“If there is no solution, Gunther Wolf invents one.”

From innovation to solution

Innovations for company management and leadership

Gunther Wolf´s innovations from 1984 to today

Staff retention and recruitment

Gunther Wolf recognized the challenges of demographic change as early as 1997 and founded the Competence Center Employee Retention to intensify the transfer of practical theory. It is the first organization in the world to deal with concepts such as employee retention, employer brand or employer attractiveness.

It was here that he developed SELIMAB, the method of economically oriented Selective Individualised Employee Retention (2005). By differentiating between target groups, it increases the retention rate at the lowest possible cost.

SELIMAB integrates both the personnel portfolio (Potential-Performance-Portfolio) and the Function Portfolio (1998) which he had previously developed and which he initially referred to as the Availability-Relevance-Portfolio.

For Employer Branding, he developed the now most common approach, the 4-Step Method (2008). His ZED Formula (2014) – target group-specific, emotionalising, differentiating – characterises the most promising approach for all activities in the field of personnel marketing and employee retention.

Customer loyalty

He is also credited with the invention of the credit card-like customer card (1983). The customer card serves to improve the bond between consumers and the company. His invention was so successful that customer cards took on an inflationary character years ago.

A short time later, he developed the concept of adventure vouchers (1984). These are still very popular today as a gift idea, employee incentive and customer gift.

Outdoor training

Gunther Wolf was the first trainer on this continent to conduct outdoor trainings (1984) for business executives. Based on his positive experience with outdoor customer loyalty and employee motivation events, he came up with the idea of conducting his team and leadership training not only in the seminar room.

Gunther Wolf conducted these in the wilderness of central Sweden, the Swiss Alps and the Netherlands, among other places. Outdoor trainings provide a high level of experience and action orientation for special sustainability of trainings.

Target agreement, variable remuneration

The concept of Objective Optimisation (1995) serves to link variable remuneration and target agreement systems in a meaningful way. For some time it was called VIVAnow! – Variable Interactive Compensation and Incentive System – for a while. With this, Gunther Wolf has set a revolutionary milestone in the development of truly sustainable, variable compensation and incentive systems.

With the If Then Combination (2002), he created the possibility of providing incentives in variable compensation systems for additional target achievement without requiring a bonus.

Performance management

With the Wolf’s Onion (1999), later named after him, he ensured the differentiation between performance and result targets or performance and result indicators. Wolf’s Onion is used in practice to determine performance input and output indicators in controlling and to define strategic corporate goals.

To optimize processes and activities in marketing and sales, Wolf’s Onion is presented as a funnel in the funnel analysis. The Wolf’s Onion was further developed by Gunther Wolf himself for the differentiation of goals and measures in goal agreements and goal systems in the year to the Two Pillar Goal Agreement (2004).

His model, initially referred to as the Potential Performance Spiral (2006), illustrates interdependencies between the potential and performance of the company. In practice, it is used as a performance management spiral to manage corporate performance and the required potential as well as to visualize management tasks.

He extended this concept to the PEA System (2013). It serves the strategic control and optimization of potential, success (performance) and employer attractiveness of companies.

Change management

At the turn of the millennium Gunther Wolf developed the Change Spectral Analysis (2000). It provides valuable support for change management. Actual and target states can be determined from both a self-perception and an external perspective. It integrates standard strategies with recommendation character.

The change spectral analysis is considered indispensable for controlling the change and for generating the necessary commitment. It has found a further application for the concretization of qualitative goals and target states in the target agreement.

Share skills

It is his customers and their trust to whom Gunther Wolf owes the opportunity to develop and implement all his innovations. Because at the core of his consulting is always about efficiency, effectiveness and performance. About visions, strategies and business goals. About entrepreneurial excellence, long-term earnings security and sustainable value creation.

And about the ways to get there.

If you would like to talk with Gunther Wolf or a member of Gunther Wolf’s team, please contact the experts on strategies, goals and performance.