IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A DISTINCT NORDIC APPROACH TO LEADERSHIP? We think yes. This is why we have introduced Nordic Why where we investigate and introduce our perspectives on what constitutes a successful Nordic business model. But the insights belong to the Nordic business leaders who have shared their thoughts with us about the future of Nordic leadership and a Nordic way of doing business. We will be looking into the challenges, threats and opportunities that are facing us now and in the future. Which strengths do we need to sustain and protect? Which challenges or themes do we strategically need to address now if we want to keep growing our businesses in competition and collaboration with the rest of Europe, as well as Asia and the US? WHAT CHARACTERISES OUR NORDIC APPROACH? We clearly see that Nordic businesses have a unique role in society compared to other parts of the world. We play an integral part in society, and we agree on having a shared responsibility for securing basic welfare and sustainability in our societies. Our interviews with business leaders seem to confirm this perception. They all state that both trust, integrity and freedom are integral parts of the picture: • “The Nordic model constitutes freedom with responsibility and room for the individual. I think this is why we see so many major service companies in the Nordic countries”, Anders Bønding, Chairman of the Board, Sanistaal • We are privileged in the Nordics, and these privileges come with obligations […] The Nordics is a quiet voice. We do not make a lot of noise in the Nordic business world. And often, we do not leave the footprints in the world as we should. Our competitive strength is also that we can offer more than just a product. We can offer a society model that creates value broader in scope than the business owners”, Nille Skalts, Country Partner Denmark/B Lab Naturally, making the claim that we share a uniform way of leading our businesses in the Nordics is by default biased and can be challenged. But from a global perspective, there are more similarities than differences between how we lead our businesses in the Nordics. Perhaps the most prominent characteristic that we share across businesses in the Nordics is that we work according to the same conditions, and we share the same opportunities and challenges looking into the future. 3
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