As the owner and founder of INSTITUT SOMMERINSTITUT SOMMER is not only the name of our company, but also the expression of the approach we take towards the requests we receive. Read more here.... Read more, Anke Sommer has put the focus of her activities on body signal work, which forms part of her LEADERSHIP Work, a process in which violent systems can be identified, taken up and disarmed.
Defusing violence in your enterprise.
Anke Sommer has gathered years of experience in crisis management and systemic work, for example in New York City (USA), in Manchester and Liverpool (UK), in Barcelona (Spain), in Switzerland and above all in Germany. Now as then, researching and developing approaches to tackle the hidden violence in systems is an integral part of her life.
For Anke, crisis management is about defusing violence. She sees violence as explosive fuel that can be triggered and go off, and thereby cause conflict. She detects and removes this fuel. In her work, she de-escalates risk situations without putting either those involved or herself in jeopardy. She immediately recognises the crux of the matter. That’s her gift.
This experience inspired her to create her own company, the aim of which is to take the pressure out of the corporate world and patterns of violence out of organisational systems. The prerequisite for this work is to use the everyday natural world as the field of activity.
‘Violence’ means all acts with negative consequences. If we’ve become accustomed to violence then we no longer see it as such. Violent behaviour becomes a habit. That’s the trap. INSTITUT SOMMER is taking charge of removing it. We’ve made it a mission in life to dissolve invisible patterns of violence. We detect and defuse the as yet unseen impact of the violence, which is no longer perceived as such.
INSTITUT SOMMER endeavours to make people aware of this situation. We clarify matters and help to rid systems of violent information. This work takes place in a down-to-earth, targeted fashion in an everyday space.
Company with a heart
INSTITUT SOMMER is a company with a heart. This is something we’re proud of and we’re happy to accept the responsibility that comes with it. We create secure jobs tailored to the individual natures of our employees. We live personality development and work with each other on an equal footing. We defuse conflicts in companies, resolve disruptions and create supportive, cooperative cultures. Our attitude is that every act should result in a positive outcome and we verify that this is the case. We take this notion into the corporate world and work with managers and people in positions of responsibility on their development, so that they use their power positively.
Proof of the benefits of integrating the heart into entrepreneurial activities – i.e. the obligation to produce a positive outcome – is in the results. We work on the further development of our institute on a daily basis and in doing so ensure its intergenerational existence.
Creating networks – bringing companies together
Our work has brought us into contact with companies of all shapes and sizes. Big companies often lack what small enterprises have while small companies learn from big corporations. We also know how our client entrepreneurs think and who’s the right person to respond to their concerns. As the company managers we support usually don’t know each other, we bring together clients who would be of mutual benefit to each other.
We’ve recognised that our position in between companies puts us in a position of responsibility, so INSTITUT SOMMER subscribes to the principle of mutual networking. We link up what’s sought and which wouldn’t be found without us.
Often the right connections are all that’s needed to create added value.
We know a great deal about companies’ needs; we learn about the type of experts being sought and see what corporate network is needed to remedy a current deficit. If there’s a lack of up-and-coming managers or specialists, for example, then we put two companies in touch with each other and point out where specific experts can be found. We support the networking process and thereby create sustainable synergies.
We also know the philosophies of all the companies we support, as developing a philosophy that benefits the world is integral to our work. These philosophies often complement each other and are stronger together than individually.
We are therefore linking the world together bit by bit. We stimulate new thinking about how each company, by taking responsibility, can do its share of remedying obvious ills – and in a very simple, straightforward way: by exchanging information, ideas and experience, and by consolidating strengths, opportunities for positive action emerge without too much effort involved. We are therefore aware of the responsibility we have, due to our information about lots of companies. And we’re delighted if cultures emerge that promote rather than restrict, and if we can contribute to them.