„You ain´t seen nothing yet!“

Ræðan sem Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson forseti Íslands flutti í Walbrook klúbbnum í Lundúnum í maí 2005 er merkilegt plagg. Ólafur Ragnar verður varlai sakaður um að hafa verið raunveruleg driffjöður í útrásinni né um að hafa hrint henni af stað. Ólafur settist upp í vagninn þegar hann var kominn vel af stað. Hann varð hins vegar eins konar gangandi auglýsingaspjald fyrir hana, gaf henni mál á alþjóðlegum vettvangi – honum tókst að verða einhvers konar hugmyndalegur bakhjarl hennar, að minnsta kosti í stuttan tíma.

En raunar er því haldið fram, meðal annars af Roger Boyes, að sambönd Dorritar Moussaief hafi reynst útrásarvíkingunum mikilvæg. Hún hafi komið þeim í samband við ýmsa alþjóðlega viðskiptamenn.

Nú er kominn annar tónn í Ólaf Ragnar – hann hefur alltaf verið pólitískt kamelljón. En það sakar ekki að rifja þessa ræðu upp, hún er algjört lykilplagg – en líklega mun rannsóknarnefnd Alþingis fara betur í saumana á framgöngu forsetans.

(Svo hefur reyndar verið bent á að ræðuna megi lesa öfugt, þ.e. sem greiningu á samfélagi þar sem klíkuskapur og vinabönd ríkjar ofar öllu, þar sem eftirlitsstofnanir eru veikar, lítt eða ekki farið eftir reglum og bisnessmenn hegða sér eins og þeim sýnist. Það er nokkuð til í því. Þannig mætti jafnvel lesa ræðuna sem grínádeilu á spillt fjármálakerfi, en það var varla ætlun höfundarins.)

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HOW TO SUCCEED IN MODERN BUSINESS:

LESSONS FROM THE ICELANDIC VOYAGE

A speech

by

the President of Iceland

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

at the Walbrook Club

London

3rd May 2005

Distinguished business leaders

Representatives of the media

Ladies and Gentlemen

Recently, I have often found myself cornered at various functions,

especially here in London, and pressured to explain how and why daring

Icelandic entrepreneurs are succeeding where others hesitate or fail, to

reveal the secret behind the success they have achieved.

It is of course tempting to let it remain a mystery, to allow the

British business world to be perplexed. This mystery would give my

Icelandic friends a clear advantage, a fascinating competitive edge – but

when my friend Lord Polumbo asked me to speak on this subject at the

distinguished Walbrook Club, I could not decline the challenge.

It is indeed an interesting question how our small nation has in

recent years been able to win so many victories on the competitive

British, European and global markets, especially because for centuries we

were literally the poorest nation in Europe, a community of farmers and

fishermen who saw Hull and Grimsby as the main focus of their attention,

a nation that only a few decades ago desperately needed to extend its

fishing limit in order to survive, first to 12 miles, then to 50 and finally to

200 miles. Each time Britain sent the Navy to stop us but each time we

won – the only nation on earth to defeat the British Navy, not once but

three times. With this unique track record, it is no wonder that young

entrepreneurial Vikings have arrived in London full of confidence and

ready to take on the world!

Yes, it is indeed a fascinating question, not just with respect to

Iceland, but also because it throws light on some fundamental trends in

modern business. It touches on the new nature of success, and why some

fail where others triumph. Globalisation and information technology have

given small states opportunities on a scale never witnessed before.

Obstacles to their growth have largely been abolished and replaced by an

open and wide field where talent, imagination and creativity determine

what is harvested.

Innovations can now emerge from any direction; individual initiative

can lay the foundation for companies which establish a global presence in

a short time.

In recent years Iceland has shown how a small state can make an

organised and successful response to globalisation and thus boost its own

business success. Every company in our country now has a unique

opportunity to profile itself. Indeed, new companies can now emerge into

the global market regardless of where their home base is and soon have

the whole world as their market region.

There is much to suggest that in the new economy, a small state can

be a very profitable basis for business innovations because in a small state

it is easy to see how different elements link up, how to establish

cooperation between different fields, how to gain access to information

and experience and grasp solutions to difficult tasks. A small state can

serve as a kind of laboratory or research station in precisely those sectors

that are increasingly coming to dominate the economy of our times.

Many examples can be cited to illustrate how our business leaders

have managed to establish themselves on foreign markets. In previous

decades we saw the success of our seafood marketing companies through

their sales networks in Europe, the U.S.A. and Asia, and the remarkable

achievements of our airline companies from the 1960s onwards when

Loftleidir – now Icelandair – became the first low fare airline in the

world, enabling the hippy generation to cross the Atlantic cheaply. These

experiences provided an important training ground, but no one could have

predicted the extraordinary success in recent years, a success which does

indeed raise challenging questions about prevailing business strategies,

theories and training in modern times. Let me mention a few success

cases.

Baugur is indeed well known here in Britain, playing a major part in

the retail sector, not only in London but also in Denmark and Sweden.

Avion Group, the specialised airline, is now the largest of its kind in

the world. It recently opened its European headquarters in Crawley, close

to London.

Actavis has become the fastest growing pharmaceutical company in

the world, with production facilities in Bulgaria, Malta, Serbia, India and

elsewhere.

Össur, the largest prosthetics company in the world, was created by

an unknown Icelander who worked on his innovations in small rooms in

the oldest part of Reykjavik.

Kaupthing Bank, which only six years ago opened the first branch of

an Icelandic bank abroad, is now among the largest financial institutions

in the Nordic countries, with operations in Europe and America.

Bakkavör, which a decade ago started in a garage in my home

municipality, is now the largest producer of fast food in Britain. It

recently acquired Geest, so expanding the scope of its operations.

I could go on to mention many other examples: companies in

transport and food processing, machinery and software production,

telecommunications and other fields.

How has it been possible to achieve such success in so many

different fields and in such a short time, in areas where we definitely had

no prior competitive advantage, areas such as pharmaceuticals and

prosthetics, banking and finance, retail and fashion – to name only a few.

Of course, many factors have contributed to the success of this

voyage, but I am convinced that our business culture, our approach, our

way of thinking and our behaviour patterns, rooted in our traditions and

national identity, have played a crucial role. All of these are elements that

challenge the prevailing theories taught in respected business schools and

observed in practice by many of the big American and British

corporations.

We are succeeding because we are different, and our track record

should inspire the business establishment in other countries to re-examine

their previous beliefs and the norms that they think will guarantee results.

The range of Icelandic success cases provides a fertile ground for a

productive dialogue on how the modern business world is indeed

changing.

Let me offer you a list of a dozen or so elements that I believe have

been crucial to Icelands success story. I am not listing them in any

particular order, but taken together, I am convinced that they amount to a

significiant framework of business success – a guide to the ground in

which achievements are rooted.

First comes a strong work ethic. This is a heritage from the old

society of farmers and fishermen, where necessity dictated that the fish

catch had to be brought ashore and processed immediately when the

boats came in to harbour and that hey had to be turned and collected

when the weather was favourable. When Kaupthing Bank beat the other

bidders for the Danish FIH Erhvervs Bank, the disappointed English

representative returned to London and informed his boss that the

Icelanders had won because, as he put it: “When we go home these guys

are still working.”

Second, we tend to focus on the results rather than the process: to

go straight to the task and do the job in the shortest time possible; to ask

when it can be done rather than how.

Third, Icelanders are risk takers. They are daring and aggressive.

Perhaps this is because they know that if they fail, they can always go

back to Iceland where everyone can enjoy a good life in an open and

secure society; the national fabric of our country provides a safety-net

which enables our business leaders to take more risks than others tend to

do.

Fourth, there is absence of bureaucracy in Iceland and a lack of

tolerance for bureaucratic methods. Perhaps it is because there are so few

of us that we have never really been able to afford extensive bureaucratic

structures; when we encounter them, we prefer other means.

Fifth, there is a strong element of personal trust, almost in the

classical sense of “my word is my bond.” This enables people to work

together in an extraordinarily effective way because they are fostered in

communities where everyone knows everyone else. This trust also

contributes towards:

The sixth element. This is the formation of small groups of operators

who work closely and strategically together, creating a fast-moving

network of key decision makers who can close a deal quicker than those

who are used to working within larger and more bureaucratic corporate

structures.

Seventh, we have entrepreneurship – old-fashioned entrepreneurship

where the boss himself or herself stands in the front line, taking

responsibility, leading the team, giving the company a visible, personal

face. This style of entrepreneurship breeds leaders who know they are

responsible, aware that their initiative will make or break the deal. As an

Asian business executive once told me: „The reason why I like to do

business with Icelanders is that the bosses themselves come to the table;

they dont hide behind an army of lawyers and accountants like they do in

the big European and American companies“.

Eighth on my list is the heritage of discovery and exploration,

fostered by the medieval Viking sagas that have been told and retold to

every Icelandic child. This is a tradition that gives honour to those who

venture into unknown lands, who dare to journey to foreign fields,

interpreting modern business ventures as an extension of the Viking

spirit, applauding the successful entrepreneurs as heirs of this proud

tradition.

Ninth is the importance of personal reputation. This is partly rooted

in the medieval Edda poems which emphasise that our wealth might

wither away but our reputation will stay with us forever. Every Icelandic

entrepreneur knows that success or failure will reflect not only on his or

her own reputation but also on the reputation of the nation. They therefore

see themselves as representatives of a proud people and know that their

performance will determine their reputation for decades or centuries to

come.

Tenth, there is the fact that the Icelandic market, although small, has

turned out to be an effective training ground because it is so competitive,

perhaps more so than many other European markets; therefore what

succeeds in Iceland is likely to succeed everywhere else.

Eleventh, because of how small the Icelandic nation is, we do not

travel the world with an extra baggage of ulterior motives or big power

interests rooted in military, financial or political strength. No one is afraid

to work with us; people even see us as fascinating eccentrics who can do

no harm and therefore all doors are thrown wide open when we arrive.

Twelfth, the strong interaction which characterizes the Icelanders

offers opportunities for people from different sectors to launch

cooperative ventures without difficulties or major bureaucratic

hindrances. The extensive knowledge that our business leaders have of

the capabilities of others in different fields has made it easy for them to

draw people into promising projects.

And finally, there is creativity, rooted in the old Icelandic culture

which respected the talents of individuals who could compose poetry or

tell stories, who were creative participants in companionship with others.

These attitudes have been passed onto the business community, as is

demonstrated by the Icelandic term used to describe a pioneer or an

entrepreneur, – „athafnaskáld“, which means literally “a poet of

enterprise”. Admiration for creative people has been transplanted from

ancient times into the new global age, and originality has turned out to be

a decisive resource in the global market.

Taken together, these thirteen elements have given the Icelandic

business community a competitive edge, enabling us to win where others

either failed or did not dare to enter. Our entrepreneurs have thus been

able to move faster and more effectively, to be more original and more

flexible, more reliable but also more daring than many others.

The track record that Icelandic business leaders have established is

also an interesting standpoint from which to examine the validity of

traditional business teaching, of the theories and practice fostered and

followed by big corporations and business schools on both sides of the

Atlantic. It enables us to discuss the emphasis on entrepreneurial versus

structural training, on process versus results, on trust versus career

competition, on creativity versus financial strength.

I have mentioned this morning only some of the lessons which the

Icelandic voyage offers, but I hope that my analysis has helped to clarify

what has been a big mystery to many. Let me leave you with a promise

that I gave at the recent opening of the Avion Group headquarters in

Crawley. I formulated it with a little help from Hollywood movies: „You

aint seen nothing yet“.

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Svo er hérna lagið góða, You aint seen nothing yet – Bachman Turner Overdrive:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7miRCLeFSJo&feature=related]