Misconditioned – When Companies Forget Their Value Creation
Why management teams with noble meta-values often cause more harm than they realize
1. Introduction: Pavlov, Bells, and Consequences
Ivan Pavlov, the Russian physiologist and Nobel laureate, demonstrated in the early 20th century how learning through stimuli works. In his famous experiment, he rang a bell before feeding dogs. After a while, the bell alone triggered salivation — even though no food followed. The dogs had learned: bell = food.
This principle is called classical conditioning. A previously neutral stimulus (the bell) becomes associated with a biologically relevant event (the food) — until the response occurs even without the actual event.
In companies, the same thing happens — only more subtly. Leaders send out signals through their communication that employees align with. If those signals are not linked to real value creation, a dangerous side effect arises: The organization eventually responds to the wrong trigger.
2. When CEOs Preach Meta-Values
Especially in the renewables sector, I see a recurring pattern: company leadership talks less about the actual product and more about the "big vision." Instead of focusing on the specific solution the company offers — like a module, an inverter, or a PV-integrated window — the focus is on:
Energy transition
Decarbonization
Impact
Climate protection
Independence from China
These values are undoubtedly important. But they are meta-values — overarching goals that are not exclusive to any one company. They can inspire, but they do not replace a clear value proposition.
3. Real-World Examples from the Industry
Example 1: The Energy Transition Hero
A CEO publicly positions himself as a driver of the energy transition. Internally and in customer meetings, product discussions take a back seat to societal contribution. Yet the company makes specialized solar modules with unique technical features.
Result: Employees celebrate projects — even when they go to competitors — as long as photovoltaics are involved. Competitiveness becomes secondary. You lose — and still feel like a winner.
Example 2: The "Not-from-China" CEO
Another CEO defines the company’s USP not by product quality, but by origin: “We’re not from China.” The message: origin equals value. The organization adopts this narrative. Quality, innovation, cost-performance ratio? Secondary. But the market evaluates differently.
Example 3: The Good Guys — and Still Shut Down
2012: At my former company in renewables, we were informed of the plant’s closure. The reaction from many employees — especially in marketing and product management — wasn’t anger or shock over losing their jobs. It was genuine confusion. I literally heard: “But how can this be — we’re working for the energy transition!”
The identification with the vision was so strong that market realities no longer registered. The team had learned: energy transition = success. And overlooked: the product was too expensive, the market saturated, the strategy unsustainable.
4. Dangerous Conditioning
What’s happening here is systematic misalignment. Employees learn to respond to the wrong signals. Instead of maximizing real customer value, they align with symbolic or political ideals. The result is cultural dissonance:
The company believes it’s doing the right thing — but loses market share.
Customers evaluate based on functional performance — the company, on ideological goals.
Instead of responding to competition, it seeks validation in its own narrative.
5. Why This Is Dangerous
An organization that misconditions itself becomes dysfunctional over time:
Product development targets prestige instead of market needs.
Sales seeks “good customers” instead of fitting ones.
Employee motivation is tied to moral superiority — not to effectiveness.
The result: competitiveness is not improved, but morally substituted.
6. What Leaders Can Learn
Leadership’s job is to condition the organization toward its actual value creation — not toward vision alone. Visions can inspire. But only real performance pays salaries.
Instead:
Talk about what you actually do.
Be clear about where your product is better.
Avoid narratives that could also apply to your competitors.
7. Conclusion: The Bell Mustn’t Become More Important Than the Food
A company can — and should — be proud of its vision.
But if daily work becomes detached from real customer value, pride turns into arrogance — and mission into blindness.
And then, you might still be building great products — but no one cares anymore.
Because the bell rang, but the food never came.