Tell Christian the truth

The excellent text by Christina Kyriasoglou is the super-GAU for SAP and especially for CEO Christian Klein, because it pushes into an empty space where SAP has nothing to reciprocate or counter. SAP has no vision, no history, no self-confidence and no character anymore. This critical text from Manager Magazin July 2022 unleashes its full force because it meets no resistance, because SAP is parched and a hollow vessel.

Tell Christian the truth: 18 months ago, I already saw disaster looming on the horizon. SAP no longer had a story, no corporate culture - it seemed that the technical term "storytelling" was unknown at SAP. I was in intensive contact with a member of the Supervisory Board who had been very involved in Christian Klein's career over the past few years. Repeatedly, a meeting with Klein was urged and promised, because it was not only a matter of working very hard, but also of telling a story - do good and talk about it.

Then hope began to germinate: There was a new Executive Board member for Marketing and Communications at SAP. Julia White came from Microsoft, had excellent references and was made for the orphaned position on the SAP Executive Board. The first visible act was to part company spokeswoman Nicola Leske, who had been with the company for many years. Ms. Leske was succeeded by Oliver Roll, a PR professional from the San Francisco Bay Area with no knowledge of the SAP community, history, or the sensibilities of SAP's existing customers and European press, and no one dared tell Christian that he was wrong with this corporate spokesperson!

Obviously, Christian Klein lacks the verified assessment of personnel he currently surrounds himself with - in this he resembles his overfather Hasso Plattner, who did not always have the best hand for SAP executives, see Shai Agassi and Vishal Sikka. Back to the current personnel: SAP's Chief Marketing Officer Julia White delivers nothing and has been on the board for more than a year. Oliver Roll is anything but a spokesperson - at least no one has heard him yet. And SAP's head of strategy, Sebastian Steinhäuser, who should not only be developing visions but also inspiring the SAP community with them, also appears to be a zero. Enthusiasm in the community is in short supply.

At the end of last year, I was contacted by a colleague of Sebastian Steinhäuser, who is responsible for the strategy competence of an Executive Board division. We discussed the communication deficit at the same time as SAP's successes in cloud computing. My suggestion: do good and talk about it. After many weeks of thinking about it, SAP came back with the realization: an interview with the board member in E-3 magazine. This is not what I meant by the concept of "do good and talk about it." I declined with thanks. At the same time, however, I was assured that SAP's Chief Marketing Officer Julia White was working on a very big concept. But nothing of this has become visible to date - perhaps the choleric outbursts of Hasso Plattner and Christian Klein are justified.