Aalto Leaders' Insight, Vol. 4: Spring 2016

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

BREAKING NEWS When politics become business, and vice versa

Vol 4, Spring 2016

DES IG N B U SI NE SS B uilding a community with customers corpor ate c u ltu r e How to build – and ruin – it? emba ex p e r i e nc e s Revisiting participants one year after le ading th e c ha ng e Richard Wagner – Steve Jobs of the opera

Aalto Leaders’ Insight is published and curated by Aalto University Executive Education.

This magazine is a library of insights. The five 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 4: Spring 2016

CONTENTS S TA R T news, columns, and insights Pages 12–29 Ditching Leadership Cliches 13–15 Figures: Aalto University 16 My View: The Sporty Executive – Feel the Heat? 17–19 Leaving Russia – New Wave of Skepticism is Arising 20 Column by Riitta Kosonen Would You Like to Have More Choice or Less Choice? 23 Column by Mikko Laukkanen New in Science and Research 21–24 Aalto EE News 25–29

LO N G - F O R M BOOK 1 Re portage Pages 31–44 Breaking News Together forever: business and politics.

BOOK 2 profi le Pages 45–58 Smile!

Johanna Uurasjärvi made it to the top of American design industry.

BOOK 3 be st practice Pages 59–70 Set Them Free How does the organization culture affect the well-being of the employees – and the numbers in the balance sheet?

BOOK 4 aalto e e survey Pages 71–88 One Year After What are the impacts of an Executive MBA Program to the participants?

BOOK 5 words of wisdom Pages 89–96 Steve Jobs of the Opera What modern-day change managers can learn from Richard Wagner?

— I M PAC T & E X P E R I E N C E participants, alumni and aalto e e faculty share their expe rie nce s Pages 98–110 Aalto EMBA Experiences 99–110 My Story: Kari Luomakoski 99 Figures: Aalto University Executive Education 102 Faculty: Timo Vuori 104–105 My Story: Tuomas Laakso 106–108 Figures: Aalto University Executive Education 109

— Aalto Leade r s’ Insight Online Stream 113

F O R E W O R D

making a true diffe re nce

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PHOTO ALEX TREADWAY

n this issue, we have all too many highlights to choose from. So, let me make a balanced yet eclectic assortment with one overarching principle. That principle is all about impact and experience: how learning from oneself and others and making the most of the context can help to move to the next level in terms of leadership effectiveness.

The long story on intertwining business and politics could not be more topical. Oftentimes we see business people barking orders to regulators and policy-makers. No matter how much our executive genius outsmarts political sense-making, we need to remember that there is no business without conducive societal contexts. The two are not only connected but inter­ dependent.

What is freedom at work? Our story disentangles both the ideals and realities. For me, freedom is always within confines and connected to accountability.

Sometimes the big question is about freedom itself: is it more about freedom from something (e.g. hourly reporting) or freedom for something (e.g. fringe project beyond the core)?

To conclude, I have to say I almost became emotional when reading the story of our Aalto Executive MBA cohort that graduated in 2013 in Helsinki. There is a true difference both at the individual and organizational level. What is interesting in the survey results is that many of those who expected to get an upgrade to their hard skills mostly realized – with the benefit of hindsight – that it was the soft skills of leading oneself and others that mattered even more in the long run. ◆ Read Aalto Leaders’ Insight online or get the mobile reader now! aaltoee.com/insight

PEKKA MATTILA , EDITOR IN CHIEF GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR, AALTO UNIVERSITY EXECUTIVE EDUCATION PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE, AALTO UNIVERSITY

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S TA RT NEWS, COLUMNS & INSIGHTS

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SOURCE: ELLUN KANAT COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY, DIALOGI INITIATIVE

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D I TC H I N G L E A D E R S H I P CLICHÉS Over the course of a year, ten companies searched for ways to elevate more women into leadership positions. As it turns out, there’s plenty of work to be done in changing attitudes among the companies and women themselves.

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per cent of women are interested in top management and 72 per cent in middle management positions at their workplaces, with 72 per cent of women believing they have what it takes to be a leader. Despite the figures, the share of women in management teams of Finnish companies continues to be a low of 20 per cent, while only 10 per cent of business directors are women.

Last year, the Dialogi program sought to identify stumbling blocks that continue to prevent women from rising up the ladder. The joint program of Helsinki-based communications agency Ellun kanat and Aalto EE brought together ten companies representing different sectors.

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be achieved until 2095. The companies participating in the Dialogi program took the stand that this wasn’t good enough, wanting to speed things up a bit”, states Sari Tomperi.

During the one-year program, Accenture, Elisa, Fujitsu, F-Secure, Ilmarinen, Lidl, RAY, Skanska, UPM and Wärtsilä discovered there was plenty of work to do in shaping their corporate culture and employee attitudes.

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Alf Rehn

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Kirsi Mettälä

“A double standard still prevails, which suggests that a nice woman can’t be competent enough, while a competent woman can’t be nice enough.The enthusiasm of women is quenched by a manly culture.

Women seem to be able to achieve the criteria for advancing in their careers, but a manly corporate culture makes them give up”, assesses Maria Vesanen.

gram, Professor Alf Rehn mentioned that many myths relating to a masculine leadership image are exactly that – outdated myths.

“Both the gender question and leadership question are ridden with clichés, which is a major problem. If we want to engage in a genuine discussion about the qualities of good leadership with an understanding of diversity, we can’t keep repeating old clichés”, Rehn adds.

“An average leader being a macho geezer is just not true – in fact there is no average leader.

Management is already more diverse than we acknowledge.To get hold of genuinely diverse working life and leadership, we need to let go of our iconic impressions of leaders.”

The Dialogi program also involved conducting a study, which was carried out by interviewing 1,437 working-aged women. Responses to the study highlight the same clichés described by Rehn:

“We have certain stereotypes about leaders: extremely determined, firm and direct, male and tall.”

“It’s easier for men to progress, as the person selecting will often think that a tall, middle-aged man equals a good leader.”

Taru Tujunen, CEO of communications agency Ellun Kanat, believes that despite slowly changing percentage figures, a cultural shift is already underway in companies – and the shift is set to pick up pace.

“The next generation will have a rather different view about what’s going on and what needs to be done.”

The Dialogi program encourages companies to adopt a new level of openness, so that also weak spots are addressed openly.

Company management needs to commit to change and engage in dialogue.

“The old way is to think that issues can be swept under the carpet, but people in organiza-

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he program demonstrated that women would value more encouraging examples – other women, who had advanced in their careers.

“The mentality has been one of leaders who have made it up the ladder being unwilling to talk about female leadership. On the whole, it would be beneficial if women who have made it to the top would boldly show the way.

That’s how the concept of leadership expands”, says Vesanen.

Broadening the leadership image is what it’s all about. In his speech at the closing seminar of the pro-

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tions aren’t mute.We already live in a world where everyone has a voice and isn’t afraid to use it”, Tujunen believes.

Under the Dialogi program, Aalto EE offered leadership coaching for participating teams of women in fall 2015, emphasizing the importance of uncovering one’s own potential. The teams were coached by Ben Nothnagel and Riitta LummeTuomala from Aalto EE.

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uring the Dialogi program, we achieved many new steps leading towards a more equal and diverse working community”, states Timo Ritakallio, CEO at Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company.

“I dare to anticipate that in Finland we’ll be seeing equality at the workplace already in the 2020s, not as late as the 2090s.

Considering all the hype around the subject in recent years, it’s pretty evident that the change will take place. It just means that companies need to actively promote the shift.”

“First there needs to be an adequate amount of competent women in middle management, then among top executives, which will lead to competence for board membership.”

Ritakallio emphasizes top management being committed to the process of change.

“Change won’t happen without committed management,

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especially on the highest level.

The example set by management is key to all success.”

Participating in the program, global construction group Skanska provided another interesting example. Skanska represents a highly male-dominated industry.

HR Director Kirsi Mettälä admits that the discourse on promoting diversity in the organization hasn’t always been easy.

“First you need to create an accepting working environment.”

In addition to a change in attitudes, also concrete issues may need rectifying. For instance, in a male-dominated industry, working hours may not support career advancement of both parents in a family.

“The construction industry continues to be rather conservative and traditional. On a construction site, work often starts at 7 am and finishes at 3.30 pm.

Why is that? Who decides that’s how it should be?”

The Dialogi program has led to participating companies launching mentoring programs and women’s networks.Also Skanska now has a women’s network – but one that’s also open to men.

“Living in our own separate bubbles is incredibly risky. We have set an example in that women’s network meetings – unlike those of traditional men’s networks – are also open to members of the opposite sex”, clarifies Mettälä. ◆ vol 4

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PUTTING THE C H A N G E I N TO P R AC T I C E The Dialogi program identified nine concrete steps for companies interested in advancing women’s careers.

1. Vision and clarifying goals: What concrete, measureable goals do we want to set for the change?

2. Justifying change – turn the advancement of women into a credible “business case”.

3. Management visibly committed to change.

4. Examining facts: Know your numbers, but also pay attention to tacit signals and experiences.

5. Setting goals. Remember that goals don’t equal quotas.

6. Rewards. Could a share of compensation be tied to achieving diversity goals?

7. Culture that supports diversity. The prevailing corporate culture needs to be examined honestly and openly.

8. Tailored measures: different organizations and employees at different career stages require different types of support.

9. Don’t give up.

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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

20,000 370 3,500 students, of whom

professors

are doctoral students

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

6 schools in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, and with over 300 years of combined history: School of Business School of Arts, Design and Architecture

2, 2 million euros

School of Science School of Chemical Technology

back to the Aalto community in 2015, 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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T H E S P O RT Y E X E C U T I V E – F E E L T H E H E AT ?

The way executives look is seen to reflect their inner qualities, writes professor Janne Tienari.

Yet, it is not looks per se that matter.

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ooks matter, even in executive management.

It is a tough job. Pressures from owners, colleagues, managers and employees as well as customers, competitors, analysts, and the media make the work of executives complicated and at times daunting, too. The executive job today is uncertain and its preconditions change fast.

It makes sense to be in good

shape. High expectations direct executives towards a healthy lifestyle preoccupied with physical exercise, nutrition, and rest to balance out the demands of the job. The pursuit of health and fitness may take noticeably passionate forms. Pushing one’s limits in exercising and comparing oneself to an athlete is not unheard of amongst corporate executives.

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While health, fitness, and sports are a way for people who are under immense pressure to relieve stress, executives’ lifestyles are mirrored in their appearance.

Executives today look youthful and slim. Most importantly, they look sporty. While results and competence still determine how executives are appraised, appearances too are (sometimes

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inadvertently) evaluated when decisions on recruitment and promotions are made.

Preoccupation with health and fitness is not coincidental.

The way executives look is seen to reflect their inner qualities.

Youthful, slim, and sporty executives signify the right qualities for the fast, complex, and unpredictable business in the global economy: energy, endurance, and control.

Radiating energy is crucial.

The ability to get excited and, in consequence, to engage others in taking on challenges is valued highly.

Executives must also project endurance or stamina, like a triathlonist or a marathon runner.

They must demonstrate the capability to deliver.

Most importantly, sporty looks signify that the executive is in control. Self-control is inscribed in the healthy and fit body, and it is recognized as competence.

The assumption is that he who is able to control the self, is able to lead others, too.

The implications of these assumptions are sometimes pretty astonishing. The Wall Street Journal ran an article a couple of years ago, titled “Want to be CEO? What’s your BMI?” The message was loud and clear: studies quoted by WSJ show that the slim and sporty receive more positive feedback on their leadership ability than

their not-so-slim peers. Excess weight seems to convey weakness or a lack of control in the eyes of others.

BMI or body-mass-index is a common measure of body fat.

Leadership professor Barry Posner was quoted in WSJ saying that he is unable name a single overweight Fortune 500 CEO. Yet, it is not looks per se that matter.The right appearance offers the basis for performing executive management in the right way. These performances are a strategic issue for companies and they are also crucial for executives’ personal branding.

Executives today are highly visible.They must be prepared to step into the limelight at a moment’s notice. Their performances are scrutinized by stakeholders. Live or online, being photogenic helps.

There are, of course, differences between industries and businesses in terms of the ‘ideal’ executive. Looks and performances remain a contextual or cultural issue. What is valued at Wall Street or in the City of London, where aggressively sporty executives are constantly on the move, does not necessarily resonate elsewhere.

The trick is to stand out while fitting in. Nonetheless, there is a lot evidence to suggest that we are all becoming more like the hungry bankers: more preoccupied with how our performance

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looks and more determined to build the right body for it.

In principle, it is a positive thing that decision-makers are in shape. It is reassuring that executives take care of themselves and their health.

However, there is a darker side to preoccupation with looks, performances, and lifestyles. Potential risks include judging people and their performance disproportionately on the basis of how they look.

As organizations today are employing programs and initiatives that target a systematic approach to managing the health of their members, privacy issues come to the fore: who gets to determine the lifestyle of organizational members and on what premises?

Who has the right to monitor people’s whole lives?

When health and fitness are seen as a personal choice, by default, those who do not fit the mold are pushed to the margins or doomed into oblivion. Recruitment provides a means for making sure that only the ‘right’ bodies gain entry to key positions.Yet, any decent headhunter will tell you not to rely on your gut feeling when making such important decisions.

Monitoring the bodies of others continues after recruitment.

Establishing control over people’s lives in and through performance appraisal becomes a managerial prerogative.And overem-

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phasis on appearances may lead to dodgy outcomes.

Ultimately, this can lead to distorted talent pools and homosociality at the top. People have a tendency to seek the company of those who are considered similar in some significant way.

Extreme health and fitness orientation can become the basis for such homosociality and for exclusion of those who do not match the athletic criteria.

The outcomes may well be even more puzzling. A Swedish colleague mentioned something that can be a sign of things to come if the trend of athleticism intensifies. While the term orthorexia refers to extreme or excessive preoccupation with eating food believed to be healthy, it has been extended in Sweden to denote obsession with a healthy and fit lifestyle in general.

Rumor has it that Swedish headhunters are now ticking the ‘no orthorexia’ box when compiling their shortlists for their clients. Over-athleticism is viewed as a distinct recruitment risk. There are executives who exercise so much that they are no longer seen to have the energy to do their jobs properly.

To conclude, while health and fitness are wonderful things, there is no need for executives to train like athletes. Everything in moderation.

Finally, a disclaimer and an in-

T H E S P O RT Y EXECUTIVE’S CHECKLIST

Exercise when possible. vitation to continue the discussion. These reflections on the sporty executive are based on research, consultancy reports, and media debate in the West. It is based on research carried out in Europe and North America, and on discussions with executives in the Nordic countries in particular.

The question is: how is Western preoccupation with sporty executives seen in Asia or other parts of the world? What are the alternatives? ◆ Janne Tienari is Professor of Organization and Management at Aalto University School of Business. With Professor Susan Meriläinen he has just published a book in Finnish on management and appearances, titled Palvelukseen halutaan ajokoira – johtajan ulkonäkö ja esiintyminen (Siltala, 2016). vol 4

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Watch your diet, but not too slavishly.

Make sure you get enough rest.

Don’t overdo it.

Fit your appearance and performances into context.

Avoid judging others by the way they look.

Question processes that lead to homosociality.

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Leaving Russia – new wave of ske pticism is arising

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ussia has for years tried to modernize and diversify its economy to decrease the dependency on oil and gas production.The newest tool in this project, boosted by the economic sanctions and countersanctions between Russia and the EU, is Russia’s so-called import substitution policy.This new modernization and diversification policy aims at decreasing imports, increasing domestic production, and creating new production lines in Russia.

For the purpose, both financial and technological foreign investments are needed in various sectors, such as oil, gas, IT, textile and food industry.Therefore, this policy could provide an avenue for investing foreign firms – at least in some sectors.

So far, only a few Finnish firms are planning to localize production in Russia, even if the relatively weak ruble and low employment costs might advise to do so.This is due to concrete factors, such as the low quality of raw materials, and functional problems in delivery chains. But even more, investors are demotivated by the lack of trust in the institutional rules of the game: the IPR issues, protection of strategic sectors and opportunistic bureaucracy.

This kind of skepticism concerning the Russian business potential is something new among Finnish firms. Finns coped well in the economically and politically turbulent Russian market economy of the 1990s. Later, boosted by

Russia’s rapid economic growth, Finns became important investors in certain northwest Russian regions, and some Finnish firms became market leaders in their sectors. Indeed, Finnish firms had entered Russia to stay. For them, the ruble crises of 1998 and the economic collapse of 2008 were only temporary setbacks.

Against this backdrop, one could expect Finns to see Russia’s current economic downfall and the political interplay between EU’s sanctions and Russia’s counter sanctions as only an incident in the endless chain of uncertainties. One might expect Finns to stay in Russia utilizing Russia’s import substation policies through localization of businesses. However, this is not happening.We are witnessing an outflow of Finnish firms from Russia.

Finns leave, because both economic and political uncertainties make the current crisis considerably more serious than the previous ones.This crisis has damaged the most important investment booster: the trust in the future.As long as the world price for oil stays low, there are no signs for economic recovery in Russia. Also, the international political tensions undermine Russia’s attractiveness. Finally, the import substitution program is characterised by clear uncertainties in its regulation and implementation.

When there is no light on the horizon, leaving Russia has become a relevant option. ◆

RIITTA KOSONEN is a professor and Director of Center for Markets in Transition at the Aalto University School of Business. She is in charge of several multidisciplinary research projects, which provide scientifically rigorous and societally

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relevant research on emerging markets, especially on Russia and China, and on the competitiveness of the Baltic Sea region in the global economy.

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D O N ’ T H E S I TAT E WITH GOOD PLANS! [ S T R AT E G Y ]

New study on strategy encourages companies to have a bold attitude.

Researchers show that unless companies understand what their capabilities are, they may end up attempting to do something that is not possible. Strategic initiatives play a key role in enabling the company’s management to take advantage of new growth opportunities identified in its operating environment.

But how will a company know whether initiatives are viable, and how, on the other hand, does an understanding of the implementation possibilities affect making initiatives?

Markus Kajanto, former director of corporate strategy planning at Nokia,Assistant Professor Timo Vuori and Associate Professor Henri Schildt from Aalto University, were looking for an answer to this question. Their study was based on 112 interviews that Kajanto conducted with managements of 37 Finnish companies.

“When decisions about initiatives are made, the management’s ability to understand future capability requirements plays a key role”, Kajanto summarises.

“Capability is what the or-

ganization can do; its possibilities to achieve. An understanding of capabilities is based on concrete matters, such as quantitative metrics and the perceived skills of individual people as well as on how the management feels it has motivated the personnel.Appreciating the unpredictability inevitably linked with a strategy aiming at the future is another important factor”, he stresses.

According to the researchers, the biggest differences between the companies were related to an appreciation of uncertainties.

Many companies have – often due to circumstances – anchored themselves so tightly to the present that it is difficult for them to see into the future.

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ten end up trivializing the measures required by the change and attempt to do something that is not possible. When it does not work out, they have to make corrective actions, which are also difficult to implement because the required capabilities were originally not properly identified”, states Markus Kajanto.

On the other hand, too pessimistic a picture of one’s own capabilities is also dangerous regarding success. The necessary initiative may already be there, but if management doubts the company’s possibilities to implement it, no action is taken.

“We often discovered in the interviews that even many good plans had not been implemented because the management had hesitated”, Markus Kajanto says.

“Because strategies are about something that has not been done before, the only thing we can do is to appreciate the possibility of uncertainties and surprises.”

Timo Vuori also encourages companies to have a bold attitude.

“We should not overanalyze the present situation but set our eyes on the future while being prepared for a variety of outcomes”, he advises.

See also: Timo Vuori describes the hallmarks of a good strategy, and how it relates to emotions. Pages 104105.

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H&M FOUNDATION

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A total of

12 doctors have already graduated from the Design Connections program at Aalto University. The doctoral program was launched in 2006. The first Doctor of Arts graduated in 2009 and the last doctoral candidates of the program will receive their degrees this year. The tenth anniversary of the program was marked with a seminar at the Department of Design in February.

TEXTILE I N N O VAT I O N AWA R D E D [TECHNOLOGY]

From left Pirjo Kääriäinen (Aalto), Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Ali Harlin (VTT), Herbert Sixta (Aalto) and Michael Hummel (Aalto).

More than 2 700 ideas from 112 countries were received in the Global Change Award competition this year. The jury appointed by H&M nominated five winners, of which the proposal to use Ioncell-F in recycling cotton made by Aalto University, the University of Helsinki and VTT won the public vote and € 300 000.

The Ioncell-F method that makes it possible to recycle cotton was granted the Global Change Award by the Conscious Foundation of the clothing giant H&M in a ceremony held at Stockholm City Hall, Sweden.

“It is a great honor and a huge source of motivation for our entire team”, says Herbert Sixta, Professor of the Department of

Forest Products Technology at Aalto University.

Sixta and his team have been developing the non-toxic and environmentally friendly Ioncell method for years now.

It has previously been used to make textile fiber from Finnish birch cellulose and recycled cardboard, but now it has been proved that Ioncell-F also works with waste cotton.

“It is this possibility to utilize other materials in addition to cellulose that makes our method different from other similar methods”, Sixta explains.

“It is an extremely inspiring and wonderful material for a designer”, says Pirjo Kääriäinen, Designer in Residence at Aalto University.

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would you li ke to have more choice or le ss choice?

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sk the proverbial man on the street whether he would like to have more choice or less choice, and the answer will typically favor the prior.

Regardless of whether we are talking about dinner menu options, possible places to go on our next vacation, or alternative service or product attributes offered by a company the thinking goes that we would always like to have as much choice as possible.This thinking leads to a situation where our default response to lagging sales or dissatisfied customers is to increase the number of items on the menu, grow our portfolio of vacation destinations, or develop yet another product or service attribute to add to our offering. However, amongst all these different alternatives consumers are increasingly dissatisfied with the choices they make and our business customers are evermore disappointed with our offerings.

American psychologist Barry Schwartz has done much to explain why increased consumer choice may in fact lead to lower customer satisfaction.

Firstly, presented with an overabundance of alternatives to choose from, we often assume that a superior alternative to our selection would have existed and regret sets in as we assume that we were simply unable to make the optimal pick.

Secondly, opportunity costs (i.e. the cost of not choosing something) go up as more alternatives are left unchosen.

Thirdly, our overall expectations for

the final outcome increase as we assume that in amongst the many alternatives an ideal choice must exist, and our heightened expectations lead to increased likelihood of disappointment. And fourthly, we tend to blame ourselves for poor outcomes as our impression is that we must have chosen wrong, not that the options provided to us were somehow fundamentally lacking.

The response of leading firms across industries has been to reduce the number of alternatives they offer to customers by removing options altogether or by using customer data and algorithms to preselect choices presented to consumers.

In recent years, we have also seen an explosion of interest in the business world for the concept of value proposition, at the center of which is the idea that firms must find a way of highlighting only those unique characteristics of their offering that are the most attractive for specific customers.

The aim is to ease the decision-making process of the customer and reduce the burden associated with having too much choice.

So next time you are wandering around the aisles of your local grocery store trying to choose from twenty different types of olive oil or from a dozen types of pasta sauce, spare a moment to think about how your customers feel when looking through your brochures or web pages, and consider if indeed sometimes less could be more. ◆

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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U N D E R S TA N D I N G URBAN TRAFFIC [RESEARCH]

A new international two-year project is collecting, cleaning and modifying public transport data for around one hundred cities across the world.This organized data will be published to enable open access. The aim of this Academy of Finland funded project is to understand the function, efficiency, fault-tolerance, and planning of public transport across the world.

The mathematical features of the network theory are the key tools in this analysis. The advanced network theory has not been used in the transport planning before.

“In the network theory, the structure and the function of the network are understood as com-

N E W S T R AT E G Y F O R A A LTO U N I V E R S I T Y : P RO M OT I N G A N I N N OVAT I O N DRIVEN SOCIETY [ E D U CAT I O N ]

putational tools, as numbers.The network theory is very good for the analysis of large amounts of data and for comparing different systems”, states Associate Professor Jari Saramäki from Aalto University Computer Science Department.

The project is led by Saramäki, in collaboration with Assistant Professor Milos Mladenovic, from Aalto Built Environment Department.

The researchers will visit part-

Aalto University’s strategy for 2016–2020 has been updated.

With its vision of ‘An innovative society’, the university’s mission can be summed up as ‘Shaping the future: Science and art together with technology and business.’

“It has been great to experience how the Aalto community has taken in our original idea to build an innovation-driven society by combining knowledge from different disciplines. Our updated strategy puts into words this joint activity for the coming

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ner universities in France, Sweden, the USA, and Scotland. For example, by exchanging the researcher’s know-how and skills, it is possible to compare in detail journeys on public transport routes from Helsinki to the data from foreign cities.

“In order to respond to the high requirements that our public transport systems are facing, we need a deeper understanding that only an interdisciplinary approach combining network science and transport engineering can provide”, states Mladenovic.

“This project produces tools for transport planners and engineers by identifying common traits and patterns in good public transport networks. Improved planning of public transport can reduce carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption, as efficient public transport is more climate-friendly”, adds Saramäki.

years”, says Aalto University President Tuula Teeri.

The three elements of the strategy are research and innovation, art and creative practices, and education. These core elements will be manifested in four dimensions: research and artistic excellence, multidisciplinary collaboration, a culture of entrepreneurship and tangible societal impact. Passion, courage, freedom, responsibility and integrity will continue to serve as the strategy’s strong value base.

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C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S ! [ A A LTO E E ]

Close to 100 participants from five different Aalto Executive MBA programs ceremonially graduated on the 27th of November 2015 in Helsinki. The 94 EMBA graduates came from Finland, Taiwan, Russia, Italy, Estonia, and France. Similar

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festivities were held also in Singapore on the 19th of December. There, hats and diplomas were handed to 24 participants from Aalto EE’s Singapore, Taiwan, and Indonesia EMBA programs.

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NEW TRAINEE P RO G R A M O F F E R S WO R K EXPERIENCE IN TO P C O M PA N I E S

ing, coaching in groups, clarifying personal goals, and three separate work placements in the companies.

Each trainee will have two four-month placements working in a team at Valio, Alko, or Paulig, as well as a three-month

placement at Salomaa Group.

“The possibility for diverse work placements is what truly sets the program apart”, describes Minna Wickholm, Business Area Director at Aalto EE. “The trainees will see the marketing industry from two very different perspectives: an advertising agency and a big brand.”

Long-term marketing experts from the partner companies will be mentoring the trainees during the program.

The one-year Next Gen Trainee program targeted young people with experience in the industry and a strong drive to become marketing experts of an international level. Other requirements included a businessoriented degree, language skills, and, above all, enthusiasm. The trainees receive remuneration during the program.

business schools in Europe. The ranking criteria used include the career and salary development of the graduates and overall international dimension of the teaching. Aalto remains second in the Nordic comparison.

The alumni play an important part in the ranking, as the questionnaire is sent three years after graduation.“Thanks to our 2012 graduates for answering the questionnaire, and for the positive ranking result”, says Dean Ingmar Björkman.

The Aalto Executive MBA program improved its position in the Financial Times’ annual ranking in October. In a global comparison, Aalto EMBA came 76th, climbing seven places.

The position is a round-up of the earlier rankings. The European Business Schools Ranking 2015 by the Financial Times was published on 7 December 2015.

For the second time, another Finnish School is on the list, Svenska handelshögskolan placed 76th.

[BUSINESS]

Aalto University Executive Education and Salomaa Group will jointly be taking Finnish marketing skills to a new level, as they launch the new Next Gen Marketing Trainee program in the spring.

The program’s partners include Valio, Alko, and Paulig, which are all renowned for their solid brand competence.

Six top talents were picked for the Trainee program from among more than 170 applicants.

The schedule includes a lecture series in marketing and economics by Aalto EE, train-

A A LTO UNIVERSITY SECOND AMONG THE NORDIC BUSINESS SCHOOLS O N C E AG A I N [RANKING]

The Aalto University School of Business was placed 32th in the European Business Schools Ranking 2015 published by the Financial Times newspaper.

The ranking lists the top 85

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ESADE & A A LTO E E Top-ranking Spanish ESADE Business School and Aalto University Executive Education will be partnering closely also in the Executive MBA programs.The two institutions have previously collaborated in open executive programs.

Aalto EMBA holds the 76th position in the global Financial Times ranking, with the ESADE program in 27th place.The Financial Times has ranked both establishments among the top 50 executive education providers.

Both the ESADE and Aalto EE Executive MBA programs include core and elective modules. The agreement provides participants with the option of choosing modules from the partner program. Aalto Executive MBA students have a chance to select modules from seven different countries, including Iran and South Korea. ”We are delighted to offer modules from an increasingly extensive partner network both geographically and as far as content is concerned.

This is one of the elements other Nordic EMBA programs are unable to provide”, says Hanna-Riikka Myllymäki, Business Area Director responsible for Aalto EE MBA programs.

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GU SCHOOL OF EXECUTIVE & A A LTO E E

C H I C AG O B O OT H & A A LTO E E University of Chicago Booth School of Business (Chicago Booth) and Aalto EE will introduce two new executive programs with a focus on finance and marketing. Chicago Booth’s executive education programs are ranked fifth in the global Financial Times rankings.

The programs combine the strengths of both business schools to the benefit of their customers.

The first program, ”Datadriven Marketing – Understanding Marketing Analytics and Performance”, brings together Chicago Booth’s worldclass competencies in quantitative marketing methods and Aalto University’s recognized expertize in strategic marketing.

The programs will be delivered in London and Helsinki. vol 4

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Two strong executive education providers in the Nordic countries – Aalto EE in Finland and GU School of Executive Education in Sweden – signed a partnership agreement in December 2015.

The agreement includes delivering joint open enrollment programs and customized solutions as well as deepening cooperation in MBA programs. The first joint activity will be the exchange of selected modules in Executive MBA programs, which will start at the beginning of 2016.

GU School of Executive Education is owned by GU Ventures, the university holding company, and part of the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg.

The partnership combines multidisciplinary research from both universities and a joint global network of more than 1, 000 professors and experts.

“The strength of the partnership lies in the combination of our Nordic roots and insights to global best practices”, says Håkan Ericson, Managing Director of GU School of Executive Education.

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Aalto EE offers Executive MBA and Global Leader programs as well as customized solutions for organizations also in Singapore. Now the Singapore-based programs have a spacious new home base. Combined area of close to 4,000 square feet is located in a prominent and accessible part of Singapore, close to key landmarks, such as Supreme Court and Treasury Building, and a short walk away from Raffles Place, Singapore’s equivalent of Wall Street. The classroom, directly facing Singapore Parliament, is able to accommodate up to 60 people. www.aaltoee.sg

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P RO G R A M F O R N O N - P RO F I T D I R E C TO R S I N SINGAPORE Aalto EE was chosen to plan and carry out the Leadership Capstone program for directors of non-profit organizations in Singapore, together with Singa-

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pore Management University Lien Centre for Social Innovation, and the Centre for NonProfit Leadership. The program is sponsored by Tote Board, Singapore’s leading grantmaking organization.

The program will be held five times between 2016-2018.

“We are very pleased to contribute to the development of

the Singaporean non-profit and social sector together with our esteemed partners. The leaders of the social sector and different non-profit organizations have an important role in future development, as social innovations are a great source of success”, says Anu Sirkiä, Aalto EE, Executive Director, Asia Pacific.

Despite adjustment measures, Aalto University Executive Education Group registered a satisfactory improvement in its operating profit for last year. The operating profit for 2015 improved to 400,000 € (200,000 € in 2014). Turnover rose slightly from the previous year, to

17,100,000 € Globally, the Group provided a total of around 80 customized programs.

Around 5,400 people participated in degree programs and shorter, open-enrollment and customized programs last year. For more information: www.aaltoee.com/news

R I I N A V I I TA L A APPOINTED S E N I O R A DV I S O R

positions in Valio Ltd, where she developed a strong expertise at the areas of innovation and change management. She also has a strong background in both consumer research and product and concept development. Viitala designed and implemented numerous development programs related to the company’s core processes and to leadership and innovation skills.

She completed her doctorate at the University of Helsinki, Institute of Biomedicine with a thesis on probiotics.

PHOTO

[PEOPLE]

Aalto EE appointed Dr. Riina Viitala as Senior Advisor on March 2016. She will focus on strategic partnerships, developing partnership programs and the development and design of high-profile customized solutions.

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BOOK 1 [ R E P O RTAG E ]

BREAKING NEWS The President of the United States changes, a pandemic takes the UN by surprise, asylum seekers confuse Europe.

How should company directors react to the global news and current affairs? Journalists Annukka Oksanen and Ville Blåfield discover how business is impacted by politics.

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hat went through your mind, when you heard about the latest terrorist attacks in Brussels? Or the attacks in Paris in

November 2015?

Naturally, the most far-reaching, abiding, heartwrenching consequence of the Paris attacks was the loss of 132 lives. But there were also other repercussions on Paris, France, and the world at large – momentary and durable, humane and political.

Some of the aftermaths of the terrorist attacks have a direct or indirect impact on European businesses.

The travel industry was shaken up immediately, which in France is huge, employing 2 million people, and forming 7 percent of the country’s GDP. According to a survey by financial information services provider Markit, the terrorist attacks had immediate effects also on the service sector on the whole.

Peter Praet, member of the European Central Bank Executive Board, assesses the repercussions of the Paris attacks in an interview for Bloomberg as follows: ”Usually these sorts of events have a transitory effect on the economy so this is not a priori a reason to change the way we see the evolution of the European economy. It’s also true on the other hand that we have a fragile cyclical recovery, fragile with downside risk, and it’s clear these sort of events do not help restoring confidence in the recovery, so this is something we will watch.”

The Paris attacks are just one of many political events with financial consequences.

Economy and politics are so interwoven that they are impossible to separate completely. Global news and events affect businesses, either immediately or in the long term, even without apparent relevance for a particular sector at the time.

At the same time, social discourse is crying out for companies to help, whether in integrating immigrants, solving climate change, producing

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health care services, or providing development aid.

This means that companies benefit not only from understanding, but shaping politics.

In a world that is open and abounds in networks in an unprecedented way, examining how corner offices of HQs follow, understand, and anticipate international political events becomes increasingly valid. Both breaking news, such as the Paris attacks, and long-term trends, like climate change, impact global economy. But are companies paying enough attention? What are the effects of the daily news on our businesses? Which events mean trouble, and which offer potential?

This article seeks to uncover links between politics and economy, with experts from Washington, Helsinki, Copenhagen, and New York offering examples and insight.

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he United States is gearing up for its presidential elections, the battle being fought in both political and personal arenas, with the likes of Hillary Clinton’s emails, and the size of Donald Trump’s hands coming under fire.

The elections reverberate on global economy.

This is where a certain myth gets broken; it’s actually Democratic, rather than Republican presidents who are more favorable for business. Let’s take a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the Stock Trader’s Almanac statistics: a skim through the U.S. presidents between World War II and the present day shows that the shares of major corporations have done better during the terms of office of Democratic presidents compared to Republicans.

Organizing elections seems to be a bad thing for companies on the whole. International trade may not be conservative in nature, but a predictable commercial setup is definitely preferable. Crucial moments and change of regime create uncertainty on the market, curbing investments and risktaking. ”While there are plenty of reasons why equities

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may struggle this year, such as falling oil prices and slowing global growth, election-related uncertainty isn’t helping”, states Jeff Hirsch, Editor-inChief at Stock Trader’s Almanac, in an interview for CNBC. “People don’t like the upheaval and uncertainty of an open-ended race.”

In his comment featured in this magazine, Professor of Practice at Aalto University, Sixten Korkman writes that global business requires an understanding of and interest in global problems. “Already Aristotle believed that an interest in social issues is a hallmark of civilization”, he says.

For Korkman, the question is as clear as day:“Of course a CEO needs to be interested in society and the world at large, not only as a citizen but as a director.”

But not all of the corporate directors interviewed for this article agree. As an experienced CEO of an international company, which has operations on the West Coast of the United States, responded to our question on following politics from a business point of view: “Politics isn’t really my field, and doesn’t directly influence the company I lead.”

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ounds very misguided.”

Sitting in his study at Georgetown University in Washington, Professor of International Business Diplomacy Marc L. Busch shakes his head, as he hears of a managing director who does not think of politics as his own field. Busch is an expert in international trade policy and law, and author of the book Trade Warriors. The American flag hangs between the bookshelves in his room.

“The higher up the corporate ladder, the more important it is to understand international politics, especially the rules of international politics and globalization. In addition to the content, it is important to understand political processes”, says Professor Busch.

“Corporate directors don’t need to be politicians, but they do need to understand how inter-

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national policy works, and the way decisions are made. They also need to be able to foresee the right stage for influencing decisions.”

Foresight is a vital competitive advantage for companies, enabling them to lobby politicians at a time when legislation that will affect the company’s operations and market is prepared on a national and international level. Even in the case that lobbying does not bring the desired outcome, the company is able to anticipate future changes in good enough time, as it is aware of the processes underway. Good lobbyists can be worth their weight in gold for companies.

This topic is examined by an Executive MBA program on offer at Georgetown University: the joint Global Executive MBA of Georgetown and ESADE combines studies in management, leadership and strategy in the subjects of global policymaking and international relations.

“Until the 1980s, international business was by and large governed by a single set of rules dating back to the 1940s. Since then, overlapping regulations have been on the rise. The world is getting increasingly complex and less predictable”, says Busch.

The U.S. professor believes that the generations born into the new world order and logic are much smarter at navigating in the new situation than their parents.

“In my view, the younger generations have a better grasp of the complex nature of globalization. Parents are stuck in the old world, while the young generation of leaders won’t be bluffed in the same way.”

But there are seniors who know how to react, too. Matti Alahuhta, former CEO and present Member of the Board of Finnish elevator company Kone, explains in his recent book Johtajuus (Engl. transl. Leadership, published by Docendo in 2015) how Kone saw the future significance of the global financial crisis for its industry already early on. Construction came to a halt in the United States, but Kone quickly became a market leader

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“All global political issu es are connected to the economy, in one way or another.”

— Heidi Schroderus-Fox,

Director of UN-OHRLLS, the

in China, thanks to timely investments and looking the right way.

The Asian market now generates a major share of the company’s revenue, and Kone is the market leader in China.

Global events may bring market potential, but also destruction. Companies need to know what people, i.e. customers, think about what goes on in the world. What development paths do they support through their consumer decisions? What are their lifestyle choices? And the role of companies does not end there – they, too, operate in society after all.

An in-depth understanding of global trends can reap success, if it leads to ethical choices rewarded by customers. Transparent production chains and operations based on sustainable development are good for our planet, but also for company profits.

Professor Marc L. Busch sighs, as he explains how too often companies think corporate responsibility simply means sponsoring the local ice hockey team, when it could be about proactively promoting the company’s interests.

“I’m not saying companies should take an active role in party politics, but they do need to understand politics as an instrument for international business. Similarly to individuals, companies can’t be political in their activities, but they should discern which questions are important for themselves and their operating environment, and engage in those.”

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UN Office for the Least Develo

ped Countries

At best, responsibility denotes a wise business strategy, as the following example from the outskirts of Copenhagen in Denmark shows.

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e find ourselves in a former industrial warehouse, now post-modern exhibition space. There’s an indoor lawn, plenty of iron beams, and this rather shabby room, where a CEO ranked number one by Harvard Business Review last fall is now sitting and talking politics.

Lars Rebien Sørensen explains the political systems of China and the United States, and the fascination of the superpowers by the Nordic model. Talking politics comes naturally to Rebien Sørensen: it creates a framework for his company’s operations.

Rebien Sørensen heads pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, and it was the company’s environmental awareness and social responsibility that propelled him to the top spot of Harvard Business Review’s list. Based on market value, the company is the most valuable in the Nordic Countries.

The Danish company dominates about half of the world’s insulin market, and the company is engaged exactly in the way diplomats and organizations hope companies would: having a proactive role in aid work.The World Diabetes Foundation established by Novo Nordisk runs thousands of clinics in the poor regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Latin America.

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At the time of the interview, Novo Nordisk is hosting the international Cities Changing Diabetes conference in Copenhagen. Copenhagen, Houston, Mexico City, Shanghai, and Tianjin are jointly developing ways to prevent and treat diabetes.The network works from the starting points of cities being able to learn from each other, and the majority of the nearly 400 million people suffering from diabetes living in urban areas. The interdisciplinary network joins up two major rising trends: urbanization, and lifestyle disease diabetes.

The initiative is expensive and important, as urbanization has been found to increase the prevalence of diabetes. The collaboration among the five cities aims to find better ways to prevent and treat diabetes in urban environments. One of the goals is for urban planners to pay attention to the disease in planning, as mobility is a key contributing factor.

Unlike other pharmaceutical giants, Novo Nordisk sells pharmaceuticals at a lower rate in poor countries. What is the point in that? And why spend money on a conference that aims to prevent diabetes?

According to Rebien Sørensen, “human tragedy is always touching”, and treating a serious disease is “the best motivator”.Yet it isn’t a question of altruistic charity.“Corporate responsibility needs to be part of business. We don’t engage in anything that isn’t connected to our business”, Rebien Sørensen explains.

The main difference between basic business operations and social and corporate responsibility lies in the time interval. Business operations must reap enough cash in quarters, or at least as anticipated, while corporate responsibility functions in the long term. It is worth establishing clinics and selling pharmaceuticals cheaply in poor countries, where future markets are growing.That is the underlying logic behind the insulin business: as populations get wealthier, lifestyle diseases increase.

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“Firstly, the activities legitimize us as a company, as we sell daily dosages of insulin all over the world for the price of a cup of coffee. Secondly, we will already be established on the market, when it’s finally time for private markets to enter the scene”, Rebien Sørensen illustrates.

The diabetes initiative of the five cities allows Novo Nordisk to familiarize itself with future growth markets on a grass root level. In other words, Rebien Sørensen isn’t an advocate of philanthropy; corporate responsibility needs to firmly tie in with corporate strategy.

He seems to follow bigger changes, global trends, and related politics, rather than abrupt news. A persistent corporate director needs to see behind the daily news and keep calm. For Rebien Sørensen, everything boils down to economy, from the aging of the population to the growth of cities, and from megatrends to values. Similar talk has been heard from those who claim that everything is about politics in the end. And that’s exactly how it is: economy and politics inter­ twining.

Rebien Sørensen believes that tolerance and diversity are the main traits of creativity, and thus of successful business activities.

But other winds are blowing in European politics right now.The continent is in the grips of the Schengen Agreement and its promise of free mobility, security measures tighten their grasp, and bickering is on the increase even in traditionally open countries, such as Sweden and Denmark.

These development paths concretely undermining the preconditions of business operations is a cause of concern for companies.

Recently, the Confederation of Danish Industry, Dansk Industri, has been harshly criticizing Denmark’s tightening immigration policy and marred international reputation. Employers are concerned that Denmark will no longer attract top experts from abroad. A labor shortage quickly sets its limits on business growth.

Politics – both as a company’s operating envi-

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“It has been clear for a long time that migration will be coming, and it will be targeted at Europe.”

— Helge J. Pedersen, Group Chief Economist at Nordea Chairman of the Chief Econom ist Group under the European Banking Federation

ronment and in form of its own engagements – influences the corporate image.This is something we will touch on in the next discussion, this time at the UN headquarters in New York.

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n the banks of East River and on the corner of Manhattan’s 44th street, guests outside the UN headquarters are met by Karl Reuterswärd’s sculpture of a revolver with a knotted barrel. Here, at one of the main stages of world politics, it is a question of war and peace, human rights and stability.

“The business world has an increasing role also here”, says Heidi Schroderus-Fox, Director of UN-OHRLLS, the UN Office for the Least Developed Countries. Schroderus-Fox is one of the highest-ranking Finns in the UN. She goes to the counter to order a coffee, then scans the impressive Delegates’ Lounge at the headquarters with her gaze in search of a free table. Reuterswärd’s knotted weapon can be glimpsed outside the large windows, while inside there are lime green tables, pale leather chairs, and walls adorned with textile art from all over the world.

“All global political issues are connected to the economy, in one way or another”, SchroderusFox begins.

“The UN upholds a ‘holy trinity’ of peace and

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security, development, and human rights. Today’s business world has significant links with all three aspects, which also all tie together. Everything is interconnected. There’s no development without peace, security without development, and so on.

Promoting these issues is also in the interest of business.”

During her career with the UN, SchroderusFox has come to see how active engagement and interaction have increased on both sides.The UN has begun to actively seek collaboration with corporations, for instance through its UN Global Compact Business Partnership program. At the same time, companies have become proactive in global responsibility.

Companies seek involvement in the UN’s cabinets and initiatives.

“UN-OHRLLS is responsible for 92 countries, which are the least developed and most fragile.

Traditional aid mechanisms haven’t managed to help these countries rise from the bottom. It takes investments, developing production capacity, Bto-B cooperation”, Schroderus-Fox lists. It’s not a simple task.

“Often the countries have an under-developed business climate. International collaboration, organizations like the UN, guarantees, and other factors need to be in place in order for companies to be ready to invest in those regions.”

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Although companies taking part in development projects is a positive phenomenon, there are downsides. Examples abound of companies misusing their powers and promoting their own interests.

“Of course the involvement of companies may increase the risk of corruption”, says SchroderusFox. “In addition, many member countries have their reservations about the stronger role of the corporate world, due to fears that western countries are trying to delegate development responsibility from the state to companies. Naturally, that isn’t an option. Development aid cannot be replaced by companies that are entering the scene.”

However, Schroderus-Fox sees things in a similar light to Sixten Korkman: an interest in international questions, cultures and world politics is a hallmark of civilization. The UN offers a vantage point into what at best – and at worst – goes into operating and leading a multicultural community in an international playing field.

Ironically, at best, understanding international politics and global questions makes one less sure about one’s own views”, says Schroderus-Fox. “In Finland, we have grown with a very homogenous set of values, knowing what constitutes right and wrong. Often Finns assume they have the best knowledge of these things. But coming into an international operating environment we have to recognize that solutions that fit in the Finnish context may not be ideal or even work in the circumstances of other countries.”

“I’m not saying you should give up your own values, but realizing we don’t have the only right approach and truth about the world needs some work. In an international setting, leaders need to be bold and curious and think about issues in a broader context.”

Schroderus-Fox believes that a broad understanding of the world reaps results. “Forecasting the beginning of a monsoon in India has a strong impact on the stock market.”

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A company’s corporate responsibility and social role influence its appeal in the eyes of potential employees.

“These days, young people can go and work anywhere. What companies are doing, how they operate in different parts of the world, and how much a company values its responsibility influence the decisions of where young people want to work. It’s in a company’s own interest that its factories worldwide do not employ children, for example.”

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orld events can affect businesses through a multitude of twists. Climate change, climatic phenomena, and pandemics can have a butterfly effect.

In 2009-2010, the El Niño phenomenon was so forceful that the price of food rose by tens of percents, resulting in a global food crisis. The food shortage prompted unrest. This year, El Niño will bring increased rainfalls also in areas where the Zika virus is present. According to the World Health Organization, rain is a culprit for a rise in the virus-spreading mosquito population.

This spring, Thailand experienced severe drought, also due to El Niño, cutting down the income of farmers. According to analysts, the drought may lead to hit-hard farmers rebelling against the Thai junta in charge of the country’s water supply.

Unrest in a country like Thailand, which is closely integrated with world economy, should be of interest to corporate directors, regardless of whether they have direct connections with the country.

Ebola is a clear example of the financial repercussions of a disease.

The rise in epidemics and pandemics has caused companies to make plans in case a disease hits their production or market area.When a pandemic strikes, it is important to help the local community, evacuate employees, and react quickly in every way. The Ebola virus did cause companies to react, but slowly.

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to be part of “Corporate responsibility needs ything that isn’t business. We don’t engage in an connected to our business.” o Nordisk — Lars Rebien Sørensen, CEO of Nov

The epidemic that began in December 2013 has infected 29,000 and killed 11,000 people.The fatal disease ran riot especially in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. However, epidemics, and especially pandemics, pose more than a health issue.

The Ebola virus did not really get featured on mainstream news until the end of 2014, when fear struck that the disease would spread beyond Africa. At the time, Ebola cases were diagnosed in Texas, Dallas, and Madrid, Spain.

Although many paid attention, European and Asian CEOs found the news easy to disregard.

Western Africa is not a common production or market area for companies. It is a poor area, which in light of business economics can be either a relief or risk. It was a relief that the poor area is not integrated with world economy as closely as richer areas. In other words, the aftermath of the Ebola or other crises do not spread as quickly as the problems or catastrophes of rich countries.

The countries not having developed a stable government or political culture, in part due to poverty, was a risk.The people are so deeply suspicious about their leaders that they even refused to listen to instructions on how to prevent and treat Ebola.

According to the International Crisis Group, which specializes in conflict research, this suspicion was a significant contributing factor to the advancement of the disease. The organization also

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criticized the slow reactions of the international community, and believes that similar epidemics will pose a threat to the stability of the international system, if lessons from the Ebola case go unlearned.

In other words, epidemics do not solely fall in the scope of health authorities, and democratic development is also in the interest of businesses.

In August 2014, the Ivory Coast announced that it would be shutting borders with Guinea and Liberia in an attempt to prevent the disease from spreading into the country.

This had global consequences, as the Ivory Coast produces nearly 40 percent of the world’s cocoa beans, causing their price to rocket. Chocolate manufacturers around the world began to get ready for disaster. In September 2014, the UN Security Council stated that the Ebola epidemic was a “threat to peace and security”. International intervention was spurred into motion.

The UN’s stark reaction may have come as a surprise for those who thought of Ebola as just one of Africa’s many problems. However, the finance market had been analyzing the disease painstakingly for a long period of time. Why was that? Because Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone were significant producers of raw materials.

In addition to cocoa analysts, bauxite analysts had been closely monitoring the advancement of the disease ever since the first Ebola incident.

Bauxite is the main source of aluminum, and

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considering all the different needs for the metal, it is easy to begin to grasp the potential consequences of a disruption in Africa’s bauxite production. The countries suffering from Ebola are significant producers of bauxite.

What was it that Heidi Schroderus-Fox from the UN said? That everything is interconnected.

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he idea is not only clear, but disenchanting.

If everything is interconnected, how can the chaotic flood of information be controlled? How can you know where the butterfly effect will lead?

Which news, worldview, or information can be trusted, and how to follow that thread?

The next expert provides an assuring answer: what you need is humility and a wise spouse.

The functionalist-style Knippelsbro bridge traversing Copenhagen’s Inner Harbor connects the center with Christianshavn, a channel area founded by Christian IV. The neighborhood has enjoyed good connections with the rest of the world already since the 17th century. A nerve center of international politics, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, is situated across the bridge.

Links to the outside world at the headquarters of Nordea financial services group on the opposite side of the bank at Strandgade 3 may be even more intense and vigorous. It is the workplace of analysts, investment bankers, and economists.

One of them is Helge J. Pedersen, Nordea’s Group Chief Economist, and Chairman of the Chief Economist Group under the European Banking Federation, which is the voice of Europe’s banking sector. Danish company directors and the board of Nordea avidly listen to Pedersen’s views, whose job it is to analyze and outline where the world and economy are heading.

Pedersen gets access to as much information as he wishes: statistics, ratios, prices, polls, changing interest rates…

How does he know what is important? Which sources does he trust?

For Pedersen, numbers are merely raw materials that do not say much in themselves.They need to be compared, sourced, and analyzed.

“It’s hard to accept that things change. Changes in the paradigm and world order can be painful”, Pedersen notes. Personal views must not get in the way of analysis. Even if you do not want change, it needs examining.

“Accepting and understanding are two different things.You can try to understand even if you don’t accept.”

Pedersen does not doubt for a second when asked about the one piece of news that has got him on his toes lately.

“Definitely the European migrant crisis.”

According to Pedersen, directors should prepare

e an active role in “Companies do not need to tak to understand politics party politics, but they do need l business.” as an instrument for internationa wn University

— Marc L. Busch, Professor, Georgeto

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”Of course a CEO needs to be interested in society and the world at large, no t only as a citizen but as a director.”

— Sixten Korkman, Professor of Practice,

Aalto University School of Business

for Europe of the future, and anticipate how the continent will be changing. Things are turning around in Europe at such an extent that the impacts on business will be significant. The old paradigm breaking down and a new one forming is a stormy process.

“For years, I’ve been concerned about the combination of the demography, poverty, and religious tensions in North Africa and the Middle East. An average Egyptian is 23 years old, and Yemeni under 20. Young people are unable to get jobs, get married, they don’t have a future. It’s been clear for a long time that migration will be coming, and it will be targeted at Europe”, Pedersen explains.

Yet the force of the migration was a surprise for Pedersen, as was its timing in 2015, five years after the Syrian war began.

Pedersen thinks that the EU now flounders in the worst political crisis of its history. Immigrants are flocking to a continent marked in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis by zealous nationalism and a sluggish economy, and which the young generation sees as a bureaucratic lump with a debt and refugee crisis on its hands.

“That’s a concern to me. The EU is no longer a peace project for them”, says Pedersen. Today’s 20- and 30-year-olds have no recollections of the Berlin Wall breaking, Eastern Europe opening up, and freely travelling between one country to another as something you couldn’t take for granted.

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For them, the Schengen Agreement isn’t an achievement, but a part of their daily lives and a problem, as it allows free mobility.”

Pedersen thinks carefully before he speaks, and considers the polarization of politics more or less in all European countries as a key issue. Traditional center parties weaken and disappear, while extremists strengthen their ranks.

I

n these tumultuous times, Chief Economist Helge J. Pedersen does his best to anticipate and understand the new Europe. But how exactly?

By reading newspapers, reports, analyses, and statistics. He mentions Russian News Agency TASS as a valuable source. “I’m interested in the views and rhetoric of Russians, which TASS helps to understand.”

Pedersen repeatedly emphasizes how understanding is a fine art of balancing personal views with what is actually happening. Personal views need to be kept separate. He mentions that a clear analysis may require giving up looking at issues through the filters of political correctness.

Pedersen does not spend too much time reading through the studies of consultants. In his view, especially the reports of Anglo-Saxon consultancy firms favor certain views.

As an example he mentions the euro crisis, and the persistence of consultancy firms on the dissolution of the euro.

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Pedersen has reliable sources in Greece, in Spain, and other parts of the world. Networks are important, as they take you behind the reports. “I talk with them a great deal.”

Pedersen mentions his wife, Slovak-born Lubica, whom he met in 1983, when the East Block was still thriving. He thinks he owes a great deal of his understanding about continental Europe to his art historian wife, such as why Hungary decided to erect fences to prevent immigrants from entering.

In addition to professional literature, Pedersen reads fiction and “loves visiting art exhibitions”.

He is particularly fascinated by the period between 1870s impressionism and World War I. “Europe was in tumult also then.” It begins to sound like achieving a decent analysis takes a smart person and a long life. The kind of civilization mentioned by Heidi Schroderus-Fox and Sixten Korkman.

Pedersen emphasizes the importance of history, mentioning the noticeable international status and connections of lilliputian Denmark. The thousand-year-old kingdom has been a colonial empire and naval power, so internationality and global impact pretty much come as a given.

“It is much harder for young countries to establish their international position.”

Pedersen begins to talk about due diligence, which for a good director goes beyond numbers, risk, and responsibility.

Pedersen’s view of due diligence links it with history and culture. A good general knowledge serves as a starting point for analyzing international politics. And humility.

“A humble and respectful attitude towards the counterparty takes you a long way.” He shares the same message with Heidi Schroderus-Fox: you shouldn’t think of your own views as the only right ones.

Again it is a balancing act. Pedersen thinks that another person’s religion “must not be intentionally offended under any circumstances”, while not

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giving up one’s fundamental values either, which for Europeans comprise democracy, equality, and freedom of speech.

Another example comes for the world of financial politics. As a result of the financial crisis, interest rates are now at a record low. The top floor views from the Nordea headquarters are dominated by a pompous, streamlined box on the other side of the harbor - Denmark’s central bank designed by Arne Jacobsen, where negative interest rates are now part of daily life. It’s a strange moment in history.

Keeping an eye on interest rates is part of normal life for corporate directors, yet they are just numbers. What really matters is seeing the political and social consequences of the current negative interest rates.

It goes along these lines: Instead of consuming, Europeans are focusing on debt payment. At the same time, the aging of the population has resulted in a considerable interest in pension revenue compared to a decade ago. Low interest rates mean that pension investments generate less revenue.

“A paradigm shift may be underway in consumption, which changes the dynamics of the economy”, Pedersen concludes. Such a powerful change has an inevitable effect on both domestic and international politics.The change itself and its political consequences have rapid, direct repercussions on businesses.

Instead of being preoccupied with surprises and small bumps in the road, it is important to gaze at the bigger picture, although the key to the big picture may be hidden behind the minute details.

“Analysts concentrating on specialized fields have in-depth knowledge, immediately noticing whether the order books are getting thinner.”

And tapering order books just may indicate a looming political crisis, when interpreted deeply enough. ◆ This article in Finnish online: www.aaltoee.fi/blog

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Y L O TO I N U T N O IV F E V R I SI E W T

A A

P

“ S U C C E E D I N G I N G LO B A L B U S I N E S S R E Q U I R E S A N U N D E R S TA N D I N G O F G LO B A L P O L I T I C S ” Sixten Korkman, Professor of Practice, Economics Aalto University School of Business, Department of Economics

Already Aristotle believed that an interest in social issues was a hallmark of a civilized citizen. Society cannot function without socially aware and proactive citizens. Also the global economy requires understanding and having an interest in European and global problems.

Generally speaking, those with an academic education are internationally minded. European integration has in fact been criticized for being an initiative of the elite. It may be the case, but the initiative has also advanced peace and prosperity in Europe. Hopefully, the elite of today has its role and responsibility in defending openness and tolerance.

Today’s executives are expected to succeed in a rapidly changing world, where grasping the “big picture” is decisive. Some changes are anticipated trends that are relevant for business, such as the ageing of the population. Other radical changes are completely unpredictable, belonging to the class of “unknown unknowns” (Donald Rumsfeld). The results of even these unpredictable changes can be put to use by those quick enough to grasp what they are about.

Politics and the economy intertwine in many different ways, which is why getting the big picture requires analyzing political issues. Uncertainty and inequality are heightened in a world of digitalization and globalization, bearing long-term political consequences. They are reflected as heated confrontation and xenophobia, and an anti-elitist populism both in Europe and the

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United States. Developments in Russia, where the biggest risk for companies is political, pose an important question for Finns.

Finland has always had its old boy networks, but today’s networks need to be created also internationally, which requires skills to communicate with people from different cultures.

Internationally, company directors are interested in and often highly informed of social and political issues all over the world.

Narrow-mindedness is a cardinal sin among Finnish executives. There are plenty of formally qualified engineers and economists in management roles, but in today’s world it isn’t enough. Now there’s a call for a broad perspective, and an understanding of global politics and culture. This doesn’t mean a need for a separate degree, but a curious and open mind, and examining issues through diverse sources and discussions.

Another issue is that a lack of political understanding may lead to detrimental mistakes for the company’s image, in environmental and human rights issues, for instance. Comprehending political questions, on the other hand, may create a true win-win strategy, where profitable business and ethical values join forces in boosting the company’s image and position.

The world is shrinking, and it makes complete sense that in order to grasp the global economy, one needs to understand global politics.

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BOOK 2 [ PROFILE ]

SMILE! Designer and creative director Johanna Uurasjärvi learned her lessons early. Take care of your own brand. If the product doesn’t sell, change it. And if in America, smile.

Those lessons have taken her to the top of American design industry. Journalist Anu Partanen met Uurasjärvi in New York.

Photos by Kristiina Wilson.

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nternational careers can begin in many ways.

It might be connections made online, participation in a student exchange program, or climbing the ladder within a global company. Or it might be Mr. Chow.

“He owned a chain of apparel and knitwear factories in Hong Kong”, Johanna Uurasjärvi recalled recently as she sat in her New York office.

She was trying to explain how a Finnish girl in her twenties had ended up designing sweaters in the 1980s in Asia. Now the Senior Vice President of Design at West Elm, a fast-growing American furniture and home accessories company based in Brooklyn, the 52-year-old designer has often thought back to her beginnings this year.

Mr. Chow, the knitwear magnate, happened to be –“for some strange reason”, as Uurasjärvi put it – the honorary consul of Finland in Hong Kong, and in that capacity Mr. Chow had gotten to know a professor at Uurasjärvi’s school in Helsinki. It was the year when all students of fashion design at the school – which today has become Aalto University – were looking for internships. Uurasjärvi had already spent some time in the United States, and the place where most of her fellow students were aiming to go, London, seemed too close to home. So she got in touch with Mr. Chow.

The details of the arrangement have slipped Uurasjärvi’s mind – let’s not forget, though, that this was a time before the internet, cell phones, or cheap flights to Asia – but she still remembers her arrival in Hong Kong, and the hostel she stayed in at first, since no one at any of Mr. Chow’s companies knew what to do with their exotic new intern, including where to put her. Eventually she found an apartment and got to work.

One reason Uurasjärvi has been thinking about Hong Kong this year is David Bowie. The musi-

cian, who passed away in January, lived in Manhattan, just across the river from West Elm’s headquarters, but his music was also a feature at Uurasjärvi’s graduation.After her return from Hong Kong, her master’s thesis consisted of a knitwear collection that incorporated classic Chinese characters, and a written analysis of Hong Kong’s apparel manufacturing. As models walked the stage, Bowie’s song China Girl played.

Another reason is that the thesis project itself taught Uurasjärvi one of the first important lessons of her career.While working on it, she focused on the writing component more than the sketching.

Her reasoning was that because she wasn’t very good at writing, she wanted to learn to do it better. A worthy goal, for sure, but one that brought her final grade down.“Over the years I’ve learned that if you have an important thing to do, that’s not the time to practice”, Uurasjärvi says. “That’s when you lay out your strengths. You practice at other times.”

Uurasjärvi’s laughter is bubbly and contagious, which is connected to another lesson she’s learned since then – a lesson that has come in handy over the past six months, the period during which Uurasjärvi has hit the ground running at her new job at West Elm. For West Elm is … well, let’s just say that the company is moving, in more ways than one.

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hether visiting West Elm’s website or its brick-and-mortar stores, a customer is surrounded by blond wood, sleek couches, low tables, colorful pillows, and geometric rugs. The brand sells everything from furniture to bedding and shower curtains to lighting. The West Elm esthetic nods to mid-century Nordic design but comes with an accessible twist, both in tone and

The headquarters of West Elm, Johanna Uurasjärvi’s employer, are located in Dumbo, the trendy, industrial Brooklyn neighborhood across the river from Manhattan in New York City.

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Contrary to the homeware business trends of recent decades West Elm is emphasizing individualization, personal services, and handcrafted, local, and sustainable products. price. In West Elm’s world a streamlined couch is paired with a framed graphic design poster, but the lanterns, vases and coffee tables surrounding the couch have a craft-market or Middle-Eastern look. A comfy blanket and an open book are always nearby. As far as the prices go, West Elm’s sofas tend to cost about double what an Ikea couch would cost.

If you haven’t heard of West Elm yet, it’s not surprising. The company was started in Brooklyn in 2002, but it has been languishing as a fairly minor operation contained inside the much larger, California-based home accessories group Williams-Sonoma. The parent company boasted annual revenues of $4.7 billion in 2014, and its biggest brand, Pottery Barn, accounted for about half of that income.The net revenues attributable to West Elm reached a relatively meager $670 million (for comparison, Ikea’s revenues reached $37 billion in 2014, with about $4 billion originating in the U.S.).

However, in recent years West Elm has become a darling of the American business press because West Elm’s revenues have grown steadily in the double digits each year since 2010, beating out the competition. In 2014,West Elm’s comparable brand revenues grew 18.2 percent, on top of an increase of 17.4 percent in 2013.

Most intriguing, though, is the strategy behind this growth. Contrary to the homeware business trends of recent decades – cheaper products, more self-service, more mass production; in other words, the Ikea approach – West Elm is emphasizing individualization, personal services, and handcrafted, local, and sustainable products. The company says its mission is three-fold. It wants to offer its customers choice and the ability to create a home that tells their story; it wants to build a community

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with customers, collaborators and associates; and it wants to focus on honest business practices.

Exploring West Elm’s recent initiatives on all these different fronts can make one feel dizzy – there seem to be so many of them. The company invites artists and artisans to sell handmade products alongside the company’s own mass-scale inventory, often in the artisan’s local store.They allow local associations to use the stores after-hours for events such as book signings or gardening and craft lessons. They send their own people to potential customers’ homes by offering free interior decorating and paid handyman services – regardless of whether the customer has recently bought a West Elm product or not.They instruct their store clerks to take on the role of a customer’s trusted friend even if it means recommending products or services outside the realm of West Elm. They have made a public pledge to former U.S. president Bill Clinton’s Clinton Global Initiative, stating that by 2017 twenty percent of West Elm’s assortment will be Fair Trade certified, with the share rising to forty percent by 2019. They have expanded into office furniture to provide the millennial generation and start-ups with workplaces that resemble homes or that have cool design vibes without costing a fortune. Finally, they have harnessed the power of social media by encouraging customers to take photos of West Elm products in their own homes and share those photos online. West Elm then curates a collection of these photos for their own website, meaning that they have essentially crowdsourced a large part of their marketing.

All these initiatives together have produced a brand that looks and feels current, friendly, stylish and ethical, yet generic enough to be easily approachable. And perhaps most importantly, it is a

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Johanna Uurasjärvi’s office is decorated with a mix of West Elm products and other items that Uurasjärvi finds inspiring.

brand that is infinitely Instagrammable, always basking in the perfect light.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the company has invested in its leadership and staff. That’s where Uurasjärvi comes in.

U

urasjärvi’s office has views over the roofs of Brooklyn’s Dumbo section, the waterfront neighborhood that once buzzed with warehouses and factories but is now better known for lofts housing tech start-ups, design companies, and wealthy residents. Her glass desk is immaculate and orderly, and behind her a mood board shows images and colors that inspire her right now. She doesn’t spend much time in this room, though.

She avoids her computer as much as possible, leaving all email traffic to her assistant, and spends her days mainly moving through the building con-

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sulting with various design teams – she is West Elm’s first creative director to oversee all of the company’s design and visuals, including furniture and other product design, packaging, and stores.

To bring all the different aspects of production and marketing together, Uurasjärvi puts a lot of her time into creating a concept for each season: a story of who and where the people inspiring the collection are, what their house looks like, and which artists or artwork the West Elm design teams can draw on for color, inspiration and mood. “I believe in concept building. A lot of companies skip that part, but I’ve noticed that if you don’t build the concept, your designs are not as strong and authentic and their story is missing”, she says.

Once Uurasjärvi has presented the concept to the staff, the design teams leave the offices and head to the West Elm makers’ studio in another part of Brooklyn to create furniture, pottery, and textiles based on the concept. The workspace has kilns – the ovens used to fire pottery – looms, and whatever the designers might need to actually

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During her time with Pinkerton, Uurasjärvi mastered many aspects of the business, from using print and patterns to leading teams and hiring new employees. paint, weave, mold and produce sample items by hand. Uurasjärvi has yet to find time to work in the studio herself, but she hopes to in the future.

As a creative person not to mention as the company’s creative director, she thinks it’s important for her to spend time with the product in a truly hands-on way. Currently she reviews sketches, looks at artwork, and researches images and inspirations for the next season, but she also participates in building mock-ups of stores, creating vignettes (those marketing photos that group items together to create a story of an entire home), and styling settings for photo shoots and store layouts, throwing in a pillow here, removing a vase there.

Uurasjärvi’s first experience of the American design world occurred many years before her arrival at West Elm. After she graduated in Helsinki in 1989, Mr. Chow helped her get a job in New York’s garment business. The first thing she discovered was that while her studies in Finland had prepared her well for the artistic side of designing apparel, she had almost no working knowledge of the fashion industry’s everyday practices.The way NewYork companies expected designers to sketch, illustrate, and create drawings that show each stitch and seam was new to her. But as far as education goes, she’s concluded it was better that way. Now that she’s interviewed multitudes of American design students she’s realized that while American schools prepare students extremely well for the industry, that approach can make the education formulaic and leave students lacking in more creative skills.

One of the first and most important jobs she had in NewYork was working for Anne Pinkerton, a one-woman powerhouse, whose eponymous

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brand became a big name in the 1980s, alongside such luminaries as Donna Karan and Calvin Klein.

Uurasjärvi was Pinkerton’s right-hand woman for six years. The two were twenty years apart in age, but became fast friends and traveled the world together looking for inspiration – two months in Hong Kong, then off to India or France – and sketched collections side by side. Pinkerton used beautiful fabrics and created clothes that were well-tailored but driven by prints and patterns.

She had force, vision and passion, but didn’t always excel in focus or knowing when to put on the brakes.

During her time with Pinkerton, Uurasjärvi mastered many aspects of the business, from using print and patterns to leading teams and hiring new employees. She still travels constantly and takes her own teams on inspiration trips. Using colors, patterns, materials, and ideas from nature and cultures from all over the world has become an essential part of her creative process. But she also came to appreciate the realities of the garment industry.

Pinkerton’s business grew and shrank while Uurasjärvi was there, until finally Uurasjärvi knew that for the sake of her own career she had to move on. It wasn’t easy – Pinkerton is still godmother to Uurasjärvi’s son.

The final lesson Uurasjärvi took away from that job can sound a bit brutal, but many would say that in the competitive world of fashion, it’s simply realism. “It taught me that you have to take care of yourself. Every designer is almost like a business or brand in herself, so you have to make sure that you are prepared for anything.”

Uurasjärvi’s next endeavor, however, was not as good a fit as Pinkerton had been, even though it

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Johanna Uurasjärvi’s brand Leifsdottir showed its spring 2011 collection at New York Fashion Week.

The materials and prints were inspired by Uurasjärvi’s trip to the rainforests of the Amazon.

too taught her something very valuable. With Pinkerton, Uurasjärvi had worked in the rarified world of designer fashion, where the designer creates a collection, presents it to the world and then leaves the stage. Stores buy it wholesale and take care of selling it. Now she worked for a Philadelphia maternity wear retailer, which meant that the

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items she designed were taken directly to the same company’s stores.“They were really hardcore retail people”, Uurasjärvi said, laughing. “It was like, if this is selling now, we’ve got to make some more tomorrow, and speed is life, and we’ve got to deliver. Here is a customer, the customer rules, and we’re going to make this and make it right here

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Uurasjärvi worked at Anthropologie as head designer and creative director for fifteen years.

The Anthropologie styles pictured here are from February 2015 (left), May 2014, and August 2015.

in Philadelphia, and we’ll do whatever it takes to get the customer what she wants.”

The experience was the career equivalent of taking a cold shower for the young designer, but by no means useless.“It taught me American retail, and it taught me that if your business is not good, a good merchant goes to the store and looks at what’s going on.” Is a dress not selling because it doesn’t fit under a coat? Are you trying to sell sweaters in scorching-hot Florida? “You can immediately see what’s wrong.You can go back, get your teams going, and I’ve seen it happen, you can fix your business real fast if you know what’s wrong.”

As a result, Uurasjärvi still goes to West Elm stores to talk with customers, and over the years she’s found her own way to navigate that essential conflict every creative person faces when working for a commercial business: how to combine one’s

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desire to stay true to a vision with the requirement to also make a profit?

“For some younger designers, it may throw them off balance, because they can go either way.

They can fight the reality, or they can take the reality in so much that they lose their creativity”, Uurasjärvi observed. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and now I just switch hats. I put the creative hat on first. Then I take it off, put the merchant hat on, and look at the design again. It’s all about balance.”

In addition to teaching her the importance of listening to the customer, the short-lived sidestep in Philadelphia retail introduced Uurasjärvi to the person who would lead her to her next, careerdefining job.

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hen you visit almost any shopping street of a major U.S. city you’re bound to run

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Anthropologie and its parent company also allowed Uurasjärvi to realize another dream: creating her own clothing brand from scratch.

into an Anthropologie store. There are five in Manhattan alone, and in addition to the U.S. the chain operates stores in Canada and the UK. Its parent company is Urban Outfitters, Inc., whose namesake chain Urban Outfitters sells clothes, bags, shoes, jewelry and homeware to youth in their twenties. By contrast, Anthropologie targets affluent yet bohemian women in their thirties. For a Nordic person, an apt comparison might be an upscale version of the Swedish chain Indiska: Anthropologie stores mix romantic apparel - flowing dresses, flower prints and lace details, boxy cardigans, silk blouses and floppy hats – with rustic armoires and dressers, and lots of scented candles.

When Uurasjärvi started at Anthropologie fifteen years ago, it had twenty-eight stores; now it has more than two hundred. Uurasjärvi was the chain’s first designer. She was brought in by a woman named Wendy Wurtzburger, with whom she had worked at the maternity wear company, and who had since become the head of merchandise at Anthropologie. Started in Philadelphia in 1992, for the first eight years of its existence Anthropologie had been mostly buying items from outside designers. Under Uurasjärvi’s lead, though, the company started creating in-house collections.

Uurasjärvi thinks the step was a natural progression for a growing company, and it allowed Anthropologie to offer its customers truly unique designs and to build its own brand identity further. Of course, it also led to higher profit margins.

As the first in-house designer Uurasjärvi also had to create her own job description, and that’s

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when she remembered the lesson from her thesis: when it matters, focus on your strengths. So at first she ignored home accessories and focused on designing clothes, because that was what she knew best. The collections took off, and soon she started to design home accessories as well. Over the years she spent with the company, she rose to the position of executive creative director of all of Anthropologie’s product design – undoubtedly one of the most influential positions a Finn has ever held in international fashion and the home accessories business.

For all the pieces of the puzzle to come together to ensure Anthropologie’s success – and Uurasjärvi’s career trajectory – one more thing had to happen: Jim Brett, the current president of West Elm, arrived at Anthropologie and upended its home merchandising. “Those were amazing years”, Uurasjärvi recalled fondly. “I worked with some amazingly talented people, we developed our own products, and the business was just growing very rapidly.”

Anthropologie and its parent company also allowed Uurasjärvi to realize another dream: creating her own clothing brand from scratch.The line was called Leifsdottir, a nod to Uurasjärvi’s Nordic homeland, and while Urban Inc., owned the brand, it was sold in high-end department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, and Neiman Marcus. Uurasjärvi’s vision for the line was clear.

“I wanted to pull from my Scandinavian heritage, which is good design, it’s minimal, it’s inspired by nature, and there’s simplicity but elegant beauty in

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“The culture of the company, the vision of the company, and the health of the company organization.Your vision must match theirs, and you have to feel like you’re culturally a good fit.”

it too.And I wanted to combine that with my inherent ability to be a great storyteller, and layer that storytelling with print, pattern and color. I also really wanted it to be about the craft, fine-tailoring of every detail inside and outside the garment.”

The line launched in 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis. Even though the industry around it was crashing, Uurasjärvi’s creation was received well. Celebrities and fashion icons like the singer Taylor Swift and the actress Sarah Jessica Parker were seen wearing the brand, and American media fawned over Uurasjärvi’s way of combining Nordic simplicity with far-flung colors and patterns, for example from the Amazon jungle or an Istanbul spice market. Fast Company picked Uurasjärvi as one of the most creative people of 2011, and The New York Times featured her and Leifsdottir in a profile that included acclaim from the industry’s gatekeepers. (“The clothes sell”, concluded a merchandise manager at Bloomingdale’s.)

In the end, however, the interest wasn’t enough.

A few years after the launch, Urban Inc. decided to pull the line back from the department stores and start selling it exclusively in Anthropologie’s own stores. For Uurasjärvi the decision was a disappointment. “Of course it was hard, but I totally understood why they were doing it”, she said.

American department stores are not always the easiest collaborators to work with, and Anthropologie wanted Uurasjärvi to focus again on the overall design of the company. She’s still grateful for the opportunity she was given.

“It was wonderful. It was great to be able to just think what you want to do, create a brand iden-

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tity from scratch, and put all your vision, thoughts, and things you have collected over the years into a collection. I really like to edit and filter, to hone and polish the vision. What do you like, what is your design hand like, what do you want to say to the customer. What’s the brand DNA?” Again she came away from the experience with several lessons. First of all, when you launch something new, you better make sure that your vision is so tight that it can cut through the noise and stand out in the marketplace.And it has to be exactly right from the get-go. “When anyone launches something new, everyone is very excited about it”, Uurasjärvi explained.“That’s when you’re going to get all the press and PR and everyone’s going to come and look at it. So whatever you put out there, you have to invest in it being right.”

Leifsdottir had a good launch, but Uurasjärvi thinks they didn’t invest enough in marketing from the beginning. At the time she was still overseeing Anthropologie as well and had her hands full, but Leifsdottir didn’t have a separate creative director for marketing to oversee all the graphics, photo shoots, social media and events. They hired one later, and it helped, but by then it was too late.

After the line and Uurasjärvi were brought back to the Anthropologie fold she continued to work on Leifsdottir, but eventually it became evident that her and Anthropologie’s vision weren’t aligned anymore. And that’s when she faced the other essential conflict every creative person working for a commercial business will encounter.

If a designer is a brand unto herself and needs to have a vision, that vision needs to be in line

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Uurasjärvi’s current employer, West Elm, creates mid-priced furniture and home accessories, and mixes industrial production with handcrafted pieces, sustainable materials and fair trade items.

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Ask Uurasjärvi to name the biggest change in her field during her career, and she doesn’t hesitate. It’s the effect of social media.

with the company he or she is working for. It’s a conflict not easily solved, as one can see simply by observing the revolving doors of the world’s most famous haute couture houses.

“When anyone is looking for a job, it’s probably the most crucial thing to think about”, Uurasjärvi said. “The culture of the company, the vision of the company, and the health of the company organization. Your vision must match theirs, and you have to feel like you’re culturally a good fit.

I’ve been lucky to have that. One of the reasons why I’m here at West Elm is because of that.”

The move was made less risky by the fact that Uurasjärvi knew West Elm’s president Jim Brett already from their years of working together at Anthropologie, and she trusted his skills and vision.

“When Jim came to Anthropologie, he turned around the whole business. I always thought he was one of the very best merchants that I ever worked with. And I knew how good a person he is, so it was an easy decision on that front.”

So far, she has not been disappointed.

W

ith its humanized approach to business, West Elm is tapping into the hipster-led local movement and crafts movement that Brooklyn has become famous for – think artisanal chocolate, farm-to-table restaurants, small breweries, homemade pickles – and bringing it into the world of chain store business. The strategy is similar, if not as all encompassing, as the one used by the fresh, organic and expensive grocery giant Whole Foods, which also stocks items from local producers next to national brands.

It’s not all hippies and flowers, though.The ma-

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jority of West Elm’s products are still mass-produced and the design is not that far from Ikea’s friendly Scandinavian style. However, emphasizing a more personal relationship with customers can create more loyal customers. Uurasjärvi describes West Elm’s strategy as two-fold.

“I think West Elm has positioned itself really well, because they really understand the customer, especially the millennial customer. I would say they understand the customer of today, who really cares about where and how things are made. It matters to them.You look at young people, and they want to know where they’re putting their money.”

That’s the first part of the strategy, and that’s what all the local, artisanal and certified products are about. The second part is understanding that it’s not about West Elm. It’s about the customer.

“West Elm’s approach is we’re not here to dictate to you. It’s your style. We’re here to help you to build your own style and your own vision.”

Ask Uurasjärvi to name the biggest change in her field during her career, and she doesn’t hesitate.

It’s the effect of social media.

“We are more customer-centric, which I love. I love how big marketing in magazines is so much less important than what comes through the social media. It also strengthens small companies, which will allow for more innovation. I think at West Elm we capitalize on that. Even if we’re a big company, we support so many smaller businesses, whether we collaborate with them or whether each store has their own local collaborators and they show the local product from that area.”

It’s not about a three-page advertisement in Vogue anymore. It’s about Instagram, Pinterest, and

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“ S H E D O E S N ’ T G E T P U L L E D D OW N BY R E A L I T Y ” Wendy Wurtzburger, an independent retail and brand consultant, explains why she hired Uurasjärvi to work at Anthropologie: “I joined Anthropologie in 1998 as the Head Merchant of Women’s. Johanna joined in 2000 as Head Designer of Women’s. We both grew in the brand, built the signature look and the business, and gained responsibility for the customer’s entire lifestyle including home. I was Co-President, Chief Merchandising Officer and Johanna was Executive Director of Design for Anthropologie and Chief Creative Officer of Leifsdottir.

Johanna has an original point of view and a wonderful imagination. Her love for fashion adventure and storytelling and appreciation and desire to collaborate with likeminded creatives is very special.

She is also smart and strategic, very good at building process, thinking about the customer and editing ideas to make an impact along with a beautiful and unique product.

She doesn’t get pulled down by reality and is brilliant at inspiring and creating an emotional connection

bloggers. Indeed, social media’s power to make or break companies cannot be underestimated. And that power cuts both ways, as West Elm is discovering. While the company generally manages the digital world remarkably well, recently frustrated customers have flooded the company’s public Facebook page with complaints about what appears to be an epidemic of problems with customer service and home deliveries. For an outsider it’s impossible to know how big the problem really is, or what’s causing it, but visiting the page doesn’t give a casual Facebook user much confidence in West Elm’s logistical skills.

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with the customer.

She appreciates the customer’s needs and way of living. However, she always gives her customer something to raise her spirits and make her look or live in a beautiful way.

These talents are why I brought her on board at Anthropologie, but there was a selfish component as well. I love working with her, she has more energy and drive than anyone I’ve met, she loves to travel and collaborate, and we complement each other as she is a strategic designer and I am a creative merchant.

We created a unique partnership between merchandising and design, and built a culture of partnership all in order to build the Anthropologie brand.

We were about product first. She pushed to make the product magical, and I led the merchants to communicate the reality of what was needed.

We traveled and envisioned the business as a team and we were able to balance the special with the accessible, the key silhouettes with our original point of view.

It was a magical combination.”

In addition to the rise of social media, there’s another new piece for Uurasjärvi, and that’s her transition into the world of furniture, a relatively new area for her, and one that she seems to be handling remarkably well. How is it possible for one person to design everything?

“I do design shoes, handbags. I design everything. I always say, ‘From silverware to sofas.’ The best example is what I did when we were asked to launch shoes for Leifsdottir. I really wanted to know how to make them, so I went to Brazil, I visited the factories, and I looked at how they are put together.”

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“A D I S T I N C T LY FEMININE PERSPECTIVE” West Elm Brand President Jim Brett describes why he hired Uurasjärvi to work for West Elm: “It was a great privilege to be able to work with Johanna during my career at Anthropologie. She inspires like no one else. Johanna has an incredible eye for color and print, and we share a passion for design and global craft. She has already brought a distinctly feminine perspective to our product development and is shepherding in a new modern aesthetic for the brand.”

Learning the craft before designing is Uurasjärvi’s approach. At West Elm, she is eager to visit the company’s furniture factories to learn more about the technical aspects of making furniture.

Without that knowledge, she feels like she is directing the furniture design teams from the surface.

On the other hand, it’s all about the team. She thinks of herself as someone who has lots of ideas and is good at inspiring people and leading, and she is naturally curious and skilled at spotting trends.

But she benefits from working with other people who bring their own expertise and ideas to the table. Ideally, the final result is better than she could have ever imagined by herself.

She also appreciates West Elm’s efforts to make their production sustainable and transparent. “After a while, traveling these factories and seeing the world, you want to be in a place where it’s about

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more than just making the product. I saw our fair trade factory in India making the rugs, and it was such a happy moment. The people there were so excited and proud of what they were doing, and their stories are just incredible.”

Moments like that help her live by the final lesson she’s learned, the one that relates to her contagious laugh.

As a team leader, she says, you have to stay positive even though it’s not always easy with so many things going on. In a company like West Elm, everybody has to be able to roll up their sleeves and get to work, even if the work at hand is not always exactly what they most like to do.

“And they have to be able to do it with confidence and positive attitude”, she says.“Everything in America, you have to be able to smile and get through it.”

That, it seems, Uurasjärvi has definitely learned. ◆

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SET THEM FREE What happens when an employer hands out a credit card to all of the employees, telling them to use it as they see fit? Why is choosing the right people one of the most important decisions a company makes? Journalist Reetta R채ty delved into different workplaces, asking employees and experts what it takes to create a good corporate culture.

AN OPEN AND H O N E S T WO R K P L AC E T H AT L O O K S L I K E U S A Facebook update of Communications Specialist Miia Savaspuro pretty much sums up the corporate culture at her workplace: “In my development discussion, I told Kirsi there’s something special about the corporate culture at Ellun Kanat. You can’t necessarily put your finger on these things, but good management, and being able to make our workplace look like us play a major role. We all make decisions, nobody is left on their own, and we bring things out in the open, while always staying friends. And we know that management is always on our side.”

The person mentioned in the status update is Miia’s boss Kirsi Piha, owner and founder of communications agency Ellun Kanat.

It’s of course a pleasure (and perhaps a little envy-inducing) to hear of such a nice workplace.

“We’re friends!” “Management is always on our side!” But it’s worth paying attention to what Savaspuro says. It’s not only about having fun at work; in addition – or above all – Ellun Kanat is reaping excellent results, and currently undergoing a “heck of a rally”, as the company’s press release describes its growth.

The communication agency’s 2015 turnover rose to EUR 3.16 million, with profits amounting to EUR 701,000. Ten per cent of net profit was distributed as bonuses among employees. “We’ve worked damn hard together, so we also celebrate together”, Kirsi Piha explains her decision to share profits with employees.

You often hear that you should invest in the corporate culture when times are good, as it will become vital when it gets harder.

Savaspuro has noticed a direct link between a good corporate culture and personal motivation, and thus also company profits.

“When you are trusted as an employee, you only want the best for the company. You care

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about what happens to it, and want to be a part of the development. It makes you feel like it’s your own even when it isn’t.”

How can you create a corporate culture like this? Or is it something that either appears or doesn’t appear - something you can’t put your finger on?

Miia Savaspuro is a former financial journalist, but like many others took a leap into communications, which is growing, unlike the media industry where times are bleaker. Ellun Kanat was established in 2008, currently employing just over 30 people.

There’s a huge difference compared to the corporate cultures of my former employers, evident for instance in attitudes towards titles and managers, she says.

“Here, the managing director isn’t some MANAGING DIRECTOR you try your hardest to please, and she doesn’t behave as her title necessarily suggests, either.”

The Managing Director of Ellun Kanat is Taru Tujunen (b. 1970), former party secretary of Finland’s National Coalition Party, and renowned for speaking her mind.

“In my previous jobs, someone who became a manager would lose all their human qualities, and turn all formal and stiff. It’s bit much, as we are all human after all, no matter what the position”, says Savaspuro.

The corporate culture at Ellun Kanat wasn’t born by accident. The company’s public blog mentions “investments” in corporate culture, going on to describe the company’s attitude towards hierarchy as follows (27 August 2015): “Typically, rapid growth is governed by adding a whole load of structures, processes, and hierarchy.The ‘semi-anarchistic operating model’ of Ellun Kanat doesn’t really gel with hierarchy. The company solved its growing pains in a way true to itself: investing in corporate culture.”

According to Miia Savaspuro, corporate culture is hard to explain and verbalize; it’s something

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seen and felt on a daily basis. If Savaspuro were to fear of getting fired or transferred to another role. sum up the vibe at Ellun Kanat in just one word, “Here, you let the cat out of the bag and talk.” it would be ‘trust’.

So do you have a perfect workplace?

“No-one ever breathes down the neck, which Savaspuro laughs. It’s not perfect! But she does I’m really glad about. I’ve been surrounded with think that certain cultures suit certain people. trust. I can come and go without having to report Plenty of freedom and the ensuing responsibility my every move.” aren’t for everyone.

Savaspuro claims that freedom to work in her Many other companies that invest in corporate own style and pace is motivating and efficient. culture think along these lines, too: the idea is to “A grown-up in an expert role is entitled to feel recruit people who fit in with the culture. If they can work independently without others someone is unhappy, it’s better for everyone if thinking they’re skiving. A surprising number of they find a more suitable place. employers continue to think people need watchVerbalizing and communicating the corporate ing. In my previous workplace, culture has an impact on emeven working from home was ployer branding. ‘That company made difficult. Instead, you had to has a fair vibe, I’d like to work try and concentrate in a noisy edthere!’ iting office wearing noise-cancel“Recruitment is of key imporling headphones, even though a tance in this type of situation – remote day would have been far finding employees who fit in more efficient.” with the culture”, says Miia The corporate culture at Ellun Savaspuro. Personal chemistry Kanat was never taught as such to plays its part, too: whether you Savaspuro. She says you sense it. like someone’s management How exactly? style, and it fits in with your way “People don’t back-bite, for inof working and thinking. Restance.” specting managers and each othAnything else? er usually helps.

“You never have to try and Funnily enough, the work itMIIA solve something on your own self has less impact on job satisS AVA S P U RO unless you want to.There’s always faction than the corporate culsomeone ready to help, no matter ture does; what a workplace is Communications Specialist Ellun Kanat, how busy it gets.” like matters more than what’s communications agency Surely there must be conflicts done there. even in the best workplaces...

During her career as a financial “At work, I’ve been “Well yes! Absolutely!” journalist and now as an account surrounded with trust. director, Savaspuro has seen “all How are those handled?

“Instead of yelling, you may say sorts of companies and corporate I can come and go that things didn’t go quite as cultures”. without having to planned”, Miia Savaspuro de“The worst scenario is an inreport my every move. different employee who doesn’t scribes, adding that an atmosFreedom is motivating care what happens to the comphere of trust involves daring to talk about problems without pany.” and efficient.”

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NO BOSSES, BUDGETS, OR CLOCKING IN Software company Vincit is often described for what it doesn’t have: no administrative managers, budgets, timecards – none of those tedious sides that seem to go hand in hand with traditional office work.

But just as easily, Vincit could be described for what it has: a whole host of awards for its greatness in this and that, such as management practices, increased turnover, occupational welfare, and HR. Some of its other awards include: Great Place to Work 2015; Workforce 2015 Game Changer Winner; Company of the Year; Employee Act of the Year; Employer of the Year in the Tampere Region; Timangi prize of the Ministry of Employment and Economy… And to top it all off, at least Vincit’s own surveys demonstrate 100 per cent satisfaction among customers.

Services include: network services and informa-

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tion systems; mobile applications; and conceptualization and UI design.

Let’s recap Vincit’s miracle: being awarded for management practices but having no managers, and great results without budgets.

Vincit’s HR Director Johanna Pystynen, how this is even possible?

Pystynen listens patiently even though she has probably heard the question a hundred times.

Groups visit Vincit even on a weekly basis to find out more about its novel corporate culture, and people at Vincit have visited hundreds of companies to share their thinking.

“We believe that highly motivated people achieve the most when they are independent”, states Pystynen. “A lot of our employees are fed up with the traditional corporate world, where employees are mistrusted and micromanaged.

Here, it’s the opposite.”

According to Pystynen, Vincit’s corporate

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culture’s key words are openness and autonomy. their own dreams. Recruitment is done with great “We’ve noticed that without autonomy, em- care.The main focus is on whether the candidate’s ployees stay in their comfort zones without devel- personal dreams are in line with the company. If oping. We aim to create a framework where peo- they are, everyone wins. ple have the guts to decide for themselves.”

“Is this the right setting for your professional Pystynen mentions purchasing as an example. wishes?” would be a foundational question.

Everyone has a credit card they can use at their Pystynen thinks you can’t develop into a top own discretion. expert without passion. “As we sell top expertise, “When people get to decide for themselves, our corporate culture must also support top expurchases are justified. Everyone thinks hard pertise. At HR, we don’t need to worry about the whether buying something is useful for the firm. type of technology people need to be trained in.

Our expenditure is really modest despite employ- Here, staff does their own scouting on areas they ees having the freedom to decide even on larger need to immerse themselves. They have an inner training needs, recreational days, or getting a new motivation to stay in tune with tacit trends, and office chair.” find the relevant skills. This way, Recently, employees decided an employee’s personal passion to add a Wii to their children’s and desire to develop are in tune equipment library that can be with the goals of the company.” borrowed for a child’s birthday Vincit has offices in Tampere party, for instance. A small investand Helsinki. In fall 2015, the ment, but a big source of joy. company announced a merge Pystynen feels that also the with IT infra service specialist company’s rewards system enJaverdel Oy. The joint company courages responsible financial now employs a staff of 220, with management. When profits are the 2015 turnover totaling apup, everyone gets a proper bonus. proximately EUR 26 million.

“Messing with our joint monMost employees have an educaey takes away from everyone.” tional background in technology, On the subject of recreational with Pystynen, who studied adult JOHANNA days, Pystynen is quick to correct education, being an exception.

PYSTYNEN a general misconception relating Currently, the company’s staff inHR Director to “good corporate culture”. cludes less than 20 women, but Vincit, software company “There’s a prevailing idea that a the trend will hopefully change. good corporate culture means lots Twelve people took part in re“The main attitude of parties and a soda machine.” cruiting Pystynen. She thinks peoat the company is: Yet, according to Pystynen, 95 ple had their concerns that HR sounds really weird, per cent of a good corporate culwould come and ruin the compature is the result of something ny’s relaxed vibe. “Many thought let’s give it a shot! else completely. this was where all that meaningless Everything is “Knick-knacks aren’t much reporting would begin.” Another discussed openly, the help if the foundation isn’t right.” concern was that people would fears, and Vincit believes its employees have to start being tidier, as a wommust be supported to achieve an was joining the ranks. opportunities.”

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At the time of joining the company, Pystynen thought of herself as a modern HR professional used to a cutting-edge working culture in IT. But she soon realized she needed to even unlearn some of her reformist attitudes.

“Everything works differently here.”

Such as? Let’s dig out some more examples.

“I used to think the management team needs to have a shared vision for things to work out. But now I’ve understood that it’s not necessary. People are critical here. Continuously challenging one another is part of the game, and the same goes for the company’s vision.”

The main attitude on the company’s Slack is: sounds really weird, let’s give it a shot!

Slack is a cloud-based teamwork tool that people at Vincit use to discuss, and at times argue about company issues. Currently, the discussion centers around what will happen when the company gets listed. Will it have to turn into a “normal” company? Will decisions still be made together? Will thinking in quarters ruin all that’s good?

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“Everything is discussed openly, the fears, and opportunities”, Pystynen describes. She believes that Vincit will retain its defining features even as a public company. “We think about ways to tackle fears and risks together. That’s what we’ve always done in a new situation.”

How about development discussions, are they held?

Of course not, at least not the traditional kind.

There are after all no managers. Instead, the company may arrange “salary weeks”. This means publishing the salaries of anyone up for it (usually meaning everyone), so people can make their own comparisons. Those who aren’t satisfied can reserve a salary discussion to review what they have done for a.) customers, and b.) colleagues, also the latter affecting remuneration. Salary discussions involve jointly thinking about what an employee can do to make the same amount of money as X, who gets paid more.

“There are also those who come and ask if they can do something more, so colleagues don’t start

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to think why they earn so much.”

Vincit was founded in 2007 by Mikko Kuitunen, MSc., Industrial Economics and Management. According to interviews with Kuitunen, the initial goal of the company was “to get to turn up at work on a Monday morning without it sucking”.

Kuitunen was fed up with what typically went on in big workplaces: dictating managers, and unjustified decisions. His company would do things differently. Employees would get to decide. Projects are entered into an app, and each person gets to choose the projects they want to join. Employees influence what the company does, and who with.

“If our coders aren’t interested in a project for a customer, a deal won’t be made”, Kuitunen states in an article in Finland’s main daily Helsingin Sanomat (11 July 2014).

Vincit is continuously on the lookout for new talent. This spring, the company is offering summer jobs. On the company’s website, last year’s “summer team” praises the firm with the usual lingo:“Not a bad place to hang out – chili garden, table tennis room, and top-notch working areas.

In addition to working, we did all sorts of other fun things together, from karaoke to climbing.”

It’s easy for a successful software company to grow chilies and talk about dreams. But how can you revel in freedom in a monotonous factory job, or in the crisis sector, where vacancies are hard to come by?

Pystynen and her colleagues are used to people saying they could try something new… but just can’t.

“We’ve talked about corporate culture and job satisfaction with people in manufacturing”, says Pystynen. She thinks the biggest hindrances for change are beliefs that steer people’s conduct in the workplace. “So many things can be done or left undone without causing any damage. People just don’t believe before they try.”

So Vincit’s model could be put to the test at a pulp mill?

“Definitely!”

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Pystynen protests against the notion that things would be financially simple and risk-free for Vincit. That’s not the way it is at all. The downturn affects customers, and the entire software industry.

Vincit was actually on the verge of bankruptcy in its early stages. But the company has held on to a belief that money woes are not solved with tighter control.

Vincit’s corporate culture is facing a challenge right now after its merge with a firm that has a so-called “normal” culture.

“We don’t want to force the integration of our different cultures”, Johanna Pystynen says. “That would be too much. People need to be given time to adjust and process things. It’s important for everyone to understand why we do things the way we do; corporate culture isn’t something you superimpose.”

A HIERARCHIC AL AUTHORITY TESTING ITS LIMITS The yellow, colossal main building of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland is situated in the Katajanokka area of Helsinki. There are sturdy, locked gates, large inner courts, and readers for access cards. Inside, it’s all hushed, with undersecretaries, chiefs, and officers working away in their own rooms along lengthy corridors.

There’s no cozy kitchen, like at Ellun Kanat, or table tennis table, like at Vincit.

The Foreign Ministry’s Director General of Communications Jouni Mölsä is well aware of the cliché: “The ministry is a really hierarchical authority.”

But how about in reality? Is it all stiff and strict?

“Also in public administration, you can shape your own work quite a bit”, says Mölsä.

Mölsä applied for the position at the Foreign Ministry without knowing his first task would be to cut down the staff at the Communications and Cultural Department by half.

The phone rang at 4.12 pm on an early summer Friday in 2012. On the other end of the line, Sec-

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retary of State Pertti Torstila brought the news Some Foreign Ministry employees take part in that Mölsä had been chosen as the new commu- career circulation, whereby a key person may get nications director, but would have to face cutting transferred to another role even at just two days’ down staff numbers by 40 man-years. Mölsä was notice, without the boss having much to say.

Press Councellor at the Embassy of Finland in “A public sector director doesn’t have all the London at the time. tools as in the private sector. And as you can’t “I said I’d like to think it over until Monday”, motivate employees with money, you have to do says Mölsä.“By Saturday, I reached the conclusion it through content”, describes Mölsä. that if I wanted to try being a director, I had to be From the viewpoint of change management, ready to try it also when times are challenging. not measuring everything in quarters is one of the Everyone knows how to sail in light winds, but if public sector’s good sides.“We were able to get on you want to be a boss, you have to be ready to with our own change process in peace. I don’t navigate deeper waters.” think we would have had as much time in the The changes didn’t just apply to the number of private sector.” staff. Erkki Tuomioja, who was Unbending hierarchy and lack Foreign Minister at the time, gave of creativity are often considered Mölsä a task: revamp the Foreign the downsides of the working Ministry’s communications. culture in the public sector. Mölsä So began a change process that and his colleagues have been dedidn’t end until summer 2015. termined to create a new way of Mölsä calculates that his curworking right from the start of rent position is his 17th employthe change process. “The aim was ment relationship. Is the working a process that’s as engaging as posculture in the public sector that sible”, says Mölsä. He thinks the different from the private sector? limits inside our heads are the According to Mölsä, in certain worst, and more restrictive than terms the answer is yes. the working culture inside the orFirst of all, the task of a public ganization. “You can do a whole organization is not only down to lot, as long as you refrain from the head. The Communications thinking this or that is impossible.

JOUNI MÖLSÄ Department, for instance, cannot We concentrate on answering just just expand into another sector, or one question: What would our Director General of Communications, abandon a product or service as department do, if it was estabForeign Ministry, Finland they choose. The Director Genlished now?” eral of Communications doesn’t John P. Kotter’s eight-step ”Not measuring decide on employees’ salaries, or change management model was everything in quarters delegate roles within the organizaapplied to leading the change. tion as he wishes.The pay grade is Mölsä had come across the modis one of the public determined according to the ofel through Pekka Mattila, Group sector’s good sides. ficial job description; in other Managing Director at Aalto EE, We were able to get words, the salary is the same for who had held a speech at the Anon with our change the same position regardless of nual Meeting of Finnish Heads how well you do the job. of Mission in 2010. “In practice, process in peace.”

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the entire change plan was built around Kotter’s process model, which helped keep the process that involved hundreds, and even thousands of decisions as a manageable whole”, describes Mölsä.

In addition to the austerity plan, the Communications Department suddenly faced a roof renovation, and was forced to move to temporary premises for nine months. After the initial shock, the department started to think about ways to make the boxy 1980s space into a tool that supported the new way of working.

“The initial mood was that due to our liability obligations, we all needed our own rooms and that’s that”, describes Mölsä.

After talks and trials, the department opted for a multi-space concept with plenty of open-plan working areas. Only six of the 48 employees have their own appointed workspaces.The general feel is that working in the open-plan areas results in spontaneous encounters and exchanges of ideas.

“Silos between departments and units have been a typical problem in the ministry. Now we’ve reached a point where information travels spontaneously, people meet together in small teamwork rooms, and you don’t have to spend lots of time looking for suitable slots on the Outlook calendar and sit down for official meetings.”

Mölsä has been sharing the experiences from his own department in other parts of the ministry.

“Usually the initial reaction is that people need their own room because of the nature of their work. However, at the end of the discussion, we move on to considering whether a project room where people could write up reports would be enough.”

Among other things, the ministry handles foreign affairs and security policy matters that require electronically secured premises. “But it doesn’t mean all the workspaces need to be extra secure. Sometimes it’s enough if you have a locked box for the confidential papers”, says Mölsä.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is an interesting mix of a creative and hierarchical organiza-

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tion. Despite employees being experts, the organizational structure is top-led almost like in a factory. Mölsä thinks the ministry needs to be seen as an expert organization. Commanding would only lead to cynical attitudes, playing it safe, and a fear of mistakes.

“Change resistance grows, if experts who do concrete work – experts in the Foreign Ministry’s work – are bypassed in decision-making.”

Engagement and interaction can either be superficial, or genuine, joint planning. At least Mölsä seems to have attempted the latter kind, as he’s arranged workshops, project team meetings, and working group get-togethers.The change process has been communicated over morning coffees, in blog posts, by email, at unit visits, and applying the “management by walking” method.

“You can’t please everybody, especially when having to cut staff numbers. But you can show that you are listening, and arrange training for new types of positions.”

Depending on the perspective and the day, the colossal size of the ministry is a good – or bad – reflection of its culture.

Mölsä describes his organization as a “basic box model”. As things begin to happen in the surrounding world, employees in the basic box model start to hustle.

The latest hustles took place during the Paris and Brussels terror attacks in November 2015 and March 2016.When Mölsä’s phone rings, it usually means trouble, and the same was true here. “Are there Finns on location, review for the Minister, points to consider in press interviews, preparing for escalation…” The list of tasks goes on.

“But in case someone thinks there’s no fun here, our communications department even has its own band.The way I think is that those who work here want to do this type of work. That’s what counts the most: being motivated for Finland and Finns.

That’s what it all boils down to in the end.” ◆ This article in Finnish online: www.aaltoee.fi/blog

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E X P E RT S : ” A S T RO N G C U LT U R E C R E AT E S C O M P E T I T I V E A DVA N TAG E ”

Corporate culture. Work culture. Organizational cul-

of culture works best in supporting growth targets,

ture.

Chief Experience Officer Susanna Rantanen’s eyes twinkle, as she uses these terms. She thinks it’s “lovely” that the theme has surfaced in biz talk.

“More than 85 per cent of corporate decisionmakers feel their urgent challenges relate to developing the organizational culture”, Rantanen quotes a recent study by Deloitte.

According to Pekka Mattila, Group Managing Director at Aalto EE, work culture really is something worth taking an interest in. He talks about the “hard side” of culture, a strong corporate culture creating competitive advantage. Organizations with something unique and one-off about their culture have always done better than their peers.

“Corporate culture isn’t just a fad: it explains an organization’s financial success.”

Susanna Rantanen has two companies, both specializing in corporate culture. Emine, Employee Experience Agency, is a “strategy-based organizational culture design agency”. She, too, talks about culture specifically as something that boosts competitiveness.

“An organization should recruit people who fit into its organizational culture. The culture, on the other hand, needs to be in the right balance with the company’s aims and strategy at the time.”

She uses an example of a listed company firing its managing director, causing many to think “how embarrassing to fail like that”.

“But that’s not how it is!” Rantanen protests.

“If you’re good at restoring a company, it makes strategic sense to get hired for the restoration phase.

When seeking for new growth, you might be after other qualities. It’s important to consider what type

and choose a director who fits the situation at hand.”

Rantanen believes recruitment decisions are some of the most important a company makes.

“A managing director or owner should think in a straightforward manner: the right people have an innate motivation to put in the work and develop the company, making the director’s life hassle-free, and reaping results.”

This is where Rantanen’s second firm, Heebo, comes in the picture. Heebo develops and markets an online solution for developing and matching people with the company culture. The platform includes an online recruitment and job-seeking service, providing professionals with a platform to share more about themselves than typically listed in a CV. The aim is to find the right person.

“CVs are such a waste, as they don’t state what really matters: what you’ve learned, achieved, and want to do. Questions like these allow a recruiter to assess whether the candidate’s sources of enthusiasm and motivation fit in with the company’s culture.”

“Especially directors and managers need to be able to describe their corporate culture using the right words”, says Susanna Rantanen. In March, her company launched the “Organizational Culture Mapping” app in London, which helps companies visualize the connection between the business strategy and the expected organizational behavior, in other words: the culture.”

According to Rantanen’s idea, a corporate culture should be verbalized in precise enough terms so it’s at par with recruitment and remuneration criteria.

“However, you can’t just copy corporate cultures from one company to another.” [continued overleaf ]

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Corporate culture isn’t just an “outfit” you can buy and put on.

According to Pekka Mattila, corporate culture is an efficient source of competitive advantage specifically because it is something you cannot copy. Even if a company acquires the best talents, imitates the structures, and manufactures exactly the same products or services as another company, the culture is not transferred across. “It’s a black box.”

A culture is created for instance through norms: whether a company encourages experimentation, and what happens if you fail. Above all, culture is about doing: “shall we start today or next week?”

Mattila illustrates how an unofficial organization inducts new employees in rules and codes – the company’s culture – over lunch, in the bar, or in coffee room, whereas the manager provides the official cultural training: “Here is your mouse mat and coffee mug with the company values, such as ‘honesty’.”

Sometimes the official version is miles away from the truth.

Changing the corporate culture is hard, because it demands giving up what has prevailed. Growing companies can invest in recruitment, while others need to try and change the behavior and conduct of the people who happen to be in the workplace. A change in the corporate culture has to begin with action, rather than by drawing up a list of values and ideals with the help of a consultant. Directors cannot change the organizational culture themselves, as it is owned by the entire community. However, the director leads the change in activities.

“Change is slow, and requires repetition”, says Pekka Mattila. A director cannot command employees to change their attitudes. “Instead, you can ask people not to come to meetings to sigh and roll their eyes – and not come at all, if it’s too difficult.”

Gradually, the work community begins to see a new way of looking at things, and attitudes begin to shape in another director. Values take longer to change.

If an organization manages to change its culture, the new way of doing doesn’t necessarily suit every-

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one. “Change needs to allow doors to swing”, Rantanen sums up. Many know that in practice doors don’t always swing even if the cultures of an employee and workplace clash.

Pekka Mattila has come across workplaces, where management is ready to change the culture in a direction that would allow more freedom – and personal responsibility – for employees, but people aren’t enthusiastic. “Employees demanding autonomy that managers aren’t ready to give isn’t always the underlying dynamic. Employees may criticize the new director who doesn’t focus on rules: why doesn’t he or she direct and execute?”

All of the employees and managers interviewed for this article mentioned a sense of freedom and autonomy when discussing organizational culture. Why is that?

“The feeling of autonomy is extremely important in light of job satisfaction and passion”, explains Mattila.

“It’s important to feel you can shape your own destiny.”

Is it possible to give factory workers the same freedom as creative professionals?

Mattila reminds that nobody who receives a paycheck has complete freedom. There may be freedom to a certain extent, but a regulated final outcome or working hours. “A salary is paid for this exchange.”

According to Mattila, the same principles apply to factory work as in office work.

“It has been demonstrated that productivity increases when employees get to organize the production plant themselves.”

The extent of freedom depends on the job. In a line of work where human error can cause irreparable damage, freedom is regulated strictly in certain phases. Entrepreneurship can prevail in a factory and office setting alike. Similarly, organizational culture isn’t defined by whether the workplace happens to be in the public or private sector.

“Half of working hours can be spent on reporting what you’ve just done, even in the private sector”, says Mattila.

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BOOK 4 [ A A LTO E E S U RV E Y ]

ONE YEAR AFTER What were the impacts of the Executive MBA Program on strategic thinking, leadership, and salaries among participants? How did the program change them?

Aalto EE and EMBA alumna Paula Salovaara surveyed 2014 graduates, the following pages explaining the results and highlights of the program.

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A A LTO E M B A O N E Y E A R A F T E R G R A D U AT I O N “I have never been involved with a dream team of this size and such brilliant minds with such a clear target, yet taking care of each other.”

45 S TO R I E S

49

people started the program in February 2013

They came from Finland, Sweden, Uruguay, Russia, China, Croatia, France and Estonia

5

members of the cohort did not graduate with the group

1 45 45

member joined from a previous cohort people were interviewed for the survey

30 male, 15 female)

answered (

Average age

45.4

Average amount of leadership experience before the EMBA

11

10.2

The survey was conducted months after graduation.

The long-term impact of the program is yet to be seen.

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years

When all the hard work is done: graduation ceremony in the Aalto University School of Business.

T

he first snow landed in Helsinki that day. Three Aalto EMBA groups were gathered in the main hall of Aalto University School of Business, going to the front to pick up their certificates one at a time. It was November 2014, and the annual Aalto EMBA graduation ceremony.

Skål!

It was time to raise glasses and snap group photos in the school lobby. Asians headed outside: it was possible to include real snow in the photos!

Graduates were wearing hats, capes, and big smiles.

Come evening, the groups would stream into the restaurants in town to celebrate. One of the groups ended up in Olo restaurant.Time for more photos, speeches, and Facebook updates to mark getting through all the hard work.

And it had been quite a job: two years of studies alongside working. For many, it was difficult to comprehend where they’d found the time. Luckily they had, as here they were, clutching their certificates.

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There was also sadness in the air: after all, the groups spent a lot of time together, sharing trips, project group meetings, small talk, study weekends. The speeches in different parts of town that night repeated promises to stay in touch and keep friendships alive.

Aalto EMBA alumna Paula Salovaara summarized her graduation day emotions in her own speech: “Our modules have been much about discussions.

We have completed at least 20 modules, with the topics ranging from project management to how to influence other people. Right next to these modules there has been the invisible module of learning to know people, their families, their jobs, and bosses, loves and sorrows.”

W

hat happened when the studies finished, and each person carried on with their work without studying hard for the program at weekends? What were the impacts of the Aalto

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D I D T H E A A LTO E M B A P RO G R A M H AV E A N I M PAC T O N . . .

YO U R S T R AT E G I C T H I N K I N G ?

YO U R WAY O F T H I N K I N G ?

5

5 6

4 1 2 3

1 2 3

The world got a bit smaller, especially the business

YO U R L E A D E R S H I P S K I L L S ?

4

5

5

3

2 3 1

4

“The strategic thinking guidance from professor Ram Baliga was phenomenal.”

YO U R U N D E R S TA N D I N G O F I N T E R N AT I O N A L B U S I N E S S A N D OT H E R W O R K C U LT U R E S ?

4

6

1 2

6

“I was doing an exercise to create a business model with a bright Taiwanese student. She had a very different background, her English was a bit bad – but it was just amazing how the international Esperanto of business overcame any other barriers we might have had. Half a word or a drawing is enough of a common language to create lot, if you both share the EMBA background!“

“I loooved the resilience module!

It is one the things that will shape leadership!”

Scale: 1 = not at all / 6 = very much | The columns represent the relative amount of ratings.

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6

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EMBA program after the project work had been finished?

To find out, we conducted a survey targeted at one of the cohorts. All of the graduates responded to the survey on the impacts of the studies on their lives.

The complete data are presented on the following pages. Ratings were on a scale of 1-6, with 1 equaling ‘not at all’ and 6 ‘very much’. In addition to the ratings, the survey included open-ended questions and answers.

The opinion of the entire group was very clear when asked about the impact on thinking: about 90 percent of the cohort rated the impact on their thinking with a 5 or 6.

It is clear that the Aalto EMBA program strongly affected the way cohort members think, and how they see themselves as strategic thinkers.

Gonzalo Giambruno, who works for UPM as Director for Biorefining, said that with the help of the Strategic Thinking module, he had learned to look at the big picture at work. And he now performs better due to the new way of thinking.

One open answer stated: “The holistic and almost exponential experience on learning more by combining old with new was almost mind-blowing.To prove the ability to learn and improve your thinking so rapidly gave a real kick to self-esteem.”

When asked about the impact on strategic thinking, all respondents gave a rating of 4, 5 or 6.

Professor Ram Baliga, who taught the Strategic Thinking module, made a lasting impression on the group. Several people urged Aalto EE to keep employing high profile professors.

N

etworks, contacts and communication skills were also areas of strong impact.The Communication module with Ron Dulek received many positive mentions, and those who attended the elective Power and Influence module with Rich Cox during the iWeek (nowadays Aal-

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to Executive Summit) said it was a forceful experience.

From the very beginning, most people expected to extend their network and gain useful contacts while studying in the Aalto EMBA program.

And that was exactly what happened.

The group that participated in the survey took part in a study tour to Palo Alto in October 2014.

The majority of the group traveled to the United States already beforehand to spend a couple of days together in San Francisco. They hired cars, and headed on to Palo Alto in small groups; some along the Pacific Coast Highway, others via a string of retail parks.

In Palo Alto, the group met up with another Aalto EMBA group. The program was both high profile and entertaining: the groups took part in lectures, winetasting tours, and company visits. A workshop morning was organized at the renowned Stanford D School (Institute of Design).

One of the participants wrote the following observations on the workshop in her reflection paper: “The word ‘workshop’ often brings along a couple of hours of embarrassment and mindless bouncing around in a group. But yes! Now I might have participated in the best workshop so far in my working life. Big applause to the Stanford D-School team!

The Thursday workshop was structured, it moved on like a train, and in the end it delivered a real product, or prototype of a product. The execution was impressive and the facilitators skillful and natural. People felt they got new knowledge, and understood the meaning of the workshop. “

The survey mentions study trips as the icing on the cake. People describe the study trips as a oncein-a-lifetime experience. All five individually interviewed members talked at length about the trips. They felt the network tightened during the trips and the teaching was also good.

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D I D T H E A A LTO E M B A P RO G R A M H AV E A N I M PAC T O N . . .

YO U R A B I L I T Y TO E M B R AC E CHANGE?

T H E WAY YO U WO R K ?

5

4

5

4 1 2

3

6

3

“Service Design (and other courses that touched on lean start-up, customer development, design thinking etc. principles) – New ways of working, new and fresh viewpoint to development! I am already using these tools and ideas in my daily work – and I will continue to study service design even further!”

“It gave me extra courage to make big, personal decisions”

YO U R C O M M U N I C AT I O N A N D SOCIAL SKILLS?

4

1 2

3

6

1 2

YO U R C O N TAC T S A N D N E T WO R K ?

5

4

5

1 2 3

6

“The network we all together were able to build is perhaps the most valuable part of the two years.”

”It changed the way I handle conflicts in my organization.“

Scale: 1 = not at all / 6 = very much | The columns represent the relative amount of ratings.

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6

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The Palo Alto study tour was the highlight for many group members.

Meeting members from other cohorts and other countries was a networking bonus on the trips: “I was doing an exercise to create a business model with a bright Taiwanese student. She had a very different background, her English wasn’t so good – but it was just amazing how the international Esperanto of business overcame any other barriers we might have had. Half a word or a drawing is enough of a common language to create a lot, if you both share the EMBA background.”

The cohort members also mention the supportive group feeling, and the friendships that grew during the two years of studies.

“Also the spirit and atmosphere in our study group was very supporting, open-minded and cheerful, which created a good support for stressful deadlines.”

T

he cohort members discussed the self-development process more than anything else in the open questions and interviews. It is evident that this part of the Aalto EMBA program had a strong and lasting impact on the participants.

Also in the case of this cohort, the self-development process was headed by Executive Coach Ben Nothnagel.The process runs through the entire two-year course of the program, exploring areas such as self-development, behavioral sciences, and brain research on stress and habits. The goal is to learn to understand and develop personal leadership.

“In the end, the most golden insight was that time is in our hands and we can guide it the way we want. So simple, and still extremely hard to accomplish. The self-development journey module had a great impact on this insight”, said one member.

Ben Nothnagel himself describes the goals and meaning of the self-development process: “The process is designed to give you access to yourself

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and to put you in contact with your own current competence.”

He tells of students who are surprised to learn how much they know.

One of the comments: “The self-development process helped me to think in new ways (broke some shackles). But it was more the combined learning experience which really made the difference – and the context.”

Nothnagel points out that there is nothing mysterious in the teaching methods, and he emphasizes the fact that every step in the process is based on research.

In this cohort, as in all groups according to Nothnagel, there is a small group that doubts the process and the benefits of it. Many cohort members started to tell their story about self-development by saying that they had not really believed it would be needed or that it could help them change.

“Self-development – time well spent! I have only now started to realize the value of this module, a year after finishing the EMBA. I can make a great difference in many ways by changing my own thinking and behavior, rather than trying to influence others. Exploring this idea, while pursuing a happier life, is a life-long – rather than a two-year – journey. But it was important to go through the two-year course to really kick-off the thinking process ... Just started a mindfulness course, learning will continue :).”

“The best course was the self-development process with Ben. This is much more relevant for developing leaders then the financial modules, and will make the difference in succeeding.”

A typical comment about the self-development process is like this: “Personally I gained a lot from the ‘self-development process’ (which beforehand I thought would be the most useless module).”

Nothnagel talks about the five-step method he uses when facilitating the process. He says many

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D I D T H E A A LTO E M B A P RO G R A M H AV E A N I M PAC T O N . . .

YO U R A B I L I T Y TO I N N OVAT E A N D S P OT I N N OVAT I O N S K I L L S ?

YO U R P E R S O N A L L I F E ?

5

5 4

4

3

6

1 2

1

“Self-development skills were very highly, positively impacted”

”The holistic and almost exponential experience on learning more by combining old with new was almost mind-blowing.”

YO U R C O N TA C T S A N D N E T WO R K ?

4

5

2

6

3

6

YO U R P O S I T I O N AT WO R K ?

1

2

3

5 4

6

1 2 3 “I was considered an expert in one specific area. After I got the degree my job description got much broader.”

“The network we all together were able to build is perhaps the most valuable part of the two years.”

Scale: 1 = not at all / 6 = very much | The columns represent the relative amount of ratings.

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struggle at the first phase, but pick up speed during the two years and often find something they did not come looking for.

“When they start, many are already underusing their competence, and during the program they gain so much more. It is important to be able to use all of it.”

T

he cohort members all felt they had developed as leaders while studying in the Aalto Executive MBA program: more than half rated the impact on their leadership with a 5 or 6 and the remaining with a 3 or 4.

As leadership is one of the core areas for the program, many cohort members expected to experience a jump in their knowledge and capabilities. Several people mentioned leadership, when asked:“What was the most significant module, matter, thought or insight that you encountered during your studies?”

They say:“Leadership in general, including selfleadership and self-awareness.”

“Understanding human beings better, understanding that different people need different ways and methods of leadership. One of the key points was a better understanding of there not only being one truth, but there are often several different viewpoints in every case.”

“I loooved the resilience module! It is one of the things that will shape leadership!”

“The self-development with Ben. This is much more relevant for developing leaders than the financial modules and will make the difference in succeeding.”

T

he questions about the impact on salary, title and position had the most diverse answers.

Shifts in position and salary seldom happen swiftly, and the impact on these areas is most likely still to be seen.

However, more than three out of four had felt some impact on their salary already after one year.

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About 15 per cent said the impact had been quite meaningful.

Many people in the cohort had changed jobs, some had changed employers, but all think that they had changed the way they work.

The role of the employer was discussed both in the open questions and especially in the individual interviews. The responses show that the support of an employer makes the program a better experience for the participant.

Sami Pauni has words of advice for employers: “The person who gets into a two-year program like this has already decided to make a great effort in their own life. They will expect something to change at work”, he says.

If nothing changes, there is a risk of the employee leaving the company.

Some cohort members said their employers could have paid more attention to the fact that their employees are studying.

“They should think of the program as an investment and pay close attention, so they get their money’s worth.”

I

n September 2015, the cohort gathered together for a crayfish party at Villa Achille in Eastern Helsinki. The final work had been carried out in groups of 5-6, and one of the groups decided it was time to throw a proper party for the entire cohort. Photos show people singing, laughing, holding speeches, and enjoying crayfish of course.

The organizers are wearing red trousers and sailor hats. Before the party, they popped to Ikea together to kit the party with crayfish paraphernalia.

It has now been over a year since that November day at Aalto University School of Business.

The group has met up regularly and stayed in contact through a joint Facebook page. As agreed at the graduation party in 2014, friendships and staying in contact continue even if the studies are over. ◆

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D I D T H E E M B A P RO G R A M H AV E A N I M PAC T O N . . .

YO U R S A L A RY ?

1 2 3 4

5

6

“There has been just a minor impact on my salary so far but the impact will be significant for 2016“.

YO U R T I T L E ?

D I D T H E E M B A P RO G R A M P ROV I D E I N S O M E WAY B E N E F I T F O R T H E F O L LOW I N G :

1 2 3 4

5

6

6 5 4

”I was appointed to the Executive Team right after getting the degree”.

3 2

YO U R FA M I LY ?

1

4

1

2

3

0

5

Your own company

Your employer / future employer

You personally

6

”When I started studying we decided with my husband that this a project for our entire family”.

Scale: 1 = not at all / 6 = very much | The columns represent the relative amount of ratings.

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“ T H I S N E T WO R K GIVES ME ANSWERS TO A L M O S T ALL QUESTIONS” Paulina Ahokas, 43 Managing Director, Tampere Hall

P

aulina Ahokas, Managing Director of Tampere Hall and a long time expert on cultural life in Finland, says she now has an amazing network to call upon when she needs answers. She built the network while studying in the Aalto Executive MBA program.

Ahokas was pregnant with her second child when she applied and was accepted in the program. She planned, together with the Aalto staff, a schedule that would enable her to gain her EMBA degree in three years.This way she got to study as part of two different cohorts, which suited her curious personality well.

One of the greatest benefits of the program is the possibility of really getting to know the

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cohort members well, she says. “And I am not talking about trading business cards now.

These are people I can call any time, and they can call me.”

“Let’s face it. People often interact mostly with likeminded friends, and while at work, they meet people from the same sector”, she says, and points out that managers often need to find expertise outside their own field. In her work, Paulina repeatedly notices that the people around her do not always have the answers to all her questions. That’s when she picks up the phone and calls one of her cohort members.

The Aalto EMBA program had three main benefits in Paulina’s life, all of which she says can be felt in her daily work. Building the network was one, becoming a better leader while building a broad base of knowledge, and becoming a better leader by understanding herself better were the others.

“I needed to upgrade my knowledge to become a better leader; not just a team leader, but a manager of multipurpose teams”, she says. Financial accounting, management accounting, economics for executives, all had an impact on her. She would like to name every single module, when I ask about her favorite ones.

The psychological side of the studies came as a bonus. “All of us started out the program thinking we would gain more knowledgebased information, and all of us came out realizing it was the psychological side of leadership that affected us the most”, Paulina notes.

We all need to know how to become a resilient leader and a more emphatic leader, and the modules, especially the Self Leadership process, gave us the tools to learn about this, she says.

If she has to name one specific skill above

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others, which she acquired during the Aalto EMBA program, it is the skill of concentration.

“I need to know how to concentrate, otherwise I keep doing things wrong.” And did she master the skill of concentration? “I’m not sure my family or even my colleagues would agree all the time, but yes, I can manage myself better now, and I can feel it.”

Paulina Ahokas says she has been the youngest in almost all her working environments during her career, and she has learned to find the information needed for her work.When she started as Managing Director of Tampere Hall, she knew she needed a lot of new information and knowledge. “I needed to learn much more about leadership, and I wanted to study in the best program.” She wanted to start right away, while still fresh in her new position: “It was the best time to learn new things, when I was not burdened by any notions of how things have always been done.”

Looking back at her earlier jobs, Ahokas says in her direct way:“I made so many mistakes. If I had known what I know now, after the Aalto EMBA, I wouldn’t have made those mistakes, or at least I would have tried to do things differently.”

She now knows much better how to handle conflicts and problematic situations, and she knows how to proceed to positive action when a problem has been identified.

And when the question is outside her own field of skills, she picks up the phone and reaches for her network.

“ I H AV E L E A R N E D TO M A S T E R M Y C A L E N DA R” Pekka Haataja, 37 Country director UK, Elisa Videra

P

ekka Haataja, country director for Elisa Videra, based in London, looks back at the busy time spent studying in the Aalto Executive MBA program. He did not expect the impact to be found where it was. Haataja says that he has been able to change a lot of things in the way he works, and even in his personal life, due to the insights he gained during the self-development process, as well as in many other modules which he first considered to be “soft”.

“Before the program I thought that maybe I would learn the secret recipe for doing business, but of course I didn’t. Instead I learned a lot about strategy and how to present my ideas to others.”

“Yes, I can manage myself better now, and I can feel it.”

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Almost a year after graduation, Haataja still works with a list of five personal entities to develop. He wrote the list during the program, and decided to write some words weekly about how he was doing. The weekly routine has not happened quite as planned, but he says that the issues on the list are constantly on his radar, and being worked on.

Haataja had a lot going on at the same time; he has a family with small children, a changing work environment, organizational changes, and on top of this the Aalto EMBA program.

At one point during the program he had a hard time with everything piling up and fell seriously ill, but got to his feet again and worked on. “I have learned to master my calendar, which is critical for my occupational efficiency, and personal well-being”, he says.

Gone are the days when he would spend the whole evening looking at his computer, skip lunch and still feel like he didn’t get enough done. Now he sets a time for doing paperwork during the day, reduces the number of meetings and has a clear sense of better efficiency at work. At home he concentrates on family matters and hobbies.

“People have all these funny habits. During the program I learned to spot my habits, and also gained some tools to change them. Very concrete changes can be made, and it is easier than one would imagine.”

Haataja says his employer, and especially his previous CEO, strongly supported the idea of him studying for an EMBA degree. He is now doing a different job, in London instead of Helsinki, still working for the same company and happy with the new situation. He says the EMBA degree was not the main reason for the new position, but the new knowledge he gained while studying helps him every day at work.

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“I already knew how to count before the program”, says Haataja.The financial modules were quite generic, he thinks, but after these modules he can now have more relevant discussions with the CFO and knows what can be expected from the finance department.

He encountered new, exciting and useful knowledge unexpectedly in the Power and Influence module during Aalto EE’s iWeek (nowadays Aalto Executive Summit). The module, taught by Rich Cox, gave Haataja tools to use in his everyday work.

Haataja believes this kind of competence and technique should be taught in many modules in the program: “How well you get your message over, and how well you present your work will have an impact on the bottom line of a company.”

When asked if it had been a wise decision to enrol in the Aalto EMBA when so many other changes were happening in his life, Haataja doesn’t hesitate.

“Absolutely! I would still choose the same way, even knowing how hard the pressure can get.”

“I have learned to master my calendar, which is critical for my occupational efficiency, and personal well-being.”

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“ T H E E M B A D E G R E E H E L P E D M E M OV E TO A TOTA L LY N E W AREA WITHIN T H E C O M PA N Y ” Gonzalo Giambruno, 35 Director, Biorefining, UPM

G

onzalo Giambruno is an engineer from Uruguay, who worked for UPM, a Finnish forest industry company, and was based in Finland at the start of the Aalto Executive MBA program. This interview, however, was held by Skype because Gonzalo has moved on in his career and changed country. He still works for UPM, but now in Atlanta, Georgia.

Giambruno used to work in the HR department of UPM while in Finland. His job now is on the business side. The EMBA degree and skills helped him move to a totally new area within the company.

He says he now has confidence in many matters, which earlier were out of reach.

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“Some people used to think that here is the guy with the juvenile face and just knowledge in HR.The EMBA helped me to leverage my contribution on other business dimensions, overcoming prejudgements about youth and functional roles”, says Giambruno.

He is happy with his current job and the new challenges.The whole family enjoys their new hometown.

He says he now works in a different way, partly due to the knowledge he gained through the program, but partly also due to the new job, new city and other big changes in his life. The program had a great impact on his life, he says.

His employer, UPM, has a positive attitude towards schooling, and several other staff members have also gone through the program.

Giambruno says his employer was interested all the time in the project, and gave signals that his work towards the EMBA degree was appreciated. He would tell his supervisors about his grades, and discuss the modules with people at work.

He says a company should have a career path for those who want to study and learn more, and the employer should show interest in their development through the program.

When asked about his favorite course, Gonzalo says there was one above all others: the course in strategic thinking by Professor Ram Baliga.

He says he learned to look at things in a new way, from a helicopter view. After the strategy module he has been seeing the big picture better and more often. “It changed my thinking.”

Giambruno gives praise to the line-up of good professors teaching in the program.

The self-development process was another favorite among the courses. Almost all of the

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cohort members taking part in a survey about the impact of the program, picked the Self Development process with Ben Nothnagel as one of the most important modules. Giambruno says he learned a lot by writing the assignments about his personal development.

“In the beginning I hated the writing, but after a year I got into it and learned a lot by doing it. Now I actually miss it.”

Gonzalo says he values the personal contacts and friends made during the two years. “I did not need the networking so much, but the real relationships with the cohort members became very important.”

The cohort of 2013 had members from Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Russia, France, China, and Croatia, and Gonzalo Giambruno from Uruguay.

“ I L E A R N E D TO R E C O G N I Z E MY DIFFERENT ABILITIES” Sami Pauni, 41 Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Legal, Group General Counsel,Huhtamäki Oyj

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gained huge amounts of self-confidence from the Aalto Executive MBA program”, says Sami Pauni, Senior Vice President at Huhtamäki Oyj, a global specialist in food and drink packaging operating in 34 countries with some 16,700 employees.

One might think that the head lawyer at a big international company has no lack of self-confidence in work-related issues. But the role of company lawyer can be a box where you get stuck, says Pauni. It’s an expert role, you have a specific field of knowledge, and you aren’t often expected to find solutions to questions outside your box.The program offered him such a broad new

“People no longer think that here is the guy with the baby face and a knowledge in HR. Now they know I have much more to offer.”

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knowledge base, and strengthened his tacit knowledge so muc that it became possible for him to handle a great variety of matters in the company.

“The perception of your capacity can be very limited, both in your own mind and in the minds of others”, he says.“After the EMBA the perception has clearly changed.”

The method of analyzing cases in smaller groups during the modules also gave a great boost to confidence. Pauni says it felt good to see that he could share and compare practices with the other cohort members, even if they came from very different industries and had extremely different backgrounds.

The company culture in Huhtamäki is very much based on knowledge and doing things.

Pauni says that nobody is a “big boss”, not even the CEO. “The status here comes from doing your job, collaborating with others, and achieving a good result – not from having a title.”

After graduation, Pauni was appointed to the Group Executive Team of the company.

He also gained a new role at work, with whole new areas of responsibility.

The new job description is something he worked out with his CEO, who is also his immediate supervisor. Pauni was asked to write a list of the different areas he was interested in.

After thinking over his strengths and interests during the Christmas holiday, he was ready with a list at the beginning of the year. “Of course I didn’t get to do everything on the list, it was quite long, but my job now is very different from the one I had before.”

Even the job definition has grown. When he’s asked to give a short version of it, this is what you get: global responsibility for legal, compliance, risk management, IPR management and non-financial reporting. “After the

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program I know I have an understanding of the world of business, of communication, of HR and even quite a good knowledge of how to work with questions of strategy.” The tight box of a work identity as the legal expert is gone.

Studying for an EMBA degree was Pauni’s own idea, but his supervisor backed him up with enthusiasm. “When I started stalling and thinking maybe it wasn’t the best time to get involved with such a big project, my boss told me to do it right away.”

For those who are starting, or planning, an EMBA program, Pauni says: “There isn’t just one way to study but many, all of them good. Know why you want to study, and go and get what you are interested in. Make sure you enjoy the experience, and if possible go on the study tours because they are the best.”

The greatest benefit Sami gained from the program is the big picture, and his fondest memories are from the study tours, especially the Palo Alto tour.The Self Development process, which runs the length of the entire program, was important to Pauni, after some initial skepticism. He says he almost skipped the first individual meeting with Ben Nothnagel, the teacher in charge of the process. He didn’t think he needed the discussion.

In hindsight, it was a good decision to go to the meeting. Pauni says he learned a lot about himself. As a result of the process, he is now more relaxed about himself, and his role and image at work.

“I have learned to recognize the different abilities I possess, and I have been able to use those in my work. Work is an important part of my life, and I have invested a lot in it. It feels good to be able to be myself in all different situations.”

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“MY LEADERSHIP WILL NEVER BE THE SAME” Tessa Ahosalmi, 49 Sales and Marketing Director, Algol Pharma Oy

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realized that I have all this time!” One of the big insights during the Aalto Executive MBA program for Tessa Ahosalmi was that you can do so many things if you get your priorities right and challenge yourself.

She had feared the amount of work, and the challenge of combining a busy family life with three children doing different sports, her own hobbies, a demanding job and on top of this the EMBA modules and assignments. Almost a year after graduation Ahosalmi says it really did not turn out to be a terrible stress at all. “I learned a lot in the self-development process, and getting things done without stress is one of the key learnings.”

Ahosalmi did a thorough job of shopping around before choosing the Aalto EMBA program. She says it became clear she would get the

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most value from a program focusing on strategy and leadership. The accreditations and recommendations from colleagues also played a role.

Did she get her money’s worth? Yes. Ahosalmi, as with the rest of her cohort, says her thinking has changed – and her actions too.

“I used to make most of my decisions fast, snip-snap, based on former experience, statistics and knowledge, but now I take my time, I listen more to different opinions and pay attention. I’m thrilled about out-of-box thinking and encourage everyone towards it.”

“At the moment we are in the process of re-formulating our mission, which started by listening to everyone in the company. The strong message was that we want to be a company that is seeking new solutions with outof-the-box thinking and a broad-minded manner. This commitment towards our mission is important in the turbulent times we have in pharmaceutical sector. It was great to get inspired by our employees.”

One of the biggest changes in Ahosalmi’s work routines comes from the new way of looking at development projects. She now makes sure that there are development projects coming up well ahead of crisis situations, and feels strongly that companies should put more resources into ongoing development instead of reacting to changes when they appear.

The Resilience Leadership module by Professor Liisa Välikangas made a great impression, says Ahosalmi. She has been implementing the thoughts in her work with marketing and sales at Algol Pharma. The Service Design module has also made a difference to her work, especially the way she now looks at customer experience. Of all the modules, the self-development process keeps coming up. “It did have huge impact”, Ahosalmi says.

People tend to think that there should be a

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reward in the form of a higher title or salary after you receive an EMBA. In Tessa’s case the program was actually part of a package.

“I don’t think salaries are going up anywhere at the moment. You need to look at other benefits as well”, Ahosalmi says.

She negotiated a career path with her manager and HR. Aalto EMBA was part of the package. “Employers should pay attention to the study program investment of this size.”

On graduation day, Ahosalmi’s family gathered to watch her receive her diploma at the ceremony at Aalto University. She says it was good to finish with a grand gesture – hats and gowns and speeches.

“The kids got to see why their mother had

been absent and busy.”

Recently her daughter was accepted at the Aalto University Business School, and now they can compare notes and discuss cases together.

During the last Self Development module everybody made a promise about how they would spend the extra time that was about to appear in their calendars after graduation.

Ahosalmi stuck to the promise.

During the summer she and her husband have ridden 3,500 kilometers on their bikes together.

“That is a lot of quality time, with the extra bonus of a better physical condition. And it also makes me a better employee, I get more done, with less stress.”

FINDING AN ADDITIONAL GEAR Dr. Mikko Laukkanen Academic Director, Aalto University Executive Education It was a real pleasure to read Paula’s piece on our EMBA alumni and to learn about the personal stories of some of the participants. As the Academic Director, much of my work revolves around statistics of our various programs and the macro-level details associated with managing the academic quality of a portfolio of

ing on overcoming some of their personal leadership challenges, they find that entirely new options are possible. Some have compared this to discovering additional hours in your fay or, even more colorfully, to finding out that your car has an additional gear.

The other recurring topic is comradery. Over and

EMBA programs. This perspective often overlooks the individual impact our programs have on the lives of our participants, and during my travels I always try meet with as many participants and alumni as possible. In those exchanges many of the same themes arise that also feature in the personal stories collected by Paula.

One of the topics that always seems to pop up has to do with time and ways of working, and many participants recount version of this same story: Before coming to the program they believed that they were working in an optimal way and close to their full potential, and then discovering that indeed by swapping their daily routines for more efficient ones and work-

over again I hear of new lifelong friendships and networks that have been forged through the shared Aalto EMBA experwwience. It seems that going through an arduous and rewarding program during a time when many participants are also experiencing big changes in their personal lives really brings people together and creates a unique group atmosphere. As the Academic Director I have only a minor role in facilitating this part of the impact our programs.

My simple commitment to future participants is that all of us at Aalto EE will continue to work tirelessly to make sure your cohort is made up of the most capable, motivated, and inspirational people.

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BOOK 5 [ WORDS OF WISDOM ]

STEVE JOBS OF THE OPERA Visionaries of transition periods have had to get an upper hand over change-opposing conservatives – just like Richard Wagner, who transformed the opera in the 19th century.

Journalist Ville BlĂĽfield examines what modern-day change managers can learn from the controversial operatic genius.

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vol 4 ILLUSTRATION JARKKO HYPPÖNEN. PHOTO WIKIPEDIA

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irst call. reforms continue to impact opera performances The audience is still flocking in the around the world, including his home country foyers of the Komische Oper, built in Germany, and Mitte in Berlin.

1892 and situated in the heart of Berlin’s Social classes mixing in the audience – Wagner’s city center, Berlin Mitte. idea.

Second call.

Closed doors during the performance – WagThe foyers become deserted, as the crowds ner’s idea. stream towards the auditorium.The curved seating Orchestra pit between the stage and the audirows soon fill up, and the doors begin to close. ence – Wagner’s idea.

Third call.

Audience lights turned off to ensure full attenThose arriving at the knick of time dart to their tion on the stage – Wagner’s idea. seats. “Excuse me, excuse me” – some rise, while And we’ve only come as far as the overture. others shuffle their knees to make room.The doors Tonight, Komische Oper Berlin will be interpretare closed and the lights in the audience are turned ing Eugene Onegin, which was composed by Wagout. ner’s contemporary, Russian Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

A faint light from the orchestra pit glows in the Premiering in 1879, the opera wasn’t a modern otherwise dark auditorium. May the work like one of Wagner’s; quite the night’s performance begin. contrary, it was considered classical Wagner There’s something incredibly ritubordering on clichéd. Nevertheless, didn’t merely alistic and familiar about the situation.

Wagner’s influence is clearly evident rethink lighting even on today’s interpretation, which The audience steps into its role and hushes down, as the orchestra tunes in and performance; is pretty telling of the visionary’s farpreparation for the overture. Eyes are reaching impact. he reformed transfixed on the conductor’s hands the way we think “Wagner’s reforms were so powerthat soar from the pit, until the stage ful, so palpable”, comments Simon about the works Berger, dramaturge at Komische Oper lights turn on and people lift their themselves. gaze. For the rest of the evening, the Berlin. audience is quiet and captivated by the He’s sitting in the staff canteen at performers, spellbound by the plot and destinies the opera house just before the night’s perforplayed out on the stage. mance. Having analyzed and reinterpreted TchaiAlthough it’s February 2016, everything is ex- kovsky’s Eugene Onegin for months, he readily actly as envisioned by a certain 19th century figure. admits that Wagner’s reforms continue to be be clearly visible. ichard Wagner (1813-1883) wasn’t only a “The waves of shock can still be felt. Wagner’s distinguished composer, but he also revived output completely transformed the way we think the form and rituals of the opera. His ideas and about opera in Western Europe, the rest of Europe,

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even on a global scale. The way we think about the Future (1849), Art and Revolution (1849), Opera music, drama, acting – the way we think in gen- and Drama (1851), and the offensively anti-Semiteral.” ic Judaism in Music (1850), have been considered Wagner didn’t merely rethink lighting and per- clumsy, inconsistent, and utopian. formance; he reformed the way we think about “Wagner elaborated on his theories in a repetithe works themselves. Wagner viewed opera as a tive and winding prose style, which resulted in universal artwork – gesamtkunstwerk – where their ambiguous reputation”, assesses Wagner bimusic, poetry, and the visual side are all aspects of ographer Barry Millington.“On certain pages, his a single work of art. prose hovers on the fringes of comprehension, He abandoned the ballet, which had a separate often drifting beyond reach.” function from the plot, and was usually a tradiYet there’s something in Wagner’s awkward writtional element of the choir and operatic evenings, ings that hit the mark, making his vision dynamic, as well as other parts of the program the audience and gaining the trust of his audience. was used to. Instead, he drew up a new map to In the 19th century, German music circles were follow: a leitmotif, which is a short, recurring divided into two camps: radical progressives repphrase associated with a particular person or idea. resented by Richard Wagner, and the conservative Wagner focused on the three main elements of circle centering on Johannes Brahms. As in all Greek drama: music, poetry, and dance. major transitions, the representatives He believed these lacked in expression of new thinking gained the upper as separate entities, while their synthehand in the end, or at least progressive Yet Wagner’s sis would have an unprecedented efideas gained adequate support from reform was fect on the viewer. the critical masses. And so the world exceptional, Wagner set out his ideals of a new changed. type of opera in his essay The Art-Work But how did Wagner manage to which didn’t of the Future (1849): “Traditional stage transform such a traditional bastion as stop at a new buildings cannot adequately serve the the opera? Naturally, the grand Italian composition interests of art due to the pursuit of opera heritage had been on a conor story. financial gain and luxurious ostentatinuous lookout for something new: tion; the auditioria of our time are people were always after new program, stratified and fenced-off to categorize composers wrote new opera, there was class and civil station. But the architect of the fu- a yearning for new stars.Yet Wagner’s reform was ture will be solely dictated by conformity with the exceptional, which didn’t stop at a new composilaw of beauty and a pursuit to bring dramatic ac- tion or story. The reform was about changing the tion intelligibly to the eyes and ears of the audi- way stories were told. ence.”

A number of other composers disgruntled with Wagner’s criticism of classical opera of his time the conventions of the opera tried to change the as “ostentatious luxury” may now seem ironic, but art form.Take Dmitri Shostakovich, who deliberthe composer was a true revolutionary among his ately chose to base his opera in the 1920s on peers.

Gogol’s story The Nose in an attempt to ditch the So revolutionary, in fact, that sometimes he is opera world’s never-ending preoccupation with hard to understand. Wagner himself was the one heroes and love triangles. Despite The Nose beto blame: his writings, such as The Art-Work of coming the punk rock of its time, Shostakovich’s

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reform failed to leave a deeper mark on operatic traditions.

But Wagner’s reforms were fundamental, their impact spreading afar and over centuries.

What can today’s change manager learn form Richard Wagner?

“(…) observations and instructions offer valuable insight into understanding the composer’s endeavors at the time. However, these cannot be deemed as the recipe for a perfect production, as there is every indication that Wagner relied on momentary inspiration and improvisation – to invent new and alternative scenarios.” ramaturge Berg begins to fidget. The last Dramaturge Berger adds: “No piece, libretto, or remaining people in the staff canteen head composition comes with a manual on how it towards the large auditorium.The performance is should be interpreted.” about to begin, and our discussion on Wagner’s Perhaps that’s partly why Wagner’s visions are so influences needs to draw to an end. dynamic.

Berger emphasizes that there has been some His vision and works have stood the test of time, progression also post-Wagner. because they are also molded by time. Changing “The opera has transformed every 50 or so years. performance traditions also apply to very modern There seems to be an underlying logic of half a works, and with their mythical stories, Wagner’s century.The opera is linked with each compositions can be easily transported generation. Each generation inherits into any era and interpretation.

If you want the opera and all the material that goes There’s a lesson here for change with it from parents and grandparents, managers across the board. If you want your reform and each generation interprets it in its your reform to live on, design it so that to live on, own way.” the next revolutionary idea doesn’t design it so Berger has the patience to sit at the wipe it out. that the next table for a moment longer. He looks The brilliance of Wagner’s ideas is intently in the eye – we are now talkperhaps another reason why they have revolutionary ing about something that matters. stood the test of time. Excellent ideas, idea doesn’t “The theater is a living art form. kindling visions. wipe it out.

Change is part of its nature. PerforAt least Wagner would agree with mance art is always a contemporary this interpretation – he did, after all, art form. It has to be.” see himself as a genius. He began to write his This is another area where the contemporary autobiography at 29 (after jotting down notes for dramaturge is very Wagnerian. Wagner himself it already seven years before), which is pretty reparticipated closely in the premiers and directing vealing. He knew his thoughts were unique, and of his operas, even getting to design and commis- wanted to ensure future generations could put sion the construction of a new type of opera house them into full use. for his Ring Cycle.The composer having a locked, On a side note, his three-part autobiography My unchanging view of the way works should be per- Life is in line with Wagner’s theoretical production: formed is a misconception. rambling and unreliable.

However, in his study The Master Musicians:WagIt does, however, provide intriguing perspectives ner (1984), Barry Millington writes that memos on how it all began – the childhood of the genius; containing Wagner’s requirements and instructions the conditions that bred a unique thinker, characonly apply to the interpretation of their time. ter, and ego.

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here is some controversy regarding Richard charismatic, fun, and great company.

Wagner’s father. Friedrich Wagner, who is This plays an important part in Wagner’s history. generally believed to be his biological father, died A reformer needs followers, even admirers. when Richard was just six months But reformers need more than folold. lowers – they need support.

Richard was the seventh child in the In Wagner’s story, the two elements “He could family. He experienced a childhood of interweave. On many occasions,Wagtake his neglect and was misunderstood at ner lived beyond his means and was school, thus labelled as a problem saved by private patrons, who either benefactor’s child. money and wife admired his character, works, or both.

But his troubles at school weren’t At the start of his career, Wagner without losing down to a lack of talent or intellect. received long-term financial support the patron’s On the contrary, already as a child, from two female admirers. He went undying Wagner was an independent thinker, on to snatch the wife of his friend and up to the point of it becoming a probbenefactor, composer Hans von Bülsupport.” lem. In his autobiography, he describes ow, which was by no means a one-ofhis schooldays as follows: a-kind incident in Wagner’s colorful “When our class was asked to write history. a poem, I would write a choral in Greek on the Wagner’s charisma got him through financial topical Greek war of independence. I believe this difficulties, messy affairs, and controversial political Greek poem bore the same relation to the Greek opinions. And artistic legacy has a remarkable way language and poetry as my sonatas and overtures of burying almost anything questionable in its did to highly restrained music. My endeavor was wake. considered an abomination, and was defied scorn“Perhaps that’s exactly why pages upon pages fully. I have no subsequent recollections of school: have been devoted to Wagner. He left behind these going to school was merely a sacrifice I made for enigmas”, says Juhani Koivisto, another opera my family.” dramaturge interviewed for this article, in the staff “I did not care what was taught in the lessons; canteen of yet another opera house. during lessons I would secretly read anything of interest. As I mentioned earlier, even the music he canteen of the Opera House of the Finnteaching bore no fruit, so I continued my selfish National Opera, which was built in the studies by copying the scores of beloved masters, 1990s and situated close to the center of Helsinki, while gaining beautiful handwriting at the same is brimming with life at lunch time. Renowned time, which later received much admiration.” choreographer Jorma Uotinen is holding his lecIn a similar predicament, some other child ture at a window table, while a group of ballet would have grown into a distant and lonely adult, dancers dressed in their workout gear are having but Wagner was saved by another trait: social intel- a bite to eat. ligence.

Head dramaturge Juhani Koivisto is sitting in a Wagner’s autobiography indicates that he was quieter spot and reflecting on the enigma that is self-sustained, impertinent, and egotistical in his Richard Wagner. relationships, but also someone who knew how to “He could take his benefactor’s money and wife spread joy. In the right crowd, Wagner could be without losing the patron’s undying support”,

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Koivisto remarks, referring to conductor Hans von singers (with voices that could endure a perforBülow, whose wife Wagner pinched. Cosima mance of four or five hours), and new types of moved in with Richard in 1864, and her divorce orchestras. from von Bülow wasn’t final until six years later.

They required a conductor with new thinking; “Subsequently deemed highly controversial and not only directing the tempo, but truly interpretexploited by Hitler, even Wagner’s political views ing the composition. didn’t make him a persona non grata in the opera And the works simply could not be performed world.That’s how powerful his artistic legacy was.” in traditional opera houses.

Wagner was indeed a political figure, and some “They were supposed to surpass previous operas of his writings are blatantly anti-Semitist. However, in three aspects: magnitude, strength, and struche wasn’t connected to the Nazi ideology until ture”, writes Michael White. posthumously;Wagner had died six years before the To fulfil his vision, Wagner first had to find an birth of his devout admirer Adolf Hitler. open-minded audience and performers, as well as “Wagner must have had an innate ability to ma- an open-minded patron, who would be ready to nipulate and make his peers rely on his fund the construction of a completeviews. It could be argued that Wagner’s ly new type of opera house. All this, so works were simply so brilliant that the world can see whether the idea of “I just read they gained the support of benefactors a quirky thinker has what it takes. the biography and others involved, but of course noWagner was lucky enough to find of Steve Jobs, one could tell how brilliant they an influential and wealthy devotee; would be beforehand.”

Ludwig II of Bavaria summoned the which made Koivisto draws a parallel to our strapped conductor to his court in me think times. Perhaps charismatic visionaries 1864. In modern terms, Ludwig II bethat the two really do share something in common came Wagner’s business angel, venture men shared throughout the ages. capitalist. a lot in “I just read the biography of Steve The two men shared a great deal in Jobs, which made me think that the common. Ludwig II was self-aware, common.” two men shared a lot in common. Macolorful, and cited as a “shy dreamer”. jor reforms aren’t created through He was a great romantic, renowned committee work, but changes need to for spending fortunes on fairy-tale be personified. Just like Wagner in his time, Jobs castles erected on the mountains of Bavaria, which was able to make investors believe in ideas that subsequently became the inspiration for Walt Dishadn’t even come into fruition.” ney’s fantasy worlds.

Wagner’s idea of an artwork of the future, which The encounter was love at first sight – quite in time attained its final form in his late master- literally, as many historians believe. pieces Tristan and Isolde (1857-1859), The Ring of “The copious correspondence between Wagner the Nibelung (which he worked on for two decades and Ludwig contains overflowing romantic lanbetween 1852-1874), and Parsifal (1877-1882), was guage, enough to raise one’s eyebrows: “Oh my something completely different during his time. King! You are divine!”, “Exceptional”, “My only The works transformed the pattern and com- beloved friend!”, “My love for you shall endure positional method of the opera. forever!”.

Performing the works required new types of Considering Ludwig’s homosexual tendencies,

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it was inevitable that the relationship between the Until then, the auditorium had served as a high two men became an object of scorn.Yet sexuality society gathering. In a number of classical opera isn’t the main point; Ludwig became infatuated by houses, the royal box in fact offered the worst someone with the ability to fulfil the romantic, possible views to the stage; royals came to be seen, fairy-tale visions of his daydreams. It seems that and not to watch the performance.Wagner wantWagner’s stance wasn’t quite as passionate”, writes ed the audience to watch the performance instead Barry Millington in The Master Muof each other. The initial idea was for sicians: Wagner. the lights to be dimmed, but as this When “Even if Wagner was merely seen as was difficult with gas lamps, Wagner describing trying to please the king, his attitude decided to turn them out completely. wasn’t necessarily cynical. At times, “Parsifal demonstrated another new the works Wagner could take advantage of the trend on top of all the others”, states and influence king’s childlike trust, but it being soledramaturge Koivisto. of Wagner, ly a question of exploitation to ad“Having already reformed everypeople vance Wagner’s ambitious ventures thing else, Parsifal went on to renew isn’t what his letters to friends, selfthe concept of time. The opera lasted often opt reflection, and (wife) Cosima’s jourfor five hours, but didn’t feel like it. In for unique nals suggest.” some strange way, Wagner was able to figures manipulate the audience to experiof speech. hatever the case, the collaboence time differently.” ration between the king and In some strange way when describthe composer was beneficial for both. ing the works and influence of Wagner, After various stages (and multiple funding cycles people often opt for unique figures of speech. by the king),Wagner’s new opera house was erect“Wagner invented a hypnotic key”, said conduced in the small Bavarian town of Bayreuth. tor Esa-Pekka Salonen once.

The auditorium was an equal amphitheater, with “A five-hour-long continuous sexual interthe orchestra hidden in a recessed pit. course”, described director Ingmar Bergman Wag“How could Wagner know that the orchestra ner’s Tristan and Isolde. playing deep under the stage would actually work”, “Wagner’s music hits the head like a velvetponders dramaturge Koivisto. “It couldn’t have covered log”, illustrates writer and Wagner fanatic been based on factual expertise, but on an astonish- Joel Haahtela. ing vision – on an assurance that it’s the way it “Perhaps the greatest genius of all time”, stated should be.” poet W.H. Auden.

Over the years, Wagner’s operas have been perMaybe it’s sheer happenstance that the path of formed in “old-fashioned” opera houses, and Wag- the greatest genius that ever lived and inventor of ner himself was often dissatisfied with the final the hypnotic key happened to cross with a megaoutcome. In the end, the entire Ring of Nibelung lomaniac investor - the two romantics meeting in and the premier of Wagner’s last opera Parsifal were a time that was ripe for something new. performed according to Wagner’s design at the Just as things sometimes get lucky in business: Bayreuth Festival Theatre. an idea finding the right resources. ◆ At the premiere of Parsifal in 1882, Wagner turned out the auditorium lights for the first time. This article in Finnish online: www.aaltoee.fi/blog

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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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PHOTO LASSE LUOMAKOSKI

I M P A C T

&

E X P E R I E N C E

“A alto E MB A total ly t ran sform e d my f uture p lan s ” Dr. Kari Luomakoski, DBA, Chairman of the Board, FinnFleet Tankers.

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was the managing director of Finland’s oldest logistics company in the 1990s, when times were so tough. There was a huge recession, and I needed to find some new insight. That’s when I applied for the EMBA program.

It totally transformed my thinking and future plans.

I had drifted into becoming a professional manager already at a very young age, but the studies made me think like an entrepreneur.After completing the EMBA, I also took an International MBA. I started to think about where I excelled and what I really wanted to do. In the early 2000s, I became a consultant for the world’s biggest oil company, which at the time was also the biggest shipping company. I began to academically examine the dynamics of the freight market, and did my doctorate on the subject.

After examining the area long enough, I decided I could do this myself.

I established my current company, FinnFleet Tankers, in 2013.We already have some extremely good years behind us. This year will be fantastic no matter what happens on the market.

In a way, I returned to the industry. I worked in freight shipping at 15, and became a sailor after

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school. During upper secondary school, I ended up working for a shipping firm. I’ve pretty much worked in every possible area to do with shipping: scratched off rust from the deck; established my own freight routes; bought and sold old vessels, commissioned new vessels from shipyards.

I now employ two extremely smart guys: one in Helsinki, and the other one in Singapore. I’m not asking them whether they want to do the EMBA program, I’m making them do it. Even at the risk that they, too, will start to think about starting their own company.

Good people need to be paid properly and given opportunities to grow. I couldn’t imagine hindering the career path of my key people in some way.

I, too, will be studying again this fall, when I will take part in an oil industry program at Texas Rice University.” ◆

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“ The atmo sph e re af te r trai ni ng i s always real ly e nthu siastic” Inka Puumalainen Ph.D., Social Pharmacy, Pharmacist Yliopiston Apteekki, Manager (training, research and public affairs)

CASE: Yliopiston Apteekki – Leadership Academy 2014–2016.

Jointly tailored program with Aalto EE for the Management Board. Aims included e.g. enhancing competence in multi-channel customer service, internationalization, and self-management.

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early twenty members of our staff are taking part in the Leadership Academy.The atmosphere after training is always enthusiastic: chats along corridors, participants thinking about next steps, mulling over different subjects and ideas.You know the module has been a success when you feel energized as you head home. It’s a good measuring stick when instead of feeling tired, you’re excited about new things.

The main thing is for the issues defined as our key strategic aims at the beginning of the program becoming part of everyday operations.That means that we have succeeded in putting the feeling and thought behind our values into practice. Above all, we want to serve customers, do good, and excel at it.

The program’s impact can be seen in the way each person has developed as a supervisor, manager, human being, member of the company. Les-

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sons learned are put into practice immediately.

Each of us has had a moment during the program when something has truly hit home: for instance, suddenly realizing why a particular style doesn’t work in management work. Those are key moments that lead to change.

We chose our partner for the Leadership Academy with care.We were impressed by Aalto EE’s reputation and competence as well as the availability of a tailor-made package. Together with Aalto EE, we talked through the starting points and goals for the program and the types of instructors we were after.

The program ends in April 2016. We continue with the same lecturer who kick-started the first module, Tomi Laamanen. He’s absolutely topnotch and always manages to get to the heart of the issue. I’m looking forward to recapping what we have achieved during the program.” ◆

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“I nve stm e nt in t raining pays of f in spade s ” Kalle Kettunen, CEO M.Sc., MBA Telko

CASE: Telko Executive Program.

The 25 or so participants represented top management and people with sales responsibilities. Telko is a distributor of chemicals, plastics and lubricants in the Nordic countries and Eastern Europe. Objectives of the program included developing the participants’ competences in leadership and finance, and promoting a new sales spirit and profound customer understanding.

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elko is going through a continuous shift: new operating methods are adopted and the company size is changing.We’ve grown nicely over the last 6-7 years and are constantly looking for more efficient methods that suit a bigger firm. We have operations in 15 countries. One of the aims of the program was to make people see that things can be done differently: improve communication, concentrate acquisitions, and generally operate with the bigger picture in mind.

The Telko Executive Program had four modules.

Everyone received a certificate at the end of the final module, and one of the participants expressed gratitude for the investment in staff, promising it

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would pay off in spades. I, too, believe that the main goal of the program was achieved in that sense. People became open to new things. The program offers new, concrete leadership tools through different cases, but above all it nudges ideas into a new direction.

Employees valued the investment into their competence.Training contributes to personnel also valuing and committing to the company.The best combination in sales is when you have a technical understanding of the industry coupled with a sales and marketing-oriented attitude.The program provided a more profound understanding of what business is and the possibility of doing things differently. ◆

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A A L TI O M P EA EC TI M &P AE CX TP EI RN I ENNUCME B E R S

O V E R A L L F E E D B A C K O N AV E R A G E O N A S C A L E O F 1– 6 , Y E A R S 2 0 1 4 – 2 0 1 5

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D E G R E E P RO G R A M S

5.05

C U S TO M I Z E D S O L U T I O N S

5.28

E X E C U T I V E P RO G R A M S A N D N E T W O R K S

A A L T O E X E C U T I V E M B A G L O B A L LY Finland since year 1988 Poland since year 2002

Iran since year 2014 China since year 2003

South Korea since year 1995 Taiwan since year 2003

Singapore since year 1999 Indonesia since year 2012 a alto leade r s’ i n si g h t

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“E xc e l le nt in st ructor s, c lear im pact on p rac ti cal wor k” Sari Suono, OTM, EMBA 2011 HKScan, EVP HR

CASE: Leadership Academy offered by HKScan and Aalto EE for executives and key experts at HKScan Group. Aims include boosting management expertise and harmonizing the Group’s operating methods and management culture.

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HKScan employees take part in the tailored program that kick-started in summer 2015.

After the first group had completed the program, the feedback was positive: excellent instructors, clear impact, and the students getting to better know themselves and each other is another important factor for an international company. Participants felt they had grown as managers and experts.

Some were along the lines of: “wow, I wouldn’t have thought the impact would be so strong.”

For us, the program is connected to a cultural shift and construction of a harmonious corporate culture that are underway. Previously, HKScan operated as independent regional companies with a production and primary sector -oriented operating method, characterized by several different management cultures and processes. We are now building a coherent group with a joint operating

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method and management procedure.

We chose the partner for the tailored program carefully. This is a major investment that management felt was extremely important. Developing and harmonizing management expertise was the basic need. Spending a great deal of time listening to the customer’s needs was one of Aalto EE’s strong points. The program looks like us.

We wanted a program with a strong theoretical foundation, but a focus on how lessons can be put into practice. Aalto EE has offered a functional combination of the academic and pragmatic sides.

The program also includes project work carried out by students, which is designed to support commitment to change. The underlying idea is that when people come up with an idea or take part in developing it, they also become committed to putting it into practice.” ◆

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“A good strategy is concrete, clear and inte llig ible ” Assistant Professor Timo Vuori describes the hallmarks of a good strategy and how it relates to emotions. “A strategy that is too abstract fails to create value, steer operations or inspire.”

1. Strategy “Often organizations have lousy strategies, viewed as a set of rules stating the vision, mission and values. People assume a strategy is something you create in a workshop jotting down thoughts on post-it notes. Situations like that can be inspiring, but bring about superficial strategies.

A good strategy describes how something special can be achieved with available measures and how to make the most of the skills at hand. It combines methods and goals: smart activities reap better results with the same resources than through other means.

Formulating a good strategy is difficult. There are many dimensions involved, such as customer needs, maneuvers of competitors, skills within the organization and short-term financial results.

Managers need to think creatively and critically, while listening to different opinions and developing their own understanding.

A strategy is also challenging because future issues are far-off and uncertain. Thinking about them doesn’t come naturally. For many people, thinking several steps ahead proves difficult.That’s why it’s easy to be lured by the superficial possibility of filling out a template or developing operations in the short term. Beneficial strategic examination requires patience and the ability to a alto leade r s’ i n si g h t

tolerate uncertain thoughts. It requires slow thinking, exploring different alternatives and paths.

Making a quick joint decision on the next steps may be appealing, but the best ideas arise only after less good ones have been eliminated or after combining different thoughts that initially seemed scattered. The most important piece of advice for formulating a strategy is: “think slowly”.

A good strategy is concrete, clear and intelligible.

If you were to create a strategy for a nation called Finland, it could be as concrete as this: establishing 20 international, profitable IT companies by a certain year. This is achieved by all schoolchildren having 10,000 hours of coding before turning 15.

To attain this, teacher training will focus on the skills of future teachers immediately.”

2. Emotions “My work involves examining the way organizations form and execute strategies. My particular focus is on the way emotional reactions and culture – softer factors – influence the issues and ideas considered in decision-making and strategy formulation. I’ve been studying these issues for about ten years.

Emotions are involved in all decision-making in an organization and have a particular effect on situations where a clear, right solution hasn’t been

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TIMO VUORI, Assistant Professor, Strategic Management, Aalto University.

Vuori studies how collective emotions and cognitive dynamics influence strategy formulation and execution.

Recent publications, e.g.

“Distributed Attention and Shared Emotions in the Innovation Process: How Nokia Lost the Smartphone Battle” (Administrative Science Quarterly, 2016) and “Heuristics in the Strategy Context” (Strategic Management Journal, 2014).

Hobbies: Gym.

found. I focus on a company’s result – the aim isn’t to maximize pleasure or positive feelings. Sometimes it’s fear that brings results, and this information can be used in management.

Motivation, for example, is an emotional reaction.

The same goes for change resistance. Blaming new employees for opposing change is intellectual laziness on the manager’s part. A bad strategy doesn’t impress. Trying to inspire people with a strategy that’s too abstract obviously leads to a critical and cynical reaction. In other words, getting stuck on the template level doesn’t only lead to a bad strategy, but is also a poor tool for inspiring people. vol 4

I became interested in themes relating to emotions and concrete stories through ice hockey coaching. I began to apply some of the teachings while coaching Finnish ice hockey teams Hyvinkään Ahmat and Espoon Kiekkoseura. Traditionally, before a game the team’s tactics are drawn as lines and arrows. I did things differently, creating fun stories to inspire players. For instance, I might describe the way defense should begin the game by telling them a story about missiles that shoot into motion as soon as the puck lands. Stories and metaphors inspire people more than technical instructions.” ◆

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” MBA is an opportunity to rei nve nt your se lf ” Aalto EE alumni Tuomas Laakso describes how he managed to reach his professional dreams through studies. “Studying while working and in between jobs gives some time to think about where you want to head in your career.”

Hands-on hotel management training in Switzerland 1995 Institute Hotelier ‘Cesar Ritz’, 1996 International College of Hospitality Management ‘Cesar Ritz’, Washington

“I first wanted to become a pilot. I lived near Pori and used to visit the Finnish Aviation Academy nearby to see pilots in action. I completed my matriculation exams during a time of recession.

More than a hundred pilots were unemployed, and Finnair decided to close the academy and begin training pilots in Estonia instead.

I somehow came across a hotel management institute in Switzerland. I was interested in travelling, so why not study somewhere else. The hotel institute provided me with a good foundation.

The institute in Switzerland was very hands-on; you learned theory as well as cooking, serving and other practical skills. Later on I came to realize how important it was that the institute taught “professional attitude.” In recruiting people, you see how some have the right skills, but lack the right attitude – not everyone has it.

Many Swiss hotel management institutes are expensive. They also attract rich kids, who expect to become directors as soon as they leave school.

While studying in Switzerland, already the first work placement gives you a realistic idea of worka alto leade r s’ i n si g h t

ing life. Y ou have to be humble and there’s a lot to learn. You can and should teach this type of attitude, and it’s something that left a lasting impression. Turning up late for work or school, for instance, meant losing some professional attitude points.

The studies included practical work placements.

During the second stint, I went to the U.S. and stayed there to work.”

Theoretical hospitality management studies in Britain 1999–2000 Bournemouth University, England BA (Hons) International Hospitality Management

”After a few years spent working abroad, I decided to continue my studies in England. Compared to the very hands-on hotel institute, it was very theoretical and classic English schooling: whether or not you showed up at lectures, the main thing was to do well in exams and finish your final work.

I carried on studying, because I’ve always wanted to develop myself further – I’m just in the middle of a theory course in sailing, which is another example of my constant desire for self-development.

I’ve noticed that studying while working and in

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TUOMA S LAAKSO Vice President, International Hotel Development at Marriott Inter­ national, Inc. & The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC, Zurich.

Laakso is responsible for Marriot International’s hotel development efforts in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Nordic Countries for all brands.

He completed the MBA program in 2006–2007 at Aalto EE, Helsinki, Finland and in Nanyang Business School, NTU, Singapore.

Laakso is from Helsinki, Finland, and now lives in Switzerland.

He is also a trained fire fighter & rescue diver.

between jobs gives some time to think about where you want to head in your career. The everyday humdrum doesn’t necessarily leave enough time or peace of mind to think along these lines.”

Back to Finland for an MBA 2006–2007 Helsinki School of Economics, Nanyang Business School, NTU, Singapore

“At work, I felt I mastered operations, while the investment side was new to me and something I wanted to learn in more depth. I applied to business school and ended up at Aalto EE in Helsinki for a number of reasons. I’d been living outside of Finland for eleven years. I wanted to get back in touch with my roots and a chance to spend time vol 4

with my grandma. Of course the quality of the program was important, too. I wanted to join the best MBA program on offer in Finland.

The Aalto EE program was intensive, dynamic and rewarding in many ways.

Our group included people with plenty of work experience and vision.You learned a lot from the people around, not just from listening to what the lecturer was saying. There was a lot of discussion and everyone was able to contribute.

The motivation to study hits a whole new level when you are paying for it yourself.You could tell even from the lecturers’ faces what a difference it made when everyone was motivated.The lecturers came from all over the world, which added a more international vibe than I’d expected in Helsinki.

Participants were also constantly asked for feedback.

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Tuomas Aalto decided to move back to Finland for an MBA. In the picture, his group in Helsinki.

If some element was given a low rating, things were done differently. There was no fixed, permanent system in place that couldn’t be changed.

The Aalto MBA program includes the possibility to complete studies at a partner university. I took hold of the opportunity in spring 2007 and moved to Singapore. I wanted to strengthen my financial modeling skills in completely new surroundings.

When thinking about what I gained through the MBA, a few major points come to mind.

1. I wanted to avoid the situation where some new opportunity would be down to me not having this qualification. In a situation where you have two similar candidates for a job, the one with an MBA could make all the difference. In one recruitment situation, the employer told me that my MBA had been concretely counted in my advantage.

2. An MBA gives you a good network. Part of

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the price tag goes towards a group of alumni that you can build during and after the program.

3. Although you learn by working, my principle is that you can develop yourself through studying.

An MBA is an opportunity to reinvent yourself.

4.The program helps to see the big picture: you don’t look at things from the vantage point of a single industry or field. You learn to understand how owners or investors view a company. Grasping the big picture is useful when pushing issues forward as a manager.The case study gives an understanding of different sectors, their particular problems and what you can learn from them for your own field.

5. I could have continued my studies in hospi­ tality, but was after a broader understanding and skills that the MBA was able to provide. It demonstrates my interest in business on the whole, rather than being stuck in the confines of the hotel industry. “ ◆

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A A L TI O M P EA EC TI M &P AECXTP EI RN I ENNUCME B E R S

A A LTO J O KO ® AaltoJOKO is Finland's leading business executive training program:

46 91 years of history

programs run

2,000

Over leaders and decisions-makers in Finnish business life have participated in AaltoJOKO and given the program top feedback

The AaltoJOKO has met the expectations of the participants by

91%

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“ T he p rog ram b rou gh t us di re ct financial advantag e s” Juha Lappalainen, MSc Senior Vice President, Strategy and Operational Development at Valmet.

CASE: Networking Procurement program offered by Aalto PRO and Valmet.

Goals include developing procurement expertise and offering a joint platform for experts to formulate Valmet’s new operating method. Participants from several countries, including Finland, Sweden, China, Japan, India, USA, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, and Czech Republic.

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our strategic training areas were defined when Valmet became a listed company, including procurement. The aim was to develop operations in a more strategic and proactive direction.

Aalto PRO was chosen as an educational partner in procurement. We were impressed with their content knowledge and networks with external lecturers. Aalto PRO was able to build the right package for us.Valmet is a global corporation, and we wanted to find a global partner.Aalto PRO has a distinctly international provision.

At Valmet, 400 people work in procurement, 60 of whom have taken part in the program.The feedback has been highly positive, and employees have been grateful for the opportunity to take part.The program requires commitment: some travel to the other side of the world, the days are long, and there’s

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project work in between the modules.The content of the modules needs to be spot on, as the program requires a great deal of time and money.

Professional lecturers master both the content and pedagogy. They are able to keep up the momentum and present the subject in an interesting way. The content can be fine-tuned based on the feedback, and this was done after the program kick-started.

The network created during the program is one of the key impacts, although the program does also bring direct financial advantages: we came up with ideas for additional savings during project work that in theory amount to millions. The projects involved groups thinking up ways to operate more cost-efficiently. If the ideas are put into practice, they would reap up to 3-4 million in savings.” ◆

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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

Editors Reetta Räty Ville Blåfield Columnists Riitta Kosonen Mikko Laukkanen

Executive Producer Anu Sirkiä

Creative Director Jarkko Hyppönen Translations Rebecca Watson

Contributors Kristiina Wilson Paula Salovaara Anu Partanen Touko Hujanen Annukka Oksanen Pietari Posti Concept Räty-Salovaara-Blåfield Ateljee Hyppönen Online Producer Kati Kiviniemi

Publisher Aalto University Executive Education Ltd Mechelininkatu 3 C, 00100 Helsinki, Finland tel. +358 10 837 3700, www.aaltoee.com Aalto University Executive Education Pte Ltd 25 North Bridge Road, EFG Bank Building, Unit 02–01 179104 Singapore, Singapore tel. +65 6339 7338, www.aaltoee.sg Strandvägen 7A, 114 56 Stockholm, Sweden tel. +358 10 837 3700, www.aaltoee.se Printed by SP-Paino Oy, Nurmijärvi, ISSN 2342-3986 Address Register aaltoleadersinsight@aaltoee.fi

SHARE THE INSIGHTS AND FIND MORE ONLINE

A A LTO LEADERS’ INSIGHT ONLINE STREAM: Anu Partanen is a journalist based in New York. She is the author of the forthcoming book The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life. Further reading: Partanen’s recent (and widely spread) article from theatlantic.com: What Americans Don’t Get About Nordic Countries.

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, columns and blog posts by Aalto EE and Aalto University faculty and alumni, as well as journalists and other guest writers invited to share their insights with the Aalto EE community.

EXAMPLES F RO M T H E D I G I TA L C O N T E N T : 2016: Momentum of Cleantech in China Touko Hujanen is a freelance photo­grapher based in Helsinki, Finland. His clients include The New York Times, Esquire, Time, and Helsingin Sanomat.

Lessons from America: How to Be a Design-Driven Company My DBA Journey – blog by Riitta Lumme-Tuomala + All the Books and Other Content from Previous Aalto Leaders’ Insight Magazines

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