by José Miguel Pascual Labrador
Palma, Spain, May 22 (EFE).- German executive Thomas Middelhoff was one of the most influential business leaders at the beginning of this century as CEO of Bertelsmann AG, where he anticipated the digital revolution before anyone else. However, after serving time in prison for economic crimes, he had to reinvent himself as a writer, speaker, and now as an advisor to Barça Media, the digital content structure of FC Barcelona.
At the CON-X 2024 tourism congress, organized by TravelgateX on the Spanish island of Mallorca with EFE as a collaborating media, the former executive, now based in the Catalan capital, assured that there is always a moment of retrospection in which one looks back to analyze mistakes and learn from them.
“People love to talk about success much more and dislike talking about failure. And I have no problem with that because I’m 71 years old and I had my life, my learnings in both directions. But I have no problem talking about mistakes, what I learned from them. And I think this is a precondition for being, let me say, a little wise,” he said.
Middelhoff talks at CON-X about managing success and failure
Middelhoff also referred to a book he wrote with the headline ‘Guilty’, in which he talks about second chances and humility to learn from failures.
“Samuel Beckett had a wonderful quote: Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better,” he recalled in an interview with the EFE Agency.
Regarding the management of mistakes according to cultures, the German compared the different visions within countries like the United States and England and his native country, since in the two former nations there is, in his opinion, support for those who try, while in Germany it is “a bit more complicated, because people in principle are very jealous.”
As advice to the new generations, he insists that they be humble, keep their feet on the ground: “Don’t think you’re the owner of the world or that you can conquer it.”
In his professional career, Middelhoff quickly recognized the potential of new digital media, making investments in companies like Pixelpark, Lycos and Mediaways, and suggesting a large financial stake by Bertelsmann in America Online (AOL), when it was still a young company.
Future trends
When asked about future trends and the rise of Artificial Intelligence, he considers that we are only facing an “intermediate step” that will have a “tremendous impact” on our lives, but that it will be replaced in the medium and long term, just as will happen with social networks.
Finally, he was more forceful when talking about the metaverse as “something overvalued” after exploring the possibilities for one of his current jobs within Barça Media.
“It’s attractive, but I’m not sure how much money customers are really willing to pay for something that’s not real. Personally, I believe that events, music, happenings, whatever, will continue to have a great future,” Middelhoff concluded.
EFE