Tag: team

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Bob the AI-enhanced builder

Most kids today and GenZ youth have come across the TV-series “Bob the builder”. Baby boomer parents have been worried about the work ethos which might be the hidden agenda of the videos. In 2026 we can now draft a new episode called “Bob the AI-builder”. Many episodes could be re-written when Bob and his team have access and get training with AI toolboxes. The study published by ActivTrak (2026-3-11) reports that companies make on average use of 7+ different AI-tools, up from 2 in 2023. This constitutes a hint that complexity at work is increasing as each tool has to be managed and the boundaries of its use need to be respected. As most search engines offer an AI-short cut to search it is not surprising that now 80% of the workforce use some form of AI in 2026. The productivity increases in quantitative terms as more output can be achieved in the same time or slightly shorter work days. However, workload is moved even more to weekends now.
The upcoming challenge through AI-tools is the reduced “the AI users’ focus time”, which suffered 9% compared to non-users. For Bob the AI-enhanced builder this means “AI is being used as an additional productivity layer, not a substitute for existing work”. The overall workload is not reduced by AI. The intensity of work increased between 2023-2025.
There is still a puzzle in the data. Multitasking (+12%) and collaboration (+34%) both increased, but the duration of an average focused session and focus efficiency dropped. The challenges for employees increase. Handling simultaneous processes and keeping an open mind to collaboration are key competences for Bob the AI-enhanced builder.
(Image: LEGO-shop in Paris 2026-2)

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Olympics Together

The extended version of the official Olympic principles now includes in addition to faster, higher, stronger- together. Together stands for all nations competing together in the Games. Additionally, together is a key concept of team work. Athletes in many of the Olympic disciplines need to have a competency to perform in teams. Sport is therefore a great exercise to enhance team spirit and take responsibility of own performance in a team. Job markets value this competence as it is a skill that is hard to measure in a reliable way. Even various forms of assessment centers have a hard time to test ability to work in various forms of teams. Asking for sports practiced in leisure time maybe faked easily but participants in high level sport competitions can reply to o questions with details that are rather unique. Even many individual sports have doubles, relays or larger team competitions. Olympic Games Paris 2024 made this particularly clear again. (Image Raoul Dufy, Les Régates 1908, MAM Paris)

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Special HK

The Special Olympics World Games are special in many respects. The broad range of people with special abilities is only one of them. I had the chance to ask permission to take a photo of the athletes from the team from Hong Kong when the took their team photo at Berlin Alexanderplatz. This is indeed special as the all wore proudly their team dress showing in big letters Hong Kong on the back (participant example). Hong Kong is the unfortunate island that was passed on from Imperial phase from the United Kingdom time to the Chinese rule. Despite an official 1 China, 2 political systems promise, Hong Kong’s democratic movements were soon threated and imprisoned. It was a special moment to me to witness the spirit of the Hong Kong athletes at the beginning of the special games in Berlin.
Other athletes whom I congratulated on the way to the competition were proudly asking me, whether I had seen them on TV yesterday. Beyond the 2 weeks of competition, special athletes are part of our public images of sports persons. This enlarges our perspective of what a sport’s person presumably has to look like. The SOWG question our traditional stereotypes and put inclusion and integration into practice. At least some of the disciplines should go mainstream and be part of the next Olympic games in Paris 2024. But, as we all know the official, not so special, Olympic games are primarily about big business and merchandising rather than inclusion and diversity. Hong Kong athletes remain a unique experience reserved to the special Olympics.