Keep pulling the thread on Klaus Kleinfeld.
As a leadership strategy to motivate the demoralized angiography and x-ray division at Siemens, Klaus Kleinfeld established a new all-hands meeting and invited a patient to speak about how the division's equipment impacted her life.
Following an all-hands meeting where a patient spoke, a union leader at Siemens told Klaus Kleinfeld, "you gave us our soul back," indicating a significant positive impact on employee morale.
Klaus Kleinfeld believes that bringing a patient to speak to the Siemens angiography and x-ray division was the pivotal moment that restored employee morale and reconnected them with their purpose.
When Klaus Kleinfeld took over Siemens' angiography and x-ray business, the division was unprofitable and making a financial loss.
The angiography and x-ray business at Siemens was experiencing high attrition of capable employees, who were leaving for roles in the company's more desirable computer tomography and MRI divisions.
Before formally taking charge of the angiography and x-ray division at Siemens, Klaus Kleinfeld spent time in hospitals in the United States and Germany to observe the use of the company's equipment firsthand.
Previous turnaround attempts for the Siemens angiography and x-ray business had focused on a 20% cost reduction program, which Klaus Kleinfeld suggests was an ineffective motivational strategy.