making some existing world wisdom for a better cooperation between human beings very tangible and relevant to the audience.
What will be in the future? Does 'time' play an important role in your work?
I often get asked about my views on the future of our workplaces. To me, it is rather simple. The future of our workplaces lies in humanity. Machines can’t be human. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be called machines, right? Digitalization will never get to the level of analogue beings or the analogue beings will no longer exist then. Automation is always somewhat mechanical and what is mechanical will not please anyone. Jobs that provide a human touch to the customer will remain. Hence the need to make human development our priority. We haven’t changed that much, biologically speaking, in the last 5,000-10,000 years. Our genes are pretty much the same as in those ancient days. All our development that counts has been of the cultural and ethical sort. But ethics is often mixed up with religion and therefore misinterpreted. And culture is the first thing we are willing to sacrifice if we have to tighten our budgets. We need each and every individual to connect and turn that around together. It is definitely the time for change to more togetherness and humanity at our workplaces and our societies.