Helmut Diez

Helmut Diez, also known as Helmut C. Diez (born 1953 in Neustadt bei Coburg) is a German entrepreneur, professional consultant, coach and artist. He is the founder of IPM - Interdiziplinäres Projektmanagement (Interdivisionary Project Management), which was established in 1982 and acts as a think tank and project management organisation, as well as the co-founder and owner of Dolphin Space. Diez developed models for securing employment, which are widely used nowadays. He was the director of the Designlabor Bremerhaven, and developed his own musical, motion filming and photographic style als well as programs for therapy and professional sports. He is also engaged in architectural and urban design concerning big projects, most recently in Istanbul.
The connection of participation in decisions in all processes of society and organisations, interdisciplinary with a focus on practical usefulness, the strive for solutions based on the highest-available technology as well as the claim for best-possible environmental and social compatibility are the connecting moments of all projects of the IPM, which was founded by Helmut Diez himself. Diez has so far developed more than 400 projects in economy, politics, technology, culture and art with IPM. Likewise he put them in action.
Life
Study and projects
Helmut Diez was born in Neustadt. His family moved to Stuttgart in 1960 and from there to Nürnberg in 1969. From 1970-1972 he lived in Hamburg and Denmark, afterwards in Stockholm and Uppsala till 1974. Before moving to Hamburg Diez was working at a system analysis of one of the first integrated Supply chain management information systems.
From 1974 on Diez studied economic and social sciences as well as development aid in Nürnberg and Bremen. The topic of his diploma was “selected problems of the evaluation of superiors and coworkers explained at the draft new evaluation system of the Porst Group".
Since then he was living in Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Turkey and Germany.
Even before his studies he was involved in the development of the so-called ”Porst-Modell”, which was characterized by large say and evaluation rights of all involved participants. In the Porst group about 2500 coworkers were employed at this time. The model was laid down in its own labor management relations, which were secured later as employment agreement and also in a house collective agreement. Large autonomy in the organization of their work was granted to the employees. Apart from a group-oriented function the surrounding field of the enterprise was included. On the profits the coworkers had requirement. From today's viewpoint the Porst group can be seen as a stakeholder enterprise. Diez developed among other things the analytic job evaluation system as a basis for the transparent remuneration, which was tariffed with the trade union, banks and insurance on the 1st of January 1977. This was again basis of his evaluation system of the coworkers, inserted into both directions: At Porst the superiors were evaluated by the coworkers and could be also voted out. In the project “extension of the co-operation clearance of the coworkers“ the chances and limits of direct self-determination were tested.
Also in following projects Helmut Diez pursued the goal of a larger holding of shares by employees. In the beginning of 1976 he was one of the first organization developers of Germany and developed promotion and coaching concepts for groups and individuals. The scientific processing of the work, in which Diez was considerably involved, took place among other things via the Nuremberg professor Horst Steinmann and his institute for management and via professor Herbert Kubicek, who was also director/conductor of the scientific projects in the program humanization of the working life. Beside different forms of transhierarchically innovative and enterprise development, he developed forms of the assessment center for the coworker recruitment in Nuremberg from 1974 on. A goal was to offer as stress-free and transparent selective procedures as possible for the candidates.
Management of complex projects, IPM (since 1982)
Afterwards he was concerned with the management of complex projects and founded his Interdisciplinary Project Management/Interdivisionary Project Management (IPM). This enterprise functions since 1982 as a network and integrates experts from all ranges necessary for the respective complex project into a common work context with the goal of creating solutions for political and economic decision makers under participation of the concerned participants. IPM converts these solutions in line with standard usage and as resources-protective as possible in all social contexts in form of optimized project management processes. Diez is part of other networks at the same time.
Models of job security (since 1982/83)
With IPM Diez developed models of job security in unstable industries and regions, also employment societies.
For Olympia Leer the IPM team conceived, in its first larger project, a holistic employment plan in 1982/1983. This consisted of a business plan for the continuation of production, a qualification plan bundling all applicable promotion possibilities of the labour advancement law (German: Arbeitsförderungsgesetz) as well as a regional innovative center. This conception was the mother of all following employment companies and employment plans in Germany.
The Hattinger model (for the continuation of the smithy in Hattingen) could point out that with small public means a multiplicity of jobs could be saved - even in endangered industries. With the refusal of the Dresdner Bank to sell their collateral values to the rescue company, the continuation was however in the long run undermined. “Therefore the Diez model was already correctly put on” ist was said in the Westfälischen Rundschau.
Helmut Diez is the author of the Grundig occupation plan of 1983 and also led the innovation working group, which converted the potentials of the Grundig special laboratory 21 to today still existing products and technologies - for example self-propelled and remote controlled channel inspection systems.
IPM provided occupation-securing alternatives in many industries and companies to restrictions of operation and dismissals. Conversion projects started for shipyards and military electronics manufacturers (Bremer Vulkan, , AG Weser, Atlas Elektronik, Voith etc.) and were developed to continuation models and management buy outs for Robotron and Electronicon in the New states of Germany.
Power production and other technologies
With the local team of the equipment manufacturer Voith Diez developed the first functioning wind turbine production in Germany in 1985. By the use of first Danish licenses the AN Windenergie GmbH in Bremen produced for the lower and middle capacity range and became competent for the global market. In 2005 AN Windenergie GmbH was integrated into Siemens Wind Power. Diez however soon became a critic of the wind force use, since storage technologies were missing, as well as aspects of environmental protection, medical dangers and the basic load problem hardly found attention.
IPM supports the development of free energy uses or alternative systems in the form of procurement of capital like the MIFTI Magnetic inertially fusion Technology. Apart from the energy-producing technologies IPM set on water purification and energizing systems, which can be used for the individual handling and for the supply of large cities application.
Traffic (since 1987)
In the traffic sector Diez was together with IPM consultant and planner of the VSF bicycle factory Bremen (1987) with the most innovative bicycles at that time and a sales model. For the sales model he won the innovation price of the Bremer Landesbank. At the beginning of 1990 Diez was involved in the early car sharing models in German-speaking countries.
As a chief of the Designlabor Bremerhaven Diez was co-founder of the Weserbus (1992-1994), which should be manufactured by a consortium of prominent enterprises in this sector (among other entrepreneurs Abeking and Rasmussen) and be integrated as fast-driving ferry into the public local passenger traffic. Together with Volker Behr and in co-operation with several universities the complete traffic system was developed - that means ship Design, including naval technology, tide-independent landing systems, the route systems with a timing in the public traffic means, as well as a marketing conception included.
Apart from promotion and consultation of enterprises in all life phases - Diez took care of more than 50 start ups - he was involved in several initial public offerings and took responsibility for the growth phase, leading as well as recapitalisation.
He put special attention on the innovation potentials of crisis enterprises - so with the Ostheimer Brauerei, a brewery, which produced after the rehabilitation by Diez and IPM „the Bionade“, a well-known non-alcoholic beverage for which he developed first marketing, company and distribution models.
Science and field of training
Helmut Diez was founder, director/conductor as well as coworker and/or member of most diverse scientific mechanisms and programs - so the ESPRIT II program within the range Home Electronics, the IFAT - Institute for work and technology, Hamburg - among other things with the study socially acceptable technique organization in the range of lifting and carrying heavy loads.
As a director/conductor of the Designlabor Bremerhaven he was responsible for the regional promotion of economy development in the Design range, as well as the advanced training of architects and industrial designers after their graduation. With these he accomplished most diverse before-competitive projects - like Weserbus, authority Design and many more, e.g. he is the initiator of the scholarship holder model (Stipendiatenmodell), which still characterizes the work of the Designlabor today. This was implemented, after Diez had quit the service, by François Burkhard and other designers and Design critics.
2005 Diez was also joint founder of the TD-Win, the Turkish-German economic research institute at the Hochschule Bremen - University of Applied Sciences.
Multifactorial systems
Helmut Diez developed various multifactorial systems - requirement and load factors as basis for remuneration and evaluation, filling of vacancies and personnel development (Porst); as identification systematics for load and endangerment compressions with remainder jobs (IFAT), a comprehensive and structured criteria collection for forms of lean production, as well as quality management systems for medical mechanisms, e.g. medical doctors networks for established physicians.
High-performance sport programs, therapy, Coaching (since 1987/92)
For the high-performance sport or professional sports the elements of water treatment as well as mental coachings in combination with a structure and a muscle training and elements of high tention pilates are combined. Altogether for coaches, therapists and sportsman 30 elementary success factors were specified, which kind of sport-specifically flow into training and treatment successions. This serves as a common orientation and effectiveness for the work of all on the training process taking part. This “Sports Efficiency Program” of Helmut Diez is converted at the Austrian world cup team snowboardcross (SBX).
Diez is also co-founder of the Dolphin space Programs, which offers intervention therapies for severely handicapped, behaviorally disordered and children bounded in persistent vegetative state. The programm offers help to their parents as part of the healing process.
IT
The Dolphin space team - Helmut Diez, Itay Peter Behr, Bianca Hoffmann and Michael Scheer - functioned also as Think tank for „nomadic technologies “. Among other things the team developed an associative search technology, for which an American market leader offered an amount of millions of dollars in 1999. Diez forbade the sale, since in his opinion the uncontrollable possibilities of the technology in the structuring and shaping of mass data would produce substantial damage in „the wrong hands “.
Since 2010 Diez and IPM started developing complex apps, especially for cultural institutions like art museums, and cultural events.
Art, culture and media (since 1982)
Within the range of art and culture Helmut Diez made his mark by scenic presentations with Peter Abromeit and Gustav Gisiger, for which they received the cultural and peace price of the Villa Ichon 1983 for the action theatres „Gräber schaffen Heimat“ with approximately 120 musicians and actors. In 1983 - together with the federation of German writers - followed “a mourning march for the burned literature, memorating the day of the book burning. “On coming Tuesday the city center will stand completely in the indication of this action, which was prepared by the three of Bremen artists Helmut Diez, Peter Abromeit and Gustav Gisiger.”
He played with Crossover musicians in different ensembles. He also produced complex cross over compositions. In addition among other things Freeport count - Freeport - L’affaire flibustie or Pulse (1992/93) with Michael Sievert. which was published at his label "the Dizzy Essentials". Beside Michael Sievert, Diez worked with Sainkho Namtchylak, Wolfram Dix, Heinz Becker, Jens Ahlers, Michael Berger, Klaus Koch and Carolyne Mas.
With Michael Sievert he calculated all-interval twelve-tone rows of the twelve-tone technique and worked on fundamentals of sound design.
Helmut Diez created a lot of own musical, creative and photographic work. With Jean-Michel Basquiat, who was disappointed by gallery owners, he developed a concept for an Association of Painters from June 1988 onwards until Basquiat's death in October 1988, which included world-wide sponsorships of young artists ("fish") by world-famous artists ("whales").
In the exhibition "In the Swim”, arranged by him, he presented, together with Karen Beate Phillips (British European Design Group) and Liz Farrelly (Blueprint), the largest exhibition of British Designs on the European continent. Apart from the forewords of the publishers the Blueprint special edition covers also contributions of John Makepiece and François Burkhard.
For the largest art garden of Europe and the “future workshop” ”Mariposa” of the couple Helga and Hans Jürgen Mueller on the island of Teneriffa he developed the programming including a philosophically characterized TV format and the calculation of production costs for the transfer of the project into a national foundation.
Apart from current consultation of the Filmbüro Hamburg (film office Hamburg) under the direction of Dieter Kosslick, Diez conceived different institutions. In connection with the assignment of the first full program licenses he developed media workshops for movie and video (Medienworkshops NW für Film und Video) with Medienzentrum Ruhr. These were conceived as qualification of the media makers and also the broad population with the goal of a medial citizens' participation (open channels etc.). For Bremen he wrote the appraisal over all economic and legal aspects of the local cinema 46 and the Bremedia association.
In the context of the European week he conceived the first medial and European-wide student exchange in the year 2000.
Town planning, architecture, lastingness
From 2003 to 2007 Helmut Diez developed the master planning for the ancient-medieval part of the golden horn (Haliç) in Istanbul. The planning area covers approximately 500,000 m². He created the further planning conditions starting from 2012, in order to create an international financial syndicate including the local supporters and an international expert team. A reconstruction of the Golden Horn in tune with the public and the cultural requirements is one of the project’s upmost important goals.
Between the Galatabridge and a public area he wants to develop a Museum for Rahmi M. Koç, with substantial cultural mechanisms. The seven parks planned by Diez cover a botanic garden, a Living museum, a Design center, an early Ottoman library, several private collections of Ottoman and modern art, one beside a Gated Community, which is to create the financing for the otherwise public ranges, one sport medicine and -therapy specialized university, university and hospital, a historical topic park, a Convention center with musical, opera, philharmonic concert hall, as well as a water-bound external play surface, contemporary museums, as well as apartment and business accommodation. Diez wants to fulfill the sustainability criteria concerning town construction completely and to establish Energy-plus-houses.
]]
On the occasion of the opening of the Formula 1 race track in Istanbul in 2005 Helmut Diez created the SMI sport marketing Istanbul. These activities should be supporting the cultural ambitions of the Haliç project.
In 2011 Insa Otteken started her project Resort Baumgeflüster in northern Germany, close to Bad Zwischenahn, whose interior design was mainly invented by Helmut Diez. In 2014 the traveler magazine Departures nominated this tree-house hotel as number eight of the „World's Top Tree-House Hotels“.
Literature and other works
* Gründung eines Belegschaftsvereins, in: Otto König, Adi Ostertag, Hartmut Schulz: „Unser Beispiel könnte ja Schule machen!“. Das „Hattinger Modell“ Existenzkampf an der Ruhr, Bund-Verlag, 1985, pp. 156-163.
* "Angst vor dem langen Feierabend". Die Berufsbildungsstätte, in: Otto König, Adi Ostertag, Hartmut Schulz: „Unser Beispiel könnte ja Schule machen!“. Das „Hattinger Modell“ Existenzkampf an der Ruhr, Bund-Verlag, 1985, pp. 186-95.
* with Désirée Kamm, Corinna Ligowski, Jürgen Dohrmann: Auswirkungen des Beschäftigungsförderungsgesetzes, in: Arbeitsrecht im Betrieb 1991, p. 409-411.
* with Karin-Beate Phillips, Liz Farrelly: In the swim. An exhibition of creative design from the British European Design Group, 1993.
* with Michael Grauvogel: Als sie aber vor die Tore der Fabrik gesetzt wurden, gewannen sie mehr freie Zeit als ihnen lieb war, Resumée in: Rainer Duhm, Eckhardt Hildebrandt, Ulrich Mückenberger, Eberhardt Schmidt (Hrsg.): Wachstum alternativ. Kritisches Gewerkschaftsjahrbuch 1983/84, Berlin 1984 (60 pages)
* with Michael Grauvogel: Gründung eines Belegschaftsvereins, in: Hans Ziegenfuß, Heiner Heseler, Hans-Jürgen Kröger (Hrsg.): „Wer kämpft kann verlieren, wer nicht kämpft hat schon verloren“, Hamburg 1984, pp. 259-60.
* Humanisierungstechniken für den Bereich Heben und Tragen schwerer Lasten , Institut für Arbeit und Technik, im Auftrag des Ministers für Arbeit, Gesundheit und Soziales des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hamburg, March 1987. (110 pages)
* Die Kooperativ-Service-GmbH, in: Marlene Kück, Achim Lösch (Hrsg.): Finanzierungsmodelle selbstverwalteter Betriebe, Campus Francfort/New York 1987, pp. 209-18.
* with Karin-Beate Phillips, Liz Farrelly, Blueprint, London and Helmut Diez, Designlaobor Bremerhaven: In the Swim. An Exhibition of Creative Design from the British European Design Group. Ausstellung im DesignLabor Bremerhaven vom 2. Mai bis 30. Juni 1993, Catalogue as special edition of Blueprint. Zeitschrift für Architektur und Design, 1993.
* Kriterien zur Leistungsbeurteilung von Hilfswerken, Gemeinnützigkeit und Management, Unabhängiger Informationsdienst, Gabler Verlag, Nr. 41 (1997)
* with Peter Behr, Bianka Hofmann, Michael Scheer: First Flow. Der erste Kontakt mit Pilotwalen, Bremen: Behr, Hofmann U. Scheer Gb, 2001. ISBN 3-00-007619-0
* Contribution for Golden Horn Project, Music and movie by Helmut Diez

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu