1. Satisfied employees – in retail?
On Sunday, I listened to an in-depth interview on Deutschlandfunk with Christoph Werner, CEO of dm. And almost everything he said resonated with me.
What’s especially striking: dm was just named Germany’s most popular employer in the stern-Statista Study 2025 – ranked #1 out of 650 companies, with top scores in the categories sustainability and corporate culture. dm also leads the ranking of best employers for women.
That’s remarkable, because retail is not exactly known for dream jobs:
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Wages are relatively low,
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remote work is hardly possible,
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and trendy New-Work benefits are difficult to implement.
And yet dm’s employees are more satisfied than anywhere else.
2. Vision, mission, and values – not a checkbox, but the core of leadership
Listening to Christoph Werner, it becomes clear why.
He speaks about vision, mission, and values – not as a formality, but as the very foundation of business leadership.
Questions like:
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Why are we doing what we do?
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What added value do we create for society?
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With what kind of culture do we achieve these goals?
… run through his entire thinking.
In my conversations with many other leaders, I usually experience it differently: Often it’s subtly clear that they see these topics as a “necessary accessory” to satisfy the younger generation – but secretly consider them unnecessary.
At dm, you sense the opposite: they mean it.
3. Words shape culture
One detail that impressed me: Werner pays very close attention to language.
He doesn’t talk about “branches,” but about local drugstores.
Why? Because language shapes mindset.
“Branch” sounds like a small appendage of a large corporation.
“Local drugstore” conveys ownership and accountability for the customers in the community.
Or, as Werner puts it: “Through words, we grasp the world.”
4. Values reveal themselves in conflict – an example
Values matter most when something goes wrong or happens unexpectedly.
For example: When launching a new health service, the headquarters planned a classic press release, hoping for maximum impact.
But before it was published, an employee on site simply posted a short video on Instagram – and the news was out.
I was immediately reminded of 2006: In a corporation where I worked at the time, a new venture with a new product approach was accidentally made public too early. The mood back then: “The air is heavy.” Finger-pointing, sanctions, harsh words from headquarters.
Not so at dm.
Werner did not see the employee’s action as a loss of control, but as a sign of the times.
This is how news spreads today: authentic, decentralized, from the heart of the organization.
And it reflected their values: accountability and freedom to act.
5. Working at dm – defined by culture itself
dm describes its culture on its website like this:
“Working at dm means talking to each other, exchanging ideas, and questioning things. This defines our corporate culture. An environment where employees act independently and thus help shape our community at work.”
This is exactly what the Instagram example illustrates:
Not centralism, but trust.
Not control, but accountability.
Not rejection, but dialogue.
6. Values that make the difference
Being named Germany’s most popular employer shows: this mindset works.
Here, values are not posters on the wall, but principles that shape daily behavior – especially in conflict situations.
Or, as Christoph Werner says:
“Our culture of collaboration is built on constructive cooperation, openness to new ideas, and an orientation toward implementation. This award underscores the importance of creating a work environment that is aligned with people’s potential and enables shared development.”
7. My recommandation
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What role do vision, mission, and values play in your company – are they a checkbox or the real core of leadership?
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What words do you use – and what mindset do they convey?
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How do you react in conflict situations: with control or with trust?
Because that’s exactly where it’s decided whether culture truly works – or remains just another nice text on the website.
