Communicating in the crisis - How decision-makers define reality

2009

How decision-makers reach decisions and what influences them – current examples

Business forecasts are often ambiguous. This is because supposedly exact economic "reality" is based on a common "interpretation“ that is clearly influenced by corporate managers, academia and politics.

Who are these decision- and opinion-makers and what shapes their vision of the world? This topic was discussed in a series of lectures at Freie Universität Berlin together with Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. The results are documented in this book.

Reputable academia such as Professor Ivo Hajnal or Professor Dietmar Fink discuss the basic principles of communication and the latest research findings on how decision-makers "design" reality.

Hands-on experts, such as State Secretary Matthias Machnig and Hermann Scheer, winner of the Alternative Nobel Prize, present tools, tactics and techniques to illustrate how decision-makers arrive at their decisions and what influences them.

Successful opinion makers, such as André Schneider, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the World Economic Forum, and Manfred Hasenbeck, CEO at Burda Yukom Publishing GmbH, use current examples to highlight the power of communications and possibilities for shaping opinions and world views.