Jorma Ollila, one of Finland's most prominent business leaders, says that successful people have a strong personality and an ability to 'think outside the box'. They are never found among the anonymous masses of society.
The people who are most successful in science, the arts and business are those who test both their own limits and those of their community. They are creative and want to be the best at what they do.
Of those who test their limits, some are successful and some fail. Jorma Ollila, Chairman of Nokia and Royal Dutch Shell, says that the climate of opinion in society must accept both outcomes.
Ollila, who is widely recognised as one of Finland's most prominent business people, spoke about attitudes to and incentives for entrepreneurship in his Martti Ahtisaari lecture, which he gave in Jyväskylä in December 2009.
"Society must reward bold risk-taking, but it must also accept failure. This may sound paradoxical, but the market economy needs failed experiments just as much as it needs success stories."
Ollila believes that society should reward those who achieve growth and success, and suggests that tax incentives could be one means of providing such rewards.
The only chance for a small nation to succeed is to have an effective research, education and innovation system.
Ollila emphasises that Finland must be in a position to secure growth in knowledge, skills and competence, for this is one of the basic pillars of the economy and society. This requires an open-minded approach in such areas as the financing of research.
"Financing should be targeted at those research groups and individuals who are in the best position to produce ideas and new breakthroughs in knowledge."
He says that all research should aim to produce high quality. Attention must also be paid to ensure that education is of a high standard and educational capital is utilised effectively. "The demand for quality is the only demand in the world markets that a country like Finland and Finnish businesses are best positioned to meet."
For a small country it is also vitally important to have research and innovation activities that are international. "At the very best we can only produce a fraction of the knowledge we need. The presence of foreign researchers in Finland and the international movement of Finnish researchers are natural and essential channels for the transmission of global knowledge," Ollila points out.
During his time as head of Nokia, Ollila steered the mobile phone company to its position as world market leader. Now the former CEO turns the spotlight not only on high standards of science and innovation, but also on softer values which play an essential part in shaping society.
Central values in Finnish society are community spirit and social cohesion. They are strengths of the Nordic welfare society, and Ollila believes that they should be nurtured and reinforced. "But alongside these values as a counterweight we have to increasingly think about the significance of individuals, as well as the acceptance of differences and ways to encourage individuals to be different. We need equality but without restraining creativity."
"Jorma Ollila states that economic crises force people to think about things in a different way. One manifestation of this is that more than half of the world's 500 biggest companies were founded during a depression or equity market recession."
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-The 2009 Martti Ahtisaari lecture was the tenth of its kind. The lectures are organised by the Central Finland National Defence Association, City of Jyväskylä, University of Jyväskylä, and Keskisuomalainen newspaper. Over the years the lectures have brought many important international figures to Jyväskylä.
Speakers in the Martti Ahtisaari lecture series:
- 2000 Max Jakobson, Honorary Minister
- 2001 Harri Holkeri, Honorary Counsellor, Chairman of the UN Millennium Assembly
- 2002 Göran Persson, Prime Minister of Sweden
- 2003 Arnold Rüütel, President of Estonia
- 2004 Matti Vanhanen, Prime Minister of Finland
- 2005 Branko Crvenkovski, President of Macedonia
- 2006 Tarja Halonen, President of Finland
- 2007 Martti Ahtisaari, Former President of Finland
- 2008 Abdullah Gül, President of Turkey
- 2009 Jorma Ollila, Chairman of Nokia and Royal Dutch Shell
Words by Tommi Salo Photos by Jyrki Kauko