We would like to express our sincere thanks to you, dear readers, dear business partners and, above all, to our experts and colleagues for your continued support and the consistently high level of interest in our interviews, technical articles and podcasts. The year 2021 brought further challenges, but also many opportunities. Let us also make the best possible use of the year 2022: 365 new days, 365 new chances!

90 percent of German companies are family businesses. Often with a long tradition and several management changes from generation to generation. These handover processes are often complex. "A family-internal company handover is of great importance for all family members," finds Bessie Fischer-Bohn. The economist, psychotherapist and executive consultant has been accompanying families through the leadership transition for many years. Why do those who don't normally sit at the conference table also have to come to the table? How can the Prince Charles Syndrome be avoided? And what do families typically ignore?

Long-successful companies repeatedly demonstrate resilience in crises. Christoph Scholl and Stefan Renken say tradition does not always equate to inflexibility.

The Corona pandemic has undoubtedly given digitization in Germany a major boost. But the momentum did not happen voluntarily everywhere. While young companies, in particular those with fluid structures and processes, are finding it easy to go digital, the comprehensive digitization of business processes is still meeting with resistance in many long-established companies.

Raw materials, labor, energy, transportation: everything is becoming ever more expensive. But that's not all: the rising costs of important input factors are endangering the profitability of companies. With our interactive inflation calculator, you can quickly find out just how much price increases are impacting your company's earnings and how price increases to your own customers can provide relief.

In the wake of the Corona restrictions, many companies have had to contend with falling sales while costs remained the same. As a result, their liquidity began to dry up and some even faced insolvency. At the latest in such a situation, liquidity planning is recommended. But there are many stumbling blocks.

If no investor can be found for an insolvent industrial company, the decision is made to close it down. In this case, however, "shutdown" does not mean an immediate standstill at the plant. Rather, it means a carefully managed phase-out of production. In order to achieve the best possible result for everyone involved - employees, customers, creditors and suppliers alike.

Integrated financial planning is indispensable for companies, says Jendrik Voss. It brings together all of a company's planning components and thus links the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow statement.

Distance Leadership and the skills that can now make it easier for managers and remote teams: We recently talked about this with our Head of Human Resources Dr. Axel Hermeier. But what are the skills that hiring managers are paying more attention to than ever before? After all, the changes in the world of business and work have opened new job profiles and changed old ones. The focus on the fitting talents seems to have sharpened.What is increasingly important to companies in the search for talent and in the hiring process? And - vice versa: What new demands are increasingly being made of jobseekers? A look at the new challenges in talent acquisition and recruiting with Dr. Axel Hermeier.

Baking is en vogue: since the lockdowns, when mainly flour and yeast were sold out in supermarkets, another habit has been established: People are buying more from their friendly baker next door, whereas the bakery-restaurant sector has declined.The "culprit" is the home office and resulting less crowded city centers, train stations and airports. The figures speak a clear language. And the signs? The signs are still clearly pointing to change.What opportunities should bakeries seize now, and how do they succeed in reorganizing operations professionally? Dr. Tim Bauer, Managing Consultant at enomyc, reports on four proven success factors.