Cutting-Edge Tech, Classic Leadership – Turning Friction Into Forward Motion
By FuturePrint Industrial Print Keynote Speaker, Beate van Loo-Born
In a time when “VUCA” and “BANI” have become shorthand for volatility and anxiety, many leaders assume the solution is a new leadership style. This keynote challenges that assumption. The core proposition is simple: leadership fundamentals have not changed—what has changed is that complex, high-speed environments have become far less forgiving. In precision industries, good leadership is no longer optional; it is enforced by reality.
Drawing on examples from Physik Instrumente (PI)—a global precision motion and positioning manufacturer serving semiconductors, integrated photonics, MedTech/microscopy, aerospace/defense, optics/laser processes, and industrial manufacturing—the keynote frames today’s operating environment as a “precision stress test.” Across these markets, growth is real, but it is uneven, cyclical, and increasingly shaped by AI-driven requirements. Semiconductors are accelerating toward a ~$1T market, yet still remain cyclical; non-AI segments can stagnate or decline. At the same time, the complexity burden is shifting to suppliers and integrators: higher accuracy and higher throughput, more integration and shorter cycles, more interfaces and tighter tolerances. This produces the defining tension of precision tech: move faster—while nothing must break.
The keynote then connects market dynamics to organizational realities. As external complexity rises, internal strain patterns are predictable: productivity pressure, margin erosion, cash discipline stress, geopolitical and tariff uncertainty, and rising execution load without proportional resources. Under pressure, many organizations regress to familiar reflexes—micromanagement, hero leadership, siloing, blame, and short-term firefighting. The result is not only weaker financial outcomes but also deteriorating morale and collaboration: friction turns into heat.
The central question becomes: what leadership principles reliably convert friction into traction? Rather than presenting leadership as a set of “soft” values, the keynote positions it as system design for complex operations. It highlights the convergence of research and practice across disciplines—psychological safety and speaking-up climates (Amy Edmondson), team effectiveness insights from Google’s Project Aristotle, emotional contagion in groups (Sigal Barsade), and high-reliability organizing in high-consequence environments (Weick & Sutcliffe). Different domains, same conclusion: complex systems do not respond well to dominance and false certainty; they respond to clarity, trust, calm coordination, and learning loops.
The keynote culminates in a practical leadership model and a memorable formula:
Forward Motion = Trust × Clarity × Rhythm
Not plus—multiply. If trust drops to zero, nothing moves. If clarity drops to zero, nothing moves. If rhythm disappears and everything becomes ad-hoc firefighting, nothing moves. The leadership task is therefore operational and concrete: build trust (so issues surface early), create clarity (so decisions are made with aligned priorities), and install rhythm (so execution is stable and improvement is continuous). This enables organizations to “learn fast without failing dangerously”—critical in high-precision, high-consequence contexts.
The closing returns to the engineering metaphor: friction is not the enemy. Unmanaged friction becomes heat—blame, politics, burnout. Managed friction becomes traction—clarity, learning, and coordinated execution. The future does not belong only to companies with the best technology; it belongs to those with leaders who can remain clear, calm, and consistent, and who build systems where people can think, speak, and execute under pressure. The promise of precision industries—relevant for any advanced manufacturing ecosystem—is ultimately the same: move faster, and let nothing break: not the product, not the process, and not the people.
Beate will be giving the keynote session at FuturePrint Industrial Print 21-22 January - check out the programme here