Rui, can you tell us a bit about the reason behind the 

“The thought came from a need to take our own medicine, so to speak. We, as EGGS, are great at helping our clients gather insight and turn it into business action. We also need to do the same. By understanding our clients, their reality and the world around them – and us – we can adjust our offering to better meet their needs. And, quite honestly, motivation is also fuelled by pure curiosity. We want to know what’s going on. We want first-hand information to understand the world we’re operating in, not just rely on second-hand information and hearsay. This research project is giving us that.”



“We recruited a group of leaders from different industries: energy, heavy asset industries, maritime, transport, public sector, financial services, health, IoT, among others. They answered a series of questions on what is happening in their respective industries. We could then analyse their answers, crossmatch them and see patterns across different sectors. It's only the start of a larger insight process, which we are sharing in order to collect more data, and make it stronger.”

In the report, you identify five key factors that are impacting businesses: 1) Organisational complexity, 2) Geopolitical tension, 3) An ageing population, 4) Climate change and 5) Integration of AI. Was there anything in the findings that surprised you?

“I think the topics in themselves weren’t surprising. However, to what extent and how they impact organisations was. There is a lot to dig into there. But, what perhaps stood out the most to me, were the far-reaching implications of geopolitical tension. The impacts are both powerful and encompassing and they really deserve attention. There are significant implications on how we need to handle issues such as energy security and cyber security. This needs to be bullet-proof and impacts all sectors, although some more severely. For example, there is a complete shift happening in how we look at cloud security. Until now, data clouds have been the answer to almost everything – now they’re a security risk and we need to develop local, secure solutions.”

Of these five factors, which in your opinion, is the most pressing to work with?

“I think there isn’t one isolated factor that is more important than the other. They’re all interconnected in one way or another. I believe the main takeaway is that we need to understand how much control we actually have of each challenge. Bruce Mau (world renown designer an innovator) once said ‘To undertake the challenges we face today, we have no choice but to be optimistic.'"

Rui continues; "I think there is a lot to that advice. We need to take control and steer our organisations in the direction we must go to. Looking at it from a consulting perspective, there is an innovation imperative. We must rethink and act – not only react. We need to be intentional in what we do, identify what is relevant, in our organisations. We need to make sure to stay ahead of the curve. By doing so, we become resilient, prepared and competitive.”

How well do you think that organisations are rigged to deal with the challenges linked to these factors that the report identified?

“You can’t be rigged for what you haven’t genuinely considered and analysed. Unfortunately, the vast majority of businesses and organisations in Norway do not do their homework in this aspect. According to our data, as many as 75% of organisations do not gather continuous insight. So, my short answer has tobe: they are generally poorly prepared.”

What is your advice to organisations being impacted by one, or several, of these factors?

“Like I mentioned before, we need to put ourselves in the driver’s seat. Take control. Still, I feel there’s a lack of sense of urgency on some levels. At the same time as many organisations seem painfully aware that they need to rethink and take action, there appears to be a certain strategic inertia paralysing them. There’s a fear of innovating under new, uncertain conditions and settings. But, it’s important to remember the classic, but still true, cliché: What got you here won’t get you there. Businesses need to dare to go first, without having the blueprint. Is it risky? Yes. A lot can go wrong. But it’s even riskier doing nothing. At best, it leads to a slow death. So, borrowing the words of Bruce Mau again - 'To undertake the challenges we face today, we have no choice but to be optimistic.'” 


Oslo

Reflections on global factors impacting Norwegian businesses