Transforming NOKIA: The Power of Paranoid Optimism to Lead Through Colossal Change by Risto Siilasmaa;

Author:Risto Siilasmaa;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McGraw Hill LLC Professional Division
Published: 2019-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Strategic Symbols

Other changes were symbolic, but their message was no less strong.

Nokia tradition was that individual board members always had a personal chauffeur to drive them in an Audi 8 or Mercedes S-class luxury sedan to board-related events. But after the 2012 AGM, they all rode to dinner in a mini-bus—and I rode with them. It was a small thing, but it demonstrated a different approach to creating a board culture. The old way focused on appearance and protocol; our way emphasized building a team and getting results.

The next morning—my first as chairman—I started moving the furniture. Most people at Nokia headquarters, including the CEO, sat in an open office setting. The previous chairman, however, had his own office. It was nicknamed “the blue room” because of the color of the glass facing the rest of the office space. People referred to time spent there as “a blue moment.”

I asked for the walls to be moved and the space changed into an open office. I had a table installed like everyone else. In that open environment, I started meeting with people, asking questions, listening, and learning.

During the months preceding my chairmanship, I learned that the previous chairman, following a Nokia tradition of having his official portrait painted of himself before leaving office, ran a global search for a talented portrait artist. He picked an American painter and had him move to Finland for several months and finish two portraits, one for the company and one for his home. The idea of spending a significant amount of money on an individual portrait during a time of crisis did not feel right. I informed the staff that from now on a photograph of a departing CEO or chairman would be sufficient.

These and many other small actions combined to send a strong emotional signal of a cultural shift gaining speed.

Then, on June 18, 2012, Microsoft knocked us flat.

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