Between External Challenges and Internal Barriers – Why Looking Inward is Worthwhile
Recently, during an internal discussion, we touched on a topic that has been on both of our minds independently for quite aome time.
As is often the case, the conversation initially revolved around the well-known challenges: high energy costs, increasing bureaucracy, rising labor and wage expenses, and the overall difficult situation of German industry.
However, the longer we talked, the clearer one point became – one that is often overlooked in many discussions:
A significant share of the problems companies face is self-inflicted.
When Habits Slow Down Innovation
In our daily work, we repeatedly encounter similar patterns:
- New suppliers or partners are ignored because they are not personally known or because “we’ve always worked with the same ones” – even when new providers might be more cost-effective or offer comparable quality. Often, it is not a lack of opportunity, but a lack of willingness to evaluate alternatives.
- Ideas are blocked because they do not originate from one’s own department or because they imply additional effort. Instead of thinking across functions, organizations remain trapped in responsibilities and boundaries.
- Endless meetings in which countless reasons are collected explaining why something will not work – rather than first asking the question: How could it work?
- Technical or organizational issues are postponed because sticking to what is familiar feels safer. New solutions mean change, uncertainty, and learning effort – so companies remain with what they know, even when it is clearly no longer optimal.
This list could easily be extended.
And frankly: When we observe such examples, it often sends a chill down our spine.
The Missing Internal Perspective
Many companies focus heavily on external factors – politics, markets, competitors, regulations. And without question, these factors do matter.
Yet in doing so, they often forget to look inward.
There is another critical aspect:
These internal challenges are often not fully visible to top management. Not because they are deliberately ignored, but because information frequently gets lost on its way up the organization. Problems are downplayed, glossed over, or simply disappear in day-to- day operations. Truly open communication does not always take place.
This creates a dangerous situation:
While companies and employees blame the external environment for stagnation or inaction, internal barriers remain untouched.
Willingness to Change as a Decisive Factor Especially in economically challenging times, success or failure is not determined by the market alone.
What truly matters is the internal mindset of a company:
- How open is the organization to change?
- How critically are existing processes questioned?
- How seriously are new ideas evaluated?
- How much room is given to constructive criticism?
Our key takeaway from many projects and conversations:
External perspectives often reveal issues that have long been accepted internally as “normal.” Entrenched ways of thinking, routines, and time pressure prevent organizations from recognizing where valuable potential lies. Not out of unwillingness –
but because the awareness has been lost.
A Topic for Top Management
For precisely this reason, this topic should be actively addressed – and regularly questioned, especially by top management.
Not as an assignment of blame, but as an opportunity: for better processes, higher efficiency, greater motivation, and ultimately stronger competitiveness.
We are convinced that many companies could achieve significantly more if they not only analyzed their external environment, but also took a closer look at themselves.
And we strongly suspect that we are not alone in making these observations.
