The Winnetou Factor at Gamescom

The fact that computer games are based on their own economy has been on my mind for a long time. Giving a conference talk about it at the world's biggest games fair, which even attracted the attention of the TV channel n-tv, was particularly exciting.

Conference

The Gamescom Conference 2019 in Cologne

Gamescom in Cologne is the world's largest trade fair for computer and video games with over 370,000 visitors. Numerous manufacturers from all over the world present their latest software and hardware here. In total, more than 1,000 companies were there - most of them in the business area. In this context, I was able to give my presentation "The Winnetou Factor. What we can learn from the Apaches about the future of our digital civilisation".

What can we learn from Winnetou about digital leadership?

Gamification, A.I. and blockchain create space for markets without money, economy without corporations and society without the state. The future is no longer being shaped. It is being programmed - by us. As IT people, we find ourselves in a creative role that we did not expect. How can we live up to this responsibility?

First the bad news: Winnetou never existed. There were not even chiefs. Apaches only knew informal leadership through so-called Nant'an, such as Geronimo. When he announced he was going to attack the Spaniards, one would say "Sorry, I have plans for the weekend" and another would say "I'm in. Need sport anyway". Informal leadership in decentralised systems knows no job description. If Geronimo is arrested, a successor is found immediately.

The Apaches have a decentralised social structure without formal leadership. Decentralisation therefore not only works on a technical level (internet, edge computing, blockchain), but also socially - it always has.

Curious? Click here for the article on n-tv.

Conference

#1 "What can we learn from Winnetou about digital leadership?" with Gernot Jochum-Müller, organisational consultant

"Leading" is a very old concept - perhaps as old as humanity itself. From the past, we have learned to organise leadership through hierarchies. This is efficient, but not resilient. How does leadership work in the digital age, e.g. in the home office? What is informal leadership and how does it work? I talk about these topics with my guest Gernot Jochum-Müller.