A pladoyer for more entrepreneurial engagement

At FPSL, we draw inspiration for our work from beyond just management literature. Here, we reflect on what we learned from sociologist Hartmut Rosa, whose latest book, ‘Situation und Konstellation - Vom Verschwinden des Spielraums’, has landed in the bestseller lists.

In March 2026, we participated in an evening with Prof. Rosa to discuss his latest book, hosted by our club member Simon Grand in his role as Professor at the University of St.Gallen’s Swiss Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Here’s what we took away from this event, and Rosa’s work more broadly:

In an accelerating world, we need more moments of resonance

Rosa's diagnosis of modern society is one of acceleration: we’re constantly speeding up how we live and how we work to keep pace with economic growth. It feels like we’re always running behind and chasing the next thing (Beschleunigung und Entfremdung, 2013).

In an effort to manage this, we try to plan and control our lives: our agendas, the perfect holiday, our to-do list. But this makes us miss an essential point: life can’t be fully planned. We may reach towards the things that truly inspire us and make us who we are, but we can’t fully control them (Unverfügbarkeit, 2018). The moments where we are surprised and make new connections are those where we truly come alive, by experiencing what Rosa calls resonance with the world (Resonanz, 2016).

(Image by HSG Square)

We need more “Spielräume” to experiment, improvise and play

Problem is, in today’s world these moments of resonance are increasingly difficult to achieve. Instead, our actions are determined by algorithms, and our ideas for change are thwarted by regulations. Rosa’s newest book (Situation und Konstellation, 2026) describes this world increasingly governed by laws, algorithms, and rigid procedures that constrain our freedom to act. We don’t have as much leeway (“Spielräume”) to improvise and experiment. We no longer act, we execute.

Rosa calls this a societal shift from Situation to Konstellation. A situation is what we actually encounter in life: complex, open-ended, requiring our own experience and judgment. A constellation is when we refer to a strict law, form, rule or algorithm that decides for us. Think of a typical employee evaluation discussion: does it focus on the person as a whole, or does it follow a predetermined evaluation framework?

Certainly, constellations are necessary: by collectively agreeing on rules and procedures, we reduce the risk of arbitrary and racist or misogynistic decisions by individuals. However, by going too far, we have sacrificed our ability to genuinely act: to exercise judgment, take risks, and engage with the unexpected. Only in these situations do we feel present in the world, feel alive, and experience resonance. It is no coincidence, he suggests, that we so often today speak of exhaustion, burnout, and mental health crises.

His book is thus a pladoyer for more “Spielräume”, in the sense of “Handlungsspielräume.” Instead of constraining our actions by always taking the ‘safe’ route of following formalised rules and procedures, we should rely more on our own judgement, experience and intuition.

(Images by HSG Square)

A pladoyer for more entrepreneurial engagement

There was a key moment in the panel discussion, when a current student and activist as well as a former student and entrepreneur pointed out that creating new “Spielräume” is exactly what entrepreneurs do. After a lively debate on the logics of economic growth versus resonance, they managed to catch the imagination of Prof. Rosa with the notion of a truly engaged entrepreneurial spirit as a force for good.

At FPSL, we think that entrepreneurial engagement can be such a force for good. The ability to take risks, and expose one’s ideas to test if they match with reality, is a key driver for progress. For us, this is also a key part of strategy: not just exploiting what you already have, but always looking to opportunities that can last long-term.

In fact, one of our core values relates to exactly this entrepreneurial spirit. Our value “Crafting Value” describes how we continuously strive to create value through responsible entrepreneurship that turns uncertainty into opportunity.

We’ll end with a pladoyer for entrepreneurial engagement:

craft more Spielräume,
play more,
experiment more.