The executive director of the municipal utilities Bad Nauheim, Peter Drausnigg, asked me to introduce agile working methodologies in order to create a company culture, which allows for new, complex and cross-functional business activities. Before long it became obvious, that the broadband rollout project would profit most from a team working in an agile mode. Meanwhile the broadband team works as a cross functional Scrum team following iteration cycles of 2 weeks. Already the first weeks have proven, that Scrum is not just beneficial for Software teams but also for conceptual and infrastructure rollout teams. Due to very short cycles of iteration and highly appreciated retrospectives the communication and collaboration within the team was heavily improved. That was reflected in very good and motivational team results.
Customer feedback
Bad Nauheim municipal utilities
Peter Drausnigg, executive director of the municipal utilities Bad Nauheim:„Complex und future proof business areas need to be handled with new and innovative working methods!“
Bad Nauheim Stadtmarketing und Tourismus GmbH
Katja Heiderich, CEO Bad Nauheim Stadtmarketing and Tourismus GmbH:„We were facing complex tasks, which needed to be addressed. Solving them also meant the start of a change process. We knew that we could only manage those challenges if we involved the whole team. Searching for the right method led us to Scrum. At the beginning it was a trial. That this trial could be turned to a success story we owe to Andrea Schmitt, who helped us to adopt Scrum to our needs. On top of having solved many of our complex tasks via Scrum, we also have established a new form of collaboration, discovered talents and increased transparency within our organization by a great deal.“
BASF
The division Intermediates of BASF SE requested a facilitated one-day workshop reading the topic of strategy implementation. Accompanied through my facilitation three product teams of BASF applied the business model canvas method in order to visualize, evaluate and generate anchor points for innovation. Especially the common language, which is provided by the business model canvas method, supported collaboration, since the team members came from very different disciplines: marketing, supply chain, production, etc. At the end of the day all participants were fully inspired due to the newly applied methods of creativity.
Oliver Cullmann, Business Management Specialty Amines:„In particular I enjoyed the high level of interaction within and between the different teams. The level of energy was continuously very high and all participants had a lot of fun. The outcomes of the day were concrete measures, which are practical to implement. We also achieved that all parties, who are involved in implementation, are now speaking a common language.“
BioAnalyt GmbH
BioAnalyt GmbH asked for a 2-day workshop for its cross-functional team. Main focus was the analysis of the value propositions of their future products next to the visualization of its current business model. Based on various industry examples of other sectors the workshop participants experienced the Lean Startup plus the Business Model Canvas method. Today – 6 weeks after the workshop – all teams work within a validation mode, completely based on the Lean Startup method.
Dr. Simone Frey, Managing Director BioAnalyt GmbH:„For me the two days were exciting. I was impressed by the openness of the team when applying the new methods. In the end the whole team felt even more responsible for our overall business model and the different value propositions of our products. The training also emphasized the commitment of our team!“
Holly McKee, Multi Channel Marketing Manager BioAnalyt GmbH:„We all had a lot of fun during the two-day-workshop. We carried the momentum from the workshop into our daily work, continuing to apply the new methods within the same interdisciplinary teams. I am curious to hear Andrea’s feedback when she comes to check our progress a couple of weeks after the workshop.“
EKS
The electricity company of Canton of Schaffhausen (EKS AG) applies the Business Model Canvas and Lean Startup methodology in order or develop and validate new business ideas. In the role of innovation coach, I conduct workshops, where EKS employees generate new ideas and straight away test those regarding implementability. Due to my inspiring and stringent workshop facilitation, the participants can focus wholeheartedly on their content
Daniel Clauss, member of executive board, EKS AG:„Time to market is crucial for us as medium-sized company: With the aid of Andrea Schmitt’s workshop facilitation my team gained certainty and pace when implementing new product ideas. I am absolutely happy with the achievements.“
Fontys International Business School
The institutes 'International Marketing' and 'International Business and Management Studies' of Fontys’ International Business School Venlo have enlarged their knowledge upon the Business Model Canvas Method. During a 2-day training and workshop I have intensely instructed the Business Model Canvas and Lean Startup Method. Firstly, the participating lecturers applied the method supported by my facilitation to various industry examples. On the second day Fontys’ current challenges such as new course offers, innovative teaching materials and entrepreneurial activities were validated under the use of the newly learnt methods. First customer interviews with students were carried out straight away on the second workshop day.
Dr. Sven Pastoors, Lecturer International Marketing und Sustainable Innovation:„We all really liked the workshop very much. All colleagues, who participated the workshop, were absolutely delighted.“
Anja Schäfer, Lecturer International Business & Management Studies:„The workshop was impressively organized and structured. Due to the variety of different tasks throughout the workshop we all had an amazing amount of fun when learning and furthermore we could directly put the new concepts into practice. We as lectures of an ‚applied services university’ appreciate this interactive learning style very much, since we know that it leads to a higher learning efficiency. The 2-day course exactly met our expectations. Even colleagues, who make already use of the Business Model Canvas Method for several years, could enlarge their knowledge. The ‚knowledge exchange’ inspired us to combine different approaches in new ways.“
Fujifilm Europe B.V
Fujifilm Europe B.V invited employees from 7 different European countries in order to design and evaluate a new business idea during a two day workshop. I guided the cross-functional team consisting of 10 participants throughout the two days - applying the business model canvas and lean startup method. The workshop resulted in clear next steps and tasks which elements of the potential new business model need to be evaluated first via lean start-up experiments.
Katrin Kratky, Manager Human Resources Development, Schenker Deutschland AG:„Thank you for your photo documentation. I would like to compliment. Good combination of theory and examples as reference, good impression about the atmosphere and participants and detailed pictures to use for next steps.“
in-tech smart charging GmbH
Thomas Wagner, CEO of in-tech smart charging, contacted me and said he wanted to check whether a transition to agile working for his company would be the right way. He and his executives wanted to increase transparency and improve communication across the three sites, have a simpler way to prioritize issues, reduce organisational complexity and, for his employees, more fun at work.
After careful planning and the involvement of all participants, we succeeded in transforming the organisation to agile working after about 5 months. The company considers itself well positioned for its overall goal of becoming even more adaptable to future developments in the market.
Thomas Wagner, CEO in-tech smart charging GmbH:„The methodological approach initiated by Andrea was very much to our liking. Moreover, I believe Andrea’s combination of consistent application of the Scrum rules on the one hand and her pragmatic attitude on the other was extremely helpful in achieving our objectives.“
IZ Immobilien Zeitung Verlagsgesellschaft mbH
The editorial office of Immobilien Zeitung asked me to hold an interactive workshop for all of their editors. The workshop should be a source of energy, but should also act as a trigger to implement specific measures. Together, we decided to hold an Open Space conference.
Lars Wiederhold, Editor at IZ and workshop participant:„The innovation workshop has brought our communication and collaboration efforts to a new level, and our colleagues exhibited great commitment.“
Landesgeschäftsstelle BÜNDNIS 90 / Die GRÜNEN Hessen
Over the course of two days, I accompanied the team of the Hesse office of BÜNDNIS 90 / Die GRÜNEN to establish even greater closeness to each other as a team and to start the path to agile working. Beforehand, I developed a proposal for the introduction of agile working with representatives of the team. On the second day of the workshop, we integrated the objections of all team members into this proposal by using the objection integration process.
LV 1871
LV 1871 was seeking support in the systematic generation of innovative business models and products. Within the context of an interactive workshop, I introduced the division leaders of LV 1871 to state-of-the-art methods such as Business Model Design and Lean Startup. In the following days, we jointly applied the newly acquired methods directly to existing product ideas of LV 1871. Back in business, the workshop participants were able to implement the methods independently and to achieve their objectives.
Karl-Heinz Schaller, Head of Mathematics and Product Devleopment:„Now that we've completed Andrea's workshop, I am so happy that we've chosen exactly the right coach for us.“
Robert Weidinger, Head of Information Technlogy:„Overall, Andrea even exceeded my expectations. Besides an excellent training course, she also showed us how to implement the learned tools and methods in our day to day work.“
RWE
The Operational Security Management of RWE Group Business Services GmbH was interested in strengthening its teamwork and customer orientation. During a one-day training course, I introduced agile working methods based on Scrum and Kanban to the team. At the end of the training, the topics which the participants took back to their day-to-day work were in particular transparency, self-organized teams, and empathy regarding their internal customers.
Lisa Curlett-Harrison, Head of Security Reviews and QA:„This was a very useful introduction to agile working methods. The training style was very relaxed. There was opportunity to practice using the tools and techniques which we can begin to implement immediately in our everyday work.“
Schenker Deutschland GmbH
Since the beginning of 2018, I have been supporting Schenker Deutschland AG to make their employees and managers familiar with modern working methods such as Lean Startup, Design Thinking, and Scrum. I regularly hold 1- to 2-day interactive trainings for small groups of up to 12 employees. During the trainings, I initially introduce the basic principles of the methods and allow for some space for hands-on practice. Towards the end of the workshop, I discuss together with participants where they see possible uses for the methods in their daily work routine.
Katrin Kratky, Manager Human Resources Development, Schenker Deutschland AG:„The 1- and 2-day workshops hosted by Andrea Schmitt are a perfect format for us to get an overview of agile working methods. It’s great that we can try out the methods presented directly during the workshop. This enhances our practical understanding. The workshops with Andrea are also great fun! She is not only a true expert in the subject matter, but can also provide real-life examples for any questions.“
Traveltainment
As part of a multi-day offsite the Senior Management Team of Traveltainment GmbH reviewed its business model and in particular its associated current value propositions. On the basis of the business model respectively value proposition canvas method I led the participants of the workshop through the steps of visualization and evaluation. By using the method of Story Telling and digging into various concrete customer conversations, new ideas concerning value added offerings arose. In oder to validate the potential new value propositions we jointly applied the Lean Startup method and prepared corresponding customer interviews within the workshop.
Stefan Mayer, Head of Department Application Management Traveltainment GmbH:„The workshop was very well suited for getting started with the topic of 'Value Proposition Design‘. It provided all participants with a terrific method, in order to evaluate existing and new products regarding customer interest and value add. I am even more pleased to see the sustainable acceptance of the model within the company. The colleagues have consequently built on the workshop results and have already used them during various customer conversations.“
Verhaert Innovation Acadamy
Stijn Smet, Managing Director:„Andrea is an experienced mentor that has coached a variety of corporate venture teams on their innovation journey with great empathy. As a method expert she helps our intrapreneurial teams to navigate their journey of testing assumptions through design thinking, lean startup and agile methods. With her background in electrical engineering and business economics, she is also knowledgeable in technical environments, which is always greatly appreciated by the teams. As a mentor, she challenges the teams' value proposition, concepting and business modeling journey and transfers those entrepreneurial skills to the teams.“
Wortspiel GmbH
On two consecutive afternoons, I accompanied the team of Wortspiel GmbH (marketing agency) in sharpening their value proposition and creating even greater closeness to each other as a team. We worked with the business and the value proposition canvas and conducted a team strength tournament combined with a 'compliment shower'. Everyone had great fun with the numerous interactions.