“…AT NOON I WILL GO HOME.”

In his book “… and at noon I go home” Detlef Lohmann describes how he completely restructured and radically changed his company. The book is very entertaining and mostly written in a very exciting way.

It contains many practical examples that make it easy to implement certain things immediately in one’s own environment without having to turn the whole company upside down. His core statements, summarized in 11 chapters, are as follows:

Flat hierarchies are the key to

Detlef Lohmann has put an end to conventional organization in function-related departments, such as purchasing, sales, etc. To achieve this, he relies on the assumption of personal responsibility by employees and excellent cooperation. An interesting detail: not only the organisation should be flat, but also the company building, in order to enable open-plan offices and simple communication. Of course, there are also places of retreat if you want to be undisturbed or have confidential conversations.

Reports are a thing of the past

In a classic company, a large amount of energy flows into the reporting system. Many employees are concerned with presenting in the form of various reports what has happened in the past. According to Lohmann, these reports are primarily the tools of authoritarian bosses and hardly bring any benefit in avoiding mistakes due to poor planning, for example. He has replaced reporting with a decentralized information system that is accessible to all employees.

The key to success is trust

Permanent control leads only to frustration of the employees and “service according to regulations”. Lohmann, for example, also relies on personal responsibility when it comes to working hours and has abolished time clocks in the company. In the unlikely event of misuse, the error is more likely to be found in the management than in the employee. This leads to more commitment and motivation and employees who identify with the company and think entrepreneurially.

All in all, I find the book particularly interesting because of its casual spelling and can gladly recommend it. Perhaps just the right thing to get other thoughts on holiday and to take on a whole new perspective. Maybe you will go home at noon in the future…