Here you can read my thoughts, insights and updates about Hoist Finance, market developments and trends.
Klaus-Anders Nysteen
MAY 13, 2021 - A dilemma exists when a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable. In business, dilemmas often involve questions of how much risk we are willing to take in order to grow our bottom line. This is not easy. Too much risk, and bad things happen. Too little risk, and nothing happens.
MAR 31, 2021 - Measuring financial performance is relatively straightforward and has always been at the core of business management. These days, however, businesses are increasingly measuring environmental, social and governance aspects of their activities. At Hoist Finance we started using the survey methodology from the company Great Place to Work in 2016 to measure the development of corporate culture and working environment over time and to help us support and prioritise our efforts.
FEB 22, 2021 - Winning the gold medal is clear evidence of hard work, persistence, discipline and stamina. Hence, when Sebastian Foss Solevåg won his gold medal, I wasn’t the only Norwegian with tears in my eyes. It was simply so well deserved and I guess we all like to see a very good guy be the champ. There were no jerks around, simply a very high degree of support, open and honest discussions, collaboration and a desire to win as a team.
JAN 22, 2021 - I believe words matter. I believe we can change the narrative. We can move away from alternative facts and conspiracy theories. President Biden said in his inaugural speech that “we must lead not merely by the example of our power, but by the power of example”. And Amanda Gorman said “if we´re brave enough to be it”.
NOV 25, 2020 - All sports produce underdog stories. We remember Leicester City winning the Premier League and Iceland making it to the World Cup. There are some common ingredients in these stories. Typically, about a charismatic coach, a group of players with something to prove or a new style or insight that gives the team a certain edge. For the Bodø/Glimt players, it seems to be all of the above. The edge is their relentless focus on performance, rather than results.
OCT 14, 2020 - Leadership is sometimes defined as making people do what they spontaneously would not do by themselves. In other words, leadership is about managing what happens or should be happening outside of and in between the boxes. By increasing the knowledge of others, you also increase the dependency between colleagues and various parts of the organization, and we know that this is a way to become much more effective and efficient.
SEPT 3, 2020 - I discussed with one of my colleagues today, how to speak to our colleagues’ hearts, and not only to their brains. Leadership is frequently about making people do what they otherwise wouldn’t do by themselves. To do that, it is important to be fact-based and analytical, but I don’t think this is sufficient. We also need to speak with the voice of the dreamer: “Move on up, and keep on wishing, remember your dream is your only scheme, so keep on pushing”
JUNE 9, 2020 - From my experience we cannot underestimate the need to talk about strategy, frequently and through multiple channels. If the organization doesn’t know the strategic intentions, how can we expect great execution? And also, if we haven’t allowed for local decision-making and flexibility to adjust and adapt to what’s actually happening on the ground, there will be incoherence and hesitance. Trust is just so much better than control...
JUNE 3, 2020 - Do you remember the first time you moved in with another person? Did you end up with double sets of coffee cups and cutlery, different chairs and two sofas? And what did you have to do? You had to compromise. Perhaps one sofa had to go or you ended up trading them both for a better model. Well, the business world isn’t that different...
