To celebrate our 10-year anniversary of Nordic Interim Finland, we had the pleasure to hold a seminar at the Hotel Kämp in Helsinki. The theme was Change & Success, with Finland’s best-known change leaders as speakers.
Lauri Ratia, who was involved in rescuing the national icon Stockmann, the mining company Terrafame, as well as the Turku shipyard, talked about the transformation of Terrafame.
“In 2015, Europe’s largest nickel and cobalt mine was in great difficulty, and very few people believed it could be saved. The first task was to get the environmental challenges under control, after which, within two years, the company had to be made functional and economically viable.
With the help of extensive market surveys, it was possible to choose the direction of the company and it was decided to focus on battery chemicals. The systematic work produced a detailed plan, and when the transformation process started, we had eight priority areas, which were divided into 32 different projects, which in turn included a total of 700 measures,” says Ratia.
Once a team has achieved a good team spirit, it can seriously pursue the goals
Markku Kanerva the head coach of the Finnish national football team led the men’s national team to the final of the European Championships for the first time ever in 2020. The intersections of change management and sports coaching are obvious, and Markku focused on how to create a strong team and how to lead a team towards success.
“The work of a football coach is like a gig job with a beginning and an end, just like the work of an Interim Manager. There are many other common points as well. The most challenging part is choosing the right team, i.e., deciding which individuals are the best fit for the team on the way to success. In addition to personal competence and skill, the ability to create and maintain team spirit is needed. A lot of work needs to be done to create a sense of togetherness. The players must feel that it is nice to come to the games and that everyone has their own role in the team. There are always difficulties in implementing change. In these situations, without a good team spirit, you can’t achieve big things.”
His advice to Interim Change Manager is to invest in an in-depth understanding of the current situation: “The change process begins with a thorough analysis of the situation, in which various calculation measures play a major role. After that, you do a detailed rescue plan.”
We are very happy to have had the pleasure to celebrate our anniversary with so many clients, Interim Managers, friends and families! In the next 10 years, we will keep growing and supporting our clients in the Nordic countries, as well as globally, and we will offer the most exciting assignments to our Interim Managers.
We are very happy to have had the pleasure to celebrate our anniversary with so many clients, Interim Managers, friends and families!
LtR: Kari Peuhkuri, CEO & Partner — Pia Blom‑Johansson, Partner — Jan Långbacka, Partner — Niklas Björkman, Partner