A A LTO U N I V E R S I T Y E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N
LO O K I N G F O R N E W L U X U RY In neo-luxury, experience takes precedence over objects, and service replaces expensive products. Luxury 2.0, pages 31– 40.
Vol 7, Fall 2018
ALCOH OL CEO Leena Laitinen shares her leadership principles. H YBRI S Calm down, boss, if you want to succeed. HI G H -S KIL LED M I G R ATI O N. Where does global talent want to live? IMPACT Participants and Aalto EE partners share experiences.
Certificate in Digital Business Strategy and Innovation Agility Program in Collaboration with Stanford Center for Professional Development Learn to navigate the digital landscape with innovation lessons from Silicon Valley and the Nordics! The program provides participants with the leadership skills needed to execute innovation initiatives, lead agile organizations and conquer the digital disruption wave. It combines the world-class expertise of both
Center for Professional Development
schools on innovation, entrepreneurship, and digitalization. The program blends online and face-to-face learning facilitated by professors from both universities as well as industry keynotes and discovery visits in Silicon Valley and Helsinki. www.aaltoee.com/innovationagility
Aalto Leaders’ Insight is published and curated by Aalto University Executive Education. This magazine is a library of insights. The four long form articles – we call them Books – focus on different aspects of leadership, business and self-development. Aalto University Executive Education offers high-quality executive education (Aalto EE), professional development services for specialists and managers (Aalto PRO), and creative solutions covering the entire entrepreneurship lifecycle (Aalto ENT). Aalto University brings to our offering a multidisciplinary approach, together with innovative learning methods; this provides a unique combination of practical expertise with latest research.
Vol 7: Fall 2018
CONTENTS S TA R T News, Columns and Insights Pages 10-30 30 years of Executive Excellence – the EMBA program provided by Aalto University and its predecessors turns thirty 11 My View: This is how you can help your employees to be both efficient and creative 15 FT Ranking: Aalto EE improved its position in the Financial Times ranking 17 Figures: Aalto University 18 Survey of large corporations 2018: “Sustainability is not just a matter of branding” 19 Tune in! Aalto EE podcasts 22 Aalto vases from China 24 Translation changes everything 26 Column by Rebecca Piekkari New in Science and Research 27 We all need to go back to school 29 Column by Mikko Laukkanen Mind-blowing books 30
LO N G - F O R M BOOK 1 Pages 31–40 Luxury 2.0 Why a luxury hotel resembles an art museum? Lifestyle
BOOK 2 Pages 41-50 Me, Myse lf and I What if your boss is an arrogant bragger? Leadership
BOOK 3 Pages 51-63 Tale nt City Why did you decide to move to Finland, Mark Cochrane? Talent Management
BOOK 4 Pages 65–74 Don’t Buy Too Much Leadership advice from Leena Laitinen, managing director of Alko. Profile
I M PAC T & E X P E R I E N C E Pages 76-95 Case Finnair: What’s your next move in growing as a leader? 77–79 What would Henry Tirri do? 80–81 Case VTT: Dear Customer, how can we help? 82–83 Aalto University President and Provost: We need lifelong education 84–85 Case Stora Enso: Combine startups, executive education, and global corporation 86–87 Participants share their experiences 88–92
Figures: Aalto University Executive Education 92–95 — AALTO LEADERS’ INSIGHT Online Stream 97
F O R E W O R D
From hubris to luxury
PHOTO VILLE VAEUMO
T
he overarching theme of this issue was inspired by the economic upturn most of the developed world has been experiencing over the past few years. During times of economic prosperity, all kinds of excesses start spreading and blooming. One of the long-form articles deals with executive hubris – in essence about being too bold and having too much speed and thus risking the whole organization. Many studies indicate that hubris has often been a key factor behind many corporate collapses. Personally, I think we are seeing more of it today, partially because of the overwhelming visibility of startup companies and their charismatic risk-seeking leaders. Often times, media eagerly covers the audacious bets but not the embarrassing failures. Another article in this issue introduces a different take on luxury. Globally, every year more and more people are spoiled by material abundance and can afford consumption way beyond the necessary. That is the market of luxury. Luxury is always scarce, expensive and requires significant monetary sacrifice. Moreover, luxury never needs to justify its existence or price point by functionality or any other rational argument. Just like hubris, luxury is all about excess. Nonetheless, this time our focus is on so called new luxury that is the more sustainable dimension of excess. Neo-luxury consumers
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are increasingly moving from products to services and experiences, and they care more about the supply chain and origins of what they consume. The luxury is not only about the outcome but also about the whole delivery process and origin. ◆ Pekka Mattila, Editor-in-Chief Group Managing Director, Aalto University Executive Education Professor of Practice, Aalto University
Read Aalto Leaders’ Insight online and order monthly highlights to your e-mail! aaltoee.com/insight
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S TA RT NEWS, COLUMNS & INSIGHTS
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YEARS OF E X E C U T I V E E XC E L L E N C E The EMBA program provided by Aalto University and its predecessors – the Helsinki School of Economics and the Helsinki University of Technology – turns thirty. This brief history outlines fax machines making way for digital devices and Aalto EE expanding to Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
1988 The first Executive MBA program for Finnish corporate management is launched. Participants study on three-day periods in Lahti. Teachers were international right from the start. Through the networks of Helsinki School of Economics, international contacts were made in Europe, USA and Asia. EMBA was seen as a “driving license for internationalization.” Raija Kuokkanen from Aalto EE has monitored the development of the EMBA program for
C ARS OWNED BY P A RT I C I P A N T S I N THE EIGHTIES: Lada 1988, Oldsmobile 1984, Renault Nevada, Saab 900, Volvo 244, Toyota Carina GLi 88, BMW 520i, Toyota Corolla, Opel Omega, Lancia Thema, Lancia Dedra, Peugeot 405, four-wheel drive Subaru, Mazda 626, Renault 5, Porsche, Opel Ascona 88, WV Passat Variant 87, Opel Omega.
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nearly 30 years. She says that the first participants shared similar characteristics to present students. “EMBA participants are carefully chosen talents, who have advanced on their careers. The program is an expensive investment, so those who participate are motivated, forwarddriven people.” Business communication was part of the program already in the early days, and the program was a trailblazer in strengthening communication skills. The >
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FAC T S A B O U T T H E 1 9 8 9 – 9 0 G RO U P : On average a director with a wife and two children. Two women in the group. Average monthly salary just over 24,000 Finnish marks (equivalent to an indexed salary of EUR 6,612 in 2017). Education in economics, and work experience of about 17 years. For as many as 66 per cent, the program was funded by the employer. Many signed an agreement with their employer to promise to stay in employment for 2–5 years after completing the EMBA program. The youngest had been in employment for 4–6 years, the most senior participant for 33 years.
groups were male-dominated during the first few years, with only two women taking part on the first course. In addition to Finns, participants came from Estonia and other Baltic countries. Language skills were a bigger challenge than today. Since 1988, a new program has been launched every year. The group was smallest in 2009 after the financial crisis.
1990 Jorma Piippo describes the program: “The program has included week-long study trips to Paris, New York, Peking and Moscow. The groups being made up of people of different ages and from different fields makes cooperation and studying effective. Everyone shares their knowledge:
senior participants share their experiences and younger ones enrich the learning process with their open-minded enthusiasm.” Program director Veikko Jääskeläinen commented that studies in foreign universities were used as a form of quality control.The results were rewarding: “Our best students were among the best also abroad.”
1995
EMBA launched in South Korea. A Korean professor wanted to import the same training to Koreans that he was teaching in Finland. Collaboration with Korea has been a success. By 2018, 4,000 Koreans will have completed the Aalto Executive MBA.
entered with a strong emphasis on eCommerce, a buzzword that interested both expats and locals in Singapore. The groups were international, and the teaching staff,“flying faculty”, came from all over the world. Cooperation with China was also launched from Singapore. Activities in China ceased later on due to for instance inadequate language skills among participants – although interpreters and language courses were offered, results were not as desired. In 2018, Aalto EE announced its return to China, where a great deal has changed in 20 years.
2000
EMBA programs launched in Poland.
1998 When participants began 2004 on the program in 1998, they did not all have email addresses. Participants had access to a few computers in a classroom along Työpajankatu street in the Kalasatama district of Helsinki, where the modules were taught. Participants were of an average age of 38 years. Professor Eero Kasanen began his foreword for an Executive MBA program brochure in 1998 with words that are still true 20 years later: ”Change is just about the only constant in today’s business world.”
1999
EMBA prog rams launched in Singapore. Asia was
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EMBA programs launched in Taiwan.
2007 Joint seminars were arranged as a result of increasingly
1998 EMBA LEARNING P H I LO S O P H Y: • Create goals, evaluate results. • Be active, ask questions. • Participate in class discussions. • Contribute to teamwork. • Search for additional information. Participants were instructed to ”focus on learning rather than knowing!”.
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international activities to benefit participants and alumni from all over the world. The Aalto Executive Summit now alternates between Finland and Singapore each year.
2010
Early 2000s graduation at Helsinki University of Technology.
The cohorts become close-knit groups. For example this cohort graduated in 1999 and it is still meeting regularly.
Happy and energetic graduates in Taiwan in 2016. vol 7
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Aalto University and Aalto University Executive Education Ltd are founded. HSE Executive Education Ltd and TKK Executive School of Business Oy merged when Aalto EE was born. Aalto EE has two bases: the Helsinki office coordinates European activities and Singapore office Asian activities. In addition to these, Aalto EE offers programs in several other countries too. The role of digitalization is on the rise, along with the leaders’ self-development process and themes of self-management. Every year, hundreds of students representing a dozen nationalities participate in Aalto Executive MBA programs. Up to six modules can be taken at other Aalto EE locations in Europe, the Middle East or Asia. Two elective Aalto Executive Summits and elective study tours abroad contribute further to developing cross-cultural competence. Participants also benefit from the elective module offering from partner schools’ EMBA programs at ESADE in Barcelona and Madrid in Spain, Gothenburg University School of >
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Aalto Executive MBA in Helsinki graduates in 2016 were the first who got to wear the new gowns and hats designed by Aalto ARTS design students.
Executive Education in Sweden, and the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg University in Russia.
2015 EMBA program launched in Tehran, Iran. About a third of participants in Tehran are women.
2017 The 2017 EMBA program in Helsinki included an exceptional number of health care professionals, reflecting the major social welfare and health care reform underway in Finland. Business and management skills are sought from the program for a sector where mastering the medical side is no longer enough.
2018 For the first time, two cohorts begin the studies in the same year. Program manager Sanna Huuh
tanen has seen EMBA participants firsthand for more than a decade. According to Huuhtanen, especially appreciation for the self-development process has grown in recent years.“Learning to manage and develop yourself as a leader and team member will never be out of date.” Compared to early years, participants increasingly pay for the studies themselves.The program is seen as a career investment. Huuhtanen’s colleague Saana Kaihu joined Aalto EE six years ago. She says that although each group is different and has its own dynamic, they all demonstrate a particular Executive MBA strength; when people from different sectors meet, something new is born. ”People from different nationalities, industries and of different ages learn from and teach each other. It’s wonderful to see!” These days, about half of the
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professors are from outside Finland. Study tours are still a vital part of the program. Participants get a chance to visit Palo Alto, Boston and Yale. All of the groups go through a similar cycle during the two-year program: enthusiasm, setback, becoming a winner. The cohorts become close-knit groups that celebrate birthdays, weddings and babies together. “It’s an intensive two-year period that ends with everyone being proud and excited: here we are, so glad we spurred each other on when fitting work, family and studies together wasn’t so easy”. Aalto EE has over 15,000 of its own alumni from various programs around the world.This year’s Aalto Executive Summit is marked by celebrating EMBA’s thirty-year milestone. The summit will be held at the Aalto University’s Otaniemi campus. ◆
S T A R T M Y I
PHOTO ANNI HANÈN
V E W
this is how you can he lp your employe e s to be both e fficie nt and creative Research by Assistant Professor Olli-Pekka Kauppila has shown that efficiency and creativity are not mutually exclusive.What should managers do to achieve this combination?
‘P
eople with strong self-confidence work ambidextrously”, says Olli-Pekka Kauppila, summarizing the results of a study of the characteristics that help an employer to be efficient and innovative at the same time. ‘Ambidextrous’ means being able to use both hands equally on a daily basis.This has a different meaning in Kauppila’s study. He examines which factors strengthen an individual’s ability to act efficiently and creatively at the same time. Ambidextrous people in this sense are like those who are ambidextrous in the traditional manner, i.e. both traits – efficiency and creativity – are equally strong. SELF-CONFIDENCE L E A D S TO W I L L I N G N E S S TO EXPERIMENT
Why is it that people who have strong self-confidence are simultaneously creative and innova-
at this, regardless of any mistakes I make”, says Kauppila. Learning-centeredness enables an employee, such as a product developer, to make detailed, fine adjustments while being fearlessly playful in inventing new ways of thinking about the product in question. “Strong self-confidence is a kind of trait which develops from early childhood. Little can be done to affect it.” Olli-Pekka Kauppila
tive? “Highly self-confident people are more willing than others to embrace a so-called learning orientation in their work. Their approach to, say, a project is based on curiosity and wondering what they can learn from it. They are not afraid of errors, because strong self-confidence helps them to think: I am good vol 7
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A P O S I T I V E AT T I T U D E TO L E A R N I N G C A N B E DEVELOPED
A performance-oriented employee seeks to maximize performance and avoid mistakes. Such an employee can strive towards learning-centeredness by considering issues other than just performance. For example:What would I like to learn more about? What do I want to achieve? What inspires and motivates me in my work? By consciously pursuing >
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learning orientation, you can come closer to a situation in which efficiency and innovativeness are combined. “Several studies have shown that a positive learning orientation leads to better results than performance-centeredness.” If you aim to maximize the short-term result, focusing on performance may be sufficient. However, learning orientation is the key to better results in the long term: there may be setbacks, but better results are achieved in the end.
style based on providing social support while expecting a high level of performance.” If you do not realize both of these leadership elements, there will be no combination of efficiency and creativity. “If you demand great results, but fail to provide support, people will be afraid of failure. Support from the manager is the critical component.”
M A N AG E M E N T MUST DEMAND A N D S U P P O RT
“If you demand great results, but fail to provide support, people will be afraid of failure.”
The study’s second main finding relates to the context in which the employee works. Poor leadership, or leadership of the wrong kind, can prevent simultaneous creativity and effectiveness, no matter how selfconfident and learning-oriented an employee is. Kauppila describes the leadership style which supports ambidextrousness in employees:“Two things are needed. You need to provide strong social support. In other words, employees can rely on receiving support, even if they try something new and it goes wrong. But you must also demand high performance in tasks.” The advice for managers is clear:“Strive for a management
If you are focused only on efficiency, new innovations or practices will not arise. “People are relatively rational. Creativity and new ways of doing things can lead to failures. If your only aim is good performance, then based on ‘doing the math’ it makes sense to do only what you already know.” ◆
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T H E S TO RY BEHIND T H E R E S E A RC H Assistant Professor Olli-Pekka Kauppila (Organization and Management, School of Business, Department of Management Studies) completed his doctoral thesis at Aalto University School of Business in 2011. The Social-Cognitive Underpinnings of Employees’ Ambidextrous Behaviour and the Supportive Role of Group Managers’ Leadership was based on an analysis of data from 34 organizations. The organizations represent different sectors and vary in size. Kauppila performed the study in collaboration with Assistant Professor Michiel Tempelaar. The work began in Helsinki. In 2013, Kauppila was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Irvine. He completed the research in Finland, where the data was gathered. What was the highlight of your study on ambidextrous behavior? ”’It was the realization that our own model worked. The results are significant, the indexes look good. It’s a great feeling to have made a new finding in one’s discipline.” What excites you about research? “I am interested in the psychological processes that explain human behavior. In addition, I always examine the relevance of the context: for example, what kind of leadership or atmosphere does the organization have and what kind of role does it play in general.”
ILLUSTRATION WÖRKS
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A A LTO E E STRENGTHENS ITS POSITION IN THE PRESTIGIOUS FINANCIAL TIMES RANKING
7 UP
A
alto University Executive Education has strengthened its position in the face of intensifying global competition in the executive education sector. Aalto EE improved its position in the Financial Times ranking, the most authoritative global ranking of its kind, by seven places compared to last year. Aalto EE, which has been in the top 50 for years, is now the 39th best provider of executive education programs – and the only Finnish player in the world’s fifty best out of thousands of actors in the field. The Financial Times gave an overall ranking for both open-enrollment and customized programs. Competition within the top 50 is fierce and a range of factors affect the ranking, simultaneously the peer group is expanding due to strong Asian competitors. ”Aalto EE’s success in the FT ranking from one year to the next provides customers with a guarantee that its content, methods and trainers are of the highest global standards”, comments
THE FT RANKING IN BRIEF Open-enrollment and customized programs are ranked separately in the FT Executive Education ranking. The overall listing is based on the total rating achieved in these two categories. The ranking is based on customer feedback and statistics provided by the institutions themselves. In its report, the Financial Times only ranks the top 50 executive education providers. Globally, executive education and MBA programs are offered by over 4,000 institutions.
F T G LO B A L R A N K I N G S Executive Education 2018 Combined
Open programs
Customized Programs
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Dr. Pekka Mattila, Group Managing Director of Aalto EE.“We have benchmarked ourselves with world leaders in the sector for several years.This helps us to set the right level of ambition. It is particularly satisfying to have been involved in the turnaround of so many companies.” The ranking is based on several criteria. On this occasion, Aalto EE’s ranking improved on the basis of customer feedback about customized programs in particular. Customers appreciate the design, implementation and teaching methods of Aalto EE’s programs, while feeling that they gained both new expertise and value for money from the training. “Aalto EE has a portfolio of signature methods, such as Aalto War Game and Echo Teams, which we use in both openenrollment and customized programs”, says Virve Hintikka, Business Area Director, Customized Solutions, at Aalto EE. Around 70–100 customized organizational development programs of various kinds are implemented in the Nordic countries and around the world each year. ◆ You can read more about customized programs in this magazine, in the Impact and Experience section of this magazine. For example,VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finnair, and Paulig have worked together with Aalto EE to create a program for their specific needs.
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S T A R T / UNSRETEW N A/ SL FC E N F I G AS R : ITA TAIOC TU CNFEII VL &E R ? R SEI ST EY A R C H
A A LTO U N I V E R S I T Y – W H E R E S C I E N C E A N D A RT MEET TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS
12,000 390 1,300 students, of whom
professors
are doctoral students
6 schools
THE FINANCIAL F O OT P R I N T O F A A LTO E E
Through its operations, Aalto University Executive Education Ltd contributed a total of approximately
in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, and with over 300 years of combined history: School of Business School of Arts, Design and Architecture
3.1 million euros
School of Science School of Chemical Engineering
back to the Aalto community in 2017, in various forms, including dividends, lecture fees, and rent.
Over
School of Electrical Engineering School of Engineering
100
bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs.
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SOURCE: SURVEY OF LARGE CORPORATIONS 2018
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V I E W S O F L A RG E C O R P O R AT I O N S O N T H E D E V E LO P M E N T O F WO R K A N D S O C I E T Y
3% 2%
26%
6% 2%
57%
94%
92%
Our company’s task is to solve key societal problems.
Our corporate social responsibility actions increase our competitive advantage.
Our company is planning to invest more heavily into responsi bility on a practical level in the near future.
17%
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
” S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y I S N ’ T J U S T A M AT T E R O F B R A N D I N G ” “You can make money on sustainability”, says Minna Halme, Professor of Sustainability Management at Aalto School of Business. It’s not just a question of responsible operations, but taking societal issues as a starting point for developing business models.
A
large-scale study by OP and a group of Aalto University professors shows that large enterprises are keen to play their part in solving societal issues. Professor Minna Halme, does this study conducted by your colleagues demonstrate ea-
gerness to put thoughts to action? “To an extent, thoughts have been turned to action already for a number of years. Large enterprises have been forced to pay some attention to responsibility and sustainability issues for a long time now. In the west, vol 7
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there’s no such thing as a successful listed company that doesn’t take care of these matters. The big question is how it is done, and what are the impacts on ecological and social sustainability.” “The question is valid and crucial: companies are asked to solve >
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P RO F I T P E R F O R M A N C E O F L A RG E C O R P O R AT I O N S AT A H I S TO R I C A L H I G H ABOUT T H E S U RV E Y
OP Financial Group carried out the survey of large corporations for the sixth time with the NIBS think tank, set up by Aalto University professors, as its partner. Survey covers the 250 largest Finnish corporations and large corporations operating in Finland. This survey received responses from 181 senior management representatives from 127 large corporations.
6.33%
C U M U L AT I V E N E T P R O F I T O F L A R G E C O R P O R AT I O N S 4.39% 3.55% 2.88% 2.01%
1.72% 2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
E M P LOY E E S A R E T R A I N E D A N D R E C R U I T E D I N T H E B U S T L E O F C R E AT I V E D E S T R U C T I O N Technologies utilizing artificial intelligence are replacing work done by humans in our company
85 %
6 %
9 %
Our company is planning to advance creative destruction
67 %
22 %
10 %
Our company will develop the skills of our employees to meet the needs of the future
98 %
Our company is planning to recruite new employees to meet the needs of the future
96 %
Agree
societal problems, not just have sustainable business operations. The idea is to take a societal issue as a starting point for innovation, such as the scarcity of water or other natural resources, and consider what types of business models need to be developed as a solution. In other words, seeking an answer to a problem rather than selling a product. Sustainability isn’t just a matter of branding.”
Neutral
Can you make money on sustainability? “In the survey, respondents from large-scale enterprises claim that sustainability increases competitive advantage. That’s how it is. You can make money on sustainability.” What gives a sustainable company competitive advantage? “Consumers increasingly favor
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2 % 3 %
1 %
Disagree
sustainably manufactured products and services.Also raw materials being more and more scarce is linked to business.Water is expensive, and the same goes for land. For instance, the amount of cotton cannot be increased anymore, so the question is how to make existing fiber more durable, similarly to when the production of recycled paper began. Companies that are able to extend the
SOURCE: SURVEY OF LARGE CORPORATIONS 2018
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life cycle of a substance or product are ahead in the game, as raw materials diminish. That’s competitive advantage.” “Diminishing raw materials have sparked an interest in manufacturing long-lasting, durable products. It’s an asset for a company, rather than the crazy system of having to create something new all the time that’s designed to break. The entire logic needs to be changed in order to be responsible.”
PHOTO ANNI HANÉN
How hopeful are you about change? “Rationally thinking, I’d say it’s difficult and I feel pessimistic. But I take the stance that pessimism doesn’t get you anywhere, whereas hope does. Pessimism isn’t a morally viable choice. We can’t just pillage the planet and leave behind a pile of trash. People have the ability to achieve incredible things and solutions. But I don’t believe that only technology would have the solution to sustainability concerns. New cultural solutions are needed: strengthening local economies, sharing economy, reigniting an ideology of sensibleness…” Does the change start with companies or consumers? “Both. Consumers have an important role, also when they do not consume. Companies have innovation power, intelligent people, and capital for develop-
ing new ideas. Also consumers have new ways of influencing, such as exchanging and sharing goods via social media. Companies need to take a leadership role in sustainability, and not only act when customers demand change. SOK, for instance, has had a major turnaround. Their former thinking was to come up with something new if customers wanted it first, whereas now they invent and present solutions themselves. Examples include reducing waste food, the pricing of vegetables, advertising seasonal produce, and increasing the amount of locally produced food in the selection.” Are there any environmental issues that large enterprises are ignoring? “Yes there are. Biodiversity is being ignored and weakly understood. The use of raw materials is part of regular optimization, but biodiversity isn’t. Companies need to hire experts in the area: how to take care of land, forests, cultivation, and aquatic ecosystems, and how and to what extent these are used without harming biodiversity.” “Climate issues became politicized years ago. First nobody listened, but now the alarming state and consequences of climate change are well known. Biodiversity needs the same attention.”
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Can you change the world by trusting in the good will or desire of companies to produce sustainable products and services? “No. Laws are needed. Good legislation supports innovative and ambitious companies, while loose legislation helps bad companies get away easily, even when negligent. The strongest industrial unions represent old industries, advocating relaxed legislation. New industries don’t have a voice.” ◆
Minna Halme is Professor of Sustainability Management at Aalto University School of Business. She has focused on sustainable management since 1990 in Finland and Sweden as well as at Georgetown University in the US. She teaches master’s and doctorate students, and is one of the instructors in Aalto Executive MBA programs. Halme engages in research collaboration with corporations on developing sustainable and innovative business operations.
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TUNE IN! A A LTO E E PODCASTS The podcasts are available for instance on iTunes, Soundcloud and the Aalto EE website. Simply press play for your personal radio program to begin!
1 Pekka Mattila and the transformation of work: “Also leadership needs to change” “Usually renewal takes place through crisis. Creative destruction can be seen in positive terms: without positive destruction, there would be no electricity or Internet”, claims Dr. Pekka Mattila, Group Managing Director of Aalto EE. A large chunk of blue-collar jobs has already been replaced by automation. Now the same applies particularly to white-collar jobs. “The contract between an employee and employer has already changed.Work takes place in networks in several simultaneous projects. Management practices have been passed down from an era when people were gathered at the same time in the same place, managed and controlled by a director. This needs to change. It is vital to operate
in networks where borders between us and them are blurred, and the power of makers can be increased or decreased without drama.” (In Finnish)
2 Ben Nothnagel and the most important question of your life: ‘Should I?’ Ben Nothnagel heads a self-development process for Aalto Executive MBA program. Noth nagel wants leaders to be selfaware of how they are feeling and behaving. In his words, it’s important to be “situation smart”. The circumstances in which work is done and decisions are made cannot always be changed. But behavioral patterns in a pressurizing environment are something that can be influenced. In his podcast, Nothnagel explains the power of the question: Should I? He wants leaders to ask themselves: Should I be stressed? Should I be angry? Should I be irritated? Should I this, should I that? “There is a difference between feeling stressed or busy and actually being really stressed and too busy”, he says. “The power of ‘should I’ is that you know the answer to your problems yourself.” (In English)
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3 Pii Kotilainen and Riitta Lumme-Tuomala: Recruiter, do you recognize an applicant’s potential? According to Pii Kotilainen, expert in executive recruitment, and Dr. (DBA) Riitta LummeTuomala, Head of Growth and Alumni Relations at Aalto EE, recruitment needs to center on future potential rather than past success. In a recruitment situation, it is important to recognize the applicant’s potential alongside competence. It’s not just the candidate’s background that is important, but what he or she can do in the future. Riitta Lumme-Tuomala recently obtained her doctorate in talent management. “Curiosity, vision, commitment, determination – that’s potential right there”, she describes the ingredients of potential in the podcast conversation. Pii Kotilainen reminds that potential needs to be seen in the context of the particular role that is being filled. For instance, one company wanted to find out whether each candidate had failed at something and faced a challenging situation. The management team of the company felt this was experience they lacked, and wanted to find someone with experience of tough times. (In Finnish)
THE PODCAST SERIES BY JOURNALIST R E E T TA R ÄT Y
T H E A A LT O LEADERS’ INSIGHT PODCAST SERIES OFFERS A R A N G E O F C U LT I V AT E D TA L K S A N D C O N V E R S AT I O N S O N E V E RY T H I N G F R O M L E A D E R S H I P T O R E C R U I T M E N T, T R A N S F O R M AT I O N O F W O R K , S T R E S S , A N D A RT I F I C I A L INTELLIGENCE. T H E P O D C A S T S A R E AVA I L A B L E F O R I N S TA N C E O N I T U N E S , S O U N D C LO U D A N D T H E A A LT O E E W E B S I T E . vol 7
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A A LTO VA S E S F RO M C H I N A
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alto EE’s collection of over 200 pieces of art is complemented with 12 unique handmade ceramic vases, made in the birth place of porcelain in Jingdezhen, China. Six design students and three teachers from Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, specialized in ceramics, travelled to Jingdezhen, China, the source and birth place of porcelain manufacturing. During their stay in March 2018, they worked in a ceramic studio provided by the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute. The works were made on the spot during a three-week workshop in the ceramic studio reserved to visiting international artists.The students worked each on their own design, co-operat-
Collin Velkoff, from the Enkidu collection.
Nikolo Kerimov, Big Pang.
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ing with local craftsmen: throwers, trimmers, kiln masters as well as a porcelain painter. Before the trip to China, students Saija Halko, Nikolo Kerimov, Matias Liimatainen, Maria Punkkinen, Collin Velkoff and Man Yau visited Aalto EE premises and listened to customers wishes as well as the florists’ views.“As a designer who’s using mainly ceramics, travelling to ’The Capital of Porcelain’ feels like I’m achieving one of my dreams”, said Saija Halko before the trip to China. Lecturer Nathalie Lautenbacher from the Department of Design at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture says that students are used to cooperative projects, but the trip to Jingdezhen,“sort of a pilgrimage
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NEXT STEP: A A LTO E X E C U T I V E M B A TO B E L A U N C H E D I N C H I N A
Saija Halko, set of three vases.
Man Yau, from Raza series.
place for ceramists”, brought the project to another level. Dr. Pekka Mattila, Group Managing Director, Aalto University Executive Education, says that it is rewarding to be able to give this possibility for students to show their unique talent during the studies. ”As part of our societal impact, we want to celebrate the talent of Aalto University and give exceptional learning experiences for the students.” The final works were presented in an event at Aalto EE premises in Helsinki. The exhibition will be arranged also in Väre, Otaniemi, in September 2018. ◆ Students have made a travel journal for Aalto Leaders’ Insight. www.aaltoee.com/24vases ONLINE:
Aalto University Executive Education’s flagship program, the Aalto Executive MBA, will be launched in China this year. The Chinese program will begin in Shanghai, but there are plans to organize programs in other Chinese cities in the near future. For Aalto EE, this represents a natural step, further strengthening its presence in the Asian market. The first EMBA program to be arranged in Asia began in South Korea in 1995 and Asia Pacific operations have been run from Singapore since 2000. “China is a major, fast-growing market characterized by fierce competition. It is important to find the right partners who understand its operating logic and share our level of ambition”, says Dr. Pekka Mattila, Group Managing Director of
Aalto EE. Local partners include Koguan School of Law, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the ST. DIAGO Overseas Learning Consultancy Center and the Shanghai ESUN Training Center. This year’s QS World University Rankings ranked Shanghai Jiao Tong University 62nd globally while Aalto University was ranked 137th. The modules will be implemented by Aalto EE and Aalto University faculty together with the local university partner. “The recently agreed cooperation will strengthen our impact in Asia, and the partnership will provide a strong basis for the implementation and development of executive education in the Chinese market”, says Dr. Riina Gröhn, Executive Director of Aalto EE’s Asia Pacific operations.
A A LTO – B I G I N S H A N G H A I Aalto University has once again seen excellent performance in one of the world’s most respected university rankings, the ShanghaiRanking - Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. Aalto’s top ranking field is Telecommunication Engineering, which placed 28th in the world.Two fields from the Aalto School of Business saw the biggest gains this year: Business Administration jumped up to 34th place from last year’s range of 51-75 and Management moved from 49th position to 36th. The annual Shanghai Rankings evaluate universities in 54 subjects across the natural sciences, engineering, as well as life, medical and social sciences. In total, over 4,000 universities were evaluated in 2018. vol 7
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Translation change s eve rything Western management terms often lack equivalents in the languages and practices of emerging markets.
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rom multinational corporations to local hospitals, today’s organizations try to improve their performance by adopting organizational processes and practices from other settings. Often these practices originated in a different industry or even country. Moving practices across boundaries is, however, rarely simple copying. Rather, it is a process of translation that changes the meaning of the original practice. Aalto University hosted a workshop in April 2018 to discuss translation issues in international organizations. This event brought together scholars from three disciplines: organization studies, international business, and interlingual translation studies. The workshop addressed such questions as: How do organizations move practices to contexts that are very different from their country of origin? Who are the translators who span boundaries in organizations? What kind of translation competences are required to support the movement of practices across borders? To open the workshop, the keynote speaker was Nina Elomaa, Corporate Responsibility Director of Fazer Group and Director of Communications in Fazer Russia. She addressed Fazer’s experiences in moving its culture and practices into its Russian operations. Nina vividly illustrated the challenges of finding words and framings that work in Russia – a context very different from Finland. Nina explained that corporate responsibility is not a familiar concept in Russia. Russian
employees needed details to understand what corporate responsibility means in practice to them. Fazer introduced a paper collection initiative as recycling is not an institutionalized practice in Russia. Employees collected paper at their homes all year round and brought it to Fazer for recycling during a special week.The employee who brought in the most paper received the biggest reward. Today local employees in Russia are proud of Fazer’s commitment to corporate responsibility and it has become an important part in their lives. Western management terms often lack equivalents in the languages and practices of emerging markets. In the course of the translation process, the concept was made locally meaningful to them.Translators on the ground effectively bridge different contexts. They engage in translation work both in a metaphorical and interlingual sense - work that often remains invisible to outsiders. Translation competence is not limited to key individuals. It can be an organizational-level capability that lays the foundation for learning across borders. In a company with a high degree of translation competence, top management is open to local translations of practices.They accept that moving practices across borders will always involve translation and hence shifts in meaning. When seen from this perspective, translation becomes a source of fresh ideas and novel viewpoints rather than a nuisance or a mere cost factor. ◆
REBECCA PIEKKARI is Professor of International Business, and Head of the International
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PHOTO TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY FINLAND
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H OW TO M A K E PHONES SMALLER AND CHEAPER [TECHNOLOGY]
Finnish physicist Tuomo Suntola’s innovative technology, atomic layer deposition (ALD), has made an enormous contribution to our lives, making, for example, high-efficiency smartphones, computers and social media possible. ALD technology also offers medical and sustainable energy applications. The President of the Republic of Finland Mr Sauli Niinistö presented the eighth one-millioneuro Millennium Technology Prize in Helsinki in May 2018. Suntola’s prize-winning ALD innovation is a nanoscale technology in use all over the world. ALD is used to manufacture
ultra-thin material layers for microprocessors and digital memory devices. Components with thin films made with the ALD technique are used in practically all modern computers and smartphones.Thanks to the constantly evolving ALD technology, IT equipment has become smaller and less expensive yet more powerful. Suntola’s innovation is one of the key factors
SDG, CHECK! [S U S TA I NA B I L I T Y ]
Aalto has signed an international Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Accord as the first Finnish university. By signing the Accord, Aalto commits to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as part of its teaching, research, innovation activities, and campus development. The Accord is a collective re-
sponse of universities and colleges to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, aiming to strengthen the significant role of
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in the continuation of the famous Moore’s Law that has kept its validity to this day: the efficiency of microchips has doubled at approximately two-year intervals while their price has decreased. “ALD has also made the ownership of information technology more democratic, thereby contributing to the wider access to information and communication”, says Academy Professor Päivi Törmä, Chair of the Millennium Technology Prize Selection Committee. Today, the global market of equipment and chemicals used for the manufacture of ALD films is estimated to be about two billion US dollars, and the market value of consumer electronics relying on ALD technology is at least five hundred billion dollars.
universities in achieving the goals of Agenda 2030. Dozens of educational institutions around the world have signed the Accord. “The task of universities is to educate game changers of the future, who are in a key position in the building of a more sustainable world. As Aalto community, we bear great societal responsibility, and we have ambitious goals for promoting sustainable development through research and education”, says Aalto University President Ilkka Niemelä.
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OTA N I E M I COUPLE: A A LTO & N O K I A [C O O P E R AT I O N ]
Aalto University and Nokia signed a partnership agreement. The agreement was signed in June, 2018. The purpose is to establish, expand and systematize the already extensive strategic cooperation. The aim is also to support networking between people. Aalto University and Nokia have a long history together, and Nokia has so far been Aalto’s most important business partner. ICT is an important research priority, currently supplemented by artificial intelligence research. In this area, Nokia Bell Labs is cooperating particularly with the Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering and the School of Science. In addition to research, the agreement covers cooperation in education, competence development, campus development and recruitment. Aalto University is an interesting partner for Nokia particularly because of its multidisciplinary competence: technology, art, design and business. The aim is to extend cooperation in projects related to teaching.
A A LTO - 1 S AT E L L I T E T U R N E D 1 Y E A R [TECHNOLOGY]
Carried by an Indian PSLV rocket, the Aalto-1 nanosatellite, designed and built by Aalto University students, was launched into space in June, 2017. The long-awaited launch went well, and connection to the satellite was established the very same morning. How has Aalto-1 satellite’s first year in space gone, project leader, Assistant Professor Jaan Praks? ”The satellite operation has required a surprising amount of technical adjustments; for example, the slow radio communication link has made it cumbersome to download images and to update software. The latest software update helped us gain better control of the satellite’s attitude and it is now easier to take photographs and download images. The mission continues.” Over the year, the Otaniemi ground station has undergone major improvements. The intention is to use the same ground station for controlling the Suomi 100 satellite, planned
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for launch later in 2018, the Aalto-3-satellite, as well as the Foresail-1 and Foresail-2 satellites, which are built as part of the Academy of Finland’s centre of excellence. Aalto-1’s journey in space was originally intended to last approximately two years. According to Jaan Praks, the success of the plasma break test will decide how well this timetable will hold. The idea with the break, built by the Finnish Meteorological Institute, is to slow down the satellite, which makes it descend into a lower orbit and finally crash into Earth’s atmosphere. “If everything goes according to plan, Aalto-1 will start breaking in about six months’ time. That way it will not remain as space debris in orbit, but it will crash into the atmosphere, where we will see it as a small shooting star for the last time. If the breaking system were not to function, the mission and the measurements with other payloads could continue for years.”
ILLUSTRATION JARKKO HYPPÖNEN
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We all ne e d to go back to school
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he idea behind the division of labor is central to how many of us view leading organizations and managing teams in knowledge-intensive business contexts. The logic goes that we should surround ourselves with smart people with unique expertise and share work among our great colleagues. Further, we’re constantly reminded that we’re silly to think that we hold a monopoly on great ideas and that the key to continued success is allowing for plenty of external input. However, we must simultaneously be aware of some serious limitations associated with this outsourcing of expertise. These limitations have become only more pertinent as groundbreaking technologies continue to transform our organizations and businesses. As someone with an admittedly limited background in technology, this is something I’ve personally struggled with. I’m quite confident that I’m not alone with this problem. Technologies continue to evolve at such breakneck pace, with new applications and entirely new fields emerging so frequently that the temptation is to rely on the experts around me. Working at a university, I’m naturally spoiled for choice with experts to go pester with my uneducated questions, but I’m sure many of you also have that trusted tech-guy or digi-gal to help you make sense of our digital world. Similarly, many management teams
and even boards of companies have a single expert on digitalization who is tasked with covering everything from understating existing computer systems and technologies being used in the organizations to keeping track of potential technologies about to transform the organization’s environment. This is, of course, not a sustainable model. Emergent technologies are the most significant drivers of the changes we’ll see in businesses and societies in the coming years. While we can and should rely on experts for in-depth knowledge on many topics, any responsible leader must have a working understanding of technology and its application – starting with understanding the underlying logics and operating systems running the technology. Without grasping the basics, it’s not possible to build a holistic view on the potential of technology. For many of us more accustomed to looking at things on higher levels of abstraction, this means going back to learning practical things by actually doing them. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see, for example, top leaders teaching themselves to write code – not because they want to become coders, but rather to use this to develop their fundamental understanding of technology. The question you have to ask yourself: how will you make sure you have the skills and competences required to succeed in the coming years? ◆
DR. MIKKO LAUKKANEN is the Academic Director at Aalto EE. He is also a Researcher at the Aalto University School
of Business and frequently lectures in Aalto EE’s programs around the world.
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M I N D - B LOW I N G B O O K S We asked Aalto University staff to share some reading tips. What has gripped them lately and why? N AT H A L I E L AU T E N B AC H E R Lecturer, Department of Design
JARNO LIMNÉLL Professor of Practice, Cybersecurity
Antti S. Mattila: Näkökulman vaihtamisen taito
Yuval Noah Harari: Homo Deus
“A psychiatrist’s insights. I especially came away with a few excellent descriptions of a child’s ability to think flexibly without prejudice, here in the context of fairness.” It is not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. Epiktetos (ca. 55–135 AD)”
“Technology plays an increasing role in the future of humankind. Yet instead of technology, key questions relate to humanity and ethics, which the themes of this book addresses, providing justified perspectives.”
Pirkko Saisio: Mies, ja hänen asiansa
“Technology and cyber security are increasingly significant in global politics. The book reviews how cyber weapons and their use transform the nature of security and international order. Suitable for both academic reflection and to deepen your knowledge on the world of tomorrow.”
“As a continuation to the previous book in a sense, this book manages to describe a shattering mind in an amusing way. The mood is intriguing.”
Lucas Kello: The Virtual Weapon
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KRISTIINA MÄKELÄ Provost, Professor of International Business
Carol Dweck: Mindset ”I am a big fan of Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychologist, whose book is a real mindset changer. She shows that how we think about our talents and abilities – having fixed or growth mindset – leads to different behaviors. If you care about performance and learning, you’ll want to read this.”
Cal Newport: Deep Work “Cal Newport is one of my two favorite thinkers (the other being Wharton Professor Adam Grant, check his book Give and Take if you haven’t yet). This book talks about the importance of deep work – distraction-free concentration – for productivity, and how to do it. “
BOOK 1 [ LIFESTYLE ]
L U X U RY 2 . 0
We invited Professor of Practice, Dr. Pekka Mattila to a suite to tell us why a luxury hotel resembles an art museum. Words: Reetta Räty. Photos: Touko Hujanen
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otel St. George has two entrances. One is meant for hotel guests who check in at reception and hear about the hotel’s art collection, history and “holistic approach to wellbeing”. The other entrance for those wanting to remain unseen in the hotel’s public areas is used less frequently. Hotel management does not tell us who has entered through those doors, but apparently they have been in use. A possibility to remain anonymous is part of the hotel’s services. Today, we enter through the main doors of St. George. Instead of hiding, we are here to take a tour around the hotel with Professor of Practice, Dr. Pekka Mattila. He has researched luxury and is happy to spill the beans on what luxury-seeking consumers du jour are after. Representing so-called neo-luxury, St. George in downtown Helsinki is the perfect spot for a tour: it is advertised as luxury of a new era, born from a desire to redefine the vision of a luxury hotel. “St. George exudes a surprising, understated, elegant luxury”, the hotel’s very own traditional broadsheet-sized newspaper describes. Mattila arrives with his dog Shurik in tow – a cute and gentle former rescue dog from St. Petersburg. The hotel’s Marketing Manager Heta Kärki and General Manager Roni Huttunen assure us that bringing the dog along is “absolutely fine”. Such luxury!
reach of star ratings”. Instead of glitz and glamour, its uniqueness stems from tailor-made wellbeing services, individually chosen materials, and increasingly also art, which customers are expected to understand in order to appreciate. Experience take precedence over material goods – which does not mean that the material side has been overlooked, either. Hotel St. George defines the difference between old and new luxury: “St. George does not shout: look at me, admire me. It says: be part of me.You will feel good here.” According to Pekka Mattila, choice of hotel reflects who is who within the circle that affords and wants to invest in luxury. “Whether you choose Kämp or St. George tells all there is to know about you. Which one is cooler? (Hotel Kämp is Helsinki’s first luxury hotel and part of the same Kämp Collection Hotels group as St. George.) Mattila mentions his aunty, who worked in the Finnish fashion industry and insisted on always meeting her international business partners in certain hotels to make the right impression. If the particular hotel in Milan was fully booked, they could always arrange to meet in the hotel restaurant. “Choice of hotel is a statement.” “Luxury is connected with competition and social comparison”, says Mattila. “When any bumpkin can buy themselves a pair of Gucci sunglasses or even a really expensive car, competition moves to the sphere of taste, just like nobility used to compete with etiquette.” Competition could mean buying a new expensive car – which is also low in emissions. It can offer a way to set oneself apart and feel superior over those only interested in money. Neo-luxury hotels have elements that enhance one’s self-worth as someone who enjoys different things than the middle class or uncivilized wealthy
“The hotel says: be part of me. You will feel good here.”
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wo expensive hotels can be used to illustrate the difference between traditional and new luxury. Traditional luxury is something everyone recognizes for what it is: glamour, gold, velvet, caviar.The symbols are easy to read: golden chandeliers, attentive service staff, top-notch cocktail bar, à la carte restaurant with silverware. A neo-luxury hotel is less pompous. It is not keen on being a five-star hotel, but “beyond the
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The oldest parts of the hotel date back to the 1840s. The most visible parts of the building completed in 1890 were designed by architect Onni Tarjanne, who also designed the Finnish National Theatre.
Pekka Jylhä: Learning to Fly (above).
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people. St. George houses a Monocle store and computer-free café. Instead of digital devices, rooms are equipped with bookshelves with classics from second-hand bookstores. Some time ago, a 24/7 Internet connection was thought of as a luxury service. Now the world’s most exclusive railway journeys in South Africa pay homage to the 1930s, with passengers agreeing to stay offline. “Identity has two sides: self-identity, which we work on by boosting who we are – and showing others who we are and what our status is”, says Mattila. Many people will post pictures of their social media -free railway journey afterwards; otherwise no one would know about the achievement.
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others on loan). Now luxury wants to attain the status of art – the value of a product or service being removed from its purpose of use. Studying luxury, Henrik Hagtvedt and Vanessa Patrick describe the relationship between luxury and art as follows: “Just as art has, luxury must de-correlate price and function. Although a handbag remains a bag, as a piece of art, its price must be totally independent of its function.” (2008) The premise of art is that materials and production costs do not correlate in the least with the price of the work of art. Luxury seeks the same: a night at a hotel can cost anything between heaven and earth, as it is intended as an experience for only a few – and experiences can cost anything. A hotel is not a place to sleep, similarly to the work of art by Ai Weiwei not being a kite. Many luxury brands aim to systematically attain the status of art. Luxury stores are similar to art galleries. Objects are placed far apart from each other like paintings or sculptures, and boutiques arrange art exhibitions or classical concerts. The stores want to resemble art in the eyes of consumers. Head designers and founding families of luxury brands are coined as great artists rather than steely business people. Consumers who emphasize post-material values – or pose as doing so – can purchase and use art-packaged luxury without a guilty conscience. Researchers often talk about the artification of luxury. Intended to be rare, luxury cannot seek growth merely through volume, so guising itself as art is one way of increasing revenue. Hotel chain owners often aim for growth by including hotels of different standards and price levels under their belt. High-end versions are transformed into an experience far removed from the mundane and reaching for an artistic dimension.
A hotel is not a place to sleep, similarly to the work of art by Ai Weiwei not being a kite.
e set off on the tour, opening up our senses to luxury of a new era.The lobby or “entrance gallery” of St. George features the piece Tianwu by Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei. The silk and bamboo work of art was made using traditional Chinese kitemaking methods and displays many features of luxury. Firstly, it is a work of art, an experience in itself, but only for those in the know. Secondly, it is rare:Weiwei’s artworks are rarely on display in public spaces and even more rarely in hotels, but only in art galleries and private art collections. A work of art with a story also goes hand in hand with luxury. Weiwei’s Tianwu and other artists behind artworks at the hotel are presented in the Art of St. George magazine. A connection is made between art on display at the hotel and Helsinki’s art and architectural history: we are in the city of Alvar Aalto and Eliel Saarinen… and at the heart of a luxury trend. Luxury and art have plenty more common denominators than merely being on show at this particular luxury hotel (some owned by the hotel,
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In the 1800s, Finland’s first newspaper Suometar was printed in the building. As an homage, the hotel bar serves a drink called Breaking News.
Hotel St. George owns and loans an extensive collection of art. Ai Weiwei: Tianwu (below right).
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he Wintergarden on the ground floor of St. George is seen as the living room of the hotel, dominated by sculptor Pekka Jylhä’s sixmeter artwork Learning to Fly. The space epitomizes new literacy required by luxury. ”Here, customers are expected to understand the meaning of quality. It’s what it takes when creating a space that doesn’t look like a traditional luxury hotel”, says Pekka Mattila. He has met up with friends at the Wintergarden and even his dog slumbers as if – well, in his own living room. Spaces of high-quality hotels are often open to locals, which according to Mattila is an important feature. “These days, it is essential that a quality hotel is of interest also to locals. Guests appreciate not being left alone only with other slightly lost tourists.” The hotel’s own bakery, restaurant and bars are inviting also to Helsinki residents.The hotel calls them meeting points even if Finns are still not necessarily used to “meet” new people at the bakery. With an ambience akin to a culture salon, the mural-like wallpaper was designed by Klaus Haapaniemi. Lamps by Artek come in a green tone tailored for the hotel. Mismatched furniture is paired with chunky coffee table books on the surfaces. The rugs are from Turkey and the rocking chairs do not whisk to grandma’s house but are distinctly “St. Georgian”. “Customers here are expected to realize that for instance chair legs are solid wood and the walls dotted with genuine graphic art rather than hotel pictures picked up from a wholesaler”, says Mattila. “The fabric is premium quality and cushions dyed using sophisticated methods. Guests need to master a certain register to recognize textiles, materials, lamps.” St. George has a creative director, Mirkku Kullberg, and several florists. The breadfruit tree, jade
plant, ficus trees and calla lilies in the Wintergarden would be nothing out of the ordinary on their own but exude elegance and tranquility against their backdrop. The Wintergarden has an inventive and fun drinks menu. The signature drink inspired by Jylhä’s sculpture is served in a bird-shaped glass with a glass straw. There’s plenty of material to post on social media wherever you look, but then someone competing in the sphere of luxury would go through the motions of whether enthusiastically hyping “here we are” would be cool at all or whether to pretend a drink served in a tailormade glass is just an everyday occurrence. Mattila believes that neo-luxury is a very western phenomenon and philosophy. The Middle East and China value “luxury of the end result”, which means putting money on show, wherever it comes from.“New money comes with a hunger to show off: big symbols, impressive purchases.” For wealthy Asians, luxury is both about setting oneself apart and culturally blending in with a group.A phone needs to be the latest and most expensive model, while the brand (iPhone) still ties in with a group. In the US, it is fine to show one’s riches, as they are thought of as God’s blessing and a sign of working hard. In the Nordic countries – especially Finland – those in the business of selling luxury need to acknowledge that showing off is not the norm. You can down an expensive drink as long as it is served in a “living room”. Looking at the salon dedicated to poet Edith Södergran, a wealthy group of Indians comes to mind, who switched hotels in Copenhagen when they realized the five-star hotel had exposed beams on the ceilings.Who would want to stay in an unfinished hotel! Their level of literacy did not
“Here, customers are expected to understand the meaning of quality.”
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At St. George, the servitization of neoluxury is evident also at night. Beds can be fitted with an Emfit QS sleep monitor to measure the quality of sleep. A “spa host” helps customers interpret the results.
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The hotel’s wellbeing services were designed together with Hintsa Performance, offering a gym and spa as well as nutritional advice and guidance on Hintsa’s “holistic wellbeing philosophy”.
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quite cover uncoding wooden beams. Similarly, free bikes provided to hotel guests did not do the trick when the group had private chauffeurs back home.
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uxury is a loosely used word. “What luxury to be at home again!” you might say after a long trip. Researchers separate luxury, fashion and premium. When a café or restaurant claims to be selling luxury, it is probably selling premium, i.e. top-quality coffee or food. Fashion and high fashion differ from luxury in that luxury is timeless, whereas fashion focuses on a new batch each season, and the more that is sold the better. Luxury is not interested in selling maximum volumes. Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Rolex, Ferrari, Dior, Prada, Bulgari and Ritz Carlton would lose status if sold to too many. Luxury adheres to a logic of its special quality being recognized by as many as possible, but only few being able to enter its magic circle. “Luxury is extraordinary for the normal and normal for the extraordinary”, describes Pekka Mattila. The business logic and advertising of luxury items is a world of its own, and often totally opposite to other types of business. • Luxury products are manufactured close to home rather than in low-cost manufacturing countries. • Luxury is not advertised by telling customers to buy. Unlike for regular brands, advertising is separate from the product itself. Browsing through a fashion magazine or Vanity Fair makes you wonder who can afford the diamonds and watches in the ads – but luxury is also advertised to its nontarget group in order for it to admire the target group.
• Luxury is not manufactured through licensing, and the brand is in full control of the production chain. • All customers are VIP, but VIP membership is not granted only based on money. A luxury brand may sell products to people of its choosing. People need to beg and queue for luxury: “Could I buy an expensive car from you?” A luxury brand decides who to invite to its events, defining the right celebrities it wants to be associated with. • The price must always go up, not down. Discount sales would reduce the value of the product. It is better to keep a hotel empty than dump prices. The business logic in the world of luxury has shifted from a world of watches and bags to artisan cafés, hairstylists, b-to-b business, travel, and almost all service sectors. Availability is regulated by methods like becoming a client through recommendation or coffee beans gathered in exacting locations. Instead of diamonds, ecofriendly services and craftsmanship create a wow effect. Rarity can be created through high prices or limited sales. This creates a luxury experience: “Will you get to travel to Bhutan, seal a ticket to Burning Man or make a reservation to a restaurant open only for a limited period?” Pekka Mattila recently celebrated his 40th birthday in Italy. Gifts came in envelopes – new, servitized luxury.“Almost everyone got me a gift card for places I wouldn’t visit otherwise.” Examining old and new luxury makes one think that aren’t people a little funny, as they create hierarchies between themselves and others by buying the right color bag for each season – not because they like the color but because they think enough people
“The end product being luxury is no longer enough. Also the chain and story of origin need to be luxury.”
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will understand that a bag in exactly this color is more expensive. Is luxury just status-driven or a question of endless self-assertion? The answer is no. Pekka Mattila reminds that along with identity definition, neo-luxury brings sensual pleasure. The servitization of luxury is linked to post-materialistic values and a rise in ecological consciousness. “Luxury is a funny, irrational phenomenon”, says Mattila. Especially neo-luxury is characterized by sensual pleasure instead of or alongside the material side. “This morning, I bought a new Frederic Malle scent, which has been made in a small batch. It has notes of pineapple and lavender. Sensual pleasures of this type shouldn’t be undermined.” In their publication Luksus – suomalainen osaa minen kilpailuetuna (2016) (Engl. transl. Luxury – Finnish expertise as a competitive advantage), Satu Väkiparta, Nina Broström and Kristiina Palmgren state that neo-luxury is appealing also to people who are not interested in traditional luxury brands. Hybrid consumers buy second hand clothes and luxury spa treatments.
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e arrive in St. George’s upper floor suite. Slipping into the silky sheets of the oversized bed is an appealing thought. The soaps, lotions and shampoos give off a luxurious waft, and no doubt the complimentary bar would offer sensual pleasures mentioned by Mattila. At first glance, the suite at St. George does not rouse an immediate wow reaction. It is stylish of course. There are two balconies with views across the Old Church Park and over rooftops.The bookshelves are decked with books by Pentti Saarikoski, Eeva Manner, Friedrich Nietzsche and historical classics.The rugs have been brought from Morocco. The cushions and throws on the bed suggest that everything here has a story that can handle closer inspection by eco-conscious customers. The story behind the room itself is that it used to be part of
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Pekka Mattila and his dog Shurik.
the Finnish Club premises. (The gentlemen’s club committed to fostering Finnish language and culture is still up and running.) “Along with experiences and servitization, neo-luxury is the luxury of origin”, Mattila points out. “The end product being luxury is no longer enough. Also the chain and story of origin need to be luxury.” The importance of origin began to rise when it turned out that even many luxury brands manufactured products in sweatshops. The watershed moment for Hermès was the crocodile crisis of 2015. American animal rights organization PETA published videos showing crocodiles being skinned at farms claimed to be Hermès suppliers. Many celebrities including Victoria Beckham, who was estimated to own Hermès bags worth 1.5 million, stated they would boycott the label. Singer-actress Jane Birkin wanted her name off the Birkin bag due to the unethical killing and skinning of crocodiles. The price of a Birkin bag
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is in the range of EUR 20,000-130,000 and the waiting list is several years. In a sense, the shortcomings of old luxury have cleared the way for a new type.
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attila sits on the suite’s sofa, while dog Shurik cozies up on the rug, sipping water from his bowl every now and then.“This hotel is an interesting in-betweener: neither a traditional grand hotel nor a design hotel”, says Mattila. Mattila travels a great deal for work, spending around 200 nights in hotels per year.There have been plenty of great experiences and disappointments. It is annoying for most when the light switch cannot be found, or the designer sink is so impractical that dirty wash water will not go down. “No hooks for towels, and not knowing how to switch the lights on and off… A stylish design hotel can also be really annoying.” Mattila describes St. George with the words understated elegance.“A new generation can be seen here. When Helsinki got its first luxury hotel Kämp, it had to look like luxury hotels around the world.” Waldorf-Astoria in New York is its contemporary. Neo-luxury is not interested in imitating continental elegance but relies on the customer’s ability to grasp contemporary quality and styles.“Even without glitz, customers are expected to understand that compromises haven’t been made on quality, but even the backing of each cushion has been dyed in an exacting way”, says Mattila. “Neo-luxury comes with the expectation that hotel guests know how to appreciate, rather than thinking that the lamp there resembles an ugly bucket.”
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hen the opening of St. George was still months away and the exact date unknown, an event for introducing the hotel was arranged at Kunsthalle Helsinki. Also Mehmet Gürs, head chef of the new restaurant, was present. Born in Finland, raised in Sweden and trained in the US, Gürs has more than twenty restaurants, but is perhaps best known for Miklan in his hometown
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Istanbul. In his chef ’s gear, Gürs talked to the audience about spices and flavors from his home region of Anatolia that he would be introducing in his restaurant. It’s how stories begin – well before anyone has even tasted the food or smelled the spices. “Luxury is tied with the sensual – and nothing is more sensual than food”, comments Pekka Mattila on the importance of food in launching a hotel. Origin is significant also in the realm of food. “Customers aren’t even allowed to eat in peace with the need to explain that the goat was milked at full moon and the berries picked from south-easterly slopes.” In the realm of food, competition focuses on quality over quantity as well as the customer’s level of sophistication.Are bowls or beluga caviar out? Is the flavor of tea or yoghurt in a drink a sophisticated choice or faux-pas? Even a buffet can be luxury as long as it is “curated.” ”Seemingly sparse, aesthetically pleasing, where everything seems to serve a purpose”, describes Mattila. St. George’s restaurant Andrea claims to be fun dining rather than fine dining, separating itself from anything too posh. But it is of course just a promise – or can a meal be fun without good company, a luxury no restaurant can offer?
S O U RC E S : Kong, Hyun Min & Ko, Eunju & Chae, Heeju & Mattila, Pekka (2016): Understanding fashion consumers’ attitude and behavioral intention toward sustainable fashion products: Focus on sustainable knowledge sources and knowledge types. Hietanen, Joel & Mattila, Pekka & Sihvonen, Antti & Tikkanen, Henrikki (2018): Paradox and market renewal: Knockoffs and counterfeits as dobbelgänger brand images of luxury. Kim, Kyulim & Ko, Eunju & Lee, Mi-ah & Mattila, Pekka & Hoon Kim, Kyung (2014): Fashion collaboration effects on consumer response and customer equity in global luxury and SPA brand marketing. Koivisto, Elina & Mattila, Pekka (2012): Brand Management of ‘New Luxury’: Case Saga Furs.
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BOOK 2 [ LEADERSHIP ]
ME, M Y S E L F, AND I Power and success can be intoxicating. What if your boss is an arrogant bragger – in total and utter hubris? Journalist Annukka Oksanen explores leadership studies and interviews researchers who know a thing or two about hubristic managers. Illustration: Pietari Posti
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e’s a toughie. A visionary business genius, who will lead the company to success through trial and tribulation. Sturdy, quick, and assured. Exceptional! Responsibilities that come with being a CEO take skill, self-reliance, and risk tolerance. Also social skills come in handy when reaching for the top, as others wouldn’t be convinced otherwise. Power and success can be intoxicating. What if your boss is an arrogant bragger – in total and utter hubris? Hubris becomes the joke when someone starts talking about themselves in third person singular, acts self-importantly, isolates themselves into the corner office, or begins basking in the limelight. We all know the king of the castle -type, right? Hubris can be an incredibly satisfying state of affairs for a leader. However, from the company standpoint, things aren’t quite so rosy. In the worst case, an impulsive, stubborn CEO with an ego that knows no bounds can destroy the entire business, create a culture of fear and silence, and drive away talented employees. In other words, hubris can turn out very expensive. It’s not the problem of one or two, especially in the case of a show-off in a deciding role. Leaders have a lot of formal and informal power. Yet hubris can also prove useful. Don Hambrick is a professor in strategic management at Penn State University in the US and one of the world’s most renowned and respected scholars. His studies on the hubris and narcissism of CEOs are classics in the field. “CEOs who are in hubris and strongly narcissistic take risks and show bravery. Narcissists revel in others admiring their daring moves. Our studies show that strongly narcissistic leaders in the pharmaceutical industry are keener to get involved in biotechnology”, says professor Hambrick. Hubris can get you out of a though spot because omnipotent hubris leaders won’t ever doubt themselves. According to Dr. Pekka Mattila, Group Manag-
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ing Director of Aalto University Executive Education and Professor specialized in leadership, hubris can prove useful in a tricky situation. “Instead of getting worried, a hubris leader will just push through.That’s when a miracle can happen.There a plenty of examples from military history of an army moving to attack despite retreating seeming like the only option. The attack has resulted in a surprise success.” Successful or not, a hubris leader does increase the company’s risks manifold.
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ubris is defined as excessive self-confidence and arrogance. In studying strategic leadership, analysis of an executive’s personality and possible hubris creates an understanding of why companies function in a certain way. What leads to success or failure? In his book Peilejä johtamiseen (Engl.transl. Leadership Mirrors) published in the spring by Alma Talent, Pekka Mattila provides self-reflection tools for leaders. “Too often, management is examined separately from leadership and especially from the leader’s character. Often a system-focused perspective of this type results in a clinical outcome: management would be just fine without awkward human factors and incidents”, outlines Mattila in the introduction to his book. In Mattila’s view, leaders and their personalities cannot be separated from the managed organization and its destiny. Timo Vuori, Assistant Professor of Strategic Management at Aalto University, researches psychological dynamics in leadership. He brings a psychological perspective to leadership research that takes human factors and their impacts into account, which Mattila mentions. “We have rational models and are aware of the right procedures, yet these are rarely followed. Why is that? An understanding of psychological dynamics helps in planning functional strategies.” Also professor Don Hambrick explores the impact of a leader’s character and personality on the
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“A warning sign is when critical voices in the company are ridiculed or even demonized, divisions are made into us and them, and leaders surround themselves with likeminded types.” way strategies are formulated and implemented. “I’ve always been intrigued by the impact of human factors on strategy. Major strategic decisions involve uncertainty and noise. That’s why the leader’s personal interpretation of the situation has such a big impact.” Hambrick’s studies on the hubris and narcissism of CEOs are the most renowned in the field. In this case, narcissism doesn’t refer to a personality disorder, but a characteristic we all have. It’s not an illness. “Hubris isn’t a fixed personality trait but can manifest itself in different situations and stages of life. Hubris is defined by the situation and personality. It is heightened by social praise and recent successes”, defines Hambrick. Not all people with strong narcissistic traits enter hubris, but they are predisposed to it. As a starting point, Hambrick sees that decision-making offers a vast range of ambiguous stimuli to leaders, and their interpretation is influenced by their persona, i.e. values, experience and personality. Persona plays an important role especially in a situation with excessive information available, unclear causal connection, and lack of administration or regulation to restrict decision-making. Impatient leaders who see themselves as omnipotent think they do not need to find out the facts but make decisions based on their own interpretation.
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ambrick has noticed a wave of colorful CEOs in companies in the US during the 2000s. As classic examples, he mentions Lee Iacocca at the helm of Ford and Chrysler, Jack Welch from General Electric, and Steve Jobs from Apple. “They all score high for narcissistic tendencies in our research. That’s what sparked my interest in
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researching narcissism. We are surrounded by strongly narcissistic and hubristic people”, says Hambrick. “Steve Jobs may have aimed for hubris, but his product development was meticulous. Perfectionism in product development kept his hubris in check”, Timo Vuori comments on the legendary leader. “Of course Trump surpasses all classifications.”, says Hambrick.“He even collects magazine covers of himself. But it will be interesting to see whether he is praised or loathed afterwards, and how effective his measures are. It will influence the course of future leaders a great deal.” Trump’s conduct as US president doesn’t come as a surprise to Hambrick, who had already rated Trump as strongly narcissistic. “Yet I would never have foreseen this (Trump becoming president). On the other hand, more and more countries seem to be electing similar personalities as leaders.” Pekka Mattila agrees with Hambrick: strong, extroverted leaders are in vogue right now. Revealing insecurities and sharing doubts doesn’t take you to the very top. “Risk avoiders with a pessimistic streak do not match today’s leadership ideals. There used to be more room for different personalities. Now an ideal from the startup world prevails”, says Mattila. Mattila feels that fast-paced industries that do not adhere to conventional business principles or think they don’t apply are in greater risk of hubris. “In these types of fields, it’s easy to play down criticism, even if justified by the figures.”
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ow to detect hubris? “A warning sign is when critical voices in your company are ridiculed or even demonized,
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divisions are made into us and them, and leaders surround themselves with likeminded types”, Pekka Mattila lists. According to Jyrki Wallenius, Professor Emeritus at Aalto University School of Business who has specialized in management systems, there’s a fine line between healthy self-confidence and hubris. CEOs are typically expected to demonstrate “leadership”: determination, vision, and fast moves. “Leaders have managed to rise up the ladder to increasing responsibility. They’ve been to fine schools and done well. This often results in a healthy dose of self-confidence. Leaders are also recruited based on their vision.They come inbuilt with a high level of self-reliance.” Hubris leaders are believed to take too many risks. The definition is somewhat problematic, as it requires “knowing what the right amount of risk is”. Hindsight isn’t a good tool here. “In hu-
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bris, leaders fail to focus on the dangers involved in a project and tend to neglect any plan B”, describes Wallenius. Hubris can also take the form of impatience, self-centeredness, and a disregard for rules. Hubris leaders have a tendency to leave a trail of dodgy accounts behind, as they think rules do not apply. One warning sign is when a leader refuses to listen to others.
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n their classic study in the field, Don Hambrick and Mathew Hayward, Professor in the Department of Management at Monash University in the US, analyze the impacts of hubris on premiums paid for acquisitions. A premium refers to an acquirer offering a higher sum over market value in order to entice the potential seller.The average premium in acquisitions is around 20 to 30 per cent. The study by Hambrick and Hayward is found-
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“Hubris can also take the form of impatience, self-centeredness, and a disregard for rules. Hubris leaders often leave a trail of dodgy accounts behind, as they think rules do not apply.” ed on a basic notion of self known as core selfevaluation (CSE). This involves self-esteem, selfefficacy, locus of control, and emotional balance. It’s more or less built in the core of a person and relatively stable. Hambrick and Hayward calculated how much CEOs with a high CSE went over market value in premiums in acquisitions. A hyper-CSE is linked to hubris. On average, the premiums were overpriced by 47 per cent, sometimes even by 100 per cent. The ratio reflects the CEO’s interpretation of how much more value he or she would add to the company than at the time of acquisition. In other words, highly confident, hubristic CEOs have a more fervent belief in their miracle-making abilities than acquirers on the whole. Hambrick and Hayward went on to examine the company’s performance under the CEO and how much the CEO was praised in the media. They also compared the CEO’s salary to the second highest paid executive in the sector. The assumption was that the three factors reflect the CEO’s self-sufficiency. There was a strong connection with high premiums in acquisitions.The scholars deduced that the decisions of the CEOs were in all likelihood influenced by “how full of themselves they were”. After the analysis, Hambrick and Hayward listed how a CEO’s over-confidence could impact the company’s strategy. It seems that the more selfconfidence the CEO has, the bigger the strategic moves made by the organization, which in turn increases risks. It also seems that highly self-confident CEOs will not easily budge from their chosen strategy, which may become a problem, as the company’s future is rarely determined by clear options. Major decisions are always made in many-sided
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situations. There is no shortage of information and noise. As hubris leaders believe in their own invincibility and omnipotence, they don’t feel the need to thoroughly examine the issue at hand. Their personal views and character can have an exceptional impact on a major turn for the company. Hubris leaders make decisions based on less knowledge than those who think of themselves less highly. Hubris leaders do not worry about failing.They believe they can conquer any trouble and repair all problems. Hubris leaders are quick to make decisions.Their way of making decisions can become the company’s way, as organizations have a habit of repeating the same decision-making process. The role of knowledge and preparation decrease in the company as a whole, which increases risk.The more self-sufficient CEOs are, the more their companies deviate from the strategies of other companies in the field. Bluntly speaking, a hubris leader’s choices and decisions either lead to epic success or major loss for the company.
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n another study, Hambrick and research colleague Aritjit Chatterjee examined 111 CEOs in the IT industry in 1992-2004. They noticed that the size of the CEO’s photograph in annual reports, prominence in press releases, and use of first-person singular pronouns in interviews correlated with “strategic dynamism and grandiosity, as well as the number of acquisitions”.These personalities were also connected with fluctuating and extreme organizational performance. CEOs with exaggerated self-reliance not only made more acquisitions but acquired more companies outside their own industry. Fusions aiming at di-
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versification can be unsuccessful, so it’s a tell-tale sign of the CEO’s high level of self-confidence. Another marker of self-confident leaders is holding on to share options granted by the company as close to the expiry date as possible, even if profitable already in good time, as the leaders assume they can get the value to rise right to the end. Hubris leaders rather pay in cash than exchange shares, as they think their company shares are undervalued. In other words, the hubris of an executive can have repercussions far and wide: on structure, corporate culture, and job-satisfaction of employees. Owners come under its spell, too, and the conclusion is clear-cut and raw: hubris leaders are more likely to destroy the company than create growth.
media publicity have increased and accelerated in recent decades. Studies indicate that especially positive publicity feeds hubris. It’s just human – people who do not enjoy attention are a rare occurrence. “(Hubris) leaders may give interviews to journalists who praise them”, Timo Vuori mentions as an example. This brings them more admiration. Leaders can be faced with expectations of messiah-like qualities. It is tempting to think of this as a sign of our times, but that’s not necessarily true. “Think how pharaohs and Roman emperors were admired. People have a desire to put heroes on a pedestal, and social media is a place for continuously basking in the limelight.”
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on Hambrick sees the leader’s personality and situation resulting in hubris. Hubris is not a permanent condition.The current situation seems to favor hubris personalities. “Whenever the macro environment invites or needs quantum (large-scale) moves, there’s a demand for narcissists. Their behavior and style are appreciated.” The need for big moves and risks can be explained by rapid technological advancements, globalization, and disruption. As old structures break, vast opportunities become available for the daring. In times of uncertainty, people have a need for strong, trailblazing leaders, both in society at large and in the corporate world. It all supports the ideal of determined, visionary leaders. According to Hambrick, American CEOs in the 50s, 60s, and 70s were gray and boring. The dream leader of the time was factual and serious, focusing fully on managing the company. The leader’s personality wasn’t scrutinized by media – it simply wasn’t the done thing. All in all, the CEO’s predominant image was very different to today’s. Plainly speaking, today’s ideal leader is an extroverted show person, who takes care of the company and navigates publicity. A true leader is both public material and takes an active public role for instance by tweeting. Media and social
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ubris would be cut short without the situation mentioned by Hambrick: surrounding people and structures. Hubris leaders cause a stir because they are given the space to do it. “Quite often leaders are hired for their vision. Solid self-confidence is involved, and if they have already made a decision on what to do, they won’t look at other options. In the worst case, they’ll surround themselves with more likeminded people”, says Jyrki Wallenius. Christian Stadler, Professor of Strategic Management at Warwick Business School, U.K., has studied companies that have enjoyed long-term success. Typically the CEOs have a diverse, multifaceted network in the companies they manage. “A CEO often attracts people-pleasers.That’s why it’s important to surround yourself with those who think differently”, he says. People suck up to leaders because they have power. “It’s easier with everyone playing along. Leaders surrounding themselves with weak people pleasers is human”, says Pekka Mattila. But it’s not wise. Hambrick finds an intriguing explanation to the demand for self-confident leaders also from the financial market. It’s down to a basic investment principle – diversifying risks.
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“Especially positive publicity feeds hubris. It’s just human – people who do not enjoy attention are a rare occurrence.” “Shareholders nudge and encourage the CEO to make bigger and bigger moves. Investment portfolios are so diversified these days that investors needn’t worry too much about one company failing”, says Hambrick. Investment risks have been diversified so effectively that it allows even outrageous experiments as far as some companies in a portfolio are concerned. If the experiments work out, you get money, and if not, the losses will even out in the portfolio. “This takes some ego.” Jyrki Wallenius sees hubris as a phenomenon linked to economic upswings. Risk analysis gets put aside when it’s booming and there’s trust in the market. “Before the 2008 financial crisis, my colleague worked for Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, clearly recognizing hubris in the companies. The financial instruments were imaginary, and they forgot to buckle up for the ride and listen. They were invincible.” Even an entire industry can swell up into hubris, the financial sector being a classic example. At the turn of the millennium, it was the IT industry that was in hubris. History provides plenty of cases. Major risk-taking can become the norm in a sector, as it is copied by others. Hubris can also affect a team or function, such as an ambitious product development project. “Being too careful can also be a problem. It’s connected to a downswing, after getting hit”, says Wallenius. Being too careful can lead to a company not making efficient use of resources, and the company’s value not growing as much as it otherwise could. Wallenius sees the hubris leader more as a US phenomenon, as Europe and Scandinavia manifest a more collegial leadership style. In American companies, the CEO and chairman of the board are
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usually one and the same person, while in Europe the functions are more often divided among two. “Combining the functions can be good, if the company has a clear direction and selected strategy. A two-leader model works when you need a challenge and new perspectives”, says Timo Vuori. When asked whether hubris has changed, too, Hambrick pauses for a moment. Is the type of behavior we think of as hubris different than before? “It’s a good question. We may have become immune to obnoxious, harsh behavior.What was seen as colorful behavior 30-40 years ago can be thought of as normal today. Sociopsychological studies show that narcissism has increased consistently over recent decades. We live in a self-oriented society, where men are more self-involved than women.”
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ow to prevent hubris? The best way is to keep it under tabs right from the start. The further along the hubris of a leader, team or industry goes, the harder it is to control.Timo Vuori thinks that hubris or strong narcissistic tendencies may go unnoticed in a job interview. “To avoid hubris, take a look at the applicants’ CV: how risky are the decisions they’ve made, what have they done? How many projects have they carried through? It’s always possible to put on an act in an interview. You can observe how much applicants focus on themselves and how much on their team.” Jyrki Wallenius thinks it’s important to interview the applicant’s former colleagues. “In an interview, an applicant can list completely reasonable pointers for hours on end.” Usually smart people are interested in developing themselves. But in hubris, personal weaknesses are a blind spot. A smart leader grasps the risk of hubris in advance. “There’s a rule of thumb for
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any delusion: if you are aware of delusions, you can prepare for them. That’s what a good leader should do”, says Wallenius. One example of a delusion mentioned by Wallenius is over-confidence in one’s knowledge. Classic calibration tests have been applied to studying the phenomenon, especially for probability estimations. People think they know more than they do. When you are aware of your leanings towards delusions, you can be prepared. In the classic calibration test, leaders usually estimate the range for say a city’s population too small.When the range is too small from the outset, they get fewer questions right. In a survey by Canadian executive search firm Heidrick & Struggle’s, a fifth of 150 executives claimed to never doubt themselves. On the other hand, 71 per cent claimed they had doubts, but made use of them in decision-making to analyze risks. Self-criticism and humility are good ways to prevent hubris. Respondents to the survey felt the surest sign of a team being in hubris was when it neglected or kept its distance from customers.To shake up a team with leanings towards hubris, you can leave a chair empty in a meeting to denote the customer. Having less and less contact with customers is a bad sign. Jyrki Wallenius recommends seeking out a devil’s advocate – someone who will dig out the weak spots and inconsistencies of an idea. All in all, it is important to be able to talk honestly to a
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leader. A raging, fearmongering hubris leader can lead to employees covering up their shortcomings. “Ideas and visions need to be tested diversely. For example, bridge engineers carry out usability tests. Why wouldn’t leaders apply the same to decisions?”, asks Wallenius. Another piece of advice from Wallenius is for leaders not to express their views too forcefully and too early.“People have a habit of conforming. The corporate culture should foster everyone’s ability and desire to question, ask, and listen.” A company’s board has a key role in steering a leader’s work. According to Timo Vuori, the board needs to keep in tune with what’s going on. After all, the board approves at least big-scale acquisitions. “It’s not a good sign if the company’s board works mainly as a rubber stamp, and the board isn’t able to challenge the managing director to a factual discussion. If the CEO keeps turning up to meetings with a proposal for direct approval, you can ask why the CEO isn’t being challenged by the board.” Vuori mentions an example of office politics that can be an everyday hindrance: CEOs can be board members in other companies and make the life of a board member in the company they lead difficult, if their views are being questioned.
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hristian Stadler from Warwick University talks about intelligent conservatism, which he claims to curb hubris from erupting in companies.
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“The research indicated that instead of being charismatic power figures, the managing directors of the most successful companies were careful, meticulous, and even thought of as boring.” Stadler has examined European companies that have succeeded exceptionally for a hundred years. One of Stadler’s examples is British Glaxo, which started out as a general merchandising business in 1861. Patented milk powder steered the way towards a pharmaceutical company. Glaxo has been able to buy out its rivals along the way. Today, Glaxo SmithKline is a global pharmaceutical giant. According to the study, the success of German insurance company Allianz is based on making efficient use of its customer base, while French cement manufacturer Lafarge used the profits from building the Suez Canal to increase internationalization. Corporations with enduring success on Stadler’s list also include large European companies Shell, Siemens, and Nokia. The study indicated that instead of being charismatic power figures, the managing directors of the most successful companies were careful, meticulous, and even thought of as boring. The corporations were often very conservative when it came to change. Especially major strategic changes were prepared painstakingly over a long period of time. As opposed to typical intuitive hubris strategies, the companies focused on making use of the resources they already had instead of aiming to conquer new areas. They focused on their strengths. The companies were also eager to reflect on past mistakes – something that a hubris leader can hardly be pictured doing. Hubris is linked to a low toleration of criticism. Based on his research, Stadler advocates internal advancement and promotions instead of external recruitment. “A CEO who has started from the bottom knows plenty of people in the company. Seeking a rescuer from the outside can feed hubris”, says Stadler. With a functional network, the CEO
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won’t become isolated and down to a single point of information. Stadler also feels that coming in from another sector can be an unnecessary risk. This goes against the current trend of thinking that professional executives get to shine no matter which industry they come from. “An insider is better aware of what’s possible.You can always use consultants to gain additional perspectives.” Also Stadler’s notion of tempo challenges current trends. ”I don’t believe in speed. Change takes time. Think of solar energy for instance, which has been tested since the 1970s, for nearly fifty years. It’s mainly communication that is now faster in business, not necessarily anything else.” He points out that each generation assumes it is going through the most crucial shift of all times. “The surveyed companies managed to successfully navigate the 1930s great depression, two world wars, two oil crises, the invention of the phone, television, and computer…” Stadler’s list sounds surprisingly untrendy. It’s hard to imagine fast-moving celebrity leaders, whether visionary business savvies or arrogant braggers, seeking employment in companies of intelligent conservatism. Not that the companies would like them on the payroll, either. Perhaps what makes an ideal leader is changing in other ways, too, as lately listening has been emphasized as an important leadership quality. Leaders are also advised to care and show empathy. Even servant leadership has gained favor, where the leader serves subordinates in order to improve their operating environment.The dawning change is at least partly due to hierarchy and authority dissipating from society, and the same applying to companies. You can’t make millennials bloom by telling them to. ◆
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BOOK 3 [ TA L E N T M A N A G E M E N T ]
TA L E N T C I T Y A job offer from Helsinki, Copenhagen, Singapore. Would you be ready to go? Journalist Reetta Räty met people who know how to attract talent and what today’s high-skilled migration looks like. Photography: Heli Blåfield
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hey are part of the global gaming elite, who could get a job and home almost anywhere in the world, yet here they are, on the 13th level of an office block in Ruoholahti, Helsinki. As is the custom in Finland, the question goes: why on earth did they choose to come here? Finns find it hard to believe that someone would voluntarily move to the small, northern, cold and empty land of just 5 million people, with a strange language and introverted mentality… On the other hand, Finns have had quite an ego boost lately, as Finland and capital Helsinki have in turn been named the most functional and attractive places in the world, offering the best quality of life. Helsinki Airport is busy building its reputation as a handy hub linking Asia with the west, and the Nordic Model sparks plenty of interest amid an uncertain global economic climate. We are sitting in the Helsinki office of startup
vilehto, the recruitment process for the position took nearly six months. Four applicants were shortlisted, all from outside Finland.“All four flew to Finland to meet with our team, not intimidated by our middle-of-nowhere geography or less-than-ideal weather.” There’s nothing new in everyone wanting to go to London, San Francisco or New York, but Finns are still getting used to the thought of top global experts being lured to this far end of the world. Studies are fiercely underway on what attracts global talent to Helsinki and other Finnish cities. What are the preconditions for high-skilled migration?
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metropolis can be an attractive travel destination, but city rankings look beyond the hype, concentrating on quality of living. Especially when moving with a family, there are other factors to think about than just the business side.
Four applicants were shortlisted, all from outside Finland. “All four flew to Finland to meet with our team, not intimidated by our middle-of-nowhere geography or less-than-ideal weather.” company Lightneer. The company’s 50-year-old CEO Mark Cochrane from Britain isn’t wearing shoes, as he sits on a yellow couch. Mark and his family set up home in Espoo, which is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. Why did the family move to Finland? Cochrane has been a director in the game industry for the past twenty years, and the main reason for coming to Helsinki was work. Lightneer was looking for a CEO, and recruitment was global: they wanted to find the best possible person, regardless of home country, town, language or citizenship.The gaming industry has a global character, and headhunters are used to find top talent. According to Lightneer’s co-founder Lauri Jär-
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For Mark Cochrane, moving to Helsinki had its pros and cons.When initially contacted by a headhunter and forced to think about the prospect at least hypothetically, the first thing that came to mind was Finland’s high quality of education. For his children, aged 14, 12 and 10, the thought of moving was a hard one to swallow. ”Have you gone mad?” was their first reaction. For them the thought was “like a nuclear bomb”, says Cochrane. Yet the move can be beneficial especially for the children: their international school in Espoo provides a soft landing to acclimatizing to life in Finland. As Mark Cochrane points out, education is of a high standard in Finland, renowned around the world for its Pisa results. “You can’t say the
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CEO Mark Cochrane moved from Britain to the Helsinki area. He now works for Lightneer, a game studio in Ruoholahti, Helsinki.
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same for Britain.The government is doing its best, yet it’s all a mess. Brexit, and all kinds of stuff…” Family Cochrane isn’t alone in being swayed by Finland’s reputation as an educational superpower. English-speaking education is on the increase in Helsinki and Espoo to make it easier for international families to move to the country. Schools having to acknowledge the needs of the global business elite puts Finland in a relatively new situation. The first thing on the list for Helsinki’s new, energetic mayor Jan Vapaavuori was to make Helsinki a more attractive home for global talent. Coupled with an impressive launch, his strategy for Helsinki declares that it will be the world’s best city in utilizing digitalization and
Rovio’s former marketing director Peter Vesterbacka and co-founder Niklas Hed. Talent mobility goes hand in hand with herd behavior: talents follow each other, as the accumulation of skill creates advancement prospects and inspiration. Helsinki forms a globally renowned hub in the gaming industry, but when the city competed for hosting the European Medicines Agency in fall 2017, no one was ready to relocate to Finland, and Helsinki dropped from the race already in the first round. The European Medicines Agency and Banking Authority had to relocate from London after Britain decided to leave the European Union. The Medicines Agency employs around 900 people. The winner was
”The content and languages on offer at schools make a difference for migrants like us.The weather was no issue. We are from Great Britain after all.” among Europe’s most intriguing locations for startups. Vapaavuori wants his city to include a startup campus that will entice the global geek elite to Helsinki.Vapaavuori has also been thinking about their families. “More English and Chinese-speaking education is needed in schools”, he outlines. ”The content and languages on offer at schools make a difference for migrants like us.The weather was no issue”, says Mark Cochrane. “We are from Great Britain after all.”
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ark Cochrane’s resumé includes successes at companies like Popcap, Sony, Psygnosis, Vodafone and EA. He could have looked for work elsewhere. However, the Helsinki and Espoo region has a strong reputation in the gaming industry. A startup mentality centers around Aalto University, and many of the gurus in the field are from Finland. Also Lightneer has received its fair share of publicity for founding members including
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Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The appeal of cities also depends on the sector. Spanish engineer Juan Luis Ordoñez, who develops games at Lightneer, says he ended up in Finland partly because he had read that Helsinki is one of the best locations to work in the gaming industry. “In addition to Finland, USA and Canada are in the top three”, he says. Startup Genome compares startup ecosystems and their strengths on an annual basis. In 2018, the Global Startup Ecosystems Report (GSER) compared 45 cities. Helsinki was already known for its’ game industry, but this year also health and artificial intelligence were noted as Helsinki’s strongholds. Also, the report states that Helsinki is the best ecosystem for local connectedness in the world, leaving behind ecosystems such as Silicon Valley and London. CEO of Helsinki Business Hub Marja-Liisa Niinikoski comments on the results, saying that Helsinki has excellent co-operation between startups,
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Spanish engineer Juan Luis Ordoñez (left), who develops games at Lightneer, says he ended up in Finland partly because he had read that Helsinki is one of the best locations to work in the gaming industry. “The standard of living in Helsinki is better than back home.” His colleague Risto D. Holmström is used to working with people from abroad.
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cities, corporations and research institutes. “As we all know, we don’t have a huge market in Finland. That is why our startups aim straight for the global market.When competition is tough, we need to work together.” As comparisons show, a small city is neither a problem or trump card as such. Small circles can be an advantage in the international game industry: it is vital to collaborate and head across borders. But a small size can also pose a problem: Helsinki is unknown territory for many. Who would want to live in western Siberia, goes the joke in Helsinki. The GSER report compares Helsinki to Jerusalem, which, according to the analysis, both offer
and summer. Ordoñez has also lived in Tallinn and Amsterdam in the past and done his fair share of traveling. “My Erasmus exchange period opened my eyes to how much you can do and see in life.” For him, moving to Helsinki was not a major statement or final decision: “I was open to go anywhere”. In the thoroughly international game industry, many agree that it doesn’t really matter which country you live in at the time, as the operating environment is international anyway. Lightneer has around twenty employees and the working language is English. The company has amassed a funding totaling EUR 7.7 million from investors, which include US-based GSV Acceleration,
As comparisons show, a small city is neither a problem or trump card as such. small, strong startup ecosystems and have a similar degree of a sense of community.The Greater Helsinki region, however, displays stronger local relationships.The report indicates that founders helping other founders improves the overall performance of the ecosystem. Also factors like the mentioned ”strong local relationships” influence the appeal of a city.The startup scene in Helsinki often takes pride in its openness, which also the GSER report mentions. In part, this is down to a culture created by pioneering entrepreneurs: openness has been the cornerstone of activities right from the start, and a matter of pride. This way of working benefits the entire city.
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ngineer Juan Luis Ordoñez, who relocated to Helsinki from Alicante in Spain, mentions that the standard of living and work conditions in Helsinki are better than for instance in his home country. He values public services and the Nordic society model. He lives in the Töölö district in downtown Helsinki, and cycles to work, winter
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French Brighteye VC, Finnish IPR VC and Reach Capital from Silicon Valley. Sitting in Lightneer’s office, you wouldn’t necessarily think you were in Helsinki or even Scandinavia. The kitchen is kitted out with a coffee machine, fruit, snack bars and oat milk. The thoughts of Ordoñez on the society he now lives in do not relate to his own needs but a wider model: he is entitled to use occupational health care services but mentions the welfare society that centers on public health care as Finland’s advantage. He goes on to list other classic good points: it’s clean, safe, healthy and stable.
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urich in Switzerland holds top position in the 2018 Global Cities Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI), coming second the year before. This year, Stockholm came second, followed by other Nordic countries: Oslo, Copenhagen and Helsinki. The GTCI ranking began to measure cities a couple of years ago, after it became apparent that cities had their own competition going
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AND THE WINNER IS…
S O U R C E : T H E G L O B A L T A L E N T C O M P E T I T I V E N E S S I N D E X 2 0 1 8 . I N S E A D , T H E A D E C C O G R O U P, A N D T AT A C O M M U N I C AT I O N S .
G LO B A L C I T Y TA L E N T C O M P E T I T I V E N E S S I N D E X R A N K I N G S A N D OV E R A L L S C O R E S RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
CITY OVERALL SCORE Zurich (Switzerland) 71.0 Stockholm (Sweden) 68.2 Oslo (Norway) 68.1 Copenhagen (Denmark) 67.1 Helsinki (Finland) 66.8 Washington DC (United States) 66.5 Dublin (Ireland) 66.1 San Francisco (United States) 63.4 Paris (France) 63.2 Brussels (Belgium) 62.7 Amsterdam (Netherlands) 61.6 Tokyo ( Japan) 60.2 Los Angeles (United States) 59.8 London (United Kingdom) 59.6 Vienna (Austria) 59.5 Luxembourg (Luxembourg) 59.4 Boston (United States) 58.6 Seoul (Korea, Rep.) 57.8 Lisbon (Portugal) 57.0 Sydney (Australia) 56.9 Chicago (United States) 56.8 Madrid (Spain) 56.8
23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45
Gothenburg (Sweden) Ottawa (Canada) Prague (Czech Rep.) New York (United States) The Hague (Netherlands) Athens (Greece) Berlin (Germany) Barcelona (Spain) Eindhoven (Netherlands) Bilbao (Spain) Singapore (Singapore) Rotterdam (Netherlands) Buenos Aires (Argentina) Cardiff (United Kingdom) Kiel (Germany) Birmingham (United Kingdom) Warsaw (Poland) Hanover (Germany) Budapest (Hungary) Zaragoza (Spain) Tallinn (Estonia) Vilnius (Lithuania) Nantes (France)
56.3 55.4 55.2 55.0 54.9 53.9 53.6 53.5 53.5 53.0 52.7 51.4 50.9 50.0 49.4 49.3 48.1 48.0 47.9 47.6 46.9 46.7 46.1
GTCI is an annual benchmarking report compiled by international business school INSEAD with The Adecco Group and Tata Communications. It measures and ranks 119 countries and 90 cities based on their ability to grow, attract and retain talent.
G LO B A L C I T I E S TA L E N T C O M P E T I T I V E N E S S I N D E X ( G C TC I ) 1. EN A BL E
2. ATTRAC T
3. GROW
4 . RE TAI N
5 . BE G LO B AL
1.1 R&D expenditure
2.1 GDP per capita
3.1 Major universities
4.1 Personal safety
5.1 Workforce with tertiary education
1.2 ICT access (households with internet)
2.2 Quality of life
3.2 Tertiary enrolment
4.2 Physician density
5.2 Population with tertiary education
1.3 Presence of Forbes Global 2000 companies
2.3 Environmental quality
3.3 Use of social networks
4.3 Monthly expenses
5.3 Airport connectivity
4.4 Monthly rental
5.4 Presence of IGOs
The first GCTCI shows that top cities combine strong infrastructure & information connectivity, invest in knowledge hubs and attract international companies.
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Jarno (Killi) Kallunki-Mättö (left), and Risto D. Holmström chatting in the kitchen at Lightneer, Helsinki. At work, they speak both Finnish and English. Jose Arrias is from Venezuela. He now considers Helsinki as his home. “It took a long time to see the true character of Finns. They are reserved and quiet at first, unlike us Venezuelans, who are friends with everyone. But once you get to know a Finn, you have a friend for life.”
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on, separate from the countries themselves. The report on the GTCI results states that high-ranking cities showed similarities. Higher GDP levels naturally lead to higher technology penetration, creating ecosystems with better quality education, business, healthcare and infrastructure.This virtuous cycle leads to stronger talent competitiveness. The reputation and appeal of cities has become separate from the nation state. People in the global labor market would say they live in London,
culture, diversity and tolerance than in the countryside. Countries can be marketed to tourists, but someone considering a future home will be looking at the city. People do not live their everyday lives in a state, but in a town. It is worth considering why a city needs to be interested whether an IT expert comes to Helsinki or chooses Singapore instead.The report that examines the GTCI results provides an in-depth analysis on the significance of diversity for cities
Also the general mood makes a difference. A city has a soul, too, which isn’t so easy to build consciously. Brussels, San Francisco, Tokyo, Shanghai or Copenhagen. Who would say they’re moving to work for the EU in Belgium?
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he rise of cities has been a known topic for decades.Theorist Benjamin R. Barber (19392017) was one of the messengers of rising cities. He asserted that nation states would fail as a result of their own impossibility, and key issues of the human kind are solved in cities, led by mayors. Barber was a top-level international consultant on participatory democracy as well as an adviser to Bill Clinton, Howard Dean and Muammar Gaddafi. Many municipal decision-makers agree with Barber that the city is a logical operating environment when aiming to solve major questions: climate change, terrorism and the positives and negatives of digitalization.This results in cities being attractive business environments. Cities are more flexible – or agile when put in business terms – than states, as they do not need to guard their borders or sovereignty. Also attracting talent benefits cities more than nation states. Economic growth is usually more rapid than for states, and they offer good transport connections and level of service. Cities have more
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and communities. According to studies, diversity is not just a nice-to-have or a result of globalization that needs to be dealt with, but rather a desirable state that brings prosperity and freedom of thought. Becoming a talent hub requires actively maintaining diversity. “…cities are devoting increasing efforts to foster diversity by attracting individuals (and companies) with very different backgrounds and profiles. For example, researchers Ottaviano and Peri (2006), considering evidence from a sample of 226 US cities from 1980 to 2010, showed that linguistic, racial, and composite diversity increased the average income of working-age population in American cities. They also showed that such positive effects are generally higher at city level than at that of the nation.”
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earing a Janis Joplin t-shirt and jeans, young chap Jose Arrias is sitting in Lightneer’s office in the Ruoholahti district of Helsinki. Originally from Venezuela, Arrias has lived in Helsinki for the past five years. He is the Social Media and Community Manager for learninggame startpup Lightneer. Why did this talent decide to leave Venezuela’s hottest corner for the cold north?
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” W H E N A C I T Y WA N T S TO AT T R AC T TA L E N T, S M O OT H DA I LY L I V I N G I S A M A J O R P L U S ” Why should cities attract talents? “Major, world-changing innovation arises in places where people from different fields collide”, says project manager and urban influencer Mikko Särelä. In attracting talent, the aim is to increase networks of this type.
is movement and growth, a problem arises – then a solution. “Cities have problems, but also skilled people able to solve them.” He adds that today no one thinks like back in the 90s: that the Internet would make cities irrelevant. Even a game company wants its CEO to live in Finland despite the fact that contacts could be kept via conference calls. In his free time, Särelä is a proactive urban influencer. He is the founder of the popular Lisää kaupunkia Helsinkiin (Engl. transl. More city into Helsinki) Facebook group, an active discussion forum on urban planning with more than 17,000 members. With Särelä leading the way, many of the particpants know the future plans for Helsinki like the back of their hand. According to Särelä, Helsinki has ”an immediate deficit of 15,00 coders”. How would he attract talent to the city? ”As much of a cliché as it sounds, safety is vital. That’s something we don’t know how to market in Helsinki, as it’s taken for granted.”
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he last 10,000 years have been a period of urbanization”, says D. Sc. (Tech.) Mikko Särelä, project manager at Aalto University. He used to work for Aalto Living+ platform, which focuses on human-centered living environments and urban development as well as the digital revolution and how it affects cities. Särelä previously researched online networks. Aalto Living+ is Aalto University’s multidisciplinary collaboration platform, which aims to make use of urban research in people’s daily lives. Särelä sees cities as the first platform in the history of the world that brings together different types of producers and consumers. “And why do platforms exist? Because they bring network advantages.” These network advantages are enhanced by the increasingly important role of cities. In this sense, it is logical that cities should attract talent. “Major world-changing innovation arises in places where people from different disciplines collide. Know ledge is something you can write in a book and teach on the other side of the world, but most information is tacit and only transmitted through genuinely knowing someone and spending time with them”, explains Särelä. “Cities bring together people from a wide range of fields, which means they create special advantage – and attract people who want to make use of networks.” In attracting talent, the aim is to increase networks of this type. Särelä points out that networks also bring disadvantages, such as rising house prices, more traffic, less green areas and noise. But cities are self-repairing: there
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esearcher Särelä reminds that when terrorist attacks happen in other parts of Europe, Finland and Helsinki are often mentioned as safe parts of the world, along the lines of: “Is a move to Finland what it takes to live safely?” It is interesting that Nordic cities without separate expat areas or fenced-off living enclaves for the rich as such score top marks in city rankings. In Helsinki, foreigners eagerly mention the fact that their children can go to school themselves by bike, tram or metro. Safety is a value in itself, but it also allows children to learn to become independent, as they get to take responsibility for themselves from a young age. What other perks are there in Helsinki besides safety? ”Residents take initiative, and bureaucracy is topclass. And we are not the worst competitors in the world, which means the workplace isn’t about competing like mad and stabbing each other in the back.”
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Finns who move abroad often complain on social media about their struggle with bureaucracy, complete with: “So missing Finnish officials!”. The value of functional bureaucracy is not often seen until it is gone. Of course Helsinki has its shortcomings when thinking about talents who get to choose between cities. Särelä mentions a Stockholm-based friend, who when visiting Helsinki always notices how few foreigners there seem to be. “It’s the main reason my friend doesn’t want to move here.”
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bout 15 per cent of Helsinki’s residents come from outside Finland. Although the figure is on the increase, there are still practices in place in Finland that favor its own citizens in getting jobs, such as a so-called means test. Considering the advantages of internationalization and networking, this can be seen as shortsighted. Where the 1900s were still governed by agreements between states, world trade is now largely based on urban networks. It is in the interest of cities to raise their profile in networks. Cities may not be able to influence geography, but they can influence their role. Let’s take the plan for a tunnel between Helsinki and Tallinn as an example – a dream of Helsinki city planning, and an expensive but appealing idea. Särelä says that if Helsinki manages to become a gateway and bridge between Europe and Asia, it could become a place for taking care of Baltic activities in global operations. ”From the viewpoint of networks, if an Asian firm is torn between an office in Stockholm or Helsinki, the tunnel would give Helsinki a distinct advantage: you could pop over to the Baltics for the day.” The tunnel to Tallinn is a good example of what makes a city appealing: it can be thought of as the infrastructure that enables smooth business operations, while also affecting the daily life and wellbeing of employees – getting home by the evening. “Smooth everyday living is a major plus. The city of Espoo making English its third official language (alongside Finnish and Swedish) was an interesting move. It sends a message to international experts: you can live your life here in English.”
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”A Finnish online education company was looking for a native Spanish speaker. I first worked remotely, thinking whether to come to Finland”, says Arrias. He had lived in Kenia before, and already knew it did not make sense to believe in preconceived ideas. Kenia was completely different to what he had imagined, and maybe the same went for Finland! “And it was. It took a long time, nearly eighteen months, to see the true character of Finns. They are reserved and quiet at first, unlike us Venezuelans, who are friends with everyone. But once you get to know a Finn, you have a friend for life.” Jose has learnt the language and seen the country as far as northernmost Lapland. He is a good example of how alongside rational decisions and city branding, high-skilled migration is a result of coincidences. “I could have set off for Hong Kong or Brazil but found myself in Helsinki.” Jose calls Helsinki his home and says if he could choose where to live from all the places in the world, he would choose Finland or Kenia. The two countries appeal for totally different reasons, but they both offer an adventure. ◆
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E S P O O E A G E R TO M A K E WAY F O R G LO B A L TA L E N T The intention is to dismantle unnecessary bureaucracy around visas and permissions, and increase language offering in schools. “Being small is also a strength: you learn to know people in your field in a matter of a few weeks”, says Tuula Antola, who is in charge of economic and urban development for the City of Espoo.
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uula Antola, Director of Economic and Urban Development for the City of Espoo, is sitting in a taxi heading to Helsinki Airport. She is taking a direct afternoon flight to Shanghai. Helsinki and the entire metropolitan region take pride in the excellent Asian connections. Espoo is home to Aalto University. The city has just under 300,000 inhabitants and is part of the metropolitan region surrounding capital city Helsinki. Espoo and Shanghai have been sister cities for twenty years. It is a question of networking among cities, which has clear advantages, offering a way to get to know each other and bounce ideas, cultures and thinking. Finnish cities have had sister cities in China for a lengthy period of time, and recently activities have become deeper, moving from merely exchanging flags and compliments to practical measures. Determined efforts have been made to build contacts between universities in Espoo and Shanghai. Aalto University collaborates with Tongji University in Shanghai. If you visit Tongji Design Factory, you will most certainly bump into Finnish students from Aalto University. If you are extra lucky, you may even get a chance to take a sauna in the Chinese university, as a result of Finnish-Chinese cooperation. When people meet, new things happen: innovation, insight, understanding, cooperation, marriage.
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In networks, physical distances become blurred and moving to another city becomes easier, as there are already people one knows. Being part of a network is one way to attract talent. A third of Chinese people in Finland live in Espoo. Tuula Antola mentions that the city is eager to promote contacts between the two cities both ways: by offering a good home to Chinese people, while supporting Finns who want to enter the Chinese market. Inter-city activities come naturally for the Chinese, as in a country the size of China, a great deal takes place on city level. Contacts in cities are important when doing business. Antola says that recent years have brought major changes to the public sector’s role towards entrepreneurship and, as a result, to attracting talent. According to her, a city is an enabler. Her work entails meeting with directors of game companies, visiting accelerators, and understanding the work life needs of a new generation. It goes without saying that the city wants to attract global talent. “It is vital that top talent want to come here and find it easy to start working”, says Antola. The city is dismantling hindrances that have previously been blocking the way of talents: it wants to get rid of unnecessary bureaucracy around visas and permissions and promote Finnish working culture: “We have a culture of working together, low in hierarchy, which we need to be proud of. Being small is also a strength: you learn to know people in your field in a matter of a few weeks. It’s safe and peaceful, and the level of expertise is at the top of the game in many sectors thanks to our high standard of education.” Marketing efforts aim to crystallize the image and story of Espoo. Without marketing, people outside Finland may have a dated or non-existent view of Helsinki, Espoo or Finland.
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A A Y T I S W R E E I V V I N F U O O T T IN L O P
C I T Y AT T R AC T I V E N E S S P L AY S A RO L E I N M AC RO - L E V E L TA L E N T M A N AG E M E N T
Talents move to interesting and attractive cities, not from one country to another. Hence along with a positive image of Finland, Helsinki needs a strong and realistic brand – one that fulfills the high expectations of global talent, writes Riitta Lumme-Tuomala from Aalto EE. Riitta Lumme-Tuomala is Head of Growth at Aalto EE (strategic marketing, communication, alumni relations, and Russian business). Dr. (DBA) Lumme-Tuomala is also responsible for Talent Management at Aalto EE. Talent management is traditionally considered an organization-level practice, or a process benefiting individuals. More and more, today’s talent management researchers and practitioners look at talent attraction, recruitment and retention from three angles: in addition to organizations and individuals, countries and governments are seen as crucial contributors in global talent management. Particularly cities can make a difference and pave the way for global talent, critical for the success of various industries of today. The Talent City article (pp. 51–63) lists key factors that make cities attractive to talent: how education is organized both at university and primary school levels, and can a city be considered a hub that offers connectivity and well-functioning, easily accessible networks? How effective and smooth is the cooperation between state authorities and companies, and will newly recruited talent get lost in the bureaucracy jungle? Helsinki has done a pretty good job, and the same can be said about Espoo, home of Aalto University. In 2017, the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (Insead 2017) listed 100 most attractive talent cities for the first time. Previously, the index was calculated only for countries. The researchers noted a macrotrend particularly among millennials: talents move from one city to another rather than from country to country. This is why Helsinki, and why not e.g. Oulu, needs a strong brand in addition to the positive image Finland has succeeded to achieve. The brand needs to
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fulfill expectations of the new immigrants and be true to its promise. Helsinki proudly occupies third position on the talent city list, coming right after Zurich and Copenhagen, and before San Francisco and Gothenburg! An extraordinary accomplishment, which stuns us Helsinki residents who commonly think “who would want to move to Helsinki of all places”. But the brand and reality are at least mostly aligned, thanks to the passionate, focused, and resilient work of city leaders like Tuula Antola, Jukka Mäkelä, and Jan Vapaavuori. Is Helsinki a Talent Eden, then? Statistically at least this is the case; we need to trust the researchers and data behind the results. However, we do not know exactly which factors contribute to a city’s possibilities to attract talent to companies outside the game industry. One crucial factor is language. When a non-Finnish student graduates from a university in Finland, he or she might find it impossible to find employment in a Finnish company without the required Finnish language skills. This is extremely illogical; you can study in English, students feel at home in Finland and love to be here, they receive a high-quality degree, and everyone speaks English to them. But when applying for a job, they are faced with the fact that the Finnish language is a must. Helsinki will not get to keep its position on the global talent map without looking at recruitment, networks and markets in a truly global manner.
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DON’T BUY TO O M U C H Leena Laitinen is the managing director of Finland’s national alcoholic beverage retail monopoly Alko, heading an organization of 2,400 employees in her people-centered style. In her words: “Leadership is interaction”. Journalist Leeni Peltonen meets up with Laitinen at Alko headquarters in Helsinki. Photography: Touko Hujanen.
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t’s 8 am, and things are already in full swing. Shelves are being stocked on the basement floor of Alko’s flagship store Arkadia. The store won’t be opening for a few hours, but employees are already busy at work. On the sixth floor of the building, office workers are sitting with their coffee cups around a long table, engrossed in tapping away on their laptops. With flexitime, employees get to set their own working times, and some have decided to come in early also today. With its rugged interior and barista equipment, the space resembles a trendy café, but it’s actually the day-to-day office for Alko staff. Even the meeting rooms have flavorsome names: Whiskey, Ale, Lager… A blond-haired, sporty-looking lady climbs up all six flights of stairs from the underground parking space. Managing director Leena Laitinen is a morning person. Not all Finns would jump for joy at the thought of the meeting schedule: 8 o’clock on the first weekday after Mayday celebrations. For many, the morning after the workers and students’ festivity means waking up with a dizzy head and weary body due to downing plenty of Alko’s products the day before. Leena Laitinen doesn’t mind the early schedule at all. This year Mayday took place in the middle of the week, and she spent it where she gets to recharge: at the summer cottage. “I chopped wood. In the summers, I also clear the forest. Saving seedlings amidst all the over-
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growth brings instant rewards”, she declares, with a good measure of a genuine Savo accent.
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lko’s new managing director Leena Laitinen, 46, took on the task in the fall of 2017.Almost exactly hundred days into her new role, a historic reform to the Alcohol Act was passed in Finland, when Alko lost its sole right to sell beverages with an alcohol content of over 4.7 per cent. From 1 January 2018, also grocery stores became entitled to sell stronger beer and beverages with a maximum alcohol content of 5.5 per cent. In Finland, this heralded a major change: in addition to beer with a lower alcoholic content, corner shops and supermarkets could now also sell stronger beer by smaller breweries and other alcoholic beverages. The Alcohol Act was prepared long and hard. Arguments flew for and against, discussion ranging from the reform being a human experiment to Finland being a nanny state. As predicted, the vote taken by parliament was a near tie. In the end, the more liberal line won by 98-94. Experts concerned about public health and defenders of Alko’s monopoly position lost. “Alcopop Lands at Corner Shops” and “Beer Selection Transforms”, wrote the tabloids. Alcohol has always been a hot topic in Finland. Leena Laitinen stayed calm. “I knew already when I arrived that the operating environment was going through a major change. The transformation goes far beyond the
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law reform, and it had begun long before the vote. Alko has braced itself for the change carefully and in good time, and I jumped into the process”, Leena Laitinen explains. The transformation affects both the drinking habits and consumer behavior of Finns. Total alcohol consumption has decreased throughout the 2000s. Also young people drink less. Nevertheless, alcohol is still a significant risk factor in regards to public health. A culture of drinking to get drunk is still evident on the streets and in medical statistics. As a result, the long-term alcohol policy in Finland has been – and still is – to minimize damage. The availability of alcohol has been restricted and prices have been set relatively high. At the same time, the world is changing: restrictions have been generally lifted on retail, and customer needs are increasingly segmented. Alko, too, needs to change. The new law allows Alko to keep stores open an hour longer on weekdays. Stores are now also
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open on Easter Saturday and Christmas Eve. It may be a small step for humankind, but it’s a big one for Finns, who so far have been tugging at Alko’s doors on holidays in vain. The sale of alcohol has always stirred emotions in Finland. Total prohibition in 1911–1932 has gradually given way to a more liberal culture. Most Finns have heard of the epic proportions attached to the day when monopoly company Alko first opened its doors after prohibition ended. There’s even a rule of thumb for remembering when it happened: 5 April 1932 at 10 am, i.e. 543210.
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t first glance, business seems simple: an alcoholic beverage is transferred from the store shelf into the consumer’s shopping bag. But that’s not how it goes. What makes Alko unique as a commercial company is that its task is not to sell as much as possible. “Alko does not attempt to increase alcohol consumption or maximize profits – instead we
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seek operational efficiency”, states the Annual Report. The main task is not to sell as many liters as possible, but to minimize the downsides of alcohol use. In other words, to sell a product known for its harmful health effects while aiming to prevent damages. Isn’t that an irreconcilable conflict? After just a few months at Alko, Leena Laitinen is already versed in answering this particular question. She does not deny the conflict, but does not let it get in the way, either. “We don’t want to increase sales. We focus on quality instead of quantity. We work responsibly.” A focus on quality applies to products, selection, customer service, operational efficiency, and Alko as a workplace alike.
but there have been challenges”, Leena Laitinen admits. Increased responsibility and self-leadership pose an opportunity for some and a threat to others. The supervisor is not always physically present. In addition to familiar faces, there are more new people, as staff moves around between different stores. The new model unified the role and responsibilities of supervisors. Previously, a supervisor could have between 4 and 25 team members, but the numbers have now been evened out. “The new arrangement means Alko is now able to offer an increasing number of working hours, and nearly a hundred full-time positions were posted in May for internal recruitment”, Leena Laitinen mentions.
“We are not interested in increasing sales. We focus on quality instead of quantity.” It would be easy to catch clear-cut headings for a power point slide from Leena Laitinen’s analytical speech: Multiple channels. Service experience. Three store types. Order-delivery system. Prediction model. Assortments. Pick-up points. Consumer awareness. Environmental responsibility. “Actually the only surprise for me when joining was to find that so much more was underway or already done than was evident from the outside”, says Leena Laitinen.
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ne of the changes underway that began before Laitinen’s arrival affects the way management is organized in stores. Where each store used to have its own manager, now service managers oversee several stores. Personnel increasingly moves between different stores. From the viewpoint of management and processes, this increases flexibility and efficiency, but it’s easy to guess that reactions among employees have been mixed. “The change has been positive on the whole,
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The concept was initially piloted in a store in Rovaniemi, where lessons were learned. The scheme now involves as many as 90 stores. “As with any type of change, motivating personnel is vital. The pilot showed us that reasons behind the changes need to be explained even more thoroughly.” Job satisfaction among personnel took a slight dip last year, but still remains at a good level (4.05/5). Leena Laitinen has approximately 2,400 subordinates.There are 356 stores and 60 pickup points that supplement the retail network. How does one manage staff across the entire country? And how is a strategy that the management team has developed then implemented in the stores of even the tiniest towns, where clear spirit Koskenkorva might be the bestseller?
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n Leena Laitinen’s view, a clear vision needs to underpin everything else, and goals and pro-
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cesses must be crystal-clear.With the right people in the right places who all know what needs to be done, they can be given space and at most “nudged along” a little. Laitinen does not believe in micromanagement. “When goals are clear, I give leeway. But if targets are not met, management tightens its grip.” She mentions that “at this age” she has come to see that immediate subordinates need different types of leadership. “Some need you very close, while others would get distressed by the very thought. Leaders need to smell the air and adjust their behavior”, she says. “Because that’s what leadership is: interaction.” Even if you do your best, mistakes are inevitable in management. No matter how hard you try to find the right angle, the situation can be misinterpreted.“You can go wrong in many ways. Someone can bottle up if you’re too direct. In another situation, not being direct enough can leave someone confused.”
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Laitinen believes in low hierarchy and approachable bosses. “Your supervisor has to be easy to talk to.” Laitinen is seen as down-to-earth and fairly predictable, which is a relief for employees. “Life is enough of a rollercoaster already without employees having to worry about their manager’s every whim”, she says. They say that the first supervisors play a key role, as they leave the strongest impression on young people. This was true also for Laitinen.
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ack in 1996, the recent Master of Economics graduate was somewhat horrified. Leena Laitinen was about to embark on her first managerial role as a customer service manager in Kuopio, Northern Savo, in a grocery store called PeeÄssä that was part of the S Group. She was to be in charge of 60 people. The corporate culture was safe, demanding but encouraging: goals were solid, and they had to be met. The customer was always number one. But
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managing director Eero Saukkonen was always there to support if – and when – it was needed. When former employees bumped into him years later at Kuopio market, they would often give him a hug, which shows how good the team spirit was at the workplace. “I was incredibly lucky to learn working for him”, says Leena Laitinen. “I was charged with courage that has carried a
seeing and expanding Prisma hypermarkets. Already before her years in Estonia, a number of lucky coincidences pointed the way ahead. One of the decisive moments was when Laitinen was studying nutritional sciences after her economics degree, and noticed that S Group was looking for young people for a retail training program. “Work opportunities during the 1990s reces-
“I don’t walk over people, but I do have a need to get things done.” long way. The attitude towards mistakes was constructive, but you learned from them, too.” Leena Laitinen was ambitious already then. She will never forget a mistake she once made during the strawberry season. She was responsible for adjusting the fruit scales. The price of strawberries went up, but the scales still printed out tags with prices from the day before. All day, the shop sold the key seasonal produce at a discounted price. Laitinen’s supervisor took a deep breath in the evening. “I still remember how to adjust the scale”, Leena Laitinen grimaces.
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eena Laitinen gives quick and precise answers. Only once during the interview does she pause to stare at the corner of the ceiling for a moment: as she is asked when she knew she wanted to become a manager. After a moment, she replies: “I never thought I’d like to be a manager as such. I wanted to be in tasks where I could have an impact and make things happen. My years in Estonia in 2004-2007 were my first experience as a managing director. Estonia was going through a strong upswing at the time, and there was plenty of room to do and grow.” In Estonia, Laitinen worked as the country manager for SOK, for instance in charge of over-
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sion at the time were appalling. I thought the program would give me a chance to work with food. My mother was a home economics teacher, who had instilled a passion for food in me.” “I’ve always wanted to achieve things. And I’m accurate with numbers.”
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keen doer has always had plenty to do. During her eighteen years at SOK, she advanced to Executive Vice President for Consumer Goods. She then held the position of Managing Director at Snellman Group before joining Alko. Her background in consumer goods gives her a solid grasp of the sector to which mild alcoholic beverages are increasingly shifting, which seems to be a clear advantage. For a person eager to learn, there’s been no shortage of study options. Laitinen has been tested and prepped at numerous courses, for instance at the SOK Institute in Jollas, Helsinki, and several Swiss IMD management and strategy courses. She has also received mentoring and been a mentor herself. Leena Laitinen identifies the closest with authentic leadership, a theory that has been talked about a great deal lately. Personality forms the cornerstone of authentic leadership. Integrity and being yourself means using your own personality as a tool. Above all, it’s about knowing oneself. Identifying personal emotions, behavior, strengths,
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and weaknesses plays a key part in developing as a leader. “Personality is a leader’s best tool. There’s no need to try and change it too much, as it shines through everything anyway. But personality cannot be an excuse for bad leadership.You can’t say this is just the way I am, try and deal with it!” But personality can be steered towards a better direction for leadership, and one’s conduct needs to be improved continuously. Personal conduct needs to be consciously mirrored all the time: how is communication going, what went wrong. “I have a partner for mirroring myself against in the management team, who has a very different personality to mine.We’ve agreed to monitor each other’s work and provide corrective feedback if needed.” Recently, Leena Laitinen did hear back from her management team member that things hadn’t gone too well and her communication had been unclear. “It doesn’t feel good to hear you’ve messed up. But I appreciated the direct feedback, it was completely right.” Laitinen likes things to progress. Sometimes speed can turn into impatience, but age has a smoothing effect. “Fast moves are useful in face of adversity. I tackle things full on. When things really bug me, I retreat behind closed doors and let off some steam. Someone might hear me, but it’s more the positive feelings that I voice to others.” However, Leena Laitinen thinks that for her the most important leadership lesson has not come from a leadership retreat but from another place altogether – home. A safe childhood as the youngest of four siblings from Juankoski, in the heart of Savo, gave the best possible starting points to being herself. The youngest of the pack was included in everything, and the siblings did things together, which taught to share and negotiate. “I was gently tossed around by my three older brothers.”
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The forest is Leena Laitinen’s favorite place, which is another legacy from her childhood home. Her father was a timber buyer in the Northern Savo and Kainuu areas of Finland. Her brothers have degrees in forestry, and the whole family used to go picking berries and mushrooms in the forest. As a young girl, Leena would often draw pictures of timber trucks. These days, she chops firewood at the summer cottage and goes running several times a week near her home in Tuusula. As an avid runner for many years, Laitinen’s latest hobby doesn’t come as a surprise: orienteering. Next summer, she will be taking part in the 25.7-kilometer Venla Relay as part of a fourmember women’s team.
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lko’s buyers are sought-after guests around the world, as inevitably when the monopoly buys it buys extensively. Alko can have a genuine impact on the purchase chain, especially in its collaboration with Nordic alcohol retailers. The trend for non-alcoholic beverages is a global phenomenon, last year their share overtaking that of champagne when measured by liter at Alko. Meanwhile, wine producers are putting consumer wishes for milder wines into practice. “Responsibility is reflected in the product range that includes an increasing number of non-alcoholic and vegan products and smaller bottle sizes”, Laitinen says. An interest in origins is another megatrend.The transparency of the purchase chain plays an increasing role also for Alko. “We talk openly about problems for instance in some vineyards in South Africa. Addressing issues is in the interest of both the customer and producer. We have launched a program to promote human rights at each stage of the production chain.” Another example of responsibility on a day to day basis is the way ID is increasingly checked at Alko cash registers – as often as every three seconds. Mystery shoppers are now being employed.
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They resemble regular customers, but report any deficiencies to their commissioner, Alko’s management. It is one way to verify that alcohol is not sold or passed on to those under age. But Alko’s most important responsibility relates to minimizing the harmful effects of intoxicants. It is an area where there is certainly plenty of work to do, as the damaging health and social effects of alcohol use are vast. Probably not one single family exists in Finland that would not be affected by excessive use of alcohol in some way. Partnership initiatives for instance with child welfare organizations and sports associations serve as reminders that even moderate use of alcohol can be distressing for children, let alone heavy drinking. Laitinen mentions a play called Fragile as an
nadi street in Helsinki. The number of customer visits totals 58 million per year. Alko has every reason to be proud, as it has taken the number one spot in a customer service quality survey for the sixth consecutive year. Alko’s operating culture has transformed over the last few decades: before, the salesperson would hand a bottle across the desk – the one the customer knew to ask for. Now sales personnel know what to recommend as an accompaniment to any food and situation possible – whether to go with asparagus on a wedding anniversary, as a present for one’s mother-in-law, or a reasonably priced boxed wine for a buffet meal. Of all operators in the service industry, only the library has ranked higher than Alko.
“Instead of preaching, we use modern ways to talk honestly about tragedies caused by alcohol abuse.” example of a recent project, which illustrates a childhood overshadowed by alcohol abuse, as well as the praised Lydia adventure game, which paints a grim picture of a child’s experiences of the harmful effects of alcohol. The game developers had personal experience with the issue. Another example of social responsibility is the associate professorship in addiction medicine donated by Alko to the University of Helsinki.
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aitinen has a background in retail, with customers and their everyday needs at the heart of business. Service experience is what creates competitive edge also for Alko in a world where everything can be done digitally, without people and interaction.The selection includes more than 7,500 products, the largest store stocking about 3,000.The offering depends on the store; products at the Muonio store in the northernmost part of Finland differ from the store along leafy Espla-
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According to today’s standards, also Alko has multiple channels: it develops its webstore and has a flexible ordering platform. Online orders are delivered to pick-up points for instance in connection to a kiosk or the post office. “My predecessor Jaakko Uotila, who retired in 2013, came up with a slogan that’s still incredibly apt: Service Lives at Alko. Can there be any better way to say it?” Despite the new Alcohol Act reshuffling the sales statistics of a few product categories, all beverages with an alcoholic content over 5.5 per cent are still purchased at Alko, unless brought from abroad, from cruises for instance. The main change brought on by the reform seems to have been the sales of the favorite drink of many Finns, a gin-based long drink diluted with grape lemonade, which rapidly transferred from Alko to the grocery stores. At Alko, sales of the long drink fell by 40 per cent in an instant.
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Those who advocate dismantling Alko’s monopoly position are already envisaging the next step; wine being sold at grocery stores. Alko is clearly not too excited about the thought, but does not fret, either, as it trusts its service quality as a competitive advantage. No food store would be able to offer such a wide selection of products. “If the sale of wine was permitted in grocery stores, they would soon be also stocking spirits”, Leena Laitinen believes.“But 90 per cent of Finns want Alko to remain their only seller.”
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he interview has reached its end, and Leena Laitinen heads briskly to her next appointment, naturally taking the stairs. It’s time for the management team meeting. At 10 am, the store on street level has now opened its doors. The abundant offering makes it clear that we are in the flagship store. If you cannot find what you are looking for, you probably don’t need it – or you can order it online.
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The Beer Corner, Whiskey Island, and Sparkling City downstairs serve the most exacting customers. Priced at EUR 3,045, the most expensive champagne to be glimpsed hails from the Krug vineyard. Perfectly in line with Laitinen’s description of current trends, a presentation and tasting of a nonalcoholic German wine is taking center stage right now. The friendly sales person talks highly about a non-alcoholic Riesling, describing the production process and characteristics. With the amount of residual sugar as high as 40 grams per liter, it’s perfectly suited for a barbeque or to complement oriental food. The machine for returning empty bottles is in busy use today. Finns top the charts for recycling bottles, returning 90 per cent, i.e. 4 billion beverage packages, each year. Plastic bags are still around, but progress is underway with Alko’s strategy outlining that plastic bags will be a thing of the past by 2020. ◆
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A A LT O U N I V E R S I T Y E X E C U T I V E E D U AT I O N / / G R A D U AT E D I P L O M A I N T E C H N O L O GY / / 2 0 1 9
I M PA C T & EXPERIENCE PA RT I C I PA N T S , FA C U LT Y & A A LTO E E ALUMNI
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As Finnair began to shift from reorgani zation to a period of growth, Eija Hakakari, Finnair’s Senior Vice President (People & Culture), felt that new situation demanded new type of leadership.
“ What ’ s your next move in g rowing as a leade r? ” “Designed and arranged in partnership with Aalto EE, Leaders’ Next Move program provided managers at Finnair with lessons and tools for shifting from a reorganization mode to a path of growth”, states Eija Hakakari, Finnair’s Senior Vice-President for human resources.
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ija Hakakari, Finnair’s Senior Vice President (People & Culture), has collaborated with Aalto EE’s Senior Advisor Ben Nothnagel also in the past. As Finnair began to shift from reorganization to a period of growth, Hakakari felt that Nothnagel would be the right person to envisage what type of training and thinking Finnair’s executives needed. vol 7
“A new situation demands new type of leadership.” Hakakari and her team member Anu Henttonen designed and delivered the Next Move program together with Ben Nothnagel, Group Managing Director Dr. Pekka Mattila, and Senior Executive Raija Kuokkanen from Aalto EE. A total of 80 Finnair key managers took part in >
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C U S TO M I Z E D P RO G R A M S : “A P RO G R A M I N S T E A D O F O N E - O F F T R A I N I N G E V E N T S ” Dr. Pekka Mattila states that building customized programs, such as the program with Finnair, is always about co-creation with the customer. “It requires mutual trust and respect to have a candid dialogue to find the opportunities and challenges to disentangle. Fortunately, our Senior Executive Ms. Raija Kuokkanen, Ben Nothnagel and I had an ongoing relationship with Finnair.” In this case, Mattila and Nothnagel operated parallelly: Nothnagel focused on personal leadership, while Mattila highlighted the importance of organizational culture and a management framework. “Nothing is more inspiring than being able to contribute to a great turnaround case where profound changes are needed both quantitatively and qualitatively”, says Mattila. Raija Kuokkanen from Aalto EE has years of experience in working with customized programs. “A program has impact when it isn’t made up of one-off training events, but has a narrative with each block building on the other”, explains Kuokkanen.
the program. The program ran for nine months, which has followed with personal coaching and implementing lessons into practice. The burning question in the program’s design was the way Finnair was preparing for growth: What steps would make the organization growth-oriented? “The program has impact due to Nothnagel’s method and thinking that focus on people and personal growth of leaders. This gives tools for putting one’s personality into use in leadership”, explains Eija Hakakari. Finnair has gone through a total turn around a alto leade r s’ i n si g h t
Building a successful whole requires knowledge of the leadership context. “It’s important to think about the type of leadership that is most beneficial for the operations and strategy implementation of the specific customer.” Experts are always picked for the program according to the needs and situation of the customer. “No one could reach the same results alone”, says Kuokkanen. In Finnair’s case, the program followed a script of Pekka Mattila first discussing the role of leadership culture in strategy implementation: How to create winning culture, and the required leadership mindset for building growth. Participants then explored what this demanded from each manager individually and their next move.
Ben Nothnagel talks about his methods and gives food for thought for leaders in his podcast available via aaltoee.fi/selfaware.
over the past three or four years. Change isn’t only connected to economy, but there’s been a cultural shift at play. “We were at the brink of something new in more ways than one. Many members of personnel have had some degree of uncertainty, which made us think about what we needed to do. At the same time, there’s been a strong commitment to change.” The shift offered a good opportunity for training and reflecting on personal leadership. Everyone felt they could do with new perspectives and lessons. “The joint program also provided the
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group with a common language to talk things through, and shared terminology had a huge impact on the cultural shift.”
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ccording to Hakakari, Ben Nothnagel has the ability to spur managers to develop their own leadership in an everyday context. Leadership is about daily activities, conscious behavior, and readjusting routines. “He creates a theoretical framework for everyday phenomena:Why a manager feels a certain way, why someone doesn’t get round to things, how to get more done, how stress affects the brain, why the team is distressed… Ben brings a neurological and scientific basis for these issues – and gives practical tips that can be immediately put into use at the same time.” Ben Nothnagel mentions that as the leadership context changes, leaders themselves don’t need to change, but they do need to think about what to focus on: What is the next move for creating a better foundation for growth? As homework, Nothnagel gets managers to test and observe their conscious decision-making in practice. He links change to an easily recognizable daily context in a way that works and results in new behavior and conscious decisions. Nothnagel emphasizes identifying unconscious behavior and steers towards conscious decisionmaking. “With Finnair managers, we reached concrete results by focusing on their daily decision-making situations.”
YO U R N E X T M OV E Creates a higher level of self-awareness • Identifies behavior that limits performance / state of mind • Increases the quality of cognitive appraisal • Reduces the impact of habit on performance • Improves “thinking” • Focuses on small behavioral changes over a 4 to 8-week period • Requires little extra time • Creates new habits and behavior that bring rewards
PHOTO TOUKO HUJANEN
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eaders need to also be able discuss their personal weak spots. “We’re not talking about something fluffy here, but it’s about growing as individuals and human beings”, says Hakakari. She praises Nothnagel’s way of raising sensitive issues in a safe atmosphere. “Many want him to mentor their own leadership. Putting people to the fore is impressive, and Ben quickly brings observations to a concrete level:Yep, what is your next move?” ◆ vol 7
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What would He nry Tirri do? Henry Tirri has made a great career in the academic and business world. He says that digitalization will spare no one. ”If you want your company to exist 50 years from now, you have to pay attention to digitalization and what it entails.”
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he official title of and artificial intelligence. Henry Tirri, PhD, “Perhaps the most fundaComputer Science, mental feature of change is is: Chief Technology Officer speed”, Dr. Tirri says. He reand Executive Vice Presimarks that as a term, digitalident at InterDigital, Inc. His zation is not very specific; in LinkedIn profile endorsefact, far from it.“The simplest ments reveal that he is also way is to think that it means the former EVP & Head of bringing information techTechnologies Business of nology into devices and acNokia, and an exceptional vitions where it has not existed sionary: “Henry is absolutely before. Money has become one of the smartest people I digitalized long time ago, know.” “Henry is a true techtravel agencies have vanished. Aalto University is fortunate to nology visionary, understandMusic and books have been have Henry Tirri as Executive in ing the ultimate impact of transformed into digital Residence at Aalto University School of Business. new technical inventions beform. Accordingly, a large fore most of us do.” amount of other service secNow, he is taking our tor activities will change.” Skype call at his office in Long Island, New York. When Dr. Tirri talks about the digitalization of “I am a kind of a hybrid: a technologist who transportation, his idea that “bits eat atoms” beknows business”, says Dr. Tirri when describing comes clear.The physical will become digitalized. his professional identity that has formed through The consequences of changes in transportation positions in universities and businesses. Dr. Tirri sector will be concrete, not science fiction: inhas spent half of his career in the academic world, creased parking space, fewer parking fines, fewer and the other half in the business sector. Like accidents. There may be more cars than now, but other technology gurus, he is constantly getting fewer hotels, because it will be possible to sleep in invitations to speak about digital transformation a self-driving car. a alto leade r s’ i n si g h t
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Dr.Tirri says that cars will become network terminal devices that gather a huge amount of data from around them. This accumulated data will be used for applications other than only those concerning cars and traffic – just like the data gathered by mobile phones. The change will both open and close business opportunities: newspapers suffered from digitalization, but as cars become self-driving, people will have more time, for instance, for using the media. “When bits eat atoms, there will be an opportunity to change physical devices after they have already been sold. For example, cars can be updated. This means that the industry will be affected by Moore’s law, familiar from information technology, that predicts such speed of development that it will pose the greatest threat to traditional companies. Actors in digitalizing industries cannot keep up with the speed of change, and their competitiveness will decline.”
EX NOKIA TOP MANAGER HENRY TIRRI Dr. Henry Tirri is Executive in Residence at Aalto University School of Business. Dr. Henry Tirri is Chief Technology Officer in InterDigital, Inc., a mobile technology research and development company. Tirri was formerly Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Harman International Industries (HARMAN). At Nokia, Dr. Tirri occupied a variety of roles, including Executive Vice President and Head of Technologies Business, Chief Technology Officer, and Senior Vice President and Head of the Nokia Research Center. He holds a PhD in computer science from University of Helsinki, has held professorships at University of Helsinki, Stanford University, Uni versity of California at Berkeley, and Aalto University, and is a Fellow of the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT).
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hat does the change at hand mean in terms of management? In answer to our question, Dr.Tirri gives a mini lecture. His reply is fast and vivid. “Those who just try to remain the same or aim for slight improvement, will not succeed. In time, they will be disrupted. If you want your company to exist 50 years from now, you have to pay attention to digitalization and what it entails.” A good management should keep up with the changing environment, or rather, stay ahead. Managers must think about what is possible, what can change. “If opportunities are not seized, they will become opportunities for competitors.” Dr. Tirri believes that companies should humbly listen to external parties - customers, business partners, organizations, experts - to get an idea of where their own sector is heading.“What is needed is strategic understanding of the effects of technology, and insight into which direction competitors are heading.” vol 7
In Dr. Tirri’s opinion, the modern manager must be networked with other business actors in the industry, and, in particular, also understand the operation of new competitors. Turning a humble ear to others may be difficult especially for young, hungry, and strong-willed career climbers. “I have seen plenty of closed minds around. Defensive views and rejection, based on incorrect assumptions on that listening would undermine a person’s expertise in the eyes of others. Some people are faced with quite a change in attitude, in order to learn how important listening is.” ◆
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Antti Vasara and Kirsi Nuotto from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd found the program inspiring: “It brought us together. We are aware of the direction we want to take VTT and its leadership.”
Dear Custome r, How Can We He lp? Antti Vasara and Kirsi Nuotto from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd explain how a research-centered focus gave way to customer orientation. “We began to think about what the customer needs, and then how the need or problem can be solved.” The change was supported by a program tailored with Aalto EE.
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VTT set out to renew its strategy, in a nutshell the situation was this: The foundations were right. Its technical, scientific, and technological expertise were at the top of the game. The way things worked was to concentrate on conducting good research, and if someone of interested, selling it on. The change aimed to reshuffle this by first thinking about what customers and society need – and then to come up with ways to assist in the questions and challenges they had. Antti Vasara began as President and CEO in a alto leade r s’ i n si g h t
2015. “We wanted to develop a way to work with customers. The aim is to be both research and service-oriented.” Almost the entire leadership team was revamped in connection to the process. Changes were carried out on almost every level of management: people were reshuffled, recruited externally, and trained. VTT has a key role in Finnish society: almost every Finnish company that centers on a technical invention has been a customer of V TT at some point in time.The same goes for all the ministries
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and other public administrative bodies. VTT is neither a university or a business as such, yet it has similarities with both. “Everything we do is based on research data, but as a company, we share features with business life”,Vasara explains. “Value is created for the research we conduct when someone takes it into use.” Programs to support the change were jointly tailored for the leadership team and senior management. Kirsi Nuotto, VTT’s Senior Vice President, Human Resources, mentions that she had a strong sense that the program was “made for us”. “Aalto EE has had our best interest at heart, we’ve been heard, and if anything needed adjusting or required more focus, it was fixed.” Nuotto found the program inspiring: “It brought us together.The leadership team feels that the program had an impact, we know each other better now, and are aware of the direction we want to take VTT and its leadership.” The goals of Aalto EE’s tailored programs are set according to customer needs. Vasara describes the situation with the fundamental questions what, how, and why. The program focused on the how. “It is not a question of focusing on the wrong things before. We needed a change to how we do things.” Vasara and Nuotto both state that changes were quickly evident in the organization. People acted and talked differently than before: thinking about the customer’s problem or need comes first, which is then sought to be solved. “It is noticeable that people enjoy being able to solve others’ problems.” Workshop days that were part of the program were preceded with pre-assignments. Participants from VTT were motivated to learn and discuss. Nuotto and Vasara were also pleased with the way VTT’s experts challenged lecturers. “The pre-assignments were completed meticulously, and a really good dialogue ensued.” In Aalto EE programs, academic elements overlap with practical exercises. Participating in a provol 7
VTT & AALTO EE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM Transformational Leadership Enhance a common leadership culture by identifying and activating leadership behaviors that will ensure the successful execution of V TT’s strategy and drive required transformation. Focus on how to create the culture of excellence and on how to trigger continuous change. Creating Customer Impact To get a strategic view of customer relationships, and how customers create value for themselves. Driving Strategy Forward To gain greater visibility into the different ways in which a market, a domain or a landscape can evolve, and to be prepared with the right moves. To integrate scenario craft with strategy frameworks, and to see uncertainty as opportunity.
gram together brings people close to each other and supports commitment to a shared leadership culture.“At VTT, people are passionate about their work. They also want to develop in their work: how to improve communication, provide feedback, what type of leadership is in line with our strategy”, Nuotto illustrates. Today, meaningfulness of work is recognized as an important source of motivation, and something that has been also discussed at VTT: “We have aimed to emphasize that a project is not meaningful in itself, but through it something meaningful is achieved.” ◆
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Aalto University's President Ilkka Niemelä and Provost Kristiina Mäkelä. “Unless we can raise our own clock speed, the economic center of gravity will quickly shift to Asia”, says Niemelä in Aalto EE Podcast interview.
we ne e d life long e ducation We invited Aalto University’s President Ilkka Niemelä and Provost Kristiina Mäkelä to discuss changes affecting work in Aalto EE’s podcast series.They both highlight that developing skills throughout one’s career is increasingly important. Kristiina Mäkelä (KM): “Changes affecting work are complex, and the signs are evident whenever you pick up a magazine or look around. In discussing changes at work and lifelong learning, it is worth paying attention to different levels of the discourse. On the macro level, changes may mean robotization taking away jobs – and creating them. But it is just as important to talk about changes on the micro level, the way individuals a alto leade r s’ i n si g h t
see work. Work is becoming increasingly separate from time, place, and employment relationship. It overlaps with one’s personal life, becomes removed from specific locations, and separates from traditional work relationships.” “When previously someone decided to become X when they grow up, now the thinking is to do X now, and probably something else next. A career turns into a diverse portfolio rather than a
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“In addition to students, education needs to focus on the entire working age population.”
career ladder. Especially our young students think about work through meaningfulness, their whole life as a sort of sounding board.” Ilkka Niemelä (IN): “People seek ways to impact and do something important for themselves or others through their careers. At Aalto University, we have talked about how artists and designers have lived this way for a long time, and now others can draw from their thought patterns; a good way to examine one’s career is through meaning.” KM: “Entrepreneurship can be another model. In the future, people will become entrepreneurs of their own lives.You don’t need to be an entrepreneur as such, but life management becomes more entrepreneurial. In other words, there is more freedom, but also more responsibility. It’s not always easy. The ability to cope with uncertainty is a future skill. Uncertainty will be on a significant rise, and managing it needs to be learned.” IN: “Changes are fast right now, culminating in rapidly developing Asian countries and in the way they adopt new technologies. We will be in for quite a surprise in Europe… Despite assuming we are engaged well enough in many areas, here’s the situation: Unless we can raise our own clock speed, the economic center of gravity will quickly shift to Asia.” “Above all, taking lifelong learning onboard requires a change of attitude. How to relate to learning, one’s career, life on the whole? How to build a meaningful portfolio for oneself? When thinking about higher education, Europe continues to focus on degrees. In the future, not everyvol 7
thing will be conventional, school-like learning, but coaching-type teaching will be on the increase.” KM: “Teaching is increasingly about solving real issues. At best, this is done in groups of people from different fields. Combining knowledge from different disciplines is something we truly believe in at Aalto. Studying goes far beyond one’s time at university. It’s the opposite: you continuously develop your expertise while you work, and learning becomes more module-based.” IN: “All this will fundamentally change education models. Now the thinking is that students are trained for degrees, although education should be directed towards lifelong learning, focusing on the entire working age population. Educational resources and investments need to be completely rethought.” KM: “In the future, lines between organizations become blurred. Traditional hierarchy gives way to network-based activities. Leaders need to also be able to inspire those who do not work directly under them. Another vital question for leaders is how to orchestrate people to work seamlessly together, despite coming from different areas and operating in a network instead of a hierarchical organization.” IN: “Working life will require renewal, and the more experiences you gain, the more your selfconfidence will soar. That’s when you find the courage to take the leap even without fully grasping the path ahead.” ◆ Listen to the podcast in full at: www.aaltoee.fi/tyonmuutos (In Finnish)
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“An essential part of the program was for our talents to work together with the startups, sit side by side, be part of the ecosystem, and help them develop their product”, says Malin Bendz, Executive Vice President for Human Resources at Stora Enso.
combi ne startups, Executive e ducati on, and g lobal corporation When Stora Enso, the renewable materials company headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, wanted to take another step in its transformation, it seeked new insight by partnering up with startups.
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hat was unique with the setup was that Stora Enso combined executive education for their in-house talents with the practical experience of working side-by-side with the startups, which enabled an unprecedented organizational learning process. The collaboration resulted in interesting business opportunities which the company is now exploring. The initiative was formalized through a corporate development program, in partnership with two parties; the Helsinki-based business augmentor Vertical, with expertise on startups, and Aalto ENT, who provided the executive education. Stora Enso’s transformation to become a leader in the bio-economy started several years ago, as a a alto leade r s’ i n si g h t
response to global trends such as eco-awareness, urbanization, digitalization, and global warming. The company believes that everything that today is made from fossil-based materials can tomorrow be made from tree. “Imagine the number of products we use in our everyday lives. Many of them used to be non-renewable. We create renewable options that are both environmentally friendly and intelligent”, says Malin Bendz, Executive Vice President for Human Resources at Stora Enso. Stora Enso’s transformation towards a renewable materials company has led to the growth businesses contributing 71 percent of the company’ sales and 84 percent of its profits. The growth
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“It’s hard to learn and change behavior if you don’t also practice what you learn.” comes mainly from consumer board, packaging solutions, biomaterials, and wood products. The company’s focus is now on innovation and customer insights. “This sets new requirements on competencies and expertise. That’s where the accelerator program came in,” Bendz says.“We need to develop our employees as part of the transformation and we need speed, flexibility, and agility. Therefore, we have to become better at tapping into the competencies in the ecosystem around us and to partner with third parties.” The collaboration between Stora Enso and the startups was backed up by high-quality executive education provided by Aalto ENT, bringing together theory and practice, academic knowledge and business know-how.
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tartups from around the world were invited to apply to the program. The six winners, representing AI and machine learning, healthy living, circular economy, fleet management, and ecopackaging, were selected from a pool of 121 applicants. The chosen startups were joined by 18 Stora Enso talents. Each startup had three Stora Enso members in their team with the aim to support the startup’s business development. The result was not a typical educational arrangement. “It’s hard to learn and change behavior if you don’t also practice what you learn. An essential part of the program was for our talents to work together with the startups, sit side by side, be part of the ecosystem, and help them develop their product”, Bendz explains. One of the startups in the final six was Sulapac, a creator of a fully biodegradable packaging solution made of renewable and sustainable raw materials, based in Finland. Sulapac applied for a vol 7
place in the program to expedite turning its dream to reality. “We have a vision of a world without plastic waste. As a startup, we strive to move towards this vision gradually but systematically. To make a genuine impact, we want to launch our product globally, and it’s faster with a global partner”, says Suvi Haimi, Sulapac’s CEO and co-founder. Haimi sees the program as mutually beneficial. Sulapac learned how to collaborate with a big corporation, how the negotiations proceed, and what kinds of principles apply. As for Stora Enso, she thinks the most important learning outcome was agility. “Startups are able to pick up on trends and influences very fast because there are no cumbersome organizational structures to slow things down.We can develop new materials and test new technologies until it’s at a more solid stage where a bigger partner can join in. Let’s face it, startups are paid to take risks, whereas a corporation such as Stora Enso can’t just decide to change course in a flash and start doing something else altogether. That’s where the interests meet.” For Stora Enso, one of the main benefits of the program was to learn how startups think, work and approach problems. “Our ambition is that the Stora Enso participants will now utilize the experience and their new skills within Stora Enso, act as change agents, and help drive our transformation forward,” Bendz says. Stora Enso continues to collaborate with several of the six startups. “The program has led to some interesting business opportunities which we will now further explore.” Annamari Typpö
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“ Leade r ship in the arts also require s busine ss ski lls ” Jenny Ang from Singapore holds a degree in piano performance and is a Senior Associate Director at the Conservatory of Music in the country. According to her, non-profit organizations also need business skills.
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’ve worked in the management team of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YST) for over ten years. Without formal business training, my method of management has been through common sense and on the job trial and error. I applied to the Aalto Executive MBA program partly because I wanted to validate that I have been doing things right but I also believed that the non-profit industry would benefit from a alto leade r s’ i n si g h t
broader management and business knowledge. A faculty of the National University of Singapore, the YST Conservatory was established in 2003 and quickly grew in reputation in the conservatory world. As a small institution which is able to offer fully-funded places to all accepted students, we have been able to attract great talents from over 20 countries – some as far as Iran and Chile – to come and study with us. It has been exciting to be working in the pioneering team. It truly feels like working in a startup when everything had to be built from scratch. However, the classical music industry as a whole can risk being too traditional. Through the EMBA program, it has also become clearer to me, that no matter what sector you come from, today’s challenges are no longer about domain expertise but how you approach these challenges and how you lead people. Like competitive sports, performing arts require a huge amount of ambition, tenacity and risk taking. At the same time, artists also need skills to build a brand and manage their own career pathways. Coming from a slightly left-field industry on the Executive MBA program, I know the professors have had to reframe issues and theories to consider for the non-profit sector. What is profit or efficiency in the realm of art of music? How can you measure its impact on society? Plenty of interesting conversations have ensued and they have challenged my classmates to re-think what they take for granted as business models. I chose the Aalto EMBA program, as it was recommended to me by the former dean of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. The EMBA journey has been deeply rewarding. I must be the first person from my field to take part in the Aalto EMBA program, but there will be more in the future.
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potato in political discourse in Finland at the moment, will be impacting his work in the form of increased competition: “We operate in a market where the balance between private and public is changing.We don’t know exactly how yet.We are facing interesting but demanding times.” Honkala’s eyes light up, as he praises the team spirit among the EMBA group from Helsinki right from the start. “The group is open-minded, has bonded really well, has a great sense of humor and allows everyone to be themselves and do their thing. It’s been incredibly fun together.” Honkala values the professional discussions for instance with people from the finance sector. He says he feels privileged to be able to share experiences with talents. The demanding nature of the studies has partly contributed to the team spirit. It’s a bit like getting ready to run a marathon together, doing practice runs on a regular basis. “I have to admit that I’ve even found numbers fun at times.” Because of the studies, Honkala has been more than fully booked for months And yet, he finds himself already thinking: “This will be over at some point, what a shame! I can’t think of anything that could take its place.” Taking part in the Executive MBA program is a major investment. Hannu Honkala has set himself a clear target: the investment will pay itself off. The program is holistic, and Hannula doesn’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that completing it is potentially life-changing. So he was told by many former participants, which may have felt a little over-the-top at the time, but is no longer the case: “This is a process that changes the way you think and provides tools for continuing to study on your own initiative. I know I’ll miss this time of life one day.”
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alto Executive MBA program was recommended to Hannu Honkala,Vice President, Solutions, by the best possible authorities: his boss, Managing Director of MyLab, and the Chairman of the Board had completed a similar program earlier on. They warmly recommended Aalto EE. With a background in engineering, Honkala has spent most of his career working for large corporations, such as Kone, Siemens and Nokia, including a few years working in Germany. He joined MyLab three or so years ago, a b-to-b company with 90 employees based in Tampere, with Finnish health care operators and clinical labs as clients. The health care and social welfare reform, a hot
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Vice President, Solutions, Hannu Honkala from Mylab.
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“ I ne e de d e nlighte nme nt and more knowle dg e ” Indonesian Dini Enggar Fitri joined a bank right after graduation, where she has now worked for eleven years. She lives in Jakarta, Indonesia.
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n banking, competition is tough, and new employees join both from abroad and Indonesia. I started to feel that I needed enlightenment and more knowledge, a wider perspective than I get a alto leade r s’ i n si g h t
doing my work at the bank. I was after a new step on my career and in my own expertise, and the Aalto Executive MBA seemed like the right solution.” Dini Enggar Fitri completes the modules in Singapore, a couple of hours by plane from Jakarta. “The program is efficient and professional, I’m making new contacts and broadening my thinking, as I listen to the views and experiences of people from different fields.” “I went to the Helsinki Summit last year, and it was wonderful to see a country with four seasons. When I visited a friend in Oulu, I also experienced a summer of 5 Centigrades and what silence sounds like. New experiences, inside and outside the classroom!”
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doctors have woken up to a need for trained managers. Also attitudes are shifting: a desire to become a manager is no longer a cause of embarrassment. Doctors want to be managed by doctors. But a doctor’s education doesn’t qualify for management tasks.”
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“ I ne e de d the be st po ssible training ” Participants of the Aalto Executive MBA program that began in 2017 include many doctors and other health care professionals. Doctor Sally Järvelä is one of them.
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pecialist in orthopedics and traumatology Sally Järvelä has worked as a doctor for nearly thirteen years. She knows what type of health care results from good and bad management. “That makes one realize how important professional leadership actually is.” Järvelä is the deputy chief responsible for the operative side of first aid at Tampere University Hospital. Before, hospital staff would become managers through seniority, whether or not they had the right capabilities. “With the impending social welfare and health care reform in Finland, vol 7
ärvelä is paying for the program herself. “I decided to find out where I could get the best possible training. I looked into different programs and wasn’t ready to compromise.” She compared the accreditations and rankings of different options, travelled to Helsinki for a chat about the program offered by Aalto EE, and contacted people who had completed it. “Previous participants had gained surprisingly much from the program. It’s no wonder. I’m really satisfied, too.” Järvelä started putting lessons into practice at her workplace almost immediately. She has initiated many changes at the hospital. Ben Nothnagel’s sessions inspired Järvelä to approach the management team about changing meeting routines. “I realized we were using each other’s time inefficiently, weren’t adequately prepared, thought about limitations first… Rather than being smart together.” Järvelä’s suggestions were received with open arms.The management team got together for a day with an aim to improve meeting routines. Meetings are now shorter and more purposeful. “People are more eager to share ideas now that the first thing isn’t to focus on what won’t work.” “After each module, I brief my colleagues on what I’ve learned and how it can be put to use at work. We have an open atmosphere, and it’s been fun to inspire people. The program has benefited the entire workplace.”
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Sally Järvelä, Deputy Chief in Tampere University Hospital, took part in Aalto Executive Summit in Singapore.
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A A LTO L E A D E R S ’ I N S I G H T Editor in Chief Pekka Mattila Executive Producer Riitta Lumme-Tuomala
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Columnists Rebecca Piekkari Mikko Laukkanen Contributors Touko Hujanen Heli Blåfield Annukka Oksanen Sakari Piippo Leeni Peltonen Paula Salovaara Concept Räty-Salovaara-Blåfield Ateljee Hyppönen
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A A LTO LEADERS’ INSIGHT ONLINE STREAM: Touko Hujanen is a freelance photographer based in Helsinki, Finland. His clients include The New York Times, Esquire, Time, and Helsingin Sanomat.
W W W. A A LTO E E . C O M / B LO G Aalto University Executive Education hosts and curates a stream of varied content online. At www.aaltoee.com/blog you can find articles – i.e. the long-form Books from this magazine, easy to forward and share digitally – videos, podcasts, columns and blog posts by Aalto EE and Aalto University faculty, alumni and other guest writers invited to share their insights with the Aalto EE community.
Annukka Oksanen is a Copenhagen-based journalist and writer specialized in economics and politics. She has previously worked for e.g. Helsingin Sanomat and The Financial Times.
EXAMPLES F RO M T H E D I G I TA L C O N T E N T : Study Journal: Hanne Laitinen, who works as Test Manager at Nordea Life, shares experiences on Aalto PRO’s Master Class in Quality program. Key insights leaders need to survive and thrive in the digital age. Future of work: “The fourth industrial revolution has begun, and it’s not managed from the corner office”.
C O N N E C T W I T H A A LTO E E ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Helsinki-based journalist and writer Leeni Peltonen has made a lifelong career in feature journalism. She has worked for instance for well-known Finnish magazines Kotiliesi and Suomen Kuvalehti. Peltonen is now an independent writer of both fiction and non-fiction.
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Aalto Leaders’ Insight – the magazine by Aalto University Executive Education. Library of insights: How to attract global talent if your office is not in Silicon Valley? Power and success can be intoxicating. Getting an envelope as a present is new luxury. V iews from the CEO of Finland’s national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly Alko. Cheers!