Last week I had the honor of listening to the founder of Norrgavel, Nirvan Richter. I was truly fascinated by the way he described the meaning and value behind his creations. I especially admire his courage when sharing that his business-related creations always begin in meditation in order to find true purpose and making sure whatever he creates contributes to mother earth.
He excused himself beforehand and stated that some people might find his ways a bit dopey. And I’m sure a lot of the audience did. However, I believe that if everyone in that room had taken the message to heart, the world would be a much nicer place. He closed his lecture with the following:
“Only do what feels right. And always do that to a 100%. Do it as an act of love.”
Nirvan Richter
I believe that last part is something the business world desperately needs. If we acted upon decisions made out of care for people and planet – a lot of our decisions would look very different.
Erik Fernholm, an academic within the field of neuro, motivation and happiness, are of the same mind as Nirvan Richter. In his own words: “The world is new – are you? Old organizational structures, our view on good leadership and our school systems leaves behind only 16 percent of Swedes engaged in their work and an environmental crisis.”
Erik Fernholm means that companies of today need to learn how to create environments that engage people – not only their personnel. He also states that we tend to put our trust in people with an honest intention to build towards a better world. Something every leader needs to embrace to gain trust, engage and inspire.
The new world will function through building long term value instead of chasing shortsighted profits. What can we do to make this transition happen? I believe that we need to focus on how our founding company values can contribute to positive change. I understand that this might sound impossible and evasive – but it’s not. You don’t have to do everything at once, focus on what’s meaningful and take small steps towards shifting your perspective.
My best friend for 50 years, Annika Månsson, and the founder of Happy At Work told me about when she found her purpose. One day, when walking in the woods, she realized she wanted… to create and share the message of happiness at work with the rest of the world – and the importance of happy workplaces. This was twelve years ago and today she’s implementing her work methods at some of the world’s largest corporate groups. Just like Nirvan she believes in the power of connecting what you believe in and genuinely acting on it – in all that you do. Annika is based in Geneva which is a very male dominated and conservative working climate – but still, her vision gets heard: to create a world where happiness at work is a norm, not an exception.
How do I incorporate this way of thinking into my own reflections and thoughts? I’ve always been purpose and value driven in my business approach. I can see a clear pattern where my greatest successes have sprung from a place of purpose. I’m not talking about financial success; I’m taking about important forward movements towards something sustainable and long term. For instance, I was a part of the project when IKEA started their journey towards using LED lights, when LED was still expansive and elusive. Another important aspect I worked with at Ikea was how they communicated their assortment, this was the beginning of a journey towards a more transparent company communication, a journey that IKEA is still on and work with every day.
Unfortunately, I haven’t always been in workplaces where this way of working has been accepted. In my first article I talked about shifting the perspective to the drone, in order to understand where we are heading. Sometimes it’s truly necessary to “fly high” when searching for true meaning. My greatest hope is that we listen to the voices that speaks of acts of purpose and the structures and leadership of the new world. It’s worth doing, because it surely makes all the difference.
Reflections from,
Susanne-Kikki
