On May 8, I had the great pleasure of attending the Mawi Forum at the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen in two roles: as keynote speaker on New Work – New Learning and as the event’s closing “summariser”. A challenge—but above all, a great pleasure.
The venue was an experience in itself: a space, raw and authentic, where you can practically breathe in industrial history. The Zollverein Coal Mine—once the largest hard-coal mine in the world—did not get its name by chance: it commemorates the German Customs Union of 1834, which fuelled free trade. Especially at a time when trade wars are once again on the rise, this is a historical footnote with current relevance. The location could hardly have been better chosen for a forum centred on purchasing, procurement, the future, and collaboration.
The organiser of the Mawi Forum was our long-standing client Piel, a company that has shaped the technical trade for more than 100 years—but above all stands for one thing: closeness to the customer and a passion for innovation. You could feel that on the day. The mix of down-to-earth pragmatism and future focus ran through every part of the programme.
In addition to many strong impulses from companies on very concrete solutions in purchasing and procurement, we were also catapulted into the future—by futurologist Max Tinius and digital and future expert Dorothee Torecki. Of course, AI was a recurring theme as well. Max Tinius called for more confident action—we are by no means lagging behind, but have enormous potential.
In my keynote, I connected the dots to Frithjof Bergmann, the pioneer of New Work, and his idea of using new technologies in a targeted way to give us humans more time for meaningful activities. This is exactly where AI can make a major contribution—especially for knowledge workers. However, these opportunities also need to be communicated—a point I strongly encouraged all participants to take to heart.
Alongside the content highlights, there were also emotional goosebump moments: the performance by a miners’ choir, which, among other things, struck up the Steigerlied, gave the event a special depth. And right in the middle: Mario Ernst, Managing Director of Piel—singing along powerfully. Respect!
Anyone interested in learning, New Work, and AI can find out more here or book a trial training session directly with my esteemed colleague Maria Matthäus, who was also there in Essen.
