Carsten Senz is VP Communications at Huawei Germany and has worked in intercultural corporate communications for 14 years. In this episode, we discuss how real agility works (spoiler: differently than Scrum), why our knowledge of China is superficial, and how crisis communication succeeds in one of the most complex corporate environments.

In this conversation you'll learn:

- why Germans force Chinese phenomena into their own thinking frameworks

- what real agility means: I-Ching vs. Scrum frameworks

- how theoretical and practice-oriented creativity differ

- how Huawei developed new business areas through crises

- what the Seeds for the Future program teaches about China experience

- how crisis communication works: stay calm and act strategically

- why B2B technology communication is particularly challenging

- how to mediate between cultures as a communicator

- what 70% e-cars in Shenzhen mean for quality of life

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro & 14 years at Huawei: From unknown to crisis
02:30 – Sinology studies and intercultural communication research
06:42 – Germany vs. China: Why our China knowledge is "tragically limited"
08:40 – Real agility: I-Ching and Chinese flexibility
14:13 – German rules for agility vs. natural adaptability
19:20 – Creativity through crisis: Digital Power and Automotive Solutions
25:09 – Shenzhen: 70% e-cars and tangible change
31:22 – Seeds for the Future: Practical China experience for young people
35:35 – Creativity: Theoretical-abstract vs. practice-oriented
41:33 – Crisis communication: Stay calm and react strategically
46:33 – B2B challenge: Making complex technology understandable