Dr. Peter Kreuz
"He is recognized as one of Germany’s key management thinkers."
FOCUS
Peter Kreuz – More Rebel Than Routine
Bestselling author. Speaker. And more interested in how things really work than in management fashion.
Peter Kreuz looks where others often don’t: at the thinking patterns, system logic and blind spots that hold people and organizations back.
His talks are designed to do more than motivate. They challenge the rules by which organizations and leaders operate – especially when those rules have stopped working.
Clarity over comfort. Thinking over routine. Results over approval.
His clients include BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens, Bosch, SAP, Nestlé, Microsoft and IBM. Over the past two decades, his work has taken him to 30+ countries across four continents.
Straight from the Stage
“Your excellent keynote highlighted the realities of a globalized digital economy, the changing world of work, and the need for a radical mindset shift. It sparked a wave of positive energy.”
Mercedes-Benz Group AG
“You broadened our vision beyond the boundaries of our industry to infinite possibilities.”
Mars Inc.
“Extremely impressive and entertaining.”
Xerox
“Cheeky and upbeat. Encouraging. Creates momentum and clears the mind.”
Agilent Technologies
„Everyone left with new ideas and motivation to act.“
IBM
“Outstanding in every way. Full of energy, brilliance, depth, and inspiration – you captivated over 5,000 attendees.”
Persona Service
“Inspiring, exciting, and the perfect kick-off – with direct references to our core business.”
Deutsche Telekom
“A refreshing big-picture perspective. The outstanding feedback speaks volumes.”
Volkswagen
Keynotes
Keynotes & Bookings
Interested in Peter Kreuz for your event?
Peter Kreuz speaks at selected corporate events, conferences and leadership events – in English or German. What matters is not the size of the stage, but whether the topic, audience and occasion are a good fit.
Your contact: Simone Schulze
E-mail: schulze@peterkreuz.com
Phone: +49 170 2241301
Let’s talk.
Ideas That
Spark Action
Fresh perspectives. Clear thinking. Ideas that move things forward.
Peter Kreuz looks where others often don’t: at the assumptions, routines and rules that shape how organizations think and act.
For more than 20 years, he has spoken at corporate events and conferences in 30+ countries across four continents – in front of leaders from international companies as well as an audience in a nearly empty bookstore. (Still waiting for that Fiji invitation.)
His keynotes combine sharp analysis, unexpected perspectives and stories that make ideas stick. They challenge familiar ways of thinking without pretending there are easy answers.
Because change rarely starts with another tool or another to-do list. It starts when people question what they have taken for granted – and begin to see different possibilities.
You won’t leave with all the answers. But you may leave with better questions.
What Peter Kreuz Talks About
When the Old Answers Stop Working
Change exposes what routine tends to hide: assumptions, habits and rules that once made sense but no longer do. Peter Kreuz challenges audiences to examine what they take for granted – and to distinguish what is worth keeping from what is simply familiar.
Thinking for Yourself
Peter Kreuz doesn’t tell people what to think. He challenges them to think for themselves. Because in a world that keeps changing, ready-made answers have a short shelf life. Progress depends on people willing to take responsibility, make decisions and create their own answers.
Questioning What Seems Obvious
The hardest assumptions to challenge are often the ones we no longer notice. Peter Kreuz makes them visible – and puts them to the test. Not for the sake of being different, but because yesterday’s logic can quietly become tomorrow’s limitation.
Responsibility over Rules
Build fences around people and you get sheep. Peter Kreuz argues for something more demanding: clear direction combined with the freedom to think, decide and act. Because organizations become more adaptable when people stop waiting for instructions and start taking responsibility.
KEYNOTE TOPICS
Change – Make change a habit before the market makes it mandatory.
Innovation – New paths. No old wine in new bottles.
Focus – Decide today what will matter tomorrow.
Strategy – Don’t just play better. Question the game.
Leadership – Provide direction. Trust people with responsibility.
Learning Culture – Better a bold mistake than a timid excuse.
Experiments – You can’t PowerPoint your way into the future.
Success – Today’s laurels are tomorrow’s compost.
Keynote
REBEL MIND: Shaping the Future When Others Freeze
Change doesn’t crawl, it leaps. New technologies, shifting customer expectations and changing rules of the game can turn yesterday’s strengths into tomorrow’s limitations.
While some organizations freeze in the face of this pace, for others, simply keeping up is no longer enough. The future isn’t won by waiting. It’s shaped. It takes the willingness to question routines, leave well-worn paths, and build a culture where new ideas aren’t just tolerated, but expected.
But how do you shape the future when the playbooks that used to work no longer do? How do you spark the will to change when people are exhausted by constant change? How do you create momentum when uncertainty holds everyone back? And how do you build a learning culture where experimentation isn’t seen as a risk, but as the price of progress?
In this keynote, Peter Kreuz shows — sharply and concretely — how organizations stay capable of acting and shaping their future exactly when others get stuck. Drawing on real examples of companies that deliberately broke with the status quo, he shows what becomes possible when organizations stop defending yesterday’s logic and start questioning it.
No business bingo. No feel-good rhetoric. Just clear perspectives and ideas people can actually use. Ideas that outlast the room: the next day, the next meeting, the next decision.
A keynote for organizations that don’t freeze, but move forward. And for people who shape the future instead of waiting for it.
Selected References
Books
“His books are a masterclass in smart rule-breaking.”
Hamburger Abendblatt
Books
Rebel
Mind
33 Powerful Inspirations for Success in Business, Leadership, and Life
A book for people who would rather think for themselves than follow the crowd.
REBEL MIND brings together 33 sharp ideas about assumptions, conventions and the rules we rarely question. An invitation to look again at what seems obvious – in business, leadership and life.
- Question the rules others take for granted.
- Break with routines that have outlived their usefulness.
- Make room for ideas that don’t fit the usual pattern.
- Choose your own path instead of following someone else’s.
ANYTHING
BUT ORDINARY
A Crash Course in Lateral Business Thinking
In a world of endless choices and shiny sameness, companies risk becoming clones by chasing best practices. Anything but Ordinary challenges this herd mentality and asks a more fundamental question: How do companies escape the trap of imitation and become genuinely distinctive?
Business Book
of the Year Award
Financial Times Bestseller
Also available in German, English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and many other languages
Different
Thinking!
Creative Strategies for Developing the Innovative Business
Different Thinking! explores what innovative companies do differently – and why challenging established rules matters more than following fashionable management recipes. Practical and accessible, it shows how organizations can break away from the ordinary, question industry conventions and create opportunities others overlook.
International bestseller
Also available in German, English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and many other languages
Dr. Peter Kreuz
„Vivid and irreverent, he makes the case for thinking differently — and for bringing courage, energy and passion back into business.“
Manager Magazin
„Vivid and irreverent, he makes the case for thinking differently — and for bringing courage, energy and passion back into business.“
Manager Magazin
Dr. Peter Kreuz
Dr. Peter Kreuz
Thinking Beyond the Obvious.
Peter Kreuz is interested in the places where certainty begins to crack: old thinking patterns, outdated rules, and the question of why we do things the way we do. For him, progress rarely begins with “How is this done?” — but with “How else could it be done?”
Peter Kreuz challenges stuck thinking — in people as well as organizations. According to FOCUS, he is one of Germany’s key management thinkers.
“We’re not here to work through someone else’s to-do list. We don’t have to be exceptional to make a difference. But nothing exceptional happens by standing still. The choice is ours: play the lead role — or watch from the sidelines.”
His books aren’t dry business manuals. They’re an invitation to smart rule-breaking. Published in more than 20 countries and translated into over 10 languages, they have appeared on major bestseller lists and received multiple awards, including ‚Business Book of the Year‘ and ‚Career Book of the Year‘.
The Story So Far
Peter Kreuz comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Working independently was less a career choice than something he took for granted. His own path was rarely going to be a conventional one.
He studied business administration in Germany, earned an MBA in the U.S., and completed a doctorate in economics and social sciences. He lived and worked in the U.S., was a manager at Andersen Consulting, and later became Assistant Professor of International Marketing & Management at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
All of it was interesting. None of it was quite self-determined enough. So he founded his own company. Since then, his work as an author and speaker has revolved around a question that still drives him today: What happens when people stop following someone else’s rules — and start thinking for themselves?
What drives me
Kicking off ideas. Getting things moving. That’s what matters to me. I love making decisions, creating things, connecting ideas and pushing them forward. Freedom is my strongest motivation. As a consultant or professor, I would have traded some of that independence for status — so I deliberately chose a different path. A life shaped less by other people’s expectations, and more by my own.
What I love
That first cup of coffee in the morning — black and hot. A look behind the scenes. Sports, sports, sports: crossing the Alps on a mountain bike, running half marathons, sailing. Traveling off the beaten path. Independence. Frank Gehry’s architecture. Big airports, because they’re full of possibilities. Rebels who don’t just fight the system, but actually change something. The Rolling Stones — and Sympathy for the Devil at full volume.
My Guilty Pleasures
An espresso in the middle of the night. Because sleep is overrated — but good ideas aren’t. Booking trips before I even know when I can go. Because anticipation is half the fun. Sitting in hotel lobbies just watching people. Every story starts with a glance. Turning the music up until I can feel it in my feet — and my mind takes a break. Chocolate — the more nuts, the better. And the bigger the bar, the faster it disappears.
What I don’t like
Complacency. Self-satisfaction. Establishment thinking. Naysayers, bureaucratic thinkers, defenders of privilege. Mindless consumption and excess. Empty talk. Intellectual fast food. Television. People who produce opinions instead of ideas. And people who make loud noises at the gym. Endless talk about cars, watches, wine and cigars. Instant experts who have an opinion on everything — but never an idea.
What I Wish I Could Do
Play guitar like Mark Knopfler — without practicing. Reverse the car without automatically turning down the radio. Wrap gifts that don’t look like a preschool craft project. Take notes I can actually read later. Go to bed early — without spending another hour googling “just one more thing.”