Elisabeth Burda Furtwängler and Dr Jacob Burda assume entrepreneurial and publishing responsibility for Hubert Burda Media. At the same time, Olaf Koch succeeds Dr Paul-Bernhard Kallen on the Board of Directors.
No face-to-face meetings, no restaurant visits and closed shopping malls: When I started at Immediate Media in September 2020, the world was in lockdown. Society was forced to adapt to a new normal, and traditional business models were turned upside down. But the opportunity for innovation could hardly have been better.
Even before I started, Immediate brands had successfully organized events for small groups in the Garden and History sector. With the lockdown, this idea was spontaneously transferred to the virtual world – and the success was overwhelming. A gardening event attracted over 800 attendees who were willing to pay for a virtual experience. These events provided real added value in a challenging time: We helped our users survive the lockdown by providing them with inspiration and knowledge – whether it's baking sourdough bread properly or creative gardening projects.
I was Commercial Strategy Manager at the time: That means I analyzed the data and the market and immediately recognized enormous potential from the lockdown. The idea of scaling these events seemed perfect: innovative, close to the editorial brands and supported by market data that predicted a boom in online learning and virtual formats. I was convinced. So I talked to the management team, invested in my own team, built structures and planned ambitious growth targets. In the first few months, the calculation seemed to work out - but when the exit restrictions were relaxed, demand collapsed. My "rocket" suddenly ran out of fuel.
Looking back, my mistake was to blindly rely on market data. I was enthusiastic about the new situation, I saw an opportunity. If I had asked myself the simple question of what people really want after a global pandemic, I might have decided differently. As our sales figures fell more and more, reality hit me hard. It was hard to come up with new forecasts every month, only to find that we couldn't meet them. I felt responsible – especially towards the teams that had worked on the projects with so much passion. At the same time, I knew that I could have done better: Less pressure on the numbers and more realism would have done us all good.
This "best mistake" was a valuable lesson: innovation needs not only good data, but also common sense. It's about evaluating what people really need – especially in a rapidly changing world. My biggest strengths, which helped me in this situation, were my optimism and flexibility. I have learned not only to accept change, but to see the positive in it. I was also honest, direct and human. So I soon talked to my team and we looked for solutions together. And: I am willing to admit mistakes. This was surprisingly easy for me, because I realized: admitting mistakes is not a weakness, but testifies to strength. The work of Brené Brown, an American researcher and author, has strengthened my conviction: vulnerability is the key to real trust and deep connections – both in the team and in leadership.
For me, trust is the basis of every successful collaboration. Without trust, no one dares to address mistakes. At Immediate, we use formats such as the "two-word check-in" to encourage open communication. All team members describe in two words how they experience the working weeks – this gives everyone the opportunity to get a "behind-the-scenes" insight into the everyday work of their colleagues.
Mistakes are an opportunity. They show that we are trying new ways and taking risks. However, it is important that we learn the lessons from it and support each other in order to grow from it. Today, when I hear a new idea, I no longer just ask myself: "Does this work?" But also: "What could go wrong, and how do we deal with it?" This attitude helps me not only to make better decisions, but also to better support my team.
by Katja Eggert
We all make mistakes – and that's exactly what our content series 'My Best Mistake' is about: What mistakes managers made at Burda and, above all, what they learned from them. Because mistakes are not bad, they are part of life. And often it is from them that we can learn the most.
