COURSE
Navigating (Business) Culture(s)
In order to deal with cultural differences and diversity constructively and appreciatively, a contemporary understanding of culture and its role in everyday life and in the world of work is required. This is not about the rigid, simplistic assignment of cultural characteristics to certain groups of people, but about discovering and understanding cultural patterns: one’s own and those of customers, partners and colleagues.
Who is this course for
01.
Startup Founders
Are you running an international startup and planning to gain a foothold in Austria? Do you run an Austrian startup and want to conquer international markets? Do you manage and/or work in a culturally diverse team? Your customers, partners and suppliers are highly diverse and you want to grasp and better understand these cultural differences?
02.
Innovative SMEs
Do you run an international SME and are planning to gain a foothold in Austria? Do you manage an Austrian SME that wants to enter international markets? Do you manage and/or work in a culturally diverse team? Your customers, partners and suppliers are highly diverse and you want to grasp and better understand these cultural differences?
03.
Accelerators & Universities
Do you run a training program for international startups and want to prepare your participants for intercultural situations and challenges (with regard to market entry, customers, partners and investors) or improve intercultural understanding between your startups?
What you will learn
- Role of culture in & of applying a cultural lense to the business context
- Understand concepts & layers of culture
- Mapping culture(s) and cultural differences
- Understanding communication styles, negotiation tactics, relationship-building approaches and leadership practices through a cultural lense
- Understanding why culture and cultural differences matter
- Develop a structured understanding of cultural differences and how to successfully engage with them
- Understand why and how diversity matters
- Reflect on own cultural background and how it influences business encounters
Petra Wolkenstein is an extremely knowledgeable coach, she is very creative and often has a solution to a very difficult problem within minutes. She has helped us with business planning, customer acquisition, internal processes and much more.
We have worked with Petra for almost two years and every meeting we have had with her has been a blast. Not only is she highly professional, but she has such a positive nature that always makes for a friendly and supportive exchange. I highly recommend working with petra and her team as she has helped Herzensapp a lot.
Petra showed me different perspectives on my financial planning, including how to calculate market size, prioritise certain client groups, and optimise professional activities. Today I see the added business knowledge not only as a benefit to my business, but also to my clients as I can think along with their professional needs in a sharper way.
Working with Petra has been an absolute pleasure. Her deep understanding of our startup and her ability to navigate the complex world of Vienna’s VC funds and customer relationships were invaluable. She was always quick to respond to our needs and provided valuable insights that helped propel our business forward. Couldn’t have asked for a better collaborator!
I recently attended the Growth Lab from the Vienna Business Agency. It was perfect for us, as we’ve been building our cargo bike event solution for five years, and now it’s time to expand internationally. The program provided a great overview of essential processes: how to scale a business, review your business model, evaluate your team structure, and and adopt more efficient sales methods. The team from Konsultori did an excellent job – great team spirit and extremely competent! I highly recommend it to anyone looking to scale their business.
We are grateful for being part of the Growth Lab organized by Christopher Wippel and Gregor-Robert Posch at Wirtschaftsagentur Wien. It’s been a great chance to dive into professional workshops with top coaches from Konsultori like Petra Wolkenstein and Franziska Kolk. Last week’s input on internationalization was super helpful and a great refresher session from studies. Even with global products like software, selecting and preparing for specific markets is key. Digital markets may be accessible, but navigating them is a different story. This week, it’s all about sales and pricing with Tim Birdsall – looking forward to it.
Thank you for all the great insights on the topic, looking forward to the next ones!
Here is a summary of the feedback: NPS: 100
What they particularly liked: “Practical training combined with insights and feedback. Working on a case with the prepared data set and Excel spreadsheet. Theory + practice/role play.”No negative comments were left 🙂 Thank you for the great session!
Thank you again for yesterday’s session; it was incredibly insightful and fun. We’ve already received some fantastic feedback, with a 10/10 rating and comments like, “Tasks and interaction – very useful! The best one so far” / “interactive format, hands-on, pragmatic, relevant insights and advice that can be applied immediately”.
Thanks for the great workshop! Super interesting and lots of learnings 🙂
Our participants enjoyed her session on Negotiation In Action which imparted them with the confidence to get what they want. Petra shared her most important negotiation techniques, practical exercises as well as a confidence-building framework that the leaders can put into practice right away!
Petra Wolkenstein your lecture on negotiation was so insightful and engaging, thank you! You are a great storyteller!
Thank you a lot for the session this week! Some of the feedback from the founders (NPS 100!). “The practical approach. Petra was super useful and clear and knowledgeable. The practical exercise super useful points for the negotiations. The combination of theory and practice. Even though we only learned about term sheets the negotiation practice was very useful and, in fact, helped us understand terms sheets better. The exercise was really interesting and a good insight into negotiation practice. It has been really great the best exercise I’ve done in the startup world!”
I really enjoyed the workshop with you and many of my TU Wien Innovation Incubation Center pals the other day! Honestly one of the best workshops I have ever attended and probably with much more interaction from all sides compared to some offline workshops.
Thank you Petra! I want to share the comments received from the founders on the feedback form: “Amazing lesson should be a must for any founder, and life in general.It was really useful from a practical standpoint, clearly and helpfully delivered and felt like a safe space to learn, make mistakes, grow better. This is really great, would love to have more practice on this topic, and so I am going to make sure I use any materials available to work on it more.Great session. ! I don’t like role plays so was dreading it, but that was very useful. Thank you! The practice part was very cool a bit more of „hardcore“ examples and tactics, seemed too nice! Interesting topic I was expecting to get to go more in depth of special techniques of negotiation, maybe doing the simulation after the explanation of techniques so that you can apply. Liked all of it! The interactive element was strong and really enjoyable.”
The #LeadF programme provided the space and guidance for introspection, allowing me to reflect on my journey thus far and lay the groundwork for a more rewarding and enduring entrepreneurial adventure. I’m immensely grateful for all sessions held by Rebecca Williams, Annabelle Bockwoldt, Emma Stamiri, Amelia Suda-Gosch, Nina Mueller, Rupal Patel, Paulo André, Petra Wolkenstein, Preethi Sundaram. Your stories have enabled me to gain a deeper understanding of myself and chart a path for continued growth.
I run the Vienna Business Agency’s “Founders Lab” programme, during which I provide intensive support to early-stage start-ups over three months. Workshops and coaching sessions with Konsultori are a central part of the programme. The founders, regardless of their industry, benefit enormously from Petra’s, Franziska’s and Joachim’s input on the topics of business modelling, finance, negotiations and investments. Konsultori’s wealth of experience, expertise and approachability is a great asset to the startup ecosystem in Vienna.
I had the privilege to widen my skills through the Female Founders program #LeadF and learn from top-class speakers such as Petra Wolkenstein, Rebecca Williams and Preethi Sundaram just to name a few! Thank you!
I just re-watched your videos. They are fantastic! Thank you for such a structured attitude. The “templates-based” training is excellent! Also, lots of great insights into how an investor thinks during the Q&A sessions.
Hi, once again Petra! Thank you for such an energetic session. It is absolutely excellent and highly valuable.
The OKR Essentials video by Michael Kubiena was quite helpful for our workshop participants to understand the difference between OKRs and KPIs. Those who don’t work with OKRs said they are excited to try it out.
The workshop Organization Design and Essential HR Practices brought tremendous value to our startups. Huge thanks, Michael Kubiena.
As a participant of the 2017 Vienna Startup Package, I had the pleasure to work with Petra. Not only during the negotiation and growth hacking workshops I could gain extensive knowledge suitable for my startup Cardiomo in my growth phase, but also got valuable expertise (Finance, Cooperations, Investors) and contacts on building my business in Europe. You made a difference, thank you!
Competence. Experience. Excellence. Full Commitment! Thank you for all the great workshops and the coaching.
With her growth hacking workshop, Petra provided many new ideas and approaches for sustainable growth strategies. The dialogue between the participants from a wide range of industries and product cycles was also particularly valuable.
Petra helped us in structuring the key message and all relating documents for finding venture capital for a newly founded start-up in the field of green chemicals. Petra also provided us contacts and venture opportunities for our mission. We totally appreciated Petras’s very experienced, well-skilled but still hands-on way of working with us. Petra is perfectly capable of sensing what her customers really need. We really learned a lot! Thank you, Petra.
Petra Wolkenstein is THE expert when it comes to growth hacking strategies.
Petra Wolkenstein from Konsultori on #crowdbuilding in #crowdfunding, #tribes and #growthhacking. An ingenious workshop as part of the Accelerator Crowdfunders’ Hub from Wissenstransfer Ost!
I was able to enjoy another great workshop at i2c last week. Petra Wolkenstein shared her knowledge on B2B negotiations with us. My personal highlight was a role-play we did. We formed teams of two-each person representing one of two parties- with the task to negotiate a deal. The scenario was about a scientist and a corporate that had to agree upon IP-rights so that they could bring a new product to the market. If successful, the deal would yield increased revenues to both, but they had different expectations towards the success chance of the project.
Our incubatees raised their negotiation skills for B2B Sales & Partnering to the next level with the help of our negotiations expert Petra Wolkenstein. From understanding the theory and processes of negotiations to strategic moves and systematic preparations and overcoming difficult moments, our tech founders learned how to get more out of their negotiations.
Thanks for having us! Petra, kudos again, I loved the structure, your input and the speed of it.
Unfortunately, our Founder Lab – Creative Industries at the Vienna Business Agency has now officially come to an end. But this valuable experience of building my own business with your support, so much warmth, appreciation, inspiring feedback and priceless impulses is simply incredible. Great collaborations, projects, commissions and synergies have been created. Thank you dear team for your touching farewell words to me. I am still very touched…
TRAXIT graduates from SWG OPA! With great honour and pleasure, we received our Graduation Diploma from Startup Wise Guys Online Pre Accelerator.
Big thanks to all SWG Team, and in particular Cristobal Alonso, Andrea Orlando, Asta Vasiliauskaite, Marta Madara Dundure, Karina Lapina, Andra Bagdonaitė and all supporting and external Mentors for the highly valuable insights on Pitching, Company Values and Purpose, Sales and Financials. In particular Paola Gariglio, Juan Carlos Martinez Barrio, Petra Wolkenstein and Patrick Collins, among others. We loved being there and being pushed to the limits! It was a rich and productive program.
Wirtschaftsagentur Wien offers a Growth Hacking workshop with the fantastic Petra Wolkenstein??
Thank you very much for the great morning! I felt very comfortable and go into the day full of impressions and well briefed for the next meeting! You can be sure that the following briefing talks will be different for everyone present. That is thanks to you.
Growing with (network) co-operations. A practical workshop. With pragmatic tools, each participant works out their personal next steps!!! It couldn’t be more efficient and to the point! Respect and high praise for Petra Wolkenstein!
Petra Wolkenstein demonstrates a high level of expertise and professionalism from the very first second. The workshop remained exciting right to the end and gave me lots of refreshing ideas. I look forward to further dates!
The workshop “Briefing: more than a short conversation” was perfect. Petra Wolkenstein presented exactly the right mix of well-founded infotainment and training in applicable expertise. Even months later, I still remember the content and it makes it easier for me and my clients to work together on a daily basis.
I enjoyed the workshop on customer acquisition measures for civil engineers so much that we are now going to get the whole office on board to implement the measures. The practical examples are motivating and show how customer acquisition can be strengthened on several channels – and that acquisition is something that can be learnt! Highly recommended.
Thank you very much for the workshop. My colleague and I really enjoyed it! We also think that we really learnt a lot from your presentation. In order for the implementation to take effect, we need a reserved time window, which we now have.
The workshop “Marketing and Acquisition for Creative Professionals” was a great success. Petra’s competent, goal-oriented way of giving feedback, analysing problems in start-ups precisely and quickly and providing practical examples as comparative values, combined with an interactive, “creative” workshop leadership made the event very exciting and definitely recommendable.
A big “thank you” for your workshop “Debunking the investor process” in our Accelerator Programme at Gateway. It was an absolute highlight for me this year. Especially the concept of “rich or king” will be with me from now on.
Petra used her wealth of B2B negotiating experience to help our lab companies find ways to grow and share the pie with Arsenal. Based on the relationships they’d developed with the business owners, and the quality of their offers, half the companies reached agreements to enter commercial pilots. That speaks volumes for Petra’s value.
I had the privilege to be assigned with Ms. Petra Wolkenstein for Expansion-Coaching during the Welcome program for startups organized by Vienna Business Agency. She provided me with invaluable insights on negotiation tactics and partnership building. Thanks to her inputs and council, I was able to bring my business culture to an upper level. She put an extra effort not only to share her understanding of the startup’s expansion path but also to create new opportunities for us, by connecting us with other relevant startups and corporations from the local scene.
It was great having you here Petra, thank you for all the support for the founders!
Thanks for your great support!!
Thank you, Petra for the great insights and helpful advice. Our startups gave great feedback and had a successful virtual conference!
Nice session, Petra!! Thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience.
Thanks, Petra Wolkenstein for being part of an amazing coaching team.
We just successfully wrapped up Batch 9 Riga program, and on behalf of whole SWG team I wanted to say BIG THANKS for your participation in the program and offering the teams your experience and time!
Petra is the best business coach I’ve ever met. She always tries to dig into your situation, not just giving common advice. She has a clear and very fast mind, so it’s very easy to follow her suggestions. Thanks a lot, Petra, I can highly recommend her to everyone.
Thank you very much for your time and valuable insights.
Thank you, Petra, for your great insights on the investor readiness topic!
We really appreciate the great help and tips we received during Investor Dynamics training, and the valuable feedback and hands-on approach, which gave us a clear picture, what activities are most important for us and how to execute them.
Dear Petra! It was a pleasure for me to learn from your experience today, it was a great 2nd level negotiations workshop, I’m looking forward to applying the learned knowledge in my future meetings and negotiations.
Thank you konsultori team! It was our pleasure to be present in the vibrant Startup ecosystem that Vienna is becoming and to be part of the Wirtschaftsagentur Wien Vienna Startup program. One of the biggest advantages though was to learn from you and to work with you on our future plans.
Our Ag-Tech Startup Accelerator always aims at having motivating speakers and workshops in order to develop the founders‘ skillsets further. Petra Wolkenstein held an incredibly informative and exciting negotiations workshop where everyone had a lot fun while taking away numerous learnings. I can highly recommend her negotiations workshop to everyone who needs to improve in this field.
Thank you for the amazing negotiations training today at Startup Wiseguys and the great mentoring session!
Your trainer for this course
With 25 years of experience across Central & South-eastern Europe, Turkey, and the Middle East, Michael has held roles in HR, management and consulting.
He has managed HR departments of various sizes in startups and in corporate environments, specializing in the ICT & service industries. Michael’s respective expertise lies in strategic HR, compensation & performance management, talent management, and HR & management audits.
As a consultant, Michael’s work with startups and SMEs focuses on organization design and people practices; on leadership, culture and change. Furthermore, he works on concept & strategy development in the food industry and for non-profit organizations.
With degrees in business administration and cultural studies, along with an education in systems thinking & design, Michael offers a unique perspective on organizational dynamics.
Furthermore, his passion for food and sustainable urban food systems has led to his civil society engagement, as a speaker of the Vienna Food Policy Council.
How we support you
Other topics related to Organisational Design
01.
Organization design
A holistic understanding of organizations and their key design elements allows for more flexibility and creativity when responding to the challenges your organization is facing. If you want to professionalize and future-proof your organization you will benefit from a broader toolset and all-round perspective.
02.
OKR: Objectives & results
OKRs allow to turn strategy into action and to align strategy, employees and their performance. Furthermore, by introducing OKRs organizations and their leaders can develop a powerful participatory leadership instrument which encourages taking ownership and accountability across the entire organization.
03.
Designing Employee participation programs
The workshop offers an allround view on employee participation: from legal, strategic and organizational perspectives. Founders and entrepreneurs will receive orientation and a solid foundation for decision-making with regards to implementing and designing employee participation programs.
04.
Talent acquisition
The ability to attract the right employees to the company and retain them in the long term is a decisive competitive advantage. This includes developing an attractive, coherent and credible employer brand, communicating it convincingly and implementing it consistently.
05.
The HR Toolbox
If you want to pay more attention to your employees, their wellbeing and performance, you will benefit from the impact of a fit-for-purpose HR role and essential HR practices: From recruiting & onboarding over talent management & development, to job categorisation, compensation and performance management:, career management, the importance of feedback and reflection. Even organizations without a dedicated HR function can thus create a professional and people-oriented working environment.
Insights from our Workshops
12 dimensions on how to avoid death by scaling at TU Wien during ViennaUP
Scaling Readiness Lab at ViennaUP, TU Wien. Boost your startup’s growth by exploring 12 key dimensions of scaling readiness.
Scaling Readiness Lab: Preparing for your scaling journey
Take part in the Scaling Readiness Lab at ViennaUp! Gain insights, strategies and peer benchmarking for successful scaling. Register now!
Mastering the mess – 10 questions entrepreneurs ask about OKR
OKR – Objective and Key Results Questions and Answers. How do we motivate our staff to implement the OKRs?
Entrepreneurship 4 Scientists – How to get money from investors
TU Wien, Innovation Incubation Centre – How to raise money from investors? Investor process from a startup’s perspective.
Unpacking the intersection between customer and employee experience
The first International Conference for Customer and Employee Experience. Michael Kubiena was there to share his expertise.
Negotiation workshop at the Female Future Festival in Vienna
Konsultori Workshop at the Female Future Festival: The good news is that you can improve your skills as a negotiator.
How to present your startup at a virtual conference and online matchmaking
Switzerland Global Enterprise invited Petra Wolkenstein to use her experience in online sales and training to discuss with Swiss startups their next challenge: the Online BioTech Conference in the US for Sales. “We had some lively discussions about the 6 challenges of the online matchmaking meeting.”
Startup Negotiation Training for 11 B2B Startups – Follow-up Report
The 9th batch of Startup Wiseguys ended with a negotiation training by konsultori and key2investors to equip the 11 startups of the current mentoring program for 2nd level negotiations.