During the Battle of Stiklestad a young man is carried to safety, right before Olaf the Saint falls and the battle comes to an end. The man escapes first to Russia, and from there he travels on to the Byzantine Empire – the path appears before his feet as he walks. Important choices must at all times be made as events transpire. Opportunities pop up repeatedly. He always grasps them before they pass him by. Fifteen years later he has succeeded in amassing one of the largest private fortunes Northern Europe has seen for a long time and he returns to Norway for his crowning achievement – to take the throne.
Did he achieve what he did because he dutifully followed a plan? Or was it because he was inordinately proficient at grasping the opportunities that arose along the way?
Individuals who master the art of accurately anticipating a company’s future environment are few and far between. All the same, as a leader you are obliged to try. You subsequently make plans to address this environment in the best possible manner. The plan is converted into action and every link of the organization dons the requisite hat. Let’s hope it fits!
But is strategy always best devised through planning? When we look back, there is usually a discrepancy between what we planned to do and what was actually done. Not all of these discrepancies are negative. Sometimes an initiative in contradiction with the sacred plan may turn out to be the company’s great innovation. A new process. A new product. An idea that arises in a meeting with a dissatisfied customer.
The Viking Age is full of examples of individuals who dared to explore uncharted territory. To do something completely different. Something that wasn’t planned. The focus shifts in keeping with creative ideas or opportunities that emerge. Expeditions and journeys from the Americas in the west to Iraq in the east. England has had four Viking kings. Swedish Vikings travelled eastward into the Russian interior. Were the Vikings victorious because they always followed carefully laid plans, developed on the basis of a top executive’s long-term vision? Absolutely not.
The seminar employs historical sites in Oslo and is suitable for organizations and leaders who want to challenge their own strategic mindset. We will focus on the Vikings’ unique talent for exploration and apply their ideas to the challenges of today’s organizations. You will learn things you can directly apply to your own leadership and enterprise. And as mentioned in the first paragraph, you will also hear the fascinating story of Harald Hardrada’s path to power.
