One of the most memorable learning experiences for Daniel Ohr during his time at IMD derived from being in a “disaster team”, in which faculty on the Program for Executive Development (PED, at the time the preliminary module of the EMBA) cleverly put together a small team for a group session comprising personalities of sharply differing temperaments and thinking styles.
Such teams tend to be either the most dysfunctional, or the most brilliantly creative. Daniel’s group managed to be both. He recalls his attempts to instill some organized planning to the discussion. “From my perspective the requirement was to structure the problem and to work efficiently in a very short time period to come to a good solution,” he recalls. His Brazilian, Russian and Peruvian colleagues did not share the same approach and were in full flow, generating ideas.
With just 15 minutes left, his Brazilian colleague stood up and said: “Listen, guys, I think we need some structure here,” and in the closing minutes they assembled their presentation. While awaiting a verdict on this end result, the observing faculty informed them that this was not the purpose of the exercise: the group’s interaction was the lesson. This learning went deep: that different ways of approaching a challenge can be a collective strength.
Daniel is from a working-class background, and financed his way through his initial degree in business and sport, at which he excelled though it did not stretch him. For years he worked with the fashion and lifestyle luxury-retailer Breuninger in his native Germany. He was offered a major promotion, and accepted with the proviso that he study for an EMBA. He relished an intellectual challenge and wanted to achieve maximum personal freedom, and potential for promotion. He believes that managers are best when they are “free” and not afraid of losing something. Breuninger’s management agreed to his request, and financed the study at IMD.
“It is tougher now, but this is why you need a great strategy process even more”
Some of the early experience on the EMBA, discussing business, economics and geopolitics in his second language and in case studies, was testing. Any feelings of imposter syndrome were overcome through hard work and application. After he received an outstanding grade and a special mention from Professor Paul Strebel for a strategic assessment, his role in the class changed “From then on, the perception moved from being the ’fashion and the party guy’ to a more serious prospect.”
Another lasting impact from the EMBA resulted from the Discovery Expedition to Silicon Valley, which opened his eyes to the possibility that he might have the capability to become an entrepreneur.
After his EMBA he came up with his first idea for a startup. “I thought I had a great idea. I was talking with German friends, investors, professors, everybody I knew, and every talk was the same talk… [it was]: Oh, fantastic idea Daniel, but have you considered this, this this and this? This is very German – giving you a list of things that might be a problem.
“And then I went to my American friends, including some VCs, and I had the same discussion with them, and none of them was talking about a problem. They always were just talking about: ‘I have ideas about how you can make it bigger.”
As a serial entrepreneur, he has retained the merits of what might be deemed the “German approach”. He takes issue with a recent fad among some younger business managers who feel that they can dispense with a rigorous approach to strategy. Yes, the commercial world has become more turbulent, but disciplines such as understanding which customers you are pitching to, and the money-making logic of the enterprise, will never go out of fashion. “It is tougher now, but this is why you need a great strategy process even more.”
In a similar way, the prioritizing of attitude over effectiveness in leadership is a trend he challenges. “It’s not enough just to formulate that new leaders should be less controlling and more diverse… This is just belief. You also need to make it happen that they are in the end successful.”
He did not switch to entrepreneurialism immediately after graduating. Coming from a modest background, he did not have sufficient financial security to take big risks. So he worked five more years as an executive. His first entrepreneurial venture, YouDinner, involves arranging high-quality culinary experiences in imaginative non-restaurant settings. It was well received but was affected by Covid-19 and the lockdowns. To earn sufficiently in the interim, he set up a consulting firm – something he wryly observes that he intended never to do – advising firms on strategy and approaches to monetizing, primarily in customer-facing businesses.
The result is a portfolio career, part startup founder, part strategy and customer consultant. Structure and strategy aren’t the enemy of entrepreneurialism – they pave the road for the innovative spirit to speed along.
Daniel also loves to organize the annual get-together for his cohort of IMD alumni. And his Brazilian, Peruvian and Russian colleagues from the disaster team? All best buddies.
“It’s not enough just to formulate that new leaders should be less controlling and more diverse. You also need to make sure that they are successful”
