Essay: "Who expects additional efforts must show what it's for" - The Siemens CEO explains what vision of the future Germany needs now

In physics, one learns early on a simple formula: power equals work divided by time. The principle is remarkably similar for an economy. Economic output and prosperity depend on how much work we do and how much value we create from it. Therefore, we must accomplish something to be able to afford it: good education, reliable infrastructure, and social security.

Germany is not facing a traditional labor market crisis; instead, it confronts a future crisis – a challenge that history's Federal Republic has never encountered. On one hand, the baby-boom generations are entering retirement. Fewer people of working age must bear the costs of an aging society. Simultaneously, the productivity edge that enabled Germany's success for decades is fading.

German factories cost more, yet also generate more value per hour worked. This edge diminishes as others catch up and technology evolves. Moreover, the technological transformation intensifies the pressure. Advanced technologies – foremost artificial intelligence – reshape how we develop and produce products, and determine where future growth and higher productivity arise.

Our global competitors respond accordingly with speed: they work more, invest heavily in state-of-the-art facilities, and deploy new technologies faster in applications. While Germany remains a formidable competitor, it trails behind. The equation upon which our prosperity long relied no longer holds: we work less, invest insufficiently, and move too slowly. However, we can change this. If enough people are willing to pitch in, we can alter the course.