Innovation on Romano Roth

Beyond the Hype: Understanding and Applying AI in Innovation

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Artificial Intelligence has moved from research labs into boardrooms, but too often it is surrounded by hype, inflated promises, and misguided investments. Many organizations rush to “do something with AI” without considering trust, data confidentiality, or the actual problems they are trying to solve.

Welcome to the Age of AI Idiots!

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Where ChatGPT cowboys ride the hype, we need a clear look at AI:

It is a pattern recognition machine.
It has no brain. We still need to use our own.
It does not replace humans, it complements them.

Why we should start thinking in feedback loops.

Beyond the AI Hype: How to Use AI Safely for Innovation, IP and R&D

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Does AI really solve the problems we have? What does it mean for innovation and intellectual property? Will AI replace patent analysts? In this webinar with IamIP, I cut through the fog of AI hype and share a practical framework for understanding where AI genuinely adds value, and where it falls short.

Cybernetics Is the Future: Why AI and DevOps Alone Won’t Get Us There

Sat, 14 Jun 2025 21:25:27 +0000

“AI won’t fix your broken processes. DevOps won’t save your business. But Cybernetics might.”

At DevOps Pro Europe 2025 in Vilnius, I had the privilege of delivering the opening keynote to a packed hall of engineers, architects, and leaders navigating the ever-accelerating evolution of enterprise technology. My message was direct:

Riding the AI Wave: How Industrial Companies Can Harness It Purposefully

Sun, 08 Jun 2025 14:24:52 +0000

Why AI Alone Doesn’t Replace Strategy
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Artificial Intelligence is the central topic in the industrial sector, too. But to gain real competitive advantages through and with AI, companies must not blindly follow the hype. An “AI-First” label guarantees neither innovation nor future viability. Only those who combine people, technology, and organization in a learning system, the Cybernetic Enterprise, will be successful in the long run.

Monday Morning: Idea. Monday Afternoon: Prototype. Become a Builder!

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Many teams have ideas, but they lose time between gut feelings, vague requirements, and lengthy alignment meetings. In this workshop, I demonstrate live how we use Artificial Intelligence to drastically shorten the path from idea to prototype.

The Cybernetic Enterprise: Why AI Alone Won’t Transform Industry

Sat, 17 May 2025 21:42:39 +0000

Keynote at the CTO Forum of the Rudolf-Diesel-Medaille. Hosted by Zühlke, Munich

We Are Living in the AI Hype Era
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AI is dominating headlines. From natural language interfaces to automated code generation, the pace of development is relentless. But alongside this excitement, we are seeing inflated promises, rushed implementations, and disappointing returns.

The Cybernetic Enterprise is Coming: Are You Ready?

Sat, 30 Nov 2024 23:00:00 +0000

In August 2025 I will release my new book, The Cybernetic Enterprise: How to Build a Future-Ready Organization.

It is the product of two decades spent guiding enterprises through DevOps, platform engineering and, more recently, AI-driven transformation. Today I want to give you a deeper look at what the book delivers, and why it matters right now.

The Digital Office in the Metaverse: Teamwork in Virtual Space

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

What does the future of the digital office look like? In this session, I explore the possibilities of virtual workspaces together with Christian from the VR platform Arthur. We move through various VR environments, from meeting rooms and workshop spaces to inspiring landscapes on the moon, and discuss what is already usable for businesses today and where the limitations are. The entire conversation took place in Virtual Reality, with VR headsets on our heads. Note: the original session was conducted in German.

Lean Portfolio Management at Zühlke

Wed, 20 Apr 2022 11:34:31 +0000

As a leading innovation company with 1600 employees in Germany, United Kingdom, Austria, Serbia, Bulgaria, Singapore, Hong Kong, Portugal, Switzerland and Vietnam, Zühlke has always some ongoing and planned strategic initiatives.

Participatory budgeting: next level financing

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 16:22:25 +0000

One size fits all? Nothing of the sort! Participatory budgeting calls for a tailored solution, one that can constantly evolve and adapt to the given situation. In this article, we describe how we do it at Zühlke.

Participatory Budgeting: Funding in the 21st Century

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

How can innovation and development budgets be distributed faster, more transparently, and more effectively? Participatory Budgeting offers a collaborative approach to steering investments not project-by-project, but along value streams and strategic priorities.

Virtual Reality Businesses: The Metaverse Is the Future

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

After the strong response our previous video on VR received on LinkedIn, people kept asking the same questions: Is this really the new normal? Where is the technology going? Is now the right moment to jump in? To go deeper, I invited Christoph back into the conversation together with Michaela. Christoph has been working with enterprise clients on virtual reality for years, and our discussion ranges from the maturing hardware and software ecosystem to what a workshop in VR actually feels like, and why the employer of the future will hand out three devices instead of one.

Business Meetings in the Metaverse: It's Not a Game, Here's Why

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What happens when you skip the plane, the traffic and the Zoom fatigue and simply meet a colleague in a virtual office on another continent? In this conversation, I jump into VR to visit Michele at BCVR. Within a click I am standing next to him in Chicago, coffee in hand, looking over diagrams on the wall and exploring what it really means to work, train and collaborate in the Metaverse. This is not a demo of a gaming toy. It is a look at a serious business environment that, even in 2021, already feels remarkably close to the future of work.