Originally published by Johan H Andresen on April 8th, 2020
Mr. Johan H. Andresen is the 5th generation owner of his Oslo-based family business company, Ferd, with annual revenues of NOK 19,364 million (2017), total equity of NOK 24,926 million (2017) and with more than 75 employees. Ferd's value-adjusted equity at the end of 2017 was approximately NOK 32 billion, up from NOK 28.8 billion at the end of 2016. This is equal to a return of around 13%.
Ferd is a family-owned Norwegian investment company committed to value-creating ownership of businesses and investments in financial assets. Their vision is “to create enduring value and leave clear footprints”. In addition to the group’s commercial activities, they have an extensive involvement in social entrepreneurship.
Ferd is made up of five business areas; Ferd Capital, Ferd Invest, Ferd External Managers, Ferd Real Estate and Ferd Social Entrepreneurs.
Ferd is wholly owned by Johan H. Andresen and family.
His letter to the leaders of his subsidiary companies, written on April 8th, 2020, was originally posted on his own website and shared on LinkedIn. I find this letter to be of high relevance these days, and have decided to post it also on the Lorange Network webpage, with his consent, of course.
Peter Lorange
…
To: You, who lead in a Ferd-owned company:
Dear fellow leader,
This could be the battle of our time. At least this is the way it seems today, as we need to fix our climate next. Right now everything seems to be at stake; the world order, trust, mental health, pensions, trade, your father, transnational institutions, doctors and nurses, social stability, supply chains, children in fragile homes, democracy, - everything. Everything you believed in, everything you took for granted, everything you loved, - everything.
And what can you do? You can do what you do best, but you will quickly discover that you need to do it differently, with more creativity, with more flexibility, alone and together in new ways.
Despite all the planning, the systems, the processes, the use of new technology and platforms, that which will decide how we get through this is how we as humans act in an effort to safeguard humanity. Yes, you have the skills, but now before you have exhausted your energy reserves, you need to mobilize your values to the front line. They are needed there to protect societal values such as freedom of speech, justice, and a system that actually does create value for stakeholders, in spite its shortcomings.
Managing will not be sufficient to navigate through this maze of surprises, - only leadership will. This is the time to empower your people on the ground, in near and far flung places, if you have not already done so. Ask them to lead, to improvise, to make the decisions, to live our values. This is not only a sound way to lead, now it is the only way. And you will need, also for your own sake, for others to share the burden with you.
Because those around you, - family, friends, and other people who depend on you, may not understand how it is to be you right now, - if they ever did. You are a now a leader, parent, teacher, partner, caretaker, housekeeper, - all within the confinements of your home. Simultaneously your mind is preoccupied with multiple concerns, with risk and damage control. You feel like goal keeper in a penalty shootout where the rules keep changing and which seems to have no defined end. And simultaneously, you are trying to exceed some expectations, while attempting to deliver on promises made long ago, in a different time, under very different circumstances.
Some of you might in addition have a role in the mobilization of resources, whether it be contributing to solving specific problems such as testing, shipping food, concrete government supply specifications, and vigilance against external interference. Some of you might even search and find opportunities at times like this.
I am not asking you to excel under these conditions. I am hoping that when you chose us, and we chose you, we both made the right decisions. The values underlying those choices, will turn our common necessity to prevail into your want, so my ask will not be necessary.
Still, depending on how long and deep this crisis is, some difficult choices will have to be made, and some have been made already. You will have to decide which people you ask to put in extra effort and which to put on leave, which customers to give priority and which to disappoint, which suppliers to pay now, and which to ask for support. Your ability to show empathy will be put to the test. You will also have to decide where to cut cost and where to invest, with no textbook or precedent to rely on. None of these decisions will be easy.
Some of you are in countries with strong public safety nets, others are in countries where you, on behalf of the company, is the safety net. Going the extra mile to take care of your people and their families, with for instance extended paid sick leave, is of course warranted. Striking the right balance between keeping your people safe, supporting public efforts against the virus, while keeping most operations going so that people have a job to come back to, is a mission impossible, but still a necessary effort.
I am not writing this to tell you what I understand or what I know, because that will in any case, and certainly not in this one, be enough. I am writing you to say that Ferd and I are here for your team, your fellow workers and their representatives, and of course, for you. We will try to support you all in any and every way we can.
This is not a struggle that we chose, but it is a challenge that has been brought to us, and we have taken it on. There will be losses and there will be casualties, but my faith in you is not one of them. There is no one I would rather go through this with than you.
All the best,
Johan
Owner & Chair of Ferd
Comments