Nordic Leaders

In this episode of the Nordic Leaders Podcast, Stefano Mosconi and Nick Vertigans sit down with executive search expert Terhi Klemetti to unpack what it really takes to build world-class companies in the Nordics.With decades of experience placing top executives in VC- and private equity-backed companies, Terhi offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how leadership talent is identified, assessed, and matched to high-growth environments. But this conversation goes far beyond recruitment.Together, they explore a deeper question: why do so many Nordic companies stop at “good enough” instead of aiming for global leadership?From cultural patterns of risk aversion and consensus-driven decision-making to the challenges of attracting international talent into Finland, this episode dives into the structural and mindset barriers that limit growth—and what needs to change.You’ll learn:How executive search really works (and why it’s not as “mysterious” as it seems)What separates top candidates from the rest in today’s marketWhy ambition—not talent—is often the limiting factor in Nordic companiesThe role of international experience in shaping stronger leadershipPractical advice on how to get noticed by headhuntersA candid, thought-provoking discussion on leadership, culture, and the future of work in Finland—and what it takes to move from local success to global impact.

The Nordic Leaders meet Nordic Blue Crime!In this episode, we sit down with Satu Rämö — bestselling Finnish author, Icelandic resident, and creator of the hugely popular Hildur crime series.Satu is a master of paradox. She’s a crime writer who can’t stand the sight of blood. A daily runner who lives by strict routines, yet writes fiction filled with wild unpredictability. A storyteller who leads with trust — even when it has cost her dearly.We explore:How discipline can fuel creativityWhy her crime novels are fiction — but based entirely on real experiencesWhat she learned from trusting the wrong peopleThe role of Icelandic folklore in shaping her voiceHow she found product-market fit — and literary magicHer writing rituals, rejection themes, and the power of little daily habitsSatu also reflects on her upcoming TV adaptation, her journey to one million copies sold, and why she believes in demystifying the creative process.Whether you're a leader, writer, entrepreneur — or simply someone who loves a good story — this episode is for you.Some standout quotes from 🎤 “I don’t start writing a book. I start writing chapter one.”  Progress begins with small, focused steps.🎤“I write fiction — but I haven’t made anything up.” Fictional crime novels built from real-life stories, observations, and interviews.🎤“Discipline is the way I create space for freedom.”A daily 3.3km run and structured writing routine allow creativity to flourish.🎤“My biggest failures have come from trusting the wrong people — but I still choose to trust.” A striking reflection on the emotional risk and reward of openness.🎤“If you wait too long to write the story, it goes stale. Like old fish.” On why speed matters — not just for productivity, but for staying connected to the soul of a story.🎤“I have to be my own boss, colleague, and assistant. So I give myself structure.” Life as a solo creator, and how she keeps herself moving forward.🎤“The stories are all true. The characters are not.” Her method of blending journalism, folklore, and imagination.🎤“I don’t want to mystify creativity. It’s not magic. It’s work — beautiful, hard work.” Satu on demystifying the writing process and encouraging aspiring authors.---Books Mentioned in the episodeSatu Rämö's Hildur seriesOn Writing by Stephen Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko WillinkAtomic Habits by James Clear

In this episode of Nordic Leaders: Fail Smart, we welcome back Jarmo Suominen, CEO of Rejlers Abu Dhabi, marking his second appearance on the podcast—our first returning guest! We explore leadership lessons from one of the UAE's fastest-growing professional services firms, diving into resilience, growth, and adapting to an ever-changing business landscape.Key Takeaways:1. Focus and Learning from Failure:🎙️ Focus on the task at hand and avoid over-planning.🎙️ "When you’re somewhere, focus on what you’re doing. When you’ve had enough, start looking for something else."2. Leading Through Crisis:🎙️ COVID-19 Strategy: Despite the market shutdown, Jarmo kept his team intact       by cutting salaries across the board instead of laying off staff. This decision         helped preserve the company’s core talent. 🎙️ Rejlers Abu Dhabi emerged stronger post-pandemic, growing from 45                employees to 300 and becoming the most profitable unit in the global Rejlers       group.3. Building Trust in a Diverse Organization:🎙️ "What we’re selling in consulting is trust."🎙️ How to Build Trust:Be genuinely interested in people. Lead by example—be present, listen, and engage. Avoid imposing personal ideologies or assumptions on others.4. Leadership Evolution:🎙️  From Manager to Coach: Jarmo’s leadership style evolved from directive              management to coaching through listening and asking the right questions.🎙️ "If the house is on fire, it’s not time to discuss what’s for dinner." Coaching        works best in non-emergency scenarios.5. Cultural Intelligence:🎙️  Leading a team of 24 nationalities requires cultural sensitivity, curiosity, and genuine interest.🎙️ Advice for Leaders Moving Abroad: "Drop the idea that everyone thinks like        you."Memorable Quotes:"Don’t plan too far ahead—you’ll be disappointed.""Be honest, but remember that most people say they want the truth—until they hear it.""Let people discover solutions themselves; nothing works better than a self-made realization."Podcast Team Reflections:David: "The best time to leave a party is when you’re enjoying yourself the most."Nick: "Focus and adaptability stood out as essential leadership traits."Stefano: "Selling trust defines good consulting—a guiding principle for any leader."Closing Thought:Jarmo’s enduring lesson resonates beyond business: Success isn’t about imposing one way of thinking but about fostering trust, enabling growth, and embracing diverse perspectives. His journey through challenge and transformation exemplifies leadership resilience and the power of learning minds.Thank you for tuning in to Nordic Leaders: Fail Smart. Stay curious, keep learning, and see you next time!

In this insightful episode of Fail Smart, we sit down with Asko Känsälä, former Deputy CEO of Elisa, a leading telecommunications company in Finland. Known for his sharp thinking and profound insights, Asko shares the experiences, philosophies, and failures that have shaped his leadership journey. Together with Asko we explore what it means to lead with empathy, balance, and impactful simplicity.Key Takeaways from the Episode:Failures and Successes Don’t Define Us:Asko discusses his belief that failures and successes, while part of business, don’t shape identity. Instead, it’s about experimenting, learning, and not clinging to events.“Whatever the mistake, you can always fix it. Whatever the success, don’t be too proud—it’s often a collective achievement.”Leadership as Lifelong Learning:Self-leadership is the foundation of effective leadership. It requires constant reflection and an openness to feedback from peers, subordinates, and even customers.Asko highlights the importance of developing impactful, "dense" leadership—focusing on what truly matters.Impact Through Simplicity:Inspired by art, Asko emphasizes the power of distillation: finding the essential and stripping away the unnecessary.Memorable example: Introducing Elisa’s customer-first strategy with the phrase “Frontline First.”Empathy in Leadership:Asko advocates for understanding people as whole individuals, not just roles within an organization. This means noticing the small things, engaging in “small encounters,” and creating a culture of trust and care.His empathetic leadership was deeply influenced by personal experiences, including caring for his daughter during a difficult illness.Challenging Urgency:A key leadership “superpower” Asko discusses is “stopping the time” to challenge assumptions and find clarity. This approach often reveals that urgency is an illusion, allowing teams to focus on essential actions.Cultural Insights and Creative Thinking:Asko shares how his experiences in Japan and at Columbia Business School shaped his approach to leadership, creativity, and problem-solving.Key lesson: Understand the assumptions and meanings behind people’s words and actions to gain a new perspective.Memorable Quotes:“Leadership is not about perfection; it’s about impact.”“Stop the time, challenge assumptions, and focus on the behaviors and actions that truly matter.”“Good leadership makes itself unnecessary—it’s about empowering others to lead.”About the Guest:Asko Känsälä is a seasoned leader and former Deputy CEO of Elisa. With a career spanning decades, Asko is known for his empathetic yet results-driven approach to leadership. He has authored a book "Joh­ta­jas­ta mes­ta­rik­si" ("From Leader to Master") on his leadership philosophy, focusing on self-leadership, team dynamics, and the art of impactful simplicity.Resources & Mentions:Asko Känsälä’s Book: (Currently available in Finnish) English edition coming soon!Inspirations Discussed: Artworks by Eva Ryynänen, Japanese cultural insights, and Olli Jokinen’s coaching philosophy.Host Team:David Goddard - Chief Quote OfficerNick Vertigans - Chief Summarizer OfficerStefano Mosconi - Insights Facilitator

Natal Dank is the Co-founder of PXO Culture, Chief Trendwatcher at the HR Trend Institute and named one of the Most Influential HR Thinkers of 2022 by HR Magazine. Recognized as a pioneer of Agile in the people profession, Natal hosted the first London-based Agile HR Meetup in 2016, which has since grown into a global movement reshaping the L&D and people profession. Helping to make workplaces the kind of places people want to be a part of.She is co-author of; Agile HR: Deliver Value in a Changing World of Work & author of recently released; Agile L&D: A Toolkit to Improve Organizational Learning and Drive Performance. In this energetic, insightful episode, the discussion delves into the core elements of Agile HR, the importance of experimentation in a complex, modern business environment, and the challenges of integrating agility into HR and business practices. Natal shares examples and insights, emphasizing the value of continuous learning, evidence-based approaches, and human-centric solutions. A valuable listen for anyone interested in performance and continuous improvement, in modernising business and HR practices and in fostering a more adaptable, collaborative and inclusive work environment.Learning and Failure – Natal recalls the importance of testing and avoiding going too big, too fast at times in her career. She offers a practical question for all of us, "How could I have tested or experimented first?" By establishing guardrails and gathering sufficient data, organisations can mitigate risks and make more informed decisions.Agile HR Explained in 3 steps - In brief, understand your customer; add value incrementally; manage risk and test understand of the business environmentThe best way to talk about Agile to the business, ‘for me, it's never about going Agile’.Experimentation and Prototyping in HR and a valuable example of building a leadership development programme applying Agile principles. Asking the question, what are ‘the reasons why you might want to work differently?’What politicians could learn from taking an Agile approach!Learning and adapting together. Natal touches on the concept of the "squiggly career" and the implications of living longer, referring to "The 100-Year Life." Managing transitions through different careers is becoming increasingly important. In order to adapt and evolve skill sets, Agile methodologies can play a pivotal role in facilitating these transitions by promoting a mindset of continuous learning and adaptability.Enjoy this excellent episode!

Dr. Nicholas Samstag is a psychoanalyst and clinical psychologist based in New York City. With a diverse background spanning theater to ancient Greek and Latin studies, his journey into psychology and psychoanalysis has been influenced by a range of experiences. In this episode, Nicholas discusses how his varied path shaped his approach to psychoanalysis and leadership, and offers elegant insights into human nature and leadership, reflecting on:🎙️parallels between theater and therapy, emphasizing the importance of feeling secure and playful in both settings, as well as in the work environment;🎙️the intersection of psychology and leadership, highlighting the importance of recognizing one's humanity in a professional setting;🎙️how leaders should prioritize understanding their own psychology and their own stories and experiences, and how they can impact the dynamics within their teams; 🎙️how fostering a culture of curiosity and psychological awareness can create environments where people feel valued and secure, ultimately leading to better collaboration and innovation;🎙️how leaders can develop the power to notice more, be present, and be aware of their own and others' dynamics in the workplace.Overall, a great conversation packed with valuable insights into the connection between psychology, leadership, and creating supportive work environments.

Immerse yourself on a journey of discovery in this conversation about Paradoxical Thinking and Leadership with author and philosopher, Ivo Brughmans. Get ready to challenge your own assumptions and self-perception.Ivo delivers an insightful message about embracing the ‘power of both sides’ of our personalities. Reaching out for the side of our personality that we don’t see or use, or even like that much is truly challenging.As a ‘very serious person at work’, Ivo describes how he managed to combine both professional and playful, in order to reach more people and be more effective. He also focuses on the paradoxical challenge for organisations who struggle to live up to their values and how to be more authentic and effective in that regard. For example, how can a company ‘double the profit and halve the footprint’ at the same time?Ivo introduces his 8 step approach to understanding our paradoxes more deeply and offers personal examples from his own life and career, including;🎙️The Courage to trust our intuition in difficult times. Using our fundamental beliefs and our mission as a ‘compass’.🎙️The Paradoxical Challenge. Using the power of both sides to reach more people with our message and our work.🎙️Accepting our shadow sides.For every characteristic, we also have the opposite in us. Despite their negative  appearance, what is their positive intention?🎙️Reshaping corporate values in terms of polaritiesHow to innovate and create stability? Double the profit, halve the footprint? Ivo identifies how companies can do both at the same time.🎙️AW & AI How to AW (Ancient Wisdom) to manage and master one of our current big question marks, AI ?Discover more about Paradoxical Leadership and about Ivo, here:https://paradoxical-leadership.com Enjoy the episode!

🗨️"Create habits that create a good life." In this episode we catch up with Taneli Rantala, CEO of Lifted, and dip in to highlights of Taneli's journey from a strategy consultant to a visionary entrepreneur.  Taneli´s philosophy emphasizes the importance of leadership style, organizational culture, personal development, and taking hard decisions to create successful, resilient leaders. Listen in to get insights into 🎧Enhancing organizational culture and productivity.🎧Creating a consistent, coherent leadership approach.🎧Developing team "coffee and success" practices for a positive growth culture.🎧Facing business challenges and adapting strategies.🎧Learning from failures🎧Balancing professional identity with personal life.🎧Being the architect of one's life and the power of habits in shaping a fulfilling life.🗨️"We have this habit in our company... We write two positive things about my actions and two feedbacks about how I could improve... It's so great. People share things that they don't necessarily have time or space to share in normal working life." 🗨️"I go through this practice [thinking about something I'm excited about today] and I become more excited about the day... I create habits that create a good life for me because those are pretty easy."🗨️"I realise that my life is in a good place. And I don't have to identify myself through this company... I have other things in my life as good cornerstones... understanding that yes I also have to keep them strong."

A warm and polished performance from Dutch organizational theorist Fons Trompenaars, recognized around the world for his work as a motivational speaker, consultant, and author of several books on culture and business.He spent over 30 years helping Fortune 500 leaders build meaningful connections to manage and solve business and cultural dilemmas to increase global effectiveness and performance.Recognized by Thinkers 50 as one of the most influential management thinkers in the world, Fons was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017 alongside Peter Drucker. Don’t miss this action, learning and wisdom -packed episode, we discuss; •Connecting opposite perspectives to understand and master cultural and political difference - ‘Integrity is creating wholeness through the integration of opposites.’•The four ‘R’ s of culture; a model for navigating the world of diversity gracefully. But how do you, 'Recognize, Respect, Reconcile, and Realize'?•‘Killed by our own values’, how companies can be their own worst enemies, and what they can do about it•'human beings all have the same dilemmas, but it's our culture that guides us one side or the other’. Fons describes exactly how this plays out in the ‘pedestrian dilemma’He talks candidly about humour, failure, learning moments and much more!

Celine Pasula has over a decade of leadership experience in top mobile gaming companies including startups and bigger companies. Today, as the Managing Director of Ubisoft RedLynx, she's working with experiences on all platforms, mobile, PC, and console. Celine is not only an expert in leadership, finance, legal and business development but also in building a great company culture. She is a fast-thinking leader with a big heart for game development. When it comes to gaming itself, she is one of the most competitive players you are ever going to meet!This episode revolves around the need for organizations and individuals to be adaptable and forward-thinking in order to achieve and sustain high performance. Celine speaks about how Ubisoft RedLynx, as an organization, thrives through creating a supportive, flexible, and innovative work environment where individuals feel psychologically safe and motivated to perform at their best.Psychological Safety: Creating an environment where employees feel secure and unthreatened is crucial. This allows them to share ideas, question norms, and suggest improvements without fear of retribution. It cultivates a culture of innovation and performance.Time Management and Thoughtful Planning: Celine emphasizes the importance of deliberate time management, such as setting aside slots for thinking and having clear goals for meetings. These strategies ensure that employees are not overwhelmed and can focus on tasks effectively.Role Modelling and Leadership: Leaders play a vital role in high performance environments. They not only guide and inspire employees, but they also model the behaviours and values that lead to success.Alignment of Personal and Organizational Values: High performance is achieved when there is alignment between an individual's values and those of the organization. When employees believe in the mission of the organization and feel that their work contributes to that mission, their performance levels rise.Work-Life Balance: Finally, maintaining a balance between work and personal life is crucial for sustained high performance. By integrating games and other personal interests into their routines, individuals can stay motivated and avoid burnout.

"Music attracts luck" - Nitin SawhneyIn this episode we have a warm and uplifting chat with Nitin Sawhney, musician, producer and composer, known around the world for his  albums, film scores, DJ skills, and collaborations with Paul McCartney, Sting, Jeff Beck, Ellie Golding,  Annie Lennox, Will Young, Bob Geldof, Andy Serkis, Mira Nair, Anushka Shankar, Nora Jones, Herby Hancock and David Gilmore.  In a wide ranging conversation on music, intuition, collaboration, leadership and learning, Nitin references Beethoven, Pythagoras, Johannes Kepler, Einstein, Michelangelo and Nelson Mandela. This episode is fascinating, packed with positivity and downright good fun. We were thrilled to have such a lovely chap on our show, thank you Nitin! Below some tasters:  Changing your attitude to change your fortunesWhen I let go and stopped fighting, and stopped being angry and frustrated, and instead looked at what I could do to positively to change things, then everything shifted. And it shifted really fast. Within a matter of weeks, I got a new record deal and went from playing to 100 people at the Jazz Cafe, to filling the Royal Albert Hall and playing to 5,000 people, and then touring with Sting.It was a change of attitude. I focused on what I could positively do rather than what I could retain from the past. I just went what can I do? What are the things that I'm capable of? What are the things that I could do to change my situation? What do I have control of? Intuition If you follow your intuition, the universe has a habit of taking care of you. You have to train your intuition and work on it to the point where you feel able to trust it. The more you follow your intuition, the more you end up in a place where you are able to be a medium for possibility.Collaboration John Coltrane said that improvisation was like a bird that you catch in the air … that lends itself to the idea of discovering rather than creating music; it's what Michelangelo famously said, that the statues were hidden in the stone.Listening is a prerequisite of finding a collaborative voice with anyone.  It comes through discovering each other's thoughts and processes and of what goals we might have, or whether we want to just simply explore a possibility rather than focus on the specific goal. So, it's just kind it's about seeing how people want to work and being open to that.Leadership and learning You can always learn. There is always something that you can find. And so, the idea that you are thinking of leadership in the fluid way in your interactions, I think is also really important. Anyone can be a leader at any time. I've spent my whole life playing the guitar, but I might meet a guitarist who's actually only played for a short time, but they could teach me something. It's very important that you can give way to them and allow them to lead a situation so that you can learn from it. And here is a link to artists, musicians, composers, who have worked with Nitin talking about  how he has enabled them to be more than what they imagined themselves to be. To go a little bit further. To let go.   Nitin Sawhney

You’ve probably heard of Hal Gregersen… A global name in leadership and academia.An author and senior lecturer in leadership and innovation at MIT's Sloan School of Management, a former executive director of the MIT Leadership Center, and ranked in the Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers in 2021. His latest book, Questions Are the Answer: A Breakthrough Approach to Your Most Vexing Problems at Work and in Life  is based on 200+ interviews with catalytic questioners such as Elon Musk and Orit Gadiesh. Hal begins by talking about his lifelong passion of photography and a significant moment of failure with the camera.Hal knows about questions! And in this episode we find out what are the most important questions in our lives and how to create a culture of fearless inquiry, including:  The power of Inquisitive Creativity Fearless Questions and Hal’s work with the no 1 ranked Thinkers 50 Amy Edmondson, pioneer and champion of psychological safety The Question Burst Process – a game-changing tool to help us tackle our own most challenging projects and dilemmas. What questions give you energy what questions take it away, key stone and shadow questionsMany leaders are only asking, ‘What do we do?’ ‘How do we do it?’ They might be missing something‘Call-to-Action' questions and the power of  'What if' questions. Hal gets us thinking about our relationship with questions, for example the role of authority figures in our childhood (at home, school, first job) and how they responded to our tough, challenging questions, and how that shapes us; right through to how we use questions in the workplace. We hope you enjoy this warm and engaging conversation as much as we did: please consider smiling, following us, and perhaps a 5 star rating! 🙂

Now here’s a conversation we can all relate to, on the nature of working life today and how to navigate people, tech, and change, gracefully.  Johanna is co-founder of RELEX Solutions, a huge success story and the world's coolest provider of retail planning solutions! Johanna describes what it’s like navigating the ‘hard skills’ world of engineering, data and tech, and at the same time sharing her experiences of collaboration and leading people and teams through change.  In our experience it’s rare to talk to somebody who is equally skilled at both the so called ‘hard and soft’ side of working life. Enjoy a warm-hearted conversation from someone ‘on top of their game’. Topics include1.      How to work with humans, ‘the enigma for everyone’. You can never know other people fully and perhaps not even yourself completely’ 2.      How to: apply your Intuition to identify what’s urgent/ important, and ‘fake emergencies’think about things, (‘thinking is so underrated’)use notifications effectively 3.      Defining success for yourself, without peer pressure. When you get an impulse to do something, step back and ask, ‘Is this something I really want to do? & how is this gonna make me happier?’ 4.      In a world that’s never done, Johanna describes how she creates ‘progress’ everyday 5.      Competing is ‘kind of irrelevant’, ‘but I am ambitious’ 6.      On leading people, ‘you should never fall into that trap of assuming that you kind of understand things. It's better to be explicit and ask. That's one lesson I've learned.  7.      Confidence and public speaking, ‘A big change for me was finding an area where what I'm saying actually adds to the knowledge of the world.’ Enjoy this conversation with Johanna! J 

Fail Smart: Lessons in Leadership & Life The brilliant Charles Jennings covers everything you need to know about life and learning in way less than an hour:  Recognised as one of the world's leading experts on building and implementing learning and organisational performance strategies. He’s led pioneering work with the 70:20:10 model for 20 years + and led learning and performance improvement projects for multinationals, government agencies, not-for-profits, and more, for over 40 years. Included in this sparkling episode: 1.    Navigating change; understanding the power of ‘changing minds’ before ‘changing things’ 2.    Applying the 70.20.10 Model; ‘even more important today’3.    Operational excellence v developing people - ‘not a trade-off, you have to do both’4.    Three important steps to create true learning organisations:Pyschological Safety is crucial and starts at the top.Think organisational and team-learning first, then individualMove away from competencies towards critical tasks  5.    Support learning in 4 steps: Rich Experiences, Opportunities to practice, Networks, and Reflection moments 6.    ‘Communityship’ to support and encourage people & teams 7.    Reflection Moments & 3 key questions to ask yourself, and the power of reflection in business and in tennis 8.    Trust: people only trust you when actions connect with words.

Tendayi Viki, Associate Partner at Strategyzer Fail Smart - Lessons in Leadership and Life: The new series from the Nordic Leaders. We couldn’t possibly imagine a better way to start our Fail Smart series than this sparkling conversation with Tendayi Viki.Tendayi advises leaders across the globe on strategy and innovation, helping companies to explore and create the future. He is a speaker, facilitator, advisor, and he’s written three books on innovation, his latest book is Pirates In The Navy: How Innovators Drive Transformation.Bringing great energy, humour and openness to this conversation, Tendayi shares with us:💡How failing smart kick-started his career💡Three principles of innovation including: You can't pick the winner on day 1Make multiple small bets earlyGo with evidence and ideas that deliver customer value💡The two questions every leader should ask their team if they want breakthrough innovation:Is that idea crazy enough? What would have to be true for that idea to work?💡And how he we should design like we’re right and test like we’re wrong. NORDIC LEADERS 2022 - FAIL SMART SERIESOur season 5 series theme is Fail Smart, Lessons in Leadership and Life. We help our clients with leadership development, coaching and communication skills. If you like what you hear,  connect with Nick, David and Stefano on LinkedIn to ask our help!

In this episode we welcome Dr Matt Offord, esteemed lecturer in Leadership and Management from the Adam Smith Business School, Glasgow University.Matt is a former Naval Officer with extensive experience leading agile 21st-century teams in high tech and data rich environments.Matt shares many fascinating insights which include;·      ‘Harnessing informal power is a very healthy thing; the idea that informal networks are not helpful, is not helpful’·      Leadership Lessons from the Royal Navy; you learn how to lead and be led, people are encouraged to challenge leaders as well, it's 'seen as a duty if something is not right'·      On the difference between military and private sector, 'people talk a lot about teamwork, but then you go into workplaces and you see that it's not  really happening so much'·      Leadership starts when you start. Leadership training is given to everyone from day one. ‘It was self evident why everyone was treated as a leader in the navy but in business it's different, you have to justify leadership training’·      On crisis communications and informal influencers, ‘I wanted to see whether they (the ship's company) were listened to, based on their rank or based on some sort of prestige.'·      Hierarchies– ’throughout most of human history, we've not really lived in hierarchies'– ’I wonder whether data and technology are changing the game and we're reverting back to what might be more natural perhaps.’·       How to be a data savvy leader and the importance of data-driven leadershipPlease enjoy the episode! You may also wish to give Matt a well-deserved Five Star rating!

This week we host Patricia Ryan Madson.Patricia is the author of "improv wisdom" and a professor emerita at Stanford university, where she started teaching in 1977.In 1996 she founded the creativity initiative at Stanford, an interdisciplinary Alliance of faculty who share the belief that creativity can be taught.Among other things she taught Design Improv for the School of Engineering and has been a guest lecturer for the renowned Stanford Technology Ventures Program and for the Mayfield Fellows Program.In the episode today we learn all her wisdom, not just about improvisation but about a lot more.We discussed with her1:57 - How can improvisation make us more innovative7:51 - What can leaders learn from improv techniques13:45 - How aiming for average can boost innovation20:43 - How to be comfortable with ambiguity24:10 - Why you should pay more attention to gratitudeTune in and have your weekly dose of insights in the world of leadership.Music by Shane Ivers - Spark of inspiration

Perttu Pölönen is a futurist, inventor and author. In 2018 MIT Tech Review honored him among the 35 Innovators Under 35 in Europe.He has written two books and his latest, “Future Skills”, is out just now.In this book he argues that the next revolution is a human revolution. To counterbalance the world we digitalized, we need to develop creativity, perseverance, compassion, and curiosity—those same soft skills that give our lives meaning and set us apart from machines.In this interesting interview we explore with him: - What does it mean to be the first generation being born digital - How to bridge generational differences and collaborative gap - The importance of cross-generational dialogue - and how to start having that - What grandpa Perttu will tell to his grandchildren - What are the things that won't change - What should we be studying - How to find inspiration in the irrelevantTune in!

“Everyone should do something to make the world a better place.”  Listen in to the inspiring tale of 17000+ vegetable boxes and recipes delivered to Finnish families.   The social economy in the EU comprises 2.8 million enterprises and organizations, 13.6 million jobs and 8% of GDP. It’s an important part of the economy, and the influence is increasing - so it was high time we invited Emilia Järvinen , co-founder of Venner, on to the pod to hear the story of rapid growth and social impact.  In just three years Venner has expanded from the original web-shop for grocery boxes that anyone can buy to also be a food education platform and has scaled up from local to national and now international.  Stefano declared himself “mesmerized” by Emilia’s food stories – and that’s something to impress an Italian with what you are doling with vegetables!  David found the story uplifting:  how Emilia and her sister Tuulia, and the Venner team, are making a difference on family dynamics and well-being, and at the same time boosting cooking skills.  Bonus: Venner Kitchen recipe service - one month for free! Check out Emilia's favourite Venner recipe: and get the Venner Kitchen recipe service one month for free, using the code:         NORDICLEADERS2021

We explore the world of meaningful values, story telling and The Inclusion Canvas with Essi Knuutila of Futurice.Essi is Global Head of Digital Marketing and discusses how Futurice's values of 'Care, Trust, Transparency and Continuous Improvement' shape this global digital innovation and engineering company. Essi also describes how the values came into being, 'We didn't invent our values — we found them on our journey'. She also describes the best leader she ever worked with and what she has learned about leading people and caring leadership.She also describes an innovative shared CMO role, there's mention of mushroom picking, learning Spanish, playing golf and a Jack Russell.Themes;The war on talent and 'Coming Home' with FuturiceThe story of how teenage girls temporarily took over the CEO role at Futurice and what they did with that responsibility!Diversity and Inclusion - not only words but action, and not only a HR responsibility but of key strategic importance; it's everyone's job in order to have better thinking, better products and better servicesThe Inclusion Canvas - check out Futurice's Inclusion CanvasValues that truly mean something and the importance of having a story behind your valuesCare, Trust, Transparency and Continuous Improvement - How to identify your core values and how they are applied everydayCaring leadership - the best leader Essi ever worked for and whyTrust is given not earned at Futurice and the question of, when do you stop trusting?

We dive into the world of influence with Mikko Alasaarela, but influence with an algorithmic twist.Mikko is an impact-focused AI entrepreneur. He has founded and invested in several tech startups that have raised over $30M and employed over 700 people in Finland, Germany, and the USA. He currently serves as CTO of Cuckoo Workout and consults companies about AI, blockchain and algorithms at inbot.He is an expert in algorithmic influence, ok but what is algorithmic influence? That is what we explore in our chat with him: starting from diversity we dive into algorithms.We talk about:How seeking diversity helps you in lifeHow algorithms create information bubbles that kill diversityHow to minimize algorithmic influence on our brainsHow to actively cultivate diversityWhat is algorithmic influence?How to create viral contentAnd last but not leastHow to create the "algorithmic nuclear bomb"Tune in for the usually funny and insightful chat of this week.If you want to engage with Mikko he is very active on Linkedin and Twitter

In today's episode we are delighted to welcome Matt  Abrahams, communication expert and lecturer at Stanford University. We will talk all things communication. The episode is packed with insights so please take a notepad and make sure to take notes.We are going to explore:How communication has changed during the pandemicHow to help our audience to be more engagedHow to make a great podcast even greaterThe most important skills of a podcasterThe importance of authenticity in communicationHow did Karate help Matt discover he was a great presenterHow to manage anxiety before a performanceWhat have learned from that pandemic that will stick with usHow to get diversity of thinking in a hybrid world At Stanford University Matt teaches two very popular classes in the strategic communication and effective virtual presentingHe's the host of the popular podcast "Think fast talk smart" where he explores tools and techniques to communicate more effectively. He's the co-founder of Bold Echo communications which is a firm specialized in communication consulting, and presentation  training. And also recently Matt published the third edition of his book "Speaking up without freaking out" a book written to help millions of people who wish to present in a more confident and compelling way.Podcast episodes we mentioned during this episode:Brains Love Stories: How Leveraging Neuroscience Can Capture People’s EmotionsHacking Your Speaking Anxiety: How Lessons from Neuroscience Can Help You Communicate ConfidentlyMake ’Em Laugh: How Humor Can Be the Secret Weapon in Your CommunicationPodcasts mentioned during this episode:Huberman LabHidden Brain

In this episode, recorded in June 2021 our guest is Kati Tammisto, (then Head of CX at Sympa and now) CMO at Precisely. Kati is a modern leader with an entrepreneurial background who puts people front and centre in everything she does. Kati shares her insights on working in 'extremely fast growth' environments and the adaptability and flexibility that one needs to operate therein. She also explains the importance of recruitment and how to lead excellent people in growth companies."What we all need is to be led as individuals""The game today? Everything is fast. You can fail fast, but you can also succeed quite fast.""We need to all be understanding the need to adapt and he need to change your own thinking and your attitude"Our conversation includes;how the 'adaptability mindset' works in extremely fast-growth companiesKati discusses how to treat and lead people at work, and how to build a team; 'an open puzzle', which requires 'filling the spaces with mouldable pieces'; great people can put the right skills on the table, at the right timeDiversity and understanding, 'there's so much in what other people can bring to the table, especially when they're coming from diverse environments'Kati offers some tools for hiring great people, plus a rather unique, 'crystal ball' recruitment ingredient at Sympa, as well as some wonderful interview questions to steal.... What questions reveal the most about a person? And what to look for in a candidate?

"I'm not a loser - the story I told myself for years" In this very frank episode Tommi Lähde - Founder and CEO of The Other Danish Guy brand - opens up with courage and radical candour.  Listen in to this most candid of interviews with the only CEO in the world to work just in his underwear for the first two weeks on the job.  What we cover:🎧 being honest with yourself and bouncing back (1,47) 🎧 facing failure and dealing with imposter syndrome (5,55)🎧 building trust in your team  (13,20)🎧 building a trusted brand with authenticity (19,31)Gems from Tommi:💥 "People deserve to be told the truth."💥 "Admit your mistakes, it’s o.k. to fail."💥"The answer to every question is inside me. I just need to find it, it's already there."💥 "Just as I was about to lose everything, then I was able to admit the truth." 💥 "Truth sets you free."Thank you Tommi for sharing your insights, with David Goddard, Nick Vertigans, and Stefano Mosconi.  Get in touch with us on LinkedIn by clicking any of our names and ask us how we can help you develop and coach the leaders in your company, or help you with communication and presentation skills. If you like us, please consider leaving a 5-star review for our podcast on Apple Podcasts. Just click the link, scroll a down a bit, and hit "Tap to Rate".

Welcome to Season 4 of the Nordic Leaders Podcast! In this episode we interview André Noël Chaker, speaker, entrepreneur, executive and lawyer that came from Canada to Finland 30 years ago.What we cover:André's beginnings and his move from Quebec to Finland(4:54) What Arnold Schwarzenegger taught him(6:09) How he turned a hobby into a profession (and got all these cool "gigs")(9:23) Trust as a key driver of value(14:06) The essence of great speaking (20:14) The secret of his success(22:05) His upcoming book "Speak or Die" and why he wrote it(25:14) GratitudeA fantastic and charismatic chat that blends wit, humour and wisdom with your favourite hosts David Goddard, Nick Vertigans, and Stefano Mosconi. Get in touch with us on LinkedIn by clicking any of our names and ask us how we can help you develop and coach the leaders in your company, or help you with communication and presentation skills. If you like us, please consider leaving a 5-star review for our podcast on Apple Podcasts. Just click the link, scroll a down a bit, and hit "Tap to Rate".

Building on 140 years of engineering innovation, Merja Ranta-aho, Executive VP of HR at Elisa, Finland’s leading telecom, shares her own learning with Stefano, Nick and David on •Daily experimentation and continuous improvement as a way of life•How a high trust culture leads to deep learning •Embedding coaching in the leadership culture•Anticipating well-being needs in teams•Lessons from a decade of hybrid workIf you want some inspiration on letting learning flourish to build a better a future, this is the pod for you! Thank you Merja.

In this bonus episode we share some more Joel Willans with you.  Joel describes how he works his magic online to build high value content which reaches more people, including pointers on:How to create more buzz, build a community onlineHow to get get heard with your podcastHow to lead your own creativityHow to lead other creativesJoel also ponders his next steps as an author, podcaster, and leader of a creative agency.Honest, open and amusing as ever with some important lessons  encoded in the conversation; are we grown-up enough to hear them? This was originally recorded as a bonus part of Episode 38 – it is every bit as insightful, and possibly more fun ! What do you think?

In this episode we explore with Elli Holappa, CEO of Jungle Juice Bar, values-based leadership during a crisis. Elli had spent just 12 days with her new management team in spring 2020 when the global pandemic struck.  Listen in to our fascinating conversation with Elli on how values-based leadership has helped her: recruit and lay-off staff in difficult times with the same kindness and thoughtfulness;manage a ‘High – Low role’, going from leadership meetings to peeling carrots in a bar; understand the importance of culture fit andhaving a bit of craziness in order to get in ‘the game’;find  the ‘silver lining’ to crisis moments;lead sustainably, achieve carbon neutrality and aim for carbon negative.All this plus some good news about bananas and will  David land an interview at Jungle Juice Bar? "This is who I am as a leader, and now I know that If the business is heading into the crisis, I know I can act on it. And I know that I can make quick decisions. I can make tough decisions. I can make difficult decisions. I don't paralyze. I don't freeze. I'm completely capable of acting in a crisis."

Alf Rehn, thinker, contrarian and provocateur leaves his day job as Professor of Innovation, Design and Management at the University of Southern Denmark, for half an hour to share with us his secrets including  🎧 What does it really mean to think?🎧 Where to find a treasure trove of wackiness in design school🎧 Teaching gender theory to engineering students or getting butchers to  consider veganism🎧 Danish leadership and Danish humour🎧 Making a business model out of confusion🎧 How his memory works🎧 Thoughts on books and writing and of course gin gets a mention too Challenge your own thinking and see if you can keep up with Alf and his mental landscape of tricksters, scrapes and adventures .  

🎧 How does change scale up from small actions to system level changes?🎧How did Satu shift her mindset to become a positive change agent in academia?🎧 What is - or could be - biodiversity respectful leadership?🎧 Why does Satu discuss psychological safety and values to start every class and workshop ?🎧 What is the role of trust, openness and respect in leadership?🎧Is there a collective consciousness of our minds?🎧 How can we get a social media balance in our lives?Listen to the inspiring Satu Teerikangas, Professor of Management & Organization at the University of Turku and Honorary Professor, University College London to find out.David, Nick and Stefano have a sparkling conversation on change and leadership with the uplifting Satu Teerikangas, leaving us full of hope and positivity and the belief that we can all as individuals make a collective difference.  "Be the change you wish to see in the world: We could all find the Mandela within ourselves, or the Gandhi within ourselves, instead of complaining or keeping to a passive stance.”“By daily rewiring your brain and reframing your thoughts towards the positive, towards the expansive, there is a visible positive effect on a daily basis. And individual action can lead to collective action.” 

What is Alexander Stubb, former prime minister and politician and now Director at the School of Transnational Governance, hopeful about in the future of Europe?How does he manage to achieve so much in life (and does he think of himself as an overachiever)?What's the problem with how media tell the world? And what's their role in the future?How is life after politics?What is leadership in today's world?What can the Nordics export to the rest of the world, and what should they import?Who will win the premier league this season? Tune in to hear about these and more into this episode of the Nordic Leaders Podcast.Mentioned in the show:Oura RingOur previous episode with Jarno Koponen - Head of AI at YLE  European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO)European University Institute (EUI)Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) - Martti Ahtisaari Peace foundation 

Season 3 kicks off with #VeryFinnishProblems creator Joel Willans. Join David, Nick and Stefano for our season opener with Joel; bestselling author, creative director, leader, and a man for our times - a master of the digital and social media world!If you're an individual or an organization hoping to increase your digital reach and impact, or just a lover of the social media phenomenon, #VeryFinnishProblems, then  this is a must-listen! Joel describes how he became Finland's top online presence, which all started with a simple bet with a friend.Building a much loved brand online and competing against some of the top agencies from London to NY along the way, we explore Joel's 'manic focus' and hard work in learning how to create the right kind of content with as much reach and impact as possible.On Facebook alone he's heading towards 1m followers, growing at a rate of 10 - 20,000  every month.As a creative, Joel touches on the topic of artistic quality versus impact, and how to lead his talented team, and much more on this energizing kick-off to Season 3.

Ready to travel to Sweden and meet George Brontén, lifelong entrepreneur with a never ending passion for sales? Have a listen to Stefano, Nick and David getting insights from George about:🎧 The secret to purposeful relationships – Trust, Align, Grow.🎧 Understanding problems from the customer’s perspective.🎧 How, after years of hiring and firing, George realized his leadership was the main problem.🎧 How you can see in the eyes of an interviewee if they’re into learning or not.🎧 And when you’ve got a big decision to make – get a coach! George and his team at www.membrain.com collaborate with thought leaders and researchers to identify the success factors behind great sales organizations. Well worth a listen to  the learning journey of a successful an entrepreneur. Book recommendation from George; The Checklist Manifesto – How to Get Things Right : Atul GawandPlease contact us if you would like to be a guest, have a suggestion for a guest or give feedback to the team at [email protected]: Spark Of Inspiration by Shane Ivers–

Robin Lindahl, CEO of Taaleri, the Finnish financial services company, chats with Nick and David about 🎧 leadership challenges  in 2020 🎧 senior executive team-building 🎧 how diversity is helping Taaleri reach its goals 🎧trends in impact & sustainable investing 🎧 and the formula for super productivity Worth a listen if you’re interested in windmills, leadership, […]

Salla Seppä, Chief Customer Experience Officer at the Nordic Business Forum, shares with Stefano and David some of the secrets behind the legendary standard of customer experience at NBF; from focusing on the strategy right down to sewing buttons onto the guests’ coats.  Have a listen to the story of how Salla came to work […]

Grab a pen and paper and join in the fun with Personal Brainer, Reidar Wasenius, and his mind gym. Listen in to this fun – free of charge! – bonus material and find out what happened when David, Stephano and Nick took a brain bungee jump with the most listened to voice in Finland, Reidar […]

How does it feel to be Finland’s most listened to voice? And what’s it like to post 3 videos on TikTok and get over 2 million views in just 3 weeks? Reidar Wasenius, Creative Director of Breaks Finland, voice actor (“the person you are trying to reach is speaking on the phone, please hold” – […]

We replay this episode recorded in May 2020: Antti Vasara President & CEO of VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd) in a rich and fascinating chat with the Nordic Leadership Network’s Stefano Mosconi, Nick Vertigans and David Goddard about purpose driven leadership, motivating very smart people, being an optimist with the belief we will […]

In this episode we chat with with Meeri Haataja, CEO of Saidot – a platform for teams to make their AI transparent and explainable – about how AI is impacting societies and everyday lives on a global scale, and what it’s like to be driving that as a positive change. Have a listen to insights […]

Peter Sarlin, CEO and Co-Founder of Silo.AI, the largest private artificial intelligence lab in the Nordics, chats with David, Nick and Stefano about leadership and what “AI for people” means in practice. Listen in for insights into: leadership in a rapid growth company cultivating a growth mindset and diversity in the thinking throughout the whole […]

In occasion of the publication of the Nordic Business Forum documentary here is a replay of our podcast with Hans-Peter Siefen where he goes behind the scenes of the NBF history and chats with Stefano Mosconi, Nick Vertigans and David Goddard about building leaders who change the world. Speaking to us from his boat, we […]

Raghunath Koduvayur, international leader and polymath with a past in Nokia, Tieto and currently Head of Marketing and Communications at IQM Quantum Computers has a chat with David, Nick and Stefano on leadership topics ranging from diversity, to AI and personal branding. Listen in for an inspirational journey onto: how to get a more diverse […]

Wilfrid Kroath, mobiliser and podcaster chats with David, Nick and Stefano about opening up entrepreneurship to high school age children. Listen in for insights into making his podcast – Dare to Suck – with his own children the importance of teaching entrepreneurship and soft skills in high schools how digital education is driving the need […]

Jarno Koponen, Head of AI and Personalization at Yle News Lab, goes deeper into the future of news with Stefano, Nick and David in Part 2: Social media is changing the role of traditional news media from gatekeepers to connectors. Journalists need a multidisciplinary approach – with data scientists and designers – to connect to […]

Jarno Koponen, Head of AI and Personalization at the Yle News Lab in Finland’s national public broadcaster, chats with Stefano, Nick and David about how the way news is gathered and distributed – and what is considered news –  is being disrupted by the new information ecosystem. Listen in to this first episode to hear […]

Get warmed up for next week’s episode on the future of AI and journalism! Have a listen to the highly popular episode from our archive with Taneli Tikka “how to adjust to the future.” Taneli Tikka – investor, serial entrepreneur and future teller – runs 52nd Ventures, the first venture builder in Finland and Epistemic […]

In this episode Nick, Stefano and David chat with Guy How, creator of the unique How Violins “experience shop”, on changing the culture in an old-fashioned field towards customer orientation in a way that everyone feels seen. Have a listen for insights into Radical transparency and being seen by the customer Using coaching skills to […]

Camilla Tuominen is a speaker, illustrator, author and former CEO & co-founder of Emotion Tracker. Camilla talks with energy to David and Nick about showing-up and being authentic managing emotional energy producing better results in the virtual world and having the courage to be herself Great fun returning to season 2 of the podcast! Please contact […]

With 20 episodes behind us, Nick, Stefano and David reflect on the learning opportunities from our first bash at podcasting, including thoughts on Trustful collaboration in an emergent process Facilitating a conversation that balances a script with spontaneity The mechanics of hosting, producing and publishing a podcast Humility, openness, a learning attitude, giving space and […]

In this first bonus episode, Stefano, Nick and David pick out the best bits from season one. We had huge amounts of fun, were brought closer together and got loads of insights into innovation resilience staying connected building a great culture the future of leadership And lots of ideas for season 2! Tune in to hear […]