Daimler AG organisational culture is known for three things: driver for innovation and pioneering; pursuit of excellence and hierarchical decision-making process.

Having said that, I experienced the change in these three fundamental pillars with the shift happening in the industry. Emerging companies such as Tesla and Chinese suppliers starting entering the future of mobility market. Tech- software companies such as Apple and Google invest a lot in emerging technologies such as autonomous driving. With these threats coming, the whole industry is changing and also requires a shift in strategy. Daimler cars strategy CASE announced by Dr Dieter Zetsche at Paris auto salon is a first step in setting the priorities right.

However, the change in culture plays a much higher fundamental role. Changing the habits and mindset of employees, who are working for decades to create the most efficient processes is a hard task. But, with Leadership2020 Daimler’s culture transition is promising. With an entrepreneurial mindset and future leaders, the company acquires the right resources to compete against all competitors today and tomorrow.

Leadership2020 is disruptive in every aspect and will create scepticism, as long as the relevant areas transform, who are affected by the disruption outside, the secondary or tertiary departments will follow. It’s a long process, but a required transformation and believe Daimler will succeed. It’s another reason, why Daimler will need young and out-of-the-box thinkers, who are persistence enough to transform the processes and break up hierarchical decision-making processes.