NBR magazine 2023

2023

RITU G. MEHRISH How to unleash the existing potential JOS DE BLOK Empowerment over bureaucracy MIKAEL MATTS Leading the change the Nordic way

RISTO SIILASMAA Turning change into opportunity

Smarter business for a stronger world Sustainability is more than good intentions. It’s about making a difference – for your business and our world.

It’s about delivering sustained outcomes that are not only a win for business, but a win for all. Solutions that drive value and fuel growth, whilst strengthering our environment and societies. Leading business reponsively and responsibly to build trust with your customers, employees and stakeholders.

PwC’s purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We help companies to improve their efficiency, promote growth and to report reliably in a constantly changing environment. In Finland, we have 1,300 experts working around the country. Our services include consulting, deals, tax, legal, risk assurance, audit and other assurance services.

More information: www.pwc.fi/en and www.pwc.fi/sustainability PwC operates in 152 countries and employs nearly 328,000 experts worldwide. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

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CONTENTS

Contents From the Editor

5

Foreword 7 In the driver’s seat

8

High quality spaces are the key to attracting talent back to the office

12

The dilemma in change management: To be human, or to be efficient?

13

The message, and how to convey it in a way that makes a difference

15

Let there be humor!

16

Work in progress

18

Extreme resilience brings home the Speaker Contest victory trophy

22

AI as a tool for better speaking – and better business

23

On the brink of change

24

Speaking from the heart

28

Bringing the human touch back to recruitment

29

Unblocking the leader’s potential

30

Bringing leader’s block out in the open

33

Engagement through complete freedom and responsibility

34

Leading the change from the front– the brand’s new role as a strategic tool

39

Taking better care of patients – and business

40

Smart change does not wait for the crisis

44

Harnessing creativity for renewal and innovation

50

Driving the digital transformation

52

Publisher Nordic Business Report Production Nordic Business Report Press PunaMusta Joensuu 2023

Editor-in-Chief Timo Mansikka-aho, timo.mansikka-aho@nbreport.com Layout Jenni Hyttinen Cover photo Sami Tirkkonen

Nordic Business Report Oy Kuortaneenkatu 1, 00520 Helsinki, Finland info@nbreport.com www.nbreport.com

FROM THE EDITOR

The only thing that’s constant is

CHANGE

I

f someone had any doubts a couple of years ago, the pandemic, the war, and the overall economic uncertainty have silenced even the most persistent sceptics: change will, indeed, be with us forever.

And if you think it is today more sudden, unexpected, and dramatic than ever before, just wait until tomorrow.

“

They say if you can’t beat the change, you should join it – but why stop there when you can be it.

The good news is, there is nothing new about change as a phenomenon. The world has always evolved as societies develop and create new ways to take care of both business and pleasure in better, more productive, and more rewarding ways. And evolving it keeps, fueled by new technologies and innovative thinking. Properly harnessed, change can take individuals, organizations, and entire societies further.

The best way to adapt to change is right at the forefront. While the pole position provides the clearest view of what waits ahead, it also gives us the best opportunities to find the ideal route forward.

The 2023 Nordic Business Report is all about making change work for our advantage. Approaching change from a wide variety of angles, we provide insight on how it can be managed in a way that makes a difference on individual, organizational, and societal levels alike.

Combining innovative thinking with tested theories, proven practices, and can-do attitude, we want to help decision-makers understand and embrace change – and make it work for their advantage, whatever it may in their respective frameworks mean at any given time.

We have talked to internationally renowned researchers with a

sharp eye on the future, innovators who thrive on challenging the status quo, and to business leaders who have excelled in turning their organizations completely around when everyone else had already threw in the towel. The finalists of Nordic Business Forum’s Speaker Contest add an interesting angle to the issue – while they initially raised interest thanks to their speaking skills, their stories turned out to be real eye-openers also in the sense of their captivating content.

The main purpose of Nordic Business Report is to inspire, educate and encourage. We have, again, been fortunate to be able to talk to such a skilled, brave, and versatile group of specialists who generously took the time to share their ideas and experiences. We do hope that you will enjoy reading the stories – and even put some of their tips into practice.

They say if you can’t beat the change, you should join it – but why stop there when you can be it.

Timo Mansikka-aho Editor-In-Chief timo.mansikka-aho@nbreport.com

NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT 2023

5

HIGHLIGHTS STORY

Highlights In the driver’s seat Few people have executed such dramatic organizational changes as Risto Siilasmaa when under his chairmanship Nokia’s course was turned around from inevitable destruction to a new bloom.

Page

8 Work in progress “Work has always changed, and it will keep changing”, says Hertta Vuorenmaa, Research Director, University Lecturer at Aalto University and Chair of The Finnish Association of Work Life Research agrees.

Page

18

On the brink of change “The cultural health of the organization is what makes it all work, and that is often forgotten, if not downright neglected”, says Tobias Sturesson, CEO at Heart Management.

Page

24 Driving the digital transformation “It’s critical that someone with a direct relationship to the CEO and the entire leadership team – with a mandate from them – should be overseeing the transformation process and direct the efforts”, says David Rogers .

Page

6

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52

FOREWORD

THE HUMAN ELEMENT

After the pandemic, this is the second Nordic Business Forum in a row – and the 12th altogether.

Since the 2022 event, a lot has happened – and while the change may not have been as unexpected as during the previous couple of years, the speed and impact of it has taken most of us again by surprise.

Against the hopes of all of us a horrific war continues in Europe and we continue to over consume ecological resources.

This year’s BIG new thing is the leap with generative AI which we have witnessed. Driven by the launch of ChatGPT last November, generative AI has taken gigantic steps forward, providing everyone with all new opportunities for content generation, ideation, and efficiency.

beyond our current understanding. Technology is not the primary constraint on development. The human ability to utilize it to even close to its full potential is.

Technology is a wonderful thing, but it is only as good as what humans can make it to be. We should never forget the role of human interaction when we think about how to take things further. Whether that means development on individual, organizational, or societal levels, we must have opportunities to get together, exchange ideas, challenge each other and find ways to create synergy.

Technology may enable change, but it is us humans who make it happen. We have a responsibility to make sure that the change we see is positive.

That is just another proof of the fact that while change keeps taking place, the speed of it keeps picking up. A year from today, the world will again look a lot different.

Thank you for your participation.

Technology is one of the most significant forces behind change. To be more precise, even the capabilities that the existing technology enables can produce innovations that are

Hans-Peter Siefen

Group CEO and Co-Founder Business Forum Group

NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT 2023

7

STORY

In the driver’s seat Few people have executed such dramatic organizational changes as Risto Siilasmaa when under his chairmanship Nokia’s course was turned around from inevitable destruction to a new bloom. Speaking from experience, his advice to leaders is straightforward: whatever the future may bring, the organization must be prepared for it.

Text: Timo Mansikka-Aho Photos: Sami Tirkkonen

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“

The knowable unknowns are surprises that you can, by following the right kind of processes and tools, find out about in time.

R

isto Siilasmaa is a cyber security pioneer that turned into a successful business executive, and further into the Chairman of the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturer – that, again, turned into a leading wireless network company. While changes have followed each other and have been quite different in nature, certain repeating patterns are evident in making the most of each available opportunity.

One of the most important lessons from a leaders’ point of view is that the best way to manage change is to control it. The road to victory begins with getting to know the battlefield. In a constantly and often unexpectedly changing business environment, that means continuous preparations in every direction.

“

When the long term likelihood of an event is high, but the short term probability is low, people often choose to do nothing.

“There are two kinds of unexpected incidents”, Siilasmaa explains.

“The unknowable unknowns you simply can’t anticipate – your negligence or inactivity does not cause them. You are in no position to know anything about the specifics until they take place.

The knowable unknowns, on the other hand, are surprises that you can, by following the right kind of processes and tools, find out about in time”.

Siilasmaa chooses the bankruptcy of Kodak for a textbook example of a knowable unknown.

It had been evident for a long time that the performance of

constantly and steadily improving digital cameras would one day surpass that of film cameras, yet Kodak did not put any effort to developing their digital side.

They deliberately shut their eyes from the incoming tornado and did little to protect themselves against it, protecting existing business rather than investing in longer term survival.

Russia’s invasion to Ukraine, on the other hand, was an unknowable unknown – until the final weeks before the attack.

While Russia had kept becoming more aggressive and ruthless in its actions over the past years, the attack took the world by surprise.

Everyone knew that something was going to happen but could not predict what or when that would be.

“The Covid pandemic, on the other hand, was the Kodak case”, Siilasmaa adds.

“While the event was known to happen, the timing was unknown. Scientists had said for a long time that a global pandemic was going to come during the next 20 years or so, but politicians kept maintaining that it would not happen this year. That is why we did nothing in terms of preparing for it. When the long term likelihood of an event is high, but the short term probability is low, people often choose to do nothing”.

Preparation is the key

Sufficient tools and techniques are already available for organizations to prepare against both types of unknowns. In this light, Siilasmaa finds it downright inexcusable that while leaders have what it takes to see where the overall development is heading, they often do not do anything about it.

In addition to building the NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT 2023

9

STORY

right kind of tool set that would enable leaders to identify the knowable unknowns and prepare accordingly, organizations must face the challenge of managing the unavoidable uncertainty of the unknowable unknowns. Both are doable.

“

Experimenting is a way to speed up the path from plans to implementation.

“Uncertainty has largely been – and to a certain extent, still is – managed utilizing a traditional waterfall process”, Risto Siilasmaa mentions.

“The management gets together once a year to map the most potential threats and to create a top-down plan to deal with them”.

While management must stay on top of things, top-down plan is often too slow to execute so that it would have sufficient time to create competitive advantages. If surprises happen on the way – which tends to be the case more often than not – a new plan must be designed. However, by the time that plan reaches the implementation level in the waterfall model, people have just barely began doing things according to the previous one.

“

Experiments must be initiated at every level or the organization.

Experimenting is a way to speed up the path from plans to implementation.

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“Trying out different alternatives to discover the best way to react to change is an excellent way to manage uncertainty”, Siilasmaa agrees.

“The challenge in this is that if you want to create a genuine experiment culture, your management model has to be something else than the top-down version.

Experiments must be initiated at every level or the organization, not just by top management”.

Simulations are a great way to further boost experimenting.

A digital twin of the operating environment makes simulating

of the opportunity it creates.

To get the circle rolling, sufficient data is required.

“In simulation, data is the required fuel”, Risto Siilasmaa describes.

“We can’t simulate without data, so the first task is to identify the data we need to simulate appropriately”.

After deciding what kind of data is most relevant for our particular purposes, we need to determine how to get that data, and if our IT architecture is capable of handling it. With knowable unknowns, it is all about clarifying

“

Trying out different alternatives to discover the best way to react to change is an excellent way to manage uncertainty. various scenarios a lot quicker and cost-efficient, thus creating significant efficiency effects.

Thanks to simulation providing a high-quality framework, virtual experimentation can be carried out a lot more efficiently or even automated. The best virtual experiments can then be replicated in real life to verify the results. Data provided by these experiments are again fuel to the strategy which the management designs and executes through the waterfall method.

As a result of this process, a knowable unknown can be turned into a business opportunity. We do not only talk about preparing for an upcoming crisis but actually about making the most

our own thoughts to better understand the changes in our operating environment – including the good and bad futures we will face. Alternatives must be regularly analyzed, and consequences must be taken accordingly. That makes us better prepared for whatever outcome becomes real.

“You realize the upcoming development and decide to try if you can create business out of it”, Risto Siilasmaa summarizes.

“That does not take the board’s strategy meeting, it can – and must – be done at all organizational levels”.

Faster reaction through scenario planning

Agility is, indeed, one of the best

ways to react to the opportunities or threats an unknowable unknown may turn out to provide.

Risto Siilasmaa suggests organizations adapt the idea of scenario planning so that they would be prepared to act fast soon as the opportunity opens. The benefit of scenario planning – as long as it leads to actions – is that you do not have to identify the correct scenarios, you just need to stake the space within which the events should exist.

Scenario planning takes preparations for unknown incidents to yet another level. It forces organizations to design action plans even for the most unpleasant situations.

“To be prepared as well as possible, we must create scenarios for many likely developments – and determine what we must do if that specific development materializes”, Siilasmaa explains.

“It all begins with us accepting the fact that something surprising will happen, and with convincing ourselves that we do not have to be afraid of it”.

Human nature makes us reluctant to prepare for things we are afraid of. It is up to the management to understand this pitfall and create plans to minimize its effects. Organizations must be trained to handle these kinds of developments and provide information fast when something happens.

In addition to annual and longer-term plans and ideas about what kind of alternative developments might take place, we must be ready to challenge every one of the alternative scenarios.

“First, we need to invent the scenarios – even the very worst ones, and we need to make the management responsible for processing them”, Siilasmaa describes.

“We must also determine, what kind of data is required to tell us if the probability of any of the scenarios will change”.

Siilasmaa does not refer solely to sales figures, but also to something that might give us indications about more fundamental developments. At Nokia, one of the most fundamental reasons for change was the old Symbian platform becoming obsolete. The data about software developers’ commitment to a certain platform served as an indicator that a shift to new platforms was becoming imminent.The next step would be to systematically gather the kind of data that has been deemed relevant. That is often the easiest part of scenario planning as in the era of digitalization, there is plenty of data available and sophisticated tools such as AI can help us bot gather and validate it to suit our purposes the best possible way.

“

Now that we are controlling the change, it is up to us to get things in gear.

After we have identified and gathered the right data, we iterate it. We start to understand the changes of various scenario probabilities, which helps us allocate resources accordingly. The largest part goes to the most likely scenarios, but we must also keep the less probable ones in mind.

Risto Siilasmaa points out that while there is no doubt about the essence of scenario planning, it is the execution that eventually will separate winners from the rest.

When we manage to shed even a small ray of light into the tunnel of uncertainty, we can start the

Risto Siilasmaa suggests organizations adapt the idea of scenario planning so that they would be prepared to act fast soon as the opportunity opens.

change with confidence – and that is often the missing piece when it comes to organization’s perseverance to pull through a significant transition that is so often required in these times of uncertainty.

Now that we are controlling the change, it is up to us to get things in gear.

“

To be prepared as well as possible, we must create scenarios for many likely developments – and determine what we must do if that specific development materializes.

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High quality spaces are the key to attracting talent back to the office

“We hope that all companies value their employees and the contributions they make, whether they are at the office or not”, says Christian Hohenthal.

The last few years have fundamentally changed the way we work, with the introduction of hybrid working one of the most significant. Despite the many benefits that can be gained from more flexible working, businesses are now having to navigate new managerial challenges.

W

hen you speak to employees, it’s common to hear that they welcome and embrace hybrid working, with opportunities to spend more time at home and freedom to structure their days to create a healthier work-life balance. Whilst more flexibility is certainly a positive new development for employees, a growing number of employers want to see people back in the office more frequently. Christian Hohenthal, CEO of Sponda, one of Finland’s leading real estate asset management companies, believes that rather than enforcing rules and restrictions, companies should be investing in their employees by creating office spaces that inspire and engage.

“The utilisation rates for attractive and functional offices in central locations are significantly higher compared to outdated spaces in the outskirts of the city.

Being in the same physical space helps to foster connections and collaboration as well as attract the best people, which is why it is so important businesses are based in the locations and buildings their employees actually want to 12

NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT 2023

come into work for” Hohenthal mentions.

What is the value of working in an office that can’t be achieved remotely?

A supportive organisational culture affects how a business performs, positively impacting productivity, revenue growth and retention. Creating a supportive culture is easier when all employees, from trainee to CEO, spend time together in person. Spontaneous conversations over a cup of coffee can provide employees fresh perspective and deliver valuable insights. Comparatively, working from home for an extended period can pose serious challenges to leadership, innovation and organisational development.

“Of course, we hope that all companies value their employees and the contributions they make, whether they are at the office or not. Nevertheless, it is only human to pay more attention to what’s happening in front of us and easier to read emotions face to face rather than over a screen.

Personal conversations are integral for offering support when needed and for bringing people together”, Hohenthal says.

What are companies looking for in an office?

“Many of our clients and their employees particularly value centrally located spaces that support cooperation and innovation.

A mere workstation alone is not enough to attract employees to the office; they instead value well designed spaces with amenities, excellent transport connections, electric vehicle charging points, bike and scooter parking, a wide selection of services and cultural experiences as well as a broad offering of cafes and restaurants within walking distance. These are the fundamental factors that make for an appealing office location,” Hohenthal says.

Today, companies prioritize sustainability and actively seek

buildings with strong sustainability credentials. They also desire highly functional office spaces that foster collaboration, idea sharing, wellbeing, focused work, and provide suitable areas for hosting both internal and external events. A well-designed office serves as a catalyst for company culture and should embody its values. Additionally, it plays a crucial role in retaining and attracting talent.

“Most companies understand that the return to the office shouldn’t be viewed as a short term challenge. Investing in functional and inspiring spaces that attract employees is a long-term investment. Company culture cannot happen without putting people first, with teamwork and innovation being the most crucial drivers for the success of a business,” Hohenthal sums up. sponda.fi/en

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The dilemma in change management:

To be human, or to be efficient?

As the operating environment becomes challenging and uncertain, even due to reasons that are beyond the company’s own control, the atmosphere at work tends to tighten.

When this development leads to a situation where change is inevitable, the leaders often find themselves in a downright crossfire of tensions. The key to turning change into success starts with the most important resource – the people. This is where it often also starts getting difficult for many leaders.

“From most leaders’ point of view, it is quite straightforward to simply maximize efficiency”, says Outi Ikonen, leading organizational psychologist at Terveystalo.“While changing organizational structures and processes is challenging to begin with, those challenges multiply when it comes to human factors”.

However, it is just those human factors that can’t be overlooked in successful change management.

While the dynamics between people always affect the organization’s ability to perform, the role of employees becomes even more significant in

change. Ikonen points out that issues such as motivation, engagement and trust are decisive when it comes to successful transition.

“Humanity and business efficiency sound like opposite worlds, but they interact with each other very strongly. Tension often sends out impression that all results are achieved at the cost of employee well-being. Leaders must recognize and even accept these tensions, and deal with them in a tangible way”.

The conflicting pressures of leadership Especially during change, leaders face different kinds of expectations. Change must be successfully managed, but so do people, processes, and the business itself. To successfully carry out this balancing act, it is important to realize that every one of these four viewpoints must receive sufficient attention.

“In change, the main focus must be on the future, so innovativeness is required”, Ikonen explains.

“On the other hand, inner stability is essential as chaos makes any renewal difficult. The efforts to balance change and stability typically creates tension, but the only way to succeed is to engage employees properly”.

Owning the change

Outi Ikonen, leading organizational psychologist at Terveystalo

Especially when the operating environment creates pressure to change, top management has drafted visions and exchanged opinions before the rest of the company is barely aware of the

situation. In this light, the resistance to change that leaders typically face from employees is quite understandable – it is caused mostly by the fact that they have not known about the difficult decisions leaders have already had to make.

“Change often brings ‘Things were so much better before’ or ‘This rationale behind the changes isn’t credible’ kind of opinions back to the surface”, Ikonen says. “Whether the company is downsizing, restructuring, or growing fast, for example through acquisitions, all those changes create their own types of resistance”.

The only way for leaders to overcome this resistance to change is through the combined outcome of dissatisfaction towards the present, belief in the future, and a credible plan to get there.

Outi Ikonen emphasizes that this requires realistic approach and a plausible story about where the company is heading – and why.

In addition, the roadmap must be clear, and everyone must have a role in it.

“The world keeps changing, but when the organization knows how to deal with it in an engaging and motivating way, it will end up in a lot better shape than where it was at the beginning”.

Read more: www.terveystalo.com/humanefficiency

When you want to build a better future, continue from point A! A better world is built through better leadership.

The most successful ones never stop learning; this is where the secret of success lies – in lifewide learning. Aalto EE offers an impactful basis for developing current and future leaders, experts, and professionals, now under one logo.

Join leaders and professionals like you, and continue from point A!

“Studies bring different angles, lenses, and perspectives.”

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14

NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT 2023

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The message, and how to convey it in a way that makes a difference Business Forum Group’s Speaker Contest provided insight, style, drama, and all the ingredients of a powerful story.

Text: Timo Mansikka-Aho PHOTO: AKI RASK

T

hroughout the existence of mankind, humans have enjoyed good stories. When those stories have been structured smartly and told in a way that raises emotions, they touch deep and become unforgettable. They are repeated and retold, and their creators become downright legends.

History proves that well told stories move people in an amazing way. Obama and Hitler are textbook examples of how excellent presenters can convince entire nations to follow them.

While at least one of them is al-

so an example of how persuasive style can make people blind to the actual content, the best presentations are built on McCann Erickson’s over-a-century-old description of good advertising: Truth well told.

“

History proves that well told stories move people in an amazing way.

While that has been the case throughout Business Forum

Group’s annual Speaker Contest, the setting for the 2023 Final was a phenomenal look at what Truth well told can mean in the business context. The initial idea of the Speaker Contest – finding and promoting new talent, ideas, and perspectives – got truly strong wind beneath the wings as five finalists presented their stories.

The topics reflected personal experiences and work, which spiced the content with emotion and relevance. It was evident that every finalist knew the subject they were addressing extremely well, and that their words were backed up by verification based on real-life encounters. The

excellent speaking skills were complemented by content that was relevant to both the audience and the presenter, and spoken genuinely from the heart.

Nordic Business Report wanted to shed some additional light to most presentations and the stories behind them by writing comprehensive extensions based on them. Besides being well told truths, these articles aim to provide additional angles to the overall theme of change, as well as further help the readers become inspired on how change can be embraced and addressed so that it will make a real impact in whatever framework it may be executed.

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STORY

Pep Rosenfeld believes that especially when organizations are going through a process of transition, leaders should bring out their human side and utilize humor as a tool for engaging and motivating people.

LET THERE BE HUMOR! Changing your expression may be the biggest change your organization needs to start flourishing again.

Text: Timo Mansikka-Aho Photo: Aki Rask

L

ooking at the annual reports of companies and market forecasts of the economists, the ‘new normal’ is still something of a work in progress.

Organizations keep struggling to rediscover their pre-pandemic capacity to make profits, and with emerging challenges creat-

16

NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT 2023

ed by hybrid working, economic uncertainty, war, and who knows what other global disruptor, light at the end of the tunnel stays dim for far too many. Frustration creeps in as leaders start to run out of tricks to turn the tide.

They look farther and farther, but nothing they haven’t already tried – in vain – seems to be available.

Sometimes, the best solutions are not discovered simply be-

cause they are too close.

When the going gets a bit too tough, gravity starts creeping into even the most seasoned leaders’ subconscious. The problem is the same with the star player of a Champions League soccer team and a CEO of a listed company: when business is blooming and wins follow each other, the decisions are easy and everything flows smoothly, even automati-

cally. At the times of downswing, the grip tightens, and everyone grits their teeth with full force.

“

For goodness’ sake, where did all that humor disappear?

Nordic Business Forum’s Speaker Contest Finalist Pep Rosenfeld

says that leaders simply can’t afford to look down on humor as a tool to communicate, present ideas and collaborate in a better, more productive way.

Rosenfeld has made a distinguished career as a business comedian attending events of all sizes as a host, moderator, keynote speaker and coach. Famous for his approachable humor and ability to address the audience in an unforgettable way – for example when hosting Nordic Business Forum events – he points out that humor is one of the prime things a leader who wants to lead like a person should demonstrate.

“

The best thing a leader can do is celebrate the things that make us human.

“I believe many people that are put in leadership positions often have an instinct to lead like a ‘leader’ with leader in air quotes”, Pep explains.

“Far too often that happens at the cost of their human side.

That is, all things considered, 180 degrees wrong. The best thing a leader can do is celebrate the things that make us human”.

The exciting, nervewrecking Speaker Contest

The topic of Rosenfeld’s presentation at the Speaker Contest was ‘Leadership lessons from 20 years of business events – they should’ve made me sign the NDA’. While he introduces humor as one of the most effective – and underrated – keys to better organizational performance, he says that decades of hosting different types of events – as well as

founding his own company – has taught him a lot about business and leadership in general. Now, he wants to pass that gathered wisdom along to leaders and help make the business world a bit better – or at least more engaging.

“

The contest has given me an excellent opportunity to hone my own thoughts and refine the points of my presentation.

“What really inspired me to write this particular speech was a combination of things that occurred to me while watching Brené Brown talking about vulnerability at the 2019 Nordic Business Forum”, Pep recalls.

“I was thinking, those insights would have been very useful to me when I was leading a team several years earlier. The other thing I realized was that at many of the business events I’ve hosted, leaders tend to make quite a few of the same mistakes over and over – especially when it comes to the way they present ideas in an attempt to engage and motivate people”.

Pep points out that work is a place where we spend over a third of our waking hours. If those hours are uninspiring due to leaders going through the same useless mantras over and over again, too many people are not enjoying a big chunk of their lives. He decided to design a presentation that addresses those mistakes, while also suggesting a more effective way to lead teams.

The Speaker Contest has been a great experience for Pep. Being on stage, albeit virtually at the semi-final, with people with such

great ideas and different takes on timely topics such as innovation, sustainability, and leadership, has been both exciting – and daunting. The qualifying rounds have also served as a platform to sharpen both the content and the way it should be presented for the most effective outcome.

“The contest has given me an excellent opportunity to hone my own thoughts and refine the points of my presentation”, Pep mentions.

“The more I get a chance to present them and see how people respond, the clearer the idea of how to convey them becomes to me”.

The closer Pep was getting to the final, the more excited and the more nervous he said he was becoming. Then again, those two things tend to blur together nicely and end up in a great mix.

Happy people are engaged people

When Pep performs at company events, he tells jokes. Jokes obviously make people feel better, but they are also used as a way to point out problems people are facing, to help point out what’s ridiculous in the current situation or the new strategy – and help change those things for the better.

Pep also trains leaders and teams to help them communicate with each other and to present their ideas better. At best, this improves everyone’s ability to work together as collaborators and innovators. All that is about helping teams to become the change, to help them become something better than what they were before.

Currently in the process of writing a book about humor in the workplace, Pep firmly believes in the power of laughter – even and especially at work.

“Humor is like a magic power: it lets you communicate messages you would not otherwise be able to communicate. At the same time, it helps you get through situations that are difficult”.

“

Humor is also a unique way for people to bond with each another.

“Humor is also a unique way for people to bond with each another. Making people laugh is a special way to get involuntary responses out of them – and that might just open up the door to more serious issues such as engaging them into a new strategy or preparing them for a critical product launch. Any organization with a touch of humor in their culture has an advantage that, when properly put into effect, helps them to have what it takes to succeed even in the most challenging circumstances”.

“

There’s no better way for leaders to instigate change than by changing their leadership style.

When it comes to being the change, Pep suggests leaders use humor themselves, as much as they can. This, along with the other human qualities he talks about, might just be something their team needs the most, especially at times like these.

“There’s no better way for leaders to instigate change than by changing their leadership style”.

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STORY

Work in progress During the past few years, one global turmoil has followed another – also when it comes to the development of working culture. Just as organizations felt they had the aftermath of the pandemic under control by having redesigned workplaces and introduced the culture of hybrid working, AI enters with full force.

Text and photos: Timo Mansikka-aho

Hertta Vuorenmaa says that there is no better time to create a better future of work than right now.

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nspiring offices, smart co-working spaces and all the flexibility provided by remote work seem to have lost their relevance as people are having serious concern, even panic about jobs disappearing, about machines stealing jobs, about what new skills they should start learning and so on. In the midst of this downright chaos, we should remind ourselves of the fact that we already have experience in dealing with similar issues. Instead of worrying ourselves to premature death, we should use that experience to our advantage – to avoid making same mistakes.

“Work has always changed, and it will keep changing”, Hertta Vuorenmaa, Research Director, University Lecturer at Aalto University and Chair of The Finnish Association of Work Life Research agrees.

“Industrial revolutions have followed one another, bringing new tools and technologies to think, organize, lead, and carry out work”.

Industrial revolutions are also to thank – or blame – for developments in issues such as working hours and leadership styles.

Hertta Vuorenmaa reminds that as one revolution starts breaking and the next one begins to establish ground, the same discussions take place over and over again.

Even if change is constant and we should know all about it, we can’t afford to sit still and wait for the storm to calm.

Dealing with all that change

Instead of visions and fears that prevent us from concentrating on the essential, Vuorenmaa and her research colleagues would rather move the global discussion to the best ways to adapt to the situation at hand.

“Work should be redefined by thinking which tasks should be given to machines to handle and what is best to leave to humans.

That widens our perspective on the future of work and on capabilities that we should master in a better way”.

Vuorenmaa points out that work as we know it will not be the same for a large part of population. While this development may not be first of its kind in history, it does have a substantial effect on our lives – even to a degree where it may become a concern for the entire society.

“Work is a significant part of everyone’s identity, and it also connects people to the society.

accordingly support learning new skills, create new ways to lead and encourage individuals to adopt autonomous ways of working”.

Research shows that organizations that are nimble and able to adapt even to most significant changes such as recovering from pandemic have prepared for constant change for the past 30 years or so. They understand that change is an integral element of the organization’s life – as is learning new things at work.

Thus, they have built a system for long-term people management and are not afraid of the change.

Hertta Vuorenmaa points out that technology as such could already enable an even faster and

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Work is a significant part of everyone’s identity, and it also connects people to the society.

As the ongoing development changes the job market, more time should be spent on what it all looks like, on all three levels: individual, organizational, and societal.

According to Hertta Vuorenmaa, better and more sustainable working environment is, however, not solely at the leader’s responsibility. Neither can an individual organization make the required transition.

Everyone should participate – and be the change.

“That applies at individual, organizational, and societal levels alike. We must create a ‘circle of good’ where society creates incentives to organizations which

more dramatic change. It is the institutional stiffness and human resistance that has slowed down the inevitable process.

“New technologies arise an enormous number of emotions in people, and the scale of those emotions is vast as well. While others get excited about how much faster and easier things can get done and how much more meaningful issues can now get more attention, others feel helpless and ashamed for not understanding how to operate new machinery or software”.

The ongoing debate about the future of work adds fuel to the fire, focusing on flashy innovations such as robots and artificial

intelligence. Vuorenmaa’s team has been interviewing over the course of four years, once a year, leaders of most of the 50 biggest organizations in Finland and discovered that as they said their employees are struggling to adapt to all the new technologies that keep pouring in, they simultaneously pointed out that their people just learned to use Excel and Outlook properly.

Everything is relative, yet organizations must discover their smallest common denominators and start with them.

“Changing working life should focus on what we can do now, and how can we help people get over their emotions and feel included – and thus engaged – amidst the change. Engaging employees starts with making them feel that they are part of the change and that the change means something to them”.

According to our research, individual skills are one of the greatest obstacles to employees feeling included. People at all organizational levels are worried about what they should master, whether they are able to get a hold of those things – and if a machine can do it faster, what does that mean to me?

Building inclusion and enabling learning new things are some of today’s biggest organizational challenges. When part of the job is suddenly handled by AI, what will there be left for people?

Getting organized to lead the change

In the modern workplace, everyone should understand that everyone should assume responsibility for creating a successful organization that smoothly adopts to any kind of change.

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Hertta Vuorenmaa encourages everyone to keep in mind that while new technology has provided organizations with new tools and solutions, plenty of things have remained the same as they were years, even decades ago.

learning. At the end of the day, this might also be the golden opportunity for Human Resources to reinvent themselves and start supporting change in ways that go well beyond their traditional line of duties.

Hertta Vuorenmaa encourages everyone to keep in mind that while new technology has provided organizations with new tools and solutions, plenty of things have remained the same as they were years, even decades ago. The talk about change often goes to the hype of all things new, while in reality, most traditional patterns of people management are still valid. People have not changed, but that is too often forgotten.

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“A look across different lines of business tells that the very same principles of engagement are still valid. Employees must be able to feel that they are noticed, that their manager knows who they are and what they do. If the organization has been able to handle inclusion well, it can adapt even to sudden and unexpected changes smoothly. Knowing what the organization is capable of helps manage the transition a lot better”.

Creating socially sustainable work

The opportunities provided by new technologies would already now enable socially sustainable work for all – even on global

scale. Hertta Vuorenmaa says that there is no better time to create a better future of work than right now.

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Career paths get longer and the time to retire is continuously being pushed forward.

“Career paths get longer and the time to retire is continuously being pushed forward. In a way, we are still living the era of second industrial revolution: efficiency is the key driver, and people are managed by ensuring that they keep showing up

to a certain place at a certain time. While there is no reason for organizations to stop being efficient, that approach is far from sustainable according to modern standards”.

Social sustainability of work means well-being at work. When that is handled properly, people become energized and engaged – and, thus, more productive.

Ideas and innovation do not happen by staring at a computer screen 8 hours a day. Especially knowledge workers need variation in their stimuli and operating mode, for example by moving from one place to another and taking breaks based on need. The new equipment must be used efficiently, and they should be used wherever works best for that particular purpose.

While remote work used to be largely a matter of trust, pandemic removed those barriers as organizations did not have much of a choice but to go along. That resulted in a significant peak in productivity, as people overworked at home. In uncertain times, work provides – among other things – safety. That opportunity was grabbed by both hands, resulting in fear of increasing burnout and quitting. Self-management is an extremely difficult skill to master, and while limits and clarity are fundamental elements in time management, finding the perfect balance is adaptation and transition management at its best.

Sustainability should be at the core of all change. Organizations should clarify to themselves how new tools have already changed our way of working, and how that change could become sustainable – so that employees’ well-being would improve, and they would have the energy to keep innovating instead of sliding towards burnout.

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To be able to lead others, the leader must first understand the change, and what it means.

revolution, the leader was at the top of the triangle, giving orders for others to follow. Today, this setup has dramatically changed.

The triangle has turned upside down, with the leader at the bottom – asking employees what the situation looks like, and what they need to be the best they can be under the new circumstances”.

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Leaders should communicate the framework for autonomy.

Mastering the workplace transition

Putting additional focus on sustainability does not mean organizations will end up less efficient – however, efficiency must be redefined so that it can adapt to new strategy and core competencies the best possible way. Thinking should start with organization’s core competencies, and how performance is managed around them. If KPIs are still the same as during the era of previous tools, old-style performance management easily leads to employees burning out.

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Thinking should start with organization’s core competencies, and how performance is managed around them.

The first step in successful change management is making it everyone’s issue. Every employee should understand what the organization does and what kind of tools are required to do

those things efficiently. This simple exercise draws guidelines to work that is both productive and sustainable.

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Burnout is always more expensive to cure than well-being is to establish.

Burnout is always more expensive to cure than well-being is to establish, so sustainability should have the management’s uninterrupted attention. As new tools are introduced, they should be utilized to their full potential, and working days should be designed so that the employees would stay engaged and inspired for as long as possible.

Deep down, the thing any organization should be doing more around the change is thinking.

When leaders encourage employees to think about their work and how they could make it smoother, they empower and engage them at the same time.

Assuming ownership of their work and being able to participate improving it – even in an au-

tonomous manner – can open up all new opportunities to improve well-being and productivity.

Organizations who adopt to the new ways of working successfully do that only through rigorous analyses about how their work has already changed, what tools are already in use, and what that means in terms of mastering new skills. And – what can we leave for the machines to do.

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The elements of good leadership and change management apply also to workplace transition.

Hertta Vuorenmaa emphasizes that every leader should seize the opportunity and ask what employees would change in their work, now that all these new tools have become available. Given the chance to have an impact, many would find ways to make their day more efficient. That will eventually increase both engagement and productivity.

“During the second industrial

Leaders should communicate the framework for autonomy: set limits to what areas are open for ideas and what are not, and then invite everyone to participate defining, how work could be carried out better. The main task for the organization is to facilitate and support that change.

The elements of good leadership and change management apply also to workplace transition. To be able to lead others, the leader must first understand the change, and what it means.

Only after that can the leader get a picture of what the change means to others.

New tools and solutions must be introduced to employees in a way that motivates them to put them to use – and make the most of the opportunities they provide.

Instead of simply saying that we are using this system from now on, leaders must focus on both ensuring that employees are able to use it, and on explaining how the use will benefit everyone in the organization, starting from the user. Deep down, leading this change successfully is not about what people do – it is about how they do it.

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Extreme resilience brings home the Speaker Contest victory trophy Text: Timo Mansikka-Aho Photos: Aki Rask

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uring the spring of 2023, Business Forum Group arranged its annual Speaker Contest – a sequel of events that has gained both interest and popularity, as well as attracted phenomenal speakers to present their speeches to a jury that consists of internationally renowned business executives and event organizers.

This year was by no means an exception, as 24 contestants gathered to show their talent at four remotely organized semifinals. While the speech was required to deal with leadership, innovation, or sustainability, the level of presentations was high as expected. The jury had a difficult task of choosing five best speeches for the live final that was held live at Scandic Helsinki Hub on May 10th.

Tobias Sturesson, Pep Rosenfeld, Ritu G. Mehrish, and Thijs Launspach all made the final. So did Maryna Saprykina, who ended up becoming the winner.

The topic of Maryna’s speech, ´Sustainability in the Times of War´, presents ways Ukrainian companies have dealt with the unfortunate situation in their country – even in a way that helps maintain it the best possible way for the future generations.

“First and foremost, I wanted to convey the message of extreme resilience in my presentation”, Maryna explains the week following the

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final at her home. “The Ukrainian companies have raised the level of their performance in all aspects so much, they deserve to have their story told to international audience.”

Practically every night is disturbed by a new missile attack, but the Ukrainians are determined to go about their lives under all circumstances. That’s extreme resilience at its purest – not a situation where you want to find yourself, or anyone else, in, but if that is going to happen, you won’t succumb to it in any way.

A process that keeps improving the outcome

The topic of Maryna Saprykina’s speech, ´Sustainability in the Times of War´, presents ways Ukrainian companies have dealt with the unfortunate situation in their country – even in a way that helps maintain it the best possible way for the future generations.

Maryna points out that all in all, the Speaker Contest was a unique learning journey for her. A lot was learned on the way from the application video to the final.

“The idea behind the Speaker Contest is amazing, and being involved was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. While this kind of a contest is a great platform to discover new talent, I see it benefits the business environment in general as well.”

For Maryna herself, the contest served as a useful lesson to outline key experiences which brave Ukrainian companies can share with the world. Her initial idea was developed and refined together with MySpeaker’s André Noël

Chaker, and as the speech was presented to various audiences, Maryna could see which parts stuck with the recipients most efficiently. That helped polish the final version to the level where it could stand out and win the entire contest.

In addition to receiving the prize of 50,000 euros Maryna Saprykina gets to present her winning speech to thousands of business leaders at the 2023 Nordic Business Forum, Oslo Business Forum, and Amsterdam Business Forum. As a small spoiler, the speech is under the process of being updated to include even more practical lessons and insights from Ukrainian companies.

AI as a tool for better

SPEAKING

– and better business Speaking with impact is one of the most important future skills at work. With plenty of room for improvement and little time at hand, companies are turning to technology – much to the relief of corporate learners.

Text: Timo Mansikka-Aho / Photo: Aki Rask

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he finalists of the Speaker Contest arranged by Business Forum Group had a chance to fine-tune their presentations with André Noël Chaker, a renowned and award-winning speaker and business author, who is also a co-founder of MySpeaker, a leading Finnish speaker and communications agency.

One of the tools that was used with the finalists is MySpeaker Rhetorich, an AI-powered coaching platform that analyzes speaking skills and provides tailored advice for improving them. Chaker says that as the role of interpersonal skills in general is becoming more important at workplaces, people are paying more attention to their ability to speak with impact. Quite often, the gap between need and skills is surprisingly wide.

“Speaking skills provide clear benefits for individuals and organizations – they increase sales, improve employee retention, make leaders more effective and so on. Unfortunately, most education systems in the world do no support speaking skill development very

efficiently. Students don’t develop speaking skills at schools, so they often enter the workforce with inadequate verbal communication abilities.”

On top of that, people are generally afraid of speaking. Chaker points out that in addition to snakes and spiders, public speaking is one of the top three human fears. As irrational as those fears may be, they are real, and must be addressed.

“Psychological safety is particularly important in this process. Interestingly, AI makes things even easier from that perspective. When it comes to receiving feedback, robots are typically considered safer and more objective than humans.”

Mass-customizing education through the use of AI and robotics

Modern technology can bring added value to traditional coaching by combining precise analytics with personal instruction. Being able to improve skills according to everyone’s own situation and needs is essential for the best possible results.

Technology also helps prioritize things by

focusing on elements that need the most work.

A “low-hanging-fruit” approach makes the process more efficient and serves businesses that want to see results quickly.

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Technology can help little miracles happen.

André Noël Chaker points out that as efficient and useful as AI is in improving verbal communication skills, it is by no means replacing humans entirely. Even with MySpeaker Rhetorich, humans are strongly involved in providing tips and advice after the robot has carried out the initial evaluation. Collaboration with peers by everyone providing feedback to others is an extremely efficient way to lift the entire group’s speaking skills to another level.

It also makes the AI smarter.

“Technology can help little miracles happen, but humans are equally needed for positive change. By combining robotics and analytics with effective education and people, we can democratize public speaking for the future of work.”

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On the brink of change Change often takes some kind of a turning point to actually materialize – it is easy to make believe everything is alright until the reality hits with full force. After surviving the torment of growing up in a religious community that turned toxic, Tobias Sturesson is salvaging organizations that find themselves in need of changing their culture.

Text: Timo Mansikka-Aho Photos: Emma Larsson

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he most fundamental experiences in life are personal. They shape and refine us as persons and professionals, they develop the society around us and form the reality we know. Over the course of time, the values, principles and operating modes in the contexts we inhabit become so familiar and even self-evident they slowly withdraw to the background and we risk becoming desensitized and blind.

Life goes on, and we are happy – mostly because we are not aware of alternatives. And since neither concerns nor criticism are welcomed, the easiest thing to do is to settle for the way things are.

When change doesn’t seem to

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be an option, you only get what you settle for.

Tobias Sturesson, CEO at Heart Management, a Malmöbased company culture consultancy, knows, in more ways than one, everything about destructive and toxic cultures and how they can have an effect on people. He grew up in a Christian community that started deteriorating, turning into a toxic cult that affected the well-being of many of its members, including his own mother, down to a point or traumatizing them.

The manipulative leader had created a destructive culture that swallowed the members and made them an integral part of it. Few dared challenge, or

let alone try to change, the way things were. Yet, Tobias would be the first to say that while he now understands how that culture shaped his thinking, he still carries responsibility for becoming complicit in psychological abuse and enabling toxic leadership.

Witnessing his own family being torn apart was finally enough for Tobias. He left, and gradually made supporting leaders and organizations to overcome critical cultural challenges and build healthier cultures his mission in life.

The way culture is created and implemented largely defines the way an organization is run. That, again, sets the tone for people’s

experience, how the organization is able to perform, and its impact on the world.

Besides of all the available tools and advise, there is plenty of room for improvement.

“We are experiencing an epidemic of unhealthy culture in so many workplaces today”, Tobias Sturesson states.

“And like a heart disease, it is potentially life-threatening if not treated properly and in time. Not addressing inner problems early enough can drive even the most reputable and highly successful companies into crisis and scandal. The key to avoiding this is to discover the symptoms early enough – that makes the cure quicker and more effective”.

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Leaders must assume the habit of listening – and create a culture where everyone feels safe to express their ideas and opinions.

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The challenge of change

Culture is hard to change on one hand, on the other hand it is constantly changing as the organization develops and new people join. To be successful, organizations have to navigate these two realities at the same time and continuously reflect on what should never change as well as what elements should constantly be adapting and evolving to stay ahead.

What happens too many times instead, is that organizations, when facing pressure and uncertainty, hold on to outdated cultural assumptions and beliefs about how the work should get done.

At the same time, they let go of principles that should be non-negotiable and guide their decisions even in hard times.

Culture is shaped by our desire as a group to deal with uncertainty. Think about joining a new workplace or visiting a new social setting. You will unconsciously look for ways to fit in, and consider what will make you successful and lead to emotional wellbeing in that specific environment. You will learn the assumptions and values that group holds.

It’s easy to assume that our real culture equals the values our company has printed on posters, but often the culture and what we truly value differ significantly from those inspirational words.

This creates a lack of integrity that becomes obvious to everyone within the organization.

True values are the principles and behaviors we are unwilling to compromise even when it gets costly. Because values that aren’t allowed to cost us anything aren’t worth anything either.

That’s why to change our culture, senior leaders need to go beyond aspiring words and be willing to assess the priorities they make and what behaviors are rewarded or not accepted in that environment.

“Top management tends to be laser-focused on the company’s financial performance, shareholder relations and reputation management, and rightfully so”, Sturesson says.

“However, the cultural health of the organization is what makes it all work, and that is often forgotten, if not downright neglected”.

The sheer lack of attention causes disengagement, distrust, dysfunction, and division – leading to disengagement and resignations while seriously affecting the company’s financial performance, stakeholder relations, and reputation – all those things that had the management’s 26

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Tobias Sturesson says that while top management tends to focus on areas such as financial performance, stakeholder relations and reputation management, it is the cultural health that really makes the organization work.

uncontested attention in the first place.

Change begins with facing the facts

With so many companies suffering from cultural challenge, it is downright astonishing that so little is done to deal with the situation. Tobias Sturesson believes that while some leaders are not aware of the problem – in quite many cases, simply because the culture itself prevents criticism – many of those who get the message simply deny it.

“Leaders tend to make themselves believe that no matter what is happening in real life, the organization is healthy and the values good. Assuming that the organization is healthy makes them stay oblivious to the need to check what the situation is for real”.

“What’s perhaps even more alarming, leaders tend to use the company values, which as such have often been created based on megatrends rather than true beliefs of what the company should represent, as shields against any criticism that may arise. And should any kind of criticism find its way to the surface, a scapegoat to take the blame is often rather easy to find. Leaders blame managers, managers blame the loudmouths in the team – anything to sweep the real problem under the carpet and continue as if things were just splendid”.

A healthy culture which enables the organization to deliver on its mission, create a workplace where employees thrive and face uncertainty with resilience is a fundamental thing in making an organization the best it can be. It all begins with becoming aware of the fact that there is a problem with our culture.

“While company culture is

always co-created, leaders should have the courage and determination to take ownership of the matter”, Sturesson advises.

“A new set of values or a visit by a motivational speaker do not do any good when the problem lies a lot deeper”.

A challenging process that leads to remarkable transformation

Tobias Sturesson believes that part of the reason for leaders avoiding getting down to business when it comes to overcoming cultural challenges is that the task seems insurmountable to begin with. While he does not want to underestimate the seriousness and need of attention, the good news is that getting back to winning ways is often a matter of paying attention to small issues.

It’s about making small changes to what we repeatedly do instead of putting all hope on occasional efforts.

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First of all, leaders must get humble and be willing to admit that they have blind spots,

“Instead of short-term fixes, it’s the habits that are the keys to health and resilience”, Sturesson explains.

“The same goes for both people and organizations. When properly adopted and implemented, new leadership habits can revitalize cultural health in organizations”.

The flip side of the coin is, they will also challenge many leaders’ capabilities and take them far away from their respective comfort zones. For an organization to successfully transform its cultural

health, leaders must find ways to take ownership of their influence on culture.

“First of all, leaders must get humble and be willing to admit that they have blind spots”, Sturesson advises. “Deep down, humility means things such as admitting mistakes, apologizing for them, promising that problems will be fixed – and finding ways to keep those promises. How we address those issues will ultimately define our ability to restore trust”.

New values must also be made very clear to everyone. It is also at the leaders’ responsibility to act as an example of how the values should be followed in daily life, intentionally recognize desired behaviors and not accept bad behavior. Especially not from toxic rockstars. Any mismatch between values and signals makes values soon worthless.

Last, but definitely not least, leaders must assume the habit of listening – and create a culture where everyone feels safe to express their ideas and opinions.

Globally leading companies in their respective lines of business have collapsed due to the management being afraid to report problems with issues such as procurement chain, market development, brand, or competitive situation – leaders must not use their power to silence others but encourage bringing up concerns so that the company can react in time.

“Unless leaders at all levels are willing to assess and adjust the signals they send through their leadership, decisions, and priorities, change won’t happen”, Tobias Sturesson concludes.

“Only by ensuring that employees are engaged and motivated can leaders expect the company bring in results from the market”.

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“

I saw the contest ad just four days before the application closed so it was a last-minute decision to join.

Speaking from the heart

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obias Sturesson’s calling to spread the message about the importance of a healthy organizational culture prompted him to participate Nordic Business Forum’s Speaker Contest, where he was one of the five finalists.

While squeezing everything he wanted to convey about such fundamental topic into 12 minutes turned out to be quite a challenge, the speech was

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widely praised.

The topic of Tobias’s speech was ‘How to overcome your greatest cultural challenge’ in which he dug deep into the core of what causes those challenges in organizations. Starting from his personal experiences of how unhealthy culture can have an effect on people, he expanded that into organizational level and what cultural change can mean in terms of

employee well-being and the entire organization’s ability to perform.

“I saw the contest ad just four days before the application closed so it was a last-minute decision to join. I presented the idea of joining to the team and we decided it would be a good forum to exercise my style of presenting this essential topic.

Even getting to the semifinal was a positive surprise to me”.

The process itself has been very helpful and rewarding for Tobias. He speaks a lot to leaders but with the contest making him compress the contents and learn to present it by heart will definitely help him convey his important message in an even more powerful way.

“Getting the feedback from the jury and coach André Noël Chaker has been super helpful and extremely valuable”.

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STORY

Unblocking the

LEADER’S potential

Every leader, at least at one point during his or her career, hits a wall that seems to downright stop the ability to lead. While the first steps to recovery are recognition and acknowledgement, perhaps the most important one is to accept that it can – and will – happen to anyone. What’s perhaps even more painful for many, you must also come up with the courage to talk about it.

Text and photos: Timo Mansikka-Aho

R

itu G. Mehrish, an executive coach and speaker with twenty years of corporate experience, is on a mission to humanize leadership.

She claims that while leadership includes plenty of processes such as systems thinking, appreciative inquiry and emotional intelligence, it is also a mindset which requires thinking and acting in the moment. Leadership is a state of being and doing, which come together to create results.

While the former suggests leadership is a science, the latter 30

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takes it closer to art – after all, every leader is unique just like every artist is.

Being an artist is creative work at its best. And, like great artists, also great leaders stumble every now and then, especially in situations where they try to discover something transformative. Even when it comes to the most talented artists and leaders, the work seldom progresses in a linear way, without any bumps or interruptions. Quite on the contrary, everyone has to, at least a few times, go through a phase where

all they can see in front of them is an empty canvas.

For painters, the empty canvas is very tangible. For writers, it is the blinking cursor at the beginning of a blank document, waiting to get going as the letters begin to appear – except that they do not.

For leaders, it is a feeling of emptiness Ritu Mehrish has named the leader’s block.

Leader’s block is a phase where the leaders can’t make good decisions – they feel demotivated and unengaged. It is a creative slowdown which makes the leaders

unable to perform at their best.

Their focus, even their self-esteem, has mysteriously vanished and they feel like a deer in headlights – sensing that something must be done, but getting stuck in the middle of the road trying desperately to make up their minds about which way to choose. This leaves the leaders frustrated, the team’s effort inefficient – and the organization well short of its targets. Add the astonishment among the family and it goes without saying that leader’s block is worth a closer look.

to what they thought, they were admitted – the smoother the re- acknowledgement is the first not in this alone. covery process will be. While the step to recovery. Only after that “There is a sense of stigma and symptoms may be different with you can take action to overcome taboo attached to leader’s block different types of people, certain the block.” and yet every leader I speak with patterns can be recognized. individually has experienced it”, “The most common early warn- The right cure for Mehrish explains. “My goal is to ing signs include finding yourself the right cause help remove that reluctance and disengaged, becoming cynical Getting rid of leader’s block is normalize it for leaders to openly and negative, not believing that easier for some than for others. talk about it.” things are going to improve, and While there are various ways to Mehrish suspects that the un- feeling directionless about where treat it, they all have to do with willingness to admit suffering the career is heading”, Mehrish taking time to reflect and with from leader’s block has largely says. “If those signs stay for a widening the perspective by into do with the general expecta- couple of weeks, they refer to a cluding others. For some leaders, tions of leaders being in control leader’s block instead of a typical this may result in quitting their of everything. Admitting a block Monday morning blues.” jobs. For some, a small adjust– or let alone asking for help – is Getting irritable and quick-tem- ment in daily behavior may be considered a sign of weakness, pered is something that often hap- enough to get things going. which can lead to others not be- pens for leaders, and it shows in “Overcoming leader’s block lieving the leader is capable of their private lives as well. At work, starts with identifying main dealing with the position in the leaders tend to work harder but triggers that caused it in the first first place. place – the source is Deep down, just where the solution these expectations – lies”, Ritu Mehrish that more often than advises. “For exnot are completely ample, if the leader Overcoming leader’s block self-inflicted – can has gone through a starts with identifying main be the main trigsudden transition at triggers that caused it in the gers behind leader’s work, don’t have the first place. block. Admitting right skillset and has the difficulties and not been able to preasking for other pare properly, the opinions can often right way to go forunlock the complicated situation. quite often, their work turns into ward is to ask help from peers that Every leader should also ad- micromanaging, so it does not have been in similar situations.” mit that the leader’s block can’t contribute to the outcome either.

Mehrish adds that asking for be completely avoided.

Typically, leaders also start help is often just the hardest part.

“Some leaders get bored with feeling unable to get a grip on Far too many leaders keep plowtheir role quite quickly, some decision-making or the work ing their way forward, trying to take falling even slightly short of in general. Whatever the early convince themselves that they can a target as a personal failure. Some warning signs are, they do not eventually tough it out. While this have other personal reasons, and rise to the surface under normal may be technically possible, it ofsome have difficulties with adopt- circumstances. ten comes with a significant cost. ing new roles or seeing eye to eye Once the early warning signs “Leaders do not want to be with their superiors. There are have been recognized they have to looked at as a failure, and some various reasons behind ending be acknowledged. That presents still think that admitting a need up in a leader’s block, and every another challenge with many for help is a sign of weakness.” leader must deal with it at least leaders.

Whether it happens with outonce during their career”.

“In general, leaders do not side help or simply by taking time want to accept the fact that there off to open up the perspective, The early warning signs is a problem, and they have to learning to understand the big Just like with flu, the earlier the start doing something about it”, picture is one of the most essential symptoms are recognized – and Mehrish points out. “However, keys to recovery. Leaders should

“

A well-kept secret among many leaders

One of the key drivers for Ritu Mehrish to start digging deeper into the reasons behind leader’s block was that there seemed to be a certain kind of secrecy behind the entire concept.

Mehrish interviewed more than 200 leaders to get insight on how they experienced the block, and especially how they overcame it. To her surprise, many found these interviews downright therapeutic. It was such a relief to discover that on the contrary

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get a clearer look at the situation – and at issues such as why they are doing this in the first place.

For the most impatient and hands-on leaders waiting for time to simply go by, listening to other people’s opinions and changing operation models on the run are difficult tasks to accept, let alone implement. However, they are ways to widen the scope on the situation at hand and thus efficient escape routes from the block that many leaders are suffering.

“

While leader’s block can’t be entirely avoided, the intensity of it can be reduced by recognizing and acknowledging the warning signs early.

So is putting together a group of trusted people for discussion, exchanging opinions, sparring ideas, and seeing the forest for the trees in general. It is lonely enough at the top when it comes to the organization structure, so having an informal channel to provide outside opinions and just to let off some steam when the going gets tough may very well become worth its weight in gold.

Dealing with the recurrence

While leader’s block can’t be entirely avoided, the intensity of it can be reduced by recognizing and acknowledging the warning signs early, and by taking up adequate measures to overcome it quickly based on the main triggers. And, like washing hands regularly protects efficiently against flu, taking sufficient measures against leader’s block can prevent it from appearing again.

The same way overcoming 32

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Ritu Mehrish points out that it is also important to realize that leader’s block is not entirely a negative thing. Once the leaders recover, they realize all the new opportunities the block may have opened up to them.

“

Even the leader needs to reload batteries to be able to operate at full efficiency.

leader’s block is about big picture, purpose and such things, prevention is about maintaining that positive, broad mindset to whatever changes may take place within the organization.

That is where weekends and

holiday seasons come in; even the leader needs to reload batteries to be able to operate at full efficiency. Reflection, discussions, group of advisers and other things that helped the leader recover from the block work well also when there is no acute block – just like the analogy with flu and washing hands goes.

Looking out for those early warning signs and recognizing them in time is crucial. The sooner that happens, the better

the road to recovery will be.

Ritu Mehrish points out that it is also important to realize that leader’s block is not entirely a negative thing. Once the leaders recover, they realize all the new opportunities the block may have opened up to them. As a result, many come back stronger from a leader’s block than they were at the beginning of it.

“Learning a new way to look at things may turn out a real blessing in disguise.”

“

We are all humans, and we should treat ourselves as such. I want people to understand that there is nothing wrong with leader’s block.

Bringing leader’s block out in the open

R

itu G. Mehrish was one of the finalists at 2023 Speaker Contest arranged by Business Forum Group. Her speech, “Leader’s block – the opposite of potential” addressed a topic that is critical to every leader but not spoken about openly.

“I really want to move the discussion about leader’s block out in the open. Leaders do not want to address it themselves andPaananen I believe it isout largely due to Ilkka points that a strong culture judged their fearcompany of becoming starts with the people that work for the company.

Text and photos: Timo Mansikkaaho

about having that kind of issues. to mention family and friends.

That, again, comes from the The people around them do not assumption that every leader always help, either – we expect tends to have – that they are our leaders to be superheroes the only ones sufand they themfering from these selves expect that symptoms.” the most.

Quite often, “We are all huI don’t want leaders also forget mans, and we people to address it as a problem. that as they do not should treat ouroperate in isolaselves as such. I tion after all, their want people to unblock has an effect on everyone derstand that there is nothing around them – the team, peers, wrong with leader’s block, it is and the entire organization, not as natural as having typical dif-

“

ficulties to get engines going on a Monday morning. Thus, I don’t want people to address it as a problem.”

Ritu Mehrish sees the Speaker Contest as a perfect platform for spreading the message throughout the Nordics. Her ultimate vision is to make leader’s block a common term that is talked about universally.

“As humans, we don’t fully acknowledge a phenomenon until we have given it a specific name.”

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Engagement through complete freedom and responsibility Nimlas Group may be one of the newest big players in building technology – technical installations and services – but its revolutionary leadership and business model is quickly sweeping through the Nordics.

Text: Timo Mansikka-Aho Photos: Niko Jekkonen

T

he electric socket for charging the phone is a bit difficult to reach in a Scandic Grand Central’s meeting room. Luckily Mikael Matts, the Swedish CEO of Nimlas Group, knows how to make the most of the situation at a hotel which was renovated into historic, over 100-year-old Art Nouveau building that was formerly known as the head office of Finland’s national railway company.

“We have done all the heating, plumbing and air-conditioning work here, but not electrical in-

stallation”, he says with a grin.

In fact, Nimlas Group would certainly have had both the resources and capabilities to handle it. Formed in 2021 by combining the Swedish-based Sandbäckens and Finnish QMG, and further expanding to Norway by acquiring the electrical installation group Konstel in February 2023, Nimlas has taken the Nordic technical installations and building services market by storm. Growing determinedly – both through numerous acquisitions and organically – the

company is one of the leaders in its field. To make things more interesting, this has happened during a time when the economy in general has experienced most uncertain times.

In addition, the growth has taken place without any unnecessary debt.

“We look for companies that have a long track record of their ability to perform “, Mikael Matts emphasizes. “Every company we buy is expected to hit the ground running and generate cash flow right away, and the profits are

used to buy the next company.”

This growth machinery is picking up speed and today Nimlas is present in well over 100 locations throughout Sweden, Finland, and Norway.

With 3,500 employees, a total turnover of over SEK 6 billion and an adjusted EBITA of SEK 422 million, you would expect to run into a Nimlas van or uniform every now and then.

Except that you don’t, and that is a part of the true beauty behind how Nimlas makes it all happen.

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The freedom of choice

The local subsidiaries – organized under Sandbäckens in Sweden, QMG in Finland and Konstel in Norway – are all independently run by local managing directors who have the group’s resources and growth support at their disposal. This enables full utilization of local know-how and business sense, coupled with the strength and insights of a leading regional player.

When it comes to technical installation and building services, local service providers are highly valued and both individual and commercial customers typically prefer buying from them.

This is why Nimlas, in addition to seeking and acquiring only companies that are profitable and well-run, expect the locally known owner to stay on board, take the next step forward and further develop his or her company.

Upon acquisition, the seller becomes a shareholder in Nimlas. Today, there are more than 500 shareholders – which Mikael Matts says is an essential element in engaging all the local companies to the same strategy.

“We all want to increase the value of the group. That is the base of the business goals we have defined together.”

Maintaining a common culture in independently run subsidiaries – and brands that have their own identities – is another issue that many might see as a challenge.

“Local managing directors are true entrepreneurs who have genuine ambition to make the company thrive through uncontested customer loyalty”, Mikael Matts points out. “The genuine motivation to bring in good results is the core force that makes the business run. Our task 36

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Mikael Matts believes that even in large consortiums, top management should never lose touch on what is going on at the shop floor, where real customer encounters happen and loyalty is established.

is to support that force to go to the right direction by providing adequate tools for it.”

When the right tools and means are in place, this support can be provided to every subsid-

iary in the same way, which creates significant synergy effects.

The real skill is to do it in a way that improves motivation instead of destroying it – a common pitfall for many who make the

decision to grow fast through acquisitions and try to force every company into the same mould.

“It all comes down to what the local management finds most beneficial”, Mikael Matts

“

When the local management takes responsibility for local business decisions, it creates immense drive inside the companies.

underlines. “If they believe staying with the local brand is the most beneficial choice, then they stay with the local brand. If they see that their business would benefit from being a visible part of the country organization – in Finland’s case QMG – then they can add that to their visual identity.”

Matts adds that as it is up to the local management to make their business beneficial, they should also be able to decide the means to reach those targets. Quite often, this means sticking with the brand that has established itself into the local community extremely well – sometimes even during several generations.

It makes very seldom sense to change a name that has been around for 75 years and from whom the local people and companies have gotten accustomed to buying these services.

Support behind the growth

Many leaders and many organizations, especially those representing a traditional line of business, are afraid of losing control if they give in to local requirements. Mikael Matts believes that when the local management takes responsibility for local business decisions, it creates immense drive inside the companies. Obviously, this kind of culture does not apply to every business. Then again, one

of the key strengths of Nimlas Group has always been its skill to be consistent in choosing the acquisition targets.

On the surface, daily operations go on very much the same.

The possibility to invest in Nimlas, added with the wide variety of support functions the group provides, are tangible benefits that provide significant boost for successful growth.

“

The possibility to invest in Nimlas, added with the wide variety of support functions the group provides, are tangible benefits that provide significant boost for successful growth.

“To take a company forward, you need proper IT systems, HR, health and safety policies, insurances, and so on”, Mikael Matts lists. “We have all that, and we help them with taxes, procurement, and many other things which are not exactly the core competence of local management.”

What has come as a surprise to many is that despite all the bonuses, options and support functions, the most appreciated added value has been the chance to regularly exchange opinions with other manag-

ing directors. Discussions and sparring meetings have proven to be an efficient way to discover new sources of success. It’s like a by-invitation-only club for hardboiled hands-on entrepreneurs.

The main drivers for growth

Nimlas Group’s main owner being private equity firm KLAR Partners, an exit is to be expected in the future. Whether that will happen in the form of selling Nimlas to another investor or through an IPO, certain preparations are necessary to make. To be ready for IPO, a company must have specified policies in place, the governing body as well as the necessary quality and financial reporting systems ready – just in case.

These are examples of actions that must be put in order, but the process must be carried out without putting too much pressure to the local companies, for which all this is extremely new.

“This dialogue is undeniably challenging”, Mikael Matts admits. “However, when we explain the entire journey and that if we want to increase the value of Nimlas we must have these things and processes in place to get the multiplier effect going, then the local management stays motivated and engaged.”

After all, they have invested in the group themselves.

Nimlas Group has grown at a rapid pace through acquiring companies in Sweden, Finland, and Norway alike. As the group is preparing itself for an IPO, further growth is in the agenda.

However, new countries are not being targeted for now. Instead, and despite all the acquisitions that have been concluded, there are still “white spots” on the map when it comes to the Nordics.

In the near future, Mikael Matts says that the efforts for growth will focus on filling up those spots.

“

Nimlas Group has grown at a rapid pace through acquiring companies in Sweden, Finland, and Norway alike.

“In Finland, we want to spread our presence to new cities but also widen our offering to cover all building maintenance technology services. For example, we may have a ventilation and a plumbing company in one city, so we’d like to add an electric installation company to that. In Sweden we do not have electric installation companies at all and in Norway we have nothing but.

There is still plenty of room for growth in the Nordic market.”

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European countries, and he knows from experience that the Nordic way to lead is more inclusive – less hierarchies and borders and standing a lot closer to the employees. Low levels of hierarchy provide the management with more accurate knowledge of what is happening at the shop floor – in other words, in real customer encounters and relationships.

“

Being interested in what is happening out there is the key to all decision-making.

It helps gather understanding and establish trust.

The other main driver for growth is the green transition which is putting increasing pressure to real estate owners to renovate old buildings to meet the tightening environmental requirements. On top of replacing the windows, these requirements are mainly about installations – this creates significant business potential and interest towards companies who are specializing in this kind of renovation work.

“

We are actively looking for ways to develop the biggest possible impact from the responsibility’s point of view.

“Right now, green transition largely guides investments in the property business. Therefore, we are actively looking for ways to 38

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develop the biggest possible impact from the responsibility’s point of view”, Mikael Matts explains. “We support our customers by installing new technology such as solar panels and heat pumps, and by delivering energy efficiency services. We focus on the right actions and instalments to make the biggest difference, and we improve our operations to maintain targeted profitability as well.”

Word-of-mouth, trust, and the Nordic way to lead

It was a bold move from KLAR Partners in 2021 to launch the initiative for aggressive growth – after all, it was still pandemic time and an economic downturn was looming. Nevertheless, KLAR assigned Mikael Matts to grow the company at a fast pace and make it ready for an IPO. Matts has been in the con-

struction and property business his entire career. He has learned first-hand how strong the benefits are when smaller companies get together, and everyone is engaged to work for the common goal. There are great synergies in procurement, support functions and HR, among others, when the entity becomes bigger, but the most important effect is the boost in entrepreneurial motivation. It keeps surprising even the seasoned professional.

Selling the idea of joining forces is not always that straightforward, but the best salespeople are those leaders that already are on board. They know what the bigger entity can provide when everyone commits to the playbook and rolls up their sleeves.

This has been one of the keys to such fast growth.

Nordic leadership is a power of its own. Mikael Matts has worked several years in other

In the Nimlas model every local CEO has full freedom to decide the best practices. One can say that the group and country organizations assume a social control task – they visit the companies, talk to the managers, and get a comprehensive picture of the customers and the market.

It sounds simple but makes a big difference.

“Being interested in what is happening out there is the key to all decision-making. It helps gather understanding and establish trust. And that is what it all comes down to,” Mikael Matts states.

The interview has ended, and it is time for the photoshoot. As we head back to the meeting room to get our belongings, the keycard does not work. A look at Mikael Matts says it all. No, they were not involved in those, either.

Just the heating, plumbing, and air-conditioning in this building.

They still have a couple of more white spots to fill. And they are already working on it.

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“We have seen clients be moved to tears upon reading our suggestions for their brand strategies. In those moments, you genuinely sense being on the verge of something truly transformative”, says Tatu Ahonen.

LEADING THE CHANGE FROM THE FRONT – the brand’s new role as a strategic tool

I

n a world where virtually all management is change management, the ways businesses think and plan must evolve too.

Branding is gaining recognition and securing a prominent position in the C-suite as one of the most vital tools for adapting to change, ensuring business success, and gaining a distinct competitive advantage.

The egg may have paved the way, but the chicken is sprinting ahead.

“The power relationship between brand and business is going through a revolutionary transformation”, says Tatu Ahonen, Chief Creative Officer and Partner at Ahooy Creative.

“Companies are gradually understanding that today, brand is the key to successful business instead of vice versa.”

Ahonen points to companies such as Tesla, Apple and Meta who have shown the world that it all indeed starts with “why”.

Brand building rarely works when it is used to sugarcoat what business does. Good brand building is about going deep –

discovering the purpose of your business, understanding why it’s meaningful to people. It’s about creating pride and proving that you make a real difference.

“For strong brands, products, in a way, are consequences of what the business believes in.

That’s why it’s so natural to buy phones and earbuds from one technology brand, but not from those who have a weaker identity and approach to their business.”

From vague assertions to meaningful relevance and tangible outcomes

The days of empty statements such as, “You can trust us”, “We do what we promise” and, heaven forbid, “A good product sells itself ” are fading from existence, or they should be. Today’s best brands view their identity as a practical management tool and a true fountain of youth for their business. When authentic and meaningful, a brand can bring people together and inspire an irresistible invitation to collaborate.

What’s even better is that in

times of change, a brand can actually transform the way change is approached.

“The frontrunners realize that good leadership is reliant on purposeful marketing”, Ahonen explains. “Instead of having to come up with reasons and rationales for change and trying to urge people to react, companies can focus on their purpose, which in turn gives employees and consumers good reasons to want change to happen and to be part of it.”

With a strong, relevant brand at their back, people are more easily motivated. When our work has meaning, we can recognize new opportunities and the positive impact they can bring. It makes sense that a well-led brand is one of the best contributors to a positive employer image.

Strong emotions that make sense

A good brand strategy lives in perfect symbiosis with the business strategy. While the latter still represents the brain, a purposeful brand gives brand strategy more opportunities to be the heart –

that is, to create powerful emotions and touch people on a more meaningful level. In the end, it makes the brand strategy more interesting and relevant.

A brand strategy should also serve as the distinct and unique foundation of the entire company culture. In its finest form, it has the potential to unearth valuable, long-hidden elements embedded in the company’s genetic ancestry and within the collective consciousness of its employees.

Tatu Ahonen points out that while a brand strategy may not unveil entirely new aspects of a company’s existence, it possesses the power to make a lasting impact by articulating long-known elements that have lingered within the organization. The process of clarifying and distilling these elements often stirs up a range of emotions, particularly among top management.

“We have seen clients be moved to tears upon reading our suggestions for their brand strategies. In those moments, you genuinely sense being on the verge of something truly transformative.”

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Taking better care of patients – and business Cutting bureaucracy and empowering nurses to take responsibility of their own work have been Jos de Blok’s key changes in giving the entire healthcare sector new hope.

Text: Timo Mansikka-Aho Photos: Susan Rekers

T

he ongoing recession is in danger of becoming the straw that just might break the camel’s back. The camel, a.k.a. public healthcare, has been suffering for a long time from both economical and demographical slumps that have been, to say the least, heading into extremely unfavorable direction. Pressured by the global downturn, the public sector is unable to pay sufficient salaries to healthcare professionals.

While its strict structures and politically infused decision-making processes make development difficult to begin with, the current age distribution results in constantly smaller working-age population paying the expand-

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ing living cost of constantly bigger crowd of senior citizens.

Healthcare, we do have a problem.

The calls for reform have been heard for a long time on the hallways of hospitals and nursing homes, but big wheels turn slowly. Any change takes an enormous amount of time to wind its way through a country’s legislation system, ending up a simple reshuffle of existing building blocks. While the disease may have been cured, the patient is closer to death than in the beginning.

The reform can’t be about polishing the surface to make everything look nice. The rot in public healthcare has made its

way deep into the structures, so the work must start at the very foundation.

A Dutch nurse showing the way

While the situation is astonishingly similar in many countries, the ways to approach the challenge vary a great deal. In Netherlands, Jos de Blok, a nurse and an economist by education, decided to make a difference by changing the operations model entirely.

Frustrated by seeing his colleagues burning out due to inefficient processes and poor management de Blok made calculations and soon came to the conclusion that as such, health-

care in the Netherlands was on a dead-end street. The combination of more elderly and less taxpayers meant that the capacity, at the current rate, was going to run out soon.

He started planning ways to both attract more people to work in healthcare and to develop processes so that the patients could get better care with less required capacity.

“I came to the conclusion that it all begins with the nurses being happy with what they do for living”, Jos de Blok recalls. “That leads to better quality of work and decreased need of capacity thanks to the fact that work gets done more efficiently.”

The key to more efficient work

was to tackle the bureaucracy that slowed down processes in an unbelievable way. The entire setup had to be turned upside down – as a result, an entirely new kind of a healthcare company was born.

Buurtzorg – putting the nurses in control

Buurtzorg is a pioneering healthcare organization established in 2006 with a nurse-led model of holistic care. In a surprisingly short time, the company has revolutionized community care in the Netherlands. Humanity over bureaucracy – while the slogan says it all, it only scratches the surface of how differently work has been organized, and how big the difference can be when it comes to both employee satisfaction and patient experience.

“

The Buurtzorg model is based on local teams that are managing themselves, with full professional freedom and responsibility.

The Buurtzorg model is based on local teams that are managing themselves, with full professional freedom and responsibility.

This decision-making authority alone takes the level of bureaucracy down significantly, also contributing to the quality and efficiency of daily work.

Full control does not mean the teams operate in isolation.

On the contrary, one of the keys to improved performance is the ability to create networks at both informal and formal level. Every team establishes connections and integrates into the neighborhood to improve the relationship

Jos de Blok believes that when people are happy with what they do for living, even deep-rooted bureaucracy and the most rigid organizational structures can be successfully changed.

and communication with doctors, therapists, and other public healthcare professionals. At the same time, they reach out to public officials and such instances, ensuring that the comprehensive range of special healthcare services are at the patients’ disposal when needed.

At the core of everything is the patient.

“One of the distinguishing features of the Buurtzorg model is the assumption that patients want to maintain control of their own life for as long as possible”, Jos de Blok explains. “When that assumption is made the focus point, the need for capacity decreases significantly while the overall experience becomes better.”

It is no wonder the Buurtzorg model is praised by the workers and patients alike. However, to

make the model work, a certain kind of an approach is required form the nurses.

“

Employees want to be able to assume responsibility of their own work, and when they are given that, they respond by taking their performance and quality of work to yet another level.

“Engagement and entrepreneurial spirit are necessary, and the model itself supports that ideology”, de Blok points out. “Buurtzorg is built to be a healthy process that minimizes bureaucracy, and that alone provides nurses with additional

motivation. When everyone can truly have an influence on the performance of the team, they are willing to put their best effort to it.”

De Blok adds that Buurtzorg’s overall operating principles and one-of-a-kind culture quickly became important incentives. The company is built to be a living proof of the fact that the days of hierarchal approach are over when it comes to efficient ways of working. Employees want to be able to assume responsibility of their own work, and when they are given that, they respond by taking their performance and quality of work to yet another level.

A well-functioning health care is highly dependent on sufficient IT system – and that is yet another way of Buurtzorg to stand out from the others in a meaningful, NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT 2023

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efficient manner. The IT system that is designed to Buurtzorg’s particular needs – which, again, are based on working efficiency and top-quality care for the patients – focuses on following the process and doing only what is really needed. Avoiding all unnecessary tasks is essential for all other support functions as well, including management and human resources.

An all-new way to think about work

Going all-in and giving full responsibility to the teams was a well-received change to healthcare work, and Buurtzorg gained immediate attention. The company got plenty of publicity in media just because it was so different from what nurses and patients were accustomed to experiencing in this particular field.

This provided a good head start to Buurtzorg’s fast, albeit organic, growth.

“

Being able to make their own plan and assume full responsibility for putting it together made the nurses’ brains work on an entirely different level than before.

Jos de Blok advises leaders to replace hierarchical control with determination to provide teams with the tools they need to mon­itor and evaluate their own per­formance.

“I received a vast number of emails and noticed that the nurses were thoroughly attracted by the new way to set up work”, Jos de Blok recalls. “I responded to all potential employees and ran them through the Buurtzorg principles as well as their individual ideas of a dream job.”

After discussing the ideal ways of working, the most important things at work and capabilities of 42

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running their own teams, many of the nurses that had contacted Jos de Blok out of interest towards Buurtzorg concluded that every piece seemed to indeed fit perfectly. As small groups got in touch, ready to roll up their sleeves and form a team, de Blok advised them to create a simple business plan to outline their

targets and ways to reach them.

“Being able to make their own plan and assume full responsibility for putting it together made the nurses’ brains work on an entirely different level than before”, de Blok mentions. “For almost the first time in their professional lives, they could think for themselves and form

their own reality.”

That ability to assume responsibility for own work is still one of the most fundamental differences between Buurtzorg and typical work as a nurse at the public health sector. The daily work as such is based largely on the same logic, which obviously means that the big picture is

“

In change, leaders should go for simplicity as much as they can, up to the point of being naive. They should focus on what employees and customers appreciate as humans. Sometimes, this means that no change is required at all.

clear at the beginning and the nurses are ready to go when joining Buurtzorg – as soon as the plan and the setup have been completed.

Social control overcoming organization charts

Jos de Blok emphasizes that instead of having fears about losing all control, leaders should consider the opportunities of the Buurtzorg model – and think about the ways of becoming an integral part of transformative change themselves. This goes for healthcare organizations and all other lines of business alike. Stepping out of the current system – especially if it is congested with unnecessary bureaucracy – is understandably difficult, but the positive results will soon become visible. Quite often, the view from the inside is the toughest one to realize all the impact a change can create, at least on the short run.

Jos de Blok advises leaders to replace control that is based on organizational hierarchy with one that is purely social. Social control is about providing teams with the tools they need to monitor and evaluate their own performance. When the teams have

for example an IT system at their disposal to present them with results and reasoning behind the numbers, the leaders can sit back and settle for an overview on everything.

“

The key to success is to believe that everyone can make a difference.

The teams must be trusted to make sure their performance meets the overall criteria – the management can’t address everything or ask about every detail that they may come across as exceptional. All KPIs should be for the team to determine and follow. The management must trust the teams to take responsibility for being the best they can be – both when it comes to taking care of patients and to financial performance.

“If an organization has developed hierarchal patterns for a long time, those are obviously difficult to change”, de Blok admits. “However, even though everyone’s engagement

is required, successful change always begins from the top. Those leaders who recognize their own skills and understand the big picture should step up and make themselves as examples.”

Even when driven by outside influence, change always provides opportunities

Change never happens automatically or without a certain amount of pain, no matter how prepared and engaged the organization is.

However, leaders can’t succumb in front of the challenge, they must remain brave and take the bull by the horns soon as the need to change becomes imminent. In the same way, they must cease any upcoming opportunity to make the most of it.

To be able to recognize both the needs and the opportunities to change, de Blok advises leaders to make employees believe in themselves, and trust that any decision they present has been thoroughly evaluated and considered. A working environment where everyone trusts each other is a lot more agile when adapting to change becomes an issue. The environment of freedom is based on trust, so the ways to establish

that must be defined first.

The key to success is to believe that everyone can make a difference. If the leader can’t do it, no one else in the organization certainly can. Self-esteem is essential.

“

Change never happens automatically or without a certain amount of pain, no matter how prepared and engaged the organization is.

However, leaders can’t succumb in front of the challenge.

And indeed, while change is important, so is continuity.

This means that an organization should never change for the change’s sake if things are going well.

“In change, leaders should go for simplicity as much as they can, up to the point of being naive”, Jos de Blok concludes.

“They should focus on what employees and customers appreciate as humans. Sometimes, this means that no change is required at all.”

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Smart change does not wait for the crisis Change on a personal level is a task that has more dimensions and variables one might initially expect – but it holds the key to successful organizational change as well.

Text: Timo Mansikka-Aho Photos: Sami Tirkkonen

A

n organization consists of the people who have, for their own reasons, decided to jump aboard. The people are the building blocks that form the body and soul of their organization, they make the organization breath and act. It is the people’s input that point the organization to move to a certain direction.

Even when pressured by outside influences, whether that direction changes, is down to the people. And while deciding to make any change in an organization might be a rather straightforward matter in the board meeting agenda, the implementation of it is often something completely different.

An organization is a collection of cells, so to speak. Those cells, obviously meaning the people, are bound together by elements such as the organization’s purpose and values. These connections have been further strengthened by lucrative salaries and other incentives, as well as engagement strategies and team development days. In spite of all those bonding elements, every cell has a mind of its own. Especially in times of sudden change or crisis, these cells tend to head to quite different, often randomly chosen directions. This makes the organization as a whole move like an ameba, and the leaders soon find controlling the change extremely difficult to achieve.

“To understand how organizations change one must first learn to understand how people change,” Ari Tulla, CEO at Elo Health says.

“And, when it comes to personal change, the first thing to realize is that no one wants it.”

Supporting change on a personal level

Elo Health has dug deep into the human mindset to find the right buttons to push in order to provide a desperately needed nudge to the path towards healthier life span. Ari Tulla points out that the fundamental reason for the resistance towards change is the natural process of people growing up, during which we gradually stop learning new things naturally through play, instead finding ourselves stuck with our own habits.

As we get older, learning suddenly becomes difficult. Whether it is a new language or a new computer software, we struggle to get even through the first chapter while watching the children familiarize themselves with new things at an instant.

“The pressure we feel about learning something new creates a major obstacle”, Tulla explains. “The situation is precisely the same when we try to change our current habits.”

For children, summers are longer and filled with wonderful memories and unforgettable events. The older we get, the shorter and emptier the years become. Our perception of time vanishes – and that is just because we stick with all those familiar, safe habits we have become NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT 2023

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“

Change must be covered in a form where it conveys the message of unreserved support and the ability to make life easier.

so accustomed to. We like them because they don’t challenge us, but they don’t create vivid memories, either.

“As adults, we remember only the most significant moments, such as trips abroad, but even those memories become scarcer with time”, Tulla continues. “This is the core of the challenge we all face when trying to support people in their attempts to change.”

Attempt it indeed is for many.

When we talk about overweight, smoking, and other things people want to get rid of, most of us recognize the need for change very clearly. The tough part is to find the determination to do it.

Very few of us can change just out of will – for the rest, change happens out of some kind of compulsion. Whether that arrives in the form of heart attack, fear of death, divorce, or anything else, some kind of drama or even trauma is required.

Otherwise, all those new year resolutions that begin with alcohol-free Januarys and annual tickets to the gym will again be completely forgotten by the end of March.

“People sign up for exercise classes and learning platforms, then give them up but keep paying the monthly fee just in case they come up with deter46

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mination to continue”, Ari Tulla describes. “They want to maintain that opportunity to change.

But it won’t happen without real threat.”

Instead of trying to solve a dramatic problem, supporting change should begin with optimizing human behavior.

Optimizing human behavior for continuous performance

The same goes with people who are motivated to become better in everything they do – such as business leaders. Motivation to improve performance and capability to focus on the future from the perspective of important things are essential. While most of us are so bound by daily tasks and things to take care of, enabling change requires ability to commit to thinking about the big picture.

“

For individuals and businesses alike, successful change is about extending healthy life span.

“We ask every one of our customers about their targets for

change, but we don’t settle for answers such as a certain amount of weight they want to lose in six months”, Tulla mentions. “We want their big, hairy, audacious goals, and people answer with unbelievably beautiful dreams.

Some want to go hiking with their grandchildren at the age of 70, some want to go heli-skiing to Alaska. They want to do things that they are now able to do – or were able to do when they were younger.”

This is what optimization is all about – ensuring that the ideal performance level can continue in the future. Achieving that obviously requires different things in different times. For Elo Health customers, it means smarter nutrition, for leaders and organizations something else. The key is to get to know yourself and what reaching your goal 30 years from now requires from you today.

For individuals and businesses alike, successful change is about extending healthy life span. Ari Tulla emphasizes that while healthcare professionals are the specialists in saving lives, smart nutrition companies like Elo Health have a significant role in determining how that life can eventually be lived.

“Everyone wants to live at home, surrounded by the loved

ones, for as long as possible instead of spending the last years of their lives comatose and wrapped in tubes. While we do not necessarily make people live longer, we ensure that their last years will be as high-quality as possible.”

Data driving the change

Ari Tulla believes that if something can be measured, it can be improved. To empower change, meters must be created for those who are motivated to go all-in.

The more you can gamify the process, the better.

“

People want people to support their change.

“This kind of services have not existed mainly due to not having sufficient meters available.

We have been able to measure certain things such as height, weight, and blood pressure, and today we can extend those measurements to more sophisticated level in terms of sleep, activity, recovery, and so on. One thing that we are still working on is measuring the real-time effect

Ari Tulla encourages leaders to lead organizational change the same way successful personal change is managed.

Deep down, empowering change is about making it as easy as humanly possible.

of nutrition.”

Glucose levels can already be measured almost real-time, and that provides valuable information about how the amount of glucose in blood goes up in a flash after a pizza. In the sense that we only notice the drop ourselves in the form of a post-lunch coma, these measurements help avoid unhealthy rises that would otherwise go unnoticed.

“We are creating traffic lights that would provide information about what is smart and what is not when it comes to nutrition.

A continuous wave of red lights is an efficient signal for change – this helps enormously changing into a healthier lifestyle.”

manly possible. Ari Tulla points out that if change leads to life becoming more difficult than what it is today, it won’t happen. Elo Health has understood that for example blood samples must be such an easy task to take the customer hardly notices. Pinching oneself to get blood is way out of bounds, it all must happen automatically, even in an ambient way. When the device is hidden and does not make a sound, the situation is ideal.

“

Why settle for controlling the damage when you can entirely avoid it?

Easy does it – especially with change

Deep down, empowering change is about making it as easy as hu-

The feedback, also, must be always positive. Even if things are

not going exactly great, we must build on the positives. If change begins to feel like an effort, let alone work, it stops.

Change must be covered in a form where it conveys the message of unreserved support and the ability to make life easier.

That is why Elo Health brought in an expensive but necessary element – human coaches.

“People want people to support their change. A coach or a mentor who can hold you responsible for what you have decided to achieve helps everyone.

We all want to do good things and get better, but if nobody asks us on a weekly, monthly or even annual basis about what we have actually done, we just won’t do it.”

The world is full of validated models for change – measurements, coaching, gamification,

and accountability groups are proven tools for support. These tools need sufficient services built around them, and Elo Health is right at the forefront of this in enabling personal change.

The best change is done before it becomes a must

The traffic lights that were mentioned earlier could play an extremely significant role in guiding people to change their habits for the better. As contradictory as it may sound, the same food that causes us diseases could, when consumed in a smart way, be our ticket to permanent change for the better.

“Smart nutrition can in the future determine what we should eat at any given moment”, Ari Tulla says. “The same nutrition that is the source for overweight, chronical diseases and premature NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT 2023

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Ari Tulla brings up that deep down, we all want to be good people and both when it comes to personal of business life, we want to perform well. If we have concerns, performing well becomes impossible.

deaths, could become the cure.”

We eat continuously food that causes different kinds of inflammation in our body, and we keep doing that because we do not have means to realize the effect.

This is however, changing and in the future, by bringing in nutrition to complement the current combination of medication and health care services.

“

Change is, at best, implemented at the time when you can do it instead of waiting until the drama happens, and you are forced to react.

Today, health care cures only things that come up in measurements – such as high blood 48

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pressure. If the numbers look good, nothing is done. The yellow light zone is vague though, so there is no telling what those numbers will look like next time.

Smart nutrition helps keep the numbers away from the red zone, which in the long run benefits both the patient and the society.

Change is, at best, implemented at the time when you can do it instead of waiting until the drama happens, and you are forced to react. Why settle for controlling the damage when you can entirely avoid it?

concerns, performing well becomes impossible. Ensuring the well-being of employees is one of the most essential things for successful organizations, even and especially if change is expected.

Healthy mind in a healthy body brings in results

“In the ideal world, the employees have one and only one concern in their mind when they are at work: how do I do the best possible job for my employer.

When the employer has taken care of all the rest, the possibility

Ari Tulla brings up that deep down, we all want to be good people and both when it comes to personal of business life, we want to perform well. If we have

“

Smart nutrition can boost self-esteem and help make a downright transformative difference in the working environment.

to succeed in that is a lot better.”

Most of us, in addition to our other concerns, worry about our health, and that is a big deal also from the organization’s point of view.

When leaders prepare their organizations for better performance or even a significant change, they should also pay attention to ways to ease the burden of personal health from their employees’ shoulders. Besides the improved energy levels and working efficiency, smart nutrition can boost self-esteem and help make a downright transformative difference in the working environment. Employees with all that personal development under their belts are able to make the organization thrive, even in the most substantial changes.

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Harnessing creativity for renewal and innovation As the unpredictability, complexity, and downright restlessness of modern society redefine also organizational competitiveness, new employee skills emerge as potential sources for success. Unleashing this potential begins with a thorough look at workplace management.

Text and photo: Timo Mansikka-Aho

T

he Future of Jobs Report 2023 by World Economic Forum confirmed the perceptions that had been hovering over workplaces for a while: creative thinking has indeed established itself as one of the most essential skills at work. According to the report, cognitive skills in general are reported to be growing in importance most quickly, reflecting the increasing importance of complex problem-solving in the workplace. Surveyed businesses report creative thinking to be growing in importance slightly more rapidly than analytical thinking, which still managed to hold on to the top position in the important skills list.

While this development creates both challenges and opportunities for employees and career paths, it puts organizations in an 50

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entirely new position when it comes to strategic planning and gaining competitive advantage.

In the near future, competitiveness comes increasingly down to designing a workplace which allows people utilize their creative skills to the full potential in a way that helps the organization reach its business targets. Traditionally, this kind of initiatives have not managed to climb their way even close to the management’s strategic agenda, rather ending up to a category where they receive sufficient attention “soon as all the business-critical matters have been sufficiently attended to.” In other words, once in a blue moon, if even that.

“Organizations have traditionally put so much focus on making their operations more effective, they have had little room to fo-

cus on creativity”, says Susanna Rahkamo, Co-founder and Chief Science Officer at Yellow Method, a company that specializes in enhancing creativity in organizations. “Every organization has little time for capability building to begin with, so it is essential to both understand the importance of creativity and to find the biggest levers to improve it.”

“

Organizations have traditionally put so much focus on making their operations more effective, they have had little room to focus on creativity.

In a radically changing world, creativity is no longer a nice-to-

have, but a critical capability for business survival and success.

The good news is that it is also a skill that can be developed, and further enhanced by purposefully designed culture.

Creativity as key to success in a radically changing world

While organizations are gradually coming to terms with the inevitable development and making an effort to improve their employees’ creative skills, the issue has received special attention in Finland. The Creative Working Life 2030 is an initiative backed by the Finnish Government. It spans various industries and involves academia. The purpose of the initiative is to harness the creativity of the Finnish workforce.

There is a lot of creative poten-

“

Management is at the core of everything. The way an organization is led affects all parts of its culture for creativity. Therefore, creative performance and culture must be measured consistently.

tial in humans, but most organizations seem to stifle rather than harness it. Such wasted potential – especially with constant renewal and innovation becoming more and more critical to every organization.

According to Rahkamo, everyone has creative potential. The challenge is not to make people creative – it is to redesign the working life and unleash that potential in a way that benefits the organization. This often turns out to be a surprisingly tough assignment.

Quite often, creativity is viewed as something elusive and abstract.

“Actually, creativity is about producing something new and useful. It can be a new product or an improved, more effective process”, Susanna Rahkamo points out. “We are all inherently crea-

tive, and enhancing creativity in an organization is therefore mostly about building a culture that supports creativity – and about building a culture that makes free thinking possible.”

A culture that encourages out-of-the-box thinking, sharing opinions, testing wild ideas, and learning from failures without fear of disapproval is essential in making the most of the organization’s creative capital.

What gets measured, gets managed

As oxymoronic as it may sound, data is the key to improving creativity. Only with the help of sufficient meters and measurements can an organization discover what works in the sense of creativity – and what elements need to be improved. Sophisticated analyt-

ics help find the pain spots that prevent creativity from reaching its full potential.

Creativity wells up from every employee, yet leadership is the key in providing the right framework for it to flourish. Every organization is different, and it is up to the management to ensure that employees stay engaged, motivated, and able to let their creativity flourish the way it deserves.

To keep a finger on the organization’s pulse, it is essential that management has the right models, measures and meters to work with. These also help create a joint language and a shared understanding of both current state and future aspirations.

“Management is at the core of everything”, Susanna Rahkamo concludes. “The way an organization is led affects all parts of its

culture for creativity: the atmosphere, interaction, organization of work and creative execution.

Therefore, creative performance and culture must be measured consistently.”

Also for developing creativity, tracking and showing progress is essential. Tangible results often convince the decision-makers to take further action.

The working life keeps evolving, and while the ways to manage it are following suit, they tend to remain a couple of steps behind.

To pick up the slack, leaders must come to terms with the fact that we have reached a point where we don’t need people who simply get the job done. We need people who can – and want to – bring in something new, and we must ensure that they have all the right tools for it at their disposal.

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DRIVING THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION A newsflash for those who have thought digital transformation is about updating software on a regular basis and moving everything to the cloud: It is, first and foremost, about rebuilding your organization for continuous change.

Text: Timo Mansikka-Aho Photos: Courtesy of David Rogers

B

y now, it is safe to say every leader in every organization has heard the term “Digital Transformation.” After all, this is precisely where organizations can find one of the keys to future growth. But while most are convinced something should be done about digital transformation, only a fraction fully understand the meaning and scope of it.

Research shows that the road to actually leading digital transformation successfully tends to be long and winding.

Implementing this change the right way begins with understanding the fundamentals.

“The heart of digital transformation is about organizational change,” explains David Rogers, faculty director of executive education programs on digital strategy and digital leadership at Columbia Business School. “Unlike most leaders might think, the hard part is not the technology that has to be implemented.”

Having researched digital transformation pretty much since the term

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was introduced, one of the conclusions Rogers has come to is that many organizations struggle with it simply because their initial impression is that all they need to do is make investments in new technologies as they emerge and hire the right vendors to put the equipment and software in place. The required change is a lot more comprehensive.

Digital transformation is a joint, continuous task for the entire organization. The roles and responsibilities go well beyond the IT department.

However, someone needs to orchestrate it.

“It’s critical that someone with a direct relationship to the CEO and the entire leadership team – with a mandate from them – should be overseeing the transformation process and direct the efforts,” Rogers says. “While this person can be – and often naturally is – the Chief Digital Officer, he or she can come from other departments as well.

Their most important task is to work together with the CEO to define where the organization is heading in its transformation, and why it must transform in this way.”

David Rogers points out that the best way to get every business unit to participate in the digital transformation is to help everyone see how it can help them to do their work better.

That vision of where you are going as a business is essential, as digital transformation is all about building support for that journey. Once the vision has been defined, the organization must identify the things that are currently holding it back so it can start to solve them. That vision of the present and future must be shared across the organization.

“Everyone must have an understanding of what we are doing, where digital progress is happening, where it is slow, and what kind of gaps we are facing,” Rogers emphasizes. “That is exactly why every organization needs someone to coordinate things during the early years.”

To be successful, this person should possess excellent political skills and an ability to move across departments to get

everyone on board. Rogers says that instead of convincing every business unit to participate in the transformation, the work is about getting them to want to participate. This happens most efficiently by helping everyone see how digital transformation can help them to do their work better and achieve their own goals.

Engaging people to organizational change

Getting everyone behind the collective idea of digital transformation is the best way to pull it through successfully.

“I often meet leaders who presume that change is always hard and no one employee ever wants to change,” Rogers says. “That is not necessarily true. Change can happen incredibly fast if all the necessary elements are in place.”

Sometimes those elements are carefully orchestrated. Other times they are caused by forces beyond the organization’s control. In the spring of 2020, pressured by the impacts of the COVID19 pandemic, organizations reacted in a surprising way. Those who had struggled for years with adopting new digital tools and had practically never heard of hybrid working, were on board in a matter of days.

The shifts in ways of working that happened during the pandemic show that when everyone understands the reasons behind the change, it can indeed take place extremely quickly. Whether or not change is forced from the outside, it is the job of leaders to define a clear case for change, and to explain it to others in a relevant way, taking into account

organizationspecific strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

“A truly critical role for leadership is to align everyone to that shared vision,” Rogers says.

“Everyone has to understand why this particular organization needs to transform for the digital era.”

Rogers emphasizes that to create the right kind of movement, this shared vision has to be a positive one. Instead of talking about disruption and threats, leaders should inspire and encourage people to look forward to the impact and value they can create through digital ventures.

In the digital era, business must transform from the bottom up

In our digital age, no company can afford to avoid digital change.

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David Rogers points out that the best way to get every business unit to participate in the digital transformation is to help everyone see how it can help them to do their work better.

That vision of where you are going as a business is essential, as digital transformation is all about building support for that journey. Once the vision has been defined, the organization must identify the things that are currently holding it back so it can start to solve them. That vision of the present and future must be shared across the organization.

“Everyone must have an understanding of what we are doing, where digital progress is happening, where it is slow, and what kind of gaps we are facing,” Rogers emphasizes. “That is exactly why every organization needs someone to coordinate things during the early years.”

To be successful, this person should possess excellent political skills and an ability to move across departments to get 54

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everyone on board. Rogers says that instead of convincing every business unit to participate in the transformation, the work is about getting them to want to participate. This happens most efficiently by helping everyone see how digital transformation can help them to do their work better and achieve their own goals.

Engaging people to organizational change

Getting everyone behind the collective idea of digital transformation is the best way to pull it through successfully.

“I often meet leaders who presume that change is always hard and no one employee ever wants to change,” Rogers says. “That is not necessarily true. Change can happen incredibly fast if all the necessary elements are in place.”

Sometimes those elements are carefully orchestrated. Other times they are caused by forces beyond the organization’s control. In the spring of 2020, pressured by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations reacted in a surprising way. Those who had struggled for years with adopting new digital tools and had practically never heard of hybrid working, were on board in a matter of days.

The shifts in ways of working that happened during the pandemic show that when everyone understands the reasons behind the change, it can indeed take place extremely quickly. Whether or not change is forced from the outside, it is the job of leaders to define a clear case for change, and to explain it to others in a relevant way, taking into account

organization-specific strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

“A truly critical role for leadership is to align everyone to that shared vision,” Rogers says.

“Everyone has to understand why this particular organization needs to transform for the digital era.”

Rogers emphasizes that to create the right kind of movement, this shared vision has to be a positive one. Instead of talking about disruption and threats, leaders should inspire and encourage people to look forward to the impact and value they can create through digital ventures.

In the digital era, business must transform from the bottom up

In our digital age, no company can afford to avoid digital change.

“

Many leaders are looking for some kind of a magic trick to hypnotize employees to buy into the need for change. Instead of trying to persuade, they should focus on communicating a clear vision of where the business is going and why.

Even the most historic companies in the most traditional lines of business can implement digital transformation successfully. But getting it right requires a bottom-up approach rather than the top-down approach many CEOs are used to.

“Many leaders are looking for some kind of a magic trick to hypnotize employees to buy into the need for change,” Rogers says.

“Instead of trying to persuade, they should focus on communicating a clear vision of where the business is going and why. Then, when employees start to do their part in pulling the company forward, the job of the leader is to remove obstacles and get out of their way.”

For traditional companies managed in a traditional topdown fashion, this approach to change can be uncomfortable at first.

“Senior executives who are used to leading by telling people what to do are often the last ones to get behind bottom-up transformation,” Rogers says. “But it is critical. The people at lower organizational levels are typically closer to both the markets and

internal problems, so they quite often have a more realistic view on what is happening out in the business.”

Real momentum and business impact comes when you have employees in every function and those that are facing the customers, on board. Deep down, they are the ones that can translate your vision and strategy to what it looks like and means in the daily lives of different business units.

“

Digital transformation requires both flexibility and open discussion of what is working and what is not.

Digital transformation requires both flexibility and open discussion of what is working and what is not – elements that you do not necessarily find in organizations, especially in large and established ones. Leaders must step up and create an atmosphere that welcomes freedom to express opinions, and concerns about customers, the

working environment, and where the company is headed.

Five barriers to digital transformation – and how to overcome them

In his research and advisory work, Rogers has discovered that most companies attempting digital transformation are not achieving the results they were looking for – in fact 70 percent of digital transformation efforts fail.

The difference between them and the ones that have implemented digital transformation successfully, creating value for their business, comes down to five things.

1. Vision

As mentioned above, successful transformation begins with communicating where are we going and why – and what is the hopedfor impact of the change we are attempting.

“In typical organizations, digital transformation means surprisingly different things to different people,” Rogers says. “The priorities and the impact that the leaders want to achieve must be communicated to everyone in a way that they understand. Col-

lective knowledge is essential so that everyone can commit to the cause and take the right kind of action.”

When everyone knows what is going on in the organization and why digital transformation is taking place, they also feel their input is valued. That helps build a culture where change is both encouraged and empowered.

2. Priorities

Successful digital transformation requires the discipline to choose a few strategic priorities that deserve the organization’s full focus.

This may mean having to say no to many interesting digital ideas, strategies and investments. But defining priorities will put limited resources to efficient use. It is the core of any successful strategy.

Priorities for digital transformation should include key customer problems to solve (such as unmet needs or difficulty in the customer experience), and business problems to solve (such as costs, risks, or declining performance). These priorities should also include opportunities for growth beyond the current core business.

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3. Experimentation

Once you pick the problems you will focus on solving, you must have the humility to recognize that you don’t know what the right solutions are going to be.

Rogers explains that you need to start with an open mind – and accept that while we know what we are trying to solve, we do not know yet how to get there.

“You can’t fall into the trap of doing a lot of business case planning and analysis, and then committing lots of resources based on one decision from top management on the ‘right’ solution,” Rogers says. “If you want to increase your odds of success in solving a problem, you need to start work on multiple approaches simultaneously – because you won’t know yet which one is going to work.”

Only through rapid testing and validation will you learn which digital solution will work in the real world. And you must then be nimble enough to adapt based on what you learn. Once you find out which approach has the best potential in the market, then is when you should start to invest significant resources.

4. Governance

As soon as an organization grows out of being a start-up, one team is not enough to build products or create great customer experiences. The process of learning, testing and validating must take place simultaneously on various fronts.

Having teams work on new ventures in a parallel fashion creates a major challenge of allocating resources. So you will need new practices to shift resources and people between teams, and you will need to use metrics and KPIs that are tailored to each venture and its current stage of 56

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development.

It’s important to also define criteria for shutting projects down – and accept that that is what will eventually happen to the most of them. To do that in a smart, efficient fashion is the only way to ensure that teams can move fast and drive growth at a scale that matters to the whole business.

5. Capabilities

For digital transformation to work in the long-term, every organization must invest in certain core capabilities. That starts with data and technology – which must be modular in design so that it can adapt to business needs in an agile way.

It also includes digital talent and skills. Rogers recommends developing a company’s talent pool according to the skills that are necessary for its particular digital strategy. That also means growing those skills in multiple ways – by training, by hiring, or by acquiring small businesses to bring in new talent. Employee retention is essential, and often overlooked. For top digital talent to stay with your business, they must be given the opportunity to do their best work. This often comes down to the culture, which must be adapted for the digital era and supported from the top.

“Culture is the hardest part of digital transformation, not the technology”, David Rogers explains. “Working in silos and having decisions made only by the most senior leaders often impedes change, even to the point of completely preventing it.”

With digital transformation, this is just the beginning

The critical thing is to understand is that digital transforma-

David Rogers encourages organizations to keep developing their skills to meet the evolving needs at all times.

tion is not a project with a beginning and an end, but always a cyclical, iterative process.

“The digital era does not mean that a single transformation must happen, and we’re done,” Rogers emphasizes. “By the time we adapt to one huge digital change, the next one takes place.

We must keep changing accordingly, and we must keep developing our skills to meet the current needs at all times.”

Organizational change has to be iterative, too – instead of trying to change everything at once, you have to make small steps and learn as you go. As you take

steps to transform the organization, you must constantly verify what is working and what is not, and change course accordingly.

That is the only way to ensure that transformation is going to succeed in your own context – in your organization and culture, for your industry and customers.

After going through the five barrier-overcoming steps described earlier, it will be time to refine your vision and start the cycle again. With each round, you’ll drive change a bit further and manage to do everything a little better. That is what digital transformation is all about.

A PLATFORM FOR STORIES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE Ensure your visibility in the eyes of the 2024 Nordic Business Forum audience Reserve your space in the next Nordic Business Report!

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Contact: Valtteri Rantalainen, valtteri.rantalainen@editorhelsinki.fi

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