First/Last name: Nicolai Andersen
What’s your current occupation?
Managing Partner Consulting Germany & DCE
Where are you currently living (city & country)?
Hamburg, the most beautiful city in the world.
Tell us about yourself:
I was born and raised in Hamburg and went to school here. When I was 16, I spent a year in the USA. I graduated from high school in Hamburg. I spent five years in Karlsruhe to study industrial engineering. My first job had to be in Hamburg, of course. I worked for Arthur Andersen for three years. After that, I switched to Deloitte. I’ve been working at Deloitte ever since. I also have a wife and four daughters.
Tell us about your company/company you work for:
I have been leading the Consulting practice at Deloitte for the last 2 years. Before that, I was the EMEA Lead Innovation. Why do I mention that? Because I’m still trying to bring innovation to everything we do. We are in the process of developing the German consulting practice in the heart of Europe.
What do you connect with our theme “Fear Less”?
I associate it with the fact that when we are afraid, we stop trying things. We are held back by something, maybe the fear of failing or the fear of feeling hurt. Fear intimidates, and when you are intimidated, you don’t have good ideas. Instead, we should be optimistic. Every challenge is an opportunity! Fear doesn’t go together with innovation, transformation, or change.
What are you afraid of?
I’m afraid of snakes. Apart from animals … I’m afraid of turning back things where we have made progress in terms of working globally and sharing cultures.
How do you overcome your fear/s?
I don’t care if there are snakes or not, I’m not going to stop traveling the world. We can also apply that to the economy. Especially when it comes to work and people, I don’t want a local business – we should go out into the world and share cultures as much as possible.
What is your favorite TED Talk?
Most of them are inspiring. There was a TED Talk by a man who bought a yogurt company in the US talking about how he structured the company and the staff – that was really interesting and gave a lot of ideas on how leadership works.
(+ extra question) When someone would ask you to hold a TED Talk today, what would it be about?
1. Confidence in the future of Europe – Let’s come back to the strengths that Europe has!
2. Ethics in business – How can we transfer all the ancient Greek philosophers into today’s business world?
3. Human-centered business – Why in the end it’s always about how we are human and how we behave. Let’s apply this to the business world!
Share with us your favorite quote you identify with the most:
“Geht nicht, gibt’s nicht!”
“Second place is first loser!”
Why do you support TEDxFrankfurt?
I’m a big fan of TEDxTalks in general. The topics always bring new, insightful added value. The TED-style is engaging and inspiring. Everyone in the audience can take something away from it. So, I like the concept and support it wherever I can.
(+ extra question) Has Deloitte something similar to TEDx?
TEDx is similar to Deloitte in terms of diversity. We have different experts who can talk about different areas of expertise, and you can always learn from them. Also, the openness to share knowledge is part of both cultures.
(+ extra question) TEDx in one word?
FUN.